London calling ...

Yay welcome ...

So ... we have moved on from the coldest March since 1962 and in to the month of April. Fingers crossed we finally see Spring, followed by a perfect English Summer ~ blimey we certainly deserve it!!

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The milder weather has finally brought the birds out and they are busily flying to and fro frantically building nests for their impending family. In the interest of spring cleaning I have spruced up our nesting box by giving it a lick of paint and putting fur from our moulting dogs/cat inside.  I then put it back in its place looking all nice and spangly ready and waiting for its new lodgers.

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This linky takes you to my fav tunage of the week ~ enjoy ♥

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This week saw me visit another local scrapyard.  This time I went with my Dad and lil lad and there were only cars, vans and caravans to mooch around.

It was a great source of all things caravan like however I did feel a tinge of sadness seeing old retro caravans all lined up at their journeys end, un-loved and slowly deteriorating.

  

I was also surprised at how complete they were inside with full of sets of Melamine crockery, saucepans and other kitchenalia. There were also sleeping bags,tent pegs, mallets and even family photos in some.

It was sad and quite eerie inside a few and I couldn't help wondering in what circumstances these lil homes on wheels had left their owners? It felt wrong being inside some of them, let alone raiding its contents. I decided that what I was taking was going on to be used, loved and on the road once again which made it easier to loot.  We came away with a set of 6 plates, two shelves for our fridge, a deep wire sliding tray for our kitchen cupboard, a wooden mallet, a Tefal saucepan and a teeny tiny cutlery tray that fits perfectly in our teeny tiny draw. All of this cost us £10.00 where as we were quoted £32.00 just for one shelf for our fridge from a Caravan and Camping shop. That's one draw back we have found with owning a caravan, everything is a specialist make or size therefore costs a fortune ... hence thinking outside the box, not being proud and skanking like a family of skanky things giving a new lease of life to things that were otherwise discarded and left for dead.

 x x

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 My fav photo of the week is one of a Hyacinth that I have blinged up. I should really think of something to do with the photos I continuously take? Once taken they sit inside my laptop growing in numbers left neglected and forgotten???

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I thought I'd share this fab 'to do list' with y'all.

 Taken from this Tumblr site here.

Ah, my ideal day ... especially the last one ♥

Sadly though I am yet to find a unicorn despite there being clues are all around us ...

 

But sadly I am yet to clap eyes on this elusive creature.

 If I ever do find one y'all be the first to know

 ;)

 

(that's enough 'random' for this week)

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This week I have been having way too much fun with a gadget and wood!!!

Just take a look at this ...

Yippee :D

I have been given a heated wood burning tool via a friends Mum

(she saw me agog when she demonstrated it's cleverness and was

kind enough to pass it on to me to try.) Me and my new fandangle tool are inseparable. 

It can:

Draw designs and stamp on to wood, leather and cork.

Use 12 different attachments.

Burn your fingers if your not careful!

Oh the possibilities, I'm planning on beautifying handbags, purses, chopping boards, wooden cooking utensils and anything else that crosses my path that's ripe for a bit of hot branding!

:D

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For several months now a friend and I have had a girlie trip planned. With the lack of Auctions to attend we have been pining old and interesting loveliness to browse and take our fancy so thankfully (after waiting for what seems like an eternity) our long awaited day arrived this weekend and we spent it shopping along Portobello Road, London.

 

 We caught an early train to Paddington (7am ~ yawn) and by 8.30 we were shopping.

 

Every now and then I desperately crave a day out in London, it's the total opposite from our lil village out in the sticks. I immerse myself in wide urbanised streets, the continuous frenzy and buzz, the fact every street/district and area has a completely different feel to it despite being just around a corner from each other and just the whole feeling that only our beloved diverse and cosmopolitan London can evoke.

 

Cake for breakfast? Nom don't mind if I do ...

 

All along Portobello Road were fab and interesting things to see like these retro manikins on a vintage hat stall ...

 

 

and the most amazing floral displays, this was just the roses section ...

 

A lil bit of the country in the Capital ...

 

More of the Country in the Capital

(I think I prefer the Bluebells !?!)

 

Kirstie's vintage home ...

