carboot madness

me and the hubby braved the elements on Monday and not only went to the car boot but actually were selling from the back of our very own car boot to!..

we were actually helping out the hubbys grandad who just wanted to clear out his shed so on Sunday we deposited the kids at their nans and we went and sorted out the shed.. ( Ive kept a few things back for myself but I'll save that for another post!) anyway we basically had a bootfull of tools, books and many other random things ..

went through my mother in laws loft to and got a few things from there and then there was a few bits out of our loft to clear to.. lets just say the car was packed to the rafters !!..

so car was all packed and it looked promising when we first woke up there seemed to be a sun rising in the distance i was feeling positive..

i kid you not the minute we shut our front door and opened the car door it started battering it down.. i mean what is that all about !

so we were in two minds about what to do ..but we just thought lets do it .. we didn't have the kids, and i couldn't face emptying that car it was to depressing a thought!

anyways we got there and it was full of people.. sellers and buyers.. it made me laugh so much when we drove on to the field you could see the look in peoples eyes .. " ahh heres a new seller.. new stuff for us to buy now!.".. honestly we were swamped by people.. i felt like a famous person surrounded by the paps!!..i ended up getting one bloke to help me put the cloths on our paste tables , to give him something to do while the hubby fended off the others with the line "erm can you give me a minute mate !"

so we did rather well.. that was more of the grandads things that just went in a flash.. if you want to know the best things to sell at a car boot.. Tools!!.. they were going like hotcakes !!.. my table looked a bit more forlorn and looked actually like the type of table i give a miss.. i think it was the amount of tack that was on mine.. my sister came along with my mum at one point .my mum ended up buying two things off me .. i did try and give it to her for free but she was having none of it .. so i gave her a reduced price.. you know family rates and all !!

by the end of the morning i was getting a bit fed up of the actual amazing cheek of some people.. the rudeness of others and i was cold.. so we decided to start packing up.. we still had a few things so the hubby ( very clever he is to!) went up to one of the "you can tell he is a professional trader because he had a big van!" and said he could have the bits we had left for a fiver if he wanted.. he said yes!.. so it meant we had a nice empty car and we got rid of everything!!

so there was still a few die hard sellers which meant we could walk around and have a look ourselves..and because it was so late in the day we got everything at v silly prices!!

i got this picture and i thought it would be lovely for our bathroom..

i picked up this china mug and coaster for 20p!..


stuffed them on my dresser theres always a place for everything in my house!!

id walked past this cup a few times and it was there at the very end of the morning so i think it was waiting for me to take it home! the seller wasn't budging though and i still had to pay a pound for it but its ok because its very pretty and is ideal for our toothbrushes !



not sure why its come out upside down this picture but anyways its got the date on it 1918 so a little bit of an antique isn't it!!

oh and i erm kinda picked up another (cough cough..haven't got a problem really ..)
shelf.. yes that's right i bought another shelf!!..


i had to it has all the elements of a good shelf.. solid wood and little hooks so i can hang things off it to .. i had to have it and it was only a pound..i couldn't walk past!!..
so last night the hubby was trying his best to ignore me asking him to put it up..but then i started banging around a bit and i think he thought anything for a quiet life so got the drill out!! ..

i am going to get some nice tea light holders to go on this sweet little thing.. I'm thinking jewel colours like greens and reds..so keep your peelers peeled for me !!

oh did pick up a lovely vintage style cardie as well with lace and beads on but forgot to take a picture of it doh .. ( oh well I'll start Friday Frocks soon and show you then!) but that was only 50p to!!

think that is the last time i do a carboot for a long time though i was exhausted when we got home!!

dream house ....

what is your dream house?

mine changes regularly .. sometimes its a massive detached house on a tree lined road with a huge garden..other times its a white weather boarded cottage by the sea, and then sometimes its a little cottage with roses around the door and ivy growing up the walls with a gorgeous cottage garden...i think it does depend on if I've been watching "escape to the country" or if we've been on holiday or out for a drive and i have seen a type of house that day.. I'm very fickle i have to tell you !!.. ( is it just me but when Ive been anywhere and i love the houses .. i go home and get straight onto "Rightmove"so i can have a nose around the houses in that area!!

anyways i have my dream house at the minute.. i see it everyday, its really me .. its a pity that its meant to hold butter!!..

yes my dream house is in the form of a butter dish!!..

my mum brought me this last week and its been taking pride of place on my little yellow shelf ever since!..

it comes with trailing roses around windows and doors

stuffed to the brim window boxes full of blooms

lovely original blue shutters framing all the windows,

so if you ever hear the nasally tones of Lloyd Grossman asking " who lives in a house like this" and you see the prettiest cottage ever .. you'll know that its me !!

ey a girl can dream cant she.. !!

the sun is out there somwere

Ive been sat looking out of the window and the sideways rain that's coming in is pretty depressing i have to say.. this basically is like the last weekend of summer isn't it.. what a weekend to end on..it pretty sums up how pants this summer has been!!...

