Turning back the clock – meet little Lucy and the rest of the family!

Mum, Laura, Me and Dad

I found an old photo album over the weekend and the pictures were so cute that I just had to write a post dedicated to them – so many family memories of holidays, moments and of course all the obligatory fights with my sister. I have to say that the biggest thing these selection of pictures proves is that I was determined to be a princess judging by my wardrobe!

Me and Mum with baby Laura

Me, baby Laura and Dad

And here is the family on holiday, picture taken by myself as everyone chows down. Our family holidays were a big part of the year and we often would go on summer holidays and stay in villas with my grandparents when we were growing up. Seems like a lifetime ago now – and I guess it was really!

Nanny, Mum, Dad, Laura and Grandad on holiday

Laura, me and Nanny

And here’s another one of me with my Nanny and sister. It seems like such a long time ago, now coming up to 10 years since she died.

Me, Dad and Laura

Me and Laura with Sammy the rabbit

Me and Laura building snowmen in the back garden

Lots of funny memories of times with my sister – mainly the hilarious fights we used to have are what I remember now! Pretty legendary by any sibling standards! And a final picture of me with Sammy the rabbit – he was a little bugger who loved to nibble and bite, but despite all the wires in the house being sacrificed to him, he was part of the family!

Me with Sammy the rabbit

There you are – a little slice of my childhood in pictures!

Getting down with Downton Abbey – finally!

I’ve been catching up on Downton Abbey. I finally had to give in and buy the box set so that I could watch the programme from the very beginning after missing the beginning. I’m so pleased that I did – I do love a period drama and this is an amazingly well-made one. As I watch it I am transported back into times gone by and am gripped by every second. I’m currently on series two and love the changes from series one as we delve into the 1930’s and 40’s and wartime England. It is fascinating to see the comparison of life between the poor and the wealthy as they make their way through everyday life. I would seriously recommend this programme to anyone who is interested in vintage, history, period dramas and the like. That is, if there is anyone out there who hasn’t seen it!

Everyone’s a winner baby!

After a lifetime of entering competitions, paying the Lottery and trying my luck at quizzes – I finally won something! I entered an online competition organised by the owners of a Cambridge-based vintage seller, called Rehab Vintage, through their Facebook page.
Never even considering for a second that I might win, I answered the question and forgot about it, until a status popped into my news feed saying that I had indeed won!

I had my choice of a selection of winter warmer vintage cardigans and jumpers with a range of designs available. So many of them were fabulous patterns and styles, but I chose this cardigan and it arrived last week. It’s absolutely lovely and snug as anything, managed to wear it on Saturday, but it was too warm on Sunday.

Getting a bit over-eager for that wintery chill now so I can really get some wear out of it. Will definitely be planning on checking out the rest of their clothes on their Asos Marketplace page.

And a day of traditional seaside fun, with a little extra work!

Today was spent at sunny Hunstanton, where I was a determined woman. After a day off enjoying Norwich, I had plenty to be getting on with at our beach hut. My family own a beautiful beach hut at Old Hunstanton, quite close to the lifeboat station, which we bought as a ruin and have done up ourselves. Now, although I admit I am biased, I would argue that it is easily the best looking beach hut on the whole beach!

The beach hut means a lot to our family, we have always been big lovers of the seaside and as kids spent every weekend at a different beach, but always heading back to Old Hunstanton, which was a particular favourite. My parents bought the hut when I was around 14-years-old, a perfect time for  us to still spend every weekend there, for me to help painting and decorating it, and for us to full it with buckets, spades and all the rest of the traditional beach paraphernalia. It came in handy when, shortly after, my nan was diagnosed with terminal oesophageal cancer which quickly took hold of her body and weakened her severely. No longer could she clamber across the sand dunes with ease, but she still longed to go to the seaside with her family. Having the beach hut, especially so close to the road, meant she could easily get down there and sit within the hut to keep warm and sheltered from the weather but still wouldn’t miss out on a second of family time.

