Granny love

I have embraced the way of the granny lately. Influenced in absolutely no doubt by blogland and my new favourite book The Suitcase Series Volume 2: Dottie Angel- the peachy crafty world of Tif Fussell, I am like a fiend, hunting down mid-century retro furniture, vintage items and ugly/pretty vintage fabrics. My Mr is not too sure about this new direction, but it's something I have been attempting since I decided this time last year to join Dottie Angel's Challenge of the Utmost Kind.

*a little string of happy*

Myself and my Mr are very much 'Make Do and Mend' types anyway, so this challenge was only a little difficult. So far, I've managed to add very few 'new' items to the home and wardrobe, and managing to boot sale, thrift, charity shop and make my way to a new home and wardrobe. Of course eBay and Etsy have helped too.

*etsy fabrics and crocheted flags*

I have a secret stash of doilies procured from charity shops, ready to be whipped up into something delightful, some fabulous fabrics that will be turned into wedding decorations, and lots and lots of yarn waiting to become something loved and cherished. I have been given china and glassware, yarn and tins, all in my love for secondhand and thriftiness. And boy have I done well!

*dottie angel items made into a little string of happy*

I have got a set of lovely shelves and some teapots and fabric (as well as gorgeous light shade) from the boot sales, countless clothes and curios from the charity shops, furniture and fabrics from the vintage store, a number of items rescued from people's lofts and garages (including my mother's old Ercol dining chair) and of course so many handmade things I can't count them all.

This weekend we welcomed some new additions to the home. This vintage chair came from my favourite vintage shop- I flippin love that orange upholstery! I think the chair (along with the ercol one) will be painted white...if I can be bothered! I also need to paint our big living room mirror (also a freebie) white, and some gold frames we picked up at the boot sale for pennies.

Another new addition is this rather spiffy new ottoman, proudly looking scuffed and worn with its brown floral cloak. it is currently full of my fabrics and yarn stash (some of it anyhow!).

All in all, I have only a few failures to my name when it comes to the Challenge of the Utmost Kind. Namely two: Cath Kidston and Ikea. The only new items (besides underwear, hosiery and everyday tops/vests/jeans) to my wardrobe come from Cath Kidston, and actually all of them were bought in the sale or on eBay. So I don't feel too guilty. I also have paid two visits to the big blue Swedish place. I grabbed a new table for my little one's bedroom to match his vintage chairs from his grandmother, and I bought a new stool (waiting for a crochet jacket) and a bathroom shelving unit on Sunday. I could be a lot worse, eh?

*an Etsy find (thanks to Dottie Angel)*

I have loved this challenge- it has definitely made me re-think the way I shop and dress, decorate and think. Vintage, retro, handmade and thrifty; this is me from now on.

There is now only a few more days left of voting for the Dorset Cereals Little Blogger Awards! If you like me, and want me to win an egg cup and a coveted badge of honour for my little blog, then please go and vote for me, using the badge on the right there.

Happy grannying!

Weekend Reading

I have been meaning to blog about some wonderful reading for, well, AGES, but time, light and patience are all in short supply at inverleith lately.

I had a tax rebate at Christmas time, so I decided to treat myself to some crafty books. Instead of trawling the virtual aisles of amazon, I decided to just 'go for it' and order a couple of books I have wanted for a very long time. The first one I chose was this:

OOOOOHHH the excitement that ensued when this volume plopped onto my doormat! It is of course The Suitcase Series: Volume 2- Dottie Angel. I absolutely LOVE Tif Fussell's blog and this book is just as inspirational, quirky, beautiful and amusing as the blog, but with much more than I hoped for. There is a mix of how-tos, some lovely anecdotes, stories and journal entries and of course pages and pages of gorgeous granny-chic photos of Tif's studio, craftiness and her home, Mossy Shed.

Here are some of my favourite pages:

So I will soon be subjecting inverleith to some 'doilification' and strings of happy, as well as continuing with The Challenge of the Utmost Kind, which I have been attempting since March last year. Tif's style is just so inspiring it's impossible not to love it!

The other book I have been admiring for ages is purely a visual thing. I have been catchign glimpses of the Japanese craft books on blogland for a while now, so I caved, and purchased this lovely number from Etsy: 

My camera hasn't captured the colours and beauty of this book: it's stunning. I am unsure what project to tackle first. I really need to get my head around reading a Japanese crochet chart, that'll be the first step!

So many wonderful projects within these beautiful pages, my project list is immense!

This weekend we're travelling up to Warrington for my granddad's funeral, which is on Monday. It's been a tough week with two deadlines looming and this sad news. However, our wedding planning is coming along great, I can't wait to share some inspiration boards with you next week when I get back into the flow of things. Having a well-deserved takeaway and glass (or two) of wine while I battle the Nico dress in front of the telly tonight.

