my new healthy outlook on life

OK - a confession: I have found the first half of this year challenging! I won't go into details, but it has been  a bit of a serious drag. I found myself looking into a metaphorical (and real) mirror and not liking what was looking back at me. The realisation: if I don't like who I am or what I look like, why would anybody else? The solution: a major lifestyle rethink. I don't mean to say that I had turned into a bad person, but having confidence issues (body and mind) and having negative experiences giving me a negative outlook was really starting to take its toll on my personality. So, what to do...?

 Well firstly I had to decide what I wanted to change and how I wanted to achieve this and when I thought about it, it boiled down to a little saying that I have since repeated to myself daily: healthy body = healthy mind! I believe the two go hand in hand and to be truely happy you need to think about both aspects of life. Are the choices I make in my life enriching my life or the lives of those I interact with? If the answer was no - that was the wrong choice and wrong action for me to take. Something as simple as what I am fueling my body with came to my attention - is what I am eating giving my body everything it needs to keep me healthy and give me energy.

 Now, I have never been good with this! I have always eaten what I want, when I wanted - whether that be pizza for breakfast or a donner kebab and chips at 1am! I gave no care or attention to what this was doing to my body and unfortunately I was feeling the effects. I now eat a full variety of food, at sensible times of the day and there are a few specific things that I used to love which are now out of my diet completely. It's not about being really strict (I want to make that clear), I have the odd treat and there are still things which I can't force myself to like, such 

as salad or fruit, but there are ways round this issue such as pure fruit smoothies and eating a full range of other vegetables and sneaking some salad veg into cooked dishes! That is one key part of my new lifestyle. The other is how I spend my time. The biggest changes I have made are getting out of the house a lot more (be it exercising or just experiencing new things) and giving some of my time to support a cause close to my heart. I walk for at least 1 hour a day, everyday! I really enjoy it, it clears my head and gives me time to think about things and mainly I just think the fresh air revitalises me. I was also having trouble sleeping and since I started walking I have been sleeping much better - so it is definitely a win:win situation! I think we all tend to forget how beautiful Scotland is and when I am out walking I regularly notice little things that put a huge smile on my face! People travel the world (rightly so) to see beautiful things and meet beautiful people, but where is the harm in looking on your doorstop for those things? One of the best days of my life was spent with a good friend of mine, up in the hills just spending time having a good old chat and exploring a little patch of this Bonnie land!

The last piece of my lifestyle puzzle is giving 4 hours of my time, once a week to a charitable organisation that is close to my heart. I don't really want to go into details or harp on about this because I am not looking for a pat on the back or any kind of recognition for doing it. The experience itself and knowing that I can have a small positive impact on those people I encounter is enough to make me very, very happy about doing it. I know it is not a lot and I know some amazing people that do a lot more to help others and support charities, but it is a start and a very positive thing in my life! As you may also know, my sister and I like to take on new challenges to gain sponsors and raise funds for charities (the West Highland Way being our next adventure) and we plan to continue this and find new and interesting ways to raise money for charity. Cheryl and I are already eyeing up a MASSIVE challenge for next summer, but I will keep that under wraps until we return from the WHW in August! Needless to say it would be the hardest physical activity either of us have ever undertaken... and I used to be a national athlete, so that's saying something!!

I hope everything I have said makes sense and perhaps even someone reading this can take some comfort (if they were feeling low like I was) in knowing that they are not alone and that sometimes you can be proactive in making your life happier and healthier, instead of waiting around for something or someone to come along and change things for you. I will always have confidence issues and things in my life that I struggle to be positive about, but even identifying that and dealing with it in a positive way is hopefully a huge step towards being happy and content with simply being me. No one is perfect, I just have to make peace with who I am and try to be the best Cissyface I can be :)

little vintage project

Here is a little project of mine I picked up from Martha's Closet! It was in the SALE section because it has some discolouration and damage on the bottom half, which meant I got it for the bargain price of £10 - it was originally £35! Woop woop!

Anyway... I wouldn't have ever worn it as a full length kaftan and instantly liked the curved bottom edge of the design which flows from the sleeves. It is absolutely huge and drapes nicely so my instant thoughts were to make it into a loose fitting top that are so popular just now. You can see in the bottom photo that I have crudely lopped off the part of the kaftan I don't need and when I get the time I am going to neatly hem this part and then sew two seams from under the arms to the bottom at each side of my body so that the top sits slightly closer to my body and the sleeve parts still billow out when I move my arms (if that makes sense??!).

It will all become clear when I actually get time to make the changes and I will show you how it turns out. The neckline is really wide and it sits just on my shoulders so I thought a nice necklace some oversized gold hoop earrings and my hair piled on top of my head would emphasize the neckline and of course finished off with some skinnies for a very laid back, summer look :)

What do you think? I don't know about anyone else out there, but the modern high street is boring me at the moment. Nothing is new or fresh anymore and half the fashion is ripped off from vintage anyway so why not get an original at probably around the same price or CHEAPER if you do your homework and shop about!

