A Busy Week, Purple Shoes and Snowdrops.

Well this week has positively flown by. I'm just taking a wee break from my I-Player catching up viewing and tea drinking to write this.
Not only has work been manic (it's term time) I was also out gadding twice this week, once on a school night too no less, disgraceful! On top of that our grill decided to die on Monday tripping the electric in the process and leaving Himself with still raw sausages rather than lovely cooked ones when he got in. Poor thing had been on a trainning course and had been travelling home for the last 3 hours too. So calls were made and men finally came out on Friday to diagnose that the element had gone and a new one must be ordered in

On Wednesday we went to see 'Tragedy a heavy metal tribute to the Bee Gees'. They were so funny and it's amazing how well the Bee Gees music worked as rock, a sign of a well written song I would say. Having said that my favourite song of the evening was their cover of Donna Summer's - Hot Stuff. Brilliant.

Friday was far more genteel. I met my two best friends for afternoon tea and presents. We haven't been able to get together since before Christmas so we had a belated unwrapping of gifts as well as huge slabs of yummy chocolate cake. Diet what diet??

This morning I had to pop into town as my dear Dad had managed to leave the new broom handle he bought in Wilkinsons on Wednesday afternoon behind somewhere. By a process of elimination it turned out to be in Holland and Barrett of all places. At least he can blame his forgetfulness on age these days, (though he has always been like it) Sadly my brother and I, who both seem to have inherited the gene don't yet have that excuse!

Now due to the blogs of some lovely ladies I follow I have fairly recently signed up with Clarks Shoes. I love the fact that they don't charge postage and that they will either deliver to your house or a local store and if the shoes are no good then that's fine, no charge. I had an email off them this week to say their sale was at 'Up To 70% Off' now and for some reason when I lay in bed last night that popped into my head. There is a tiny Clarks shop in the new shopoing precinct in town and before christmas I had ordered in a gorgeous pair of purple shoes to try out. At the time I decided that whilst I liked them I couldn't justify the price and left them in store. So as I lay in bed last night it occured to me that they just might still be in store and also in the sale........
and do you know what? The shoe faries were smiling down on me for they WERE indeed still in store and they were also at 70% off, as you can imagine the Hallelujah Chorus went off in my head when I spotted them and for the second time this month the no shopping policy went out the window!

My lovely purple shoes. For some reason the colour looks burgandy here, they are actually deep purple. *Happy Sigh*
Finally when I went out to feed the birds I spotted that my lone snowdrop was no longer alone.

 

  

The magnolia is also thick with buds, so it's really starting to feel like spring. I must admit I did actually look round the garden today instead of just scooting out to fill the feeders and scooting back in. There is SO much work to do out there! As Scott Bakula would say Oh Boy.

River Island Frock as Promised .

So, yes. I have made a couple of comments on other blogs about there being some good items to be had in River Island over the last couple of years. I also mentioned the fact that they champion London Fashion Graduates with a summer collection. Below are some pictures to show the things that I have bought in there in the last year. Quite honestly it is just an excuse for me to photograph clothes!

Historically River Island was a staple port of call on my places to clothes shop list. Back in the days when I first foraged the high street with my own money rather than shopping with my mother, it was called 'Chelsea Girl' and was way better and way cooler than Topshop!
I can't remember exactly when the name changed to River Island, but I shopped there a LOT back then too. Over time I fell out of love with the shop and hadn't been in there for ages until a couple of years ago. As I say there is still a lot of over priced horror to be had in there but there are some absolute gems to be had too.
Let us begin.....

ok I have no idea why this dress just would not photograph bah! This is the best picture I could get and it really doesn't do it any justice :-(

It is the frock I mentioned buying from the Fashion Graduate range.


I love the fact that it is quite girlie with lovely little puff sleeves and this unusual gathered detail at the shoulder and yet has a hard edge from the zip up the front. I think maybe I need to put it on and get a picture of me wearing it, outside....in daylight!

Next up are two pretty blouses.




I just about exploded with bliss when I saw the cat print one!


I loved this cute 50's style bustier top too.

and this equally sweet pinifore dress.

I don't think I have mentioned on this blog before but sadly when at work I am pretty much forced to dress scruffy. It's very dirty, very dusty and pretty physical and over the years I have ruined far too many nice clothes!
Basically it's jeans and jumpers in the winter and jeans and t-shirts in the summer so here are a few tops I have bought for work!



I loved these vintage print tops.
and finally



The Chelsea Girl logo top brought back some great memories....

Now I could do a whole seperate post on my River Island accessories lol.

Bargains and Projects.

Today I am feeling much better AT LAST! Still coughing fit to burst but the voice is back and I have some energy = huzzah.

I had to go into town to pay my credit card bill (gulp) and mail two birthday presents so I wrapped up warm and headed out with a bag of bits I had sorted out for charity too. Well by the time I got to the high street I was melting, it's nowhere near as cold out there as I thought it was going to be! I spent the rest of the trip 'glowing' and wishing I could have lost a layer or two.

Once the bank had been done I came back via the many charity shops in my town. I *know* I have sworn off shopping but you have to have a few cheats here and there don't you? and do charity shops really count as shopping? really?

So I found this lovely skirt. It's wool but black and white dots rather than a tweed pattern. I love the kind of mini fishtail effect at the hemline. It's a little big but if a belt won't sort that I can take it in.

Next are a few sewing box goodies. I love rumaging for this kind of stuff. It's like being little and playing with my mum's button tin.


