Vintage Happy Hour, Martini anyone?

So here I am feeling terribly guilty about my neglect of this little blog of mine. It’s been at least 9 weeks since I found the time to get anything uploaded or put words into a sentence. So after a hearty grilled breakfast see below...I got this wee post together :)

And why not have you been posting and DIYing like a maniac? I hear you ask! Well, I’ve re-joined the work force since my last post and am now gainfully employed! Hurray! The downside of which is that my DIY has been shunted from pillar to post while I get used to the whole work/life balance again. Which also means a few treats for me now that I've got pocket money again. Yippee!!!

Treat 1 -My Mid Century Modern Lava Pitcher, it so reminds me of the famous wood
 print of  'The Great Wave'and my Op Art Geo Vase.

Now that I am no longer caring for my dearest and much missed Mum I have been trying to reconnect with friends and open up my life again, baby steps but making progress!

So it’s all very positive stuff but I have sorely missed my little internet blurbs and here I am again with an in between post of little high points from this last while here at H for Home!

I have cracked on with my hall and landing as I declared I would in my last post BUT I gave myself a little mini project of a ‘sortof’ foodie nature. Well, more of a boozy one to be really honest…..

A Vintage Drinks Cabinet!

This has totally been inspired by the most delicious of cocktails, the Espresso Martini! It’s my top tipple at present after numerous family dinners at Il Pirata, a local Belfast restaurant, whose reputation is a bit good and whose espresso martinis I have enjoyed from time to time.

Weirdly I didn’t buy the boozy ingredients straight off and get stuck into the joys of mixing cocktails, no, not I!

Knowing of my love for all things inspired and vintage you should guess I went straight online and started searching for cocktail glasses and vintage bar ware! Oh yeah! The booze comes later, right?

So I scored big time! EBay found me the most delightful Atomic era cocktail glasses, the genuine article being sold after having lived in the original owners attic for six decades. My delight on arrival of these little beauties was immense folks. A real lift of my spirits, pun intended!

Treats 2 and 3 - adorable Atomic Martini/Cocktail glasses, each stem differently coloured
and gleaming gold leaf detailing, such lovely wee things

My next piece of vintage treasure came hexagon shaped and from the 1960’s. A black and gold Op Art Bar tray! Stunning and again in perfect condition! Yay me, winning streak or what! Swiftly followed by a glass cocktail shaker from the same decade and suddenly from the USA I found an Atomic era ice bucket to complete the kit for my H for Home Happy Hour!

Treat ???? lost count, opps! Gorgeous vintage Atomic  Libbeys  Ice Bucket

Weeks passed and although my gorgeous vintage gems gleamed enticingly yet strangely emptily at me ......

.......and though bottles of coffee liqueur, vermouth, vodka, schnapps and others appeared and were stashed in the kitchen, I was being held back by something to bring it all to life….

And then there it was, perfect for the requirements and only £20 quid.

 It’s Martini Time folks

And the end result was the delivery of a well crafted Espresso Martini, following Jamie Olivers recipe and a relaxing perusal of my final treat, a couple of vintage cookbooks from 1970's.

Delicous

I'll be back soon, no slacking! Looking forward to it, till then Bottoms Up!!!

Taking a Break in Belfast City from my Dodgy DIY Goings On and A Visit to Muriel's Cafe Bar.

Hi there again!

Remarkably this is not a diy post, although I have, as always, been banging away at the walls and making a big mess, no folks this is a joyful foodie post and a little peak for you all into one of Belfast's best loved Cafe/Bars, affectionately abbreviated and known as Muriel's.

I decided off the cuff to pop in for lunch after I'd been wandering around Belfast city centre for an hour or so today (Thursday) on a little shopping excursion, taking in the local charity shops as per usual and swinging past TkMaxx (where I actually did buy something, I was out of luck at finding charity shop bargains today).

So INCREDIBLY embarrassing as it was I FORCED myself to talk to the lovely staff of Muriel's Cafe Bar and asked if it was ok to take some pictures and explained about my awful wee diy/food/whatever blog, discouraging them to look it up as I was embarrassed enough just asking and no really a flaming cocktail, although no doubt spectacular, was quite unnecessary and I was getting quite enough attention already but certainly next time let's go for it! (Thank you to Glen(n)?, a lovely lad, there's a pic further on!).

They said yes, work away at it and told me the story behind the bar's name.

