Girls who Read

So, I'm not normally a huge fan of the spoken word, unless we're talking about this movie.

However, Red Hair and Freckles posted this on my Facebook wall a while back and I love it: 

I Heart Free Stuff...

...even if it's free shipping on an expensive website. Today is the last day that you can order from J.Crew and have your package shipped to you internationally for free. The best part? If you don't like what you get, or it doesn't fit, returns are free too. That's what I call a good deal...if only everything was 20% off as well. 

Weddings

A few weeks ago, I attended my first British wedding. Confession: I love weddings, but don't love a lot of the traditions associated with them. My favorite weddings tend to be the ones that feel unique to the couple getting married. Sometimes this means not all of the standard traditions are included. How do you feel about wedding traditions?

I find it interesting to see how they vary between and cultures. I was a bit nervous about what to even wear, but ended up getting the below dress on sale at Anthropologie and paired it with bright pink ballet flats and a pink pashmina:

Here were the top 5 differences I noticed between British and American weddings:

Portugal, Part 3: Porto

Our last stop of the trip was in Porto, which was about a 2.5 hour drive from Peniche. We had heard rumors that the driving in Porto could be a bit treacherous, so we dropped our car off at the airport and got a taxi into town, which cost about 20 euros. While the weather was cold and rainy, the hotel we were staying in recommended we go to Graham's winery for a tour and a port tasting. We braved the weather and walked across one of the main bridges in town (the wind broke one of our umbrellas along the way), and then took a tram down to the quaint, old winery section of town. There are so many wineries and shops, I'm sure you can't go wrong. Grahams was a bit of a hike, but the rain let up and it ended up being really nice to see a bit of the village. I've only had port a few times before, so was interested to learn more about the process. I'm a fan. Here are the bottles we sampled:

For other book nerds (like me), we also managed to make it to Livraria Lello, which is listed as one of the 20 Most Beautiful Bookshops in the world in Flavorwire. 

For dinner, we went to another seafood restaurant, which was lovely, but not quite as first as our first night out in Lisbon. We were a bit disappointed to see that Book, a literary-themed restaurant, recommended in this article, was right around the corner from our hotel. Next time!

We did manage to try Percebes, or barnacles, which are featured on most seafood restaurant menus. If you're feeling brave, they look like this: 

Our time in Porto was limited, but we did manage to fit in a trip to the Majestic Cafe for a bica (Lebanese espresso), to see a few of the beautiful buildings, and to pick up a few things from the Bolhão Market for the plane ride back to London (though passed on the live chickens, but got a tasty loaf of very dense bread and some fresh fruit) Below are a few pictures: 

Though it was a short trip, it was neat to see a new country. Going to Peniche made me want to spend more time learning to surf, and going to Porto made me want to go to the Duomo Valley next time to see where the grapes are grown, in the countryside. Such a lovely long weekend though!

Portugal Part 2: Cascais

Pergola House

We arrived in Cascais around 4 on Saturday afternoon. The sun was out and it was just warm enough to walk around without a jacket on. We dropped our bags off at the Pergola House and then spent a few hours exploring town, which had shopping downtown, and lots of little cobblestone alleyways. As an aside, Pergola house is an old manor house, with a lovely garden. According to reviews we'd read, the manager of the hotel grew up in the house. While our room was clean and well-appointed, and the staff was friendly, noise travels throughout the house, so we did hear quite a few people coming home throughout the night.

It really was a lovely day. For dinner, we went to B&B, which stands for bom and baratoa, meaning good and cheap in Portuguese. Unfortunately, while the atmosphere was cozy, my food was really bland, and a bit disappointing after the amazing seafood we'd had in Lisbon.

The next morning we rented a car downtown, and began driving up the coast to Peniche. The views were quite stunning, and at one point we came across this lovely roadside farmer's market, where we picked up snacks for lunch. The people in Portugal were lovely. After buying a few apples, we asked another vendor for 2 oranges. She replied: that's it? Take them. Free!

 

After a few hours, we realized the trip along the coast would take quite a long time, so we cut inland and took a slightly faster road to Peniche, which we'd heard was a laid back surfing town. While the town had some cute buildings and the cliffs were stunning, I think perhaps staying at a surf lodge outside of town might be a bit more appealing, as the town itself only has Pansions and two typical 3 star hotels on the outskirts of town, near chicken factories and a sardine factory. While the area was nice, the town itself was a weird place. We found the woman at the tourist information stop pretty unhelpful! Regardless, we grabbed our books and read on the beach for a few hours, which, after London weather, was a real treat.

More on Porto tomorrow...

Portugal: Part 1 (Lisbon)

2 weekends ago we spent the long weekend in Portugal. It was such a treat to get out of London, as we hadn't taken a trip in Europe since November, when we went to Italy for a week.

