Vintage Fair -Northampton

Debbie has made a wonderful job of designing the flyer for our fair in November and it is all ready to go to the printers. This is all a bit scarily real now so we need to get our skates on and invite some more sellers to be part of it. We already have a number of confirmations from sellers we have approached . we are hoping to have a mixture of sellers with handmade items with a vintage twist as well as vintage , shabby chic goodies. As time goes on will start adding a list of confirmed sellers to my blog to keep you all posted.

Boot Sale Treasures

This morning was spent rummaging at the local car boot sale. I haven't been to one for a while and as the sun came out first thing we thought we would give it a try. We always go prepared with a  flask of hot coffee and fresh croissants. This morning I found some lovely old children's books, I just love the pictures in the 1920s and 30s annuals. 

I also found an assortment of pretty brooches ....

various pieces of china and some framed pictures from the 1920s.

July Bicycle Basket Bazaar

Today was the July Bicycle Basket Bazaar in Northampton's old Fish Market hall. The sun was shining and the fair was buzzing with activity. I came away with a wonderful little haul of treasures including a very sweet old umbrella in a mint green striped case and a couple of lovely old jam pots as well as a pretty rosy cup and saucer. I caught up with some friends and discussed plans for our own Vintage and Homemade fair with a couple of the basketeers. The fair is taking place in Northampton at St Matthews church rooms on Nov 7th and we are now starting to confirm bookings with some of the sellers. The wonderful 'Elsie Sparrow' (Lindsay) will be one of the sellers with her vintage inspired handmade children's clothes and gifts. She always has such a beautiful display at the bike bazaar and will be bringing her lovely old bicycle and basket laden with goodies to our fair.

Josh

I just had to share a picture of my gorgeous dog with you. Yesterday we had terrible thunder storms here and Josh was terrified. My daughter was researching on the internet ways of calming dogs  and found out that dressing them in a tight T shirt can help ! I thought it was a joke but sure enough when I got home she showed me the information on various sites. I can only guess it makes them feel secure, a bit like swaddling a baby. Anyway he did calm down a bit and spent the rest of the evening in the T shirt in a very relaxed mood !

Cupcakes From The Hummingbird Bakery

This week I have been in London on work business and made the best of the late afternoon sunshine with a walk through Regent's Park. This really is a little oasis of tranquility in the middle of a noisy city. I finished the afternoon in Notting Hill, one of my favourite areas of London. I love the pastel coloured mews houses. I managed to get in to the Hummingbird Bakery just before they closed the doors. I came away away with an assortment of gorgeous cup cakes and a large piece of red velvet cake. My daughter and I love these cakes and treat ourselves on the rare occasion we are in Notting Hill.

Anyway it was good to be home and to put my feet up with a drink and and a large slice of cake !

Seaside and Sailing Boats

Well, the schools have finally broken up and the summer holidays are upon us. I always have a yearning to get away to the coast this time of year, I particularly love the North Devon and Cornwall coast line. I have reminders of the sea all over my house even though we are about as far from the coast as you can get ! I particularly love my old green pond yacht and my original 1930s Frank Sherwin water colour. Amazingly I picked this up in a charity shop some years ago , I loved it instantly but didn't know the artist. I later found out that he was one of the artists who designed the famous railway posters. My toilet is decorated in Cath Kidston's boat wallpaper which always cheers me up whatever the weather is like outside. Oh well hopefully I will get to the coast for real over the next few weeks.      .

Cherry Picking

I have had to pick all the cherries on the tree today. I should have done this a few days ago as the thrushes have been feasting on them for days. The plum tree has also been dropping lots of lovely sweet plums so all these have been picked. Mr Cornerhouse has been preparing all the fruit for freezing and has just started to make a fruit pie for dinner, yummy....

Church Garden Fete

Today was the annual church garden fete at the lovely church of St Matthews on my road. Despite the weather it went ahead as planned and was as busy as ever. The home made teas and cakes were delicious and there was the usual array of plant and bric-a-brac stalls as well as a car park full of lovely vintage cars. I found a pretty rosy cake stand, assorted old children's books and a pretty trio decorated with violets.

St Matthews is the venue for our Vintage Fair we are holding on the 7th of November.

Present From America

My friend Debbie returned from the States this week and bought me this lovely little 1930's booklet.

 I have also had some other goodies arrive in the post from the US, a lovely flapper style brush and pretty chocolate box.

Now Deb is back we have started to finalise plans for a vintage style fair  in Northampton. Having been to the wonderful Vintage and Handmade Fair in Chipping Sodbury we were inspired to try and do something locally in Northampton. We sometimes have a stall at the local collectables fair or a bike at the Bicycle Basket Bazaar in Northampton Fish Market. However we have often said how great it would be to do something with more of a focus on the sort of vintage items we both love ourselves and there is nothing locally. Today we confirmed a booking at my local church hall a few yards from my house. The fair will be the first Saturday in November. I guess this is where the hard work starts, advertising and finding the right sellers to be involved. 

The following Saturday we will be up at the crack of dawn on our trip to Chipping Sodbury to the V&H fair hopefully with lots of pennies from our fair to spend on ourselves.

I will post updates about the plans for our fair as things develop.

Fruit Picking

I finally got round to picking the first of the fruit from the garden. There was a glut of red currants as well as black currants and gooseberries and a few strawberries that had escaped the slugs. I usually freeze the fruit and then use it through the Winter to make crumbles or compote to go with ice cream or yoghurt. I also harvested some early lavender ready for drying in bunches or making in to lavender bags. I love making use of things that have grown in the garden, it is always so much more satisfying than buying from a shop. I must confess I don't actually do any of the gardening I just enjoy the end products !

Latest Finds

This morning I spent a pleasant couple of hours pottering around a flea market in a neighbouring market town and managed to find some fascinating pieces of ephemera and a lovely old classroom poster of the seaside which I will frame and hang in my bathroom. On the way home we stopped off at some old stables which had been converted in to a courtyard selling afternoon teas and and assorted dusty collectables. I managed to find some old floral tapestry panels which at some point I will attempt to convert in to cushions. I do keep finding things that I have ideas for and then never seem to have the time to actually make any of them. Finally just before arriving home we called in to our local recycling centre previously known as the 'tip' and I found an old plaster floral swag that looks very like the adornments on Barbola mirrors. All in all not a bad day's work and all the better for the lovely sunshine.

Cottesbrooke

Sunday was a gorgeous day and we spent the morning in the gardens of Cottesbrooke Hall. Every June they host a Plant Finders Fair in the beautiful grounds. The different stalls are lovely and sell a range of rare and specialist plants as well as other items for the garden including garden antiques and reclamation.The photos are of a couple of my purchases. The plants are now in my garden and this amazing weather has meant sitting outside and enjoying the garden every evening.