 

Us Brits are just the best when it comes to being Bonkers, who needs paint when shiny bows will do the job ...

 

and, to round the day off perfectly ...

 

My most fav buy of all. Mine and my husbands initial bought from a printers along Portobello Road ...

 

I hand selected each block out of the various fonts to chose from. I chose a big ol' chunky, strong M for my big ol' chunky strong husband, I liked the shape of this tall, thin & then when it came to my initial I asked my friend and the poor unsuspecting man to choose. The poor chap looked like a rabbit in the head lights but in the interest of a sale he dutifully selected one. He selected the same as my friend but I had to ask them to pick again (as I have a touch of OCD their choice was just not gonna work as the block was all jagged, chopped about and ick). Once again they both picked the same and above is their choice ~ a very good one don't you think?

Then the poor chap had to appease my fussy nature once more when it came to finding a suitable sized block to stand them in, on top of that I really wanted an Oxford University Press one with me being an Oxfordshire lass. With a sale almost in his grasp he rummaged and foraged around in his many boxes until he finally found the perfect accompaniment to finish the set off beautifully.

 

 

I can not tell you how happy I am with my unique, hand picked ensemble. Its one of the many reasons I adore vintage shopping in London.

 

Oh, by the way ... what on earth do they do to their Strawberry's in the big smoke? Just look at the size of this mutant creation.

Cor blimey Charlie!!!

 

 

My friend also bought some stunning things, a Victorian cut glass beaded necklace, beautiful old hand stitched Broad Anglais tea napkins, a silver swallow necklace plus lots more . Having craved a day in London, by the end of it we were both ready to come home to the Countryside and breathed a calming sigh when the train stopped at our station and the only crowds in sight were sheep grazing in the surrounding fields.

 

 We arrived home exhausted but oh so very, very happy :) 

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 Well, that's it for this week folks, until next Sunday bye y'all xx

Happy Easter y'all ...

Easter greetings.

xx

 

I hope the Easter weekend finds you well, happy and that the bunny has been generous to you and yours and showered y'all with Easter delights.

 

Nom

 

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Sadly this weeks usual pre-Easter fun and frolics have been 'muted' in our household. We have all, one by one succumb to a very annoying virus and have taken to our beds in disgust!

 

 

"Grrrr" is all I have to say on this very dull and frankly inconvenient state of affairs.

 

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I would just like to use this lil space to say a heartfelt thank you to my lovely bestie Suzanne.

 

 

When life can start to swallow you up ...

 

 

 x x x

 

I have been filling my ears this week with an album that I played and played when I first bought it until I became saturated by it and it's remained untouched until this week. I have once again fallen in love all over again, here's a sample of the most fabulous

Bat for Lashes.....

 

Bat for Lashes ~ sad eyes

 

Bat for Lashes ~ whats a girl to do.

 

taken from the album Fur and Gold.

Not everyones cuppa but thought I'd put it out there anyways.

 

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A friend asked if I wanted to join her on a bargain hunting mission this week, erm does a bear poo in the woods??? I had my coat and shoes on before you could say "tat". We went to a good old fashioned scrap yard that also has out buildings full of house clearance bits and bobs.

Our mission: to roll up our sleeves and get stuck in to these rows and rows of 'stuff' to seek out hidden treasures.

Needless to say we both got stuck in.

(I can just imagine some of you thinking "really? you actually drive to places specifically to rummage through a pile of crap like that? Totally bonkers") Yes my friends, that is exactually what we do!

We pulled out all kinds of things and created a lil stash that we later went through again and whittled it down to what we really wanted to buy.

My "I really want these" items were ...

 

 

This 1960's flask in perfect condition. Now, I can't seam to take a photo that does it justice but, take my word for it, it is classic retro heaven and I can not wait to pour our first cuppa out of it ~ especially if we're sat in Hermie our caravan at the time.

Utter Joy :D

Next was ...

These stackable 1970's Tupperware shakers. The colours just scream 1970s and, no matter how clever a clever person was, I really don't think anyone could re-create the colour of these. True 1970s glam. These are also heading straight for our Hermie'van.

 

Then on my "yep, I've thought about it and I still really do want" pile was this ...

