I AM DEFINITELY NOT AN "IT" BAG

What do you think of my latest bag? A Mary Jane Millinery designed hold-all.

Blanket love

This is turning into one of those blogs where the annoying blogger (me) keeps bragging about her bargains! Sorry guys....but there is ANOTHER brilliant debt-friendly purchase I have to share with you. £3.50 for a double-bed sized crochet blanket. Found by chance in the normally pretty unremarkable charity shop in Greenwich. I was in there with a friend the other day bemoaning the increase in prices and decrease in quality, when I saw this crocheted mass squeezed onto a hanger. Further investigation revealed it was a handmade blanket...for the previously mentioned price. Now if I had the sort of camera that would do it justice, and the time to style it properly I would show you said blanket beautifully laid out on the bed, with the neighbour's cat cutely curled up on top. But I haven't got either the camera or the time, nor is the cat willing to pose,  so here is just a pretty picture of the blanket close-up. Apologies for bargain bragging - but I have to share my excitement with someone! OK - I'm off to the market now. I will try not to find anything worth bragging about (she lies!).

It's the little things

You don't have to be rolling in it to give yourself a fashion fix you know. I've had my first weekend at home for ages, and so of course I was able to give free rein to my foraging instinct and get back down to my favourite local market. I wasn't disappointed. I found a load of sparkly fabric off cuts for £2, a funky 50's hat for £1 - and then this dress for £3! The fabric is a really heavy type of cotton mix, so I think it must be fairly vintage, and it's almost a perfect fit - it just needs a bit of an adjustment round the waist. I was so excited when I saw it! I took it to the launderette straight away and wore it out last night with a red belt around the middle. This dress just kept putting a smile on my face, and I found myself wondering about its history. It has something of a feel-good factor about it!

Berlin sewing cafe

I wrote recently about a new sewing cafe in Paris, for stitchers across the Channel. Well there's one in Berlin too. A decidedly different vibe I think - more hippie-chic than chi-chi.  Sadly it was shut on the Monday I was there, but next time I'm in the German capital I'm definitely going to pop in. And I couldn't resist photographing the Master or Mistress in the window!

Just another ordinary day

1. In honour of the New Sex and the City film - here's me in New York last year.

2. I don't care what the critics say - it's escapist joy! Loved it. Loved it. Loved it. So there.

3. Clean sheets on the bed - bliss.

4. A glass of wine and M&S Belgian chocolate. Sometimes it's the small things.

5. You know when you're little and you think "one day I'll have my own house and I'll be able to do EXACTLY as I please." That day is mine. It happened. It's good!

6. Ladies - make sure you experience the joy of your own space...you can stay in bed AS LONG AS YOU LIKE! It's true! It really happens!

7. Breakfast.

8. A Bank Holiday day off. You wake. It's quiet. It feels like a Sunday. It's bliss.

9. Neighbour's cat curled up contentedly on bed.

10. The longest bath.

My two fleamarket coffee tables

I thought you might like to see the two teeny tiny coffee tables I bought in the Berlin fleamarket. So compact and bijoux they fitted into my rucksack - they are adorable...and only 10 euros the pair! What is SO weird is that the evening before I spotted them at the market, I walked past an incredibly trendy opening party at a cafe full of gorgeous people. There inside, were two nearly identical tables with glasses of bubbly perched on top. Immediately I thought, WOW...where on earth are those cuties from? And the very next day...I found my own. VISUALISATION or what!

Berlin

Berlin has already featured on my blog once before as I was there last year doing a hat workshop. It really is a city that I love more and more each time I go back. You feel that people have worked incredibly hard to make Berlin what it is today, and everyone is always very laid back and friendly. I had a fine time in the fleamarket, managing to buy two retro coffee tables for 10 euros the pair. They were so petite I was able to fit them into my rucksack by unscrewing the legs! These Berlin photos are by my friend Iris who's just started her own foodie blog. It's in Dutch, so perhaps a bit tricky to read for the likes of me, but the fabulous photos of gratifyingly gorgeous grub are worth a look in their own right. You can also see more detailed shots of our trip. Included are a number of pictures of shoes (also featured above). Well that's because the new Sex and the City film is out tonight, so it's in honour of the four fashionistas (well, that's my story anyway!) But also, and here's the amazing thing, the floor of the shoe boutique was covered in sequins! Yes, sequins embedded in lino! Oh oh oh!! I asked the shop assistants where they had found such fabulous flooring, but sadly they had no idea. Could we make our own? Next time I need a kitchen floor laying, I'm having sequin lino, and that's a promise!