Cover Girl....

Ok, so I may have done this the wrong way around but let me explain......

Last week me, my long suffering husband and my friends Rhianna and Katie went to a fashion show at one of the amazing St Peters charity shops in Bristol.  I have a very long article to write and lots of pictures to post and it's what you might call a work in progress........in between ripping out the last remnants of our kitchen and laminating posters for work. 

So, rather than delay this particular post, I decided to go ahead. There's nothing that states my blog needs to be in chronological order.....or any order for that matter! 

Therefore, may I introduce to you Miss Katie Jones, in all her vintage glory.  Quite possibly one of the most positive and calming people I've ever met.  

Katie paid the very worthy price of £10.99 for this 70's boho dress that she spied at the fashion show. A vision in green paisley, she carries off the modern seventies vibe very well. Funnily enough though the day after we went to the show, John found the same little number on the front cover of a magazine supplement for the local Bristol Evening Post. What are the chances? The article is all about St Peters Hospice shops and it turns out that this dress is quite famous as it's also featured in their Autumn/Winter graphics campaign all over the city.

The nature of the second-hand clothing beast is that you rarely know the original source of donations when you buy them but I would love to know who gave this up and why. Too old? changed shape? not quite their style any more? It could have been many a reason. The romantic in me however hopes that the original owner will either have seen the supplement this week or one of the graphics in a shop window maybe and secretly smiled a big proud smile to themselves. 

Whoever they are, they can rest assured that it will now go on to live a new life with the lovely Miss Jones. I wonder what new adventures they will share.....

Breathing new life.....

How lovely is this? 

I always get excited when other people show me their projects and this is so special. 

My friend Max has done an amazing job of up-cycling these pieces and I wanted to share them. She originally bought the desk from The British Heart Foundation who, along with their charity shops, have a range of furniture shops that hold some amazing pieces just waiting for a touch of love and imagination. This particular writing desk was £20 reduced from £50. 

So this is what you can do with a touch of black project paint, some custom made blue colouring, and a little bit of time. That said, it apparently took around 3 hours to sand down and 3 coats of paint. But by contrast, the handles took 10 minutes to paint but 2 days to dry!!

Totally worth it though, it's gorgeous.

The blue inside is such a lovely touch and even the lampshade was once red! 

Matching up-cycled letter rack....

And to finish off, even a custom-made pen pot from an old Yankee Candle jar. 

I am very jealous. Well done Max! 

Lucky, lucky, lucky....

Where to start?

I guess I should start by telling you some super exciting news...

I'm still not quite sure how this has happened but I have managed to land my dream job. I have written about treasures from St Peters Hospice charity shops many a time throughout my blog and I am extremely proud to say that I am now going to be one of their Area Managers.  I will be responsible for around 15 of their shops in Bristol, starting on November 2nd. 

I can honestly say that I cannot remember a time when I wanted something so much (apart from maybe waiting for john to pop the question!). I am so passionate about the cause as they cared for my friend recently in the last stages of her life and they do such good work for people affected with life limiting illnesses (and their families). I am a regular in their shops so when I saw the job advertised on their website, life as we knew it came to a stop so I could plough everything I had into the application. Days and nights were spent on research and presentations, visiting shops and devising a plan. I am so happy to say that all the work paid off and I cannot wait to start. 

And with all new beginnings, there is usually an ending of sorts that precedes it. That ending will be with Wallis. I have been part of that family for just over five years. In that time I went from a four hour sales advisor to a multi-site manager and I am so grateful for everything I've learnt. I have made some great friends, learnt from many mistakes but achieved so much both personally and professionally. It's been a whirlwind time but it has been an amazing springboard to an exciting new start. 

So, that's my life at the moment. Working like I've never worked before on a big project for Wallis that I want to see through to the end before I go while also trying to think about the massive step up I am about to take. Bloody scary times. 

In amongst all my time researching however, I did manage to come upon a few little gems that I just couldn't turn my back on. So the following pics are a small homage to the amazing St Peters Hospice shops and the beauties that can regularly be found within. 

