Etsy Christmas Shopping Season: AKA the Busiest 18 Days of the Year

Hello blogging world!

I hope you have enjoyed my recent travel series on London and Chicago. If you haven't read them yet, you can find the London series here and the Chicago series here.

In case you don't know, I own the Etsy shop Southern RoseMary. Running an Etsy shop is fantastic! However, things tend to get crazy between the end of November through the middle of December. 

Chicago Loop InstaGreeter Tour, Skyline at the Museum Campus, Wicker Park, Kurah Mediterranean, and Au Chavel | Chicago, IL

We began our last day in Chicago by going on the Chicago Loop InstaGreeter Tour. The Chicago Greeter program is fantastic! You can register online at least ten days before your trip and a greeter will give you a free 2-4 hour customized tour of the city (the guides won't even accept tips when offered). If you forget to register (like we did), the program also has InstaGreeter tours that explore a specific part of the city and take place at scheduled times during the week.

Driehaus Museum, United Center, Architecture Foundation River Boat Tour, Argo Tea, De Cero, Sable Kitchen, and Firecakes Donuts | Chicago, IL

We began day three by having breakfast at Argo Tea. I had a blueberry muffin and a black tea. The tea was so so, but the muffin was great!

Then we visited the Driehaus Museum...it was amazing! Our tour guide, Audrey, was fantastic and it was well worth the extra $5 for the guided tour. Also, the museum offers discounts for students and teachers ($10 off), and visitors are allowed to take pictures inside the museum. 

Etsy: Southern RoseMary Free Domestic Shipping Sale!! | U.S.A.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving!! (at least everyone who celebrates it in the U.S.A. :) ) In case you do not already know, I have a shop on Etsy called Southern RoseMary. I help people express their style with hand embroidered pillows that pair the centuries old back stitching technique with charming and elegant modern designs. 

In addition to pillow covers, I also create embroidery hoop art and Christmas ornaments. Each item is stitched by hand (no embroidery machines allowed!) and handmade in Norman, Oklahoma. 

In honor of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, etc. Southern RoseMary, my Etsy shop, is having a SALE!

Chicago Art Institute, The Bean, Buckingham Fountain, Steppenwolf Theatre, Wildberry Cafe, Goddess and the Baker, and The Purple Pig | Chicago, IL

We began day 2 by eating breakfast at Wildberry Cafe. I was extremely tempted to try their berry bliss pancakes (one of their specialties) but I was in a savory mood that morning so I had the classic eggs benedict and M had the Mexicana skillet with a cinnamon roll pancake. The food was fantastic!

eggs benedict

Arriving, Michigan Ave, & Eatly | Chicago, IL

My friend M and I both turned 30 this year so we decided to go on a trip together (I mean a birthday with a "0" in it is a good excuse right? lol). We chose to visit Chicago and it was so fun! 

10 London Cost Saving Tips | London, England

London is an amazing city to visit! However, it is also one of the most expensive cities to visit. Be that as it may, there are several ways you can cut costs without missing out on any of the activities London has to offer. 

Traveling back to the USA | London, England & Oklahoma

On day 14 we traveled back to Oklahoma. Our flight left London Heathrow airport at 7:30 am so we started our day extremely early. 

Liberty's & Regent Park | London, England

On day 13 we had tea and explored Liberty London and visited Regent's Park.

For our last full day in London, we decided to plan only one fun thing so we could relax and pack our suitcases. Our fun activity was having tea at Liberty London (a big department store). A co-worker recommended visiting Liberty's and boy was she right. Liberty's is so cool!! 

Liberty London department store

Borough Market, London Walks' Kensington Tour, & Kensington Gardens | London, England

On day 12 we visited Borough Market, London Walks Kensington Tour, and Kensington Gardens.

We started our day by exploring Borough Market, after my friend loaded up on coffee at the Monmouth Coffee Company next to the market. It was neat to see the food stalls and that each one had a particular specialty with beautifully presented food. It was a visual and mouthwatering treat for the senses!

Borough Market

Shakespeare's Globe, Tower of London, & The National Gallery of Art | London, England

On day 11 we visited the Globe Theater, Tower of London, and the National Gallery of Art.

We decided to start our day a little later than usual because of our long day trip to Chatsworth yesterday. We began by going to Shakespeare's Globe first. We missed the 10am tour so we explored the museum first and then went on the 10:30 tour. Our tour was pretty crowded (about 50 people) and our guide was fantastic. 

The Globe

Chatsworth House (aka Pemberly in the 2005 Pride & Prejudice movie!!) | Bakewell, England

On day 10 we visited Chatsworth House (which was Mr. Darcy's house in the 2005 version of Pride & Prejudice), toured the house, gardens, and took our first taxi ride in the UK. 

Oh Chatsworth. This may sound cliche, but Chatsworth really does take your breath away when you first see it. Riding through the wooded estate grounds, then turning a corner, and there it sits on a hill surrounded by rolling green hills and grazing sheep. It's magnificent. Apparently others thought so as well because Chatsworth has appeared on film in Pride & Prejudice (the 2005 version), The Duchess, Death Comes to Pemberley, etc. etc. 

Changing of the Guard, Green Park, St. James' Park, Royal Mews, & Phantom of the Opera in the West End | London, England

On day 9 we watched the changing of the guard, visited Green Park, St. James' Park, the Royal Mews, explored the shops in the West End, and watched Phantom of the Opera.

