Thrifty Finds: Clothes

I've had an amazing haul of charity shop clobber over the past few weeks...I'm not sure if I'm just the only person who shops in there who is under 40 or if I've just been really lucky but I've spent a ton in them but got loooads of clothes in return since I rarely spend more than £4 on anything from second hand.

Jacket (sans lining): £3.50 

Charity Shop: Barnardos Hartlepool

This little beaut was a tad expensive for me considering the condition but I loved the fact this jacket looks like a drawing. Oddly it had no lining so I don't know if it had degraded and been removed (since it is vintage) or what. I asked my mom if it is possible to add a new lining and she just looked as me as if I was mental...so I'm guessing it's not.

Vintage Skirt: £2.99

Charity Shop: RSPCA Hartlepool

I absolutely hate the feel of this skirt...it's this horrible nylon fabric with a weird mesh lining that feels so wrong. However I really liked the colours and the print so I'm willing to deal. 

Anchor Long Top/Dress: £2.50

Charity Shop: Barnardos Hartlepool

This is possibly one of my favorite finds for a long time. The design is soo graphic and makes me think of my granddad (who was a ship fanatic). It's by a shop called Boohoo.com which I've never heard of but seems pretty awesome. This is one of my risky buys in that it says its a size 10 and on the top I'm a 14...however it looked big so I went for it. I was so pleased it fit! I think maybe it was designed to be loose on a size 10 but I think it looks pretty good on!

Floral Knee Length Dress: £2.50 

Charity Shop: RSPCA Hartlepool

The moment I saw this dress I knew I wanted it...it reminded me so much of a dress my Nana made me to wear in Euro Disney not long before she became unwell. You can see it vaguely in the very bad photo above...too much flash! It's funny how clothes can hold such massive memories. It's a bit snug on top, since its only a size 12 but I looove the print so much.

50s Print Tulip Mini Skirt: £2.50

Charity Shop: Barnardos Hartlepool

This is another one that kinda only just fits...but I loved the print so much! Very 1950s cushion. I don't generally buy throw away brands in charity shops (primark, matalan etc) but this seemed in near mint and since I probably won't wear it a huge amount (it's too short for work) and it was pretty cheap I went for it.

Graphic Print Tunic Dress: £2.99

Charity Shop: RSPCA Hartlepool

This has a weird 90s rave vibe to it. No idea if it's vintage since it's Miss Selfridge but it was a cute little dress for a good price. Odd thing (that I love) about the RSPCA shop is that their dresses are priced at the same as their tops whereas usually you get a difference. The fabric is a bit nasty but the awesome big pockets and random toggles make up for that.

You'll probably notice that they are entirely from two charity shops. We have a fair few in Hartlepool but I've generally found that the RSPCA and Barnardos are the best value/best selection for clothes amongst the central shops. I don't generally go to the shops further afield in Hartlepool, though I know I should but these are a convenient little walk from work when I finish before 5pm!

N.R.G

Or the Newcastle Roller Girls, the crew that I was cheering on at today's roller derby 'Never Mind the Back Blocks'. My only previous experience of roller derby was the movie Whip It with Juno star Ellen Paige. I'd loved the cool, rockabilly camaraderie of a gang of girls beating the crap out of each other and I wasn't disappointed by the real thing! It was really brutal with girls going flying and taking spills whilst showing off their skate skills. I have to admit watching both matches was a bit too much (especially sitting on bleachers/hard floor) and there was a huge amount of stopping and starting but it was still a fun day out.

Here's a few pictures I took. I took a ton of them but the lighting was so bad that I struggled to take any that weren't totally blurry, especially of the roller girls themselves. Ah well. I love the colours in these photos, it looks very retro American high school gym and it was awesome to take out my trusty Canon EOS 40D.

Big shout out to the Walker Activity Dome which was the weird old futuristic style dome...it was like the future as imagined in the 1960s! It is 2012 after all...this is the future!

(via: activenewcastle)

If you're interested in taking in a derby, the NRG have their own website here and they're always looking for volunteers to help out with refereeing or just the general event. I would have loooved to sign up, get on some skates and maybe one day join the squad because those girls are awesome but because I don't live in Newcastle I can't really commit to practices...baah evilness. For now I will just have to stick at being an enthusiastic spectator!

BANG!

I had just got home from work today and was about to settle down for Come Dine With Me when there was an almighty crash at the window. I had my back turned at the time but my mom saw what she thinks was a bird of prey chase a poor little greenfinch right into our window. It's been a long while since we've had a dead bird on our hands (our cats are too old to catch birds) and even longer since one hit the window. I'm guessing he died instantly and this little chap looked so sad about his untimely end.

5 things I am thankful for

1. My Whackadoodle Family

2. My awesome though very mad pair of cats

3. Speedy Recoveries

poshtottydesignz@etsy

4. A cool job with cool people

nextcountrynews.blogspot.com

5. The promise of roller derby this weekend

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Songs of a Lifetime

And a quick apology for once again not posting! We had a crazy week last week with something majorly bad happening to my auntie and me being riddled with a post-holiday cold. By comparison my own ills were pretty minor but it did put me out of commission for much of last week and meant I couldn't really visit since I was coughing and sneezing so much there wasn't enough hand sanitizer to protect anyone. I'm happy to say she's doing really well, all things considered and my own cold is now just a pesky cough.


Sooo whilst I get my head back into what I had in mind for my blog I thought I'd post some of my favorite songs. When we were in Amsterdam we had a drinking game (if that's the right word) that asked two questions: What song would we play at our funeral and if you were the last person on earth and everyone else had been wiped out what song would you play as your rocket headed for safety?

Funeral Song

For Martha by the Smashing Pumpkins 

(Coincidentally I couldn't find a version on youtube that wasn't live or instrumental...listen to the proper version, its much better >.>)

Or

We'll Meet Again by Vera Lynn

(Though this does have slightly sinister zombie undertones)

Song As I Leave Earth For The Last Time

Adagio in D Major (Sunshine) by John Murphy

I think there might have been another song that I said but I can't for the life of me remember it!

Song To Dance To At Wedding
And because I'm totally lame I shall also include this...

Something About Us by Daft Punk

Amsterdam

So I have returned from Amsterdam unscathed if a little exhausted. We did so much, saw almost everything and had a lot of fun in the process. Amongst the highlights were the Van Gogh Museum (which had an amazing Symbolism exhibition on called Dreams of Nature), Anne Frank's Haus, the Cat Museum, many bars and eateries, a canal cruise, the redlight district and the crazy wonky streets and houses of the historic city. Though the weather didn't match our trip to Munich last year in any shape or form we were pretty lucky to avoid almost all of the rain and only be a wee bit chilly now and then. Here are just a few photos of things that caught my fancy (luckily lacking in our odd faces).

Sadly I missed the Sex Museum because my brother and I had an earlier flight than the rest of the Amsterdam crew but alas you can't have it all.

Bad Blogger

I really am bad at this blogging thing! I ran off to the Lakes and since then I've been pretty much at work or getting ready for Amsterdam (where I go very early Thursday morning) so I haven't had much of a chance to do anything new illustration wise...damn! So here are a few old photos of mine to fill some blog space and make up for my absence. Once upon a time I had every intention of becoming a photographer but the fade kind of fizzled out...I think I have a certain degree of natural talent for photography but I don't find it terribly challenging in the way I do illustration...still I do love it and sometimes I look back and think 'man...I was better at that than I am at drawing...'