Hope your weekend is full of sunshine and inspiration.

xxx

p.s. Don't forget to vote for me in the Dorset Cereals Little Blogger Awards!

A Perfectly Perfect Weekend

I had one of those weekends that, for me, was the absolute pinnacle of 'weekendness'.

Saturday morning I was up and out the house early for a haircut followed by some thrifting. I managed some lovely fabrics and a couple of real finds- a gorgeous cream knitted skirt for £1, and two skeins of Sublime Baby Merino Silk Cashmere DK for 50p each! Lunacy.

After lunch with a friend I settled down for an evening of TV catch up and crochet- a quickly invented striped hat (with ear warmers) for my man. Which he then wore for the snowy day!

The weekend in pictures:

 *Warming home made chunky vegetable soup*

 *Beautiful daffodils*

 *A quick striped hat for my man*

 *and one little boy loving the snow*

 *building a snowman at the park*

*snowball fights, roast beef dinner, wedding planning, LOTS of tea and remembering Stan- my grandfather who died on Tuesday.*

A weekend filled with some sadness, but lots of joy and taking great pleasure in small, ordinary moments.

Making, Baking and a spot of P.Y.O.

I'm enjoying a rare moment of quiet and reflection-something I don't often get to do in my busy life. So I decided to take time to smell the roses. Or in this case, peonies. While my little man sleeps, I'm enoying a nice catch up with the blog world, whilst savouring a slice of beetroot seed cake (which I baked on Sunday), and a lovely cup of Twinings Rose Garden tea. It's utterly delicious. My world has been the usual riot of deadlines, housework, stress about moving and trying to entertain a feisty one-year-old. In between all that, here are some little snapshots of the past week or so.

 A jug of peonies on the table, rescued from the yellow sticker section at the supermarket.

 Have you noticed my lovely new oilcloth? This time rescued from the bargain bin in Laura Ashley- half price! £22 for two metres. Lovely.

On Saturday me and my Mr had the day off being parents, so we went for a lovely lunch at the DuCane in Great Braxted, then happened upon a little PYO farm, with the sun blazing down upon it.

 I adore the colours- the red hidden under green leaves nestled in the straw.

 Do you like my dress? A vintage sundress purchased from eBay. I'm doing ever so well with my Utmost Challenge! I am TRYING anyhow.

 Here is my Mr sampling the goods before paying...tut tut

 And here is the little chap savouring the summer's beautiful crop. He stuffed his cheeky little face! It was wonderful watching him help himself to the strawbs- there's nothing quite like a British strawberry, especially when it's smeared all over your scrumptious son!

We parked opposite this on Sunday. Sigh. I ♥ Figaro!

 Some treats my man purchased for the new house in none other than BHS!

 And we have been after one of these for yonks. Half price, too, y'know.

The making in question. My mother's birthday tea cosy.

 The baking in question. The glorious pink of the beetroot seed cake in action! It's delicious too, might I add. The recipe came from last week's Observer magazine.

And lastly, a bright pom pom garland for a dear friend's birthday. I know she'd appreciate the setting here. We're both big fans of Breakfast at Tiffany's! Who isn't?

 Other distractions from life include the discovery of several beautiful things. Pinterest is my new obsession, I just love finding ideas for the home and for the yarn stash too. Check out the new additions to my blog list for some fantastic inspiration. My friend (the birthday girl) also introduced me to Polyvore- a wesbite that allows you build mood board for clothes. A brilliant way to style outfits or try a bit of window shopping without spending any cold, hard cash!

I nipped into the newsagents earlier and mentally spent quite a lot of money on magazines. Selvedge, Oh Comely, Vogue. However, as I am brassic I saved my pennies as I am waiting for the big one...yes, issue 2 of Mollie Makes is out this week! I shall pop out first thing Thursday to see if my little apple jacket has graced their strokably matte pages.

See you then,most likely.

Pip, pip!



Mollie Makes and other things

Evening all! Oh it's good to be back blogging again, sat here at my ancient laptop, trying to coax the last bit of energy from its knackered hard drive. We've been on 'oliday this past week you see. On Saturday last we packed up the car bright and early and began the long, long journey down to Cornwall. After a good seven hours on the road (with puking/toilet/lunch stops) we arrived at the beautiful farmhouse in Porthgwarra, a tiny village in West Cornwall just a couple of miles from Land's End. I can't wait to show you the pictures, it was just a heavenly escape. I do love to record and savour these little memories from family life. Our little boy will turn one on Friday, and I can hardly believe a year has passed since a couple became a family. I have a few holiday posts to share with you all, but for now I just wanted to check in and show you a brand-new love, nay, OBSESSION. The lovely Nastassia pointed me in the general direction of a new crafty mag called Mollie Makes, and it hit the shelves finally on Thursday. And, well, here it is...

