Homage to Lady Day

I think my interest in all things vintage was born from having grown up with a love of old movies and music so I couldn't let this coming Tuesday pass without comment as it will be the 100th anniversary of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday's birth.   

Like Edith Piaf, another of my favourite singers from the 2nd half of the twentieth century, Billie Holiday is perhaps not everyone's truc but if she is I do hope you enjoy listening to a few of her songs sung in her unmistakable voice.

Known for wearing gardenias in her hair, her troubled life and humble beginnings it would be sad if Billie Holiday's genius for song writing and her fearless heartbreaking renditions of the popular songs of the time were to be forgotten.

Many people would recognise the song "God Bless the Child" perhaps without knowing that Billie Holiday herself penned it.  She is also accredited with co-writing one of her most famous and moving songs "Strange Fruit" although this has since been disputed.

So do enjoy this tiny selection of songs sung by the great lady that are ideal for curling up on the couch with a glass of wine or two when you're feeling blue or let down and fancy a little wallow - "Lover Man" ,"For All We Know" and "Don't Explain" and to cheer yourself up when you're ready to face the world again I'd recommend "Me Myself and I".

I hope that this week's post just touching on some of the songs that Billie Holiday sang in her all too short life has either reminded you of this wonderful artist or even better introduced you to her and started a life long love of her remarkable voice.

Like Kids in a Sweetshop!

On my recent trip back to England I roped my poor friend, Sally, into visiting a museum in Eastbourne packed to the gunnels with vintage fare.  I had previously sweetened her up by introducing her to a super little café, Jasper Woods (see earlier post), but had failed to mention my desire to visit the Museum of Shops next door.

Having entered the museum I don't know whether it was the heady mix of lemon drizzle cake and the knowledge that Sally didn't really want to go in or the strangely posed mannequin's hands that set us off. Whatever it was we quickly regressed back to our teenage years and became very giggly (let's just hope the poor girl who sold us the tickets couldn't hear the snorts of laughter emanating from the basement).

I think it's safe to say that the lemon drizzle cake was starting to kick in

Having eventually recovered from the hilarity of it all (we're both in our mid forties and should know better!) I found that I was actually quite impressed and thought that the objects compiled were fascinating.  In fact the contents of most of the scenes they had created would have kept my Etsy shop stocked up for many a year and if I bought the whole lot I would never have to go out shopping for trucs again (what a terrible thought!)  

I just loved the vintage wedding dresses but sadly at my current size they would never fit... the curse of the lemon drizzle cake strikes again!

A typical wartime kitchen complete with housewife at the stove with a fag hanging out of her mouth and the toast inspector... I mean air raid warden.

An authentic Post Office from yesteryear (I'm not saying a word).

The chemist shop was very evocative of times past and I coveted all the wonderful pharmacy bottles that would once have contained potions to cure all ails.

We were reminded of a shop from our childhood that wasn't so very different from this place -  I'm happy to say it was rather old fashioned then (we're not that old!)

The Admiral Lord Nelson pub was very atmospheric but I did feel sorry for the barman as he appeared to be struggling to pull a pint!

All joking aside I must say "Chapeau" to the dedicated owners of the museum who have created this enchanting labour of love over many years and if, like me, you adore bygone trucs, social history and period design I really can't recommend highly enough a trip to the Museum of Shops if you are in the area.  

Vintage Tins

When I'm on the lookout at brocantes and flea markets for interesting items of stock for my Etsy shop one kind of truc that always seems to sell well is the vintage tin. 

Whether you have an industrial, country or vintage/retro kitchen nothing looks cooler than a shelf filled with these treasures from yesteryear.  

Here is a selection of some interesting kitchen storage tins that have either passed through my hands in the past or are available for sale now:-

These Banania tins that originally contained hot chocolate were given a second life by the manufacturer by suggesting various different uses on the back, for example thé, sucre, pâtes and in this case café

I sold this charming little selection of vintage storage tins as a group

When I saw this softly faded pasta storage tin I just had to buy it for my Etsy Shop 

Here are some more novelty tins that could be used and enjoyed not just in the kitchen but anywhere in the home:-

This gorgeous English bureau tin was another item destined for my Etsy Shop 

This tin was a particular favourite of mine as it was possible to put a little padlock on it so that precious keepsakes could be kept secret.  I was sorry to see this one go but I'm sure it's found a good home.

