2012 here we come

Happy new year to one and all! I cannot believe how quick the last year has gone and that we are now in 2012, where has the time gone?!

I hope everyone had a super christmas and new years? My Christmas was very quiet, but I quite liked it that way, I got some lovely little presents, including some fabulous vintage jewellery bits from my friends, Sam Cookes biography, a brand new camera, and the one and only Bruno Mars album that I have waited all my life it seems to own (believe me it was worth the wait! My life is now complete!)  and many other bits and bobs, I was so over the moon with all my goodies, I just don't know how I'm going to get them back down to Chatham!

The rest of the Christmas period was once again very quiet but New Years ever made up for it, I ended up going down to London to the Boston Arms in Tuffnell park, one of my favourite rockabilly clubs in London town, I had told myself that I wasn't going to go out at all and was going to spend it being boring in Lowestoft but no I got my arm twisted to go to the boston and I'm so glad I did.

I got to see lots of friends that I hadn't seen in many months and got to put my glad rags on and dance the night away, which I hadn't done in the same amount of months it seemed, and boy did my feet pay for it! I wore a vintage sixties velvet pencil dress which I decided to embellish myself by gluing gems on the dress and stitching beads around the collar, I kept it quite simple but I think it was effective, I teamed it with some black pumps from New Look and my white lucite handbag, ohh la la!

 Me and my gorgeous girls Clare and Tasha, you can almost see my dress!

A good night had by all I think, it really took it out of me being up until gone 5am but the bags under my eyes were well worth it I'd say, I did feel a little guilty going out but it was the last event of the 2011 so in 2012 I'll be good.

Which leads me onto my next rant, over the new year period, we all decide what our resolutions will be and I think this year I've decided on millions of resolutions that I want to achieve, I hope I'll achieve most of them, but we shall see as the year goes on!

My first is to graduate from university with an overall 2:1 because that really has been my goal since year two, I'm not expecting a first but if I got a 2:1 I would be over the moon because I know then I would have tried my hardest.

My second is to get a job or internship that I am happy with by the end of the year, so I know my course hasn't been a waste really, I've always wanted to do well and get a job that I'm happy in so if I got this, this year I know my life would then be on the right track.

I have lots of little ones aswell such as read more, I cannot wait to read for pleasure once I've finished university, I've got so many books I want to read but it's just having the time to do so, after May I will turn into a bit of a nerd for a few months, bring it on!  

Another is to spend less time on blasted facebook, it's rather difficult when I've got my fanpage on there but I think I have to do it because I'm turning into an obsessive hermit otherwise, so if I can limit my time on that and do something more better with my time, like read or do university work, Bettina will be a happy bunny!! 

Finally my last is to do more for others, now I like to think that I already do quite a lot for others but I always try and find room for improvement and I'd like to be less selfish and more selfless this year, even by doing the littlest of things hopefully I can make a difference. 

Lets hope I keep up with my resolutions!

I apologise for the lack of images, I forgot to take pictures of anything it seems

Until Next Time

Toodle Pip

xxx

Pick of the Pops take two!

So I've done this before with songs that I'm obsessed with at the time so I thought while I'm in the blog writing mode I'd write my pick of the pops until the next time, I've noticed that my taste in music is always chnaging, my dad gave me a few cds recently and a lot of them were "atlantic jivers" which I assumed to be a cd based on the Record label Atlantic records, nope just a title it seems but it's got some great songs on it including these ones I am currently playing to death :

Big Maybelle: Pretty Good Love

This track I've always known of but never listened to properly until I was playing one of these cd's and god the voice on this woman, you can see why she was called Big Maybelle with some of the notes she hits. Such a great R&B track, not enough modern women cover this track but then you've got to have a set of lungs to carry this song.
Next Track is Jimmie Jones and the Savoys: Please say you're mine

This one I cannot  stop listening to, I remember my fella playing it ages ago and I didn't really pay attention then and then when I was listening to this CD and I suddenly thought "I remember this!!" and then realised how much I actually love this song, it's a classic jiver but I've still yet to hear it played at a record hop, this will soon change believe me!

This one is another personal favourite
Little Willie John: Lets Rock while the Rockins good

I remember hearing this on my mums phone and I didn't realise it was Little Willie John, the guy who sung Shakin, the stroller everyone went mad over a year back, this song is more sixties to me (I'm not sure when it was recorded so I can't say whether I am right or not!) but Little Willie John was a very big R&B star (not literally as he was only 5ft!) with such a strong voice.

One to finish on is a modern one but almost in a similar style
Cee Lo Green: Forget you

This is actually amazing, I have loved this since it's come out and I love that it has got such a retro feel to it, especially when I saw Paloma Faith sing with him, I fell in love with Paloma that little bit more.

