This week, I went to an *actual* auction house and left a few bids willy nilly and then promptly forgot all about it. Anyway, when I did remember, I rang up and found that three of my bids were successful! Lorks! So, now there's a very lean-y tower of boxes in the front room and much sorting to be done.Amongst the lots were two vintage winter coats, a three piece suit, a real snakeskin bag, curtains, a rug, lacework throws and lots of other stuff including a lot of vintage sewing supplies.
I will be adding some choice items to my shop in the next week and hoarding the rest until my next flea market excursion. If you spy anything you like here, then leave me a comment, in fact leave me a comment anyhow, I am greedy for your attention. A hand-painted lid on a glass jar. It held some nice beaded trims.
Lots of embroidery transfers and dress patterns. 
Fairly apt, no? 
Love the brasserie repair set *so* much.
I really like the two black & white patterns, what magnificent looking women! You can see more at my flickr
After the excitement of yesterday, today has been really rather uneventful.
Luckily, I was able to lose myself in the alchemy of the kitchen turning plums into jam...
Damsons and blackberries into spiced cordial (half of this will be added to some brandy or vodka to make something special to drink in front of the fire this winter, cosy picture, eh?)
And cucumbers into dill pickles. Coupled with the beetroot chutney and elderberry & blackberry cordial I made earlier this week, if we had a larder, it would be groaning.
Here are a few little things I found last weekend, I expect I'll get round to putting some of them in the shop next week.
Tiny kaleidoscope - it has the prettiest little circus-y drawings all over it.
Wonderful 1960s (?) map of Barcelona, wouldn't the image below be great as a poster?
Jolly Bearskin dish, in its original box, it looks as though it's never been taken out! It reminds me of the illustrations in M Sasek's This Is London.
We're going camping tomorrow, one last hurrah as the weather has been rather lovely the past two days, and you've got to make the most of that haven't you?
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.
Wow, it seems that summer is really here, what a fine few days it has been!
We've been making the most of it with exciting trips to a couple of beaches on the bus (Iris loves to go on buses), having proper bucket and spade days with ice cream and bouncy castles and paddling in the shallows with her friends. Then there's been trips to The Field, for weeding, watering and picking - why just yesterday we picked sugar snap peas, strawberries, salad and asparagus. Just lovely.
Today, of course, it being Sunday an' all, was time again for carboot sales. We went to one in the morning and another this afternoon. The first one was magnificent! At the very first stall, I scored so many ....books! Ha! But the best kind of books, Picture Puffins and Picture Lions. I have them all spread at my feet right now. I have been trying to catergorise them but there's too many!
Oh, and some more Young Puffins naturally.
It's been so much fun buying with the shop in mind! Not to mention the swaps, at the moment I'm working on offerings for Artemis and Laura.
So it hasn't been ALL books but lots of other delightful things as well. I haven't managed to photograph everything today so I'll show you some more tomorrow. But here's a little glimpse (all bound for the shop, well, more or less!)...
Also, thank you all so much for your lovely encouraging comments about the shop, they made wonderful reading and have spurred me on. So it's back to the coalface for me for a little while longer tonight!
Here are my finds from this weekend. And as you can plainly see, all attempts at reining-it-in have gone out the window. So much so, that I might have to do this round-up in three parts!
I am pathological when it come to collecting. This became ever clearer when I checked definition of pathological, it was - caused by or evidencing a mentally disturbed condition. Oh dear. I suppose I had better open a shop quickly, either that or somebody - perform an intervention!
Are you ready? Here we go..
A doll. She's well-loved and a little bit crazy looking, but has undeniable charm. 
An owl trivet. I've been on the lookout for one of these for ages. I'm going to hang in on the wall in my kitchen if we ever get round to redecorating it.
Another book for the cover. Oh and title. Aren't they all totally elegant?
A sweet little brooch, not from the carboot sale, but from a tiny and very amazing junk shop that is owned by a retired couple, who were antique dealers for 40 years. They retired to the countryside and found they couldn't stop,(perhaps we could start a support group). The shop is only open for three days a week and it's stuffed to the gills with treasure and interesting artifacts, it gives me goosebumps when I'm in there. 
A super-groovy flour shaker. This is an essential piece of kitchen equipment and thus, wholly justifiable. 
A super-groovy tray, I love blues and greens together. 
A late 1980s Fisher Price whistling kettle. I bought this in the full knowledge that the whistling would drive me crazy (and lo, it came to pass) and that Iris would love it, gosh I am so selfless. 
Hello Babushka, come in, you'll make lots of friends here. 
This is the cover of the book with the story of Baba Yaga in it, this is for me, as it's quite terrifying.
And books, more books, Puffins galore, for Iris's library of the future.
Back shortly with parts 2 and maybe even 3!