This pretty tin was snapped up just a few days after putting it up for sale

See this colourful little greyhound racing tin on my Etsy Shop

Another cute little vintage tin - this one originated from Belgium

A new addition to my Etsy Shop - an elegant floral money box tin

The great thing about vintage tins is that they are a decorative way to store all the little bits and pieces that we all seem to accumulate.  They make great sewing boxes, button boxes, keepsake and trinket boxes and of course can be used for their original use to store biscuits or sweets.

So next time you open a drawer full of 'useful' little trucs you just can't throw away because you may need them one day (referred to as a man drawer in our household!) why not have a sort through and keep these bits and bobs safe in a selection of beautiful vintage tins. 

Hidden Treasures

One of the interesting things about renovating an old house it that you never know what you might find.  More often than not you discover things that you really wish you hadn't like cracks lurking under wallpaper or rotten floorboards.  Thankfully, in our case, we were given ample opportunity to find all the horrors our house had in store for use before purchasing it 

This last month has been one of peeling back the layers and knocking numerous openings into walls in order to gain more light as well as a better flow to the layout. 

Can you spot the cats?

When I was in England recently my husband, Spike, was charged with the mission to knock through one of our bedroom walls into the room next door (our dressing room).   It was while he was doing this that he found a beautiful gold 20 franc coin from 1877 under the skirting board.   This coin is apparently worth in the order of 300€ but we have decided to keep it as a lucky charm (or for a rainy day!)

These coins were known by the name 'Génie' because the figure
depicted is the Genius of France inscribing the Constitution.

We did find another coin a little later but a 5 centimes piece from 1936 unsurprisingly doesn't have much value but we enjoyed researching it as an interesting find all the same.

The next interesting find was some faded wallpaper hidden behind a run of tongue and groove panelling in our downstairs hallway that was being removed to make yet another opening into our living room.  I think it's just beautiful and hope to find something similar but from my initial research such truly elegant designs don't seem to exist any more.

I just adore this gorgeous wallpaper

For our final find we had been wondering for some time why there were some wooden mouldings on the wall of our first floor landing so last week we decided to investigate further...

Spot the cat... again!

and look what we found behind some hardboard! These wonderful glazed double doors. The next dilemma was deciding where to use them because they now lead to our ensuite shower room and that could potentially be quite a spectacle for any poor unsuspecting passer by!  

The glass panels have been wallpapered at some point in their life with
the faux stone look we currently have on our second floor landing
(I will not be launching a worldwide search to replicate that by the way!)

After much discussion we decided that the doors would be ideal between our bedroom and our newly created dressing room which of course means more dust and disruption because the opening poor Spikey made when he found the gold coin will have to be made a little wider and substantially taller.  

It's unfortunate that we didn't find the doors before the opening was made but that's the nature of renovating an old house and we are convinced that it will be worth the additional work not least because having doors will prevent our naughty cats from getting into our dressing room and making a mess.  

The rest of the house will, of course, remain a haven for the cats and the little furry tumble weeds they inevitably leave in their wake!

Inspiration from across 'La Manche'

If you are a reader of my blog you will know that I have a long held dream to open a coffee shop/brocante in my home town of Cognac alongside my chef husband, Spike. So whenever I get the chance I try to find other businesses of a like mind.  

Unfortunately this does entail lounging around in tea rooms, coffee shops and cafés where I am obliged to sample many a cake (all in the name of research you understand).

During my recent trip to England I was especially keen to visit a particular coffee/vintage shop based in Eastbourne that I had read about online.  

The coffee shop in question is called Jasper Wood and along with my good friend, Sally, we set off with the arduous task of checking it out.

The lovely eclectic interior was instantly welcoming and it wasn't long before we had installed ourselves on a comfy sofa.

All around there were interesting things to look at and to buy ranging from hand-made jewellery and vintage clothes to antique bric-a-brac.

I particularly loved our black lacquered chinoiserie table as I thought it would be just the thing for my office (plans of an opulent room of my own are ongoing) but judging by Sally's reaction I think it is perhaps of an acquired taste!  And yes, to my shame, the deluxe hot chocolate complete with floating marshmallows and a tower of squirty cream was mine!

