So, The Man came home last night at 0230, that’s 02:30am for the 24-hour clock challenged people. (I must admit, I can be 24-hour clock challenged before my caffeine hit each morning.) Therefore, I got little to no sleep as once I’m up, I’m up! And today we are hitting the shops – tween shopping (with a V important first stop at Kaffeine). Aaaargh!!
Tween shopping
It’s pretty much:
Convo #1
Me: How about this? This is lovely!
Tweens: Nope. I won’t wear that.
Convo #2
Tween: I like this one. (Whilst holding up some sort of cheap-looking, tattered, crop-ish top with weird bits of its shoulder missing (“laser-cut” I’m told).)
Me: Absolutely no way!
Tween: But I like this one, I’ll WEAR this one!
Me: I’m not buying that with my money. Go ahead if you have £20!
Miss 10 tends to put said item back on the racks as quickly as she can if it means spending her own money. Miss 12 is generally more, uh… generous with her savings and quite the impulsive shopper.
Tween shopping, a necessary evil as they grow out of last season’s clothes, pretty much every season. Shopping for my girls was definitely easier when they were younger. They were 90% happy to wear whatever I bought them and it was also easier in Singapore where there are NO seasons. Even if the shops on Orchard Road thinks there are, clothes generally lasted longer than a few months.
But first, Coffee!
So. Already sleep deprived, we headed into London! First stop, COFFEE!!!! When one goes tween shopping, one definitely needs a good coffee to start the day with. And then the day can go something like this: mummy time, tween time, mummy time, mummy time, tween time, mummy time… you get the idea!
We first visit Kaffeine on Great Titchfield Street. This is a fab little Aussie coffee shop. It’s tucked behind claustrophobic Oxford Street, yet only a stone’s throw from it. Never, never walk on Oxford Street if you can help it. Walk on the road parallel to it. It’s quieter and the array of coffee shops and food places are infinitely better. A drool-worthy selection of tasty little treats from French pastries to giant sized Anzac cookies warmly welcomed us in! Deep breath, ahhh coffee.
The tweens rush in to find a seat, despite having sat down the entire train and tube journey! They’ll literally collapse later when they experience the 10,000 steps I plan to hit today, as I have not hit it all week! Damn you, school holidays and busy tween activities!
Flat white and tween snacks.
It’s a good coffee too. It’ll keep me going till 3pm-ish. Then I’ll need another rush which I’ll find in the form of some delectable, bribe-inducing sugary Percy Pigs from M&S at Waterloo Station.
As we leave Kaffeine, a group of professional instagrammers with their fancy camera kit are gathered outside, discussing angles and colour schemes for layouts no doubt. This is what my fancy iPhone (not even the latest model) took.
Kaffeine on Great Titchfield Street
Two locations for you to choose from!
66 Great Titchfield Street, London W1W 7QJ
Hours:
Mon-Fri 7.30am – 6pm
Sat 8.30am – 6pm
Sun 9am – 5pm
15 Eastcastle Street London W1T 3AY
Hours:
Mon-Fri 7.30am – 6pm
Sat 8.30am – 6pm
Sun 9am – 5pm
Note aside: I don’t understand the whole 10,000 step thing. I use the app on my phone (the one with the heart) and it varies between different people. A friend thinks I hit it more often than her as I am vertically challenged and therefore take more steps in the same walk as her. Seems to make sense. Who came up with the magic 10,000 steps anyway? I’m sure I could google it…if I could be bothered. But I’m ok with the 10,000 step target as the Magic number I need to hit!
All images by Sabina Spiteri.
