We went to the Frock around the Clock retro rooms fair today in the holiday inn in Belfast. I've been to the frock around the clock fairs before but always the ones selling clothes, jewelery and bric a brac, so thought the furniture one would make a nice change.
Sunday is our little day together so we always get up early no matter how late we were up the night before and head off for an adventure! so out the door before lunch and the first thing i see at the fair i WANT! it was a beautiful china cabinet that had been refurbished and painted a beautiful baby pink with patchwork in the background. I found a picture of it pre-pinked, but it really was much prettier in pink!
Both of us are oddly nervous when asking for directions, booking tables in restaurants, asking for the bill, haggling etc etc. We;re pretty much awkward at everything in life that requires interaction with other people. Maybe its because we're both a little odd, maybe its because we were both picked on when we were younger, maybe its a mix of the two...or maybe we're just wimps, but anyway, by the time we gathered the courage to ask about buying the cabinet we spoke to the makers mum who told us all about it. We paid and went off to phone the fathership to use his massssive car to transport the precious cargo. 5 minutes later the poor woman was chasing me looking very embarrassed and told me the cabinet had already been sold by her daughter about 15 minutes before we had asked about it. Just our luck!! I know it looks like a cabinet you could make by taking 1 hour or so and just sprucing it up, but realistically i have a box of fabric and a sewing machine upstairs that are unloved because i never have time to make anything so when am i likely to find time to make a beautiful cabinet...
It's so silly to think the woman who painted and added some patterned paper to an old cabinet can charge £100 for something you could probably make for about £30, but it's just so much easier to buy it ready made right? I've been moping about all afternoon now pining for the pink cabinet of joy.
Or perhaps i should learn form this and start going into charity shops on the hunt for bargains again like me and husband used to do every free minute we had! those were some of the most fun shopping trips I've ever had finding funny old records to frame, crocheted blankets and odd little ornaments to display. Maybe fate is trying to tell me something?
Look out charity shops and craft emporiums here i come, armed with a vision of the cabinet of dreams!!
Meet Betsey, possibly the most spoiled and pampered kitty in the world!
Named after the wonderful Betsey Johnson she gets Boo Boo for short and always comes running to meet us when we get home. We got her from the Cats Protection Centre in Dundonald where she had been left bu her owner whose new born had severe allergy problemos. Whenever we went to look at all the cats we knew we wouldn't be choosing our cat, that our cat would choose us and she did. In fact she almost fell out of her pen trying to bunt my hand. She's a bit of a Daddy's girl, always cuddling up to him, but I don't mind, I can usually be found photos of them snoozing together!
It's pretty unusual for the sun to shine in Belfast ever, so when it does its almost illegal to stay indoors. Last week was one of those very rare occasions so we went to Scrabo for a little mini picnic and a fairly massive walk. Nobody warned us the hill up to Scrabo Tower was essentially at a 90 degree angle, but stopping for breathers disguised as photo opportunities made it bearable.
It's a pretty little spot and we'd never been there before. Picturesque scenes surround you wherever you look, with rolling hills, harsh rocky climbs and weather beaten beaches surround the tower and then tower itself has beautiful brick work and as interesting on the inside as it is on the outside.
It was someones home once upon a time and also a cafe and tea room, so the walls have seen some action over the years. Kind of weird to think someone lived in a place so skinny and cold, but i suppose it was in a different era so would have made sense and would have been quite the status symbol.
I love going on little adventures with husband and taking pictures of the things we see. We usually end up finding somewhere we'll never come across again because we really have no idea how we got here in the first place, but sometimes getting lost is the best way to find somewhere new.
