What I wore, ate, and bought on my trip to the U.K.
The recent contents of my camera roll laid bare.
I just got back from tagging along on one of Austin’s work trips to London, which we extended with some personal travel over the weekend to the countryside in Hampshire. Today, I’m sharing a little recap of my time away.
We were there for a pretty short period of time, and I am the pregnant mom of a toddler, so taking advantage of the opportunity for rest was my biggest priority. In lieu of visits to museums or cultural landmarks, I freely indulged in things like sleeping in, wandering the aisles of a bougie grocery store called Barley & Sage, and reading books (I finished The Nightingale and I’m almost done with The Henna Artist, both of which I really enjoyed). In other words, this is far from a curated itinerary. Instead, think of it as realistic snapshot for anyone who, like me, enjoys peeking inside other people’s camera rolls when they’re doing something outside their usual routine.
What I wore…
Days 1-2, Hampshire
We spent the first couple nights of our trip at Heckfield Place, a country hotel and farm about an hour outside of London. I wore my vintage Big Smith overalls two days in a row, which may have been a touch on-the-nose while staying at a farm, but they are so comfortable and still manage to make me feel like myself style-wise at this stage of pregnancy.
The hotel kept an array of wellies in varying sizes next to one of the back doors for guests to use while walking around the property, which made Austin look very in-character for wandering the British countryside.
For dinners I changed into different combinations of a long-sleeved striped tee + cardigan + elastic waist pants. I only packed two pairs of shoes on the trip — my yellow Nike Cortez sneakers, which I wore on the plane, and a pair of dark brown loafers from Jenni Kayne. I wore the loafers to dinner every night of the trip, and the sneakers the rest of the time.
Days 3-4, London
We only had one full day in London before our flight back to New York, and my plans consisted of a) walking around as much as possible and b) a lunch and office visit with Emily Campbell, the owner and creative director of If Only If. I opted for yet another long-sleeved striped tee + cardigan + elastic waist pants combo (peak uniform dressing status) in the interest of being as comfortable as possible while still feeling somewhat put-together. The latter goal was helped by the colors at play, i.e. a burst of popsicle red and mustard yellow to contrast with the neutral navy and white stripes.
Emily and I have been working on a project together for almost a year now, and it’s finally launching next month. I can’t wait to tell you more about it. Here’s a photo of us at her office ogling something very special 👀👀‼️.
Out to dinner, I wore my Chava Studios popover over a Gap turtleneck with a pair of stretchy black pants I got from & Other Stories over a decade ago that have served me well throughout both of my pregnancies.
On our last night, I wore the velvet Saint Laurent dress I bought secondhand on The RealReal, a pair of black maternity tights I picked up at Boots earlier that afternoon, and my loafers.
Here’s a closer look at the two necklaces I packed for the trip. The one on the left is vintage and the one on the right is from Lizzie Fortunato. I don’t usually pack any fine jewelry when I travel (besides my engagement ring and wedding band, which I never take off) because it makes me too nervous. From my costume jewelry collection, I’ve really been gravitating toward longer necklaces on silk or leather cords.
What I ate (the highlights)…
Days 1-2, Hampshire
Many slices of homemade seedy bread spread with a thick coating of perfectly yellow butter from the hotel’s farm, then sprinkled with coarse sea salt.
A little bottle of chilled whole milk from the mini fridge, with a few bites of an un-pictured chocolate chip cookie (the cookie was too crispy for me, so Austin had most of it, but the milk was heaven).
Scrambled eggs, buttered sourdough toast, bacon from the farm, and fresh-squeezed OJ.
A huge slice of chocolate caramel cake as part of the hotel’s afternoon tea service. We only did tea once, but apparently they have a different flavor of cake every day.
Pork belly from the farm with kale, crumbled fennel sausage, and beans. I forgot to take a photo so this is a screenshot from Heckfield’s instagram.
A trio of ice creams: chocolate sorbet, vanilla pecan, and pistachio.
All of the food at Heckfield was truly delicious. We were groaning (in a blissful, self-inflicted kind of way) after every meal.
Days 3-4, London
Duck confit and French fries at La Petite Maison. Soooo good.
A chocolate lava cake from hotel room service. Pretty mediocre compared to everything else we consumed on this trip, but it’s hard to go totally wrong with a lava cake, and this was no exception.
A bowl of muesli for breakfast from the restaurant in our hotel. I love when it’s kind of soupy like this.
An Indian food feast at Ambassador’s Clubhouse. We wanted to go to their sister restaurant Gymkhana (an all-time favorite) but couldn’t get a reservation, so this was our backup option. And it was good! I still prefer Gymkhana because they have this spicy roasted broccoli dish that I regularly fantasize about, and I think the decor / ambience is cooler, but otherwise Ambassador’s Clubhouse is pretty comparable — and they served one of the best naans I’ve ever tasted.
What I bought…
Some stuff for my soon-to-be-plural kids:
A cotton baby sweater from La Coqueta.
I’ve always admired the stuff from this children’s brand but it’s pretty expensive, so when I discovered that this sweater was about 20% cheaper at the Notting Hill flagship than it would be if I bought it online from the U.S., it felt like a great excuse to scoop it up. I love the intarsia yoke, with the little bumblebees and strawberries. I bought it in the 12-month size so that my daughter can wear it next spring.
A bunch of toddler and baby socks from Petit Bateau.
I like to stop at a Petit Bateau store if I’m traveling in Europe or the U.K. because they don’t have any locations in the U.S. anymore. I haven’t upgraded my son’s socks since he was a baby and now the ones we have are all too small for him, so I took advantage of the opportunity to stock up on some for him as well as a few pairs for his sister. Cherries and stripes forever 🫶🏻.
Liberty-print baby leggings.
Liberty is one of my favorite department stores because they actually sell some things you can’t find anywhere else, which is my main source of pleasure if I’m shopping somewhere in person. Also, I love Liberty print. I picked up these leggings from their children’s section for my daughter.
And one thing for me:
A Liberty-print one-piece swimsuit.
I’ve never seen a swimsuit in this print with a classic, scoop-neck silhouette. It was heavily discounted and the only one left in the store. A true impulse purchase. I didn’t even try it on, because I knew it wouldn’t fit me right now, but it looks like it will fit when I’m no longer pregnant. Excited to confirm that this summer, and to wear it poolside with a sarong and a baseball cap.
We ended up arriving back in New York a full day later than expected because our flight had to make an emergency landing in Ireland due to a technical issue. It was actually pretty scary… we landed in the furthest part of the airport in case our wheels caught fire and there were four firetrucks waiting on the tarmac. I’m so glad everyone is okay. I’m so happy to be home.
^^He asked me to sing “Rockabye Baby” approximately twelve times before bed last night — with utmost pleasure, sir!!!!
xo Harling
This yellow nightgown!!!! Perfect!!
You can't go wrong with a Liberty print. I bought my friend's little girl some Liberty bloomers and they are super cute.