Thrifty Shopping

I was in town the other day (town being Cork city) and as I walked down Oliver Plunkett street I noticed there was a new charity shop near the post office - so in I went.  I LOVE charity shops!  actually any shop where there are pre-loved items for sale, be it, vintage, antique, second hand, junk!  I'm not fussy - I love 'em all!! What's not to love!  You can buy furniture, clothes, home accessories for a few pounds and if you buy from a charity shop you're also supporting a good cause.  When buying second hand you're keeping stuff from ending up in a landfill somewhere so it's a very 'green' way to shop.   Buying pre-loved stuff is fun.  You never know what you're going to find as your eye scours the shelves for treasure.    Sometimes, I find nothing and leave empty handed, but sometimes I get lucky.   The other day I found two framed rose prints . . . €4.95 each!

I thought they were pretty, they're going in my downstairs bathroom . . .

 Love the butterflies in this one . . .

 

 On a shelf I spied a flat mess of glassy bits, but when I lifted it up it was a sparkly chandelier . . .

 Then I found another one, they cost €2.95 each!!!!!!  I'm going to put them in my upstairs bathroom.

 On the clothes rails I found this cute little polka dot top - €3.95

 

This little bag was very sweet, the price? €2.50

 This silky pussy bow blouse caught my eye as it is a pale shell pink.  Price? €3.95.  The sleeves are just on the right side of puffy.

It reminds me of one of my idols - Katharine Hepburn . . . love her style - strong yet feminine. . .

So beautiful . . . those cheekbones!

So all in all, a good days shopping and all this for a few pound!   Do you buy in charity shops or second hand shops??  Love to know what you think . . .

Sharon
xxxx

The Upstairs Bathroom

This is my upstairs main family bathroom which I have just finished - well almost!! 

Not that I had too much to do as you can in this before photo from the estate agents brochure - the bones are all there, just some cosmetic finishes!  I loved the bath, fittings and tiles so it was really a matter of painting.  When it comes to colours in my home I love soft, muted tones.  The more faded and subtle the better, so the red had to go!  I only 'do' red at Christmas!

So, I just painted this room - Farrow & Ball Off White on the upper part of the wall and Farrow & Ball French Grey on the tongue and groove paneling on the bottom part. I ADORE Farrow & Ball paints, I have tried other paint brands but nothing compares to the matte finish of F&B!   I really wanted this room to be calm and serene - somewhere warm for indulging in a little pampering and taking long, hot, baths.  We also put up the shower rail although looking at it here I think it would look better in a dark brown/black metal like the table - I don't think I've ever seen one in that colour though - have you??  I suppose I could paint it . . . The roman blind is from Ikea.  The shower curtain with a linen -ey fabric layer is from B&Q.

The flowers are scented stock and are soooo heavily scented - divine . . .

You must be really tired of seeing this mirror, as I've mentioned before I have two of them - I love them.  Now, I have one in my office which you can see from the Living room and this is the other one which was in the downstairs bathroom but I just moved it to here as I put another mirror in it's place  Show you pics of the downstairs bathroom soon!  Anyway, this mirror is staying here as I think it suits the feel of the room and fits perfectly into the angle of the ceiling.  The upstairs of our house is in the eaves so we have a lot of slanted ceilings - which I love as they're cute and add much needed character into our new build house - though difficult for mirror and furniture placement!

The dressing gown and matching nightdress are 100% cotton perfect for Spring and Summer!  They were another find at Penney's (Primark).

Below some artwork to dress the walls . . .

I think these two framed floral botanicals are so sweet!  I found them in a charity shop in Edinburgh, Scotland when I visited for a weekend a few years ago.  They were only £1.50 each!

I found this print in a framemakers in Cork city, I went in to collect another print and while waiting spotted this piece.  I couldn't get over how similar the boy in the painting is to my eldest son Aran when he was that age and the woman looks a bit like me!  The resemblance is uncanny!  It's as if someone captured one of our strolls in the woods with their paintbrush.  I love how the light falls through the trees . . .

Below is a little something I put together for Valentine's Day for fun!  It's a portrait of Darcy (Colin Firth) that I scanned and printed from a magazine!  The frame is a very heavy iron piece that was actually a broken Christmas decoration that I found in a bargain bin in a department store - I knew it would come in handy!!  My fascination with Pride & Prejudice and Jane Austen will never abate - I'm a hopeless romantic . . .

