A decision has been made...we are planning to tackle the renovations to our funny little shop/house with new vigour and gusto. Among other things, this means that I am going to have to think very seriously before I bring any more op-shopped (etc) treasures home.

Currently we have two sheds full to the brim (I'm not being poetic here...they really are) with all sorts of lovely/interesting/quirky/beautiful/too fabulous to leave on the side-of-the-road stuff. So until the house is finished I am going to try my hardest not to add to it.

And if I am being totally honest I am also s-l-o-w-l-y coming to the realisation that enough is enough...how much stuff does one family need? especially if it is not being used or loved...I mean honestly, what's the point of stock piling stuff just because...

I love op-shops and hunting for treasure so it is not going to be easy but I am going to try my best to resist temptation. Wish me luck.

On that note, here's my meagre contribution to this week's Flea Market Finds

at twenty five cents each these easily made the cut

x

My husband found these sweet ducky measuring cups, in an op-shop for two bucks...I've been wanting some for quite a while but they have always been too pricey in those fancy-shcmancy home-ware shops...



I take the blame for the purchase of this old Willow cake tin though. Apart from being a thing of beauty (it has a lovely faux wood lid) it's also useful. And useful is good.

x

And lastly, because every good (or not-so-good) cook needs an apron I bought these

x



The postie has been busy in these parts over the last couple of days... he has delivered two lovely parcels both of them addressed to me! Yay! Want to see why I did a happy dance when I received them? Dumb question. Of course you do!

My kitchen will be certainly be alot brighter with the vintage goodies I received from Tammi at little poppa as part of Stella's Vintage Kitchen Swap. Here's the parcel of loveliness she put together for me

inside were two fabulous vintage tea towels to add to my collection, a Pyrex casserole dish and the most beautiful Dottie Angel inspired apron Tammi made especially for me from vintage fabric all by herself! (you've done Dottie proud Tammi) The apron is so special it deserves its own pic

blue sky and the most gorgeous apron (ever!)

It was a lovely swap, thanks Tammi x.

Btw Stella is also having the most amazing give-away to celebrate her blog's 2nd birthday at the mo...you can win 

100 (yep, that's ONE HUNDRED!) customised postcards. Stella will design them specially for the lucky winner. Fingers-crossed it's me, but it could be you...just click here to enter.

My other parcel was my give-away prize from Laura...she's determined to get us all cooking and look, she succeeded...

baking bits from Laura, lemon curd and cream butterfly cakes...yours truly.

Laura's prize came all wrapped up in a vintage pillowcase with the prettiest card, from the 70's I think...

And while I'm on a food bent you really should try Ingrid's Laksa it is soooo easy and soooo yummy. This is what mine looked like

Annabel would like it for dinner again tonight!

x

 

Just a couple of thrifty finds to share with you and rather appropriate ones too considering it's Sunday...

 

No prizes for guessing who illustrated this! One look at these chubby cheeked angelic kiddy-winks and you'll know straight away that it's the work of Eloise Wilkin.

(btw, don't you think the little girl has a touch of Miranda Kerr about her?)

Her charming illustrations are so familiar to us all because she illustrated close to one hundred books, including dozens of Little Golden Books...we have all read at least one of them...my favourite when I was little was  The New Baby, do you remember yours?

Here's a pic of Eloise

1904-1987

Although she was quite old fashioned in some ways (she refused to paint a pair of trousers on a woman) Eloise was also pretty cutting edge: she marched with Martin Luther King and assisted a college student in burning his draft card...something to ponder...I don't really get the trouser thing, especially when she was so progressive in other ways...

 My other thrifty find is also a book...

and also religious

This was published in 1966, Mary Alice Jones is described as a leader in religious education... me...I'm just sucked in by the gorgeous illustrations by Pelagie (now that's a name...)

"he's got the whole world..."

It's a bit sad really because I don't think this book has ever had an owner...look

it has now though...

I bought both of these books from the little op-shop I work in...two things happened while I was there today, one nice, the other NOT. The nice thing was meeting Em, a fellow blogger which is a first for me. Check out her blog Vintage Sweet Heart, here

The definetely not-so-nice thing was falling down the stairs (you know how steep they are Em) and really hurting myself. I look like this now... 

well, If I was a doggy I would!

Ouch!

Thanks for reading, and thank you too for your lovely comments about my little shop...I am so excited about getting it up and running, I'll show you some more pretty things I'll be selling during the week x

Linking to Sophie's 

Pssst...want a peek at some of the pretty vintage sheets I'll be selling in my new little Sweet Dreams shop?

I've got them in nearly every colour of the rainbow, have a look and see if any of them tickle your fancy...

(Too many pics? Sorry. Picking my faves is a bit like choosing my favourite child. Impossible...except when one of them is being really naughty!)

