A Little Bit of Vintage

Finds have been thin on the ground lately. Charity shops in particular have been pretty poor hunting grounds but in the past few weeks I've found a few lovely treasures, my favourite being this ramshackled old deckschair that I hauled home from the flea market for £3. I've wanted one for years but never found one so yesterday was a very happy one indeed.

It needs a new sling and I'm on the look our for some old style/new canvas if you know what I mean. I don't fancy anything too vibrant. These deliciously mellow colours with an atmosphere of sunny afternoons listening to the band in the park or ice cream on the prom are more what I'm looking for.

Talking of the prom, I couldn't resist this tea towel. Woody grew up in the rather refined Lytham St Annes so any cheesy Blackpool kitsch comes home with me. Just the thing for doing the dishes on our caravan trips.

Looking forward to eating something delicious from these juicy bowls too. It'll have to be something old school like trifle or jelly and ice cream won't it. I've no idea how old they are or where they're from and I imagine there should have been a sixth but the four of us will enjoy squabbling over which colour we'd like. Perfect.

Charity Shop Chic

I've never been a snob where charity shop clothes are concerned. For the last few years particularly, I've revelled in the thrill of discovering the "perfect thing" for the fraction of the original price, getting a green buzz and donating to a deserving cause all at the same time.

I am quite discerning and items have to be in excellent condition, be a great fit or easy to alter, for me to buy them. At the risk of this blog becoming a clothes horse here are my most recent joys.

I can't resist a ditsy floral print and this cheery shirt brings me little bit of Liberty-esque cheer for £2.50.

It came home with me this morning after a lovely walk around the town to find a present for my nephew's first birthday. Living where we do is a very precious and a deeply held pleasure of mine. I love to catch snippets of conversation, jokes and news being shared when I walk from shop to shop and through the old market hall.

There's something very special about bumping into friends while you're out and about, chatting to the stall holders and just enjoying being where you belong while doing something so very ordinary.

And it was more welcome than ever today. It has been a hard, emotional week. After a brief reprieve, I was told on Thursday that my working hours will definitely be cut down by almost half from April. It looked as if the axe might not fall after all, but now it has and the disappointment, stress and money worries a second time around have been much harder to bear for lots of distressing reasons.

But all things pass. This is not what I will remember as the years roll by, it will be just something we got through in the past. So I keep re-reading my positive intentions and  keep my eye out for the cheap and cheerful. Like this.

I don't wear blue all that much, (a navy school uniform put me off for a long time I think) but I do love it. And this Topshop dress is a beautiful little number to wear and will be perfect for warm office days and special occasions

And when you discover a new item, with the labels still attached, unworn, the thrill is magnified tenfold. My aunt and uncle are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in June and have invited all of our small family here for a very special lunch . Roses with a 50s twist will be the perfect thing to wear. Can't wait.

While we're losing a lot financially I am very grateful for all that I do have, especially with all the bigger concerns going on around us all at the moment and such devastating events across the world . These small spends mean much more than if I'd been able to afford them full price, if that at all makes sense.  £12 the lot. Not bad.  In fact very, very good!

Have a smashing weekend.Xxx

New Year Treasures

Well my year of living even more frugally than before has got off to rather a decent start I'm pleased to say. Thank you so much for all your wonderfully encouraging and supportive comments. I've been really overwhelmed and can't explain how much every word has helped me and made me smile. Blogging is truly a wonderful thing and I am especially grateful to be in touch with such special people. Again I'm sorry I takes me an age to get around to saying hello so I hope you'll forgive me and accept this thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Getting back into the office this week wasn't quite as hard as I'm imagined but it has been tinged with sadness with the departure, via redundancy, of some very good colleagues who I've really enjoyed working with over the past couple of years. Things won't be the same without them but fortuntately they have also found new jobs so it could be much, much worse.

At home I have begun to truly practice what I preach. We have cut down our portion sizes (good for the healthy diet too!) with one leg chicken portion, plus plenty of veg stretching, to make our Friday night curry and one for the freezer too. And I managed to bring the weekly shop in for £10 less than usual by really thinking about what we will truly use in 7 days.

But its not all Tom & Barbara self-sufficiency here, try as I might I can't deny myself the odd treat. Even though I rarely bought anything full price anyway, now I'm doing it for even less.

First up is this lovely, lovely dress. I can't describe how skippy my heart goes when I look at it. I almost succumbed and bought it (in a size too small!) in the summer because I loved it so much. But I listended to my purse, put it back and went home.

And now it looks like patience really is a virtue, because there it was on the rail earlier this week, in the actual size I need, for £6! £32 less than the original. It fits like a dream and I already have plenty of cardigans, shoes, beads etc to go with. Oh happy day!

