My Youtube Channel

Howdy folks! Hope you're enjoying ekeng out the last few weeks of summer. If you shun the sun like a mysterious vampyre, delicate flower or erm like, a worm or something you might enjoy going on Youtube. Even if you enjoy the sun, Youtube waits faithfully for those rainy weekends or days when you're on your own in the office.

Why not watch my most recent attempt at a video? As with this here blog, I can't always guarantee focused content (Vintage? Beauty? Creepy? WTF?) but the general theme is nosing around my stuff. Don't worry, burglars wouldn't want my stuff. I don't even want some of my stuff (see freaky musical box for details) but it's there for your viewing pleasure.

Nose Through My Nail Art Stuff!

Yes, I know green isn't a primary colour. Sue me.

And heyyy, subscribe while you're at it! I haven't got a cute or funny kitten but I do have a purple Hello Kitty onesie so a cute cat video isn't out of the question. Although I would also need beer to do that. Lots of beer.

Classic Creepy Music Box Video

Actual Vintage-Educational-Type Video! Wonders never cease...

The Chap Olympiad...

...This year, with added gazebo! Oh yes dear readers, if you have followed me for a year or more you will know of the almighty wash out which occurred last time we Olympiad-ed. Never to be repeated; Retro Chick and Reginald Spleen saved our bacon this year with a new fangled pop-up gazebo thingummyjig! There were marquees available too, but darlings, who wants to struggle with the hoi polloi for a folding chair when one could be in the VIP (Vintage Inebriated Persons') tent?

VIP tent with Lena of VGtL, Penny Dreadful,  Retro Chick, Reginald Spleen,
Tuppence Ha'penny and Southern Retro.

Aint No Party Like A Retro Party

Helllooo! Apologies for the recent lack of posts. I've been working hard (mid exam season) and haven't really done anything interesting to blog, hence the online absence.
Well Saturday night I did something very blog worthy. Whether you think so or not hahaha! As it's my birthday this week, I threw a party for me and my sister, with a full on 70s buffet. For all the trends and pinterest boards on classy snack stations, you just can't beat a cheesy old retro buffet with cocktails. I combined some older recipes with some modern ones off t'internet, and it went down very well.

Of course, some pictures...

Sweet little fella!

My old university pal brought a cheese-and-pineapple hedgehog. With a face, no less! What a garnish to the buffet that was. We could hardly bear to eat it. It was hard... but we managed - he was spineless by 10pm. Even the vegetarians had a go- for shame!

Jubilation Throughout The Nation

Four days off work waheeeey!

No, in all seriousness, the Jubilee is going to be an interesting event for those of us who enjoy aesthetic and domestic history. You can look at major events from the perspective of their ancient heritage and timelessness, but on the other hand each major festival is so utterly 'of its time' it helps create a snapshot for of antiques, retro and culture for the future.

Celebration Bread & Butter Pudding made
 by Rosie Lee-check her out on FB...
She restored the stand from a tarnished wreck, too!

Why I Dress Like An Explosion In A Charity Shop

First off, apologies for the lack of posts recently. It's the two most hectic weeks of the year for my day job. No time for blogging, all energies must be reserved for paperwork and fine toothed combing of the paperwork of others.

I have been distant.

I have been reading blogs however, especially some interesting ones about 'why I dress this way' (or 'why wear vintage?') from some fab bloggers:
Retro Chick
Suzie Q for Retro Chick
Tuppence Ha'penny
Vintage Secret

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!

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.

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.

How Intriguing...

I was sent this video recently*... what is it these women are talking about? Hmmm? It sounds a bit saucy, non? Check out John Frieda's Youtube page to find out more...



All will be revealed soon...

*sent by the lovely people at John Frieda, obvs. ;)

One Of Those Nosey Tag Things...

Oh yes. Jason over at Jason Shaw's Seafront Diary tagged me in the latest bloggers' tagging game. Here's How it works:

First, you paste in these instructions (or type them in if you use blogger and it messes up):
1) You must post 11 random things about yourself;
2) Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post;
3) Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer;
4) Go to their blog and tell them you've tagged them;
5) No stuff about 'you're tagged if you're reading this' - legitimately tag people.

I would say, if you want to ignore that last one and dive in, feel free. Likewise of course if (when you've read my tawdry answers) you've been tagged and refuse to do it point blank, refuse away! Not everyone's as daft as me.

ZOMG! A More Exciting-Than-Usual Monday...

Mondays eh? What to do... scrape the ice of the car (if you have a car), get to work, drink bad coffee, work, coffee, bang head on desk, meeting, home, spag bol, TV, brush teeth, zzzz.

But this Monday was different. This Monday was glitzy. Thanks to ReeRee of Rockalily Lipsticks and ZoZo of The London Lipgloss. I eschewed my spag bol and TV for a tube uptown, glamour, meeting lovely bloggers and three cheeky glasses of Merlot.

