Eat, Sleep, Watch Football....Repeat!

The promised hot weather and sunshine wasn't forthcoming on Friday morning and it was cold enough for a jacket when we walked down to the baths. However, emerging from Spoons after breakfast, it was starting to warm up. 

I wore a 1970s St Michael vest top, a me-made Anokhi fabric maxi skirt and my Jesus Saves 1970s belt. As I'm an aethist I'm hoping there's a goalkeeper called Jesus playing in the World Cup to make it more relevant! 

It was warm enough to sit in the garden when we got home - which we did! 

In the recent National Trust members magazine, they'd shared a couple of recipes from one of their publications, Irresistible Salads. Jon made both and we enjoyed them so much that we ordered the book. This Lemon, Rocket and Burrata Pasta Salad was another winner.

After the fabulous opening ceremony at Mexico's spectacular Azteca Stadium on Thursday evening and Mexico's well-deserved win, we're now well and truly invested in the World Cup, 2026. On Friday night it was the turn of Canada who drew with Bosnia & Hertzigovina. Neither of us had the stamina to stay up for the 2am USA vs Paraguay match afterwards.

On Saturday morning we watched the game over breakfast. 

After the match we went for a walk around the block before spending the rest of the morning gardening. I wore this 1970s Oasis Trading maxi skirt with a me-made halter top (made using the same Anokhi fabric as yesterday's skirt) and road-tested my newly charity-shopped Tevas, which were an absolute dream to walk in. 

 Although it wasn't exactly tropical I did manage to lie outside reading until late in the afternoon. I started my 43rd book of the year, Philip Kerr's A Man Without Breath. Set during WWII, charismatic Nazi-hating Bernie Gunther, a Berlin police detective, has been enlisted into the German War Crimes Bureau to investigate the Katyn Massacre of 1940. Josef Goebels wants proof of Russian involvement in the hope of destroying the Western Alliance but the truth turns out to be far more damaging. The Bernie Gunther novels (there are 14 in all) are currently being serialised for television and will star the fantastic Jack Lowden on Apple TV later this year. 

Saturday night was another (late) night of football although we went to bed before the Scotland match, watching it on catch-up on Sunday morning.  Continuing with my run of wearing me-made clothes I wore this dress which I made in 2014 using a pair of vintage Grace Sullivan for Heals' Treetop screen-printed curtains and a Kenzo for Butterick dressmaking pattern from 1971.

We went for our usual walk around the block before spending the rest of the day outside (and the evening in front of the football). 

How gorgeous are these roses? I think they're called Carnival but it's been six years since we planted them so I could be wrong. 

Monday was swimming day and, ever the optimist, I left the house with bare arms and sandals. There were issues with the main pool and the management opened the brine baths early so we regulars could get our fix. We used to use the brine until swapping allegiance to the gala pool. I'd forgotten how hard it is swimming in 34°C salted water, it was like wading through treacle! 

I wore a 1960s Jantzen beach dress (nylon with padded boobs) with my denim waistcoat. I tried sitting in the garden for an hour or so when we got home but was defeated by the cold wind.  

Later on we had to go the hospital for my annual appointment with the Opthalmic department - happily there's no change so I'm still just verging on borderline with my Glaucoma. 

The evening was, once again, dominated by the footie!

On Tuesday (today!) I had an appointment with Michael the osteopath and, with a shared love of travel and football, we got on like a house on fire. I wasn't expecting miracles but I felt so much better after I'd had my treatment. At home I realised I'd climbed the stairs like a normal person rather than clinging on to the bannister and going up a step at a time. 

Needless to say, I didn't walk round to the clinic in my black lycra cycling shorts & sports bra - although that seems the outfit of choice for the majority of women these days - instead opting for this embroidered linen sundress from Zara (via the charity shop).

Liz, back from her holiday in St Ives, popped round and we sat outside chatting in the sunshine. I tried to sunbathe for a few hours after lunch but it clouded over....grrr! 

We're both already nervous about tomorrow. Come on, England!

Buying, Wearing, Watching, Growing.....

After some unseasonably warm weather, May has reverted back to dismally average temperatures but I didn't bother with a jacket on Wednesday morning as I'm always glowing after our swim. These Indian cotton quilted waistcoats are perfect for this time of year, it's just as well I have a few! The one I'm wearing over my India Imports for Rhode Island maxi is a 1970s Chelsea Girl original.

Fed up with my ongoing hip issues, I took my frustrations out on the garden, attacking the ridiculously overgrown patio border. Four hours later and I could finally see my Agapanthus and Phlox "Mount Fuji" again. 

Before (above) and after (below).

I felt even better when Jon brought me a mug of tea and the news that he'd booked a holiday for next month. Yippee!!!!

