A little 1950's Frippery...

 My Multi-layered CAKES tin - 'Tala'

Just the name Tala brings me out in a nervous sweat "Tala, what Tala?"

Awesome cream and pistachio green - oh yum! i love that Green so very much.

 Excellent condition inside and just nicely scruffy on the outside.

There was a pleasant and amusing incident at the Unit where i bought this (in the Antiques Cellar)

A lady had it in her hand, and i asked her "What price have they got on that" .... "£22" she said.... we both sighed and said "Fair price tho...."

We got in to a right long discussion about life, vintage, ebay, fairs, buying, selling, BMW Mini, and the fact we had both ONLY popped into the Cellar on our way back from Cath Kidston!

 Nice to come across a kindred spirit now and again. It made me desperate to be a vintage kitchens buyer . seller.... another lifetime maybe? This one is a little busy.

Also - Kitchen prettiness - this cute set of measuring cups from Waitrose.

I love the USCups system... now i only want US cookbooks as i am so into using cups!

 A new CathK cup and saucer to add to the ever-toppling stack.

Building up quite a little stash, didn't mean to....

 Cute, cute, green handled SSscccoooop!

"UGHhh" to the other lady at the Cellar who tried to get off, telling me

 "you're only buying this coz it's trendy right now"

 - No Love, i am buying it because it is very useful and pretty. Ignore the fact i have stuck it in the sugar jar, this will be used for scooping lavender into lav cushions as it so much easier than using a funnel, or my fingertips!

And a great picture i bought years ago from Etsy.... must go see where i got it from... give a link...

Frippery? i must be getting my Mojo back a bit?

Vintage Delights... come and relax at my house...

 There's me - craning my neck to show off a very cute Swedish style messy braid (now you know i need a haricut) but i bought this very cute little denim waistcoat which was 'Cheap as Chips' and i am loving re-styling the vintage dresses with a hint of the modern.

 Not vintage at all but i got this tin of theee cutest postcards - found in a bookshop sale. Reduced from £10.00 (i know, pretty cards but seriously, TEN hard earned pounds?) I paid £2.50 so all good and i can save them for the next festive season.... or just leave them on the side looking pretty....

 Been leafing through my parents Wedding Photo Album.

Well it is my album in fact, as it was my Nanna's but i inherited (amongst other crazy amounts of STUFF that we all love to hoarde) this photo fell out of the back. Taken on a pre-marriage holiday. So bloomin cute - they have attached themselves to each other, on a jewelery chain.

 Just how young were they?

I admire them so much.

Still married after 40yrs - children have come into their life, and also sadly gone.

Money and work have been a lifelong success of building a wage from nothing.

They are the story / stories that you bring into your home when you enjoy the treasures of vintage lifestyle.

 It isn't just about how pretty things are.... But trust me, i am a sucker for something easy-on-the-eye. I find prettiness inspiring and calming and joyful. Handmade and Vintage do this for me. I don't feel silly indulging this side of me. It is my favourite side of me!!

 A handmade patchwork throw to cover a well worn, inherited, ArmChair. It isn't really hard to 'colour up' your home. Give things a try - live with it for a week or so - change it if you don't like it....

 This was an indulgence (as most purchases are, if we are truly honest with ourselves)

I could have lived without this huge wooden chest of drawers but i knew it would make my home:

 nicer - prettier - tidier!

Now filled with pyjamas, walking kit, gymwear....

It was from my FAV antiques store and is a creamy yellow colour (not apparant in this photo) with bits of peeling paint and the smell of mothballs masked by sprays of random essential oils and cleaning products.

 Giant Vintage Spool.

Sometimes i dream, at night (if i am struggling to get off to sleep) that i walk into my local Tip Shop.... and there.... i spy a box in the corner.... i stroll over.... and my heart stops a beat.... a box FULL of GIANT wooden spools.... OMG!!

 i tentaively scan the old barn shop making sure that no-one else has spotted it.

I scan for the Man in the High-Vis vest that works there *must not let him see in my face that i think this is the find of the century*

My mouth is dry as i mumble something about 'how much for this ole Tat'

I wake up - at some point i did fall asleep and i now i remember. There was no box. No bargain. Just the one, Giant Wooden Spool

Vintage Delights indeed.

It's an obsession.

There are worse things to obsess about...

My family think i am Bonkers.

For the Love of Citrus fruits, being Homely & Flat Caps...

"You have been quiet since the turn of 2011 Kirsty... what's been going on in 'da hood'?

