My dream vintage cottage

Like most early twenty-somethings (ok I'm 25 this year but I refuse to be in my mid-twenties!), I am starting to think (and should really be saving more) for my first house. I have been renting flats since I was 18 and it makes me want to crumple into a small ball and die when I think about how much money that is technically thrown down the drain! 

Last year my boyfriend and I moved in to our little flat, it is just a rented one for now but our landlady is a dream (there's a first for everything!) and she has let us do whatever we want to the place...it has given us the bug for restoration and renovation I can tell you! I will be doing a blog post next week with some pictures of how we've created our own little vintage cosy haven, but for today....here is some Pinterest inspiration of what I want my first home to be like...

This cottage reminds me of the one from The Holiday <3

Plenty of contrasting prints - flowers, checks and stripes

 Laura Ashley furniture is just a heaven of comfort and easy, pastel patterns, although the furthest I'll be getting to one of their suites in the near future is through a window or a computer screen! 

Farmhouse sink

Laura Ashley fabrics

Beams and a fire in the bedroom

There is loads of info on the web and in books about restoring old furniture, and it's so cheap to do! An antiques shop in my city has pieces like the dresser above for under £50...a few coats of white paint, some sanding to scuff it up a bit and smooth on some old flowery wallpaper, et voila! A shabby chic dream.

You can buy new-but-looks-vintage colanders from TK Maxx, they are amazing! I have my eye on a red one at the moment.

My cottage WILL have a real wood burner 

I've seen this on ebay but I want to make it with some hessian and fabric paint!

Roll top bath...need I say more?

Russian dolls and bunting, ahhhh

Pretty please?


I know buying somewhere that's a bit sad and in need of plenty of work is a mammoth task, but why would you want to buy one of these new, identical-to-all-the-others-on-the-street houses when you can have something that you've made cosy with your own creativity and efforts?

*All images are from Pinterest

It's not graffiti, it's street art..

Happy (or sad?!) Blue Monday! Apparently today is the most depressing day of the year. I would say I've had worse days, although the daunting prospect of walking in to the gym tonight where it will no doubt be 1.3 billion times busier than usual isn't making me the cheeriest!

So, to brighten up a gloomy first Monday of the year, I'm going to share a little interest of mine - street art. I first discovered proper street art whilst on a break to Berlin in 2010 - we joined one of these free 'alternative' tours and it turned out to be one of the absolute highlights of the holiday!

A building wall at Tommy Weisbecker Haus in Berlin

Since 2010, most cities I have been to (I LOVE a city break, and they're so easy to do cheaply!) I've managed to source out some murals and bits and pieces of street art. Next time you're in Manchester, Liverpool, London, Paris...or even Glasgow, go off in the opposite direction to the tourists and you'll be amazed at what you see!

Northern Quarter, Manchester

Berlin

Me posing with a painted man in Glasgow

Berlin

Goggles and the all seeing eye in Liverpool

Berlin

Berlin

Are you Happy? Liverpool

Le Mur, Paris 

I especially loved visiting Le Mur, since this mural is given as a blank canvas each month to a different street artist, who paints their piece and it remains for the month. Nice to be surprised by what awaits you depending on which month you visit Paris!

Oberkampf, Paris

Bricklane, London

Montmatre, Paris

Liverpool

       

Jef Aerosol mural, Rue Saint Merri, Paris

Let me know if you have visited any amazing places for street art! I'm dying to visit Bristol and see some Banksy stuff there...

PS. All images are my own.

The first of many...

Like most people in the working Dolly Parton world (9-5, that would be), tomorrow marks the first of many full-time working weeks this year...rather than getting the Sunday Blues, I have decided to start my own little blog! 2013 was a good year for me but I'm hoping 2014 is going to be even better, I have already had a good few vintage escapades and a trip around half of Eastern Europe is in the making for the summer, and I'd quite like somewhere to document it! I hope you like it :-)

Today I finally took down our cute little Christmas tree and long red stockings from the fireplace...Festive 2013 is officially over but the memories, although some are rather hazy, are a-plenty...

A homemade santa sleigh, very cute!

A present received for Christmas. Excited to see if it actually works and we can have some hand-grown chilies by April!  

 After a pretty eventful Boxing Day (say no to homemade tequila rose shots!) we decided to stay out of the rain and away from the usual anti-climatic parties and spent NYE in our little flat. We put on a feast for 2 including garlic and chilli prawns, antipasti, halloumi and roasted red peppers, along with some Bacardi oakhearts and ginger beer. If you're a rum lover, or even if not, I suggest you try some - put your glasses in the freezer an hour before you use them, add a load of ice and a squeezed slice of lime, then either ginger beer or Pepsi Max...ahhh!

I love chopping boards so much, I serve anything I can on them! Some of these are from TK Maxx and the others were gifts. The blackboard is normally kept in the bathroom where it's pretty fun to wake up to a new cute message - you can get them from cheapy shops like Poundstretcher! 

Hope everyone has an easy and enjoyable first Monday of 2014!