Love Cafe - St Leonards

On a recent jaunt into St Leonards we stumbled upon a lovely little cafe.. The Love Cafe. We popped in for a late breakfast and it was thoroughly delightful!

I totally loved the decor, every table was different. Danny and I opted for the wingback chairs and cosy little table.

Danny with his 'Love' cup of tea!

 Delicious freshly squeezed orange juice!

I had intended to photograph the food before I started eating... but my mushroom and poached egg on granary toast was so tasty I had to tuck in immediately! The service was speedy and very friendly, the next time I'm in the area I will definitely be visiting the cafe again and try something more substantial from their menu.

And... it has a trapeze artist on the ceiling... what more could you ask for!?

Style Icon - Katy Perry

I have always like Katy Perry's sense of style, she is adventurous and quirky and is no stranger to wearing outfits that most gals wouldn't dream of donning... but that's what makes me love her. She isn't afraid to wear something a little bit different, and it almost always pays off making Katy look fab. I remember seeing Katy over a year ago play in Brighton with my younger sister and being blown away - by her numerous outfits during the gig and how her hair remained absolutely perfect despite lots of dancing on stage. Here are some of my favourite dresses that Katy has been spotted in... anyone who can wear a full blown carousel dress and get away with it (just about!) deserves praise in my books!

80's Puffball Floral Dress from PoshGirlVintage

Gorgeous Floral Dress

Casino Card Playing Dress

Katy's Cherry Dress for the Teen Choice Awards

Katy Perry Cherry Chapstick

Cherry Outfit

Carousel Dress

Roses Dress

She Draws - Cute and Quirky Jewellery

Laura Figiel, AKA She Draws, is someone I have recently discovered on Twitter, and I'm so very glad I did! After visiting her She Draws Etsy Shop I have fallen in love with her creations. She makes stationary, t-shirts, and accessories, but above all I love her jewellery. I genuinely want every piece! It's really cute, quirky and distinctive.

Vintage Phone Charm Pendant

Tea Set Charm Pendant

British Biscuit Earring Studs

Tea Set Earring Studs

Cupcake Earring Studs

Polaroid Cities Charm Necklace

Travel Charm Necklace

Tea Party Charm Necklace

I Love Sewing Charm Necklace

Tea Party Brooch

Vintage Polka Dot Dresses - Scarlet Spots!

Vintage clothing is in demand more than ever, and for those of us that don't live near some quality vintage clothing shops it can be tricky to find that one-of-a-kind special buy. That is one of the reasons why Etsy is so great. It's a brilliant way of finding some vintage delights, not quite the same as trawling the shops and stumbling upon a bargain or really beautiful dress, but it's the next best thing.

I have a fairly large, and ever expanding, collection of dresses in my fit-to-burst wardrobe. Of those many dresses most are polka dot dresses. However, one colour that is distinctly lacking in my wardrobe is red. So I thought I'd have a little peruse of the vintage dresses on Etsy and this is what I found...

LeasVintage - $28

I adore this cute dress! The bold colour, the size of the spots, the white sailor-style collar and the bow at the waist. love, love love it!

PocketVintage1 - $28

I love this dress, the puffy sleeves and the ruching down the side add to it's quirkiness

FrauleinVintageShop - $32

Lovely 80's sailor-collared dress - almost has a flight attendant feel to it.

RunzWithVintage - $35

Very 70's vintage halter dress, the collar and buttons are lovely.

OldSchoolCool - $25

Gorgeous playsuit! love the matching belt

SweetAndDandyVintage - $19

Beautiful 80's vintage Secretary dress, love the stripe belt and faux matching hankie! So cute.

Eccentriques - $10

lovely vintage dress, with quirky cuffs, and a bargain too!

Quirky and Cute Bicycles in the old town

There is a lovely little bicycle shop opened up in Hastings Old Town on the Highstreet called Bell's Bicycles: An Adventure By The Sea. I always like to have a little peek in the window on my way home from work and lust after the pretty, vintage bicycles. They are so lovely it almost inspires me to be more athletic... and that is saying something! Hastings is a great place to ride a bicycle (now that I'm living in the old town and not up horrifically huge hills) because there is a bicycle route right on my doorstep that runs all along the promenade with beautiful views of the sea.

Bells Bicycles pride themselves on their love for antique and vintage bicycles from bygone eras and share them with us lucky lot. Here's what they have to say..."We love bicycles. The super fast fixed wheel track bikes of the 40's, the ultra elegant Dutch loop frame of the 20's and the simple town bikes made in the 70' and 80's. These are the machines that have inspired us, for their style, their engineering, their sheer panache. At Bell's we search the UK and abroad for bicycles, most have been pre-own and loved, whilst others are rescued by us and restored."

I love this Apollo bicycle complete with Wicker basket. Sadly this bike is already sold but it is too cute to not share it with you all.

As incredibly girlie as this bike is, I love this pink, Pashley Poppy bicycle! I love the loop frame and a wicker basket is an optional added extra!

Lastly, This gorgeous Vintage Tricycle

Italy - History and Intrigue Behind Every Door

Ok, so I will forgive you all if you think me rather odd, but on my recent adventures around the beautiful Italy, I developed a bit of a fascination with... *ahem*... doors... yep, doors. I found myself intrigued by them. Each door was different, mostly very old, quirky and felt like they had a story to tell or secrets hidden behind them. Of course They probably all had incredibly mundane things behind them, but it didn't stop me imagining...

First up, some of the doors I found in Venice. Something that I loved about Venice is the wide variety of architectural influences, due to its rich, colourful and cosmopolitan history as a trading post to the east. Another thing that I noticed in Venice in particular is that you really couldn't judge a book by its cover: some of the most auspicious buildings had the simplest of doors, and some of the tiny seemingly run down and dilapidated buildings had the most ornate and decorated doors. the narrow streets of Venice are deceptive and filled with hidden treasures.

Some of the best doors that I came across, (please excuse my unashamed nerdiness here) were in the Doge's palace, not inside the palace itself but over the bridge of sighs in the prisons. All of the doors were original, and you could see the huge rusty bolts and hinges and feel like you were truly experiencing a little piece of history. So often you visit a historic place and you can walk around it and not really get a feel for what it would have really been like, say, 500 years ago because too much of it's original features have been lost over time, concealed or evolved. In Italy this just doesn't happen. In Rome looking at the city from the ramparts of the San Angelo Fort it was bizarre not to see one single modern building. In a capital city it felt strange, like I was stepping back in time.

I also love how so many doors in Venice just open up directly onto the canals, the waterway really is the best means of travelling around the city and most homes have a boat to get around in. It was fascinating watching all of the everyday things like, post being delivered, rubbish being collected and shops, bars and restaurants getting their goods via specialised boats on the huge network of canals.

Next up, doors from in and around the capital, Roma. In the three days we visited Rome I really did see the whole city. According to my trusty little pedometer (my Fitbug) we walked over 25km in the three days and averaged 25,000 steps a day. Needless to say my poor feet were tired after all that! But on the plus side, I got to see as much of Rome as possible.

The paint was peeling, the metal was tarnished, the wood was old and had seen better days but the doors are still there and are not replaced. The walls around the building can be falling apart but the door is fine, or the door is battered and old and the building is new, I just love it.

These last few photos were taken in and around the Falarone region where I visited friends. Some were taken in Torre Di Palme, Sirolo and San Marino, all equally beautiful places that I urge you all to visit if you get the chance. For me, these doors really sum up my experience of Italy: of a country that really values its history and is proud of it, run down in places but it adds to the charm, and a place that really makes you feel as though you have stumbled across something special behind every door and in every place you visit.