A new start!

It's been so stunningly gorgeous here in the UK the last week that I've been all distracted and not blogged at all, shame on me! Still those that live in the UK know that you just have to take advantage of it whilst it's there, after all that could have been our Summer people ha ha!

Why a new start? Well as you know I've been making some decisions about going forward in life, what I need to work on, both personally and work wise, and just stepping back and thinking. One of my new starts is I'm back at the gym and swimming, and I've started weight watchers! Yep scary huh?

If you're a regular on the blog you'll know I rarely do outfit posts, just cos I really don't like how I look right now. So things are changing. I feel great about it, the meds are keeping the knee pain at bay so I'm ok to exercise now and the weight loss will also help with my knee.

I have a small group of cheerleaders helping me along and I feel good. I've already lost a few pounds, several stone to go.....

Meantime I've been looking at gorgeous clothes that I already own knowing it will take time and effort to get back into them, but feeling very determined to do so.

One of my most favourite gowns, just stunning on!

This is one of my favourite dresses of all time, great colour and plenty of bling!

And a picture of me in it many years ago, I believe I may have had a drink or two....

Ah I love this Hawaiian dress, still a firm favourite! Sorry for bad picture it was taken in the hallway at Viva Las Vegas, many moons ago!

Now this is a poor picture again but this is a gorgeous and rather rare printed woman's gabardine jacket, it's just stunning. However it needs some work to restore it to it's former glory, the cuffs are frayed and I'm waiting until it fits again to work out quite what to do about it.

Remember these trousers I finished only a few weeks ago? Well they're now a little loose YAY me!!

I won't bang on about this journey, it's going to be a long journey and could get very boring for the reader, but hopefully after a couple of months you may start seeing more outfit posts from me!

It's the little things in life....

Well this week has gone so fast already I have no idea where my blogging routine went, totally out of the window clearly!

So to my blog title, what do I mean? Well Spring seems to have well and truly sprung here in the UK,  although to be fair one can never be sure there may be snow next week! However although with some changes I'm making in life and some changes that have happened anyway, I've been taking a little step back and trying to appreciate the little things in life.

I am not a gardener, never had been, but I like plants and flowers, there is one particular tree/bush I see every spring and I think, I'd quite like one of them, only this week did I find out it's a Magnolia! Oh please let it be a Magnolia and I'm not showing my gardening ignorance ha ha

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How beautiful? There is nothing that quite shouts Spring to me like this, I think I'm going to get me one, although I imagine by the time I do, blossom season will be gone!

I also went for a long walk yesterday in  the sunshine, listening to the birds singing and the sun on my face. It was truly blissful. As someone who is self employed you so often get into the habit of thinking that you must work every hour of every day and every evening and weekend too. This is not good for the soul! I recently lost a contract which was quite a number of hours, so I am left a little adrift, not quite knowing what to do and not quite earning enough but trying to make a decision where to go next. I've realised decisions will only be arrived at by stepping away from working all the hours, getting some fresh air and making some changes! So that's where I am....

I'm back at the gym & swimming despite my ongoing knee problems, saw the consultant on Monday it will be 4-5 months until I have an operation and I'm not waiting that long to exercise again. I've only been back to it a couple of days and apart from an aching knee, I feel good!

I just took 10 minutes out to have a Café Cubano made by myself of course, the only way to drink espresso coffee!

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So do you ever step back and take it all it and try to appreciate the little things in life? Does it help you to come to a decision? Or is it just something you do regularly anyway?

A brief pause in transmission...

As you know I've been blogging very regularly recently but yesterday I came down with the stomach bug from hell, I had the worst feverish night and today don't feel great so the blog will have to wait. Apparently it's going around, this doesn't amuse me or make me feel any better about it though!

Saddest of all I bought all the ingredients to make a fabulous curry and all I've eaten for the last 24 hours is 2 pieces of dry toast

I'll be back soon....

Bah, It never rains but it pours!

