virtual shop tour.....

....well I made it,I am now a shopkeeper-a dream come true! It has been a mad couple of months making this special journey,but I can well and truly say that it has been worth the uphill climb and I now have a shop to share with my family and friends and it already feels like home! Last week is now a blur,Saturday night and Sunday morning felt like an episode of 60minute makeover,dashing about like a headless chicken and true to form I was I finished just minutes before the deadline,still making price tags at 1.45 when the grande opening was at 2pm! The sun shone in through the window all day long and we all enjoyed a selection of Mr Kiplings finest and prettiest offerings, and with so many special people around us it felt like our wedding day all over again,a delightful and memorable day that warmed my heart and killed my feet! When Monday morning came around I couldn't believe I was going to 'work' for the first time in 5 years-but of course it doesn't feel like that at the moment-this is the honeymoon period I know-I am surrounded by lovely treasures, treasured friends pop by for a chat and I am a very proud parent when customers admire my cute new baby! Today was my second day at the office,spent tweeking and fiddling,with a little bit of selling and a lot of nattering,tomorrow is my day off-its Wednesday...car boot day-so my mama is shopgirl for the day,Im sure she will undertake to chat on my behalf! For now,less of the chat lets get on with the tour,no more words,just pictures-hop to my flikr page later if you fancy a more detailed guide to the Fine and Dandy emporium....be lovely to see you any time!

I will start from the door and do a full sweep!

....hope you enjoyed your visit-opening hours are 11-5.30 Monday-Friday,closed Saturday,11.30-5.30 on a Sunday,

our address is;

Fine and Dandy

Melville House

Marazion

Cornwall

TRI7 OAP

Tel:01736 710611

roll up,roll up....

....well,things are coming along very nicely at the emporium-much of my week has been spent there in the company of paint tins & some of  the 'lost wooden souls',which have congregated there!I am not usually a hands on type of gal' when it comes to encounters of the DIY kind! We operate on a fairly traditional basis in the paperdolly household when it comes to chores,sorry my feminist sisters but I like a man-who-can,I am happy to forgoe the glory of putting up shelves & hanging pictures-because-well,I simply can't be bothered! I am not adverse though to a little light painting & the little shop is so deserving of her new coat(s)-3 of them!-that I cannot begrudge getting my hands dirty for a change,however I can find no joy amongst the shelves of B&Q & I am SO tired of wearing my 'painting clothes' EVERY day-grrrr! A little light relief came my way on Friday morning the wall paper I ordered was ready to collect from that other well known DIY store-you know it-Cath Kidston.....   

....what?Well it sells wallpaper doesn't it! So me & mama went on an early morning jolly to St Ives to collect 2 rolls of happiness-be patient I will show you the happy in a moment-this is the sneaky photo I took with my spy camera,so that Mr M can whip me up some card racks just like these! We were very controlled & looked only with our eyes-coming away with just the paper & some fabric for mamas lovely creations (available soon!)-oh & a head full of ideas of course! It really was the most glorious of days outside,a day when you can see Cornwall through the eyes of a tourist & wonder at its beauty,then feel blessed indeed that you are part of it & it part of you.....

....St Ives is where my parents met,way back when...ahhh! Back then mama looked like a pretty Beatnik girl,tiny as a bird in her homemade micro-mini skirts,knee socks & clogs-clip clopping along the cobbles,dad was a handsome brooding brute with side burns & a roll-up! Nostalgia for mama & me,St Ives is where I went to secondary school-the branch line along the coast was my daily commute,not that I spent much time looking out of the window back then-too busy giggling or reading my Smash Hits magazine! Soon it will be claimed by the tourists again....

....it looks better than it tastes I find! Ok its now Sunday morning I have been up since 6.30,thanks to a very enthusiastic 4 year old boy who embraces every morning of every day as only a 4 year old can! I feel a cold coming on,I am trying to pretend it isn't but I feel a little wonky-please forgive my wobbly blog ramblings-what I really wanted to show & tell was what Mr Ms mum got up to yesterday with the rolls of happiness...

.....Isn't she clever,not an easy space to paper with that arch & with the added pressure of using paper from heaven & a perfectionist daughter in law,no pressure then!I stayed away-(afraid I might get my hands dirty!),until I could stay away no longer.....

....oh lovely shop,your new clothes suit you so well-many happy hours will I sit & smile at the loveliness! Thankyou S.x....

....Mr M is headed off to the circus now to do a bit more hands on,so I can continue weilding my paint brush next week-tissue in hand I fear,sneeze...sniff...In the meantime I must climb a mountain of washing & then tackle the tip that was once my home...

