Tea And Cakes

On Saturday morning I popped round to our local monthly antiques fair and found this old oak cake stand. Slightly warped but with lots of potential for display purposes. I knew when I saw it that it would be very useful for Deb and I in our new venture (more of that another day). I raided Mr C's paint collection and gave it a couple of coats of 'Sky Blue' from The Little Greene Paint Company.

I also found these sweet book ends which I will add to my Etsy shop.

Mr C picked me this lovely apricot coloured David Austin rose and bright orange poppy.

On Saturday afternoon we went to our nearest National Trust property Canon's Ashby house and church. We had a look around the garden and had some lunch. It is a beautiful property and we visit fairly often as we are members of the National trust and it's lovely to have something like this so close to home.

This gate to the garden was so romantic looking, covered in honeysuckle allowed to grow wild.

This reminded me of the door to the 'Secret Garden'

We also went over to Farthingstone village and bought some cakes to take home from the Bay Tree Cottage open day. Mr C bought a few plants and we sat in the garden and enjoyed tea and cakes in the sunshine.

This old gate was just down the lane from Bay Tree cottage and the bench with the lovely inscription was down the lane on the way out of the village.

On Friday I went to London with my lovely girl who wanted a break from revision.It was incredibly hot but we still had fun. We had lunch on the South Bank outside the Royal Festival Hall and we sat and watched the world go by.

I treated myself to the basket bag from Cath Kidston's Covent Garden shop. This was after much excitement from seeing a couple of the stars from the Pineapple Dance Studio show. The studio is just round the corner from the Cath Kidston shop.

We then had to visit the new Jack Wills store on Long Acre, Covent Garden . This is probably the biggest of their shops and was beautifully decorated with vintage silverware, books, bathroom fittings, faded Union Jack flags and pictures. The chandelier on the stairway was enormous, and the walls were covered in vintage prints.

this is a lovely sweet shop on the edge of Covent Garden

and also a very nice bakery selling pretty cup cakes.

Well it's been a lovely week away from work and with amazing weather which I never usually seem to get when I take time off work. Back to reality tomorrow and a long week of GCSEs for my lovely girl.

Sunshine And Showers

This weekend has been such a mixture of bright sunshine and wind and rain. Fortunately yesterday was sunny and Deb and I had a stall at Bay Tree Cottage open day over in Farthingstone. We had a lovely day and enjoyed chatting to people and indulging in delicious home made cake.

we tried to group our things in little colour themed arrangements.

The hall was lovely and bright and airy, and beautifully decorated with bunting.

Deb brought along her lovely old wooden tea trolley she found at the local tip. She gave it a lick of paint and it is great for display.

The cakes were truly scrumptious, between us we sampled lavender cake, chocolate cake, lemon drizzle and black currant, orange and poppy seed, tropical banana and Brooklyn Blackout Cake. Not just between the two of us you understand ! Mr C and Debbie's husband were also on hand to taste test.

Outside were old drawers and chairs used as planting containers for herbs and vegetables.

I took a walk around the village and enjoyed the sunshine.

The chimneys on the pub....

The lovely landscape and so peaceful not a sound except the birds singing. I guess for lots of you that is the norm but living in a town you appreciate the silence when you get out in to the countryside.

On Saturday morning the postman had brought me this lovely cup and saucer to add to my collection of utility wear. This one is American so had traveled a long way. I love the pink cup and yellow saucer,they are by Lu-Ray Pastels USA.

I found the sample cards of buttons and buckles at a flea market this morning. These will find their way in to my Etsy shop.

Yesterday I didn't come away empty handed either, the 1950s aprons and cottage tin are also destined for my Etsy shop.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the bank holiday weekend , hopefully the sun will make an appearance again tomorrow.

Weekend Treasure

This weekend has been very rewarding in terms of bargains and treasure. Saturday morning started with a jumble sale and a box full of cups and saucers for pennies to be put away for the tea room at our next Vintage Fair. After that it was time for the Bicycle Basket Bazaar at the Fish Market. This was a chance to catch up with lots of the friendly sellers who also had stalls at the Vintage Fair just before Easter. Of course there were some bargains to be had too as well as yummy bacon sandwiches and coffee.

