Yesterday we took the toddler to Bekonscot Model Village and Railway, the world’s oldest, original model village. It has a model train so we knew the toddler would love it, and he did. It was a little hot for me but he ran round, pointing out the little houses and people and shouting “TRAIN!” every time one of the model trains went past. Beaconsfield charity shops The model village is in Beaconsfield which has been labelled Britain’s richest town so I knew the charity shops would be worth a look. I only managed two because I spent too much but…
-
-
Luckily for us we get to spend a lot of time on the Isle of Wight. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a small island off the South Coast of England. It’s where I grew up and where my family live. It’s also the best stomping ground for charity shops, especially Ryde, where my mum and sister happen to live. I always make sure to spare an hour or so to walk down the beautiful High Street into Union Street and down to the beach and there are plenty of charity and antique shops to keep you busy along…
-
We’ve lived in Wood Green in north London for the last 6 years but have only visited the handful of charity shops a couple of times. However, last week we popped into Oxfam and were rewarded with a haul! First up were two new-to-us Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs. There was no way the toddler could not have these so we snapped them up. As I was paying I noticed a big bag of Brio by the counter. The toddler just loves his trains and already has a good Brio collection so we bought this too! You can never have…
-
I’ve mentioned before how fantastic the Isle of Wight is for charity shops. We’re fortunate we have family that live there so I have lots of opportunities to shop. Saturday was the Round the Island Yacht Race so we had an amazing view of the yachts heading round the Island. Ventnor is a great place to spend a couple of hours. It’s full of quirky vintage and charity shops, as well as the beautiful Art Deco Winter Gardens which holds the occasional sale where we picked up this gorgeous vintage wooden chair a couple of years ago. There’s also plenty for…
-
One of my Day Zero actions was to set up an online shop to sell my vintage finds. I set one up months ago, have boxes full of lovely vintage things to sell but am nowhere nearer to actually photographing and listing items than I was then. I’m not sure why I thought an online shop would be a good idea. It’s not as if I have oodles of spare time but it would definitely help justify the time and money spent in some of my favourite charity shops! I have some lovely things to sell and I don’t think…
-
I’m definitely more excited about planning how we’re going to decorate our new house than I am house hunting and actually moving. We’ve let house hunting slip recently although we’re planning on going this weekend, weather permitting. We’re all getting fed up of constantly tripping over things, items falling out of overstuffed cupboards and just in general dread of the children needing anything bigger than a pack of nappies. Decorating and buying furniture is exciting though and I’ve been spending hours looking at nursery furniture as Little Sis will finally get her own room. I’m trying to steer clear of…
-
In case you haven’t guessed I have boxes of vintage treasures picked up from car boot sales, jumble sales and charity shops. I *try* to have a project in mind before buying anything as we are rather pressed for space in our little terraced house. How to make a clock from a vintage tin One of my favourite collections is vintage tins of all shapes and sizes. These were the first thing I collected and I can’t resist picking up unusual ones when I see them. My latest project used one of the vintage tins found beneath our stairs which…
-
We were lucky to have time to visit the bustling fishing town of Brixham. We’ve been meaning to visit for years and finally found we had a couple of hours spare. It’s a really lovely town, some great independent shops, brilliant charity shops and lots of cafes so you can sit and watch the boats in the harbour. Although our primary purpose wasn’t to look round the charity shops my poor daughter gave me a very good reason. She had a nuclear nappy explosion which resulted in my throwing away the clothes she was wearing. Now when I go charity…
-
I had a wander round Paignton today whilst the husband, toddler and grandad went on the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway to Kingswear. We go on this beautiful heritage line every year and I always get left in the carriage looking after the bags whilst they rush to take photographs at every halt and stop. This year I decided I would have some time with my 6 month old and explore the shops. The station at the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway has recently been restored and is a great place to start a visit to Paignton. We walked to the sea…