Everything in the garden's lovely ...

Good morning my lovelies! My house looks like a furniture warehouse (this place is like Ozzie Wood's ... as my Mam used to say) ... with pieces waiting to be magically transformed for my own event.  Ooh, I'm excited. but there's a lot of work to be done. I've consulted the long-term weather forecast and hopefully it's going to be a nice weekend ... sunshine would be wonderful, but as long as it's not raining it will be fine.

I trial-runned this sale last year, and it was the hottest, sunniest day of the year ... this year I'm going to do the whole weekend, so need loads of stock.  When I go to fairs, I'm obviously limited by how far away the venue is, and what I can fit in my car, but by doing this I can sell larger items, such as dressers, wardrobes and dressing tables, etc.  (I just hope that I sell them, I dread to think where they will go, if not!)

So if you've got a couple of hours free and don't live too far away, it would be absolutely wonderful to meet you!

I'm trying to catch up with all your posts, by looking at ten a day ... the trouble is, more keep appearing!

Well, I'll love you and leave you, as my paintbrush is calling me ... (I have a fair this weekend too), and I hope you all have a wonderful week and that the sun shines on you ...

Much love, Claire xxx

PS: I've spelt Dotty's name wrong on the flyer ... I can't change it as Steve had to set up pjf, or jpd's or something or other, and I daren't ask him to do it all again!

The North wind doth blow ....

Happy Monday, my lovelies! Brrrr! it's been a bit cold this weekend hasn't it? On Friday night I went to a party at my dear friend Julie's house ... it was her daughter Nicole's 21st Birthday ... I've been feeling a little bit delicate ever since, for some reason, so have battened down the hatches and done a little pottering ...

Adding twinkly little lights to my shelves (isn't Poundland fabulous?) ...

and making little lacy lanterns ...

the shadows these create are really atmospheric ... and so simple to achieve!

The big event of last week was, of course, Halloween ... the worst night of the year, weather-wise, for little witches, wizards and hobgoblins to be leaving their calling card ...

We only had two visits this year ...

Would have been a shame to waste this little lot ...

Even Rooby-doo joined in the fun ... #notimpressed ...

and Millie made an impressive 11th Doctor ...

We've been tidying the garden, ready for its long winter sleep ...

planting bright flowers to cheer up dark corners ...

and making newly found treasures feel right at home ...

Getting ready for the big event of the year ...

If you get the chance, please do pay us a visit! Me and Millie will be there, along with lots of other stallholders, selling the most amazing true vintage items ... and lots of lovely craftiness too!

Would like to share a little before ... (boy, this was so dirty it made the dog sneeze!)

and an amazing after! Thank you Kath for your upholstery help, I couldn't have done it without you!

and if all that isn't enough, I've won a lovely Giveaway on Instagram which will really get me in the Christmas mood ... thank you @ainttooshabbydevon, I'm really looking forward to this lovely parcel!

Next Sunday is Remembrance Day, so I'd just like to leave this verse for you ...

WE MUST NEVER FORGET

Looking forward to catching up with you all ... what have you been up to?

With love, from Claire xxx

All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey ...

Well, that's September done and dusted for another year! It's funny,  the melancholia has just lifted ... it's like this every year ... all the changes have happened, not without a bit of drama, admittedly, but all sorted now, as far as we are able, and everyone's getting on with their new routines.

For the first time in it seems like ages, me and Steve got up early on Sunday morning, with the intention of calling in at a car boot sale at Ulverston, on the way to Windermere, where we were heading to pick up some much-needed Annie Sloan paint.  Just as I was approaching Ulverston, I saw a sign advertising my favourite car boot sale, which I hadn't realised was on.  I bought the lovely little English Bull Terrier dog there ... to think I almost missed him!

When we got back I set to with my tins of paint and started upcycling.  I forgot to photograph the mirror above and the table/side cupboard below before their makeover ... just believe me, they were in a very dire state!

This is a lovely sewing chest which I upcycled a while ago ... the outside was absolutely appalling, filthy, cracked vinyl ... when you opened it, it was lined with the most beautiful, vintage fabric!

I have a fair few Vintage events coming up, so the paintbrush is always out! My evenings are spent making crochet brooches and embroidered pictures, as my stall needs stocking up for the big 'C' (spoken in a whisper) events ...

Just a quick post today, my lovelies, I promise to be back soon, but my lunch is calling ... Butternut Squash and Peanut soup ... recipe below if you'd like it ... just the ticket for days when there's a chill in the air ...

Butternut Squash & Peanut Soup

2 large Onions

1 large Butternut Squash

Carrots

Peppers

2 tins chopped tomatoes

(any other red, yellow, orange veg you want to add!)

