Hope and Gloria

On our whistle stop tour of the charity shops last week, one shop shone but it's definately not your typical charity shop! A friend had told me about the Hope and Gloria Emporium and thought I would like it, and she was right.

" Hope and Gloria Emporium is a 'not for profit' vintage themed lifestyle store (I'm hooked already) selling fashion and homewares, based in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. It has grown out of the annual fashion event-Handbags and Gladrags-which sells donated items of new and used clothing with all proceeds going to charities at home and over seas."
 The inviting window displays are to rival any high street store, but it's once you get inside were I was blown away, from the elegant changing rooms to the vintage till area! The shop is beautiful!

And it's not just a place to shop you can hang out here too! Get your hair did in a vintage doo or have your nails done then relax for an afternoon tea in the retro living room, and for the kiddies there's storytelling, love it!

 "Hope and Gloria sells donated items and some bought-in vintage items. The concepts is based on the principals of recycling, thrift and creativity. The premises incorporates a workshop for the free training of the unemployed in various creative skills eg. clothes making, hair dressing, and the upcycling of furniture and clothing."

"Hope and Gloria will actively promote local artisans by incorporating their work in the shop. It will also include fairly traded products -we are currently establishing links directly with craftspeople across Africa. The aim of this is to empower those living in poverty to make a future for themselves and their children through the establishment of their own businesses."
"Hope and Gloria is operated by Causeway Coast Vineyard and it's profits support projects such as the Sunday Food give-Away, CAP debt counselling, OAM Sports Academy in George, South Africa and the E3 Initiative.
To find out more about the shop or any of the projects mentioned visit Hope and Gloria's Facebook
page or email jude@hopeand gloria.org

Mini Makover - New Bedspread

My five pound vintage Marks and Spencer bedspread has been washed and dressed on our bed...I love the pattern and colours, very summery! But somebody doesn't seem very impressed with it, since I put it on the bed on Sunday she hasn't sat on it and has taken to sitting on a pile of blankets instead....

Do your pets have any quirky ways? Mary has so many, she's hilarious!!

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Helen's Bay

One of the best things about living in Belfast is that we're not far from the stunning coastline. Helen's Bay is a stones throw away, the perfect spot for a summer evening stroll, to relax and watch the sunset...bliss...

Hope you're all having a lovely Bank Holiday Monday x 

The Freaky Fives big day out!

 Our team The Freaky Five will be putting ourselves to the test tomorrow by running in the relay event in tomorrows 31st Belfast City Marathon and I can't wait!!
On Thursday went to pick up the pack from the City Hall.....

On Saturday read the inspiring book my brother in law bought me for Christmas...

"Poetry, music, forests, oceans, solitude-they were what developed enormous spiritual strength. I came to realise that spirit, as much or more than physical conditioning, had to be stored up before a race".  Herb Elliot quote taken from Born to Run

Packing in the carbs this weekend for lots of running energy....

And getting organised for the big day tomorrow......

Good Luck to all the runners and walkers in tomorrows marathon! Have a really great day out and most of all ENJOY YOURSELF!!

Bob and Bob's Excellent (Thrifting) Adventure

ONE DAY.....
      TWO SISTERS.....
             110 MILES (Approximately)....
                    7 HOURS AND 20 MINUTES...
                          28 CHARITY SHOPS.....
First I must explain the nicknames. Basically she's Bob (My sister kathryn) and I'm Bob! This can get a little confusing for people in our company and we're often asked why are you both Bob? We started calling each other Bob about 14 years ago and it just kinda stuck....All our other family members have nicknames too, there's Cric, Perlie tooth and Mert and Dert and all of these names have other variations!
Yesterday Bob and I headed on a ABC tour of charity shops A-Antrim, B-Ballymena, C-Coleraine. What a day! I couldn't possibly wait until the end of the month to share this....
We decided to keep note of how much we were spending so we didn't go overboard (I tend to get a little carried away on these sort of trips) and keep a tally of how many shops we visited, there was also talk of drawing up charts etc on which town rated best for shops....basically it was like a fun geography field trip,comparing towns, prices etc (Tragic!! Haahaa) 
Now when Bob and I get together on these sorts of days out we're a bad influence on each other, "BUY it Bob, it's class" " GET it Bob, you're only here once" " Oh go on, You HAVE to Have it Bob" Very dangerous! But on the other hand we're also good at being realistic and we managed to talk ourselves out of a few purchases.
Seven hours and twenty minutes after starting out on our journey we arrived home, tired but giddy and a little bit nervous as to what the big lad might say when he sees the bags coming through the door....

The fruits of my labour

Here's our findings are for the day...

ANTRIM  about 20 miles outside Belfast, 4 charity shops, prices are very good, staff are very friendly.

First purchase of the day, a bedside table (The only thing I bought that I actually needed), bought in Antrim for £5. I'm thinking it might look good with some new knobs.

