Friday 18 November 2011

And the Winner is......


Congratulations and hope you like the dress :)

Thank you to all of you for your suggestions and comments, I really appreciate them and feel a new wave of inspiration for the Blog!

Tami, if you send me your address I will pop this in the post for you on the weekend, my email is emma.c.collier@googlemail.com

See you all soon with new posts and a soon to be revamped Blog!

Much Love from Brighton,


L.J.
xxx

PS - watch out for another Give-Away real soon, been having a look through my closet and have found another little beaut in need of a new, better fitting home.

Tuesday 15 November 2011

Vintage Dress looking for a loving new Home, for FREE!!!

Hello my pretties!

I have a lovely silvery gem of a dress hiding in my closet ready to give away today. It has been waiting for the day my arms will shrink and I will actually be able to wear it without fear of splitting the seams on the arms....alas....I have given up that fight now and have come to accept that my chubby little upper arms shall never fit in this beaut, so I have decided that it deserves a better home than I can offer.

Now I know it doesn't look like much, but trust me, once you slip this baby over your head, you will KNOW why I bought it. It is a super sleek, silky curve hugging wiggle dress. I would guess it is probably around 1940's, judging by the cut, the metal zip, and the home made shoulder pads, but there is no label, and it is hand made, so you're guess is probably better than mine!






It is made of a lovely silk (don't quote me on this, not a fabric specialist, but it looks and feels like a silk), has darts all up the back from the waist line, and on the sleeves to shape them, and a sash that comes from the front section and pulls to the back around the waist to tie in a nice big bow...or whatever wonders you can create!

It is clean, does however need a bloody good steam (I'm too scared to trust the iron after a previous accident) and has no rips or tears. I know it really doesn't look much on a hanger, but you are going to have to trust me on this one. I love it, and really don't want to part with it, but to be honest, it gets more and more depressing every time I try it on. Damn my chubby arms!

It's a 28" waist, but if you want more measurements, please just shout and I'll pop them up. 

Now, this beaut can be ALL YOURS ABSOLUTELY FREE!!

All I ask in return for this dress is a bit of feedback. Since I took a few months off blogging due to health reasons, I have lost my way a little and cannot think of what to blog about next. So my question is, what would you like to see here in future? What have you enjoyed reading, and what not so much? All comments are welcome, both good or bad! 

I will then pick out a 'winner' at random on Thursday and will pop this in the post to the lucky one on the weekend.

So Girls, lets go go go!

Much Love from Brighton,

L.J.
xxx

Sunday 6 November 2011

Thrifting for a new home

As you know, we recently moved across town to the Kemp Town/Queens Park area of Brighton, the Mister and my first flat together. As you can imagine, there has been a lot of ruthless sorting, tears and tantrums in the process of unpacking, but after quite some time, we are now slowly getting there and seeing the benefit.

Both the Mister and I are great hoarders, and find it very very difficult to part with anything (even silly mini-golf scorecards from our holidays!) so I've been having fun moving bits about and playing tetris in our new basement flat. 

It is quite dark, so I've been on a mission to buy lights and lampshades to make it feel more cosy. 

I am now addicted to all things thirfting. I cannot pass a charity shop, antique centre or flea market without having to pop in and have a quick rummage. And this also meant learning to resist temptation to buy anything and everything, and to have a rather flexible shopping list but a very strict budget. Nothing is allowed to be over £45, unless it is that extra super special something I've had my eye on for a while. No Emma....RESIST!!

So on our way home this afternoon after a weekend with some friends in their lovely new home in South London, we popped into my favourite Antiques Centre in Lewes. I have wanted a chair for the bedroom since we first moved in, but had a pretty particular idea in my head, and have been trying to stick to a red yellow orange kind of theme. The Mister kept pointing out various options not to my picky likings, and as we were about to leave, he picked up a blanket and underneath was hidden our new bedroom chair!! 

In a gloriously bright yellow and orange textured wool, and only £30 to boot! I was one happy bunny and went skipping back to the car, with the Mister trying to avoid knocking anything over in the shop. 




This will be my new sewing and repairs corner of the Den. The Misters Mum passed on the sewing box to me after finding another one while they were clearing out his Grandma's old house. The hat box serves as a handy storage box for some bits and bobs for my sewing machine, picked up while on Holiday this summer on the IOW for £5. The sewing machine fits quite nicely on the windowsill, and now I just need to take my old radio to get fixed, it stopped working after the move :( but luckily I have a specialist in Vintage Radios around the corner from work so am taking it in this week.


I also picked up a few bits and bobs for my improvised dressing table as we have no room in the bedroom for one. Consisting of The Misters Mum's old chest of G-Plan drawers, and an old mirror I picked up when I first moved out. The Basset and the jar in the back are today's new additions from Lewes for a couple of quid each, the art deco perfume bottle was last years Birthday present, and I found the green clock in the flea market on Upper Gardener Street a few weeks back. It still works, but the ticking is annoyingly loud and keeps me up at night, so I have to hide it in my drawers to shut the thing up....which sort of defeats the object of having an alarm clock really! But I like it, its pretty :)



The Misters side of the bed. Various suitcases picked up over the years. We now have too many and have had to hide them under the bed, behind the door, and on top of a wardrobe, as well as stacking them up next to his chest of drawers. I told you we are hoarders. I cannot resist and a bargain is too good. All picked up at car boots and charity shops for a fraction of a price sold at antiques fairs. The chest of drawers came from the Brighton Flea Market around the corner from the flat, for a £5! They were going to get rid of it if no one bought it because it had a few dinks...it still works, it's not broken, so why chuck it on the skip? Mine now!


We're still in the process of sorting through our mess, but if you wanted, I could give you a little peak at the living room? We managed to pick up the most gorgeous 1930's Sofa that turns into a chaise longues, which I spotted in the Friday-Ad for £30. I do love those bargains!

Much Love from Brighton


L.J.
xxx