A vinatge Dorothy Perkins mac - £6.99

A £2 top on the bargain sale rail in the Brentry shop

A classic black dress with deep pockets that I just love. £10 from their Staple Hill shop. I'm going to pair it with red lips, red leather gloves and a headscarf. I'm going to channel my inner Linda Koslowski in that scene at the end of the film - Crocodile Dundee. But just to clarify.....I will not be throwing my shoes away like she did. 

And finally a boxy red old school blazer. The photo doesn't really do it justice. It's very 80's and very structured with big gold buttons. It's a little big then I'm not the smallest girl up top! £4. 

So there you have it. A select few from a vast supply. A supply that is set to grow no doubt. 

Sorry john.......

Step back in time...

What a great day.  My prayers were answered and Lou Lou's Vintage Fair finally came to bristol on a Saturday that I wasn't working (for once!). Somehow I managed to leave my long suffering husband bricking up a wall at home, while I got to travel back to another era for a few precious hours.  

Held at Bristol Temple Meads passenger shed at the side of Brunel's great train station, the travelling national fair laid on a bounty of all things pre-loved and beautiful.  The grand space was filled with layers upon layers of tulle petticoats, brooches, bags and hats and an immense amount of clothing. There were cupcakes and tea served on vintage china for those weary shoppers, a pop up hair salon with ladies ready to tong victory rolls a plenty and even a swing band to entertain you as you rummaged. It really is a lovely event if you are ever able to go. The majority of people really do dress up and go to town with their outfits and it's a lovely way of seeing people's individuality shine through. 

I wish I had made more of an effort to be honest. Although I put some though into what I wore, I wish I had really pushed the boat out and not worried too much about looking silly. I forgot that these fairs are the one place where you really can do that. Red lips and tutu's are de rigeur.  It was also interesting to see a lot of men at the event and not just because they had been coerced with the promise of beer or otherwise, the men I saw were genuinely having a good time. Sifting with true intention along rails of old Levi's and American style shirts. 

Here are a few photos that I took to give you a feel for the event...

The pop up parlour where I had my hair done for £20...

I love the idea of victory rolls and I am always keen to have it done but for some reason, I don't think they really suit me. That said, flicking through the vintage hairstyle books while I was being 'coiffed' has inspired me to try a few other styles. Watch this space....

And of course, I didn't come away empty handed (unfortunately for my purse and for my wrists that had to take the weight of the bags later on), but I am so so happy with what I found. 

A gorgeous chiffon, deep red skirt that oozes swish-ability (a prerequisite for all skirts of mine). It was marked at £18 but the stall holder let me have it for £10. No marks or stains, holes or deformities. 

All I need now is a white silk blouse, neck scarf and oversized glasses. Oh and Cary Grant and a backdrop of the French Riviera. 

This is just sublime and I don't use that word very often. A true 'Margo' dress. The style that harks back to tv programme 'The Good Life' with Penelope Keith in her gorgeous maxi day dresses. It's a very thick polyester fabric but not in a horrible cheap way and a few of the tiny diamantés  are missing but I will carefully paint the holes where they sat with silver nail vanish to fill the gaps. I cannot wait to wear it. I am not usually a fan of 70's fashions but for some reason I love this style of dress. A nipped-in waist, v-neck and floaty sleeves, it is super feminine and a steal at £20 from £35. If you can take the risk of waiting towards the end of the day, a lot of items get reduced and rails suddenly display £10 or bargain rail signs. But if you love something that much, don't put it back, snap it up or someone else will. And with one-off pieces (as is the nature of vintage), you know you won't find another one. 

And finally, this coat. Possibly one of my favourite ever finds. It was £50 but it looks like new despite its age. It's a wool-cashmere blend and is so soft.  A lady that walked by as I was trying it on said "if you don't buy that coat, I will buy it for you!". Very kind, although I happily paid for it myself.  I think the stall holder new a guaranteed sale was coming his way from the enormous smile on my face.  I do tend to be quite expressive and give away any hope of bartering. 

