Snuff said

Shirt - Jumble Sale

Pinafore - Jumble sale

Belt - Charity shop

Shoes - H&M

Listening to - I'm his girl - Friends

I feel I should apologise for the silly blog title, I just couldn't resist. By way of explanation - these photos were taken Saturday when we visited a Snuff Mill. We didn't actually go in it for some reason, but explored the park and empty house nearby. The whole area is National Trust but open to the public and is called Morden Hall Park. It's a pretty place, the white iron work bridges and little ponds in particular. The house in the pictures looks fairly old but is out of use, and looking inside it seems like it was perhaps a hotel, I'm curious about it since it's unusual to find unused buildings on National Trust sites. This outfit is certainly basic, I have been drawn to clean lines and work wear lately which may explain it. I had been after a pinafore type dress for a while after seeing all the great ones Isla wears. Luckily I found this Laura Ashley number in the great jumble sale I went to in Feb. Amusingly the lady who sold it to me said ' You do realise this is a maternity dress?' I said yes I was going to take it up and in, which I have. got to see the potential in clothes that may not seem right straight away. Although it is still a bit loose. The belt I've had for years and recently rediscovered in a Spring clean. I like it when you find forgotten favourites.

That 70s top

70s Top - Charity shop in Devon

Jeans - Were my mum's/altered

Shoes - UO 

Listening to  - Forget - Lianne La Havas

Sunshine, blossom trees, flowers, summer clothes!

Yes I am happy Spring is finally showing itself around here. I think this is the first weekend I've ventured out without a cardigan for many months. I do wear a lot of cardigans though. I've had a very soothing weekend basking in the sunlight. Today was very lazy and we just wandered around town, had some pretty good lunch and lay in the park reading. My kind of Sunday. Although I meant to do some sewing/altering which I haven't quite managed. It's good to finally be able to wear this very 70s top. I found it maybe a year or two ago in a Devon charity shop. It has a matching high waisted maxi skirt with embroidery around the hem, however the waist is about 23 inches and so no good for me. One of these days I may make it a knee length skirt by taking the waist down but I have more pressing alterations before then. I am fond of the colour and the giant sleeves but I am quite uncomfortable in anything cropped so I had to wait until I found some high waisted jeans. Luckily my mother obliged by giving me an old pair of hers, I just took in the legs and now I have perfect high waisted jeans. I also think it's funny these are actual 'mom jeans'. I think I should probably have worn my clogs too, just to get a more 70s vibe altogether. Happy Spring everyone!

Willow pattern

Shirt - Vintage stall at a festival

Skirt - New look

Belt-  Was my mum's

Shoes - UO last year

Bag - jumble sale

Listening to Marathon - Tennis

It's been a busy couple of weeks. On Sunday I came back from a little holiday to Center Parcs. I have never been to a Center Parcs before and when I was a child I use to think the glass dome containing the swimming pool covered the entire area, like a giant bio-dome. I still find it disappointing this is not the case! However I had a really good time, it rained but we still managed to get in plenty of cycling, badminton, tennis, swimming and mini golf. Working all the time inside an office just makes you crave the outdoors and it was just what was needed. 

I had grand plans of outfit posts by our villa overlooking a little pond but that never happened. Instead these photos from the previous Sunday, when I made my first trip to infamous Battersea Car boot sale. I was surprised ta how busy the place was, still my friends and I picked up some bargains. We particularly enjoyed rummaging through a suitcase full of vintage patterns, which yielded some great styles, including a sailor coat and a cut out mod all in one. I also found some Clarks brogues for £5 and some nice blue fabric. After having a through look round we stopped at a good local cafe for pasta and ice cream. It was a great day and I'm looking forward to going again sometime.

Keep making me laugh

 

Jumper  -  jumble sale

Skirt - 90s GAP from charity shop

Clogs - Clarks circa 2010

Listening to  - Lady of Sunshine -Home Sweet Home

How cute is this little Fiat? Sadly it isn't mine but isn't it great. It's been parked in our road a lot lately so I thought I'd go for a picture.

