Gonna Get Myself (Dis)Connected

WEARING: Secondhand denim waistcoat, vintage native American choker, me-made skirt made from a 1960s jumble sale curtain, synthetic hair feather extension part of a 20 piece kit (50p from the car boot sale)

I love the internet, I really do. After nearly ten years of writing my blog I've met some wonderful people - bloggers whose posts I devour avidly and non-bloggers who I chat to on social media or with whom we exchange emails. Many of these women have become real life friends. There's people I "talk" to daily on Facebook about doll's houses, festival trading and charity shop finds and others on Instagram who continually inspire me with their fabulous vintage outfits or the incredible things they've made but sometimes it all becomes a little overwhelming. Hours can be lost catching up with comments & liking photos and, much as I bang on about how a day without dressing up is a day wasted, hours sat on your arse following other people's antics, no matter how enjoyable, can also be a bit of a waste of time - by absorbing ourselves too deeply in lives that aren't ours we're in danger of losing our identities, to start craving the shoes they're wearing, to copy their lifestyle or to dress in a similar way -  there's nothing like disconnecting from the world wide web for a couple of days every so often and spending some quality time in your own little world to remind yourself of who really you are, even if it is a misfit.

And that's exactly what I did.  I switched off the PC in the dining room on Saturday afternoon (smart phone free, it's my only way of accessing the internet) and got stuff done. We'd cancelled Vintage Village as we didn't think a three hour round trip to Stockport would do his recovering back any favours so I spent Saturday morning sorting out the stockroom in anticipation for trading in London (HERE) this coming Saturday instead. Stock sorted I decided it was finally safe to get the rest of my summer stuff down from the suitcase on top of the wardrobe and have a general wardrobe sort out - which I did. 

By the afternoon the promised sunshine had finally broken through the clouds and I chucked on a bikini, grabbed a Scandi thriller and my crochet and spent the rest of the day working on our camping blanket (and my tan). The evening was spent watching a Croatian thriller series (Rest In Peace) and new BBC Welsh noir, Hidden and - with the exception of the white wine and soda I had in 'Spoons with Lyndsey last week - we had our first alcoholic drink in a fortnight.

WEARING: Topshop bikini (which I fell in love with on their website but it was £45 and I couldn't justify the expense) only to find one in my size with the tags still attached from the car boot sale six months later for £1.

Sunday was glorious and it was bikinis at dawn (well, 9am) for an entire day of crochet, reading and yet more crochet. 

WEARING: Vintage gingham maxi by Uninhibited (charity shop), vintage sunglasses from a car boot sale and a stack of second-hand plastic jewellery

Yesterday we thought we'd ease Jon back into work gently. We drove a couple of miles to one of our regular haunts and sauntered around the charity shops in the gorgeous sunshine with me carrying the bulk of our buys.

Although the charity shops were a bit thin on the ground for vintage (a couple of 1960s gents' three button blazers, a full length alpaca coat, a handmade West African waxed cotton parka, a child's Mexican embroidered dress, a Tootal scarf & a handful of fringed granny lampshades) we did well with finding other things - lots of brand new Ecover products donated by a shop that had recently gone into liquidation, some brand new thermal leggings for £1 (festival essentials which will replace my raggedy other pair), an unworn navy blue cotton fine knit by Reiss for Jon (currently on their website for £90), an unopened box of the eyelash dye that usually costs substantially more than the 75p the charity shop wanted and this Boden bikini for £3 (a saving of £67!)

My favourite find of the day had to be this gorgeous velvet jacket that must have been donated by a pixie. The quality of the cotton velvet is an absolute dream and, fortunately, so is the fit. I'd have hated to have had to have parted with this curiosity! 

After lunch on Monday afternoon the computer went back on. We'd made a list of what we needed for the festival season (which kicks off very soon) and things had to be ordered. I also discovered that something we needed was a lot cheaper in IKEA  - despite the store being 3.5 miles from our front door, I haven't set foot in the place for 13 years. God help me.

WEARING: 1960s suede mini dress by Suede & Leathercraft of England (Second to None, 2014)

Today Jon's gone to visit a friend and play with engines work on the other campervan (he's assured me that he'll be sitting at a desk all day and he's taken his lumbar belt just in case he does anything more physical than screwing a few bolts in place) and I'm having to stay in as the bits we ordered are scheduled for delivery today (no sign yet!)

It's been a fairly productive day so far - I've laid a wooden floor in the doll's house and rewired a couple of Lundby lamps. Once the glue's dried I shall varnish it then crack on with finishing the blanket, making some more festival jewellery and catching up with my blog reading.

See you soon!

Linking to Patti & the gang for Visible Monday.