I feel like Anna Karenina the minute it sits on my shoulders. Beautiful. And with the cold days approaching, a new coat edit is probably in order soon. Not that this will be an everyday coat. Strictly for masquerade balls and long romantic train journeys through snowy wastelands. 

A girl can dream. 

Change in attitude...

This outfit is one from the archives that had always sadly been overlooked in favour of other pieces. Unless you are lucky enough to fill your time with nothing but luncheons, gallery openings and afternoon cocktails (à la Carrie and the gang), opportunities to dress up become less and less. As much joy as my dressing room gives me, it also serves as a reminder that I simply do not have enough time to ever wear the many hundreds of treasured second-hand pieces that I have amassed. 

So after a mini epiphany, I have decided to make a change and get back to my former self, the one that dressed up for everything. Whether that be popping out for a pint of milk, a day off with mum or just pottering about   I need to get back to the real me and out of this habit that I've adopted of throwing on John's tracksuit bottoms after work, automatically resigning myself to the fact that there's no point making an effort.....as the DIY will recommence after tea. 

So as I flicked through long forgotten pieces in my wardrobe, I came across these two items and decided to dust them off. Both are from my beloved St Peters Hospice no less, from their shop in Fishponds, Bristol. Once a favourite shop of mine as I was lucky enough to have a flat pretty much above the shop, a dangerous move in itself. 

The skirt is a gorgeous full circle skirt made in shimmering satin that is so soft, it is full of 'swish-a-bility'. It is capable of instantly transforming anyone into a lady. And at £3.75, the ladylike tag comes pretty cheap. The top is a stretchy jersey fabric with a lovely black sheen to it and gold embroidered detail on the chest that really works well with the skirt. If I remember rightly, it was on a super cheap rail for around £1.50 so there was no possibility of me passing it by. 

Hopefully this is the first step towards some big changes for me. I don't want my wardrobe to become a museum of beautiful pieces gathering dust.  The joy comes in wearing them, not staring at them. I think maybe a lot of it has to do with confidence as I become more conscious of 'age-appropriate' dressing. But in thinking that way, I've lost a little bit of my identity. That element of literally wearing your personality on your sleeve, not just your heart. Your clothing should represent your ideals, your passions, your attitudes.  It's your own personal channel in which to broadcast a little bit of you to the masses. A big message that I try to send is one that shows just how beautiful pre-loved clothing can actually be if you work past that stigma of dirty, smelly pieces that time forgot. That is not the case anymore and in fact some charity shops could give the poshest high-end boutiques a run for their money in terms of atmosphere, shop-fit and  even visual merchandising.  All you require is a bit of creativity, an open mind and that little bit of vision to see an item not for its past but for how you can re-style it yourself for the future.  It's the ultimate in sustainable shopping. And if we all shopped this way a little more, maybe we'd all have enough for cocktails in the afternoon. 

What a lovely thought. 

V for Victory...

Well hello there, it's been a while. 

The last few months have been a bit of a blur and I feel quite sad that we are already half-way through the month of August and as yet, no amount of good weather has befallen us (not for any length of time anyway).  We were so spoilt with summer last year, it left us daring to dream for more.  I watch with interest as our neighbours erect and dismantle their gigantic paddling pool, desperately trying to make the most of even the slightest amount of good weather, only to have to deflate it days later once it's turned green.

On the flip side, due to the lack of sun, we have ploughed on with our house, at least in planning terms, maybe not in actual 'doing' terms. We are at a massive DIY crossroads with Merlocke Manor. We find ourselves needing a new kitchen (which is a huge project in itself as we need to knock down an outside toilet on the side of the house in order to extend it). We knew this day would come but somehow we also find ourselves needing a new boiler, new windows and doors for the back of the house, oh and the ceiling fell down in our dining room.  Strangely all four jobs are inter-connected somehow and we really need to plan well as to what we do first as each job has a knock-on effect on the other.  So I am having to resign myself to the fact that my dream of a new kitchen for Christmas is slowly slipping through my fingers, especially if we are hoping to do the work ourselves. 

