Tag Archives: london

Win tickets to the Country Living Spring Fair 2012!!

Posted on by Abi

Every year there are a few events that I really look forward too. In March this has to be the Country Living Spring Fair. Packed with original artists and inspiring stores it’s a wonderful day out. This year we can even share the excitement as we are giving away 2 free pairs of tickets to the show worth £32 each!

For a touch of Spring and the essence of the country a visit to the Country Living Spring Fair is just the ticket.

The Country Living Magazine Spring Fair at the Business Design Centre, Islington, London from 21 – 25 March 2012, promises a lovely day amongst some of the UK’s leading artisans. Celebrating skilled craftsmanship, delicious food and delicacies, inspired gardening, as well as presenting a wonderful array of accessories for the home, the Country Living Spring Fair heralds all that’s loved about a summer lifestyle. There’s lots of scope for personal pampering too, with clothing for every occasion from a sports day to a picnic; jewellery and silversmithing designs influenced by nature and sensuous handmade soaps and perfumes. Entertaining talks and demonstrations by popular experts are a hands-on opportunity to learn about different crafts and features. There will also be a beautiful spring garden ensuring that there’s plenty to do, plenty to see and plenty to enjoy.

If you are not lucky enough to win you can still book your tickets in advance at the lower price of £11.50 using the special code below, which saves you nearly 25% off the door price.

Special Angel Eden Readers’ ticket offer – special price of £11.50 quoting CLSPRING3.

(As opposed to the ticket price on the door which is £16.00) Tickets must be booked no later than 1pm on the day before the due visit. TELEPHONE: 0844 848 0160

For more information about the show please visit the Country Living Spring Fair website.

How to Enter

Step 1. Leave a comment on this post. Remember to leave me a way to contact you if you win.

Step 2. Do any of the following:

The competition will end at midnight 16th Feb 2012.

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London, Giant Phoneboxes and Gorgeous Window Displays!

Posted on by Abi

Whenever I visit London either for the blog or any other publication I always try and fit in a bit of window shopping (or real shopping if my husband isn’t reading this). Everytime I discover something new, whether it’s a fabulous new store or previously missed shopping arcade. My last visit was no different.

I started my little jaunt in Camden, which isn’t exactly new to me but it had changed since my last browse. I always love the markets there, although an increasing number of stalls do appear to be carbon copies of each other. But there’s still a few independent sellers/designers. I fell in love with this little beach hut skirt.I have always had a particular fondness for antique sewing machines. For all their gadgetry modern machines just seem to lack the class (not to mention weight) or their forebears. This store window had an old machine in each pane. I did count how many there were but unfortunately I’ve forgotten, suffice to say there were lots and this is just a small section of window!

Next I toddled off to the Horse Tunnel Market, I have never seen so many life-size horse statues in my life!This market is surprisingly large, but my favourite stall had to be the one below. They sold vintage suitcases decorated with old comics and newspapers. Recycling at it’s very best, I’m sure even Paddington Bear would be happy to carry one.On route out of the market I found this exceptionally large telephone box. Of course I’m familiar with the traditional red boxes, I’ve even seen the blue police boxes but this particular model was a new one to me.Whenever I feel tired the first thing that springs to mind is ‘I need a cup of tea’. So after an afternoon of work, I made my way to Fortnum & Mason in Picadilly. With a bewildering variety of blends, plus every tea related piece of equipment you could ever possibly want, Fortnum & Mason is a tea lovers dream store.If that wasn’t enough to tempt you to visit though, even the window displays are mouthwatering with lifesize models baking, riding in hot air balloons and even driving steam boats!Unfortunately by this point my trip was drawing to a close. All that was left was to admire the lights of Picadilly before making my way home laden with yummy goodies.

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Living Walls, Liberty London and Drinks!

Posted on by Abi

During my recent trip to London I took the time to endulge in a spot of retail therapy. Shopping in the capital is always exciting. When I was little it meant trips to Hamleys and exciting new places. These days it’s often the novelty of visiting a store I might otherwise have only visited online.

One such store was Anthropologie. I’ve often admired their quirky home ware, the aprons in particular. So when I found myself close to their London store I had to pay a visit. Perhaps the most striking element of the whole store though is not the clothing or even the aprons, but the giant living wall next to the stair case. Apparently living walls are notoriously difficult to grow and maintain, but this rather large beauty shows it most definitely can be done. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all large city stores incorporated nature so effortlessly into their stores.

Another must see was Liberty London, putting aside the many wonderful things to buy, the store itself is really quite gorgeous. I love that it has retained so much character, so few stores do these days.

I began by making a beeline for the Richard Weston scarves. These scarves featured recently on TV and they are now an exceedingly popular line. They seemlessly bring nature and luxury together.

I finished my trip with drinks in a bar called Strawberry Moons. I’ll freely admit that my friend and I picked this bar primarily because we loved the name. But it didn’t disappoint us. Every day between 5-8pm they have an extended happy hour where there is 40% off all drinks. So we settled down to some cocktails and snacks. The ‘snacks’ were so huge we couldn’t finish them so if you find yourself shopping in the Regent Street area it’s a good place for a bite. Plus they have one of the funkiest dance floors that I’ve seen for awhile. It was a tad too early for me to be donning the floor, plus I was rather tired, but it certainly looked made to dance on.

 

 

 

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