Thursday 29 March 2012

Ice Cream & Owls


Channelling Alice in Wonderland.  Looking at imaginary tiny packs of cards around my feet.


Pink floral owl!

 

Blouse & Shoes - Dotty P's via Ebay
Cardigan - M&S Outlet
Skirt - Primark
Baby blue tights - New Look
Boat necklace & Owl brooch - Primark
Typewriter tote - Mystic Moose on Etsy


Been thinking about


Newly purchased pretty things...


Fox's Party Rings...


And mouthwatering flavours all in a row

Despite everything I said in this post I have been really enjoying our Spring so far.  I am fully embracing the ice cream shades inspired by some newly discovered bloggers and all little pretties I've found in the shops.  I got the above haul of pretty things from Primark yesterday when I was looking for pastel coloured tights.  I was just about to walk out without buying anything when I caught site of the cute little pink owl.  Of course you can't just buy one little thing so I picked up the two necklaces.  Then whilst queueing, I spotted the Angelica range of nail varnishes and couldn't resist picking up the 2 gorgeous glitter colours.  

Lucy x

Tuesday 27 March 2012

I Like Your Style

Today I'm going to write about the lovely Kate Gabrielle who blogs over at Scathingly Brilliant.  She is a purveyor of fabulous 1920's style stationery, uber blogger, and a very stylish lady to boot.

I am a relatively recent follower of Kate's but I was immediately struck by the use of colour in her ensembles.



Her style is very retro 1960's with the dreamiest kitschy candy shop colour pallet





She has the most fabulous collection of coloured tights I've ever seen!






And check out the shoes!


I love the pale blue accents in this outfit


Of course her trademark pink hair and beehive are very much a part of the overall look



Being a bit of an autumn girl traditionally I have tended to shy away from pastel, Spring like colours in the past, but since discovering Kate's blog I have been well and truly inspired to branch out into aquas, lilacs, corals, pale pinks, and mint greens.  And what better time to experiment for us Brits with Spring being merely in its infancy.  Bring it on!

Thank you Kate for letting me share.  If you haven't already go take a look at her blog for more of the same. 

TTFN

Lucy x

Monday 26 March 2012

Just Call Me Moneypenny

Good day and what a sunshiney one it is.

I thought I'd share one of my favourite recent thrifted finds.





I know, isn't it wonderful.  Still in working order but obviously I bought purely to admire.  It usually has permantly compressed keys thanks to Little Miss 4.  I had to prize them all up again for the photo.  A rather fabulous charity shop find

So, I thought I'd do a secretary themed post to go along with my new purchase seeing as how that's kind of my 9-5


This is what this secretary looks like on her day off


If only I could send my Mad Men-ised self into work instead

Have a great day

Lucy xx

Sunday 25 March 2012

There's Always The Sun

Always... ALWAYS! :(

Spring has sprung.  The clocks have gone forward.  Its that time of the year when I start to think reluctantly about packing away the opaques and buffing up my legs ready to show the world again, gah!

I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I HATE SUMMER.  I hate the sticky heat, the light pouring into the bedroom at 4am, the compulsion to be seen to be enjoying yourself at any cost, i.e.,  Quick Madge there's a patch of grass, get the picnic blanket and some strawberries quick smart or SOMEONE MIGHT DIE!  I hate the jaunty summer tunes blasting out of car windows when all I want to do is listen to Bauhaus and The Sisters of Mercy in my candle lit bedroom!

I appreciate I may be in a minority here but I've always felt the same way.  Well, since I left school and the 6 week holiday became a thing of the past.  Besides, we just haven't had enough winter.  Autumn is without doubt my favourite season but the last few years in Blighty we seem to have skipped this altogether in favour of an elongated sticky faux summer that lasts up until November/December then suddenly switches to freezing cold for a few weeks.  No sooner has the year begun then we're back to thinking about Spring again.

OK I know we're barely into the new season but the countdown has begun.  Plus I've just lost an hours sleep so I'm grumpy.

Yesterday I took down my case of summer clothes that it seems I only packed away a few months ago.  There was a tiny glimmer of excitement, but only a teeny tiny one 

 
OK, I like these dresses.


Quite like these skirts too


Swallows and stripes forever


  

Nope.  Sorry its just not enough.  I'm still firmly anti-summer. 

Its the turn of my velvets, tweeds and most of my woollens to go into storage.  Maybe a little prematurely but that's me, ever the pessimist!

