Fashion through history at the Victoria & Albert Museum

Zoo Lates!

Last Friday I went to the ZSL London Zoo with Logan, James and Erin for Zoo Lates. It's an adult only event from 6-10pm where you can see all the animals and watch live entertainment.  They have comedy shows, improv, cabaret or you can go to silent disco. They even have face painting (yes really!). There are champagne, Pimms and Ale bars in various areas of the zoo as well as an international food festival where we got the best mac n cheese.  If anyone knows me they know how much I love a zoo.  I really think the Bronx Zoo or Central Park Zoo needs to bring this idea over to NY! It was rather pricey at 25 quid but it was worth it.  The zoo is at the end of Regents Park. The park is beautiful and if the weather had been warmer and drier, I definitely would go back to take a nap in the grass.

I'm in The Daily Mirror today!!

Interning at The Daily Mirror

My internship has been going really great. These past 2 weeks Ayana and I have been able to do tasks both inside and outside the office.  We were given one task to recreate celebrity outfits for less. I found outfits to replicate Liv Tyler and Rochelle Wiseman which were in the paper this week! In the beginning of last week we went to Oxford Circus to scout out any Olympic themed merchandise in the stores.  We also had an opportunity to book in-store appointments at some of these stores and pull items to use for an Olympic photoshoot (stores including Marks & Spencer, Next, New Look, Topshop and River Island). 

No fashion internship at a magazine or newspaper would be without some closet work. We did returns as usual and organized the storage closet and donated all the clothes, accessories and shoes to Red Cross. 

There are so many choices of restaurants to eat at Canary Wharf and luckily we get an hour lunch break.  Our last day of interning each week Ayana and I have picked a restaurant to eat at for lunch.  So far we’ve been to Byron and Nando’s which are conveniently placed in the adjoining mall. I cannot believe we are approaching our last week of interning. The time seriously flew by!

Kingston Fashion Show 2012

I was lucky enough to win a ticket raffle to go to the Kingston Fashion Show on Tuesday! It is a graduate fashion show consisting of 27 collections with 6 looks in each collection.  The designers had such creativity and all of the clothes were made really well.  Here are just a few shots

Office Lobby or Garage?

I walked into work this week to find some fancy and expensive cars on display...apparently the cheapeast one is 350,000

So Many Markets!

So I am finally writing about this past weekend! This week has been busy and the days are really starting to fly by and I don't like it. Saturday was Sarah's birthday and we spent the whole day celebrating which was so fun! We went for brunch at The Breakfast Club after "queuing" for over an hour but it was so worth it.  I had the "Reggie the Veggie", a vegetarian english breakfast with scrambled eggs, toast, veggie sausage, tomato beans and potatoes with a caramel latte. It was really phenomenal.

Afterwards we went to Portobello Market for a few hours and surprisingly I only bought one item. I think I was overwhelmed by how much was there. Logan convinced me to get a silk romper and I'm glad because I love it.


For dinner we went to Aladin on Brick Lane for some curry. I tried the vegetable ceylon (medium hot coconut curry) over rice. So good! Afterwards we walked around the area and went to a few lounges.


On Sunday I went to Brick Lane and happened to stumble upon two other markets in the area; Petticoat and Spitalfield.  My favorite of the three is Spitalfield.  It is all under one roof with rows of little shops and food.  Brick Lane market was massive and it took us a while to realize that the main street was entirely food vendors and we had to step off into the 'Backyard Market' and vintage clothing building to do some shopping.  I bought clothes, jewelry and art.

Canary Wharf: One Canada Square

While in London I am interning at The Daily Mirror at the fashion desk.  The office is located at One Canada Square in Canary Wharf off the Jubilee Line.  The Daily Mirror has a very large circulation and readership in England.  We learned in class at the London College of Fashion that England is still very much into reading newspapers which I found to be true based on my observations on the tube.

Canary Wharf is a lovely area next to the water.  There are many restaurants where professionals can be seen eating outside on a nice day on their lunch break or after work.  It is the financial district of London.  You can walk along the water or eat lunch on the grass.  For rainy days you can wander around the four floor mall, which happens to be attached to the building I work in (very bad for my wallet).  The residential apartments located around the corner next to the water are absolutely stunning.  If I were to ever move to London I would have to save up for one of these.