Then second is my new skirt, bought with my Christmas Laura Ashley vouchers kindly given to me by my darling mum-in-law. Now I am rather partial to LA but can never, ever afford anything in there, apart from the odd mug. So imagine my joy, seeing this summery number sitting prettily in my size with £40 off. (£55 for a skirt - really?!). One day this summer I shall be sitting outside the Golden Lion in Port Isaac, sipping something chilled, wearing this with a cosy cardi and my trusty pumps. Can't wait.

On market day I had a little whizz around the charity shops too and turned up some unexpected treasures. A fabulous, puffy, salmon pink eiderdown (just like one my grandma had) for £3, a pretty blue flowered vintage apron to add to my growing collection (£1.20) and the pretty Pyrex dish which is well worth fifty pence of anyone's money.

So I'm rather chuffed and feel a little like these furry pair - literally the cats who got the cream (that we didn't use in the curry!).

 Hope the sun is out for you this weekend. Sxx

Summer Treasures

Summer is here in the Moorlands. Hurrah hurrah! This week has been truly lovely; apart from a few hours of rain on Thursday but the garden really needed it. Today the sun is beaming down and we're enjoying a very lazy weekend at home after a few rather hectic ones recently. Nothing more pressing than making ice lollies, sploshing around in the paddling pool and some gardening on the agenda. Bliss.

 

I've gathered some sweet little treasures lately, full of summer charm. We eat many, many eggs in this house so egg cups are very useful indeed. especially if they're in bright, jolly vintage colours like these.

Here's the basket I found in Suffolk which I've already used to transport seedlings to the allotment and the first of our delicious peas back home.I spied these pixie (or are the elves?) glasses at the flea market which are just the job for the boys juice on a hot day.

Lots of lovely old books with wonderful covers have found their way home too. I love the Fun book and the Ladybird Seashore guide the most.

And who could resist this summery chap? I can't wait to get down to Port Isaac in July and hear these terrific (if pesky) birds for real.

Sadly these aren't my efforts but this pretty bowl, (a 50p find at the flea market) is a perfect place for toms to warm up. Don't they look delicious? I'm imagining them with mozzarella, basil, olive oil and ciabatta for lunch. Oooh now I'm hungry. Right - I'm off!

A few treasures

Well, what a week. All the Whitehall and Westminster shenanigans have had us here at No. 25 completely gripped. I've always been a bit of a political junkie and being married to a journalist means that 24 hour news (usually via good old radio) looms rather large in our house on occassions such as these. Definitely a moment in history and the end of an era indeed, whatever the result has turned out to be today.

But even rolling news doesn't deter my vintage nose and I've turned up some lovely things lately. The first is this beautiful old card which I only wish I could give to everyone who leaves such thoughtful, funny and very kind comments on my little blog. They mean the world to me and I cherish them all and do wish I was able to reply to them all, thank you ever so much and hopefully I'll get around to visiting some blogs that are new to me very soon.

And shall we have a nice cup of tea together? My grandad made teapots for a living (a very skilled job apparently) but he was an expert in crafting the little brown Staffordshire ones with the coloured bands around them so I'm not sure if he'd have approved of this very elegant version. "Looks nice but won't brew" I think would probably have been his verdict. I couldn't resist myself, I do love Woods ware and I'm gathering quite a collection in this lovely shade called Beryl.

And sticking on the kitchen theme I picked up these two old Tala food decorating sets which still have all the right bits. I might get around to doing a bit of icing at Christmas but I'm not sure about piping mashed potato though - life's a bit too short I think but still, the packaging is just fantastic.

I'm not completely sure why I bought this though - the colour is gorgoeus but do I really need an old soda siphon? Well for 50p I'm sure it'll find a home somewhere!

And finally... oh this is tooooooo exciting for words. I popped into Oxfam on Friday morning not expecting to find all that much and came out with six meters of Cath Kidston fabric. Honestly the assistants nearly had to give me gas and air! I think this is the Cut Flowers (or maybe Herbaceous Flowers) from a year or two ago and is beautiful. At the moment its made up into two single duvet covers which I'm a bit loathed to unpick but I have the most fantastic project in mind for it.

Think home from home, the open road, fresh air and frolics and visit Attic 24 to get an idea of what I have in mind. Ours has been sitting on the drive for nearly a year awaiting repairs and some funds but we're ready to go now and I'll be joining Lucy in her new club. I'm so excited I could squeal. Wagons roll!

A Little Bit of Thrifting Does Me Good

Thank you for all the very kind comments about my frocks post last week. It was great fun to find out about your favourite summery outfits and I do hope you've been able to get out and about in them this weekend in the fabulous weather we've been having. Yesterday was like mid-summer in the Moorlands, absolutely balmy. I tootled over to Ashbourne for lunch with a friend and we sat on our cardigans by the river chatting and catching up, wearing sandals, linen trousers and summery tops.

