Bando Fun Sale

Our trip is quickly approaching and I have almost all my shopping done. I still need to get our camera serviced *looking for recommendations*. I'm on the fence about buying an external flash but I may end up buying it from Target. There are some things I am ordering from Amazon like backpacks, headphones for Liv and some electrical outlet converters, so fun.

I've had a wishlist of things from Ban.do I wanted for the trip so last week at Cake Club when Christina mentioned they were having Ban.do studio sale I knew it was meant to be.

I made this floral crown a few days ago

I got there at 10:30 and we were maybe 15th in line

These two sillies

Hello lovely Christina!

I'm all about cutting off faces today!

Bonjour Kelly!

Follow the hearts

Hi Jen!

Liz at work, very focused!

Of course she wanted the giant ice cream cone

It was very crowded, so glad I went early

You just don't pass up a $10 rainbow piñata!

those bins were emptied fast

Pretty dresses

XOXO ban.do!

Liv was featured on Ban.do's Instagram feed

After the sale we headed around the corner to the Paul Smith pink wall for a quick photo shoot with my new heart clutch, pouf and piñata.

Merci Ban.do, I look forward to wearing my pretties in Paris!!

London Calling

Last time we went to London was in 2003. We were there for only four days. I didn't have an itinerary planned so we just winged it and did all the usual tourist things. We used a travel agency *I'm surprised they are still around* to book our trip so we stayed at a corporate hotel with a room the size of a closet. We had two twin beds so Aimee had her own bed and Antz and I shared a twin size bed. Let me repeat that, the both of us are a few inches shy of six feet tall and WE SHARED A TWIN BED FOR FOUR NIGHTS!!! My cell phone ended up getting fried from the electrical outlet converter and we only had about $100 to spend while we were there. I hated every single restaurant we picked except for Yo Sushi!

This was the first time I ever tried eel. Now I love it!

We were pretty miserable yet still it was the most fun we ever had in our lives. The experience was incredible and the three of us bonded in a way that no one could ever understand. We were young and on a serious budget back then. I'm glad we did it but now I'm older and I want to really enjoy our trip. I was very picky when it came to booking our hotels *because I wanted comfort and not to get scabies again!* I looked for something with a mix of eclectic boutique vibe but also the assurance of full amenities and service that you get with the corporate hotels.

My list of Must-Haves

King size comfy bed
Shower
Room service
Wi-fi
Interesting lobby
Good location
Restaurant in hotel
Close to the tube
In our budget

I definitely did not want to stay in the tourist part of town. Here are a few of the cool hotels I considered.

W London Leicester Square

This was my first choice because I am a fan of the W hotels. I knew it would be the perfect mix of corporate and boutique with incredible style. Here's the problem, the location is smack in the middle of tourist central. I have to admit, this isn't the most child-friendly option and the price was much too steep at £339 per night.

The Sanderson

They have a Mad Hatter Tea *we may take Liv time permitting*

This hotel is so posh. I think it's beautiful but it was booked for our nights and it's very sexy. I'm not sexy enough to handle it. Onwards...

The & *Ampersand*

I am a big fan of ampersands and I thought this place was very stylish but even I think this place is too much. It seemed like it would be stuffy and so grown up. My Goldilocks syndrome was in full effect. I searched tons of places on Hotels.com. Most places were in our price range but had poor ratings, looked bloody boring or the rooms looked no bigger than a bread bin.

Yotel This place is located in at the airport. You can book it for a few hours just to nap, Genius!!!

The winner ended up being a familiar place with all the amenities and space I wanted. I got a good deal on the room since I bundled it with our airfare package from Expedia and I am stoked about the location. It's definitely in a more authentic London side of town. I'm sure I will bump into Sir Banksy himself!