Que sera, sera, vintage heart

The other day, I asked my mother how long I had loved vintage and all things from the 1950s and 1960s. I was curious to know, as my background and the family I come from don’t exactly share my fascination for it, so I was musing on the “why”. Her reply was “pretty much from the moment you could walk and talk”. I personally chose to grow up on a diet of Doris Day, old movies, old romance, and a love for old-fashioned things that seems a complete juxtaposition to the woman that raised me.

I wonder if this is true of you too, dear homemaker? Is it something you have boldly chosen for yourself? Not necessarily the “style”, but perhaps the homemaker’s lifestyle associated with another time?

We get on famously, but my Mum and I are like chalk and cheese in many ways. She’s so cool with her modern Scandinavian style, but Miss Floral over here wants a frill on most things, and a time-machine to take her back at least six decades! We share a love for Calamity Jane and old movies, but Mum has never chosen to “live out” that taste in either her personal style, home, or relationships -and I’m just so thankful to have been raised by a mother who always allowed me to be me.

It wasn’t easy to find my feet and allow my inner world to manifest on the outside, but once I did, my life changed forever!

Que sera sera, whatever will be will be

The world won’t always like what it sees, but as long as you’re happy in your role at home, then really, what harm is it doing?

Mum always indulged me with my Grandmillenial tendencies, and as a child, I would fall asleep most nights listening to a casette of Doris Day songs (I’m not even joking). In “Que sera sera”, Doris’ lyrics question what’s to become of the future. The lesson is - it’s not for us to know! The future’s not ours to see, and so, we must make the best of what we have today, and look at the little ways in which we can bring joy to our situation as we find it, even if those in your circle or community raise an eyebrow or two.

The future’s not ours to see, and so, we must make the best of what we have today, and look at the little ways in which we can bring joy to our situation as we find it, even if those in your circle or community raise an eyebrow or two.

One of the things I probably reiterated time and time again in my books is that, “You cannot control a lot of what happens in life, nor how people act towards you, but you can control how you react to each and every situation”.

This is so true of people close to you, friends, families, foes, and those online as well. Not to mention the reaction women like me receive from the world when we share our lifestyle choices, or openly reject modern hustle culture.

I don’t know about you, but as a woman who doesn’t quite feel she fits in with this modern world as it stands, there is a real duality to being a “trad wife” in 2024. Our heads and bodies might have to live in the modern age (and I’m thankful for so much of it), but our hearts belong in another time, and that’s ok. It’s nothing to be ashamed of if you want a life that reflects (the best of) past ideals.

It tickles me that this whole story of my “situation” just won’t die! This would not have been news 70 or so years ago. A fellow author friend Jerramy Fine sent me this picture from a train in London last week, she spotted me in the The Week, and they captioned the image “Put me in a time machine to the 1950s”.

Ahhh, a line meant to make me sound silly, I’m sure - but I secretly echo the sentiment of the quip. I’d hop in without a moment’s hesitation, so long as I could bring my loved ones with me… I just hope there’s a Chevy Bel Air waiting for us on the driveway when we get there. The first thing I’d do is grocery shop! Wouldn’t it be nice to do that like it’s the 50s? Post-rationing of course.

These are our “Carl & Ellie” days

Life at the moment feels a little chaotic and topsy turvy, and we are still finding our feet in many ways, but we’re slowly getting there having spent a lot of time and effort to make our house a home. I’ve made some nice friends too, but catch myself feeling a little anxious about the future as everything is still just so unfamiliar, but I am clinging to Doris’ words. “What will be, will be”. There have been some amazing “happenstances” of late, that have reminded me that I’m exactly where I am supposed to be, even if at times it feels a little uncomfortable.

While I love old decor, and old houses, they do require a bit of extra work. We have been busy bringing some things up to date, as well as the usual “settling in”. Working hard, painting most walls “Antique White USA”, and making adjustments in the kitchen to fit our new appliances which arrived last week. Thankfully we had old appliances left behind in the house so we could bide our time and wait for the EOFY’s (the end of year financial sales here in Australia). So there has been a lot of plumbing, and fixing, and sawing, and balancing. We’re like Carl and Ellie from “Up”, covered in paint and sawdust, or wielding a hammer and drill most weekends.

The house was built in the 1940s, and while it has so much charm, it also has a lot of wonk! When the fridge went in, it looked practically drunk it was on such a lean. However Mr & Mrs Pettitt became Mr & Mrs Fix-it, and after a few trips to Bunnings and putting our carpentry and troubleshooting hats on, it’s all shipshape now, thankfully.

