#15 - Vintage décor.

Hello lovelies! Thought I'd do a quick post this afternoon. How many of you LOVE your bedroom? I know I do, my Dad and I decorated my bedroom back in 2008 before he passed away. He was always amazing at decorating and painting as he worked with his Dad in that industry when he was a youngster. If I'd brought home paint or any little bits and bobs to add to my room, he'd be up and ready right away, he loved it and he was so determined to always finish it that same day.

Well, in the end I ended up with the plain magnolia room I was after. With the damask patterned curtains to make it a little bit more edgy. As time went by and a year past, my Dad was no longer around to help me finish it off. So I decided to make him proud and add a few bits myself that I would have never had the guts to do before just in case I messed it up.

I've always, always loved vintage décor, from big framed beds, to chandeliers, to vintage style wardrobes and fairy lights. I love it all. And the more I got interested in it, the more I decided to add the theme to my room. And so I have done. Below are some pictures of what I've now added over the past year.

^

This is now my main wall. At Christmas time I put fairy lights up around the quote, they're a bit too hefty to have up al year round. I did this with a little help from my best friend, Catherine. She traced all the words from www.urbanfonts.com (where I found the perfect font) and around the inside of the words with a pen knife (if you're going to attempt to do this, please be careful, as at one point she almost sliced her finger off) so then the paper acted like a stencil, ready for me to paint over, and on to my wall. I then stuck all the words on my wall with blue tack, and began to paint! And when they were dry after about 2 hours, I removed the stencil from the wall and it left this antique style font on my wall. However, if you don't have the time to trace, pen knife and paint over stencils, you can actually buy ready made stencils to paint over.

^

My beloved chandelier. One of the favourite things in my room. I love it, and have loved it ever since I first saw it. It looks quite small in this picture but the dimensions are quite large. You can actually get alot of vintage style lamp shades or chandeliers in charity shops or vintage markets if you find them in the right places, and if you look carefully, you really will be getting it at a bargain price. Unfortunately at the time for me, B&Q was my only option, and at around £70, I purchased this beauty. Having now expanded my search criteria's over the past few years, I now know Ebay have a fair few and they are absolutely beautiful, and they're no way near the same price as this one.

^

The largest wall in my room. Now I've always wanted bunting. And I asked for some for my room for Christmas. It's so cute, and very shabby chic. I must admit, I go onto Ebay daily and type in 'shabby chic' in to the search box, and thousands and thousands of items come up, and they are THE cutest things. I've bought so many gifts for people from that search, like little plaques with quotes on, little jewellery boxes that I've added things to, loads. They are the perfect gift idea, and some of them you can even make yourself.

^

A little snippet of my curtains. And my cute little birdcage, that on Boxing Day I only then realised came with a candle holder. I love it, I love bird cages. You can add the most beautiful ideas into bird cages. Fairy lights, rose petals, flowers, anything. Alot of people use them at weddings to add a more vintage vibe to the day, and they really do add that little extra 'va va voom' into vintage.

^

My windowsill. Simple as pie. I love tea pots, especially this style. I also love tea sets, I have a fair few, but I can't add them into my room. It's only small and I actually have no shelves!? Madness. Alot of these items I got for Christmas last year so they've only recently been put in there.

^

Again, two of my favourite things. I'm silly really, because I'll never use these, or remove the tea set from the packaging because I'm scared it'll get ruined. Or it may be the fact that when I had some friends round, one of my favourite cup and saucers, I kept on my windowsill, and as one of my friends opened my big window, all I could hear was "oops"......*smash* - then I knew what had happened. Unlucky really.

Anyways vintage lovers, that concludes my blog post for today, was only a quick one just to share with you all some more of my vintage and shabby chic favourites. Also, if any of you live in the Hertfordshire area and are interested in vintage markets and fairs, there are some going on in March and April. In my next blog post, I'll add the dates to the bottom just in case any of you are wanting to attend! (I'll most likely be there) so come and say hi!

♥

#14 - Party like it's 1969.

