LONDON CHAIRS

Been doing a little furniture shopping lately, which reminded me...I took pictures of these fantastic chairs at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to share with you. Was that only 2 months ago? Seems ages. Not exactly what I'm looking for in my living room, but fun to see...

"Garden Egg" by Peter Chyczy 1968

"Paris" Andre Dubreuil 1988

Unfortunately did not get the info. on this bit of awesome-ness (it was a vacation, not a field trip!).  Looks like a hybrid of sitter and "sat-upon."

Glass Chair by Danny Lane 1988

"Oval Rotation" Felicity Aylieff 1999

"How High The Moon" Shiro Kuramata 1986-7

Art Nouveau armchair Louis Majorelle 1899-1900

Okay, I know I said chairs, but you need to see this chest(?) of drawers...

"You Can't Lay Down Your Memories" Tejo Remy 1991

If you ever get to London, and I hope you do, the Victoria and Albert Museum is not to be missed. 
Thank you kindly for enduring more of my vacation photos. Now, before you log off, take a minute to pop over to Pigtown*Design. Fellow blogger Meg Fairfax Fielding reached her 1 millionth blog visitor milestone last week. ONE MILLION! I was lucky enough to meet up with Meg in Baltimore last fall, when my little blog was a newborn baby infant. Congratulations, Meg! I'm awestruck.

MORE LONDON

Was it really just 2 weeks ago?  Been so busy these past few days, I could already use a break.  So let's take another little peek and live vicariously. Okay?
Here's one of my favorites. Got caught up in the "posh" school crowd as we set out one morning. Adore the uniforms! These young ladies are headed to the same school the little princes attended. 

Going to try this in watercolor, I think.

Loved these wire sculptures at the Tower of London, by artist Kendra Haste.

Another favorite sculpture...Horse At Water at the Marble Arch by Nic Fiddian-Green.

Casts of heads from Salisbury Cathedral at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Spotted this little bit of fun on a pub wall in Bath. Trust me, we tried a full-english (sans meat) at the Cafe Diana and that is more food than Jane probably ate in a week. Eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, chips... We only made it about halfway through. Cafe Diana is a tiny little eatery where the Princess used to pop in for a bite after dropping the young princes off at school.

Host at the Jane Austen Centre.

Oh lookeee! Hot shirtless lifeguards shouting and throwing panties from a double-decker bus. They did this all day long, back and forth across London Bridge! Turns out it was a Hollister promotion. We saw them later lined up for photos in front of the store, and yes, I nabbed four pairs (of panties).

You didn't think I could go eight days without touching a horse did you?

The Queen's Horse Guards, who by the way are all vets from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lunch in the Orangery at Kensington Palace...

Doing what all tourists do in London.

These are a few of my favorite memories. In eight days, we did a pretty good job of seeing the must-sees. I think Rick Steves would be proud. Saw the Tower of London, Victoria and Albert Museum, The British Museum, The British Museum of Science and Natural History, The Churchill War Rooms, Buckingham Palace and The Mews, Harrod's, Portobello Road Market,took a day trip to Bath, Hyde Park, Kensington Palace, and on and on...
I hope you get to go someday. If you do, please wear comfortable shoes and take a raincoat. If you can arrange to stay with a cousin and her lovely family who happen to live just a short walk from Hyde Park, even better! Thank you, thank you, London cousins!!

LONDON IN BLOOM

It was mostly cool and rainy while we were in London last week. The local's described this May's weather as "rubbish!"  We were not deterred from seeing as much as we could on foot, however. Armed with raincoats and umbrellas, we walked for miles in this very walk-able city.
While it may not have felt much like spring, it sure looked it. Blooms were abundant from parks to window-boxes. Here's a sampling of what we saw...

The Princess Diana Garden at Kensington Palace

Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Garden Walk

In Notting Hill.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Some of these pictures were taken in parks and public spaces, others I shot while hanging over garden gates. I learned that I don't mind walking in the rain when there is so much to see and I'm seeing it in the excellent company of my Mr. C. Word of caution: the fact that the British drive on the left makes crossing at street corners a little tricky. Not a problem if you obey the pedestrian signals. My otherwise excellent companion does not. Let's just say there were near misses and leave it at that.
Hope you're walking in good company and stopping to smell the flowers.

Wrapping It Up!

Whew! Here's a peek at what went on here at BarnBug this week!
On Monday, I went to the auction that I told you about here . Did I buy one single thing pictured? Not one. I did buy, this wonderful old, oak-framed set of whimsical hunt scenes...

Sat at that auction until 12:10am waiting for those darned ledgers to come up, before giving up and coming home. Trust me, that is waaaaay past my bedtime on a weeknight. 
Tuesday, of course, was Valentine's Day. Also the Fly Tribe's, Love of Art blog party. Check it out here.

Nothing's more romantic than a single red rose.

Had a lovely dinner with my Valentine at Mason's in Easton. Lots of happy memories in that restaurant. Especially, when the kids were young, and it was just the one poky little house! The meal was excellent, and then for dessert...

Chocolate Toffee Bread Pudding With Chocolate/Jack Daniels  Ice Cream!

That's not the best picture, but you can't really ask the restaurant staff to re-arrange their lighting for the sake of your blog. (Or can you? I'll have to think about that when I have some time).
On to Wednesday, and Abby's wonky tooth. Had the equine dentist out and discovered Abby did indeed have a cracked tooth. Fair warning these pictures won't be as appetizing as that last one. We sedated her...

You're getting sleepy, very sleepy....

The instruments of torture...

Open wide...

Our super equine dentist, Lyndsey Adams!

The horse's mouth...

Inside Abby!

Which brings us to Thursday. A day to run errands. Stopped at the Amish market for blue cheese and walnuts. Going to try and replicate the amazing endive salad that I had at Mason's on Tuesday. Also, caught up on my painting course, Bloom True with Flora Bowley. Here's a peek at one of my paintings. Keep in mind, this is only the 4th of many layers! I am trusting the process and just enjoying each step without thinking where it's going. Very freeing, actually!

And now, it's Friday! I've already cleaned the barn, had the vet out for spring shots, taken pictures for this blog post, and now I'm off on a Secret Mission. I'll just say that a certain Mister has a birthday coming up next week!
Oh! Oh! Oh! I forgot to tell you that last night, we booked flights for a trip to (insert drumroll!) LONDON!!!
So, that's my week. Glad it's Friday. Not quite sure what we're doing this evening, but I sure hope it involves a little red wine!
Have a great weekend and please, trust the process!