The Cat's Pyjamas...

My family are forever telling me that I speak in my very own language and I guess that can be said as true..

For I have had this saying looming around in my head all week....

"The Cats pyjamas."

~ On looking up the meaning I find it simply implies 'something good or special has happened to some one...'

Just perfect for this post.

Because if I say it myself it has been a week full of good news!

~And we all like a bit of this at the best of times, don't we just!

Olivia has started her part time work in Topshop O 'my a gift to any parent who has a teenage daughter who is simply obsessed with clothes and fashion...
~And also has been doing regular gigs with pals in local music venues!

Pretty special for someone who was once as shy as Bambi!!
~ And some other fab news this week is our beautiful evening spent here..

~We picked up the Cumbria Sports award for special talents for our Dean .
Well some one had to do it?
Dean was tied up with running commitments and asked us to represent him here.
Only at  the beautiful  Low-wood hotel by Lake Windermere! Might I add.
We kind of thought it justified the many freezing cold weekends we had spent over the many years supporting him through the muddiest and wettest of cross countries races... Pay back time for Mum and Dad with the most beautiful four course meal and wines...hehe!

I must confess we didn't need to be asked twice!
We were proud and honoured and a little delighted to see our Son on the table planning menu here...( Top pic with Octopus arm out stretched) hehe..
Soo you see dear friends it has been a Cats pyjamas type of week!

I do hope your week has been full to the brim of  Special-ness!

~ And I would just like to add, you're the cats Pyjamas too!!
Bye for now and thank you for always making me feel so welcome here in blog-land!
Love Maria x

A Very Vintage Affair Indeed......

Thanking you kindly for all the lovely comments.....

I guess we all have a real love affair with vintage! Vintage literature especially seems to be timeless in its story telling, so much so that it can speak through the generations ........

Another vintage treasure...

Alice in wonderland, again one of mum's books...

Although I simply love this book from my heirloom collection;

 the colour plated pictures are just wonderful!

I must confess I used to struggle with 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' some what!

To be honest it all seemed a little, crazy-mad bonkers...

Except for the white rabbit and his pocket watch always late and rushing to be somewhere!
I did wonder where he needed to be so urgently and why!

~But strangely enough for the past few evenings I have had the most lucent forms of dreams of hares and rabbits and of being late for what seemed like the most important of dates, that I thought I must simply post about this book!

The colour plates of pictures are beautifully illustrated....

I never quite understood the Queen of Hearts and was almost always glad when poor Alice woke up by the shade of the tree, only to be dreaming the whole thing!

If any one can shine a little light on dreams and meanings I would be very pleased to know the meaning of hares in dreams.....Thank you kindly!

Along side all my lucid dreams I have been finding a 'treasure' or two....

This wonderful Helena Rubinstein powder puff in the most dreamy shade of pale pink

~still has a faint smell of the dusting powder from once inside....

~Also these decadent little finds: 

Wonderful cocktail and olive sticks still in the vintage case and bearing the slogan, 'Top Hats and Gloves'....
Ooh la la .....

Anyone for cocktails!?

I have a little confession to make lovely peeps, today has been a Pyjama Day! Shhhhhh don't tell.

Just haven't felt the need to get dressed at all.. hehe.

I have another little treat lined up for later too...

Again on the Rabbit theme...

This wonderful movie and also charming book has my favourite quote in." When you become real it lasts for always".....

Sending kind thoughts to you all!

~And am a hoping your week has been 'Grand' too....

love Maria x

Have You Heard......

This week has been a fast one and seems to have flown by with the blink of  a eye.

~ does this happen when you are busy and have a little on each week on your calendar dates..

I wonder?

I have just heard, via another lovely blog that I follow, that it appears to be only six weeks till Christmas, my I do wonder how that has happened!

Still it must always be the same at this time of year, every year.

I would be quite happy to skip through November, as it is my least favourite month of the year.

So perhaps that is what I am doing with my post at this time..

Skipping through memory lane...

 Christmas magically appeared in October at my work job...

With the first orders of winter berry wreaths and smiling elves arriving...... hehe.

~ so I have had no excuse not to realise.

Any-ways I thought I would touch gently on the subject of the big C with my post today.

By showing you some pages from a special book that belonged to my Mum from her child hood years.

It's a beautiful old read with colour plates of pictures telling the story of  'The Night Before Christmas'....