^

Topshop Electric Blue Strapless Top - Ebay, £2

Black Skull/Gothic Top - my Dad's (reworked)

Denim Fringed Waistcoat - Boohoo £12

Earrings - Topshop, Gift - RRP £16.50

#13 - More Vintage buys.

Evening fellow bloggers. I've been charity shop shopping again, on the hunt for some cute little vintage buys to add to my wardrobe. After my four hour shift at my new job, I then left and went towards my new favourite place, The Salvation Army shop. I was actually originally going for a friend, because she was looking for a plain white shirt, but something that didn't look too smart as we were going out that evening, and I found one for her (but I won't post a picture of that, as it's hers now) originally bought from Mark's and Spencer's, I got this shirt for £2.99. That's a bargain in my books.

^

I was also originally going there to find a cute little vintage, oversized jumper to wear with a pair of jeans or leggings for a casual look. This happened to catch my eye as it's very granddad like, I also love the pattern. Very vintage. At a beautiful price of £2.99, I couldn't really say no as I loved it that much. I'm actually wearing it as we speak. It's so comfy and soft.

^

This was actually the first one I saw as I walked in, I never usually wear blue, as I'm more into neutral colours like beige, white, cream, rose pinks etc. I loved the look of this, it's so thick and wooly, and even thought we're currently going into spring, this is still something you could wear with a pair of vintage studded reworked shorts and chunky heels. This one happened to be a little bit more expensive at £4.99 but I love it nevertheless.

I'd been taking a peek at some dates of Vintage Fairs and Market's in my area that I could attend and found a few at the end of March, beginning of April. I've added them to my diary! There's also a little Vintage Emporium in St Albans that I NEED to visit some time soon. When I do, I'll be sure to take my camera and capture some lovely little things to add to this blog for you all. I've seen some pictures of the Emporium already and it's absolutely massive, so many stalls that sell jewellery, clothing, antiques, etc. They also have THE most adorable cafe there too, it's called the 'Tea-for-Two Cafe' - if you're interested, take a peek at their website http://www.thefleetvillevintageemporium.co.uk/. They also have a little video (below) which shows you around the Emporium, and also at the little stalls they have there.

                                     

♥

#12 - Inked up!

So I just thought I'd do a quick blog post today. I did mention in my previous one that I was taking another trip to the charity shop after work on Saturday and I did! I picked up some goodies too, but I'll blog about them tomorrow. I'd been trying to decide on whether or not I wanted a tattoo for ages and on Thursday the 9th I decided to get one of two tattoo's I'd wanted for years.

^

This one is in memory of my Dad as you can probably tell ♥

The symbol represents infinity, so the message behind his name incorporated into the symbol means that he will always be with me in my heart, and that I'll never ever forget him. I got this on the side of my forearm towards the wrist.

^

A week after I got my first one, I got the second one I'd always wanted ever since my Dad passed away, because my Mum had always been my rock, and this one I got on my right shoulder. It's French for "I owe my Mum the world".

It's safe to say that it didn't actually hurt me at all, either of them. But I'm really proud to have got both of them done as I honestly thought I'd end up chickening out and running away with half a tattoo because I'd be too scared to let him carry on, but I was a brave gal! Anyway, that concludes my blog post for today, I'll be back tomorrow with more vintage buys and goodies for you all.

#11 - Vintage, cheap as chips.

Alot of people know I'm a vintage lover. I love a good bargain, and when there's so many vintage emporium's and charity shops around the UK, why should we not pop in and take a peek and see if we find anything that we could compare to something on the high street from somewhere like Topshop or Zara? Having previously working in Topshop for 3 years, I know that some of the items in there can be way above some people's price ranges, let alone NOT worth that amount of money.

So, I decided one day whilst I was in town to go and take a peek in The Salvation Army, a charity shop in my local town centre in Luton. All I could say was "I'm never shopping anywhere else!" - for a good few years I've been grabbing vintage bargains on good ol' Ebay, as well as the occasional item from Topshop and other high street stores. You will probably find that some of the things you lust for in some of the more expensive retail stores out there, you can find what may aswell be a replica of that exact item, but in a charity shop for £'s less than what you'd pay originally.

