Tuesday 18 September 2012

Stuck In The Middle




  Apologies for the surroundings, I'm in the middle room, what should be our dining room, the place where a young man hung himself in the 1920s and a room destined to forever remain a dumping ground until we find the right table and some chairs. I'd rather go without than compromise on furniture neither of us like.


 Despite the past tragedy, it isn't a bad room, sunny for most of the day & toasty warm in the winter courtesy of the wood burner, although my Dad, unaware of the history, always claimed it had a strange atmosphere. 


We moved the day bed from our bedroom downstairs during Krista and Chris's visit to free up enough space to hang my clothes up on a rail, I was scared they'd suffer death by vintage frockery if I'd left all my crap in the guest room. The trunks underneath are stuffed with all kinds of junk.


Krista bought me this fabulous poster of an anarchic Queen Liz from the Mr Brainache exhibition they visited last week.



This silk programme is from 1837, the year of Queen Victoria's coronation. It came from my Grandma's childhood home in Chester.



The Edwardian framed photograph is of a relative, I've no idea who, there's no-one left to ask.


The lovely Heather sent me this fabulous 1970s maxi dress all the way from California. It's been much admired today and the perfect weight for a sunny but freezing-your-arse-off kind of a day.


Barry M Spring Green nail paint with a stack of Indian silver.



 Including two new-to-me rings courtesy of our gorgeous Em.


She also included this killer 1965 caftan pattern and a beautiful Accessorize pendant in the parcel. I'm dying to crack on with some sewing but I'm selling at my first vintage fair this weekend so it's a week packed with de-cluttering, ironing and tagging. Needs must when wanderlust strikes.

Original maxi dress worn with River Island stack heeled leather boots (£2, Salvation Army)
Right then, back to the ironing pile.

Keep your fingers crossed for a dry start for a car boot sale in the morning.

See you soon!

69 comments:

  1. It's pretty wet here today as well. It was a good excuse for me to break out the heavy tights.

    I love the fabric on that dress. The print of the Queen is pretty awesome too.

    Good luck with the vintage fair!

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  2. Selling at your first fair, that must be really exciting and I bet you sell the lot.

    Your dress has an amazing print perfect summer meets autumn colour pattern.

    Fabulous xx

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  3. I love the Queen poster--so cheeky!!
    The dress is GORGEOUS!! My fav colors!!
    Good luck at your vintage sale!! Oh how I wish i was close enough to come!!
    {{{hugs}}}}

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  4. Loving that wonderful Queen Liz poster Krista got for you and the amazing kaftan pattern - looking forward to seeing what you sew from it.

    Hope you have a fantastic selling day at the vintage fair - sounds a most exciting venture.

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  5. this poster is awesome! i'd love to have one too!
    as always you look adorable in this frock!

    http://wardrobexperience.blogspot.de

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  6. Not a big fan of the royal family but that poster is fantastic!

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  7. You look hauntingly beautiful. Okay, had to take a pun run thinking about the strange atmosphere in the middle room.

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  8. Love the poster...I visited Buck House on Saturday with my mum...it was really interesting actually...good luck with your vintage fair x

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  9. You look fab and I always love seeing more of your house - even the unfinished bits! That picture of the queen is amazing and I look forward to seeing you in a new caftan creation soon.

    Best of luck for your fair - please take lots of pics for us :)

    Nikki x

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  10. Selling! I wonder how much you'll buy too??

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  11. Wonderful frock, you look fabulous in it.
    I’m looking around for vintage fairs and markets in London, cause eBay is like pulling teeth at the moment, a more direct approach is required me thinks.
    I’ll keep my fingers crossed the rain thinks better of it and sods of to France or something so that you get a dry boot sale and I hope you find some more crackers like your fab Biba score. I think you will make a most excellent vintage fair seller cause you’ve got the goodies, you look the part and you know your stuff, ideal!
    I'm not surprised you're itching to get cracking on that caftan pattern, it looks awesome.
    Lot’s of love,
    Jennie
    xXx

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  12. Lovely dress and it's always nice to see pictures of your fab home. Good luck with the fair, I'm sure you'll sell loads x

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  13. Now that's a stunning frock! I do love those colours.
    And the Liz poster is fab.
    Have a fantastic selling day, you'll knock 'em bandy with your fabulousness. Enjoy the boot sale.
    xxxxx

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  14. Love the dress, you look beautiful :).

