Happy Halloween.

Have a fun filled Happy Halloween folks! This year is a first for us,no trick or treating! instead a scary Movie and Halloween themed snacks.The times they are a changing!

The cocktail hour.

Being a lover of all things Vintage,it should come as no surprise that I possess a much loved Cocktail cabinet.Oh how I recall the excitement(well on my part) the day the above little beauty found its way to Chez King.Finally a home had arrived for my beloved glass collection and the kitsch bar items I had hoarded for so long.1930s cocktail umbrellas,1950s Ladies,snowball glasses (urgghh! who remembers Warninks Advocaat snowballs?) Edwardian crystal champagne saucers,so beautiful and fittingly twinkly for the most glamorous of beveridges.I am,believe it or not,not a great drinker,A glass of chilled white wine or two is about as exciting as it gets,but like everything I eat or drink,presentation plays a big part.What is the use of owning a house full of vintage loveliness if it is just to sit there? I say if you love it,use it,we have pretty vintage quilts on our beds,mismatched china in the kitchen and the walls are adorned with Edwardian prints.Ah tis the vintage life for me! But back to the cocktail cabinet,God I dont half waffle on! It dates to around 1910,I know this because the original receipt from Waring and Gillows was wedged in the back,the mirrored panel in the centre rotates to reveal a bottle storage area! this alone thrilled me more than I can say! there are glass shelved areas to either side and the top section lights up.Think of the Larkins in the Darling buds of May,with their strange and exotic drinks made from Pops fabulous light up bar!

Time to resurrect The cocktail hour methinks? what do you say? 

The Letters.....

I wonder if
you keep the letters still,
spidery and blotted
now, like old days
just withered away.

I remember sunlight bursts
that inspired
those winged words,
the spirit of spaces
flying paper aeroplanes of love.

I picture us then-
a perfect summer’s night
calligraphy of stars
burning Indian fire

and I wonder if
you keep the letters still.

By Eileen Carney Hulme.

The season of change.....

And all of a sudden it is Autumn.Unpredictable weather,darker evenings,chilly mornings and a weariness I find hard to shake.But shake it I must,for the days are rushing by,for the most part they are good days,I have decisions to make,and here I falter,afraid to make the wrong choice,security versus creativity,my mind in constant argument.Exhausted by the demands of the 'day job'. Something or someone will come along and 

set me on the right path.Wont they?

I do not care for the colder months,I miss the sunshine and the long lazy days of summer,

pretty dresses and sparkly sandals,tea in the garden and early morning reading on the doorstep.

 My garden is going to sleep,everything is dying back for the winter,I console myself by ordering old English roses and spring flowering bulbs for next year.And yet,I embrace the cosiness of the season,because i must.I light candles and scent my home with cinnamon,I don a pretty pinny and cook,because food is love and food is comfort,and often I am in dire need of both.

I spend way to much time online! it is a fact,social networking is taking me away from real life and I must start and reign myself in,from becoming involved in heated discussions about trivial tv shows to constantly checking my messages,I should stop,whilst it is lovely making new friends and keeping in touch with old ones,surely the world will not go into a holding pattern should I decide to give facebook a miss for a while.

It will pass,this restlessness,I do know this.

I also know that it is up to me to enforce change.Wish me Luck.

The Orange........

Have I told you I love oranges? I also love Wendy Cope,imagine that,one of my favorite contemporary poets wrote a poem about my favorite fruit! Outstanding Ms Cope! simply outstanding!

The Orange.

At lunchtime I bought a huge orange

The size of it made us all laugh.

I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave

They got quarters and I had half.

And that orange,it made me so happy

As ordinary things often do.

just lately,The shopping.A walk in the park.

This is peace and contentment.It is new.

The rest of the day was quite easy.

I did all the jobs on my list.

And enjoyed them and had some time over.

I love you.I'm glad I exist.

Wendy Cope.

Twenty pieces of absolutely useless information about me...

I am in pensive mood this Evening,today has been cold and dark and I have flitted from task to task,not really achieving much,but wanting to do so much more, Went food shopping,met some mad people (as usual) came home,lit some candles,updated the website,chatted on facebook for a while,went to see my Mammy,picked Lulu up from School,dropped her big sister off at work.The usual stuff,the stuff that my days are made of. Pretty average huh? I love average,I love my life,it is an awfully big adventure,we are all totally unique,how amazing is that? there is nobody else in the world like you or I,what makes you who you are? and me? Hells bells I dont think the best shrink in the world could work that one out! But here just for fun,are a few random facts all about me!

1) I am as you can guess a complete bookworm,I read anything and everything.I am never without a book to read.

2)When I was pregnant I played Puccini and read poetry to my unborn babies.Yeah! weird.

3)I have a massive collection of Vintage pinnys and I wear them.

4)I am a foodie! I love to cook and I love to eat,typical Taurean I like good food and good wine.

5)I have a book inside me,somewhere,I know it.

6)I hated school but I loved my Art lessons,my Teacher wanted me to study it when I left,but I got a job.

7)I am afraid of water,cant swim,its real terror.

8)I wont get out of bed each morning until I have thought of five things to be thankful for.could have a bit of an ocd!

9)I love Terry Wogan.Ok so shoot me! he makes me smile!

10)I collect old sepia photographs.

11)I cried at Toy story three.

12)I truly detest tights and refuse to wear them.

13)Colouring in calms me down.Strangely.

14)My favourite book and film is Gone with the Wind.

15)I love to have a candle lit bath with a glass of bubbly! Lilac candles in summertime,cinnamon in winter.

16)I have an allotment.It is Heaven.

17)Albertine roses are my favourite bloom.

18)My favourite piece of opera is Oh Mio Babino Caro followed by The pearl fishers duet,both make my heart soar.

19)I always longed for a career in Fashion,I sort of ended up there,albeit Vintage fashion.I live for it.

20) I love the internet! I have made lots of true and good friends here...and I love you.

So....you nodded off yet?