Today is cooler with a bit of a keen breeze but lovely and dry and blissful for April - the cruelest of months.
More work up at the allotment this morning and we're in much better shape than last year when we took it on. But more of that next time; I have much gardening news to share.

This week I've finally picked up a few treasures because I don't know about you but they've been thin on the ground around here. My favourite find is this dear basket from an antiques mill in town. Much more expensive than the others I've bought but it finishes off my little collection perfectly and was a bit of a treat for the hard work we've put into the comedy night Woody and I run together. It's finally taken off and is bringing us in a bit of money at long last, so he's had old vinyl and an old basket for me. It was absolutely filthy but I'm really pleased how it's cleaned up and I think it may be the perfect place to store all my embroidered tablecloths.

Elsewhere the charity shops have been very poor for pickings although I did find these sweet hollyhock plates the other day which were made at the Meakins pottery (where I think my Grandma may have worked once). They're just the right size for toast in the morning or a slice of cake in the afternoon when I sit on my garden bench and enjoy a cup of tea in this fabulous cup.

Even the daffodils count as thrifted this week. They popped up at the allotment and are such a delicate, pretty variety - maybe jonquil although I'm not sure. (Someone - so sorry I can't remembr who - asked me a while ago what the name of the little china posy is but I'm afraid it isn't marked and I picked up in a junk shop for 50p!

Oooh I do love the thrill of new pillowcases (I know, cheap date or what!) and finally I won a pair of Cath Kiston pastel flowers cases on ebay for less than a mortgage. Gosh they really are pretty, just the thing for spring.

And soon it will be summer again and I cannot wait to arrive at the little quay in this old Vernon Ward picture I also won on ebay (£5!). Last year Woody and I had a very special evening in Fowey, Cornwall and just as the light was fading we decided to jump on the little water taxi over to Polruan for pint in a cosy pub just around the corner from this view.

Going back across the water in darkness with lights twinkling on boats, in houses and on the far side of the estuary leading us home, is a trip I will always treasure. I'm so happy to have won this lovely old print to remind us of a special little adventure. Roll on July!

Spring Begins

I don't remember ever being so pleased to see the sunshine! Finally March has arrived and brought a flash of spring with it. I don't care now if it snows again, rains or anything - at least it'll be spring snow or rain and that means the flowers, birds and time outside can't really be that far off now.

And thinking of being outside a bit more means picnic time for us. Car picnics, woodland picnics, picnics on the beach; we do them all. Until now though our sandwiches, salads, fruit and snacks have been rammed into rucksacks and cool bags (not needed one of those for a while!) but look what I found today.

On one of my favourite stalls at the flea market there were five beautiful 1950s hampers and I had to really calm myself down when I saw them. I've been hankering after one for ages but they go for a fortune on ebay (plus huge postage) and didn't think I had a chance of owning one. But this beauty was just £8, cheaper than a new wicker version. It took me ages to decide which one (I really fancied a neat little blue version with floral cups but there wouldn't have been much room for the food, which is sort of the point I think).

There are four dinky plates and saucers, some vintage plastic cutlery and the metal sets, plus two intact thermos (one for coffee, one for hot chocolate - is it just me who thinks thermos tea tastes a bit odd?) and a little glass storage jar. It's in really good nick and looks like it's hardly been used.

Sadly there's only one cup but I might add a few vintage floral mugs and beakers to brighten it up. There's a roomy sandwich box, some teeny salt and pepper holders and room for a little cake tin I think.

Oh I love, love, love it! All I need is one of these lovely things to pootle around in, finding the perfect picnc spot. Well, a girl can dream...

Slim Pickings

I don't know about you, but getting going in the New Year takes me an age. It's the 17th January and I'm nowhere near up to speed yet. Maybe all this snow and bitter weather has pushed me into hibernation mode; certainly feels like it. Now it's melted away perhaps I'll come too a little?

But it doesn't seem I'm alone, even the shops and businesses are the same. I called into town yesterday for a whizz around the Collector's Market and the charity shops in the hopes of turning up some vintage treasures. Sadly nothing doing. Hardly any stall holders (not surprising really) and closed or lowly stocked shelves. Perhaps the year really needs to get going yet?

So I had a cast about the house and realised there were a few treasures from last year that got a bit forgotten about in the rush into Christmas and here they are.

 ~ the perfect treasure to bring a hint of spring to our soon-to-be-decorated bathroom

~ A new, and possibly the  most beautiful, Sally Page Flower Shop book.

~ Lovely £2.50 children's picture blocks.

~ I know - another one of these!

~ a once smelly, but now rather sweet cushion for my chair/bedside table

~ and a proper look at my favourite thrifted embroidery, found for 50p a while ago.

Hope you're getting up to speed quicker than me!