Frock n Roll Vintage

Snow, Ponies and Puddings

2012-02-05T16:30:00.000-08:00

The Pudding has experienced his first taste of cold weather!

We woke up to a winter wonderland on Sunday morning and so decided to show Pudding the snowy landscape. Daddy also was itching to try out the baby carrier!

However, he slept through the whole walk - probably because we had bundled him up in so many layers!

Here's here!

2012-01-09T10:58:00.000-08:00

Bless you if you'd noticed I'd taken a slight sabbatical from the blog as of last summer!

Following my last post in September where I announced I was expecting - Ive pretty much been taken up with becoming a giant beachball, having swollen ankles and needing a pee evey ten minutes.

Well, Bump decided January 2012 wasn't for him and that he was coming a whole 4 weeks earlier than his due date so that he could enjoy the christmas decorations and see in the New Year with Mummy and Daddy.

We named him Rory.

He is without a doubt the best thing we have ever done.

Not a long post as I'm off again to just stare and stare at the new man in our lives.

xxx

Vintage Videos

2011-10-17T03:37:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, for the past 8 years I have been an eyewear designer, so when my friend and fellow designer Holly showed me this video on Eye Heart Glasses fabulous blog, I just had to share it with you!

I wish wish WISH I could work on product like this - these pieces are so beautifully handcrafted. I also wish people wore bolder frames today - the shapes are amazing. How lovely to have an optician spend time suggesting the colour and shape to frame each individual's face - the whole experience must have been so glamorous! A far cry from being shown the racks of identical little brown rectangular glasses or the awful unflattering angular crap by a spotty disinterested youth in your local 'Specsavers!' (Yes Gok Wan - I am looking at YOU!)

;-p

Its a... Bump!

2011-09-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

Some of you already know and to those that didn't know until now - I'm pregnant!

So far everything has been an exciting adventure. I'm currently 23 weeks so baby will be joining us sometime in January.

I don't know any babies - have never so much as held a newborn so I'm equally thrilled and petrified about becoming a new Mum!

Our plans for our American 'honeymoon' adventure had to be put on hold for a while as although I mostly escaped the dreaded morning sickness, I have been uncharacteristically exhausted and find myself in bed by 9pm. So, off to the West Country we went to celebrate our first anniversary with a week in Cornwall followed by a week in Dorset.

We are waiting for the big day to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. Its only a fortnight since these were taken, but already bump is growing and happily kicking away in there!

Vintage at Southbank

2011-08-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

Myself and a couple of friends were lucky enough to be sent to Vintage at Southbank on Friday to prepare a trends presentation for work. Vintage treasure as far as the eye could see!!!

We had such a great time that we decided to go back on Saturday to stroll around the free-entry areas such as the Vintage Village and market areas and gorge ourselves on the foodie market that also coincided with the vintage festival.

It was great to see a lot of old friends and familiar faces and to have such glorious weather. I had a mammoth panic a few days before the event when I realised that quite literally none of my vintage repro clothes are fitting any longer - (nor will they be for the forseeable future!) and so quickly ran myself up the black and floral number you can see me wearing in the last photo. I love this pattern - it is so quick and versatile and fantastic for expanding figures!

I teamed the dress with my favourite raffia bag from Rocket Originals and I was set to go.

The weather really made me wish I had a big straw hat to hide behind!

Everyone looked fantastic.

I had to exert lots of self control to not go on a huge spending spree and limited myself to one purchase - an awesome vintage hand-knitted blanket that goes perfectly with the turquoise pin striping in the fabric on my Ercol sofa set.

The Ship Inn, Rye: A Jolly Holiday

2011-06-19T01:09:00.000-07:00

Back at Easter, hubby and I took a well earned three-day break down in the East Sussex countryside, revisiting old haunts of childhood holidays past.

We stayed at what I can only describe as the best pub I have ever been to: The Ship Inn at Rye, which is the comfiest, cosiest most welcoming and relaxing place you can stay.

I'll let the photographs do all the talking - only to add I dont think I've ever stayed anywhere else that serves a better and more delicious homemade breakfast. We stayed for three nights and between us tried everything on the menu!

The Ship Inn has 10 beautifully decorated rooms, each on suite, with a rate of £100 a night bed and (the world's MOST amazing) breakfast for two - but even more fantastically have excellent deals such as 50% off the third night over a weekend stay (as they put it - 'how much work do you really get done on a Friday?) or the mid-week seaside special, that we took advantage of - where you get the third night free when you stay from Sunday to Thursday.

The town of Rye is a beautiful maze of cobbled streets, antiques shops and of course the location of Lamb House - where as Literature geeks like myself will know, was the location where Henry James wrote The Turn Of The Screw in 1889!

Spring on the Serpentine:A walk in Hyde Park

2011-05-02T05:11:00.000-07:00

If you ever have a free sunny Saturday in central London, there really is no better way to spend it than strolling or wheeling through Hyde Park on one of the many Boris' Bikes. Enjoying the flowers, making some new feathered friends or watching the boats out on the lake.

I recommend stopping at the Lido cafe for a chilled bottle of wine before continuing along the path to the Diana Memorial fountain and dipping your toes in the water - even if it is a little chilly!

