everything I bought in London
from posh snacks to charity shop finds
l just got back from a week long trip to London where I did a bit of shopping, so here's everything I brought home with me from my favourite city!
books
1- The Pleasures of the Damned, Charles Bukowski* — I've been wanting to read Bukowski's poetry for a while, but couldn't get ahold of any of his books, neither online or in local bookshops, so when I got my hands on this one at Portobello Road Market, I just had to have it! I got it used and it cost me £15 — for something seemingly so hard to find, I'm pretty happy with and can't wait to get stuck into all 500 pages of it!
2- The Inspector of Tides, Michael Dransfield — another poetry book, though this one I know nothing about. I found it at the Balham Oxfam Bookshop and a quick look through some of the poems was enough to convince me. It was only £1.49.
3- The Anatomy of Being, Shinji Moon* — long story short, this book found me? I went to London with the intention of buying a poetry book I felt was calling me (is that weird?), and this one did just that. I got it at Mary's Living & Giving shop, in Portobello, for just £1. I saw just the spine of it — which is all black, no title, no author, nothing — and it's a thin book, hiding in-between the other more colourful, thick books. Which is exactly why I pulled it out of the shelf! When I saw the name, I thought I had heard it before, but I didn’t know it was a poetry collection. curious, I opened it up, saw it was poems and read a few lines. immediately I felt like it was meant to be and just HAD TO buy it! I'm not done with it yet, but love what I’ve read so far and just know this is a book I'll treasure forever! <3
4- Train Dreams, Denis Johnson* — I don’t know anything about this book, except it was shortlisted for the Pulitzer prize. I picked it up because of the cover, I'm a sucker for stars hahah. it was £1 and I got it from a charity shop near Tufnell Park. all their books were £1 — we love!
5- Such a Fun Age, Kiley Reid — this one's been on my TBR since it came out, so when I saw it for just £1, I didn't need to think twice! having read so many positive reviews, I can't wait to read it myself! it's from the same shop as the previous book <3
6- Goodbye to Berlin, Christopher Isherwood* — the name is what made me buy this one. I have lived in Berlin before, so I thought it'd be somewhat relatable? I'll have to read it to find out! It cost £2.50 from the Mind charity shop in Dalston.
candles
in May this year I went to London and got ahold of some candles from a shop in the Old Spitalfields Market called The Mercantile. I loved them so much I knew I'd have to get more in my next visit. I did it.
1- Pomegranate by Parkminster Products, £7 — this one has patchouli in it which is my all time favourite essential oil scent so I fell in love hard since the first time I bought it, which is why I got it again.
2- Fournier street by Mercantile London, £6 — the smell of this makes me think of a home fully cleaned on a summer Sunday. I love the freshness and sweetness it has and will definitely be lighting it up every time I clean my bedroom.
3- Bonfire by Parkminster Products, £7 — warm and woody scents are my favourites for the colder months and this one is just that!
now this might sound funny, but one of the goals I set for 2023 was to “become a candle person” and I’m taking it seriously hahah
incenses
I've always been obsessed with incenses and I really enjoy buying them on my travels as there's always different brands and scents everywhere. also, they're usually pretty affordable for what you get.
1- Om Masala by Temple of Incense, £10 — this brand is on the pricier side, but their shit is truly good, so I'm ok with it. I hadn't heard of them before and just happened across them at Inspitalfields, a little shop I adore in my fave Old Spitalfields Market. Again, the woody scent is what made me bring this one home.
2- Frankincense by The Mother's Fragrances, £4 — there's a song by Suki Waterhouse (I'm obsessed with her music!) that's been stuck in my mind for months at this point in which she mentions frankincense getting her high and I guess I needed to see what she's talking about for myself? I actually liked the scent a lot too hahah
3- Patchouli by The Mother's Fragrances, £4 — my favourite scent in incense form, nothing else to say tbh.
snacks & drinks
I got these to share with my boyfriend as he really enjoys flavoured drinks and I don't like any of the ones we've found here in Germany (overall I’m a water > person) so I thought I'd get some from abroad and give them a go, just for fun.
1- Fibe Lush Limeonade — 9/10, this was sooooo tasty! though a bit too sweet, even for someone with a sweet tooth like me. I got it from Planet Organic.
2- Something & Nothing Yuzu Premium Soda — 7/10. picked this one up from Whole Foods and we both liked it flavour wise, but I’m not the biggest fan of sparkling drinks and this one was heavy on the bubbles, which I feel makes it tough to swallow. I think I’d enjoy this more if it were mixed with something else to “soften” it a little?
