V&A Ballgowns

I had such a lovely and very girly day out last weekend. I went to London with my three sisters in law and mother in law to check out the new Ballgowns:British Glamour Since 1950 exhibition at the V&A.  

It was nice to see London again and on such a gorgeous sunny day. In true London tourist style we took a black taxi to the museum from where we parked.

The exhibition was a mixture of old and new couture dresses. Such a variety of styles that, at first glance, what you may have suspected was a dress worn in the last few years was often from the 50s or 60s. So many of the dresses were made especially for celebrity events or royalty. These events evolved from the more private charity balls of the 50s to the more public red carpet events.

I particularly loved a black lace gown by Michael Sherard with a dipping hemline from 1958. One dress was intricately embroidered with words and pictures of a story and another made from pieces of silver leather. Such diverse designs and amazing details – it was fantastic to see these dresses so close up.

Lunch in the V&A's cafe was delicious and all around you were period mirrors, marble, tiling, huge stained glass windows and high ceilings and these fantastic lights: 

Of course we took a trip to the shop and I wanted to buy all the brooches, printed scarfs and jewellery I saw. Not to mention some great prints, this 'Time for Tea' was definitely my favourite. This was a great retro style print of Crystal Palace too. There were also lots of brilliant London-themed gifts for children; this London Ladybird book was so sweet:

The exhibition is running until January 2013.

It was a real day of girly glamour and an escape for us mums with a day to ourselves. We finished it off with a trip to Primark for a few bargains!! Not quite the silk, handmade couture dress of my dreams but I did find a maxi dress to fit perfectly over my ever growing baby bump!

Has anyone else been to this exhibition? What did you think?

Love Lemon x

My Wedding Day

Today my husband and I celebrate 4 years of marriage. I decided to share some of my favourite memories and details from the day. I wasn't an obsessive, bridezilla wedding planner and at the end of the day I just wanted to have a fun day with my friends, family and of course my husband. We liked the idea of adding our own touches and details that reflected us as a couple on the day.

Here are a few things we did to make the day individual to us.....

Casino chip chocs as favours for the guys, presented in a shot glass - a reminder of the stag do in Las Vegas!
We also had these badges made for all our guests, designed by my husband which matched all the stationary.

We got engaged in Tuscany Italy so for the ladies we chose these Italian Baci chocolates as favours, they were a bit extra special as they had a little love note in each! These were presented in these star tea light holders..

Each table had a pretty bird cage centre piece. We had navy napkins to match the colour scheme and chair ribbons and navy striped ribbon around them. One of my favourite ideas was incorporating my family name Lemon by having a Lemon tree table plan designed by my husband and  real lemons with name tags pinned into them for place names.

My husband had a suit taylor made, he looked so smart! I really loved the inside pocket detail of our names and the wedding date and of course this suit is something he will keep forever.

The venue was perfect for us, it was a large pub in Greenwich, London and we had the first floor hired for the ceremony, meal, drinks and dancing in the evening. It was such a great space and didn't feel too formal, the perfect place for a party! We loved going to visit it for various planning before the wedding and still do! 

The Trafalgar Tavern had great floor to ceiling windows and views across the Thames to the millenium dome. 

I chose a 50's style dress and a vintage scarf clip to tie my hair on one side.

The day was perfect and everything I could of imagined it would be. I remember looking across at all the guests on the dance floor partying the night away and doing tie limbo and feeling so happy to be there with my husband and all the people I loved the most. 

There are so many ideas and creative ways to make your wedding day individual. I wish I had Pinterest and wedding blogs 4 years ago when I was putting together my ideas! I would love to hear about your special day and any great ideas that added a personal touch for you. 

Love Lemon x

A week in the sun....

Hi

Welcome new followers! Nice to have you.
This week has been about family time and of course sunshine for us. My husband and I took a few days off which we have spent having picnics, days out and chips on the beach and some time in the garden in the paddling pool. It has been a nice chance to relax and be outside. Since moving to Suffolk from London 10 months ago this week really has proved to us that we made the right move.

Dunwich and Walberswick beaches:

When visiting Southwold I took a look around the shops and did some thrifting, finding this very retro teapot for £3:

I also came across a Antiques and Collectables shop selling mostly crockery but also some vintage bags, jewellery, mirrors and furniture. The shop was crammed full!

These pretty shells were for sale:

I also bought these colourful wooden spoons in the Adnams shop at Southwold:

I decided this week to go back to working on my granny square blanket. I have a long way to go but determined to stick at it and make something for all the family. 

Love Lemon x

60's Vintage Pyrex

You can imagine my excitement (those fellow vintage Pyrex lovers anyway) when I saw these two dishes in my local charity shop! I love the design and bright colours, different to a lot of the vintage Pyrex patterns I have seen and I was so happy to add to my collection. Now I realise I actually need some display shelves for all these lovely things - oh and a bigger house!

The dishes were in their original box:

I took them to the counter and the lady told me that a gentlemen had brought them into the shop recently after clearing his garage. He said they had been a wedding gift for him and his wife who have been married for 47 years!!! They have NEVER been used. What a great story to go with a vintage find like this. I am happy to get them out of hiding!

I am still deciding where these beauties should go:

In the 1960's a company called J A Jobling produced this 'Harvest' design Pyrex dishes, making a change from the clear cookware. So this would of been a very new and modern piece of cookware for the newly married couple.

Love Lemon x

Vintage Telephone

I have wanted one of these vintage rotary dial telephones for so long now! I have seen a few at auction and been outbid and when I saw this orange/ivory one on the All Mod Cons website I had to get it. I love the colours and it reminds me of the one my mum and dad had. The best thing is it actually works! All Mod Cons refurbish the phones and have them in working order for you to buy. They have a great selection and even offer a refurbishment package if you have more success getting one at auction than me!

Looking lovely on my 1950's Formica table:

Love Lemon x

Auction - April

Last week I visited the auction rooms for a browse, I saw lots of lovely items for sale, here are a few things I spotted:

These horse carts were so lovely!

Lots of vintage enamel tins, pots and jugs.

Sewing machine! I wish I had the space to collect these, so beautiful.

This vintage picnic set is so pretty. I love the cases they come in too.

I wasn't looking to bid on anything really but I did find a solid oak bedside table perfect for our bedroom, it just needed a clean up and a new handle and it cost me £2! I love going to the auction rooms, even just to have a look. The pieces of furniture and items being sold can be so varied with many gorgeous vintage pieces and some random things too!

Love Lemon x

Buzzing

I love Bees!

I absolutely love my French bee glasses and I have a carafe too, I got them for Christmas. My mum bought some of the tumblers when in Bruges years ago and I always thought the chunky glass base and bee design made them so individual. I was delighted when I saw them in the shop at Snape Maltings but even more delighted when my husband picked up on my hints and got me the glasses for Christmas.

I have seen a few things with bees on and I'm not entirely sure why but I really like those pretty bees.
I have some sheer curtains with gold bees stitched on them:

I found this amazing bee wallpaper by Farrow and Ball

There is also a huge range of very pretty bee jewellery out there, I particularly like this vintage inspired bracelet by Cinderela B for Not on the High Street, they have a great collection called Bea Bee:

Bee cushion also from Not on the High Street:

This bee teapot really is something special. There are other pieces available too from Etsy seller Faith Adams Ceramics

I hope you enjoyed the bees. 

Love Lemon x