Retro & Weird Food & Lifestyle Round Up

We all know I adore a good retro recipe. I was browsing t'interweb for one recently and discovered a fantastic site for all you retro recipe-heads out there. Ghost Traveller walks the tightrope between hilarious, weird and intriguing in a way which sums up the appeal of American Gothic (in the popular sense). Hell, it even links to Sacho's Pictures of The Unexplained (Sancho appears to be a dog with an Afro). Reviews of haunted hotels around the USA, retro recipes  (sorted into the merely antiquated and the truly bizarre) and of course trailer park cooking. They even have Jello Hell-o, where the retro love of jellifying all foods is celebrated. Brilliant. I will be trying some of the recipes; some, but not all. To be honest, I might stick with the trailer park ones, as they seem to involve cheese and Doritos, and not steeping sour milk through a cheesecloth.

2011; A Perdita Pictorial

Now is not a time for complex words. We are too hung over. Now is a time for reflecting on things pretty and silly, and contemplating exactly how much fun one can have using only 365 days, charity shops, beer and a little imagination...

Cherish your local parks and museums

Make like a starlet with Rockabetty Studios

Relax in the garden, mismatched tea and china or mismatched
wine and crisps, it's all elegantly chilled.

Keep an eye out for those retro cook books!

Have your drink appropriately labelled
by  Penny Dreadful Vintage, and...

...Buy the perfect maxi. Scowl: stylist's own.

Be silly on HMS Belfast

Rehydrate. It's important.

Revel in chazza shop shoes

Rehydrate some more.

Enjoy vintage British summertime weather with Retrochick and
Landgirl1980.

Have love for the EBay.

Visit National Parks.

Buy something from the 30s 'in poor vintage condition'.

Rehydrate some more whilst you recover from the shock.

Escape to glamorous Norwich.

Consider living in a tent.

Geekify your home-sweet-home.

Rehydrate.

Relax.

How has your year been? And what are you looking forward to as we venture bravely into what can only be called.... the future....?

Ouchy

Mr Bump was my favourite Mr Man; it must be empathy. I was going to sally forth and do some shopping and pub reviewing today, but I have been laid low by my own stupidity. Instead I shall post about my misadventures and give you a couple of recent accessory moments I actually remembered to snap.

Nunc bibendum volutpat terrere

*Now we drink spooky drinks.

His Lordship has been snooty and unreasonable about this post, dubbing it 'gimmicky', 'low-brow' and 'twaddle'. Like some alcoholic RSPCA advert he abhors the connection between any cocktail and a specific date, proposing that they are something to be celebrated every day. Anyway, he has refused to contribute to my 'novelty post' and is thus in the blog-house for now. So I am writing it. I don't know much about the finest ingredients, nor can I enlighten you with obscure anecdotes, I've just chosen some recipes for my top 5 Halloween cocktails, innit.

The Perditabet

I got this idea from The Nearsighted Owl but cannot bring myself to call it 'the A-Z of me' because it's supposed to rhyme and, being from London, I say 'zed' so it wouldn't.

Me. Being lairy at my own wedding.
Check out the size of that Church, Middleton
has nothing on me.

I hope these factets will amuse you... I've put some photos in. Mainly of me. I have a folder called 'photos of me' on my PC, this is purely for blogging purposes - in fact I don't know why it was there for, like, years before I started blogging. I must be psychic in some way.

My Mate Selena...

Selena is a mate of mine, we met in our first year of teaching. She's fab. As well as being a kind, creative and genuinely wonderful person, she is also utterly, utterly hilarious and vivacious.

...and she's dipping her toe into the blogosphere. So please give her a boost and have a look at her blog!

It's a personal journal blog, with a focus on her new healthy lifestyle. But there will, not doubt, be hilarious tales of her crazy-ass chickens, dogs, cats, friends, family and other things that make Selena tick!

Link: Stuff & Nonsense: Oooh Hello!!: "Right, here's the thing. I have spent so long trying to work out whether I want a purple page or I want to give the impression of sophistic..."

The Olympiad: Soggy Chaps & Flat Caps

I don't like rain. My hair doesn't like it, my feet don't like it and my make-up most certainly doesn't like it.

But I like dressing up and drinking gin in fields (either as seperate activities, or both together). So last Saturday - in a temporary break from my normal levels of sanity - His Lordship and I braved the continuous, heavy and chilly deluge for some sporting fun. And I wore sunglasses. Just to be stubborn, like.

The clouds broke as we waited for the train...

It was his birthday and everything.
Cheer up, M'Lud!

Sew and Sew

His Lordship gave me a sewing machine for my birthday. A 1914 Singer in perfect working order with original case, to be precise.

Well, it was in perfect working order when he bought it; by the time it arrived at our flat, the case was smashed to pieces and the workings somewhat bruised...

Pleat Treat

I bought this handbag at a Church fete a couple of weeks ago, from the knitting stall. My friend snagged a sensible chocolate brown one with a tortoiseshell style handle but my £4 went on this beauty. My sister's first words upon seeing it were "That is so wrong. It looks like a merkin."

The bag hate makes me more determined to use it.