vintage garden gnomes...found!

I love Derbyshire and the Peak District, the rolling green hills and the history.  Oh, and Chatsworth House!  Not that I had time to visit Chatsworth, I was too busy trying to find more of the unusual and fabulous.  And look what I found!  Not one but two of these early 20th century gnomes.

I am not if these poor little gnomes know exactly what adventure awaits them...

buying antiques in GREAT britain!

Here I am, once again in the United Kingdom (or GREAT Britain as is the motto here at the moment.  Olympic hype I believe) on the hunt for the unusual and fabulous for the store. 

  

One of my first purchases is this fantastic drum that couldn't be more British or unusual.  I believe it dates to around the 1940s and is London made.  I was off to a great start!

I admired this French hat box at a trade fair but the hat itself had been squashed so I left it.  I nearly bought it for the box alone!

Near the hat I spotted these French child's boots in a bowl, I bought the bowl and obviously couldn't resist the boots. 

The fronts of each shoe had been reinforced with metal, those were the days of mending and making do... Are they not gorgeous?  I had the feeling that the stallholder was reluctant to sell them.

French linen was the order of the day, it is becoming increasingly hard to find but I found some lovely French napkins with monograms and some gorgeous linen sheets.

These were one of my more unsual purchases, they are American ice cream bowls and are quite heavy.  Of course, one could now use them on the bench for utensils or something. 

This 19th century fan light is beautiful.  I didn't commit to it but I really liked the colour. 

One of the last pieces I lugged back to the van (whilst hoping it would fit!) is this vintage abacus on stand, with a chalk board attached for notes.  What a great find and a unique learning tool!  Who needs a calculator?

I have bought so much more than I can show at the moment but I am still catching up on the timezone difference and lost sleep from morning fairs.  I am having a great time and am dreaming each night about the next day and what it may hold.  I am excited also to share my adventures with my readers, I hope you feel like you are almost here in GREAT Britain with me...

gustavian chairs...mismatched beauty

Image from here

I have made no secret that I love Gustavian furniture, how beautiful are these chairs?  Each is different but they look great all together.  I would love to be bold enough to have a mismatched set of such chairs in my dining room...

I apologise for a short post, I have quite a bit on the go at the moment, you will find out why late next week! 

new gourmet food and produce store in Hobart! welcome the aproneers...

Image from here

As an Eastern shore resident I am over the moon, or should I say under the rainbow with the arrival of The Aproneers, a new gourmet and produce food store on the East Derwent Highway, Lindisfarne.  I literally could not contain my excitement after my first visit to the store, I came home raving for the next few hours as I prepared a meal with ingredients sourced entirely from The Aproneers.  I discovered the store on its very first low key opening day, a week before it's grand opening on May 26th May, above.  Despite nearing the end of its first day, the staff were far from tired but were instead on a natural high from the positive feedback from locals throughout the day. 

From the outset I was impressed by the range, which I noted was mostly from local producers.  I gravitated towards the dairy section with a great selection of goats milk and cheese products.  Whilst I was shopping I had several staff members assist me and fill me in on their main food mantra - "sustainability".   In a nutshell, they have a food rating system which grades each food product in terms of sustainability e.g. local produce has a higher sustainability rating compared with imported food. Simple concept, but I like it!

Image from here

Kylie Kwong helped to officially open The Aproneers at the jam packed community grand opening.  And customers were given bags of local Tasmanian apples throughout the day.  

Image from here

On The Aproneers' website your can find recipes made from ingredients to be found in store, such as this sticky fig and ginger cake.  I am already addicted to this exciting and refreshing concept store, lucky it is in walking distance!