petit pica: vintage

Showing posts with label vintage. Show all posts

14 January 2014

Heureuse année ~ a new year...

Isn't this a lovely postcard? Sent in 1902,perhaps the forget-me-not flowers are significant. Anyway, we just love the design & it's Petit Pica blue too. We love old postcards & spend hours looking through boxes at brocantes & vide greniers. This one is lovely too, we're not sure who it's from but the sentiment is very touching.

Translation:
My dear Little Dinette I am still waiting for your news & I think you have forgotten me.
I always think of you very often I send you my dear Dinette my wishes for the new year.
Health happiness this is what I desire with all my heart for you & your dear parents.

Once twelfth night has passed & the decorations have been put away until next year, it's a good time to have a bit of a spring-clean. I'm not only talking about the home but of life too. I gave up making New Year's resolutions a long time ago. I rarely keep them & usually end up stressing too much about them. The only resolution I do make & keep each year is that January is a "dry" month, i.e. I don't drink any alcohol. I've been doing this for several years so now I quite look forward to it after all the excesses of Christmas. This year, Kelly is keeping me company as she is not drinking during her pregnancy.

available on Etsy

Instead of resolutions, I like to write down my "to do" list for the year. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a compulsive list writer! I also love notebooks & find any excuse to buy a new one. Kelly shares this passion too - the notebooks, not the compulsive list making! The New Year list will be compiled of things like, places to visit, list of W.I.P to be finished (work in progress & projects - this is on the list every year as there is always something lying about waiting to be finished!), work goals, finding a little "me" time each week, etc. Writing it down helps me focus on what is really important to me. I try not to make the list too long because then it seems unachievable & I'm less likely to follow it.

While looking for inspiration for this New Year, I came across this quote:-

source

Isn't it lovely? I think I might have to have it near my desk for those dark days...

The weather has been quite mild here & we've been enjoying lovely clear days with the sun shining, (always lifts the spirits). This was the sunrise the other morning when I took Harley for a walk, a lovely way to start the day...a sunrise to warm the heart...

We hope 2014 is a good year for you...

12 October 2013

Vintage love...

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(Big sigh!)

I love this picture! Lots of vintage goodies stacked high on a dresser.

We have been putting some of our own vintage lovelies in the shop this week.

Café au lait bowls are so adorable, they look great in any kitchen.

Traditional French storage jars add that bit of je ne sais quoi to any home & are not just for the kitchen. They could be used for utensils but how about on a desk to store pencils and pens, or for art or craft tools, the list is endless...

These oval plates were originally designed for the dining table but would make gorgeous soap dishes or perhaps for jewellry or on a bedside table.

Aren't these café cups & saucers fabulous? Each printed with the Wagons Lit crest. Think Murder on the Orient Express....Wagon-Lits were the company who ran the Orient Express & the Train Bleu among other routes & were part of that wonderful era of steam. Just imagine when your sipping your coffee from these, what it would have been like on those glamorous trains...

I couldn't believe my luck in Bergerac yesterday, in the middle of a roundabout, a huge bar of chocolate just waiting to be eaten. No such luck! It wasn't real, just to advertise the Salon du Chocolat (Chocolate fair) being held in the town this weekend.

Bon weekend mes amis...

8 June 2013

Le soliel arrive...!

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A contrast to the last post, the sun has now arrived and we are dancing around singing....

Here comes the sun, du du du du

Here comes the sun and I say....

It's alright...........

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter...

Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here...

The puppies think we've gone mad, and maybe we have with all that cold and wet weather.

But now the suns out everything seems better and brighter...

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We've been adding some more linens to the shop, and very pretty they are too...

A pretty cut-work table mat with red stitching - a really intricate design...

A monogrammed linen towel with drawn-thread work and handmade lace edging - although this started life as a towel, it could be used in many ways in a modern home...

A lace-edged table mat with red cross-stitching - a naive piece and rather lovely...

On our walks we can now see the wild orchids in bloom, peeping out of the long grass...

so delicate and pretty...

3 May 2013

Hot under the collar....

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Have you noticed that although collar styles change according to fashion, they are always in fashion in one form or another...

Vintage

Adding a vintage collar to an outfit can transform it into something unique & so feminine...

Modern

We have added some vintage collars to our shop too...

...& a collar and cuff set which would make any outfit stunning....

Did you watch The Great British Sewing Bee on BBC 2 (UK t.v.)?

We loved it although each week we've had a different contender for first prize. Each had their own specialities but in the end, Ann was crowned the winner & extremely well-deserved. She was obviously a very experienced sewer (over 75 years!) & worked so methodically through her patterns & challenges. Our only critcism....it ended too soon! Looking forward to the second series.


Ann (far right) was crowned the winner source

25 January 2013

A delicate subject...

source: ana-rosa.tumblr.com

This week we've been busy sorting out lace for the shop. Here are a couple of lovely pieces going into the shop this week. They would be perfect for a vintage wedding.

Apart from cherishing a vintage piece of lace & looking at it from time to time, there are many ways you can use it. Of course, as intentioned to trim garments, but it can also be used in lots of other ways too.