Christmas at Calke Abbey.

Ed and I had a little Christmas adventure to Calke Abbey this afternoon. We went to go and have a peruse around the craft fair originally but nothing really tickled our fancy there. But fortunately parts of the house were decorated all ready for Christmas so we couldn't resist going to have a look around to warm up the festive cockles. 

The Christmas tree was absolutely beautiful, it was decorated with ornaments that have been handed down the Harpur-Crewe family for many generations. There were some vintage ornaments from the 40s to die for! And the fairy on top of the tree was over 100 years old, she wasn't looking too bad for her age either.

Calke Abbey is probably my favourite National Trust property (that I have been to so far), and one of the reasons for this is the sheer amount of taxidermy that is crammed into this property. There is so many unusual, exotic creatures, bones, shells, oddities. I could easily spend all day here just looking in awe at the eccentric collection. 

All the Christmas decorations made Calke really atmospheric today, it was almost eerie in places. You could imagine all the Christmas' that this property would have seen and the plethora of emotions that would have been housed within these walls. It was really nice to go to a place that nudged you to think about Christmas in a way that wasn't all about present buying and hectic panic.   

If you get a little spare time over the coming Christmas weekends I would highly recommend going to Calke Abbey for a festive experience that with warm up the heart of the most ardent bah humbug.

Hope you have had lots of festive fun this weekend <3

Much Love.

Kirst xXx

Frolicking at Ramsey 1940s Weekend.

We went to the Ramsey 1940s Weekend yesterday. This is an annual event in Ramsey that time travels you back to the 40s with a whimsical mix of fashion shows, light hearted dance classes, air shows and vintage stalls galore, to just name a few. There are also lots of exhibitors of vintage cars. This is probably Ed's favourite part of the event. 

It may become obvious throughout these pictures that I am a little bit in love with Morris Minors. This little beauty is also in my favourite Morris Minor colour. 

I even love the ones that are a little rusty, I hope to get a little doer-upper one day *swoon*.

This tiny little car did make me giggle, there is no way I could fit all my luggage for a weekend away in that!

Even the boxes of this era are adorable.

I was happy to take this dress on a little day trip as it is one that was made in the 40s. I was given it for my birthday by Ed and my parents. I wonder if it felt at home amongst all these little trinkets?

So many wonderfully kitsch, tempting things. I limited myself to a nut bowl with Winston Churchill's face in the bottom of it.  

Hubby and me chilling in the shade as it was such a hot day (hence ed getting his chest out) hehe.

This was the fashion show, so many cute outfits! I think this look is awesome, I'm not sure I could pull it off around the office though.

The fashion show and evening dance were held in an old circus tent.

This is one of Ed's shots, I think he said it was a temperature gauge or something, he got very excited about this so I just nodded and pretended I understood. He probably does this to me when I look at china and trinkets. 

Before my Friend's Wedding.

On Friday my partner Ed and I went to our friend’s wedding. It was a super lovely day, despite all the rain. This was us whilst we we settling into the hotel room before the wedding began. As you can see I love men with beards hehe.

This is the first time that I have worn this dress and I absolutely adore it. This dress was handmade in the 40s, I love the thought that this dress has been alive for over 70 years. If only dresses could talk, I'm sure it could tell me lots of little secrets. This dress was an Easter present from Ed and we bought it from one of my favourite vintage shops Violet Rose Vintage. I have picked up some beautiful clothes from here and I hope to do a post on them in the future. 

And last but not least I better not forget to mention the shoes...

I spied these shoes in the sale! These little beauties are by Irregular Choice and I have got to say that I have never had so many compliments on a pair of shoes before. I have only wore these twice so far, but everyone seems to just fall in love with them. The are really comfortable as well, which is a massive benefit for me as I usually wear flats. The Irregular Choice website is definitely one to go and have a browse through, it is one of those pages that I look at if I am feeling a little bit glum as all the wacky, colourful designs cheer me right up.