Excuse the Mammoth Blog.

I’ve finally, finally moved house! Watching the removal men unloading my worldly goods, which I’ve had in storage for 6 weeks, I was amazed at just how much stuff I actually have. ‘Where do you want the bureau?’ they shouted. ‘It’s NOT a bureau, it’s a 1950s cocktail cabinet!’. So needless to say, almost 2 weeks after my stuff was shipped in, I’m still unpacking, aghhh. Fortunately I’d over prepared and booked 4 weeks off work.

I still have a mass of stuff still sitting below the stairs and my spare room/craft room looks like a grizzly bear’s been in and rifled through everything. My progress in the spare room has been majorly hampered by the fact that I have, for the second time in a year, lost the screws to the spare bed. Hmm, as I told the woman at Ikea when I went to order more parts, ‘I’ve put them in a Tupperware container with a green lid, somewhere so safe I can’t find them’.

When my spare room does start to take some sort of shape I have the most amazingly amazing 1950s kitchen utility cabinet that I got from a lovely lady on Freecycle who was clearing out her late Uncle’s house. When the usual 40 per day emails from Freecycle popped into my Inbox I huffed and puffed and cursed the moderators for not removing me from the mailing list like I’d asked... and then, oh dear god, a 50s utility kitchen cabinet. I replied to the email right away hoping that I would be the first to reply, and was devastated when the lady kindly replied that I was the second person to respond and that since then she’d been inundated with people wanting to take it off her hands. I was even more devastated when she managed to upload a picture of the cabinet to the site and it was beautiful. Anyway, knowing how Freecycle works and knowing that the cabinet could only be collected at certain times on certain days, I told the lady how keen I was on the cabinet and being the second in line for the cabinet, not to hesitate in contacting me if it somehow became available. Anyway, to cut a long story short, the first emailer couldn’t collect, the lady liked my email address (retrodollybird) and knew that the cabinet would be cherished by me, I sent my mum and cousin to collect the cabinet as I had to be at the new house for the removal men and assumed the cabinet would be light like the majority of their kind. The cabinet turned out to be very tall and very heavy, and my excellent stepdad and his brother had to finish work early and rush over to put it on their roof rack, while being told by my mum and I, ‘It was too good to miss!’. Despite my cousin being very anti-vintage, he actually loves the cabinet and keeps checking on it like it’s a new baby every time he visits.

Talking of new babies, I would like to announce the arrival of Lily Young, a 2 year old black Scottie dog weighting 15.9 lbs. She may be 2, but she’s my new baby and although bought rather than rescued, she is as the vet put it, basically a rescue dog. She’s a bit like my Mum’s Scottie Jack. Totally unsocialised except for dogs, scared yet interested in everything, only part toilet trained, not lead trained and not used to regular meal times or dog food. The vet seemed to think she was probably kept by a breeder for breeding and for whatever reason, sold onto her next owner, and then to me; the woman I bought her from being unable to cope with training a 2 year old who you’d expect to be trained. Luckily, suspicious of her low price, I bought lily with open eyes and expected her to need as much work as Jack. Fortunately she doesn’t, just the basics that a new puppy would, and in return she is the most loving, faithful and sweetest baby girl ever. She’s also very stubborn and insists that since I can open the drawers under my bed, she will find a way to do it too.

Busy busy

 I've had a busy weekend putting some of my advertising mug collection on Ebay and doing two carboot sales before my house move tomorrow (well technically Monday as I’m decorating first). Although I was meant to be selling at the carboot sales rather than buying, I abandoned my aunt for a bit to have a wander around and below are a few pics of my finds, including an enormous oriental fan with a hand painted design. I love oriental artwork and have a beautiful picture of birds in a blossom tree which I picked up from a booter a few years ago and that will be taking pride of place in my bedroom again once the move is complete. I have the spare bedroom/craft room in mind to display the fan.

Excuse the terrible photos. I just couldn't get a light/unblurred pic.

