a girl in the world

finding beauty, pleasure and grace on the road less traveled

A tribute to becoming Greek

I had one of the most amazing weekends ever. Ever. Panos and Maria came to London for the weekend and we had such an amazing time. We laughed till we cried till 3am most nights. We went to work on Friday, had dinner at an amazing Spanish restaurant in SOHO where I lost count of how many glasses of sangria I consumed. Then we went to a Mexican restaurant for more drinks and snacks before heading home. Saturday we had toast on the balcony, walked to the Portabello street market where we had lunch at The Electric. Then we walked through Hyde Park to Oxford and Regent Streets where we browsed Liberty before talking about inappropriate things in a warm coffee shop for an hour. =) We decided to skip the rugby world cup and hung out at home before going dancing at G.A.Y. where I had the most amazing time! We danced till about 2am then went home and crashed at around 3am. Sunday we slept in till noon and heading to South Ken for brunch at Troubador. Then we met Abby in Knightsbridge where Maria and I went shopping at Zara (my favourite!). Then we had coffee with Frederick, walked across Hyde Park to Notting Hill and then sat in a wine bar till about 10pm.

What a great weekend! So open, so carefree, so casual. We wandered, drank, talked, laughed our way through London. So wondeful.

I became Greek this weekend and fell in love with Panos and Maria. We are going to get married! =) haha

Fascinating read

From one of my favourite publications, Psychology Today, this article talks about some pretty cliche truths about men and women.

And a serendipitous real life example that I found in the news today, here.

Homesick

This weekend has been hard in London. After nearly a whole month of go, go, go, all this stillness came as a bit of a shock. I cried a river of tears to Mom last night on the phone. And after an hour, she was able to calm me down. Moms are amazing that way – she drives me absolutely bonkers sometimes but she knows just what to say to make me feel SO much better when things are down.

It has been a weekend of solitude for me. First, I’m coming to terms with the fact that I actually have to take some time to really make my flat feel like home. It is so sparsely decorated that it is starting to really affect my mood. One of the things I’ve come to learn while being away is how inherently artsy and tactile I am. Aesthetics matter. A lot. And the way a room looks and feels really affects the way I feel in it. And so tonight, I resolved to take a day next week to go and get the basics – some tables, lamps and plants. I want to want to come home to this place, regardless of how old and unfinished it is.

This weekend has also been a good time of reflection. This (necessary) downtime has brought me back to what’s important. I miss having a family to visit on the weekends. I miss Bear. I miss home cooked meals and my comfortable apartment. I miss having really close friends to spontaneously hang out with. I miss having a car and knowing a city. I miss knowing little haunts around the corner. I miss sunshine. Everyone here has their own lives – they have boyfriends/girlfriends, plans, families etc. In the midst of all these bodies, in this city teeming with people, concerts, restaurants, shops – London, this weekend, felt like a lonely place. It’s a city of transients – everyone is from somewhere else, always on their way to someplace else. And my life has been like that for months – travel, work, plans, travel, work, plans. And this weekend, having none of that, it really did feel lonely. I was SO close to buying a ticket home last night. So so close.

Anyway, today, I forced myself out to look at furniture. And MY GAWD it’s expensive here. It’s a real mental exercise to stop stop stop converting everything into dollars. It has taken me all day to come to terms with the fact that I will HAVE to spend a small fortune half furnishing this flat. But it’ll be worth it. I want to be excited to come home at night, even if in the end, I’ll likely only spend half of my nights in this flat. It’ll be good to feel like I have a home here for the next 9 months.

It’s Sunday night now. Another week draws to a close. Here’s to a new day, a new outlook. Here’s to a year in Londontown. =)

Hi, I'm Denise. I'm a writer, artist and photographer. This is where I share what I'm seeing, learning and making.
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