Finely chopped chillis, ginger and garlic

2 chicken or veg stock cubes

Smooth Peanut Butter

Sweat the onions in olive oil until cooked, add the chillis, ginger and garlic and continue to cook for a few minutes ... then add all the rest of the ingredients (chopped or diced) and bring to the boil.  Simmer for up to 40 minutes, then cool.  Blend until smooth and add a dollop of peanut butter, and heat through to melt.  Serve with a swirl of cream and lots of crusty bread and butter.

I've been quite loose with the quantities, but this does make a lot ... I decant it into takeaway boxes and freeze it so I have it handy in the right portion size.  I haven't met anyone who doesn't like this ... you can just leave the peanut butter out if someone has a peanut allergy, and it could be added separately to individual bowls and stirred in. It's actually very versatile, curry powder can be added, it can be topped with croutons or grated cheese ... the possibilities are endless!

Bon Appettit!

Oh yes, before I forget, me and Millie are a bit excited ... have booked tickets on a coach to Harrogate for the Country Living Fair at the end of November ... oooh, we're madly saving up for afternoon tea at Betty's!!

Have a lovely week, won't you?

Love, Claire xxx

Wake me up, when September ends ...

Autumn is now in full swing, the long, heady days of Summer are finally over, and there's a distinct 'nip' in the air. The nights are drawing in, it's getting dark much earlier, and it's time to snuggle up and batten down the hatches.  I've been making a few changes indoors too ...

Bye-bye, Summertime

The Summer shelves have been taken down, dusted, and stowed away until next year ...

Hello,  Autumn!

...  and replaced with more seasonal objects ...

Is the weather good when the pine cones are open? I can never remember ... though I think it may be something to do with rain ... if the rain gets in they will rot, so they close up ... I may be making this up ...

Not a very good pic, but I just love this amazing tea set.  I think it is from the 1930's, when my house was built, so it fits right in!

Thrifted granny blankies are piled on the sofa, along with the hooky bag ... my evenings are sorted now!

All are safely gathered in ...

and turned into the most unlikely things! Chocolate Courgette Cake ... absolutely amazing ... please just try it, even my veggie hating lil sis was fooled!

We've been foraging amongst the hedgerows ... They are absolutely brimming with voluptuous, purple-black bounty this year.  Lots more to come too, as there were many unripe and still some in flower ... my freezer will be groaning this year ...

The old jam pan has seen a lot of action this year!

I think I've cheated, and this picture is of Strawberry Jam, but I've been making that too, with the last of the British strawberries.

The treacle tins come into their own at this time of the year ...

And old faithfuls come out of hiding once more ...

 I've even brought the garden bench in, to get warm by the fire!

Thinking fairy lights may be needed here ...

A really lovely book to snuggle on the sofa with ... Vintage Home from Sarah Moore ... only £5.99 from The Works ... my heart skipped a beat when I saw this, as it was on my wish list!

Stairway to heaven ... another basic need ...

I'd like to thank you for all your concerned comments about my last post ... Harry didn't get the best start to University living, but I'm so proud of him, for coping so admirably with everything that life's thrown at him these last couple of weeks ... his unusual arrival at university, then a broken laptop, and to top it all his student account hadn't been activated, so he has had no (and still hasn't) access to cash, because of the bank's mistake.

He had to come home the first weekend (Fresher's) to sort the latter two out, and on the train saw little Minnie Micra on the top of the scrapheap, minus her wheels.  I have to admit, I shed a little tear ....

I've got lots of fairs coming up, The Pop-Up Shop in Ulverston is coming back on 5th October, which I'm looking forward to, and my calendar is filling up rapidly ... going to be busy, busy, busy ... but never, ever too busy to catch up with my favourite bloggy friends!

Hope you all have a fabulous, golden, week!

Love from Claire xxx

Riding along in my automobile ...

Thank you all for the good wishes for the Vintage Pop-up Shop last Saturday ... it was a great day and I sold a good few things so went home lighter in car and not pocket, as I was very good, and for the first time ever, didn't buy anything!

When I got home we had to unload the car straight away, to reload it with Harry's University stuff, because we were heading off to Salford, first thing Sunday morning.  You may be aware of my fear of driving long distances, it has been recorded on this very blog, so my little sis was kindly doing the honours.

Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny (thankfully!) and we made our way to Helen's, where we swapped seats and the trip began.  There were four of us, me, Helen, Steve and of course the studious one, Harry.  Plus all his worldly goods.  (It's amazing what you can get in a Micra).

courtesy of Google - thank you!

