vintage finds

 

just a few other items i picked up while trawling charity and antique shops in West Sussex: a beautiful large serving plate with bright green & gold edging, some flower motif large bowls (just what i'd been searching for to eat pasta from) and a collection of knives, forks, spoons and even a few extra special spoons.  the top one is definitely an absinthe spoon (which i've been looking for for ages now and can be quite pricey) and the other two are possibly mote spoons - which have caused much debate over their use - possibly as a fruit/olive spoon, a lemon strainer or even to skim the top from tea.  i managed to get all items for only a few pounds...bargain!

a few days away....

 

having spent the week packing up the ground floor of my flat in anticipation of building work next week...i decided to take a few days to visit my folks in Hampshire.  on the way to the station i spotted 2 bed bases (no mattress) and a sofa on Leghorn Road, NW10...to send me on my way.  i spent most of my time relaxing chez famile...and my dad delighted in showing me his new (vintage) Velocette bike (a 1955 model) with beautiful chrome wheel guards and the fab "naked lady" motif on the tool box.

 

this makes SEVEN that he has bought, taken apart and put back together...he needs to open a museum!  he loves to potter in the garage and while i was there he kindly stripped and re-painted this lovely american-style matchbox holder i bought on etsy a few weeks ago..it will look lovely in my bathroom - which my parents couldn't understand, until i explained about the old trick learnt in Thailand for getting rid of nasty niffs in the toilet...just light a match and hey presto!

 before

after

also got to spend a lovely day in Bournemouth with my Aunty Jennie, cousin Sarah and her two children Renee & Freddy - who i really don't get to see enough, but always enjoy their company as we share a love of beach-combing and doodling in the sand.

 

my aunt and cousin also share my love of charity shop trawling and we were in heaven with the NINE shops we managed to visit in Parkstone, a suburb of Bournemouth - where my dad and aunt used to go to the cinema as kids, and my dad got banned from the local church of St John's (his namesake!) for trying to "blow the place up"...as he and his tearaway mates used to set off bangers of a sunday morning...he was always a naughty (tho angel-voiced) choirboy!  anyway i managed to pick up some real beauties..including a fab 1960s Poole Pottery  soup pot with mushrooms on the lid, a few plates & glasses and also went mad on three fab Arthur Wood vases.

i also got to visit the fab Le Creuset factory shop in Andover (one of the only good things about the place) to salivate over the beautiful kitchenware, and managed to nab myself a gorgeous red iron handled pot - a sample from the US, not for sale in the UK, which had made it onto the sale shelf!

 

my mum said i could have removed my dad's socks from the Aga 

before i took the photo but i think it all adds to the ambience!

i came home to my empty flat and was greeted by a message from a friend in West London with a photo of mattresses outside her door on Acklam Road...nice!

peacebomb

jewellery for a good cause seems to be all the rage at the moment and i love it and fully support it!  having already fallen for the wonderful falling whistles, i have now discovered these peace bomb bracelets.  made in Laos, the most heavily bombed country in history, these bracelets are crafted by local artisans who repurpose the bombs. war into peace, horror into beauty...what a great idea...naturally i've just ordered mine!

uniform project

remember reading about the Uniform Project a while back and thought it was a great idea.  in May 2009 Sheena Matheiken undertook the challenge of wearing the same dress every day for a year in an effort to promote sustainability and to raise money for charity.  it was a huge success and now UP has begun a new way to promote the cause - every month a person takes the one-dress challenge - choosing a designer to make the dress (also available through the site) and wearing it for a month - styling it up in their own special way.  tho i loved Sheena's stylings - i am particularly liking September's dress worn by Leslie Arfin and designed by judi rosenny and the fact that Leslie is raising money for an addictions charity.

today i saw...part 2

to celebrate the end of blog today i saw (where creator Jill sends her daily doodlings via postcards to lucky recipients around the world) she has organised a massive postcard swap. selecting partners at random everyone was asked to draw/paint/collage/whatever their own postcard and send it to their partner person by 10th June (mine was a lady from Boston, Mass. USA).  i just managed to send it in time....hope it arrives! i used as my inspiration the elephant parade currently taking place across London, raising awareness about the endangered asian elephant (info via elephant family). Jill has also set up a flickr group for everyone to upload their postcards on and there's some great ones on already.

ARK....Acts of Random Kindness

found this (via blaubushka) great little ethical clothing line ARK - wear the clothes (undies and tees at the moment) and perform a little act of random kindness. their aim is to promote a society whereby people take a little time to do something thoughtful for someone else on a regular basis and hope that by wearing their clothes - this will be a little reminder. bit cheesy - but nice, spesh as the 2 founders are real cuties - and it all seems like a bit of a laugh, which is always good.

falling whistles

what started as an adventure, a trip to africa, became a campaign for peace in Congo...check out the heartwrenching and awe inspiring story here at falling whistles and help by buying a beautiful whistle necklace (also in gold and gunmetal) with 100% of the proceeds going towards helping children in war torn Congo.