On the premises that stands there was once a Milliner's shop run by a woman named Muriel. Now Muriel made her hats by day in the shop downstairs and by night, upstairs from her hat boxes, she scandalously ran a brothel, employing several women and encouraging 'going's on'!
This makes perfect geographical sense to me as a local as the shop as it would have been is only a stones throw away from the Albert Clock, (a Belfast landmark) which was notorious from the year dot for being a spot Ladies of the Night frequented, displaying their wares then knocking off down the numerous surrounding streets and alleyways with their clients!

So this is why upon entering Muriel's you will soon find yourself catching glimpses of mannequin heads and hat boxes stashed away in cosy corners while knickers and brassieres waft gently in the breeze above your head as the door swings softly closed behind you.
Because apparently Muriel  washed her lovely ladies undergarments and dried them hung from the rafters! So enjoy the pictures, it's a lovely spot and no I didn't score any free grub, lol! BUT I thought that some of you readers from further afield would like a wee look at somewhere that I always enjoy.

These intimates are all spotless!

The helpful, friendly and chatty Glen(n).

A vintage mannequin with a difference!

The sign says 'Wait Here, Ive Gone For Help' (or looking for for more undies perhaps?)

The lovely Muriel's namesake.

Super pretty display of cupcakes. You can see the lovely Muriel's lampshade in this picture!

I had a lovely lunch, a glass of red wine, gently spiced (with cumin and paprika) pork with bourbon in a brioche bun and salt and pepper spiked french fries.

Sticky sweet and delicious

Lastly a double espresso to get me up and running for the rest of the afternoon

.......so long Muriel, until the next time!

Now I hasten to add that the reason I got such nice pictures with nobody blocking my view was because I was there before the kitchen opened! It doesn't take long for this little spot to fill up! It's spread over two floors and folks it's not massive. It's intimate, vintage inspired chic with good grub and nice wine, you can sit outside on the paved street and watch the shoppers trek by if that's what you like to do or hide away in dimly lit corners of this wee gem.

So that's that. I'm off to bed and I hope this foodie/vintage post hits the spot!
Take Care,
Sam xxx

https://www.facebook.com/muriels.cafebar

My Vintage Style Kitchen Makeover, finished at last!

If you have been following my last few posts then you will know my finances are zeroed at the minute and that I've been re-doing my small Belfast kitchen with 15yr old paint (remarkably still useable after a good stir with a stick). Now it's finished! I'm relieved, relaxed and much more happy with my workspace. I really hadn't realised the effect the décor had on me before I got stuck in with the paintbrush. I under-estimated the 'feel-good' factor of a pleasant and fresh looking kitchen. I'm really glad I did it :)

And here is the reason why....... bless this house, or demolish it. It's pretty obvious just how long I'd been avoiding this space. Too much going on elsewhere in my life to be launching into it willy-nilly, but eventually things change and I finally had a bit of time to get motivated and start freshening things up.

Cluttered and dull. Before pics.

 

I have no idea how this happened!

 





 

Pretty dated and much abused I'm sorry to say, believe it or not it was clean, just completely knackered! And my work surfaces.....well they looked like this......

I have no idea what kind of stone effect this was supposed to be, except dirt coloured.

 

Needless to say I was pretty ashamed and fairly dubious about going into the kitchen to cook and bake (which I love to do!) let alone let my family or even a tradesperson in through the door :( lol!

So I got creative, my budget being about 50 quid ha ha ha! You might have spotted the wooden blind I had hanging at the window but pulled up from the first kitchen picture, well I got it down and started to cut it up, re-purposing the slats by sticking them on the cabinet fronts with extra strong diy adhesive! I was going to have panelled doors I decided!

 

 

So onwards I charged! Having little to no choice on my paint colour, relying on the 15yr old stash from the shed I mixed up some homemade chalk paint which meant no need for an expensive primer to undercoat and made the bold decision to go deep blue on the cabinets! My miniscule budget shrank a little when I bought some white emulsion, clear varnish and a plain white roller blind from Argos. I think I had about a tenner left at that stage. I bought some paper napkins off eBay and four roles of washi tape to co-ordinate with my new blue units.

The work tops took a bit of working out, I had a real longing to have a faux marble effect kitchen surface and after watching a You Tube tutorial I had a go, using my white paint as a base and some acrylic paint from my art supplies for the marbled veining effect.

A success but too much colour!

 

It looked pretty good! BUT...............as I proceeded around the kitchen work surfaces the further I got with the effect, the LOUDER the effect got. By the time I got to the opposite end of the kitchen my eyes felt sore! I just knew that I wouldn't be looking forward to putting the kettle on first thing in the morning if |I had to face my faux marble, so I painted over it! A small delay but necessary to avoid headaches later ;)!

