Sunday 29 April 2012

29th April- 1 year since the Royal Wedding!

Well I can't believe its been a whole year since the royal wedding, big events like this seem to mark out time and make you think of how quickly it has flown by. Also makes me think how much nicer the weather was last year as today in England it has been strong winds and heavy rain fall! Last year Britain was celebrating with street parties and tea and cake or heading to London to see the royal couple after they had wed. Was a really great day and I remember crowding around the television watching with friends and family and everyone speculating what kind of dress she was going to wear. She looked absolutely stunning.

Happy anniversary Will and Kate!

Here are a selection of photographs I thought I would share with you all from the royal wedding...enjoy!




Royal Wedding

The Royal Couple via

The Royal Wedding - Apr 2011 - The Other One 
Prince Harry , bridesmaids and young members of the royal family via


Royal Wedding Cake 
Royal wedding themed tea and cake of course ....how very British! Via

Royal Wedding Day in London 
 The Royal Wedding Official Programme via


Royal Wedding
 The British Public
This link has photographs of their first year as a married couple

Hope you enjoyed this blog post
What were your memories from the day ?
The Dorothy Days

Saturday 28 April 2012

A post for my American followers!

Well mothers day here has been and gone but in America is still approaching ( 13th May). So here is a post for all my American followers for ideas of Mother's day gifts for someone who wants something unique for their mother. All the items below are either vintage or handmade and therefore are supporting independent sellers.

A beautiful poster made by Amanda Helmer. Her shop is beautiful and deffinatly one to take a look at!

A dozen paper flowers by Flower Thyme they can even be delivered gift wrapped and with a personalised message for no extra charge.

 How about a wonderful vintage candle stick. This piece has wonderful understated beauty and would look great both in a modern house or a house that favours the shabby chic look.

A beautiful handmade Sweetheart cocktail dress. The dress is made from lycra so it shows off the figure and the cut  is really flattering. Made by Onor.


 These fabric covered earrings are perfect colours for the spring and pastel colours are in this springtime. Would make a lovely mother's day gift....or you could just keep them for yourself!!


Mums (or should I say moms !?) need pampering too!! This body butter by Paradise Bath Boutique is wonderful at getting rid of tired winter skin and is a great way to spoill your mother.

I hope you have enjoyed this selection of gift ideas for your mother's. Please support independant sellers by buying something unique and handmade or fabulous and vintage this mother's day. A huge thank you to ewe and me yarns for putting this collection together

The Dorothy Days

Thursday 26 April 2012

Poole Pottery


Hi everyone,
I have been a collector and lover of Poole pottery for a long time and now have a few pieces avaliable in my shop so I thought I would give you some of the history behind Poole Pottery.

As the name suggests Poole pottery can trace its origins back to the beautiful and majestic English seaside town of Poole, Dorset which is close to where I was born and grew up. Dorset’s breathtaking landscape, quaint charm and awe inspiring vistas are world renowned and have inspired artists such as Turner as well as being the long-time home of novelist Thomas Hardy. In that same vain Poole Pottery seeks to capture the essence and spirit of one of the few truly unspoiled pieces of the English countryside. There is truly nothing quite like sitting by the waters at Poole harbour or soaking up the atmosphere of a long summers day amid the cottages and cobblestones. Of course no perfect day would be complete without a lovely cup of tea from one of the many quaint cafes dotted along the Western coastline. Poole pottery is the perfect accompaniment to this storybook setting. 

A photograph of one of my favourite beaches in Poole in the summer time.

Poole Pottery is steeped in history and tradition. It began making its elegant pieces on the Poole quayside where it continued to craft pottery by hand. Although production has moved away from Poole in recent years you can still visit their workshop on the quay which is home to many talented artists hard at work crafting the latest designs. Poole pottery prides itself on a ‘history of design and innovation [that] includes many distinctive contributions to such periods and movements as the late Victorian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Modernism.’ The beautiful pieces we have in stock in The Dorothy Days not only carry within them the history and tradition of this charming place but are also examples of brilliant artistic innovation that was truly ahead of its time. The pieces are sturdy and rugged enough to meet most needs as well as being beautiful enough to be appreciated for their own sake proudly displayed on the mantel or in a glass cabinet. I guarantee you it won’t be long before you and your friends will want to break them out and have a nice cup of tea or coffee  ;)

Our pieces are wonderful examples of the Twintone designs cultivated and crafted at Poole Pottery in the 1940’s. Twintone pieces, based on the two colour principle, continued to be produced right up until 1981 and are popular with collectors, aficionados and tea lovers to this very day. OurIce Green and Seagull coffee cups and saucers (avaliable in a set of 2 or just 1 by itself) have a minimalist charm that manages to be both vintage and trendy. 
Set of 2 Poole potter coffee cups (single cup also avaliable in my shop)


The Sepia and Mushroom Jug combines the earthiness and elegance of English coastal villages. Part of me wants to take them on a picnic whilst lazing in the rolling green fields soaking up the English summer sun.
Mushroom and Sepia jug/ creamer which is avaliable in my shop


I hope you have enjoyed reading a little bit about the history of Poole Pottery and remember...The Dorothy Days pieces make wonderful gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions...or just because. So why not treat yourself to a piece of Poole Pottery today? You will be purchasing not just a beautiful object but also the history and aura that emanates from the English countryside. 

Have a great day,

The Dorothy Days


Tuesday 24 April 2012

Beautiful beautiful London!

