THRIFTY TREASURES

I have wanted a Crocodile bag for so long now but they've always been too expensive. But on the first stall i looked at in Judy Vintage Fair, i saw this bag for only £10! It's so much prettier in person and i can safely say it will never leave my shoulder!

Again, how could you resist a £1 bin? Or belts even? 

I found a stall that sold little odds and ends. Broken bits of jewellery and watch faces. I'd seen quite a few of the stalls selling watch face rings for around £8-£10, so i thought why not just make my own. It's cheaper. But i've decided to put them all together to make a bracelet, a bracelet of 9 watch faces. At £1 each i think it will make a very unique piece of jewellery!

I found this ugly watch face on that same stall, that didn't even have a cover. I put it back a then saw the back of it and the amount of interesting detail they have. This is going to make a lovely ring for £1.

These are just a couple of badges i came across for £1 each, i especially like the really old Disney badge.

And a moustache! 

So here are some of the things i managed find at Kendal Calling. There was a really pretty vintage floral dress i wish i'd bough now. Damn. 

"DON'T HAVE ANY DORITOS OFF US, THEY'RE PISS SCENTED"

So i've been meaning to put this post up for a while now. Honestly i haven't really done much this summer at all, but one of those things i have done is go to a local festival Kendal Calling. I did go last year but i wasn't really looking forward to it, honestly i didn't even want to go. I didn't really know any of the acts or liked them. But surprisingly it was really fun, i really enjoyed myself. I have been to festivals before and there's always that rush to get to the very front of the stage and see as many people as humanly possible. But i found at Kendal because i didn't really know the acts, i didn't have that stress and i could actually enjoy the festival atmosphere! 

001. So Dylan and I decided to go this year as well, but a few of my friends were going also. We drove there in the most packed car you've ever seen. I was sat on two rolled up foam beds with a water-bottle between my legs and a rucksack on my lap. At least it was safe to say we couldn't speed up enough to get in a car crash! The queue to get in was unbelievable and we got shouted at by this huge black security man. I'm sure he called us stupid girls and i was so scared he was going to grab my bag off me and throw it! We tried to be sly and push in, but failed. 

002. We ended up camping next to this strange man in a Tepee who we named the 'Chainsaw Massacre' or 'CM' because well, he had a chainsaw. Not the best first impression when we saw him slyly stealing other people tent pegs. Oh and stealing a sip of Sammi's drink. There was another weirdo staying in the Tepee who would just leave us alone. I have never met anyone on as much drugs in my life. I couldn't stand him! 

003. First thing on my list to do was check out the vintage stalls of course. And i wasn't disappointed! There was so many things i wanted. I'll have to post what i bought there. An amazing Crocodile bag has to be my best purchase. Dylan was really wanting a Poncho and i've had a hate for them as long as i can remember. Unfortunately it rained A LOT this past weekend and i gave in, i'm so glad i did. It is the most comfiest thing ever, i felt like i was wearing my blanket around with me. 

004. I really couldn't get as drunk as i wanted to, i'd feel merry for about half an hour then completely sober for the rest of the night.  I didn't really want to sit in the campsite all day drinking when i could be in the LadyBird tent making dreamcatchers and doing a Pub quiz in the Comedy tent. Dizzee Rascal was headlining on the Saturday which i was looking forward to the most. It was really good but it all went a bit sour after that.

005. A couple of my friends left a day early which was quite shit, because i think Sunday was my favourite night. I definitely don't think Kendal Calling was as good as last year, but maybe that's just me... Yeah, i can't be bothered writing anything else ha. Actually one thing i would like to mention is the fact my friends would piss in their own tent, the smell was horrendous and that area was permanently sludgy, there is a photo above. Ewwy!

BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES!

So it's been a month since i last posted, Wow. I've spent the last month pretty much doing nothing, but i'm going to schedule this post to when it should have been posted, but shhhh!  Moving on... it was my Mums Birthday on the 26th and being unorganised i forgot to buy a cake. So me and my sister made these yummy Birthday Cupcakes! The recipe makes 14, to spell out H-A-P-P-Y  B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y-!