Ooo what a negative intro..sorry about that, you can almost hear me sucking them lemons cant you!!..

i keep looking out of the window desperately trying to see the sun that is behind the grey clouds that are centre stage at the minute... in fact if i squint my eyes a little I'm sure i can see a touch of blue sky, you have to think positive!..

so I'm going to post a few pics that i took the other evening around 6pm, the sun was casting a lovely glow around the back of the house that i had to take some pictures, so for days like this i can remember that the sun has made a few appearances over the past few weeks!!

its making me feel a bit better already and if i look on the positive side.. the rain is watering my plants which ive kept forgetting to do so its doing me a favour at least!!..

oh and the ducks will be happy !!

a tale of two tea towels !

in the past Ive blogged about tea towels, i do have a bit of love of them, pretty ones though not the old ones you've had for years and have become like crisps!!

so last week after reading a certain email id been sent i realised that i was going to be able to write about tea towels again and not actually come across as a bit of a saddo like i usually feel because id been asked to do a review!!

i know get me doing a review.. this is a first !..i think several bloggers have been asked to do it so I'm good company..and it will be interesting to see what we all chose!..

the company is http://www.all-tea-towels.co.uk the website is like tea towel heaven!..

there are tons of gorgeous designs and as i had to pick a couple to review i was like a kid in a sweet shop i didn't know what to pick.

well i finally made my choices..

so i got my parcel all wrapped up in tissue paper.. i love getting things wrapped up in tissue paper i dont know why!!



you know that i had to choose a floral design first!..

so i went for the Victoria Rose Flowers Delightful this was from the "flowers and nature" section of the website

and its really is Delightful!!.. it has the most loveliest rose design on it ..lovely muted colours so it doesn't come across to garish, with lovely touches to it like the edged pattern, and the trailing roses over the top...




to me its like a beautiful piece of fabric that should be seen and not stuck in your tea towel drawer so i shall have this out at all times ( not to be used however...far to pretty!)

it really is a very pretty vintage piece isn't it!!

now for my second choice i picked the Scandinavian Folk Art tea towel, this was from the "world" section of the site,

this is more of a retro design which is a bit out of my comfort zone as i tend to veer towards the flowery side of vintage but there was something about this design that i really liked.. i love the bird print




and the real retro colours that have been used here, the blues and reds with oranges and yellows work so well together..


i just love this one, i just think again its a lovely piece of fabric and i may even frame this one and hang it up on the wall as its pretty cool i think !

so many thanks to Al from All tea towels for letting me review your scrummy tea towels and even better getting to keep them..and i am glad that its another lovely website for me to peruse to !!..

If in doubt...

if in doubt put up a shelf !!..

this should be my motto in life... the hubbys is " when all else fails.. hit it with a big hammer!! "

obviously hes talking about diy here.. hes not a hammer wielding maniac!

yes but my last resort for things is to just put another shelf up..theres always room for a shelf and that means theres always room for more pretty things to enter the house!!..

so i was faced with a little dilemma last week when i got my new cake stands.. as the triple tier one would really only fit were i had previously had a two tier one.. so i then had to find a home for the two tier one.. now i couldn't put it on top of my dining room dresser as you wouldn't be able to see it and i do like seeing my pretties out, but it cant be any were to handy for chubby hands to get hold of as that would be the last i saw of it !!..

so anyways i did a little bit of re-jigging things around on the dresser and its found a little home just sat in the middle of it.. so i moved some tins but then realised they didn't fit anywhere else on my dresser .. ( phew can you keep up with the crazy life that i lead!! )

what would be my solution... a shelf that my mum had given me a few weeks ago that had been in the boot of our car since.. i got it out.. got the hubby to get the power tools out and up it went.. which meant that i was left to faff about afterwards!!..

it is straight but as our house is the house that jack and his mate bill built the door frame isn't straight which means it looks a little on the wonky side but its not the hubbys dodgy diy skills but the door!!!..

so this is just yet another shelf that i can now have fun with adding to and hanging things off it the possibilities are endless and as soon as this one is filled up to capacity I'm sure I'll find another space on a wall somewhere for another one...do you think this could be a condition i have.. like shelfomania !!

i spotted some fairy lights the other week when i went into Liverpool that I'm going to save up and get as they are really cool and will look adorable on this shelf so I'll show you them as soon as i get them!!..

