Op Shop Friday

Last Friday at uni was Op Shop day – where everyone found an item in the local op shops and money was raised to go back to local charities.

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Blogger Date at The Village Markets

Gotta love waking up to sunshine on a Sunday after a miserably cold and rainy couple of days!  Although there were some threatening storm clouds on the horizon, the sun peeked through, making it the perfect weather to get out of the house and down to the Village Markets.

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Finders Keepers Markets

To read the rest of this post – Come visit me at my new address: fizzleout.com.au

Rainy Rummage

I have already said it at least 100 times this week, but I CANNOT believe it is still raining!  Every time it looks like it might be stopping and a bit of blue sky peeks through, I get excited about seeing some sunshine, but then it rains… again… and it is predicted to continue right up until Christmas. *EDIT: after typing this last night, I woke up to sunshine this morning!  Yipee!*

Thankfully we still managed to get out and about over the weekend, despite the storms, going crazy at Muscles on Friday night and then seeing the parents on the Gold Coast on Saturday.

My mum just got back from about 8 months in the USA, so I was excited to have her come and stay with us for the rest of the weekend.  I have inherited my love of op shops and bargain hunting from my mum, so it was ideal for both of us that the Suitcase Rummage was being held on Sunday.

After a delicious brekky with the boy, we wandered down to King George Square, to see what there was on offer.

We both did incredibly well and I came home with some new sunnies, a maxi dress, cardigan, blouse and a couple of cookbooks for my vegan brother.  I felt so bad for all the stall holders when it started pouring down again and they scrambled to get all their stuff out of the rain.  Despite the unruly weather, it was so nice to have a catch up and get to hang out with my mum again!

Photos from: my camera – sorry some are a little out of focus… I obviously didn’t give mum a good enough lesson before handing her my camera! haha

Japanese Kimono

While browsing vintage stores and op shops I have had my eye out for a kimono. Inspirational bloggers, including 5 inch and up and Late afternoon have spurred this desire, gracing their blogs in their beautiful vintage silk kimonos.

At the Byron Bay markets I had other items on my wish list, that is, until I came across a stall with a rack full of cotton kimonos, sourced from Japan.  Although they are more casual than their silk counterparts, for $20 I was very impressed!  The only difficult part was deciding on which of the intricate designs to choose.

I ended up deciding on a white kimono with a red flower design, and of course couldn’t wait to wear it.

That night, while wearing it out for dinner with an otherwise simple outfit, I discovered what I assume to be the name of the previous owner written on the lapel.

My Japanese is a little rusty (ok… a lot rusty) but I managed to translate the katakana to ‘Batojutoko’, which I assume to be someone’s name.  Please correct me if I’m wrong!

*EDIT* The writing actually says ‘Ban Junko’, which means the owners name was Junko, and this type of kimono is actually a yukata.  Thanks Leah and Nick!

I come up with the craziest stories when I try to imagine who this woman is and what her life is like.

Photos of me taken by: Kris

Other photos from: my camera

Dinner at:  Targa, Byron Bay (they have the best gnocchi I have tasted outside Rome!)

i love a good rummage

We woke up last Sunday with a plan, to ride our bikes around for the day and enjoy the beautiful weather, while getting some shopping done at the same time.  As you can see, I got to wear my pink blouse I found the day before – and posed with the ‘guerilla knitting’ that has popped up all over Brisbane (matching perfectly).

First we rode to West End, to check out a new vintage market, ‘Marky Markets’. Though it was small, there were some great items to search through (including heaps of leather jackets and doc martens).

We then jumped back on our bikes towards the city, locked up and went to get Kris a new camera bag for his birthday. Once we finally decided on a bag colour, we headed to King George Square, where a suitcase rummage was in full swing!

Being a huge fan of op shops, 2nd hand clothes and bargains, I was in my element rummaging through suitcases of people’s unwanted clothes and accessories, and picked myself up a couple of cute items, including some vintage sunnies for $3.

I just loved seeing a whole bunch of cool and creative people come together, which is something that we generally lack a bit in Brisbane, so these suitcase rummages are a great idea and I would highly recommend going to the next one – especially if you have heaps of old clothes to get rid of and want to sell them to me cheap! hehe totally selfish i know!

Worn out from the rummaging and end of financial year sales, we rode back towards home, making a stop for coffee and lunch (well I suppose a cheese board counts as lunch) at French Twist.  After a quick relax we went to the empty lot and carpark across the road from our apartment for a bit of a photoshoot – where I was model/assistant, and even took over the camera for a little bit.

Love these sunnies!  What a bargain!

We had so much fun jumping around in our new purchases.

Though my ankles weren’t liking jumping around in my massive wedges!

Photos: taken by Kris

Wearing:

Shoes – Jeffrey Campbell (the boy got JCs too! we love them!)