So last week on my day off, a little down in the doledrums and full of a cold, I took myself of to Chepstow for lunch (in the pouring rain) and thought I would have a mooch around the charity shops.  Just in case.....

To my delight, I found 6 items and all in all spent less than £20 (my usual budget when I trawling for bargains).  A lovely M&S Speziale  black dress that was £5 (well over £100 new according their website), and a very feminine wrap top, again from M&S.  Also a vintage Dorothy Perkins  dove grey and black mackintosh and two tops for every day in addition to the one pictured.   This one, granted, is very plain but it has some gentle studding detail around the v-neck, great for a simple tea down the pub. I paired it with my dark blue jeans and very, very old beloved M&S camel boots that are nearing their 15th birthday soon and still going strong. 

I have found myself getting very good at burying my DIY head in the sand.  As soon as I can persuade my long suffering husband to take some photos, I shall write about the other jewels and some other bits besides.....

And at some point, if you are really privileged, I may even tell you the story of how our ceiling fell down.


You lucky people you.

Summer Daze......

Well hello there...

I am ashamed to admit that it has been a while since I last put fingers to keyboard and updated my online diary of musings and must-haves.  I have no-one to blame other than myself. I allow work and all its associated mini-drama's to consume me which leaves me to drained and lazy to deal with the fun things in life such as this.  That said, in among all the madness, John and I have been lucky enough to steal a week away in Majorca for which we were sooooooo grateful.  I made a particular stand by declaring the phone would remain locked in the safe, not once was I to check messages or Facebook so that John and I could attempt to shelter ourselves from the outside world and all of its distractions.  It was a refreshing change and made me appreciate our time together even more.  In between my retail hours, DIY, kids and other necessities, we rarely have quality time together so it was super-special just to call him totally my own for 8 days straight.  I even had my hand and toenails painted especially for the holiday, something I rarely do other than maybe a wedding or super-special event but in my mind, this was.

We stayed at the Hotel Maria Luisa in Portals Nous which is only 25 minutes from Palma the capital, so great in terms of transfer distance.  It is our second time there, mainly due to the fact that I get to indulge my love of french all week as the hotel is full of French people.  Yes, we go all the way to Majorca, just so I can speak French.   Bizarre but true.  Portals Nous is a lovely quiet spot though with a picturesque cove and beach, a little village to the top of the hill with some nice restaurants and a buzzing port close by (where the beautiful people hang out).  The port is brimming with overly pretentious yacht owners with their questionably young "girlfriends", complete with handbag dogs.  Not really for us but it's fun to people watch and  nice when you want a change from the so-called wine that is served at the all-inclusive!  It's a three star hotel and very simple and a little out-dated but it's fine for us. At the end of the day, we just want to go away and read books, eat and drink (a little too much), meet new people and do some snorkelling.  For a quick week away, our holiday requirements are very basic.  So the 1970's decor doesn't bother us, neither does the 1970's style entertainment.  At the end of the day, it is what you make it and we always try and put in 200% to get the most out of every experience.

Of course, I started the packing edit several months ago. In fact the bed in my step-daughters bedroom became my new suitcase while I perused, selected and re-selected clothes that could possibly make the cut for les vacances.  My unwanted weight gain added to the challenge in that what I wanted to take and what my hips and boobs would allow me to take, sadly were at opposite ends of the scale. But after several hours of testing, trying, squeezing and shoving....I selected my core pieces (and carefully stowed several extras in my hand luggage when Johns gaze was averted).  The plan was to take a second-hand/vintage piece to wear each night I was there, as one of my favourite holiday pass-times is dressing up for dinner. It matters not that I swan into the all-inclusive buffet thinking I am a cross between Carrie Bradshaw and Audrey Hepburn when others have barely managed to cover up their swimwear and sunburn, I am British and we dress for dinner!  I am proud to say I managed it, with the exception of the last night where I sadly (but practically) had to don my plane outfit as opposed to an over the top ballgown (although Easyjet could do with a few more dresser-uppers!).  So here are a few pics of what I wore.  I apologise for the cheesiness of the images.  I am still not comfortable with the idea of asking for my photo taken so I can display them here. My confidence just won't allow me to relax, hence a lot of the poses are either forced or fumbled.