Day 9 was a day of royal activities that began with the changing of the guard. Unless you want to stand outside of the palace at least an hour before the changing of the guard begins, you will not get a good viewing spot. You just won't. It was so crowded!!! It was like rivalry college football game crowded. 

Jane Austen Centre, the Royal Crescent, Fashion Museum, & the Roman Baths Museum | Bath, England

On day 8 we visited Bath and explored the Jane Austen Centre, The Circus, The Crescent, the Fashion Museum, and the Roman Baths.

I love Bath!!!! If you are lover of all things Jane Austen, archicture (especially Georgian buildings), pretty English towns, fashion, and you find yourself in England, you MUST visit Bath. 95% of the town's architecture is in the Georgian style so it appears to be frozen in time...which is a pretty cool experience. Bath is spectacular and I wish we had spent more time there. However, we made the most of the time we had and visited a ton of sights!

Eagle & Child Pub, St. Mary's Tower, Christ Church College Gardens, & Addison's Walk | Oxford, England

On day 7 we visited Oxford and saw the Eagle & Child Pub, St. Mary's Tower, WWII Memorial Gardens, Christ Church College Gardens, Alice in Wonderland, Magdalen College, and Addison's Walk.

Our Oxford trip was the beginning of the day trips that we needed help buying our train tickets. Therefore, to get cheaper rates we had to arrive and leave the towns later than we originally planned. Even though the train times were not ideal, our day trips were some of my favorite days in England. 

Apparently people like to bike in Oxford

Church in Sheppard's Bush, London Walks' Shakespeare & Dickens Tour, and the Train Ticket Fiasco | London, England

On Day 6 we went to church, went on a London Walks' tour, and learned about the British train ticket system.

We went to church at an Acts 29 church in Shepherd's Bush. To forewarn you, it took us an hour to reach the church, so if you visit that church be prepared for a long tube ride and walk. The message was good, the pastor had a Scottish accent (so fun!), and he said "one Samuel" instead of "first Samuel". 

After church we had a quick lunch and then went on the London Walks Shakespeare and Dickens tour. It was so good! It was interesting to see places that Charles Dickens references in his works and to understand where William Shakespeare lived and how his surroundings may have influenced his writings. 

Portobello Market,Courtauld Gallery, Covent Garden, & Neal's Yard | London, England

Day 5 we explored Portobello Road Market, Courtauld Gallery, Covent Garden, and Neal's Yard. On our way to the Portobello Road Market we found the best tacky souvenir shop! These shops are all over London and it looks like the Union Jack exploded everywhere. This particular shop had really good prices on most of their items and we found mugs from the royal wedding with pictures of Will and Kate for 99p! Definitely worth a look if you are in the area. 

Tacky London Souviner Shop

Tate Britain, Harrods, British Library, & the Tate Modern | London, England

On day 4 it was threatening to rain all day so we visited the Tate Britain, Harrods, British Library, and the Tate Modern.

The Tate Britain has a ton of works and ephemera from J.M.W. Turner. However, they were mainly his works with figures (at least those were the pieces on view when we visited), not the dramatic landscapes and seascapes I was hoping to see. Those Turner paintings are on view at the National Gallery. Nonetheless, Tate Britain has some incredible paintings by John Singer Sargent as well as literary/romance/Pre-Raphaelite works. Those pieces were installed in the salon style so some of them were difficult to see well.

Boat Tour, Dover Castle, & Saying Hello to France | Dover, England

On day 3 we visited Dover and went on a boat tour of the White Cliffs and visited Dover Castle with its World War II tunnels. Dover is located on the southern coast of England. It has gorgeous white cliffs and you can see France across the English Channel on a clear day. 

The Dover locals are funny. When we got off the train we asked a train worker when the last train left (so we wouldn't get stranded), but he wouldn't tell us the time. Instead he said something along the lines of, "Oh you won't miss it. There's nothing to see here at night. There's not a whole lot to see during the day." I guess everyone feels that way about their home town, but I thought Dover was fantastic. 

The Victoria & Albert Museum, Harrods, Hard Rock Cafe, and the London Eye | London, England

On day 2 we visited the Victoria & Albert Museum, Harrods Food Hall, London Eye, and the Hard Rock Cafe Vault. 

The V&A is AMAZING!!! They had a temporary exhibition showcasing Italian fashion that was spectacular, but it didn't allow photography so sorry for no photographic evidence. We also explored the furniture, jewelry (no photos either), and stained glass galleries. All of the exhibitions and galleries were gorgeous! The building was beautiful as well and has an inner courtyard with a reflecting pool, chairs, cafe, and loads of people enjoying the sun. I could have explored the museum all day, but I had more museums on my list and I didn't want to push my luck with my non-art nerd friend :)

The Hazzards of International Flights, Big Ben, & Westminster Abbey | London, England

Hello everyone!! In my last post I promised to write about my trip to London. Well...better late than never lol. The blogging bug has bitten me again so here we go! 

During the summer of 2014 my best friend and I took a two week trip to London. If you don't know this about me already, I'm a big planner. So naturally I researched all of our flight options from OKC to London and chose the option that I thought would work out best. However, it did not work out the way I planned....at all. 

View of London from the plane.