Wipe the slate clean

Welcome to the third and last installment of the Highland photo sessions.

First off a vintage 70s lurex extravaganza labelled Richard Shops that I bought on ebay last year.

The reason to why I decided to bring this frock was because the colour reminds me of slate and Ballachulish is an old slate quarry village. The shore is absolutely covered with the stuff and I just thought it would go well with the dress. I'm actually quite pleased with how these pictures turned out. I love how the surface of the loch is like a softly rippled mirror for the sky, the combination of grey slate and the rust coloured seaweed, it really appeals to me.

It was absolutely freezing cause it had been raining all day and the sun only decided to make an appearance in the early evening. The wind was still strong and I was having real problems with my wig.

 I got so frustrated with having to spit synthetic hair out of my mouth every few seconds so I tore it off in a huff, scaring the pants off an elderly dog walker in the process.

The last frock we shot isn't actually a frock at all but a theatrical skirt and top set.  I bought it a couple of years ago from a freelance costume designer who was clearing out her clutter at a car boot sale. I couldn't believe my luck that day I can tell you, it is absolutely stunning and tremendously well made.

Incidentally this was the ensemble that we tried to shot in the glen, the one that filled up like a tall ship sail.

Mark had warned me but I was adamant to give it a go anyway. I don't like to be beaten but on this occasion the whipping Scottish gale force winds whooped my ass.

 Here I am struggling to keep the skirt down and looking rather miffed ;)

Photo sessions in The Highlands are fun to do but they do present challenges that's for sure. When we did our session last September the weather was very good but then we had  to contend with the midgies and this time we were just a little bit unlucky with the weather...third time lucky?! Who knows? 

That's all folks!

I hope you've enjoyed these posts as much as I enjoyed creating them.

To sing us out the stunning Icelandic band Sigur Ros, enjoy :)

Loads of love,
Jennie
xXx

Has spring sprung?

Today was another beautiful day here in North London.

Is it safe to say that spring has sprung now?!

I started reading my First Aid book this morning, Mark says it's all pretty straight forward, common sense stuff which means I'll probably have to read the book twice before the information anchors itself in my flibbertigibbet brain. These are all very valuable skills to have and I am really happy to be doing this course. Last time I took a First Aid course was at school about three hundred years ago, so if someone collapsed in front of me today, I'd be hoping that someone else could step in and help but hopefully by Saturday night I'll be more than confident to intervene myself should it ever become necessary.

Vintage 70s lurex dress, 70s suede jacket, 70s boots, Indian block print chiffon wrap,  Egyptian carved alabaster ankh, retro sunnies & handmade earrings.

 Remember Lilo, the angel winged Canada goose that stole my heart back in February? Since the first time I spotted her, Mark and I have been making regular trips to the pond to feed her and her friends. In the middle of the pond (or boating lake as the council likes to call it) there's a little island and whenever Lilo wasn't about that's where I gathered she'd be as she obviously can't fly. I'd never actually seen her swim until the other day though. She'd been "missing" for a couple of days and I was starting to worry about her. I went up to the park as per usual, took a spin round the pond but no sign of her however as I was leaving I spotted her bobbing across the water. It's very good to know that the birds have a safe roosting place, away from the local foxes.

Wearing my vintage 70s lurex dress today made me feel all disco and had me searching YouTube for the funkiest tunes from that era.

I'll leave you with one of my faves, enjoy :)

Loads of love,

Jennie

xXx

Getting high on flash fumes...I wish!

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, winter comes back like a fierce predator and nips you on the neb.

I kick started my spring cleaning this week thinking that spring was here to stay,

how wrong was I?!

I managed to completely gut the kitchen and scrubbed all those manky surfaces that I never normally get around to doing. 

The top of all the cupboards, skirting boards, ceiling, walls and underneath the fridge, washing machine & cooker.

Spring cleaning is the proverbial can of worms, cleaning one corner makes the rest of the room look even more filthy and there's no bleeding end to it either.

After five hours of almost scrubbing your fingers to the bone, you think it's all done, so you boil the kettle to make a cup of celebratory tea, sit down to admire the fruits of your arduous toil only to find that the underneath of the blinking cupboard needs a jolly good scrub too, argh!

The skirting boards laugh in your face and the knobs of the cooker flip the bird in your general direction..."Hehehe, missed a bit!"

We've lived in this flat for over ten years, we rent, so in all that time it hasn't been decorated and it is really starting to show now. 

Everywhere you look something is flaking, corroding, peeling, cracking, breaking or is already broken.

I try to make it look nice but it really needs more than me donning marigolds for a week on a cleaning mission, it needs money spent on it.

It needs new carpets, new kitchen, new bathroom and a proper decorator coming in and giving the place a long overdue face lift. 

This is the big draw back when renting, you are having to wait until your landlord sees it fit to do something about it, which in my experience tends to be NEVER or just after you've moved out! 

It may sound as I'm making excuses but it is truthfully nigh-on impossible to get this place looking clean even if I spend days on my knees scrubbing till my hands are almost falling off and my lungs are getting sore from breathing in flash fumes.

You do what you can and that's all you can do, eh?!

It was drizzling all day today and even though we made our daily jaunt up to feed little Lilo and the other birds it was just way to dreich to get the camera out to shoot some outfit pics in the park.

We quickly nipped out onto the balcony when we got back home to snap a couple...

Vintage 70s lurex leaf print kaftan dress, vintage boots, Ankh earrings & gloves.

I bought this Miss Jeannie dress from a market in July last year and today was its first outing.

I used to have one in teal blue that was sadly a bit too big for me so I sold on eBay back in 2005. 

These were  the auction pics...

Wearing this frock with my Ankh earrings today made me think of Egypt. 

