MILLY: 2013

The Workshop, Norwich

#foodie

The Sampson Sisters had a little reunion this past weekend which basically translates as a food tour of whatever area, city, town we are in... On this occasion the other one came to visit me in Norwich, my current city of choice. It's a beautiful little place - filled with tumbling lanes, river walks, a stunning cathedral (check it out in Harry Potter) and enough independent spots that the sis will have to visit many more times to tick them all off...

Here's the first spot we swung by, closest to my home. A cosy place filled with warm people, board games, and walls of books.
The Workshop. And here's what we got stuck into...

This made me nostalgic for childhood holidays abroad. Peach flavour!

Fohr Card

Back in September's Fashion Week I was working on the UK Launch of Fohr Card. A brilliant company concept hopping over from New York. It's US takeover has been swift, featuring most recently on the front cover of The Wall St Journal, but now it was time to launch in London. We had three days to pull a party together and somehow, office hopping on a daily basis having no set space, we managed it. The party was thoroughly enjoyable, hosted in the beautiful Spring Studios with a jazz band, and flowers & candles adding to the atmosphere. Thanks to everyone for making it down. Any other brands or blogs have a hop over to fohrcard.com and check it out for yourselves - it is 100% worth signing up for your future.

Handle Cards

Coachella Snapshot

Clearly this is ridiculously delayed but as the end of my year in America comes flying towards me things are undoubtedly going to be sporadic. This weekend we went North to Portland and it was an incredible weekend away, very different to the trip we made up in January too (which included Seattle). But more on that later. Here's a few snapshots of our weekend at Coachella Music Festival...

It was ridiculously hot and falling out of the tent in the morning to lie on the shady grass was so relieving. Add that to beautiful art work (including a huge moving painted snail), the infamous magic hour (as the sun sets over the desert) and some performances with serious impact (James Blake, Lumineers & Pretty Lights for me in particular), and you've got one of the best weekends of our lives, thus far at least.
We even watched the moon set...

Words cannot fully describe. Photos don't do justice.

Art work in the campsite

The giant moving snail...

Do Lab in the foreground, Ferris Wheel in the back

Favourite moments at magic hour

First day chilling out

Ferry Building Farmer's Market

My parents came to visit a few weeks back and, having not seen them since August, it was incredibly surreal showing them the city. I was completely spoilt, and benefited from being a tourist all over again for a week - discovering new areas I hadn't even ventured into before and getting a bit more background from tour guides!

One morning we headed over to the Ferry Building for the Farmer's Market and were greeted by endless stalls of produce and other items for sale and to eat. There was such a variety and it lulled the separation from the countryside a little bit. I'm a big supporter of fresh produce, particularly from local growers - the less packaging, processing, and air miles the better! It was a brilliant education in the best things to grow in California and the variety that's available locally. I also enjoyed all the little free tasters far too much...

Here's some snapshots of things we saw...and ate!

Ferry Building with the City behind it. The clock tower mimics Big Ben in London!

Bundled Asparagus - I love the purple heads

One of the first things I saw and smelt...spit roast - quickly induced hunger!

Fresh greens

All types of colourful mushrooms inside the building

We may have had some oysters for breakfast, overlooking the Bay Bridge...

Crunchy but sweet pears...

...which we paired with this delicious sheep's milk cheese (cured for 70days). And took the remainder on a walk around Land's End.

A perfect city day intertwined with the outdoors.

I'm off to Coachella next week...hope all of you there this weekend have a brilliant time!

For more regular updates find me on Twitter @mlle_milly
& Instagram @millysampson
x

Wandering the West Coast: Portland

A seriously whirlwind tour of our trip to Portland...

Top tips include:
Brunch at JAM on Hawthorne and be prepared to be full all day
jamonhawthorne.com
Visit the Pearl District for some posh eats and cute shops
explorethepearl.com
The area around Powell's Bookstore on West Burnside has record shops, vintage clothing & the flagship Dr Martens store - as well as Sizzle Pie - before heading down to the infamous Voodoo Doughnuts
powells.com
voodoodoughtnut.com
Pop by Reed College campus if you want to see English boarding school style buildings planted firmly in the American landscape. You can even take a walk round its very own 'canyon'.
reed.edu
Eat at Old Town Pizza (mac&cheese and garlic knots are highly recommended) & soak up the surroundings

oldtownpizza.com

Infamous Voodoo Doughtnuts...