I Love Lucy: A Right Royal High Tea Hen Party

2011-05-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends and bridesmaids Lucille is getting married in a little over a months time.

To celebrate her farewell to freedom, we held a tea-party with a twist. The twist of course, was that the only 'T' was a G&T! And lots of pink fizz.

We held a Hen's Craftacular Spectacular pastie workshop (no, not the Cornish kind! The booby kind!) and no doubt we will all be wearing them to work when we go back on Tuesday.

Mid Century Modern and a thoroughly British Cricket Tea

2011-04-15T09:27:00.001-07:00

For those whose tastebuds tingled at the sight of all that lovely lovely midcentury furniture all in perfect pristine condition and available for immediate purchase, I am happy to give you a heads up that this weekend will be the next Mid Century Modern show:

Midcentury Modern Show Sunday 15th May 2011
Nursery Pavilion/ North Gate
Wellington Place Lords Cricket Ground
St John’s Wood London NW8 8QN

10am - 4pm
Entrance £7, early bird e-tickets available from the website £6. www.modernshows.com

This weekend the show will be situated in St Johns Wood at the Lords Cricket Ground so be sure to wear your Sunday best for when you partake of the delicious cricket tea that will be held at the Pavillion. (All that Mid-century shopping is thirsty work!)

The shows can get very busy so no pushchairs allowed inside. Please hold onto those tiny hands when inside!

Dealers include: Rocket Gallery, Antikmodern, Kiki Werth, Grasilver, Retropolitan, Inretrospect, Twentieth Century Antiques, Fuse, Metroretro, mcm interiors, Fragile Design, Fandango, Midmode, Sarah Potter, Vera Da Silva, Pure Imagination, Tim Smith-Vincent, Ex 20th, Black & Perry, Retrouvius, Two Columbia Road, Molecula, 52 Meters, Skinflint, Omnipod, Desirable Design, Post War & Before, The Modern Warehouse, Firefly House, Vintage Unit, Orange and Brown, Chris Yeo Antiques, Wunderkammer Books, David Lyon, Richard Wallis, Inge Connor, Kicsi Haz and Bleu

Catwalk Hair

2011-03-29T07:07:00.000-07:00

Another quick pop by the blog to post these images from last month's Paris Vogue showing hair and make up on the Spring/Summer 12 Dior catwalk.

LOVE the ultra modern neon eye make up teamed with the Betty Page fringe.

Speaking of which, our own Miss Betty cut my fringe this weekend and I'm all razor-sharp and ready to head off to China again with my jazz-era Louise Brooks style bob!

See you all in two weeks following my fling with Beijing! (Well - I'll pass through Beijing airport at least on the way to Wenzhou!!)

April is about to be my busiest and best blogging month as I have lots of exciting posts all lined up for you:

The author's trip to Shanghai
The author's Vintage Enthusiast attempt at 'Changing Rooms'!
The author's visit to London's sexiest, sauciest, most decadent night spot ( Yes ladies, a bumper Vintage Hen-Do edition!)

Watch this space!

Midcentury Modern

2011-03-20T14:45:00.000-07:00

Today we spent a lovely sunny morning driving half an hour over to Dulwich to visit 'Midcentury Modern'; THE destination design show for lovers of all things stylishly designed and beautifully made.

What a fantastic way to spend a Sunday, perusing the finest examples from Britain’s top mid-century dealers and new Designers influenced by Scandinavian, European and American mid-century furniture and decorative arts.

The venue provides the perfect backdrop - the main show is held in the Modernist glass and concrete setting of Dulwich College's main hall and then sprawls out further to the cloisters.

From vases and homeware to beautifully refurbished sofa's and easy chairs, everything we saw was of the highest quality and sold by loving enthusiasts of mid century design. The key sentiment of this design show is how one can create a distinctive and considered modern classic interior with emphasis on furniture that is not only eternally stylish - but will last a lifetime.

Everything on display is also for sale - If you attend the next one I seriously advise you take your purse - because, trust me, you are going to want to buy everything.

I was about to compose a list of my favourite vendors but have discovered everyone you need to know about right here!

(I will update you on my personal purchases in a couple of weeks when I can display them in their full glory!)

Find out more about the next fair and the next venue, and also to learn more about the event organizers, visit their site here.

Tea with the Mobears; the fairytale world of Jessica Dance

2011-02-23T15:43:00.000-08:00

If you are strolling past Selfridges this week (or fighting your way through the half-term crowds) be sure to stop and check out some of the 'Bright Young Things' windows; showcasing the works of the most creative and exciting new names from the worlds of fashion and art.

My favourite is without a doubt the Mobears window by Jessica Dance, who describes herself as; 'a highly creative designerwho specialised in creating handcrafted sets, props and accessories'.

Showcasing her new line in Mohair jewellery, the Mobears are a family living in twee suburban bliss on Britains busiest street:

I love the set - it looks like the furniture we have at home! And that teapot is beautiful! Surely I have room for one more?

Go check out Jessica's amazing portfolio here, including sets of objects crafted entirely from paper.

And learn more about the Mobears and their step by step creation over at Jessica's blog.

