Bizarre Bazaar

Sitting here in the heat and sunshine it's hard to believe that 10 days ago I was walking around Lincoln in a coat bemoaning how cold I was. I had made a special effort to go into town that Saturday as the second Bizarre Bazaar was being held in town and I didn't want to miss this opportunity to share this new vintage market with you all.

I had been to the last one and enjoyed it a lot so thought I would report to you all what I found this time around. There's a great selection of stalls offering vintage, retro, handmade and craft items so there a real mixture of what you can find here and hopefully there's something for everyone.

Before we went to the market though we needed to stop off for breakfast and in Lincoln if you want a good old fashioned Full English there's only one place you should head to.

Modern Classics does the best breakfast around and the interior is so quirky and eclectic you never get bored or run out of things to look at. I had the Vegetarian Full English, of course. After that I was ready to face the cold, crummy British weather.

Amanda Dow's stall is packed full of trinkets and charms which make me oooh and ahhh an awful lot; she also makes the coolest jewellery. Amanda is a great lady to chat to and really friendly, she also has a stall at the Kind Bar Vintage Market.

Next door to Amanda was Chirpy Crafts and even on the greyest day this little gem was so colourful and bright; just what you need to cheer you up a bit. Laura hand makes all of her crafts and accessories, my favourites were the tea towels but I may be biased since I'm currently embroidering some of my own.

Alice's stall, Dancing Giraffe, has caught my eye before and something I could barely resist was that parasol! She's also my favourite for recommending the next stall to me, this lady knows her cake.

For obvious reasons Vintage Vegan was the stall I spent the most amount of my time at. All of the cakes are homemade and totally vegan friendly. The most interesting aspect though is that none of these cakes contain soy or soy products and are made using some of the more old fashioned vegan recipes. Some people who aren't vegan or vegetarian can be a little put off by some of the meat free products out there but let me tell you these cakes are the best no matter what your dietary choices may be. I had the lemon and poppy seed pudding cake, mmm delish!

Finally we have Third Sequin which is based more around handmade textile and has some really interesting designs. I bought myself one of those peach coloured bags you can see which are sewing kits. Inside I have everything I need to make a cute 1960s skirt including instructions; you can even go on their facebook and ask questions if you get stuck so it's really perfect for a novice seamstress like myself.

There were a lot more stalls to be found however it would be a very long post if I included them all and I wanted to just give a feel of what's on offer. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend next months market as I'm off to the hairdressers with my mum but I hope to be along to another one as soon as I can make it!

Beside The Seaside

A fortnight ago when I realised that we would be having a weekend without some planned event or engagement I asked my boyfriend what he would like to do. He said quite surely that he wanted to go to the seaside. I wasn't so sure, it's been so cold and raining so heavily that I thought it wouldn't be possible to make it to the beach. For the week before I checked the weather forecast every day waiting for the weekend forecast to be updated, and what do you know it was a glorious weekend!

So we packed up the picnic hamper and headed out to an old childhood favourite of mine, Chapel Six Marshes. There really is nothing here apart from a beach, car park and toilets but I think that's why I like it, you have all the essentials and nothing more.

The picture make it look so sunny, which it was, but it was also windy and quite cold so I stole Indi's jumper to keep me warm. My ankles were a little chilly still as I was wearing my gingham capri pants on their first ever outing!

After we ate lunch we played in the sea a tiny bit and then wrote our names in the sand, as you do. Serious poses were needed for this.

After this we were at a loss for what else to do so we headed over the dune to the car to put the picnic basket away. As we got over the crest of the dune there was a beep beep and my parents honked their horn as they pulled into the car park. What perfect timing!

We agreed to stop at a cafe for a cup of tea and then head on to Gibraltar Point which was only a little way north. It's a nature reserve and that's where I took these pictures of the most amazing old anchors which looks as if they are growing out of the ground. I'm really proud of these pictures!

After that we headed off home but on the way through Skegness we stopped off just for a quick look around and I was so glad we did, I bought a cute little Laura Ashley top from British Heart Foundation.

Did everyone else enjoy the sunshine this weekend?

My First Blog Award!

Imagine how excited I was when I checked my blog this morning and found I had been nominated for the Liebster Blog Award by Sorbet Surprise at Sorbet Surprise gets Sew Crafty! It was a lovely thing to start the day to and extra special since I have never received a blog award before. Also who can resist some of the lovely things Sorbet Surprise makes, such as this Angry Birds cake?

The rules for the bestowing of this award are as follows:

1.Thank the person who nominated you
2.Link back to the blogger who nominated you
3.Copy and paste the blog award on to your blog (that's the glowy tingly bit!)
5.Nominate and pass on the award to five other bloggers who have less than 200 followers
6.Let them know the happy tidings by posting on their blog

I would like to nominate:
A Highly Evolved Feline - This cool cat has an unrivalled humour and creative flair with her own illustrations.

Spiffing Sporadics of a Vintage Girl - I have been following this lady's blog for a long time and, what can I say, we're shoe twins!

 Retro Reporter - I love the outfits and purchases this girl makes, a very stylish lady. She was a real help on a special blog post I hope to publish very soon and I like her tweets too!

Incendiary Blond - makes me so jealous with fab photos of the cool places she visits and her stunning wedding!

Constantly Alice - Does some lovely outfit posts and more informative ones too. One thing's for sure this lady is passionate and that shines through her blog.

Up in the Peaks

Last weekend I went up North to Manchester with my mum and dad. We went over to the Peak District and met up with my sister so we could go around walking, then we tootled over to my sister's house where I stayed over and she made the most amazing fish pie ever.

Here I am looking grand in my jeans and very fetching ski jacket! Weather wise we really were lucky as it didn't rain at all. It was a great walk which has made me want to do more and also I met this beautiful chap along the way.

My mum and sister also thought it might be necessary to check my ruck sack for stolen dogs before we went home too because I met so many wonderful and friendly puppies along the way. I stopped to say hello to all of them!

Here's a hazey picture of what I wore the next day when we went into town for lunch and shopping to Go Outdoors. My hair which was satisfactory when we left the house quickly deteriorated. While at my sister's though she managed to get a few snaps of me which I thought I would share with y'all.

What did you get up to during your Bank Holiday?

A Shine A Day!

It's not a fact I hide that recently I have been ill with stress and anxiety and it's something I know many people also suffer from. As well as depression they are the most common mental health problems to affect anyone and they are all usually linked in some manner. I work in mental health services so the irony is not lost on me that now I am receiving mental health services but seeing this different perspective has given me a whole new view on things. Now Cognitive Behaviour Therapy isn't something I read about in theories; it's some I do as an individual, as a human being.

One of the greatest things my doctor said to me was "do something every day which gives you enjoyment". Now I'm a vintage girly and I'd like to phrase that in my own little way - do something which makes you shine.

You know that feeling you get inside when you're laughing really hard with friends, or when you've made something you're proud of, when you've had a little pamper, or just had a little time on your own to relax? I would say that feeling is shining, like Yvaine does in Stardust, a little glow from the inside out. These things do not have to be particularly extravagant or expensive and so in my own little vintage-y way over the next few weeks I'd like to do some posts with ideas for things to make you shine. These are by no means a treatment for clinical depression or any other mental illness but are merely suggestions to help people no matter what their situation may be. If you do feel as though you are suffering from a mental illness, and believe me you're not alone, then please go to see your doctor.