Are you ill? introspective? struggling a little to cope with the minutiae of daily life?..."

All of the above it seems! and then some more.

So when life is feeling a bit 'too much to bear' i tend to get domestic. I *think* my philosophy is to 'Hunker down' / get back to the basics. In essence, to start again from the bottom up and see if i can feel better.

 I am not a saint and i did go to the (not sooo local) kitchen shop ABRAXAS in Weedon.

If i ever have like-minded friends to stay, it is somewhere i like to take them. A treat of a shop for dreaming and dribbling in. OF Cooouuurrrse, nobody needs 'special things' to cook with. I can SEW my own "Bouquet Garni Bags" etc... and so on but i am trying to treat myself so i feel no guilt in this commercial endeavour.

 I bought this lovely PINK whisk too. It is all rubbery in feel. Very satisfying. Now that i DID need and would rather purchase anew than save from the skip / carboot.

I love to get all my bowls and equipment out ready...

i got all the fruits from a local independant Greengrocers via my trip to the cookware shop (extra Brownie points?) they are cheaper and friendly and superior quality.

I spent a few days in and out of the kitchen making Lemon Cordial and Marmalade, aswell as Candid Peel (waste not, want not)

I have no tried and tested methods for either - i am too young and impulsive to belong to any club involving 'secret recipes'. I used an internet recipe for the Lemon Cordial, and i am gald i did. It was a superb method which made me use lots of the peel from 12 lemons and save it as 'Candid Peel' - a sort of sugary treat. It tastes A-mazing!! and the cordial is the finest / strongest / perfectly not too sweet recipe i  ever made. Very happy.

 It came out quite brown and caramelised looking but has since lightend with maturity and looks far more like it's Lemony self again now. I made many! - one or two glass bottles i purchased a while back but most bottles i have saved from family and friends and the pub and that.

 Then the o-so-satisfying process of PRESERVING in any which way or form.

Delight.

You need smell-o-vision here for sure friends.

Is there much in life that is more beautiful a sight than a bowl full of lemons or a pan full of Seville Oranges? i think not.

 (oh Lordy - it's that tracksuit again. I am beginning to feel that it has become sealed to my chest.... how can i rid myself of it's comfort... it has....wait for it.... a.... FLEECY INSIDE!... i am doomed...MrsB???)

 Now that marmalade....

i have used 3 differing recipes over the years.  i have finally concluded WHAT it is iam doing that prevents me from getting the marmalade to the right consistency. I won't bore you with my marma-experiments but it has a great deal to do with the fact i don't like mine all peely and fleshy / pulpy so i *think* i am lacking pectin in the pan.... it's a theory.

 And honestly, it tastes pretty good - but is not a patch on last years batch.

I must make notes on 'why' etc... then i might make it really well next year?

Do you want to know what went into the jar also?

A few strands of that lemon Candid Peel from the previous day (how cunning can a Fish be?) and a Star Anise (for the Major)

Country pursuits - Preserves and Flat Caps.

I smell of lemons with a hint of ginger and just a touch of fleece.

I am no city girl.

I am no domestic goddess.

I am tired and feeling un-anchored.

A little cooking and a great deal of walking is the very restorative that i need.

x x x

Paint Furniture! It will save your life.... sort of.....

 Take one (at a time) nasty Old Chair.

This was handmade, in Cheshire, many moons ago as a custom order for my Great Aunt. The workmanship was sublime. Yet it had seen it's day....

My dad and i have this disagreement all the time "look at that beautiful wood" he says "why paint it?"

 And he is right.... but there is no joy left in this object

"dad - there is no Joy left in it. It is minging"

"what are you talking about Kirsty" says dad "i don't understand"

 Anyway.... it got "Fished" Big Time.

The seat came off with just 3 screws but the fabric took an age to rip free as we took out all the old pins and staples (my Sister in the picture, lending a hand)

I ended up padding the seat with a big piece of foam before re-stretching it with fabric and stapling it very tight.

 I cannot recommend spray paints enough. These are Montana Golds - what a joy to use and i have used them on Wicker baskets, wood, metal... everything.

 I won't lie to you.... stripping off all that dark varnish on the wood, was a bitch. It took time to get in all those crevices and curves. I did it with Nitromors twice and then sanded it. Then gave it a light coat of Primer.  The spray paint went on in several stages, till i was happy it was covered. Finally i sprayed it with a gloss varnish.

