A rainy day in London

Yesterday, I headed over to London again. This week I was around the St Paul's area. I've been to the cathedral itself before, but I've never explored the vicinity. It's a beautiful part of London. There are so many stunning little streets and truly love architecture. 

I have a thing about historic architecture. For some inexplicable reason, I have a pretty good knowledge of it and find dating buildings really easy. Obviously I'm no expert but, as somebody who has no history of architectural training, it's quite a strange talent. Having said that, my history A-level (that I ultimately passed with an E, after achieving U on my final exam!) did have a Tudor architecture module, which I inevitably sailed through with a B. 

This is part of Christ Church Greyfriars, a church that was partially destroyed in a 1940 air raid. It's so beautiful to see this serene memorial in the middle of such a bustling part of the city. 

There is a memorial garden in the grounds of the church. The stone entrance marks the original entrance to the church, with a window above. You can see an illustration of how it used to look right here.

This is the tower of the church, the only part that remains intact. 

An example of the stunning Palladian architecture that surrounds these streets. 

The buildings around St Bartholomew's hospital are peppered with these glistening blue signs, indicating what was on the site in centuries past and what their ultimate fate was. I love finding out about the history of locations so these fascinated me. 

I reckon all hospital signs should look like this. Much prettier than the standard blue and white plastic NHS signs! 

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to visit this church but it was accessible to the public. From what I could see through the doors, it had an absolutely beautiful church yard, almost like a courtyard.  

After my discoveries yesterday, I'm vowing to experience the hidden gems of London more often. I plan to wander around the streets of the city, with no aim and no idea where I am (besides somewhere in London, of course!), just to see what I discover. 

52 Shoes VI

Red patent shoes are my favourite thing in the world. I bought these in the Topshop sale and they turned out to be more pink than red, but I still love them. I actually really like the pointed toe on these, which is funny as I am normally against anything that's not a round toe. 

Giveaway: Sunglasses Shop/ SXUC Sunglasses

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you might remember that I'm obsessed with sunglasses. Way back when the sun was shining, I lived with a pair of cat's eye sunglasses on my face. 

So I was pretty excited when The Sunglasses Shop sent me these SXUC Kylie tortoiseshell cat's eye sunglasses to review. As you might imagine, The Sunglasses Shop is pretty much Becky Heaven. It's jampacked with sunglasses of all kinds- Ray-Ban sunglasses, Oakley sunglasses, Dior sunglasses... Basically, any pair of designer sunglasses you could ever want. 

The pair I'm wearing here are from SXUC, which is great if you're on a budget. They look gorgeous, with this lovely little gem detail on the arm, and, better yet, they're only £20. Perfect! The lenses have a UV 400 gradient tint, so they're practical as well as protective. The arms are sturdy (as a glasses-wearer, I know how annoying unstable arms can be!) and they seem pretty durable.  Not to mention the fact that they're super cute! 

The best part of all this? You could win this pair of SXUC Kylie sunglasses courtesy of The Sunglasses Shop. Woohoo! Just check out the Rafflecopter widget below to find out how to enter. Good luck! 

Small print: This giveaway is open to all readers (international included) of Becky Bedbug and fans of The Sunglasses Shop on Facebook. The prize will be one pair of SXUC Kylie tortoiseshell sunglasses as pictured above. 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Doodle Day

Yesterday was National Doodle Day, in aid of Epilepsy UK. Unfortunately, I found out about this too late to actually do anything particularly interesting. However, in honour of the event, I figured I'd make up a little doodle-themed post. 

I love to doodle. I was one of those annoying kids at school who was permanently sketching in the exercise books. If I have a pen in my hand, I have to doodle. I simply can't hold it still. Paper is an insignificant detail- A lot of my best doodles have been drawn on my thighs! 

Not only does doodling help me focus and concentrate (I cannot make an important phone call without a pen in hand!), but it helps me relax and unwind. When I get my annual spring bout of insomnia, I end up creating the most intricate doodles. This heart is possibly my favourite doodle. It took me 90 minutes between the hours of 3:30 and 5am when I was jet lagged after returning from my Florida holiday. 

 My old fallbacks are eyes and cartoon faces of myself (and, lately, the kids at work, since they realised I could draw and now all want a portrait!). Do you like to doodle?

Friday Favourites XXVII: Valentine Special

This is the cutest- and most creepy- Valentine's card I have ever seen! Why would you buy a Valentine for your brother? Mind you, maybe I'll do it. Just to see his reaction. 

This card, on the other hand, is perfect. This is totally our sort of humour. I'm forever telling Rich that he's my favourite fiancé so this is the ultimate card! 

Ok, who does not want a unicorn bouquet? I know that I really, really do! 

I love everything German. I've never actually been to Germany and it breaks my heart. So think how much I adore Tatty Devine's Ich liebe dich themed items. The necklace is my personal favourite! 

I could not resist this 8-bit heart print skirt. After much deliberation over the incredible skirts, I finally settled on this one. I can't admit to being happy just yet though- There's still another 5 or 6 that I still want to buy from the seller! 

Isn't this pom pom-covered heart-shaped wreath just the cutest? If you want to make your own, there's a tutorial right here. Pom poms galore! 

Enter the Fashion Police

 Myles is a pretty stylish 13 year old. Ok, ignore the photo above. I gave him free reign to rummage through my accessories to come up with a crazy "fashiony" outfit. This is what he pulled out of the bag! Generally, though, he knows his stuff. Although, to be fair, he is a 13 year old boy, and 13 year old boys tend to have a very blunt view towards style. I thought it would be pretty funny to get him to review some of my favourite looks as my personal fashion critic. I'll warn you now- His fashion vocabulary is not quite up to scratch! 

15th July 2012
(Long silence) "I like turtles better. I don't like ladybugs. Maybe next time be a turtle"

15th September 2012
"We're not in the 1960s and it's, like, a bit of a granny colour- blue, turquoise-ish. And it's a bit too short"

9th September 2012
"Still got the granny thing going on but it's very nice. It's very consecutive. It's got, like, a line and then, like, another line but a different colour and a different line but it's, like, all the same... which I like"

16th September 2012
"Did Grandma give you that? The jumper? It looks like Grandma's lamp!"

25th September 2012
"Get that out of my face. That is disgusting! I don't like the colour. I don't like the collar"

8th October 2012
"You're not a hobo. You look like a tramp"

1st December 2012
"I have the same jumper. Not really, but it has a Rudolph on it. Very Christmassy, although 24 days early"

27th December 2012
"Unicorn! I don't like that one. Like, the dress, like... Is it called a dress? The skirt's nice but it's too, like, sparkly with the jumper. If it was a different top it would be nice, and a different hairband, and the hair's a bit weird. It looks like you've got balls on your head"

18th January 2013
"I don't like racoons"

"...Can I have some Pringles?"

A-Z of Becky: U

U is for Ukulele

I'm cheating a little. I haven't played my ukulele properly in a long time. However, it's the closest thing I've ever had to being able to play an instrument. By which I mean, I can actually play some songs and I know how to play a good few chords. 

When I was 8, I decided to play the violin but, in true Becky style, I never practised and so I never went beyond squeaking out a few chords. I also taught myself the recorder but, after auditioning for the church band and being unceremoniously rejected as my recorder was out of tune (is that even possible?), I lost my appetite for it.

So my ukulele playing is quite an achievement for me. My uke is called Percy and I love him!