Wednesday 27 June 2012

Love Bunches & 7 More Things




These photos were taken a few weeks back in Berwick on Tweed.  We had gone to Bamburgh, a little coastal town with a big castle, earlier in the day.  The sun had done its regular trick of shining in the morning and duping me into wearing something completely inappropriate for the cooling temperatures and torrential downpours that inevitably came later in the afternoon.  These photos were taken just as the first drops were starting to fall.  That morning, I had quite by chance picked up Miss 5's flower bobbles and decided to put my hair in bunches.  Mainly just to disguise the fact that it needed a wash.  I hadn't worn my hair like this for ages but found that I really quite liked it. 

Top & beads - Charity shop
Cardi - New Look
Jeans - Supermarket
Sandals - Schuh
Wonky owl brooch - Primark

Not sure how age appropriate these are, but quite honestly, I couldn't care less.  I can easily still see myself wearing them when I'm 50.

In other news, I have been nominated by Wendy from The Butterfly Balcony, Melanie Follybird and Kezzie AG  for the following blog awards 






Thank you so much ladies for thinking of me.  If you haven't already, please do visit their respective blogs as I am positive you will enjoy them as much as I do.

The rules are very similar - share 7 things about yourself - so I will combine them in this post.

OK...  scratches head... admittedly this took a fair while.  I'm sure if I was to sit in a bar on a one to one with any one of my talented and erudite readers... not just any bar mind you, it would have to serve cheap whisky shots and have a spectacularly good jukebox... anyway, If I was to do that, one might, by the end of the night, think me quite interesting!  I tend to come into my own with a bottle of Jack and the right ambience.  However, in the cold light of day, trying to think of 7 random, blogworthy and appropriate things to share becomes more of a challenge.  Here goes...

#1.  I don't do Social Networking.  I don't have a Facebook or Twitter account. (as a result I can't get on Pinterest, boo!)  I generally think putting yourself, your friends and family out there for the consumption of all and sundry, aside from being a terrifying prospect, is potentially very dangerous.  I have heard so many social networking horror stories.  I have nothing against people who use Facebook and Twitter and I can see the benefits of it, particularly if used to promote a business etc, it's just not for me. 

#2.  I prefer anonymity.  Those of you who've been with me from the start of my blogging adventure may remember the days when I used to hide behind the 'curtain' of my hair in all outfit shots or try and obscure my face with some kind of Picnik trickery.  (see also #1)  I realised pretty swiftly that this wasn't going down too well with my readers and wasn't sustainable if I wanted to take my blog in the direction I wished.  I have never been a person who's comfortable in front of a camera or comfortable being the centre of attention.  This has obviously been a struggle over the years due to the way I've dressed and worn my hair etc.  These days, I'm barefaced enough not to care.  Also, I've found that regular blogging has increased my confidence in front of the camera and made me feel a lot more at ease with my appearance.  A big upside.

#3.  I first became interested in blogs after I'd had my daughter 5 years ago.  To cut a depressing story short, I went through a horrendous time as a new mum which included the mother of all identity crises.  I didn't feel, look, or behave like any other mothers I knew so I slowly began to seek inspiration in the form of Flickr groups like Wardrobe Remix and blogs like 'Diary of a Vintage Girl' and 'Liebe Marlene'.  Women similar in age to me who seemed to have their style sussed and their lives down to a tee. I slowly started to stalk more bloggers discover more and more blogs and eventually worked up the courage to join GFC so I could be a commenter.  It took a further 2 years or so for me to take the plunge into the blogging world myself.  Hey, good things take time!

#4  When I was a teenager my favourite writer was Oscar Wilde (I was very much influenced by Morrissey).  I read everything I could get by him and had a giant poster of him on my bedroom wall with the famous quote "

"We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars"

He was one in a long line of deceased writers and fictional characters that I had huge crushes on.

#5   I once came away from an All About Eve concert with a blow up sheep given to me by the guitarist.  Not exactly sure why.  I soon abandoned it when it started to attract a lot of unsavoury attention from the waifs and strays of the London Underground.  I was very naive in those days.

#6   The first film me and Mr N went to see together was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  I still watch it sometimes, mainly for Clementine's hair and clothes.




#7  I was once tested for Aspergers syndrome.  I met 3 out of 5 of the specific criteria and was found to be at the high functioning end of the autism spectrum.  I cried my eyes out when I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time.  Apparently we all have a bit of it in us

The rules say I have to tag more blogs but I'm going to pass on this bit.  A lot of my fave blogs have either already already been tagged by me or other bloggers recently or have just tagged me!

If you made it to the end of all that, thanks for sticking with me!

I'm off to watch David Bowie & The Story of Ziggy Stardust on BBC catch up

Have a good night

Lucy x

Dessert Nails



Another quick nail post featuring: Barry M: 'Lemon Ice Cream', 'Strawberry Ice Cream', 'Blueberry Ice Cream', 'Lemon Ice Cream' and 'Peach Melba'.  Finished off with a flourish of Technic 'Carnival' rainbow glitter! Mmmm!

My go to nail of the moment

Back soon

Lucy x

Friday 22 June 2012

Up Above The Streets and Houses...

Inspired by this image from a quick Google search:-

Found here

And these images from this colourful lady:-




I thought I'd do my own version of Rainbow nails:-


Whaddya think?  A much less professional photograph and finish come to that but I was very happy with them all the same.  I couldn't stop looking at my hands all day! 