 Sorry the photo is not great but i am not a DIY show here am i?

the colour is alot darker and more purple than this shows. This looks pink but it is a kind of rich Bramble Jam colour. The fabric is just what i thought went well with the other fabrics round the home.

Everyone approves!

Now do you see what i mean Dad? There is a great deal to be joyful about in this chair now?

"Whatever makes you happy dear" says Dad.

...Paint furniture... it'll change your life!

Things making me happy on a Saturday Morning....

Things that are making me happy on a quiet Saturday morning....

*new* blue spotty pumps. They won't stay this clean for long. Thank the lord for a bit of Cath Kidston frivolity. The sun is shining, i might not need my Welly Boots today?

Fresh Bed Linen in random combinations. Pure cotton sheets and a salvaged over-sized Quilt.

I love to 'dress my bed' like some people might dress their living room.

A fun photo... who is that?....

it's me and my big brother at my Grandads wedding, or maybe my Aunt's?

(How many people can say they were at their Grandads wedding?)

Friendship.

Knowing that i am loved and that somebody somewhere has a thought for me and will sometimes think "i wonder how Kirsty is today" xxx

Tea. Of course. Always Tea.

A cuppa served in Car Booty 50p cup and saucer whilst sewing Christmas stock and looking forward to what might happen in my life today.

Come on in....!

 A brief tour of a few moments in my home....

Welcome to 'The Office'. We call this 'The Office' with a wry comedic smile because we are sooo funny and ironic in my family.

 Most of the Living Room is, in fact, completely taken over by my life, my business.

I feel immense GUILT that you might not even know a child lives here. I have pushed out all domesticity from our cosy abode

 And me.... sat at the LapTop trying to get my business back on track...

(should I cut my hair again? I hardly recognise myself)

Meanwhile, this pile of Cememt Mix and Ballast is all i have of my *real* office / studio.

Sat in bags on the drive, it feels like a long way off right now.

 And life waits.... stacked up against walls.... waiting for the business to move out of our home and into a place where i can shut the door on it when i need to.

I never thought i would miss looking at my pictures soooo much! Strange, the pictures of our life that we come to rely on seeing, day in / day out. maybe a shake up is what we all need now and again?

 Knick Knacks of life and living seem to be sat,  shelved,  waiting for 'the time' to begin again.

I have been most amazed at how much junk i can quickly amass... and how little i actually need in my life to get on.

 A wooden Memory Box, salvaged from my deceased Great Aunt some 10 years ago.

Yet another thrifted suitcase... ( i swear, they breed in my house)

Upcycled cupboard unit. Was a white GPlan and is now a vintage-y Sage colour with pretty glass-look handles. This was a quick job that made me so much happier.

I spy... oh yes, ANOTHER vintage suitcase, balanced upon boxes of unpacked stuff and stock for the shop....

i was really looking forward to moving in and starting my new life...

Moving OUT was fairly swift in all it's practicalities.

Moving IN seems to be taking forever.

This is for you my dear x a sneak peek.

Hey - just a quickie!

I love colour. I love to surround myself by it. Colour makes me feel happy and positive and alive.

I don't do 'matching sets' and i don't do 'dull'

I am not funny or quirky or 'like being different'... do what makes you happy people!

This stool is a typical example of what i love to do in my home.

The stool was found at the back of a Thrift Shop. (I forgot to get a photo of it before i sprayed the wood part Hot Pink) It was a wooden stand with a yellow top. I liked the yellow top actually but i have a need for pattern and a great stash of fabrics.

I lightly sanded off the legs and frame before spraying the whole thing with a Gloss Spray Paint. I didn't bother using Primer on it first at the paint looked like it would adhere well without it - and i do love to cut corners (impatience)

The Top has fantastic little bars that easily allowed you to remove it from the base.

So then, i found a square of Cath Kidston fabric in the boldest design and stretched it over the top. I borrowed my dads staple gun to keep it all in place and really pulled it tight to get a good stretch and fit.

With the fabric added it was now a really tight fit into the painted frame so i used a soft mallet to whack it back into position and then turn the bars underneath to keep it in place.

Stool = £8.00

                                       Spray Paint = £1.00 - (from a large 400ml can costing £6.00)

                                 Fabric = £2.00 - (from a £12.00 per metre piece)

               Staples = £2.00 (at a guess?)

The photo doesn't do this justice but i was really chuffed with how it turned out.

Colour + Craft + Thrift = Love my Life xxx