Apologies for neglecting my blog for so long but a lovely weekend back to my home county of North Yorkshire inspired me to share it with you. If you haven't been to North Yorkshire I strongly recommend a trip. It has everything; history, beauty, friendly folk, big portions and plenty of vintage shopping.

Saturday mornings are all about one thing in York....the car boot. I miss it so much living down south and I've often thought about travelling the 210 miles every Saturday morning to get my bootie fix. When I saw the forecast for heavy rain my heart sank at the possibility that it would be cancelled on the one weekend I was in York. I had my alarm set for 6am although there was no need as I was awake at 5am, heart racing and the rain pouring.  I spent a good 20 minutes arguing with myself whether or not to get out of bed but then the wellingtons were on and I was off whilst still telling myself how stupid I was for going out in this weather for a carboot that probably wasn't even on. Well I arrived and although I wasn't the only dedicated bootie shopper there, plenty had decided to stay in bed! I didn't get my usual haul however still found some real beauties. I found a pair of very crusty wall sconces and an amazing vintage pink enamel french jug that even better is water tight and perfect for my flowers. It was well worth the early wet morning start.

The day had only just started by the time I'd got back so had a cup of tea and some breakfast before heading off to the coast. After a beautiful and inspiring drive across the Yorkshire Moors I arrived in the small fishing village of Staithes. After another heavy rainfall the clouds suddenly cleared to reveal beautiful blue skies and the sun came out to play. I followed the pretty painted higgledy - piggledy cottages that lined the cobbled streets down to the picturesque harbour. 

Staithes doesn't have many shops but my visit was purely to stop by Dotty about Vintage, a quirky little shop full of treasures from the past which are reasonably priced too. There's the most adorable shop dog that lives there too!

After a little drive further down the coast I arrived at Sandsend. I did a quick stop at a lovely little shop called Wild Hart. They also have a delightful little shop in York too. Full of pretty home accessories and gifts and a small antique section too. I love paintings of hares so couldn't resist this little card I'm going to find a little frame for. 

Whitby was my last stop for the day which is one of my favourite places, but the rain was coming down so hard now I couldn't leave the car. No trip to the coast is complete without fish & chips with extra scraps of course. I sat in the car overlooking the sea with the rain pouring down, fish & chips on my knee and a very greedy labrador watching my every bite from the back. Don't worry she got some!

Sunday, before heading back home; I called at the 'For the love of Home & Lifestyle Fair' in York. This event is held in a beautiful historic building in the Museum Gardens 

I made a couple of purchases below from some lovely exhibitors there and enjoyed a big piece of rainbow cake. 

One of my favourite purchases was some vintage floral linens I'm "hoping" to turn into some cushions ….watch this space! I bought these from a lovely lady called Vicky Trainor who also has an amazing website. You can explore her pretty garden of linens at www.thelinengarden.co.uk.

With the car full of vintage lovelies I said a fond farewell to York…it won't be long til I'm back. There's so many places I didn't get chance to visit this time so there will defintley be a part 2 to this post on my next visit!

x

The new knobs have landed!

After months of waiting the new knobs have finally made the 5,700 miles from India to my doorstep. I know it's really sad but new knob deliveries are more exciting for me than birthdays and Christmas'. I tried to be more organised and methodical this time with unpacking the knobs but that lasted all of 5 minutes and the anticipation to get every knob out as quick as possible was too much. Within 10 minutes there was chaos but one that brought great satisfaction with it.

The knobs come in 6 different collections which will hopefully help you decide which knobs to choose based on the look that you want to achieve.

Vintage StyleAdd a touch of vintage chic with these beautiful knobs.

Clean & Classic

A timeless collection of neutral & plain colours. Sometimes it makes sense to keep it simple.

Spots & Stripes & All Things Bright

A fun range of colourful knobs.

Pretty Florals

Make your home blossom with these selection of knobs

Indian Vibes

Bring the colour of India into your home with these exotic knobs.

Textured Touch

Rough it up a little with these textured knobs.

If you're like me, you'll hate too much choice. I'm terrible at making a decision. If you need a little help please also have a look here, a page dedicated to showcasing your fabulous makeovers. I hope by sharing ideas it will inspire you to get your creative juices flowing. It really is amazing what you can easily achieve with some new knobs!

Learning to haggle

I'm quite possibly obsessed with markets, car-boot sales & auctions and anywhere else you can hunt for unique treasures. Mr OCD is unfortunately not so keen and doesn't share the same eagerness to get out of bed 6am so not to miss anything. It's a battle to say the least and as I kick him out of bed I'm met with a barrage of swear words. Unfortunately he is my essential negotiator as I'm so terrible at haggling. Mr OCD works in sales and believes he's the bees knees when it comes to 'getting a deal'. As our holidays have predominately been based around the markets of the world I've had lots of opportunities to see him at work!

After years of only being able to watch the 'negotiation' under strict instructions not to speak, I was finally let loose to go out alone and secure my first deal in the Souks of Marrakech. I was given 20 dirhams to go away and purchase 3 camels (not real ones). I returned with 1 camel that cost me 30 dirhams and a big fat fail but I didn't care. This camel was special, he was the one no one wanted, the scruffy one with the wobbly leg and I knew he was the camel for me. Mr OCD named him 'tat' to add to my collection back home!

Tat!

I know I'm way too emotional when it comes to negotiating. If I love something enough the price does kind of become irrelevant. However over the years I've also discovered that Mr OCD's hard faced approach doesn't always work either and sometimes there just isn't time to try the "walking away" technique. So here's some tips I've found to be useful for me....

1. Buying more than one item from a seller makes it easier to ask for a deal (and a good excuse to buy more).
2. Don't try the walking away tactic in the hope they'll shout after you. If you love it enough secure the deal there and then so someone else doesn't snap it up. I've had my heart broken too many times by going back to buy something and it's been sold. 
3. Be kind and sincere about the item without getting too excited (hard I know). If the seller likes you and thinks their wares are going to a good home they might be more willing to agree on a price.
4. Don't play it too cool and respect the sellers need to make a living from doing this. Offer them a too cheap price and they probably won't even entertain you.
5. I tend to ask a seller what is their best price and as I'm on a bit of a budget could they go any lower and always do it with a smile on my face.
6. Don't get carried away, its so easy to loose your focus when there's so much to buy. Always worth making a note of what you want to look out for before you go.

Happy bargain hunting x

Hello

And so here is my first attempt at writing a “blog” and I’m finding it quite a daunting task sharing a little bit of me and my poor English with the world wide web! I’m not too sure writing is one of my strong points as my old English teacher would always scrawl across my essays ‘too colloquial’. Only today have I discovered this means ‘ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing’. I was pleasantly surprised, maybe thats not such a bad skill to have for a blog.

 I hope my blog is friendly and inspiring. It may not be grammatically correct and will have a distinctive lack of “big words” but I hope you find it interesting. I plan to share with you my obsession with collecting stuff and creating stuff, places I’ve travelled, cool shops I’ve discovered, interior & craft ideas, progress with our cottage renovations, updates on new knob arrivals (for cupboard & doors) and inspiring ways of how to use them. I have no idea how this is going to go..................