A bit of retail therapy certainly does you good & I have to admit to feeling quite pleased with my latest purchases so I thought I'd share them with you here. Don't you just love the red polka dot cardigan? From Tesco of all places!
Last weekend Mr Cottage & I attended our favourite giant flea market & came home with a desk! We have quite a large lounge & sometimes a large room can be difficult to arrange in a cosy fashion, so even though we have 3 sofas, two display cupboards, a tallboy, a coffee table & 3 side tables, plus the TV, we have an empty space between the sofa & the front window. I have always thought that it was the perfect spot for a desk so have been on the lookout for one for years - not actively searching, just looking until the right one came along which it did on Sunday!
It is made of oak & probably from the 1930's & what I love is that it has a label inserted into the back informing us that it was the property of the Essex Education Dept. So, it's an old school teacher's desk - it is solidly build - wood all the way around, and has signs of years of use including scratches & dings in the wood & ink stains in the drawers. The dealer we bought it from was from Cornwall so it's certainly travelled around! It looks perfect tucked under the window & I have the perfect chair for it which I've owned for about 25 years but needs a little TLC....will have to get around to that now.
Of course a desk needs a bit of stationary & I have to admit to being slightly addicted to notebooks - how many notes I think I need to make I have no idea, but I just love them & my latest addition is the charming Ladybird one - just right for me don't you think?
I fear Mr Cottage is going all retro-kitsch on me - look what he fell in love with & bought at the same fair......
Of course, if one is going to do a bit of retail therapy & one sews, then crafty supplies must be on the agenda - I couldn't resist these bells from Paperchase - perfect for Christmas.....
Plus a few more fat quarters to add to my ever growing stash (please don't remind me that some of the fabrics in my stash have been there for 20 years & I've not used them yet!)
Another few recent treasures are this cute tin - ideal for pins - and the Union Jack pincushion from Cath Kidston - the reds look good together don't they? The little flag you can see was discovered in a bag of old sewing goodies.
And finally, I wanted to introduce a few doggy friends who will be accompanying me to the Vintage & Handmade Fair in just a few weeks time!
I think I'd better hide my purse & credit card away for a few weeks now!
I am really interested in that desk! I was educated by the Essex Education Department! I wonder what school and what teacher had that! I love those gnomes
ReplyDeleteI love your new cardie, I bought a polka dot dress from Tesco the other week! I also think that desk you picked up is gorgeous. Lovely post as usual!
ReplyDeleteLaura x
Ooo lovely stuff, your cardie is gorgeous.
ReplyDeletetwiggy x
Some lovely finds, the desk looks super. Thanks for following me on twitter but I haven't figured out how to use it yet!!It's on my huge 'to do' list!
ReplyDeleteOohh, love the cardigan and the desk is gorgeous! Such lovely finds!
ReplyDeleteRachel x
Great desk Jayne, we bought one a few months ago which was also an old teachers desk, quite retro, 1950's we think. That also lives under the lounge window with the laptop on, and my Dads old red anglepoise lamp. It too is covered in piles of beautiful notebooks and old tins of coloured pencils! Something very nostalgic about owning an old desk, the more bashed the better I think.x
ReplyDeleteCan't shopping be fun!
ReplyDeleteI've brought a couple of dresses from Tesco recently and they're fantastic.
Your new desk is great, I love "proper" desks and notebooks, I share your obsession! I actually have a whole box filled with them!!!
Victoria xxx
I share your obsession with notebooks. I just love them, putting the first few words on a the first page is divine, I loved it since I was at school (I even developed a new larger style of handwriting at school so I could fill books faster and get new ones from the teachers).
ReplyDeleteThat desk is a wonderful find, I bet it looks good now it's in its rightful place.
Sue xx
Lots to look at and read here. I do like that cardi, Tesco are on to a winner there. I also like buying notebooks but they tend not to be written in as I don't like to spoil them! The desk was a good find; don't you just wonder at its history? Whether it was in a junior or secondary school, what the teachers were like who sat a it etc. etc.
ReplyDeleteGreat things - love the cardi and the fabrics. Glad to see i'm not the only one with a notebook obsession!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd i love the ck pincushion - i have been debating whether to get or not, i know i won't use it as a pincushion - but it is just so cute!! xx
Hi Jayne,
ReplyDeleteYour new (old!) desk is wonderful...I hope you'll spend lots of time sitting at it using your vast array of notebooks! ;-))
Thank you for your comment on my blog...It was wonderful to hear how you used to have a shop...maybe you should reminisce and tell us more?!
See you soon - not long now :)
Niki xx
What lovely treasures. Your desk is so nice and sturdy and every desk needs pads of paper. I think I have the same affliction -- lots of notebooks, and lots of fabric. I went out yesterday to match a piece of older fabric from 20 years ago (it's perfect for a current project) and discovered my pink is really rose and todays pinks are, as a fellow customer remarked, todays pinks are just pinker.
ReplyDelete~Marilee
What a lot of lovely things, I will have to have a look in Tesco that cardie is fab. Those little doggies are a cute bunch, I have one like the pooch on the far right and he might need a friend! Not long now till V&H I am sooooooooo looking forward to it, have got my a*** into gear at last and making lots of new stuff and been collecting Vintage too, hope I will have enough space for all of it! Love Jane xxxx
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh, I love Mr Cottage's garden gnome w owl! That's superb!
ReplyDeleteI love the desk! I think Mr. C's gnomes are great, but I suspect the top one is one of the Dwarfs from Snow White, and possibly one of the early ones from the Thirties, or Forties.
ReplyDeleteDisney signed all sorts of merchandising agreements with pretty much anyone who asked, and that just looks for all the world like maybe Happy?