Sunday 30 March 2014

Save The World…Buy More Vintage
 
Hi Vintage Lovers,


All week I have been reminding myself that Earth Hour was on last night.
Did you switch off for the hour ???
 

 We did right throughout our old lady...any excuse for candles really.


She certainly was gorgeous in the warm glow of candles.
I really didn't want to put them all out before we piled into bed.

Earth Hour did get me thinking though, we claim to be so eco friendly in this day and age, but how much are we actually doing to benefit our planet...compared to our forefathers.

In times gone by people did not have an intimate knowledge of recycling, nor did they have the technology to achieve this. But wow, they really were the ultimate reusers, nothing was wasted, it was used until it couldn't be anymore, and if it did the job, then looks didn't really matter.

These days we build to throw out, items do not last like they used to, and we are obsessed with how things look, rather than how well they work. 
Something to think about.....isn't it?????

So, we should do more of......


Reduce, Reuse, Rethink and Repurpose


Buying at Thrift and Op-shops.....Garage Sales and Flea Markets and

 
Buying antique, Old and Vintage.

 All these things are helping to reduce our carbon footprint.
Isn't It ??????


Have you heard ????
Vintage shopping is good for the Earth.

No more encouragement needed.
I am staying loyal to vintage....to save the Earth.
Mel xx
 
 

 
 

Thursday 27 March 2014

Friday Favourites

Hi Vintage Lovers,

It has been the most beautiful week here.
Autumn is finally here to stay, I think (and hope). We have started having some cooler nights and some rain (it has been a little chilly and I have even pulled out the rug each night) but the days have been just gorgeous with the sun shining.

Perfect to get a few things done in the garden.
I am looking forward to starting planting in the garden come April.
Hopefully we will have a little more rain in the next week or so to soak the garden beds a little more before we start planting.

While I have been out in the garden, I have been thinking about where to pop a washing line of late, and what type I would like. The old one, apart from falling to bits was in the middle of our lawn area (not good when the kids want to play footy and cricket) so it had to go. We have a line strung up under the back veranda for now, but I would really love something like this......


.....to hang my clothes on.


The old insulators on the top cross beam looks brilliant.
It would be fantastic to use the old insulators and attach the line or wire to them to make it look more authentic.


It is certainly a perfect way to make the washing line fit in with the vintage garden.
Don't you think?

I love this idea, it looks so old fashioned and I think it would suit our Old Lady perfectly.

Have a fabulous weekend, Everyone.
Mel xx

 

 

Wednesday 26 March 2014

Grandma's Basic Biscuit Recipe
Hi Vintage Lovers,
 

Just popping in to give you a treasured item out of my recipe folder, my Grandma's basic biscuit recipe that I inherited from her. She was an incredible cook and was always baking. Maybe that's where I inherited my love of baking from, and my brother is also a talented chef.


 They are such simple but yummy biscuits to make and then just fill with jam or icing. I made a batch over the weekend (first batch in a while) and I had forgotten how easy they were to whip up and how quick they were to disappear. The kids have already put in a request for me to make another batch this week.


My Grandma's Basic Biscuit Recipe

250 grams Butter
1 cup of Sugar
3 Eggs
11/2 cups of Plain Flour
11/2 cups Self Raising Flour
1 teaspoon of Vanilla Essence

 1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Cream Butter and Sugar.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and Mix thoroughly.
4. Roll into balls, then place on a baking tray.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden on top.
6.  When cool, spread the jam or icing mixture over the flat side of half of the biscuits and sandwich with the remaining biscuits.

Enjoy.
Mel xx
 
 

Friday 21 March 2014

Friday's Favourites
Hi Vintage Lovers, 
I have been in spring cleaning mode (even though it is Autumn here) this week at our Old Lady.

I have been in bed early all week rather tired and exhausted.
It's a good kind of tired - knowing you have achieved lots over the day and can pile into bed happy and satisfied, and that you have had such a productive day. Don't you think ????

Ok, for Friday Favourites for this week....

 My vintage 1950's Sunbeam Mixmaster. Mum found her in a second-hand shop a few months ago. I had been on the hunt for quite a while when she came across this one. She is perfect and works fantastically. 

 
 
She does get a big workout most weeks (this week has been no exception) as well as spring cleaning I have also been doing lots of baking. It's no secret that I love my baking.

