Sorry for radio silence

It's been a funny old week I'm afraid to say.

I know I normally want to post pretty pics and talk about nice stuff but sometimes that's not what life is like!

I said I needed to find some work to help out financially, well I got 3 weeks worth and it was ok money and I was due to start Monday, sadly on Monday afternoon, they told me they didn't want me anymore. It was a bit disappointing cos not only did I need the money but I'd also worked my ass of all the hours god sent the week leading up to it, so that I could cope with running Notorious Kitsch and working for 3 weeks, hence no blog post, I was working ALL the hours!

Then today mum was told she has to have a tumour removed in November, they're not sure if it's cancerous or not, and it coincides with me taking Notorious Kitsch to the Rhythm Riot!! Now obviously Mum comes first, but as you know when you work for yourself, if you don't do it no one else can. So now I have a dilemma and I have to work out how to go all the way up to Mums for her op but then leave to do the Rhythm Riot. Did I mention I'm an only child so there is no one else to be with her apart from her friends.

So as you can imagine, blog posting isn't high on my agenda right now, sorry people!!

I'll be back soon!

A post about being idle!

Doesn't sound very interesting does it?

Well today I went upstairs to try to sort out my new sewing area, it needs a lot of re-organisation and shelves and boxes etc etc, is there a point to this, oh yes!

I was sorting through my patterns and trying to find one of the boxes that contained a lot of patterns when my eyes landed on an article I'd ripped from a magazine - my own I hasten to add! It was about idleness.

Here's a picture of a Vargas girl, idling and also wearing some drop dead gorgeous shoes!

Now, dear reader, idleness is something I appear to have lost the ability to do as I get older. I don't know if it's because I run my own business and so I think I have to be busy all the time, it might be as my lack of ability to relax does seem to have coincided with the onset of the recession!

However I ripped this article out for a reason, when I read it I thought, the man is right, we should all be idle at times. It was written by Tom Hodgkinson and you can read it online here.

I know my creative process and imaginative ideas grind to a halt if I don't relax, and I so rarely relax, if I'm honest the only time I relax is when I've had a couple of drinks,  not good huh?

So this weekend I have tried to be idle at times, I haven't succeeded fully, how ironic that I am writing a blog post about being idle ha ha ha! So even when I think about being idle I do things, however I have succeeded to a  degree this weekend.

I bought a couple of magazines to read, something I never do, I'm really not keen on women's magazines they're full of gossip, celebrities and general rubbish in my opinion, but I bought Vanity Fair, always good articles, and Psychologies as I'm always interested in reading about psychology.  I sat down this morning, turned all music and external noise off that was within my power and read. It felt good.

Why am I writing about this to you all? Well I suspect I'm not the only one who never finds time to just be, and so I thought this article might prompt you to take some time out. I particularly like his idea of having a special day to do nothing but stay home, eat chocolate and drink wine!! I don't have any chocolate in the house, but I am home and I do have wine, I may idle the rest of Sunday away!

Hendricks Gin Brunch!!

Well after days of being laid up feeling like death warmed up, I finally started feeling a little better on Tuesday, although if I'm honest now probably not as well as I should have been before embarking on Wednesday!

On Wednesday I was invited along to a brunch hosted by Hendricks Gin, along with lots of other wonderful ladies from the vintage website and blogging world! Sounds good, oh yes people I was there.

Sadly my camera broke the other night so I've had to steal pictures from several lovely ladies, namely Gemma from Retrochick, Natasha from Natasha BailieVintage and the very lovely Margaret from Pennydreadful. So the pictures are particularly good as I didn't take them!!

This is me, Katie from What Katie Did and Gemma from Retrochick, as the morning started, so we're all still sober!

It was an early start for gin, but hey I'm never put off having a gin cocktail just because my watch tells me it's 10.45am!! We started off with a Red Snapper, and the day slowly descended into Gin drinking debauchery, oh ok, we just talked a lot and perhaps too loud towards the end!

