Frock Around The Dock

Visit this tomorrow if you're in Belfast....

For all the details check out Decadence Vintage Fairs

My Bag Baby

I laughed when I read 'My Bag or her Bag'  by A Thrifty Mrs, the things people do for the love of a good brown bag! This week I've had a couple of compliments on my lastest bag so I thought I'd share my collection. When it comes to brown bags it seems that I have a bit of a thing, like my many other thrifting addictions I can't seem to say no when I see one! EEK!! I am now only one bag short of having a different bag for every day of the week! How many brown bags does one girl need?? I hear you say......I use them all!! (Well most of them)......Each bag is special, let me explain...

This little brown bag, bought from a charity shop in Ballinahinch (It amazes me how I remember this) The perpect bag for holiday evenings, my friends dog chewed the strap, even she found it tasty!

This little brown bag reminds me of my granny, she kept her spare change in the bottom of her handbag, she would open her bag and give us 50p for helping in her garden and we got a sweetie from the tin!

This little brown bag, I forgot I had! I bought it from a charity shop on the Cregagh Road, the perfect shopping trip bag.

This little brown bag, also from the Cregagh Road, a brilliant going out bag, big enough for the essentials, money, phone, lip balm and it converts from bag with a strap to the best bum bag when the dancing kicks off!

This little brown bag, my ultimate thrifting bargain! From a charity shop in Newry, I asked the guy "How much is this bag", he said "£2", I thought...NICE ONE, and when I went to the till to pay, the lady at the desk said "£2, that's too much, give me £1" WOOP WOOP!!!! ONE POUND! RIDICULOUS!! This is my weekend bag....and favourite.

And finally.....Phew!! My latest brown bag, £5 from a car boot sale, perfect for work, I can fit so much  into this bag! I love all its compartments, I can find everything easily. the guy I bought it off said it was from the 50's, I imagine it belonged to a geography teacher : )

.....and I went weeeee weeeeee weeeeeeee all the way home!

So if you see me in a charity shop...and I have one hand on another brown bag and one hand in my purse, feel free to wrestle it from my hands and shout at me...I DON'T THINK YOU NEED ANOTHER BROWN BAG!!!!

What's your bag baby?
Hope you're all having a fab Friday! xx

Shades on, tops off

We've had a another day of glorious sunshine! Even Mary had to get her suncream on today! When the sun shines in Northern Ireland we make the most of it, you can predict tops will be off in temperatures over 16 degrees and just as expected we saw two lads out for a stroll sans tops! That deserved a beep! We were on route in the car to the dump...The sun blazing today, you might think the perfect day to lie on the lawn, read the newspapers, have a cheeky afternoon beer but OH NO! We decide to dig a new veggie patch....and tidy up are original patch...

peace x

Then we dug....
Ready for planting....carrots, rocket, spring onions, cucumber, strawberries and lots of wild flower seeds for to welcome the bees (thanks Deborah x ) Oh and some garlic...

Hopefully this years carrots will turn out better than last years!
I can put to use my Grow your own veg book that my sister bought me for Christmas : )

In my book as many summer meals as possible must be consumed outside!, my favourite summer lunch is a pic n mix of stuff all dipped in a tub of hummus, YUM! If you've got a good recipe for hummus please pass it on, I always buy it out of the supermarket but I want to try and make my own.

And then we planted......

And it was good : )
All that hard work in the sunshine deserves a treat...good job I called at St Georges market this morning, met the lovely Claire from French for cupcake who has started her own bakery business The Lily Pink bakery and bought two of her gorgeous cupcakes to try...

One vanilla, one lemon and yes they did taste as good as they look!

So all we do now is wait and soon we'll have a summer salad to eat.
Hope you've all had a super sunny Sunday xx

When Mary came to tea

Wow! What a gorgeous Saturday it's been, Spring has sprung! Had lunch alfresco and the toes got to be free for the first time this year! Love it...

