✴ my place and yours :: shoes

Wedding shoes made by Emmy. White suede, soft, velvety...yum, now slightly grubby grey from so much dancing on a dusty oak dance floor. Silver leather trim with sparkly diamante  buckle. Handmade beaded decorative shoe clip, one later worn as a brooch but after too much wine at a party was lost on a drunken cab ride home....Sob!

I've been pondering for the last two years about whether to dye these shoes. But then I'll wear them all the time, they'll get battered and tatty. The heel will wear down to a metal point and that 1930's Hollywood style elegance will be lost, forever. But is it better to leave them hidden away, wrapped in tissue, inside a box, at the back of a wardrobe? Hhmmmm....

I'll never wear my Jenny Packham wedding dress again. I'll never wear any of the three headdresses I made and wore throughout the day and I'll definitely never wear the veil - it's all just a bit over the top for nipping out to m & s for a crusty baguette and a bag of satsumas.

But then I'll never get married again, so I guess the day was a bit of 'one time only' sort of day!

I'll never wear these things again, but I have a very strong feeling that in a few years time a little someone will love dressing up in these, marching around the house, playing here comes the bride....and that just won't be the same with black shoes, will it?

For more shoe stories, as chosen by The Craft Gypsy, head along to my place and yours at Punky & Me.

✴ five minutes peace...

Haven't played along with my place and yours in a few weeks because of this that and the other...The theme queen this week, Pilgrim , has chosen five minutes peace;

where do you retreat to for that sanity-regaining break? i am interested in what or where in your home your sanctuary is.

Hhmmm......Five minutes peace.......

Five

minutes

peace...

What's that??!!!!

I suppose on a good baba napping day I like to escape to the garden, weather permitting and have a few moments of peace and fresh air with a cup of hot tea....And maybe a chocolate digestive...Or two...And dream about the vegetable patches that are a long time in the making but forever in the dreaming...

✴ my collection

I've been loving taking part in My Place and Yours every week from Meet Me At Mikes. I just love those meme's, I do, I really do. I love taking part in something and I especially love scurrying along to other places for a nosy at others beautiful words and gorgeous images. It's inspiring and most importantly it makes me feel I'm popping in at a friends house for a cup of tea and a chat, or a show and tell of what we've all been up to and making that week. Which is especially important when a girl is so far away from home...

And with that in mind I really thought that I may not be able to take part this week with the choice of my collection from Theme Queen Kate of Fox's Lane, which is a pity as she has left some lovely encouraging comments here on my little blog and she has a pretty beautiful blog herself.

As I am still in Australia, but packing to leave in one week, back to the cold, cold rain of London, I can't really show you any images of my collections. I can't show my stash of arty and vintage  postcards, collected along my travels, or my small selection of cookie cutters and glass bottles and my pile of pine cones collected for my wedding two years ago. I guess I don't really collect things that much, especially when I'm away.....So I'd better just tidy up.....

Clear away the magazines....

Wind up the ribbon....

Pile up the craft books....

Sort those shells...

Fold up the fabric...

And tidy the threads...

Yeah, I don't really collect that much....
Now I'm off for a cup of tea and a bun to look at other collections....

✴ Through the front door...

Another week of My Place and Yours from Meet Me At Mikes. This week the theme is Through The Front Door chosen by Femme de Montmartre.

Pop along to Pip's for more doorways...

This week I've decided to focus on back home. The door to this apartment is decidedly uninspiring and well, apartment like, so after 3 months here, I am looking forward (2 weeks today!) to returning to my 1930's semi in the suburbs of Surrey. Aahhhh....

The photo above was taken just after moving in 2 years ago. It's had a lick of paint since then and a few extra bits and bobs, usually a plant or two on the window sill (probably now dead) and a small pile of letters and junk mail (probably now a mountain) waiting to be sorted and sent to the recycling.

Outside there are brick red steps leading up to the front door and a spotty front door mat from Laura Ashley. Either side of the door sits a bay tree planted in a great big pale green plant pot which is festooned with tiny fairy lights at Christmas time.

But you'll have to imagine that.

Also imagine the Arts & Crafts oak sideboard to the left of the door as you walk in, an Ebay find and the large 1930's oak oval mirror on the wall opposite also from Ebay and which arrived with a large crack in it (eek!) and was only replaced just before we came out to Australia.

On a bright day the sun streams through the stained glass, projecting distorted rose shapes onto the pale walls.

On the wall leading up the stairs is a small assortment of framed family snaps, old and new. This is the beginnings of what I hope will become a striking feature wall, full of happy images and visions of times gone by, but I've only just begun and there are still a lot of photographs to go through...

I love arriving home and walking through my stained glass door. I love that the sound of the key turning in the lock wakes Tabitha and Olive sleeping on the stairs who come running to greet me with a soft miaow and an affectionate head butt against my legs. A gentle reminder that I should probably feed them  first before kicking off my shoes and making myself a cup of tea and slouching in front of the telly!

✴ A View of my Secret Weapon

Playing along with the My Place and Yours meme again from Meet Me At Mikes 

The Theme queen this week, My Bricole  has chosen 'Secret Weapon'.

Hhmmm, what to pick...????  I could obviously say my beautiful baby girl, who inspires and makes me giggle everyday, or my husband for the same reasons, or friends and family for again, the same reasons although less daily, or my two gorgeous and ever loving pusscats....

Nah, it's got to be my perfume.....What? Completely trivial and meaningless item that surely you can live without, I hear you say???

Perhaps, but it is my go to guy (or gals) and it asks for nothing in return. It doesn't need feeding, changing or bathing, it doesn't need me to listen to the tough day it's had at work or require long cuddles and affectionate stroking. It does, however, sit patiently and quietly in the bathroom, waiting to be used just once, maybe twice if there is a night out involved.