My attempts at documenting my outfits more frequently aren't going too well so far! This is what I wore yesterday,hopefully the end of jumper season. I got this wool jumper with the rest of the great haul at the jumble sale a few weeks back. I mainly bought it for the label. Since jumbles are so frantic the label is often my only chance to see if something is vintage. The skirt is a very useful 1990s Gap number, good for all seasons. The clogs are maybe a bit 'off trend' now but I don't really care, they are very comfy and I still enjoy them. 

In other news, something you won't know about me is that I really like Zach Braff. I like Scrubs but it is mainly down to his film Garden State (which I adore). So when I heard he was bringing his new play 'All new people' to London I knew I would be going. We went last night and I really enjoyed it, the whole cast were great and it was funny. After the show I waited outside with a lot of other people and he came out for a bit to sign autographs. You can imagine how happy I was to be able to meet him and get his autograph and one (very blurry) photo! He was nice and spent a lot of time thanking everyone for coming and posing for photos.

 So now that is one geeky fact about me that the world now knows! Is there any famous person you like and have been able to meet?

Mint tea

Cardigan - TSE, jumble sale

Shirt - Uni qlo, jumble sale

Cords - Uni qlo

Belt - gift

Shoes - Henry Holland for Debenhams

Bag - Charity shop

Listening to - PJ Harvey - on Battleship Hill

I am finally doing my seasonal 360 where I want to wear dark grungy colours in winter and soft off colours in Spring. Since it's not really warm yet I am making do with the colour combination of mint + red, which are surprisingly good together. As evidenced by this lady. I got both the shirt and the cardigan at a super awesome jumble sale a couple of weeks ago. It was more expensive than ususal - some items were £2! (To me this is a lot for a jumble sale but cheap compared to many charity shops so all is well) There was a funny old lady there who kept throwing any 'young looking' things in my direction and asking if I'd like them. Amongst them was this cardigan. I recognized the brand TSE, who do 100% cashmere cardigans so happily snapped it up for 50p. I also found a beautiful 1930s crepe blouse which I will have to wear soon. I need to document my outfits more often now it's light, and take more pictures generally. For example I was at a party dressed as Patti Smith and have no photographic evidence, need to work on that.

Also Let England Shake by PJ Harvey is amazing, have been listening to it constantly.

Breathing space

Hat - H&M (sale)

Jeans - Uni qlo (sale)

Shoes - TK Maxx

Shirt - Vintage, M&S

Listening to -  M83 - Reunion

I wore this with the plan of going to see the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at the Tate Modern. However I wasn't really prepared for the size of the queue (in fairness it did only start two days ago) and decided I will go back a bit later to see it. Instead I spend some time looking at the permanent collections. I realised I haven't been to the Tate modern in over a year. Which is pretty bad when it's only half an hour away. I found this visit it particularly inspiring and in fact the whole day, walking along embankment in the afternoon sun, browsing the book stalls, taking everything in was like a much needed breath of fresh air.  My camera battery wasn't charged either so I took my sketch book instead which makes a change. Sometime I really miss being an art student. I think that stretch of the river is one of my favourite places to be in London. The view over the river up from the London eye to St.Paul's always reminds me that London can be such an incredible place to live in.

Shoreline

Top - H&M

Cardigan - Gap

Necklace - Gift

Trousers - Uni qlo

Boots - Clarks

Waistcoat - Vintage, charity shop

Listening to - First Aid Kit - Emmy Lou

In the second week of January we took a short holiday to Devon/Cornwall and the scenery of which I never tire. The Jurassic coast is just so beautiful. These photos also prove that the British sea side does have its moments, and the sun does actually come out occasionally to dazzling effect. I even saw one  brave girl swimming in Cornwall. I know it's a mild winter but still I was impressed. As I have said these desert boots haven't left my feet much for the last month or so, (as you can see, my boyfriend is also a fan.) They are just so comfortable, and as I get older, comfort starts to mean more than it once did. No more ballet flats in in minus temperatures anyway. This outfit isn't much, but I do like the velvet waistcoat, found for £1.50 in a charity shop. I also wore it over this dress, and felt like I should be a 1970s country singer, which is no bad thing. I am on the hunt for some straight leg jeans that sit higher on the waist than most jeans. I have only seen some in M&S that weren't quite right and also American Apparel which are a bit much so if anyone have any recommendations, I'd be glad to hear them.