The Frocktasia Christmas Special

Hope you've all had a wonderful & chilled out Christmas!

Hubby & I spent a few days over in Sweden with my folks and it was absolutely fabulous.

My mum cooked up a storm and we all had several "food hangovers" from stuffing ourselves like little pot bellied piglets...oh, the joy of not giving a toss of how many calories one has consumed in one sitting!

Mum has been studying vegan cookbooks all year and managed to pull off some spendiferous dishes for me, I especially loved the meatless Swedish Christmas "ham" and fishless pickled "herring"...yum!

When we arrived it was snowing but the weather was too mild for the snow to stay put.

We squeezed in a trip to Myrorna where I was thrilled to find a pair of  vintage 70s beak boots. 

I've been on the hunt for a pair of these for years and my heart almost stopped when I spotted the shop assistant putting these out on the shelf. 

She said that they very rarely get them in nowadays and when they do they usually get snapped up very quickly, LUCKY ME!

I was so chuffed with my score that I had to put them on straightaway, they are just perfect.

I was also chuffed to bits will all the wonderful Christmas pressies that I received this year. 

Dad had bought me a stunning traditional Qatari dress when he was in Doha a while back and mum had bought a whole collection of African jewellery on Tradera for me.

I also got some awesome vintage magazines from the 1930s, jam packed with inspirational photos & drawings.

However the best present of all, was spending a few wonderful days with the people that we love!

Hubby & Julbocken (the Christmas goat) in Orebro.

Me, happy as a pig in mud! Vintage shopping at Myrorna in Orebro & finally scoring a pair of beak boots...YAY!

Festive wreath, hand made by my dad.

Amazing Christmas spread, lovingly cooked by mum!

This years Christmas frock! A fabulous vintage 1950s extravaganza ;)

Pressies & sweets galore!

I also came across a very tasty Scottish non-alcoholic beer called 'Nanny State'.

It simply wouldn't be Christmas without Kott-tomten (pinecone-santa).

The vintage magazines my folks gave me.

We've been back home for a couple of days now and I'm gearing up for a January of hardcore eBaying...

the 'TO BE LISTED' pile has officially reached hazardous heights!

Take care peeps...lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

Cavorting in Coventry

Last weekend hubby & I paid a flying visit to Coventry where my little brother is studying at the moment.

We went to the transport museum and had mooch around the cathedral ruins.

Here are some of the pics that I took...

Room without a nice view! What was I expecting, eh?  "The Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically across the plains". For £27 a night, I'll suffer the view & the 80s decor.

Coventry Transport Museum

Lil bro & I

We went to check out my brothers student digs, I almost got cabin fever!

We had a gander at the new cathedral and the ruins of the old one.

Coventry was badly bombed during the second world war.

We only stayed one night and we were back home in time for me to take in two markets on Sunday morning. 

Hope everyone is having a good week ;)

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

The day I met Jesus at a protest!

Today hubby and I went along to the city to take part in the Occupy the London Stock Exchange protest. When we first arrived the boys in blue weren't letting anyone near Paternoster Square and had cordoned off all the streets leading to it. They were lining up in large numbers, which made it virtually impossible to sneak through but we wandered around the area until we found a chink in their armour and made our way in to the heart of the protest. It felt very important for me to be there today cause I've been very much a slacktivist of late & the truth is that sitting on your arse, simply frothing at the mouth over how unfair things are, will never change anything. Like the great Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world". I know there's a lot of sceptics out there that think that these things are totally pointless cause they seemingly achieve very little and on the surface it’s probably true, cause yes, the fat cat bankers will still ride into town on Monday morning on their gold plated stallions after a weekend of fine dining & posh pursuits but this is not the frigging French revolution and hopefully it will never have to come to that either. I for one wouldn't want to see bankers being guillotined just sharply reminded that they are part of the human race and not masters of it. I could go on & on about this but I’m not going to, instead I’m going to share our day in pictures with you…

The Latin motto of the City of London is "Domine dirige nos", which translates as "Lord, guide us"....sometimes I wonder what Lord they're talking about?!

"The world's leading business and financial centre demands a bespoke police force, which is equipped to protect and support this unique environment, and to meet head-on the policing challenges it represents. This force is the City of London Police."...Amen Corner to that!

The city is home to more than 450 international banks, it is the recognised world centre for the insurance industry and home to the headquarters of countless multi-national corporations. They all need to be well protected from the proles.

The City is not one of the 32 London boroughs. It is governed by the City of London Corporation.

Cameron's dad was a banker, so I'm sure he feels very at home in the city and has many wealthy banker friends that like to "help" his party out with no ulterior motive whatsoever of course.

An expression says more than a thousand words,eh?! Poor thing looks like she's about to burst into tears, so would you  if you read this article about the UK national debt :(

...that will not be mentioned in this years Fortune Five Hundred list!