At the Daily Mirror I am at the fashion desk with Ayana.  Typically we do a lot of work in the 'fashion cupboard' (aka the closet) going through samples and doing returns.  I have learned a lot doing this about what British brands are out there and have become familar with the department stores as well.  We have also done research for trends.  We manage the phones sometimes and make calls to request samples for photoshoots.  This week I researched gift ideas for Father's Day.  Ayana had the opportunity to help out at a photoshoot last week and she had a lot of fun.  I am excited for my chance to help out next!

Working at a daily newspaper is a very fast-paced environment.  Not so much for the interns but the editors are always extremely busy.  Their phones ring off the hook, they are always running off to a meeting or trying to make a deadline.  They all work very hard here.



One Canada Square



Canary Wharf Station



First day at work!

Jubilee Weekend: Monday and Tuesday

Yesterday was the 3^rd day of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. As a group we all went to Greenwich and saw the Painted Hall, The Queen’s House and Greenwich Market.  The area around there was so cute and I definitely must take another trip to the market.  Emily, Logan and I went to dinner near the water at Nando’s.  Later on in the night we all went to Hyde Park to watch the Queen’s Jubilee concert on giant screens.  There were so many people in Hyde Park and everyone was so excited to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee.

Today we went to Hampton Court, where Henry VIII and his several wives lived.  We got to wear either green or red cloaks as we ventured through the palace.  We saw the kitchens, apartments ( which were rooms covered in tapestries), and several other painted rooms and exhibits.  The garden in the back with the fountain was absolutely beautiful as was the rose garden. 

After leaving Hampton Court I went over to Fortnum & Mason with Erin, Logan, Karen, Sarah, Nicole and Ayana.  The store is gorgeous inside and out.  There were so many nice items and lots having to do with tea.  I got my mom the perfect gift. After that we went to Harrods which was like Macy’s in Herald Square.  There were too many people inside we could barely move.  I need to go back on a week day with far less people. 

A Weekend in Paris

This past weekend I was in Paris! It had been about 6 years since the last time I went.  Paris is just as beautiful as I remember, if not more.  The weather on Saturday was absolutely perfect to spend a whole day sightseeing. Logan and I began the day by going to the Notre Dame and having breakfast across the street.  We had omelets and coffee which was delicious.  The food in Paris is way better than in England.  After Notre Dame we took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe and walked down the Champs Elysees. We walked past some museums and crossed a bridge to head over towards the Eifel Tower.  After snapping a few hundred shots of the Eifel Tower we bought a ticket for a hop on-hop off boat cruise and took that over to the Louvre and headed up to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur.  Montmartre is very much the same feeling as the West Village in NYC.  In Montmartre there are lots of trendy people and boutiques and an array of cafes and restaurants.  I also must mention the fantastic view of the city from the top.  We had a 3 course meal at a restaurant in the area.  I had onion soup, creamy mushroom pasta and crème brulee.  We headed back towards the Louvre, walked through the gardens and took pictures near the fountain.  At midnight we were on the Eifel Tower which is the most beautiful sight in the city, especially when it starts to sparkle at the top of every hour. 

            Sunday’s weather wasn’t as nice but we began the day at the Louvre.  I had plans to go to Galaries Lafayette but it is not open on Sunday. So instead we went to several souvenir shops and checked out the shops on the Champs Elysees.  Afterwards we hopped over to Bastille and stopped into a café for cheese and champagne.  At night we met up with Karen and Jay at the piers in front of the Eifel Tower to go on a night cruise down the Seine. 

            Paris is the most spectacular city I have ever been to and it was very sad to leave Monday morning.  I am already planning to go back in the near future because I didn’t get a chance to see Versailles again.

First day sightseeing: The London Eye, Big Ben, The Tower of London

Saturday, May 26 was my first full day of sight-seeing and being a tourist.  I went over to Westminster with a bunch of friends from my flat.  Our first destination was the Tower of London.  I am obsessed with the television show The Tudors, so I was excited for this (and even more excited for Hampton Court next week).  The Tower was amazing and from there we could see the Tower Bridge.  After we were finished there, we took a 20 minute ferry over to the London Eye.  The boat ride was a great chance to take pictures of the Eye and Big Ben.
The London Eye has the most amazing view of the entire city.  It was quite breathtaking and not just because I have a fear of heights.  I thought £20 was way too much for a ride on a giant ferris wheel, but the view has to be seen, it cannot be explained in a picture.  Afterwards we went to St Stephens Tavern Pub for fish & chips.  I loved it! Ate the whole fish and I don't think anyone at home would believe it, but I have 5 witnesses!
Our day concluded around 10 after getting several more shots of Big Ben and The London Eye at night time.

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