This was a great event as I not only got to catch up with some friends but met some new ones too, as I said in my previous post about meeting all sorts of vintage types from all walks of life, this was a great opportunity to do so!

Anyway first up, I love how Hendricks represent themselves, actually I love the gin too which is weird as I have NEVER been a gin drinker. It was Fleur mentioning it that first made me think, you know what I'm going to try that, I loved it, damn her! But I also love how Hendricks go about things, check out Hendrick's Horseless Carriage of Curiosities, how cool is that?!

Here's Gemma from Retrochick, Naomi from Vintage Secret, Me and Margaret from Pennydreadful.

Probably the best car boot in the world, who wouldn't love this ready made cocktail bar in your boot?

The lovely Fleur from Diary of a Vintage Girl and Katie.

And me with one of my favourite ladies, Natasha from Natasha Bailie Vintage!

And last but certainly not least the lovely chap who spent the day mixing cocktails for us ladies!

It was a really nice day and I felt very lucky to be invited, thanks Hendricks! It's not often you can spend the day drinking cocktails chatting with friends old and new and I'm happy to have had the opportunity to do so!

Vintage types & the internet!

This post was prompted by http://atomic-living.blogspot.com/2010/09/todays-future-yesterday.html where he got to wondering what life would be like without social networking or the internet.

I personally love technology and the internet. I'm a gadget lover, if I had money I'd probably have every gadget going, yet I love 1950s clothes, furniture and homewares, so where does it sit?

I know there are many different vintage types, this is something I've learnt far more so through the internet, I'm afraid I'm originally from quite a closeted scene which was all about 40s/50s music, clothes and everything else, I sat I'm afraid like it's a bad thing it isn't but it does make you think you're the only ones doing what you're doing! The internet has really opened my eyes and I'm thankful for it. There are people who know far more than anyone I know about different areas of 'vintage'. At first I was confused that people just liked the clothes but listened to modern music along with everyone else, then that some love the homewares but everything else about them looks 'normal' - this is not an insult may I add I just don't know how much better to describe it!

So for me the internet has been fabulous, I've met lots of people I wouldn't otherwise have 'met', I've discovered there are lots of people out there just as passionate about this stuff that are nothing to do with 'the scene' which I love!

However on the negative side I feel invaded by some of the social networking sites and recently I've been reassessing what is right for me. I guess this has nothing to do with the vintage network as such but I was wondering what you use?

Currently I love blogs the most, I get to read interesting stuff about interesting people, or just look at pretty things. I used twitter and have met some lovely people on there too, but Facebook, grrrrr! I don't know what it is about facebook, I feel like I'm missing out on contacting lots of lovely people by not being on there more but I find it sooooo invasive, you have little control over what pictures put up of you, I'm not a fan of all that gift giving, in fact I would quit if it wasn't an easy way to keep in touch with people.

Through blogs and twitter I've actually made friends, I met Fleur from Diary of a Vintage Girl on Twitter originally, along with Gemma from Retrochick and many others, I met Jenny from Yesterday Girl via blogging and I've made lovely friends who I haven't met who are too numerous to mention!

I know I must have bumped into other US bloggers at VLV cos we've both been there at the same time and some of them at the Rockabilly Rave and the Rhythm Riot and some of us appear to have mutual friends ha ha, so the internet has introduced me to like minded types!

So what do you currently use without it taking too much time? I'm blogs & twitter. Again would be interested to know your thoughts!!

Weird vintage obsessions

Come on then admit it what is yours? I have one, it's weird I know, oh dear I don't know whether I should admit it.... Ok here goes I love slippers!

I've always loved slippers, I used to collect vintage ones but got rid of most of them in the past couple of years, some didn't even fit.

Why do I love slippers? I don't know, maybe with vintage ones it's the glam aspect of lounging in that era, there really are some beautiful ones. I've never had a pair of these but I still want some of these one day.

Yep black, pink, red or even green would do thank you very much!

I think these are cute too.

My husband looked at me liked I'd finally lost it when I showed him the green ones, but I think they're fabulous he he!

