Red White and Blue

red white and blue.. no I'm not talking about the American flag!!.. i thought id show you my new buys from IKEA from the other day...

oo i do love that place.. the hubby hates it.. with a passion.. his eyes glaze over from the minute we go through the doors.. and by the time we get to the lighting section he is practically dying!!...

i however could walk around it..go and have a coffee and then have another walk around it but because he is the driver... that ain't never going to happen is it now!!

i was in need of some candles so we went for a "quick"! look round were not only did i go candle crazy but kind of kept to a theme in terms of colour.. this wasn't meant to happen but i loved how my trolley looked!!

here's the little lot all together ..just as we got back in from our shopping trip.. i like how it matches my oilcloth on my dining table as well !!

picked up these lovely two packs of paper napkins.. you can never have enough napkins that's what i say.. and i think they'll come in very handy for a mini makeover of a tiny set of drawers Ive had for ages !!

some red and white lanterns .. we hung them up in the window as i love candle light against glass and i thought it looked quite Swedish in style .. ( OK maybe it doesn't but I'm going through a love affair with all things Nordic at the minute!!)

a new cosy red throw to snuggle up in on these cold nights..

some lovely red candles.. they smell lovely as well .

a close up of my new tray.. this was a complete bargain i thought £2.99 for a lovely big enamel tray..i wish i d bought a few now.. ( ahh shucks will have to go back !!) .. the edging is very pretty isn't it...

here it is in full.. with some chunky tea light holders that we bought as well ..

we got a coffee table .. now Ive been after a coffee table for ages for my front room but was always a bit nervous about sharp corners and my boys running and banging heads on them and things.. you know how it is!!.. but this is quite safe and although its a little modern for my tastes i like the fact its got that handy little shelf underneath and its quite solid even though its one of their cheapo designs.. so if it does get bashed about by the boys I'm not going to cry about it!!.. think it needs a little table runner and a nice little jug of flowers and some nice books.. ( honestly i can clutter just about anything cant i !!)

here's the window candles lit.. nice and cosy

i love this planter... once the candles have burnt themselves out .. i shall put some nice herbs in here buy until then i think it looks nice with the candles in!
and finally some more tins ... to add to my tin collection ( which i wasn't aware i had until i came home with these and didn't actually have anywere to put them at first as there was no space!!) i love the navy blue of them on my pale blue dresser and with the touch of red of the lantern next to them.. so bright and cheery..

so there you have it... a nice star spangled end to the year !!

brrr its cold!!

theres no getting away from it...its just to cold for words!!
it really is sooo cold that our kitchen has become like a walk in fridge.. the only time Ive been in there is to boil the kettle for warm drinks!!

every were you look though people are talking about the weather..the news was practically full of weather reports... yes we know its cold.. wrap up or stay indoors.that's my advice!!!

so just thought id show you a few new additions to the house..that are actually indeed new.not from a charity shop but a real life shop!!!
have i come into money.....no me dears.. its good old wilkos and B&M's ..i love these shops so much .. i find myself browsing around them even though I'm not going to buy anything..some of it can be pure tat.but then there is really lovely things !!



here are my lovely grey blooms from wilkos.. a pound a piece !!

oh these are from eBay actually !!

but they were bought because i had just bought this lovely little Home coat peg holder from B&Ms.. and in my previous post i talked about loving the packaging things come in.. well this came in a blue and pink polka dot box...how could i not buy it!!
some little rose pictures from Home and Bargains..

and does this look familiar.. doesn't Laura Ashley sell these signs for about £10.. this was £1.99 from B&Ms .. my sister got it in the blue .. which is identical to the Laura Ashley one but i had to have it in the pink !!
i had forgotten i even had these two little heart pictures in the red frames.. until i was looking for something in a drawer and came across them.. they are from ikea and i think we got the pack of cards that the pics came last year sometime and the frames probably before then.. i was made up when i found them.. especially as i had just bought this picture

which i love but it needed somthing along side it !!... this was from wilkinsons.. i Love anything that says LOVE on it though!!

sorry for the fuzziness ..its not my eyes i think its the light when I was taking the picture!!!

and then what do you do when you get a bit bored.. you wrap some fairy lights round your banister and then stand and admire them.. honestly do you think i need to get a life or what!!.. i just love fairy lights they make me feel happy!!
anyways ..ive lit a ton of candles and it is true candles do make you feel warmer so im off to read my book and enjoy the candle light!!

keep warm

xx

What time is it??

Its ten past snow!!



i know the snow can be a real pain but i do love how pretty it makes everything look!!