P.S-I forgot the most important bit,the shop has a name-'fine & dandy',I hope you approve-If you are a facebooker please feel free to be a fine & dandy fan!x

setting sail....

.....well,I did it,I set off on my little journey on Tuesday-the rain poured,the wind huffed & puffed & the sea swelled,but I was not deterred from my mission.I knew it was a special day,a day I will always remember!So now I have started out on my chosen path,I shall happily reveal my destination.... 

....yes dear reader,here it is my hearts desire-a shop! My shop....mine,which means that I,yes me...I will be a shopkeeper!I will stand behind a counter,I will wrap things in tissue & put them in bags,I will stand on my doorstep & look up & down the street with my arms crossed-like you do when you have a shop....

.....just like Arkwright in 'Open All Hours',except my partner in crime will not be G-G-G-Granville it will my mama! This dear little unloved shop is in Marazion,a town which is just over the sea from the small island where I live-I pass it several times every day & have done for years-on several occasions since it was empty,pressing my nose against the glass & doing some 'shopgirl' fantasising! It is in a lovely spot,set back from the main square on the end of a row of rather splendid 4 storey town houses-next door is very posh,with splendid  pillars-we are a little shabby just now but some fresh paint & a shiny new door will soon help us to fit in! The building is over 200 years old,the landlord tells us back then it was a coach house & possibly a house of ill repute-fabulous-our little bit at the front would have been the bar I guess,in more recent times it was an estate agents & before that a denture makers! Inside we decided it was worth doing a proper job of things,so we ripped down the bobbly wallpaper with glee & Mr M ripped out a very dodgy sink which was lurking in an arched alcove,we also tore up the dusty carpet & of course made things look even worse! But after making a flying start,full of enthusiasm,things are looking much better already...

....this wall is in for a little treat,it is getting some Cath Kidston wallpaper-just 2 rolls,at that price!I have spent some time there painting today & I feel so at home,it is so sunny & you can hear the birds in next doors garden-you can also hear the old boys TV upstairs,football...loud football!This space has been waiting for me all these years & I didn't know it-how could I,yet it now makes up the third point of a triangle of some places in the town which have made up my history...I am always fascinated that four walls can mean so much,some places we will never enter & some we will spend many hours within.I will no doubt spend many hours looking out of this...

  

....ok,I have already spent a little time looking out of it,seeing the same faces passing by,several times a day some of them,nearby is the Post Office,corner shop,chemist & bakers (with pasties!)-also 2 pubs,so there is lots of spying to be done,I am already on waving terms with some of the locals!I also have several dear friends very nearby,so it really is the perfect spot-oh & how could I forget,the charity shop is a stones throw away,if I can just get there before my friend Louisa who is a regular!This promises to be a very happy chapter in my life,it all seems so right,I will try not to bore you with shop talk-but I will keep you up to date,we hope to open at Easter...for now,I am so very tired that I must to bed & dream some more of my pretty little shop,you see dreams do come true-sometimes...

 

....'you gotta have a dream,if you don't have a dream,how ya' gonna have a dream come true' (Happy Talk-Captain Sensible)! ....night night.x

eye candy 2....

.....I got nothing much done today but I had the loveliest time doing it!

Daytrippers.........

.....a day trip to St Ives today with my bestest friend Lulu & we had the happiest of days doing the things we like to do best;window shopping,talking & reminiscing,eating cake & laughing,always laughing! St Ives out of season makes for a grand day out-in Spring & Autumn its beaches are breathtaking,in Summer it belongs to the tourists & the seagulls-today was grey & drizzly but still there was its unmistakable light,glowing sands the colour of seaside ice cream & sea blending into sky. You cannot fail to be charmed by the narrow back lanes & alleys with the tall,higgledy-piggledy houses crammed into corners & spilling out of them,its not so hard to imagine how it must have looked in the artists heyday,when at every turn there was a picture in waiting. The town itself is awash with surf shops & so many cafes & bars,all having a little snooze before the rude awakening that is Easter! The little shops we crept into today were a joy to behold,my eyes feasted on so many glorious things I felt I would burst,oh we do live in such a pretty world-when we choose to see it that way & it gladdens the heart to know that some things are created simply for sheer delight & no other reason. So we satisfied our hunger for eye candy amongst pretty dresses,ribbons,books,cloth,china...so many darling pretties that I shall dream shop dreams again...Our desire for cake was satiated by taking tea at the Tate,with hypnotic views of that vanilla sand & we headed for home full to the brim......     

 

........this dear little 'confectioners' has been here just as long as I can remember & it always makes me smile,I love that it remains unchanged-holding its corner & proudly displaying its wares.....also on offer today-'frozen rabbits',a snip at £2.50-we resisted!