The marble vanity unit is an antique given to us by our Aunty B!  We were talking to Aunty B at Christmas and she had heard that we were doing up the bathrooms in an old world/vintage style and she said to me, "I have one of those old fashioned marble vanity units for you but I don't know if you'd be interested in it . . . "   Interested??? Did the woman say marble? old?? of course I was interested!!! I told Aunty B I would take it before I'd even laid eyes on it and two weeks later it travelled from Dublin to Cork in the back of our car to come live with us.  I think it's happy here!   I love it - the beige marble is streaked with cream and the wood is a lovely warm dark brown.   It's not ideally placed in the bathroom, I'd prefer another two foot between it and the sink but I love it - so it's staying!!  I also love that it was a gift from our wonderful sweet aunt - Thank you Aunty B!!

The wooden box with the cute clasp was a presentation box of wine we received as a gift many years ago!  I use it as a jewelry box!

The heart shaped soap and the scented linen bag are all from Mathilde M a french soap company.

This is a scented (lavender) ceramic piece with a cherub detail and a cute little bow (from Mathilde M).

This room is very still, very quiet.  When the blind is down, the sunlight filters through washing the room with a soft glow . . . it's my little place to unwind and relax.   A rose scented candle, a few drops of lavender essential oil in the bath and a little glass of wine -  heaven!

Spring Living Room

Welcome to my Living Room!

Come in!  This is the view from the hall.   I did a lot of work out in the garden yesterday but then it started to rain :(   You know what they say - God invented rainy days so that gardeners can get their housework done!!  So, I moved inside and started Spring cleaning.  Yes, I know I'm a bit late with the ole Spring Clean thing but between one thing and another I haven't got round to it!  Anyway, better late than never!!  So, I started on my Living Room and gave it a thorough de-clutter and clean.   Now it's much better!

I can't believe it's taken me so long to get to this room!  I really wanted to give it a little makeover so it feels fresh and Spring-like.   You can check out what the living room looked like when we first moved in and what it looked like at Christmas, by clicking here.  The photos I took at Christmas are so dark but you can make out what's there!   Out went the rug and mismatched photo frames.  I also put my faux fur throw (which I love) away until Autumn.  This room feels so much lighter and airier now.  This is the view into my new office - the making of which you can read by clicking here.  Double doors into office open . . .

. . . and closed . . .

To add a little Spring colour I treated myself to a new hydrangea and zinc metal planter.

I also bought these new cushions for the couch - they were a bargain buy - 7 or 8 euro at Penney's (Primark)!!  The couch is from Ikea.

Love my new hydrangea . . .

The roman blinds are inexpensive ones from Argos . . .

If you read my Easter Sunday post, you'll know that I recently bought a mirror for over my fireplace - problem is it doesn't fit!!! so we have do a job on the fireplace - more about that later!  At the moment, I have this piece of original art which I love which is unusual for me as I generally like more traditional pieces.

The strange beige strip around the hearth is a rubber bumper so that little baba doesn't bump his head!!

 

 

This is my office chair I bring in to the Living room on occasion . . .

 A French candelabra and framed postcard . . .

 I love these French metal round tables - they are so handy and easy to move around the house when you want a change, I have them in this pale French grey and also in black . . .

 

My treasured white marble lamp!

 

 Spring means baby herb plants, I like to have a few around the house - this is rosemary.

 

 
One of the things on my 'to do' list is print and frame lots of photos and create a gallery wall somewhere - I've done three so far - at this rate the wall should be done by about 2020!!!  From left to right - photo number 1 - Niall and myself (hate myself in photos - I'm just not photogenic), photo number 2:  my eldest son Aran on the day of his graduation - isn't he handsome! photo number 3: Niall with our baby Criostoir - I love this photo of Criostoir laughing!!

It's really amazing what a good clean and de-clutter can do to a room.  I actually enjoyed doing it too!  I put on my Amelie CD (from the film Amelie) and flew threw it in no time! 

I really like my new cushions too - love a bargain!

 

Curly metal photo frame . . .

 

 I always have a few books on the coffee table and swap them out from time to time.  On my coffee table at the moment . . .   

Pure Style by Jane Cumberbatch

At Home with White by Atlanta Bartlett

French Home by Josephine Ryan

Farrow & Ball The Art of Colour by Coleman & Addeo

 

And that's it!  Hope you enjoyed the little tour round my living room!  After all the cleaning and de-cluttering I think I'll be taking it easy for the rest of the weekend!  Now, I think a nice cup of tea, my Easter egg -  haven't eaten it yet!  and the film Somethings Gotta Give!  yes - that sounds like the makings of good Saturday evening!  : )

 Enjoy your weekend!

Sharon

xxxx

ps - just reading over this before I hit the publish button!  phew - it's a long post - congratulations if you made it to the end and your reading this : )