It is almost a year since we went there now.

I totally fell for the place, the lovely people, the awesome diving  and the totally amazing scenery.

Here are a few of the pics from the two little desert photo sessions that Mark and I did. 

If you want to see more you can either go back and check my April posts of last year or have a peek in this folder that I made on facebook :)

Hope that the start of your weekend went off with a bang and that the rest of it will be fantabulous too :)

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

I'm with the band

Many moons ago when Mark & I lived in Glasgow, we had a band called 'Gretchen'.

The boys (Mark, Jim, Dave & Allen) and myself practiced every Sunday and gigged regularly for a year at intimate venues like 'Nice N Sleazy' and 'The 13th Note'. 

We never got to the recording stage before splitting up but thankfully Mark bought me a four track recorder, so I do have a whole heap of live demos, from various rehearsal sessions, that I like to dust off and listen to every now and again ;)

The band didn't split up because of artistic differences, it was simply life pulling us all in different directions.

Mark and I moved to London, Jim changed career and relocated and Dave became a father.

Allen is still living the rock and roll dream though, playing bass in Maiden Scotland an Iron Maiden tribute band.

I actually still have both the trousers and the jacket that I'm wearing in these pictures...

The striped cami was my mums from the early 80s, the pink boucle jacket was bought from the Benetton sale in '96 (with some tax rebate money), the mad space boots I bagged in Copenhagen in '99, they were originally priced at over £100 but the zip was "bust" so they had been marked down to a mere £20. I took the boots to a cobblers in Copenhagen and he had them fixed in two minutes flat and didn't even charge me for it. The trousers I bought in the Topshop winter sale in 2000.

I'm amazed at how brand spanking these trousers still look cause I've worn them a lot...

I know that I usually harp on about how modern High Street clothing have no longevity because of  poor quality but I may have to eat my hat about this conjecture, cause in some cases it is obviously not true.

I told you the lurex jumper would get a few more outings this month...

number one and counting ;)

It was so nice outside today I didn't even have to wear a jacket or coat.

The fabulous fuchsia pink felt is by St Saviours Hats, these hats usually retail at over £50.

Needless to say I paid rather less than that, cause I am the original bargain bint ;)

00s Topshop trousers, cropped lurex jumper, vintage 60s psychedelic print shirt, Indian block print silk scarf, St Saviours  felt hat, velvet gloves, mini cross & safety-pin earrings & 80s boots.

Before I sign off I'd also like to tell you that I have made a fabulous new addition to my little gang of  Legendary Frockstars, namely Ariane of Style Sud-Est. 

She always bowls me over with her amazing style! 

If she's unknown to you, go check her out, you won't regret it :) 

I did want to share a song that Mark and I wrote a few years ago but I can't upload it, so here's a tune that we covered back in the gigging days in Glasgow, enjoy :)

Almost weekend again, huzzah!
Lot's of love,
Jennie
xXx

Glitz & Glam

'Tis time for another fabulous store update, clicking on the pics will take you to a magical place where you will be blown away by all the awesome stuff on offer ;)

'Night Fever' Vintage 80s Sequin & Lurex Yarn Embroidered Batwing Jumper:

'Rapture' Vintage 80s Oilslick Disc Sequin Diva Top:

 'Diamond Days' Vintage 80s Harlequin Diamond Sequin Knitted Jumper:

'Paradise Circus' Vintage 80s Super Colourful Sequin Diamond Waistcoat Top by Frank Usher:

'Kiss Kiss' Indian Bollywood style Ornately Beaded Trophy Top:

‘Truth or Dare’ Vintage 80s Deco Swirl Beaded Flapper style Top:

 ‘Good Vibrations’ Vintage 60s Trippy Ombre Floral & Glitzy Gold Brocade Top:

'Champagne Supernova' Vintage 80s Silver Liquid Lamé Abstract Print Peplum Blouse:

Loads of glitz and glam for the upcoming party season.

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

Hello I am Inga, from Sweden!

I've just had the laziest weekend ever & it's been bloody grand!

Besides an hour long compass training session in the park yesterday, I've pretty much based my hours around sleeping & eating.

 Slumbering in bed, snoozing on the sofa, catnapping in the kitchen, nodding-off in the bath & dozing on the balcony (whilst stargazing & trying out our cosy new sleeping-bags).

Sometimes my body and mind just needs to switch off for a couple of days and when that need arises I don't fight it, I don't feel guilty about having a seemingly unproductive weekend, I just let everything go, roll up like a little hedgehog underneath my duvet and drift off cause I know that once I have gone through this process I will feel completely rebooted.

I've had lot's of fantastical lucid dreams too which is always nice.

Last week whilst having a root around in my vast amassement of  vintage clobber, I unearthed a pair of kick-ass cyber goth boots that I bought a couple of years ago.

Now when I'm not buying so much anymore & perpetually bringing new stuff into the house every weekend, I'm actually starting to find stuff around the house that I really love and want to wear.

These boots ROCK...they are chunky as hell and made by DESTROYER, how very apt.

I also found a pair of spangly lurex hot pants from my clubbing days; just as well they are stretchy cause my derriere is not as dinky as it once was.

On my last car boot sale jaunt I picked up a new wig, when I put it on my husband told me that I looked like a stereotypical Swedish chick ;)

 

The beastie boots...

Last week I added thirty vintage frocks to my Frockfest  album on Facebook.

I've plenty more to add and I'm hoping to do a FROCKTASIA store update this coming week too.

I'm looking to add autumn stuff like vintage coats, more jackets and shapeshifters.

Here are all the frockfest dresses...

Now that I've had a good weekends sleep I'm raring to go...

Monday...bring it on!

Hope you have all had a fantastic weekend :)

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx