may, 17th - typography and signage.......

day 1184 / 283:

something that i could have lingered on for ages during our visit to the London Transport Museum Depot {see yesterday, day 1183 / 282} was the typography and the signs....especially the old advertising on the routemasters and the maintenance signs......

London Transport take their typography seriously, you can read more about the the Johnston typeface that they use, here. 

may, 16th - london transport museum depot......

day 1183 / 282:

a few weekends ago, London Transport Museum had their annual, family, open weekend at their depot in West London.......the depot houses things that don't fit into the museum in central London.  we stumbled across this event by chance but i could see it becoming a definite favourite.

there were an array of vintage routemaster buses....showing how the years have shaped our transport.....i was especially taken with the bottle green and metal versions.....

there were old tube carriages of all shapes and sizes (that were a little harder to capture).......an incredibly intricate Lego, train scene, amazing signage.....and plenty of industrial, machinery to excite an upcycling, Pinterest board. there were also plenty of people which made negotiating a buggy and keeping track of a toddler particularly tricky. so, if you decide to go.....as with most events in London, go early.

possibly Limi's favourite part was getting to eat giant smarties when she normally only gets the mini version........followed by the Lego (although she, along with every other kid, didn't understand why she couldn't rearrange the pieces).

you can read more about the Depot and their open weekends, here.

may, 12th - 19/52....

"a portrait of the girls, once a week, every week in 2013" 

(although, i seemed to have missed a couple already)

day 1180 / 279:

these are two portraits from our trip to Italy a few weeks ago.....

Limi: eating the real deal.....with her 'splash boots' on the wrong feet of course......

Claya: still doing her gecko impression....rubbing her tongue along her teething gums...

you can read more about the 52 project here. or check other portraits across at Jodi's beautiful blog.

may, 9th - new home....

day 1177 / 276:

we have been moving out of the Shoebox over the past few days......we still love it and i have felt very nostalgic and a little sad about leaving it but alas, as a family, we have just outgrown it and i think all our stuff was starting to seriously split its lovely seams.....

we have almost tripled our space in TheHouse and now we have the fun of decorating new rooms and finding new pieces of furniture. it's taking some adjusting though as we have gotten so used to trying not to accumulate anything else......it seems almost decadent to have so much space.....(and especially to have my very own work space)...

so, here's to new beginnings....

these pics were taken at the Sensational Butterflies exhibition at the Natural History Museum....it's on again, all summer long (last time we went, Limi was still tiny {see day 497})....

and this is the reality of how i take my pics these days...one-armed, with a baby draped across the other.

may, 2nd - the view on the ground....

day 1170 / 269:

Claya's view from the picnic blanket.

may, 1st - the simple things in life....

day 1169 / 268:

we had some chores to do at a friend's house in Italy and they have a beautiful garden so we took the girls up to enjoy the fresh air. while Claya tried to escape the blanket and eat the dandelions....we taught Limi how to shell the fresh peas that we bought from the market in Rome {see day 1168 / 267}. i do remember doing it once or twice as a child and loving the process of breaking open the crunchy pod and dislodging each small pea......

she did brilliantly and managed to shell almost half the bag before her attention was distracted by the cat and the tricycle.....living such an urban existence in London, i think that it's wonderful that she is starting to get a better idea of how our food grows and gets onto the plate (and that it's not just a delivery by a man in a van once a week).....it's a good reminder for me, that i should take her to more of the amazing produce markets around the city and get her to help me pick out our fruit and veg.

apr, 30th - market day...

day 1168 / 267:

thanks for all the comments on the last post....Claya seems to be much better today and take a look, i'm even managing to get a consecutive post out......things are looking up.

.............

as my sister and i strode the labyrinth streets of Rome last week, looking for a specific fabric shop, we stumbled across one of the many food markets. the whole piazza was alive with fresh produce, vocal sellers, vocal shoppers and even a band.

we gave Claya's feet a quick, refreshing wash under the square's communal tap (which she found a bit startling) and then bought a large bag of peas still in their pods and artichokes.....we didn't shop with a clear idea of what we were going to make but because the produce looked so fresh and enticing.....and hey, isn't that what Italian food is all about....shopping as much with your eyes as any other sense.

p.s. Limi stayed at home with my mum to spend some time with her nonno (we know that it should be nonna.....but even without any Italian direction, at an early age she decided to call my mum, Nonno and my dad, Tapa...her very own words for both of them.)