Vintage Christmas

It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but for lots of my friends (and followers, I'm sure) vintage Christmas treats would be much welcomed and can be picked up incredibly cheaply.

I was flicking through a copy of Homes and Antiques when I realised all of the great options which lie in vintage and charity shops for possible great presents.

What's more, money seems to be tight for everyone this year and so what better time to get back to some thrifty gift giving. Good wrapping can also transform a gift and make it truly special no matter how much it cost.

Here are some ideas from Homes and Antiques:

1.) This pretty letter holder looks great with the red ribbon and the supply of cards and envelopes.


I had never thought of buying old hankies before, but these ones looked great neatly folded and placed inside a box.

Vintage tins are also a great way to go - last year I picked a pretty tin up for £1 and filled it with Lush soaps and bath bombs for my sister's Christmas present. It worked out cheaper than the ready made gift sets from Lush and made for an all-round better present.


I was checking out The Curiosity Shop blog the other day and thought that The Vintage Drawer's vintage Christmas boxes were a great idea. With the right shopping and wrapping you could create a really sweet Christmas gift which would be great fun to open on Christmas morning.
Good additions would certainly be little house-hold bits such as vintage kitchenalia and textiles, and vintage post-cards, song book covers and such like would also be good additions.. Perhaps also, some vintage pearls and broaches..

Sweet Paul Magazine

Check out this awesome digital mag, Sweet Paul.

The photos are beautiful and there are lots of great Chritsmas ideas in there. I especially like the 'Hot Chocolate for two in a jar' idea (pgage 156.)


All photos via Sweet Paul Magazine

Ebaying

Another wardrobe clear-out and making use of ebays free listings weekends...

I have a few good things up on ebay this time around, including a hardly worn grey Jigsaw shirt which is very flattering, and a never worn Barbour lining (which is far too warm to wear around here) and a Topshop cardigan which Olivia Palermo was seen wearing a few months ago...

So check out my ebay things here..

Orchids on a Budget

Actually.. candles on a budget.(I don't actually own this book, but I really want it.. perhaps as a Christmas present..)

Diptyque is the brand of candle I really want, but there's no way I can afford one whilst trying to build my career and working internships, it's just one of those things. But I don't have to be deprived of high quality candles and I have learnt that the best place to buy them is TKMAX.
They sell candles that usually retail at £25 - £30 for about £5, sometimes they are reduced to £4/£3 which is always an extra exciting moment.

Bahoma is my favourite brand, although there are other nice ones. I usually go for the floral or musky scented candles, they're really lovely and I've seen them in John Lewis for about £25.

Second Hand Junkie supplied me with a tip a few years ago now, which is: to only buy the candles which were really expensive in the first place. So now matter how pretty the jar is, only buy the ones which normally retail at over £20 because any less and they simply won't be as good as the more expensive ones.. and in these hard times a girl should get the very best her budget allows.

#feministwishlist

#feministwishlist on twitter - Just some food for thought

I have always been upfront about the fact that I am a feminist. This can get peoples backs up. And by the same token, few things irritate me more than when a fellow female says - 'I am in no way a feminist.' By saying that, you mean that you do not support equality across the sexes.

Being a feminist does not mean you hate men. Being a misandric does. (See, big difference.)

A anecdote on the subject I sometimes relay is the time when I was in a university class about Women in History.. and the lecturer went around the seminar group with one question:
'are you a feminist?'
Few people said 'yes.' And this was a group of people interested in women's history. The lecturer then explained the dictionary definition of a feminist is a person who believes in gender equality.
It does not mention hating men / women / transgender / ANYONE.
Neither does it mention bra burning.

Feminism gets a bad rep. But it's nothing to be ashamed of, everyone should be a feminist and it shouldn't be a big deal, why not treat it as a given?
What do you think?

(Image via http://www.ellenvanengelen.be/)

November

Nothing says Autumn / Winter like a Toast catalogue. I have been feeling under the weather for the past few days but nothing fuels my desire to stay in and rest up like a Toast catalogue does.



(Photos scanned from the latest Toast House and Home catalogue.)