When a girl turns another year older she should stop and consider what are the vital components that she needs around her to celebrate. Mine were on the occasion of turning 32, in no particular order….a bunch of mates, a pile of oysters, shonky old sailboats, bric-a-brac, a pink sunset, loads of rum and the sound of the sea. For me, seaside towns like Whitstable, Rye and Whitby have everything I am looking for from a weekender – mainly top food, charity shops, tea rooms, boats and old B&Bs. Cute, cute, cute.

We stayed at The Duke of Cumberland on the High Street, in the rooms above this gorgeous Grade II listed lively boozer. This turned out to be one of those golden but random decisions which made the weekend – the rooms were beautiful, with space enough for all of us and the owners were utterly amazing and accommodating to a rowdy group of 15 East Londoners all giddy on salty sea air.

We ate at the Whitstable Oyster Company, a banquet of seafood, wine and birthday cake – all of which ensured that no ‘blog-worthy’ photos survived! If you havent been to Whitstable before I highly recommend a trip – it is GORGEOUS. A few other gems in the town include Interior accessories shop Frank, ice-cream parlour and seaside store Sundae Sundae and stunning vintage boutique Pearl and Hemingway.

One of my recent sale purchases – dress from River Island (£15 in the sale!), bag and belt vintage, petticoat from a market in Provence. Salute model’s own.

My gorgeous pals on the seashore aka Nathan Barley meets Cockleshell Bay

Oh look, it’s overcast and rainy again. B-O-R-I-N-G and a half. In homage to the crappest British summer since sliced bread, here are some of the coolest cloud formations for your own wee cumulonimbus x

White organic cotton cloud pillows by Design Squish

Plaid pastel cloud wallpaper with faces on it by Aimee Wilder

Beautiful cloud mobiles by Butter Flying

Cloud chair by Lisa Widen

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Behold, the beautiful, romantic, old school tattoo visions of Amsterdam-based tattoo artist, shoe designer and painter Angelique Houtkamp. A world of 1920s galleon ships, mermaids, sultry femme fatales and sailor cuties. One day when I get a bit pluckier I may pay her a visit to adorn my forearm with some beautiful character.

This weekend I took part in a pop-up market at London Fields Brewery as part of the Dead Doll’s Club collective’s ‘A Summer Affair’. The market is held under the railway arches by London Fields, and is a fusion of BBQ, local ales, live music, butchery classes and (the last weekend a month) a small craft market.

I was selling some of the cushions, pillowcases and ‘primped’ (like pimp – but prim) doilies that will be part of my label. My stall looked like a psychedelic nanna’s dinner party, which was of course the idea! It was really busy and buzzing – not to mention red hot sunny and pervaded by the smell of smoked pulled pork all day! You can catch the food and beer under the arches every weekend over the summer, and the market will be there again the last weekend of July.

After the debauchery of last weekend, I have enjoyed a weekend of one of my favourite hobbies: pottering. The house and garden are spick and span and – hurray – there are flowers on every possible surface! Sorry boyf, I’ve reserved a small corner of the window ledge for your things, dont disrupt the bric-a-brac darling x

Oh, and while not strictly flowers (yet), I couldn’t resist a photo of my burgeoning veg patch…

Just a few snaps from pootling round East London markets in the sunshine (finally!)…..

xx

(skulls above created by my talented friend Lauren Baker)

I have been a very busy bee the last few months, working on a very very exciting project all of my very ownsome – the ideas and designs for my own small label of handmade and ‘upcycled’ vintage homewares. I really think I’m onto something with my ideas, and it was lovely this weekend to do my first stall at Field Day festival, and to get some really positive reactions – and a couple of commissions!

I have been asked to take part in the Dead Dolls Club’s ‘A Summer Affair‘ throughout the rest of the summer – which I am thrilled to be involved with (you may remember I had my first taste of the DDC at their recent pop-up ‘Stew Club’ a few months ago), so watch this space for more news on that and the label as it progresses. Im giddy!

In the meantime, here are some first shots of some of my designs, along with some snaps from the Dalston Darlings tent at Field Day and Apple Cart festival over the never-ending-Jubilee-weekend.

xx

The last of my most recent batch of Pink Gin Marmalade and Mulled Plum Chutney (made just before Christmas and now developed and tasting gorge-worthy!) went down a treat…

Some of the lovely Darlings I was working with including the gorgeous Plum, second from left (who has just started her own blog here)

The winner of the guess-the-number-of-sweets competition…..cuteness!

And the lovely Clare manning my stall (knelt down I should point out!) x

Who wouldn’t want to buy tea and cake from Sally Webster, or be taught Burlesque by Emily Bishop??? (aka the burlesque whirlwind that is friend of the Dalston Darlings and all-round sexy bitch Khandie Khisses) xx

I love caravans. I think it’s down to watching this cartoon as a lass…..

…..and spending the majority of my summer holidays caravaning around the Loire Valley and other parts of France with my family – which also ensured my lasting love of cheese, cornichons, water slides and (guilty pleasure) table tennis. Ok not exactly LOVE of table tennis. I just get a real kick from the thought that goes into a caravan’s design – the way sofas become beds, taps become showers, tables fold away into the tiniest space.

Here’s my tribute to the most gorgeous caravans around….far cooler than campervans, cuter than winnebagos and perfect for weekend escapes….

Lovelane Caravans 

Lovelane Caravans and campsite is situated in a far-away corner of the Cornish coast, by the Lizard Peninsular, and is a treasure trove of these beautifully restored vintage caravans, all with the most whimsical touches of decor…..

(all images courtesy of Lovelane Caravans)

Vintage Vacations

Meet Doris…normally resident of the Isle of Wight, she is currently the star of the Chelsea Flower Show thanks to garden designer Jo Thompson, who has enhanced her 1950′s British credentials by decorating her with memorabilia from the golden age of camping, and surrounding her in a garden of native birches, irises and roses….

(top 3 photos courtesy of Vintage Vacations, bottom 3 from the Nostalgia Exchange)

La Rosa Campsite

La Rosa campsite (and hotel) is at the beautifully ramshackle end of the ‘glamping’ spektrum, with a real mash up of romany gypsy wagons, airstreams, an Irish-Catholic themed wagon ‘The Santa Maria’, an Elvis van, and a large red big-top which acts as a fancy dress / bar area. The place is filled with the most bonkers of car boot treasures and lies just a short drive from seaside-tat heaven that is Whitby.

(Photos courtesy of Fill up your Eyes)

Huettenpalast Hotel, Berlin

If you like your caravans a little less ditsy, a little more edgy (which is quite a niche market to be fair), then next time you’re in Berlin forget the Michelberger and camp out in one of these super cool little indoor caravans and cabins at the Huettenpalast

(all pics courtesy of Huettenpalast)

One of the perks of working in events is the tastings…..even more so when the food is to be provided by the guys at Bistrotheque and the event is a star studded banquet in honour of the artist Grayson Perry (my Monday night coming….I’ll post more photos next week). I love selecting the linen, cutlery, glassware, wine, flowers, lighting and furniture to set the atmosphere. It’s like a mini-styling session each time (then comes the food on top!).

Just sharing a few snaps of the lovely wild flowers, starter (Norfolk asparagus) and main (good old Yorkshire roast fillet of beef). The cocktail menu also has a very English summer feel, including flavours like rosehip, nettle and elderflower.

xx