A Mother moment, you know the ones I mean....

Wow, haven't we had some incredible weather the last few days?!! I have loved every bit of it and can barely keep myself out of the garden long enough to update the website and feed the children!

I havent mentioned this before because I dont want anyone pointing out how I must be insane but for quite awhile now we have been thinking of getting a horse/pony for our daughter. She has been taking riding lessons for about 9 months and she loves it. Every weekend Paul and I have spent an hour (mostly in horrendous weather) watching with joy as our little girl progressed from her first time on horseback to a confident little rider.



This weekend we ventured to Brockenhurst to spend time at our first Horse Show which we read in a flyer was also holding fun dog show. We were all excited about seeing the horses and riders but as the day grew nearer, it became obvious that the dog show was definitely going to be on the cards for us. We are SERIOUS dog lovers over here at the Vintage Lifestyle house! Most of you may not know but we are pretty much obsessed by our dog, Jet, the Border Collie. I will, without doubt, embarrass myself by professing my love and affection for this beautiful creature who has made us smile many times a day, every day since we have had him, since he was 8 weeks old. As most mothers, it is hard to be humble about our children and Jet is like one of the kids so I do find it hard to be humble about him.







Georgia wanted to "show" Jet in the dog show which was supposed to be quite laid back and low pressure, after all, one of the categories was for "Dog with the waggiest tail". We entered Jet into 4 categories, Most handsome dog, Best Pedigree, Working Dogs and Dog the judges would most like to take home. I felt sure Jet would win, a clean sweep really! There were about 10 dogs there at 9:00. By 1:00 ( in the baking heat, in the middle of an open field with no shade) there were about 150 dogs and people still in line to sign up! We were fanning Jet to keep him cool and buying numerous ice creams for Georgia while Paul and I cooked like chickens on a spit.



Georgia was very excited and taking it all quite seriously. I tried to keep her grounded so that if Jet didn't win something, she wouldn't be too upset about it.( Someone should have kept me grounded)

Most Handsome Dog category began and she entered the ring along with about 60 other dogs and handlers. There were 2 lady judges , one who stood at one end and another who walked and glanced at the dogs around the "ring". We stood watching them and when it came to Georgia, the judge did not lower her head to even look at Georgia or Jet. Paul and I both went "awww, she didnt even look at her!" Now I'm a pretty laid back person when it comes to competitions. I never feel like I must win everything, I usually do not mind at all if I don't win but Georgia was so excited beforehand (she watches Crufts every year with us and was parctising for a few days ahead of the show) that to see this woman not even LOOK at her or Jet, it broke my heart. I thought I might burst into tears or run into the ring screaming "wait, you didnt even look!" It truly was unfair. George came out of the ring, holding back her tears, bottom lip quivering. We hugged her and told her it was ok, she did a super job, the lady didnt even look. Georgia sat down with Jet and hugged him and she said to me that Jet was the best dog in the world and she loved him, very much no matter if won or not. I really did have to try hard not to cry in front of everyone.



2nd category, Best Pedigree, George goes out again, more determined this time. The judge actually looked at George and even Jet! She said to Georgia, "we haven't seen you before have we?" George said "no" but it just goes to show how the lady wasn't paying attention. She narrowed down her choices and Jet was one of them. ( Thank God I said to myself, I could not have handled another emotional moment!) She didnt get a main place ribbon, but she did get a runner up for Jet. The judge asked her to move to the end of the line though, so that the 1st, 2nd and 3rd winners were at the beginning of the line together, and of course, by doing that, Georgia thought that the judge put them in last place. Damn. Why did she have to do that. I told George that runners up are in no particular order, but she wouldnt have it. Anyway, they gave her a light lilac rosette which you can just see on Jet's collar.



By this time, I'm feeling like one of the mother's I have seen on tv, the one's who put their daughters in those pageants with lots of makeup and fake, sickly smiles; not that I made George or Jet wear makeup, but you know how defensive and agressive they are. I could understand them, yes, for one brief moment, i really could! I wanted to go out and say to them, "my daughter will win this one or else you will face my wrath!"....but i didnt; and the next 2 categories came and went without another rosette. It may not have been helped by my beautiful dog's nose being glued to the ground sniffing any possible scent or up the bum of the dog in front of him.

