Cambridge, England!

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a day trip to Hastings

 

 

 

We took a 1.5 hour train ride south to Hastings to visit cousin Lisa and Geoff. It was an amazingly sunny day filled with exploring the incredible shops, views, and famous fish and chips of this seaside town. It was great to see Lisa's ceramic studio and the great house and view that Lisa and Geoff have since I last saw them! We also got to explore this absolutely amazing shop called A.G. Hendy, which had new and vintage home items in the most amazing displays and colors....it was very hard to leave.

adventures with Maria!

Maria and Nick met at RISD and I got to meet her last fall at Stephanie and David's wedding. She is living in London and we had a great evening out in East London and then visited her the next day for lunch at her work / the Tom Dixon studio. In the evening, it seemed everyone was out in the streets outside of the pubs due to the warm weather. We tried a few places included Kick, a Foosball pub, where we had dinner and a played few games. The next day we met at her studio for a tour of the revamped building and had lunch at a pop-up cafe that was really great. The building is on a canal and includes the design offices, mostly specializing in lighting and furniture, as well as a showroom and shop. Tom Dixon studio had also redesigned a nearby water tower into 3 or 4 different flats.

a picnic in the gardens!

Carolyn and mom planned a picnic in the garden and it was perfect....we got to see Tom and Jamie and meet their girlfriends, which was great. Carolyn made home-made mayonnaise to have with toast, crab and cider along with the beautiful pavlova, pictured above. Such a relaxed evening after an afternoon of being lost in Green Park on our way to meet Chloe and Nate.

Arundel Gardens!

From the street...

 Mom inside with Carolyn!

 sweet Henny poses for her portrait

The incredible backyard gardens! Since the flats are connected, the area inside of the block is all private gardens for the residents to share. There are planted/landscaped areas, swings, and even an inner garden for picnics. I have always loved Carolyn and Geoff's home, and the amazing warm weather allowed us to sit outside and enjoy the garden during our visit.

London shop windows!

 

These windows were mostly spotted on a walk on Portabello Road in Notting Hill near Carolyn! Such fun window shopping and I loved the reflections. So much walking...getting lost...

London!

 

Breakfast with B

graduation day!

 

a graduation for Coco!

 

 

 I drove up yesterday through Iowa to Minnesota for Chloe's graduation from Macalester College! I stopped for a great lunch and catch-up session with VB in Grinnell and was reminded of how much I love that place and how different it will feel once she retires. Today was filled with award ceremonies, a chance to meet Chloe's friends and professors, and some great meals with family. Other highlights included face-time with Nick while we were all helping Chloe pack for Eugene and Europe. The cake from the psychology department (above) made us laugh because Chloe's name is spelled "Chole," which apparently happens ALL the time for her! So proud of her many awards and the life she has built for herself in this city. So looking forward to time traveling together with her and Nate, and seeing what she decides to do in the coming year.