The Joy of Charity Shops: Marks and Spencer nautical-style jacket

I like to torment my boyfriend with the immortal words "Give me five minutes" whenever we pass a charity shop. He rolls his eyes, and says "I'll be outside/over there reading my Econimist/at the bus stop" and I run in a little wild eyed looking for the amazing bounty that I'm convinced lies undiscovered.

This weekend, I said my line (The Boy opted for waiting at the bus stop), and found this beauty; a very 1980's looking black boxy nautical jacket from Mark and Spencer. It's a bit Lady Di, but I can live with that. It's 100% wool, in amazing condition and sporting some lovely brass buttons. I'm thinking of a skinny jeans and jacket combo, or with my tiered mini skirt, or over a cute jumper dress....all these possiblities, and priced at the £6. Bargainous.

I made this! Fascinator 2

I made another one - i recycled an old alice band, and used the left over feathers from my first 'creation' and some pearl beads i had been meaning to use for years. The result is...a little fashion forward.

I mean, as gorgeous as it is, where the hell am i going to wear it to?!

I made this! Fascinators

I've always had thoughts about designing hats and fascinators. This week, i decided to stop thinking and start doing. So, i took a trip to Barnett Lawson - an excellent haberdashery supplier on Little Portland Street (http://www.bltrimmings.com/).

Not only do they have anything you could want to do any crafting and designing (I was like a kid in a sweet shop - decided i really didn't need the maribou boa..), but they were also very helpful for novices like me; i was given advice and was patiently talked through the basics for how to make a simple fascinator. Also, which i really appreciated, was the advice:  "on the first visit, customers should just look, take it all in and then come back and get started at their own pace". And that's exactly what i did.

I came home armed with the simple components - alice band, fascinator base, veiling, some feathers...

I found a little bit of scrap fabric to add a little colour...et voila:

The Boy's verdict? "You bought this, no?" Even he was impressed - though i had to explain what a Fascinator was...

I made this! Knit-tastic.

Knitting is all the rage at the moment. There's a fashion for the 'Make Do and Mend' ethic which i commend, but do feel it will be soon forgotten and a new fad will be embraced. That being said, i love the it, and it's not just a money thing, it's the creativity and the pride in making something by hand, myself.

And so, here's my first finished knit project - and i don't think it's so bad! I knitted a long scarf, and attached a bobble fringe to finish it off. I'm pretty chuffed with it. What to knit next....

For the bobble trim, i went to the fantastic Barnett Lawson  - an Aladin's cave of buttons, trimmings, ribbon...the works. Be warned - you won't leave empty handed. http://www.bltrimmings.com/

I made this! Cupboard lining

More 'waste not want not'. I vowed to use all the remaining wallpaper i had left over from the lounge. I'm really happy with it - i love the idea of a little surprise when i reach for something from the cupboards. Though i am slightly worried about sufferering from EUOOKS (Excessive Use of Orla Kiely Syndrome).

Before:

After:

                                                                                

Nice, no?

The Joy of Charity Shops: Vintage London postcards

Here's a great set of vintage postcards of London that I found in a charity shop near my flat. It's quite amusing to look at the pictures of Piccadilly, Carnaby Street, Oxford Street and the like from the late 1960's.

But the real treat for me - and what made me buy the set - was this one:

It caught my eye, because it looked familiar...i turned it over and saw that it was Croydon's Whitgift shopping centre - just 10 minutes from where I live! I love things like that - not only do they look good, but there's a connection too. Not bad for £2.

The Joy of Charity Shops

These days, what with too much work and not enough time, Saturday mornings have become the magical window of opportunity to browse my local charity shops.

As always with charity shops, you have to be patient; there are certain things you are guaranteed to find (Primark rejects, over-stretched jumpers made of synthetic fibres, cook books on 'How To Microwave' from the 1970's), but be patient and you might just find yourself a gem for your wardrobe or your home (like great 1950's cookware, a fantastic leather frame handbag, or a designer dress priced at 50p - but that is rare).

I love the unexpected - the thrill of what could be in there and what bargains are waiting to be discovered. Don't you?

So I'll be dedicating regular posts to the goodies that i find (which gives me an excuse to keep on rummaging).

Ikeaaaaaah!

I have a love/hate relationship with Ikea. I often joke that my flat is 'the home that Ikea built', but with many first-time buyers, bargain hunters and people on a budget, it is always a great place to start; no doubting that.

When i first moved in to my flat, i had one of my best Ikea experiences; i had a decent budget and a list of things i needed that was as long as my arm. Unadulterated shopping frenzy commenced, and my flat was almost fully furnished withing 2 hours.

