Vintage Vixen

Hello, Blogland. I'm on a roll, my third post in a week! Before I crack in with sharing my outfits here's a question for you...Botox and fillers, yay or nay? I've realised that I'm in the minority on planet TikTok and the vast majority of over 40 year old women on there embrace aesthetics, in fact someone actually commented that all women these days have fillers and Botox and you're letting yourself go if you don't.

I don't always love what I see reflected in the mirror but I don't dislike it enough to spend hundreds of pounds having stuff injected into my face. Yes, at 59 years old I've got wrinkles, my jawline's not as firm as it was and my eyelids are a bit wonky but I can swim a mile in 41 minutes, I weigh the same as I did when I was a teenager and I've got so many amazing clothes I get palpitations just opening my wardrobe. Bemoaning my looks as a teenager, my mum told me that pretty was all well & good but ultimately forgettable and it was far better to be interesting and memorable and 16 years after her death people still talk about her and her unique style. I love this photo of her and her mates, taken in 1963 when they busked their way around the Isles of Scilly (she's the one with the killer tan and shades!)

You know me, if there's money to burn it's spent on clothes, travel, gel manicures and Wetherspoons all-dayers!

I didn't need it but this All About Audrey tunic had been popping up on my Vinted feed for a couple of weeks and when I checked, the seller had a couple of items that always sell well at festivals, so I bought a bundle and was awarded a 20% discount for my trouble, making the tunic just 80p!

I wore it over the All About Audrey dress I wore to the swimming pool (and on Wednesday's blog post) and loved combination of the print and colour and it's 80% silk, making it a joy to wear.

On Thursday, for a walk into town, I wore it as a top with the incredible vintage velvet maxi skirt I'd scored for £3 from Vinted a couple of weeks ago. Could that dusky shade of rose pink be a more perfect match?

We didn't have a specific mission in mind, we just thought we'd better pop into the charity shops in case the staff were missing us (they were!)

There wasn't much to take our interest but I was delighted with these Last of Pompeii mugs still in their boxes and priced at £1 each. Researching the maker when I got home, they're a Spanish company who produce ceramics for museum gift shops and, as you know, I find a museum gift shop very hard to resist!

I can never resist a glossy photography or art book and the novel, The Story of a Marriage sounded intriguing. A firm believer in buying British my grandma used to buy her nighties and underwear from David Neiper. I was excited to spot these metallic leather mules for £2 in the clearance charity shop (they're on the website for £58).

Good Friday always feels like weird day and doubly so with not being able to go for our Friday swim as the pool was shut. I thought I'd dress like a woman from the Wild West and wore the skirt and blouse I'd sewn (with Liz's assistance) last year.

Here's a tip for instant youthfulness, forget Botox, stand facing the sunlight, it'll take years off you!

Yesterday afternoon meant my three-weekly nail appointment at the salon. Goodbye Ink, hello Sage!

Inspired by my nails I went for a green-themed outfit today, the skirt I'd made from a bolt of vintage Anokhi fabric I'd bought from eBay during lockdown, an All About Audrey recycled cotton sari top I'd snaffled off Vinted and my trusty vintage denim waistcoat.

Although we'll be flying the official Three Lions flag when the World Cup kicks off (that's if the world hasn't imploded by then), our existing flag was looking very tatty because it kept getting tangled up in the magnolia tree. Jon moved the flagpole a bit further away from the wall and hung this rather fabulous flag of flags he'd bought from a charity shop years ago.

Can you see William?

He couldn't resist writing something derogatory about the leaders of two of the countries represented on the flag but unfortunately he forgot to put something underneath the fabric when he scribbled on it and now we've got rude words on the kitchen table!