Designed

Photo by Alex Webb


work madness and fluffy guinea pig happiness, foggy mornings and last autumn leaves, natural disasters and friendly reunions, misty grey, sterling blue and cosmic purple, big bug necklaces and Мастер и Маргарита, after work delights and Cartier-Bresson, Odile or Odette?, the month of mOVEMBER and the dream of Mexico, 41th floor view of London and no more eating animals.


What are your plans for this weekend? I've not got much on my mind apart from sleeping, being lazy, having pajama coffees, hitting the Tate Modern and Design museum..

Have a good weekend and smile - you're designed to!

Take a Bite

I've been looking forward to this for a while - a walk in the Central park, an evening at the Met, a day at the Metropolitan museum of art, getting to know the Greenwich Village, and Harlem maybe?.. oh, and taking pics of those fire escapes.

It's been a while since I've been to NY. I'd like to rediscover it. I know it will look, feel and taste different.

The below for me is the quintessence of how I remember and imagine NYC ('cause now it's more of 'imagine' than 'remember', i guess). Let's see if this turns out any different.

Do you have any tips? What is worth doing in NY in mid-December? What sort of vibe does it convey?

image via here

If you are looking for a flight to New York - check this page out.

Good Morning!

Good morning to you wherever you are, whatever you are doing. Make a stop to enjoy some minutes of calm Sunday morning, without rush, without thinking what needs to be done, without planning ahead.


Photos by Arek

Old Days...

Celebration Of Life

Last weekend, somewhere to the West of London. Very cute newly born american coot chicks - learning how to swim.








Photos by Olga&Arek

Notting Hill

Some photos from the trip to ... Notting Hill. Yep, one needs to use one's travel limitations to one's benefit. I was never the one to talk much about the country I live in - I could usually go on about the country I've been to for hours instead. It seems it's the time to change.. :)

So here is Notting Hill - or rather its popular Portobello Road area - in spring, when the weather is still chilly but the greenery is already in full bloom. On Saturdays Portobello Road turns into a Market, one of London's notable street markets, known for its second-hand clothes and antiques.





One of my favourite London clothes shops AllSaints Spitalfields was founded right here in Notting Hill.



Portobello market also offers a great choice of good food and is a good place for coffees - I even managed to find some sweets from the chocolate factory from my native town in the Russian shop here - can you imagine?




Spring is definitely the best season in the UK. It's climate gives the plants such a huge potential to grow - I have never seen such a variety and multitude of plants anywhere - including exotic ones - growing just like that in the middle of the street, park or passage - seemingly without any effort or help from outside. And if they do get help - they turn into magnificent gardens I will never get tired of taking pictures of. We are invited to a flower show this weekend(!), so I will definitely be posting some pictures of that soon.


All photos by Olga&Arek

Scottish wilderNESS

stunning Durness beaches

Scotland in March. Harsh and windy, wild and seemingly unexplored. In some distant way reminded me of Iceland, but it has its own different and unique beauty. The signs reminding of its Celtic heritage are omnipresent and are tightly interwoven with Scotland's culture and tradition.

the gorgeous highland cow






on the way to Tongue






somewhere between Tongue and Durness



Lotte Glob's amazing studio at Loch Eriboll

Lotte Glob's amazing studio at Loch Eriboll


Smoo cave

Smoo cave


the view from the cosy Graineag Bed&Breakfast on Loch Ness

Loch Ness

<3 <3 <3





Eilean Donan castle

The Isle of Skye

The Isle of Skye

Glen Coe
All photos by Olga&Arek except the 2nd photo

Here comes the map of our Scotland roadtrip:


View Scotland Roadtrip in a larger map