Listen up Miss Middleton... from one bride to another...

With the royal wedding just a few days away, I felt that it's only right I do my part by making my blog a little more wedding focused, and part a few pearls of wisdom to the bride-to-be. This is also a tad self-indulgent having recently married myself, hence my lovely new profile picture.

My wedding day was an absolute dream.But also like a dream, you look back on it and it's all a bit of a blur. Even whilst I sat down ready to eat my meal, I couldn't remember the earlier parts of the day. So this brings me to Charlie Moment pearl of wisdom number one: cherish every moment. Now of course, every angle of this wedding will be filmed, photographed, tweeted, and God knows what else, so when Kate sits down a few weeks later for a few moments to quietly relive the day, she's likely to have a moment by moment account recorded in some media or other. And to be fair, most brides do. But they are only snippets of memory.

I mentioned my meal, it's probably the most expensive part of the day. We'd planned it, worried about it, tested it, and come the day, I couldn't even eat it! It wasn't due to nerves, but due to discomfort. So pearl of wisdom number two: Make sure your bra isn't too tight. Between the main course and dessert, I had to drag my mother off to the bathroom to relieve me of the offending garment. An incident I hoped no one would notice, but of course, as some guest delicately put it, when I returned to sit for my meal, it was obvious that something wasn't quite so enhanced. Oh well. At least I could enjoy my cheesecake pain free.

Pearl of wisdom number three: take your time down the aisle. Ok, there is a noticable difference here, Kate will be walking down Westminster Abbey aisle, I walked down a country church aisle, so she may feel the need to hurry. But as soon as you step into that church, nerves take over, and  you will start pacing towards the altar. Don't. Not only because you'll lose that moment where everyone can ooh and aaah over 'that' dress, but you may also find you're standing next to your groom after only the first beat of 'Here Comes the Bride'. It can be a bit a awkward, just standing there. Though did give my husband-to-be a chance to make cheeky query about whether or not I was making up for lost time. I was only fifteen minutes late!

So anyway, my few pearls of wisdom for our Princess-in-waiting, or for any brides out there. But seriously, just enjoy every wonderful second. I know I did.

One does like her vintage tea cups…

I am so sleepy. I’m still recovering from my 4 days working at the Stitches trade show at the NEC Birmingham in my alter-ego marketing role. So I am heavily relying on caffeine to get me through the days. And what better way to take coffee, but in a vintage china cup? Avid Charlie Moments readers will remember these cute little finds during my bargain Saturday, a few weeks back.

Me and my little tea cup

Teacups of course are useful for more than just looking posh whilst sipping your brew. Most popular of course are the shabby chic teacup candles you can make, and possibly the best project I’ve found for this is in Martha Stewart’s Encyclopaedia of Crafts. This is a great book that is absolutely packed with projects for every craft imaginable. It really does leave you wondering if there is anything that woman can’t do when it comes to turning her hand to crafts!

Martha Stewart's teacup candles

 

However, for those less hands on crafty people, there are tons of teacups you can buy on Etsy and Folksy. Here are a few of my favourites:
 

From princesscraftonline  a delicate antique Royal Albert 'Dell' fine bone china teacup decorated with sweet orange and yellow flowers

SweetElise has made a stunning candle from this boldly patterned teacup  

 

And just because I love her name The Dizzy Flea offers this beautiful blue and white teacup candle.

Beautiful, chic and romantic. Vintage teacup candles really just add that something. I wish I still had mine. But that was before the cat came along…

The baby booties boom

There seems to have a been a bit of a baby boom going on around me. And instead of getting in on the action myself, I have decided to go along a different route and got into the baby knitting mode.

I came across this gorgeous baby mary jane shoe pattern, and decided to have a trial go. The finished result looks pretty good, however, that is only after I had to unpick it after sewing the strap on back to front!

 

 

It's really good fun and quick to knit. (When you get it right). Just need to knit the other one and hope it matches. Or there will be a baby out there with odd shoes ala Helena Bonham Carter at the Golden Globes.

Rocket Dog wedding shoes? Surely not!

