a Dali homage to holiday feasting & celebration

Depressed over reviewing a chronology of deaths in 2016, wonder | wander | women decided to lift our spirits with more holiday food and feasting.

This newly reissued cookbook of Salvador Dali was the perfect antidote!

“Les diners de Gala is uniquely devoted to the pleasures of taste … If you are a disciple of one of those calorie-counters who turn the joys of eating into a form of punishment, close this book at once; it is too lively, too aggressive, and far too impertinent for you.” ~ Salvador Dalí

Somerset Skate: a holiday tradition

Every winter season a tradition pops up at some of London's more popular tourist attractions. The Museum of Natural History, Broadgate Circle, and Somerset House (among other places) open their courtyards to host ice skating!

partying at the Freemasons Hall, London

wonder | wander | women are professed lifelong bookworms and nerds and landing a job at Blackwell, London's venerable and beloved iconic bookstore, was like manna from heaven. 

Mahala at work

Then Blackwell opened its branch attached to the Wellcome Collection, which we eagerly dove into. We truly were in seventh heaven, exploring common and obscure links between the art and science of medicine and clinical practice through the ages.

Wellcome Collection museum and library building facade.

Thus does an avaricious trivia collector and book lover transform into a story seller and events programmer. We have developed an outstanding range and varied expertise from this incredible well of knowledge we are exposed to and immersed in.

girrrl power : SHE rah! our HERoes

As the world seems to have gone to hell in a hand basket, wonder | wander | women choose to celebrate all girls and women all over the world!

Jean Bellegambe, Saint Anne conceiving the Virgin Mary

Here's to the death of patriarchy and the return and rise of a saner, kinder, gentler, more nourishing and nurturing matriarchal world.

holiday preparations

'Tis the season to plan parties! Everyone is getting ready for holiday celebrations and pre-holiday celebrations. People are planning flights and get-togethers, practicing their special dishes and holiday 'looks'. Cafés replaced the pumpkin spice lattes of autumn with their 'Christmas menu' and it's a joy for wonder | wander | women to discover who puts the most marshmallows in their hot chocolate.

We vote for Benugo.

Thanksgiving : truth & consequence

Last year's Thanksgiving post by wonder | wander | women seems so very far away and removed from the world we live in today.

So much has happened in the intervening year, much of which has left us astonished and astounded, bemused and bewildered, righteous and raging. A world where much has dimmed and dulled.

a visit to the Savoy

This month wonder | wander | women had drinks with hometown friends at the world famous Savoy Hotel.

Photo courtesy of Londontopia.net

We spent the evening in the Beaufort Bar, sipping cocktails, discussing the art and designer market and listening to piano stylings by the scintillating Sarah Hawkyard. Enjoying some glam life!

Hail Hillary!

wonder | wander | women woke bright and early, eager and excited to cast our vote for our candidate on this crucial election day.

On the walk to the voting center the sun shone bright, the air was clear, the world was pregnant with possibility.

Our hearts full to bursting with love for this country, the beacon of hope for the rest of the world that seems to be on tilt right now.

Even after a year and a half under fire and in the trenches, we were enthused and inspired, all fired up!

Days of the Living, the Dead & the Sainted

Dating back to Pre-Columbian times, Dia de Muertos honors the mysteries of life and death, through both celebration and reverence.

Prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th century, the celebration took place at the beginning of summer. Gradually it came to coincide with the Western Christian triduum of Allhallowtide: All Saints' Eve (Halloween, Oct 31), All Saints' Day (Nov 1), and All Souls' Day (Nov 2).

Shakespeare at Selfridges

wonder | wander | women love clothes and dressing up and we definitely enjoy fashion trends and their marketing campaigns.

We also know and work with good folks who adore branding and branded stuff. We love and are entertained as we tag along on trips to fashion havens, peeking into closets full of Rick Owens and Ted Baker and Louboutin.

But our interest is more curious than personal. There's one thing we and our fashionista friends agree on: we LOVE shop display windows. The bigger, the better. The flashier, the more fun!

 

the times they are a-changing

The world woke up to the news that Bob Dylan won the Nobel prize in literature. 

Many are still in shock and we're guessing Bob is too. 

No one predicted Dylan’s victory and yet Bob has done it again. 

London: buried civilisations and thriving nightlife

Last week wonder | wander | women were thrilled to meet a friend we hadn't seen in person for 10 years. Like last time, we met at the British Museum, but some things had changed since we first went!