Lara Stone, Paris Vogue Feb 2011

2011-02-21T04:42:00.000-08:00

I'm putting lots of trends prediction boards together for 2012 at work, this week.

I just had to sneak by to post these gorgeous 40s inspired outfits from Chanel. Galliano and Dior.

For me, Lara Stone epitomises the perfect modern bombshell.

LOVE the kimono inspired outfit.

Rocket Originals join blogland!

2011-02-08T15:27:00.000-08:00

A quick late night post here at FrocknRoll Towers before I snuggle up in bed (with i player and Being Human!) to show you these gorgeous new ladies styles from those wonderful people at every Vintage Gal's favourite footwear company; Rocket Originals.

Two new ladies styles are up on the site: Mitzi, a ladies two tone Gibson shoe - an accurate repro of an American 1950s shoe. Produced in a limited run of only 300 and retailing at £79 - wait too long and you might just miss out! I think this style is a really gorgeous casual shoe - great with high waisted jeans and dungarees.

I missed the saddle show in tan and navy - so I wont be waiting around too long before getting my order in this time!

The second new addition is the glamorous 'Lana' - a high heeled wedge in nautical navy and white with a cute little bow detail on the toe, for £75.

Also, Rocket Originals are now on Blogspot! Vsit them now and remember to add them to your follow list!

http://rocketoriginals.blogspot.com/

(All pictures are property of Rocket Originals)

Designed To Do Good: Vivienne Westwood

2011-02-03T07:25:00.000-08:00

A quick stroll through the blogs of various Vogue contributors this afternoon saw my discovery of the new T shirt designs that will be on sale at TK Maxx to raise money for 2011 Comic Relief over at Laura Bailey's blog.

Designed by Vivienne Westwood and featuring British Icons such as the Bard and the characters of Blackadder, red-nose style, they are available in both mens and womens styles in a variety of sizes.

Ive bought Shakespeare for the hubby and couldnt resist the tit-illating charms of the Louis XIV lady for myself.

A favourite designer, good fun and a great cause all rolled into one.

Sanderson 50s Collection

2011-01-30T07:02:00.000-08:00

Announced this week, Sanderson have unveiled a new collection of wallpaper inspired by the golden decade.

I have a drab, magnolia back bedroom that still requires decorating since we moved here nearly 2 years ago.

My money is on 'Wrappings' in Kingfisher (see bottom image) - I have the nerdy glasses and piles of old books everywhere - now I just need that gorgeous desk to go with it!

Si Cranstoun at the 2010 Rhythm Riot

2010-12-21T07:46:00.000-08:00

More memories to share from last months Rhythm Riot.

Si Cranstoun was undoubtedly one of our favourite acts of the weekend. His energy and enthusiasm on stage are just mesmerizing!

Honestly - his feet were barely on the ground for most of the show!

We loved when Si was joined onstage by our other favourite act; Bobby Brooks Hamilton for a rendition of Sam Cooke's 'Twistin the Night Away'!

You can catch Si Cranstoun in the UK on the following dates:

24/12/10 - Charlton, London @ Meridian Sports & Social Club Ltd

15/01/11 - Bristol, Avon @ The Tunnels

11/02/11 - Scarborough @ Scarborough

13/02/11 - London @ Steamboat Bordello (Elizabethan Paddle Steamer)

18/02/11 - East Grinstead @ Meridian Hall

A Traditional Recipe for Best Festive Gingerbread

2010-12-17T05:50:00.000-08:00

Yum Yum Yum. This week we have mostly been getting our bake on making these tasty little devils!

The cookie cutters were found at Sainsburys and pretty much all you need is plain flour, unsalted butter, ground ginger powder, dark brown sugar and a bit of bicarb.

My advice? check the cupboards before you dash at to buy the ingredients - it turned out I already had half of this stuff lurking in the bac of the cupboards from last time we had a biscuit-fest.

The appeal of gingerbread even enticed the husband away from slaying zombies on the playstation to get involved with the making of 'manly gingerbread'.

Then it was over to me to ice them...whoops, my creative flair was somewhat lacking. In the end the majority of them ended up with little white iced Y fronts.

This recipe will literally make enough gingerbread men to feed a small army. I made about 30 and took them into work.

Ingredients

250g unsalted butter
200g dark muscovado sugar
7 tbsp golden syrup
600g plain flour
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4 tsp ground ginger

Other bits and bobs:

Rolling pin

Baking Tray

Baking or greaseproof paper

Cookie cutters

Tube of ready to go 'Designer Icing' (much lessposh that it sounds - about £1.25 a tube from Sainsburys).

Remember to pre heat your oven to Gasmark 180/ 4

Melt butter, sugar and all that lovely syrup over a low heat.

In a big bowl seive the flower, bicarb and ginger

Mix the butter mix with the flower mix

Stir it all up into a dough - leave to cool if its warm from the heated butter

Roll out about 5mm thick and cut into shapes.

Give the little men 8 to 10 mins in the oven, then leave until completely cold before icing.

Happy Festive Baking!

PS - Another festive treat can be found today over on Shona of Heydays blog - she is running a not-your-normal-Christmas-giveaway competition that closes at midnight tonight!