^

This beautiful nude/stone long lined blouse with a pussy bow tie, I found hidden in amongst loads of cute little peter-pan collared blouses in the charity shop. With spare buttons still attached, this beauty cost me only £3.99. The material is so soft, it feels like suede. Perfect for casual day wear, even a night out. That's the beauty of charity shop buys, they're cheap as chips and you can dress them to fit any occasion you like!

^

Aaah. The tweed blazer. Believe me, I lusted over a tweed blazer I saw in Zara about a year ago when I was walking past the store in Oxford Circus and I promised myself I'd get it when I had enough money. As you can probably guess, I broke this promise. However, I found this lovely think blazer in the same charity shop. Costing me £4.99, in a high street store such as Topshop, you're likely to pay no less than £60 - I'm currently in the process of customizing this, I've got various cuts and colours of leather to sew onto the elbows to make elbow patches (with some help from my lovely Granddad)

^

This cute little cream embroidered thick aran cardigan has been a lovely little addition to my wardrobe. In fact, it's now a favourite of mine. You may recognise it from one of my previous posts as I wore it on my 18th birthday. They had quite a few of these in the charity shop, I must admit when I found this as well as the tweed blazer and the pussy-bow long lined blouse, I was really impressed! We all know that in Topshop you would pay around £50 for a cardigan this thick, and with this much detail. As I previously have purchased one of the aran cardigans from there for £55. This little one cost me £4.99.

^

When I worked in Topshop, I remember when it was time for me to get my uniform. I was so desperate a cape EXACTLY like this but it was £95, and I wouldn't ever spend that much money on an item of clothing unless I had more £'s to back it up with. As they say "if you've got the money, why not?". However, this beauty caught my eye on one of the racks in the same charity shop, it's SO thick (even though it's a Size 20) it gives a beautiful baggy, oversized vintage look to any outfit. It looks so cute with black tights and a chunky pair of heels with a little vintage dress underneath. So pretty. And guess what? At £4.99 I have to say once again, SO IMPRESSED.

^

Along with all of the clothes they have in there. They also have a little cabinet under the till meaning you can browse cute little items like jewellery, powder mirrors, household accessories as you're paying. And this happened to catch my eye just as I was buying my items. How cute it is? I'm a sucker for anything floral, shabby chic and vintage. This was just the cherry on top. It's an adorable little powder mirror made by 'Stratton' (made in England) - now me being me, I told my Nan and Granddad about this amazing buy and my Granddad happened to mention how his Mum had one but with a blue floral pattern on the front, except it was boxed and was given to my Nan when my Great Grandmother passed away. He couldn't find it in the end which was a shame. But we did spend time researching the brand name 'Stratton' and found that they still sell now, and the price they sell at is between £25 to £35. And I purchased this one for *drum roll please?* £3. Bargain right? It was the perfect little addition to my shopping trip!

The Salvation Army is now my new favourite place to find lots of vintage goodies and fashionable clothes at a perfect price. In fact, I'm popping in there after work tomorrow for a quick browse (that could be fatal, I'll probably end up leaving with bags full!) - however, if I pick up anything tomorrow that catches my eye, I'll be sure to let you all know and blog away!

Are you guys second hand shoppers?

What's been your BEST charity shop buy?

♥

#9 - I turned Eighteen!

Right, so I've been slacking on blog posts recently. I used to do like, 2 or 3 posts a day and now I seem to have cut back but I'm back with a bang! I turned Eighteen on February 7th! (wahey) - I had a really lovely week, I spent it with all my loved ones, had THE most beautiful vintage style cake made for me by my Uncle. All in all I really did have a wonderful day, and as much as I really wasn't expecting anything gift wise, I received some really lovely gifts too!

^

I have to mention, some of you may not of heard of Leighton Denny, he's best known for selling his amazing products on QVC. He sells nail colours, and now has his own tanning range. And I have to admit, I used to be so obsessed with Models Own nail colours, I've not converted to the Denny! His colours are THE best I've ever used, they dry quickly, no scuffs or marks, long lasting, and the shine is amazing! My next blog post will be on this gift and I'll be showing you all a few of the colours that I've been using lately. If you have Twitter, go and follow him @Leighton_Denny for all the latest updates on his range of nail colours for Spring/Summer 2012.