Gift and Thrift...

it was our wedding anniversary the other week..we were very romantic and went to Drayton Manor theme park with the kids and my sister, brother in law and their brood to !!.. yes it was a romantic day walking hand in hand through Thomas the Tank land and gazing into each others eyes over a picnic bench burger and chips in front of us and a crying kid along side!!!.

actually it was a lovely day, the sun shone all day and the kids for most of it were brilliant..we would go back as it was great for the kids small and big!! and you can camp there so if you want to pace yourself or go back for more you can.. so we said perhaps next year we'll think about camping .. (hmm you might find that i stop in the hotel and go down and see if everyone is alright in the morning!!)

so as it was our anniversary this means little gifts were purchased and given to each other.. usually the hubby buys me an item of clothing that i then return to the shop and buy something that 1. fits me.. and 2. is actually to my taste!!.. he does try i know but i did have to ask him this year not to buy me any thing that resembles clothes !!..so the clever little thing took himself off to Cath Kidston and bought me these sweet little tins




and some gift vouchers yay..which means i get to go back again and buy myself some other scrummy things!!..very excited.. and I'm going to go on a complete child free day so i can stay in there for ages just looking at everything!!

then a friend bought me the sweetest mini cake stand, and i just adore it!!






isn't it funny how something so little can make my day!!?

it really goes with the little yellow shelf doesn't it .. I'm loving yellows and limes and pinks together at the minute..

i obviously am going to have to buy some mini paper cake cases now and make some ultra cute cupcakes to go on it aren't i !!..

and from small to big .. how gorgeous is this triple cake stand






this was off my sisters inlaws who are part of our extended family ..its even better when they know your taste isn't it!!..

so they bought us the lovely cake stand which has now took pride of place in the kitchen and this adorable little heart hanger with a cupcake design on


.. they know me so well.. don't think the hubby was as impressed with it as me but he'll live!!....

so from gifts to thrifts ( see what i did there!)

here's the latest charity shop buys ...

this gorgeous mirror .. so small and delicate but pretty heavy actually...


my mum isn't sure if its actually silver, theres no stamp or hallmark on it but it could be couldn't it!

.. it does need a bit of a clean up so will set to that , just love the amazingness of the back of it so much detail






.. it seems a shame to put it on the wall as you miss out on all of that ..

a rather modern picture for me but i thought it was quite cool, and it was still in its wrapper, guessing somebody changed their mind..


i know were this is going but i need a few more pictures that are similar in style or colour before it goes up on the wall!

just thought both of these items have been paid for by my mum when we were out so i guess this is thrifted that was gifted !!

have got a few more things to show you but battery has run out on camera so cant today.. im sure the suspense will kill you but you'll have to wait a few more days heehee..!!

Good for the soul

had to go to Liverpool the other week for clothes for the boys.. i find it an experience at the best of times.. immediately feel like a country bumpkin among the hustle and bustle of the city and the pushing and shoving to get to the cheap clothes in Primark really grates on me!!..

anyway add to the pot a crying toddler stuck in a buggy with the most dodgiest of wheels and you can be sure that it really wasn't one of my best outings!!

anyway it was proving to be a real horrendous day and i was a little bit tense to say the least!!..

so just before i left for the train i popped in to the Cath Kidston shop just to have a look round and you know what .. it instantly calmed me !! ( think the fact that the baby had fallen asleep at this point so i could have a proper look round helped to!)

oh i love that shop..i love the bright colours and the prettiest things ever on show .. i even love the shop assistants!!.. in a city full of orange faces and blank stares looking back at you over the till they all seem so wholesome in their pretty tea dresses and pleasant expressions actually happy to help!!!..

i so want to work there it would fill me with happiness i should imagine!!

anyway as i had literally spent up on the children's clothes that day ( bah these pesky kids and their growth spurts!) i didn't have much to spend on me, but i did pick up this little beauty and it was actually a rather practical buy to considering the boys have managed to smash the previous ones that we've had

so here we have my "Good for the soul" purchase of the day .. a soap dish holder!!

how something so small and trivial can bring sheer happiness is probably really sad but not to me.. but then small things appeal to small minds don't they!!!

i love it.. and i love how the rose goes with my rose wallpaper



and i also love how its not going anywhere this cant be used as a boat when the boys are in the bath thus preserving its use for a bit longer than the previous soap dishes have fared!!

so the next time you are out in town and not having a good day ..nip into CK and feel the calmness come over you... or simply leave the kids at home that might help to!!