The Great Outdoors

This week in the Stockholm area all children enjoy a week off school so that they and their families can make time to enjoy some kind of seasonal sport.  Many families drive up to the mountains and ski for whole week, but this year, as we skied over the Christmas break, we decided not to go away again, but to enjoy some winter sports locally.  We have been out walking, ice skating and today we spent the day skiing at a local slope.  I packed us a lunch, made some fresh coffee and hot chocolate, and we enjoyed a picnic lunch outside and yet another day of glorious sunshine.  What a wonderful way to enjoy the last days of winter......and tomorrow brings us March, the first true month of spring.

Here's hoping that you had a great day too.  Lilly x 

Apple crumble and Choclate Cake

The children are at home this week on their half-term break. We decided that today we would spend the day at home and do some baking.  I have baked with my children since they were both very small, but now my son 13 and my daughter 10, are much more independent in the kitchen.  Yet it is still cosy to get together with some cook books and decide what to make. Often it is the old favourites that we go back to however. Today top of the list was apple crumple, sticky chocolate sponge and fairy cakes....  and do you know how good kitchen smells right now?? 

 Most of my baking equipment I have bought second-hand, and it continues to  impress me just how durable they are.  My 1940's mixing bowl and green vintage weighing scales are still as good as they day they were made.  Clearly things back then were built to last.  Happy baking!  Lilly x

Framed Flowers

I am always attracted to paintings especially when they are of flowers. I think they are so cheerful and add a splash of colour to a room. The majority of my paintings were bought from Eriksjälpen second-hand, and usually cost between £7 and £12.  Not bad for an original !!  The frames however, often being in a dark wood or even gold, have needed sanding down and re-painting.  But this then gives them a more shabby chic feel, which is much more appealing to me anyway......Have a great evening, Lilly x 

Fresh Linen

 We made a quick trip to Ikea yesterday in search of some new bed linen as it was time to freshen things up a little.   We managed to find a wonderful supper soft goose-down duvet and a pretty' toile de Jouy' cover which has a lovely French country feel to it, and a bargain at just £16.  Teamed up with my favourite vintage paisley pattern duvet, the bed now looks and feels really fantastic.    Have a great Monday .....Lilly x

Spring Sunshine?

It is still very cold here right now but today the sun is shinning and it is beginning to feel like spring may be approaching.  So, to take advantage of the fine weather, we dug out a couple of garden chairs, made a flask of hot chocolate, and sat out in the garden for a while to make the most of the brightness.  How great it feels to think winter may soon be over!  The jolly red spotty-dotty flask was a table top buy ( 50p!!) the little lunch box I bought new from Cath Kidston UK, and the rustic garden chairs were a charity find which I later painted in Farrow and Ball exterior wood paint (French Grey).

Cosy Friday

Friday again, and how I love the feeling a Friday brings.  The thought of the approaching weekend, sleeping in and enjoying a glass of wine with dinner is just perfect.  We also try to keep Friday night our night.  I tend to lay the table a little more formally than usual,  light candles and we enjoy a more leisurely, peaceful meal,  just the two of us.  

I hope you have a cosy Friday evening too? Lilly x

Charity Shopping

In Sweden charity shops are quite different to the ones I used to visit in England.  Here they tend to be much larger stores incorporating almost everything, from furniture, electrical goods, clothes, linen, and crockery, to skis, ice skates and sledges.  Today,  Erikshjälpen my nearest charity shop was open and I did manage to pick up a few nice pieces.  A vintage roses cake tin (shabby but rather chic!) six fun spotty-dotty mugs, a rustic chopping board and a French Kilner jar, which although I have hundreds, I always seem to find a use for. Today I spent around £10 in total, great value!  

Morning Coffee

My daughter has been unwell the last few days and so has been home from school. So today, as she was feeling a little brighter, we decided to treat ourselves to a morning coffee at our favourite place The Garden, which serves great food and coffee, and also sells many tempting treats for the home and pantry.  Today however, it was just a strong coffee and sweet treat that we indulged in.......maybe next time something will find its way back home?

Have a great day.......Lilly x

A bright start to the day

Good morning.  I just had to share with you a little taste of spring which greeted me in the kitchen this morning......a good start!

