Crafty Bargain

As any craft-lover knows, crafting is back in vogue. This is fantastic for ideas- a quick search for blogs, Pinterest, or my favourite site Cut Out And Keep, brings up a wealth of content. However, as any fule kno, when something is popular, it gets expensive.

My bargain book: £1.49!

Super Scarf Style!

This spring is the reason I hate spring. well, not specifically this spring, but ones like it. Ones when we're all supposed to be wearing our summer clothes with a light cardie or jacket, but when in actual fact, the rain is falling like sheets in the wind. The whole gamboling lambs thing is a fallacy, all the lambs I've seen this spring were huddled underneath their mothers, looking damp and grey.

However, for the thrifty shopper, there is fun to be had. Spring lends itself to accesorising, even if we can't crack out our summer wardrobe yet. One garment in particular may be picked up cheaply and worn right now- the scarf. Whether you favour slick city-chic, boho, vintage or blingy-bold, scarves of every style are out there for you right now. Winter stock, yes, but an all-year-round wear which comes into its own during changeable inter-seasonal weather. Reduced on the rails of the high street, piled high in charity shops by premature spring cleaners and of course online.

Because of course the only photo I could find
for this post is one of me looking geeky next to a
giant prawn.

Queen For The Day

As it's Shakespeare's birthday, so here's some education for you regarding my name. Perdita is a character in his masterpiece of tragi-comedy 'A Winter's Tale'. It's my favourite play because of the fascinating structural balances and paradoxical elements within the narrative. Also someone gets eaten by a bear. Anyway, Perdita (whose name means 'lost') is left in the woods to die when the king, her dad, gets all paranoid and thinks he's killed her mum, in a posh Jeremy Kyle style scenario. Perdita is discovered by some farmers and grows up assuming she is an everyday Joe Blogs kinda girl. This means she cannot marry her oh-so-posh beaux, boo hoo. But wait! It turns out to be OK; not only is Perdita really a princess but her mum has been alive and well and living in secret all these years. Hurrah. Up until now the only part of this tale with any kind of metaphorical value to my life is the everything about me seems completely normal except my posh other half bit. Sadly.

Pensive Princess

Appropriately enough, it is today that in spite of having been granted the nick-name of 'Comrade' by him indoors (for my love of functional millinery, khaki and slightly lefty politics) my royal heritage has at last been recognised. I have been crowned Queen Of Vintage 92! Representing the 70s, of course.

To be honest I cannot quite believe it, all the other Queens are so fabulous and well respected. Do check out the site whatever your interest in Vintage is (fashion, homeware, thrift or crafting), it has inspiring folk and top tips.

Life Magazine Recipe Book 2

The second half of the fascinating book...




Please note there is representation of dodgy attitudes to ethnicity and gender in the book, obviously these do NOT represent the feelings of this blogger and are noted as such in the video.

Wonderful 50s Book & 1st Youtube Video

Check me out, my first Youtube video!


I found this wonderful book from Life Magazine in a bag of old recipe books purchased for 20p at a boot sale. It's got some amazing insights into the 50s Hollywood-luxe lifestyle, as well as some fabulous recipes. And the outfits are to die for...

Please excuse my hideous Lahndan accent.

Old Skool

More of my scruffy 70s stylings. Meet my favourite shell toes:

Gained in a thrifty manner, but of course! Several members of my family (all a good 3-4 inches taller than me) have the same shoe size. These were inherited, nearly new, from my sis who works in meedja and is much trendier than me.

Easter Florals

Happy Easter, everyone!

Easter Shoes!

A quick outfit post for you all today; spring has sprung (according the the calendar if not the weather) so I cracked out one of my floral 60s summer dresses. With opaques and a 70s tracksuit jacket, because of the aforementioned weather.

Taking A Retro Recipe Out To Tea

A few weeks ago I had a bit of a challenge on my hands. I had to make something from my retro recipe collection (fair enough), but it had to be both completely retro-tastically OTT with sprinkles and guaranteed edible. Edible for people I knew and some I didn't; I was taking retro cake to a party hosted by my friend who had made my wedding cake and is a dab hand at all things edible. This was risky.

Basically, I went with the idea of chocolate (that if something is utterly coated in it, it will always go down well). This worked.

99p Garden Fun

After several hours of hacking, strimming, mowing and being raked by brambles last weekend, we got our new-ish garden looking like this:

OK, so it isn't the prettiest yet, and (you may note, by the G plan chair) we have no charming rattan garden furnishings either... but it's finally useable. So we've been using it, to dry laundry, to put out wee seedlings of herbs and small veg. Mainly, however, given the lovely warm weather, to sit about in.