This red dress is one of my faves and I have written about it a couple of times.  It has become a stalwart piece in my wardrobe ever since I found it in my friends charity shop last year in Bristol.  It doesn't seem to matter what my weight is doing at the time, this slides over all the bumps and the red is noticeable enough to shout "look at this dress" as opposed to the figure that is hiding underneath.  I can't remember the exact price but I know it was less than £10 and it has more than its fair share of outings.  I love it.

Don't I look lovely and white, I think the sun looks, smirks and by-passes my body while all around me go a lovely shade of brown.

This 1920's number is new, I found in in my local St Davids Charity shop in the village, a couple of weeks before take-off.  I almost couldn't contain my happiness when I lifted it gingerly from the rail praying that it was my size.  For once, I was pleasantly surprised in that it was a little too big. I didn't have to place it back with that sad forlorn look on my face, berating myself for even going near the size 8-10 section of the rail.  It is a size 14 but seems much bigger but that particular style of 1920's dress was not meant to be fitted. It was meant to drape off of the gamine-like silhouettes of those Charlston beauties. As such, its not one of hubby's favourites, who likes me to show off my curves but I love it with or without hubby's approval. It was £15 but a justified cost I thought due to all the embellishment and detail. It is damn heavy though, in hindsight it shouldn't have been one that I placed in my hand luggage in a clandestine manner!  Poor John didn't even realise what he was carrying around when he gallantly offered to carry my bags (which he always does and I love him for it).

I hate this photo, neither me nor the jumpsuit looked very good so you will have to just believe me  when I say that it does look a lot better in real life. This was £7.50 and another recent find before the trip. I found it in a charity shop in Weston-super-Mare when I paid my mum a quick visit to say goodbye. It was originally from M&Co, which is a High Street chain, slightly higher in status than Matalan (is that fair to say????).  We don't have one near us so it's not a shop I go in really or have been in many times in the past.  I do love a one-piece though. I think they suit all types of women, slim, tall, curvy or not.  They are so flattering.  This one has a silver satin top and black crepe trousers and the contrast really works.  It had lost its belt so I made do with a ribbon for now until I can better pair it with something more suitable.

This black number is lovely but far too low - even for a skin-showing holiday (especially with my double frontage). So despite the heat, I had to wear it with my black M&S slip underneath just so I didn't put people off their food at dinner.  Looking back, I should have just said, what the hell!  There were some awful sights to behold in the restaurant so me showing a little more cleavage wouldn't have been the most offensive thing on the menu but I thought better of it.  Granted it's a bit of a plain style, but I liked the detailing under the bust line, a respectful nod to a different era and the fabric is a lovely polyester (there's no such thing I hear you cry!) and it just glides over your body. A little hot for Majorca but I wanted it to make the cut as it was the first time I had an opportunity to wear it.

There were other outfits of course but in a bid not to push John over the edge with the oh so annoying......"could you possibly take my picture", every night when he wanted to just get to the  all-you-can-eat buffet, I opted out of some photo shoot opportunities.  One of the sad things for me about coming home (other than the obvious list), is that I no longer have to dress for my supper. It's not quite the same when you are just sitting with your dinner on your lap in front of the TV.  I have however, vowed to make an effort to dress up more, whenever the opportunity presents itself. I have already been out twice this week since home, once to the cinema and once to the indian (a necessary pilgrimage after a rather repetitive food source on holiday), and I made an effort for both, wearing second-hand of course. Posts to follow soon.

I hope you all have a lovely holiday to look forward to, or if you have already had one, I hope you have many amazing memories to look back on. Just like us...