There's nothing I love more than a good rummage around in a vintage or charity shop in an attempt to try and find some hidden treasures and having worked in a charity shop myself for the past four years has helped me develop a knack for tracking down that one amazing bargain. In the run up to Christmas there's always some kind of vintage or festive market popping up and being a utter sucker for all things shiny, old and well loved meant that I (and Mum) hop-footed it to the Christmas Market that took place at the beginning of November on a rainy afternoon at our local theater.In truth it was slightly too overcrowded and combining my lack of height with too many people resulted in a slight case of claustrophobia which wasn't too amazing. Despite that little blip however (and after a rather yummy hot chocolate) I managed to find this lace detailed handbag for a measly £4. According to the label inside it was originally from Boots, back when they sold such things but it doesn't seem as if it's ever been used before, it's completely spotless and there's not a thread out of place. I think this will be perfect come Christmas time as I have a few things coming up and this bag seems as if it's the perfect size. After finding the handbag we then came across an adorable little craft stall selling all different kinds of tree decorations. As I'm a complete sucker for anything fox related I couldn't pass by this darling little fox for £5 - although I think he'll just hang off my bed frame as he doesn't quite fit in with all our Christmas ball balls. The last thing that I picked up at the vintage fair was this little tin for a tiny £3. I've decided to use it as a match stick box for my candles as it looks a lot prettier and is a lot smaller than your average matchbox.
The next two things are from a place called Molly's Den; it's basically a giant warehouse that's been converted into a giant indoor vintage/flee/thrift market. It's made up of lots of different stall holders and sell everything from furniture to clothes to old pots and pans, it's basically a thrifter's paradise. I've been after a pair of Batman/Joker converse for years but I've always come across the same problem: "We don't make those in your size, they start at size three." You'd think that Batman of all people would be readily available to be worn on tiny sized shoes, but no, sadly he's restricted to 'adult feet'. I can't quite describe the high pitched squeal that escaped my lips when I spotted these - mom just said that it sounded a lot like a mouse on helium. Either way I was over the moon to finally track down a pair of these and for £9, second hand although barely worn I couldn't get to the till quick enough. Speaking of tills, I was on my way there when I saw this copy of last months Vogue lying on a stained coffee table so I decided to pick it up too as it would have just been rude not to considering it was just £1.50!
On to the final thing, or rather things that I brought. Now does anyone remember the book catalogues that you'd get in your book bags at school? Well apparently they still exist and one of their big markets is early years. When this landed on the doorstep at work last week I simply knew that I couldn't resist the temptation of it all and ended up placing my order for the set of Sherlock books that I've had my eye on for quite some time. I think all four books (set of three original stories and the behind the scenes/making of guide) came to the grand total of £12 which is amazing value for money when the Sherlock Chronicles alone is £10 some places.