 
 I have been collecting old enamel baking dishes (these are just a few of my collection) for years and do use them all the time. They are one of my essential kitchen items and are perfect for baking. 


These beautiful old canisters were an op-shop find a few years back. I love the detail of the flowers and of course they are my two favourite colours (which always helps).


These gorgeous dessert spoons and napkins were my grandmas.
I adore them and use them whenever I can.
I am not one to keep things hidden away and only used on special occasions. Pieces of the past are meant to be used and enjoyed by all on a daily basis.

Hope your week has been productive and satisfying as well.
Have a fantastic weekend.
Mel xx
 


 


Monday 17 March 2014

Some unexpected surprises...
Hi Vintage Lovers,
We've had a busy weekend... to say the least! The old gate that we bought last weekend was supposed to be erected this weekend but, well... we hit some minor bumps, as you can probably see in the photos below.




When we pulled that off there was a section of gate missing!
Poor thing...


...So, we need to repair her, then she will be off to the sandblasters to be powder coated.
Looks like it will not be until April until we have her erected.


So yesterday we spent the day in the garden instead, weeding and pulling out this summer seasons crop of sunflowers. We have also turned over the soil ready for new hedging plants along the shed wall...to eventually hide the shed.


We have also laid bricks out and created new garden beds around the outsides of the existing ones.


I can't wait to get some plants in there.
That will start in April as well as putting in the front gate and the two smaller gates that I was planning to put near the store house.


Have a fantastic week.
Keep Smiling. J
Mel xx




 





 



 

Thursday 13 March 2014

Friday Favourites

Hi Vintage Lovers! I hope your week has been fantastic !!

For me, this week has disappeared way toooo quick. After a long weekend, Tuesday our youngest was home sick and today we have a school sports day to attend. That has only left me two days to squeeze everything in and I didn't get as much done as I was planning to.  Looks like I will be playing catch-up next week.

We are planning to erect the new 'old' gate over the weekend. I'll blog about the gate early next week for you all to see. J

As I haven't had a chance to go treasure hunting this week, I thought I would share a few things that have taken my fancy lately for Friday favourites this week.
 


Love this photo. What a beautiful old abandoned house. Forgotten about.
Wonder where it is?
 
 
What a perfect, simple, vintage kitchen. It does look like a happy place, doesn't it?

 
I adore this old kettle.
Ours has just started leaking so we may be investing in one of these sooner rather than later........
 


and these old bread boards would look perfect next to our kitchen sink.


You can never have too many trunks and suitcases for storage......


and this idea for a dog bed is brilliant. I just love, love, love this idea for an old suitcase.
So very cute !!!!


Doesn't this hammock look just gorgeous? I could be very tempted to spend many an hour here.

Have a great weekend.
Mel xx

 

Wednesday 12 March 2014

Apple Muffin Recipe
 
 Hi Vintage Lovers,



Just popping in to give you the recipe for the deliciously yummy apple muffins. Everybody loves these muffins and it is one of those recipes that only requires one bowl......I love that ! 


 
Apple Muffins
 
2 cups grated apple
 1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1/2  cup of oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla bean extract
2 cups of self-raising flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Preheat oven to 200C. Combine ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
Place in muffin tins and bake for 20 - 25 mins.
Enjoy.
Mel xx

Monday 10 March 2014

Our Long Weekend Wrap-up...

Hi Vintage Lovers,

Just thought I would stop by and give you an up-date with the happenings over the weekend. We had a long weekend here so it was fantastic to finish off some jobs, spend some time out in the garden as well as some relaxing time.
 
We were getting a little frustrated with our front door after six months of  having two door locks and jamming keys just to answer the front door, so we decided to down tools in the kitchen and sort out the problem.
 
So we removed the new lockwood lock completely and replaced the old original door lock with a reproduction lock that use the skeleton keys. I am rather smitten over (I love my old keys) the new lock and we have had so many comments on our big old key on our key rings.
 


 
The next job is to have a screen door made to match the old original one.
 


We found some old roofing iron at a salvage yard, perfect for the entertaining area. The old sheets of  corrugated iron will be used to line the back wall of the area and hang old and vintage tools and implements from it.
I think that will set the area off fantastically.
 

We also bought an old gate over the weekend to use as our front driveway gate. The gates that are there are falling to bits so when we came across this one in a local second-hand shop, we couldn't resist it. That will be next weekend's job.