    I'm sure i saw you in Walsall a few weeks ago, near the bus station? You were with friends otherwise i would have came to say hello.

    Sadie x

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  15. Love the bracelets. There is comfort in jingling when you walk.

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  16. You look really beautiful in your frock. Good luck with your vintage fair, I bet you'll be totally sold out! Cathcing up on my blog reading after oodles of weeks not doing any, so I'm off to read the rest of your posts. Em ♥

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  17. The queen and spraypaint print in the middle is just a knockout! I like how you have them hung from the picture rail/crown molding...they look so much more chic than if they were just bolted to the wall! Also, the Biba thrift store dress from the last post...but WOWOWOWOWWWWWWW....!

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  18. Stunning dress - the greens are so vibrant. Lovely with your nail varnish and rings.

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  19. whouu, it's a gorgeous dress, love the print and it fits you so nicely (as usual!!) and all your rings and bracelets (as usual too!)
    and love that Queen poster, so funny!
    Wish you luck for that car boot sale!
    besos

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  20. Hi Vix! That story about the room gives me the heebie-jeebies! Eek! But if you are happy there, then that's all the matters. I am not really scared of stuff like that, but just the feeling that your dad had and, well, knowing what happened. Really sad, after all. Love your dress! Wish I could visit the sale you are having, but that would require quite the boat ride! Good luck!

    xoxoxo
    Lynn

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  21. Love your frock, you look gorgeous in it. Tell me, how do you stay so brown? In the sun at every opportunity or do you fake it ? Whatever, you look good.
    Hope you take loadsa dosh at your first vintage fair.
    x

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  22. Great little glimpse of your house- and you. Love that maxi frock on you- love the green nails and the armload of bangles. Happy Tuesday then!

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  23. Will you hate me if I buy that poster too. Also that woman in the photograph really looks like you!! You got some amazing presents, you need to make that kaftan thing!! Your house just gets weirder and cooler! And sadder. I love the coronation programme, the manor would love one of those. Let me know if you can see this comment cos I've sent it from my phone.

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  24. I really like those cuff bracelets!

    http://initialed.blogspot.com

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  25. I like that dress. And I really like that day bed - keep it! :-)

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  26. Ah,a roomwe hadn't seen! there's always somehwere that ends up being a repository for stuff qithout a home!And I too would rather go without than compromise...Interesting and gruesome history, do you know who the young man was at all?
    I just love that anarchic Liz,it's simply wonderful!The frame suits her well, and the silk programme is amazing!
    Loving that fabularsehole maxi,the new rings from Em go splendidly with it and all your wonderful Indian silver!
    Go hard getting yourself ready for the fair! You'll attract plenty of admirers with cash to throw around, I'm sure!
    Love Helga xxxXXXxxx

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  27. Oh I love this dress! you look great in it. Good luck with the vintage fair x

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  28. Fantastic maxi! I love that coronation program. It's funny that royalty actually exists, living here in the colonies as I do. They are mythical creatures that drop in from time to time, smile, wave, and sometimes wear feather headdresses at First Nations gatherings, which I find very odd.

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  29. I'm so happy that you found a place on your wall for her, she looks happy at her new home:) You guys really did some serious moving stuff around for our visit, you are both too sweet and I love LOVED the guest bedroom, I didn't want to ever leave!

    The dress from Heather looks even better on you than on the hanger. The colors are so pretty and I love the green Barry M polish too. Em totally hooked you up (and me too) with thee goodies and I can't wait to see what fabric you use to make a caftan.