Sadly, she died a year after being diagnosed, when I was 16, but I’m pleased to say we made the most of every last second and that hut carries so many wonderful memories for the whole family. We have since redecorated it and have recently had to have further work done on some rotten beams and weather-beaten parts. This meant a further repainting was required to smarten it up and a bit and I thought I would post some pictured of the progress on here for you all to see.

 

    

Here I am painting away – actually painted from 10.30am to 4.30pm without taking a break! Special attention went to the doors and detailing, while my dad worked on the larger areas and touching up the varnish on the decking.

 Here he is hard at work!

After working for hours in the beautiful sunshine, we started to pack everything away before grabbing fish and chips as a treat and got comfy for the sunset.

    

Despite all the hard work, I still made sure that I had time to find sandcastles on the beach, to walk down the hastily retreating tide and pick blackberries. Just some of my favourite things to do at the seaside – and of course, squeezed in an ice cream! It was a fantastic day and so nice to spend with my parents and grandfather. There is still a bit of work left to do on the beach hut, but it should be finished inside and out by next weekend – I will post better pictures then of both inside and outside. And hopefully, the weather will hold so that my photographer friend has time to organise a photo shoot there!

A day of vintage shopping and exploring off the beaten track in my favourite city

After a week of stressing about lots of little things, it was time to unwind over the weekend by spending a little time with my loved ones and trying something different. Saturday was spent in Norwich with my boyfriend, after waking up first thing, we decided to head to the city for a day of browsing the lanes – neither of us needing to buy anything just fancying a look around the city in the sunshine.

First of all we went to the Patisserie for a drink and some gateaux – I indulged in the double chocolate, while Mark went for the chocolate mousse combined with fruit smoothies and chocolate milkshakes. Absolutely delicious – I can never resist this place because all of the cakes look so gorgeous.

After, we headed into the lanes where we wandered among the cobbled streets for hours, popping into little boutique and vintage shops, found adorable cafes and delis that we had never seen before, including one that was selling a type of venison salami. The sun came out in force and it was a beautiful day, which only added to the feeling of being on holiday – I love when you rediscovered a place so familiar to yourself just by wandering off the beaten track.

After a few hours, we suddenly came across this huge vintage and antiques shop, Looses Emporium, which looked incredible. We were instantly sucked in and began to explore the enormous warehouse and its contents. We found some amazing items – mainly furniture that made me wish I were moving out so I could fill my home with these unique pieces – but also books, clothes, ornaments and much, much more. Here are some of my favourites:

A vintage Lotto machine..

A throne!

Obviously need one of these for above the mantlepiece!

Still in perfect working condition – such a beautiful tone to the music that you just don’t get from iPods etc…

As suggested by my friend – a sex gong! Haha

And my favourite item of the day – a classic novel..

Then, after two and a half hours of exploring (which included a flea market we found upstairs where Mark bought the purple 50’s bowling bomber as pictured above and an original 1960’s kimono), we moved on to Aladdin’s Cave, which was just down the street where I had to persuade Mark not to buy a life-size statue of Jesus for his new living room.

Both stored were amazing for one-off pieces and for finding something a little different, something we both love to do. Mark is moving into a new house, that his mum and step-dad are renovating in order to rent out, with one of his mates at the start of November and he is really excited to furniture shop for his own home. The place he shares now with two friends is filled with furniture and items that don’t belong to Mark, either to the others or they were given to the boys. He is definitely getting to that point where he wan’t to have a home to call his own and to have all his own things, rather than just a room in a house.

It was an amazing day and nicely rounded off with a meal in a Tapas restaurant we discovered which had the most amazing food. We shared a selection of dishes including Patatas Bravas, prawns in garlic and oil, mozzarella sticks in breadcrumbs with garlic mayonnaise, meatballs in a tomato sauce with peas, and a phenomenally tasty chorizo, bacon, and pea stew in a smoky tomato sauce that fired up my taste buds.

It was so nice to spend a day with Mark, just the two of us, exploring somewhere we both love. We haven’t had enough couple time lately and haven’t appreciated each other as much as we should so it was nice to be together away from everything and everyone at home.