London Calling

Upon returning from our little jaunt to Charleston, LAM and I were on a had a fabulous vacation high and didn't want to become depressed by having nothing left to look forward to...sooo, we immediately started planning our next trip.  After a string of tropical vacations that translated into some very expensive tans and one pretty evil sunburn, we decided that we would start taking a different approach to travel.  Something abroad would be the ticket, but as LAM has never ventured across the pond before, someplace that spoke English would be the best way to get his feet wet.  London was calling.

I immediately started doing what I always do in these situations...pinning things like crazy on Pinterest.  Possible hotels:

The Lime Tree Hotel is a strong contender...I love the boxwood British orderliness of it, plus it is family owned and operated, breakfast is included and it's in an adorable Belgravia neighborhood.  I've never actually been, but I have walked up and down the streets and looked at all the shops--thank you Google maps!

Through my other planning efforts, I started making a list of cannot miss shops that must be visited.  HIGH on the list is Smythson of Bond Street:

As Holly Golightly remarked of Tiffany's, in response to getting "the mean reds", "Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's.  Calms me down right away.  The quietness and proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there."

This is precisely the feeling I have about Smythson--quality, grace, precision and order all in one scrummy package:

These beautiful boxes give a mere glimpse of the treasures that most certainly lie within.  I can feel my blood pressure drop just looking at them...

As if that weren't enough of an endorsement, they have the added PR of SamCam, or Samantha Cameron, wife to British Prime Minister David Cameron.

On my current lust list:

The luggage tag that discreetly announces your home address on one side and your destination address on the other.  Should Virgin Atlantic lose my luggage, they will hopefully know that the owner of this bag means business.

The passport cover with boarding pass pocket, embossed with my initials, natch.  This will keep me sane as I gladly whip out my little blue Smythson when asked to produce said documents for the umpteenth time.

Last, but not least is the folding ipad case.  Unfortunately, this costs more than the ipad, but it will probably last longer.  Maybe while I'm browsing in the store, which I hear is quite friendly and unpretentious, I will try to convince myself that the price tag is in USD and not choke as I hand over the Visa.  Hey, a girl can dream, right?

-ESM

Photos courtesy of the respective company websites and Town and Country magazine.