    Fingers crossed for no rain tomorrow and I am really hoping you guys make a killing at that fair. If I saw you selling anything anywhere I would be drawn to you like pensioners at Wetherspoons.

    I have really missed you both buckets today, can't stop talking about how much we all got on as you say like a house on fire.

    My Momma got to hear all about you Vix I think she finally gets it.

    I LOVE YOU!!!!
    XXOO
    Krista

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  30. Fabulous dress! I am always so envious of your gorgeous jewellery.
    I would be so freaked out by your room though :(

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  31. My goal in life is to be as beautiful and fabulous as you. I'm very serious.

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  32. Simply fabulous dress and jewels, Vix. Love the anarchic Queen too!

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  33. I meant to go and see that Mr Brainwash thing as I was intrigued by him in the Banksy film ' Exit through the Giftshop'. It looks great given a vintage feel with the picture hook and chain.

    Ugh to ironing. Ben does all ours and he's selfishly gone to India on business for a fortnight leaving me to wrestle with the kids' school uniforms!
    x

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  34. Excellent Liz poster, and it co-exists quite happily with all of your delightful bits and bobs. I love the shape and pattern on this dress; it's tremendously flattering on you! Your armload of Indian silver elicited a "GASP" of envy and admiration.

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  35. Hello, Vix!

    Totally hear ya on the dining room table thing. Just sold a set that we settled for over 20 years ago and did not miss it. Still looking for the Jacobean Revival set of my dreams...

    Gorgeous dress on you as so very much is! And gosh, last night, I started cutting out a caftan from vintage fabric and pattern too! I also want to make one from a vintage Indian block print bedspread like we did back in the 70s and pair it with my Banjara jewelry. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. It'll be totally AMAZING and inspiring as always without a doubt.

    Good luck at the sale! I always do well at that sort of thing. That kind of venue has a different kind of approach and feel (exhausting and overwhelming but exciting comes to mind) than selling vintage on eBay (which I do also), but if you push through it, you will come home exhausted, but with a huge stack of cash I'll bet and a lot more room in your house. That pear cider will taste real good then!

    Again, I LOVE you and your blog! Although you are half a world away, I sometimes feel that I've found my long lost little sister by "anotha motha" as we are alike in many ways. Rock on, little Superstar Sister!

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  36. Brilliant! Great fun outfit, I love the dress! Interesting wall hangings too!

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  37. Geez, how many rooms does your house have? I live in an old house (90 years old, which is old for here) and sometimes I wonder about the people who live in it. What they were like, ect. Good luck at the vintage fair!

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  38. What a fabulous dress, and owl ring and necklace and new print and and and ... sheesh, it's all fabulous. Right down to the history of the room you're in and the fact that your dad got strange vibes in there.

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  39. Love your Cali dress and agree on not buying funiture as a compromise. The story of that room really is a bit scary.

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  40. Which one is the Anarchic Queen? The woman in the painting or the one who looks lika a (really rare) painting?

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  41. The room is beautiful, my house is new and I'm sorry that I can't tell such charming stories about it! Mr Brainwash art is perfect on the wall even if I think that is impossible to explain it to a ghost!
    I'm always stunned by your flawless figure in maxis and the dress has a precious print, I like the big green roses on black! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the car boot sale!
    Love

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  42. Spooky room... love the pictures though! We still have 'gaps' in our furniture, waiting for the right stuff to come up at a bootsale or auction.

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  43. Oh what a frock....looks divine on you. I nearly gasped at all that jewellery! Sorry for my lack of comments whilst I was away, I have been keeping up with your fab posts. Xx

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  44. That frock is just perfect on you Vix! I'm always so jealous when I see photos of your house, it looks so amazing.

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  45. That picture of Liz as an anarchist is amazing. I love your dress. The print is fabulous.

