talented friends in technicolour

so my friends are mental, in a really good way, and have made a rather successful business out of it, this picture shows the Red Mutha gang, now you might think that this was a styled picture, and i suppose it was slightly, but this is how they dress most days, just for general life. my best friend red, hence the name red mutha, is the one with the subdued leggings and tame sunnies on, she nearly always wears red clothes and has red hair, and her hubby Dan, the one squatting down, has a brill blue streak through his hair.


their business recycles thrift shop clothes into new brilliant creations,making 100% unique garments that are sold all around the world, from dresses with skull patches and skirts with massive ruffles, each item is hand constructed. see my talented friends list for a link to their website.

my first ever etsy sale

so i woke up yesterday to my first ever etsy sale,HURRAHHH, this little guy is jetting of to the USofA in a lovely padded envelope to be loved by another, i know a special place in his heart will always belong to me, but he has to go where he is needed, he is just like chocolate sauce.... makes everything seem so much better.
 

bed brilliance

so there i was rummaging through a charity thrift shop and bang this duvet cover caught my beady eye and before my david could give me a look of disgust it was on the counter being bagged up, his real disgust came when i asked him to buy it for me, but because he loves me he just growled and handed over his dosh, now i just need something to do with ? anything with ZAP on it gets my attention and i little place in my heart. i wish it had been a double size as it would have been on my bed now.
 
 

i went to a wedding

so this last weekend i travelled many miles and drove for 8 hours to get to my friend Esther's wedding,that was held in a stunning country house in the heart of the lake district, it did of course rain the whole day but if anything it added to the romance, the surrounding mountains were shrouded in mist and the clouds were heavy and dramatic, but the wedding was beautiful..and it ended with a gigantic firework display that illuminated the rain filled sky and echoed of the hills around us, so congratulations to Mr and Mrs high, and thank you for a lovely day.
 

car booty beauty

so wandering around the car boot at the weekend saw the usual rubbish piled high on flimsy tables with no order or theme, which often results in a bargain being found. but sometimes a stall is so well styled and displayed that it just makes me stop and get the camera out, and this stall is a fine example, this guy knew exactly what he was doing and made sure everyone left with a history to their purchase, but whilst stalls like this are good, it does mean that the fun of a good find is taken away and more often than not the price is higher. but it still makes for dazzling images.
     

car booty

so we went to a gigantic car boot yesterday that needed 2 buses, 2 trains and a scary walk alongside a busy road, just to get to where it was, but it was so worth it, just look at what total rubbish i bought.I'm a sucker for a face, so when i saw these things i just knew i had to have them, look at the owl, how could i resist, and the bear money box with wobbly eyes, he was mine from the moment i saw him, and who does not like salt and pepper pots in the shape of cockerels ?...oh and the onion pots , which were 20p each, (bargain) screamed "buy me", one of them already has a little succulent plant nestled in his head on top of my fridge.(i might sell the other one as his face is not as interesting ?
 
and this fabric was spotted under a table, full of utter pointless rubbish, but i knew i could turn these into something brilliant, i got such a funny look of the seller, but all i could think was "you owned it in the first place love".
 
and finally look at my treasures all together like this, soooo brilliant and it all cost less than a £5.00 ....the only problem was we burnt our bald heads as it was blistering hot.....but we did not care , i had new rubbish to clutter up another shelf, and my David had some new Cd's to sell on eBay, he buys to sell, i buy to treasure.
 

a caravan adventure

so there i was wandering the back streets of east London, like you do, when i came across a shop that i had heard lots about through many of the blogs i read,the shop is called Caravan and is owned by Emily Chalmers who you all might know from her many brilliant books, flea market style being just one of them.
so i almost jogged towards the shop and my heart was beating to the drum of potential lovely things, and once inside it was like a dream come true for me.
 
on every surface and in every corner and on all the walls were brilliantly lovely things, from stunning pots to handmade toys and beautiful clothes made from vintage fabrics.lamps and design books jostled for space next to children's shoes and candles.
 
the shop is quite big and has room for interesting displays and features, one wall is painted with a gigantic floral pattern, a big bed is used as a table to display more products and metal shelves are the home to many small trinkets and treasures,and all around the shop are vintage tailors dummies re-covered in vintage fabrics turning them from tools of the trade into tools for display.
 
and whilst i was browsing and becoming more giddy,i asked if it would be OK if i could take some pics as i knew blog land would love to see this place, i was directed to a lady who was varnishing a door, "ask Emily if its OK" i was told, argh ! it was her, the owner, Emily, the lady whose books i love, i was only slightly scared, but i calmly walked over and introduced myself and told her what i wanted and she was just lovely, i told her about all the blogs i had read about her on, decor8 especially loves her, and she was really pleased, i told her about the shop i used to own,i think she might have even been into it as she apparently used to work very near to it ? i told her about my little blog, and we just generally chatted like we were friends from way back (she is now officially my best friend for life). i told her she should start a blog and she agreed that it was something she had thought about, god knows how she would have the time with everything she does, i think i probably rambled on a bit more than i should have but it was fun, however the best bit for me was that she was wearing (remember she was varnishing a door) a black vintage jumpsuit that looked more suited to cocktails in the Ritz,it really summed up the shop to me,beautifully UN-pretentious. so i skipped of home with a smile on my face and i knew that i would be having some more caravan adventures soon, but next time maybe with some cash in my pocket....look at my list for a link to Caravan

home by the sea

so this last weekend i ventured back home to the north west coast of cumbria to see my family, its the kind of place that when i was younger i longed to escape from as the pace of life is soooo sloooow, but as the years have gone by im starting to really miss certain parts of it, and that is the dramatic and brilliant coastline, where me and my neice lisa went to fly a kite, and im not ashamed to admit that it was a pink my little pony kite that for some strange reason would only fly upside down
 

 

 

toothache blog

so i have really bad toothache and cant possibly type many more words as my tooth hurts, so here is a pretty picture....im so in love with making these little collages...
 

doms masterpiece

so my mate Dominic is an artist who just does what his brain tells his fingers to do...and that is to paint people with loads of character, this mini masterpiece was done today in about 10 minutes and instantly captured himself and his two sisters in a brilliant way.....and i think its a bit fantastic ....don't you ?, Dominic is nearly 6 years old, can you imagine what wonders he will be doing when hes 7.
 

books books books

so a few days ago me and my David were just wandering around a rather posh little part of London called Blackheath,well when i say wandering, what i really mean is that we were hunting for a greasy spoon to have breakfast, but it seemed that Blackheath only had fancy little delis that served croissants, which we do like, but we wanted a proper breakfast that included fried food of some kind ? you know what i mean. so whilst sniffing out fried food we came across a bookshop that had most of its stock outside on little shelves, and they had hundreds of these penguin classics all displayed together by colour, and the blogger in me knew i had to take some pictures, so i did, and just look how brilliant they were.they almost made me want to buy some, but my need for breakfast was stronger so off we went.
 
and for those of you concerned we might have gone hungry.....dont worry we did find a nice place for breakfast, but it was a bit posh, they even served the baked beans in their own little dish on the plate ? quite random we both agreed whilst stuffing our faces....