Holiday series: Part 2

Moments after posting my earlier post I realised that I had omitted several important facts and a photo.  

Facts: in the photo of me in front of the Fyffe Whaling Station I am wearing a Misery tee shirt (little girl and flamingo's) is a NZ made and designed item (you can read more about Misery stuff here) and I bought it for the princely sum of $2 from the Butterflies Hospice Shop.  Then in the dorky photo of me post-sea voyage where I am dressed for comfort not for style, I am wearing a Very Grouchy Lady Bird tee shirt (I get lots and lots of comments when I wear it, by adults not children even though it is designed by Eric Carle who writes books for children).  I bought it retail at a jeans store for $5 just prior to going to Melbourne in 2010.  

I am woefully sorry about not including a photo of me at the wedding.  Its a photo of me without my sunglasses and I am unsure if I like it.  

Vintage Diane Freis dess $2, Toffs

 

Anyway, I am wearing the $2 Diane Fries dress from Toffs, a thrifted leather belt, handbag a gift, shoes and hair flower retail.  The wedding ceremony was at a lavender farm and a very beautiful setting.  It was overcast (which is why I do not have my sunnies on) but not cold.  

Right, Blenheim.  What I would like to share with you is a fabulous second hand antique junk store called "Just Browsing" which is in Batty's Road.  It. Is. Amazing.  It was very very hot when we went and the bright sunlight made some of the photos look overexposed.  But I think you get the general idea.  

OMG, I have just learnt that Dear H did not see the tin steam train toy!!!! He was too busy looking at the train books hehehehehehe - and yes, he bought several.  Neither did he find the vintage, still in the original plastic New Zealand Rail playing cards which I bought for him as a present.  :-)  The "flying" person is a deep sea diving costume - I think.  I love the dog.  It reminds me of a toy from my childhood. 

As some readers may have already guessed I loved the two brass deer very much.  But I exercised the "do I really want this" rule and did not consider buying them.  I stroked the tiny rabbit huddled against the log hoping-against-hope that that huge eagle will not find it and eat it.  The art deco lady is apparently a copy not an original and it was used in a movie or something.  Well that's what the tag said.  It also said $350 which I thought was a lot for a knock-off.  

I was delighted to find that the Salvation Army store was open - on previous visits to Blenheim it has been closed.  The store was very spacious, well laid out, and prices were reasonable.  Nothing took my fancy.  I also found a "new" charity shop (top right photo) and it was there that my Dear H and Darling D searched fruitlessly for a cell phone charger to replace the missing one.  I had a good look around and spotted a nearly new - perhaps unworn - pair of shoes in leather, sort of Mary Jane style.  $2.  You can't go wrong really.

Right, last photo from Blenheim was taken at lunch time after I had stuffed myself with kumara vegetable stack with bacon and an amazing chutney.  I am wearing a Karen Walker tee shirt designed for SAFE.  It has funny capped sleeves which really annoy me.  

The finale was a visit to the re-located SaveMart.  I made my family take me there after they forced me against my will to go in several second hand book shops.  Nah, not really, I went willingly into the book shops and they ever-so-kindly sat in the car and read while I mooched around SaveMart for an hour or so.  I have to say that the new venue is pretty much the same as the old one - perhaps a bit bigger.  The retro clothes are fairly reasonable prices - not much over $25.  There is a huge amount of designer label stuff - must be all the rich people in Marlborough with vineyards who go to Italy and France and buy clothes and then put them in the clothing bins.  I was amazed at the some of the clothes which appeared to be brand new.  Anyway, the only thing that caught my eye was a wrap around skirt in vintage fabric.  Since getting home I have sewed it up and added a hook thing and some press-studs and voila it fits.  There was no way it could be worn as a wrap around with my Christmas curves!!

We finished off our fleeting visit to Marlborough with a quick drive to Picton (which has a pretty good second hand book shop) for an ice-cream and to Makana chocolate factory.  I tried to post a link but the internet is intermittent at present and will not allow me.  Dang.  I confess: we bought an extrordinarily large amount of expensive chocolate but somehow restrained ourselves from eating it until we were home in Dunedin.  True story.  

Okay, internet getting more intermittent - so much for broadband.  Want to save this before something crashes and I lose the lot!