A touch of blue glistening down her back

I'm not feeling remotely blue, but the dresses of choice have been just that this weekend. 

 

Left; 1970s Shubette maxi dress - vintage fair

Right; 1960s Sherman of London maxi dress - Ebay

Kimono jacket - charity shopped

Sandals - retail

 

Yesterday was busy, full of lots of lovely things.

 

 

Sheffield city centre skyline.

 

I was in town checking this out;

a sale in the costume department at the Crucible Theatre. 

 

If you fancied stroking Kenneth Branagh's coat or sniffing Joseph Fiennes' waistcoat, you could do so. Or even buy them, if you had the cash.

(Only Brits of a certain age will remember Sheffield's own Marti Caine.)

 

I enjoyed browsing. If they had been selling off any of the Victorian street girl costumes from the production of Oliver! I went to see, I would have snatched their hand off, but alas...

 I did find;

three dresses. Much cheaper (£4 each).

 

 

 She looks delighted, doesn't she?

 

 

 

 

Next stop; Heeley Festival.

 

Always a joy (if the weather plays nice); we meet friends, buy sweets from our friend Zander, peruse the produce...

 

lounge about in the sunshine...

 

admire the view...

 

meet the animals at Heeley City Farm...

 

delight in the fact that knitting can be a Force for Good...

 

...and enjoy the blue-skied vibe.

 

 

And finally; a meal out at Thyme Cafe to celebrate my birthday. A little early, but Claudia is away at a Scout camp next weekend, so it was now or never.

 

 

 

 

Waiting for the bus.

 

 

 

After a few more glasses of pink fizz, the photos degenerated...

but hey, if you can't pull faces with your kids on your almost-50th birthday night out, when can you?

And that, my friends, is that.

Oh, and thanks for sharing my righteous indignation at Vix being passed over for that award; and for expressing a little outrage on my behalf too. I probably make it sound as though people are rude to me and insult my clothes all the time; they really don't (and it's balanced up with compliments too) but I like to tell you when it happens because it makes me laugh!

Hope your weekends have been full and happy.

 

xxxx

Shiny happy people

First things first;

 

thanks for all your advice and suggestions about what to wear for a Black Tie party, and also for your (early) birthday wishes. 

 

I love hearing what you lot have to say!

 

We all thoroughly enjoyed our Italian meal on Friday - I was overdressed, as usual.

 

As previously noted, I have no trouble whatsoever wearing a 1970s evening dress on the school run or out to a local restaurant, but set me the task of dressing up for an Occasion where there are Rules, and I get in a tizz.

(I've spoken to my sister about what is expected for her party, and am tizzing no longer. So that's a relief.)

  

Look at Eldest, posing like a good 'un. 

This is a rather more representative set of images - Eldest tucking in, Seldom Seen excited about his pizza, and Littlest pulling a face, for no reason other than that she can.

 

And this is a pretty typical representation of me too - hair dishevelled after mere minutes, and looking cross-eyed. Thanks to Seldom Seen for the most unflattering camera angle...

Saturday;

our local festival.

Despite the dire weather forecast, it stayed dry.

There was belly dancing, live music, food, loads of stalls and activities, and as always, we bumped into lots of people we knew for a chat. 

 

Littlest made a bee house...

...and joined in with the drumming.

I love the view of our city from up on the hill.

 

We bought sweets from our friend Zander (delicious) and perused the vintage wares at this lovely stall...

...where Teresa was selling all sorts of linens and haberdashery and homewares.

All so pretty - check out her website.

And look what I found;

 

 

my birth year, and gorgeous flowers on pure Irish linen - perfect as an early birthday present to myself!

Now I have to confess that the other big event of the weekend, the infamous Park Night, was not documented. I did take my camera, but got too caught up in the wine-drinking, chat, laughter and foolishness to remember to take photos.

But you can picture the scene - six respectable and responsible mums, pillars of the local community, sprawled on picnic blankets, spilling our wine, nipping off for a wee in the bushes, and cackling at our own ever-increasing levels of rudeness. We had a ball.

 

Probably just as well there is no photographic evidence... 

 

We frightened off the local youth, we're apparently a better deterrent than the Neighbourhood Watch.

I treated myself again today - to this pendant, which happened to match my dress perfectly, and to these;

 

a well-loved reminder of my childhood.

 

All charity shopped, of course.

1960s Davisella maxi dress - Ebay

Denim jacket, cardigan, pendant, bangles and sunglasses - charity shopped

Sandals - retail (sale)

I think this print makes me visible enough to join in over at Patti's usual Monday gathering, and I'll also hanging out with Jane at her inaugural Shiny T Tuesday link-up tomorrow.

I'll be catching up with your blogs this evening, I hope, a couple of days off and I am waaaaay behind with my comments!

   xxxxx

A festival and a girls' night out

I have had a lovely weekend, hope you did too.

Heeley Festival was fun, we always see lots of people we know, and the rain didn't dampen our enthusiam too much.

A cream tea requires deep concentration, whether spreading...

... or eating.

I bought these sweet little 1950s glasses from the mini car boot sale, 10p each.

OH likes his chutney.

Toffees, fudge and caramels made by our ex-next door neighbour Zander. That's him, looking like Gene Vincent in the top photo. He has just started his own sweet-making business called Sweet Delights. The apple and cinnamon caramels are my favourite. 

So that was the daytime entertainment, which was followed by Barbara arriving to have a rifle through my vintage collection. Sadly, although she did try on my blue frilly bloomers, and all my wigs, I was too hopeless to take photos. So I will show you how beautiful my dear friend is in a Goth-inspired photo from a while back!

She chose a lovely 1960s psychedelic shirt dress and some rose print leggings for our night out, looked amazing, and has packed them in her rucksack to take back to NZ with her.

Barbara, Claire, Karen, me, the Blog Hog twins, and Joanne, having a swift Pimms before hitting the pub. (The kids made do with squash, just in case you were thinking of ringing Social Services.)

I decided the jumpsuit needed an outing. The Sheaf View isn't quite Studio 54, but never mind.

Our night in the pub was great, I had such a good laugh with my lovely friends, and received some fabulous gifts.

Claire and Sally.

Diana and Sue.

Trace, looking a tad unhinged.

Joanne and me.

Unfortunately, I failed to get a photo of my other friend Sue, who gave me the most wonderful present. Have a sneaky peek - ooh la la!

Nights out with friends when you never stop chatting and laughing are just the best!

So I'm feeling a little flat today, Barbara left Sheffield this afternoon and after waving her off, I was a wee bit teary, and then couldn't really be arsed doing very much. Saving the air fares to New Zealand is going to be a long job!

 But Littlest is determined that we should go, since she is besotted with Barbara and is most concerned to renew her acquaintance with Barbara's youngest daughter. This photo of our girls was taken 4 years ago, the last time they were together.

We're going to get these girls Skyping soon! 

     xxx