The only kind of 'Summer Anthem' I can tolerate



What's your favourite season?  Are there any anti-summer people out there or am I the only one? (Don't gang up on me)

xx

Wednesday 21 March 2012

Workin' For The Man

I don't really know what to talk about cos I haven't been doing anything interesting this week.  In the absence of substance I will post some work outfits.  Starting with yesterday...

What a miserable gob!


Bit of gapage.  The enemy of the curvy girl.

Skirt - Primark
Top - Red Herring
Cardi - Dotty P's
Bird brooch - Acorn & Will
Shoes - charity shop
 
Today:-




Such nonchalance


I'm a little embarrassed that so much of the above outfit came from Primark, i.e., the skirt, blouse, cardi and necklace!  They just seem to have so much good stuff at the moment.  So many skirts in my ideal length and in all my favourite colours.  Primark for all your faults - I love thee still.  The cameo brooch is vintage and the shoes are from a charity shop.

I'm quite fortunate in that I work in quite a relaxed environment.  I don't really wear jeans so I dress for work pretty much as I would normally.


For some reason I am just SO TIRED and can't wait to get into bed with my supplies



Oh yes, I love me some sweeties.  Glad its my day off tomorrow.  Rock n roll!




Mark Radcliffe - swoon! :)

Monday 19 March 2012

The Soundtrack To My Despair

Happy Monday everyone

A few days ago I was tagged by the fabulous Vix to do the High School Playlist




My high school years were between 1992 and 1997 and, contrary to the old adage, they certainly weren't the happiest days of my life.  In actual fact school was one long, seemingly endless nightmare for me and it took me long into my adult life to fully recover from it!  Music was one of the ways I escaped and it consequently became a huge part of my life.

So hard to narrow down to 5 tracks as I was listening to a lot of music during this time, from all different eras.  To simplify matters, I've stuck to tracks that were current to the period.



An obvious choice maybe but everyone loved Nirvana.  I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news of Kurt's death and how, after that event, a lot of my friends who wouldn't usually listen to that type of music suddenly became Nirvana fans.  Such an important band to my generation, I couldn't leave them out.

After a while I tired of everyone jumping on the grunge bandwagon and started listening to Britpop.  Inevitable I suppose.  Unfortunately I became a bit of an indie kid for a while! 



Suede were one of my favourite bands of the Britpop scene, although I'm sure they would argue that they were never really part of it. Dog Man Star is probably still one of my favourite albums to this day

As I got a bit older I became more interested in female fronted bands.  I loved the kitsch glamour of this lead singer


I had the biggest girl crush on Miki.  I recorded this video off The Chart Show (remember that?!) and watched it over and over.  I wanted to be just like her.

I was listening to John Peel's Festive 50 in 1996 when I heard this track.


It was easy to get into Kenicke.  They were only a couple of years older than me, wore cool clothes, cool make up, and were so accessible.  Plus, they were girls with guitars! 

Lauren Laverne now has her own show on BBC 6 Music as well as numerous TV presenting roles.  I think she's one of the most interesting and culturally informed women in broadcasting.

At this point I must give an honourable mention to Mark Radcliffe & Marc Riley.  Together they were Mark & Lard, a comedy duo of sorts who had their own show on BBC Radio 1 (when it was good).  They did the infamous "graveyard shift" broadcasting from BBC Manchester Studios between the hours of 10pm and midnight every Monday to Thursday.  The show ran from 1993 to 1997 and I listened to it religiously!  I had a huge crush on Mark Radcliffe before I had even seen what he looked like.  They played some excellent music from new up-and-coming bands as well as some older and more obscure artists.  The show was full of spoof documentaries, toilet humour, and cheesy gags but combined with shed loads of interesting features such as "Cult Film Corner" "Cult TV Corner", and "Poetry Corner", featuring guests like Mark Kermode, Kim Newman, Katie Puckrick, Sean Lock, Simon Armitage, John Hegley, Harry Hill (long before the TV Burp days) and Bill Bailey.

I owe a huge debt to that show.  It was a refuge for my angst ridden teenage self and introduced me to so many artists, bands, films etc. that I may never have otherwise discovered.

They played a lot of tracks by this next artist, including this one...



...and my love affair with Nick Cave began.

Phew, still with me?!

Thank you for sharing that trip down memory lane with me.  Sorry if it was a bit angsty for your taste!

Hmm, who to tag next...