Ingredients

170g of Butter

170g Caster Sugar

170g Self-Raising Flour

3 Eggs

A little Vanilla Essence
Strawberry Jam

Method

001. Preheat oven to 180°C /350°F/Gas Mark 4. Fill your Cupcake Baking Tray with your Cupcake Cases.

002. Cream your Butter, Vanilla Essence and Caster Sugar together in a mixing bowl and add the Egg. 

003. Gradually sieve in the Flour whilst mixing all the ingredients. The mixture should be smooth, if not add a little milk. 

004. Equally divide the mixture into your Cupcake cases and place your Tray into the Oven.

005. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until nice and golden brown! Stick a fork through one of the Cupcakes to check it's cooked through, the fork should come out clean when inserted into the centre. 

006. Leave to cool on a rack for a while, to prepare for icing. 

007. Carefully cut out the top off the Cupcakes and fill with a teaspoon of Strawberry Jam. Then replace the Cake. 

008. For the icing i cheated and bought some Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Vanilla frosting. It's amazing. Ice the top of the cupcake carefully.

009. And decorate! 

Ps. I was in a bit of a rush, so hopefully yours will look a lot better than mine!

SUNDAY PORTRAIT WEEK 010

001. This week has gone so fast. I've just had to really concentrate to think what i've even done! There was a mixer at Leeds on Monday for those going to live at Liberty Park. I wasn't as nervous as i expected but it didn't really go to well. I didn't find anyone to live with, but i didn't expect i would anyway. An hour is not long at all to decide who you want to be with for a whole year. We had to play "Team Building" games and then went on a tour of the Student Accommodation. Liberty Park flats are really nice, i was first in there to choose by bedroom. The biggest one of course! I'm so excited to decorate my room. 

002. I proper don't feel like i've done much this week, next week i'm definitely going to make it busier. I did go to see Friends With Kids, with Dylan on Thursday. It was good, i did my usual cringey happy face without realising it. Urgh, how embarrassing. The only thing i could concentrate on was the main woman's weird lips. She looked like a Who from the Grinch... We then went for a couple of jugs and got really drunk. So drunk i thought i was going to die (or jump out the window). The hangover was so awful! 

003. Lastnight we all went out for Amee's Birthday round Workington. I don't even remember it, it's the first time i've gone out and gotten drunk this year. It was fun but i wish i hadn't drank so much! I ended up losing my Camera and my Purse. God sake. I didn't even notice until i wanted to buy a Peshwari Naan! I did get my Purse bak though, after cancelling all my cards and ringing every bar in Proximity. It was under a bench near Debenhams, i didn't even go near Debenhams, fucking knob head. So that's £40 gone and a £90 Camera. Great!

004. On that note, i've been unable to post my WEEK IN PHOTOS because i was too lazy to do it yesterday and now i have no camera! I'll have to order one pronto. When my new bank card gets here... I hate Caroline on Big Brother. 

THRIFTY TREASURES

I'm in love with this bag. It did take good deal of hunting for but it was worth it. I got this from Absolute Vintage (the big one, near Bricklane). I was originally looking for a Crocodileskin bag but they were just too pricey. This was only £20!

As my Boyfriend's New Blood thingy was in Spitalfields there was really nothing else for me to do other than wander round the vicinity. I found this little stall selling vintage items, and nothing really caught my eye except this cutting of old floral fabric for £2. I think it's beautiful. It isn't a vast amount, i'd say maybe 1.5m² but i can't see myself using it. It's too pretty and i know i won't find anything good enough to make with it.

I also ended up buying a couple of belts, you can never have too many brown belts. Last year i lost my favourite in the London Dungeon, this year i had back-ups! Left: I got this Crocodile skin belt from a £1 bin in Absolute Vintage. Right: And this one is from another stall at Spitalfields. 

Even though New Blood was finished with i had heard there was a Vintage fair on in Spitalfields on the weekend. So obviously i dragged Dylan along. I got these sunglasses for only £2 each! I'm quite disappointed i didn't buy more in London but i'd rather buy quality things, rather than a lot of shit. I did buy a beautiful vintage silk shirt from Camden Market, but i've just worn it so i don't have a photo...