But then, there are the other, more banal and downright annoying Ikea 'experiences'. Like today. When you get up early and go 'to miss the crowds', only to realise that everyone else within a 50 mile radius was thinking the same thing. Then there's the kids - now I'm not anti kids (well, not entirely...just not in shops. Or any other enclosed spaces), but they are everywhere. EVERYWHERE. And there's the meanderers. Walking slowly...then stopping. Right in front of me and my trolley. Can't you see I'm in a hurry? I'm on a mission. Get. Out. Of. My. Way. And then there's the trauma of having spent what feels like hours deliberating over an item, writing it down with those little fiddly pencils, and walking around and around the never ending corridors of brown boxes...to find what you are after is out of stock.

Motherf***er!

Guess I'll be back next week, then.

How to have a stylish wedding

I recently went to a wedding of a couple I've been friends with for years - both the bride and groom are amazingly stylish, and I was excited to see how they'd translate their personalities into the biggest days of their lives.






I wasn't disappointed; it was unique, personal and beautiful. No OTT sentiment (not needed), no frou frou (not at all them) but most importantly and significantly, it was fun as well as stylish; I think that was their ambition, and they succeeded. I have been to other weddings (and parties of all sorts) that prioritised how it looked over how it would feel, or perhaps those in charge didn't have the capacity to make the event achieve both. However this wedding had beautiful venues, small individual touches, and cupcakes. And not forgetting a truly breathtaking dress and a ridiculously smart suit.






It only takes a bit of thought (and a good eye, i guess) to make a memorable day. Congratulations Shartyn and Ding.

All hail...the wall

Ta da! All hail the Orla wall. I'd love to say that i put the paper up myself, but that would be a blatant lie. I have my plumber/all round lovely labourer man to thank. And at the price per roll that I shelled out, there was no way in hell I was risking doing it myself.

There was a bit of an internal debate i had with myself about this paper - I've seen it on lots of style blogs and Orla Kiely prints are pretty ubiquitous....but i still loved it, and am very happy to have it up in my lounge. Who cares if it's not 'unique' or 'cool' as long as it makes you happy - a statement for life.

(The wallpaper is Flower Blossom in Teal by Orla Kiely. And it's lovely. See it here: http://www.orlakiely.com/uk.cfm/house/living/WFBP6H-500/4168/_/)

I made this! Kitchen pin-board

Take one pin-board from the ever reliable Ikea

Add a little left over paint

Summon boyfriend to hammer hook in wall because he likes doing that sort of thing. Et voila.

And as the boyfriend would say, 'Nice, no?'

Girl in a green dress

I saw this picture hanging in a antiques shop in Brighton. I almost wished I hadn't, because it meant parting with a fair bit of money and carting it all the way home. But it is a gorgeous picture, and I'm now a massive fan of Tamara De Lempicka and her work. The only problem is that whilst it worked in my last flat (hung against a dark grey wall), it just doesn't work in my new flat. So now, it resides in a corner of my lounge, leaning a little forlornly against a wall. I can't bear to part with it (and i don't want to), but what do I do? It's no way to treat a lady...

Mmmm. Breakfast.

I'm getting a little domesticated in my old age. One of the highlights of my week is baking my breakfast granola. Not the most rock and roll, but just look at it...tasty. And all done in my newly tiled kitchen.

In a previous life, this kitchen had 'lovely' 1980's yellow and blue (and i mean, nasty primary colour) square tiles. They had to go. In their place, I now have white 'underground' bevelled edge tiles, as you can see in the background behind my lovely granola. Nice. Some 'before' pics to follow.

(White 'Underground' bevelled edge tiles can be bought at B&Q - see them here:

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=10246967&fh_view_size=10&fh_location=%2f%2fcatalog01%2fen_GB&fh_search=underground&fh_eds=%c3%9f&fh_refview=search&ts=1250455153047&isSearch=true)

Where to start...?

Here's a picture of my pink door on the first floor. When I told my boyfriend what I wanted, he looked just a little sceptical, but as we painted even he had to admit that it looked good. It makes me smile everytime I walk through it, which was the intention. Just one example of how a lick of paint can make a lot of difference.

Help. Please.

I remember the first time i walked into my flat. I went into the bedroom, and fell in love with the two windows - one is floor to ceiling original sash window, and the other is a mini square window that is just gorgeous. Unfortunately, my lovely mini-window now looks like this:

Hmmm. I can't find a blind to fit the window. Well, that's a lie - I could find a crap blind to fit this window, but it deserves better. And I can't abide the light coming in, so the crappy piece of cardboard stays until I do. Any help on this one...??? Please??!

Welcome...

So i've finally started my blog. The plan is to document my little one bed flat becoming my home. All the before and afters, work in progresses and trials and tribulations. Plus anything else to do with interiors that takes my fancy. So here goes.... welcome.