This Things I Love Thursday is coming to you smack-bang from the middle of The Blogcademy London! It’s day two of our second class & as predicted, we’re absolutely loving it.

One of my favourite things about teaching these classes is meeting such a wide range of people. Everyone is so happy & upbeat, they come to class wearing ears (#bringyourownears) & sparkles, they make us laugh & take endless photos.

I’ve realised that England is bursting at the seams with fabulous eccentrics, & it makes me so happy. The other day at our new local café, the proprietor used the word “squiffy” in casual conversation, & I had to laugh. I grew up reading so many British books full of nonsensical words, & they deeply ingrained in me the very English practice of fiddling about with words, of experimenting & playing with language. Britain really is so much like New Zealand, & reminds me so strongly of where I grew up. I feel very at home here, which is lovely.

We’ve been taking bundles of photos, trying our best to document everything possible. It’s so funny to think about how different our lives might be a year from now. The other day, Shauna told us that she had taken a screenshot of the first Skype conversation in which we had discussed starting a blogging workshop. So cute.

Of course, one of the best things about doing The Blogcademy is that we end up having a two-week slumber party. Isn’t it nice when you realise that you don’t have to stop doing what you loved as a kid?!

London: Class 2 was so cute!

It’s well & truly winter over here… !

Mega love for… Prada moon boots Shared dressing rooms Excellent shopping excursions: thanks Selfridges & Harvey Nichols! Fabulous dinner, decor & company at Les Trois Garcons Friendly Brits (a man even talked to us on the tube! Very unusual!) Crazy discoveries in the basement of Harrods: that wine glass in the Diana tribute is pretty ghastly, isn’t it? …& let’s not even mention the sphinx! Falling in love with Markus Lupfer all over again Catching way too many black cabs Cute Blogcademy tweets Scribbling notes on every available surface Learning learning learning & constantly refining our curriculum Secret Blogcademy meetings at Wagamama (clearly our #1 brainstorming spot!) “Rick Ross is the Michael McDonald of rap” Drinking rosé all the time Matching shoes, handbags, ears, phone cases, sweaters, bracelets, cameras, skirts… Extreme! Kat describing Shauna as a “wriggle-monster” Making cups of tea & Lemsip for my fellow headmistresses Becoming a sneaker wedge convert Cupcakes with our faces on them! Weird British snacks Flipping switches & hoping we don’t get electrocuted! Giggling while watching Australia’s Next Top Model Swarovski pencils! Torturing Gareth Plotting the demise of our landlord Shauna tripping over shopping bags Late night “rump readings” with Sylvester Stallone’s mother R. Kelly 24/7 Toast munching Outfit coordination!

We have lots of plans for the rest of the week, including jaunts to Buckingham Palace, exploring Dover Street Market, sleeping in Freddie Mercury’s old bed & strolling along Columbia Road. Very exciting!

Headmistress-y love,

Class & snow bunny photos by Shell De Mar!