Car Boot Sales, Sunshine and Baby Birds

I’ve just got back from a busy day of car booting, hunting for summer dresses for my NY trip and relaxing on my Nan’s decking overlooking the river. She’s got a duck nesting in one of her large plant pots and her nest is beautiful, all covered with downy feathers. When she’s not sat on her nest ‘Jemima’s’ taken full advantage of my Nan’s hostess skills, tapping on the conservatory door when she’s hungry and using her flower boxes as her own private balcony overlooking the river. There are also a family of black birds nesting in the shed and they’re on their second brood of the season. The birds are fine with people going into the shed and I went in to see two bald tiny heads with enormous mouths pocking out from beneath their mum.

Earlier today I was at Stoneleigh car boot with my mum. Even at 7.45 the weather was lovely and despite there being fewer sellers than usual I picked up a few bargains for my new house (I finally have a moving date...8th June, woo). I got an old glass decanter for 20p, perfect for holding brightly coloured bubble baths, a few vintage handbags for my Bicycle Basket Bazaar stall, The Wasp Factory which I’ve been dying to read for ages, a couple of glass cake stands and a lovely shabby chic egg holder. I haven’t got any pics of this week’s purchases as my car has temporarily become a storage facility until the house move and I can’t face rummaging through the car to find my purchases.

I also had a successful rummage at the booter and the tip shop last week so I’ll fill this blog post with pics from those. I bought lots of lovely tins, vanity cases and the like and drove people mad with my ‘erm I know this tin/case is full of things but can I empty it and buy it’. My favourite purchase was a 1940s/1950s cake tin with the most gorgeous red, pastel green and black colour scheme. In fact it’s provided me with some inspiration for paint colours for the new house. I also picked up some vintage greetings cards from an old man who sells coins, medals and old photos etc and was very excited to find one with a Scottie and Westie on, just like my Jack and Alfie. I got talking to the seller a few weeks ago when my aunt and I were doing a car boot sale and remembering that I had a 50s cocktail cabinet, he’d brought along a vintage cocktail tray that he’d had for 30s years as a present for me! It was so kind and when I got home I realised it was an exact match to the tea trolley I’d been given by the seller of my cocktail cabinet.

I also bought an old Kit Carson Cowboy annual, which I’ll probably turn into badges, gift tags or use to decoupage some boxes, a fan shaped pink dressing table set, a Cath Kidston style glass and a matching perfume bottle and pot with embroidered lids. At the Stratford and Kenilworth tip shops I picked up a set of rose themed dishes, a wooden table with a picture insert, some matching rose dishes and the most gorgeous tea pot...oh and a kitsch and cute ‘Alfie’ plant pot too!