Magpie Monday - Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

We are "oop north" staying with Grandma this week but I made sure I got myself organised before leaving home so that I wouldn't miss this weeks MagpieMonday post again.  I might even have a little wander around the charity shops up here to see if I can find any treasure for next week !

I am not known for my culinary skills but my finds this week seem to be conspiring to push me in the direction of learning how to make yummy food as Grandma did (well how she would have, if I had know either of my grandmothers) .  My finds also happen to also be all glass too.  I have lusted over some of the other Magpie Monday finds of beautiful glass pieces, so was thrilled to bits to find these items this week.

First up, a pair of beautiful French glass chicken egg cups found for 50p each.  The photo really does not do them justice.  They are beautiful quality glass and when sat on the window sill the light through them is truly stunning.

One of the things I really adore about collecting Vintage China is drinking my tea from a "proper" cup and saucer.  I was lucky enough to find the complete set of these French cups and saucers in the most beautiful, soft pastel colours.  I will feature them at a later date.  The family think I have lost the plot but it really does make the tea taste better.  When I saw this glass Lemon Squeezer I snatched it up off the shelf again only 50p and again French glass, I doubt its very old but its lovely quality.  Lemon tea either hot or cold is so refreshing to drink in the summer.

The pretty silver tea leaf infuser was one of two that I found for 20p each.  They look like they again have never been used and are perfect for a single cup of freshly brewed leaf tea.

Lastly, How wonderful is this glass jelly mould !  One thing I CAN make is Jelly ! Ha!  I have even found this receipe for proper homemade Jelly and shock! horror! I might even attempt to make it .  If anyone has more ideas for how I can use the Jelly mould I would love to know, salmon terrine perhaps ?  now I really am getting outside my comfort zone ! 

Pop over and take a look at all the other great vintage and thrifted finds in this weeks MagpieMonday Post.

Look what I found!

A few weeks ago I posted HERE about a beautiful cup and saucer from the Althrope Estate I found.  Look what I found in the same shop yesterday :

Now either the staff have got the measure of me on my daily visits to their Charity shop and pop gorgeous bits of loveliness around the place just ahead of me turning a corner, or there is a once Althrop loving (now hating) bod about, who donates.

Its a gorgeous glass Votive Candle holder in immaculate condition which I purchased for the princely sum of 10p !

New York ! New York !

I found this lovely wooden set of the New York Skyline yesterday in my favourite Charity Shop for £1 complete with pretty drawstring bag.  Too sweet to let the twins get hold of (they will just disappear amongst all the lego )  I thought they look nice popped on the shelf that runs around the top of the panelling in the dining room. 

New York is a place I have always wanted to visit (along with Paris) hopefully they might act as a daily reminder to work harder to achieve my dream.

Glass - Magpie Monday

For this week's MagpieMonday post I have several pieces of glassware.  I am always hoping to find beautiful glass items when I go on my trips around boot sales and charity shops but rarely find anything that really takes my breath away.    When I saw the following pieces I was immediately in love and snapped them up.

The beautiful vase in the centre of this photo is actually new (sorry, hope it still counts) I found it in one of my other regular haunts TK Maxx.  It had a price tag of just £7 !! I couldn't believe it, its the most gorgeous piece of glassware, beautifully made and really heavy. I love it and can't wait to get some large white flowers to pop in it.  The pretty glass bowl has a blue etched pattern on the front and back, I found two for 10p each in the charity shop.  Possibly not very old, but really pretty.    I have a few blue bottles like the one in this picture, I love them all in a line down the table with a single flower.  Simple but elegant, I won this one off Ebay for 99p.

I am not sure at all whether this is a vase? or an ice cream sundae cup ?  I don't think it is new as it is really heavy glass with a "old" frosted appearance.  I really don't mind either way as its the most beautiful colour and matches perfectly with the taper candles I decided to store in it.   It cost 50p from the chairity shop and all the candles were just 10p for the lot!