Georgias feelings improved when it was all over and she had her lilac rosette from her first dog show. She did a wonderful job and was very brave. I'm so proud of her.

The horses by the way were incredible. We are partial to the coloured ones and there were some very fine specimens! We came home with sunburn, stopped off at Mc'Donalds which George was thrilled about. Despite my "motherly" moments, it was a great day!

Quick pics while the sun was out!

While I was cleaning up our bedroom, the sun came out so while the colours were all looking fresh and bright, i decided to take a few photos. Below is our partially made bed ( I love the colour combinations of the sheets,bed and blankets).







I have this little painted wooden "coat hanger" on one wall and I like to hang pretty things there which brighten up that wall.





I also re-photographed this beautiful nightgown from about 1940. It has been on the website for awhile but has not received much attention so I thought some new photos would help it get the attention it deserves. Isn't the colour gorgeous?



After tidying the bedroom, I hurried outside to get some photos of this beautiful garden chair for the website. I had been waiting for days to have enough natural sunlight to photograph it.




When you sell vintage/antique goods, it is very tempting to keep things for yourself! I could just picture this pretty chair ( along with some others we have collected over the years) around the little table we bought for under the lilacs! I have listed it though....for now.

Fridges, cathedrals and daffodils...

I do apologise to anyone who may have been checking back to see if I had posted anything new only to find the same post still here. I am bad, I know. I will blame it on the weather.

I have so been looking forward to Spring so this latest bout of cold,wet, grey weather has been a real bummer but I did manage to cheer myself up with a new fridge...sort of.

You see we needed a fridge that was as big as possible but still needed to fit beneath a low cupboard in quite a small space. I shopped all over trying to find an old fashioned fridge that would suit our style but I could find nothing except for the expensively priced Smeg. To anyone who has one these beautiful fridges, I sincerely ask you not to take this offensively, but I just could not have that name, in chrome, on the front of my fridge, even if I could afford one.
So we opted for a far less expensive brand, silver coloured, sacrificing style in the process unfortunately. Below is Paul ( with Jet assisting) trying to scrape off the energy rating sticker ( why do they stick those on so permanently?)



So, how wonderful it was to find that our local DIY shop had got a new range of fridge paints, not alot of colour choice, but they did have cream! The cans were big so we thought one can would be sufficient. Paul decided that it would be fine to spray the fridge in the house (despite my protests) so we closed off the door to the dining room/office and he set to work. After about 15 minutes, fumes entering the rest of the house, he said we needed to get more paint. The fridge looked like an unfinished impressionist painting. Back to the shop, 2 more large cans of spray and paul was back to work. I entered the kitchen, worried about my husbands health due the spray that was like a fine mist of snow in the kitchen and low and behold, we had a beautiful cream fridge. Unfortunately, the rest of the kitchen and appliances, and floor were cream also! The mist had just travelled all over and covered most things in a light layer of paint. After my initial excitement about the "new" fridge, I handed Paul a brillo pad and set him to work cleaning the paint off, well, everything. Our tiny kitchen is once again sparkling clean and looking very vintage with the stylish fridge.



For anyone wanting to try these fridge paints, i can tell you the finish is perfectly smooth and very tough. I have given it a gentle scrubbing with a brillo pad without any scratches or harm to the paint finish at all.

Recently we went to Salisbury Cathedral to hear our little girl sing. It was a one off event and was lovely. I get a bit sentimental at any of these sorts of things but to hear those little voices in this most gorgeous of buildings was wonderful and definitely brought a tear to my eye. The cathedral is one my most favorite places.





About a week ago, we did have a couple hours of sunshine so Georgia and I took a walk down the road to a pretty spot. I am including some pics for you. They are very spring like and will hopefully keep you going until the "real" spring is upon us! Have a lovely Easter!

Not your ordinary cake...

