out and about in London town
all the recs and my favorite purchases from our week in London + the UK this month :)
First and foremost, I hope each and every one of you is having a peaceful, joyful, and good-food-filled holiday season! This is my personal favorite week of the year because I feel like it is the only period where we (at least in America) can actually unplug from work because everyone else is too lol.
These past few weeks have also been extra special because I was in London + the UK right before Christmas! We’ve been lucky to have done holidays in London two years before as well… but I feel like we did this time better than the time before honestly. And I wanted to share a few highlights, recommendations, and key purchases from the trip with y’all :)
Recs!
The Holiday Lights on Bond Street
I will say as a New Yorker, I am a total snob (or Grinch maybe – it’s been a bit of a theme in my content oops) about holiday lights and am rarely blown away, but London truly has us beat in that department. These displays were AMAZING! It also inspired me to do some vintage luxury searching (here’s a gorgeous Cartier tri-fold black leather wallet for $75, a Dior sporty fleece/jacket for $85, and Chanel aviator sunnies for $73).
The Hot Springs in Bath
Definitely not my picture lol because you are actually not allowed to use phones in the whole spa! But the place is called Thermae Spa, and all of the water in all the pools comes from the UK’s only natural thermal hot springs (which was once a favorite destination for ancient Romans when they occupied London). It was like £50 for 2 hours at the full spa, and it was SO cool and worth it!
The Mezcaleria at KOL London
In a stroke of true brilliance from the bf, he booked us in at the bar of a 2024 Michelin star-winning Mexican spot called KOL where you can get the drinks and light bites for a muuuuuch cheaper price. This was our fantastic desert, but all of it was mind-blowing.
Quo Vadis
I accidentally booked us into the very bougie restaurant in front of Soho House London simply because I was following a travel blog’s advice about the best sticky toffee pudding in London… but it was 100% worth it, and the sticky toffee pudding lived up to the hype.
Fave Purchases of the Trip
Silver Swirl Bracelet from the Angel Vintage Market
I love her so much – she was £22, and I have worn her every day! If you’re visiting, please don’t sleep on the vintage shops in Angel and Islington. Also, y’all know I hate recommending something if other people can’t also access it – so here is a similar bracelet from Etsy for $58!
Rothy’s Mary Janes
I officially entered the Rothy’s chat this trip with these black Mary Janes… and my god, you all weren’t kidding about how comfy and cute these guys are.
BDG Black Leather Bag
I unearthed this bag at the most feral and wild Urban Outfitters mass sale in Oxford I have ever seen because I just wanted a good, big leather tote – and I honestly started using her that day and have yet to use any other purse. An unexpected gem that also comes in brown! (Also, is it just me, or is Urban Outfitters kinda killing it all of a sudden?)
Vintage Plate from an 1822 Shipwreck in Scotland
This is actually my biggest regret from the whole trip :( We saw this plate and thought it would be incredibly cool to display (like it literally seems to still have sea brine, salt, etc. on it??), and we took another turn around the market to think about it, but by the time we got back, it was gone. If anyone has a line on shipwreck collectibles, I think we may be in the market!
All in all, it was an amazing trip – truly the only time things went wrong was when we were trying to fly home, which I will take! I made another quick little video about it here. And if anyone has any questions or comments or wants to chat all things UK travel, I would LOVE to hear from you!
And a few more things…
You didn’t think we could leave without a links section, did you? And also a quick question: I was thinking about doing another special edition on Jan 1 of all the good NYE deals on, but I also don’t want to spam people’s inboxes during the holiday!
And now a few links…
Random but I LOVE these gold Anthropologie earrings on Curtsy for $26 – someone who wears gold, please snap them up!
Y’all can probably guess I am as active on Etsy as ever, and I am currently coveting this leather Lousie Carmen notebook dupe for $20, this lil chicken art print for $68, and these custom bracelets based on your favorite album for $7.
My friend flagged for me that a bunch of Aritzia Super Puffs are super discounted right now!
Some of my favorite recent Substack reads were from Ryann Stutz of And I’ve Been Saying That! on how they’re stepping out in 2025 (this is the energy I do not currently have and need!!), this glorious vintage round-up from Glenn Mae of Trash Panic, and my longtime fave Erika Veurink of Long Live’s adorable and highly practical cozy starter kit.
The most clicked links from the ASTC-wrapped newsletter were the Old Navy Car Coat (her star power may in fact be endless?), the Uniqlo Washable Knit Ribbed Pants (speaking of the comfiest cozies), and the Amelia Pebble necklace that never leaves my necklace stack.
That’s all for now! See you possibly on Wednesday – and, if not, on Friday for our return to regularly scheduled programming in the new year!