My obsession with London knows no bounds. Some of you will get tired of me talking about this, but…I am not sorry. Waitrose!! Double-decker buses! Pubs! Men in suits! Tuxedos on the tube! Cheap flights to everywhere!! Life is good. It’s nice to be back, and in a way, to be reunited with my London restaurant blog, which I am stretching and changing. Here’s what else I’ve been obsessed with lately.

Orla Keily’s collection of shoes at Clark’s. I’ve written before about my obsession with Clarks in London. Some people — the ones not in the know — laugh at me because they think only nuns and old people wear Clarks. Smart people know to get themselves to Clarks immediately. Inexpensive, comfortable AND cute (although they do still have a lot of ugly stuff). I’ve bought two pairs from the Orla collection already. And I am still so sad that I had to throw away my old Mary Portas Clarks last year after an overzealous shoe shiner scuffed all the pony hair off my shoes. (#firstworldproblems)

Peri-peri wings at Marks & Spencer. OK, I can’t link directly to these because M&S apparently doesn’t sell them online except in party platters. But I love these wings so much that sometimes I have them for breakfast. Haters, don’t be hating.

Dresses from Boden. Hey listen, I’m a woman of a certain age. I like Boden. I now own this one, along with a few others.

Cashmere sweaters from Uniqlo. Super great value. Especially the cardigans! Who doesn’t love a cashmere cardigan?? (OMG I feel like such a tw*t as I write that.)

Modern Touch Nails off Chapel Market in Islington: So yes, no matter where I am, I still have the New York obsession with grooming. Must have a manicure and a pedicure. After revisiting some of the places I used to go to in London during my first tour and finding that they’d all gone downhill (dirty, grubby, too crowded, etc.), I’ve found the very clean and very neat and tidy Modern Nails off Chapel Market. They are very nice, even though they don’t let you combine frequent customer cards. (Grrrr.) Recommended.

Spotify Premium: OK, not a London thing but I remember the halcyon days when Spotify was a European thing and not available in the U.S. I love Spotify Premium. Particularly the playlists. These days, I’m digging these lists:

Good for a party…

Good for taking a nap…

For a little reggae…

Happy days, indeed. I love you and everything in you, London.

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Caro Emerald, Back It Up

Toots & The Maytals, 54-46 Was My Number

Florence & The Machine, Cosmic Love

Aloe Blac, I Need a Dollar

Mos Def, Quiet Dog

What are YOU listening to? Tell me. 2012 is the year I indulge my love of all things music.

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Check out the preview video here…

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But I digress. Through all of this, thank God for two things. 

1. Pandora.com. Long-ago, they stopped providing service to the UK because of copyright reasons. But they truly are the best online music jukebox ever. Plug in any song you like. Their music technicians have analysed a gazillion songs based on a gazillion criteria, and they will play songs that are musically similar to the song you like. Does that make sense? So this is not a popularity contest like iTunes Genius. It's an actual musical similarity contest and thus an amazingly fantastic way of discovering new bands. If someone is not waiting to be bought by Google, I don't know who is.

2. My Altec Lansing laptop speakers. I remember over New Year's, I brought these little puppies to our cottage somewhere in the countryside and no one could believe the quality of sound they delivered. So small, yet so powerful. Seriously, if you have a chance, scoop yourselves up the ALTEC LANSING 2.0 Loudspeakers XT1. Unbelievably good sound. Really. They're kinda old now so not sure if you'll find many of them still around, but I've been a big fan of their products for a while now so if you can't find the XT1s, take a look at their similar, newer models.

I have some food-related content in the hopper. I promise. I'm just tired, that's all. xx

The post Pandora.com and Altec Lansing, I Thank You. first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Two of my new fave Internet listening posts are…

TSF Jazz in Paris: Let me give you a playlist…yes, I like a little retro…especially in French…

20:44 Bireli Lagrene/wdr Anouman
20:52 Charlie Parker Groovin’ high
20:55 Anita O’day Waiter, make mine blue
20:58 Tony Bennett/stevie Wonder For once in my life
21:51 Stochelo Rosenberg Bossa dorado
21:55 Madeleine Peyroux Summer wind
21:59 Jay Jay Johnson/hank Jones My favorite things
22:02 Ella Fitzgerald That certain feeling
22:05 Sonny Rollins The night has a thousand eyes
22:14 Eric Legnini Big boogaloo
22:20 Jb Lenoir Alabama blues
22:23 Lenny Breau Oscar’s blues
22:27 Oscar Brown Jr Work song
22:31 Chico Hamilton Evan’s ville

OK, and then my other all time favorite is David Byrne Radio. Every month, he puts up a new playlist. It’s a good way to find new bands. Here’s an excerpt from his March list…

The Words  Psapp
Think That Thought  Planning To Rock
Do The Whirlwind  Architecture In Helsinki
Snow Angel  Ron Sexsmith
Coming Home (The Eclipse)  Amy Cook
These Days  Nico
Night Majestic  Au Revoir Simone
The Party’s Crashing Us  Of Montreal
Again & Again  Bird & Bee
Oslo In The Summertime  Of Montreal
Windowstill  The Arcade Fire
Ja Sei Namorar  Tribalistas
Think I’m In Love  Beck

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