On Wednesday night we started watching A Perfect Spy, a 1980s adaptation of the John Le Carre novel, currently on the BBC iPlayer. A bit dated but still enjoyable. 

On Thursday I thought I'd give these charity-shopped cords an outing and, while I was at it, test out my Lotta's by walking to the parcel drop off shop. Amazingly both my arthritic toe-joints and hip fared pretty well and I made it there and back without having to stop for a rest. 

The cords were originally from Tu, Sainsbury's supermarket's in-house label. I never thought the day would come when I'd wear supermarket fashion but I think these are the first trousers I've ever worn in my life that are the perfect length.

After spending a couple of hours tackling the horrifically deep bamboo roots in the border I'd cleared, I altered a vintage wraparound skirt I'd bought from Vinted last week....beautiful but dangerously long, with my issues tripping is a real concern.

These wrap skirts have a curved hem so once you've measured how much you need to take off the length, you'll need to go along the hem,  marking the exact measurement with tailors chalk every few inches and then cut an inch below the line so allow for a double hem. If you turn the skirt up without trimming off the excess fabric the hem will be too bulky and it won't hang correctly. Be brave and don't forget, measure twice, cut once!

Here she is, four inches shorter and the perfect length with flat footwear. The previous owner bought it on holiday in Barcelona in the 1970s. The seller was at pains to let me know that it has faded over the years (hence the £5 asking price) but I always think that it gives clothes personality and only adds to the charm.

Talking of Vinted, I also snaffled this All About Audrey sari silk maxi dress, still with the tags attached, for £8. Nobody's going to miss me in this!!

On Thursday evening we continued watching A Perfect Spy with a break for Race Across The World. How lovely are the people of Uzbekistan and Kystostan? The scenery is pretty spectacular, too. Shame about the food, I think I'd starve to death!

Friday was another swimming day.

 

When I'm not sure what to wear I always seem to gravitate towards this All About Audrey maxi dress (bought from their website in 2024). If I subscribed to that cost per wear thingy that some women do it'll probably owe me money! I'd completely forgotten about this amazing vintage Kashmiri woolwork jacket I'd snaffled from Vinted for £5 last year. It's perfect for this time of year.

 

As usual we had breakfast in Spoons followed by a look around the charity shops. 

Today's finds..a pair of handmade plus-sized cotton dungarees, two leisure shirts, a tooled leather belt, a 1960s Austin Reed cord jacket with a fur collar, a 1980s bronze raincoat by Totes and some repro lace-up knee high boots.

And some too-cheap-to-leave vinyl.

We had another session in the garden. Jon set about breaking up Jacob's pen (sob!) and I potted up some houseleeks that grow like weeds in our garden.

 Once again it's Friday and therefore rum night! On the agenda tonight is the latest episodes of Criminal Record and Scotland's Home of the Year before more of A Perfect Spy.

Have a bostin' weekend, chin chin!!

See you soon!!!

Scrap Happy

 The nights are drawing in and with festival season over, we're concentrating our efforts on home improvement. While Jon's getting stuck into redecorating the utility room, I'm still tweaking the bedroom. 

Our corbielle bed was starting to show years of cat ownership and was in dire need of repair.

Not having any red velvet spare I decided to repurpose the fabric I'd used to recover the ottoman back in 2018. There wasn't enough to replace the whole area so I snipped off the tatty part, squeezed the replacement fabric inside and hand-stitched it place. I don't think the Repair Shop will be calling to offer me a job any time soon but it's a vast improvement (and its not like anyone but me, Jon and William are going to see it!)

We'd been scouring the chazzas for some decent fabric to recover the ottoman but with no success, the most suitable looking candidate, a mediocre duvet cover, was rather optimistically priced at £15 but, on the way home from swimming, I spotted this gorgeous Thistle upholstery fabric on the clearance table outside Walsall's legendary fabric emporium, Hole in the Wall and it was only £3!

Here I am standing outside it in 2015 (where the f*ck does the time go?) Back in the early 1980s most of this area was derelict and occupied by squatters. The coolest of the bunch was Boy George who lived with Walsall lad Martin Degville, later to become lead singer of Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Seeing him walking around town dressed in a silver spacesuit or an Elizabethan ruff with his dog dressed to match was a familiar sight. Nobody really batted an eyelid - or if they did they didn't dare say anything, he was built like a brick sh*thouse.  

I know some folk like mitchy-matchy stuff, I don't. This pleases my eyes a lot more!

There was some fabric left over which I repurposed into a reversible bolero using a 1971 Style pattern. (The orange checked fabric was a 1970s tablecloth from a charity shop). 

And the remnants became a makeup bag..always useful for taking down to the pool. 

And here it is in action....

@vixbrearley Waste not, want not!#handsewing #1970saesthetic #hippiestyle #vintagestyle #over50women ♬ original sound - Vintage_vix66

Thank for reading, see you soon!