If you’re looking for a little luxury this Christmas then look no further than The White Company. I do like The White Company and often pop in to the shop in Brent Cross as I find it the perfect place to buy gifts. I have to admit I rarely treat myself though, which is why I was delighted to receive a little box of treats from them just in time for Christmas. This vintage crystal star decoration is perfect for giving your Christmas decorations a vintage vibe. The striking glass design is uniquely hand crafted and hung from an antique-style…
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I’ve been on a bit of a splurge recently, buying vintage cookie cutters from a well known internet auction site. Most seem to come from the US and the range is huge compared to the ones I’ve found here in the UK. This week my little collection grew and I have some great seasonal cutters, including candy canes, gingerbread houses, drums, candles, trees, holly leaves, Father Christmas and even reindeer. As much as I love to use my cutters when baking biscuits there are lots of other things they can be used for. I used some cutters as gift tags…
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We all have them. Those items that make our heart beat just a little bit faster when we see them on a shelf in a charity shop. We’re currently in Devon which for me is charity shop heaven. Although we’re only here for a weekend, over the summer we went glamping for a week (which made me long for electricity and hot running water!). We visit my father in law so I have a few old favourites where I know I’m likely to pick up some special items. I like to refer to it as the charity shop triangle –…
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It’s not often I receive emails from people which I have to read a couple of times because they are so lovely. A couple of weeks ago I received a comment on my blog from Emma at painted style who had read how much I love vintage Fisher Price and offered to send me the Fisher Price school desk for my collection! Fisher Price vintage loveliness They are top of my charity shop wish list as I follow them on ebay whenever I see them, but hadn’t purchased one – yet. Emma said “I’ve been car booting for decades and…
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Have you ever heard of a book advent? I think I first heard about it on Pinterest and thought it would be fun to do with the children. Instead of a tacky Advent calendar with cheap chocolate, we’ll be unwrapping a Christmas book every day of December leading up to Christmas Day. This way we will get to spend more time reading together, which is something we all love, and some time each day to enjoy the festive season. The hard part has been finding the books. 24 Christmas-themed books can be difficult. I really wanted to buy second hand…
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There are so many Christmas crafts I want to make this year. For the first time in my adult life I have decided we’re having a colour theme so hopefully the house will look co-ordinated for once. The theme is very simple – red and white, with a vintage vibe. Vintage letter cards banner I’m ashamed to say we already have our advent candles up on the mantle piece, which I de-cluttered specially. They look lovely and I’m wondering if I’ll want to light them when the time comes. We’re trying to keep the house tidy and clean as we’re…
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Ok, I’ll admit I’m addicted to vintage Fisher-Price. The products are just so nostalgic and such great quality that my children enjoy playing with them as much as I did. I always see vintage Fisher-Price in charity shops and they are not too expensive to collect. In fact I spotted an original Fisher-Price telephone in a shop in Pinner yesterday but thought I might get told off if I brought another one home! Anyway, I wanted to showcase some of the toys I’ve bought recently so please join me on a little nostalgic trip back to my childhood. The Fisher-Price…
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I have a new hunting ground, Westbury in Wiltshire, where my mother has recently moved. We’re currently visiting and I was able to visit some of the charity shops. The first charity shop was an Age UK where the toddler spotted a Tomy Thomas & Friends Post Office Loader. He has a Big Loader at home which he loves so we bought this too on the premise we keep it at Nanny’s house. When we got it home we realised it was complete but missing the instructions and balls! Hhhmmm. However, it was easy to put together from the picture on…
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I don’t need to tell regular readers that my son is a huge Thomas the Tank Engine fan. I spotted a vintage Thomas duvet cover in a charity shop and snapped it up for a couple of pounds. When I got it home I wasn’t sure how to use it – re-size it as a toddler duvet, a bean bag cover or cushion cover. Instead I thought it would make two fun fitted sheets. The ones we’ve been using have been plain blue and these would be a little different. It was quite simple to make. I unpicked the duvet…
