Step AWAY from the catalogue!

Oh dear!

I seem to have found my way onto some mailing lists, and I don't know how much longer my willpower to resist the goodies within will last!

Rather too many of the catalogues that have arrived chez moi are of the rather-expensive-to-say-the-least variety, and I cannot imagine how they EVER thought I would find the pennies to spend with them.

Ah but it's nice to dream, and you never know, one day I might win the lottery.

(Mental note to self: improve chances of this happening by buying a lottery ticket once in a while.)

In the meantime I (sadly) won't be buying the Zelda Dress (£359) and Velvet Zip Pumps (£239) from Plumo...

In my days, pumps were rubbery and flat,  in black or white canvas with an unattractive semi-circle of elastic to keep 'em on!  How did they ever evolve into this?

Nor will their Wire Bird Cages (£79 and £59) be winging their way in my direction....

Graham and Green's Alpha Chest will not be adorning my home (as I haven't got a spare £995 hanging about)...

I do love the Grand Cafe Margot Clock...

..but at £195, I think Mr U-t-B would be saying 'Time to cut up the bank card!'

Other desirables can be found in the 'Culture Vulture' catalogue...

Folk Art cushions - forty-five quid a pop or a bargain-acious eighty-five for two...

and of course 'Cox and Cox'...

My heart skipped a beat when I saw this trolley.  I think it's because it reminds me of the ones that used to have the enormous rainbow of powder paint tins,  the metal jugs full of brushes and the water pots on at junior school.
And that mirror just makes me think 'Playschool'!

Ah well!

But then a catalogue arrived that I had actually requested.

'Panduro Hobby'

Inside its 468 pages of Scandinavian loveliness there is a huge range of Tilda products...

Gorgeous crafty embellishments...

Oodles of scrapbooking and papercraft supplies...

Cardboard boxes in all shapes and sizes, just crying out 'Cover me!'...

All manner of goodies for upcoming events...

Cute wooden blanks to paint up...

And all kinds of metal and wirework...

And so very much more!

I wonder how long postage from Malmo takes?

Displacement Activity

What I might have done on a day like today is wander the house forlornly, nibbling on anything I could find with no nutritional value whatsoever, making constant cups of tea or coffee till the caffeine made me buzz,  picking things up and putting things down and generally worrying for Britain. 

But today, my good friend Jane took me in hand after I got back from the hospital, having left Mr U-t-B about to don revealing gown, anti-embolism stockings and paper knickers - oh the indignity!

Jane and I went to a local garden centre and had a lovely slice of coffee cake and a cappuccino, then mooched around the plants and the gifts till it was nearly time for me to make a phone call and find out how the operation had gone.

And I am very pleased (and relieved) to say that it has apparently gone well.  I can't go to see him (or rather there's no point, as he's 'heavily sedated') till this evening, and then I will hopefully learn a bit more.  But we have got over the hurdle of the operation itself and I am really hoping that my lovely husband will now have a smooth recovery and soon be back to his normal, active self!

With the majority of the time between half ten and one o'clock spent in the garden centre, it was rather unlikely that I would have left without a small purchase or two - retail therapy and all that...

Sadly I cannot reveal what is inside this bag as it is a certain somebody special's birthday soon, and if I can bear to part with it, this might be part of the present.

I have remembered to take photos so I can show the contents later!

Then I found some great greeting cards.  I don't know about you, but I always struggle to find good cards for boys and men.  So the range by 'Armed Forces Art' (www.armedforcesart.co.uk) is a great discovery.  Here's an example I bought...

The website has lots of other vintage-y items - well worth a visit!

I also found the 'Vector' range from 'Abacus Cards'  -

'Celebrating the golden age of planes, trains & automobiles, Vector is based on 1920’s & 1930’s vintage travel posters and other classic art deco advertising material'

Right up my street then!

Here's one of the ones I bought...

I think that the website is more of a trade one, but tracking down a local supplier would be worth it for any vintage lovers.

Last but not least a bit of cheap frivolity!

Five pretty, polka-dotted plastic windmills!   I think I'm reverting to childhood!