The best thing about getting back to the bones of a house is discovering little things like old wallpaper.

Carl found this ditzy floral pattern on the wall behind the oven, and managed to retrieve some for me. I have a feeling it may be from the 1940s, and I plan to frame a small piece to hang in the kitchen. A joyful thing among other less fortunate days like when the boiler (that’s older than me!) went out, and a rainstorm made the gutters overflow. Que sera sera!

Seriously though, having new appliances has made me feel like one of those housewives in vintage advertisements that is beyond giddy over her new dishwasher. I know they’ve become somewhat of a joke in recent years, but honestly? I really identify with her joy, haha!

Now we’ve got the bones of the kitchen together, I’m finally able to work on the “fluffy” bits like adding whimsy and decorative bits which is my favourite part. I’ve been working on the pantry, and decided to add curtains to the lower shelves. I’ve since sewn them up and I’m glad I followed through with the idea. This material was secondhand from an op shop, so it only cost $4 and a bit of time at the sewing machine one evening. I used the factory hems on three sides of the curtains, and simply sewed a “rod pocket”. It hides all the ugly things like packets of crisps, cat food, and spare lightbulbs etc.

My husband fashioned a bar from a metal pole he found in the bathroom section at Bunnings. We’ve installed it in a “click down” fitting so that I can wash and change the curtains easily (and seasonally), if I want to. Adding curtain rings or clips would have made it a bit more complicated. I’m still undecided if I want to paint the walls in here a different colour. What would you do?

When we moved to Australia and really downsized a lot of our possessions, I had a fleeting thought of perhaps changing my style and trying out a modern Scandinavian interior. However living in an AirBnB for two months quickly made me realise it was not for me. I’d even suggested “trying modern” to my friend Katy, who has a lovely style. She and her husband renovate houses and make everything modern but warm - but the moment I told her about my floral sofas she laughed. Old habits die hard I guess! Our “Miss Marple” sitting room is an homage to England. It’s delightfully old fashioned and has a strict no-screens policy.

The vintage Sanderson “Chelsea” chintz sofas were a marketplace find for $150. We purchased them from a lovely lady who bought them new in 1960, and they are absolutely immaculate. I love curling up with a good book in this room. There are a few things left to finish in here, like putting up some smaller pictures and “dressing” it. The whole house needs curtains too, but we’re waiting until next Spring to commission them, as they’re an eye-watering cost! I’d like a dusky pink velvet in this room, powder blue for our bedroom, and a neutral heavy linen everywhere else.

I’ve always dreamed of having a chintzy floral sofa, and so too a proper dressing table. I was never able to have one back in England as our home was just too small. However, I’ve been praying-for/manifesting my dream dressing table lately, and this beauty came home last week. She is a marketplace find and the lovely lady that sold it to me had it custom made years ago. I promised her that I will cherish it, and I do! Utter girly perfection. The chair was found in a charity shop and is the perfect match.

I have also found some lovely vintage decorative items recently, from charity shops, antiques places, and Facebook marketplace. Most things are leaning towards 1955-1965, which is my favourite period of home style and fashion. Once the house is “sorted”, I’d really like to graduate beyond curtains and practical sewing to garments. I’ve adopted a dressmaker’s dummy from a neighbour and there is a sewing school down the road so fingers crossed for that!

I’ve also collected a few old copies of Woman’s Day, as well as some books from that era that are such fun to flip through. Carl was out shopping for vinyl and bought me a gorgeous one from 1963 with Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra on the front that was in the same shop. The articles are really lovely too, and much what I’d prefer to read in a woman’s magazine. I find modern ones aren’t really relevant to my lifestyle these days, even the ones aimed at “homemakers”.

What struck me about the edition below is that they had a competition where they encouraged entrants to write in and tell them what you love about your spouse! Unimaginable to see something like that today, is it not?

Something else that keeps grabbing my eye are old books about homemaking, and my beloved royals. There seems to be a lot of affection for them over here, which is lovely. I found this old copy of a book written by “Crawfie”, our late Queen’s Governess which will sit nicely in my collection.

Speaking of Queens and Princesses…

Our lovely Betty is a furry Queen Elizabeth in cat form through and through. So calm and quite regal, nothing phases her - and every morning just before dawn she will jump up on the bed, tap my hand until I lift the duvet (comforter/doona), and will creep underneath to snuggle with me for half an hour. Purring away and nudging for more affection if I stop.