Look how glamourous these adverts are from Daniel Green, can you see where I'm coming from now?

I love those red & black ones at the top of the first ad, soooo glamourous.

I was going to show you pics of my vintage slippers, I think I only have 2 left from my 'collection' but sadly my husband dropped our camera tonight and it broke eeeek! I wasn't a happy bunny, it's my work camera too, so I'm off to the specialist camera shop tomorrow to see if it can possibly be fixed.

So come on people, we've all got a weird vintage obsession that can't really be explained, what's yours?

Sewing & why don't I do it more often?!!

Yes you can tell I have a lot of time on my hands right now, still on sofa, still in PJs as I said nothing serious just a cold, but it means I have time for thinking and writing which is rare!!!

Anyway I got to thinking about sewing, I love sewing, I love having new things to wear - I can't buy much at the moment, we're pretty broke - I have lots of vintage patterns and vintage material sitting there waiting to be made up, so why don't I sew more often?

I know part of it is time, I so often have projects I start and don't finish as I run out of time. I know the best times I've had sewing are when I've had a holiday weekend totally free and have sewed all weekend, however of course those weekends don't come around very often.

I planned a weekend of sewing this weekend but of course as I'm not well I know I will make stupid mistakes, and just don't have the energy anyway.

Recently though I set up a sewing area in my office, I have a table to sew on, all my material is in there, it needs a bit of organisation but I'm hoping this will encourage me to get on with it. Once it's organised I'll take some pics, but don't hold your breathe!

A few months ago I got very organised and scanned all my patterns and saved them on my computer in categories, oh yeah actual categories!! I have plenty of patterns too, but never enough!

So in the next few months I'm hoping that I'm going to get going on my sewing.

I've been wanting to make this blouse up for ages, it's very much my style as it has a sweetheart neckline, always good for people with a large bust!

There are so many options with this blouse aren't there?

Then I would really like to get some skirts made up, I wear trousers far too often, I particularly like this pattern with the detail on the pockets of the middle option

Of course I'd also quite like to make up a dress, although I don't wear dresses very often as I don't go out as much as I'd used to but still a gal has to have a dressy option as well and I refuse to pay the price most people are asking for 50s cocktail type dresses nowadays! I have a beautiful organza with matching lining, it's just deciding quite what to make out of it! I want to make an illusion style cocktail dress, I tried in vain to find a photo of exactly what I meant but just couldn't so it's kinda like the dress below but instead of lace, imagine see through organza, does that make sense or is my cold addled brain far from the mark?

However finding a pattern with an illusion neckline is hard, I'm still looking, but I think I might just have to make it up myself, which - may I add before you think I'm some master seamstress - is not as hard as it sounds!!

Are you a proscrastinator when it comes to sewing? Or do you buy pattern & material and get on with it? If you do, advise please!!

I confess, I LOVE bracelets!

Yes I'm still on my sick bed so suddenly 2 blog posts one after another, if I'm still on my sick bed tomorrow, you might get another!!

Anyway onto the subject in hand, I LOVE bracelets, when it comes to jewellery, if I had a choice bracelets would win every time. When I look for sets I would rather have a bracelet with earrings than a necklace with earrings, of course ideally I'd have a necklace, earrings and bracelet but hey I can't usually afford such luxuries!

I have a lot of bracelets, some are standard wear everyday types, some are really flashy sparkly special occasion ones, I have vintage and repro ones.

So I thought I would share just a tiny selection with you.

First up is one of my favourites, although for some reason it's glory just is not coming over on camera! When it's on and you're all dressed up it is one of the most glamourous pieces of jewellery I own I think,  so why doesn't it look so glam on camera?!!

She's a beauty, really truly I feel special when I wear this!

Next up is another of my favourites, I used to wear this a lot on stage when I was a singer. In fact I used to wear turquoise a lot when I was younger, must get back to it, it's really one of my colours! I do have a lovely necklace and earrings that look great with this although not matching as a set, they match colourwise.