This morning we set the alarm and were up bright and early for the big car boot sale. Armed with flasks of coffee and croissants we set off only for it to start pouring with rain. Undeterred Mr C agreed to carry on in the hope that it was just a shower. Half an hour later we arrived in the drizzling rain. Mr C decided to sit it out in the car and read the papers whilst I had a quick whizz round in the wet. Within a few minutes the rain had stopped but a lot of the car booters had packed up and some things had been ruined in the rain. However there was still treasure to be found. First of all this lovely floral feather eiderdown which had survived the rain because the lady had only just remembered it and was getting it out of her boot as I arrived. I haven't seen one like this before and in wonderful condition. As soon as I got home it went straight in the wash and on the line.

I found an assortment of 1930s egg cups, an old tin biscuit barrel, various pieces of jewelery and some very pretty tea cups.

I love this Royal Venton plate with the cottage design and the pretty Limoges finger plate.

I also found a pink Rose Dawn teapot and a pile of Celeste soup bowls to add to my collection of Utility wear. as well as this cheeky chappy.

Yesterday I found this set of 1960s 'Carnaby' coffee cups in a charity shop.

And finally I bought this pretty 1950s hand bag , brooches and book from Caroline at the Basket Bazaar. Lots of my weekend finds will be appearing in my Etsy shop over the next few weeks so pop in and have a look. Clair at Etsy Midlanders has put together a lovely posting on our team blog of vintage items from some us vintage sellers.

Next month Debbie and I are having a bike at the Bicycle Basket Bazaar. It is 12-4 on Sat 30th May at the Fishmarket. Hopefully we will see some familiar faces.

Next Saturday we are having a stall selling our vintage treasures at the Bay Tree Cottage open day in Farthingstone. Come along for an assortment of stalls, delicious home made cakes and coffee and a browse around the plant nursery. It is in the village hall from 10-4 on Sat 1st May.

Easter Weekend And A Trip To Bay Tree Cottage

As promised here are a few more scraps from my recently acquired 1930s scrapbook.

Unfortunately the weather at the weekend wasn't really suitable for this .......

..... but I saw quite a few of these , we even had hail one day !

I stayed at home quite a bit and caught up on a few jobs around the house

I did a bit more baking with my lovely girl. We seem to be working our way through The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. The marshmallow cakes were very pretty but much too sweet for me. The chocolate cupcakes made with Green and Blacks cocoa were much more to my taste.

On Saturday Mr C and I took advantage of slightly dryer weather and headed out in to the lovely Northamptonshire countryside. Farthingstone is a very pretty village which was once the home of my ancestors. Our destination was the village hall and Bay Tree Cottage right next door. Bay Tree Cottage is the home of Jenny who along with Annalitta run Bay Tree Cottage Country living Workshops . They put on a range of country craft workshops throughout the year using the cottage and the hall. On the first Saturday of the month they have open days. At the back of the cottage is a plant nursery as well as assorted chickens and cuddly black sheep. The views are wonderful and the setting of the little hall was just perfect for a range of country craft sellers as well as a lovely tea room. Hopefully Debbie and I may be taking part in a future open day and selling some of our vintage treasures. We enjoyed tea and the most delicious range of home made cakes. Mr C was very happy , most trips out seem to be judged by the quality of the cake he has sampled !

The inside of the hall was lovely and light and airy and it had these beautiful stained glass windows.

Bay Tree cottage is on the left and has a wonderful extension on the back overlooking open countryside. Amazingly this little row of cottages was also the home to some of my relatives many generations ago. Originally the cottages were tiny farm labourers cottages but they were very unusual.

If you look closely you will see that the whole of the front is covered in broken china including large pieces of tea cups and dinner plates.

Just down the road is the village pub, very inviting with pretty painted benches outside. To the left of the pub on the site of the car park used to stand Pear Tree Cottage. This was where my great great grandparents lived, and where my grandad spent many of his summers as a child.

This amazing construction is 'The Bug House' at the back of Bay Tree Cottage .

Hope you all had a lovely Easter Weekend.