English cottages with so much pride!

In the Cotswolds of England I am always out pointing beautiful stone cottages, some with slate roofs others with traditional thatching.  I am in constant awe of how adorable they are.  This home, above is a bit larger than a cottage, it is actually in the town square of Stow-on-the-Wold, a shopping village in the heart of the Cotswolds.  I love the buxus topiary in the urns out the front, and the bunting in celebration of the Jubilee.  You can just tell the owners are house proud, can't you?

It makes me wish for a little more time at home fixing up all those little areas of neglect...

a visit to Betty's cafe in Harrogate

It has been a tumultuous (not sure why I have used that word, I must be reading too many gossip magazines at the moment!) week for me.  I sure had my fair share of ups and downs.  But that is life, isn't it?  With out getting too philosophical, I think I needed to share a light hearted post today and I took a look through my images from my recent trip overseas.  A particular Sunday morning in Harrogate is well represented through my pictures, we were lucky enough to spare a good hour to visit Betty's in Harrogate! 

 

Betty's is quite famous in Yorkshire, known for it's baked and patisserie products as well as for the dining experience.  Although it was wet and freezing cold this particular day, Betty's was very busy and we were lucky to score a table. 

Beautifully displayed macarons in the window, perfect enough to rival the French equivalent patisserie Ladurée. 

For more traditional English fair they have scones and similar, all displayed in wooden English dairy bowls.  We bought a couple for the road, after all we were sure to work it off at some stage on the trip!

Betty's also bake loaves of bread, again displayed in dairy bowls on cute little milking stools. 

Inside on the marble counter they have delicate treats for the sweet tooth.  Not really my cup of tea, I much prefer macarons.

What I love most about Betty's is their use of antiques in their display, such as old garden tools above these shelves.  I bought a similar child's wheelbarrow at a fair a few days later!

 
If you are planning a trip to Yorkshire, take note: Betty's Harrogate is a must visit!  Take your time, and whatever you do, do not say no to their offer of the cakes trolley...

wonderful recycled English potting shed

During my recent antiques buying trip in the UK, I found this wonderfully recycled potting shed at the back of an antiques store in Sussex.  I couldn't help but take (many!) pictures as I instantly fell in love.  I think it shows that with a wee bit of imagination and clever recycling you can make something great out of almost worthless objects...

The walls are made from old fruit crates and the old door is missing glass.  But hey, it is a potting shed, not a house!  So who cares?

I love the old cart as well, potted with seedlings.  We bought a really sweet cart on the trip, I will try and remember to post a picture next time.  Actually, it almost didn't fit into the load as it was most awkward.  Luckily it was one of the last items to go in, I would have been sad to leave it behind.

Vintage garden tools are hung from the crate walls. 

I love stacks of vintage terracotta pots, as you may know if you have seen our garden room at the store.  Again, this shelf is made from recycled crates, perfect for air and water flow. 

I have always wanted a potting shed.  I once posted about the sophisticated potting shed in the film "It's Complicated" (click here for previous post) but I prefer this recycled version.  And you know what?  I have always wanted a little potting shed and now I am starting to think it may not be such a dream after all...

gathering and sorting antique buying trip finds...

This image may give you an idea of what we faced in terms of gathering all our finds together and the daunting task of packing them for shipping.  We had piles of goodies everywhere.  As you may imagine, it is a lot more fun finding the pieces then sorting them out!

I took the opportunity to take a few snaps of some of my favourite finds, including this vintage educational poster of vital organs which I found at a trade fair hanging on the back of a van. 

And these vintage wooden stocking shapers which I bought as a collection, from the Sussex area of England.  

 

Sadly one of my only opportunities for non-antique shopping is at airports, and my favourite store at London Heathrow airport is Jo Malone.  The variety of scented goodies is amazing. 

I will share more images soon, but for now I have only just arrived home and jet lag is already taking its toll!

Masterpiece antique art and design fair in London

We decided to give ourselves a "day off" and visit the wonderful Masterpiece London fair which exhibits some of the top dealers from around the world.  I was so excited walking up to the facade of the fair, which is actually just a pop-up tent, can you believe?  It looks like a Georgian brick three story building.

The red carpet signifies the prestige of the event.  I couldn't wait to get inside.

This was the type of antique I was expecting to see, Italian marble statues and the like.  And I was not disappointed.  There was also amazing furniture, art, vintage cars and plenty of jewellery stands (most of which with Cartier jewels from what I could see).  

But my favourite exhibitor was Robert Young who specialises in folk art such as this amazing Noah's Ark complete with animal figures. 

And I loved his French artists model displayed on an early table.

 And this folky figure.

I know someone in particular who would love this piece, which was described as a "fantasy temple" on a furntiure dealer's stand.

And lastly this horse made it into my favourite objects, it is a life-sized Indian horse and was just beautiful.  Masterpiece London was like a great museum the only difference being everything was for sale!  My splurge?  A cup of tea and a fudgy chocolate brownie...

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...