I was thrilled when I saw this bottle ! A bottle with a tap! ha! I love it.  I knew straight away what I would use it for and it now sits on the side of the kitchen sink with washing up liquid in it !  (no dishwasher in this house)  Not sure what its original use would be maybe Olive Oil ? It must be reasonable old looking at the tap and the thickness and quality of the glass but I could be wrong.  Cost me £1 in charity shop.

Finally this week, this totally stunning, too die for pink glass clock in the art deco style (but obviously a modern clock as it has a battery).  It was locked in a cabinet in the charity shop - where they put the posh stuff ! I paid £3 and I love! love! love! it.  It sits on my bedside table, so pretty and gives me joy everyday just to look at it.

Don't forget to pop over to Lizzie's MagpieMonday to see all the other great thrifted finds this week.

I am sure I have aristocratic blood - MagpieMonday

Firstly I want to reassure Liz from MagpieMonday who had a bit of a wobbly moment last week, that I did not feel at anytime, under any pressure to shop for this weeks post.  I will let you all into a little secret - I am a shopaholic ! There I said it, I feel so much better for that.  Sadly, I was unable to find anything to fit in with the red or comic relief theme, but I did find something that made me smile (a lot really, but  probably only Helen @icklebabe_com  will get the joke).

I have to say I've been on a role until this week, finding bargain after bargain for silly money.  I think my luck might just be running out (although we had a great morning at the boot sale yesterday, will post about those items at a later date) 

There is a link between this weeks finds (tongue firmly placed in cheek) - as I have always believed I was not born to be poor (which sadly I am) I must imagine that I am instead from impeccable breeding !

My first find this week

This beautiful Enlgish Bone China cup and saucer from the Althorp Estate for £1.  Its absolutely devine, fine, fine china with a beautiful rose and the motto of the Althorp Family.  I have never visited Althorp as I can't bare the thought of Princess Diana being so close and dead.  I idolised her when she was alive and to this day I feel so sad about her death.

My second find was an amazing handmade Liberty of London Guests and Menus book.  I found it at the bottom of a box of handbags would you believe! when I first spotted the iconic material, I thought, this has got to be some fake bag, when I pulled it out I was thrilled to find this fantastic book, in immaculate condition and unused!  for 50p woop!  Can't find anything about this book online so if anybody has any ideas would love to know.  I might even pluck up the courage to contact Liberty themselves.

Imagine having the kind of lifestyle that requires you to have a book in which to plan your guest lists, menu and wines !

My third find (which is the joke part for Helen, who is the most amazing cook and is always telling me to cook stuff for my man)  It seems I may actually have aristocratic blood which is why I have an aversion to cooking like the wonderful Duchess of Devonshire.  She doesn't cook but wrote a cookery book!  How fab is that !  I found her Chatsworth cookery book as I was browsing the shelves for blue books!  Yes, I really do look for books with blue covers.  Hubby is building me a bookcase for our living room and I want to have lots of gorgeous old books with blue, white or pale spines.  I know, humour me, I might actually be loosing the plot.  I am hoping it will look fab when finished.  Anyway that's another story.  Sooooo this particular book had the most beautiful cover when the dust cover was removed.

It also had lots of lovely receipes (The Duchess of course has a staff of chefs to do her cooking)  and this one in particular caught my eye on the same day that I think I was talking to Helen and several twitter peeps about homemade soup !

Don't forget to pop over to see what the other great MagpieMonday peeps have thrifted this week.

Come on Up !

The stairs are finished ! Yippeee!

I am so excited about this as it has taken "a while"  for us to get around to completing all the painting required.  You can imagine with five people going up and down the stairs several times a day, there never seems to have been a time when the traffic was light enough to allow us to paint and dry sufficiently.  Coats were added at random times and now it is finally the "right" colour. 

The stenciled words are a quirky finishing touch .  Milo popped his rabbit on the stairs this morning, complete with raised leg.  Think he may have his mummies eye for styling !

Painted to compliment the beautiful Laura Ashley wallpaper purchased in a sale several years ago, I am really happy with the end result.  As for the four men in our home ..... 

BEFORE

One of the rare moments when No 1 son helped around the house.  Can't believe how small he is in this photo,At nearly 16 yrs old now he is nearly as tall as his dad !

AFTER