A Little Christmas Delight

I don’t usually get excited about Christmas until its arrival. I mean its still October right?



However when I spotted these delights in Wilkinson, I instantly fell for them. I had to have the cat at just 80p, its Jasper’s first Christmas this year and I thought it would nicely mark that.
And the Gingerbread man is an old favourite. I have been admiring Rebecca’s felt creations for a while now and love the idea of homemade delights. I guess I still have a bit of time to make a few of my own, but this Gingerbread man was the last of only three left in the shop. I couldn’t leave him behind! Look how cute he his.
He was a little more expensive at £1.48, but still reasonably cheap for something you can bring out every year.

I hope this doesn’t mean I’ve got the Christmas bug now
x

Surprises

A few bits and pieces that have surprised and enchanted me this past week or so...



I never purchase new jewellery, solely because I always wear my Tiffany necklace and bracelet pretty much 24/7. But I made an exception this weekend, when I purchased this lovely whimsical chain from Matalan. I’m not sure whether I am keeping it as a chain yet, I may well just use the charms in some sort of crafty way.



I love the looking glass and the miniature keys are completely adorable. I would love something a little larger key wise, but think the miniatures are a sure touch of cute and remind me very much of Alice in Wonderland.
And best of all it was reduced from £7.00 to £1.75!



The lovely Jazmine sent me the most wonderful package, which included this Commemorative Movie Edition Peter Rabbit book. A girl after my own heart. Oh how I adore Beatrix Potter, these books will always bring a smile to my face. Thank-you so so much Jazmine.



And finally I’ve been on the hunt to track down the Naughty Alice fragrance ever since I declared it part of my wish list. When I did I was actually disappointed with the scent. I am so picky and fussy over perfume.
It doesn’t look like Father Christmas will need to get me this one after all. I still complelty absolutely adore the whole aesthetic and bottle, what can I say it’s the perfect design. Just not the scent for me, I did however find much pleasure in collecting a few of the flyers.
x

fuzzy felts

I’ve spent my Sunday afternoon swooning over my beloved fuzzy felts.



I don’t think these sorts of toys are ever truly appreciated by children. I know for one that I never took much notice of them when I had them as a child. I don’t have many memories of playing with these, hence why they are still in their original box. I think I’m missing a few pieces, but overall it’s pretty much a joyful set.



It’s the ‘Lets play house’ theme, my boyfriend said how he had once had the hospital set as a child. It’s got me a little intrigued to know what other sets where around at the time.



I love the illustrations on each single piece and love how all the girl characters are wearing such pretty pinafores, even when they're doing chores around the house.



I am slightly having a bit of a toy phase lately. Discovering old treasures and uncovering second hand treats is pretty much where I’m finding inspiration.
♥

A Sports Shop Exchange

I am one for trying out a variety of ‘shops’ for clothing and accessories. I don’t really stick to a specific brand. But I am not exactly much of a sporty person, I know my Nikes from my Adidas but that’s about as in depth as it gets.

So I had bought a t-shirt at Sports Direct last week for my boyfriend, but it was the wrong size and in the end I just couldn’t be bothered with it, so decided to return it. When frantically rifling through my purse for the receipt, I suddenly remembered they don’t offer refunds (unless you kick up a fuss, which I didn't fancy doing)...only exchanges and gift cards.
This infuriated me, but I realised I would just have to find a suitable replacement. It was only £5…

So I planned on buying possibly a t-shirt I could pass off as sleepwear, after all God forbid a sport shop actually selling something fashionable?



Well I was mistakenly wrong. I found these cream cable knit leg warmers! Oh how my heart melted. I love cream cable knit.
I have been known to have a fascination with leg warmers on previous occasions, but think this has finally rekindled my love for them.

They are Golddigga, I’m not quite sure what happened to that brand. But none of the product is actually branded so it doesn’t really matter.



I then was forced into buying the cheapest item I could find for the remaining 50p left on the exchange, so I opted for a somewhat cheesy pair of socks.
Now I’m not as raving mad for these, but a girl can never have too many pairs of socks.

I know I’m going to be wearing the legwarmers all day and night! There just so warm and snug.



♥

The 1930s Scrapbook

I bought this book from a library sale a few years ago for £1.00, and to be honest it didn’t look to have had much ‘borrowed’ use. I instantly grabbed it as anything involving the word scrapbook instantly appealed to me.



It’s simply one of those books that you can return to again and again, yet still be enchanted, there is so much detail that you almost certainly can notice different things every time you have a peek in.

It’s very nostalgic. And I see it as a great source for identifying things to look out for at boot sales and charity shops alike.




It covers every area you could want, from fashion and dressmaking to food and cinema. My favourite pages are the beauty ones; oh I do love vintage make-up packaging and the toys are all traditional, not a computer console in sight.




The food pages have me gasping every single time, all those chocolate vintage tins, nowadays they just don’t have a patch on these. It’s funny how some of the brands are still the ones we depend on today.




