antique ivory

the sleigh this year is heavier

2009-12-09T18:48:00.003Z

Today I woke up feeling unusually festive and decided to not only to put up my Christmas tree, but make salt dough decorations to hang on it as well. I found a recipe here. Instead of baking them for the recommended two hours in the oven, my impatience got the better of me and I decided to fore go all the waiting around for a three minute zap in the microwave. This made my hearts form large bubbles on the surface so, rather than looking as perfect as I imagined, they look slightly deformed. But I kinda like their flaws. It makes them feel more rustic and homemade. I'll let them dry overnight and then hang them on gold string like the rest of my baubles.

Despite this rush of love for all things Christmas, I have only purchased one gift. I do have a list of items I need to buy for the important people in my life, but this isn't helping me to stop panicking about how quickly the 25th is coming around. I wish Friday would come around faster so I can spend my wages on getting organized. I'll be far, far happier once everything is wrapped in brown paper and string (as every gift I give is), sitting beneath my Christmas tree waiting to be handed over to its recipient.

we learned to dance in mama’s pearls

2009-12-05T19:32:00.008Z

Money is tight for everyone at the moment, least of all me. This is why I adore thrift stores, vintage markets and charity shops. Not only is it cheap, its exciting. You never know what you might find! Its a completely different experience than shopping on the high street. For me, its like walking into a giant treasure chest. Sometimes the best booty may have already been plundered but, once in a while, you come across real gems. The two necklace above are amongst my favorite items I've found rummaging through rails and browsing stalls. One is a painted porcelain pendant, featuring the silhouette of a young couple. I found this at a table top sale and managed to haggle the seller down to £2.50 from her original asking price of £5.00. I've worn it to death, using it the black figures to tie outfits together or adding a vintage twist to plainer clothes. The other is a string of pearls. I doubt they are real, but they are nice and heavy. Again, I use these to pull outfits together. I've worn them not only as a necklace, but as a bracelet too.

Do you have any favourite secondhand finds? Maybe you bought something and you have no idea how you lived without it? Or why you even bought an item in the first place? Because, unfortunately sometimes tat, really is tat. Have you got a story about your own amazing haggling skills? I'd love to know.

Edit: I have a new layout. Its a lot cleaner and more grown up than the previous one, which I love. How about you guys? You like?

I'd walk to you if I had no other way

2009-11-12T16:47:00.007Z

thrifted scarf, primark faux leather bomber, primark tulip dress, primark woven belt, m&s tights, ebay vintage booties.

I was going to make this update before I made the 323 mile journey down to New Milton, Hampshire to visit my boyfriend, Justin, considering this was the outfit I chose to arrive there in. Unfortunately, I had so many other things to remember that updating here got pushed to one side and has been neglected for two weeks. I am the worst blogger, ever. Sorry, guys! I will try harder.

Visiting Justin was brilliant. We hadn't seen each other for about five weeks, and I hadn't yet been to visit his new home. He lives, and works, at a pub so we ended up getting rather tipsy most evenings. Ours nights ended with us in fits of giggles, laughing about the silliest things, and falling asleep listening to Beirut. We are just like little kids when we are together, I love it. We fingerpaint, and buy each other funny toys. One night we even drank rosé wine from the Alice in Wonderland tea set he bought me! I'm so lucky I found someone who I connect with so well. Most people find me awkward and goofy. He doesn't even flinch when I start squealing over cute cartoon animals, or panda adorned objects (FYI, I love pandas! You will learn this if you end up reading my blog regularly enough.) like most people do. He is most definitely worth the five hour train ride. He is amazing.

Give me an award, I conquered food again

2009-10-24T21:22:00.005+01:00

two slices of seeded loaf toast with light margarine and virtually fat free cottage cheese, an apple, a satsuma and a glass of Tropicana orange juice.

For those of you who know me, or have watched my journals for a decent amount of time, will know I have always battled with my weight. I have been on and off the Weight Watchers program for nearly six years, using it as and when I felt that the pounds were piling on again. Back when I first started I was fourteen years old and weighed in at around 11st 7lbs, which would have been fine if I was a foot taller. Unfortunatly, I am only 5'0" and that amount of extra baggage doesn't go unnoticed on a smaller frame. Thankfully, over the years I managed to make steady progress and got a stage where I never stepped onto the scales seeing anything over 9st 7lbs. That was until I moved away to study at university last September. I gained over a stone in a matter of months and was destraught at Christmas when I came home and weighed myself. I most definitely let out an audible gasp when the horrific figure of 10st 9lbs appeared in digital red numbers at my feet and vowed to loose it all and more if I could. After a couple of ups and downs, I stepped onto the scales this Wednesday and those dreaded numbers finally read 9st 0lbs. NINE STONE! This is the smallest I've ever been since I started dieting six years ago and I am exstatic. The best thing is I didn't restrict myself as much as I have done in the past and I have still managed to get rid of 21lbs.

Food is one of my favourite things in the entire world and the above picture is one of my favourite healthy breakfasts. Amongst other things, I plan on posting more of my best low calorie/Weight Watchers points meals just to prove to people that loosing weight isn't about eating tasteless, unenjoyable foods and can be done easily if you just tweek a few things on your shopping list. Being healthy shouldn't be a task and I hope I can prove this, one way or another.

Come one, come all!

2009-10-18T01:14:00.006+01:00

This has been a long time coming seen as I have owned a Blogger account for just under four months now. I'm hoping that this is the start of something that will not only become a place for me to re-kindle my romance with online journaling, but for other people with similar interests to enjoy too. So, let's not waste any more time.

My name is Amy, and I am currently living in Preston, Lancashire, which is in England's north west. I studied Illustration for a year at University for the Creative Arts in Kent, but decided to give it up for love. Sadly, our happy ending isn't quite going to plan, but we're working on it. I now work for a popular high street shoe outlet, greeting people with my cheesiest smile and running up & down three flights of stairs over 100 times a day to and from the stockroom, with up to six boxes of shoes at a time, just for some nowty lady to tell me she doesn't want any of them. But I like it, none the less. I'm a geek at heart, and love nothing more than spending a quiet day with a book and a cup of hot chocolate. Appart from that, I spend my free time either online, shopping for the perfect wardrobe (on a budget), eating healthy but scrumptious food, travelling the length of the country to see my boyfriend or creating a mess. And by "mess" I mean painting and drawing, not soiling myself or trashing hotel rooms :).

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments about my future posts. Welcome to antique ivory.