What's a girl to do....

I tried, I really did.

These lovely beauties came into my life this week at work. First of all my initial thought was "god dammit, another refund killing our sales...". Then I made the mistake of opening the box on the way to put it in them stock room.  And therein lies the problem.

My size, my style, my everything. And even better? They were now in the sale so I could buy them for much cheaper than the original price.  My job does have a plus side. Sometimes. 

The majority of my shoe collection is still boxed up in the garage.......and the spare room......and the bedroom and so on and so on. I have genuinely forgotten many of them and it will be like Christmas when they are re-opened. 

Progress update on the house? ......slow but sure. It's hard working on anything on top of full time jobs, especially this time of year when your body seems to want to hibernate in front of whatever the wonderful BBC wants to project into your lounge. I am also an expert at procrastination, my husband isn't quite so bad which is a good thing. He will just crack on while I will just ponder the idea for the evening. So, for now, we are awaiting building regs permission to continue with building the en-suite before anything else can be done.  That means the dressing room is still not able to take shape, other than in my imagination. Still not sure if we will be back in our bedroom for Christmas but I shall remain hopeful that Santa will grant my wish. 

That said, I have had so many wonderful wishes come true in my life, maybe I am starting to use them up. Maybe it's not about wishing for things.....

It's about turning your dreams into reality yourself. 

I should be so lucky......

Woe is me. This weekend is my first weekend off with John in ages and it will be my last, at least for a few months, as I have recently been given the unwelcome news that I now have to work every, single Saturday. Oh for the joys of retail management.

Of course I am very happy to have a couple of days with John and my boy, BUT.......Lou Lou's Vintage Fair is coming to Bristol tomorrow and every fibre of my being is telling me that I must go. Every minus digit in my bank account however is telling me otherwise. It only visits Bristol twice yearly and I was working for the previous one so I already feel that I have missed out somewhat. It's such a lovely event. Housed at the glorious Passenger Shed at Bristol Temple Meads, for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon, it is transformed into a vintage utopia. There are hair stylists, makeup artists, what feels like hundreds of stalls, vintage music and live bands. It's all there, right down to the 50's style cakes in the cafe. I love it and could happily while away several hours there rummaging.

One thing I would like to improve however is my bartering skills. They are non-existent and I have even been known to end up paying more than originally stated. Shameful.  Anyway, I don't think there is much hope of me going. We have an exciting date with B&Q....and jobs galore to follow. None of which include anything vintage or second-hand. However....a girl can still dream. And if I was  to be lucky enough to go....I would wear.........

This lovely full skirt with black ribbons stitched all over it. It makes such a lovely swishing sound 

whenever you move (a pre-requisite for any skirt of mine).  This came from St Peters Hospice months ago and is actually a size 16 but I am never put off by a big size rail. It's always worth having a look.....sizes differ so much between brands and although bigger than needed, it sits nicely on the hips. I think it was around £4, originally from Coast.

And, I would have paired it with his soft white black and white cardigan. Also originally from Coast, but bought from  a charity called the Shaw Trust, which is a great charity that helps disadvantaged and disabled individuals get back to work. 

So, not really the GI Jane 1940's look with a victory roll as per many a vixen that will be at the show,

 but girly and vintage none the less. And instead of this, I am set to wear my scruffy stuff, ready for whatever DIY dream job john throws my way. Still, not the end of the world. I could be at work this weekend. Happy days. 

Take a seat.....

Ok, this is getting slim pickings now. 

My charity shop "splurges" are becoming few and très far between as the house and all it's glorious little jobs are keeping our bank accounts very busy. So that leaves me pondering what could I have bought but not yet bored you about and I forgot about my lovely little telephone table that I have proudly placed in our hallway. I bought it months before we moved house, from the British Heart Foundation  charity shop in Weston super Mare. I say shop, it's more like a warehouse full of kindly donated, pre-loved furniture for super bargain prices. I thought it was a lovely little piece that would fit nicely in my vision for an eccentric English home, full of mis-matched items that serve as quirky talking points. It is in lovely condition, possibly mahogany, that appears to be straight out of an episode of Upstairs Downstairs. 

Only problem being is that it fits perfectly in a certain place in our hallway but that place is nowhere near the phone point for which I had hoped it would be used. I have this idea of an old vintage french-style phone in cream being our phone of choice. That is still the dream, we just need to think about logistics. 

And possibly long phone cables. 

The house is coming along slowly. I am trying to ignore John's recent comment about the fact that we possibly have around 4 years of work to do. We have finished our dining room (banqueting hall) so that it is fit for Christmas Day at least. I will post some pictures soon, we just have a hole in he ceiling to sort first!  Other than that life is becoming a big blur of work, Christmas lists, commuting issues and other mundane time fillers. Not the most exciting time I must admit but I am still incredibly happy to have a home with my Man (and the dog of course). All the other dull stuff pales into insignificance really. After a difficult year for so many people that I love, you have to remember the things that count. Home, family and a Smeg fridge.....constantly stocked with chilled wine. 

I'll have a V please Bob...

Ok, so this is not going to be the most exciting post ever but then it's not all about beautiful gowns and treasured finds. Sometimes the most simple things can be treasured to. After all, I seem to be dressing up and going out less and less (as our funds are getting less and less) so it's important to find joy in the everyday too.

So here goes....my name is Louisa Merchant-Locke, and I am a fan of the v-neck. They have been a staple item in my wardrobe for years (many thanks to my beloved Marks and Spencer who seem to produce them in every colour imaginable). But they also seem to be a staple item in charity shops also. So year on year, when I think mine have been through the wash a few too many times) I replenish the stocks. The ones below are what I have bought this autumn for no more than £3.50 each. Some brand new with tags and super-soft!