A Festive Find and the Christmas Crafts Begin

2010-12-05T16:42:00.000-08:00

A visit to see my Grandparents last week came up with an unexpected suprise. My Nan had been digging about at the back of some cupboards and found a shoe box full of vintage decorations - and the shoe box is a vintage gem in itself!

The box is from the mid fifties - we know this as my Nan recognised the shoes as being my Mum's school shoes from when she was a little girl. How cute is the box!!!

The decorations themselves are soooo lovely - each is a delicate glass bauble hand-painted with a different design. After years in the cupboard the colours are still as gorgeously garish as ever! I couldn't wait to put them on our tree.

Another vintage-style decoration that I am festooning the house with is good old fashioned paper chains. They give a really festive cosy homespun look. I remember making them as a child when they used to come as pre-gummed strips which you licked and sticked - yeeuuuch!

The ones I found this year were in a fun double-sided union jack and blue gingham pattern and thankfully had double sided-tape fasteners. Of course, if you have more patience than me you can make them out of any discarded paper - old magazines make great and totally inexpensive paper chains.

My other christmas craft that really gets me in the festive mood is studding oranges with cloves. I love the smell of cloves and dotting these about the house really makes it smell like Christmas.

I find it easier to make all the little holes in the orange first - particularly if you are trying to make a pattern like a spiral or a shape like a heart. It also makes the cloves less likely to crumble when you push them in and they look so much better with the head still attached. I used a sharp pencil. Watch out for juice in the eye though! Happy Christmas crafting!

Rocking at the Rhythm Riot 2010 (part 1)

2010-11-30T16:16:00.000-08:00

Brrr! As Blighty finds itself in the chilly grip of Jack Frost this week, I am thankful to be wrapped up in a wooly blanket, hideously ugly but snuggly slippers and bobble hat and finally getting round to posting some snaps I took at the 2010 Rhythm Riot.

This was my first time at the Riot - I normally visit the Rockabilly Rave but with our wedding shenanigans taking up all free time this summer - we opted for the Riot instead.

We found that apart from the evenings reaching full swing (no pun intended!) a little earlier than at the Rave - it was very similar.

We saw some amazing live acts - our favourites being the electric performance of Si Cranstoun on the Saturday and of Bobby Brooks Hamilton on the Sunday as well as our old favourites Big Sandy and his Fly Right Boys. We shopped our little socks off at the vintage and reproduction stalls upstairs, we kind-of-managed to catch the carboot sale on the Sunday (our hangovers were shocking!) We visited Rye for the vintage car rally (and a sneaky cream tea!) created new and more elaborate vintage hairstyles on each other and actually managed to fit in some dancing!

I will follow this up with my black and white shots of the evenings sometime next week.

An hour to kill in Gay Paris

2010-11-17T03:35:00.000-08:00

Last month I spent a whirlwind day in Paris for work. Far less glamorous than it sounds, it involved waking up at 4am to catch the first Eurostar out of St Pancras, then change at the Gare Du Nord onto a French train that smelt of wee that took us out into the middle of nowhere to attend a trade show.

However, we were lucky enough to catch literally 1 hour of free time before we had to hot-foot in back to London, so a short stroll from the Gare Du Nord we spent our hour at a street-side cafe in Montmartre soaking up some Parisian life.

I think I should get extra points for attempting the sneaky photo of the two fabulous old gents in matching black roll-necks and black suits. They were the most stylish couple we saw that day and we were rather too loudly commenting on how cool they looked and felt very stupid when they left, walked past our table and said 'Excuse Me!' in highbrow, clipped British accents!

Whoops!

And I befriended a Colin!

Canteen

2010-11-13T08:27:00.000-08:00

A change is as good as a rest they say and so I thought it was time to spruce up the old blog a bit.

I've added a button to the top right where you can click to find my twitter feed. Im such a twitter noob, I am currently boring my 2 followers to tears - but very much enjoying the small and witty updates of those I am following - especially The two Steves! (Stephen Fry and Steve Martin).

Everything has been a whirlwind these past weeks - I have had a birthday, been to the very exotic Hong Kong and I have also been out romping in the English countryside watching the changing of the leaves. With all this strenuous activity and as it gets colder I seem to be becoming like a dormouse - all I want to do is eat and sleep! Its real comfort-food weather and nothing beats oven-baked macaroni and cheese at my favourite Canteen.

I just love this restaurant - it combines all my favourite things: comfortable and unpretentious interiors that reflect true British design heritage and craftmanship and simple but fantastic casual dining. With an authentic British menu, offering such favourites as hearty Pea and Ham soup, Roast Lamb with Roast Potatoes and a good selection of British cheeses, it scores high on my list of favourite places to eat when in London.

All eaten within a setting inspired by mid 20th century public spaces:

'Inspiration for the Canteen design concept came from the best examples of communal, public spaces such as schools, libraries, town halls and interiors that refer to the optimism of mid 20th century design and classlessness of community buildings such as the Royal Festival Hall.' (CANTEEN).

