June and it's Purchases.

Not quite as late as the May Purchases post but only just!

June was a busy and fun month. I ate out with friends more times than is good for my waistline, I went to the theatre with Himself to see a really rather dreadful play about Sherlock Holmes and I took my friend Alex from work to see the magical Giffords Circus.

It's the first time I've felt able to go since my Dad had his stroke and I'm so glad I did because it was fabulous.
Dad LOVED Giffords and we always went together every year, so up until now, I somehow couldn't face it, but this year felt different.

We had a great view and as ever the acrobatics and tumbling were breathtaking. Having said that one of the best bits was the lady with the 7 dachshunds who were meant to be doing tricks but basically just ran around doing what the heck they wanted the minute she stopped looking at them.

I had to do a dinner for work in the stunning setting of St Peter's College in Oxford which would have been amazing only it was possibly the hottest night of the month and obviously old colleges don't really have windows that open let alone air con, oh and I was in a plain light frock of man-made fibres...
 I can't remember the last time I sweated so much, it was literally running down the sides of my (bright red) face and you could wring my hair out! My dress was so wet in places I was too embarrassed to go to the toilet because I would have had to walk through the room like that. Grim. The food was lovely though.

 I had another dinner last Friday and this time lesson firmly learnt, I wore 100% cotton in a colourful print on a dark background and pinned my hair up!

Anyway on to the purchases. First up my early birthday present to myself from the Ocean Liners exhibition. I had thought I might get one of their reproduction bags but they turned out to be very expensive yet very cheaply made, so disappointed, I thought I would come back empty handed. I then spotted this beauty in the jewellery cabinet and it had to be mine.

As Soo said I was literally pawing at the glass as soon as I saw it. *happy sigh*

I've bought a few frocks

This whist I was doing the food shop at Sainsbury's.
This halter neck dress on Ebay.

It's a Hell Bunny I've been eyeing for a while and not wanting to pay full price for. I got it for less than half on Ebay  and with a free red elasticated belt too!

I got these two sale dresses from Lady Vintage. As you can see the blue one is currently drying on the line as I wore it to my Bosses leaving do yesterday. It's a tad shorter that I expected but I still like it.

Finally this tropical print which I may well wear to Bristol tomorrow as it's meant to be another scorching hot day. It was in the sale on Tiger Milly so another bargain.

Like Mim I have been suffering in the heat, don't get me wrong I like the sun but once it gets over 25 and there's no breeze I am not happy. I've spent the last couple of weekends wilting indoors and again like Mim took the opportunity to do a bit of clothes sorting, though in my case not to hunt down and exterminate moths.
When we moved 2 years ago I just took the drawers out of my chest of drawers and moved then as was contents intact, so I decided it was about time I emptied them out. I took a huge bag to the charity shop and also listed some things on Ebay but not before I gave my friends Sophie and Alex first dibs, with the only proviso being they didn't judge me on a) my taste in clothes or b) the amount of things that were new and unworn and also were under no obligation whatsoever to take anything.

I had tops from the late 80's onwards and in sizes ranging from 10 - 16 for them to choose from. Indeed I sort of wept a little inside when I found one of my all time favourite skirts from the early 90's that now only fits neatly round my thigh.
Anyway I was thrilled that both girls (I call them that because they are much younger than me and both gorgeous to boot) took various vintage 80's-90's tops. I love to think of them being worn and enjoyed as they should be worn and enjoyed.
There were of course items like said teeny tiny skirt, that were lovingly folded and put back in the drawer. Too many happy memories attached for me to bear to part with them.

Anyway this freed up much space for the new tops I have been buying at quite a rate. As I just mentioned I can't do heat, I'm nearly 'officially old' so I get hot and I sweat at the drop of a hat and my office has no air con. Also I can't do bare legs in summer because of the dreaded (and bloody painful) chub rub, not to mention the blinding glare my lily white legs give off when bared so on the whole I resort to capri or cigarette pants with a nice top.

These are just some of the ones I have purchased in June. Ranging from the expensive Seasalt breton top (middle right) via the red Debenhams gypsy top (bottom left) to the cheap and very cheerful orange & white Primark number (bottom right).

Also these from M&S and Peacocks.

Finally Accessories!

These from the Accessorize sale

and these brooches from an online vintage sellers group I'm part of.

these two bags also came from that site, they are both cleaned though the bamboo one is waiting for new lining.

This was from Ebay and is in need of more restoration. I cleaned it thoroughly and bought some leather renovating cream from Ebay which turned out to be utter shite so I have now purchased some proper dark green leather shoe cream instead, lets hope that works better, obviously I also need to stitch the handle back on too. A job for another baking hot day no doubt.

Finally randoms.

As long time readers of my blog will know I am a HUGE Snoopy fan. I don't collect memorabilia avidly but I do have a fair bit, including some 1970's Snoopy mirrors. I buy them as and when I come across them and I won't pay loads for them but these two are recent purchases for £6 each as I recall.

I have 7 or 8 of these mirrors now, all different, and have had them all re-framed in this same smart black wood by the lovely man at Oxford's Wednesday market. One day when we finally find somewhere to settle I plan to hang them up as a group.

My last and most magnificent purchase of June was a squirrel baffle. As more recent readers of my blog will know I wage a war against squirrels on my bird feeders.
The original squirrel and I had come to an uneasy truce with me hanging a separate feeder of just peanuts in a squirrel easy spot meaning he left my other bird feeders alone.
All was well, then came That Fucking Squirrel!(TM) 
A skinny little monster with no moral code who proceeded to decimate all in his path. He destroyed 3 bird feeders in quick succession, he actually bit one feeder right in half, I kid you not. I don't think he even wanted the sunflower seeds inside, he just wanted to destroy!

Enough was enough

I ordered a squirrel baffle online. It arrived at my work and was absolutely massive! Much bigger than I expected, I got some looks taking it home on the train I can tell you.

Anyway it has worked like a dream. It took the birds a few days to get used to it but now they are perfectly happy and the squirrel is livid. We shall see if he plots revenge or moves on to pastures new.
Finally a picture of the one thing in our house that is enjoying the heat.

So very randomly last autumn I had gone to hang some washing out and I spotted this little green blob on the lawn near the washing line, it was about an inch long and turned out to be a cactus. I have absolutely no idea where the hell it came from there is no way anyone could have thrown it in, I can only think a bird must have dropped it? Anyway I mixed a little sand and compost together and stuck it on the top where it say quite happily all winter, doing nothing. In the last few weeks of baking heat it has started to grow at a visibly rapid rate of knots. I fully expect to come home one of these days to find it has taken over the conservatory and is bellowing "Feed me Seymour".

Well that's all for June. As of today I am on the count down for my 'you are now officially old' birthday next week. Himself and I are off to Bristol for the weekend, then we are taking my Dad out for lunch on Monday with the rest of my family.
Tuesday we are off to Eltham Palace again which I am SO excited about as they have opened more rooms since we were last there.
Finally on Wednesday the NHS have decided to help me celebrate in style by having my boobs squashed. What with that and having to come off the pill so I can start the menopause who said turning 50 wasn't fun??