Another of my loves is thermoset jewellery, I know so many people love bakelite, but I love thermoset, I know I'm cheap. Don't get me wrong I love bakelite but I've never really been able to justify bakelite prices to myself, I know you can find cheaper options, but I like what I like and inevitably I like the expensive stuff, not because it's expensive but it seems to be what appeals to me. Anyway I digress - this cold is making me ramble!! - I love thermoset. I've got quite a few thermoset pieces, I lost a thermoset bracelet recently and was so upset as it was part of a set :o(

Anyway this one is also part of a set, of course it's a bracelet & earrings set. I especially like jewellery that has a story behind it in my mind, this one is special to me because I bought it - along with the bracelet I lost - in an antique store in Las Vegas when I was at VLV with some friends, I remember exactly the day, what we did, where we bought it etc etc!

My next bracelet has a story behind it but a much sadder one, it was given to me for my birthday years ago by a lovely family, the two 'boys' gave me it and sadly not much later one of those lovely young men died at the incredibly young age of 17.  I would never part with it for that reason alone, however it's still one of my favourite bracelets, especially at this time of year, isn't it a beauty!

Then last but not least is a bracelet that wasn't actually mine, in fact it's really not my style at all and I would probably never wear it but I would never part with it. It was given to my mum on her 13th birthday by her favourite Auntie. Judging by my calculations this would have been 1949, but from what mum has said it was her Aunties first so it wasn't new then. I have no idea how to date this as it's not something I would wear but it is stunning. I did see one go for a lot of money last year on ebay but it had lost all colouring whereas this one still retains it's colouring, however of course this is immaterial as I'm not parting with it!

As you can see it's stunning because it is carved all around very intricately. I also don't know what it's made of but it looks like an early type of plastic to me.

So what is your favourite style of jewellery? Are you a bracelet, earring, necklace or ring type of gal?

What exactly did women used to carry in their handbags?!!

I'm sickly today, it's nearly midday and I'm still in PJs on the sofa, surfing the internet and I think I'm off for a sleep soon, it's just a cold but why does that make you feel like death warmed up?

ANYWAY I told you this as the above question came to me as I was laying in bed this morning, trying to psych myself up to getting up, even if it was just to put PJs on to lay on the sofa!

I was looking at my lovely vintage handbags in my bedroom thinking what a shame it is that I don't use them often and that I really should use them more often

This one is one of my favourites it's a great shape and it's a Marks and Spencer one!

It's such a lovely shape isn't it? But what the heck can you get in it?

This is the dilemma of the modern woman who loves vintage, I'm not like some who carry the kitchen sink but I do carry keys which include a card size key for my car, Blackberry, a purse/wallet which I can't avoid as not only do you need cash in this day and age, I have credit cards, store loyalty cards, my drivers license is a card along with my organ donation credentials, make up but again don't carry more than I need so my make up back isn't big, a powder compact, and essentials like a pen! I think I'm pretty good but there is no way I would get all that in this cutie! Then of course if I'm going somewhere important I like to take a camera too, so forget it!

I have a couple more that I rarely use :o( I love the colour of this bag and would love to use it more, it's a solid nice shape and a nice colour but holds so little!

Now this next one I have used more and you can tell it's a little bashed but I used to have a couple of lovely green suits so I used this with those, but really as an evening bag, still not sure I could use it during the day

I also used this next one a lot but again as an evening bag, it's also a little 'worn' and sadly has one brass nobble missing - ok I'm sick I can't think of the name ha ha!

Now last but certainly not least is a bag that I CAN use in these modern times, I love it! It's stylish and big!!

So what do you think women used to carry? I imagine the following, their door key, cash, powder compact and lipstick! Ah life was much simpler wasn't it eh?!!

Pick yourself up.....part 2!

Well I haven't been blogging much of late, sorry about that, life happens and the trivial stuff in life - like blogging let's face it - gets put to one side!

I've been struggling to talk about pretty stuff when I have other big things going on, I know that you all know how that is, as some of the lovely bloggers I follow have been through it too.