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  46. I love seeing around your home Vix, there's always so much to see that's interesting and beautiful, love the patchwork cushions and all the suitcases tucked under the settee, and Krista's picture fits in perfectly, I really like it.

    I've felt atmospheres in rooms and then found out they had a basis in fact. Not always a bad atmosphere, we visited my grandparents in Ireland and I kept feeling like someone was in the bathroom, I wasn't scared of them, they felt kind, just embarrassed because it was the bathroom! Anyway, my mum said it had been her uncle's bedroom in the past and he'd been a lovely man,so I'm sure some trace of him was still there.

    The dress is beautiful, perfect for this time of year, and I love those gorgeous rings. Good luck at the vintage fair! xx

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  47. That dress is gorgeous, very autumnal.

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  48. What a wonderful dress, Vix - I quite like the middle room... wonder if the ghost of the young man still hangs around (he probably likes you, Jon and all your friends :) xoxo

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  49. Oooh I LOOOVE pics of your amazing house... what a sad past for the middle room - but what a beautiful space. You look GORGEOUS in that amazing maxi - and I LOOOVE the queen poster! Love you more than Barry M! Sarah xxx

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  50. The room looks great, I love that Queen poster! The dress is gorgeous too, the colours and print are just perfect.

    Good luck for your fair this weekend! xo.

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  51. Ooh your first vintage fair, hope you do well!! Looks to be a small and easy one too, yay!! And obviously it's a means to end, go Vix!!

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  52. You ARE busy!! I wish you much success with your selling adventure; I know I'd go crazy for your stuff. I don't suppose you have any of that gorgeous Indian silver for sale?

    I felt better about myself after I heard you describe your storage issues; I have to do something since I'm bursting at the seams. It must be hard for you to let go, though, because you look spectacular in everything you put on!!!! XXOO

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  53. Stunning jewellery!
    Just discovered your blog and can't wait to look through the old posts :) You have impeccable style.

    The Judas Tree

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  54. You've always got the best jewelry. And what a fascinatingly morbid story about the room!

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  55. Hi Vix!

    Good luck at the car boot!

    I love the Queen's poster and the Coronation poster you got from you Mum -

    The dress you are wearing is so gorgeous - the colors are so rich looking- very very pretty on you!

    Ariane xxxx

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  56. Wow I love hearing about your departed mystery man, I wonder if he'll say hello when you've got the dining room up and running. The print from Krista is absolutely gorgeous and is the perfect accompaniment to the silk coronation programme!!!!! I cannot believe the amazing treasures passed down from your family! Em and Heather - oh what treasures they've sent you - perfection! Oooh can't wait to see pics from the vintage fair! xoxo

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  57. This dress is just divine!


    xoxo Mama Wolf

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  58. You look beautiful as always! I really like that print of the Queen that Krista bought for you, it's superb, and your house is just lovely.

    Good luck at the Vintage Fair!!

    L xx

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  59. I'm in love with your dress...love the pattern and the colour!
    I just checked out Krista's blog...you guys do look adorable at 9am!

    Love,
    Shubhi's Revels!

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  60. Hey! Good Luck with the Vintage fair!

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  61. Love your gilet, Vix! Well done on three days alcohol free! I've last an unheard-of 2.5 weeks without a single drop, but have big plans to change all that tonight. Can't wait!!

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  62. Love that dress.I want a queen poster like that love it.xx

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  63. Ironing!!! You swore!! ;-D You Iron and don't vacuum and I vacuum but don't iron! We compliment each other perfectly I reckon! :D

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  64. We had also looked for ages for a good dinningtable. We found one in an old cafe that was changing his interiour. :)
    Sounds a bit spooky with the man hanging himself....
    x

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  65. I think Liz would secretly love the anarchic poster! Gorgeous owl ring, although his eyes are a bit scary! x

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  66. Love the dress, you are one lucky lady!

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Thanks for reading and for leaving a message. Please don't be anonymous, I'd love it if you left a name (or a nom de plume).

Lots of love, Vix