Thursday 22 August 2013

Tiffany Blue Bedroom



I had a touch of writers block with this post so finishing it took a while. About a month ago I repainted our bedroom because I wasn't happy with the colour it was. It was a kind of grey/brown colour. I mean it was OK, I suppose. It gave the room a sort of, umh, sleepy feel. (See, writers block, told you.) But now that both boys are sleeping in their own rooms, I wanted it to become an oasis of calm in an otherwise hectic and cluttered home.


So this was what I started with: brown with a pink accent wall behind the bed. I don't know what I was thinking. I like bright colours and a turquoise blue was an ideal choice for the bedroom. I suppose it took me this long because I read somewhere that blue was the most popular colour choice for bedrooms and I didn't want to be one of the herd, so to speak.

dressing table vanity vintage blue mirror perfume jewellery lucite

I love my bedroom. Sorry, I mean mine and Hubby's bedroom. It is the only room in the house we are keeping a completely toy-free zone. It's a room for relaxing, for getting away from it all. No mess, no toys, no TV or computer. It is the place where I apply my make-up and get dressed.

vintage books shelf pinup fashion history

My bookshelf with light bedtime reading...

vintage jewellery rack necklace bracelet dressing gown nylon 50's 40's

Jewellery racks made by darling hubby.


vintage dressing table vanity mirror seat jewellery bird




Here's another before and after.  I really like the way the blue makes all the other colours pop.

vintage bedroom makeover turquoise blue bright ikea mirrored frame croched bedspread

I still have one problem, though. What to do with the wall behind the bed? I've been toying with the idea of a wallpapered accent wall, but that's gotten a bit old. A narrow shelf would be nice, you know the kind you can prop small pictures on...hmmmh, I don't know.

Monday 12 August 2013

One Sunny Weekend

About a week ago we went to a junk market held in Loimaa, Loimaan Rompepäivät. It is quite an old event as Loimaa has hosted a junk market for the past 20 years. This is a somewhat different junk market as it is held in the city of Loimaa, with some of the streets closed off instead of, say, a large field. I found some bits and bobs including this paper package with what seems to be the front of a pattern envelope attached to it...

vintage 40's 50's pattern nightgown package paper string

I also found a HUGE picture for the boys' room. I saw it and bought it straight away. I had to leave with the seller until we were ready to leave. As I was walking away, I realised that it might be too big to fit in our car. That was such a "woman" thing to do, buying something first and thinking about the logistics later. I phoned Hubby, who had gone ahead of me and explained that I had bought something very large...but the colours, turquoise, red and yellow are my favourites and the old F1 cars are so right for the boys! The picture was actually made by gluing and varnishing a piece of fabric on chip board and then adding a frame. I've found out that the fabric is by Finnish manufacturer Tampella. Anyway, the picture fit, just.

Tampella kangas fabric formula cars autot
Just look at those colours!

I also found a very pretty mirrored dressing table tray. A bit more pricey than my usual finds, but I mean come on, how could I not buy it?

dressing table tray mirrored engraved Anna

dressing table tray mirrored engraved Anna perfumes candy poupee femme prada

***

On Sunday we headed for Forssan Pick-Nick. A truly massive vintage car event in held in Forssa's Pilvenmäki horse track for the 31st time. With 2 500 cars in the show area, hundreds of motorcycles and 30 000 visitors in one day, it's the biggest one day car show in Northern Europe. Oh yes, and it also has a junk market. Didn't really find much there though, apart from a lovely pair of earrings.


50's vintage dress tropical cotton sun pin parrot sea hat Forssan pick nick 2013
Vintage 50's cotton dress bought from friend. Red sandals from Facebook group. Necklace 60's vintage bought from friend. Bracelet, hat and bag modern.

50's vintage dress tropical cotton sun sea rhinestones shell earring Forssan Pick-Nick
Found these gorgeous screw back shell earrings from the junk market.

It's really a day for the whole family to hang out, meet friends, see cool cars and, yes, even have a picnic. This year was, again, a bit of a half-arsed affair as we only took Peanut along and hopped into Hubby's father's car at a nearby petrol station. We saw nice cars, but didn't have a picnic. And didn't see any friends. Sigh. But next year we are going for the whole day, all of us, and we're taking either Bessie or my vintage Volvo. And I'm going to make dates with friends so I don't miss them in the crowd. An we're having a picnic, dammit.

Forssan pick nick 2013


Forssan pick nick 2013

Forssan pick nick 2013 1965 Oldsmobile 98 blue
Our ride for the afternoon: a 1965 Oldsmobile 98



Sunday 11 August 2013

What I did on my Holidays

A few days after the buffalo we, that is to say Hubby, Junior, Peanut and I, went to the nearby "big city" of Tampere and did the touristy thing. The Hubby and I have this tradition of visiting a place in Finland for a day every summer and couldn't at first think of a suitable place. It needed to be close by as Peanut isn't one for long drives. He won't sleep in the car, you see. So Tampere was an easy choice. We started off at Sorsapuisto (duck park) and had lots of fun looking at the different birds on display.

Tampere balcony flowers architechture roses
A beautiful balcony photographed from the Erkkilän silta bridge

Then we went to Tammelan tori market and had some sandwiches. After that we continued to the Tampere Cathedral. The cathedral is famous for its frescoes, painted by the symbolist Hugo Simberg between 1905 and 1906. It's absolutely stunning.

Tampere cathedral altar Simberg
The altar

Tampere cathedral fresco Simberg garden of death skull
The Garden of Death
Tampere cathedral 50's cotton dress red bag vintage
Outside the cathedral. I'm wearing a vintage 50's dress bought from a friend and the red bag was a find from Suvi-Vintage.

Then it was over the Tammerkoski rapids via the Patosilta bridge and to Keskustori square for some ice creams. After the ice-creams it was already noon and nap time, so we headed home. All in all a lovely summer day.

Patosilta love padlocks Tampere
Love padlocks on the Patosilta bridge

Tampere view patosilta bridge padlocks
View from the Patosilta bridge

Tampere Laikunlava stage 50's vintage dress cotton
Performing the "T-Rex song" with Junior on Laikunlava stage