...the lovely ladies behind the following blogs:-

The Freelancers Fashion Blog
Just Another Wardrobe Experience

Homesick Blues
Quirky Vintage Worlde

Misfits Vintage

Hope you can find the time ladies.  I'd be really interested to hear your choices.

Hope you're all having a lovely week.

Lucy x

Sunday 18 March 2012

Autumn in the Spring

Hello there.  Just thought I'd pop by with some pics of yesterday's outfit.


This top arrived yesterday so I thought I'd build my outfit around it.   I ended up sporting definite autumnal shades despite the weather being gloriously sunny, mild and very springlike.



So overjoyed at the sunshine I felt an impromptu twirl was required (I clearly had some time on my hands).






I wore:-

Peter Pan collar top - Next sale.  I also have one in pink
Skirt - vintage St Michael via charity shop 
Tights & bag - New Look
Shoes - Dorothy Perkins via Ebay
Jacket - Ebay
Squirrel brooch - Miss Selfridge
Necklace - Primark


I met up with my sister in Crosby, a small town on the outskirts of Liverpool, for a spot of charity shopping.

Picked up the following from Freshfields Animal Rescue:-




I know, right!  They had so much of this type of stuff for a charity shop, I could have bought a lot more.  Unfortunately, they're very savvy about their pricing so my frugal side stopped me buying up a skip full!

I can see me making more trips up that neck of the woods in the near future though!


EDIT

I've shared my thrifted finds over on Sophie Isobel's gorgeous blog Her Library Adventures
Go take a look at the other fabulous finds xx


Enjoy what's left of the weekend

Lucy x

Friday 16 March 2012

I Heart the 1970's - Part I

Look at this fabulous book!



I'd seen these decade scrapbooks by Robert Opie around for a while - usually in overpriced gift shops - and always loved the look of them.  I'd always been put off by how much they cost and by the fact that they're gift items and not the kind of thing you usually buy for yourself.  I waited and waited but nobody bought me one!  Then a couple of months back I discovered a Waterstones gift card with some left over credit on it - don't you just love it when that happens - and I decided it was time to treat myself, the fact that it was quite a bit cheaper online sealed the deal.

They are available in a whole range of decades but I went for the 1970's.  I was kind of put off by the rather stereotypical disco scene on the cover but just inside is some rather retrotastic eye candy.



I've always had a soft spot for the 1970's.  I think it stems from the fact that its a decade I narrowly missed out on, but as a child growing up there were so many vestiges of it left over which has made it seem so cosy and familiar in retrospect.  I remember textbooks in school still having illustrations and pictures of long haired 70's schoolchildren running around in fishtail parkas and flared pants

Inspired by this book and by my burgeoning love of all things 70's, I thought I would do a novelty 70's post all about the things from that decade that make me smile.

Homewares:-

Source

Hornsea Pottery was EVERYWHERE.  My mother in law recently gave me her old set of Hornsea Saffron dinnerware that she'd kept in a box in the shed for years.  Since then I have been collecting bits and pieces every time I see them.  It's become a bit of an obsession!

No boring plain white square 20 piece dinner services available back then.  Everything you ate, drank and cooked from was either bright yellow or orange or covered in garish flower patterns - perfect!

Advertising and Packaging:-

Fabulous fonts and garish colours.  Doing a supermarket shop must have been like having a mini acid trip.  






 I mean check out the Aqua Manda range in the above pic, second shelf up on the right!


Caravan holidays:-

When I was little my mum and dad bought an old 4 berth touring caravan really cheap.  It was pretty small and very old fashioned.  Every time we took it on holiday we would be surrounded by brand new tinted windowed, much bigger and far grander caravans.  I didn't care though cos I LOVED our little mini home with its tiny bunkbeds, cupboards that wouldn't shut properly and alarmingly loud curtains.

Of course now it would be considered charmingly retro.  

Source
Ours was just like the one on the left.  I wish we still had it.

Check out this site for some great pics of caravans throughout the decades.

I would definitely recommend these books as gifts.  Particularly if you know someone who is really into the vintage/retro thing.  I want to get the 60's one next.  There is no 80's one as yet but, Mr Opie if you're reading, if you compiled one, I would certainly buy it!

So much about this decade I love, I couldn't possibly fit it all into one post.  I'll be back soon with part II

Does anybody here remember the 70's?  What were your favourite things about it?  Was it really that good or am I just romanticising it?

Lucy x
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