The cheapest option when we booked our flights was to fly into Lisbon and out of Porto. I'd heard that the drive up the coast was comparable to Highway 1 up the coast of California, which was one of my favorite vacations ever (we went from Santa Barbara to San Francisco in 2009). To prep for our trip, I looked up the relevant 36 Hours articles that The New York Times puts out (links here: Lisbon, Cascais, Porto). I also read through the posts on  The Senses Five and was pretty excited.

Unfortunately, we had limited time in each place, so we ended up booking a hotel on Hotwire for the first night in Lisbon and the last night in Porto. Hotwire is always a bit of a risk, but ultimately we were happy with both spots. While the location of our hotel in Lisbon could have been a bit better, it was really nice to arrive Friday night and have a really comfortable night at the VIP Grand Lisboa.

The hotel recommended Clube do Peixe for dinner, which was just across the street, and it may have been my favorite meal in Portugal, despite the fact that it wasn't all that central. 

We managed to sleep in a bit on Saturday, but were able to get downtown and have a stroll before lunch and have a coffee and a Nada (the classic custard tart). What struck me most about Lisbon was how beautiful, but run down all of the old buildings are. It's definitely a city I could spend more time in. However, having lived in big cities for a while, I always like to escape the crowds when traveling, so there's nothing more appealing than a beach. So, that afternoon, we grabbed our stuff and took a commuter train 35 minutes up the coast to Cascais, which has been recommended to us by several people. More on that later...


In the meantime, here's a funny sign we saw on the tube. I feel like the caption could be something like 'Do not hump the door, as you may get trapped in them'?:

New Addition: Ebay

 Angloyankophile has been talking up ebay for a few weeks now. Her emails, paired with the poster campaign in the tube stations in London, has made me curious about the site.  She's found a ton of great deals on the site. Seriously. That girl has talent and I'm considering asking her to be my personal stylist.

Confession: I've never been a good second hand shopper. I'm always bit jealous of friends who can go into thrift stores and reach their hand into a pile and come out with something amazing. Also, the smell of most second hand shops is kind of a deterrent for me. What do you think? Is eBay different? Have you bought anything from the site?

Monday Song

I've been in a bit of a music rut lately, so have been trying to remedy that. What are you listening to these days?

I've had this song by the Dodos on my iPod for a while, but am really enjoying some of their other stuff as well, especially as a friend recently re-recommended them:

Song for the weekend

I am still loving Boy and Bear, who I also mentioned in this post. I've been listening to this song on repeat all week:

Books

Have you read any great books lately? Somewhat belatedly, I started thinking of my favorite books of 2011. I love the lists that go out towards the end of the year, especially the one put together by the folks at The New York Times.

That said, these are my favorite books of 2011:

• The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
• Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
• State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
• The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt

What are your picks?

New Music (at least for me)

I recently heard Maverick Sabre for the first time. Have you heard his music before? I have been enjoying listening to his songs. Here's one of his more popular ones:

He also has some good covers, including the below version of "A Change is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke:

Book Pick of the Week

I just finished reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio. It was such a lovely story. Though it's for children, I think it's a novel that both kids and adults will appreciate equally.
Auggie, the main character, was born with a severe facial deformity that's kept him from going to school--until now. As he enters the 5th grade (a tough year for anyone), we see his experiences through several different lenses. It's so poignant, I just wanted to hug each one of the narrators. Book trailer below.

The Story of Keep Calm and Carry On

Have you seen the video of the history of the "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster? It's such a cool story. London + bookshop = pretty cool.

The Art of the Mix Tape

Did you ever make a mix tape for a friend? I remember spending hours in high school trying to find the right selection of songs, and then working to fit them all onto a 90-minute tape.  Though making a mix now is infinitely easier, I sometimes miss tapes. When a friend handed you a mix tape, there was no way not to feel flattered at the time commitment. And since getting to the next song involved more than just 'skipping' one, each segue was a surprise.

Lately, Flavorwire has been posting literary mix tapes each week on their site. They choose a character and create a Spotify playlist featuring songs they think the characters would have enjoyed. One of my mom's favorite books is To Kill a Mockingbird, so for Mother's Day I burned her a CD of the Atticus Finch Literary Mixtape. Incidentally, it's a great mix.

I know, who even uses CDs anymore? But it's a tradition I'm sad to see dying out, so I'll preserve it while I can.

Do you have a favorite mix tape? Did a guy or girl you liked ever make you one?


Image source: Nexus 404

Spring Dress

How fun is this outfit by Danish company Wood Wood? I saw it posted on one of my new favorite blogs, The Senses Five, and had to steal it. It's never quite warm enough in London to wear sundresses. This seems like it would be the perfect, laid-back weekend outfit. Laid back, yet chic. Want.

 

Original Image: Wood Wood S/S 12