Shirt – Op shop

Shorts – Supre/Jeans – Lee

Sunnies – (black) eBay/ (pink) Vintage

Hat – Op shop

Watches – one was a gift from my parents, and one belongs to my great-Nana Rose (but she couldn’t see the numbers anymore) – neither are working, need to buy some batteries =)

op shop crazy

It has been far too long since I have been on an op shopping extravaganza, so on Saturday I dragged the boy up to Lutwyche, on the north side of Brisbane, to see what the op shops had to offer.  The sun was shining and the weather was so perfect that I forgot for a minute that it is actually winter, despite fighting off signs of the flu with lemon and ginger tea and a dose of pseudoephidrine.

*apologies for my unruly hair – I was trying this thing called leaving it natural – but now i can see why i tie it up all the time*

After sorting our way through a couple of mediocre op shops, and coming away with a perfect picnic hat, we stumbled across a little vintage shop called Retro Stop.  We entered through the tiny door and pushed our way through racks of clothes, overflowing with all kinds of vintage delights, and were immediately overwhelmed, with no idea where to look first.  Without any real idea in mind, we browsed the racks, giggling at the fashions of decades gone by and gushing over the immaculate condition of every one of the items.

Both of the ladies were super friendly and helpful, even though we were just browsing, and took the time to tell us where they source all their items and explained that they want to preserve a part of history by selling excellent vintage clothes to people who will really appreciate them.  We were heartbroken to see that some of the most amazing items are only available for hire, but understand the idea that this way the items will not be ruined at fancy dress parties.  We can’t wait to go back and hire or purchase something for our next fancy dress!

Continuing on to a few more op shops that yielded only a couple of items, we headed back home, the whole trip made worthwhile by discovering Retro Stop.  The rest of the day was all about pastries and good food, from our favourite french place in New Farm, Chouquette.

Amazing bread, topped with fried mushrooms, tomato, rocket and parmesan.

The few items that I did find were exactly what I was looking for.  It was as if the things I was imagining suddenly materialised in the op shops as I arrived, just like mum always told me about ‘creating a car park’ – as you are driving along just imagine that there is an empty space, and all of a sudden one will appear (try this next time and see if it works for you).

A basket for picnics.

That can hopefully be affixed to my bike.

A pale pink blouse.

That buttons right up to the collar (ps. how cool is the brand).

A little bottle.

Perfect for a few stems of tulips.

Sorry to thrash the tulips photos but they were just so beautiful!

Photos of me: taken by Kris

Other photos from: my camera

Wearing:

minkpink top (with huge shoulders)

vintage shorts (unpictured)

babushka necklace

vintage hat

not just dusty nick-knacks

I can’t believe that I lived in Paddington (Brisbane) for almost 2 years, and yet I had never stepped inside Paddington Antique Centre, despite eating at the cafe next door and admiring the building from afar.  I suppose the word ‘antique’ just makes me think of dusty overpriced nick knacks, so I entered the store with low expectations of what I might find.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover the amazing array of vintage clothing and home furnishings, most of which were reasonably priced.  I definitely had a giggle when I saw the rail of ‘vintage flannos – from the 90s’, and realised I must really be getting old if I can remember people wearing things that can now be classified as vintage.

Despite all the beautiful items, the thing I really fell in love with was this old kettle.

I can picture it in my fantasy kitchen alongside a vintage egg beater, that I could admire while sitting on some roughed up antique stools waiting for bread to bake.

infatuated

I have a weird child-like infatuation with dandelions. I just can’t walk past one without picking it, admiring it for a little while and eventually blowing all the seeds off into the sky.

It doesn’t matter how many times my mum reminds me that dandelions are weeds and I am helping to spread them across well manicured lawns, or how many times I look at the ugly yellow flowers and wonder how they turn into something so amazing.

So difficult to hold a dandelion, take a photo and blow at the same time… I totally need an assistant! haha.

Looking at these photos got me thinking that a massive dandelion wall decal would look great in our room (we are renting so can’t even put a nail in the wall). Here are some gorgeous ones I found on etsy.

1. ebaygiftshop 2. leenthegraphicsqueen

3. stickerbrand 4. janeymacpress

Hmmm now to consult the boy and decide which will look best on our wall.

photos from: my camera

decal images from etsy

Edit: until I was shutting down my computer I totally forgot this was my work computer background.

Chapel St treasures

While wandering down Chapel Street, I almost walked straight past the most amazing store, but luckily something caught my eye and I chanced upon ‘Chapel St Bazaar’.

Immediately upon entering I was overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of goods for sale, vintage everything in all shapes and sizes.  There is literally something for everyone in this place, from vintage fabrics and clothes to collectable toys, to furniture and old books.

I would love to get my hands on a beautiful vintage typewriter.  Unfortunately this one was in Greek?!

It was just one of those stores that is so huge and has so much stuff that you feel like you have seen none of their stock and could spend a whole day exploring.

Oh to have a big bookshelf full of old decaying books.

Super cute bowties that could easily double as hair accessories.

If only I had more space in my baggage and an entire day to rummage through this store – vintage heaven!