Oh Dolly!

Dolly Parton's greatest hits album 'Diamonds & Rhinestones' has been played repeatedly in this house, which is a sure sign it's been a challenging week. For some its buckets of wine, eating copious amounts of sugar, or spending money, which gets them through a rough patch, for me it'll always be a Dolly Parton album. It's hard to listen to Dolly without being susceptible to her unwavering optimism and can do attitude. 'What would Dolly do?' is basically an affirmation in this house and thinking about my modern day apostle, (an apostle in a blonde wig and a push up bra), never fails to cheer me up. 

In the grand scheme of things, everything is fine. My loved ones are healthy and well, my kids are thriving and I'm lucky enough to be part of a percentage of the population, that can eat AND heat their homes, (technically we haven't turned the heating on, but we are able to use space heaters to quickly blast the cold corners, something which I consider a luxury). There's lots to be grateful for. All that's really happened was that my car broke down and I had an unexpected bill, having that surprise and the inconvenience of it, combined with some challenging mothering days knocked me for six. 

I hesitated even mentioning having a 'meh' week because honestly, does the internet really need any more first world problems?! I decided to go with the truth because I'm trying to remind myself that not being ok, is ok. Like my toddlers books on feelings say, part of good emotional regulation is being able to recognise those, floaty funny, nothingness days and allowing yourself to move through them gently.

Ciphered in-between these strange ole days, have been some great charity shop finds. My outfit of the day (make that the week because I've basically worn it non stop), is this All About Audrey midi dress, I found on Vinted for a measly £10 (they sell brand new for £60)! 

My go to look during the week is this hippie dress, my second hand biker boots and my Vinted faux fur coat. It's basically a uniform when I need to wear something that is practical but also feels like 'me.' Perhaps it doesn't seem all that practical to wear a dress, but with leggings underneath and chunky biker boots, I'm warm, my feet are dry in rainy weather and I'm able to chase the kids around! 

Having not travelled abroad for over two years, I'm incredibly excited about our impending trip to Morrocoo (this will be the fourth visit for me). I found this Topshop jumpsuit and peasant top in a Barnardo's charity shop, the top being £3 and originally from Next and the jumpsuit was £4. Obviously I won't be wearing this outfit anytime soon in the UK but I'm looking forward to giving it a whirl in Marrakech in a few months time!  

I also found this dreamy vintage embroidered jacket in a charity shop in Thame, I've been soooo tempted to keep it, but given that I really want my little Vintage selling side hustle to do well I've reluctantly listed it on Vinted. I've decided to continue to sell on Vinted as I've found Depop's fees to be extortionate and eBay I haven't had that much luck with in terms of views. I feel like I'm learning so much as I venture out into the world of being a vintage seller. Like how using white backgrounds  display the clothes better on a screen, than busy ones backgrounds, and that I need to ensure I've double checked how much of a discount I'm giving for bundles. I also had a hard lesson about the importance of ensuring the vintage clothes I find at wholesale, are thoroughly washed. Whilst I still got 4 stars from a review, it kills me that I didn't get 5, because a lovely customer pointed out that the musty smell was a little strong! I still cringe writing that, I'm so mortified. I hadn't washed the vintage I'd got from a wholesalers because I was scared of damaging it - lesson learnt, wash the bloody clothes Soph!   

From top to bottom: A Betsy & Adam blue glittery evening gown, Joop! Jeans (which hilariously I couldn't do up so lots of strategic shots like this) and a St Michaels vintage cream jumper. Its been a lot of hours of rummaging, photographing and uploading so I'm hopeful they'll find fabulous homes and I can furnish my travel savings jar! 

So other than a broken car, charity shopping and kid wrangling, hubby and I found some time for a date night...ok technically it was a brunch date and we did have the baby with us, but as she slept throughout the meal, I felt like we had some much needed time to put the world to rites. He's fiercely private and has point blank refused having his photo on here, so I'll respect that. Instead here's a picture of my shakshuka I had! 

We visited 'The Old Post Office,' in Wallingford, which is exactly as the title suggests an old post office! They do a range of food which I would class as Mediterranean and pub classics and are known for doing a great brunch. My hubby had a Sunday roast and I had a coffee with my shakshuka. It's on the pricier side of £17 per meal, so definitely a once a year treat, but very nice all the same! I was trying to get a shot of the restaurant but chickened out midway through, so here's a crap, slightly blurry photo of the mid century style decor. 

Well that's all for now folks, see you on here real soon! 

Love Soph x