Visitors now have to be guided through gates instead of overwhelming the open courtyard. We had paid tickets to the exhibitions, so we were led through quickly, but we had to stop for a coffee and snack at the food trucks.

celebrating non-violence

wonder | wonder | women love to celebrate diverse occasions with profuse gratitude!

We have been on a roll here, celebrating Independence Day, Labor Day, Women's Equality Day, Read A Book Day, Grandparents Day, Teddy Bear Day, World Peace Day, etc. - all with much fanfare and gusto.

Non-Violence, bronze sculpture by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd

Our latest cause of celebration this October 2, International Day of Non-Violence, is a personal favorite. Peace on earth and good will to all is a valuable belief to uphold.

the doors of Westminster Abbey

Visitors to London usually flock to Westminster Abbey first. Its massive double doors are a favourite subject with tourists, photographers, and lovers of history and architecture.

Westminster Abbey's Great North Door
Photo courtesy of The Enchanted Manor

But wonder | wander | women recently walked through with some friends, and since doors are our obsession, we noticed some much smaller but intriguing doorways and wanted to share them here.

International Day of Peace 2016

No more is this annual celebration of greater significance than today, when so many are beaten down and discouraged by such divisive world events playing out in our home turfs and affecting us personally.

wonder | wander | women were caught between such an excruciating rock and a hard place on a visit back to the Philippines last May that we vowed never to return on an election year. Normally known for their warmth and hospitality, our families, friends and fellow Filipinos were unrecognizable. 

Then upon her return to the UK in June, Mahala was greeted with the chaotic turmoil and shocking outcome of the Brexit vote.

Back home in the US, the nation and its citizens are sick to the core over this whole electoral circus. Speculation about the 2016 campaign began almost immediately following the 2012 vote. We are all dreading yet hopeful over what is to unfold come November. 

So today is a reprieve we are aching and ready for. We are eager to celebrate such a longed for peace and start the healing in whatever way possible. 

Barbican Conservatory: hothouse flowers

Two weeks ago we posted about the overflowing life in the Barbican Conservatory. We touched on the cacti in the desert room, and some of the plants along the tropical paths. But there are so many species in the Conservatory that one post wasn't enough to count all our favourites!

The gumamela, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, from our Conservatory post.

#ReadABookDay

September 6 is National Read A Book Day and on the 16th it's Read An eBook Day.

Following National Book Lover's Day last August 9th, wonder | wander | women rejoice and cheer readers on.

Collage Art by Mahala Urra

We LOVE books! We LOVE to read! We LOVE our bookwormness! Readers of the world rule! 

National Read a Book Day invites us ALL to grab a book we might enjoy and spend the day reading.

Art by Mahala Urra

Barbican Conservatory: concrete jungle

Every summer, once a week, the Barbican opens a very special section to the garden-loving public. The Barbican Conservatory is London's second-largest greenhouse, next to Kew Gardens. Unlike the greenhouses in Kew Gardens, it's relatively small, split into several levels, and is in the heart of the city.

Behind the Scenes: Kubo and the Two Strings | stop-motion and voice production

Kubo and the Two Strings hit theaters on August 19 and with it wonder | wander | women celebrate a love for animated film we have never outgrown.

Already known as the best animated film of the summer, the movie is from acclaimed animation studio Laika who brought us Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls.

Kubo and the Two Strings is an epic new adventure of one hero’s journey to make his own path. It is the 10th year anniversary presentation celebrating the art and science behind Laika's genius and creativity.

London museum shops - summer trippin'!

With the BBC making dire predictions that this could be the last week of truly hot summer in London, we couldn't help but grab every last second of sun available. Monday to Wednesday was a three-day season of what the British newspapers call a 'scorchio': the classic heatwave that brings the sun-starved public out in waves to every park, bank or canal side, or anywhere that catches just a bit of blue sky.

family movie date at iPic

Love going to the movies but are loath to leave the lap of luxurious comfort at home? Now we may not have to give one up to gain the other. 

Hamid Hashemi's dine-in theater, iPic Hudson Lights, may be the answer to a pampered movie going experience away from even the best home theater. 

over the hills and far away

In these days of connectivity and fast travel, a friend leaving the country isn't the end of the world like it used to be.

It still aches though - especially when your friend is an expatriate like you, the two of you bound by a common love of your adopted homeland.

summer storms

These past years, summer in New York City is usually a time of spectacular lightning storms. 

