19 January 2013

Cute babies and bundles of wool = heaven!

Fed up of Countryfile? Bored of talent shows? Well thanks to one very special programme, your faith in Sunday night TV can now be restored!! Yes Ladies and Gentlemen, Call the Midwife is back!!
When the first advert was shown for this, Mummy Second Hand Rose who is an avid fan of the programme let out a noise I can only describe as high pitched and deafening, my ears are still recovering.
Call the Midwife began last year which I wrote about here. The lovely cuddle up on the sofa drama became hugely popular, with its joyous scenes and even beat Top Gear in the ratings, due to men being fans. Personally I think it was down to the midwives uniforms. The lives of the 1950's East End midwives Jenny, Trixie, Cynthia, Chummy and all the nuns became our weekly escape with a box of biscuits and a cuddle from the cat.
 Series two consists of eight episodes and will cover a huge range of topics, from prostitution to child abuse, but still all done in such a magical way that you're not constantly crying into your Kleenex. The series begins on BBC1 this Sunday (20th January) at 8pm and you'll be able to catch up on BBC iPlayer, so there is no excuse not to immerse yourself in hot water and towels. So everyone get your biscuit tins at the ready and settle down for an hour of 50's nostalgia, good deeds and lots and lots of blood and gore.
While we are on the subject of homeliness, I have a present for all you crafty fans!! There is a new weekly magazine out called Knit and Stitch, which is full of great ideas and tips, plus you get two free balls of wool with every issue! Issue 1 was only 99p and contained some knitting needles, a DVD and two balls of Bergere de France wool. Since all my hand me down needles are bent, I snapped this up!
Issue 2 that has just come out was a little more at £2.50, but contained two more balls of lovely wool and a shiny purple crochet hook. The magazines are great and have some fab patterns and are perfect for beginners and you more advanced knitters out there. They don't just include knitting ideas though, they cover anything from crochet to felting and tapestry. You can find the magazines in supermarkets and newsagents or check out the website here, to catch up with any that you have missed.
Personally, I can never have too much wool and I'm determined that these don't end up full of cat hair like all my other balls of wool do. My cat Jasper already seems to have his eye on them though, somehow I think I already know who is going to win this battle.
Second Hand Rose
XxxX

10 January 2013

100th Post!! A huge thank you cuddle to you all!!

I literally can't believe I am writing this post!! It is in fact my 100th!! When I told Mr. Boyfriend this exciting news he said we should go in his little purple car a.k.a Vera and decorate it with Second Hand Rose flags and try out his new trucker horns (don't ask) and chuck out business cards in London.
 
I on the other hand do not fancy injuring people with cards flying at their face and have decided to celebrate with the box set of Dad's Army, cuddles from my cat Jasper and a pack of Fox biscuits, any excuse.
 
My blog has consisted of many different topics, from me rambling on about my love of Rock Hudson to looking like a vintage bombshell.
 
I didn't believe that anyone would take time out of their day to read my writing, but they have. Somehow I have accumulated over 160 followers and over 44,250 views and I haven't even had to bribe them with biscuits, unbelievable.
 
 
I cannot tell you how extremely grateful I am to you all for regularly reading my little blog and the comments you leave truly to do brighten my day. I love reading them and reciting them to my family at least 100 times, poor them.
 
If you follow me on Twitter you will probably have noticed that I've been screaming from the Twitter rooftops that I have been published in Vintage Life Magazine!!!!!! This is so unbelievably exciting for me, yes Second Hand Rose is going up in the writing world!
Vintage Life is an absolutely a-mazing magazine full of fabulous info and tips on how to be a real vintage goddess!
 
My first article for them was in the November Issue all about a history of coats and keeping warm the vintage way. Now I have been officially added to the Contributors list and had to supply them with a mugshot of me trying not to have a crazy look on my face, trust me this photo took many attempts to do.
 
For this months issue, seven pages were dedicated to me gushing about the 60's and how to get the look, full of fabulous pictures. Mummy Second Hand Rose has been telling everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, from the postman to the woman on the checkout in Sainsbury's, it seems every person within fifty miles has been hounded by my mother to buy a copy of Vintage Life. That is if they can find one after she has bought all of the magazines available in the South East.
 
 
I have written an article for the February's issue about old dating rules and have just submitted one for March on the 1970's. I really wouldn't have been able to do this without your continued support and pluck the courage up to be able to publish my writing, so for that I owe you all a lifetime supply of Cadbury's.
 
I still have to pinch myself and find it hard to believe that I am writing for my favourite magazine, I have royally clicked my heels three times. Beat that one Dorothy.
 
Second Hand Rose
XxxX
 
 
 
 
 

06 January 2013

Mr.Selfridge: Full of glamour, intrigue and men in three piece suits

We all enjoyed Christmas television, who doesn't love seeing our favourite shows all Christmassyfied? This year we were all crying over Call the Midwife and laughing at The Royal Family.
Now we are back to the normal schedule of TV, you maybe feeling a bit deflated and be turning to Lovefilm to find something decent to watch that doesn't involve Z List celebrities falling on their arse on the ice.
Well no fear Ladies and Gentleman, because ITV has come to the rescue in the form of Mr. Selfridge.
 
Mr.Selfridge is all about the life of Mr. Harry Gordon Selfridge an American entrepreneur, a man with a mission to make shopping thrilling to women, I love him already.
The programme is set in London in 1909, when women were starting to be given more freedom in their lives. Harry wanted to empower women and let them indulge themselves, so he opened the doors of his lavish department store on London's famous Oxford Street.
It has been described as 'Downtown but with tills' and if you liked The Paradise you'll enjoy this. So if you fancy delving into the world of corsets and three piece suits then this is for you.
 
The programme is based on 'Shopping, Seduction and Mr Selfridge' by Lindy Woodhead, which is an account of the real life story of Mr. Selfridge and the famous store.
The drama begins tonight (Sunday) on ITV1 at 9pm. If you can't watch it then, do check out ITV Player.
It involves glamour, scandal, love triangles and intrigue, so settle down on a Sunday with your Fox's biscuits and indulge in this fabulous drama.
Any excuse to eat more biscuits.
 
 
Second Hand Rose
XxxX
 

02 January 2013

A late Christmas present to you all!

Wow I cannot believe it is now 2013!! It only feels like yesterday that I was writing my resolutions for 2012. The not drooling over Bradley Cooper everyday one didn't go according to plan, well can you blame me? The past few months my blogging has had to take a backseat sadly and my biggest resolution for this year is to get on top of my blog and write regularly. So hopefully you will be hearing a lot more from me.

Over Christmas I was given the great opportunity to appear in THE EDIT, an online magazine for bloggers, written by bloggers. As you can imagine Jasper my cat and I were very excited about this! I wrote all about Christmas in the wartime and I couldn't wait to see my scribbling published.

The magazine is great, it features a whole range of topics from lots of different areas of the bloggersphere, ranging from DIY'S to make up tips, there's loads for you to sink your teeth into.
The first magazine was the Christmas edition, so I'm sorry I'm a bit late in sharing it all with you, but you can still have a good old nosey. You can check out the magazine here and follow THE EDIT on Twitter @officialTheEdit. I hope you all enjoy reading it and let me know what you think of my little piece on page 18-19!

I wish you all a super duper New Year and I hope you all have a fabulous 2013, full of shopping and eating lots of biscuits, well that's my plan anyway.

Second Hand Rose

XxxX

P.S Can you all please let me know what you think of the new layout and if it's easy to use and nosey around, thanks!