I have a dream that an economist messiah will appear on the scene. I mean with all these great thinkers and Nobel prize winners, surely there must be one that can think of a way to sort this out and lead the way out of  this disgusting 'profits before people', war-based economy?! 

WE NEED A PEACEFUL REVOLUTION PEEPS!

On the face of it things do look pretty grim but we have to keep believing that another world really is possible, one in which love, kindness & universal solidarity will prevail.

I hope this is just the start of a movement gaining momentum. Human beings working together in harmony can make amazing things happen!

It's time to pull down the temple of Mammon & throw out the moneylenders yet again....but this time around we have to remember not to let the buggers back in!

I commended this guy for recycling but he could have atleast scribbled out the web address. I'm not sure which I dislike most banks or estate agents?...och, it's a very close call!

I spotted a very colourful & glam senior lady in the crowd. I wanted to go up and ask her about her fabulous hat but she was listening so intently to a speaker so I decided not to interfere.

Today's ensemble:

DIYed poncho wrap, mottle dyed Indian pants, vintage 80s reverse batwing top, longsleeved cotton top, suede ankle boots, leather belt, vintage 70s sunnies, DIYed necklace & bracelet cuff.

That's all for this time peeps, I hope you are all having a fab weekend!

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

Buy or DIY - Poncho cape wrap

The other day I spied some rather nice looking poncho wraps on the Accessorize website...

 I’m a big fan of ponchos, capes & shawls for autumn but rather than paying £35 for one on the High Street, I like making my own...

I always like to have a good old rummage through the remnants box at the fabric shop & last year I found a lovely piece of woven fabric that I thought would make a really funky reversible cape wrap.
I copied the dimensions from a vintage 80s cape wrap that my mother-in-law had given me.
This DIY is so ridiculously simple anyone can do it...
*Find some fabric that you like!
*Cut your fabric into a square; my square measured 60” by 60”.
*Zigzag around the raw edges or leave edges raw if you want a fray-trim.
*Fold the square in half & cut a slit measuring 30” along the fold.
*Zigzag or reinforce in some other way around the end of the slit to prevent the fabric from ripping any further when worn.
*If you’d like a neater appearance you could even add a plain or a decorative border trim all the way around the edges.
Like I said an easy peasy lemon sqeezy DIY and just think how many pennies you'll be saving by making one yourself.

You could even recycle an old lightweight blanket or throw to do this.
  It's a really funky not to mention versatile garment and it is just perfect for autumn.

So what's the verdict BUY or DIY?

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

The Autumn U-turn

Hope you've all had a mighty fine weekend?!

This morning I was up with the lark to get the early bird bargains at the boot sale.
On my travels I actually managed to get lost & had to call my hubby to guide me in the right direction.
I hit the boot sale an hour after it had opened but despite my tardiness, I was not disappointed with my hoard.
Three of my favourite sellers were there, so I came away with a bounty of vintage frocks, yay!
Travelling home was like sitting next to the devil & his twin in a sauna whilst wearing a rubber bodysuit, the bus was absolutely heaving and naturally everyone who had come from the boot sale was laden with bags, wheeled trolleys, paintings & even furniture, ¡Ay, caramba!
Never mind, I'm back home now...

all bathed & smelling of roses with a well deserved cold beverage at hand.

Here are some pictures that were taken the other day when hubby and I went for a stroll along the urban nature trail.
Earlier that morning I had been pouring over the super cool sisters of the black moon website & their awesome eBay auctions.
I think it is more than evident that I felt rather inspired by their bohemian lusciousness!

What I am wearing:

Vintage 80s paisley patterned skirt

Pink Soda floral print blouse

Vintage 80s tribal patterned waistcoat

Western studded leather belt

Vintage leather boots

DIYed tassle necklace

That's all for now peeps!

All the best to you :)

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

Two peas in a berber waistcoat?

Since my last offering was full of frocks, I thought I do a completely frock free posting today.

A little while ago did a post featuring my beloved mum & some of her clothing that is now taking pride of place in my own wardrobe.

On my last visit to my folks I sorted through a box of old photos and I was thrilled to find a couple of mum wearing some of the garments that I still have.

After finding these photo's I felt a strong urge to try and recreate my mum's look myself, so today I gave it my first bash.

My mum bought this woven waistcoat from a berber market in Morocco back in the late 70s and I remember her wearing it quite a lot teamed with her impossibly tight jeans and clog boots.

At the time we were living in a small white-bread Swedish village and no doubt my mum was considered a bit of a bohemian for wearing stuff like this.
Here's my mum in the late 70s or very early 80s...

...and here I am thirty or so years later ;)

So what's the verdict, two peas in a pod?

I did want to curl my hair like my mum used to do hers but I managed to completely destroy my curling tongs the other week. They snapped in half after I clumsily dropped them on the floor.

Never mind, I've still got my bendy curlers, so all is not lost.

The weather here in London has been amazing today, so I decided to kick start my biannual domestic cleaning extravaganza by washing & line dying all our rag rugs...curtains next!

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx