Tuesday 10 November 2015

Bags of Sparkle.

Well here I sit waiting patiently for Kev the plumber to return with a new diaphragm for the toilet. Yes dear readers the toilet has broken AGAIN, but thankfully this time it hasn't flooded the kitchen so I'm very grateful for that at least!

Anyway it seems a perfect opportunity to write a blog post and try not to think about needing to pee.....

So what have I been up too? I've been out for dinner some more (and I wonder why I'm not losing any weight!) to catch up with some friends and also for our anniversary. As he is not a fan of eating out as a rule, I swear an anniversary meal is Himself's excuse to be out on Halloween night meaning he gets to scoff all the sweets that don't get handed out. Of course I jest, and we did have a lovely meal in a little family run Italian restaurant in Oxford. We also managed to buy each other the exact same card which made us laugh, we truly are turning into Howard and Hilda!

I've had a fab day out shopping with Melissa and Soo, the last time we will see Melissa before her wedding in just a month's time. We met in Witney and as I've blogged about there before I will just mention the place we went for lunch. A tiny cafe come restaurant called Church Green Kitchen
I had the brisket (apologies to the vegetarians among you) and it was just sublime. Melissa and Soo both had the bubble and squeak and also gave it a firm thumbs up. I highly recommend eating there if you ever happen to be in Witney.

This Sunday was also my Dad's 80th birthday. We had a small party at his care home with this amazing Harry Potter cake.
Dad's a big fan of both Harry Potter and owls so it was perfect for him. It seemed a shame to cut it, but cut it we did, and it was delicious. Thankfully vanilla sponge rather than owl flavoured.

When the weather is miserable,as it has been this last week, I tend to sit at my desk during my lunch break instead of going out. This means I inevitably I browse Ebay. Mostly I look at bags and last week has been no different. I snagged a couple of beauties and sort of forgot they were both silver until they arrived. Clearly I was having a spangly moment that day!
The one on the left is crocheted lurex and has a nasty stain that I need to investigate a bit before I have a go at removing it.
I suspect it may be rust which may well be impossible to remove, and if so never mind, the other side is perfect so I will just use it that way instead.

I finally finished fixing the other little Ebay bargain bag form a few weeks ago.
As you can see it cleaned up really well to an unusual dove grey and the handle glued back together nicely.

I also bought myself this brooch. I spotted one in a shop in Greenwich but as the price was horrifying so there I left it, instead I hunted one down on Ebay.
Finding bargains, that's one of the things I do love the internet for!

Finally my Mum brought over this fab red leather satchel. It was left over from an Age U.K sale she helped at. I honestly can't understand why, I think it's great.

   


9 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday to Daddy Magpie, that cake is amazing, it would be a crime to eat it.
    Gorgeous bags especially the silver crochet number. A strategically placed brooch would hide that stain. The hedgehog is a right cutie.
    Hope the loo gets fixed quickly xxx

    ReplyDelete
  2. First happy birthday to your dad Wow that cake looks amazing bet that made his day :-) Sorry you have had toilet problems nothing worse than that being out of order. Love your 2 silver handbags there gorgeous I love evening bags and have a few myself vintage ones that is. Have a good rest of week, dee xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aw what a marvellous cake! I thought it was a china ornament at first glance!!

    You did a great job with that bag from the other week. Regarding the rust stain on the other one - this might be a drastic last resort, but fabric paint/acrylic pain would cover that up perhaps.

    I have been online shopping like a demon, trying to cheer myself up. Last night I 'won' 3 dresses and 2 tops, ooops! xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a cake! Happy birthday to your Harry Potter-loving dad.
    I can't believe that such a great satchel would be left behind! It's great looking and, being leather, will last for ages.
    If the stain won't come out of the fun sparkly bag you maybe could put a brooch on it to cover.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ha! at the thought of an owl flavoured cake. I bet owls taste pretty grim. Vanilla is a much better idea.

    You could ask a crocheting friend to crochet you something in lurex thread to cover up the stain - it'd look like part of the bag then.

    Thank goodness the loo works. That's probably the worst thing in the house to go wrong!

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's a nightmare when the loo's out of action, isn't it?! Hopefully it was promptly fixed before your need to wee got too urgent!
    The bags are lovely - rust marks are a bugger to get out (my mum always said to try lemon juice but that was on a cotton fabric, don't know about a woven lurex) but Vix's idea of a brooch over the stain would work.
    Hope your dad enjoyed his birthday and that fabulous cake! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hope your WC is now serviceable and you can uncross your legs.
    Your dad's cake is amazing, sounds like it tasted as good as it looks.
    x

    ReplyDelete
  8. I hate it when the plumbing plays up. I always need a psychosomatic wee! Silver bags look lovely and sparkly. Think you're turning us all into magpies! Xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your Dad's cake is amazing! Hope he enjoyed it and his birthday. Beautiful bags; I do love a bit of Lurex.xxx

    ReplyDelete