Article
October 16, 2010
0 comment
by alysha

Sleepy. Blogtoberfest Day 16

Sleepy time here. We had a lovely evening out tonight with friends to celebrate a birthday. I’m now feeling all drowsy and ready for bed. Ah, I love Sundays; no need to rush anywhere, you can have a nice lazy sleep in and take the day slowly.

The two black kitties above are my latest eBay, retro find. I’m so happy with them, mint condition. Black cats are my favourite kitties. My first cat, Puss, was black with a little white spot under her chin and my Max kitty is all black. I was only very little when I named Puss, so I am allowed to have an obvious name! Max is what suited the little bundle of black fur who, like he did then, loves to tear around the house on mad runs and also, tear up newspapers. ♥

I have some comment catching up to do tomorrow, and a meme to participate in. For now, it is time to visit bedfordshire and get all cozy under the blankets. A peaceful nights rest and/or a wonderful day to you. Thank you for all the lovely comments I have been left recently, they are most appreciated and make my day. Always nice to know people are visiting my little part of the interwebs.

Article
October 11, 2010
3 comments
by alysha

Fifties Fair at Rose Seidler House

At the end of August, the Husbitect and I went to the Fifties Fair at Rose Seidler House. It was a lot of fun. Apart from seeing the house itself and the retro decor, there was entertainment plus lots of stalls selling retro clothes, household items, collectibles, food and so much more. We both found some goodies on the stalls, including a vintage model kit for the Husbitect and some vintage canisters for me.

This is a photo heavy post (not to mention the fact that I’ve heavily filtered the photos). I tried the built in gallery for WordPress but wasn’t all that impressed with the options. So good old insert one by one it is. If you know of a good gallery plugin for WordPress, do let me know!



The very retro hostess and the Velvet Set singing.


One of the coloured glass doors in the house kitchen.


I want one of these cute Teardrop caravans.

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All the items in the back were themed perfectly.


Including a gorgeous picnic basket!


Hula girl’s car was pulling the caravan.


Another Hula girl, with some faboo anodised aluminium cups.

Article
October 5, 2010
2 comments
by alysha

eBay Treasure (Blogtoberfest Day 5)

Another fabulous find from eBay. You may remember from when I last bought a retro sideboard from eBay, that I have a penchant for naming furniture. Well, not all furniture, just my two retro sideboards. My newest of these I have named Bettie after Bettie Page.

Solid white oak, glass top and a glass shelf on the inside. There is also a cutlery drawer and another two shelves behind the door. Bettie was a gift from my Husbitect for our Wedding Anniversary. I have plans to line the cutlery draw with felt or perhaps velvet if that is more in keeping with the period? I haven’t completely decided what to keep in Bettie as yet, but I have put some of my kitschy and cute retro collectibles on the two main shelves.

Eclectic, yes?!

A new to me vintage blog that I think is totally faboo is ‘Into Vintage’. If you also love retro, vintage and kitsch, you’ll love this blog!

Do you also collect retro things? Something else maybe – what do you collect? I’d love to know!

Article
August 28, 2010
4 comments
by alysha

Hello Doris!

Allow me to introduce you to Doris, my retro sideboard. Isn’t she lovely? I found her on eBay for the enormous sum of $5. Yes, only five dollars. I couldn’t believe my luck, either. I had been searching for one of these sideboards for a long time. Today she had another spruce up and I put some of my 50s/60s collectibles on the shelf. I named her after Doris Day. Yes, I do like naming inanimate objects. hehe

Doris is in want of a replacement glass shelf, something which I will buy very soon, and then a new coat of semi-gloss paint inside and a bit of a polish. Of course, then I can buy even more retro things to display in and on Doris. Ah, retro goodies, I do so love you.

I feel quite chuffed with how much I got done today. I cleaned Doris, moved around some of my collectibles, came up with my own crocheted flower (which I am going to make into a brooch) and I made a Persian roast chicken for dinner, with mashed potatoes, spiced carrots and zucchini plus gravy. Yum! More about my Persian chicken recipe soon. Below is a photo of my latest granny squares (playing with colour combinations) and my crocheted flower. I think it is a little like a chrysanthemum in style. Happy to have had a productive day, after quite a few non-productive ones.

I hope your day has been filled with good things!

Article
June 3, 2010
2 comments
by alysha

Books Are Good

Books are good. Very, very good.

I collect retro craft and cooking books and especially love to find books that have an inscription, notes, pieces of paper marking pages etc. One such book is below. It is ‘Modern Gelatine Cookery’ and has an inscription to Elizabeth from her Mama and was given as a present at Christmas in 1973. I like to find books like this and keep them cherished.

Article
May 24, 2010
3 comments
by alysha

Cooking Time!

The collage above shows some of the things I’ve been cooking lately. The first four are from when I cooked Chinese Barbecue Chicken & Pork. I didn’t follow a recipe, as is typical for me most of the time. In this dish I used some pork rashers (spare ribs without the bone), broccoli, beans, chinese vegies and some chinese barbecue sauce. Very tasty!

*The photo with me taking a water chestnut from the tin is because I like eating them straight from the tin (as well as the baby corn). Nom. I also nibble frozen peas, frozen chips and raw vegies while cooking. Yes, I can be strange. woo!

The next four photos are from my cooking of a treat for my Husband’s Birthday.  He requested Shadrani Fish from Consuming Passions (Book II) which has white fish fillets, eggplant and tomatoes with seasonings. To serve with it, I made a Potatoe & Pea curry. I did follow the recipe for the fish but the potatoe & pea curry was my own.

The last photo is of the cake my darling Husbitect wanted; The Cherpumple! Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the same pies or cake mixes as used in the recipe. I baked an apple pie in a vanilla cake mix which turned out lovely. The only non-apple pie I could find was a berry crumble. I baked that in a butter cake mix. Crumbles don’t like to be Cherpumples. They go all gooey. Oh well, it’ll make a nice crumble on its own. I frosted the apple pie cake with vanilla frosting and it was all good. Yay for making tasty cakes! I will however, be attempting the Cherpumple again! I must make the whole thing.

The video for The Cherpumple, by Charles Phoenix is a must see. Trust me, you will love this. I know!

Article
February 1, 2010
0 comment
by alysha

Tea Time

Long time, no updates = bad Alysha.

Hoping to really get back into blogging after a very long break. Not just the odd entry but at least an entry every two or so days. How do you get back into blogging after a long break, any tips?

Had a lovely Christmas and New Years. Shall try to do a post covering that at a later date. I have photos, just haven’t written about them yet. We spent some time over the last couple of months visiting op shops and antique stores admiring expensive things and buying a few more affordable items. I’ve mentioned my love of vintage cook books here before, and I am happy that my hubby also enjoys them and loves to find some classics as much as I do!

More posts to come on Christmas, New Year, craftyness and vintage yummies!

Article
October 28, 2009
2 comments
by alysha

My Place & Yours: Bedside

The theme this week for ‘My Place & Yours‘ is bedside. What fun!

Bedside
I use vintage aprons to hide the storage shelves next to my bed as they hold things like sheets and towels; not too interesting visually, at times. Vintage aprons are much better to look at.

Bedside 2
Currently I am reading “The Grand Complication” by Allen Kurzweil. Quite exciting, it is. I have a list of things I want to research after reading this book. Things like secret enclosures and palanquins.
The retro-style clock is from my parents, I love the style of it. You can also see some of my retro-ish jewelry collection (inc. pink squirrel brooch), my ring collection (minus one or two), a dear little french knitting doll and my current favourite scent: ‘Sugar Cookie’ by Demeter.