Thrifty, nifty buys

I have had a rather enjoyable time recently, clearing out lots and lots of old things in my wardrobe, my house, and my head if I'm honest... and finding out that I know exactly what I want in all the same realms, and starting to pick them out! I have enjoyed rearranging and the sea change in my life, which I think was needed, and the joy of selling old things on ebay, means I don't have to feel bad to be spending too much money!

So, I had to share some of my buys with you...

Lovely vintage and vintage style blouses: my love of pale sugar pink remains, and is joined by lovely vintage details on collars and buttons:

Vintage, white blouses - ebay
Polka dot blouse - ebay
Scalloped blouse - New Look

I then went a bit mad with the way that New Look are doing really affordable and lovely 40s style clothes in burgundy, not to mention great hats - a great season for them, and especially cheap as I had a 20% off voucher and a credit note to spend. I also have always adored burgundy, and a renewed love for dresses and 40s shapes and details made this skirt and dress to good to refuse...

The blouse was another vintage ebay find... I'm just buying anything I can in this colour!

Next... I couldn't believe it when I found these amazing 20s, jazz style shoes on ebay and they had a £50 price tag on their unworn soles - and ribbons to tie them up! Why would you ever sell these?

And this lovely hat from New Look...

Finally, I found these lovely items at a charity shop for £2.50, and they look wonderful lit up on my windowsill! My cat seems to like them too...

So, with all this, there should be plenty of outfit posts coming up soon - I'm just completing a similar clear out in our lounge, and need to make space to do them!

P. S. Finally worked out how to get bigger photos up here - and hope you like the new layout!

The Lost Gardens

The last of my favourite photos from Cornwall all come from the Lost Gardens of Heligan, which make for a most wonderful and beautiful day out. These gardens really are a fairytale come true, acres of land that were designed several centuries ago but, having become overgrown, have only fairly recently been discovered and recovered. That means there is still acres to go - and everywhere photos of what the gardens looked like when the work started. I particularly loved the completely overgrown jungle that was the walled gardens... it was truly like walking into the book of The Secret Garden.

It took us all day to wander round, taking in meadows, forest, vegetable garden, jungle, lots of sunshine and many ideas for my dream garden. That isn't include my favourite part, the poultry orchard, and the amazing mud maiden - a giant sculpture of a woman coming out of the grass as if alive. A truly amazing place - I would go back tomorrow if I could.

The Story of the Four Sisters and the Giant's Heart

While we were in Cornwall, we made a daytrip to St.Michael's Mount at the western end of England, and it was the most perfect, sunny, magical day. We arrived at a tiny coastal town and, as the tide was high, caught a tiny boat over to an island which contains a medieval castle, Victorian servants' quarters and wonderful sculpted gardens: the photo below that looks like people walking on the sea is in fact people making their way over to the Mount on foot once the tide had dropped enough for the causeway liking the Mount to the mainland to appear. It was a strange feeling looking back at England from a castle, and more than ever like being in a fairytale. As a student of medieval literature, it was of course perfect for me.

Even more wonderfully, there's a myth about the Mount that says a female giant is buried under the castle after she died when a giant on the mainland threw a hammer to her husband, which accidentally hit her. There is a well on the mount through which her eye is supposedly visible, and a heart shaped stone on a pathway up to the castle that is her heart that I snapped below.

As if all this wasn't enough, the walled landscaped gardens around the castle were also designed by four sisters - a real life Victorian children's storyline! The perfect place to wear my Victorian-style boater and vintage-style shoes :)

Shoes - New Look
Shirt and shorts - Ebay
Hat - Primark

Definitely a day to treasure forever.

Never a ship sails out of the bay but carries my heart as a stowaway

Finally, normality is being restored here after an exciting time which I have much to say about! But to begin with, some of my favourite pictures from our trip to Cornwall and reunion with the sea - it's been a while. As ever, the sight fills me with awe and a little fear, and complete breathlessness when the days are sunny and the sea an inexplicable shade of green and blue. Part of me will ever remain a little old fishwife by the harbour to the sea...

Many more stories and pictures to come!

Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same...

I thought I'd share some of my exciting new finds before heading off to Cornwall on holiday tomorrow! It has been a very busy but lovely week, which I started with a 5am start to head off to the antiques market at Kempton Park, which was amazing. I was so spoilt for choice and bewildered by all the wonderful things that I came away empty-handed, but I definitely want to go back with some spare cash! I had my eye on vintage Steiff bears, Victorian photo albums, a 40s silk wedding dress, antique furniture, lots of stuffed animals, 60s dresses... need I say more?

After that, I went to the Clothing Warehouse near Newbury, where I've never been before. I thought I would find nothing, but walked out with a long burgundy dressing gown in thick satin, a beautiful vintage crimson dress, a white 60s shift dress, a beige mac, a lovely blue and lace petticoat that is so thick I will definitely be wearing it as a dress, and a polks dot shirt... and then to finish it off, I found a lovely jade spotty shirt at a sale in New Look, and a 50s red vanity case from Ebay! Bargain! And all the Warehouse things were £6 or less. I love it there, and have become such a huge fan of thrifting.

Then to end the week I wore the red dress and bag to my friend's wedding in the Peak District, which was beautiful. She looked stunning and because of the amazing purple heather on the moors, she looked like she walked straight out of Wuthering Heights in her lovely dress. Perfect, and definitely an area I'd like to visit again.

Oh, and my hair is finally getting to the shade I want now!

More after my holiday, hopefully with lots of pictures...

Bright Young Things

I am exhausted after having decorators and plumbers in our house for a week redoing our bathroom and lounge; the lounge is now wonderfully bright, showing off my little glass and ceramic vintage finds, and the bathroom has a real art deco feel to it. But it is wonderful to have the house back in order and all the mess cleaned up!

After so much chaos and dust(and so little time for blogging), I felt the need for a little glamour, so I watched Bright Young Things, which I've never seen before. I wanted to steal all the costumes and the decor, and have a real urge for some fur (fake in my case), hats, gloves, sophisticated dresses... for now, these gorgeous 30s images will have to do.

I wonder when we lost that glamour?

What great pictures - I would like them all on my wall... just love the girls on the rock by the sea. I would definitely wear this on my trip to Cornwall (next week!) if I could!

Tomorrow I'm getting up stupidly early to go and explore Kempton Antiques Fair - I've been meaning to for ages, but I hope all the good stuff doesn't sell straight away as it's a bit of a drive for me! Wish me luck...

(Pictures found on Tumblr, courtesy of: 40s classic, couture allure vintage, cynic with a smile, i am the moon, lucy loves me more, maudelynn, retro goddess, she was not alone, the happy heffalump, they roared vintage).