Feather and Black Challenge - Phase 2!

I have been shopping to find complementary pieces for the Feather & Black challenge which you can read about here. Plus, I've added the reveal photo to Facebook, so you can hit 'LIKE' to vote for my room now.

As a reminder, here is the piece of furniture I'm styling up -  Olivia white wooden blanket box. 

My room is pretty much a blank canvas, but my style is quite feminine and I love having memories and trinkets on display. So when I went shopping, that's where I focused my efforts. I like to get the most for my money and seek out great buys, and that's exactly what I've been doing!

I definitely got a lot for my money and I went for a London theme and subtle colour palette. The small cushions were £12.80, reduced from £16 and the large ones were £20 reduced from £25. The Tea for Two London set was £18 and the 'Home' Scrabble Cubes were £19.50. The little white photo frames were just £4.20 each - all this was from Debenhams. 

The Breakfast in Bed tray was £7.99 from Robert Dyas - an unlikely place for pretty bits. Store Twenty One was where I picked up the Morrocan style lamps at £5.99 each.

 

Finally, I hit Haydens Home Style, the shop my parents run alongside their carpet business, for the half moon rug £12.99, wicker tea cup planter £8.95,  beach sign £4.95,  small wicker heart £1.75, larger wicker, heart £2.50, Shabby chic heart photo frame £8.95.

The next post will include the final room with all the goodies in place. What do you think so far?

The Tower of London and a Day as a London Tourist!

Yesterday I embarked on a little journey to London to visit my lovely sister along with the parentals. Our first point of call was the Tower of London. I'd never actually been there before in all my London outings! It was brilliant, a little pricey, but that is to be expected in the city and it was well worth it: there was so much to see!

Traitors Gate

Lion Gargoyle

Off to see the crown jewels! There was so much sparkle! But alas, photography was not allowed in the vaults... It was rather busy so we had to view the really sparkly pieces on a travelator to keep the crowds moving.

The ravens were so used to the tourists that they all posed for the many cameras...

The changing of the guard...

We made a pit stop at The Dickens Inn...

... then the weather made a turn for the worst! We hopped on a Thames Clipper to travel down the river towards Greenwich and the Maritime Museum.

Me and Jenny outside the Tower of London. I think Jenny may have coordinated her dress to match the medieval tent in the background ;)

18 Mile Charity Walk Through London

Yesterday, to raise money for the charity F.R.O.G.S (Friends of Gambian Schools) and my trip out to Bijilo in Gambia in June. There were five of us taking part in the challenge, Jenny planned our 16mile route but when we actually completed the walk we ended up walking 18 miles! Jenny used SportyPal app on her phone to analyse our walk - Our fastest leg of the lap was when we were trying to find an ice cream van... I wonder why we sped up there!

We kickstarted our day with yoghurt, granola, raspberries and almonds, fruit juice and a sneaky pain au chocolat! :)

We're still feeling pretty enthusiastic at the start of the walk. The first leg of the walk took us through Regents park, Hyde Park, Green Park and St James Park. It was absolutely glorious weather all day! Most of us managed to get some pretty serious tan marks by the end of the day!

There were so many herons in Regents park! They were amazing, you don't realise quite how big they are until you're up close to them!

Horse riders in Hyde Park

Everything looks so much prettier in the sunshine!

Brief pause for a photo moment!

Big Ben!

I love this building on the North Bank

A much earned ice cream break at The Tower of London... over halfway to our end destination!

I think this little sign was pretty apt in the circumstances! There wasn't a "triumphant moment" photo at the end of the walk, mainly because we were all so completely shattered that we all collapsed in Jenny's flat and was unable to move! It was tough towards the end of the walk but I definitely feel like I've achieved something! Plus, it's all in the name of chairty!

Apothecary Cabinets and Vintage Furniture

I absolutely love apothecary cabinets. I think it's something about all those drawers, it's just so practical and functional. I could imagine storing all my art and crafts bits and bobs neatly away in a beautiful antique apothecary cabinet. Think about all the buttons, sequins, ribbon, beads and pretty things I could store away in those drawers!

I was coveting a gorgeous old apothecary cabinet in a local junk shop, much like the one pictured above from Linda Rosen Antiques But one day when I was merrily walking home from work... it had disappeared, much to my dismay. I'd like to think it has found a happy home somewhere storing away life's little essentials...

In my search for beatiful antique apothecary furniture I came across a lovely website, The Old Cinema, that sell antique, vintage and retro furniture, home accessories and jewellery. Although it is far from cheap and cheerful, they do have some really unique and unusual items that I would love to have in my home... like this 19th Century Collectors Chest.

Vintage Painted French SideBoard

Industrial Vintage Bank of Drawers

Upcycled Vintage Industrial Bank of Drawers

The Alternative Village Fete - Frozen Yoghurt, Music, Cupcakes and Creativity

Last weekend I attended the Alternative Village Fete on Southbank in London, a "sideways slant" on the traditional family day out. The programme for the weekend included performances by dancing troupes and live music, Morris dancing, make-do-and-mend, the British Gent stall, tea and cake, 20's style workouts, gentlemen's grooming and etiquette, hill billy barn dancing and yummy and scrummy treats! Everything a vintage-loving lady or gent could possibly need!

There were come gorgeous knitted (and polka dotted) things for sale on the many stalls.

Love this cute little mini tea set!

All over the square that the event was held in there were people getting creative with needle and thread, material, buttons and bows! I loved how everyone got really involved with all the creative activities.

The Pictotronic was a huge cardboard box that "magically" drew pictures for you: if you put a suggestion into the Pictotronic, after a short wait the illustrators living inside the cardboard house drew your picture! I've never seen anything quite like it before, it's brilliant!

Naturally I gravitated towards these delicious looking cupcakes! But I resisted... if you peek at the picture below you will realise why...

My new obsession is frozen yoghurt! I love the tartness of the flavour, and how well it goes with raspberries, one of my favourite fruits. At the Alternative Village Fete the very first thing I stumbled across was a little frozen yoghurt van. It was incredibly yummy! I went for my natural choice of rasberry fro yo, and Jenny went for blueberry. The fruit was blitzed in a blender then added to the frozen yoghurt machine and the flavour was amazing.

The raspberry frozen yoghurt

The wonderful Hot Potato Syncopators I thoroughly enjoyed the set by these dapper, utterly charming and amusing chaps! They played tunes straight from the 20's, 30's and 40's and the act comprised of ukeles, a tea-chest bass, musical saw, comedy moments, stage theatricals, acts of ear and eye defying balancing, bang bells, hooters and pop guns. The act was brilliant, thoroughly entertaining, and had the whole audience laughing. I enjoyed them so much I bought their CD that came with a fantastic little book with a "history of the band" and various bits and bobs in the Chap magazine style.... speaking of which...

...One stall was selling Chap Magazine

Overall, it was a totally enjoyable event, and if it is all repeated next year I will definitely be attending for some retro fun, and I suggest you all do the same!