The A to Z of Scarlett

I have enjoyed reading fellow blog friends A-Z posts, so I thought I take part in it myself.

So here we go....

A - Age.

30 years old - I'm not sure how that happened, thirty snuck up on me overnight! I do however feel like a 24 year old inside so I am set on growing old disgracefully ;o)

B - Bed Size.

King size baby!  Much needed as I am a very anti-social sleeper. I will take the quilt and wrap it around me so there is no take backs. I also sleep diagonally so hubby is left with the edge of the bed.  Don't feel sorry for him though, he is a terrible snorer, so much so I have considered taping a tennis ball to his back so he cant lie on it as that increases the snore volume.

C - Chore you hate

All of them!  They are called 'Chores' for a reason, and I loath them.  My mum is a complete clean-freak but I seemed to have missed out on inheriting this gene. If you call up to say you are popping over, you know I'm going to be doing a mad house tidy dash!

D -Dogs
I have never owned a dog, I've had cats around me since I was little and I have two fur-babies of my own.  If I did however decide to get a dog it would have to be a bug-eyed pug - just love them. If I could get a unicorn one then even better:

E - Essential start to your day.

The most essential start to my day is sneaking to the bathroom (past my son's nursery door) so I can get a shower in before he wakes up. He does however have Batfink auditory skills and on many an occasion I have been rumbled mid dash on the landing. I can only imagine this task is going to get harder once he is in a proper bed.

F - Favourite colour.

It has to be red and black.  I have a wardrobe full of both these but I'm also partial to a bit of leopard print.

G - Gold or silver.
Silver (or platinum darling, I'm not fussy lol).

H - Height.

5"7 unless I'm wearing some monster platform peep toe heels which can push me up towards 6 ft,  I then get pointed at for being mega tall as well as being "in fancy dress" - as commented by one person who didn't get my 50's vibe.

I - Interesting random fact.

Yes I changed this from instruments as I don't play any but would love love love to be able to play the bass in a rockabilly band. So random fact....I have no gall bladder - it was removed when I was 20.

J - Job Title.

Before I went on maternity leave I was labelled a 'Credit Controller' now going back to work and being given a job in a different department I now am a 'Customer Service Representative' - Yawn.

I will one day be a 'vintage boutique owner' *wink*

K - Kids.

One cheeky little chappy aged 14 months, babyhood went far too quickly and now he has developed into a proper little boy who is full of mischief and keeping me on my toes.  As for having more...would love to, I get terribly broody over newborns and seeing baby bumps but really need to move house etc before can even think about baby number 2. 



That's my boy!



L - Live.

In Hampshire. Looking to move to a bigger house in the new year, more space to fill with junk vintage treasures :o)

M - Mothers name.
Pauline, although I started calling her Mo when I was a teen (quicker to say than mum when I was dashing out the door) so that's kind of stuck.

N - Nicknames.
The only nickname I got stuck with is Stav after doing a rather uncanny impression of Stavros Flatly (from Britain's got Talent fame) under the influence of vodka.

O - Overnight hospital stays.

 I've had overnight stays in hospital when having my tonsillitis removed at 18, when having my gall bladder removed at 20 and when I had my son.

P - Pet peeves.
Blimey how long have you got? People who don't say please and thank you, queue jumpers, people who talk with their mouths full of food, people who swear in front of their children and more so people who swear in front on my boy.  People who stand right outside shops smoking making people walk through their reeking fog of smoke. Homophobia, racism and bullying. I could go on but I'll stop there.

Q - Quote from a film.

Ron Burgundy: I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
Veronica Corningstone: Really.
Ron Burgundy: People know me.
Veronica Corningstone: Well, I'm very happy for you.
Ron Burgundy: I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.
(Anchorman - The legend of Ron Burgundy)

Napoleon Dynamite: [taunting a bully] Oh yeah? Who's the only one here who knows secret Ninja moves from the government?
(Napoleon Dynamite)

R-Right or left handed: Right

S-Siblings:

 1 Brother who is 4 years older than myself.

T-Time you wake up:

Usually 6am on a weekday but I do try to get a lie-in till 7am on a weekend - whoopee do!

U-Underwear:

 Is essential and the more Bridget Jones 'pull you in' pants the better. I'm a huge fan of shape wear, got to keep my extra curves in place and sucked in. I am also a corset loving gal.

V-Vegetable you hate:
I hate mushrooms, cauliflower, sprouts and cabbage.

.

W-What makes you run late:

Mainly my son. I hate being late for anything but since having a baby I've realised how much effort it takes to get myself and my son ready and get both of us out of the door without forgetting any of the essentials.  Going back to work has been a huge learning curve getting us both ready and out of the house by 7.30 am.

X-X rays you've had:

Teeth and my wrist when I broke it.

