What a lovely pair of drawers..

Having searched high and low for a suitable set of drawers, I was coming dangerously close to dropping £200 on a new chest. My patience was rewarded when I found not one, but two chests of drawers in my most prized charity shop down Walworth Rd a few weekends ago.

The first, the white set. I wanted a white chest to go on my landing. The sun comes streaming into this space every morning and it's so nice stepping from my bedroom onto the bright, pretty landing, so I wanted a practical set of drawers for storing linen which would add to this bright space. This chest is a little rough around the edges, a few chips, but that only adds to the charm as far as I'm concerned. Our old household mirror sits proudly on top among a selection of rather lovely bottles and flowers, a vase filled with my collection of pine cones, an old painting and a signature luxury candle.

The second pair, also £10, is a very smart set which is just the right height for sitting under the mirror in our bedroom. This pair really completes the place, and I was thrilled when I picked this up as they now complete the furniture arrangement in the bedroom. The room now looks so much bigger!

James and I had a real job getting these down the road, amazingly we managed it in one trip. I have also lined the drawers with some retro-style Laura Ashley drawer liners.

Drawers, £10 (Trinity House Hospice, Walworth Rd)

Drawers, £10 (Trinity House Hospice, Walworth Rd)

Secret Santa Gift

We have a little tradition in our office which is Secret Santa but the rules state that the gift has to be from a charity shop, and cost under £5.

I was rather pleased with the gift I put together for my boss; a pretty 'floral alphabet' Ulster weavers t-towel (which had never been used) and a sweet edition of Madame Bovary.

My gift came well in under the £5 mark and actually made a rather smart little present. I would have been happy to give this as a gift regardless of what the rules stated about the presence of a charity shop in the gift giving process. Heck, this chic little parcel would please lots of fabulous ladies I know.

Lovely Jasmine, who I have mentioned before, gave me the idea to free-hand embroider names onto ribbon for the gift tags - a lovely little personal touch.

Bright Old Things - Vintage Lamp

Can you believe that I got this chic lamp from my favourite charity shop in Luton for the princely sum of £2.90 last weekend?

I have been searching for a lamp of this high class caliber for a while now - sturdy and classic, just the right size - Perfect for brightening up a dark corner of my room.

The added bonus: you can't get 100watt bulbs in regular shops anymore because they're too ridiculous for the sensible EU standard deciders... unless, you get really lucky with a charity shop lamp which comes with a now obsolete dazzling bulb. It's bright enough for me to apply my make-up on a dark morning in December without looking like a complete clown come proper light at 10am. 

Second-hand Elizabeth and James?

Here is an outfit of two amazing charity shop finds to make a chic, androgynous look -

1. Elizabeth and James shirt. I couldn't believe my luck when I found this in Luton for £2.50. I picked it up because of the stripes, and had a closer inspection... Elizabeth and James... in Luton... Really? Yes, the details reveal all, very soft quality cotton, and subtle pleats at the back marked with small 'X' stitches - the shape and fit are beautiful and it hangs divinely. Elizabeth and James is the Olsen twins label (more relaxed than their famous, 'The Row'), it's known for exquisite textiles, pretty details which give this masculine shirt and feminine edge. I love this shirt - what luck!

2. Reiss tuxedo trousers. I found these on the Walworth Rd for £3 or so, lucky me - the fit is excellent and they're one of those 'no brainer' things for when I don't know what to wear. They're chic and effortless.

And who do I feel like when I wear this ensemble? Lauren Bacall in one of my favourite films, How to Marry a Millionaire. What could be better than that?

Liberty-print-kinda Shirt

This item is the thing which initially made me say 'I'm going to start a blog about charity shopping'. I picked up this pretty patterned shirt for about £3 in a charity shop in Leytonstone.

I like this shirt because:

1) the print reminds me of Liberty.

2) It has a contrasting lapel which kind of reminds me of PJs...

...And the great thing about things which look like PJs:

Zooey Deschanel in New Girl - Queen of awesome PJs 

Louis Vuitton's covetable vintage PJ thing in recent collections

I felt very envious whilst charity shopping in Leytonstone when I saw that the lady in front of me at the till was buying a very cute denim shirt-dress-thing which, given the chance, I would have definitely snaffled. You snooze you lose.