You can eat your Sausage and Mash by the light of a Robert Dudley-Best 'Bestlight' (original design: 1930), or polish off your Scones, jam and clotted cream seated upon an Ernest Race BA chair (original design: 1946) and all at a very worthy price. My macaroni and cheese was under a tenner, done to perfection and served very quickly.

And the best bit, you can almost always drop by on a whim without prior booking - which is infact actively encouraged. And you also don't feel under any pressure to eat up and leave.

I love it. Pure and simple.

p.s. For those not near London - they also do a great cookbook so you can recreate the menus at home:

The even GREATER Great Gatsby!

2010-11-11T08:08:00.000-08:00

How unspeakably beautiful are these new editions of the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald from Penguin Classics?

This collection of six beautiful hardback works of art commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the esteemed author's death, who passed away on the 21st December 1940.

The beautiful jackets are designed by Penguin's Senior Cover Designer: Coralie Bickford-Smith and depict the most wonderful, striking Art-Deco inspired patterns in beautiful gold and bronze foil.

Available titles are:

'The Beautiful and The Damned'
'Flappers and Philosophers: The Collected Short Stories'

'Tender is the Night'

'This Side of Paradise'
'The Great Gatsby'
and the post-humously published 'The Last Tycoon'.

At only £14.99 each, I am seriously tempted to snap up all six - or at least hinting that these would make a seriously good christmas present!

Buy them now, here.

Expect serious 'F. Scott Fitzgerald Fever' next year with the release of the movie adaptation/biopic of 'The Beautiful and The Damned' directed by John Curran and supposedly starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Keira Knightly, (whom I LOVED in 'Atonement', which pleasantly suprised me!).

Until then, make sure this is one film you definitely read the book before you see on the silver screen.

At Liberty

2010-10-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

I'm impatiently waiting for Him Indoors to get in from work so we can look through our wedding photos! I made a promise that when I recieved the link - I would wait so we could see them for the first time together. But I must admit I was expecting him to be home a little earlier than this!

To distract myself - here are some pictures from the weekend browsing all of the lovely vintage furniture and homewares on sale at Liberty. We had kindly been given a Liberty giftcard as a wedding present and were like a couple of kids in a sweetshopfor a good couple of hours!

From the liberty print fabrics displayed in embroidery frames to the liberty print mini suitcase, to the china displayed on decorative corbels to the ration book-style notepads, I would have a Liberty patterned LIFE if I had my way!

We finally decided on a beautiful tapestry kit of a cushion designed by Emily Peacock that when finished will read 'KISS'! A very fitting and romantic family heirloom in the making!

Our photos are nearly ready!

2010-10-09T02:18:00.000-07:00

I think I actually let out a small scream when I saw this sneak preview of our wedding photos on our wonderful photographer Chloe Browne's blog a couple of weeks ago! (I did also let out another scream this week when I watched Johnny Depp holding a school assembly in Greenwich).

Its our feet!!!!!! Its our wedding feet!!!!

I am soooo excited about seeing the rest! This lovely detail of our toes says more to me about us as a couple than any traditional wedding photo ever could.

Chloe texted me on thursday to tell me she was working on them and was giggling at my beaming face - what Him Indoors and I have come to call the 'oversmile', which on your wedding day - you quite frankly cant tone down that wondrous grin to anything less! And nor should you!

Hoping to meet up with Chloe mid week for the rest - and because she's such an awesome lady.

Charity shop finds

2010-09-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

My flat is increasingly over run with other people's junk. Its tru that one man's rubbish is another man's treasure, but I am in serious threat of becoming the next Mister Trebus!

One of my big weaknesses is hats - vintage hats or reproduction hats that look like they belong on a batty old lady (such as Liz 2!) are a particular favourite.

A trawl through the local charity shop turned up these 1980s beauties - which teamed with the right dress can pass for a 40s look. The polka dot style has already seen me through one friend's wedding - now I just need a reason to wear the red and black one...

Cake or Death? CAKE!

2010-09-19T15:32:00.000-07:00

Whilst in Cornwall we stumbled upon Cornwall's best kept secret... The Dwelling House in Fowey.

If youre a girl after my own heart you will understand my passion for all things indulgent of the baked kind - cakes, scones, cupcakes, home made bread, and even better if it comes served on some lovely vintage china.

Imagine my delight at stumbling upon this delightful gem: The Dwelling House.
an old fashioned tearoom and B&B located in a beautiful Grade II listed Georgian townhouse. All of the homecooked food is prepared on a vintage Rayburn range cooker and served on charming, mismatched vintage china cake stands plates and tea cups.

Add caption

Afternoon tea for two, with a selection of cucumber and salmon finger sandwhiches, scones and clotted cream and a large selection of cakes, was £15 and despite our best efforts, was so plentiful we simply couldnt put it all away!

I felt right at home in my new 'Fleur' dress from Heydays!

I love it! I am absolutely wearing it to death at the moment! And I felt like I was part of the vintage decor!

Cornish Minimoon

2010-09-11T02:51:00.000-07:00

I'm back! And more importantly, Im a Mrs.!!!

I'm now two weeks into my new title and the cheshire cat smiles have still not left our faces following the big day - which I can honestly say was the most wonderful day of my life. I couldn't recommend it more.