So as you will have gathered from my last post, i have just come back from a trip to London with my boyfriend. Here are a few of the lovely vintage things i managed to pick up. I live in a small town, with the clothes shops consisting of a New Look and a Topshop. So unless you order an outfit off the internet, you can guarantee there is at least a handful of people with the same dress as you. At least with Vintage shopping you have a guarantee you'll be the only one wearing it, and it's prettier. 

"THE WITCH, THE WIZARD AND THE CUPBOARD"

So i've been trying to put all these photos on for two days now!  I got back from London really late on Saturday (technically Sunday) and i've been in Leeds so i've had a very busy week and a half to say the least! London was really fun, a lot more relaxing than last year. We did so much last year in the 4 days we were there, so there wasn't as much tourist-y stuff for us to do this year. You wouldn't have thought it though, the way my feet were hurting! We still managed to fit quite a lot in, even if we were at New Blood for a couple of days.

001. We only arrived at about 2pm-ish so after dropping off our bags at Emma's, which is so far away! Like an hour on the tube + walking. We just wandered around Oxford Street and went for a meal at wetherspoons, The burger was unreal, apart from the disgusting spicy cheese sauce. Blergh! There was also a sort-of pre-party at Bricklane, which was just really some animations from students in the back room of a club. Bricklane is so Hipster it's unreal! I did enjoy it though.

002. The first half of Day two was spent at the D&AD place watching everyone else put up their exhibition, while i just sat and watched. So unbelievably boring and hot in there. i did buy a pretty leather belt and some vintage floral fabric though. We got to leave by 2pm so there was still valuable sightseeing time! We went to NottingHill because Rachy wanted to go to a Hoarders Museum on Packaging and i'd heard there was a Market. The market (if you can even call it that) was shit, it was full of the same stuff on every stall, ugly jewellery and floral mugs. I did like NottingHill though, it was a really pretty place. We then tried to go to the Tate Museum to see the Damien Hurst exhibition. But unfortunately it was closed ): We went to a D&AD party thingy at night 93 Feet East which was okay, the the drinks were pretty hefty money though.

003. Dylan had a Saatchi and Saatchi tour so i spent the morning wandering round London like a big girl on my own. I was on the search for vintage shops! I went to the huge Absolute Vintage on day two, and i heard there was another near Oxford Street. Oh my gosh it was so hard to find! The map i had to go on was off the back of a little Business Card, i ended up walking too far down a 'Sex Street' full of lap dance clubs and Sex toy shops. So awkward, there was even a perky old man looking in the windows. When i finally arrived at the shop, i walked into the middle of a Tv set of some programme about Vintage Clothes. I didn't want to leave straight away, not to look a bit stupid but in the end i just ran out ashamed. I really couldn't be arsed shopping and the thought of having to look round the biggest Topshop known to man was certainly daunting. I couldn't even handle it. I only came out with a cupcake, i very good one at that! We then headed to Carnaby Street for a little look around, and a trip to Ripley's Believe it or Not. It was really interesting, quite expensive though, but it was good! Hamleys and Buckingham Palace followed.

004. Thursday morning, Dylan and Rachy had to man the exhibition so i could wander round Absolute Vintage, but there was Vintage Market near by and by time i'd finished looking at that they were finished. The market was so weird, some of the items being sold were so unusual! There was a stuffed monkey wearing a suit, a human skull, real human teeth and dolls eyes! I didn't manage to buy anything though, i don't know what came over me, but nothing caught my eye. Afterwards we went to The Hunterian Museum which was definitely up my street, it was so interesting! The place was full of obscure specimens in jars and strange deformities in cabinets. The highlight of the visit was definitely seeing a Sloth foetus. I love Sloths so much, and the foetus looked like ET, it was amazing! After seeing all this though we didn't see much point paying £10 to see pretty much the same sort of thing at the Damien Hurst exhibition. Afterwards we had a Krispy Kreme Donut which was amazing and headed off to Covent Garden. It was entertaining seeing the street performers but it did ruin it when after an hour you'd see a different person performing the exact same act, word-for-word. M&Ms World was my favourite. We went to our usual, Wetherspoons again for dinner and a little drink. It was a really fun night.   