The never ending supply of 15yr old paint from my shed delivered a lovely peachy/coral emulsion which I made lighter with some of my big bargain bucket of white paint and this easily covered the  dark walls. What remained of the white cleaned up the ceiling and then the last drops were mixed up as homemade chalk paint and used to base coat the grotty floor tiles! Phew.....just a bit of work involved in this room! I painted my Dualit toaster and my kettle, my wine rack, a chandelier light fitting that belonged to my Mum, some folding wooden chairs bought second hand for a tenner for both about a year ago, and I even painted the cheapo roller blind from Argos with a wild Ikat design! All the napkins were used to decoupage my plain white wall tiles and I used the washi tape as a border, then sealed with clear varnish. I did exactly the same on the kitchen floor. All the cabinets were waxed after painting and I painted my door knobs with nail varnish (there is a nice pic of those on the last post I put up). I even used an old ornate frame to make a chalkboard (I've saved the mirror for it in case I change my mind later!). I got my spice cabinet on the wall and that pretty much wrapped it all up.

Oh, the doilies I got 3 for £2.20 on eBay from a lovely seller in Alicante in Spain which I displayed in some second hand frames bought from charity shops and painted white. I think I'll add more to the collection whenever I get a bit of extra cash again!

Just take a look! Its a  very vintage feel, but its soooooo much better than it was, even if I had to work with paint that I just had stored away I still think it turned out great! I hope you do too :)



Hand-painted Ikat blind in co-ordinating colours a big £15.99 from
my tiny budget!!

Chalkboard

Panelled chalk painted doors and plain white counter tops.

Hand painted drawer knobs.

Panelled drawers.

 

I painted the plastic components on the kettle and toaster to match

I miss-matched the paper napkins and washi tape to try and create a vintage delft style on the wall tiles and floor.

This covered dish was only £2.95 from a local charity shop and its so pretty :)

Vintage doilie and china dish :)

I installed a 'new' light fitting to fit in with the vintage feel of the kitchen.

I took one of the cabinet doors away completely, to make a space
 for my biggest basket which now holds my spuds and onions,
 with room below for some of my cookbooks

I put some hooks on the wall to hang folding chairs on when they are not being used,
 and my little folding table easily fits two for breakfast!

 

My special floor :) Its a random decoupage patchwork of miss-matched napkins.
Any of the napkins that tore I just patched in so you can see some difference in tones in places,
 but to be honest it doesn't detract from the over all effect :)
 

Well that's the kitchen tidy! Its less of a chore to wash up the dirty dishes these days and a bit more of a pleasure so I think its been a successful little project....so what's next?????.......actually its my front door, hallway, stairs and landing! First impressions count, right?
:)

lots of love

Samantha x.

Ps, apologies again for light changes making pictures brighter or duller etc. Belfast weather plays havoc and changes every half hour at this time of year. Also all my pics are phone pics! Maybe one day I'll have a decent camera ;)



 



Sneaky Peek ( the kitchen!)

So it's been weeks since I posted, but no slacking. The kitchen is nearly finished. The cabinets have all been up-styled and a new vintage feel look is coming together. All using my 'elderly' paint from the dark corners of my garden shed. It's not the colour scheme I would chose if I had any cash but as things go I can't complain :).  At the minute I'm painting the floor, awkward.....you bet! I'm doing it a section at a time so I can still access food and coffee (I couldn't face the idea of keeping the kettle and a selection of Pot Noodles stashed in a corner of the lounge!). Full blog post coming soon. I'm hoping everyone has a wonderful Easter and get stuck into those chocolate eggs folks ;)
The pics are of some of my crazy new kitchen bits and bobs. I bought 10 plain white B&Q value knobs and had a little artsy sesh with some nail  polish enamel, trying to replicate the feel those gorgeous ceramic knobs that cost about £2.50 each. Another pic is of a charity shop bargain that's going to be home for my essential kit of herbs and spice jars!
And lastly some Washi tape, useful for lots of little projects, wait and see......
Happy Easter :)
S.

All About The Pussy Cat Post!

I know this is a filler post, an in betweener while I blast ahead with the kitchen but it's also my little baba :). Bless his socks! He's a sweetie and a complete psycho, we have a love/hate thing (all coming from him though, I just keep on with the love!) and this is a wee tribute post to him prior to his 4th birthday in March. An arty b/w collection of intimate portraits of Nyah at his most seductive......and not racing round the lounge trying to kill invisible enemies or my tootsies!
Love you Baba Nyah!!! xxx.