Hello! Here are my findings from the weekend...
It was sunny and it was carboot-y, but and however, there were fairly lean pickings, (well, certainly compared to last week). Sometimes it's just like that AND I spotted dreaded hipsters. And then I have this awful sinking feeling of dismay that all the rows are being rinsed before I get there. GO AWAY, IT'S ALL MINE! Ahem. Aaaaanyway. Nice books! An elephant money box! Old fashioned white sandals for Iris! A cocktail shaker!
I also found a long green raincoat circa the 1970s and a yellow and black fold-up Formica table, (not pictured) both perfect for our camping excursions this summer. My favourite things this week are...
This pale blue anchor brooch.
And these set of dice. I love the crown, and the anchor (again). 
They came in this neat little box. 
And here are a couple more colour collections that I am working on.
A close-up of Pink (for Alessandra and Anna)
And a rainbow. I haven't got the lighting quite right, and I also need to sort out the perspective. But still, endless fun, right?
Oh, and I'm trying out some ideas for a new header. 
I can't resist a few more gratuitous blossom shots. It's too irresistible. 
I was/am a big Stone Roses fan. I'm listening to them right now as it happens. So this really flicked my switch.
Penguin are celebrating their 75th anniversary with a series called Decades, five classic titles from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, with the covers created by some of my favourite artists, Allen Jones! Peter Blake! Zandra Rhodes! (I really love Zandra). I want them all. Ahem. As you might imagine.
John Squire (formerly of The Stone Roses) has done a wonderful job on his five covers for the 1980s. Here are my three favourites..
And you can view the rest of the covers created respectively by Peter Blake (50s), Allen Jones (60s), and Zandra Rhodes (70s) under the art direction of John Hamilton at Penguin here.
They're all so good, they're making me giddy.I also particularly love this cover by Zandra Rhodes. This is also one of my favourite collections of short stories by Daphne Du Maurier. 
On reflection, I think I will have to buy one from each decade. Which ones would you choose? via Creative Review.
Oh dear, I am feeling enfeebled again, my sore throat from two weeks ago has slowly mutated into a cough and now I seem to have a new cold developing. Blee. And ergh. So I am feeling extremely sorry for myself, which, as you can imagine, makes me a lot of fun to be around.
Iris and I went to town this morning (in more ways than one) ostensibly to buy a pumpkin for me to carve into a super-fancy lantern like these ones, or these ones (found via Fieldguided) - aren't they incredible? We actually came home with four, all different kinds and shapes, so hopefully, I will feel more like doing it tomorrow.
Today, I did manage to make a couple of Autumn garlands, a fancy name for tying pretty leaves, acorns and suchlike (which we had gathered on our morning walk) to a length of thread. But they look sweet and give the impression of falling leaves.
I also got some great blue and white stripy braces with leather ends, you know proper braces that you button onto things, I'll be sewing buttons onto everything I can tell you.
And a great 1980s book on Blondie so I'll leave you with a few of my favourite photographs, she's a real beauty in my eyes, a wonderful mix of vixen, Marilyn Monroe and punk. As ever there are a few more on my flickr.
Right, I'm off to make a big vat of restorative vegetarian chilli..
p.s. I am beside myself with excitement - I have almost 100 followers! Eep! Cough! Whoo! One more to go! So if you're a lurker, a first time reader or an occasional visitor, what are you waiting for?
Make my day!
Well, we bailed on the camping trip as the weather report was so dire and camping in the rain is hardly any fun. Never mind, we do have two or three more trips coming up and hopefully summer will resume any time now, fingers crossed.
So what did we do to fill those empty camping hours? We went to the market, where I tried on vintage dresses (all too big or too small) and bought a bunch of magnificent early dahlias.
We went for afternoon tea with Iris's grandparents. We ate delicious food - I made pesto which we had with pasta and homegrown peas, Paul made pizza and bread and banana cake. We played hide and seek and read Mr Men books. We carbooted, I found lots of tiny curios. So it wasn't too bad really! Here are some of the treasures, but there's more (of course); I found a whole heap of vintage baby clothes that are so darling, I'm going to be adding them to the shop as they're all too small for Iris! Pictures to follow!
A startled looking wooden bottle stopper.
Wooden dolls..
I was drawn to this little 1950s book by the bright and pretty cover.
And when I looked inside and saw this girl, I immediately handed over my 50p. Isn't she a beauty? And yes, Daughters Are The Thing.
Owls, owls, owls (well, three, although I can't find the third one).
A tiny brass ship.
An even tinier mouse with leather ears and tail. Squeak!
An apple (or pear) cutter in its original box.
Some brooches.. including some bows which I have been on the lookout for..
Crazy 1970s Irish linen tea towels, the colours are so juicily bright and the subject matter completely bonkers..
The elephant has a cold and is taking a mustard foot bath. (!)
Thank you all for your excitable comments re my last post, all your encouragement has been so wonderful. I am hoping to throw the doors to le petit boutique open later this week, but I'll be sure to let you know!
We had a lovely weekend, loafing and gadding about in equal measure with dear friends who came a-visiting. We wandered the market on Saturday, had a splendid blowout lunch, and even found a last minute babysitter so we could all go to a birthday party on Saturday night, which was so much fun, even in the pouring rain.
Yesterday, we went to the best carboot sale in the world TM, except it wasn't because the weather forecast had been so very terrible that there was hardly anyone there. But I managed to winkle out what few treasures there were. Then it was on to the beach in the not-quite-blazing sunshine. We buried Iris in the sand, had some salty chips and an ice cream and visited a bookshop or two so before long, our fuzzy post-party heads were quite forgotten.
Last night we had an epic feast of thyme-roasted chicken, with almond pilaf and lots of Moroccan-inspired sides. Replete, we savoured the last few hours of the weekend, drinking red wine and giggling endlessly. Marvellous. Onto the treasure then...
Pretty little matchbox. 
Old box decorated with faded swallows. 
Tiny and perfect tin brooch of a pair of swallows. 
A Walter Bosse bronze elephant, I spied him on a heaped table at a tiny antiques fair we visited on Saturday. I also have a cat and a horse, which I also found at the market a few months ago. They're very striking and weighty, I particularly want to lay my hands on a sleeping fox next...
Vintage Fisher Price - a little safari jeep with driver. The back seats flip up so you can put two more little people in the back! So sweet!
A pair of tiny owls. The one on the left is the same as this - look!
Child's mug with a Mary Blair style illustration from Baa Baa Black Sheep. 
A lovely puzzle tray. The pieces lift out to reveal the inside of the house, I bought it with the shop in mind, but on getting it home I realised that some silly person has drawn around all the pieces with black marker pen, maybe because it's quite a tricky puzzle. I'm going to try to return it to its former glory.
A happy chimp - I think he may've come from a Fisher Price circus. He reminds me of this. 
And ONE book. I know, just one, amazing isn't it? But the cover is so beautiful, it deserved my unbridled attention.