We had been travelling along for about an hour and a half and Helen remarked how well the car was doing (it was a big day out for Minnie Micra, she only ever travels ten miles away at the most) when suddenly she said, "your oil light's just come on", Steve said "I put oil in this morning", next moment she said that it was losing power, and pulled onto the hard shoulder.  Smoke started to come from the bonnet and I had a bit of a flap.  I think I'm calm in a crisis if I'm the only one there to deal with the situation, but if there are more grown-up people around, I crumble a bit and hope they'll deal with it ... I panicked again when Helen asked me if I had breakdown cover ... I couldn't for the life of me remember if I had, but fumbled around with my phone looking for a likely number.  I found one, but when I rang it was an obsolete number.

To cut a long story a bit shorter, I then rang my insurance company to ask if I was covered, and they put me through to the RAC.  I was explaining what happened when my phone went dead.  Helen wasn't impressed with my lack of organisation (I have had a lot on, and didn't think to charge my phone, as I didn't think I'd need it) so we used hers.  Luckily I did have cover (there is a God, after all!) and the RAC duly arrived.

Google

I only had cover to take us to one destination so we had to decide whether to go to Salford, where I would have to then dispose of the car as it was dead, (RIP Minnie, you've been a good and faithful friend, but you certainly chose your moment) or have it taken back to a depot and arrange its disposal afterwards.  Harry said that he'd get a taxi to Salford on his own, and we could just go home.  Of course Mammy wasn't having any of that so it was arranged  that me, Steve and Harry would get a taxi to Salford and Helen would go back with the RAC man who had very kindly made arrangements to take the car (and Helen) all the way home.

A taxi was then called ... we had to unload all Harry's stuff onto the hard shoulder to await collection by the lunatic who picked us up.  We loaded his taxi, got in and waved goodbye to Helen and Mr RAC, and then began the nightmare journey ...

Mr Taximan pretended he didn't know the area ... he told us this fabulous news after just driving straight into the line of traffic on the motorway, whilst fiddling with his satnav. I had a scrap of paper with directions, which I relayed to him, but he still wanted the satnav on.  I put the postcode in and the voice began.  We were approaching a crucial part of the directions on the post it note, and I told him where to go (in the nicest possible way) but he said he was going via the satnav now.  We totally missed the turning and then went on a round trip around Salford, so by the time we did arrive, Harry had had a whistle stop tour of his new city.

Thank-you Google!

We experienced a hairy u-turn on a busy dual carriageway ... we went through a red light ... the explanation given that he didn't have time to stop! We eventually got there, miraculously in one piece, but not until after he shot past the building which was our destination, so he did another dramatic emergency stop, with a loud screech of brakes and rapid change of gears into reverse ... and so our arrival was announced.

He unceremoniously turfed us out (we felt like the Clampetts, surrounded by boxes of Coco Pops and tins of beans, rolling onto the road), charged us £48 for his service, then kindly reduced it to £40, as he had made a couple of  mistakes and taken wrong turnings. Yeah, right ...

Thanks Google!

Some lovely ladies from the University listened to my tale of woe and sprang into action.  Harry and his Dad went to register, which only took moments, and then a man arrived with a van and loaded Harry's stuff in and delivered it to his new room.

We unpacked, made his room a little more homely and then took him for something to eat.  As it was Sunday, we weren't sure about train times, so thought we had better leave sooner rather than later and with a heavy heart, had to say goodbye to Harry in his lonely student rooms of which at that time, he was the sole occupant.

We walked to Salford station and forked out another £60 for 2 single tickets back home, and arrived home at about 6pm.  The end of a very eventful day.  I felt drained, and very emotional ... I had worried about this day for a long time, but never envisioned that it would turn out this way.

Before bedtime I rang Harry ... he was in the pub with two of his new flatmates and sounded very settled, so I went to bed, and slept for a long, long time.

The next day when I awoke I expected to feel quite down and depressed but instead just made myself think that the situation could have been much, much worse.  We were all safe and well, the car was back home and I did have breakdown cover, otherwise I dread to think what the cost would have been! We had a bit of an adventure that will be talked about for years to come,  but despite all that, I couldn't help thinking "Thank God it wasn't raining"!

Have a lovely week

Love, Claire xxx

PS: I have not been sponsored by the RAC, or received anything from them, apart from excellent service! Thank you so much ...

PPS: Helen has the only photographic evidence of this adventure ... don't even want to imagine the grim images!

We're buying and selling your history ...

Just a quick one today, my lovelies, to let you all know of an amazing pop-up shop in Ulverston ... 

