Retail therapy that doesn't break the bank

I have come to believe that deep inside me dwells a glamorous 1940's housewife who every now and then tries to escape. There is just something about this era that appeals to me. It may be the simplicity of life back then, or the focus on families spending time together doing simple things like playing board games, going for bike rides and picnics in the park... or how 'together' the mothers always seem to be.

I'm not 100% sure what it is to tell you the truth... perhaps some distant memory of a past life. All I know is that whenever I see things to do with that era, whether it be a movie, tv program, book or picture, something stirs in me that makes me wish I could live life back then.

After browsing around on on of my favorite blogs Brocante Home and gazing longingly at all the pretty vintage homewares and decorations, I was struck with the overwhelming urge to uncover some pretty trinkets to redecorate my home with.

I headed to my local op shop determined to find some lovely things to bring home, and was quite happy with what I found.

I picked up this absolutely gorgeous tea cake stand for $8. It is simply made by gluing together 3 pretty plates using an upside down egg cup and tea cup.

This is such a clever way to reuse items which can be picked up relatively cheaply at op shops and garage sales, or even odd pieces of china from an incomplete set at home.

I served my kids some biscuits for afternoon tea on this and they thought it was great!

Next I found this delightful wall hanging for my kitchen for a tiny $2!

This would also be something fairly easy to make. It is simply half a terracotta pot which has been glued to a wooden board, surrounded by a wooden frame, and then decorate using dried flowers and rafetta.

As the benches in my kitchen are a mahogany colour and the wooden cupboards are reminiscent of those you'd find in a country kitchen, this wall hanging matches my kitchen decor perfectly!

I also already have a terracotta jug with very similar dried flowers already  in my kitchen so this wall hanging goes very well with that.

Another rather cute item I came across was this photo frame, which doubles as a key and letter holder.

This is not the best photo of it, but it was hard to take a nice photo as the camera flash kept reflecting off the glass in the frame.

There is a little cupboard behind the picture frame which has 8 hooks for holding keys. Unfortunately, I won't be able to use it for this purpose as the width would only really allow storage for single keys, and well my big bunch of car and house keys is just too big!

All in all I spent $50 at my local op shop, which included 2 novels, 1 hardcover book of knitting and crochet patterns, 3 gorgeous tops and 2 very pretty skirts, a photo frame and the 3 items I have pictured above. Not a bad days shopping!