Y-Yummy food that you make:

Hmmm, I can make a good curry but to be honest I'm no domestic goddess so no one expects much from my cooking.

Z-Zoo animal:

Orangutans Rock!  I have sponsored work the work WWF does for them for several years and going to Borneo to see them is on my bucket list.

And that's me!  I'm sorry about the page break in the middle, blogger this evening is not letting me take it out, have no idea how I managed to put it in there in the first place.

Its going to be a hot one this weekend so hope you all have a fabulous one. Also a quick reminder that my giveaway ends Sunday so if you haven't signed up for it and want a chance to win check it out Here

Big Love

Sunday Finds

Hello again my lovelies. How was every one's weekend?  Mine was a bit of a mixed bag. I had high expectations of bargain successes when I saw another jumble advertised in the paper for Saturday. I turned up (along with about 30 other people) to find that the hall was closed up and not a peep of jumble anywhere.  I did think it was a bit off doing this as a couple of frail ladies with walking frames had set out from their homes and walked all the way to the hall expecting a bit of bargain hunting and a cup of tea, they looked as disappointed as I did.

So it was up to the boot sale today to make up for Saturday. The sun was out and so were the cars of sellers but alas it was the same old rubbish from the last few weeks.  I only picked up a few bits so thought I'd show you them in with my buys from last week too.

So here's the booty:

 Stratton compact complete with original compact pouch - £2. The seller also had this compact:

 which she gave for for free when I said I collected them - bonus!

 I found this rather unusual loose powder compact in a pile of junk on a stall. It still has original powder inside so needs a bit of a clean up but it was 30p!! One of the cheapest I've found (except for the free one above).

Now for something that always finds me...

 ...vintage playing cards! I cant seem to stop buying them, my reasoning is that I will do something crafty with them in the future.

Look how great these vintage cars cards are. 

 I also found this vintage 'Counties of England' game. The pack seems to be all the southern counties and my nearest town in the pack being Reading.

And while showing card games - hows about happy families flower style!  Full of beautiful illustrations, however not sure the males in my household will be queueing up to play it.  All the card packs were 50p each and not all from the same seller, so the cards are certainly following me.

I rarely find smellies at my local boot sales, if i do they tend to be half used and crusty round the edges, but this little set was brand spanking new:

 Ideal travel size for throwing in a bag for a weekend away and at 50p it would have been rude not to buy this little set.

Now for a bit of glass:

 Lovely large glass bonbon dish.  Was covered in muck when I picked it out of the box but its cleaned up a treat.  Most impressed with this one and ideal for the Christmas sweet treats (yes I did just mention the 'C' word!).

While we are on the theme of edibles, hows about this vintage styled cheese dish:

I don't eat cheese myself (cant stand the taste of it) but live with a household of cheese eaters so this will be used over the festive buffet season.

Now a rockabilly girl loves her jeans and a belt is the finishing touch so I love this:

 Dragonfly belt buckle.  A complete bargain at 50p.

I also have an eye for the pretty little things:

 Vintage engraved pill pot.  I love the detail around the edge and on the base:

I found it on a rather antique looking stall which looked expensive so I was very surprised when they said they wanted 50p for it.

And for a bit of fun, I cant resist novelty plasters. Yes I am the person who will have a hello kitty plaster on her finger after a paper cut.  So I love these cowboy plasters:

 Yee haa! And yes they really are Texas size ;o).  The seller bought them back from America on her last holiday but never got round to using them. I know this to be a fact as when I got home and pulled the plasters out looking for the free cowboy toy....

....I found $6 in the bottom of the tin!  If you are interested the free toy was a miniature cowboy hat that had "choking hazard" written all over it ;o)

So that two weeks of boot sale finds, how about a bit of:

Witnessed at a Boot Sale

A stall full of manky soft toys all of which had their own cardboard label around their neck with their name on. As much as I felt sorry for Harold the balding orange monkey, and Randolf the felt tip pen marked horse, I was not going to pay £1 to put them out of their misery.

A stall full of Playboy merchandise manned by a rather orange 40 year old wearing a pink velor tracksuit with 'BABE' printed across her arse. I hate to say it but her stall was one of the most popular there.

Woman smoking a cigarette picks up a pair of shoes from a stall:

Buyer: "How much for these shoes"

Seller :"Fifty, they are new and come with their box"

Buyer: "50p?"

Seller: "err no £50, they are designer"

Buyer :"Who makes them then, the bloody queen?"

Seller: "No, they are by Irregular Choice"

Buyer: "Should be called "Bloody rip off choice!"

That's enough from me for today, well done if you got all the way to the end of this massive post!

Big love to you all

P.S If you haven't checked out my giveaway, there is still time to enter HERE.

Linking to flea-market-finds

Spoilt Scarlett

This week I've been well and truly spoilt by my friends in blogland. I've been lucky enough to win 3 giveaways and had a fabulous special surprise parcel. So I need to dedicate this little post to these wonderful bloggers.

