Gibraltar

I'd like to share some holiday photos with you but don't want to be a bore so I'll post a few at a time!

Our first port of call was Gibraltar & I have to admit to feeling a little disappointed as it was quite run down looking & the shops were a mixture of British high street (M&S & Monsoon etc) & really tacky touristy things which looked as if they'd been there for 20 years as they were dusty & faded.

But I did happen upon a glass making factory where they were blowing glass by hand (and mouth!) & so I bought a very pretty glass vase there.

The photo below was taken by an indignant Mr Cottage - look how different the price of fuel is compared to here!





The view of the rock as we were sailing away.

Ahoy Maties!

Hello All!
I thought it was about time to let you know that we have safely returned from our travels - we didn't fall off the edge of the world, nor were we eaten by sea monsters!

We had a fabulous holiday & I will share some photos with you once everything gets back to normal here. I'm convinced you need a week to get out of holiday mode before you can return to your old routine!

I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone's blogs soon too.

Au Revoir

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
Mark Twain


See you when we return!

Shop Update

Just thought I'd let you all know that the shop has been updated this weekend - it's long overdue so some of the pretty goodies that I have been accumulating & enjoying have now been listed.

Such as the cute poster above - it's actually a big full sized poster. It is one of a selection of child education posters from the 30's & 40's - it's interesting to note the different paper used in the war years. They can be found in "Second Childhood".

Below are photos of a few more items dotted around the shop.
I have two new categories - "The Potting Shed" which houses vintage gardening books & "Bits & Bobs" where you will find quirky items that don't quite fit anywhere else!

I do hope you'll pop in for a browse!

Books & Old Dresses

As I am going on holiday soon I have been deciding which books I will take with me to read - I love books & I love to read - always have & always will!

For a confirmed bookaholic like me one of my favourite sites besides Amazon & Persephone Books is "Read It Swap It" which is a simple but brilliant idea. It's like the old fashioned "swap shop" but online - for just the cost of postage you can swap books you have read for ones you want to read. You simply make a list of the books you are willing to swap, browse through the thousands of books that are on offer & if something catches your fancy ask to swap.
I have acquired a nice selection of books this way including the one above which I'll be packing into my suitcase.

"My Mother's Wedding Dress" by Justine Picardie is a book about what we wear & their effect upon us.

It reminds me of my friends Lizzie & Bettye, both of whom rescue, cherish & rehome lovely vintage clothing.

Of course I still have my wedding dress, but the oldest item that I still have is also a dress - one that I made to wear to my sister's 21st birthday way back in 1986.
I dyed all the fabric & then cut out all those little triangles & sewed them, layer upon layer on an underskirt.

When I look at it now I wonder about the fact that I once fitted into such a tiny dress & why do I keep it?

My mother has a suitcase full of clothing from the 60's & 70's with everything from minis & formal full length gowns to gold platform shoes!

Do you have any old clothes & what are they? Why do we keep them when we'll never wear them again (or fit into them!!).

Car Booty

I haven't posted any car boot finds for a while so I thought I'd better make up for it & show you what I found this morning.
When I awoke I was surprised & bewildered to see that above us was blue stuff...whatever could that be? Why! It was a blue sky!! ;-)

So Mr Cottage & I set off nice & early & this is what we found....

Lovely vintage books, a gorgeous pink pressed glass vase & a knitted tea cosy....
(Notice Toby peering around the corner?)

Gardening & Enid Blyton books.....

A Terry's chocolate box & a sweet puppy picture.....

An unused hand mirror & brush, a printed cot sheet, a comical tea towel & in the corner you can see a crocheted granny square scarf (never used).....




A collection of vintage baby congratulations cards from 1937 & a set of unused coffee wrappers which would look fabulous in a frame.


There was also a boxed set of assorted kitchen knives, a baby gown & a couple of vintage wooden coathangers - one from an hotel & one from Harrods - which I seem to have missed out on the photos!

So, all in all, pretty good pickings!

Cards

Are you one of those people who keep their birthday & Christmas cards? I have to admit that I do, so have lots of them in boxes that I can't bear to throw away. I also like to choose just the right card when I am giving one so often spend ages looking through all the cards in the shop much to Mr Cottage's exasperation!

I have been pondering the subject of cards as it is soon to be my niece's 9th birthday so I was looking for a card to send with her gift. It seems to me that almost every child's card these days has either a Disney or other TV character on it or something like Barbie or Bratz dolls.

Both of my nieces love horses so I was looking for a card with a nice horse picture on the front & I could only find one which is the same card that I sent her last year.

When I was young (and up until not so long ago) cards would feature ponies & puppies, baskets of roses or kittens, ballerinas or bunnies, but nowadays they just seem so commercial. This includes tins of biscuits & boxes of chocolates which again had puppies, thatched cottages, ballerinas, swans & other charming & pleasant images on their lids - dare I admit that I still have the picture from the lid of a box of chocolates that I had when I was 10??

The cards in the first photo are some of mine from my childhood - I like to be able to look through them now & again & read messages from my now departed grandparents or great aunts as well as cards from my parents, sister, friends & family.

Am I being unnecessarily nostalgic for days gone by? I wonder if it's the sense of a less commercial era that draws us to vintage items?

The cards below are from a batch of charming birthday cards which I bought recently - they are from the 1930's & were given to a little boy called Bernie. Bernie or his mum must have treasured them as they are all in pristine condition.