A little bit of Winter cheer

Urghhh, the weather here is chilly, gloomy, wet...basically the sort of weather that makes you want to do a big fat nothing!
There's nothing wrong with that of course. Soon, the weather will turn, the trees will be in bud and the plants will burst forth from the ground. Yes, Spring will have sprung and we can look forward to longer days and warmer weather. We have to find little ways to amuse and cheer ourselves until then though.

Simple things can make the dark, wintry days seem less dreary can't they? And they don't all have to cost a lot...

Short days and bad weather = more time to read, hurrah!

I don't feel the least bit guilty about making mini cheese scones to eat with my soup



We're enjoying simple, comforting food like Baked Eggs and Spinach.
This isn't my effort, I keep forgetting to take a picture!  Source. The recipe is almost the same. The cheese is my addition.


{Tip a tin of chopped tomatoes into an ovenproof dish, mix in some seasoning and chilli flakes/powder, pour a kettle of boiling water over enough fresh spinach for two, drain, mix with tomatoes, make four small wells in the top and break an egg into each, grate over some mature cheese and bake at 200 degrees for 15 - 20 mins until everything is hot, cheese is browned and eggs are cooked to your liking. Don't forget the crusty bread. Yum!}



Experiencing that little thrill when the postman knocks at my door with (yet another, oops!) parcel of goodies.

Finally being able to wear one of my best CS bargains ever. It's been too mild thus far for cashmere. Yes, cashmere! And vintage Pringle for Harrods at that! (It looks a lot better on I can assure you!)

My little Christmas present looks quite at home on it. Thanks hubby!





The best thing about this generally mild and snow-free Winter for us is that we've been able to keep on motoring in Morris!



Every mile, a smile!



And when one motors in Morris, one has to dress appropriately don't yer know!

Stuff

I like stuff. I do. Especially useless stuff. It's an affliction and I fear it's terminal. Here's some of the latest stuff to find it's way home with me.

Who was the Victorian lady who wore this I wonder? Somewhat tatty, completely useless but pretty and delicate and worth saving.

I've been looking for one of these teensy little child sized baskets for ages. And then Mr TVL spots this on a high shelf in a charity shop for the grand sum of £1.95!! I wish that happened every day!

I have oodles of these fab crochet covered hangers. Bought to sell but...well, you know the rest. I may be persuaded to add a few to the website soon. Maybe.

(click on picture to enlarge!)

I love the little illustrations in the manual of a helpful young  lady pointing out things alongside the instructions. Her outfit very nicely dates it, I think.

Not all stuff is useless of course. While doing a bit of soy-fing I spotted this great vintagey fairisle cardi at Matalan of all places. Not a shop I frequent I admit, but this was too cute to miss.

 Look, it's got puffy sleeves!

Yes, I like stuff. And the great thing is, there's always more where that came from!

Tight(s) spot

Where has this lovely weather been hiding? We might be enjoying July in September but before we know it...BAM!!! It's February in October. That's the trouble with enjoying glorious sunshine this late in the year in Britain. We'll wake up one morning to a heck of a shock. So, I was going to postpone this post but then I thought "nah, we'll all be putting the socks, tights and boots back on in the near future".
About this time of year when pulling said boots from the back of the wardrobe I like to buy a few new pairs of tights. They're a fairly inexpensive way to zoosh up an outfit I think you'll agree? Except that I have expensive tastes as you'll see further down this post!
Here are just a few that have caught my eye while browsing mostly the net ('cause I hate schlepping around the shops) and high street stores in the last couple of weeks. I favour the thicker, woolly type tights or opaques so that's what you're getting a look at here. There's a great choice of designs and colours out there so something for everyone, no matter what your budget. So away with the suncream and out with the brolly!

Coloured crochet tights, available in six colours ~ New Look £5.99

120 denier tights, available in nine colours ~ New Look £4.99
All tights currently 3 for 2 at New Look so stock up!

Ditsy flower tights ~ White Stuff £15.00

Deidre net tights ~ White Stuff £8.00

White Stuff have some of last winters tights reduced to £5.00 such as the Circle Net and cable tights that I paid more for in their winter sale...grrr!

Stripey Witch tights ~ Accessorize £6.00

I actually wouldn't wear these but I thought they'd be great fun around Halloween!

Big chain chunky tights ~ Accessorize £12.00

LOVE these!

Organic cotton ~ Natural Collection £19.95

Available in eleven lovely colours (below). Expensive I know but I'm hoping they'll last more than one winter unlike a lot of tights I've bought in the past.

Cotton dot ~ Tabio £29.00 (gulp!)

Colour tights in 210 denier ~ Tabio £28.00

Diamond pattern ~ Tabio £24.00

Argyle ~ Tabio £20.00
For a great selection of quality tights I do recommend Tabio. Not cheap as you can see but if you can't find the colour you want there, you'll find it nowhere. They do opaques in 30, 60, 80, 110, 150 and 210 denier, as well as a great selection of patterned tights, socks and leggings.

On the net there's also My Tights and Tights Please where you'll find another huge selection from affordable names such as Pretty Polly to mid range such as Pamela Mann and higher end stuff like Wolford and Falke. I have found some of these cheaper by trawling the internet though
so it's always worth shopping around.

I bought these fab mustard coloured tights in H & M last week, £7.99 I think (love all the mustard appearing in the shops; very good for mixing in with the vintage btw!) but they don't appear to be on the website. It will be an easy colour to find elsewhere this autumn/winter I'm sure.