I injured my neck last Wednesday, so I spent most of the week in bed. Luckily, I had recovered enough to make it to Sunday brunch, which was at The Diner (we had to wait an hour for a table and the service was soooo slow). Lynz wore her 3D glasses necklace which I had made her!

While injured, Tom and I discovered the awesome Neds Noodle bar – check out the cute intro on their site!

The noodles were really tasty and they come in super cute take-out boxes. I used one of the boxes as a template to make a handbag years and years ago!

CO+K has a little mention in in the latest issue of Craft’s Beautiful magazine. We also did our second press release yesterday.

That reminds me, I found a new favorite magazine – Marie Claire Idées. Unfortunately it’s all in French but it’s filled with loads of amazing crafts and tutorials. Also, I went to see Alice In Wonderland in 3D last night. Lots of people were complaining of being disappointed but I really enjoyed it. It was pretty to look at!

There’s a pretty baby blue mews door on our street and I’ve always wondered what it was like inside. Yesterday, I accidentally found it on an estate agent websites and it’s amazing.

I love the crazy wallpaper…

and the awesome kitchen.

Everything’s so organised and cluttered at the same time!

I’m soooo jealous of their roof terrace too. I love snooping around other people’s houses!

This week has had two date nights. On Tuesday we went to see The Lovely Bones at The Coronet, which is an awesome cinema in Notting Hill which does £3.50 movies on a Tuesday. The movie was weird but it did have lots of crafting at the start. On Wednesday we went to see Youth In Revolt, an awesome film with Nick from Nick & Norah and Juno in it, at the Trocadero.

After the movie we went to Ben & Dave’s new house for a pre-housewarming / goodbye party for Mel. As always, the food and cocktails were amazing and I was taught how to make a blackforest cocktail, which tastes like cake in a glass.

I had an amazing fabric shop on Goldhawk Road this week. I found the perfect waterproof fabric for my Burberry mac for £6.50 a meter (quite a saving for a £1000 jacket) and some awesome black check silk for the lining (it’s the same design that I made my dress with). I also got lots of silk for making two other dresses, but they’ll have to wait until I’m finished with my coat.

After one day of sewing, this is how my mac is shaping up. The forecast for the weekend is rain, so I shall fill mine with sewing, movies, brunching with friends, button buying and hiding out indoors.

CO+K is in the latest issue of Sew Magazine and Clare posted a lovely little post about us on her amazing new blog, Pass The Pattern.

Although we’re still recovering from jet lag, this week is London Fashion Week, so we had to be up super early for fashion shows this weekend.

Luckily having breakfast at Fifteen perked us right up.

On the subject of fashion, I got Tom this awesome Vivienne Westwood shirt, which has a tie buttoned down the front. It was on sale but they didn’t have it in his size, so I’ll have to re-tailor it when it arrives.

Last night was the Central Saint Martins catwalk show (ohhh how I wish I had went to fashion school) and here were some of my favorite looks. It turns out someone I went to high school with was in the show last year. I’ve been inspired to take a trip to Goldhawk Road this week and make some more dresses and maybe start my Burberry mac.

Tonight we decided to sample the Spanish absinthe that I got on holiday. These ones actually have thujone in and the black one is 85%… it burns!

We’re back in London now and it was so sad to leave America. Everyone was so nice and they got even nicer the further south we went.

We got up early on Wednesday morning, still recovering from Mardi Gras and packed up to leave.

It was sad saying bye to Raven but I’m sure we’ll see her soon.

Our first flight was to Houston, Texas where we stopped to spend our remaining dollars on some tasty fast food from Wendy’s. The flight home went smooth, although piloted by a George Bush sound-a-like with two Sarah Palin look-a-like hostesses.

I watched Where The Wild Things Are and an amazing reality / contest show called Ultimate Cake Off, which I really need to get more of.

London’s all rainy but at least it’s Fashion Week and we arrived home to find a bunch of show invites in the mail. Also, a few more versions of my Kitty Hood Scarf have appeared on CO+K – I love them so much!

