Going Pink...

I have always wanted a pink and grey bedroom and seeing this beautiful picture inspired me.  When I first moved into my house one of the first things I did was paint the walls pink...it didn't look great!  I was so impatient that I painted over the wall paper, left the gross dado rail running through the middle of the wall, and picked a wood paint that wasn't quite white!  The look was pretty disastrous. 

Since then G has moved in and we've redone the room with green and grey - but the girl in me is still craving a bit of pink.

I saw this article, Pink at Brimfield 2013 and was drawn in by all the amazing vintage pink finds.

This fantastic montage of pink and grey rooms on The Pink Doormat really shows the kind of look I'm hoping for. 

 Loving this quilt from John Lewis - looks so cosy

Love the idea of these bedside lamps from John Lewis.  They have a formal office look about them but I think this would add something a bit different to the bedroom.

Finally, I've always wanted to have a nice reading area in my bedroom and I think this set up featured on Urban Outfitters website showcasing this gorgeous pintuck pillow would just go perfectly.

Pretty Vintage

Back in September we threw a fantastic Vintage party for Bean's 30th.  We went for 1940's themed party with bunting, tasty finger food from M&S, a Gin Bike and a dance session.

We hired the local village hall and brought in a fantastic dance teacher/DJ for the evening, Salsa Dance Parties, who lead us in a brilliant charleston, jive and lindyhop dance session before cranking up the tunes for some cheesy party dancing.

The absolutely stunning photobooth from The Vintage Photobooth Company was probably the highlight of the evening.  We hired in the 1920's Vintage booth which was so beautiful and the double prints meant that Bean got to keep a memento from the event.

We decided to dress up a vintage bike that we have and make it into the Gin Bar for the evening, with pretty paper cups, stripy straws and a collection of Gin accompaniments.

We all dressed up in Vintage 'get up' with G and me donning our best and really getting into the theme.

When planning a theme for a party it's often the little things that can make the difference.  

• Think about the venue and how it matches your theme - village and church halls work well for vintage, whereas a room in a manor house would work well for a masquerade ball or a cocktail party.
• Ask guests to dress up as this will automatically bring the theme to life.  Providing a few props for guests to use is a nice way to help guests out if they struggled with an outfit.
• Continue your theme through to your food and think about the type of food that you have been eaten in that era, country etc.
• Think carefully about your music - an ipod playlist with well selected tunes will set the theme just as well as a DJ.
• Make your own decorations - thinks like paper bunting, paper pompoms and balloons are a really cheap way to dress the room.

“The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday-but never jam today"

Blackbird Tea Rooms Brighton

{7th July 2013}

This is a slightly belated post as we actually went out for afternoon tea at the Blackbird Tea Rooms, Brighton, last Wednesday.

My gorgeous sister came down to spend the day in Brighton with me, having managed to finally coordinate a day that we both had off together.  We only really had 2 agendas for the day - 1. Buy some cool clothes, 2. Eat some tasty food.  As soon as I knew Bean was coming down to see me I knew I wanted to go to Blackbird.  Having been open now for a little while I still can't believe I haven't been yet.

You step back into a little piece of history.  We had booked a table, (just as well as it was super busy), and got a lovely seat in the window upstairs.  The decor is beautiful, I am soooo going to steal the bird wall paper, and they have made a real effort to source vintage furniture and crockery.

I sometimes worry that afternoon tea can be a bit 'up itself' but there was definitely no worry of this here.  The tearooms offer a variety of dishes, cakes, and sandwiches.  The Afternoon Tea at £12.50 per person comes with your choice of one of the sandwiches, a scrummy homemade scone and jam, and a selection of cakes.  As Bean and I both picked the Afternoon Tea we decided to pick different sandwiches (egg and cress, and goats cheese) and share.

There was a really good selection of teas to accompany our food - traditional to new (rosehips and hibiscus) all served loose leaf in individual vintage teapots.

One of our favourite things of the experience was the quirky loo (an outhouse in the back yard).  Vintage photos and postcards on the walls and individual hand towels made the whole thing a bit of an experience.

I would definitely recommend the Blackbird Tearooms for anyone looking for a quirky, very tasty, inexpensive lunch.