old bond & oxford

I'm especially glad we were in london for the historic event of the coldest day in the past few years... this week started with sudden snow flurries that never quite stuck and a test of my ability to layer my clothes as much as would still look normal. with a moment of sunshine (and very chilly air) on tuesday, I took the opportunity to cross window shopping on old bond street off my london bucket list! one of the oldest and most luxurious shopping streets around, I perused prada, meandered through mulberry, awed at alexander mcqueen and drooled a tad bit at dior while planning my fantasy wardrobe and picking out which bag I would one day spend my life's savings on, though I admit I don't think I ever narrowed it down to just one... 

on friday, caryn & I decided to head to oxford! with our last minute bus tickets in hand, we had two goals : see the harry potter dinning hall & buy cool shirts. our day turned into leisurely shopping around oxford, stopping in the market for lunch and simply staring at the architecture of the city. I felt transported back in time winding through the fantastic buildings and down random alley ways - our complete lack of knowledge about where to go or what to do was actually quite relaxing. upon arriving at the visitor's entrance to the church with the harry potter dinning hall and realizing there was an entrance fee, we opted to just shop around more for the perfect oxford rugby shirts, success! 

turning onto old bond street with the ritz at my back

a few of my finds while wandering through the insanely costly collections 

 basically every other building in oxford looks this grand

 I'm obsessed with the swirly columns on this church & thought the blossoms added a nice touch

we found this ribbon & yarn shop down a little side road : adorable! 

 not quite notting hill, but this pink shop stood out against the rain

 the great roads you find while you're happily lost

just inside here you'd find the hogwarts dinning hall inspiration

these eerie vines outside hogwarts gave the church wall such interesting texture