Wedding Fever

A few days ago my lovely girl and I had a night away in London. The sun shone and we had a great couple of days. Wedding fever had certainly started, Regent Street looked great in the evening light decorated with flags and all lit up.

The city was packed with tourists enjoying the sunshine and the atmosphere.

We spent a lovely couple of hours on the King's Road and of course had to pop in to Cath Kidston. This was the shop Kate Middleton was photographed outside of a few days earlier.There were still plenty of paps hanging around and tv cameras from around the world. My one concession to the Royal wedding with a bit of encouragement from my lovely girl was Cath, Royal wedding tea towel.

The window display in Liberty was quirky and fun and decorated with vintage bunting.

We decided to join the crowds and visited Westminster Abbey. It was worth the wait and lovely and cool inside having waited outside in the scorching sunshine. The audio tour is well worth doing and we both enjoyed it. Outside enormous platforms had been set up for the world's media and cameras were being set up on surrounding buildings.

First Car Boot Sale Of The Year

Yesterday we went to the first proper car boot sale of the year. We probably didn't really get there as early as we should have but I still came away with a few treasures. This little lady was my favourite find of the day. I have admired her for months in our local antique centre and was always told she wasn't actually for sale and she wasn't priced. Imagine my amazement when I spotted her nestled on a stall at the boot sale being sold by the dealer at the antiques centre for just £2. I am sure it was meant to be. I know many people will wonder why I would want her with her broken arms but I think she is beautiful as she is.

I also found this cute donkey on wooden wheels. He has no maker's label and I would love to know more about him. He is definitely quite old with a solid body and mohair type fur.

This is an original water colour in a very pretty frame, it must be pre 1930s I would think.

Mr C was busy in the garden last week building a new raised bed and planting it up with salad and vegetables.

Our lovely peony 'Molly The Witch' flowered and after a few days is now gone.We bought her from RHS Wisley years ago and it took her around 6 years to flower.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, I hope you are all having a wonderful Easter weekend.

I thought I would share a few more images from my lovely 1930s scrapbooks.

As well as this sweet old Rowntree's Easter egg box.

A vintage 1930s Easter chick lemon squeezer.

Some vintage bunny and chick nursery ware china on my dresser.

Dreaming Spires and Vintage Fairs

This little lady arrived in the post this week. She was very grubby but after a gentle clean came up looking fine. She has now joined the rest of my little bisque dolls.

We have had a lovely extended weekend which included a trip to Oxford.

This time the sun was shining and we had a tour of the city on an open topped bus followed by a relaxing lunch in Jamie's Italian.

We always love wandering around Oxford, peeping in to the colleges and exploring the narrow little streets.

The mellow stone looked lovely in the sunshine although the sun seems to have disappeared behind a cloud in this picture.

Yesterday I somehow managed to squeeze in a small boot sale and two vintage fairs in to the space of a couple of hours !

The first fair was a lovely little vintage fair in the church hall at Earls Barton. The tea and home made cake was delicious and there was a lovely atmosphere. Sharon from Clover Cottage had a stall and it was great to catch up with her.

This gorgeous linen , embroidered table cloth was one of my favourite purchases this weekend.

The gorgeous pink eiderdown was a purchase from the second fair we visited and I couldn't resist it although I know I don't need another one ! As soon a I got it home I gave it a gentle wash in the machine and got it out on the line in the sunshine to dry. The two little hand painted glasses were found at the same fair.

The lovely yellow Jasmine Ware jug was found at the Earls Barton fair and the Tala cake tin and rolling pin at the second fair in Northampton.

The rolling pin is really pretty, I think it dates to around the 1930s and is hand painted with flowers and butterflies.

The Spring Country Living Fair, Mother's Day Treats and Vintage Treasures

This is a bit of catch up for the last couple of weeks I am afraid as I have been rather lazy and not managed to do a posting for a while. Anyway a couple of weeks ago I went off to London with my lovely girl to The Spring Country Living Fair. Although it was exceptionally busy it was still good fun and there were some beautiful stands. Afterwards I had a browse around Camden Passage antique market. I was really surprised to come away with this Union Jack bunting at a bargain price. Not what you expect in London at all. I think it dates to the 1940s or 50s and is in pristine condition with 27 flags. It wasn't exactly cheap but knowing what this is currently selling for on ebay I know I got a bargain. Mr C has been looking for some of this original bunting for ages for us to use at The Northampton Vintage Fair and we hadn't found any at a reasonable price.

Of course I had to pop in to Cath Kidston to spend some money I had been given for my birthday. I treated myself to this lovely bag which is a great size for shopping.

This large vintage Kilner jar was from Acorn and Will's stand at the fair. I think it looks great used to display some cheerful daffs.

The Bluebell Posy candle smells wonderful and was purchased from 'Made In Pixieland's' beautiful stand.

The large fabric covered box was from Velvet Ribbon's lovely stand.

This rather delicious eiderdown also arrived last week. I originally purchased it with the idea that I would probably sell it. As usual by the time it had been washed and dried on the line I had decided I couldn't let it go and it has joined my ever expanding eiderdown collection.

Mr C and I had a day out a couple of weeks ago visiting places recommended to us by Debbie of Lalabibaby. First stop was Hitchin flea market where I found the old French linen mangle cloth and the pair of vintage Kilner jars.We also stopped off at a lovely cafe and deli for some lunch. I couldn't resist a photo of the window displaying the delicious looking meringues.

We then headed off to Country Matters in Hexton where Debbie sells some of her beautiful handmade quilts. This is a village hall which has been turned in to an Aladdin's Cave of vintage and hand made treasures and a lovely tea room. I found the red vintage shopping basket and the old pond yacht. On our way home we stopped at a house clearance shop and I picked up some pretty cups and saucers and old tin sandwich box. All in all it was a lovely day out so thanks Debbie for all the recommendations.

Finally on Sunday I was very spoiled by my lovely girl. These beautiful flowers were delivered to me on Sunday morning and I love them. They are stunning pink roses from Jane Packer, displayed in a pretty pink hat box. They are still going strong and look as good now as when they were delivered.

In the afternoon we headed off to Canon's Ashby which is our local National Trust property.It was as beautiful as ever and we wandered around the house and gardens.I love this gate and think I have probably shared a photo of it in a previous post.

The views from the garden are stunning and it is so peaceful. I would definitely recommend a visit if you get the chance. There is also a lovely tea room and shop as well as a second hand book shop. I managed to find a pile of old Ladybird books very cheaply which are destined to be turned in to more bunting to decorate the next fair.