Vintage Reading

As a family we all read a great deal and I love nothing more than to get cosy by the fire with a good book.  I also love old books and around a year ago I began collecting vintage and also Ladybird books, which some of you may remember?  And what a sense of nostalgia they bring, as some I remember first reading at primary school in the 1970's.  A selection of such vintage books can also look very stylish when arranged together. My books have been collected from charity shops, yard and table top sales and usually cost only pennies, so they can be a cheap way to add a bit flair to a shelf or cupboard top.   Happy reading.  Lilly x

Reflected light

I have so many mirrors in our home, I just love them.  They are a great way to add brightness, light and depth to a room.  The majority of my mirrors have been sourced second hand and what I tend to look out for are older style mirrors, with painted wooden frames, or those which I can later paint myself.  Even a relatively new mirror in the right style however can be made to look vintage with the right treatment.  Then its time for the fun bit - finding which room they will fit the best in.......  Have a great Monday .....Lilly x

Spring flowers

The winters here in Sweden are very long and typically very cold, and so by this time of year everyone is longing for spring to arrive.  Yet the ground remains covered under a thick layer of snow and temperatures, for the most part, stick stubbornly below zero. So to bring a little warmth into my life I bought some soft pink tulips earlier this week, and today some spring bulbs, hoping that they can bring a little taste of spring at least to the inside.  Here's hoping that you are getting some spring sunshine where ever you are today?

Vintage Tea time

  What I like about the vintage, shabby chic style is that things really don't have to look new, polished, pristine or uniform, in fact, quite the opposite is true.  The things that I love the most in my home are often the ones that are a little worn, faded or mismatched.  My vintage tea cups and saucers vary in size, shape and pattern, and the pale green enamel tea pot has more than one chip and rust spot.  For me this simply adds to their charm, and they add a splash of colour and shabby chic style to any tea time.  Have a great Saturday!

Hearts and Flowers

Valentines Day, a day that I love, as in incorporates two of my most favourite things - hearts and flowers.   Here's hoping that you have a wonderful Valentines day too.....

Pancakes or cream buns?

Today it is Shrove Tuesday and traditionally in England a day for eating pancakes.  Here in Sweden however Semla are eaten instead.  A cream bun, filled with fresh cardamom cream and almond paste, they are truly delicious.  We set the table today and my daughter and I ate afternoon tea together, something we rarely do, but it is only once a year.  The spotty dotty cake plate, was just 2 pounds from a local table top sale.

Baking days

It is during the cold snowy months that my children appreciate even more something freshly baked when they return home from school, tired and hungry.  Today, a day when the snow just kept falling, I took the opportunity to do some baking.  One of my children's all time favourites are my cinnamon apple muffins. And here they are, still a little warm, ready for when they walk through the door.

Sunday best

Sunday is one of my favourite days of the week.  Not only does it bring another opportunity to lay in bed a while longer, to eat a more leisurely breakfast and to take the day just as it comes, but it is also gives me another opportunity to go out bargain hunting.  Every Sunday here in the Stockholm area a number of loppis, or table top sales are held and if at all possible I try arrive just as the doors open.  Today my daughter Evie came along too and what treasures we found.  The adorable cream cake plate with oversized coffee cup and saucer were one of my absolute favourite finds.  I can't wait for my morning coffee to try it out........and of course for next Sunday to come around again.  Hope you had a great Sunday too?

Cosy with candles

Today has been a cold and snowy day here.  By late afternoon its already really dark out, so time to light candles and get cosy.  The little foot rest in the picture was a charity shop find which I have painted and re-covered - and the rustic miniature greenhouse I rescued from a local recycling centre.......looks great with tea lights in don't you think?  Stay warm.

New from Old

Here in our entrance hall are a selection of charity shop and table top sale finds. The only thing purchased new was the rustic cushion which I managed to buy in the sales......

Sweet Dreams

Sweet Dreams

  Our painted antique French beds add to the rustic country, chabby chic style that I try to achieve.  Although a little chipped here and there, this simply adds to their charm.  All beds were sourced in the UK from a local antique shop.

Pretty in Pink

Pretty country style vase

A recent charity shop find is this sweet little vase which I picked up this week  for around three English pounds.  The soft pink roses bring a little brightness into the home on these long chilly winter days.

Home is where the heart is.......

Early December and a snowy scene here at our Swedish home.

Welcome

This blog is a way for me to share with you my love of all things vintage, chabby chic and second hand.  I love nothing better than to visit a local charity shop, table top sale or loppis, as they are known here in Sweden, to find a treasure for my home.    To begin with I shall post pictures of my home here in Sweden, a wood clad villa built in 1909, to show you some of the finds I have already made.  Then I shall share with you  all the treasures that I find in future.  I will also blog about how I have created the look that I have, and how to source items cheaply.  Style on a budget is afterall how a Lilly and Rose vintage home is created......