005. This was our last full day in London so it was spent at Camden Market. I love Camden Market, even if the weather was awful! My camera was about to die so i barely got any photos unfortunately. I did buy a disposable so i'll have to get them developed soon! Dylan stretched my ear, we ate Bang Bang chicken and i got to try my first battered Mars Bar. Then we walked along the Thames, drank at Emma's then slept. (You can tell my attention span is lacking now). 

006. We went to Absolute Vintage and i bought a Crocodile Skin belt and a really nice Black Satchel. I want a Snakeskin bag so much! They were way too expensive for me though. There was another vintage fair so i even stocked up on a few pairs of Sunglasses for £2 each. I had done more shopping on my last day than the entire trip! After rushing to Victoria Coach Station we realised Dylan had the wrong departure time, by about two hours. So we resorted to getting out my sleeping bag and napping in the park, along with some scary polish people who were very drunk and kept fighting. Deffo thought my bag was going to get nicked! 

Apologises for this awfully long post, i can't sleep and i was hoping this would get me a little tired. It's worked. 

TANGERINE LEATHER

Jacket: River Island

Dress: Topshop

Shoes: Vans

Sunglasses: Topshop

Bag: Topshop

Watch: Urban Outfitters

Ring: Topshop

I'm currently trying to upload all my photos from my past week in London but unfortunately it's so slow the boredom is bringing tears to my eyes! So i've taken to the internet to look at clothes i cannot afford. Boo hoo. I've been trying to get these photos on for hours! 

I really love this outfit, the dress is so girly and not something i would usually go for but i chose to dress it down a bit so it was a bit more 'casual'. I'm not a strong lover of denim jackets but i thought i'd try to get over that, as it is summer and i need to stop being a sun-hating Goth. Acid Wash is way prettier. I love these sunglasses, i added these onto this outfit as i have already bought a pair really similar over the weekend when i was in London. They were only £2, so obviously a stocked up on a few! This outfit would be perfect with my Vintage Plastic Tortoise Shell Belt. 

The colour of the leather bag is amazing! I didn't expect orange leather could look this pretty. I've been pretty bored today, so i think this week i should get off my arse and do some crafts! Coincidentally last year i found some Orange Leather in a sort of shop (that happened to be in a little cafe) in Maryport. I've been saving it for 'something special', so yeah, i'm going to make a bag. Excite!

I have a watch similar to this also (minus the initial) which i seldom leave the house without, my boyfriend bought me it and it's my favourite piece of jewellery. It doesn't work but it's so beautiful, i wouldn't even care. It's Gold, Black Leather Straps and which a Mother of Pearl face. Also, the Vans. I've needed some new ones for a while now, mine are completely wrecked. Why is it that one shoe gets more shabby than the other? My left foot looks brand new, while the other looks like i have borrowed it from a tramp. I've only had them since Christmas, and it's not even like i'm even a sporty person either. The most exercise i've done is walk! Regardless, i want more. I cannot go back to black Primark Pumps. God No!

SUNDAY PORTRAIT WEEK 009

001. Apologises for the lack of WEEK IN PHOTOS this week, but i have only just gotten back from London and i am now in Leeds, so i will be posting those photos soon (as soon as i get home and charge the camera!) My camera died at Camden Market So i had to buy an extortionately priced disposable. Are they usually £8? London was good though (minus the camera), it doesn't seem as though i'd been there for 6 days. It was so expensive though! I've spent around £200 on mainly travel and food. I did get to see quite a lot of vintage shops but they were a bit pricey. I managed a vintage black satchel, a silk kaleidoscope shirt, a camel belt, crocodile belt and a bit of old floral fabric. I did stretch my ear at Camden also, omagod so painful!

002. So today i've spent travelling to Leeds for some sort of Mixer Event at the University to look at the accommodation and meet people who i could be living with. I got back into Carlisle at 12.30am (after an 8 hour bus journey) and then had to travel to Bradford at 1.50pm. I'm tired! I'm a bit nervous to meet all these people tomorrow though, ah i'm so awkward. 

003. I miss my kittens. 

004. I think i'm going to look for a job next week, i'm sick of having no money. Ideally in a shop so i can transfer when i move to Leeds. I refuse to work in a café again but beggars can't be choosers, i've been unemployed for over a year!