Yesterday I decided to step up the wedding shoe search, after all my wedding is now less than 8 weeks away. So I recruited one of my bridesmaids, and we started our search in wedding dress shops, but very little there. Then went to trusty Debenhams, so fruitful last week for bridesmaid shoes, but alas this week it failed us.
But then, it was like a lightbulb went on, lets check out Schuh!. Now of course, there was the problem that Schuh is a little too trendy perhaps for the traditional wedding, but in we walked having seen a few ivory satin type shoes displayed in the window, determined to give it the benefit of the doubt.
A very harrased looking assistant brought shoe after shoe for me. They pinched, the squeezed, and quite frankly, some of the looked awful. But then I saw them... The perfect little peep toe, with ruffled ivory material.

Quite the 1940s glam shoe. So barefoot, I walked over and picked them up and saw, to my absolute astonishment and delight, that they were in fact Rocket Dogs. Now anyone who knows me, will know that I have a slight obsession with Rocket Dog shoes. I regularly wear their boots and have a number of pumps (that I update every year). I couldn't believe my luck. I slipped my foot inside, and felt the divine comfort that is most definitely a Rocket Dog trait. They looked gorgeous. The only problem is that the sole is black. And now I'm worried that they will stick out like a sore thumb. And there is my dilemma. Advice? Help? All gratefully received...

Knitted birds and birdhouse

Woop woop! I finally finished knitting these lovely little birds and birdhouse, courtesy of Amy Gaines.

All Amy's patterns are absolutey gorgeous, and the best thing about them is that they are so simple to do. I really recommend you take a look at Amy's patterns. She has tons of cute and quirky creatures that you can knit and crochet. I have plans for the octopus next (of course once my owl is done), I'm just going to need to find somewhere to put them where the cat can't find them!

My Mum did her own spin on the birds and birdhouses. And even though it's only January, she's got her first new homemade decoration for Christmas. It's so festive with the cute robins and snowy roof.

Plus her knitting is so much neater. I think it's because she's right handed. They're at an advantage! ;)

A day of vintage finds

I love a good bargain. And even though sometimes I have been accused of *shock* being called a snob, I do like to have a rummage around and find myself some second hand goodies. Especially when they are as pretty as my finds.
I went to the Bette Noir vintage fair today, and as per usual it was absolutely packed. And also as per usual, there were tons of fabulous finds. But I was there, raring to go bang on 11am. Unfortunately so was everyone else...
My friend, with her luckily size smaller than me feet, nabbed some gorgeous grey heels, and I found a couple of lovely dresses.

This is a really pretty, just very sheer, boob tube dress, with tons of dainty flowers all over it. Just need to find something to wear underneath.

And this bargain navy dress for just £3. Though I have set a little bit of challenge with this. It's a couple of sizes too big. But I am willing to give dress alterations a go. Who knows, I may even find a hidden talent!

So after kitting out my wardrobe in the morning, I popped into a charity shop where my fiancé found a gorgeous kitchen table. It's really warmed up an otherwise very white kitchen. Just need to sell our breakfast bar now.

And leaving my absolute favourite to last. My new china teacup set. Just so pretty. Only £7 for 4 cups and saucers, and 6 side plates. Plus wrapped in loads of newspaper so I have a whole stack to line the cat's litter tray now :)

But now the dilemma, do I use the teacups for drinking tea. Or put them to a decorative use and make candles out of them. Hmmmm. Decisions, decisions...

Knit one, purl one, drop one... scream!

Barney Owl by Fluff and Fuzz

My friend has shared an absolutely gorgeous knitting pattern of a Barney Owl by the very talented Amanda Berry. It's incredibly cute, and very simple knit - Bonus! Now I admit that I'm not the fastest knitter in the world, but I shared this pattern, and several others, with my Mum, and she's already knitted about half of them. In 2 days! Well, I thought to myself, this is a challenge, I must start knitting my Owl. Three days on, only done 40 rows. But it's a start.
However, my knitting speed isn't really the main problem. My fiancé has announced to me that his least favourite of my hobbies is to knit, and here's his reasons why:
1. I ignore him
2. I drop stitches and sigh alot
3. Eventually I get so mad at my knitting I throw it away in discuss
4. That leaves me grumpy, and I then take my grumpiness out on him
Of course I feel this is all highly unfair. He should support me in my knitting, and my occassional frustrations with said knitting.
So now, I'm going to finish my rant and get back to knitting my Barney Owl. Don't forget to check out Fluff and Fuzz for some of the most adorable knitted animals I've come across.