This week I took a trip over to London to visit some art galleries, shop and mooch around. Even though I am a country girl at heart I do love the big city and my recent trip to London has made me fall in love with it all over again! I know I am rather bias but London is such a beautiful city and makes me very proud to be British! It was St George's day yesterday (the patron saint of England) which has made me feel rather patriotic and proud to live in England so I thought I would share some photos from my recent trip to London.
Big ben!

Looking towards the Dome from across the park

I also found a lovely video of London on youtube which I thought I would share to give a taster of London to those of you who are reading from outside the U.K and for those of you who have never visited London or England.


For those of you reading this from outside the U.K, I would love to hear all about where you are from and the reasons why you love living where you do. Please leave a comment in the section below and  I shall feature some of the places you live in my blog post next week. If anyone has any photographs of where they live that they would like to share please email them to thedorothydays@hotmail.co.uk and I shall pick the best to be featured here on the blog

Have a great week
The Dorothy Days

Saturday 21 April 2012

Shabby Chic Saturday!

I am rather in love with the shabby chic / cottage chic style so was thrilled when my little meakin tea cup trio was featured in this most beautiful treasury which shows you how to get the romantic shabby chic look for your home. The colours in this treasury are really beautiful blues, pinks and yellows and would be great for inspiration if you were redecorating your home.

Here are some of my favourite items which were included

A beautiful photograph of pink peonies (one of my favourite flowers...they smell amazing) by Judy Stalus

How luxurious is this bed by painted cottage ?! You would deffinatly feel like a princess sleeping in this bed!
 My 1950's shabby chic English rose tea set for sophisticated tea drinking!  The Dorothy Days


A handmade pillow by classic by nature

How could we have shabby chic without some handmade bunting?! I love the delicate floral fabric used in this bunting by Berry a la Mode
 

A huge thank you to The Fairy Tree for featuring me in this beautiful treasury :) Hope you all have a wonderful weekend




The Dorothy Days
XX

P.S If anyone is unhappy with me using the photographs on my blog please let me know and I shall remove them immediatly.

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Vintage film to start the day

Woke up this morning to England being cold, wet and miserable! It is pouring with rain and looking like it is going to be this way the whole day.

I felt I needed a little bit of cheering up so have been watching this beautiful video on 1950's fashion with rare archive footage. The film shows creations from top designers at the time including Coco Chanel and Christian Dior. Some of the dresses are absolutely beautiful and so glamourous. I wish I had a few of these in my wardrobe!!

Hope you enjoy,
The Dorothy Days
 

Sunday 15 April 2012

Mother's day (USA) cottage chic treasury

Today I woke up to find that I had been included in this beautiful treasury on Etsy by Bozena. The treasury is a mother's day treasury as ,although we  have already had mother's day here in the U.K, for our American friends mother's day is in May.

Here are some of my favourite items included in the treasury....

How cute is this child's ruffle dress by BerrypatchUSA

What a great idea this is! This is bmariacci's upcycled vintage dictionary pages

I love this rustic barn photography by Jessica Torres

and here is the treasury itself which features my 1950's Meakin tea set


Thanks so much to Bozena for including me in this beautiful cottage chic treasury and I hope all my readers have enjoyed having a look :)

Best wishes,
The Dorothy Days

Friday 13 April 2012

The start of April = The start of the April showers!

I can't believe it is April already! It feels like time has really flown by since I have started this blog back in snowy December and I am really excited that Spring is now here and summer (my absolutely favourite time of year) is just around the corner. April so far has been very typical of Aprils in England....perfectly sunny one moment with lovely blue skies and then short burst of April showers the next! I really should learn to take an umbrella out with me as I keep getting caught out in the rain! Here are some snaps taken from a little wander in the countryside that I thought you would enjoy.....

A rather curious sheep!
This horse was really friendly and rather liked being stroked
And of course....my favourite pink wellies.....!!
Please note all photos are copyighted to me so please do not use in any way without permission :)


The Dorothy Days X

Monday 9 April 2012

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all of my followers :). Hope you all have had wonderful day.
Who else has been a big child and have gone on an easter egg hunt?!....please say I am not the only one!!?? I think it is something I shall never grow out of!
How have you all been spending the day? Please let me know in the comment section below. Would love to hear what you have all been up to :)

Best wishes and HAPPY EASTER

The Dorothy Days
 Xx

Thursday 5 April 2012

Quote of the day

I thought I would share a little quote I found today which I rather liked....

'No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.'  ~ Proverb


The Dorothy Days

Wednesday 4 April 2012

What a busy week!

Well this week has been another extremely busy one but it has also been a great week. My week started at 5am on Monday morning when I hit the road to travel to a vintage fair in which I have a stall. When I woke up it was very cold outside so despite saying last week "out with the winter wardrobe", I wrapped up in all my winter woolies complete with extra thick socks, bobble hat and a lovely thick knitted jumper. By 9am I realised this was an awful desicion as Monday was one of the hottest days we have had in the U.K for a little while! Luckily I had a spare change of clothes so on with the flipflops and summer dress!! Had a great day and met some wonderful people including a man who works as a film director who bought some of my pieces to use on the sets for his films!

This week I also took a trip down to the beach which was absolutely beautiful and walked along the cliff tops. Here are some photographs I took which I thought I would share
 
What a beautiful day and what a beautiful coastline!

Boo also found a little friend with the most amazing ears!!

On Sunday I attended another vintage fair, this time one especially for vintage fashion in Bath. It was another really great day and a great excuse to dress up in fabulous vintage clothing!!

The Dorothy Days