it's not a lot of things that will have us up early on a saturday, but the promise of a free bag of clothes each will do it every time. i saw on friday afternoon that east london thrift store would be greeting each of their first ten customers through the door on saturday with a free £10 (usually you would pay £10 and then fill the bag with as many things as you can), and the next ten customers would get a half price £20 bag (slightly bigger). we got up nice and early with hopes of beating the crowd and securing our freebies. from there, we planned a day out in the city - seeing some sights, and taking in some culture - we planned to not waste day one of the long weekend.
but, we woke to rain, and lots of it. we are an umbrella-less couple - if you can believe that, and i am ill prepared (shoe wise) for rain. god help us though, we do love free clothes. so, we made a detour via poundland where we picked up a couple umbrellas, and we were on our way...
we decided to walk, despite the rain, as once we'd made it to london bridge it didn't seem that bad - plus boyfriend sold it to me that whitechapel is not all that far from london bridge. he's the londoner, he should know. about 20 minutes later, walking down mile end road, we thought we had tonnes of time. we stopped for a coffee (and a wee), and it was then i realised how sore my feet were; fairly new (and cheap, duh) shoes plus the rain had left my toes a bit pinchy and rubby, and not all the comfy. no fear, boyfriend said, we're almost there! famous last words.
about ten minutes later i still recognised nothing, and we had lost about ten minutes to the coffee shop too. suddenly, what was 'half an hour early' had become 'going to be late' and we rushed the rest of the way. as we turned down assembly passage, we saw a handful of umbrellas huddled by the door. please no more than eight people we whispered to each other. as we reached the door, boyfriend counted. there were exactly ten people in front of us. for the sake of a coffee and a foot rub, we'd lost all chance at the free bags of clothes. we were gutted! nevertheless, with our half priced bag in hand, we scoured the rails - hoping that we'd find something worthwhile...
well, we did and didn't. boyfriend hoarded four new denim shirts. one has tin tin on it! there were zero dresses in the bag haul - a total shock, but i did manage to grab enough vintage shirts to clothe a smal army. so, it wasn't the greatest haul, but it could have been worse. we paid our £10 and headed to the door just as the skies opened up, and drop blankets of water all over the streets. what was small puddles and misty rain before suddenly became torrential rain and flooded roads. we tried to take cover in a pub, but being just after midday in east london - there were none open. we were drenched; my shoes were ruined and my tights water logged. boyfriend was wearing a flannel shirt, so was completely dry still. we gave up, and headed home (via a quick pit store at borough market for brownies!).
but, we woke to rain, and lots of it. we are an umbrella-less couple - if you can believe that, and i am ill prepared (shoe wise) for rain. god help us though, we do love free clothes. so, we made a detour via poundland where we picked up a couple umbrellas, and we were on our way...
we decided to walk, despite the rain, as once we'd made it to london bridge it didn't seem that bad - plus boyfriend sold it to me that whitechapel is not all that far from london bridge. he's the londoner, he should know. about 20 minutes later, walking down mile end road, we thought we had tonnes of time. we stopped for a coffee (and a wee), and it was then i realised how sore my feet were; fairly new (and cheap, duh) shoes plus the rain had left my toes a bit pinchy and rubby, and not all the comfy. no fear, boyfriend said, we're almost there! famous last words.
about ten minutes later i still recognised nothing, and we had lost about ten minutes to the coffee shop too. suddenly, what was 'half an hour early' had become 'going to be late' and we rushed the rest of the way. as we turned down assembly passage, we saw a handful of umbrellas huddled by the door. please no more than eight people we whispered to each other. as we reached the door, boyfriend counted. there were exactly ten people in front of us. for the sake of a coffee and a foot rub, we'd lost all chance at the free bags of clothes. we were gutted! nevertheless, with our half priced bag in hand, we scoured the rails - hoping that we'd find something worthwhile...well, we did and didn't. boyfriend hoarded four new denim shirts. one has tin tin on it! there were zero dresses in the bag haul - a total shock, but i did manage to grab enough vintage shirts to clothe a smal army. so, it wasn't the greatest haul, but it could have been worse. we paid our £10 and headed to the door just as the skies opened up, and drop blankets of water all over the streets. what was small puddles and misty rain before suddenly became torrential rain and flooded roads. we tried to take cover in a pub, but being just after midday in east london - there were none open. we were drenched; my shoes were ruined and my tights water logged. boyfriend was wearing a flannel shirt, so was completely dry still. we gave up, and headed home (via a quick pit store at borough market for brownies!).
at our home station, rain subsiding, we headed to wickes. you might remember the chest of drawers we recently saved from the side of the road? well, they were due for a sprucing up. i spent the rest of the afternoon sanding, painting and re-painting drawers. we (i) decided to paint the unit white, and each of the drawers a different pastel colour...i'll admit, now they're dry, i'm not entirely pleased with them. they certainly looked better in my head. i think i will have to go to plan b on them, and paint them all the same colour. what do you think?
the rest of my night was spent eating pizza and watching the entire first season of orange is the new black. i'd only heard about it recently, and wanted to check it out. well, i'm all caught up, and i flippen love it. if you have netflix, i highly recommend this program!
the rest of my night was spent eating pizza and watching the entire first season of orange is the new black. i'd only heard about it recently, and wanted to check it out. well, i'm all caught up, and i flippen love it. if you have netflix, i highly recommend this program!
how has your weekend been (so far, if you're british!)?