Firstly thank you for the lovely feedback about my hair, I'm really happy with it and think I'll be sticking with it for the forseeable future!

However this post is about me probably not being around much for the next few weeks. I had a couple of bad strokes of luck at the weekend. Firstly I got up really early to go swimming Sunday morning, and my car just wouldn't open with the normal clicker thing, mine uses a card not a key, anyway there is a key for emergencies so I tried that and what happened the alarm went off, at 7.45am on a Sunday morning and no matter what I did I just couldn't stop it, it eventually stopped but not before I'm sure I woke the whole neighbourhood. Anyway I went back out later to see if it could be resolved, it couldn't so I had to ring the RAC (roadside assistance for our non UK people!) and it turned out my battery was buggered, yeah cos I need that like a hole in the head, so that cost me a fortune. 

Next my laptop finally died it's final death on Saturday just after I posted my last blog post, literally! I've fixed and fixed this laptop and I know that it is not worth putting any more money into it, it needs replacing. I'm in the process of loading all my stuff onto my OH's laptop but it's not a long term solution, he needs his, and also his is neither quick enough or big enough to store all I need to, so I need a new one, how I don't know! Eating on a budget, not going out for my birthday and a small loan from the bank of mum I think!

So the bottom line is blog posting - which I've only just gotten back to doing regularly! - might be sporadic until I have technology sorted. I guess the good thing is I won't waste time trawling ebay for stuff I can't afford and might do more sewing instead :o)

Might see you around but might not, sorry, oh and sorry the blog commenting won't be so regular either :o(

Neglect, terrible terrible neglect!

So it turns out running a business isn't the most busy you can get, closing a business is the most busy you can get! I can't believe how stupidly busy I've been and how horribly I've neglected you all here! Sorry!

I haven't even had to time to catch up with my favourite blogs, which is usually my me time!

I have some nice news too, although want to share it properly so I'm going to leave you on tenterhooks for now he he!

I'll leave you with a picture of what my life feels like right now, only I'm not wearing a beautiful cocktail dress!

I promise I'll be back soon, Notorious Kitsch closes on 31st July and then I'm giving myself a couple of days off, oh yes time off, then I promise I'll be back!!

A post including shoes & random things!

Hi all, hope you're all well!

I thought after all the doom and gloom from me of late I'd kick it up a notch.

As you all know I do some part time work for Lynsey the lovely Miss L Fire and her other company Shellys. I needed to go up to London to interview her for a piece I'm doing for a magazine, I'll let you know more about that nearer the time! I don't live far from London only 40 miles but don't get up as much as I used to, so now it's more of a treat than anything. I used to live there for a while and realised how little you appreciate such a beautiful city when it's just part of your everyday life.

So as I was having a wander around before my meeting I decided just to take it all in, and more importantly look up! I know this makes you look like a tourist, but hey I don't care, I don't think we appreciate the history and beauty around us sometimes

I just snapped off a couple of shots - I didn't want to look too like a tourist ;o) - of things I saw along the way.

It's these things that make London so well, London!

And now onto shoes as I know that's what you're all waiting for......

I arrived at the Miss L Fire offices and Lynsey and I had a great old chat, ok, erm interview! Sammi was there as well, I'm going to blog about all the lovely ladies who work there one day, I'll sneak up with my camera and do a tour, if you love shoes there is nothing that will make your heart jump more than walking into a lovely spacious loft like office with shoes displayed everywhere, yes people everywhere!!

Anyway I don't know if I explained before but when a shoe company first has their shoes produced they get a sample initially, and guess who is sample size, oh yes ME! Of course these can't be sold as they are samples and they are not sure if they will stand up to rigourous wear so these samples just pile up and pile up over the years, until some lucky soul takes them away, yep you guessed it!

There are not many things in life that get me more excited that shoes, I know that's a bit sad, but it's true and I'll admit it right here and now.