Vintage Liberty Dress

Here are a few photos of another one of my recent vintage purchases - a lovely late 70's/early 80's Liberty cotton and wool mix shirt dress. I bought this recently from online vintage retailer Martha's Closet. Another one of my favourite online haunts, Martha's Closet is one of the best vintage websites in the UK (in my humble opinion) and is very reasonably priced. I like how you can browse by decades, their descriptions are always VERY detailed when it comes to the designer, condition etc and I have snapped up a fair few bargains from their "Special Offers" section. Another massive plus for me is the reasonable delivery charges - I refuse to pay over the odds for delivery no matter what I am buying!

I loved this dress the moment I saw it! I have a real "thing" just now for Liberty prints, dresses are a staple of my summer and winter wardrobes and the mix of colours make it very easy to wear. I have already had this on with some pumps and a cardi, but the great things is because of the heavier weight of the fabric it will be great coming into Autumn and Winter when I can layer it up, add some tights and any of my knee high boots! Winner! It has got great wee side seam pockets and I like the fact that it doesn't button all the way down, because dresses like that always seem to gape open on me.



you can never have too much tartan!

Today I am going to share with you one of my favourite vintage websites! Not only is it a Scottish website, it is merely "up the road" from me, so to speak - based in Forfar! The Frockery  stocks an eclectic mix of vintage, retro, recycled and quality contemporary clothing and accessories, it is VERY reasonably priced AND the service is second to none! Being as impatient as I am, I love speedy delivery and The Frockery never disappoint - trust me!

Over the years, I have picked up quite a few pieces from The Frockery including a boho summer dress, a great winter jumper and the most favourite dress I own which you can see here! That is a photo of the back of the dress, where all the detail is. I wear it again and again every summer and always get lots of compliments about it.

Below are some photos of my latest purchase from The Frockery and it was love at first sight! Anyone that knows me well will be familiar with my slight obsession with tartan so to find a shirt featuring 5 different tartans was just meant to be!! Not only that, but I love the embroidery that features across the front and back - it really adds something to the crazy mix of colours that is already going on!

I know it might be seen as a bit of overkill to add one more tartan and wear it with my Royal Stewart Circle Scarf, but I couldn't help myself! I certainly don't do things by halves! I am wearing this with my black "I <3 Cissyface Vintage" tshirt and some dark was denim skinnies for working today. Much warmth and comfort needed for this awful, rainy (supposedly Summer's) day!

new charity shop find...

I think anyone that shops second hand/vintage regularly will agree that things go in waves. There are ups and downs. You can go for weeks finding nothing you like and then all of a sudden you can pick up a plethora of beautiful things one after the other!

Well, it seems I am having a good run of it just now and here is another one of my little gems! I bought this poly/cotton mix summer top from a charity shop in Dundee for £3.80

I have put this through a gentle cycle in the machine and I think it has come up lovely and fresh. I am going to wear it with dark wash skinnies and perhaps a nice long pendant necklace - definitely nice and breezy for a warm day! 

My amazing new orb watch...

Hello all! How are we today? I just wanted to share with you guys another amazing little find of mine!

My sister and I like to make regular trips to the Abernyte branch of the Scottish Antique & Arts Centre and lately we have found a good few lovely pieces! I still have my eye on a few things, so I won't tell all or one of you might swoop it and buy something before I get the chance! These days, as soon as you label something "antique" the price seems to take a massive hike, but I do honestly find that most of the pieces are very reasonably priced. I was looking at a 1920's beaded evening bag the other day and it was a mere £18!! You couldn't even buy the modern equivalent on the high street for that! It was truely beautiful, handmade and something others would undoubtedly covet when you used it! 

It is an amazing centre to have pretty much on our doorstep and really is somewhere you can lose hours and hours looking at the masses of beautiful things on display! I very rarely come away from a visit empty handed because if you see something you love, you need to snap it up before anyone else does! There is also a "new" wing of the centre which has a great clothing/accessories/jewellery room (which I obviously LOVE) where you can find anything from Joules clothing to Joey-D bags and Bill Skinner jewellery!

Below is my most recent purchase which is a mens wind up spinning orb fob watch. This was in the antique wing of the centre although it is not particularly old. I loved it none the less and had to have it! It came on a leather thong, which I have changed for a dark gold chain of my own and it has now become my favoutire necklace!

I love how it spins freely, it catches the light and also because of its clear back when you wind it up you can see all the parts of the mechanism moving! It's a bit steampunk and apparently it is something like a watch that's mentioned in Harry Potter??? Not being a fan myself, I would have no idea!

As you can probably see in the background of the photo - I have it on today over my newest charity shop dress! I can see me wearing this necklace A LOT over the next wee while as when I fall in love with something, I rarely take it off!

I have also recently ordered two new vintage dresses online, so when they come I will tell all and upload some pics! Watch this space!

Charity Shop Find

I was having a rummage around the charity shop in Broughty Ferry the other day and came across this little number! One of my new favourite dresses I think - very "me"!

I really, really want to style it up with some Jessie J/Pat Butcher esque, over the top jewellery and some high heels, but for working - teaming it with a comfy cardi and a vest underneath (so it's not too low) was great!