Wedding gushing will be saved however for another day after I see my wedding photos from my sparkly gorgeous photographer Chloe Browne (who all the future marrieds I know are now jostling to book their own weddings with because she is simply the loveliest person and all her photos are heartbreakingly awesome)!

This post is reserved just to show you how beautiful a time we had down in Cornwall - for our 'mini-moon'. Those wonderful friends and family who have gifted us a honeymoon fund for our wedding present will know that our big dream is to fly drive the West Coast of the USA - staying in a log cabin in Yosemite (a la John Candy and Dan Ackroyd in 'The Great Outdoors', then travelling up along the Pacific Highway, stopping off at loads of places as we go. We plan to go do this next spring.

But to celebrate our wedding and simply wind down from it all after all that crazy wedding planning- we headed back to the flat following the wedding reception, practically passed out as soon as our heads hit the pillows - then woke the next day, chucked all our stuff in the car and drove the long seven hours down to Cornwall where we had managed to book an incredibly last-minute week away!

The cottage we hired is called 'Buttercup Cottage' and was found through classiccottages.com whom I really can't recommend more - so many lovingly restored details in the cottage - the Oak doors, the hand forged metalwork, the bloody gorgeous Rangemaster range cooker! I could have stayed forever. (The white wicker picnic basket was a wedding present from one of my kick-ass bridesmaids - trust me - when I post the bridesmaids pictures you are not going to want to miss out on seeing those pictures!)

And what a week - despite the sun being unable to put his hat on on the actual wedding day, we were lucky enough to have a week of blazing Cornish Sunshine, blustery winds, cliff top picnics, cream teas, and good old fashioned holiday romance. Just what the doctor ordered.

Paper Pomanders How To (Lose Your Sanity)

2010-08-23T07:24:00.000-07:00

So W-day is nearly upon me!

In 3 days I will become a Mrs! How scarily grown up!
Sometimes I think - 'Right, your'e 30 now - time to act like a proper grown up' - but then as I'll be sitting on the floor crocheting a miniature zombie, or wishing Bella from Twilight had come to her senses and picked the teenage werewolf, I'll think -' I dont feel like a proper grown up'. And then I'll look across at him indoors - who is probably lounging on the sofa in his Nacho Libre style 'Stretchy Pants' playing a computer game and I think - 'well, He definitely isnt a proper grown up!' And that will make me smile as I imagine we will stay just like this, only 'married'.

This week has passed in a flurry - of panicking about how my hair will stand up to the attrocious weather thats been forecast for Thursday (all day downpours, gale force winds, plagues of frogs, locusts etc.

Only then when its all a drunken memory will I be able to look back on all the insane craft projects that I have been making for the wedding and regale myself with laughter - rather than the hysterical cackling and insane gibbering noises I was actually making at the time of crafting them.

I very much wanted a 'Handmade With Love' sort of wedding - and then totally overlooked the impact of deciding to make 360 paper flowers whilst working a hideously demanding full time job and planning all the proper serious wedding bits.

Paper Pomanders - yeah, they look vintagey and beautiful in a delicate, hand crafted way that flower poms just dont, but boy, do they start to fill you with resentment when you see how many you have folded - and how many there still are left to fold!

If you want to make these for a wedding, christening, just to festoon your house with what one friend has lovingly nicknamed 'the Scotch Eggs' and another 'The Shower Puffs!' then be prepared to give up all other functions in your life until they're done! Still - they look super cutesy, and if the one thing you've got plenty of is time and the other thing you've got little of is money - these babies are your best budget bride friend!

Post wedding I will hopefully show you a pic of how they look adorning the aisle - but for now - I'll leave you with some pictures of giant scotch eggs sitting on my Lloyd Loom chair.

Those Hazy Crazy Days of Summer

2010-07-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago myself and Him Indoors took ourselves off on a mini adventure to visit two of my best friends who a year ago, decided to leave the rat race for the Good Life - true Richard Briers style.

Leaving the faux-leafy suburbs of Greater London for the sleepy village of Crewkerne in Somerset, my friends now live in what we happlily exclaimed 'the REAL countryside'!

They have set up home in a gorgeous period cottage, complete with proper old fashioned 'front' parlour, a living room with (sometimes) working Rayburn stove, cows in the field next door, and an exciting garden of home-grown veg and wild-flower champagne! We even sampled their nettle beer which I thought tasted of honey - (but at the same time I also was eating a packet of Hairy Bikers prawn crisps - with REAL crustacean??!!! - and I thought they tasted like ginger biscuits - so my taste cannot be trusted.

We spent the first day in glorious summer sun, rambling about the local countryside, through picture-postcard Olde English farms, rolling hills and babbling brooks.

The whole outing had a thoroughly 'Enid Blyton - 5 Have A Wonderful Time' feel - although our fifth member was a particularly flirtacious cat. We played on a giant swing we found in the woods - which sent us four, grizzled, tattooed - thirtysomethings straight back to our childhood days: 'Stop pushing me! Its to hiiiiiiiiiigh! Aiiieeeeee!' (and THAT was the boys).