ANYWAY, my big news is the recession is costing us dearly, and I am off to look for a job. Yes a 'working for someone else' job! Don't worry Notorious Kitsch is not going anywhere, but in these tough times although we are getting by and in fact building the business, we need more cash in our pockets. My husband - as I have explained before - can't work due to disability so sometimes you just have to buckle down and do what is needed! So he is going to run Notorious Kitsch, and I will help out evenings and weekends, and I am out there now, touting my wares so to speak!

It's been a while since I was in the big old world of office work, I don't really know what to expect, I know there isn't much about at the moment and that's kind scary, I also know that I have a very varied work history, a good one but a very varied one, I'm the type that needs the right job, but when that company is looking for that person for that job, there's not many who can fill it like I can, this is an advantage as well as a disadvantage!

So then my mind got to thinking about appropriate dress codes! I haven't had to think about this for going on 3 years now eeek. I don't have many office appropriate clothes, so I guess I'll be sewing and making do a lot.

Anyway I love this song and it reminds me to think about what I have got, not concentrate on what I haven't got! I prefer it by Dean Martin, but couldn't find a video of him singing it! But Doris ain't so bad!!

Report - better late than never!!

Oh dear, bad blogger alert! Not only have I not posted for over a week, but I swore that I would do one of my video reports, AND I did start, but before I went to the event I was so busy I forgot to charge it up, eeek! So I started the video and it promptly ran out of battery, so sorry!

Anyway last weekend as I said in my previous post was Jukebox Madness, I took Notorious Kitsch along and many other traders were there who are good friends so although we don't get to leave the stall much, it's kind of like having an event with your mates!!

Last year we decided with some friends that this year we would split one large space between us, Trevor and Donna sell fabulous lamps and mid century furniture to die for. They don't have a website so this will just be horribly tempting!!

Here are some of the wonderful things they had on their stall! I love the fact that they happened to be set up near the sweet shop sign, for me their stall IS a sweet shop! You can see my set up on the left of the photo

It's so hard to get across all the fabulous things on their stall, lamps, furniture, wall bars and some fabulous lucite handbags!

I was particularly taken with the lamp in the middle of the pic, if you look closely it's a standard lamp with 3 offshoots, then it also has a shelf and 2 little plant pots which would look divine with small cactus in! I wanted this soooo much, and even more of a torture it didn't sell, however I just can't justify spending that much when I have so little!!

More fabulous lamps, sigh....

Ah yes, there is the lovely Shona from Heyday shopping before the event starts, now this IS the advantage of being a stallholder, if you do have a bit of spare cash before the event, you do get the pickings!!

Another great stall, looks at all those goodies, jewellery, handbags, shoes, sigh again!

Love the sign 'All Good Girls go to retro heaven'! I also freakily didn't notice myself reflected in the mirror when taking the pic, I was totally distracted by all the loveliness for sale!

It's very hard to make stalls look exciting in a photo, it's strange as when you're there you can stand a long way back and see all the fabulousness but in a picture it never quite comes across!

I didn't get a pic of Rocket Originals or Heyday, sorry but I just ran out of time!

We did however have a lovely meal on Saturday night kindly arranged by Shona from Heyday, we rarely get an evening out as stallholders as we work such long hours at events, but we decided that we should get together for dinner at this one. We had a lovely evening, with Shona and her lovely husband Twain (I've probably spelt that wrong sorry!), Kay and Martin from Rocket Originals,  and Phil & Jo from Freddies of Pinewood who although weren't trading at the event joined us for dinner!

As Kay and Martin were staying with us for this event we also had a lovely time catching up, I can't believe I didn't take pictures of us at dinner, although we were all rather tired after a days trading!

Also, sneak preview - no pictures! Kay showed me the new designs they have in the pipework at Rocket Originals, ladies you are in for a treat, I can't wait, I already have my forward order in!

So sorry I didn't do any video, sorry the pics are a bit crap, but I'll be back on form again soon!!