These and oodles more available soon...

plus gorgeous bedspreads, cosy blankets, dreamy pillowcases (ha!) and other sweet things for your bedroom

to be continued...x

love makes the world go round...

so

today's post is all about sharing the love...

a little while ago now I bought this globe for my husband's birthday (remember our collection...) from Tamara's lovely little etsy shop A Treasured Past. Just look at the thoughtful way Tamara wrapped it...

she knew it was for Anthony's birthday so she tied it up with a groovy orange tie. I thought it was such a lovely gesture and how Tamara knew that orange is a favourite colour in this house I'll never know! Little things like this make all the difference to me and I was really touched by her thoughtfulness and attention to detail.

Unfortunately Anthony got to the posty before me Tamara, so my surprise was ruined, he does really like the globe though...

There are lots of interesting things for sale in Tamara's shop, like this gorgeously beaten up green tray

love it!

and the good news is that Tamara is having a little sale at the moment so now might be a good time to check it out, I know you will be a happy customer if you decide to buy something. Tamara also has a lovely blog too, if you didn't already know...find it here

Next up, I want to introduce you to the very sweet Miss Aliya. Aliya is from Perth just like me (and us Perth girls have to stick together!) Aliya is going to be a Musicologist when she "grows up", how cool is that...and apart from writing a very pretty blog called Papermoons and Macarons she has also just opened an etsy shop which sells the nicest vintage clothes...I am going to buy this dress

isn't it lovely...

 Aliya sources a lot of her clothes from Singapore so her little shop silver tabby vintage (what a cute name for a shop!) is the place to go if you're looking for something unique and special...like this

My last Friday shout out is even closer to home...just look at these gorgeous summer p.j's my very own Annabel made in her sewing class at school. And she made them from a vintage sheet too.

c-u-t-e

and yep, I've already put an order in!

(for sewing lessons AND a pair of p.j's!)

have a lovely weekend and thanks for reading x

If you want to have a sticky beak at my most recent thrifty finds you've come to the right place (funny that) I think I've found something for everyone...I've got pretty and pretty "ugly" too. Have a look and see if anything tickles your fancy...

  

a little birdy told me...

that you can't see the rest of this lovely silk painting because a clumsy clot (that'll be me!) stood on it and broke the glass...and it's going to cost way more than the two dollars I paid for it to have the glass replaced. Ouch.

More German pottery for le collection

I haven't had the time, or to be truthful, the inclination to research the mark on this yet...but I'm quite sure it was made in the 80's, it has that look and feel about it.

I have also recently learnt that brown is not the new black as far as German pottery is concerned...the vibrant reds, purples, oranges etc are all the go...which should come as no surprise really...

A couple of creepy hands

memories of "thing" and The Addams Family (click click)

I've temporarily hung Frida above our bed...just to keep an eye on things...I bought her from a beautifully curated vintage shop in the hills of Perth called Vintage Spinster (well worth a visit if you live in Perth, even if it's just to check out its interior which is lovely)

p.s. my husband hates this, he reckons she's watching him...and I do have to say it really does look like she's giving him/us/me the "evils"

He likes this though

this pup is huge btw, much bigger than the usual garden gnome variety of china poodles. Don't you think he looks like he's wearing a wig?

and he doesn't mind this either

and speaking of kitschy souvenirs, how about

and it's actually made in Australia too...those were the days!

I also found a couple of old games, this one's my favourite (and the closest I'll ever get to being a Bond girl)

there's even a secret 007 notebook inside!

I'm thinking Martinis, hors d' oeuvres, and a game of Thunderball might be a fun way to spend Friday night...

we'll look a little something like this...yeah right!

x

Linking to Sophies

   

Want some contemporary art to adorn your walls?
Budget more beer than champagne?
Nothing tickle your fancy in the oppy/thrift/charity shop?
Don't like Ikea?
Even your stick people suck?

yep yep yep yep yep ?
(me too. you should see my stick people!)

well Papirmasse just might be the answer to your prayers...I checked it out after reading this post on bohemian hellhole and I thought you might be interested too...

Papirmasse is all about affordable art, and I like that word. Affordable. Very Much. It's also quite exciting because every month, for only ten bucks you receive a

print in the mail (only a fiver if you live in the States) How exciting is that? Or is it just me getting totally carried away by this concept? I already subscribe to magazines, but art? Papirmasse is an art subscription, pretty cool idea don't you think?

And that ten (or five) dollars includes all postage costs...and the prints are sent by air mail too...Even better.

Personally I think a Papirmasse subscription would make the most wonderful present, especially for someone who lives overseas or is tricky to buy for...

                                                               or

it might be a nice way to treat yourself each month?

Anyway, you can find out more here if you'd like too...

Does anyone know of an Australian art subscription like this? I'd really like to support Australian artists, and would check out this option first if it was available...

Please let me know what you think about this idea...I'd love to know what you think...

Enjoy the last little bit of your weekend x