I've been very busy these past few days getting everything ready for my stall at The Dandy Lion Market this coming Saturday.
Even though it's still intermittently snowing and the temperatures are no where near spring like I have thrown caution to the wind and gone for a rail full of sunny frocks and spring wear...to hell with winter I say!
Perhaps I was inspired by the bravery displayed by some peeps in Edinburgh, chicks wandering around bare legged in mini skirts and chaps wearing short-sleeved shirts and no jackets in sub zero temperatures.
Here in London people are still piling on the clobber and I can honestly say that I have not seen so many furry hats on peoples heads this side of Easter before, it is really rather bonkers!
Oh, spring where art thou? I'm more than ready for you dear!
Here's the collection of fabulous vintage clobber that I shall be bringing with me on Saturday...
I'm bringing a few of my handmade accessories too...
A smattering of close-ups for the first volley of vintage...
There's a whole heap more :)
Close-ups...
I'm bringing awesome prints for the gents too...
Close-ups...
I'm going solo this month as Mark is working the weekend, so I can't bring as much stuff as I wanted to. I've tried to mix it up so that there's something there for everyone. I am perhaps bringing too many frocks and not enough separates this time around but what can I say more than there is a good reason to why I chose the name FROCKTASIA ;)
If you happen to be in the Kentish Town area on Saturday it would be lovely if you could swing by and say hello. You can check out all the other fabulous sellers that will be there on The Dandy Lion Market FB page.
I'm knackered now ;)
Hope you've all had a fab week.
Friday tomorrow, huzzah!
As I was hanging the washing out on the balcony the other day, freezing my fingers off, I started thinking...
"What if this is it, what if winter becomes permanent and this is as good as it will get temperature wise".
I know, the stuff of nightmares right?!
It is thought that the climate would be profoundly effected if for instance nuclear war was to rage across the planet or perhaps a supervolcano decided to erupt or a comet or an asteroid happened to slam into the globe.
The theory goes that if vast amounts of smoke and soot was to be ejected into the earth's stratosphere, the little spinning ball that we call home would be plunged into perpetual winter.
Horrible thought, eh?!
Of course the snow covered naked branches of the trees are pretty and create spectacular backdrop but I have to say that I am now officially fed up with winter and I want spring to march on in and sweep the bastard thing away once and for all!
I was very happy to see that the bird lovers had come out in force today, there was seed scattered everywhere on top of the snow by the pond.
I'm not the only crazy bird lady around this neck of the woods, I'll have you know ;)
The other day this sweet little girl came up to me as I was hand feeding Lilo and asked if she could have a go. I lent her my "feeding glove" and she was absolutely ecstatic when the Lilo started eating seed from her hand, so sweet!
It's been snowing heaps here today and there's still some snow fall forecast for tonight.
When will this snowy madness end?
Vintage coat by Spinney, 90s velvet catsuit, hooded cloak dress, Handmade African necklace gift from my mum, DM boots, 99p stores snood, gloves, slouchy hat & Frocktasia earrings.
I'm playing catch-up with my 'daily ensemble' pics, this is what I wore to go and see Leslie yesterday...
My sister in Copenhagen sent me this awesome 70s bright red needle cord maxi skirt. I'm guessing that the flowers were hand-painted by Inger Leth.
The stunning necklace was a car boot sale bargain from last year, it's a really unusual piece. There's an inscription at the back which reads 'By Laurent Guinci'.
Vintage 70s cord maxi skirt, 70s suede lace-up waistcoat, 80s butterfly belt, 80s boots, 90s floral lace leotard, I also wore a great big faux-fur coat, a faux-fur hat, gloves and snood...it was freezing and damp outside yesterday.
There's me peddling my gear to a very dapper chappy. You can also spot Mark looking on proudly as his wife gets into the swing of things & lovely Sara from Hello The Mushroom :) The pic was borrowed from the CBML blog.
I won't be there this month because my other sister is popping over from Sweden for Easter and we are heading up to Edinburgh for a few days which will be ever so splendid.
Have I told you lately how fabulous you all are and how much I appreciate having you wonderful peeps in my life?
Yes, Jennie stop going on about it or we'll have to make the bucket beside us a permanent feature, K?!
It has to be said though, in the past few months my lust for blogging has returned with a vengeance & a cursory glance at my yearly blog archive spells it out...
