Sneak peek – beef up your bookcase

I’ve been whittling away at my bookshelves casually for a couple of months now. I posted about my need to revamp my bookshelves (here), and I finally got my bookshelves looking just right. For me. Why, do you ask, does it matter? Because I have OCD when it comes to design and neatness and I don’t feel complete until my apartment has been meddled with on a daily basis. Having unachievable goals helps a lot.

These are a couple tasters of  some of my favorite parts of my shelves. Pretty prettiness. Offish pictures will be up later this week. After I actually take them …

Thrifty things – hostess tea set

I am obsessed with old tea sets. The older, the kitschier, the daintier, the better. Whenever I step into a charity shop, it’s the first section I go to – that shelf with random pieces of china waiting patiently to be added to my collection. 
Quite some time ago I found this unusual shaped tea and saucer set {below right} and had to get it since it matched a set my parents have had since before I was born. The shape was so unusual, but perfect for my standard stack of cookies. Later when I was in the Arnott’s home department, I saw a tea set in the same shape, called a ‘housewife hostess tea set’, hence where I got the name for these. I don’t really know if that’s what this style is called, but I could hardly call my post ‘Thrifty things – tea set with a kind of charmingly wobbily abnormal shaped saucer’.

Later I found my second set {above left}. I must admit, fiance uses them much more than I do. I don’t actually drink tea, which is very unusual for this part of the world. But my love of dainty tea sets outweigh my dislike for tea.
First tea set €3 at Respect charity shop on Prussia Street, and second set €3 at Mrs. Quin’s Charity Shop in Rathfarnham. 
Wedded note: This is actually something along the lines of what we’re thinking for our big day – dark plum and burgundy tones, dainty tea sets, mulled wine, candles on anything that stands still, and a shit-ton of hydrangeas – obviously. So excited to get started!

I want it now – fine bone china

Yesterday morning while I was catching up on my blog feed, I came across something that caught my breath. You know, that moment you see something truly amazing, and your heart kind of stops for a second, you take a sharp intake of breath, and you freeze for a moment? Well I had that kind of a moment when I saw Melody Rose’s stall at the 1st Ever Renegade Craft Fair – London post on poppytalk
I don’t want these. I need them. 
I really have to refrain from including every image. They are all amazing and sum up exactly what I love – a strong contrast between old and new, delicate and hard core. I’m thinking, wedding registry? Hell yes.
Images borrowed from Melody Rose’s website and Facebook fan page