Well Hope you like some of these, they might not be to your taste but they certainly are to mine!
Until Next Time

Toodle Pip

xxx

A little collectors item

I've always wanted to collect something but nothings really ever took my fancy, I mean I'm a girl so I generally collect shoes and many types of clothing, mostly vintage, so I guess I am a bit of a vintage collector however when I was in Southwold during the summer I found a bag in a little antique shop hidden away, Southwold is such a cute little town, only five minutes up the road from my home town and I never think to go there, bizarre!
This bag caught my eye straight away, it was beautiful covered in little gems and crystals, I'd seen so many on EBay and Etsy but never thought to buy one, so as soon as I saw this I thought I'm having that without even looking at the price, to be honest now looking back on it I did buy spontaneously because I could of got the same back for better condition and cheaper on the Internet but live and learn!

These bags are by the designer Enid Collins or usually inspired by her, the company Collins of Texas started in 1959 and carried on until Enid Collins sold the company during the 1970s, there were two types of bags, the wooden box bag or the canvas bag. The company also sold diy bag kits so a lot of the ones you can buy off the Internet are actually imitations, which to be honest I think I have but I still love them nevertheless!

Collins bags are somewhat the collectors item now and as I have fell head over heels for them I've decided to collect them (with my father constantly going you don't need anymore bags!!) .

If you are wanting to collect them the ones obviously that are worth more are the ones with the jewels still intact, unlike my first one which hardly have any jewels on!

This is the one I purchased in Southwold, pretty even though a bit jewel-less!

Other collectibles ones are ones with the signature on, these can go for over £70 if you are lucky to find one!

This is the type of label to look for, On the Canvas bucket bags the signature is usually scribbled on with the design that is carefully hand painted on!

 So hunt out bargains on eBay, in shops such as Beyond Retro and other vintage shops, because luckily these types of shops don't usually realise how much they are worth because they only see it as "vintage" and don't know anything about labels! 

I bought this little darling at Beyond Retro for £30 and only has one gem missing!! I didn't even look at the price when I picked it up, I just knew I had to have it!  

I've noticed that even though I'm a fifties girl at heart I'm glancing towards more vintage sixties bags, what does it matter though if you think its pretty?

This is my little collection! The one nearest to the left is one I got off Etsy, I think it is a diy one because I found another lovely lady that had it and it is one of the cheapest to buy off the Internet,so I generally use this and my Southwold buy as everyday bags, as they are fairly large so I can fit all my rubbish in it!

I only have three but I have another coming on the way which looks something like this...

And it is an actual Collins bag too! I love the tan leather finishing, it stands out so much more than my other three! I'm happy that I now have something to collect, the only thing is finding somewhere to put them all! I have two wardrobes and both are chocker block with bags! A steady investment for the future I think!

How adorable is this advert!? If only she knew how much her bags would go for today!!

                                                                     Until Next Time

Toodle Pip

xxx

Location location location!

A few of the glorious buses and trams!

Today I had a fabulous shoot today at East Anglian Transport museum, I'd had it organised for ages, after my dad came up with the super idea of using the museum, why I'd never thought of it was beyond me, some things just skim right over my head!      The day didn't go off to the bestest start due to a migraine and me being very poorly but after an hours kip, I was raring to go! And I'm so glad I was because what a super day it was, I had organised the shoot with two photographers from London and I had my friend Dollface Darling modelling with me.
     While I was there I thought it would be perfect to do some location shots again, so this blog will be showing a few of the shots I took.

The train station with vintage signs and a ticket booth! The man even comes and stamps your ticket on the train for you!

  The photographers I worked with were superb, two of the best I've worked with to date by the looks of the results they were showing me on their camera! So keep your eyes peeled for my new images soon.
    As it is a vintage buses museum the type of shoot to do there of course is a vintage inspired one, a lovely volunteer at the museum was showing me some images from a John Lewis 60s and 70s shoot a photographer did a while back, the images looked really great and perfect in the surroundings. Because of the variety of buses and trams, you can really be quite wide and varied with what decade you want to settle on, anything from the 30s I'd say to the 70s, nothing further because modern clothes just wouldn't fit in.

A little vintage caravan, I would of loved to have shot in here but we couldn'd get in!

I imagined for the caravan, you would be able to do quite a nice cheesecake style shoot with two models having tea or making food for one another, it was so ideal and we would have got some great images but hey ho! We used what was available!

Of course all of the back of old buses looked like this but I think it would be perfect for a vintage image of a girl swingin off the pole and waving her friend goodbye with a beautifully flared skirt, or a girl chasing after the bus whilst its leaving, very cheesecake!

We used this as landgirl image, we were wearing jeans and headscarfs, to make it look like a working girl image, you could even do a male vintage style shoot with men in aprons putting the stock on the carriage!

Finally a little moment for friends and family, we had a dear friend who was a volunteer at the museum and was my dads best friend, he died of cancer recently and it was a great shock and loss, it was a lovely suprise to see they had named the park after him at the museum as a memorial, I spoke to a lot of the volunteers and they spoke very fondly of Paul.

Well a little reflection on the day, I couldn't of asked for a better day, lovely weather, lovely people and lovely images ... I hope!!
http://www.eatm.org.uk/ Heres the website to the museum if you decide you'd like to pay it a visit, I highly recommend!!