♫ These are a few of my favourite things ♫ ...

Following on from my last post (here) below are a few of my favourite things bought from the wet and windy car boot sale ...

One old lady purse for £1.00

A gorgeous hand stitched vintage pillow case,

A neon pink frame which now contains a tiny swatch of

cabbages and roses fabric,

Two vintage glass decanters. 

Ones victorian and the others edwardian. Sadly, this photo doesn't do them justice ... they are sparkly & stunning.

I could go on and on with pic's of what I bought home with me, literally 'three bags full' but don't wanna bore you!

I'm going to pastures / boots new tomorrow so fingers crossed for a dry day and an array of delights waiting to be discovered.

x

Come rain or shine a bargain is a bargain...

Come rain or shine a bargain is a bargain and in the pursuit of said bargain you kinda have to take the good with the bad.

Auctions days are guaranteed to be good.  On arrival Wendy and I have it down to perfection and whilst she registers and get a bidding card I find us the best seats in the house. Once viewing is over we set ourselves up for the day with a large coffee, bacon butties and a homemade Eccles cake.  We stay seated all day with lovely ladies on hand to keep us topped up with refreshments and porters to draw our attention to the next lovely item that’s up for sale. You can pay by any means that’s convenient to you and if you see a large item you really must have, well that’s no problem either as the lovely staff will store and deliver to your door. Down side to this oh so comfortable and civilised way to hunt down a bargain is commission ~ boo hiss.

Below are pics from our last day at the auction

I had my eye on this Indian screen but it sadly went for more than I wanted to pay :(

The best seat in the house: comfortable sofa with a table infront and coffee and butties waiting. By the way, this Heals sofa sold for just £10.00!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Now car boot days can be the exact opposite! The very next day after the auction I went with the lovely Lisa on a 70 mile round trip to a large car boot sale. There is no porter to point out lovely things to buy and a good 'ol rummage is the only way to find the good stuff. You get a tut or sigh if you try and pay with a note larger than a £5.00, you have to carry the items around (and around) with you and the refreshments leave a lot to be desired. On our visit after only an hour of looking the heavens opened and we got soaked to the skin (literally). The things we'd bought got drenched and we sat dripping wet during the 45 minute trip home. We'd only managed to see a third of the boots before rain stopped play, I can not put into words the frustration of knowing there are lots still to see and buy but it's all being covered or packed up ~ grrr. However, what we did manage to buy was amazing and I totally love every single thing which all cost no more than a couple of quid each. It's what makes me get that 'yay' feeling everytime we go and, what ever the weather I have a real blast. 

As you can see, the pursit of hunting down stock for the unit is not always a doddle however, put off we most certainly are not and the hunger for that next lovely thing to do up and sell is still as strong as ever, rain or shine.

X

Not a patch on the original ...

My teenage daughter has the enviable quality of completely going her on way and doing her own thing when it comes to her style and fashion sense. She makes no apologies for her unique style, doesn't give a jot what people think to her daily ensembles and follows nothing but her own sense of style. This combined with her love of music (being a drummer and guitarist)makes for some unique clothing choices. The below is what we have concocted together with plain basic clothing and an aray of sew on patches. 

Totally unique to her music taste and sense of style.

Her brothers now jumped on the 

'custom your own stuff' band wagon.

♥

One snuggly blankie ...

I recently made a purchase that on reflection I wondered "erm, why"? It was a white blanket that, at some point, had been cut down so had frayed edges and uneven sides. I think it was my usual thought process of "cor £2.00 thats cheap, I can make something with that" without stopping to think "what exactually am I going to make"?

My first idea was to make snugly winter cushion covers but the texture just wasn't right or soft enough for this, I then pondered on using it to make a dog bed but again the texture (being the type that would trap the dog hairs within the pile and a impractical colour of bright white) meant this was also a "Nope".

Fed up with it being stuck in a heap in the airing cupboard I made it my mission this week to either use it or pass it on. I decided on returning it to its former self ~ a blanket again, perfect for keeping the chill off when the colder weather creeps into my summer shed (you can see said summer shed here). During 5 mins here and 10 mins there I have attempted to beautify the tatty edges by using fabric from a tea-towel and silk scarf as a border(uh-huh yep you did read that right, another attempt at using up the things that have been pulled out of the fabric draw and stuffed back inside again sooooo many times). My sewing skills are shockingly awful but I'm putting the unique wiggly lines of stitches down to a learning curve.  I've not tried to sew silk, a blanket or join scarps together to look like one seamless strip before ~ all three are damn difficult when you have no training in sewing at all.

So ... here is the fruits of my labour and I have to say I'm pretty chuffed with it all things considered.

One snugly blankie

Once a tree ...

During a very wet walk through a pine forest with lil Bess yesterday I couldn't resist dragging home fallen Pine branches (much to the amusement of a gentleman cutting grass in the opposite field). Once home the majority were secretly and silently taken away one by one by a lil brown puppy dog aka Bess and chewed into thousands of bits in a hidden corner of the garden. The few remaining 'sprigs' that hadn't tempted her taste buds received a pink neon treat ...

Boring Brown.

Starting to look more interesting.

 

Wowza ... neon'tastic

These will go into a tall glass vase with pretty twinkly fairy lights to bring a touch of colour to these oh so grey days we're having x

Scattering kindness ...

Thoughtfulness = A friend who has fruit in excess so makes marshmallows with her children to deliver to her friends ♥

Thank you for scattering kindness

XXXX

Bottom draw project, my choices ...Yours?

If you haven't come across Pretty Nostalgic magazine then you are missing a treat. Their manifesto is:
Pretty Nostalgic is a bi-monthly home and lifestyle magazine that celebrates vintage, traditional and sustainable ways of living. We passionately support independent British producers and love seeking out unique, eclectic homes and meeting people who love life and live by their own rules. The magazine is packed with inspiration to help make your house a home, to fill your kitchen with homegrown and foraged food, to inspire you to reuse and upcycle and to make every day an adventure. It is a handbook for creative, curious and resourceful folk who yearn for a simple, stylish and sustainable lifestyle.
Hopefully this has whet your appetite and you are champing at the bit to visit their web site http://prettynostalgic.co.uk/
In issue one they ran a feature called "Bottom Draw Project", the article read: "The seed was planted a good five years ago, when chatting to my friend Caroline. We were talking about those items you collect over the years but you love too much to actually use. They’re the things you put to one side for… when you move into your own place, when you get married, when you own your own house, when you have a child etc." You can visit the full article here

This got me thinking, what are my bottom draw items? Inspired, below are a few pictures of what I hold dear and will never be able to part with ...

A book filled with a lifetimes moments ...

Starting with my arrival ...

and letters from friends who I'd love to be sat here with me now but sadly they can't be for two very different reasons ~ xx

 and letters from friends who can xx

and not forgetting letters from my lovely husband and kiddywinks XXX

Then theres a cushion with very sentimental broaches pinned to it. Broaches either given as presents, or once belonging to close relations, or worn by our daughter to special family occasions.

and last but not least my cupboard full of curiosities. Beautiful things that I have inherited or have memories attached to them that I have taken out of my bottom draw to enjoy.  This is in our bathroom and every morning when I clean my teeth I glance in through the glass door and start the day with a smile thinking of all the memories they evoke. 

a small wedding gift given by my lovely friend Tina on the eve of my Wedding day and a small box of shells collected whilst on a very special family holiday.

Nik naks inherited from my lovely Gramp and Auntie Grace X

So there you have it, a glimpse into a few things I hold close to my heart and feather our nest with. So what would you chose as your "bottom draw" items?

X