My Ordinary Life - Mid-Century Cats, A Disco Telephone, An Outback Thriller & A Secret Peacock

Hola, chicas! Hope all's well with you. Here's what I've been up to since I last posted.

Tuesday kicked off with a trip to Lidl where we snaffled a £1.50 Waste Not box.Inside were a bag of tangerines, six pears, two apples, a bunch of spring onions, a dozen white onions, a couple of carrots and a punnet of button mushrooms. The fruit was/will be eaten with Lidl's Greek yoghurt for breakfast, some of the mushrooms and onions went in a curry and some roasted in a veg & Haloumi bake and the carrots, spring onions and the rest of the sweetheart cabbage from last week's box were combined with mayonnaise and stuffed into pitta bread with a a thinly sliced vegeburger.

I was excited to spot this green lurex jumper in the clearance charity shop on Sunday, a girl can never have too many polo necks! It makes a refreshing change from my trusty black Heatgen one I usually wear with this 1960s suede mini. The vintage Elgee tweed coat, a hand-me-down from one of the Lizzes, was a staple during lockdown. Lord Jon reckons I look like Basil Rathbone in it, he's such a charmer.

We popped over to our favourite Black Country town for a spot of charity shopping.

And came back with a pair of Original Penguin desert boots, a John Smedley merino wool jumper, a 1980s mohair hand knit cardi, a Burberry, London 70% silk fine knit top, a couple of Adidas track tops, a wool blend waistcoat (with the tags still attached) and a 1960s Pierre Sangan wool and suede-trimmed cardi, all of which I managed to photograph before the heavens opened.

Wednesday was a stay-at-home day, wrapping the eBay sales, photographing and listing stock. I wore a second-hand Dilli Grey Indian cotton midi dress layered with a navy M&S Heatgen polo and a vintage '70s Janet Wood for Monsoon quilted Afghan waistcoat.    

After lunch I did some crochet and finished my Le Carre novel and attempted to tempt this handsome boy in with some treats.He's an intact male, doesn't wear a collar and is a regular visitor in the garden. Due to the thickness of his coat I've named him William Woolberforce, in honour of the heroic 19th century politician.

I'd forgotten to share these super funky orange pinched glass Mid-Century tumblers we snaffled for 50p last week, they made our Wednesday night rum taste even better (if that's possible). I was beyond excited to see that BBC4 was screening the new series of the Australian Outback cop thriller, Mystery Road. With stunning cinematography, a gripping storyline, sublime performances and cowboy chic galore, we watched the entire series over two nights.

It was a solo swim for me on Thursday after Jon got struck down by the lurgy. In just under an hour I'd walked the mile into town, stopping via at the accountants to drop off some paperwork, swum 40 lengths, did 40 poolside pull-ups, had a shower and walked home. I love living so close to the town centre! 

Secondhand from head to toe, I wore a Zara embroidered cotton midi dress along with a vintage fringed suede waistcoat, 1970s Indian silk screen printed scarf, Timberland boots and Proper Topper Shropshire-made wool fedora.I did have a suede jacket over the top but walked home with it slung over my arm, I'm always boiling hot after a swim.

Back at home Jon had thankfully rallied. Despite the mild and dry start, by lunchtime it was lashing it down so I spent the rest of the day crocheting before making a dent in my latest read, a dystopian vision of humanoid robots set in an alternative 1980s Britain. Like every other McEwan novel I've ever read, it's superb.

With a cultural visit with friends planned for Saturday, I fancied a trip to the cinema on Friday but, having watched the Swedish version last week, I wasn't in the mood for A Man Called Otto and none of the other films appealed (a dead pop star biopic, a American lynching or big budget animation) so it was a morning of charity shopping instead.

A few decent bits for the stockroom - a 1980s Italian deadstock gents jumper; Brazilian cowboy boots; 1990s leather blazer; A recycled polyester cardi (with tags attached); 1980s Empire Stores (remember them?) cotton midi dress; A vintage moleskin waistcoat; a vintage turban; Clarks brogue boots; A 1980s sequin embellished purple lambswool batwing jumper; A 1980s Laura Ashley 100% Scottish wool jumper and an East lambswool & angora cropped teal cardi.

Here's the keepers.....Jones the Bootmaker blue suede ankle boots, a River Island felt fedora, a pair of  Noa Noa silver leather clogs, a Signature merino wool fine knit and a cute woven fringed top which reminds me of a Huipil.

We fell in love with this turquoise Mid-century ceramic moneybox by Jema, Holland, isn't she pretty?

She's settling in well with the 1950s Luciano, Salerno vase bought for 99p before Xmas and the Bitossi cat my parents bought back from their 1966 honeymoon in Sicily.

I don't need it and I don't really like it but I'm having it anyway, Jon told the young woman behind the counter in Sense. I must admit that since he's plugged it in, this ridiculous neon-lit 1980s Bush telephone is growing on me. I love that it flashes when it rings (yes, we do still have a landline). How cool, it shares its name with one of my favourite bloggers - Sheila! 

Friday's outfit got lots of love from my fellow charity shoppers (aren't people lovely?). The Dilli Grey skirt and Monsoon fedora are retail buys, the blouse, boots, belt and jacket are secondhand. Sadly the back of my vintage suede jacket gets hidden by my hair so I call him my Secret Peacock.

Have a fab weekend! See you soon.