Voodoo Doughtnuts extensive menu and colourful store (there is a LOT of pink)

I went with the 'Old Dirty Bastard'...chocolate frosting, Oreo's and peanut butter !

Powell's Bookstore - you can pick up a map of this wonderful, and very large, independent book store inside.

Grab a slice at Sizzle Pie across the road from Powell's - perfectly concocted pizza.

Coming soon...back to the city for restaurants, days out, exploring new areas and much more.
Plus adventures down Route 1 / the Pacific Coast Highway and visits to San Luis Obispo.

We also can't wait for Coachella in two weeks time, can you?!

x

Wandering the West Coast: Seattle

A while back the girls and I headed North for a little adventure. We crossed state lines to visit Seattle (Washington) and Portland (Oregon). A lot of fun, wandering, and, of course, eating - here's a whirlwind tour of some of the spots we visited in Seattle via photographs...

We drank a lot of coffee and read our books (The first Starbucks was in Seattle don't cha know?) at some beautiful little independents, wandered the infamous Pike Place market, rode the Monorail, visited the space needle and more.

First ever Starbucks

Seattle Fire Truck !

Infamous Pike Place Market

Fish inside Pike Place Market.
The guys on the 'Pike Place' specific stall draw people in by throwing fish to each other amongst the counters and crowd whilst yelling... We also tried 'Salmon Jerky' - seriously good.

Bubblegum Alley...two of the girls added to this beautiful? wall

Blue trees in the city centre...

Top of the Space Needle

Next stop was Portland, Oregon...
Where have you been visiting lately?
x

Lately...

The past two weeks have been crazy busy with parents visiting from England, midterms and deadlines, and it finally getting round to Spring Break ! While every one of these adventures is filled with photos and notes that I'll be sharing with you soon enough - here's a quick overview of some of those moments via Instagram.

I'll shortly be sharing new purchases, restaurants, tours, travels, and much more with you. Plus tomorrow sees me leaving on a road trip down the West Coast with the girls - another adventure? Always.

Chilling by the pool in San Luis Obispo on a spontaneous trip to see a friend from home (Cambridge) !

One of the highlights of my year long adventure - our Coachella wristbands arrived.

Sharing an incredible pudding at Millenium (Vegan restaurant near Union Sq, San Francisco)

Indulging myself on Pink Champagne Truffles from England

Soaking up the Spring Sunshine on our balcony

Visiting the infamous Alcatraz Island prison with my parents on a sunny day

More soon, I promise.

Or you can find me here on Instagram:

millysampson

How's Spring Break (if you're in the US) and Easter (if you're at home) treating everyone?

Outerlands, SF

This little spot is seriously worth waiting for - just sign up on the list and take a walk to the beach in the mean time. It's got a beachy feel but also reminds me of a lot of the fancier little cafes I frequent in London in the summer months. It also features one of my favourite things about restaurants - you can see into the kitchen! We took a seat at the window, looking out onto wooden benches, and I ordered a delicious gingery warm cider. The menu is something that took a lot of contemplation. There's not too much on it but it's all oh so tempting.

In the end I went for the grilled cheese and soup deal - and luckily it was the perfect choice. Their grilled cheese is to die for, I'd go for it alone. Perfectly full we opted out of any sort of coffee/pudding ideas, but I'd definitely go back.

Find them at: outerlandssf.com
4001 Judah St @ 45th Ave

Hope you're having a good week!

xxx

Berkeley, CA

2013 is full of travels, but let's start with some day trips.

Living in San Francisco Berkeley is but a mere BART ride away [kind of like the underground for you Londoners, basically just a fast train]. The sun's really getting out right now so while its cold and we're wearing a thousand layers it's still best to be outside rather than inside [where, student-wise, it's equally cold].

Berkeley established itself as a quiet, chilled out sort of town, with its main focus on the UC Berkeley campus. Having walked through the stunning campus, checking out the luxe buildings and redwood trees, we headed down Telegraph Avenue - which can easily be compared to San Francisco's Haight Ashbury area.

Street stalls of tie dye tees, dream catchers, jewellery and pottery confronted us, along with a ton of delicious food spots [it's really hard to walk down the street without stopping to eat...], some cool art work and vintage-style stores.

I'm not sure I'd have the patience to live in such a place, although it's undoubtedly more lively during term time, but it's real pretty for a day trip.