I tend to go for slightly oversized ones so they have that slouchy look (that's just made me feel really old as I know 10 years ago I was squeezing into size 8's trying to get them as fitted as possible).  But they are so easy to wear, and smart too. You can pair them with jeans for lounging around the house, or if you need a quick fix, you could swap your jeans for some wet-look leggings, leather trousers, cigarette pants or even a smarter pair of tight jeans, matching colour heels and a statement necklace and you are evening ready.

This week in BHS they paired a turquoise v-neck with a black leather-look pencil skirt, white shirt and a real statement gothic necklace. Very edgy for BHS! The funny thing was, our deputy manager didn't seem too impressed with the "look" and asked if I would wear it. And of course me being me and him not realising I am quite eccentric when it comes to fashion, said yes, of course. I think it showed customers a different way of wearing the classic V, and I was pleased they dressed the mannequin slightly more fashion-forward (even if their target customer is slightly more fashion-behind). 

So there you have it, don't let your V's languish at the bottom of your wardrobe, screwed up and unloved. Dig them out, dust them off and wear them with pride.  Or even better, treat yourself to a couple of new ones from your local charity shop. Go for some nice bright colours such as jewel tones to ward off the winter blues.

If you can think of other ways to wear them or if you have some great looks you have created...be sure to let me know.....

Give it some wellie!

One of my frequent dilemma's is how to look a little smarter while walking my wolf. I have got into a terrible habit of not really caring what I look like when I take him out which is not good and very unlike me. After all, today could be the day when I bump into Hugh Jackman while out and how is he ever going to fall in love with me if I look like I'd just spent a week sleeping rough? 

So, in a bid to smarten myself up, I snapped up these smart wellies yesterday at our local charity shop when I popped into town. They were £5 and because are are fur-lined, they are super warm. At a glance, they look like smart brown boots which is ideal because it will encourage me to smarten up the rest of my dog-walking ensemble. So today, I tested them out for the first time and I wore them with thick black leggings and my black poncho and it looked much better. My normal look is scruffy jeans with holes in them (and the occasional paint splash) and my bright pink waterproof jacket (don't ask). So maybe that is the way to go moving forward.....dress the feet and the body will follow. 

Solo doesn't look too impressed though! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY....

Looking at the calendar it has just occurred to me that I have been writing nonsense in my blog for just over a year now.

I started my blog back in October last year, after my friend Gemma inspired me to get started and here we are one year on and I have a handful of loyal followers and an audience that seems to span around the globe. So I just wanted to take the opportunity to say a massive thank you to all of you that keep tuning in.....it means so much that there are people out there that are interested enough to keep on reading and commenting.   So to all of you, wherever you may be.....

Thank you......

diolch i chi

Merci.....

děkuji

Gracias......

Dankie

dziękuję

謝謝

Danke.....

þakka þér

Paldies....

ありがとう...

σας ευχαριστώ...

aitäh...

Grazie

Terima kasih

Hvala

D'akujem

நன்றி

спасибо

شكرا

A nod to the Fonz......

Since we moved to Wales, the downpours have not ceased. Wave after wave of monsoon style floods that seem to fight us in every direction. Today is my day off and yet again, I am sat looking out onto a very dreary afternoon wondering if I will ever see the sun again.

That said, it is an amazing feeling to finally be here, in my own home, regardless of the weather or the mountain of DIY projects that keep impatiently tapping on my shoulder. We took root upon welsh soil just over a month ago and the house has certainly kept me busy and out of the charity shops on this side of the bridge. I have popped into my local ones in the town but only very quickly and not really with any genuine time for truffle hunting.  My charity shop of  choice - The St Peters Hospice has been replaced with the St David's Hospice, which seems to have a chain of shops here in South Wales.  The local one in the town is quite a large shop as it also stocks second hand furniture and to my surprise, a couple of weeks ago we saw a beautiful, retro Bosch fridge sitting proudly in their window, hoping for a new home, just like the picture below....

If I hadn't just adopted my Smeg fridge, I would have been sorely tempted but it was very expensive for a charity shop purchase and I am not sure they priced it correctly for the market that it was in.  It was around the £500 mark and no matter whether it was nearly new or even brand new, people don't spend at kind of money from electrical appliances in a charity shop. It wasn't in the window for long though and I would love to find out how much it actually sold for. 

Anyway, I digress. Again. 

This post is long overdue as I bought this jacket on my last pilgrimage to the bristol charity shops before we moved at the end of September. I found it in the St Peters Hospice in Downend, Bristol on their dedicated "retro rail" that seems to allow them to increase the prices ten-fold for merely employing the word retro. But anyway, love struck and that was that. A different style for me and I can't help thinking it is somewhat reminiscent of Arthur Fonzerelli in Happy Days (a black version obviously, I think his manhood would have been seriously questioned if he were caught in powder blue). Probably on the cusp of being too young a style for me now but I have a love affair with coloured leather and I am attracted to any leather that is out of the ordinary. I am still searching for a sunflower yellow leather pencil skirt....one day I will get lucky. 

I haven't had chance to sport it as yet as I seem to have spent the last month in nothing but clothes fit for the builders yard (outside of work anyway) and I am dying to get back to my silly, eccentric self that has fun with fashion. That is, when we finish my dressing room and I can finally unpack my clothes and shoes. 

Do until that day, my lovely soft leather jacket will remain hung up and rearing to go. I may even call upon it for our Grease themed Christmas party at work. Just add a full circle skirt, polo neck jumper and neck scarf. Super cool.