bathroom window mini makeover

on my bathroom window i have the same lace drops that i have on virtually every window in my home the ikea lace drops.. .these are around the £9 mark and are so amazingly good for the price as they look really expensive and you get tons of material for your money...

now as i say i had these drops on my window and i had the two that you get in the set..this is only a little window and the height from the curtain rail to the floor wasn't that long so there was always lots of material wafting around...when i originally put them up on the rail it was in typical pretty vintage slapdash style so there was no tie backs for them it was simply me tying a big knot in them ..terrible really!!

after about a year this had started to get on my nerves  as there was far to much material and they just lay on the floor getting dusty and i felt looking a bit scruffy until the other Saturday when i was in the middle of cleaning the bathroom and moved the curtains to mop the floor .. suddenly the creative urge came over me and i decided to take both drops down and just put the one half back up.
i thought i would drape it from one side and tie it at the side using some ribbon i found in my messy drawer!

.. do you do mini makeovers that make you feel like that!!! but the window looked unfinished so i had a root round my linen cupboard and came across a white cotton runner that i had bought from a pound land shop no less which had never been used  and decided to use as a pelmet ..
very simply i pinned it around the curtain pole to give it the shape but it has remained in tact and i feel looks very effective
this took me about five minutes but its one of those mini makeovers that has really made my day as now when i walk into the bathroom i see a tidy pretty window instead of a messy one and its a little bit new so I'm still loving the novelty factor!!

i also bought a new candle holder from the chazza shop the other day as well so this has found a new home on the bathroom window sill along side one of my vintage looking ikea candle holders which has a gorgeous smelling candle in and my mini pewter petal looking candle holder that I've had for a while now it gives me something new to look at now when I'm brushing my teeth!!

All quiet on the sunny front !!

right so i was just getting use to baring my legs ( sunburn in march..crazy times!!)) and no sooner had i unpacked my summer things from the loft then it was back on with the polo necks and the thick tights.. which if I'm being honest is fine with me.. i absolutely love the sunshine and hot weather but its so much easier covering up there is zero preparation involved isn't there.. its to time consuming when the sun is out from thinking of what to put on, to painting the toe nails that haven't been spotted since last year!!..

anyway before i gross you out with tales of toe nails and hairy legs .. to late i said it !! i thought as the sun definitely has gone in behind those clouds and doesn't show signs of coming out id post a few bright and cheery pictures of some of the things I've bought over the past few weeks!!

i got this set of cocktail forks off ebay for 99p.i think they are so cute and i love all the different colours that they came in ..they need to be used at a small soiree i think with pickled onion and cheese canapes!!



i keep them in a tiny jug on the dresser in the kitchen and they do make me smile seeing the pretty colours

i got these lovely glass bowls from IKEA they were really quite cheap, i use them as tea light holders but i may go back and get some more, as they are really pretty

heres a close up of one of the tulips that the hubby bought me this week...ive never seen this

type before..its got a real raggedy edge..very pretty though, i had just bought this little jug from the charity shop and i was wondering were to put it when the hubby came in with all these tulips and i think the jug was just the right size for them..they have been cheering me up no end when walk past them..i do think tulips are in my top three of flowers!

i had to run into Aldi to buy some chicken as ASDA didnt have any ( very boring story i know but keep with me!)..now i don't really shop in Aldi and i do ask myself why not as its full of interesting and lovely things so i must start having a look....anyways while i was there i had a look round and found these fairy lights..i just had to have them!!..I'm always on the lookout for battery operated fairy lights as i don't have enough plug sockets for fairy lights and plugs so something has to give!!

anyways i don't particularly like the light that these give off..they are a bit bluey white for my liking so i don't have them on but they are nice to look at just draped along the dresser and what I'm going to do is get some warm white fairy lights and wrap these around to get the nice twinkly effect!!

oh here's a close up of my IKEA bowls!!

a soap despenser from the charity shop for my bathroom

i love this large chopping board that came from the charity shop but from their "new range"

its got all recipes on it for fairy cakes, victoria sponge, jam and scones it was only £4.99 bargain!

also from the same new range i picked up these lovely trays again these were really cheap yet i think look very much like Cath Kidstons...i do feel sorry for the hubs somtimes living in such a floral filled home..but it really makes me happy seeing all the lovely prints all over the house!!








and last of all..cakes in the bathroom!!

i picked up these bath bombs from B&M's and thought they would look perfect on my cakestand that i had in the bathroom anyways..just have to make sure that the boys dont think they are real and take a bite out of them!!!..