So I came home with 3 pairs of shoes & 2 pairs of boots, bear with me for the last pair of boots as there is a real story behind these!

First up is a lovely suede 40s style sling back heel, not too high, I'm a klutz in high shoes and super comfy, I'm already planning to make more brown items for my wardrobe just for these!

Next up is a super cute pair of 40s style heels again, not too high, and you know me I LOVE red shoes!

Then a lovely cute ankle strap low wedge for day to day wear, these are really lovely and I think they'll look great with skirts or trousers, I know I'll get a lot of wear out of these.

Then, and this is a bit of a peek, these fab boots which are Autumn/Winter collection not out til end of August! I don't have ANY boots and have really struggled with the last 2 terrible winters when I had to resort to wellies and many pairs of socks! They have a real Pendleton check look about them and I LOVE them!

And last but certainly not least are these fabulous cowboy boots! Now there is a tale to tell about these. They are not going into production - I know how sad is that! - and these were samples made up, so I am one of the only people with a pair! Well me and Sammi I think! I love them so much I can't tell you. I love vintage cowboy boots but I've never had a pair as although 40's/50's ones aren't too pointy they tend to lean towards a pointy toe, I do not suit pointy shoes of any type, I'm really short and they just make my feet look too long and clown like, so what I love about these is the rounded toe, it's almost like a bike boot/cowboy boot if you know what I mean.

Anyway I digress how lucky am I to be sample size eh?

So although my week has been like a rollercoaster whilst I try to wrap up my business there has been one massive ray of sunshine on Tuesday and some little rays of sunshine in between.

I'm in talks with a couple of people about other small projects I can undertake for them once I'm finished with Notorious Kitsch, and although closing my business is immensely stressful - I can't even tell you some of the stuff that has happened grrrrr - I see a tiny light at the end of the tunnel and what is nice is that all the people I'm talking to I would love to work with. I don't want to jinx anything by telling you who and what yet but hopefully something will come of both these opportunities!

Meantime I shall carry on with the stress and when things are bad look at my pretty shoes!!!

whoops nearly forgot, if you like Miss L Fire shoes, their sale starts today!!

BAH!

I wrote a whole post, I just needed to get the pics, but for love nor money I can't seem to save pics for blogger at the moment! I have no idea if it's to do with the great blogger outage of 2011, wasn't that annoying?!!

I haven't lost my blogging mojo, honest, but I've been so busy catching up with laptop outtage and tomorrow I'm off to my Uncle's funeral which is on Wednesday, I won't be back til late Friday, we're doing a stall at a gig on Saturday night, so I'm thinking I won't be blogging again til Sunday, sorrreeeeeee!!!

Life just conspires against you sometimes doesn't it?

It's not long to go now until the Rockabilly Rave it's in the middle of June. I'm really looking forward to meeting Kim from The Kim Show I feel like I know her already, her latest blog post is about Neil and Debbie visiting, mmmm I shared a flat with Debbie for short while in my 20s, and Neil is a sweetheart, we have a stall next to each other at The Rhythm Riot, we do love a good bitch ;o) So as you can imagine, we already have friends in common, so can't wait to meet her!

I really want to make something new to wear, yeah I know I have NO TIME! But I've been digging out some fabric I am going to try to sew up before The Rave! I think this one will be ideal for mid June, it's always hot at the Rave!

Seersucker, one of my fave fabrics, with a tropical feel, my favourite kind of print and I do have loads of it!

I've also been meaning to make a blouse up in this for ages, so I'm really going to try to do this before mid June eek!

I know this not everyone's cup of tea but it's fabulous in real life, the colour is more vibrant, goes great with my red hair and you know I'm a sucker for oriental prints!

And if I have time - unlikely eh? - I'm going to try to put something together with this!

I am nothing if not ambitious ha ha!

So tomorrow morning I'm off up North to my home town, it'll be a sad goodbye but Uncle Harold had a great full adventurous life, see you next week!

I really am back now!!

