So Scandanavian

If you know your Alvar Aalto from your Eero Aarnio and that Verner Panton put his name to more than a colour palette, then Skandium will be a piece of heaven for you. If the previous sentence made no sense to you at all, but you appreciate the simple Scandinavian design style, then you may still want to check out Skandium's wares. Their stock comprises of a mixture of iconic designs (such as the Eames lounge chair) and newer, but equally stylish designs from Northern Europe. Other delights include a whole section of ceramic birds by Iittala, Marimekko fabrics and a corner devoted to chairs. Unsurprisingly the stuff sold here isn't cheap (and stuff is certainly not the right word for such high quality items) but it isn't entirely out of reach of mere mortals either. Personally, I'm saving for a Panton flowerpot lamp.

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Shopping • Marylebone (East)

Christmas Dinner

While the rest of the world worries about whether or not the turkey they're eating for Christmas had the life it deserved (unlimited access to Sky, a good local pub and the occasional chip buttie at a minimum), the punters at Eat and Two Veg are enjoying a dinner that outshines even the meatiest of holiday feasts. Christmas at this vegetarian homestyle diner on Marylebone High Street is unrivalled. The menu's riddled with plates piled high with just-the-sides (stuffing, cauliflower cheese, potatoes, brussels and chestnuts), mince pies and steaming puddings that bring on an immense amount of cheer. The sticky toffee pudding is out of this world, and worth stepping over the copious amount of children that infest this place on any given Sunday. The best bit? You don't have to feel bad about eating these organic vegetables: they--unlike turkeys--don't have feelings... that is, unless you look at broccoli the wrong way.

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Restaurants • Marylebone (East)

What's Waste Is New Again

Some of us love nothing more than a good rummage in a second-hand shop; some of us plain don't like it and for good reason--underarms saturated with body odour, stinky shoes full of verucca spores, and all kind of grossness that no amount of insistence that "it's vintage, dahling" can excuse. But! And this is a big But! Emmeline 4 Re is by no means a second-hand shop. No, no, Emmeline and her team design clothing from material that would ordinarily go straight to landfill and all buttons, zippers and fasteners are recycled too. This is ethical fashion so genius in its obviousness, one wonders why it hasn't been done before. And with such style and wit. At the recent opening of the store I ooh-ed and aah-ed over dresses, jewellery, and ethical shoes from Beyond Skin. A characteristic of reclaiming all these fabrics is that there is a great contrast in textures and print which can be lacking from flat displays of mass-produced goods on the high-street. Wearing these clothes you could get a layered look (pretty darn hard as you will know) with minimum effort. Buying something new doesn't have to be bad.

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Shopping • Marylebone (East)

Fear and Reading in Los London

I find the independent London bookshop to be a curious establishment. Some are staffed by dusty types (authoritarian, vitamin-C deficient ex-librarians), others by wonderfully enthusiastic young things. Both these types are evident at Daunt Books, which is partly why it's such an interesting place. That, and its Edwardian oak panelling, enormous selection of books, general architectural majesty, enticing location and overall gravitas. Moreover, both species of the bookseller at Daunt will assuredly be able to rustle up more than a copy of whatever Richard and Judy are currently pretending to read if you ask for a decent recommendation. So far so good. Daunt also arranges its books by country, meaning you'll find Dostoevsky alongside guides to the Trans-Siberian Railway. This makes browsing an odd process, but also ensures that the shop retains a charming sort of Victorian 'could you have your man send these on with my trunk?' explorer feel. So all in, rather good, try to think of it as the Moleskine diary of bookshops.

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Bookstores , Shopping • Marylebone (East)