guess were ive been...

last year for our anniversary the hubby got me some vouchers for Cath Kidston...

although its quite hard to believe Ive only just spent them .. Ive had them since August!!!..

i was waiting for the right time haha..and since there is never a spare moment when you have little rascals for children i thought the Saturday just gone was the day!..

we went to Liverpool and took the boys round the museums and for a burger king.. (mummy had to have a bk as well as it would have been very rude not to!!).. anyways the first place we went to was to Caths but that was just to peruse what things i wanted to get, didn't fancy walking round the dinosaur exhibition with a bag of loveliness the t-rex might have wanted it for himself!!..

so after we'd been round the museums, had lunch it was up to that beautiful shop for bit of mummy time!!..

it was hideous... the boys were running wild.wanting to get into the bed that was in the middle of the shop ( well you cant blame them..i wanted to ..it looks that cosy!) playing with all the toys that were on sale, being very loud, then wanting to be taken the toilet and then our debit card got declined how shameful was that so the hubby then had to go and find a cash machine and actually draw the money out..not sure what happened there maybe my card was just excited because it knew it was buying gorgeousness!!.

..not the cath kidston shopping experience i had promised myself when the hubby first presented me with my vouchers!!..

but it doesn't matter really because i still came away with two big carrier bags slung over my arm so alls well that ends well !!

want to see what i bought.. ..of course you do !

it made me laugh when i was taking everything out.. it all matched..

i hadn't intentionally done this but it all was from the same pattern..

i bought this lovely table cloth that had been reduced from£40 down to £20, its quite a good size and as our table is rather large it does cover the majority of it which is good..



i thought it would bring the blue dresser into the colour scheme as most things in the dining room are green and red so thought the blue would tie it all in as theres green and red and blue in the lovely pattern..

some cake tins..



because i just love cake and i love cake tins..and i found that they finish off my pink shelves in the kitchen perfectly.



i have put the little pink tin from the trio on my microwave

..i love this little corner its so bright and cheery and a bit pretty i think..

then i picked up this darling little set.. and for £12 i just couldn't have said no could i..



I'm kicking myself now that i didn't buy two sets but never mind.. i knew it would have to go on my yellow shelf in the kitchen..and i think it just looks perfect there ..

there isn't actually room for one of the saucers on here so that's just sat on my bigger dresser at the minute .. I'm sure that will find a little home somewhere soon though!

and then because id spent over £50 i got a free laundry bag ..and look at the pattern

must have been a Provence rose day for me hey!!

also picked up some rolls of wallpaper for the boys room which I'm decorating this week here's a little glimpse for you ..

ooo excited about that little project i can tell you!!

so the only trouble is now Ive seen all the other lovely items for sale I'm wanting to go back and spend a small fortune.. i saw a beautiful dress and cant stop thinking about it.. it was so pretty and I'm sure i would be happy every time i wore it..but i don't think i could justify£85 so I'll keep an eye out for a primark wish it was version or look in the chazza shops for anything remotely similar!!

breaking through the fog

hellooo there..is there anyone out there!!

well deary me that was a long blogging break..i cant believe that its been since September since Ive last sat down and wrote a blog post...now i might have mentioned before that i do get obsessed with things and i started slimming world at the beginning of September..and i have been completely wrapped up in writing down my meal plans for the week and how many syns id had that day although as a friend pointed out eating a crunchie isn't what they would class as a sin!!..
so i was really good and lost nearly a stone and half which was what i needed to lose..yay.. - until we finished for the holidays and then me and the hubby ate after eights and all sorts of treats nearly every night and i have put on a good few pounds over the last couple of weeks..not a good look again..but hey ho these things happen and I'm sure it will come off again once i get my mind into gear again!!.

anyway how have you been!!??...
theres been a few interior changes in the pretty vintage household (whats new i hear you ask!!) so instead of me waffling on about it and boring you to death.. I'll just show you the pics and put a little sentence underneath about it!..



well first of all..we changed our middle room from sitting room into a dining room again..which meant moving things from the dining room back into this room .. such as this mirror and can you see a bit of the welsh dresser.. i wasn't sure about the dresser being in this room as the ceiling heights and proportions are a lot bigger and higher and i thought as a piece it might get lost but its grown on me and sheer laziness has prevented me from moving it now!!



we have moved the tv into the room by the kitchen now and that has become our snug (will do a whole post to that room soon !) so the bookshelf which has been in almost every corner in this house was moved again and I actually like it the most were it is now.. i have a proper reading corner and there is no distraction of computer or tv in this room now !!