Almost every little homestead had wonderful items for sale at each gate you strolled past - home made jams and chutneys, freshly laid freerange eggs, all offered on a basis of trust - with a little pot unattended to leave money in.

It was so refreshing and quaint - and a real trip back to happier, simpler times.

We walked through pitch black dark to the nearest 'pub' in the evening - although discovered the term pub was stretching it a bit when we found ourselves effectively in someones front room - where the regulars stared at us in silence with that 'Not LOCAL!' League-Of-Gentleman indignation! We then stumbled back to the cottage by the light of our i-phones (sorry - we stupidly showed our city-ways by forgetting an item as invaluable in the dark as a proper torch)!

The next day the sun shone again so we headed 20 minutes to the delightful seaside town of Lyme Regis - unlike so many other British seaside towns this one is truly preserved without the tacky element. We strolled along the promenade, poked about in antique shops, enjoyed the local brass band, ate ice creams of clotted devonshire cream and stuffed ourselves with fish and chips.

I was thoroughly sad to leave and cannot wait to visit again!

The Art of mass communication: The poster

2010-05-29T03:28:00.000-07:00

I'm lazing around in bed this morning watching the simply brilliant movie 'Brazil' - (Terry Gilliam's distopian vision of an Orwellian future - yet bizarrely a comedy!) and loving the scenery, the forties clothing and of course the Soviet-style propaganda posters everywhere in the film: 'Dont suspect your neighbour - Report Him!'.

It got me thinking of all the fantastic slogans used in the Home Front posters of WW2 and before long I was trawling the archives at the V&A and the Imperial War Museum.

Here are a few of my favourites:

Most of the images are available either as posters - excellently priced at £4.99, or as high-quality prints starting at £30 for A4 size from the Imperial War Museum website:

I could literally spend hours on there - completely unable to decide what to order!

I think my favourites are the Kitchen and Garden section and of course the Home Front section: 'Our Jungle Fighters want socks! Please knit now!'

Anyway - I'm at the last 15 minutes of Brazil now - where Jonathan Pryce is being offered a loan from the government at 11.5% over 30 years to pay for the fee for the interrogation they are about to bestow on him... those with a student loan might think that almost sounds familiar!

From Bag Lady to Bacall

2010-05-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

This Saturday Hollie and I took a long overdue trip to wave goodbye to my split ends at Something Hells - the home of Miss Betty's vintage hair salon. As advertised, 'For Glamour Gals and Femme Fatales' the salon is more fabulous boudoir than any other hair dresser and Miss Betty is the Glammest of the lot.

I actually hadn't been since last August (eek) and my hair was starting to resemble one of those 'Girlsworld' disembodied heads from the eighties that all my friends had and that we used to draw moustaches on in felt tip.

But half an hour later and my unruly barnet had been washed, trimmed, dryed, rolled, curled, brushed, back-combed and finally Elnetted to within an inch of its life - and the result was truly fabulous: big soft bouncy style curls that a Hollywood vamp could be proud of.

However I have since realised that practically all of my hair flowers must have wilted and died/disappeared up the hoover as I can't find any anywhere. This flat only has 3 rooms - so they must have found very imaginative places to hide. So I am on the lookout for fantastic hair accessories - and find myself increasingly drawn to the Carmen Miranda look these days, so the more plastic fruit you can bung on a hair slide - the better.

So I am ecstatic at the launch of the new Tiki Tearaway web shop - which is brimming with summery tiki goodness for all your hair-wear needs: www.tikitearaway.com

The shop sells every type of exotic flora and fauna imaginable so you really have no excuse for not wearing a different fabulous creation every day of the week!

I particularly love all of the cherry clips (well, duh!) and there is one flower clip: the 'Marilyn' which I have my eye on perhaps for the impending bridesmaids... get shopping fast!

I love Lucy

2010-05-11T07:05:00.000-07:00

Here is the polkadot dress in all its finally-getting-sewn-together-and-not-just-sitting -in-cut-out-pieces glory! I opted for the halter strap with the bow tied behind the neck option as I was being lazy and didnt want to fiddle with covered buttons.

I found this great image of Lucille Ball wearing a similar pattern.

I plan to get this finished before the weekend as there is a rumor that the sign might come out this weekend - believe it when I see it!

Also pictured is my new little sewing corner which finally has everything just within arms reach - (including that bottle of gin in the corner) although currently Im swamped in paper flowers and other wedding craft-fails. Neon green tissue paper poofs, anyone?

Easter Spots and Polkadots

2010-04-06T07:49:00.000-07:00

Ive had an annoying habit of being unwell over the early part of this year which means I haven't had the energy to throw myself all gung ho into my latest craft fail with the enthusiasm that I used to. Still, Im better now - and whilst on my sickbed, did get to watch series 1 and 2 back to back of 'Teachers' - so, 'every cloud' as they say!Ive had an annoying habit of being unwell over the early part of this year which means I haven't had the energy to throw myself all gung ho into my latest craft fail with the enthusiasm that I used to. Still, Im better now - and whilst on my sickbed, did get to watch series 1 and 2 back to back of 'Teachers' - so, 'every cloud' as they say!