3- Betty Buzz Sparkling Grapefruit — neither of us would buy/drink this again sadly. the flavour was just not our cup of tea… well, soda.
4- Rhythm 108 vegan almond & sea salt chocolate bar, £2 — haven’t tried this one yet but I really like this brand’s snacks, so I’m curious — a bit skeptical too because vegan chocolate is usually not my thing… will report back!
5- Tony's Chocolonely littl'bits milk marshmellow & biscuit mix, £3 — really didn’t like this, way too sweet…
6- Tony's Chocolonely milk pecan caramel crunch, £3.60 — really excited to try this one as I've never seen this flavour in my local grocery stores.
7- Tony's Chocolonely milk crispy wafer, £3.60 — another flavour I've never tried before but think I’ll like!
8- Rhythm 108 hazelnut chocolate praline biscuit, £3.60 — this is an all time favourite! I cannot wait for this brand to be available in Germany for me to have easy access to these. although maybe it’s better this way hahah — they’re too good!
9- Torres Black Truffle crisps, £5 — pricey, but oh so delish! another all time favourite not readily available where I live. ate them more than once while in London and brought 2 extra big bags home for me and R. if you buy anything from this post, buy them!
10- Tyrrells posh prawn cocktail crisps — I got them this time around because I remembered liking them last time I ate them, but I remembered wrong. I don’t like them. nope. Walkers prawn cocktail is way tastier. both available at any Tesco, Waitrose or Sainsbury’s and most off-license shops.
the holy grail
Mala Chilli Oil, £8.50 — I love the Dumpling Shack and have no doubt I'd be at least 19% happier if they existed in my city. since that's not the case, I bring their crispy chilli oil home with me every-single-time.
I don't know when I'll be in London again, so I got 2 this time around. you're supposed to finish a jar within 2 months of opening it, but I need about 6 for it to actually be done, so I'm stocked up for a year give or take.
the rest of it
1- sterling silver wishbone pendant, £2 — I got it at the Bermondsey Antique Market. it happens every Friday from 6am to 2pm and is the best place I've ever been to buy antique sterling silver jewellery. I got my favourite pair of silver hoop earrings there for a tenner earlier this year. plus, all the sellers are lovely and chatty, which I just love!
2- the black scarf of my dreams, £5 — I’ve been dreaming of a black scarf on the narrower side for a while, but didn't find anything I really liked until I spotted this one at the Dalston Shop from Crisis. if you zoom in you'll see there's some gorgeous flower embroidery that makes it all the more especial and understand why I couldn't leave it behind.
3- Glisten split liner in the shade roses, £6 — I've been wanting to add more colour into my life and think this will help do the trick. found it in one of the Boxpark Shoreditch shops.
4- Hufflepuff mug, £12.95 — a last minute airport purchase, I got this mug for my lover. we are both huge harry potter fans and have of course taken the quiz to find out in which of the houses we’d be in. I'm a Gryffindor which I knew in my heart I'd be and he is a Hufflepuff. R's truly a patient, dedicated and loyal guy, so it only makes sense. he also loves drinking massive amounts of coffee and this mug is pretty massive. I bought it and he absolutely loved it! <3
5- checkered handle magnifying glass from Portobello Road Market, £5 — kinda regret buying this because what am I going to do with it? but I guess it'll make a coffee table pretty in the future. whenever I have a coffee table. need a living room for it first. oh, well
6- “cheerio! miss you already” — I went to London to visit my bestie and I got her this card to write before leaving. I didn’t write it yet and it’s been a week since I got back. she'll get it eventually. isn’t it cute?
7- ”so fucking proud of you!” — this one I got for my future self. still don’t know what I'll write in it or when I'm planning on opening it. I *do* know I'll cry regardless. this one is from a shop called Shrubs & Dubs at Boxpark Shoreditch.
8- “slow progress is still progress” sticker, £3 — I’m a very impatient person and it stresses me out! hopefully this sticker will serve as a lil reminder that even though things take time, they are happening, bit by bit.
not sure where I got it from sadly… a shop at Boxpark Shoreditch.
in hindsight I wish I had taken better pictures of everything as I purchased each item, to make this a little more fun, but I didn't so I can only hope the bed background wasn't too tiring and promise you I'll do better next time! <3
x, Mila
*affiliate links — if you purchase an item through a link marked “*”, I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
all books mentioned here are linked to Bookshop.org, “an online bookshop with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops” and a certified B-Corp.