The main street is the kind of place to head if you’re in the market for a cheap pair of sunglasses or a phone case. But it’s the market itself that draws me in! Part food market, with open-air stalls, and part handmade/antique sellers hawking scarves, jewellery, and the like. In the fall, it’s the perfect place to find a new scarf or toque, and in the summer it’s a great place to find a new pair of sunnies or a new bag! But in my case, it was the perfect excuse to try a fancy hot chocolate I had heard about.

I first visited Camden Market waaay back in August 2015 when I came over for a few days to see Richard. It was a quick whirlwind trip, where he tried to show me London as much as the limited days allowed, Camden included. He knew I would enjoy wandering the indoor market full of antique clothing and accessories, but my favourite thing had to be Chin Chin Labs. They are an ice cream shop that specializes in liquid nitrogen frozen ice cream! They make it to order, and it looks all sciency and cool! But this time of the year, and especially the recent weather, meant that even a diehard ice cream fan like myself was tempted by something a little warmer. (But honestly, ice cream is always a good idea, no matter the temperature!)

The hot chocolate at Chin Chin comes either plain or with a toasted marshmallow topping. I decided to try it with the topping, despite not being that into marshmallow frosting, as it was voted the best hot chocolate in London. They gave me my cup in a bowl, which I thought was confusing until I tried to actually drink it! That marshmallow doesn’t come off easily! Anytime I tried to scoop some off, it ended up spilling cocoa all over the bowl. Quite a messy drink!

The hot chocolate itself was nice and rich, but I found the frosting too sweet (and too much). It kind of feels like you don’t get enough of the hot chocolate to make room for aaaaall that sugar. If I had it again, I would definitely forgo the frosting in favour of more of what I came there for – the drink itself. Or maybe I’ll just get ice cream instead

After that sugar intake, I wandered the antique stalls for a bit and considered trying on some hats, before realizing that I had to run for the subway, as they were closing Camden station early that day. Much as I enjoy the market, I didn’t want to get stuck there or have to walk to the nearest tube station to get home.

So if you’re in the neighbourhood, or find yourself on the Northern line, why not visit Camden Market? I’d especially recommend it on a sunny day when you can enjoy ice cream outside, or eat along the side of Camden Lock… but then again, those days are the busiest!!

Okay, super quick ‘DIY’ for you here today. These guys are so easy, it’s barely a tutorial.

So last year, when Richard and I were figuring out how to do our first Christmas tree, we had only a handful of ornaments. I had bought him a couple funny ones that year, and we were given a few from family. But 10ish ornaments, do not exactly a tree make. So we had two options: 1. Buy a bunch of ornaments we would then have to store (and spend ££ on) or 2. Make ornaments we could get rid of at the end of the season! And by get rid of, I mean recycle, of course.

So last year, I made three things for the tree – little paper balls made of vintage sheet music, popcorn strands, and orange slices. You can keep orange slices (if they dry out fully), year after year, but we simply composted ours along with the popcorn. Which meant I had to make more this year!

All it took was two large navel oranges, and I had enough for our little tree. It made 18 slices, but if I had done them a bit thinner, I could have made a couple more. A large tree could use 3-4 oranges, which makes this project very economical.

To make the ornaments, simply slice your oranges thinly (if your Mandoline is sharp enough, go for it!), no more than a centimeter thick-ish. The thinner you slice, the better they will dry out. Then press the slices gently between layers of paper towels to try and absorb as much juice as you can.

Finally, place them on some parchment paper lined sheets, and pop them in the oven at around 60°C (150°F) for about 3 hours. Some ovens won’t go as low as others, so watch the times depending on your oven temperature. I flipped mine over every 30 minutes to get both sides to dry out, and let them dry for about 3.5 hours. It smells amazing by the way, every time you open the oven.

Then you simply let them cool, and use a chopstick or something similar to poke a hole, and string them with whatever you like! I used ribbon here but used some natural raffia last year. They look great with cinnamon sticks tied to them as well.

