A Wicked Week

I have had a lovely week off work even if the first part was mainly spent catching up on housework. There are some jobs that just couldn't be ignored any longer such as cleaning all the crockery on display in the kitchen that seems to attract grease and dirt. I find it strangely relaxing doing housework if I am in the right mood, there is something nice about doing something that doesn't take much thinking about.

Later in the week it was my lovely girl's 16th birthday and we had a bit of a family party catching up with relatives we rarely see.

These are a few more of my scrapbook pictures.

Then it was off to London for a birthday treat. My lovely girl loves London and we decided to treat ourselves to a night away. We went to see Wicked which was absolutely Wicked ! I would highly recommend it, I have seen a few musicals in the West End and I really enjoyed this one.

I managed to squeeze in a visit to Liberty. The poster is advertising their new budget range for Target which is definitely worth checking out on their website if you can't get to the shop.

This was quite a bizarre window display in Harrods. The red haired lady is lying down in her retro apron looking up at red roses suspended from the ceiling.

We finished our trip basking in the sun and enjoying a drink on the banks of the Thames at Richmond.

I didn't come home empty handed, I found the Cath Kidston skirt in a charity shop in Kensington, more expensive than I would pay in my local charity shop but still a bargain.

And this is a gorgeous piece of Liberty fabric. I was immediately drawn to the design and colour but have no idea yet what I going to make with it.

Back to normality tomorrow, school and work and fast approaching dreaded GCSEs.

Happy Easter !

Happy Easter Everyone, I thought I would share a few pictures of my Eastery bits and bobs in my kitchen.

There seems to be a bit of a duck and chicken theme going on !

For the first time in ages I did some baking a couple of days ago and made some scrummy cup cakes. The carrot cupcakes with orange were delicious and very easy to make. My friend at work had brought some in for us to try and copied me the recipe from her magazine.

Now, these little lavender chicks arrived in the post yesterday in their own little basket sitting on their nest on top of a pile of pastel coloured mini eggs. Carol is a lovely lady who had a stall at our Easter Vintage And Home Made Fair a few weeks ago. She makes these cute chickens filled with lavender from cheerful Cath Kidston fabrics. These were a lovely Easter surprise present that cheered me up at the end of a difficult day.

Recently I bought a 1930s scrapbook full of wonderful scraps. These are just a few of the Spring/Easter themed ones but I will show you some more in future posts. I haven't decided what to do with it yet because the actual album is falling apart.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend.

Bentley Priory Winter Fair

Yesterday was the Bentley Priory Winter Fair. Deb and I had been invited to have a stall so we were up bright and early with baskets full of vintage goodies. Bentley Priory is the home of the Battle Of Britain museum and was where fighter command were based. It is a lovely old house with lots of character.

I loved the stained glass windows and the wonderful chandeliers.

Outside was looking very festive with Christmas trees and wreaths for sale.

On the front lawn was a Hurricane and a Spitfire, amazing old planes and not as big as I imagined.

As usual Deb and I had too much stock to display and our table certainly looked very full ! However we had lots of nice feedback from customers and the Christmas shoppers seemed to like our stall.

I didn't leave empty handed. I found this great 1930s toothbrush holder. It has a hole in each side for toothbrushes and a little tray along the bottom for a tube of toothpaste. These were made in Japan for export and many ended up in the US. For now it has found a spot on my bathroom shelf.

I also found another Josephine book to add to my collection. I love the Honor C. Appleton illustrations.

And I couldn't resist these copies of The Girls Own Paper from the 1930s. The cover illustrations are wonderful. The only problem was choosing which ones to have . Some of the articles and stories in them are great and so funny.

And finally I treated myself to these gorgeous candles from The Spitalfields Candle Company. This one in the 1930s Coronation mug is gorgeous. The candle smells wonderful, it is scented with rose and geranium. The others are the Winter fragrance and Lemon verbena. They are made from a lovely organic soy wax and are very good quality. Apparently Liberty are selling candles in coronation mugs at the moment but are three times the price. If you like good quality scented candles check out their lovely website www.spitalfieldscandles.co.uk

And John and Libby if you are reading this, it was lovely to see you and thanks for making the journey x

1930s Watercolours

Last weekend's trip to the local tip yielded a number of treasures, among them this lovely 1930s water colour of the Northern Ireland Coast. Having spent many family holidays in Northern Ireland it was instantly recognisable to me. It is an original water colour in it's original frame but unfortunately I don't know who the artist is. I love the yellow and green tones which look lovely with the other two 1930s pictures I have on my wall.

The next picture is my favourite. It is an original 1930s watercolour of the Lake District by Frank Sherwin who was one of the artists who painted the wonderful railway posters. I found this in a charity shop some time ago and thought it was just a print but loved it. Some time later on closer inspection I found it was actually an original.

The next picture is a limited editon print again of the lake district and the

same era . It is signed in pencil by the artist W H Cooper.

On the same trip to the tip I bought this sad looking set of shelves which I then painted in Farrow and Ball and backed with the remains of my favourite Cath Kidston wallpaper. I used this to decorate my bathroom and still have part of a roll left.

I then used the same paper to line another old suitcase found at a car boot sale some months ago. This was quite fiddly as the insides of the case were very wonky but it was worth it as I now have a suitcase that will be great for displaying things.