All posts by Poppy Loves

Gather by name,
gather by nature

Eats & Drinks, Restaurants
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Gather-Walthamstow-10

I’m currently reading ‘Ordinary People’, written in 2018 by Diana Evans for Poppy Loves Book Club, and fairly early on in the book there was a line, which tripped me up a little:

‘They had looked in the east (the darkness of Walthamstow,
the barren lawns of Chingford…’

… it struck me that there is nothing about Walthamstow that I’d consider dark. On the contrary, I find it is full of life and colour, exciting foodie corners and huge explosions of creativity… so I found it fascinating that this pocket of London could be perceived this way. So I feel even more spurred on to tell you about this very special pop-up in the Stow!

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Eats & Drinks, Restaurants
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First Endangered & Rare Crafts Weekend

Art, Craft & Design, Culture Vulture, Grand Designs, Poppy Loves, Workshops & Classes
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The art of craft has always been something that inspires me. I marvel at handifolk doing clever things with all manner of materials. And although crafting has had somewhat of a resurgence over the past few years, I can’t help but feel that there are some older, traditional and more unusual crafts that are in danger of being lost forever.

Turns out I wasn’t the only one thinking this – The Goodlife Centre has announced the first ever Endangered & Rare Crafts weekend in central London on the 25th – 26th April 2020. Hurrah!

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Art, Craft & Design, Culture Vulture, Grand Designs, Poppy Loves, Workshops & Classes
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Refurbishing a nursery into bedroom in a Victorian Terrace…

Home Sweet Home, Living, Poppy Loves
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You may remember Isabelle’s nursery from when she was first born. I was so proud of the space we had for her – a simple room in our Victorian terrace house, with minimal furniture and minimal stuff. We had a beautiful cot (which she still loves and sleeps so well in), a large, high-backed chair for nursing/sleeping/gazing into the middle distance in… and a changing table.

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Home Sweet Home, Living, Poppy Loves
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Local brunching with my little family

Eats & Drinks, Restaurants
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Eat17-Walthamstow-Village-Brunch-16

I woke up this morning with the sun pouring through the window – what a treat for a Sunday in late January. “Today we brunch!” I announced. And Isabelle concurred. Despite not knowing what brunch is.

We live a short walk away from Eat17, one of my favourite haunts in Walthamstow. Set in the village, opposite the square (where I always expect to see a game of Petanque but alas, none to date) Eat17 is an all-day eatery with a *sensational Spar attached next door. (*I don’t use this word lightly – it is a local store with more condiments that you could ever count and the BEST sourdough, pastries and local produce, with a vegan burger bar at the back. I meander the aisles in merry bliss).

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Eats & Drinks, Restaurants
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A whole new chapter…

Ho Hums, Home Sweet Home, Living, Poppy Loves
POPPY-LOVES

Hello team,

It’s me. It’s me in 2020 and I am ever so pleased to be here. A very very happy new year to you all.

Towards the end of 2019 I got walloped with some kind of horrible fluey bug that saw me out of action for weeks. Everything stopped. I didn’t check my emails, I couldn’t do my work, I let people down, balls were dropped and I just couldn’t shake it. It meant that both Christmas day and Boxing day were spent in bed (SO BORING) and I was entirely at its mercy.

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Ho Hums, Home Sweet Home, Living, Poppy Loves

PASSO: Shoreditch
Italian restaurant and wine bar

Eats & Drinks, Restaurants
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I’m always on the hunt for a delicious and inexpensive midweek supper spot… throw in a 10 second walk from Old Street Station, perfect pasta, and fabulous sharing dishes and you’ve got Passo – an Italian-inspired restaurant, bringing a more refined approach to traditional, southern European cooking… and it’s bloody lovely.

LM and I headed to the Shoreditch establishment after work one day – Grandma and Grandpa came to the rescue (babysitting) and I hopped on the tube to meet him at Passo. I walked in to the warmest greeting and a very beautiful room. Elegantly designed and featuring natural woods, Passo’s subtle earthy tones and floor-to-ceiling windows were designed by East London design outlet Alexander Waterworth, the designer behind Luca in Farringdon and Soho Farmhouse, Oxfordshire… so yep, he knows what he’s doing and he’s done it very well indeed.

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Eats & Drinks, Restaurants
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Trusting your gut… put the kettle on

Eats & Drinks, Health & Wellbeing, Home Sweet Home, Living, Poppy Loves, Pretty Up, Yummies
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Trust your gut - put the kettle on

We talk about our gut a lot in the UK. Having gut instincts and commonly used phrases such as “trust your gut” and “I can feel it in my gut” are part of our everyday vocabulary.

And it’s no wonder – our guts are the centre of our body’s universe. Recent research has found that bacteria in the gut can directly affect people’s mental state, however in traditional Chinese medicine, the link between the gut and, not only our mental state but all of the body’s organs, has been recognised for thousands of years…

So it’s no wonder that ancient China was also the birthplace of tea – According to legend, in 2732 B.C. Emperor Shen Nung discovered tea when leaves from a wild tree blew into his pot of boiling water… ta da! 

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Eats & Drinks, Health & Wellbeing, Home Sweet Home, Living, Poppy Loves, Pretty Up, Yummies
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