Now you see me, now you don't

Remember when my bookcase looked like this?

Then it looked like this. A definite improvement, but the multiple colours still stang my eyes a little, and although I loved seing my collection of vintage books and miscellaneous objects, I was concerned that they would get sun damaged if I didn't protect them in some way.

Enter, the £6 piece of material that I came across by chance while browsing one of my favourite Hebden shops! Initially I had thought wallpaper might work. This was the main reason for ordering all the samples that ended up here: 

Then I decided £30 for a roll of wallpaper was a bit much for something I might never get the chance to use again. So I was keeping my eyes peeled for something pretty and easy and with a geometrical pattern, preferably yellow triangles and grey or white circles... when I saw this little bit of retro jungle material and thought: yessss!

Also, as you may have noticed, there has been a furniture switcheroo in our living room! More on that later though, this post is all about showing as many pictures as possible of my relooked bookcase:

What do you think? Yes to material in bookcase doors? I gave the rest of the material to my Mama who is going to make cushions out of it for her new house! Yay for matching house decor!

On a completely unrelated greenery update note: we have two huge Jasmine trees on our back terrace and a couple of branches were growing dangerously close to the dustbin, risking decapitation each time someone opened and closed the lid. So I decided to give them a longer life in the house, and have since realised that Jasmine has a very strong and very lovely smell that fills the whole room. I can't get enough of it! I'm hoping a few more branches decide to grow in the direction of the dustbin so that I have an excuse to do a bit more pruning...

Our little rescue plant is doing so well! Unlike the Nasturtium you can see in the background, who have been decimated by caterpillars... I've since had to get rid of all the dead stalks and replace them with something else. Pictures soon!

Scampston vintage weekend - part 2

This is the continued story of how we visited East Yorkshire and a vintage fair (first part here). So, if you remember from my previous post, we had a lovely (if chilly and damp) picnic the night before the vintage fair and rose bright and early the next morning to make the most of the sunny day. 

We got to Scampston a bit early, so we had a little wander about the tiny village. It was like something straight out of a film with the beautiful old brick houses and vintage cars whizzing past on their way to the show.

Just imagine living here...

Storing your garden tools here...

Going to church here...

 And going for walks in the fields around the village...

 

Isn't it just like a film set? I'm always amazed at how quaint the UK is in places. Like time has completely stood still. I'm pretty sure the house prices haven't though.

Anyway, on to some proper vintage fun! We were greeted by this lovely sight as we arrived at the fair:

Actually, if I'm absolutely honest, we were greeted by this sight. I guess you might as well find out where the toilet is as soon as you arrive, yes? Also, please note the neat queue which has formed spontaneously, the reasonable distance from the toilets, the personal space between each person. As a former inhabitant of suburban Paris, it thrills me to see such respectful and disciplined queueing.

There were a lot more cars than I had expected and their owners stood proudly next to them, ready to answer any questions we may have and launch into a full-on history of their baby. Sadly, Boyfriend and I aren't really into cars, so although I think they're much prettier than the one we own, I don't have anything interesting to say about them.

Now this one is different (apparently!): it's from a TV show or something. There were lots of people crowded around it and posing and Boyfriend got all excited and snapped these pictures of it!

So that was the celebrity car at Scampston does vintage! I liked this pram much better though, and I liked it even more when I realised it had a real baby in it! Not a vintage one! A young baby one! Anyway... some things are only funny to me, moving on swiftly!

There was a dance workshop but I think people were a bit too intimidated (or maybe just to sweaty under the arms, it was turning out to be a proper scorcher!) to take part. These two were extremely good though, and a lot of fun to watch.

There were a scattering of stalls and 3 or 4 big tents around the grounds. The old VW in this pic had been turned into a photobooth, with lots of accessories and fun backdrops to choose from. I just wanted to sit on a bale of straw and sip cocktails at that point, but that would have made me a very good contendent for the vintage sunburn and heat stroke trophies...

There were a couple of different bands playing again and it was all very festive and sweet and Bully Holly-esque. I don't think I saw a single grumpy face all day. Proof that they don't write'em like they used to...

We did a bit of exploring and discovered a lovely lake and park. I didn't dare do anything to these pics because the greens and blues were already sooo intense.

So like I said, there were a couple of individual stalls with people selling things, but the main selling took place under big markees.

So did the tea drinking and home made cake eating!

Although there was a serious selection of lovely things, I didn't take anything home with me... sad face. Sometimes you have to know when your house is full enough, right?

Instead, we left the fair and went to fill our bellies at a lovely pub down the road. Sitting in the shade with a frosty beer is just something you have to do now and again.

Thanks again to Anna for the tickets and the opportunity for a refreshing weekend getaway! I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for the next Britain does vintage events!