We were off to a good start, Bob also bought a glass plate for nibbles £2, and a bag for £3.....

BALLYMENA about 30 miles outside Belfast, 13 charity shops (That we visited but there could be more)
If you love vintage then it's worth the trip, prices are good and staff are very friendly

3 mugs 50p each

A new addition to craft corner, yellow rose tapestry £3

A beautiful teal and purple double bed throw from Marks and Spencers for £5

A kitty with a ball 50p

A vintage deer for £1.50

Bob also bought a dog ornament 50p, a very 90's Dorothy Perkins dress £6, a jumper £3 and a shirt for £4.00.
I have to show you this from a charity shop in Ballymena. If we had a bigger house and I owned a van this would have come home with me. Reduced from £40 to £15.... FIFTEEN!!!! So nice....

At this point my total spend is £16.50 and Bob's grand total is £18.50, it's time to make the decision...do we carry on? Well we've come this far, so we head to Coleraine......and it didn't disappoint.

COLERAINE about 55 miles outside Belfast, 11 charity shops (We didn't have much time in Coleraine, so there could be lots more) The prices are good and some have specific vintage sections, staff are very friendly. There was one amazing furniture store Refurbish, we couldn't believe the prices, I nearly cried!!

Little deer salt and pepper or could be mini bookends for mini books £1.99

A vintage cream and pearl jumper £5.00 and a pineapple pot for £2.50

Bob showed great restraint in Coleraine and I didn't! Time to hit the road, get home and get the big lads tea on. A total spend of £26 for me and £18.50 for Bob, that doesn't include food, car parking or petrol costs for the day but who's counting?  You can't put a price on fun, IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!

That was the thrifting blow out for the month!

I Linda do solemnly swear I will not set foot inside another charity shop for the rest of May (Do car boot sales count?) Have a great weekend everyone! Good luck in your thrifting adventures!

For a peek at what all the other thrift seekers have found this week head over to Sophie for her Sunday Flea market finds link up at Her Library Adventures

Mini Makeover...Inspiration Station

A day off yesterday...Oh Dear!!! Bursting with inspiration after reading this post from my cousin Lynne over at Tea for Joy, I headed off to Ikea to buy some shelves. So on my list....2 shelves and some brackets... Is it just me or every time when you're in Ikea you leave with a pack of 100 tea lights and a potted plant?
All biz (happy) with my buys I rushed home, drill charging, I cleared my space and got organised....

Space cleared, it dawned on me that I didn't have any wall plugs , a quick trip to Wise buys....Joking with the girl in the shop, I told her about my attempt to put up two shelves, and she recommended No More Nails..... Maybe I should have bought some!
Here goes, how hard can putting up a shelf be? I might add at this point that I did actually get the shelves up AND they were straight! Honest !! (I forgot to get photographic evidence!) but a terrible thing started to happen when I started to happily arrange all my accoutrement's....
DISASTER! the shelves started coming away from the wall...quickly everything came back off, this is the part I start scratching my head, looking puzzled and wondering how on earth I'm going to sort this out. By this time the shelves are back off the wall, the wall is COVERED in holes!
Picture this I'm running around like a headless chicken... freaking out because, the big lad is expecting his dinner on the table, the whole house needs hoovered, and the craft room now looks like a nail bomb exploded!..... I'm thinking my only hope is getting Nick knowles and the DIY SOS team in!
RELAX!!
What would Cloughy (Brian Clough) do came to mind, and that's when I had a brain wave.......

Now this idea is completely makeshift, and I have visions of the whole thing coming crashing down but I had to come up with something to hide all the holes I'd made.... it will do in the meantime until I get someone who knows how to put up shelves properly to do it!

The big lad says I'm better off in work, and I'm beginning to think he's right!
Have you had any DIY disasters?
Have a great Thursday everyone x

Aprils Thrifty Finds

Wowzers! Where did April go? Is it just me or was it the fastest month ever? It's been a particularly busy month on the work front but there's ALWAYS time for thrifting! Here's what I found last month...

Adding to my hoard, I bought the pansy fabric in a charity shop for £2 and the roses fabric from The Rusty Zip for £4. It's great because now I have a box of fabric, when the urge comes over me to make something I've actually got something to make it out of....

Three very christmassy looking glasses, just what I needed MORE glasses! But these ones are so pretty I couldn't say no! They were only ONE pound for the three! I tried to give the lady in the charity shop more and she wouldn't have it!! CRAZY!!

And this cute little souvenir deer from Thunder Bay, for £1....frankly it would have been rude not to!

Not bad, and a total thrifting spend of less than a tenner, (keeps the big lad happy and Mary in the way she's become accustomed to)
If you love thrifting as much as I do, pop over to Sophie's blog and see what all the other clutterbugs have collected on their thrifting adventures....

A new month....What treasures lie in wait in May? Have fun hunting my thrifty friends!