Floral Magpie

the hubby calls me a magpie. but my thing isn't silver or gold.. its flowery or polka dots!!.. i think I'm able to spot something in floral packaging from about 600 paces!!..

he says i swoop in on all things pretty.. i think i do..

yesterday was a fine example!!.. had to go to the job centre to sign on.. ( which is the biggest waste of time, all very tick box procedure for them.. not actually helping me to find a job mind.. anyways !!) and the job centre for were i live is based in a hideous shopping centre.. think lots of people walking round in tracksuits smelling of pasties.. lots of prams and people with no teeth.. it really is the most vilest place on earth and i do try not to go there if i can help it..

however i had a quick snoop round the shops while i was there .. just having a look round Home & Bargains, which is full of all sorts when my eyes locked onto this box.. just sitting on its own on top of another box.. it had all the right packaging.. pink...flowery and the words vintage.. !!!

it immediately caught my eye and then when i looked at it properly and saw the picture on the front... i knew i was going to buy it!!!

and all for the grand price of £3.99...
i mean how cheap is that, its so pretty..


look at the lovely floral pattern.. very Miss Kidston dont you think.. but without the ridiculous price tag ( bitter me??!!... hmmm yes!)



Ive been after a new cake stand for a while since the boys smashed my last one but all the ones i was looking for on ebay were to expensive so i thought id just wait for the sales.. don't need to now do i !!.. or i spose i could and buy another one anyway..is that greedy!

so all it needs now is some gorgeous fancy cakes to go on it for me to get through while I'm reading a book and cosied up on the sofa... don't know when that's going to happen though !!

freecycle strikes again

ahoy there...!!

feel like Ive not posted in ages and ages.. i have had things to talk about but i think because Ive been sooo cold Ive just ran out of motivation !!

anyway i thought i better get into gear because the oldest boy breaks up on Friday so theres no way I'll get that much of a chance to blog with the whirlwind around!!

just thought id show you my newest freecycle finds..honestly Ive had some good stuff from it. but these do really come at the top of me list i think!!

in the summer when i knew i was being made redundant i said to the hubby that i really wanted to get a new cooker with some of the money i got.. but then because money does actually burn a hole in our pockets we ended up buying other things ( really should have put it in a savings account but that would be what sensible people did!!) like hiring camper vans for the weekend.. or going out for tea twice a week you know that type of thing!!

anyways we really did need a new cooker though as ours was battered.. but it wasn't meant to be..until one fine morning when i opened up my emails and there was an offer of a cooker.. didn't really read the post properly just replied and asked if we could have it..

we got it... and the cooker that we got was exactly the same as the one i had wanted all along!!!!!!!

a big ol silver range cooker.. can you believe that!!..

anyways we had to get a little converter kit as it had been converted to a different type of gas ( didn't realise there was more than one me self!) and then get a friend of the hubby's to install it and check it wasn't going to blow the house up.. but all is fine.

here she is !.. we just need to stick some tiles alongside the existing ones as they were obviously only the width of our previous little cooker we were offered the hood as well but our kitchen is quite small and i thought the huge silver hood might be a bit much in there!!

so because the cooker was bigger than what we had before we had to have a shift around with the cupboards to make space.. i was looking through one of my old country homes and interiors mags and something just jumped out at me on the page.. someone had Incorporated their welsh dresser into their kitchen cupboards..i asked the hubby if we could do that.. he looked at me with that weary glazed look he gets from time to time when it comes to me and diy.. but worked it out and reckoned it would work

we took the retro cupboard off the wall that never held that much inside just junk and did a bit of banging and knocking and measuring and voila.. i now have my dresser from this post.....

http://charl-prettyvintage.blogspot.com/2010/09/dresser-makeoverdone.html

now in my kitchen!!

it has meant that the freezer is now under the stairs in the pantry and he had to build me a wine rack from the old kitchen cupboard which still needs painting but i feel like i have my very own country kitchen at last!!!

a dresser and a range cooker in a 1970s extension of a terraced house!!!!


.. i make myself laugh actually!

it has made a difference though the room feels a lot wider now the big cupboard has come off the wall .. it really is in need of a paint now and hole filling were the cupboard was but i have tried to take pics were you couldn't see that bit!!

anyway on to my next freecycle find.. lately i have been trying to make some money by finding cheaper bits of furniture .. making them over and putting them on Ebay.. so when someone posted that they had a sideboard to offer i thought ooh yes I'll get this ..give it the pretty vintage treatment and make a quick bob... until the lady sent me the picture of it and i thought..that's going no were but my house!!

well the hubby and the bro in law went to pick it up in the snow.. ( don't think they were best pleased with me on this occasion!!) brought it home and it was HUGE!!... i thought i would pop it in the alcove were the dresser had lived in the living room but it was far to big.. after trying not to look to much at the hubby as he asked if i had asked for any measurements at all.. i had a light bulb moment.. the bathroom!!..

it could act as a sort of wash stand and a towel cupboard all in one!!

so up they took it ..it is very heavy oh dear!..

this was Friday evening .. Saturday morning i was up with the birds... sanding and painting.. dedicated or just plain freakish ..you decide!!

anyways its mostly done..


