Late summer vintage

I wonder if I'm the only person who can walk around a Vintage Fair and think most of the stock is too modern?  At a fair recently there were so many 1950s items there, and I kept on thinking that was a little modern but found it rather lovely at the same time.  Then we walked along a little and found tables with 1970s kitchenware that I remembered from my childhood and I wondered how my childhood days are now deemed to be 'vintage'!  I guess time moves on and it doesn't help that I'm not a fan of orange and brown plastic and yellow formica.

In the end, I only bought the one item, a 1920s Chocolate tin which I hope to use in my sewing area for buttons.  I'm also hoping to look through my Mum's button tin, which includes a lot of old buttons that belonged to my Nan.

Most of the items we buy for Hazel Cottage are the first half of the twentieth century, ending about the same time as the end of the Second World War and centred on the 1930s.

There is something so very beautiful to me about the 1920s, 30s and 40s pottery, something so homely about old baskets and hand made cushions and wing arm chairs.  

 

In our kitchen, our vintage items are used alongside the modern ones as they should be, not displayed in glass cases to look pretty.

 

To me, old leather suitcases, stone jars, old books, embroidered tablecloths, patterned rugs and ticking clocks just signify home.  Much as I like shabby chic (as long as its not 'aged' too much) and Cath Kidston in small doses, you cannot beat the beauty and design of the real original items that are not only better designs, but have been used and loved over the years. 

And, if those items are available in charity shops, eBay, jumble sales and car boot sales, then all the better.

 

Even our garden has given up some lovely antique items that were dropped by previous inhabitants of the house.  In addition to a vast array of broken up Victorian and early 20th century pottery, we have found buttons whilst digging.  I wonder what we will leave behind?

For the love of old books...

This blog may give have given you the impression that we spend all of our time in the garden or kitchen. I do post often about our adventures with creating a cottage garden or growing vegetables and making our produce into home made cakes and preserves.  Another passion of both of ours is books.  We do own a large number of books, and Mr C is currently building a large floor to ceiling bookshelf in what will be our study, to cope with the number of books we have.  

As the weather is not particularly summery, my thoughts turned to some of the interesting books we've found recently.  One of the most beautiful was this one, 'The Young Lady's Book' edited by Mrs Henry Mackarness and dated 1876.

It begins 'How common amongst  our young ladies between school-days and the much-looked-forward-to possession, a "home of their own" is the exclamation "I have nothing to do!"'  The book then gives advice on "What to do and how to do it", from housekeeping, nursing the sick, and working for the poor to home studies and indoor and outdoor occupations.  There are chapters on things like gardening and illumination and wonderful plates to accompany them.

I shall end with a quote from the chapter on reading:

"The habit of reading is one of the most valuable means of securing amusement; we can read when little else could be done without trouble...every book read makes us better able to understand others."

Westward Ho!

We were away from Hazel Cottage last weekend for a long weekend in Devon, visiting family.

First stop, Honiton and its antique shops. Most of them are far beyond our simple means but there is one in particular that is crammed with vintage things from vintage fabrics through to old sledge hammers and garden tools. We came away with a lovely pewter candlestick, a cream and green enamel bain-marie, and a lovely little wooden box which we've no idea what we'll do with but we had to give it a home.

 

Champers Delicatessen in Honiton. 

As luck would have it the cafe we tried for lunch had run out of baked potatoes so we wandered on up the side street and stumbled upon the delightful Champers delicatessen.Nat King Cole was playing, shelves were laden with local produce and a rare thing indeed - gluten free pies and pasties!

Saturday to the market town of Tavistock and it really began to feel like Christmas with the local brass band playing Christmas Carols.

Crebers in Tavistock

Tavistock is also the home of Crebers, a marvellous delicatessen which is always busy but at Christmas was heaving with people.

Sunday to Buckland Abbey near Yelverton. A National Trust property I know very well and never tire of visting. Partly because my mother lived at a farmhouse that overlooked the Abbey and I loved to wander the grounds out of season, listening to the jackdaws and sometimes spotting a fox on the hills.

The house had been decorated for Christmas and there were games and crafts to try. 

Victorian Christmas Kitchen

Our favourite part of the Abbey, the lovely kitchens.

Gingerbread House

Not the best picture of the gingerbread house but we wanted to get the cake in front in as well. Dangerously, they also provided instructions for making a house. Now we just have to work out when between now and Christmas we can make it. One of us may have to start a night shift in the kitchens!

Father Christmas's Parlour

Father Christmas had apparently gone to feed the reindeer so we just had to make do with a quick peep in his cosy parlour.

It was a lovely weekend and was so nice to see the family but we're glad to be back at Hazel Cottage and are looking forward to those things that make Christmas so special - the candle lit carol service at our local church, the joy of giving some simple presents, and enjoying the company of our friends and family.