candle holders and pictures..new homes for all here!!

picked up this lightbox in ikea in their bargain corner for £3 last week.. i wasn't sure were to put it but i found a space above the bathroom door. it keeps making me laugh when its on as its right at the top of the stairs .. it kinda gives the impression that the mother ship is guiding you up the stairs into the spaceship a bit sci fi i think!!

heres some pics of my new dining room and the beautiful table that my lovely hubby built...yes actually designed and built himself..not from a flat pack instruction manual but actually from his own hands... so proud of him for making this.. we really missed our old long dining table and wanted to get one again but they were so expensive so he just thought he would get the wood himself and make it..you know like you do!!.. its got a solid oak top and pine legs and its so huge that its not going anywhere for a good few years * don't think we can get it out of the french doors actually!!* think this is going to become a family heirloom to be honest.. and Ive been told that i cannot paint the legs of it!!




here's our stair well..its pretty much been empty as its such a big space that i couldn't really fill it without it looking a bit "bitty" but i think the bunting helps fill the space along with the huge ikea print of Amsterdam..the hubby pre children and pre marriage responsibility actually stayed in one of the hotels in this picture so its a little bit of him in a house of floralness.. im good to him aint i.. i let him have the stairs!!
my mum passed me on this lovely mirror and i was going to put it on the wall..but then i had a flashback of a time when i visited Laura Ashley and in one of their sets they had a lovely Venetian glass tray on a side table and i thought i would recreate that a little bit here with the mirror and some candlesticks ..



ive brought my dressing table down and put it in my front sitting room.. i was going to have the computer in here but something went wrong with the Internet when we did that so we had to keep the computer were it was so now its just another space for me to plonk things on and have a play!!


here's my front room now.. i love it .. it feels so cosy and lovely especially as its just for grown ups (well me really!!) my sister gave me a rug which id actually been after for ages as i loved the design and it really makes a difference to the warmth and brings out the colours of the sofas as there are reds and yellows in there

loving my little pompom polka dot lampshade fairy lights..i think they go perfect in this room!!

my mum bought me these gorgeous cushions from B&M's they are such amazing quality and were only something ridiculous like a fiver each..

..these are such good quality ..all stitched not painted on and they have withstood pillow fights from my two boys !!

so there you have it .. a mini tour around..i will be back soon..probably with another picture heavy post..but you dont mind that do you..are you as nosy as i am and love pictures of peoples homes i do.!!!

he said.. theres somthing in the woodshed..

well the other week.. the hubbys grandad asked us to help clear his woodshed, which is when we took most of it to the car boot sale ..remember this previous post..

http://charl-prettyvintage.blogspot.com/2011/08/carboot-madness.html

so we did.. and most of it was the usual woodshed gubbins..lots of tools and books on woodwork and johnny mathis albums!!

but there was a few things that i spied with my beady eye... and these things came home with me!!

first off this sweet little teacup..no saucer with it but its fine for popping a little tealight in..to pretty to go in the bin dont you think!

these lovely pink glass dishes.. the colour on the picture looks almost orange but they are a lovely light pink and i think would be perfect for a gorgeous pud covered in cream!!!

then this sweet little yellow floral tea set.. a girl can never have enough ( i know i say that about most things ...but it is true!)

and then whilst we were clearing out the shed i could see something at the back which looked suspiciously like a mirror to me, now his grandad didn't say anything about it so i assumed it was for keeps, so our car was packed to the rafters honestly the man is more of a hoarder than me it was great!!.. we were stood in the shed door just having a little chat when he pointed to the mirror and said how he'd had it for years..was going to give it a bit of tlc but had never got round to it.. and now he was just going to take it to the skip... well i nearly fell over when he said that.. "I'll take it!!" i said .. the words were out of my mouth before i knew it!!.

i couldn't believe he was going to skip it i mean why would you!!???

so i got myself an antique dressing table mirror !!

look at the lovely detailing

you gotta love bun feet on anything!!

i love the little flip up drawer .. its already starting to get filled with my bits and bobs!

now the hubby has said he thinks the glass needs replacing but i sort of like the mottled effect it has that vintage feel to it now... my sister says it looks like something out of "The portrait of Dorian Gray!".. i feel it is a bit phantom of the opera'sh .. i am resisting the urge to paint it for now because i know how slapdash i am with a paintbrush and i think i could actually go to jail for crimes against antique furniture if i was to wreak this!!!

so remember the story "cold comfort farm " and the little old lady keeps saying "theres something in the woodshed!" this time she was right!