Although much of the packaging has been updated, I did notice the Golden Syrup one is exactly the same- how confident and satisfied as a brand must they be.



Whilst the Nivea crème has certainly been modernized, the brand still stays true to it’s original colours of navy blue.



This book is a complete delve into another world. An era I didn’t live through but sure am intrigued by. This is literally a visual scrapbook crammed full of exciting things for any of you nostalgic fans out there like me.

You can find this book here
♥

A peek into my craft room.

You might remember I mentioned we were decorating a few months back, even though it seems to have taken a while, I finally have transformed our dull and dusty spare room into my craft room. (Well to be honest lets call it my room)



So I guess there is a significant change in a girl’s life when her space also becomes… the Mr’s space.

Well I loved my childhood bedroom. Infact I loved my teenage bedroom even more.
It was the place I slept, the place I crafted, the place I read, the place I had friends over to, the place I decorated (constantly). All in all, it was my room.
So sharing a bedroom long term, with the one you love also comes the fact it is a shared room. It’s a tad inappropriate to plaster every part of wall space with homemade collages adorning your favourite style icons.



Naturally a girl with a box full of cuttings out, a hefty collection of collectables, enough children’s books to stock a library full and ultimately a flare for anything creative, cue my craft room…

I love having pretty images around me, and I’ve tamed my poster mad obsession with delicate post card displays.
Remember my bargain TKMaxx finds? Well since you last saw them, they’ve been painted the same duck egg blue as my pound chair, and are finally on the wall and in use. The card holder one is perfect for all my keepsake cards. The other one, I seem to have devoted to Beatrix Potter.
The heart shaped note hanger at the top of this post is from the Argos. Not a shop I frequent, but this instantly appealed to me, and it was on sale for £7.50 and I used my Nectar points, so in the end I only paid £2.50! Bargain



The chandelier light shade I have had for some years now and was centre piece of my teenage bedroom, so it’s nice to have a piece of that back. And remember my recent Poundland find? Well this lantern is now hanging on the arch, I just love it.



I’ve tried not to go to town with ‘over cluttering’ I mean it is a known fact I have too many things. I’ve finally got my entire collection of empty (yes empty) Anna Sui perfume bottles all in one place on display on top of my set of drawers.



Décor wise I knew I wanted a feature wall, and chose this wallpaper by Super Fresco, we ended up needing two rolls in the end, but it was worth it.
It also means my cats wallpaper fetish is strictly forbidden at all times.



My desk area is constantly changing; I love adding things and will probably always be moving bits and pieces around. It’s nice to have those things I have cherished for so many years finally on display. You might also recognize a few other bits and pieces from that past year, like those oh so lovely butterfly tins.

All in all this room pretty much is me♥

Cheap Thrills

I’m one of those people who finds it impossible to spend more than £10 or so on one single item of clothing.

In fact as far as I’m concerned the cheaper the better. A good 50% of my wardrobe is purely second hand, and a good 40% was stuff bought in a sale. Leaving the little amount left to things bought at full price (I do have my odd exceptions, like the £110 French Connection dress I bought last summer for a wedding)

What I am ultimately saying is, I am a cheap thrill sort of girl. Call me stingy or cheap but I am not one to look after my clothes, in fact I am much a clothes fiend, one day that adorable floral dress could be my best friend, the next day it’s booted onto eBay. So for me clothing isn’t a luxury, because I am so fickle and awkward when it comes to choosing what to wear.

In the midst of digging out my Autumn/Winter wardrobe out a la Jen from A Little Bird. To my surprise I actually have a few bits and pieces perfect for a fresh new season. I am never close to being in fashion at the best of times, so please forgive me for my somewhat mixed up choices. And too this showcases some of those second hand beauties...



Topshop top via Charity Shop
I have had this in my wardrobe for many years, I just adore the print, and I can’t help but feel a little bit of a hippy in this.



Primark Skirt
In a mad dash a couple of years ago I bought two of these, because they were on sale ridiculously cheap at £1 each and I just couldn’t decide which size was best.



Primark cardigan via Charity shop
This floral beauty was a bargain again that I paid very little, a couple of pounds if that. Time and time again I go back to this, I always wanted the black version of this cardigan too, but never was able to track it down.



Indian Rose Tartan Skirt via Charity Shop
This is really only for the braver days. I was in awe of this skirt for many years. This originally retailed at something ludicrous like £60, I found it in a charity shop for £3. The slogan says it all- world is not for sale.

And finally one I’m not quite sure about wearing this winter…



Vintage coat/cape via Charity Shop
I bought this almost two years ago in a charity ship for £7.99, purely because I had never seen anything quite like it before, and knew if I left it behind I wouldn’t find another one. It’s had very little wear to be honest, the neckline always seem to confuse me, as it’s so open and the cape vs coat thing is always a difficult one.





However I do love the quirky details and the pattern is lovely. I wish I could tell you more about this coat, but I just don’t know anything about it's era/history which I regret. If I was a little braver I would wear this, but I just don’t think it’s me anymore.