My favourite Vintage Compacts!

I don't know if everyone is like this, but I find because I've been collecting vintage stuff of all kinds for so long, sometimes I forget how much I love things that I have.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, particularly because I've been reading other peoples blogs, looking at fabulous stuff and thinking, oooh I've got something like that. So I got to thinking that if I photograph some of my vintage belongings, I might appreciate them more!

So to begin my run featuring some of my favourite vintage belongings, I thought I'd start with compacts. I don't have loads, I'm not someone who hoards, but these are my favourites!

First up I love anything that sparkles so for me to find a black compact with gold glitter was like a dream come true!

So sparkly! And look at the inside, pretty much perfect!

This next one my lovely husband bought me years ago at an antique shop, I'd forgotten how nice it is, the man has taste!

I love this next one, it isn't really a compact in the conventional sense, it's a change compact! I've never seen one before but I guess they must have been quite common, as you can see I bought it in the States!

How clever is it inside?! Sad thing is that it's not so easy to carry modern UK change in it, but I will try again as I have rediscovered my love of it!

I've left the best til last! I actually contemplated selling this not so long ago as I've never used it, I even got as far as putting it up on ebay, and ended up taking it off, fortunately before it had any bids. I've never done that before, but I just couldn't part with this. Again it's not strictly a compact but an evening purse, compact, lipstick holder & change holder all in one, and spectacularly, it's never been used! Nope I won't be getting rid of it!

This little blog post has really got me thinking about all the lovely things that we have, fabulous 50's lamps, fantastic cocktail cabinets, but because we've lived with many of them for so many years, we just don't appreciate them as we should.

I'm sure I'm not the only one, do you have fabulous vintage things in your home you need to rediscover and love all over again? I bet you do!

See you soon, I'm off to gaze at my lovely compacts!

Guilty Pleasures!

Come on, we all have them and some are downright weird, so it's hard when we come to admit them!

One of my favourite guilty pleasures is looking at houses for sale in Pasadena CA. Yep you heard right!

If ever I found somewhere I'd like to spend the rest of my life it would be Pasadena California, so what's so great about it? I dunno, but you know when you go somewhere and you just think, this is it, this is where I want to be, well that place is Pasadena for me and my lovely husband. There's so much I love about it, of course they have a fabulous vintage/antique event once a month at the Rose Bowl, that has got to turn any vintage lover on, but then there are other things, it's got a great little place called Fair Oaks Pharmacy, which is essentially a drugstore with a soda fountain in it, like how it used to be. Don't get me wrong Fair Oaks Pharmacy isn't enirely a throw back, it's a modern pharmacy, but the soda fountain bar is old, and they've turned the shop part into a little boutique selling cute stuff. I also love a store called Lula Mae's this is a special store in my heart, cos not only is the owner a sweetie who was so lovely to us when we had an extended stay in Pasadena once, it also made me take the jump and start Notorious Kitsch.

Other stuff? I like the houses, I like the restaurants, I like the outdoor life - very different from the UK. So I wanted to share my love of Pasadena with you and show you some of my favourite places, oh and maybe a house or two I want, in case you're a millionaire and you want to treat me!

So this is what I do with my lazy hours on a Saturday or Sunday, I dream of being rich enough to have a home in Pasadena! I would love to know what your guilty pleasures are, of course I have many more which I might reveal over the course of the next few months, but it's a start. So come on fess up!

See now we're talking I can imagine driving up to this 1956 house in Pasadena, seeing the huge palm trees in the distance and grinning like an idiot!

It is a coincidence that the 2nd house I'm showing you is also 1956, but look at that corner window, wowweeee! Again, I would be grinning like an idiot if I lived here too! There would be lots of grinning like an idiot if I lived in Pasadena I think!

Then of course to complete my dream of my own mid century home in Pasadena, once I have selected my home (in my dreaming on a Sunday morning) I would tootle over to my favourite blog on resources for renovating older houses, cos let's face it usually people have torn these beauties to shreds.

So off I tootle to www.retrorenovation.com this is a retro renovators dream! I'm most in love with their kitchen sections, weird I know but there it is, and for me in particular the 50's kitchen section http://retrorenovation.com/galleries/1950s-kitchens/

Ok so places, Lula Mae's

Not a great shot, but a great shop, and it can be found at 100 N Fair Oaks Avenue, Pasadena.

Ah Fair Oaks Pharmacy, don't you just love it! It can be found at 1526 Mission Street, South Pasadena.

There you go, that's how I spend my time when dreaming about what I want out of life rather than reality :o)

I want it!

There are so many things I want in this world, is that materialistic, hell yeah!

I'm not kidding anyone I love stuff, I'm not trying to fill a spiritual gap or anything, I just love stuff! For the home, for me, acccessories, books, gadgets, you name it I love it.

Of course I have a preference, my true love is the 1950s, the era of choice in my life! The design, the style, oh my, you don't get better than the 50s, I mean don't get me wrong I like many other eras, but nothing else quite does it for me like the 50s.

Although I prefer vintage 50s, there are some fabulous repro items out there, and some of them I would die to have - ok I wouldn't die cos then I wouldn't have them, but you get my drift.

First up Northstar fridges and stoves, oh my, I want these but they're only in the US and totally out of my meagre budget!

If I had these I would just live in the kitchen my whole life! You can find them here http://www.elmirastoveworks.com/for what good it'll do ya in the UK or Europe. However I did find an international category on there today BUT no matter how many times I click it, nothing happened!

Hello Everyone!

Hello and welcome to the brand spanking new blog from yours truly!

That's me and my husband above, quaffing the biggest cocktail in the world in Las Vegas, oh yeah baby! 

I've been trying to get going on blog writing and started off waffling on about what we sell at Notorious Kitsch, which whilst interesting is so bloody corporate, hey look what we sell, buy from me, yadda yadda and that's just not what I'm about!

So I thought I would abandon ship on that blog and start one where I can feature all my favourite things, I gotta tell you I'm REALLY excited about it! I can think of 50 million things I want to blog about right away.

But first things first, talking to my fabulous new friends who I've found on twitter - yeah who would have thought you can actually meet normal nice people online, but anyway I digress! - I was talking about what I should call this blog, my lovely husband came up with Loud Talking Mama, can't think why.... And then the very wonderful Miss Matilda came up with Straight Talking Mama, amazing really cos she's never met me but she knew!!

So thank you to the very fabulous Miss Matilda who gave me the start on this great new journey.

You can find Miss Matilda's blog here http://missmatildadreams.blogspot.com/ not only does she write a lovely blog, but she also makes limited edition clothing which you can find here http://www.ablegrable.com/ quite a lady huh?!!