london inspired

If you told me I could pack up my stuff and move to any place out of the country tomorrow, I would undoubtedly end up in London. I flew into London just to spend my day with a group of people I hardly knew, in weather that could not have been worse, with a public transportation system I had yet to grasp, and yet, no amount of weird factors could have stopped me from falling in love with that place. The vibe and the atmosphere is perfection. It's hip and trendy, yet old and historical, it's comfortable yet classy. It's both ends of the spectrum in the most lovely way. Not to mention, even with all the impeccably trendy people around you, it's not pretentious. It felt like home, and there isn't many places that you only stay in for three days that feel like that.

Here are some things that just aren't leaving my mind about that wonderful place:

Bold Typefaces. All of those street sign inspired home decor items that are shamelessly sprawled out all over Etsy remind me of London to the T. The signage in London I adored, it felt like everywhere you looked there was design being done right. Classic and simple, bold and modern. Designers didn't try too hard in that city, it just looked easy and clean.

Brick. When I think of London restaurants, I think of brick architecture. Whether it's on the outside with old signage and flower pots hanging on the walls, or on the inside to add a unique touch, London sure does know how to use brick right. For years I have been obsessed with apartments that have one of the walls completely made of brick, and maybe that's why I fell in love with London so quick. They seemed to be equally obsessed. {To install your own custom brick wall, check out this blog article.}

Trench coats. People are trendy in London. (Especially the men, ahhhemmm). So trendy that even when I wore my favorite outfits, I still felt like my style completely blew in comparison to these people. They are all so classy and put together. Trench coats were one thing that I was seeing all over the place in the pouring rain. And now I'm ready go buy my own neutral trench coat, to be quite honest.

Vintage Posters. The first stop in my journey to a ton of different cities was London, and by then I had yet to figure out what souvenir I wanted to purchase in each country. I knew I wasn't a fan of whole shot glass concept, so I opted to search for vintage postcards in each city I went to. London made that easy. They have so many vintage posters and cards that had me super inspired to throw together my own vintage posters once I got home.

Line Maps. Apparently these are a thing now-adays? I'm seeing them everywhere. This one from Etsy I especially loved. Simple and bold. Perfection.

Street Food. Two words: Camden Market. We were told to stop there and get some street food, and oh my Lord am I glad that we listened. Nothing in America is like it. Tastiest thing that I ate in London. (And the cheapest). In America, we are all trying to start this food truck situation, London already has us beat, let me tell you.

Rain Boots. Could be that it was pouring rain my first day in London, these were all over the place. In California, I can't say I would get much use out of them, but the people in London rocked these so well I maybe was wishing for one quick second that we had a bit more rain around here. I especially love this light blue/periwinkle shade of Hunter Boots.

The Underground. Being that it's their public transit logo, you see this sign everywhere. Luckily, it's well designed and super easy to spot. Anytime I see this logo I wish I was back in London. That place is pure bliss: the people, the designs, the fashion, the food. Perfection.