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Cherished Collections...

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

I'm sure we all have collections of some sort, and when Casey put the word out about a little blog feature she was putting together of other people's collections, I couldn't resist putting my hand up to take part in the fun!

I have numerous collections, some are big and some are small, some I've been collecting for a while and others are new collections waiting to be added too. Here is just a small sample of some of my collections, I hope you enjoy...

Vintage dresses:
Collecting vintage dresses is really what got me started on this whole bloggy thing which means I treasure every single one. My first vintage dress is shown below, a light blue cotton summer dress. I have a few that need some minor adjustments before I can wear them, and there are lots that haven't quite made it onto the blog yet. Oops!

27th Jan 10 5

Collections 6

You can see me wearing some of my dresses on my flickr.

Vintage Home Journals:
I started collecting these about three years ago and I never really looked back! They are such sweet (if not a little sexist) reminders of a time gone by. Most of the magazines I have (some 30 or so I think) have come with the original patterns to make the garments on the front too.

Home Journal November 1st 1949

Jan 1st 1949

I have some scans from particular magazines on my flickr if you are interested in seeing the insides. More to come at later dates.

Vintage Patterns:
I have many many vintage patterns and I'm in the process of making the 40's peplum blouse and skirt set. I have a lot of dresses but am working on building up my blouse collection and I have a pant pattern on the way which I'm itching to try out for summer (but making pants does makes me nervous!).

Collections 2

Collections 1

Vintage Knitting Patterns:
I'm a novice knitter - I only just started knitting at the beginning of the year, and while I'm still working on the scarf I started at the same time, I'm sure I'll be making these patterns in no time! Well, fingers crossed anyway because I have several stacks of these patterns!

Collections 5

Collections 4

And that's it, just a tiny taste of some of my favourite collections. Make sure you check out Casey's blog for all the others taking part in the Cherished Collections Series.

XX
Jen
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The Butchardt Gardens...

Saturday, July 16, 2011
On a Sunday, our last full day in Victoria before boarding the ferry for Vancouver the next day, David and I spent the afternoon in The Butchardt Gardens.

They are absolutely stunning and I would recommend anyone go there in a heartbeat (yes, it's a wee bit expensive but so so worth it!!). And hey look, an outfit post all at the same time...

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This is a beautiful vintage dress that I had hanging in my closet for a little while - it was originally a terrible coffee colour that made me look sick when I wore it. I eventually got round to buying some navy blue dye because I really wanted to wear it. I didn't leave the dress in the dye bath for too long though because I was worred about the flowers dyeing out, but it turned out a beautiful blue-grey colour and the flowers look perfectly pretty against it.

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Wish I was back there...

XX
Jen
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Victoria, BC

Saturday, July 9, 2011
Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for all your comments on my Beijing post! I didn't really convey how much of a culture shock it was when we got out of the airport though.

David and I landed in Vancouver later on Saturday night and had booked a night in a hotel before we jumped on the ferry over to Victoria (and boy oh boy was a shower and a comfy bed welcome!).

We spent a week on the island and while David had a conference to attend during the week, I was free to amuse myself as I saw fit. And I must say, I really really loved the time we spent in Victoria. It was such a pretty little place and I would love to go back there and explore up the coast line. As it was we spent the bulk of our time in Downtown where we were staying, except when we spent a Sunday afternoon exploring the Butchardt Gardens (which I've decided needs it's own post). Victoria had a great vibe and I could certainly see myself setting up camp there for a while if the opportunity ever arose.

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Exploring Victoria via horse drawn carriage one evening. The thing I loved about being here during summer time was that it didn't get dark until around 9pm which meant there was plenty of time explore with David when he had finished for the day.

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I didn't eat all of this by myself, promise!! Ruby slippers ice cream float and muddy shoes (?) sundae at Rogers Ice Cream Shoppe. Expensive but worth it for a little touristy treat!

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Where we stayed, right on the water (not the ugly apartment block behind it!). We had afternoon tea at in the 'mansion' part of the hotel aptly named the Gatsby Mansion that you can see to the right with the turret.

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Just along from where we stayed were the stunning Parliament buildings.

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And just along from that, the impressive Fairmont Empress Hotel. I did want to do high tea there but decided that it was maybe just a wee bit too expensive for tea, so I just stared longingly at it everytime we passed (which was pretty much every day). And don't you think this would be a perfect setting for a Poirot mystery?

The next set of photos are from inside Craigdarroch Castle. I went here by myself for the afternoon (stopping of at Origins Gluten Free Bakery for lunch before hand (Oh my goodness, go there and buy the pepita loaf!!)). If you've been reading my blog for a little while, you'll know that it's no secret I love old houses and so a castle is really just the cherry on top...

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This beautiful wooden clock greets you as you walk inside...

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Drawn by one of the daughters of the Dunsmuirs who built the place when she was seven I believe - how amazing!

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I loved this random little guy at the top of one of the staircases...

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Even the heating is pretty!

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A beautiful model of the castle inside one of the rooms.

Up next my post on the Butchardt gardens.

XX
Jen

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Beijing...

Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Hi everyone...

This first post back has been a long time coming! I've found it a bit hard to get back into the swing of things after a three week break, and catching up on three weeks of work at the job that pays me has been a bit exhausting, especially considering I'm still relatively new (my inbox was a little bit scary!! But I have tamed the beast thank goodness!). I was also dreading editing photos just a little too...

Now, I know how boring other people's holiday snaps can be so I'll try to keep it short, I'm also going to break the trip up into three bits - Beijing, Victoria and Vancouver to try and not lose too many of you to 'boring holiday snap-itis'.

David and I had a rather large stop over in Beijing on our way to Vancouver, we got in around 7.30am and our flight wouldn't leave until 11.30pm that night so we decided to get out of the airport and explore. We had the foresight to book a private tour to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall which was such a beautiful area. It is high in the hills away from the smog and traffic of the city and surrounded by chestnut trees (if you go there, make sure you toboggan back down the hill). Then because we still had so much time after our Great Wall visit, we ended up going to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen square.

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I forgot to change the camera settings to auto when I gave it to our guide to take a photo of us. At least the wall is in focus!!

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The Chinese writing on the hill means something along the lines of 'Be Loyal to Chairman Mao'

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Say hello to the friendly Great Wall of China donkey!!

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LUNCH!!! David and I were starving after our trekking around the wall and so our guide took us to get some real Chinese food (after taking us to a small cloisonne factory. Everything is done by hand and it's such an intricate art. I couldn't resist buying a bracelet which I'm sure will make it onto the blog soon).

After lunch it was off to the Forbidden City...

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The Forbidden City is so big that I would have got lost without our guide. It was beautiful though, the details and the colours were spectacular!

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Tiananman Square, right outside The Forbidden City.

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David and I were exhausted after we got back to the airport and so found ourselves a little nook, some food and watched Bones on David's Ipad.

I would defintely recommend visiting China to anyone and if I have a chance to go back I would hope to spend a little more time there.

Next time, Victoria (aka Vancouver Island).

XX
Jen
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