^

I have to explain this beautiful gift, my best friend from London came down for my 18th meal and night out and thought that this gift was a cringey one? I DISAGREE KATE. It's so cute, it's basically a jar (as you can see) full of little notes that she'd hand written so that whenever I feel down or upset, I can reach into the jar, pull out a note and it will say something that links me to her, or a little quote to make my day better. She claims she's not creative with gifts, however I would never have thought of this! I love it.

I was so grateful for all of these lovely little gifts. My Mum got a bit of an earbashing from me as I really didn't want her spending any money on me for my 18th, however, she said to me on the morning of my birthday "I didn't want you coming downstairs on your 18th with no presents to open." So thank you Mum! ♥ 

^

Vintage Cream Embroidered Cardigan - Charity Shop, £4.99

Floral Spring Playsuit - River Island, Gift

Brown Tan Leather Belt - Primark, £1

Long Chained Blue Stone Necklace - New Look, £3

Earrings - Topshop, Gift - RRP £16.50

^

This was the cake my Uncle made me, he designed the whole thing. It's truly beautiful, my Mum was so overwhelmed by how pretty it was that she actually cried. It was on a bed on fake cream rose petals (that I've kept to add to my shabby chic Bird Cage in my bedroom) - the inside had a bit of a lemon theme going on. Lemon buttercream, lemon curd, lemon cake. Nevertheless, it was stunning.

And that my friends, concludes my birthday blog post!

♥

#7 - Fashion overload!

I've been off here for over a month!? I really must dedicate more of my time to this blog. But I'm back now and I've got lots to blog about. The Grammy's 2012, my 18th! and let's not forget that London Fashion Week starts on the 18th February.

As New York Fashion Week has already kicked off, Diane von Furstenberg showed off her gorgeous Autumn/Winter 2012 Collection. A collection of ruched and sinuously twisting wrap dresses, complementary toned separates and jumpsuits. Backstage, Diane said "We wanted to be very seductive. And seduction led to rendezvous [the name of the collection] which is a meeting with expectation and mystery. The idea is to glorify the woman and make her sexy and proud of her body. There are some dresses that are very tight, with big coats - so you go to the rendezvous and you are not quite sure. You are wrapped into the coat, and you may or may not take it off....".

Model, Kasia Struss wearing a panelled LBD from Diane von Furstenberg's AW 2012 Collection.

In other New York Fashion Week news, Victoria Beckham has introduced us all to 'Harper Beckham, the handbag!' - She has named a handbag from her new Autumn/Winter 2012 collected after her seven month old daughter, cute.

These 'Harper' handbags consist of 3 suede totes with two front pockets, a front flap and a large handle.

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK ACTION:

- David Beckham supported his wife Victoria Beckham's catwalk show, sat next to US Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.

- 'Kill Bill' star Uma Thurman was pictured front row at Tommy Hilfiger.

- Solange Knowles looked rather bright and bold at Diane von Furstenberg.

- Elizabeth Hurley, Shane Warne and son Damian were together to watch the Moncler show.

- Dita Von Teese looked very glam at Zac Posen's show.

- Twilight star Ashley Greene was a spokesmodel for DKNY backstage at the show!

- Kate Winslet made an appearance at the St John show. 

- 'The Hangover' actor Bradley Cooper was spotted at the Tommy Hilfiger menswear show.

- Mary-Kate Olsen, who's own label The Row, which she runs with her twin sister Ashley, will be showing later this season, stuck to her customary head-to-toe black to watch the BCBG Max Azria show from a front row made of Pepsi cans.

- The beautiful Alexa Chung arrived at the Jason Wu show looking cute in a neutral grey and chunky black heels.

- Olivia Palermo arrived looking stylish in a rugged fur gilet and seventies style blue denim at the Peter Som show.

- Actress Vanessa Hudgens arrived to watch Leila Shams in a chic black ensemble.

Dita Von Teese at Zac Posen's show.

Ashley Greene - spokesmodel for DKNY backstage.

