Friday 31 December 2010

The Family Christmas Cake Competition

This year we started a new family competition to be named Cake Master. The idea started last year when I made a Christmas cake for the first time, and my Dad threw down the gauntlet!

Here's last year's cake, a simple snowflake design, from a Nigella Lawson recipe:


This year, five of us took part but mysteriously my Dad declined to participate - afraid of the competition I think!

Here are the entries, from top to bottom: my cake this year (winner of 'Best Tasting'); my niece's star cake; my sister's snowflake cake; my sister-in-law's holly cake (winner of 'Best Decorated' and overall award of Cake Master!); my brother-in-law's traditional kitsch cake (winner of 'Junior Cake Master', even though he's in his fifties!!).

Really good fun, and next year we're planning on doing a Yule Log. Better start thinking!

Thursday 30 December 2010

Poirot Fashion Special: The Veiled Lady















First up, let's have a look at the Veiled Lady herself - I love her green suit with its ornate clasp, and the hat is very cute without the veil.












Later we get to see her in a gorgeous burgundy dress, with matching hat and clutch. Cute ankle strap shoes that we also get a glimpse of.












Now this is the most shocking outfit of the episode: Poirot in disguise!
















My Christmas in Photos

Season's Greetings everyone!

I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas, it certainly was a white one this year in Wales! I was absolutely spoilt, receiving all kinds of goodies, including: a '50s style dress by Hell Bunny, a first edition Agatha Christie novel, home-baking equipment, an Elvis duvet set, some good wine and Port, a mini boules set, Champney's toiletries and other delights!

Here's a little catch-up in photos, from top to bottom: settting the Christmas table in my Vivien of Holloway tea dress; icicles and rooftops; vintage repro cards I sent out this year, bought from a charity shop; the family Christmas cake competition; cranberry sauce making; home-made decorations on the tree.


Thursday 23 December 2010

Feeling Festive!

More snow, and the sun actually came out too!



This past week has been a whirlwind of festive-themed activities! I've made a full recovery from my weird illness and have thrown myself into Christmas parties, ice-skating, cake-decorating and tree-trimming!

Here's a snap of my party outfit - the candy-stripe dress is early '80s, kindly given to me by a friend. Cardigan from Asda, and Victorian style boots by Jones the Bootmaker.


My beloved and I had a trip to Bath too, incredibly snowy and romantic! The boots from Jones the Bootmaker got an outing again. Red wool coat by Principles, angora hat from H&M.


I got a Christmas present to myself in the post too - a Vollers corset from Ebay. Unfortunately it's too big! I was always told that a corset should never be fully laced, i.e. you should have a gap or 2 to 4 inches at the back, which is why they have modesty panels. Vollers don't follow this rule, so the one I've bought even fully laced doesn't remotely pull me in as it should, so I will be reselling it shortly - will do a link to Ebay once it's up so you can bid on it if you wish! I'm going to be selling it for a bargain price, brand new they're £140 or more, but I am going to put a low starting bid for you ladies!

I've retreated to the hills of Abergavenny for Christmas, so alas my sewing will have to wait, but I will be entering the family Christmas cake competition so will be posting about that, and I have also brought some more Poirot DVDs so I can do a couple more fashion specials for you!

I hope you're all managing to have some fun in the run-up to Christmas and that it's not too stressful. I find a glass of port and a nice bit of cheese has a calming effect.

Friday 17 December 2010

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful!





But I'm having a delightful time staying cosy indoors and getting to know my brand spanking new sewing machine!

Monday 13 December 2010

Shoe Moment - Any Human Heart


Aren't Gillian Anderson's shoes just perfect? I'd have them in cherry red and apple green.

I'm ill in bed this afternoon so having a catch up of Any Human Heart seems the perfect medicine!

Friday 10 December 2010

Past Times Christmas Ideas

On a mission to complete my Christmas shopping earlier I stumbled into Past Times, and noticed a few rather lovely items that vintage enthusiasts might appreciate, and as they're reproduction they don't come with the hefty price-tags that original items do!

First up is this Art Deco style wall clock (above). Love the colour, and it's currently on sale. Continuing the green Art Deco theme, I love this marcasite ring, a perfect stocking filler at £25.
For something a little more festive, they have a huge range of decorations, including this Victorian inspired Father Christmas frieze and a patriotic Union Jack heart.

If the Forties is more your thing, there are some silver Spitfire cufflinks I thought were quite nice.



Great gift ideas I thought - and most of them are on sale.










Quick Photo Post - 40's Night at Gwdihw


Last Friday there was a great turn-out at the 1940's Discotheque in Gwdihw. Above are the lovely Siren Sisters - and those dresses are most definitely from Tara Starlet if I'm not very much mistaken!

My friend Laura and I - the dress I was wearing is a peach '40s number I picked up at the vintage fair in cheltenham, and the photo doesn't do justice to my hair which actually had a victory roll in it, after about 15 minutes of teasing and spraying!!

These are the only snaps that are presentable. I had a bit of trouble with my camera - it's fairly new and I haven't thoroughly tested it out in low-light situations, so most of photos were terribly blurry! There were lots of professional photographers there so the moment their snaps are released, I'll put up some more.

All in all, I had a great time and even did some fancy footwork with my Beloved - for once we didn't stamp on each others' toes!

Thursday 9 December 2010

Louis Vuitton Style, Matalan Price...


Darn it, it's always the way that when you snap up a dress it's guaranteed to be in the sale a few weeks later! Ah well, I still can't grumble for paying £25 for a Louis Vuitton style dress, in which I hope I will get mistaken for Karen Elson!
Fantastic quality and detail for the price - lovely satin feel fabric, velvet straps and belt, and a net underskirt. Bravo for Matalan! Best get down there quickly to nab yourself one, mine is going to be the perfect dress for a Christmas party I'm co-hosting. Mince-pie anyone?


Monday 6 December 2010

Barbara Hulanicki at...Asda?!


Yes, you read that right! After the much song-and-dance re-launch of the upmarket brand, you can now find a Hulanicki collection at the opposite end of the spectrum, in good old supermarket Asda!

It's very teen-focused to be honest, the flirty butterfly print dress was so short it was indecent on me, but would be cute on a teen doing a little nod to the '60s or '70s.

The best buy has to be the wide-leg trousers (pictured above), which come in three leg lengths and have a nice drape. I tried some on today and they were still not quite at my waist-line, but then I am tall so you may have more luck with them. They're flat fronted with a pleat detail so are very flattering, and at the price of just £18 you can't really grumble!




Friday 3 December 2010

Shabby Apple GIVEAWAY @ The Mysterious Life of the Metropolitan Housewife!

'Tis the season for a giveaway - I've only just been introduced to the American site Shabby Apple and their wonderful dresses and know already this could be bad for my bank balance, especially as I'd have to get them shipped internationally! So I'm entering Twila Jean's competition over at her site to win one of these fabulous dresses - and you can enter too! Just go the The Mysterious Life of the Metropolitan Housewife and follow her entry instructions.

On another competition dress note, there's still no news on the dress I won from Shristi Studio, we're still hoping desperately that it's just delayed at customs - the thought of a custom-made vintage reproduction dress lost somewhere between the US and UK just doesn't bear thinking about!!
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