Recent free or frugal finds

We went to Cornwall last weekend, for a little holiday. What an amazing and exotic place! We had the luxury of a; a car and b; being outside of London - a combo that could lead to only one Saturday plan: CAR BOOT SALE! It was with expectation and excitment coursing through our veins that all six of us (Tim and I, bro and sis and Tim's mum and dad from NZ) piled into cars after breakfast, navigating in trepidation the windy lanes, to discover that I had the time wrong and it wasn't until the afternoon. But after an exploration of a beautiful little fishing village and a scrummy pub lunch we headed back to that muddy field.

And what joy it did bring us. Amongst the endless piles of VHS's and foot spas, we found an old working typewriter for £2, and several old games such as Scrabble, Pit and a dominoes set (that's what you see in the cream case) each bought for between 50 and 70p.
Last week I gallavanted off on the 176 to East Dulwich, in particular the fabulous vintage street of Northcross Road, with it's gourmet fudge and French like antique shops. Not that I could afford anything there; I spent my pennies in the equally delicious charity shops on the main road. I found the little wooden box in the games picture above, which houses a chess set. I also got this fun frame, which with a lick of white paint and a selection of my old Happy Families playing cards inside is pretty cool. It sits atop a ravishing old wooden ladder that Tim pulled out of a skip a few weeks ago, complete with splashes of paint and rust.
We also thought we had found a miracle in a pair of curtains from the Mind charity shop in East Dulwich, they were lovely; thick, simple, perfect width for our bare lounge windows... just 8 centimetres short.
Oh dear!

Update on the whare and the pepe

After putting in the hard word on the house we are trying to buy the vendor's lawyer assures us that exchange should happen this week, with completion next week. Our ultimatum of 31st July will "definitely be met".... or so he says! This should be cause for celebration but I think after so many promises we still feel hesitant about getting out hopes up.

Meanwhile the bump is steadily growing - 5 months old now- and wriggling around no end. We are trying to remember that the baby is already a little person so are attempting to sing and interact with my tumultuous tummy, which provides me and Tim with mucho laughter.

A friend lent me an amazing book about Hypnobirthing. It sounds, well, yes, let's face it, odd/Paul Mckenna-ish. But it is much more logical than the title might suggest. It is filled with beautiful birthing stories, the history of obstetrics and natural child birth, as well as loads of tips about preparing for birth. I have read loads so far this pregnancy but this is my top book so far, I devoured it in one day.

Oooh, how I love, love, love being pregnant and am so looking forward to birthing this little soul.

Car boot sales rock my world

Seriously, I just can't get enough. until about 3 months ago I thought Charity Shops were heaven, but they have been massively usurped in favour of the archaic (I mean really, boot sales and the house moving process are the only two things to remain completely untouched by the internet revolution) wander- around -a -muddy -field -amongst- a- zillion -Mr Bean- VHS's- Sunday morning experience.

Tea cups for 10p, ammo boxes for two quid (I bought three, not realising their violent original purpose, eek... will plant flowers for peace in them maybe) and a A Dad's Guide to Having a Baby book for 25p. Brilliant. We also nabbed a bread maker this Sunday and have been munching hearty home backed slices non stop since. It is bargains galore; grannies who have never heard of shabby chic and young men who don't realise the beauty that rust and flaky paints adds to an item! Ha!

Of course, the other tantalising thing is that they are so rare and hard to find, precious jewels of Kentish surburbia. This also means that Charity Shops won't miss my custom too much as I need a daily browsing fix that Car Boots will never satisfy. Win Win for everyone.

Get yourself a local paper and look in the Classifieds section ASAP, there is some 1920's crockery out there for 70p with your name on it!