I also found this red glass bead necklace which needs to be restrung, it's hanging together by a thread literally!
I also found the 'something red' for my bloggy swap which I won't show a picture of in case she is reading this ;-)

So to projects.... I had a good sort through all my fabric and bits last weekend and found I had quite a few pieces of fabric with snowmen on, not exactly a surprise I know, but I have pondered for a while what to do with them as they have accumulated. None of them is really big enough to make anything with as such. Inspiration came from some old mags I was reading whilst I was feeling ill. One was a christmas edition and I spotted some lovely homemade bunting in one of the pictures and had the lightbulb moment. I don't have my sewing machine at the moment so it will have to be sewn by hand which could well take forever and drive me demented but I have another project to add to the pile!



Here it is all ironed and ready to be cut out....
If I had enough fabric I would make myself a dress out of the red satin and Himself said he wanted a Hawaiian shirt out of the green you can just see in the first picture.


Oh and here is the Cath Kidston workbox in what can only be described as a very filled condition oopps.

And still she shops!

So I have been off work for a week on complete rest because of a bad foot. Now in theory that should have stopped me shopping, however, of course there is the wonder of the interweb! I found myself spending an obscene amount of browsing time on places like Ebay looking up whatever random item popped into my head. I did keep Himself amused sending him links to various hideous things that I came across in my browsing! But I digress.....here are my purchases.

I my opinion a girl can never have too many elephants or too many bags so what better than an elephant bag I asked myself? Look at this little beauty!

Then I found this one!

*HAPPY SIGH*

To digress for a moment, I have to point out that in my workplace glamorous outfits are not a wise move. It is very dusty, very dirty and there are too many places to snag your precious vintage. So clothes-wise for work I'm a t-shirt, jeans and converse gal.
I just LOVED this shirt when I saw it. I'm not sure if Mr Whippy is an ice cream brand anywhere else than the U.K., but this is a print of their original 1950's logo. It was also in the sale half price = result!

As winter draws on I also got this cute little cardigan.

I did put my imposed rest to good use for some of my sewing projects. I prefer to use vintage thread where possible so I was very happy to find this job lot on Ebay for £23.

By the end of the week I was going a little stir crazy. I decided to take a slow stroll into town and see how the foot held up. Browsed through the charity shops and found a couple of lovely scarves.

With sewing still on my mind I rooted through the boxes of buttons and other stitching odds and ends one particular shop always has. I found this bag of buckles for 50p and this amazing 'bra repair set'!

An Afternoon of Thrift Shopping.

This week I have been on jury duty. I dare not say any more than that cos we aren't allowed to talk about it! lol. Anyway today we reached our verdict and I was released for the rest of the day so on my way home I decided to browse the charity shops in my town.
I managed to find two lovely dresses, I think the blue one may be perfect for a christening I've got coming up soon!


In the same shop I bought this satin shirt for £1.99. I'm not a huge fan of 3/4 length sleeves so I may shorten them before I wear it.



Next I found this sweet little jug for my Mum who is collecting pieces to make up a mismatched tea set. I also got 3 plates for a £1 but I suspect I will end up keeping them!


Finally I found these darning silks for 10p each.

I did buy a vest top in Topshop because I just loved it SO much.

Oh and the necklace obsession thing still goes on as you can see.......

A day at the Chilterns Craft Show.

Every August bank holiday for over 20 years now I have been going to the craft show at Stonor Park with my parents. Weather was a bit of a worry this year but thankfully by Saturday the sun was out. The craft show itself is in the grounds of a stately home which sits snug in a dip surrounded by stunning hills.

We arrived early but as you can see there were already a fair few people ahead of us.
We spent a blissful few hours browsing and shopping and sampling much in the food tent. I have a special money box that I put my change in every friday night and I use that money to buy anything I like the look of at Stonor Park.
This year that included this lovely dichromatic glass ring the 6th one I own now I just love how this glass looks.

I also fell in love with this gorgeous watercolour of St. Ives in Cornwall.

Next I found this cute Elephant tile

Just one of the things I collect is snowmen and I found this cute tree decoration.

Finally I spotted this garden sculpture. I went back to look at it three times before I decided I just had to buy it and today I put it out in the garden, so here it is in situ.
Finally as you may know if you have been following my blogs I currently have a bit of a thing about necklaces going on at the moment so here is a little picture of the latest ones I have bought on Ebay

oh and THE most beautiful pair of shoes that I have been coveting for months now. I was thrilled to find them on Ebay for £10.

Is it just me?

Or do you have accessory obsessions?
I have always loved accessories and shiny things, hence the 'Magpie' in my blog title! So me purchasing bags, jewelery etc is nothing new, but lately I find myself getting fixated on certain items and buying them obsessively for say a month or two and then that's it the whim has passed. This means I don't have set collections as such just loads and loads of 'stuff'!
Earlier this year it was bags. Just when that was seriously getting out of hand I, thankfully for my bank account and Himself's sanity, came through the other side.

Next was headscarves. Mostly I think due to me growing my hair long enough to wear scarves to tie it back, but me being me one or two were not enough. I was scouring shops and the internet buying and buying. The headscarf thing seems to be in abatement rather than over completely at the moment as it seems to have been overtaken by a necklace fetish, preferably glass beads or faux pearl. Again ebay is being scoured and the jewelry case is my first port of call in any charity/thrift shop.
I am being sensible and sticking to a tight budget but where oh where am I going to put them all and when will I ever get the chance to wear them all?

As seen in an earlier blog cute blue plastic beads


another string of blue beads and one of pearls I bought on friday for 50p each.


Three gorgeous glass bead Ebay purchases. I love the glass pasta twirls!
Finally a purchase from an local antiques centre. This was a 1930's necklace that was broken and the lady has restrung it with some extra modern beads by the clasp to replace ones that were lost. I just loved the square beads and I think the restoration has been very sympathetically done.