Seaton Delaval Hall

Last weekend I visited Seaton Delaval Hall which has a fantastic history spanning 900 years. In 1822, the Hall was badly damaged by a fire and much of it is still in ruin. After 40 years without a roof, local architect John Dobson, who is famous locally for much of Victorian Newcastle, was employed to work on the buildings. In the 1950's the owners Lord and Lady Hastings began to repair the buildings with the aid of grants, living in the West Wing themselves. They have since died but their son still rents the West Wing I understand.

There has been a recent campaign for the National Trust to save the Hall and re-open it as a tourist attraction. Last weekend was a taster weekend, so I took my camera along to get some shots. Typically the place I most wanted to photograph was the West Wing, but as the family still have some of their possessions there, it was unfortunately forbidden.

Corners of My Home ~ Dressing Room

The most important room in my home, when I finally got to buy my own property, was to have a dressing room. As a clothes addict, I had always wanted a specific area where all of my clothes, shoes and accessories could be organised. Granted, it is not a huge space and I must admit it is now bursting to the seems with my possessions, but still it is my own little area where I can go each morning to choose what to wear for the day ahead.

Black chandelier for dressing room glamour

Vanity with miniature Marie Antoinette style trinket boxes and hand held mirror

Selection of perfume bottles and Caitlin Shearer and Henri Cartier-Bresson prints

Vintage ring holders bought from flea-markets

A mannequin, mostly just for decorative purposes

Some Top Shop dresses and Chanel handbag

A selection of scarves bursting out of a Laduree carrier bag

Selection of lingerie from Agent Provocateur and Salon Rose at Marks & Spencer

A wardrobe shelf. The Hello Kitty is actually a money-box bought from Top Shop - the idea to save money for more clothes

The door stopper in the shape of a squirrel, bought as a gift from my parents

I can never have too many coat-hangers and seem constantly to run out, so I buy these white wire hangers in packs of 20 from Ebay

My dress wardrobe, all of my dresses are housed here. I love opening the doors to see the array of prettiness

A small selection of shoes from Office, Kurt Geiger and Top Shop

My small Russian (and Japanese) doll collection standing in front of a pop-art canvass of myself and a friend, bought as a gift

Picture An Hour ~ 21st March 2010

Picture An Hour. Or thereabouts.

Sunday 21st March

8am - I awake quite early and have granola for breakfast

8.30am - Decide what to wear. Comfort is key on a Sunday, so my slouchy Depeche Mode tee shirt and jersey American Apparel skirt seem like a good idea

9am - Go outside and set my tripod up to take the photographs you saw in my last post

10am - Looks like the sun is making an appearance, it's officially the first day of spring today, does this mean it has finally arrived?

10.30am - Decide to go for a drive to the coast

11.00am - The Tynemouth flea-market is my first port of call, may as well have a little browse to see if I can find any treasure

12 noon - I only manage to find this little Eiffel Tower to add to my collection

12.30pm - I head off towards the coast-line, admiring the beautiful spring flowers along the way

1pm - It's quite a long walk to get to the cafe on the beach but it's such a pleasant day I don't mind too much

1.30pm - Arrive at the little wooden hut on the beach that is Crusoe's Cafe. I only indulged in a Mocca, even though the cakes looked very tempting.

2pm - I sat for a while with my hot drink watching the world go by on the beach

2.30pm - No cakes for me as I was saving myself... you have to have chips when you go to the coast

3pm - A walk back to my car taking in the view

6pm - Home relaxing. And finally a sweet-treat. It's never too early for Cadbury's Creme Eggs even though it's not quite Easter yet

1940's Style

Today's outfit reminds me of the high-waisted shorts worn in the 1940's era as shown above. A recent purchase from Top Shop, these shorts have a vintage vibe which I love. I'm quite enjoying a caramel and black colour combination at the moment, I think it's a classic when complimented with red lips and nails and winged eye-liner.

Top Shop shorts, bodysuit & platform shoes ❖ H&M pom-pom tassel scarf ❖ Tabio 110 dernier tights ❖ Ragtrader at Etsy rings