I'm going to sand the top down to make it a lot lighter so you can see the gorgeous detail around the mirror..

there was a bit of beading lost off the door in transportation but just adds to the shabby effect me thinks!!

so what went in the space were the dresser was originally then.. i hear you ask!!

the cupboard that had been in the bathroom holding my towels!!..
the hubby took out the glass shelves as they were pretty lethal.. made some new shelves from mdf and then i gave them a slap of paint!!
I'm still figuring out how to dress this cupboard this is a work in progress!! but it fits the space just right!!

I think this house will never stop moving round!!

bring on the brights

well today has truly been a blustery cold and altogether unpleasant day around these parts.. this morning it was sooo dark i had to have all the lamps on just to get some light in the house.. i can not be doing with dull days.. yesterday it was gorgeous.. bright clear sky's.. beautiful sunshine.. i walked miles yesterday today i wanted to hibernate!!

so i thought i would cheer myself up with some colour.. it is true just seeing bright colours. ( nothing to garish mind...I'm not a clown!) makes you feel so uplifted doesnt it.. i think that's why i love reading all the lovely blogs out there.. because the pictures are just so pretty and usually so bright and colourful that you cant help but smile!!

so i thought i would post a few piccies of things around my house that are nice and bright and a little bit cheerful!!

this is actually a tea towel.. i got in a set of three.. its to beautiful to use to dry dishes me thinks and I'm going to buy a few more to make cushions from.. the little china cup pattern is so pretty don't you think

a basket of toys .. i love the bold colours next to each other.. have you seen Timmy the dancing sheep watching over them.!!

my polka dot shower curtain along side my Paris rose wallpaper.. i wasn't sure if it both went together at first but i like a bit of clashing of patterns from time to time!!

my lovely crochet bargain blanket !

just a little corner in the kitchen of paler colours but pretty all the same!

the fab detail on a monsoon skirt i bought from the charity shop the other day.. this detail goes all the way round the skirt.. and its so vivid and bright.. a real party skirt.. ooo just picture me dancing around the living room whilst x factor is on haha.. ( this is the sad sorry state of our social lives at the minute!)

i also picked up this vintage skirt as well.. i just love the colour so bright that i had to buy it. .im thinking a big pussy bow blouse with this and heels ( I'm channelling the "Mad Men" 1950s-1960's look here if you hadn't guessed... just got to get Joan's killer figure first!)
my Russian dolls..although they arnt a full set.. and they are a bit different from the usual Russian dolls as these are cerise pink.. but still fab all the same!

my slowly increasing utility china collection .. (apart from the spotty jug that's from sainsburys!) ..i have a few more of these around the house but these are the ones that actually get used for gravy's, sauces etc

the fab new cups we bought for the boys the other day .. i couldn't resist taking a pic as i loved the colours together.. they reminded me of a fruit pastel lolly ice!!

and my red and white candles in a lovely wooden holder.. which i cant believe Ive never painted... see there is a tiny bit of wood that lives in my house unpainted.. !!!!
well the wind really has picked up outside now..eeek.. theres a storm coming..batten down the hatches and all that.. im off to get snuggly and cosy and finish the rest of my book ..

bye for now

x

get yourself there

oooo get yourself over to cake decorating courses blog for a chance to win some lovely goodies from Squires kitchen cake decorating ( im putting it on my blog because it means i get another chance to win !!!)
http://www.cakedecoratingcourses.co.uk/giveaways/squires-kitchen-cake-decorating-goodies-giveaway/
right then .. hope you all have a go and maybe one of us may win.. !!!

id like to thank my family.. my dogs..

ooo Ive won an award!!!

always wanted to do one of those terrible award speeches.. award gripped near to my heart.. the tears flowing.. me wearing a vintage fish tail gown.. it ain't going to happen is it..

so i'll just give my thanks to Victoria's Vintage for awarding me this!!!




To accept the Versatile Blogger Award the rules are:

1. Thank and link back to who gave you the award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass it along to 7 blogs you've recently discovered and enjoy
4. Leave your recipients a note, telling them about the award.