Now, if you read other recipes you may see instructions to dredge the slices in sugar or gelatin. I tried the icing sugar method but didn’t notice that they were really much “shinier” than the plain ones, and it made them a bit sticky. Some of them did look a bit ‘snowy’ afterward, but they absorbed moisture and faded after a time. So try it if you want, but I don’t recommend it.

And that’s that! I still need a few more things on the tree to call it done… and may take it all apart to do ribbon or tinsel. Buuuuut I love the way the orange slices look with twinkle lights behind them! So if you’re looking to add a vintage touch to your tree, or simply need a few more ornaments, why not try oranges?

Sorry for the blurry photo, my camera doesn’t focus very well in the dark.

While the kitchen progress is ticking along slowly, I can’t help but look ahead and think about accessories. All the white cabinets and pale walls have me craving warmth and texture. I’m thinking of a funky wood clock, a patterned faux Roman blind, and a vintage rug!

Okay, so the rug may not actually happen. See, Richard isn’t a fan of having a rug in our kitchen. He sees it as a place for crumbs and germs to live, while I see it as much-needed warmth, texture, and style in our all-white kitchen. I have been eyeing this rug on Etsy, but am worried it might be a bit too small for our space.

I’ve debated spraying a rug with some sort of repellant fabric spray, but am not sure if that would help (or convince Richard). For now, I would be content to vacuum it regularly. See, I have always lived with some sort of rug/mat under our kitchen sink areas, while Richard has not. My mom always had flat weave mats to stand on, and I loved the feel underfoot. All soft and cushy…

But enough about how they feel, look at them! Doesn’t a rug just add so much color and interest to these kitchens?

bright pink kilim in a tuxedo kitchen via laurengrant

dark kilim in a pale sage kitchen via Glitterinc

colorful rug in a dark green kitchen via wtf

red Persian rug in a white kitchen via home deco

So where do you stand? Rugs in the kitchen – yay or nay? Gross and crumby, or stylish and awesome?

Cleaning silverware with baking soda | Hello Victoria

As I mentioned before, Richard and I collect antique or vintage silverware, instead of getting a proper set. We love the idea of using these pieces that often get relegated to a “fancy cutlery” drawer, in our day-to-day use. But there’s a reason that people avoid silver cutlery in favor of stainless steel – tarnish. So how do we go about keeping our mismatched set looking nice?

A few years back I was told this magic trick by an antique store owner on Fort Street in Victoria. Simply combine baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and boiling water in a container, with aluminum foil covering the bottom. What happens is some sort of chemical reaction where the tarnish is attracted from the silver to the foil, removing the tarnish almost instantly! I don’t know how, but it does! Trust me.

I’ve read various recipes for this – some specify that the foil should be shiny side up, some add a bit of salt, and others use water softener instead of baking soda. The general rule of thumb tends to be about 2 tablespoons of baking soda, to one litre of water.

To be honest, I don’t often measure how much I use. I simply line the bottom of my container (or sink if yours is stainless like mine, and has lots to clean) with foil, sprinkle on some baking soda, and pour over the boiling water to dissolve the soda. Then add your pieces either by dipping, or submerging, depending on how bad the tarnish is. Mild tarnish will come off instantly, while more build-up can take a few minutes.

You can see the line where I dipped the spoon. It took only seconds to do that!

If you find that you still have discoloration after about 5-10 minutes of soaking, try making a baking soda paste and rubbing the tarnish with it. In some cases, it could be that the silver plating has worn off and nothing you do can fix it. (I say that after having a few recent spoon purchases with this very problem.)

And that’s it! Simply remove your pieces, give them a quick wash to remove any residue, and dry them! Easy-peasy no?

One important thing to note – never use this on anything with stones in it, only use it for full silver pieces. Also, any modern jewelry with “antiqued” detailing – like faux darkening in the etching – shouldn’t be treated this way. That dark stuff in between the detailing will simply turn white, not silver.

I know that from experience 

So if you’re into old stuff, but don’t always want it looking that old – give this method a try!