Have a fabulous week.
Mel xx

 
 
 





 




 


 

Thursday 6 March 2014

Friday Favourites

Hi Vintage Lovers! I hope your week has been fantastic !!

I thought I would start sharing a few of my favourite things (or thing's I would love to have) and my vintage finds on a Friday with you all.

Hope you enjoy my treasures. J
 
 
Now, to start Friday Favourites off....
 
 
.......my find for the week are nine fantastic old drinking glasses, which I came across at The Salvos, for $2 each.
 
Now these nine glasses are rather special, apart from being vintage, my Grandma had some that were exactly the same. I always remember having lemonade in them every time we visited. I don't know what ever happen to Grandma's but I am so glad I came across these glasses. As soon as I spotted them on the shelf I gave an excited little yell (I couldn't contain my excitement). Which made the lady next to me jump! I explained that I couldn't believe my luck and how excited I was and that they were definitely coming home with me. She nodded in agreence and kept going, but it didn't dampen my enthusiasm.
 



This old mirror is not a new find but it has a story none-the-less, and here is why -
 
I found this gorgeous old mirror in a salvage yard about two years ago and paid $10 for it. At the time we were selling our old house so I had no where for it, so it was safely popped in the shed for the time being. We sold our house and everything was packed up and moved.
 
Now, after the move I could not find the mirror anywhere.
So after I searched high and low for a few months, I came to the conclusion the mirror had been accidentally thrown out with a rubbish load whilst moving. I was rather disappointed but thought to myself it was only $10 and somebody would find it, give it a good home and love it.
 
So, a couple of weeks ago we were going though some shed stuff and low and behold the old mirror appears, after two years and two house moves.

As you can imagine I was rather happy and relieved all at the same time.

Have a great weekend Everyone.
Mel xx

 
 
















 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday 5 March 2014

Remaining Loyal to Vintage...
Hi Vintage Lovers,
Now I have never been a tech person and never will be.
 I use them because I have to...that's it. Plain and simple.
 
My Poor Shattered Phone
 
I have had this phone about six months and it has taken me that long just to be able to happily use it without our 12 year old daughter helping me every two seconds, slight exaggeration but you get my drift. I am very well known for sending blank text messages (multiple ones at that), making phone calls when I don't mean to, and all sorts of other strange things.

To be fair, I haven't been that nice to the phone either. Not on purpose by any means, but I am rather clumsy and this poor phone is dropped on a daily basis off all sorts of heights and onto all sorts of surfaces and even into a toilet one day !!!!!!
But last week I dropped it and the screen cracked, and it is a rather a decent crack at that!!!

Even still, I did think the phone would last longer than it has.
They don't make things the way they used to........do they?????

Everyone has said to me "Get a new phone! Get a new phone! Get a new phone!"
But my phone still works (I would rather spend the money on something vintage anyway) and if I get a new phone it will take me another six months to get used to that one !!!!!
So, I am sticking with this one until it dies completely, which may not be that long away considering that they don't make them to last all that long!!!!!

In hindsight (what a wonderful thing that is) I really needed to stick with a "dumb phone" as the kids have nicknamed them, rather than a smart phone. One that you can just use for talking and texting, which I will be investing in next time.

So, I am remaining loyal to Vintage this week because "they just don't make them like they used to".
Mel xx

 
 

Monday 3 March 2014


Kelvin the Kelvinator.....
Hi Vintage Lovers,


As you can see, Kelvin the Kelvinator's restoration is well under way and he looks like a completely new person... (fridge!).

 
Eight coats of paint have gone on and Kelvin has been polished to perfection. The photos just don't do him justice.
He is now ready to be reassembled, but first the badges and ice chest door need to be painted.

 
But the icing on the restoration cake was definitely this little find over the weekend. 
This old fridge dish was in the shed with spare car parts in it, and is the perfect match for Kelvin.
It had been my grandma's, out of her old 1950's fridge. I had completely forgotten I had it.
I am thrilled to bits about finding the dish and it means I will have something else to remind me of her every I time I open the fridge.
 
 
 So off she went to the sandblaster this morning and will be painted the cream with the lettering still in blue that will match Kelvin's colouring (he also has blue in his badge work).
I can't wait to see her all done up, finished off and with Kelvin.
 

Have a fantastic week.
Mel xx