The gorgeous Vix from Vintage Vixen blog fame sent me the most amazing package of  goodies. I was totally blown away by the thought that had gone into the treasures she sent.  So what did I find in my parcel?....

Stunning turquoise stratton compact and swallow bracelet (the bracelet has received many a compliment since I've been wearing it - beautiful)

Kitsch-tastic deer trinket pot, Vix did note in her card to check out his angry expression - love it!  Makes me smile every time i look at him and his scowl.

Super cute lace fingerless gloves  - no lady should be without (ive realised how tricky it is to take a hand picture without said hands looking manky or at a funny angle).

And finally to top off the already amazing parcel, Vix sent me this 1956 copy of Blighty magazine.  Its chock full of cheeky stories and minxy women - right up my street :o)  Thank you so much Vix, you know how thrilled I am with all my goodies.

Next up was a fabulous giveaway win from the fabulous Em from vintage-sweetheart.  The parcel came all the way from Australia and was such a treat to open.  Here's the treasurers I won:

Very cute half apron and hankie, vintage tie, wire necklace and ring blanks (I'm totally going to get my craft on with these).  There is a fabulous Palissy pinecone print trinket dish and the sweetest little blue and white hat. 

Love it all thanks so much for picking my name out the hat Em!

The final parcel travelled the seven seas to reach me and probably has a tale to tell about pirates and mermaids.  It was sent by our lovely Nelly of My Friends Call Me Nelly fame.  I won a great giveaway she hosted and the prize I picked were these nutty salt and pepper pots:

You cant get kitscher than big eyed squirrels that dispense your salt and pepper. Love them!  Nelly was also very naughty and included a lovely set of Australian goodies:

They included a handcrafted Australia note book, Koala magnet, kookaburra print, 'Waltzing Matilda' hankie and stickers (Finley has already had these stuck to his face). She also sent something special for the little man:

 This absolutely amazing wooden sail boat mobile.  I adore it and it goes perfectly in his nursery.

Thank you so much Nelly, all the gifts are beautiful.

And finally a thank you to Flo for her toe tag mysteries giveaway. I was lucky enough to win a Toe Tag murder mystery game "Tommy Gunn's Club" which Flo emailed over to me.  Its amazing how well thought out the game is and you really do get everything you would need (bar the guests) to hold a fabulous party. I now need to get 15 of my friends and family all together to give it a go - will be mayhem ;o)

If you haven't checked out these lovely blogs yet make sure you take a peek, you wont regret it. 

Hope you are all having a fabulous Friday and hey its going to be sunny this weekend :o))

Mwah

Its a Jumble out there

Another weekend another Jumble - I'm being spoilt!  This last jumble sale however was a bit more hairy than the previous and to be honest there were a few times I wondered if I was going to get out of the village hall intact.  For some reason this last weekend EVERYONE decided to descend on the jumble sale. I decided to get there 40 minutes early and get a car parking spot. I took a magazine to read in the car while awaiting the doors to open. Ten minutes in however I got a bit twitchy seeing ladies carrying empty industrial size shopping bags to the church door and forming a half decent queue with half an hour still to go.  I'm afraid to say they got the better of me and I too joined the queue clutching my 30p entry fee (in 5ps as I hate them).

For 30 minutes I had to listen to a mother, daughter and son-in-law behind me tell stupid jokes, son in law trying to impress mum in law at every punch line and daughter then announcing loudly to the queue "Does anyone want to adopt another daughter"....we all ignored her and our thoughts were answered by son in law who quipped "Not wearing that stinking jumper they don't".

By the time I got in the hall I was ready to throw a sharpened elbow into one or all the family's ribs in the clothes table rummage.

It was mayhem inside the hall, three buggies where taken in leaving very little space for anyone to get by, there was plenty of tutting and huffing at the poor harassed mums.  I got to the clothes tables and starting pulling clothes out, checking labels and moving them on.  You regular jumblers will know about the shoulder ache you get from pulling clothes for the mountain on the table.  Its like a production line of ladies sorting through clothes, like the squirrels in Willy Wonkers Chocolate Factory.  All dud clothes were tossed to the end of the table (or on the floor), the two elderly ladies behind the monster mound of clothes were trying their best to hold the pile on the table for fear they may get flattened by last seasons primark offerings.

I picked up a whole bundle of high street offerings for my ebay, there was however very little vintage to be had. I did pick up one beautiful dress though:

Isn't it a beaut!  I love the 40s styling to it (label however hints to this being a 70s dress).  Just perfect with a bit of red lippy and victory rolls. Alas being a curvy chic I have no chance of getting into this dress. The boobage would be a bit much!  So its going to hung on my wardrobe to make me happy....and maybe give me a kick up the bum to stop eating sneaky 3pm office chocolate!