Above is a couple of my Cath K purchases, along with some recycling shop buys and my new milk bottle holder. I can't bear the usual boring ones.

Today my Mum and I headed to Bicester Village to the Cath Kidston outlet. I bought a coin purse as part of my friends birthday box and also bought one for myself to keep my carboot sale change in. I was meant to be looking for bits and pieces for the house but nothing caught my eye and I ended up buying a lovely big bag in the cowboy print and a carrier bag holder which I’ll use at the next Bicycle Bazaar to tame my usually unruly load of carrier bags.

Tommorrow is a busy day as I not only get my house keys, but also have a hospital appointment to be tested for a hereditary breast cancer gene. After that I’m off to Evesham to pick up six Belfast sinks that I’ve just bought on Ebay for my new garden and on Thursday a pair of Laura Ashley Hydrangea curtains will be arriving and I’ll be measuring and negotiating with my Mum as to whether I can steal her Laura Ashley curtains in the living room for my new house (if they fit!) and she can have the new Hydrangea ones. I’m hoping my Mum’s will fit my French doors in the new house as I not only love the print, but managed to pick up a matching blind to fit the small window in the living room at a carboot sale last week for a bargainous £6. I In fact I realised this week that I’m getting quite good at pretending to be blasé about items at carboots, when really I spy them from a distance and have to fight the urge to run run run, grab the item and say I’ll have it before even asking the price.

These Hotel Chocolate chocolates are exact copies of vintage buttons and I love them. My friends/famnily know me so well since I've now had two boxes of them as gifts. Yum yum.

'How you doin'?'

I arrived back in England on Friday after my week long New York trip and have taken so long to blog as I’m still adjusting to the time difference, have caught a horrid cold off some diseased person on the plane and took so many pictures while I was there that it’s taken me two days to attempt to get them into some sort of order. As my cousin said, ‘you have way too many pictures on your Facebook. I mean, once you’ve seen one Manhattan skyline you’ve seen them all’.

So, New York was amazing. We had a strict itinerary with as much as possible packed in and we did all the main touristy stuff; The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Central Park, Top of The Rock (70th floor of The Rockefeller Building), The Empire State Building, Times Square etc. We also fitted in lots of routes on the open top bus tours, which I love, mainly because I can see everything from high up without having to walk miles in the heat. I bought a few bits and bobs from the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market, which was disappointingly small, and also went to the famous Magnolia bakery credited with the ‘cupcake revival’. I left with two cupcakes, including the Sex in the City 'Carrie' cake and a ridiculously expensive 50s style apron. We also did an amazing food tour in Greenwich Village, which was an artsy kind of place back in the day, but is now an artsy ‘you can only live here if you have a few million lying around’ kind of place. It was much less touristy than any of the other places we’d been, and not only was the food delish, but I got to hear the phrases I’d been waiting for all week; ‘How you doin’?’, ‘Eh, ya tellin’ me’, ‘Eh, forget about it’. I was overjoyed!

Purchases from the Flea Market: Tooled leather bag, 70s scrapbook, Coca Cola Memorabilia, Camcraft book and a Jewellery box.

One of the strangest places we went to was The American Girl Place. It was a must after me seeing it on TV a few years ago and is the most surreal/scary place ever! Basically it’s a doll shop, but so much more. They sell a collection of dolls, all of which come with basic clothes and accessories, and the rest of the three/four storey building is taken up with extra clothes, shoes and accessories for EVERY occasion. I really do mean Every occasion, whether it be horse riding, cheerleading, camping, going to the salon, recovering after an injury or camping. You can even buy matching outfits for your little girl and their doll (Terrifying).

