Treasure Hunting #2

A few weeks back now, I came across a beautiful vintage navy satchel on ebay that I couldn't not bid on. As you can see, it has a real classic look to it and with the bow type detail on the straps, it looks like the sort of bag that wouldn't look out of place on a street in Paris somewhere.

I put a bid in of the £3.99 the seller was asking for and nooone outbid for the whole of the auction! I still put an extra bid in incase someone bid at the very last minute which luckily they didn't!

The seller said it was in 'excellent condition, with all the stiching still intact' and apart from the missing bag strap it which I was fine with because I quite wanted it so that It could be hand-held bag, it was fine.
It arrived a few days later, (packaged in bin liner) and although i expected it to be in a vintage, used condition, I was quite dissapointed that the seller had over-exaggerated and it was not in the excellent condtion she has stated. It was actually rather grubby and the metal parts were incredibly rusty which she hadn't stated.
I still loved the look of the bag though and wanted to use for Uni as it just about fit an A4 pad, a pencil case, purse etc - with my plan being I would just use a cotton tote bag for heavy library books etc. So, I googled how to clean vinatage bag and how to get rid of rust (at least a bit anyway), bought some leather wipes for 99p and got a pot of vinegar and some kitchen roll and started to clean!

I wrapped the kitchen roll that I'd soaked in vinegar around the rusty bag buckles as apparently vinegar can help remove rust - who knew?! It did help clear some of it but I think the age of the bag must be around the 40-50 year mark (let me know if you think I might be wrong though!) so its going to inevitable that some rust wont budge. The existing handle that you can see is in fact really good condition which im guessing may be due to past owners using the detachable strap that is no longer on the bag?
So with a bit of a clean up, this bag is going to have a brand new lease of life! All for only £3.99!

Lucy x

You can leave your hat on...

Ive been meaning to post this for about 4 days now but for some reasonn my blogger has been playing up and every time I attempt to write a post It lets me do a title but nothing else? But it seems to be working so far so if you're reading this, its worked! So on to the point of the post...I bought a hat! Exciting stuff yes?!

I noticed Topshop were offering free delivery on all orders a few weeks back and after looking for a bowler type hat for a while, not liking one I had bought from Asos some weeks back, I took the plunge and ordered Topshop's Pork Pie hat.

I think I would have prefered it to be slightly smaller but as they only offer a one size option you have to pretty much like it or lump it! Im really glad I picked the grey option instead of the generic black - I reckon the grey will be a nice change and will go with a quite a few colours, especially coming into a/w.

It sells for £25 if anyone was wondering, although as I get student discount and this was free delivery purrchase it came to £22.50 which Ive come to notice seems the going rate for these type of hats nowadays! So, as long as it gets its use, the fact that its good quality and is also made right here in Blighty, I think the price is justifiable. Hope you're all enjoying the sun! Im off to make the most of it by reading a good book in the garden and getting ready for some car-booting this weekend! Have a lovely weekend!
Lucy x

Treasure Hunting #1

Anybody else feel like this week is flying by? Just over a week and we will be in September which is absolutely crazy as we all know what that means...a certain countdown anyone?!

I've been trying to go to as many carboots as I can this summer and was one of the things I was looking forward to doing this time around but with the weather not knowing what to do with itself, its been pretty hit and miss. I went to my local one last saturday after debating whether to go or not and could have kicked myself when I got there. Overcast whether= miserable and minimal car booters selling pretty much nothing of interest. I did come across a teapot I quite liked and nearly smashed it in the process! Being half asleep (my excuse for sheer clumsiness anyway) I turned it upside down to look at the makers' mark and the lid made an almighty thud that left me a little dishevled and saying sorry about 15 times to a man who looked like hed just seen his life flash before his very eyes...probably could have done with a nice calming cuppa to be honest!

Losing heart pretty quickly and thinking I would leave with nothing I found this

Sorry for the crappy quality - my camera eats batteries like I eat chocolate and I cant keep affording to pay out for new ones all the time - might invest in some rechargable ones! So yes, I found this vintage suitcase which is actually bigger than it looks but not too big on the last stall I look at for a massive 1 british pound! Pretty good no? Im not sure if Im going to keep it for myself yet though - thinking about giving it to a friend of mine who love vintage bags but hasnt got a suitcase type bag in her collection yet so we shall see!


As Im showing you some thrifty bits I thought Id throw in another find that I found in a charity shop a few weeks ago and is now storing my rings and things.

 

This didn't have a price on it possibly because the charity shop had only been open a few weeks but after asking a rather put-on-the-spot employee, he charged me £1.25 - lovely jubbly. I love the shell/oyster type shape to it and of course the pretty little flower print inside :)

 

 

Have any of you lovely lot found anything a bit bargainous lately?

 

 

Lucy X



Music to my ears

The first time I heard these arms of mine by Otis Redding I was both in love with the song and in awe of how much soul could be found in someone's voice.

A couple of months ago I bought Mr Redding's album off Amazon for a bargainous £2.99 although I think at the moment, its around the £4 mark. There are some brilliant songs on there including the classic love man that features in Dirty Dancing as well as my personal favourite 'Ive been loving you too long' - if you havent heard it go and youtube it now!

Talking of Youtube and relating to Otis (how cool is that name by the way?!) I came across an absolute gem that I could'nt not share with you all.

After trying to covers of the song Ive been loving you too long, I found the said gem; Danny Small.
From what I can gather, and please correct me if Im wrong, Danny is a homeless guy in his 50s who lives in New York. He's a bit of a regular inside the New York Subway where he takes a seat and basically sings his favourite soul classics and blooming 'eck is he amazing! Listen with some headphones, turn it up a little and just listen. The passion and soul in this mans voice when he sings is something you don't hear everyday.

Let me know if you liked it - Enjoy!

Lucy X