Wow that reorganising work and laptop stuff took some time!! You also get out of the habit of blogging which is weird since it is a habit.

Anyway I'm back and ready to roll again.

So what happened during my laptop absence, well honestly not a whole heap really. I kept forgetting to take photos of stuff cos I couldn't download them anyway, it's so weird how much of modern life is linked to being online or what is on our computer, I have now paid for a back up service, it's not expensive, but the loss of my livelihood is, and I ain't doing that again!!

Well one thing I did do when I didn't have a laptop is totally demoss the garden, oh yes people it was fun NOT!

This is before it's sooooo horrible!

It seemed to take days and I just couldn't see an end in sight and at the end of it, it looked like this, which anyone has to admit is pretty horrible, I was doing proper digging in the hot sun, not something I am accustomed to! Paul described it as looking like a World War 1 garden, I know he's weird!

Yep we have not one smidgen of grass left! It had all been moss and huge weeds, shameful, it's true to say I am not a gardener, and since we moved in we've concentrated on the inside rather than the outside and boy has it suffered!

So I dutifully sowed grass seed, I didn't have a lot of faith, after all I'm no gardener and I also couldn't imagine it would work, I thought I'd had to buy expensive turf, and we're so broke I was hoping against hope we wouldn't have to do that.

There were no results for ages, as we haven't had much rain, in fact mostly it's been hot in the UK lately, so hot the neighbourhood cats have been sheltering under our palm out the front of our house!

So cute eh?

Anyway a few days ago my hard work looked like it was finally starting to pay off, LOOK!

It actually looks better in person, although very patchy I'm rather proud! I thought it would cost a fortune to sort out but no, it just needed some initial back breaking work. We even sat out at our table for a mid afternoon espresso yesterday!

Talking of yesterday I could not resist this from a charity shop yesterday, it's fab, although I will be selling it on as I'm not a regular toast eater if I were I would have this on the breakfast table every day with it's selection of jams, it even has the original glass jam spoons in it, how fabulous eh?

It's so stylish for a combination toast rack and jam pot holder isn't it? We keep looking at it thinking should we keep it, and there dear friends is the reason I don't deal in only vintage stuff but repro because I would keep everything and be bankrupt!

Lastly I had some really sad news last night, my dear Uncle Harold passed away, he wasn't an Uncle by family but I called him Uncle he was a family friend but he was more like my grandad, he taught me to swim, play chess, encouraged me in studying and really encouraged my love of reading, he was an amazing man who had an amazing life but at 94 he'd live a long and happy life. I'm going to do a proper post on him after the funeral, not sure when it is yet so I may be MIA again for a few days but I am back in technical terms at least.

Nice to be back at least! Hope you are all well I have managed to catch up with some of your on your blogs, more exciting and interesting pictures and posts to come now I have got back in the swing!!

How many balls can I keep in the air at the same time....

Well that's how my life feels at the moment! It's good, I'm busy and I have lots going on, but adjusting to doing a variety of things is taking it's toll on my blogging and in fact anything not related to working!!

This is me at the moment!

So please do excuse the sporadic blogging at the moment!

In other news, I haven't had much time for vintage finds, cheap or otherwise, eeek, but a couple of weeks ago I bought a pair of shoes. Another pair I hear you cry, well I don't need shoes that's for sure and I rarely wear heels but these beauties were a complete steal. Even though I'm not a particularly romantic sort, my husband and I want to renew our wedding vows one day, I saw these and envisaged an outfit and thought that's them! So I bought them, I have no idea when we'll do it but when we do I have the most gorgeous cream silk shoes with lovely embellishment on them, one day I'll take a pic of them on they are THE most sexy shape ever and even make my rather stubby feet and ankles look great!

This is their picture and I think the size and bad pic are what led to the price, but really they are stunning, a little more off colour than I'd hoped but I'm sure I can rectify that!

So sorry for the boring post, must get on!!

Fiona
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