Years ago, we lived in a house on a little street with a typical corner shop and post office which eventually closed down. It remained empty for quite a long time. We moved on to another house but each time I passed by that empty shop I thought what a nice little place it could be and imagined how lovely it would be to open "vintage style" corner shop. Some time later as I was going by, I saw that someone had taken over the shop and was doing just that, providing a corner shop with a difference. The lady who runs the shop has given it quite a makeover and has foods beautifully displayed.



She sells some of the basics which the people on the street would need on a regular basis but she also sells an amazing ecclectic variety of specialty and gourmet foods.



I have often seen beautiful cakes displayed in the window but a few weeks ago I spotted one of the most wonderful cakes I have ever seen. I said to Paul, "stop the car, pull over, I must see that cake!" but each time, we have been on our way to pick up our little girl from school and just didnt have the time to stop. Today though, we went a little early and stopped by the shop. Of course I had my camera and I took some photos to share with you. The cakes are made upstairs from the main shop by The utterly sexy cafe .



All the cakes were superb but it is the birdcage cake that really caught my eye. The beautiful colours, the roses and Wisteria styled flowers, the delicate bars of the cage and the beautiful bird, what a wonderful creation don't you think?

Trials and tribulations of a website owner...

After years owning and operating a website selling "one off" goods, you get used to some rather confusing cross orders and customers changing their minds about what they have ordered ( we have all done that right?) This week has really taken the cake though. Read on if you would like an insight into website customer relations...

Customer #1 sends in an order for wall cupboard and one other item on Friday. I calculate delivery according to size, weight and send her the information.



Saturday, no reply, so I email her asking if she would like to continue with order. Sunday still no reply. I then receive an email from customer #2 asking if she can buy the wall cupboard. I email #1 and let her know that #2 is interested in cupboard and if I don't hear back from her by Monday morning I will have to assume ( in the politest possible way) that she has changed her mind about the order and I will let #2 have the wall cupboard.

I wait until Monday afternoon, no news from #1 so I email #2 letting her know she can buy the cupboard. She is very pleased, she definitely wants it! I calculate size, weight again and send info.

Late monday night I receive email from #1 saying she still wants the wall cupboard and had gone away for a few days, unable to receive emails and still wants the cupboard. I email saying sorry but when I didnt hear back from her I offered the cupboard to #2.

#2 emails adding several other items to order. I calculate the new delivery cost for wall cupboard, corner cupboard and other items.

Now, it gets interesting!

#3 emails and asks if the corner cupboard is available. I email letting her know that corner cupboard is indeed reserved, very sorry.



Wednesday, still no reply from #2 about payment for order. I email asking, no reply. Wait another day, still no reply. Following day, reply comes saying she has decided against corner cupboard for now. I then go back to the couriers website to re-calculate. I email her info and also email #3 to tell her corner cupboard is now available.

Email received from #2, payment for goods is on its way. Following day, #2 has decided that wall cupboard is too wide for room. She is very apologetic. She would like to add something else to order. She also requests that if said corner cupboard becomes available again, she would like it. She is concerned that there will be ill feeling. I email her letting her know she is still welcome at Vintage Lifestyle (her guilt was palpable at this point). She is going to email me tomorrow letting me know her revised order and I will then go back to couriers website to re-calculate.

I then email #1 and tell her if she still wants the wall cupboard, it is now available.

You've got to laugh!

Christmas pics and blurb...

After discovering and even posting here about the Christmas photo tutorial, I thought for sure I would have some excellent Christmas pics of our tree to share with you...Well you can't say I didn't try...and try...and try. I gave up after 3 days of different lighting and many different camera settings. I either need a new camera ( Santa did not bring me one!) or I am just a rubbish photographer. Anyway, here are some "Christmassy" pics.