Then after a time our little lilac rebel Violet will wake up, crawl out from the blanket-lined drawer under my side of the bed and start running laps of the house to wake us all up! They’re very good at knowing the time as they do it just before the alarm goes off.

Violet snuggles

Violet came home three weeks ago and definitely gives Princess Margaret vibes. She’s so beautiful but an absolute firecracker. It reminds me of a line from an early season of The Crown where the Duke of Edinburgh says, “in every generation there is a rebel”. So true of Edward the 8th, Princess Margaret, Diana, and Prince Harry is it not? I’d put money on Prince Louis being the next… Our own is Violet here. She knows who she is and what she wants, that’s for sure.

Violet Victoria

She and Betty are half-sisters, and after a two day ‘getting to know you’, they’re now thick as thieves. Violet is pretty independent, but knows her moment for getting my undivided attention. As soon as I pick up a book, she’s there. She’ll miaow at me with her little crackled but confident voice, jump on my lap, and immediately set about kneading biscuits. So cute.

I hope they’ll never stop with the kitten antics as their personalities are incredibly cute. The evenings in the family room are just the best, watching them go from playing hunter/prey with one another, to seeing them all snuggled up and grooming each other.

There were never such devoted sisters

We’ve dreamed about having a cat again for such a long time and feel so lucky to have these beauties. Lucky too, and so very grateful for our new home, and personally, my luck came in this week that absolutely blew me away!

A coincidence you wouldn’t believe

I think when I wrote last time, I told you that I don’t believe in coincidences. As a Christian, and, if you will, a “predestinarian”, I think all things work for our good - and my earlier life and lifestyle are testament to that. We can learn and grow from our mistakes, and I truly believe that God can be in the little things in your life, no matter how insignificant they may seem. Even in the bigger stuff that hurts too. I’ve told you before that I have felt a bit emotionally flat this past year for certain reasons, and my confidence had been knocked a little bit, especially with writing and showing up “online”.

Last Sunday my husband went out for a motorcycle ride with a friend in the country, and Arlo was playing video games with a friend. Our new house is open-concept at the back where the TV and PlayStation are currently situated while we remodel the garden room into a games room. Parents of tweenage boys know that they can be l-o-u-d and boisterous sometimes, so I decided to pop out for some me time at our local charity shop to search for treasure.

I have found many things in there, especially the book section. This time I happened upon some first edition Gerald Durrell hardbacks (of “The Durrells”) from the 1960s for $3 each! I scanned the shelf above to make sure I hadn’t missed any, then below, and WHATTTTTTTTTT…...

NO WAY!!!!

My own book, sitting there in the non-fiction section. My heart leapt into my mouth and my head started spinning.

This had never happened before. Sure, I know I’ve written books. I have held copies in my hands, but never have I seen one in the wild before. Never has one been in my presence by complete chance.

Of all the Sundays, of all the books, of all the shops in all of Australia.

My book!!!

My hands shook as I tried to FaceTime Carl. Futile, he was riding out in the countryside. Arlo then. I had to tell someone! He answered, I didn’t say much beyond “look baby”, turning the phone to show the book on the shelf.

“Wow Mummy! Quick, get a pen out and sign it”!
“No, I don’t think I should do that, but, but, should I buy it? I don’t know what to do….”

An unfamiliar voice chimed in… “I’ll buy it”! I turned to see a girl behind me who had clearly overheard the conversation and had a beautiful smile on her face. I explained that I’d written it back in 2019 and had never seen it on a bookshelf before, let alone on the other side of the world! She was so happy for me, it was sweet. My face was flushed beetroot, and I was still giddy.

Tam bought my (now signed) book

“Sign it for me?”... and so, Tam dear, you made my day. Thank you so much for letting me share this story! Tam and “chance”, or “coincidence”, if you want to call it that, (but I believe it’s God), made my day too. He knew I needed proof that it was a good thing I’d done, and that despite moving to the other side of the world, my words are still relevant, my purpose still alive and well, and that He has got it all under control. Even when I might feel lost and unsure.

Que sera sera, He says. The future is not yours to see, but He has plans to prosper you. Especially those who walk a narrow path.

Look out for the little things this coming week darling. Life is messy, and complicated, the foundations sometimes wobbly, and might wake you up in the early morning making demands of you, but there is always something brighter ahead. Life is beautiful in the small things that are relevant to your life and the things that make you unique, not what the world and culture expects of you.

With love,