The perfect Petersham lunch

I couldn’t visit Petersham Nurseries without getting my camera out and here the results of a recent long, lazy lunch in the sun there. It’s truly a little slice of heaven there – if you don’t get in for lunch (its popular – and pricey), go for tea and cake in the cafe, stroll around the old-fashioned greenhouses and lust after the gorgeous home and garden products in the shop. It’s my idea of the perfect weekend afternoon.

Latest vintage finds

This tablecloth, found by my friend Emma, is so pretty that it almost gets its own blog post… sharing only with some candy-striped deck chairs I found at The Dog and Wardrobe on Broadway Market.

Recycling vintage embroideries

My eagle-eyed colleague Sarah came back from a trip to the Paris flea markets last week with another bundle of beautiful vintage embroideries - this time some pretty cotton table mats which are partly finished, leaving the faint outline of flowers still to embroider.

So the question is, what to do with them? I could try and finish them, but time is ticking and I quite like them as they are! I could make them into cushion covers for the chairs (see pics below), as my mum and I have started doing with Sarah’s last Parisian haul of embroideries (and the other lacey bits we have collected). Or we could use them as place mats for the top table? Or how about Sarah’s idea to ask for guests’ input in the creative process?

Here are some of the (69p Ikea) cushions that we have started re-covering:

Polka dot plates

I spent last Saturday at Broadway Market – snapping up the first of the summer’s stripy deck chairs and vainly sifting through wooden letter printing blocks looking for the evasive “&” for our Order of Service covers at The Dog and Wardrobe. And then on to the beautifully stocked vintage furniture boutique Stella Blunt, which had this gorgeous near-complete 40s dinner set in its window - I couldn’t resist taking a picture:

Vintage wedding decor: plant pots and jam jars

Inspired by Petersham Nurseries and its beautiful ‘outdoor’ dining room (see photos above), I have had the idea to include miniature potted plants among the jamjar-vases as table decorations at the wedding reception. They look adorable and they can also be re-used – sometimes it feels such a waste to enjoy the decorations for just one day!

So I have started collecting old fashioned “Tom Thumb” pots (the shops on Columbia Road do a roaring trade) - and the planting has begun…

Vintage crockery update!

Since I started my vintage wedding crockery hunt - and this blog – I have been overwhelmed by the kindness of friends who have taken up the challenge themselves, hunting down second-hand tea sets and plates from all over the country and sending them my way.

There’s Amy who swears by Accrington’s dirt-cheap charity shops (just don’t tell anyone!) and has found hoard after hoard of chintzy china. And Claire who managed to uncover the holy grail of vintage china - those elusive large dinner plates - in Cornwall. Meanwhile my Mum has been tirelessly scouring the shops of Cheshire and The Wirral for delicate tea cups and saucers. And most recently there's Nina, who found a pretty china tea set in an Amersham antiques shop.

Here are a few of my favourites:

Inspirations from Iceland

For a city the size of Portsmouth (population: 115,000), Reyjavik is astonishingly – achingly - hip. The tiny main street Laugavegur is lined with mini boutiques without a big brand in site, and there are beautifully styled people everywhere.

I was there writing a city guide, but I managed to squeeze in a bit of wedding research at the same time. I spent far too long in Frida Fraenka taking pictures (my baggage allowance wouldn’t stretch to all that crockery I’m afraid) - a den of antiques, bric-a-brac and curiosities. A little cubby hole at the back was piled high with fabrics with some great 50s and 60s florals and embroideries, while the china tea sets practically teetered off shelves and tables.

This dreamy dress also caught my eye at vintage shop Nostalgia (on Laugavegur). And I loved the simple display of flower cuttings and branches in old glass bottles at Andersen & Lauth on the same street -  a nice idea for a more contemporary look (dare I say it!) for table decorations.

I love... Frolic's DIY wedding favours

I just came across floral designer Chelsea Fuss' gorgeous blog Frolic! and loved this homemade favour idea: potted violas wrapped in newspaper. She uses Le Monde Diplomatique no less (for that certain Parisian je ne sais quoi)… but I can imagine faded vintage magazine pages would make a lovely alternative too. See more of her beautiful creations here.

Paris or Battersea?

My vintage fabric and crockery hunt seems to have captured friends’ and readers’ imaginations... I was touched to receive a second gift from Paris yesterday, in the form of some beautiful embroidered floral napkins that my colleague Sarah kindly brought back from her favourite Parisian flea market, Vanves (weekend mornings on Avenues Georges Lafenestre and Marc Sangnier).

She also found these wonderfully old-fashioned wedding gift cards at her local Battersea car boot sale (Sundays, 1.30-4.30 on Battersea Park Road) – I love the faded colours, curly-wurly script and the stories that they conjure... I wonder what became of the recpients! You can see more of Sarah’s flea market finds (along with her gorgeous handmade patchworks) on her blog PostcardsFromBattersea… which is on my list of must-reads for inspiration.

 

Rio Rio

As I tap away on my laptop I can hear the sound of waves crashing on the shoreline and the faint beat of a samba drum in the distance... I've been lucky enough to come to Rio for carnival, where my senses have been overloaded with inspiration - they certainly know how to throw a party here (and there isn't a planner in sight)!

I spent my first day visiting some of the city's atelier-boutiques hidden inside residential buildings in the Jardim Botanico area. I loved these beer bottles recycled into vases and covered in colourful fabric at the Dona Coisa boutique on Rua Lopes Quintas:

And  I thought these headbands could make pretty bridesmaids' headpieces at the Atelier Clementtina (the space reminded me of a Brazilian Cath Kidston and it had its own courtyard garden where you could have coffee or a manicure!)

More Rio highlights to follow, but first I couldn't resist putting up a picture of the view from my "desk"...