And the Winner is......

 Miss Tami Lee!

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.

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

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 

I will say this only once...

...then I'll promise never to mention it again!

But I am rather proud of my Mister and wanted to share the love.

If any of you happen to have tuned into Radio 1 last week, you may have heard a new band, courtesy of BBC Introducing, making their début, Black Black Hills, and the Mister plays the bass/percussion section.

Edith Bowman seems to have enjoyed them too! (fast forward to about 1:09:00)

Edith Bowman on BBC Radio 1

Enough from me, but if you do want to find out more, you can find them here

PS - The Mister is the one in the red waistcoat ; ) hehe

L.J.

xxx

VintageBrighton.com's very 1st Birthday

First off:

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY TO VINTAGE BRIGHTON!!

The beautiful Jo-Ann Fortune, who has been running VintageBrighton's website and spreading her love of all things vintage, organised a Birthday party/Networking event for us fellow lovers of vintage. Held at the Iron Duke in Hove, I knew by reading down the list of names on the invites that it would be a winner, and that I had to be there. 

For those of you who have not come across VintageBrighton's website before, here is what Jo-Ann has to say about it:

'Celebrating the South Coast’s thriving vintage scene, VintageBrighton.com is an essential resource for all vintage-lovers in Brighton and beyond.

As well as a vintage shop directory and vintage events listings, to help you plan shopping trips and fun times, blog posts and features also provide inspiration, information and intrigue on the styles of the past.

Established and managed by Brighton-based journalist, editor and vintage-lover Jo-ann Fortune, VintageBrighton.com is fed by a small team of talented local writers, photographers and other creative types.''

I was glad to see a face I recognised as soon as I walked through the front door. Mat Keller, of Southern Retro fame, introduced me to stunningly beautiful Lauren Early, who, like myself, has sat for Matt before. (Currently in discussions with poor old Matt to have my shoot re done for the website! hehe)

I have to admit I was quite nervous when I turned up, knowing only Mat, and never having actually met Jo-Ann in the flesh before, but everyone I met was truly lovely. Lots of business cards were exchanged, as well as a lot of chit chatting about all things vintage. I definitely picked up quite a lot of helpful hints and tips so thank you ladies and gents!

L-R - (Mr Fortune, the lovely host of the night Jo-Ann Fortune, Lauren Early, Jessie Jumbles and Mat Keller)

To celebrate it's 1st Birthday, there was also a vintage-themed Raffle, with prizes including a £25 voucher to spend at Beyond Retro, a years subscription to Vintage Explorer magazine, and £50 worth of china for hire from locally based Roses All Over, amongst a few other prizes....and lucky me won:

The Mister was actually quite chuffed when I brought them home, he's been flicking through Look and Learn Book for Boys ever since, and I've been having a giggle at the stories in the girls annual too!

Jo-Ann's latest work has been writing features for Vintage Explorer, a new magazine aimed at those with a love of all things Vintage. Because of this, she was given a stash of copies to pass around, and I swiftly bagged my copy up ready to read on the way home. What a treat! 

I have been waiting for a quality vintage magazine (other than the Chap of course ;) ) to come out for god know's how long. Having been a little disappointed in Vintage Life magazine (I'm sorry, but I just can't afford to pay that amount for a magazine, and although it is a very pretty magazine in itself, it doesn't deliver quite what I'm after, and I am always left a feeling a little let down after the initial excitement.), Vintage Explorer does not disappoint! Filled to the brim with interesting and informative articles, featuring local auction details and insights, hints and tips, and one of the best things of all, a full directory of all major vintage events happening across the UK! No longer shall I miss out on an event and only find out about it 3 days later!

Although I was given this copy for free, I will definitely be waiting outside the local newsagent for my next copy as soon as it comes out! It is so nice to finally have a vintage magazine that doesn't just focus on 'the look' but actually goes into the history, the designers, lifestyles, and home furnishings. I think the only thing this magazine might be missing is a Classic Car section, but then that's just me ;)

And if you are now hungry for a copy of your own, and happen to be local, go ask Jo-Ann very nicely, and she MIGHT, MIGHT have a few spare copies knocking around. But if you are interested, let me know and I will try nabbing a few more copies myself to pass on to you all. You too will be addicted real soon!

Actually got my hands on a copy of Vintage Explorer and couldn't wait to get it home for a read...

As this was a Vintage Networking event, I knew others would be making quite an effort, so I managed to find this hat at the Upper Gardener Street Market yesterday for £2!!! It is an original 40s Harrod's hat, and although two of the feathers are looking a little worse for wear, I think it still has quite a bit of life left in it.

I think this is how you are meant to wear this style of hat, but to be honest with you, I'm not 100% certain, so please let me know if it's upside down, back to front, inside out etc. There doesn't seem to be any way of fastening this hat to your head, so I just used 2 bobby pins either side to hold it tight. Tips much appreciated! Should I perhaps sew some elastic into it?!

Much Love from Brighton,

This is what I came home to last night, a full pack at the Den!

L.J.

xxx

Oooo... Foxy Lady!

 Having now settled into our new flat, the Mister and I decided to take a stroll round our new park, conveniently located at the top of our road! 

So off we trotted, all wrapped up ready for some early evening autumn sunshine.