If all of that wasn’t strange enough we went to the next floor and found Mums and Daughters queuing for the Doll Salon, where about eight dolls at a time were sat in salon chairs having their nylon tresses pulled and poked into French plaits, bunches, buns etc for about $20 upwards. They could even have their ears pierced! As I turned away amazed, I accidentally stumbled into ‘The Doll Hospital’ where an extremely concerned Mum and Daughter were checking ‘Lanie’ in to have her head put back on. After a bit of research back at the hotel (The American Girl Place had had a profound effect on me by then) I found that the doll would leave the ‘hospital’ complete with hospital gown and wrist tag, and that the doll wheelchair was a popular purchase for the doll’s recuperation at home. We left after half an hour, confused, amazed, but also a little bit sold on this whole surreal world. I mean, how could you fail to be impressed by a place that has ‘doll stands’ in each restroom?

My cousin demonstrating the doll wheelchair.

 I got carried away with New York kitsch/tacky souvenirs.

I bought these before I even stepped on the plane. How could I resist Cath Kidston duty free?

New York, Neeeeew Yooooork!

 I’m spray tanned and pedicured, now all I need to do is a mini manicure and of course pack. Then I’m off to New York tomorrow morning! I’ll make sure I take pics of everything and anything x

Car Boot Sales, Sunshine and Baby Birds

I’ve just got back from a busy day of car booting, hunting for summer dresses for my NY trip and relaxing on my Nan’s decking overlooking the river. She’s got a duck nesting in one of her large plant pots and her nest is beautiful, all covered with downy feathers. When she’s not sat on her nest ‘Jemima’s’ taken full advantage of my Nan’s hostess skills, tapping on the conservatory door when she’s hungry and using her flower boxes as her own private balcony overlooking the river. There are also a family of black birds nesting in the shed and they’re on their second brood of the season. The birds are fine with people going into the shed and I went in to see two bald tiny heads with enormous mouths pocking out from beneath their mum.

Earlier today I was at Stoneleigh car boot with my mum. Even at 7.45 the weather was lovely and despite there being fewer sellers than usual I picked up a few bargains for my new house (I finally have a moving date...8th June, woo). I got an old glass decanter for 20p, perfect for holding brightly coloured bubble baths, a few vintage handbags for my Bicycle Basket Bazaar stall, The Wasp Factory which I’ve been dying to read for ages, a couple of glass cake stands and a lovely shabby chic egg holder. I haven’t got any pics of this week’s purchases as my car has temporarily become a storage facility until the house move and I can’t face rummaging through the car to find my purchases.

I also had a successful rummage at the booter and the tip shop last week so I’ll fill this blog post with pics from those. I bought lots of lovely tins, vanity cases and the like and drove people mad with my ‘erm I know this tin/case is full of things but can I empty it and buy it’. My favourite purchase was a 1940s/1950s cake tin with the most gorgeous red, pastel green and black colour scheme. In fact it’s provided me with some inspiration for paint colours for the new house. I also picked up some vintage greetings cards from an old man who sells coins, medals and old photos etc and was very excited to find one with a Scottie and Westie on, just like my Jack and Alfie. I got talking to the seller a few weeks ago when my aunt and I were doing a car boot sale and remembering that I had a 50s cocktail cabinet, he’d brought along a vintage cocktail tray that he’d had for 30s years as a present for me! It was so kind and when I got home I realised it was an exact match to the tea trolley I’d been given by the seller of my cocktail cabinet.

I also bought an old Kit Carson Cowboy annual, which I’ll probably turn into badges, gift tags or use to decoupage some boxes, a fan shaped pink dressing table set, a Cath Kidston style glass and a matching perfume bottle and pot with embroidered lids. At the Stratford and Kenilworth tip shops I picked up a set of rose themed dishes, a wooden table with a picture insert, some matching rose dishes and the most gorgeous tea pot...oh and a kitsch and cute ‘Alfie’ plant pot too!

Moving House...well almost

I’ve spent the last few weeks packing up the massive amounts of stuff in my apartment ready to move into my new house. It was a never ending task, largely because I kept buying things from carboots, charity and second hand shops, all of which obviously needed packing! I moved out of my apartment on Tuesday and set up camp in my aunt’s spare room for what was supposed to be a few days. As with all best laid plans a few days has now turned into at least a few weeks as I’m unlikely to get a moving date before I jet off to New York next Thursday.