Sat & Sun, 7 & 8 September

The Vintage Village Hall

@ the old Stead & Simpson's Shop

Ulverston, Cumbria

Me and Millie will be there on the Saturday with a stall brimming with vintage loveliness ... on Sunday I will be on my way to Salford, taking Harry to University, sobbing in my lace-trimmed hankie ... nooo, I must be strong!!

I helped to put the window display together last week with a lovely team of ladies, which I must add was no mean feat, as the access to the window was about 6" wide, which is why my lovely upcycled standard lamp and chair do not feature ... Everything in the window is up for grabs, the clothes, the bunting, furniture, records and beautiful, authentic vintage china and textiles.

It would be wonderful if any of you could make it, it as the Charter Festival celebrations will be underway at Ulverston, and there will be lots going on in the town ... Violet's is literally a stone's throw away, so tea and cake will also be on the agenda!

Hope to see you there ...

Love, Claire xxx

Oh, Island in the sun ....

Almost a year ago I took you for a walk on the wild side to the wonderful Piel Island.  To be honest, I really didn't think it was that long ago, and as it was such a grey, miserable day, I thought it was last October, but no, it was actually in August!

Yesterday ... not last year!

My lifelong friend Anne who lives in Dorset, is visiting my little town on her annual jolly to see family and friends, and  over a nice meal out the other night, mentioned that she was going on a nostalgic boat trip to Piel Island with friends, so Millie and I invited ourselves along ...

This time we were going on the Ferry, not by foot, and the day dawned wild and windy with heavy showers, but as I always say, if we waited for sunshine we'd never get anything done. Armed with our pac-a-macs and picnics, we met up on Roa Island, and while we stood around idly chatting, missed the first ferry over!

Harry, ready for action

It only takes 10 minutes or so to do the return trip, so we didn't have long to wait before we boarded.  The sea was quite choppy, so it was a boisterous journey, but the sun was shining brightly and shimmering on the waves ... a bit different from the last time I showed you the island.

 

We approached the island after being gaily thrown about for five minutes or so, and although I have said it before, I still think that Piel Island would make a great setting for an Enid Blyton feature film as it has all the essentials ... a rugged, desolate beach; dark, brooding castle, a secretive huddle of smuggler's cottages, and an old sea dog's inn, all steeped in ancient, salty history ...

Millie, hugely excited!

We disembarked without falling in the sea, and went for a quick look around the island, as it is well over 30 years since Anne last camped here, and she needed to reacquaint herself with the landmarks.  She got a bit emotional which is very unlike her, as we looked at the little cottage that is still for sale, and had a little dream about living there, and then found a sunny spot to lay the blanket on the ground.

Replete with a Tesco meal deal (I left it too late to decide whether or not to go, so there was no time to make up the usual hamper) and several Fondant Fancies, we ambled along to the pub for a swift half of shandy ...

who needs to go abroad? 

By now the sun was really blazing it's socks off, so we all rolled up our jeans, fiddled around with tee shirts to avoid tan lines and joined in with the kids playing on the sand.  These are the best kind of days, and cost practically nothing ... the children get to play together, team build, use their imagination and are out in the fresh air, communing with nature.  Much better than trawling around a gaudy theme park eating vast amounts of chemical laden 'food' while their parents apply for a further advance on their mortgage.

This unfiltered image of the beach, sea and sky, wouldn't have looked out of place in a brochure advertising select 'off-the-beaten-track' holidays in the Aegean sea ...

eeeh! It's grim up north ...

All too soon it was time to leave, and we walked around the island, passing the castle ...

following the time-worn path beside the cliffs, eroded by the vicious tide, which will one day bring down this magnificent building and take it for its own ...

and boarded the ferry tired but happy, full of plans for next year!

Definitely A Grand Day Out of the highest order!

Sale of the Century

I know I promised to tell you all about my Vintage Sale which took place last week, BUT ...  I didn't take any photos ...  I started setting up at 6.30, and it took until 9 before I was satisfied with how it looked.  I took a little breather, had some breakfast, and made myself presentable, then everyone started arriving and didn't stop until lunchtime! By then it looked a little picked through and tatty, so I didn't bother with photographic evidence.  It was a fabulous day, the sun shone, was very well supported, I sold lots of stock, made some money to contribute to buying more of said stock, and decided that I will definitely be making Fabulous Vintage Sale an annual event! Thank you all for your support and kind words.

I'd just like to say that I was completely overwhelmed with the volume of comments for my last post. Thank you so much, they mean the world to me, and I was glad to be able to share my news with you.

Have a fabulous weekend, and hope the sun shines for you

Love, Claire xxx