I decided to bake banana walnut bread for some of my neighbors as a little neighborly Christmas gift. I have not seen banana bread available here in the UK and over the years each time I have made it, it is eaten immdeiately, so I think its considered pretty yummy! There aren't many interesting shops in Salisbury but one exception to this is Dinghams, the cookware shop. This shop is a treasure trove and sells the most amazing and unsual items for the home and kitchen and so much in between! Anyway, back to the banana bread, I was at Dinghmas when I found something I had been looking for for ages; a tiny bread baking tin. I bought 2 of these and another tiny one shaped like a heart. I made lots of mini loaves of Banana bread. I wrapped them in unbleached greaseproof paper and tied them up with pretty ribbon. I delivered them in my old shopping basket to my neighbors who I think were mostly delighted, although some probably thought I watched one too many episodes of the Waltons!





We were having visitors a couple days before Christmas. Out here in the country, there are no street lights and its so dark, you can hardly see where you are going. I made myself a set of 6 of the "jar lanterns" I have mentioned before. I used some leftover bits of one of my favorite vintage red floral fabrics to decorate them and then used the remaining ribbon from the cakes above to tie around the jars. I lit them and put one on each step leading to our door. The poor photo below doesn't show how pretty it looked all lit up but it really did look beautiful.

a really bad photo, I know!



Shortly before Christmas, I came across a pretty website called
susie watson designs
and I ordered one of their gorgeous Christmas banners. I love it! I have decided to try to make one myself for next year. I was interested to notice that they have also produced a beautiful wall hanging of the Christmas card I sent out last year. Below is the banner.





On Christmas eve, I have a little tradition of reading the kids "The Night Before Christmas" from one of my old childrens Golden books. I pulled out all the Christmas related Golden books and let Georgia pick out 5 of them for us to read together. The Christmas figurines of the santas and little girls were my grandma's. Sadly, some years ago, I lost one of the girls. I was pretty upset about that but every now and again, I scan Ebay US to see if I can find the missing girl. I'm sure I will find her one of these days! The brandy glass dressed up as Santa was also my grams. When I was little she would fill it with sweets and I loved looking at it full of pretty colours.

I cleared out a few Christmas decorations this year, only the ones that didn't mean anything special to us. I took a bag to the charity shop which contained several stockings. In our immediate family, there is only Paul, myself and the two kids so we dont need lots of stockings, right? wrong. I still kept: Georgia's winnie the pooh stocking, Dillon's (which was made by a friend years ago) and of course, my 6 favorites. yes, 6. I made 2 last year from great vintage red plaid tweed, I bought 2 greengate ones (the only modern stockings) and my vintage raggedy ann and andy knitted ones. No, they were not all filled on Christmas morning!


We found it difficult to find a tree this year. We usually go for the Norway Spruce because of its luscious scent but apparently because of our horrendous summer, the Norway spruce fields were flooded and many trees didnt make it, so this year we got what I think is called a Silver spruce.





I hope that everyone has had a really nice holiday with lots of smiles and laughs and the spirit of the season. Let's look forward to all the new and interesting things the new year will bring. I hope its the best one yet for all of us!

Nostalgia, photos and my gram...

So glad everyone seemed to agree with regards to my last post. It is so nice to know there are so many like-minded people out there which is the thing I love about "blogs"!

I wanted to share with you all this link to a useful BLOG that offers great info about taking photos of Christmas trees and lights. Over the years we have had the most incredibly beautiful Christmas trees but each time I try to take photos of them, the pics always come out looking either way too dark or terribly washed out from the flash. This little photo taking guide offers solutions to this problem so I thought some of you might want to try it out. I expect to see AMAZING Christmas photos on all your blogs!

On a different note...I have been meaning to share with you some pictures of my Grandma (better known as "gram"). She passed away in 2001 just a few days after I went back to the US to be with her. They say she waiting to see me one more time. We were very close and I miss her so much. She was such a beautiful lady with a tremendous spirit. I learned so much from her.

If you visit my website, you may have seen this picture of her in the background of some website pics. This was taken in 1947.




Gram and a friend (no doubt one of her many admirers!)



Gram with a "hill billy" hat, 1950. She had a deep, hearty laugh with a great sense of humour.



Gram with her brothers,she was the only girl. 1950



Gram at the "supper club" with friends, 1948



Wasn't she lovely?