Dress you up in my love

It's a grey and damp morning but my spirits were lifted by an earlier email from a good friend telling me that she's booked a table in a hip veggie restaurant for my birthday treat (although it's not until December).

Now I've got the perfect opportunity to wear my gold hand-crocheted maxi dress with huge mediaeval sleeves. It's an amazing piece I picked up from a car boot sale three weeks ago from a couple who specialise in house clearance. They unearthed the dress from a trunk in the attic of a wealthy old lady and further research has revealed that it was made from a pattern published in a 1967 issue of Golden Hands magazine (a popular craft publication back in the day). I think my Mum's enamelled gold coloured pendant purchased from Biba in the 60's goes with it rather well. I was saving the dress to wear to next years' Glastonbury Festival but I think it deserves a test run first.

The somewhat kitsch faux marble standard lamp was from a car boot sale, the silk lampshade is jumble sale purchase and the French Armoire-style wardrobe is actually a 1930's wardrobe we painted and waxed with the addition of glass knobs found in a junk shop in India. The rug (just about visible) is late Edwardian , still with the original Indian export labels and a whopping 9 foot by 11 foot - it cost £4 from eBay, the poor seller had listed it in the wrong category.