Inspired by these cute cat cushions from Debenhams....Mary and I had a tea party of our own!

Have a great weekend everyone! Don't forget the clocks spring forward tonight >^^<

Refound

 The Refound pop up shop closes it's doors on the 31st of march so only 1 more week to get down and see some of the exciting restyled furniture. Showcasing 'works of furniture' by local artists and makers, where the furniture is the canvas, if you like vintage furniture with a twist then this is the perfect place to find something really different for your home. It's the 6th time the Refound shop has popped up and this time it's setting a unique building from the early 1900's, a bit dilapidated but the perfect backdrop...

This coffee table was restyled by my friend Steven Quinn.

I really loved these stools with the crocheted tops.

 For all the details on the artists showcased visit the Refound website or pop to the pop up shop on Wellington place Belfast.

The Good Morrow

This has been my favourite poem since I was eighteen, I have been known to recite this poem or many occasions (my party piece) and I thought I'd share it with you...

THE GOOD-MORROW.
by John Donne


I WONDER by my troth, what thou and I
Did, till we loved ? were we not wean'd till then ?
But suck'd on country pleasures, childishly ?
Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers' den ?
'Twas so ; but this, all pleasures fancies be ;
If ever any beauty I did see,
Which I desired, and got, 'twas but a dream of thee.

And now good-morrow to our waking souls,
Which watch not one another out of fear ;
For love all love of other sights controls,
And makes one little room an everywhere.
Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone ;
Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown ;
Let us possess one world ; each hath one, and is one.

My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,
And true plain hearts do in the faces rest ;
Where can we find two better hemispheres
Without sharp north, without declining west ?
Whatever dies, was not mix'd equally ;
If our two loves be one, or thou and I
Love so alike that none can slacken, none can die.

 What's your favourite poem? X

Monday Makeover

Hello! Hope you all had a great weekend : )
If you see a retro chair with worn tatty fabric, do you think that's ready for the skip or I can give that chair new life! I bought this retro boudoir chair about 10 years a from a car boot sale, it cost £5 and originally had brown velvet fabric. At the time I was going through a dotty, pastel phase and reupholstered it and I was happy with it until our recent trip to Edinburgh.......

and I found this....a huge piece of fabric gorgeousness in a colour combination I love, brown and pink, reminds me of Turkish delight....uuummmm chocolate, only 2 weeks to go....sorry I forgot where I was there for a second....

Bought this in a vintage shop for £8 (bargain) and I've got loads left to do some more makeovers!

So it was time for a boudoir chair makeover........

Ta da, boudoir chair makeover complete!

 There's life in the old chair yet, I think she looks rather spiffing in her new clothes (she's definitely a she)

What to makeover next??

Top o' the mornin' to ya

It was a very happy St Patricks Day in Belfast yesterday...

Rory McIlroy world number 1 golfer, my sister Kathryn made this big head! She's been working with The Beat Carnival and loves it, he was totally amazing!

Hey!! I've been spotted, my sister Christine in her high vis, Christine works with The Beat Carnival designing and making the costumes, her costumes are class! super talented sisters : )

 Have a super Sunday everyone, and Happy mother's day to all my mummy friends xx

Happy St Patricks Day!

Have a great St Patricks day wherever you are in the world!

Enjoy a pint of the black stuff, photo by taken by my sister Christine

St Patricks parade sets off from the City hall Belfast at 12 noon today, with a free concert from 1pm at Custom House Square.

Mary says hello!

Mary's been making the most of the Spring weather by doing what she does best......absolutely nothing!

There's nothing quite like a nice toe stretch!

In another life I want to come back as a cat!

Bring Spring indoors!

I love flowers and I like to have them in every room to bring a little bit of the outside in. I buy one big bunch and divide it to make lots of little bunches, it works out less expensive that way. Jam jars, glasses, tea cups tin cans, fill anything that's water tight and have fun arranging!

Mary's helping again!