 It came with a free felt kit gift...

 Pages of lovely things to look at and buy. It made me stroke the matte, smooth pages and say "ahhhhhh. Me wantie."

 Lots of lovely vintage homes, including that of Dottie Angel (Tif Fussell), and inspiration of mine that you all know about by now. Very excited about her book that's coming out this summer!

 Another beautiful vintage home...

 A beautiful summer party shoot. I loved the thrifty ideas and hazy, dreamy photography.

I need some pot holders. Just so I can do this. But also my beloved bought me a gorgeous cream cast iron casserole dish earlier. So I made him a curry in it, and yowweeeee! the lid gets hot. So I will begin a pot holder hooky odyssey soon.

There were also two projects for me to get stuck straight into. The felt kit provided me with a pretty iPod case, made by me own fair 'and!

The other 'cover star' project was a lovely one for me to work on this morning, easy peasy and oh so cute!

Here I am admiring my work...

 How do you like them apples?

I am absolutely head-over-heels in love with Mollie Makes. I need to learn to sew now so I can attempt just about everything in the first issue. The homes are so inspirational, just the pick-me-up I needed when I think I cannot manage the Utmost Challenge I set down for myself a few months ago. I can do it!

Brighton Belle

 Hello and a Happy Easter to you all! We're making the most of the sunshine this weekend and going to a BBQ at my sister's this afternoon. Not traditional Easter fare I agree but why waste this glorious sunshine? I've been busy with some Easter makes that I will share with you later in the week; some biscuits, bunting and baking. And an Easter tree! It has become a little dishevelled by the baby and the cat so it's not as pretty as when I created it on Thursday. I also bought some beautiful Easter decorations from Paperchase. Oh how I love Paperchase. More on that soon I promise.

On Sunday last we made the short journey from Ghyll Manor to Brighton. I was fortunate enough to be a student in Brighton, oh many moons ago now. Almost ten years ago since I made my journey away from my folks down to the Sussex coast and the best three years a girl could ask for. I still love the town but rarely get down there.  The shopping is amazing- and it's so creative and inspirational. I didn't spend a penny myself but loved rifling through the vintage shops, thrift stores and flea markets. 

 We parked up and made our way down through the North Laine area where I discovered the most beautiful shop. Bluebelle & Co is heaven- all lovely children's clothes, gorgeous homewares and beautiful gifts. And the the merchandising was so inspirational!

 I am now determined to make a little navy and white 'mademoiselle' cape, like a crochet one they were selling, but I've yet to find a good pattern. 

 We came away with a Pip studio cup and saucer, which I am currently enjoying a new Twinings Royal Wedding celebration tea from. Delicious! I love the Pip china, so beautiful. D was sent the tea and a blue Pip cup and saucer as a promotion and bought it home for me last week, so when we saw the range at Bluebelle, D decided to buy the grey version for a more masculine brew.

We wandered through the North Laine, visiting my favourite haunts, including Snooper's Paradise- a fab flea market full to the rafter with STUFF. I was looking for some china to build my collections, but I found nothing. I think Snooper's Paradise is more expensive than it used to be, and the collection of stuff is not so good. There was a brilliant stand called Kitch n Sink which was 1950s homewares and reproductions. D picked up a Potting Shed Tea mug which he is has taken down to the garden today. I fell in love with EVERYTHING including a formica table. However, with a car full of luggage etc. it was no time to buy furniture. I searched for fabrics, but the fabric bit is smaller than it used to be. Bums.

 We wandered yet further through the North Laine, rifling through vintage rails, peering through windows and traversing the tables and chairs in the street outside cafes. We finally reached Bond Street with my two favourites Lavender Room and Velvet. You only have to look at the website to notice their amazingness. But due to being brassic and my dedication to The Challenge of the Utmost Kind I avoided purchasing. It took a LOT of courage to walk away!

We then had lunch with a friend of D's at Bill's organic cafe, amazing as always, before wandering down to the front to join the throngs of tourists and beach-goers. 

 I love the mix of old and new, with galleries tucked behind the King's Road arches amongst the bars and clubs.

There's something about an old-fashioned seaside town that is just so sweet and charming. Brighton and Hove is a city now, so has lost that rickety feel. But I still love little touches like these deck chairs, and the destroyed West Pier. I remember the night it caught fire, both times. It's beyond repair now but still looks hauntingly beautiful standing proudly in the waves.

I ♥ Brighton!