Vintage Coats, Capes & Jackets

I've had a few new items from the all new fancy Second Hand Rose in the last couple of weeks, and  on a bit of a theme of vintage outerwear. 

This is my new faux-fur-mink-style 60s coat. It's really warm and comfy and it looks nice with jeans to jazz up a casual outfit:

I have a soft spot for capes but find that they're not always practical. This is the most perfect vintage, woollen, cape-coat I've ever seen and is much easier to wear than full cape which can be a bit restrictive in the arms department! It zips up the front and as you can see, it has open 'sleeves' that are attached with a buttoned tab underneath. So you have all the arm maneuverability of a coat, but in a lovely wool cape.

This is my most recent procurement: a 1950s tweed jacket. The cut is unfitted (not cinched in like a 40s jacket) but it's actually really flattering and smart looking, plus very wearable on a daily basis. Looking forward to wearing this one more, now that the weather is a tad warmer!

Pancake Day = Vegan Blueberry & Maple Syrup Pancakes

This is the best recipe I've found for vegan pancakes. I've had it for years and can't remember where it originally came from but it works a treat for chunkier Scotch-style pancakes.

Ingredients are:

1 cup of plain flour

1 tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt (I just use a pinch)

1 cup of soya milk

4 tbsp of corn oil (veg/sunflower oil would also work)

1 pack of blueberries (this makes for a lot of blueberries per pancake but that's the way we like it!)

Sieve the dry ingredients and combine the soya milk and oil in a separate jug and whisk until combined and a bit frothy. That's an important bit as it's the best way to combine the oil and ensure an even distribution. You probably should add the blueberries after you've added the milk and oil to the flour, as then you can then give it a good beating to get rid of any big lumps, which is slightly harder to do if like me, you added the blueberries first and you're trying to avoid squishing them!

Once the batter's made it's always better to use asap as it's got baking powder in it, which starts working as soon as the liquid is added. So get your pan nice and hot, add a small amount of oil and ladle in a big dollop of the batter. This is the first one that turned out pretty heavy on the blueberries!

As with normal pancakes, don't turn them until the underside is browned and on this sort, wait until the edges have started to cook and solidify. These aren't really the sort of pancakes you can flip in the traditional style, unless you want the blueberries to fling off in every direction and splatter all over your kitchen!

And here's the finished product, covered in delicious Maple syrup. Yumity!

I haven't experimented with the mix, so it may be possible to make thinner crepe styles and add a filling in afterwards. It might also be possible to successfully make these with gluten free flour, but you'd probably need to add a few more tablespoons of soya milk.

Brighton

We spent a couple of days this week in Brighton, our first weekend away/holiday for well over a year (the joys of self employment!). This was the view from our hotel room and we could see the sea hoorah!

Brighton is one of our favourite places to visit. There's so many independent shops to mooch around, lots of vintage and antiques shops (Snooper's Paradise is one of my favourites!) and lots of cafes and restaurants with delicious vegan options for us weirdy vegan types - Food For Friends, Pizza Face, Aloka, Infinity Foods, to name a few!

We're big fans of the pebbley beach and the pier. We couldn't resist playing a few classic arcade games while we were there. Chris won on the Dolphin Derby, I'd won last time we were there!

We did lots of walking during our stay, exploring The Lanes, walking along the sea front and generally having a nice time. I've still never been inside the Pavillion, it's something I'd like to do next time we visit, the outside looks fantastic from every angle. We also stopped by No Walls Gallery, where they sell Chris's prints. It was nice to see so many of his on the walls!

One of our favourite shops is Dave's Comics on Sydney St and we stocked up on comics and graphic novels while we were there. I bought Undertow, a graphic novel set in 60s Coney Island by Ellen Lindner, and The Sigh by Marjane Satrapi, who's one of my favourite authors. Satrapi wrote Persepolis which was made into a film a few years ago and the wonderful Chicken with Plums which I've only just found out has also been made into a film and looks amazing! I enjoyed Undertow with its 60s setting, and The Sigh is as delightfully charming as the rest of Satrapi's work.

Two days running we ate at Rock Ola coffee bar on Tidy Street, a fantastic 50s themed cafe which does a mean vegan breakfast. Here's me at Rock Ola in my new cardigan, a 40s style hand knit from eBay. It originally had really bad, small, 90s metal buttons that I had to immediately switch to some more traditional ones. 

All in all it was a great little, well overdue break and we already can't wait to go back at eat more nice food!

The All New Second Hand Rose!

The Second Hand Rose relaunch went really well last Friday and the new shop looks a treat!

Lots of photos of the launch night party and more interior pics on the Second Hand Rose Facebook page HERE.

Second Hand Rose Vintage Re-launch Tonight!

Tonight Second Hand Rose is finally opening for a preview party for the new shop, ahead of the official opening tomorrow. Anyone fancy coming along from 5pm is most welcome!

Here's me helping to fill the rainbow rails of vintage tees, sweatshirts and knits!

You can tell we hadn't turned the heating on, I'm still wearing coat, gloves and snow boots!

Second Hand Rose has moved!

Second Hand Rose Vintage has moved and is about to open a new shop! It's been very exciting helping Clare with the move to the new premises, into a larger unit at no. 10 The Hopmarket. Look how it's coming together!

The new shop opens officially on Saturday 11th February which means it's a busy week for the Second Hand Rose gang!

There will be a special opening night preview at the shop on Friday 10th Feb from 5pm to 6.30pm. For more details and how to get your invite, visit the shop's website HERE!

I did this little tracing doodle of the new shop for the invites:

#ZOMGBloggersBash

On Monday 29th January Clare and I headed down to London for the #ZOMGBloggersBash. It was an event to celebrate a new shade of Rockalily Lipstick which is a collaboration with beauty blogger ZoZo of The London Lipgloss. Their limited edition shade is called ZOMG and bloggers from all over were invited to attend and join in the fun.

There was lots to see and do, lipsticks to try, wigs to put on, makeovers to be had, cupcake decorating, to name a few. Most importantly it was an opportunity to meet up and chat to other bloggers and tweeters and put friendly faces to names! Name badges and a genius Blogger's Bingo were real ice breakers and encouraged everyone to starting chatting!

There's a more detailed blog post with lots more of our photos from the night on the Second Hand Rose blog, so I don't want to repeat it all here, but here's a photo of me and Rockalily owner ReeRee Rockette:

All in all it was a really fun night with a lovely, friendly and supportive atmosphere, congrats to the ladies for organising it!

After the #ZOMGBloggersBash we stayed overnight in London and set off on the 2 hour and a bit drive home at 10am the next day. We didn't get very far before we got stuck in horrendous traffic due to a warehouse fire with flurries of snow to taunt us every now and again! We moved about 10 miles in 4 hours! We finally arrived home a somewhat ridiculous 6 hours later feeling a bit sorry for ourselves! While we were stuck in the car I made the most of it took a few snaps of London landmarks. As the passenger in the car it was a bit like going on a sightseeing tour of London, only very, very slowly!