I did however try to stick to the correct spectrum of colours


And these were some of the polishes used 


Since then I've been obsessed with having colourful hands and have been constantly sporting different variations on the same theme



My obsession has become such that I felt compelled to splash out on a handful of new Barry M nail paints to extend my colour palette!

Here are some rainbow themed images from my Google search that made me smile:-

Source

I love you Zippy!

Source

Source

Source


Source

Source

Paint the whole world with a....... rainbow :)

Here's to rainbows.  One of the most beautiful manifestations of bad weather .

Wishing you all a colourful and happy weekend

Lucy x

Tuesday 19 June 2012

Death Mask

  Whilst in Jedburgh we visited the Mary Queen of Scots Museum.  A house in which
Mary is believed to have stayed for around 4 weeks when she was seriously ill.


 The house belonged to the Kerr family of nearby Ferniehirst Castle


Mary's bedroom

 The most interesting exhibit in my opinion was this


The death mask of the queen herself.

The thing that struck me most about this was the fact that it depicts a rather beautiful, serene looking woman as opposed the large nosed, dowdy old lady depicted in portraits.
Found here

My morbid curiosity got me to thinking about this rather macabre but fascinating practice

 
 Extreme close up

Whilst taking this photo I was half expecting this to happen





Usually only royalty or eminent members of society were immortalised in death and the cast was then used as part of the funeral service.  In the days before photography, it was also used to capture the likeness so that subsequent portraits could be made.

A couple of Google searches brought back some notable immortalisations.



Dante

Goethe

Abraham Lincoln
Marie Antoinette


A serene and beautiful John Keats

Alfred Hitchcock, unmistakably

Thank you for sharing that furtive walk down Macabre Lane with me

If this kind of thing fascinates the hell out of you like it does me I would suggest trying here here and here for some further reading.

Lucy x

Sunday 17 June 2012

Cherry Picked

You know when you have a piece of clothing in your wardrobe that just isn't earning its place?  This cardi was one such item.   Plain black v neck cardigan, functional enough, just a bit boring.



Sew on some cherry patches that you've had lying around in your craft box for ages, swap the plain black buttons for some red fakelite heart shaped ones and voila...


... a slightly more interesting version of an otherwise quite dull item of clothing.




These photos were taken just outside the beautiful Jedburgh Abbey of which I took many many photos.   I think it deserves its own future post.

I wore:-
Cardi - Matalan, customised by me
Skirt & shoes - Ebay
Top & beads, Charity shop
Bag - Etsy

Earlier that day I had been to my first ever car boot sale.  Quite by chance we followed the signs for 'Kelso Sunday Market' and realised when we got there that it was in fact a car boot sale!  Imagine my joy! Of course had I known this I'd have been ready and out of the door much earlier (well, maybe around 10.00ish) But when we arrived at about 12.30, there were still some stalls trading and I managed to 'cherry pick' some treasures despite the relatively late hour.

Oh SEAMLESS segue!  See what I did there? Clever Lucy!


Vintage Parisian Scene Picture £1.50


Vintage tin £1


Various book all 50p or thereabouts


I was particularly delighted with these 1960's ladybird lovelies.  The other ladybird books I had owned as a child so I was delighted to find them in fabulous condition

Vintage GSW tin.  Not sure what type of tin this is or how old it is.


1947?  I'm thinking maybe it's for storing bread.

I know I probably could have got this stuff a lot cheaper, a'la Vix's normal prices, but I was just too scared to haggle!  Maybe I'll get the hang of it with time.  I was that kid at school who was too scared to put her hand up even when she knew the right answer.

There were some amazing Charity Shops near where I was staying and I bought so much stuff that I was practically travelling home with boxes on my knees.  It was worth it!  I'll try and post more of what I bought soon.

Linking up with Her Library Adventures and Lakota to check out everybody else's finds.

Bye for now

Lucy x

Tuesday 12 June 2012

My So Called Holiday Outfit

So, holiday day 4, a thrifting trip to Berwick on Tweed.


I dragged Mr N down this leafy little lane just off the main high street that seemed to lead to nowhere.  Despite the fact it was pouring with rain, we managed an impromptu photo shoot.


Unfortunately the weather and poor light meant that most of these shots are pretty blurry


Hmm, who do I remind myself of?


It'll come to me


Later in the day I was looking pretty pleased with myself clutching my bag of thrifty finds.  Berwick was very nice and had some great chazzas.  One thing I love about Scotland and the bordering locations is its complete lack of pretentiousness.  All the beauty of the English countryside, vestiges of history everwhere, yet not a trace of grandness or snobbery.

Anyhoo,


Back at the cottage having removed my rain soaked shoes and tights,  I was feeling distinctly grungey in my floral skirt and crochet jumper combo.


Vegetable rights and peace!


It was then that it struck me who I'd been reminding myself of all day 

Source

Rayanne Graff.  The wildcard best friend from the wrong side of the tracks.  Seriously, I have to do a proper post about My So Called Life.  My very existence revolved around this show when I was 14.




Gonna party like it's 1994

With the earlier addition of the blazer (the only remotely sensible jacket I had taken with me) there was a bit of Alex Drake in there too.




A cross between Rayanne Graff and Alex Drake.

Yuppy grunge anyone?  Remember where you heard of it first!


We rounded off the day by taking in the rain-refreshed evening air.


This outfit made me happy.

Skirt, beads & belt: charity shop
Jumper: New Look sale
Blazer: Primark

Don't you just love it when you throw something together which unexpectedly takes you to a happy place?

Gonna post my thrifted finds soon.  Stay tuned.

Lucy x
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