Chelsea Girl

On Saturday I went to the London Blythe meet at the V&A. On the way there I walked through Chelsea revisiting the places we used to live and the places we used to go. I lived at 166 Kings Road for four years in the late 90's and early noughties. I used to pride myself as being the poorest person in Chelsea, often seen stocking up on beans and bread in Waitrose, because my month's salary had been squandered on a Gucci bag. I guess very little has changed.

I used to sit on this bench in Chelsea Green waiting for my washing in the laundrette to finish. I saw many celebrities going about their daily business while sat here. There was usually an eccentric rich old lady sat opposite, also watching the world go by. In the evenings the pavements would sparkle under the street lights, it would make me smile, because in Chelsea the streets really are paved with gold.

Coat - Julien MacDonald | Shirt - Vintage | Jeans - Seven
Satchel - The Cambridge Satchel Company | Brooch - Vintage  

Friday Photographer ~ Mister Sullivan

Mister Sullivan was one of the first photographers I had the pleasure of finding when I joined Flickr in 2008. I don't really want to say too much about his photographs because, as cheesy as it sounds, they really do speak for themselves.

The six photographs I have selected were all taken in Wales where Michael lives. I love the lighting and atmosphere he has so beautifully captured in each image.

Twitter, Comma and Satchels

After a discussion with Zoe on Twitter about the satchel in my latest Polyvore set, we were drawn to the exciting news that Comma (who I blogged about last year) stock the Cambridge satchels. Yay!

So on my way home from work I treated myself. Can you imagine how much thought went into choosing a colour? I think this could be the start of a wonderful romance.

A Music Break ~ Warpaint

I ♥ Warpaint by candypop featuring flat oxfords

I think Undertow by Warpaint is ah-mazing and the music video is pretty special too. In fact the video reminds me of Little House on the Prairie, and with a sister named Laura - after Laura Ingalls - anything prairie-esque sits well with me. Anyway, I have tickets to see Warpaint when they play in the UK later this year. I will definitely have to dig out my brown brogues and chunky knit.

Hungerford, Toffee Cake and Boston Terriers

So another Sunday night is here, anyone else get the feeling the weekends go far too quickly?

Saturday we drove out to Hungerford to explore the antique and charity shops. Everything was really over priced, but it is always nice to have a browse. We found a great reclamation yard full of exciting bits of junk - mail boxes, sinks, old signs etc. I fell in love with a stunning wire planter to display flower pots, but sadly they wanted £300 for it!



In the evening our friends Vicki and Pete popped over to Casa Kitsch for wine and cakes (we can all thoroughly recommend the M&S sticky toffee cake - which lasted all of five minutes). We chatted about future trips involving vintage shops, photography and Japanese food. Vicki is also a blogger and crafter, and I posted about her vintage bags last year. The beautiful daffodils were a gift from Vicki and Pete, and are currently cheering up our dining room table. Thank you!

And today we visited our friends Tom and Em who have two Boston Terriers (Frankie and Lilly), a cat (George) and a house rabbit (Bailey Bob). The dogs provided endless entertainment and the cat sat on the table watching the chaos from above. It was bit like an episode of Tom and Jerry.

I hope everyone had a great weekend, and may the next one arrive quickly!

Friday Photographer ~ Sophie G

Two blog posts in two days. Go me!

My Friday Photographer is the amazingly talented SophieG*. I met Sophie at an Oxford Flickr meet nearly two years ago and I can confirm she is as fabulous as her photographs!

I have a particular fondness for her textured flowers, to me they look like old postcards. To be honest, it was difficult not to blog all 951 photographs from her Flickr stream, so I hope you enjoy the ones I have selected.  

Peter Pan and Lace

Warwick Avenue by candypop featuring flat shoes

If you have visited my Polyvore site recently you may have noticed I have a Peter Pan and lace collar obsession. In short, I am in love. I have been hunting for anything that matches the above description with little success. I have found some gorgeous items on the Mod Cloth site and there is even a lace collar in Urban Outfitters, but in truth, I would rather buy vintage. If you happen to see any others do please let me know! I will leave you with a few Mod Cloth beauties.

London Deer Hunt

So we made it to London, and I finally visited Emily Chalmers' shop Caravan.

I wanted everything in the shop, the displays were stunning and the vintage cabinets exquisite. I came away with a little deer and later at Spitalfields Market I found a taxidermy dome to display him in - just as Emily had hers displayed!

Later on, while exploring the side streets off Brick Lane, we came across a robot shop. As you do. Anyway, look what we found inside.

And yes, another deer purchase was made. The shop was called My Robot Friends and is certainly worth a visit if in the area.

Lately

It is dark, raining and I am suffering from the January blues. The only thing keeping me sane is Polyvore - which I call the computer game for girls, or better still, internet fuzzy felt. But be warned, it is incredibly addictive.

I haven't taken many photographs this year, too much grey, grey, grey. We may go to London at the weekend, I need some inspiration, and my man would like a new (old) vintage leather jacket.

Here are a few of the things keeping me going in January.

Pretty Oxford shop windows

Tea and cupcakes

Shoes that I have lusted after all season - which are now reduced - with only one pair left - in my size. Hmmm.

Enjoying my stag necklace, a Christmas gift from my Mum.

I will leave you with some of my Polyvore doodles and a promise to take some more photographs for my next post. See you all on here, Polyvore or in London soon.

Oakley Wood by candypop featuring floral print bags

Puzzlewood by candypop featuring above the knee socks

Kew Gardens by candypop featuring a lace hosiery

Oxford and the Cotswolds

I spent almost the entire weekend in work, so when I finally escaped, I was whisked off to the Cotswolds for some much needed tea and fresh air. On my return, while warming up, I could not resist creating these two sets. I may have to buy the Cath Kidston dress, or at least find something similar.

When in Oxford. . .

Sunday in Oxford by candypop featuring a wool shawl

When in the Cotswolds. . .

Sunday in the Cotswolds by candypop featuring wide brim hats

Labyrinth

Time for some Friday virtual shopping and styling. Have a great weekend everyone!

Vintage Black Tie by candypop featuring pearl jewelry

Labyrinth by candypop featuring slip on boots

Happy New Year!

Since returning to Oxford I have been busy cleaning and detoxing the house. I have moved, tidied and cleaned everything, and I now feel I am ready to face the new year. I try to live by the rule - have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. However, being the world's greatest hoarder, and sharing my home with a man, this is often an impossible task!

So onto my New Year's resolutions. As always, I have made a few, the same culprits crop up year after year - better diet, run more, spend less. This year however, I am making a conscious effort to buy vintage, recycled or homemade where I can. I do not sell anything, I always give my old clothes and home items to local charity shops, so I guess I am half way there.

And finally, I hope to build on my Time photograph set on Flickr. I have started today with a photograph of my new Diana camera, a Christmas gift from my man. I plan to increase the set from 52 to 100 during 2011, here are a few of my favourites from 2009 and 2010.