My original trip to America was meant to be for four weeks, but with all my house stuff ongoing my cousin went on the four week trip and her mum and I are now meeting up with her and her brother in New York. I’m super excited about going to New York as I’ve never been before, and on Ann’s (http://vintageatthecornerhouse.blogspot.com/) recommendation we’re fitting in a trip to the Hell’s Kitchen flea market. My aunt loves planning trips and has got a pretty full itinerary for us all, full of the usual touristy stuff and the not quite so usual.

With me having Aspergers and being very OCD I’ve woken up in a cold sweat the past few nights. It’s stressful enough with a house move disrupting all my usual routines but the fact that all of my stuff’s in storage until I move house, including lots of stuff that I’ve been specifically saving for my America trip, is even worse! My Mum bought me a matching set of make-up bag, toiletries bag, coin purse, passport holder and luggage tag for Christmas which I tucked away to be used for my holiday and now...it’s still tucked away, only in an inaccessible storage container. Sob. So too are all my holiday miniatures that I’d also tucked away ready for what was going to be a massive trip, and they still would have come in handy for the small one. Hmmm, how silly was I to think that my solicitor saying you’re moving house on Monday (a week and a bit before I go to NY) actually meant I was going to be moving then.

An Outing With Alfie

Today my Westie Alfie and I went on a little recycling shop trip, going to both the furniture recycling warehouse and the smaller bric a brac shop. Alfie has loved going out in the car since he was a pup and he insists on leaning on the dashboard so he can have a nose at everything as we drive about. Our other dog Bettie has her own doggie high chair and seatbelt harness but Alfie has always refused to wear one, chewing his last one to pieces. After Alfie had had a good rummage through my handbag to check I wasn’t hiding anything delicious we pulled up at the bric a brac shop and I picked up a few pieces of mismatched china ready for when I finally move house, set up my craft room and set about making all my china oddments in to beautiful cake stands. I also bought a gorgeous stained glass window that will either find a home in my new garden or perhaps on my Bicycle Basket Bazaar stall. Oh, and a little cuddly toy for Alfie, after checking it had no plastic eyes or anything for him to tear off and choke on.

After giving Alfie his new toy (he spent the rest of his time in the car deciding whether to play with it on the seat or in the foot well) and a trip to the cash point to replenish my funds we went to the other side of town to the furniture recycling shop. I managed to resist buying any pieces of furniture and stuck to the books section. I love crime fiction and found a Ruth Rendell book I hadn’t read before and a load of Puffin and Penguin classics to brighten up my bookshelves. As I was having a final wander I spied a big box of children’s annuals hidden under a Flymo leaf blower.

Having nearly knocked over a tray of glassware wrestling the Flymo onto the floor I had a look through the annuals, the hoarder in me kicked in, and I decided that I needed to leave with all of them. Some of them were relatively pricey but I managed to get a good price for the job lot of 16 and was very excited to find there was a story with some really lovely drawings of a Scottie in one(our Jack being a Scottie dog). I love the illustrations, old fashioned hairstyles and the fact that the entire collection belonged to one person who had obviously treasured them enough to hang onto them for years. Her name was written in the front of most of the annuals, along with beautifully written dedications from her family wishing her a Happy Christmas and so on. The annuals range in date from the late 1920s to the mid 60s and feature all sorts of interesting characters in the stories. I had intended to put these on my stall but I’m not too sure now I’ve seen the illustrations and the beautiful and unusual colours used on the covers. Hmm, I fear another hoarding moment coming on. 

p.s. Having flicked through the annuals again and peeling off the price labels (grrr, who uses sticky labels on old books? , it’s ruined most of the covers!) I found a few family photos from the 50s inside one of the annuals. I’ve just spent the last hour on Google trying to find out if there is any way of me returning these to the family so finger crossed.