So here's my 7 things about myself but it isn't that versatile nor interesting ...sorry!

1. i get very excited by the thought of making over furniture, giving a tatty old piece of brown formica a whole new look with the power of the paint brush.. i get sleepless nights over things like that... now that is sad isn't it!!!

2. when i was a child i was obsessed with brides.. i use to draw wedding dresses and collected pics of wedding dresses and would keep them in a file. i didn't particularly want to be a bride i just wanted to be a wedding dress designer.. once i even started a range for pregnant brides ..how very modern of me!!!


3. I'm a terrible cook... i try my best and no matter what i cook it always tastes of nothing, or something goes wrong!!.. now i make a good cake so i suppose I'll have to be grateful for that at least, Ive only ever made one roast dinner in my life!

4. my favourite colour is pink and in my little house i had when i was 21..i painted the dining room all in bright pink.. it had silver accessories.. i thought it was amazing at the time.. thinking back it was pretty vile!

5. i would love to open my own shop and sell lots of pretties.. lots of china and fabric and pretty things for the home.. it would be called pretty vintage and have a cornflower blue exterior with red geraniums in pots outside to make it look cheery.. and then pale blues and reds and pinks on the interior!!

6. I'm constantly on a diet but have such terrible willpower.. that the hubby only has to suggest the idea of crisps or sweets or a takeout and Ive fallen of the waggon.. not good.. especially when i cant get into any of my clothes!!!

7. i am a real period drama fan.. my favourite at the minute is Downton Abby.. i am gutted that its the last one on Sunday as it is just so lovely to watch.. other faves have included pride and prejudice, i even loved Lost in Austin as it was so gentle and romantic to watch.. i always think I'm miss hard hearted but i think I'm a bit of a softy really!!.. and one of my fave films is sense and sensibility. .. my favourite line from that is.. "there is some blue sky...let us chase it !"

well thats my lot.. see not very interesting but thats me!!!..

.. thank you anyways victoria for thinking of me!!..

as the award has been going round for a bit i wont pass it on as i dont want to send it to someone who already has it.. so i'll just say if you read this blog.. take the award for yourself and if you fancy it.. tell us a bit about yourself....

that was the week that was

well that's half term over and done with !!!..

phew..honestly i was shattered by the end of the day!.. id forgotten how active my little boy is in the day ..he never stopped.. at the minute I'm so use to strapping the youngest in the pram and out we go that to suddenly be running around after an extremely active 4 yr old ( but extremely gorgeous so we'll let him off) was a bit of a shock to the system!!!

one day i just said right its a pyjama day today and didn't get any of us dressed for the whole day.. in one way it was very slobby of us but in another way very much needed!!

so Ive not really had that much time to shop around and buy pretty things as much as i would have liked.. but i did manage to get an hour to myself last week oooo one hour what luxury !!.. so managed to cram in some charity shop hunting ..

i picked up this lovely set of bedding.. its the palest of pink and I'm just in love with the lace edging especially on the pillowcases. i'll just bung this in the washing machine and give it a wash before i use it.. i don't have a problem with thrifted bedding. obviously if it was completely rammy to start with i wouldn't buy it but a good ol 60 degree wash wont do it any harm!!

i got these great baskets for storing my veg.. i think because i keep it in its plastic wrapping the whole time it goes off quicker.. so i thought these would be ideal..and they have pretty tile pictures on of fruit etc so very apt..

ooo here's a pic of my under stairs cupboard which i lovingly call the pantry!!.. its a right mess at the minute.. it gets sorted out at least once a month and then never fails to become a mess again..

I'm thinking of giving a it a paint and putting oilcloth on the shelves brighten it up a bit.. and then maybe it will be given a bit more respect!!!

bought this pretty little lights off ebay for £2.50!! how good is that.. i love the light that they give off its really soft and i think they are v pretty..

a sweet little cushion.. that I'll pretend Ive made ha ha.. actually this was pretty weired.. it was in a vacuum packed plastic bag and was as flat as a biscuit.. i didn't know if it was a bag or what.. the people behind the till had to open the packaging up as we were all a little bit unsure of what it was.. but it soon plumped up when it got into the air .( how mad is that!!)

oo here's an addition to the winter wardrobe.. a red tartan kilt.. i love it.. its actually a couple of dress sizes bigger than what i wear but a bit worryingly it fits perfect.. eeek.. we'll just say its because its vintage!!!

it even comes with its own kilt pin!!.. I'll just have to buy a fantastic pair of brown leather boots now.. !!