Hello and Welcome to MY BLOG

A warm welcome to you. I think it might be a good idea to introduce myself to you before we go any further. I am a 39 year old female living in Devon, England with a wonderful husband and two rambunctious cats. Sadly, I had to retire from my teaching position at a local primary school due to the problems associated with ME/CFS which I have now had for two years. I am pretty much housebound and only occasionally step outside. When you spend so much time in one place you need to feel comfortable and secure, probably more so than if you go out to work every day. My husband and I have worked very hard at creating a beautiful, warm and inviting retreat. I do the sourcing and buying and my husband does the DIY - a perfect partnership!

My great passion is writing and since developing ME/CFS I have spent a great deal of time indulging myself in this love and have even begun to make some money doing so. I feel it is important to keep my mind active regardless of how inactive my body might be. I have another blog called DANCING WITH THE SANDMAN (see blogroll for link) which is dedicated to helping sufferers of ME/CFS. Do please pop along and take a look.

My other great love is ALL THINGS VINTAGE. I have collected some wonderful treasures over the years and thought it would be nice to share some of these beauties with others. Opening my own online store specialising in ALL THINGS VINTAGE AND SHABBY CHIC was the inevitable next step. This blog is my story and will tell the tale of the challenges I face dealing with a debilitating and unpredictable illness and creating a beautiful sanctuary that is both my home and business. I hope you will join me and share some of your experiences too. Warm wishes - Andie x

Old Photo Postcards

I have recently been very busy sourcing vintage photo cards and came across several that would be perfect for auction templates and shop advertising. Isn't this one the sweetest? It was photographed in 1915 and has been hand painted, I believe, although I am no expert. Just look at those roses - simply beautiful.

This beautiful photograph sits in a lovely vintage frame in my bedroom. It also graces my cottage shop stationary and online catalogue headers.














The colours in this photograph are glorious; still vibrant and alive after all these years. I use this picture when I photograph my vintage quilts and it always seems to complement the colours perfectly - no matter what they are.