I love this perfume, I love both scents, yes BOTH scents, I wear the two perfumes together, it's part of the fantastic concept of Fragrance Combining from Jo Malone and it's my secret weapon!

❃❃❃

✬ Blog HQ

Taking part in My Place and Yours again from Meet Me At Mikes . The Theme Queen, Ninon , has chosen Blog HQ and I have to admit that my version of this is not at all exciting or interesting......

As already mentioned, about a million times, this is not my home but a rented apartment while out here in Australia. Heading home 4 weeks today!

It is obviously not my home for several reasons;

① The 1980's style furniture,

② The abundance of glass top tables (shudder...),

③ The organised and tidy layout...

Anyway back to Blog HQ. I usually sit with my laptop at the table in the kitchen as it is good viewing position of the baba in the living room area as it is all open plan. Also it is near one of the adapter sockets as my naughty mac is refusing to be cooperative if not plugged in, yeah I know handy for a laptop...!

To my right I can watch the baby and also see a bit of the ocean through the windows leading out onto the balcony. I can also see the kitchen which is directly infront of me. There is a makeshift pinboard (brought home from work by Mr H) which has various interesting cuttings from magazines and 'things to do' lists pinned onto it.

It's behind the bottles of wine (who put them there??) and next to the iron and board, which is waiting there desperate for some attention, which it never gets...

To my left I can look out of the windows to the 'cityview' of Broadbeach stretching out to Surfers Paradise and over to the Isle of Capri. There are alot of high rises around here, holiday apartments mainly I think.

Anyway there you have it! Boring!

I'm heading off out now to the Finders Keepers fair in Brisbane where I hope to find lots of inspiring craftiness!

I'll check out everyones else's headquarters later this eve, can't wait, probably far more exciting than mine!

ℤzz Bedside...

This isn't my real bedside, it is borrowed. My real bedside is thousands of miles away, across strange lands and deep oceans and is probably in the dark right now, maybe slightly lit by a street lamp shining through the shutters on the windows....

But this borrowed bedside is home to my things and so it is good.

On this bedside, which is in actual fact a small oval chest of drawers, there is a huge lamp with an ornate metal base, the sort of thing you would find in a hotel.... or a rented apartment.....

This lamp is hardly ever turned on for fear of waking the baba who sleeps in our room and so this bedside is not really used but for collecting dust and dumping bits and bobs on!

The books on the bedside, one which was the choice in my local book club many months ago and is still only half read.... The other a book which was lent to me by a friend and came highly recommended but still hasn't been opened yet. I had such ideas before I came over here of long lazy walks on the beach, and going to bed early with a warm drink and a good read......Clearly I had forgotten I'm still a full time mama!! So the books are still unread and the early nights never happen.

Inevitably there are remnants of the baba... a dummy, a hairbrush and the baby monitor. Obviously there are remnants of me....Accessories discarded while getting ready in the morning, a turquoise beaded necklace, a silver heart (perfume bottle) pendant and a diamond pendant (treasured gift from Mr H which really shouldn't be thrown on the side!) , a beaded brooch and a tin of hair grips and two square scarves , one from Orla Kiely (bought in the sale at Selfridges) and one from Lulu Guinness which is a beautiful Parisian scene print and was a gift.

Also on this bedside is my iphone which is permanently switched off in the hope that I can avoid a huge bill on my arrival home!

More Bedsides here 

⠖On the Shelf...

A shelf is a wonderful thing. An empty shelf is even better because it's an ordinary space waiting to be brought to life with quirky and interesting or perhaps practical or functional objects. It could take a whole afternoon to fill a shelf, selecting the right collection of things, moving them around, maybe even a whole month or years of collecting objects to put on that shelf. Of course, it might not be a shelf at all but could be a mantlepiece or window sill or ledge, or even an upside down plant pot!

Mr H commented, when we first moved in together, that suddenly there were 'things' on the shelves (other than books..), on top of cupboards and on the windowsill. 'Things' had suddenly appeared 'carefully put together but in a seemingly random way' in all dusty corners of this usually neat and organised flat!

He loved it...!!

This was my kitchen shelf, in our old flat. It was a very basic pine shelf from B & Q and I bought a couple, including a peg rack and put them up on the wall like a determined mad woman with a cordless drill! There were holes in the wall everywhere, and it was slightly uneven which I tried to fix by hammering the side that was too high...I'm technical like that!

I wanted to create a rustic, 'Shaker' style shelf and so painted it a very light wash of cream. It was by no means perfect, but I loved it!

On this shelf were a selection of glass bottles including the empty 70 yr old port bottle bought for Mr H's birthday, a bento box, a stainless steel cocktail measure and compass and sugar sifter, flower teacups and saucers, a beloved and much used teapot and milk and sugar bowl, measuring cups and lemon juicer , cookie cutters (flower, star, crescent moon, pig, heart, dragonfly, fish, butterfly), tea cup and jug bought when on tour in Taipei, stainless steel milk and sugar pourer and a butter dish made by a friend.

The shelf is long gone, it didn't survive the removal from the wall when we moved house, in fact I think we may have left it up there afraid of the wall damage we may reveal underneath!!

It would be nice to think this shelf is still on that kitchen wall, cluttered with some other persons beloved ornaments and nik naks. But I doubt it.

I still have all of the lovely items though and am now searching for that perfect shelf to put them all back out on display.

I think I may get someone else to fix it to the wall next time though!!

Go and see some more shelves by following this meme called 'My Place and Yours' from Pip at Meet Me at Mikes .