Christmas Shopping

With the holidays coming up and with my first trip home since I came to London a couple days away, I've been doing ALOT of Christmas shopping over the past couple of weeks. I've been picking out gifts for family ever since I came out here, but the big sprees have been lately, especially since I got my finally got some of my plastic back! YAY!

Shopping in London is hell because there's so many stores and so many people. There's also all these outdoor markets...Portabello, Camden, Brick Lane...to name a few that I know of. But yeah, there's a lot of joy in giving, and I've been having fun as well as been extremely stressed, about what to get my family. I won't say what I got for who since that's the big surprise for Christmas day.

Anyhow, last weekend, my friend Magda and I went to Portabello Market in Notting Hill.



It's CROWDED!


Me in front of a house with a blue door in Notting Hill. No, Hugh Grant doesn't live there, and this isn't the door from the movie, but it's a blue door in Notting Hill. Yes, I look shitastic with my granny sweater and no make-up.


My London BF Magda.

Portabello has some great stuff. There's a lot of antiques here. Also a lot of cool little shops and what not. I got some stuff. Magda, despite the fact that we were supposed to be Christmas shopping, bought herself a vintage fur coat for £50. I got really mad at her because she's a bunny killer. I don't wear fur. It's not that cold that we need to kill animals and wear them. Synthetic fabrics are just fine for me.


Magda wearing Thumper's mother. I want to throw tofu at her.

Some of the great shopping destinations in London:
Oxford Street: There's a huge Top Shop and H&M and all the other high street stores out here. A little ways down towards Bond Street, there's the huge department store Selfridge's which is great because it has a high street section.
Harrod's: I finally checked out this famous department store yesterday, but there wasn't anything there. Really...it's overrated. It's freakin' huge and I kept getting lost. Reminded me of Saks on 5th Ave in NYC, which is a great department store and all, but not my favorite.
Harvey Nichols: Called "Harvey Nick's" by Londoners. Great department store. I liked it a lot better than Harrod's. It's a lot less spaced and huge. Reminded me of Barneys in Beverly Hills, one of my favorite department stores.
Sloane Square/King's Road: Just did this today. Has a lot of the same stores as Oxford Circus. It was okay.
The Brunswick: Literally across the street from where I live so I go here often. It's a new little mall type of thing. The closest thing to the shopping malls we have at home. There's a FCUK, Bennetton, Office, Starbucks, etc.
Marks & Spencers: Great place for little gifts. Love it!

I've been shopping ALL over London not to mention the crap I've picked up along the way in Barcelona and France. I'm bloody Santa Claus! But it's worth it if my family likes what I got them. I really miss them. I love going home for the holidays. It makes it more fun than when you see your family everyday and then spend Christmas with them. When you live away from your family, you really appreciate the time you spend with them during the holiday, no? I go home the day after tomorrow. I CAN'T WAIT!