There is a message inside wishing my Mum a wonderful Christmas for the year 1937.

I must admit I remember playing with this book at my Grandmothers house when small

wishing all the while it was mine.

and now it is!

This page was always my favourite.

'While visions of sugar plums danced in there heads.'

I could always imagine those sugar plums dancing away in their heads while dreaming of stockings being filled to the brim...

~ And because I simply love looking up at the moon in the night skies.

I think Mr moon here is wonderful smiling down merrily.

Even looking through the book now brings wonderful memories back to me.

Some pages are rather shabby, but it all adds to its charms.

Lots and lots of grubby fingers have loved and enjoyed this magical story of Junior waiting patiently for Santa Claus to add wonderful gifts to his stocking...

My children always laughed at 'Junior' looking up at the chimney patiently and then the soot falling and covering his sweet face.

Inside the first pages was a beautiful vintage Christmas card.

From my Father to Mum from many Christmas' past.

Treasure indeed.

Wishing you all a week full of  'twinkles' and of finding treasure.

I wonder what heirlooms you have from the past dear readers...

Thanking you kindly for sweets words always...

Take time to dream and keep cosy...

love Maria x

Remembering November and a Few Friends.....

~ November silently sneaks up on us, catching our senses by surprise......

There is no shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, no fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds.

Outside, silvery grey shafts reveal a familiar landscape stripped of pretence.

Behind closed doors, glowing amber fires shed light upon the Real.

Like a woman who has found her authenticity, November radiates beauty from within.....

~Thomas hood.

Taken from Simple Abundance.

Hello and welcome to November.

Did you have sparklers, squealers and skies full of blasts last evening I wonder?

We enjoyed a small 'Sparkler' or two at my sisters home, washed down with very hot/spicy home-made soup and then yummy pie and peas! (the best bit)

It's always a family affair 'bommy night' for us, ever since the children were small, we have always got together and celebrated.....

My kittie cats weren't so happy though.

No-sire....

I always feel sorry for animals on this night each year, mine sneak away under the beds, not to show their faces till the commotion is all over and done with for another year!

courtesy of Google.

I can always remember 'Penny for the Guys' on street corners at this time of year, when I was small.

The guys always stuffed with saw dust and made from old clothes, waiting to be thrown on the top of the bonfire after a few pennies had been made!

Thankfully this seems to have faded out and bonfire night doesn't seem to be quite as spectacular, as once was....

Later in the week I have my son, Dean, home.

Ooh the Olympics and Paralympics seems a while ago now!

He is visiting home for a couple of days to do a presentation for the Cumbrian sports awards here.

He has also been asked to visit local schools to chat to the children about London and his Paralympic début.

~ All good things and it will be lovely to catch up with him and his laundry!

I may have mentioned that Patrick (husbando) is also a local running coach here and recently came home with lovely news about two young new members that had recently joined up.

Nothing unusual I thought as he started to tell me, people do join all the time.......

"It's splendid though," he said, "as these two boys both have disabilities and were inspired to join and take up athletics, after watching the young man from their home town who ran in the Paralympics in London"....

That warmed my heart a little...

On to the house work now...

Look who came out of the closet when I should have been dusting and making beds up!

I do get side tracked whilst sorting and cleaning...

Why, Bramwell Brown of course, can you remember, old bear and friends story books?

Now I know only to well he isn't too vintage just yet, unlike some special Teds that have been on your lovely blogs, but he has been loved and enjoyed very much by my children and I must admit I had forgotten all about him....

We did start a little collection of the various bears for the children when small and it was lovely to see them again...

'Rabbit' making a showing here for the group shot.

I  loved 'old bear stories' and tried 'jolly hard' to get, Jolly Tall for my children, but alas he was never reunited with the gang here....

Little bear was Olivia's favourite, as he was pocket sized and fit just perfect in her hand when small....

But I was always fond of 'Hoot' the owl who lived quite happily on top of a wardrobe inside a knitted woolly hat for a nest.

It was lovely to dust them down and see them again.

Now I wonder which box those Sylvanian families are stored in?

That will have to be another post....

I will close for now dear friends, but once again thank you for your thoughts and comments and for always taking the time to visit me.

I do enjoy your blogs very much.

Keep warm and keep posting!

Brrr it's cold outside.

Love Maria x