...this years post tally is speeding past the previous years at a rate of knots.
I personally put it down to your encouraging continued visits to my little nook of the blogosphere :)
For a long time I isolated myself, I became the silent onlooker to a party that I felt unworthy of part taking in.
I watched you all being fabulous and having fun, interacting with each other and even though I wanted to join in I felt too craven to do so.
I felt that through my silence, I'd lost my place in the gang.
Then one day I started taking tentative steps back into the circle and was very happy to find that there were still people there ready to welcome me back with open arms.
Then all of a sudden I felt as if I was fun again!
It was like a flower bomb of colour and warmth had gone off quite unexpectedly.
I started commenting and getting comments in return.
I felt welcomed, encouraged, inspired & enthralled.
I felt like busting open the bags and diving into the drawers to unearth fabulous clobber to wear.
Thank you for rekindling a fire that had all but gone out and thank you for being there for me after my long absence, I guess that is the mark of true friendship, virtual or otherwise.
I just wanted to tell you how much you mean to me...gush over (for now).
...and to finish off we'd spend a few weeks in wonderful Marsa Alam by the Red Sea coast.
There we'd hang out with our Facebook friend & diver extraordinaire Ahmed.
I got to know about Ahmed when I stumbled across his fabulous blog last year and I would love to go diving with him in real life.
Both Mark and I are big fans of him and his blog.
Maybe if I cosmically order a big windfall, this dream journey will come to pass ;)
Anyway I was ecstatically happy to see a small scattering of holes in the thick blanket of cloud yesterday morning.
The never-ending drizzle had dried up overnight and the temperature was slightly more agreeable so that I could bare arms and wear a low-cut cleavage dress...
...whilst basking in the glory of Ra ;)
It's not just the sun that brightens up my day though, you wonderful peeps spread love and light on to my screen as well.
I'm humbled by each and every comment left & I love the fact that I can pop over and have a read of what you've been up to as well, it's blooming grand!
To my last post a few of you lovelies commented on how brilliant it would be to find bags of forgotten about clobber. Truthfully, it's a strange mixture of horror and joy.
I was addicted to hoarding stuff for quite a few years and I am now dealing with the result of that addiction. I would just buy loads of stuff every week, wash & dry it, fold it away, stick it in a bag and forget all about it. If I was looking for something, it would often take me days to find it. Like most addicts I was living in denial and if you'd asked me a year ago to stop doing what I was doing, I'd probably come up with some lame-ass spiel about how it was the only thing that made me truly happy (cue the violins). A year ago I still wasn't quite ready to face up to my addiction but the thoughts were certainly forming in my head and shortly after our return from Egypt I decided that enough was enough. I had found something else that made me happy, something that enriched my life beyond my wildest dreams. Diving in the Red Sea was like my wake up call. All of a sudden I just wanted to sell & save so that I could go diving again. My Sunday morning trek to the car boot sale, the jostling with knife elbowed bargain hunters and the inevitable bringing home of yet another bag of stuff stopped at last, hallelujah!
In the past six months I've only been to three car boot sales and on all three occasions I've kept to a strict budget and I've only bought stuff that I know with get used or sold.
It feels great to be free of the buying demon and it feels great that the albatross that has been hanging around my neck for years is finally getting lighter.
Yes, of course I love finding forgotten about frocks but at the same time I am looking forward to a day when I don't anymore :)
I'm not sure if my hoarding addiction was about the need to own stuff or just to get that fleeting buzz from the thrill of the chase/purchase, probably a combination of the two.
It doesn't really matter now, what matters is that I've got a hold on the situation and that I'm working towards liberating myself from the result of years of accumulating stuff.
I also love how getting dressed seems a thousand times more enjoyable now, mainly cause I don't have to spend hours hunting down garments that I want to incorporate into an outfit.
That makes me very happy indeed :)
Vintage 70s coat by Spinney, 70s maxi dress by Richard Shops, slouchy hat, 70s boots, Frocktasia grumpy suns earrings & Ankh necklace, a plethora of brass bangles, opera gloves and retro sunnies.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by having to much stuff in your life?
Hope you are all having a wonderful Wednesday :)
No tune today but here's the brilliant George Carlin on 'STUFF'...