So lady valet is currently sporting a sky blue giant polkadot creation that like many projects - has gotten to the cutting-out of all the pattern stage, then I lazily haven't marked on the lines where the darts need to be sewn - and now making it is a headache it itself.

It is going to be all too easy in these coming months to rant and fret and moan about nothing other than the impending wedding plans - which currently is Impending Wedding Doom. But I wont start with that just yet - heres some lovely pictures from the recent Dior Catwalk to keep us all excited and distracted for now!

'Sweetheart' Tulip Dress

2010-01-02T12:52:00.001-08:00

A new year and many new projects to be started!

The biggest goal this year is that I will be getting married in September! Argghh! I have ideas about the dress I would like - but need to find a seamstress who can make it for me - as my dressmaking is still in its playschool learning phase!

Heres a dress that I made last summer - and very lazily only just got round to hemming and finishing.

The pattern is Vogue V9668. I made it in a gorgeous tulip pattern cotton that was going for a song at Fabricland.

This is also the first dress I have made on my new Lady Valet (who we refer to as if she were Lady Diana) and the finished effect is a near perfect fit - with one huge problem...

...I cannot raise my arms in this dress!

The arm holes must either be too snug for my size 18 arms, but when i put this dress on, I cant raise my arms much more past 45 degrees - making it useless for dancing, working, general wear - pretty much anything other than standing around not moving your arms in.

Anyone else had this problem or know how to solve it for when I make this pattern up again in the future?

Really I imagine it would suit me better either sleeveless or with those circular floaty petal type sleeves.

Tank

2009-09-14T08:33:00.001-07:00

Not much sewing going on at the moment as I have been moving house! New home has a room all of its own devoted to sewing and crafty things (and a bit of playstation guitar hero) so Lady Valet now has her own room!

Just a quick pic today - two gorgeous images from the current issue of TANK magazine - a great publication with fantastic content.

How I wish I had just one good photo of me like this - but I'd probably crack the photographer's lens.

Hair by Miss Betty

2009-08-28T02:25:00.000-07:00

I want to give a shout out to the lovely Miss Betty for her fabulous hair cuts - what I love about Betty is you leave the salon looking a million bucks - but the way she cuts your hair means you can also style it yourself at home quite easily.

I have a new sort-of-fringe! (damn my cowslick!). I love it! Even though there's no one at work to marvel at how high I made it this morning!

Time Life - images of the 40s

2009-07-30T07:25:00.000-07:00

Ive had these images sitting on my desktop for ages now. They are a few of my favourites from an inexhaustable library at Time Life.

Future patterns to get excited about

2009-07-09T10:05:00.000-07:00

Oh ebay, scourge of my wallet! Have bought these gorgeous vintage patterns from ebay which I intend to size up as necessary. I shall add a post about sizing up as I go along. Particularly crazy about the pinny-dress one which is similar to another housecoat design I have with ruffled sleeves and is going to be so cute in a gingham or a seersucker.

Everything's Jumping at the Winning Post!

2009-07-09T01:27:00.000-07:00

Everything will be jumping at the Winning Post in Twickenham next Friday - although sadly this time I wont be able to make it - as I'll be on hollipops!

A great night of 30s 40s and 50s music with lots of partner dancing, strolls, shim sham etc.

'Katherine' 40s style trousers

2009-07-05T09:38:00.000-07:00

These trousers are fabulous - but I need to re-make in a better material.

Adapted from a Simplicity pattern (Simplicity patterns do exactly what they say on the tin - which is great when you are just starting out like myself). This great pattern includes a 40s style skirt suit, trousers and jacket. The skirt and trousers both feature the same little curved detail on the waistband that is echoed by the curves of the jacket.

I intended to make this as a suit in a chocolate brown with red details on the piping. I got as far as making the trousers - then realised the fabric I had used was going to be a bit too stretchy and shiny for the jacket. I also burnt a small and luckily inconspicuous area of the fabric on a very low setting when i went to press the bottom hem - thats what you get for being seduced by the sale fabrics in the bargain bin at Fabric Land!

'Peggy' High Waisted Pencil Skirt

2009-07-05T09:26:00.000-07:00

A fantastically high waist to this pencil skirt - with a good heavy interfacing in the waist section giving a girdle effect and therefore giving you a great shape when worn.

I used quite a heavy cotton drill for this in a fire-engine red after seeing a great image of a girl in a similar red pencil skirt standing next to a vintage pick up - and here at the Rockabilly Rave - I found a great vintage Car to pose in front of myself!

I would love to try this again in a really bright purple tartan with some incredibly high heels!

Hello!

2009-07-04T12:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my first post of this new blog where I intend to chronicle the progression of my attempts at sewing vintage-inspired and reproduction clothing based primarily on the golden era of the 1930's to the 1950s.

Having really fallen in love with the music, dancing, fashion and design history of these glorious decades, I, like many girls on the Swing and RocknRoll scene would love to emulate the look of the women of a bygone era - yet as a plus sized woman, find Vintage clothing practically impossible to find for my shape and size.

This also celebrates the 'Make Do And Mend' mentality of that time.

Totally self-taught through that great university of learning: YOU TUBE you can expect many delightful cock-ups along the way, and swearing, crying and breaking things...