Kate Winslet at the St John show.

Mary-Kate Olsen watched the BCBG Max Azria show.

Alexa Chung looking beautifully chic at the Jason Wu show.

Olivia Palermo at the Peter Som show.

Vanessa Hudgens arriving at the Leila Shams show.

#4 - New year, more lusting!

What better way to ring in the New Year than seeing this as you visit Mulberry’s website!

So it’s the start of 2012 and I couldn’t help but go sneaking previews of more things I’m going to be lusting over this year! These things usually consist of items I know I’m never going to able to afford! So I’ve decided to blog about a few of my favourites to start of a brand new year!

Starting off with one of my favourites from Christian Louboutin’s Autumn/Winter collection last year, these beauties. I think every girl would love to own a pair of Louboutin’s. The first time I saw these I thought they were adorable. I wasn’t keen on the material at first, and in all honesty I wouldn’t wear them very much, but they’re absolutely gorgeous. So cleverly designed.

Second of all we have my all time favourite from 2011, the Mulberry Tillie Tote. It’s so cute. It’s one of those bags that’s practical yet stylish at the same time. It’s not too big and not too small. It’s one of those ones you’d want to wear with everything! Very expensive, and not to everyone’s taste, but if you have the money then why not splash out on a gorgeous handbag?

You can never ever fault Alexander McQueen. This is just simply stunning. The colour, the style, the layers of chiffon, it’s just beautiful! It’s the perfect kind of top to tuck into a pair of shorts in the Spring/Summer. Or even just to wear with a pair of skinny jeans or leggings. I love it. No words to actually describe how beautiful it is.

Aaah. The Mulberry Harriet Clutch, part of Mulberry’s latest arrivals for 2012. Simple yet elegant. I love Mulberry, again, another fashion label I cannot fault. I love this though, especially in Khaki. They also do it in Cream but this colour is so fresh. I’d tend to use it more in Autumn/Winter rather than Summer. I think the Cream Clutch fits Summer, colour wise. I saw it and just fell in love. It’s so cute.

Another pair of beauties from Christian Louboutin. Perfect for all year round. I don’t think I’d ever want to take these off, I may actually sleep in them. They’re stunning. They’re the type of shoes you’d expect to wear if you were a Princess, like Cinderella. The Swarovski crystals complete them, especially the colour. They’d go with any type of outfit, casual, dressed up, dressed down. Gorge.

Another favourite from Mulberry’s new arrivals for 2012. I think this is so vintage. You can find similar, and for cheaper as well. But the style of this is just adorable. It’s just perfect for Spring/Summer and again, perfect for day/night wear. The shape/style of the dress itself is simply beautiful. It’s plain, yet chic.

Another favourite from McQueen. Lusted over one of these gorgeous scarves for such a long time! I especially love them in this colour though. I’d definitely wear it more in Spring/Summer, the colours are adorable and as much as you can find similar, the original is always going to be better.

Mulberry, Mulberry, Mulberry. Matching with the Harriet Clutch, this Satchel is so vintage. A lovely colour also! It would also look so cute with the Effie Dress, it doesn’t match too much as the colours are slightly different. Satchel’s are always a favourite of mine, Mulberry or not Mulberry I love them but this one just so happened to catch my eye. I love thin strapped Satchels, I think it makes the bag itself stand out more.

I love Reiss. And I especially love this. For Faux Fur I really like this. I don’t usually like the look of it but I really like this. It looks so cute with the outfit that the model is wearing in the photo! And it’s just a really cute, vintage addition to your wardrobe. This is actually currently in the sale on the Selfridges website - http://www.selfridges.com/en/Womenswear/Categories/Coats-jackets/Ivana-faux-fur-coat_952-10025-657007IVANA/ - simply beautiful.

As much as I’d love to keep going with what I’m loving from last year, and this year’s Spring/Summer 2012 collection already! I think I’ll leave it as that, as I think I’ll be here all night otherwise!

“Fashion anticipates, and elegance is a state of mind … a mirror of the time in which we live, a translation of the future, and should never be static.” - Oleg Cassini.