I was impressed that the presentation of the objects for sale illustrated beautifully how striking they could look in a domestic setting - oops I seem to be punning again, I honestly don't even know when I'm doing it now!  

I was having such a lovely time I didn't even think to ask how much the stunning gramophone was... looking at it again I really wish I had!  There were lots of little touches that being a fan of all things vintage I really appreciated such as the little silver plated salt and pepper pots that were brought to our table when we ordered lunch (a yummy panini by the way) and the vintage crockery for when we had tea and lemon drizzle cake (once again I had eaten the cake before I remembered to photograph it... must try harder!)

All in all I can't think of a better place to while (or wile... there seems to be something of a debate about that) away a few hours and catch up with an old friend (sorry Sally you know what I mean)... except perhaps the 'Museum of Shops and Social History' that is handily situated next door - but that's most definitely a story for another day!
   

Ma visite en Angleterre

After numerous cancellations I finally made the trip back England and although nursing a bit of a cold I was determined not to let that stop me from making the most of all the opportunities I had to restock my Etsy shop (which was closed while I was away) and to catch up with friends and family.

The long drive back to England in our van, Piggy, was made less arduous by the company of my Mum and Stepfather who had bravely come to stay in our less than restored house in Cognac for a week or so.

My Mum Barbara, Livi and Me (and doggies) in the Park in Cognac
before the epic journey to England

The last leg of the trip was the worst bit because not only was I tired and feeling really ill I found that having been spat out of Newhaven Ferry Port in England I could hardly see the verge of the unlit country roads at all (guess who forget to get some beam benders!) so that was a bit stressy to say the very least!

Anyway, having finally arrived I decided to start my buying bonanza by visiting an auction in Folkestone which is situated about an hour down the road from my base in Hastings.  One tricky thing aspect of this particular sale was that they had two auctions running simultaneously - one for furniture upstairs and one for petits trucs downstairs. Luckily my Mum had agreed to come with me so I had the advantage of an extra pair of eyes to keep on top of the situation.

The auction yielded mixed results as I found that the furniture was very reasonable and bought a few lovely bits for the house which I will no doubt reveal at some later date but at present are safely in storage.  However, the smaller trucs that I had earmarked for my online shop did not go so cheaply and once I had added the sale room commission and the exchange rate back into euros I think I may have made a couple of boo boos!  Only time will tell.

This lovely silver topped biscuit barrel was one
of my better buys and I can't wait to clean it up

I'm also pleased with this retro barometer and thermometer
although I paid more than I would have liked

These two super little inkwells caught my eye and I was glad to get them

The next stage of my plan was to check out the local antique and bric-a-brac stores to see if I could find some bargains but sadly the prices again were high and unlike the antique TV programmes I habitually watch they weren't really budging much on prices.  One rather sarcastic gentlemen crowed "where's the film crew?" when I asked for his best price on a couple of items - and they say the French are rude!

Back at home I have unpacked and assembled my buys in preparation for
cleaning and will assess which ones are destined for my Etsy Shop
and which ones are to be sold at a local flea market in Cognac 

I look forward to sharing with you over the coming weeks a selection of the trucs I have purchased (once I get around to sorting through them) as well as some of the interesting places I visited during my visit to Angleterre.  But in the meantime I have sledgehammer wielding husband to clear up after who is busy knocking openings in our walls to improve the layout of our house and to let in more light so I'll bid you adieu for now and get the broom!

The horrible boxing in at the bottom of the stairs is gone

and so is half our dining room wall.... don't worry it will all be wonderful
when it's done!!!

Adieu mes Petits Poules

It's been a bit of sad week because we said goodbye to our three little chickens.   Don't worry they were not put in the pot - they are now residing back in the countryside where they belong. 

LaVerne enjoying the rich diet provided by the ample garden
of our old house

As soon as we moved to Cognac the three girls immediately took to
hanging around the back door and bullying the cats and dogs

We did try to find a way to keep LaVerne, Patty and Maxene but they did insist on pooping on their own doorstep which is never a good idea.

 

Jake looking harassed

and Oscar standing very very very still so as not to rile them

I will miss them but not the "walnut whips" they left in their wake

So it was with regret that they were whisked away to pastures new and a young family with a very excited 9 year old boy who I know will enjoy the antics of the cheekiest chickens I've ever known.