The rather grand looking entrance to Queens Park, one of Brighton's oldest and loveliest of Parks. We are very very lucky!

I popped into a brand new Vintage shop in Worthing today, Glisten Vintage, and managed to pick up this beautiful dark navy blue suit. A bit of an investment piece, but I have been wanting a big statement winter suit to wear to work for quite a while! And I fell in love with the collar, so snug and warm, makes me feel amazing! Love it! The Belt cinches it in nice and tight around the waist so no nasty draughts!

Also dug out one of my furs for the first time this season too, very much looking forward to unpacking all my winter bits soon!

We stumbled across a listed building on the outskirts of the park, and thought we'd go and investigate. Really want to find out what it used to be...I'm reaching for my book as we speak! More on that soon.

\

Posing ensued:

Slowly starting to play with my hair again now that my wrists have started settling down a little. Can't quite master setting my hair just yet, so been pinning it up mostly from non set hair. I've been catching up on some other blog reading and feeling inspired again to go get some more setting lotion and crack out those curlers!

Hmmm....need to get me roots sorted pretty sharpish!

I teamed the new suit with some gloves I picked up from a car boot sale at the Brighton Marina in the summer, a Welsh Wool Handbag from a charity shop (original post here), and a fur picked up at a flea market. Unfortuneately, when we got home and I went to go pack him away in my fur and hat cabinet, I opened his shoebox and found lots of lovely moth eggs....and moths in the fur on closer inspection, yuck! In the bin he had to go :( that's ok though, a replacement is already on its way from ebay! woop!

It's great to be back to blogging again, and I have to sort of admit I had let myself slip a bit, so having to get dressed up for a walk around the park knowing I wanted to post something up tonight was just the motivation I needed. Thank you again for all the lovely messages.

And in response to Miss Meadows, yes I have contemplated having the matching set of scars on my ankles to complete the stigmata look ;) hehe!

Much Love from Brighton,

L.J.

xxx

On the Road to Recovery...

This is going to be quite the most non vintage-y of posts, but I wanted to let you know that I am finally getting back to normality again! Woop! 

This is the first post I have been able to type up on my own for quite some time, and I have missed it so. Thank you all for your lovely messages when I had to say goodbye for a while, and also to thank all the fellow bloggers whose posts have been keeping my mind stimulated, after a few hours of daytime TV I knew I could stretch out that grey matter by catching up on some reading and inspiration. 

So here's what happened:  

(for those of you with a nervous disposition, please note I have put pictures up of how the wound was healing, including a rather dark photo of stitches!)

The Monday after my last post, my parents picked me up early in the morning and headed out to the hospital. I was not a happy bunny that morning. I'd spent the night before worrying about the fact I would be awake during the procedure, and was not looking forward to the local anaesthetic in the slightest! I have learnt from previous experiences with doctors that my veins are a bugger to find, and that my blood is quite happy where it is and will not leave for love nor money. I have even had to stop being a blood donor because they cannot get enough of the bloody stuff out of me!

Anywho's, I will spare you the gory bit and just say that the actual operation itself only lasted 11 minutes, to do both hands! That was just about long enough to squeeze in 2 Gary Numan tracks, and a Kraftwerk one thrown in for good measure as they bandaged me up.

Here I am in my rather unglamorous theatre gown and ID bracelet. They were about to put it around my wrists when they remembered that probably wouldn't be such a good idea and opted for my arm...

Here I am, just after having been rolled out of theatre. Yes, I was a little high still, excuse the crazy look, sans make-up too! CRAZY LADY!!

After this, I spent the next week at my parents, with poor old Mum and Dad having to run after me, rummaging around to find a straw as we realised I couldn't even pick up a plastic cup. And yes, if you are wondering, The Mister did enjoy making Aeroplane noises at me when he came over to feed me dinner, the little bugger! heh!

By the Thursday I was allowed to remove the boxing glove of bandages, to reveal my rather poorly hands :( I was wearing a sling most of the time, but by this time I could slowly start picking things up and reading books again. Daytime TV was already driving me mad and I think I probably slept more than I was awake.

That night I went back home, and the Mister went to work in the morning, meaning I was alone at home, and when I tried to get out of the front door, which I thought I could manage, then realised that actually, I couldn't turn the door handle, and was locked in! Dad to the Rescue! I chucked the key through the bedroom window and finally got out and swiftly went back home to the parents. Silly me!

The Mister helped me change the plasters and wash the wound, and I hadn't realised they used black thread in the stitches!!

very bruised and swollen after about a week:

It's been 6 weeks now since the operation, and I have finally gone back to work, and have even started crocheting for the first time since all this began. I am over the moon, and although it really wasn't much fun for the first 3 weeks weeks after the operation, it really has made me value being able to use my hands and start being creative again. Not only that, but after weeks of slobbing bout in my PJ's (yes, that's what those leopard print joggers are!) I have re-found my wardrobe and eye-liner! 

The scars are still quite pink, and very tender, but I think in a few more months you wont be able to see much of them any more! I am so glad I got my CTS sorted out sooner rather than later, I just need to teach myself not to rush things now and take breaks!

Looking forward to being back in the blogging world again real soon!

Much Love from Brighton

L.J.

xxx