1970s ‘Your Own’ black tooled leather clutch :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

1960s ‘Emerald City’ kelly green wool dress by Alison Ayres :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

1960s ‘All Spark’ gold metal mesh purse by Park Lane :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

1950s ‘Honey Web’ brown floral dress by McMullen :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

1950s ‘Autumn Avenue’ chevron stripe dress by Dixie Deb :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

I’ve also added more vintage homewares to the store…

Pop on over and have a look!

I’ve always loved carrot cake and I like to think it’s a little bit healthier than your regular chocolate cake or sponge. I mean… it has a vegetable in it! Plus, when I came across this award winning recipe from a 1969 Butter-White Wings Bake-Off I just had to try it.

Carrot Cake

INGREDIENTS: 5oz. butter; 3/4 cup sugar; 3 eggs; 1 3/4 cups plain flour; 1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon; 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 1/4 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 2 cups grated raw carrot (2 large carrots); 1/2 cup chopped mixed nut.

ICING: 4oz. cream cheese; 1oz. butter; 1 teaspoon vanilla; 2 cups icing sugar.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well. Fold in the sifted dry ingredients alternatively with carrot and nuts. Place the mixture into two well-greased 7in. sandwich tins and bake in a slow oven (approx. 150ºC) for 50 to 55 minutes (I have a fan-forced oven so it only took about 40 minutes). When the cakes are cold, join them with half the icing, top with the remainder and decorate with walnut halves.

For the icing: Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, add vanilla and gradually beat in sifted icing sugar until the icing is of spreading consistency.

This recipe was submitted to the bake-off by Miss Anne Asser of Gunnedah, NSW and I think she deserved her $200 Young Moderns award.

It’s delicious! Fancy a slice?

Held at Trish’s vintage shop (Hunter & Co.) I met, mingled and talked about all things vintage with a group of wonderful ladies.

Left to right: (top) Jacinta, Claire, Me, Jess, Eszter, Kirsty, (front) Trish and Marianne.

We all met and sold vintage to some wonderful customers.

While, I also swapped a vintage dress with Claire, snaffled a cute cable knit cardi from Candice (Super Kawaii Mama) and was possibly a little over excited about buying a Queen Elizabeth coronation tea tray from Trish. But… I’ll tell you more about that later!

Left to right: Marianne, Me (pulling a funny face), Jess, Clara and Trish.

How adorable is Betty, Trish’s little pooch?!

All in all, I couldn’t have imagined a better Saturday. A big thank you to Trish and Marianne for being such wonderful vintage hosts and thank you to all the lovely ladies I had the pleasure of meeting. I can’t wait to see you all again!

1960s ‘With You’ white and blue raffia bag by Lanza :: [SOLD]

1960s ‘Snow Fall’ white drop-waist shift dress by K-Lene :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

1960s ‘That Glitters’ silver metal mesh purse by Glomesh :: [SOLD]

1960s ‘View Point’ plaid pinafore dress by Kenrose :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

1950s ‘Winter’s Bloom’ blue floral dress by Adelaar :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

I’ve also added a few more vintage homewares to the store…

Pop on over and have a look!

This… is pretty much my perfect bicycling outfit. A wooly pleated skirt, hiding the shorts underneath (also known as a skort), teamed with a brightly coloured sweater. I’m also loving her grey tights and ankle boots.

While I have a couple of dresses with skorts I’d love to have a skort separate like that or even some great culottes like this…

I also wouldn’t mind riding about in one of these fabulous 1970s black and white dresses.

In Australia, we’re required to ride bicycles with helmets which is all well and good for protecting my head but… sometimes I wish I could wear pretty hats instead.

So… it’s pretty safe to say I’m currently on the look-up for more vintage bicycling attire! If you ever come across anything like them feel free to let me know. The skort, culottes, dresses or all three… I’m not picky! ;)

Images from: Mademoiselle, August 1958; gahetNA; L’officiel de la mode nº584, 1971.

I’m incredibly excited to be participating in this day and can’t wait to meet so many lovely vintage ladies, who I’ve mostly only met online.

The event is free and anyone is welcome to come along to share in a day full of vintage fun and treasures, which will also be for sale. I’ll be selling a few pieces of vintage from my own wardrobe along with some great vintage items yet to make their way to the store.

So… read more about it here and if you’re in or around Melbourne on the 11th, please come along and say hi!

1980s ‘All Mine’ black rattan basket bag :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

1960s ‘Hop Along’ green drop-waist shift dress :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

1960s ‘Little Bit’ beige handbag by Lanza :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

1960s ‘Square One’ pink and green plaid dress by Carol Brent :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

1950s ‘Much Love’ green lace dress by Toni Todd :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

Such a pretty colour combination, don’t you think?

You’ll be seeing pretty teacups, cute salt and pepper shakers and many other fabulous vintage bits and bobs popping up in my Etsy store! Just like these…

I hope you love these vintage treasures just as much as I do!

Everyone is understandably a little Gatsby crazy at the moment and the Brooks Brothers Great Gatsby collection is dapper!

I really want one of these adorable bells for my bicycle but I can’t decide on which one. I’m leaning towards the little geisha girl… what do you think?

I love this 1980s photograph from Lei magazine. I’m not 100% sure why I love it… perhaps it’s the colours, the softness and it’s overall feeling of calm?

How lovely would it be to walk across that red bridge and stroll through this 1950s Japanese tea garden? In a full skirted frock of course!

What have you been pinning lately?

Images from: Brooks Brothers; Scallyoop; Lei Sept 1988; National Geographic Feb 1958.

1970s ‘Take Time’ beige handbag by Lou Taylor :: [SOLD]

1950s ‘Spun Sugar’ pink pleated dress by Rolinda :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

1980s ‘Love Letter’ floral tapestry clutch :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

1960s ‘Petite Posy’ green shift dress by Evelyn Pearson :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

1950s ‘Climbing Rose’ floral dress with rhinestones by Ben Barrack :: Buy via [Etsy] [ebay]

A little bit of green. A little bit of pink. A little bit pretty!