New Orleans was amazing, everything was just as I thought it would be. We only had about 30 hours int he city,  but it was enough to get a feel for the place and I’m sure we’ll go back soon.

Raven was happy to have everyone on her stomping ground and seeing her again made it feel like we’d seen her only yesterday. (I love how you can see Emma in the sunglasses in this photo).

It was Mardi Gras, so we all got dressed up in our costumes. Tom was a sailor, I was a mermaid, Emma and Raven were cowgirls with oversized hats, Morgan was Captain Morgan and Amber (Raven’s sister) opted for a classy boa and mask combo.

We stared the day by watching some of the parades. Everyone was still celebrating from winning the superbowl, so we ended up with the Who Dat! song in our head, which goes along the lines of “Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints? Who dat! Who dat!“.

Everyone was throwing beads in to the crowd, so we ended up with dozens of them around our necks.

We picked the worst parade watching spot, which was out of the sunlight, so we got cold pretty quickly.

We warmed up with hot bowls of gumbo.

Gumbo is a thick soup / stew with rice. I went for the seafood one which was quite yummy.

After lunch, we went for a wander around the French Quarter, which had such pretty buildings.

Emma and Raven got acquainted with the god fearing locals.

Our next stop was Pat O’Brien’s for some Hurricane cocktails.

These were super strong but so easy to drink. Morgan and Amber tried to teach me how to tie knots with cherry stalks.

It got lovely and warm in the sun, so we stayed out in the beer garden for a while.

After a few too many Hurricanes, we headed down to Bourbon street, which was a massive street party with people throwing beads down from the balconies.

Everyone’s costumes were amazing. Next time I want to dress up as a sugar skull.

Even the animals were dressed up.

If I ever have to move to Nola, I found the perfect house on Bourbon Street. I really want a porch with a swinging chair.

Tom and I took some time out to see the rest of the city. Everyone we met was so nice.

The shoreline was really pretty.

This was exactly how I imagined New Orleans to look.

In the evening, we all went for dinner at Mother’s Diner, where Tom managed to confuse the waiter by asking for “a glass of waiter”. I had pancakes for pancake day!

Afterwards we went for a drink in a pirate bar.

After leaving New York an hour late, we took the Crescent train on our journey to New Orleans.

The journey was 30 hours long but it meant that we’d get to see a lot more of America.

We had our own little room, complete with bunk beds, seats and a toilet (you’d really have to be friends with the person you’re traveling with). You can see a tour of the room here.

It was pretty watching the sunset over Washington.

We tried to get as much WIFI as we could in stations, but it didn’t work too well.

All of our meals were provided in the dining carriage, which was all pretty for Valentine’s day. We sat with a couple from Virginia, who were keen to discuss what food we had / didn’t have in the UK. The asked “d’yall got salt and pepper over in England?” and if we drank tea.

The peanut butter pie was amazing!

Even the buildings were celebrating Valentine’s day.

When we went for breakfast the next morning, the train had been decorated for Mardi Gras. The staff were all so friendly.

The French toast was yummy and so filling.

The landscape changed so much as we hit the south.

Such pretty forests. We kept an eye out for bears and crocodiles.

Places of note included Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia and Tennessee. Over dinner in the evening, an old lady complemented us on how good our English was, after we told her we came from Britain and she hadn’t realized it was our native language…

We pulled in to New Orleans in the late evening.

We shared a cab with 6 other people in to the centre, which was in full swing from Mardi Gras.

This is the view from our hotel room.

And now we’re reunited with Emma and Raven! The party starts in the morning…

Tom and I are engaged!

He proposed two days before Valentine’s day on top of the Empire State Building, just before midnight.

Now I have the prettiest ring ever.

We only have a few hours left in New York but I wanted to wish everyone a very happy Valentine’s Day. I hope you get cards and conversation hearts galore.

We will be spending the day on a train to New Orleans, which takes 30 hours, but we have our own room and get all of our meals. We’ll be passing through Washington DC, Alabama and Tennessee and the train gives a talk about each place. I can’t wait to see the rest of the country.