A tacky plastic pretend Wedgwood fruit bowl.

My husband has drilled three hole in the bottom and it is now destined for the garden. When planted with herbs or pretty flowers and put in amongst other pots I'm confident it'll look 'far out man' once again.

 

And lastly ...

My second fav buy after the flask.

Just look at this colour, such a pretty pink.

 This is an original wind up alarm clock from the 70's and I am in lurve with it. The ticking reminds me of the alarm clock my Mum and Dad had beside their bed which my Dad set to wake us every morning and start our day. The alarm works too and once again, the ring is such an authentic sound ~ no matter what replicas are out there on the market they can never compare to this, the real deal x

 

 

My friend was really looking for furniture and in an adjacent barn were rows and rows of second hand loveliness.

 

This is the top of an old chest of draws. It's authentic, original, honest shabby chic. People would spend a large amount of time and money trying to emulate this effect and here it is in its full glory. Years of layered paint of all different kinds have aged and worn over time.

 

I couldn't go to a scrap yard without clambering through scrap (a past time me and my Dad did when I was young).  We were seeking out caravans among this lot in the hope of finding a shelf for our fridge.  Sadly no such luck but we fun looking.

 

All in all we had a great afternoon and I arrived home all smiley. Partly because of the great things we both found but also because of the enjoyable time spent with my homie from back in the day. Thanks Em xx xx

 

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Eeeeeek!

Do you remember my previous post about this year being a significant Wedding anniversary in our house (15 years/crystal) and how I have been dropping hints for a vintage crystal chandelier (here). Well, I knew this would never really happen, mainly because we live in a 60's bungalow and it would look totally bonkers. But anyways ... this dropped through our door this week.

 

I rang my husband and asked if he was expecting something from New York?

 

 

He replied "ah, yes that's your anniversary present. DON'T open it"

 

O.M.G!

♥

 

I have no clue what it could be and am gonna resist fishing around (i.e. Google the address) and spoil his thoughtful surprise. So, instead I will continue to obsess over what could be in the box, try not to explode with excitement and count down the days until its our anniversary and I can finally get my hands on the contents inside ~ eeeeek, and breath!

 

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Talking of New York, this beaut arrived in the post this week.

 

 

The postcard and not the sweet lil chick!!! ;)

It's a vintage American postcard of the New York skyline that I ordered from Etsy. I adore New York and if I was ever fortunate enough to win some money the very first thing I would do is book to go back there with my family asap. In the meantime I will frame this lovely lil card and stare dreamily at it admiring everything I love about the Big Apple

♥ ♥ ♥

 

 

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 My fav photo of this week is of one of my fav flower, tulips.

 

 

 This one is starting to wilt and decay.

The colours that change and appear when flowers start to dry up can be just as attractive as fresh to me. See what you think?

 

 

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Since we bought a new chair in January (chair can be seen here) it has given me a reason to change our cushions and lampshades in the living room. They are currently burgundy and most were brought with us from our last home and are at least 9 years old. We have had them for so long I no longer notice the frayed edges around the cushion covers and the discoloured, sun bleached lampshades. The thing is, if I find something I really, really like I don't tend to tire of it. That's the case with our burgundy cushions.

 

 

I bought them from Laura Ashley around 6 years ago and I still love everything about them. The older they get the more homelier they look. Sadly though they don't really go with our new chair.

 

 

 

 I have spent far too long thinking about what colour to choose next and have gone from:

 

 

Cabbages and Roses cushions.

 definitely wanting muted greys ...

 

to:

Rachel Ashwell cushions

 falling head over heals in love with pastels ...

 

to:

 

Graham and Green cushions

 swooning over bright pinks and yellows to really bring in some pzazz.

 

Needless to say, I have completely confused myself and have no clue what I want anymore!

 

My plan? I'm just going to wait for the most gorgeous cushions to appear, be it all togther or one by one. It may take weeks months or even years but one thing I have learnt along the way is, if you really love something it will remain loved and enjoyed every single day.

 

What was it the great man William Morris said ...

hear, hear Billy ;)

 

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 Well, thats it for another week folks. Wishing you a really enjoyable Easter break and untill next Sunday, bye y'all xx