At this jumble sale they also have a policy of pulling out all the better dresses and tops, putting them on a clothes rail. There is one old dear who is the ''gaurdian of the rail" and my god she's a tough cookie to crack. She wont let anything go from that rail for less than £2.  She gets tuts but I love her death glare she gives to anyone who dares challenge her pricing. I did not purchase off her rail this week, although  she did give it a good go and trying to flog me a manky old rain coat circa 1985.

The bric a brac stall is a bugbear.  Its set up like a fortress, the two ladies who run the stall box themselves in between the tables. There are two across the back of the hall which they display all the goods, chairs stacked either side so no one can get to the back tables and then they have two tables in the front with the rubbish no one wants to look at.  You then have to try and get one of the ladies attention to ask to see an item on the back row. Heaven forbid you forget your glasses, you'd have no chance at seeing what was for sale.  The table is also about 4 people deep so I had to fight through and the only thing I fancied was this little set:

It came in at a rather expensive £1.50! 

I also liked the look of these hankies:

Yes it was the packaging that sold it to me. Again those bric a brac ladies held it to ransom for £1!

So with my two bags full of ebay clothes I only came away with 3 bits for myself!

Talking of shopping bags, one funny thing happened.  I had my two shopping bags tucked under my arm while sorting through the clothes table, on payment of the items I had picked I went to grab my bags from under my arm only to find them both missing.  Looking along the row I then spy two women opening up my bags and stashing their clothes purchases in them!!  I caught them mind stash and told them they were my bags and could I please have them back....well if looks could kill!  I stood my ground and after a bit of eye to eye contact they knew their game was up and handed me back my bags - blooming cheek! ;o)

Roll on the next jumble I say!

P.s Ive received two wonderful parcels this week from beautiful bloggers so will be showing my goodies at the end of the week, and of course there is also my boot sales buys to make a late appearance this week. x

Same same but different (and a giveaway!)

Notice anything different about my little space in blogland?  Yup I finally decided it was time for a revamp and as I'm not a master in the art of html I got some help from the fabulous Happy of Happy loves Rosie fame. She worked her magic and hey presto I now have a blog design that I love and is very much 'me' :o)

So what better excuse is there to have a giveaway to thank you all for being so fabulous, hoorah!

  Up for grabs is this little random bundle of goodies which I put together so there is something to appeal to each of you (hopefully!)  So here's the loot:

For the vintage book lovers there is a copy of Enid Blytons 'Chimney Corner Stories' along with a wooden crafty bookmark:

For the vintage tea towel lovers we have a rather charming little red number:

And I know there are some of you lovelies partial to a bit of Cath Kidston, to nail varnish and to vintage buttons:

To top it off is a flower hair band (no rockabilly chick would be without a bit of hair flowerage) and a rather pretty but in no way vintage bracelet:

So that's the goodies and here's what you have to do.

For one entry be a follower and leave a comment telling me what one item you cant live without.

An extra entry if you blog about this giveaway or add my button to your sidebar (please comment again to let me know).

Plus extra entry if you follow me on Twitter (loves_elvis) or tweet about this giveaway :o)

The giveaway will close on the 2nd October and the winner will be announced shortly after.

Good luck to everyone who enters.

A little bit of booty

Autumn is upon us and so is the end of boot sale season around my area.  There is one regular one that tries to keep going through the autumn/winter but the turn out is always dismal.  I therefore have no option but to travel further afield to get my boot sale fix. I have previously mentioned my out of season booty which starts at 11am (nice for making sure I arrive in time for the start) and is in a two story car park which is great for rainy days but  in some corners you do need a torch to see the stalls as its very gloomy. So this weeks buys were from this out of season booty, i only came home with a few bits this week:

 Set of three little cases - £1

 Soap and Glory shower cap - 50p.

And for my random buys of the week:

...and cardboard jewels.  These were from a window display in Accessorize a while back of which I admired on many an occasion so I couldn't believe it when I saw them on a stall at the boot sale!  The lady selling them was an ex-accessorize employee who had nabbed them once the display was changed. I paid a £1 each for them and am now deciding where I'm going to put them as they are big!

Now for a bit of:

Witnessed at a Boot Sale

Lady picks up a skirt
Lady: "I cant see a size in this, what size is it?"
Seller: "Its probably a size 12, I wore it a few months back"
Lady: "So are you selling all your stuff that's too small now?"
Seller (and myself) stunned.

Seller looking smug wearing a tiger print adult size baby-grow (we have primark to thank for these) unfortunately for him though no one else found it as funny as he obviously did and therefore a wide berth was taken of his stall. Fool.

A very busty lady trying on a bra over her top, and then deciding after a mammoth struggle to get the bra off again that she didn't want to pay the £1 asking price.

Hope you've all had a fabulous week so far and a huge hello to my newest followers :o)

Mwah