Storm clouds over Columbus Circle, NYC

With the city's many skyscrapers equipped with lightning rods, the adage that lighting never strikes twice in the same spot has proved vastly untrue. 

Darkening skies over the Empire State Building, NYC

Yesterday's storm was epic, bringing an aggregate of hot pink lightning, hail, and rainbows! 

summer at last!

While New Jersey & New York have been basking in the summer sunshine, London was dull and rainy.

The caryatids of St Pancras Church

Summer flowers like the delphinium bloomed bravely in the face of constant damp, wet winds and thunderstorms.

But this week temperatures soared and the city changed. A sunny weekend led to blazing sunshine over the next few days and Londoners were ready to make the most of it.

Ron English : America’s Premier Pop Iconoclast

On our latest trek into New York City, we came across Ron English’ POPaganda pop-up shop in NYC's Meat Packing District.

Ron English at his current POPaganda NYC pop-up.

Located at 72 Gansevoort Street, it features iconic items from within the POPaganda vault. 

Happy Independence Day!

Fourth of July celebrations this year were spent at our home away from home - The Colony, at Edgewater, New Jersey.

More so than at any other time in our lives, celebrating Independence Day, especially with our loved ones, grows more valuable for us here at wonder | wonder | women.

IN & OUT gray drippy days

Where did the sun go?

Photograph by Lee Searle, courtesy of Daily Telegraph UK

This month the sun dimmed and the air chilled back to spring temperatures, especially in the UK where thunderstorms and flash floods heralded weeks of clouds and drizzle.

blooms & colors

It is good to be back in time to catch some cool summer breeze.

Especially after two scorching months in the tropics.

Manhattan NY from Weehawken NJ

It feels good to get back to regular walks around the neighborhood.

clear skies & happy trails

On a recent wonder | wander |world blog, Panganod, redux – we posted Mahala’s wonderful images of the skies as she flew back to London.

Flying through some turbulence.

wonder | wander | women now posts images of the happy trails I flew through on my return Stateside. 

for book & boat lovers: Word on the Water

London is a city of waterways as well as roads. We've posted about our canal walks before, but today we want to highlight a special resident of the Kings Cross floating community: the Word on the Water book barge. (Check out their Twitter and Facebook!)

Pink!

This week in London has been very pink!

It's strange to go from blazing summer to a cool mild spring, but we're adjusting to it with the help of all the new growing flowers springing up everywhere this May.

feast your senses

Ani Villas Thailand is an amazing dream destination. A visit here is a warm intimate embrace in the luxurious lap of which the nurturing Thais are world famous for.  

gastronomic delights in a heavenly haven

Beyond being beautiful, our hearts were completely won over by the venue staff. From when we landed at the Phuket airport, to the local docks, and the convoy to our villas - we were attended to with the welcoming hospitality and gentle old world care Thailand specializes in.

Phuket & Koh Yao Islands - what a view!

We're still rejoicing over our holiday on the gorgeous island of Koh Yao Noi, which means more amazing pictures to share with you!

Take a boat from Phuket into the scenic Phang Nga Bay and you'll reach Koh Yao Noi, a tiny island becoming increasingly popular with visitors looking for a peaceful getaway instead of the beach party crowds in Phuket.

Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. 

Our home away from home - Ani Villas, Thailand

Nowadays that could mean several things to many different families. 

island paradise: twin celebrations!

This month wonder | wander | women are finally together again. And what a place to be together!

Two beloved family members are celebrating their birthdays within a week of each other and the whole family is gathered on the tiny, gorgeous island of Koh Yao Noi in Thailand.

Thank you Global Nomad for this ten day spree of fun in the sun. What an extraordinary adventure!

paradise lost

Riding on last week's post. . . .they paved paradise. . . .

Don Salvador Benedicto, Negros Island

wonder | wander | women are back in Southeast Asia.

they paved paradise, and put up...

...a paradise.

Brutalist architecture is called so for a reason. Distressed textures, the muddy colour of raw concrete and the stark lines of mid-20th-century* design exemplified this style. Many condemned it (and still do!) as ugly and intrusive.

spring blossoms

As wonder |wander | women pack to head for the tropics, the world around us is bursting in bloom.

Earth's Bounty

Bright baubles blossom all around us as Spring awakens through the chill and rain.

the coming of spring

Easter has come and gone and the clocks have changed; we are now officially moving into spring!

After a winter almost as grim and dark as the latest comic book movie, wonder | wander | women are happy to see our planet slowly turning towards the sun again.