Vintage, Antique and Junk Shops In Hastings Old Town

Whenever I am back home for the holidays almost the first thing I do, after saying hello to the parentals of course, is to go for a little explore in the Old Town vintage, antique and junk shops. It was an absolutely beautiful day as well - perfect weather for some old town browsing. First stop: Little Treasures Vintage who are also now on Twitter too! So be sure to follow. I've blogged about this lovely shop before (here and here). I loved their little polka dot table outside the shop with this gorgeous tea cup set and glass dish!

One day I will own a lovely gold framed mirror!

I'm really into cameos at the moment, I've got some lovely cameo earrings that would look fab with these necklaces.

Next stop, the Retro Shop on The Highstreet - Now that's a whole lotta yellow! They always have a really interesting collection of retro homeware and furniture. I had my eye on a lovely set of soup bowls.

Final stop, the antique and junk yards. I love the little jumble of indoor and outdoor antique and junk stalls. You liteally never know what you're going to find... Punch & Judy puppets, a old bath, chandeliers, crockery, a wooden parrot, military uniforms, records... the list could go on! I love it. I always feel like I'm discovering a lost treasure.

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!

Kreativ Blogger Award and 10 Facts About Me!

Danielle over at 'A Blog From Blackpool' very kindly tagged me in her Kreativ Blogger Award post. She's got a lovely blog so you should definitely have a little look!


The Rules

Say 10 facts about yourself
Tag 10 fellow bloggers


So here goes! Some little known facts about me......

1. I'm only 4'9''... apparently it's the same height as Danny Devito! Now thats my one and only claim to fame. But I quite like being short, you can always ask tall people to help you. The only downside is that even petite trousers are too long!

2. I work in my local caves (yep you read that correctly!) during uni holidays. I have worked there for over 7 years and it regularly involves me dressing up as a pirate, singing sea shanties, doing arts and crafts and face-painting, dressing up as a WWII housewife, smuggler, and medieval wench! I love it, it'll probably be one of the most fun, and utterly random, jobs I will ever have!

3. I absolutely LOVE frozen yoghurt, it's something about the tartness and freshness of it that I love. Plus it goes beautifully with one of my favourite fruits, raspberries.

4. I love bad films... I'm talking really bad and ridiculous films. Prime example being "Shark in Venice"... it really is so bad it's good!

5. I'm literally weeks away from finishing my degree and getting my very first primary school teaching post... I've just got to survive interviews to get a job now!

6. I'm obsessed with dresses. I have had to have a whole separate wardrobe to accomodate them all! This is my latest purchase, I bought the same dress but in a cream floral print and loved it so much I got the other version too!

7. I love baking! I am by no means a domestic and culinary goddess but I enjoy it none the less... my speciality are caramelised onion and goats cheese tarts, peanut butter cookies, coconut cake, carrot cake and banoffee pie... yum! Oh and here's me making pancakes during a lecture at uni... it's not all hard work, essay writing and reading!

8. I Love going to theme parks! Me and my uni friends made it an unofficial rule that we visited Alton Towers at least once in each year. This photo was mine and my friend's effort to win a competition by posing with the student pocket guide... we didn't win... we should have! :D

9. I love pets, I have had hamsters, rabbits, goldfish and two little frogs named Elvis and Wanda.

10. I love the sea! Before moving to Leeds for university I lived in Hastings all my life beside the sea. It wasn't until I moved away that I realised how much I love the seaside... even if the sea is freezing all year round!

Ten lovely bloggers that I'm tagging:

1. Frills 'n' Spills
2. I Heart Cupcakes
3. Little Scribbler
4. A Daisy Chain Dream
5. Lovely Miss Megs
6. The Style PA
7. What Katie Found
8. Spain in a Cupcake
9. Little Miss Delicious
10. Lazy Giraffe

Polka Dot Give Away.... The Winners Are.......

Oh I do love a good give away! A big thank you to all my lovely readers and to those who entered... Two of you lucky lot will be recieving a little polka dot bag of goodies in the post very soon! In the interest of fairness I put all names into my ceramic cupcake and asked the boyfriend to pick out the two lucky winners... so here goes!

drumroll............

Well done to Deepa and Nicola! Thanks to everyone else who entered, I will no doubt be running another give away before you know it, so be sure to enter that one too :) Big love to all of you lovely lot that read my blog and put a smile on my face!

Film Inspiration - The Wizard of Oz

Ruby Slippers by abbiehayden featuring sterling silver stud earrings

I've pretty much spent my Sunday doing more of less nothing apart from watching old films! It's been bliss! I kick-started my lazy Sunday with a dose of The Wizard of Oz. There is definitely a timeless quality to this film, I have lost count of the times I have watched it throughout my childhood. It's still magical when Dorothy steps out of the house into the colourful world of Oz and Munchkinland... Whilst watching the film I did lots of uni work was inspired to make these Polyvore sets - Ruby Slippers, Emerald City and The Yellow Brick road. Oh and how amazing is the polka dot dress above, it's one of my favourite dresses at the moment.

Emerald City by abbiehayden featuring black pump shoes

I love the green cardigan in this set. It's from Dollydagger and I really want it! I also really want the yellow M&M earrings from the Yellow Brick Road set below...

The Yellow Brick Road by abbiehayden featuring a satchel tote

I Love Geeks - Dollydagger

Another post about my favourite website, Dollydagger. I just LOVE their new "I Love Geeks" stock designed by Kate Garey. It's such a cute design, and as Dollydagger describe, it's 'nerd-a-licious'! The t-shirt is £25 and the same design is available on a tote bag and a wallet too!

I Love Geeks Tote Bag - £34.99

I Love Geeks Wallet - £18

Judy's Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair - Leeds

I went along to another vintage fashion fair this week, this time it was Judy's Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair. It was held in the lovely Corn Exchange building which was a lovely backdrop for the event. While there were less stalls than the Fashion Fair I visited last week, there was a great deal more homeware, kitchenware and accessories which was lovely. There were a few polka dot dresses that grabbed my attention but in the end I left empty-handed.

I was sorely tempted by these gorgeous ceramic cake stands... they were beautiful and a bargain too ranging from £12-18. A reasonable price for something so pretty!

Tape measure brooches and scrabble rings

The Marvellous Tea Dance Co catered with some amazing looking cupcakes! Check out the lemon meringue cupcakes!

Vintage buttons

Vintage fashion magazines

I've always wanted a fancy gold mirror in my house and I had my eye on this little beaut! There's also a little sneaky shot of my foot in my floral high-tops there too! :)