VanLove

Some of you may remember Alfred, our beloved Type II Volkswagen Westfalia; who we sold at the end of our West Coast road-trip.  I still shed a tear every time I hear his name... although my eyes quickly dry when I remember the leaking roof and backfiring engine....

 No clouds of smoke were seen coming from the precession of Volkswagen campers that visited Brighton for the annual Brighton Breeze, VW Camper Show. Hundreds of pimped up VW's {including Ashi's favorite, the Karmann Ghia}, cruised into Brighton and we had to go take a peek! I have never seen so many beautiful Vans, every size, shape and colour; talk about a kid in a candy store. Too many in fact, after Van number 7002 I had to 'split' as I couldn't take any more.

Time to start saving for Alfred the 2nd!

The Brit

Pandora's Box

I really don't know what got into me on Sunday, I rolled out of bed bright and early, saluted the marathon runners trotting past my living room window {poor red-faced souls} and launched my own eight hour cleaning marathon, denim dungarees and all. Secret Ashi fact.... I'm a bit OCD.... okay, I'm very OCD especially when it comes to my house being in order. I don't know if there are many out there who share my guilty pleasure, but a good old fashioned, crank-the-tunes and clean-your-heart-out session, to me, is bliss. I especially enjoyed taking apart and polishing my vintage jewelry box. I don't remember too much from my childhood, but I remember so vividly being seven years old and visiting my grandparents house in Tehran when I first found the lovely cherrywood box with gold engraving that belonged to my mom {azar- that's her name}. I begged her to let me bring it home to Canada with me. She agreed to it, under the condition, that I carried it back with me in my knapsack. Now this meant getting rid of some toys and books and lugging the very heavy multi-layered box on my back for parts of a 15 hour journey home.... but to me it was totally worth it. For the past few years my beloved jewelry box {full of all my jewelry} has been in storage {trials of gypsy life}.  I only recently managed to retrieve it on a trip to Montreal. It's funny all these years later, I'm still more than willing to painfully lug it with me wherever I go.... now it sits perfectly on my 50s dresser in Brighton along with other precious items I'd happily drag half way around the world.

xo Ashiberry

Screen Sirens

Friday is upon us once again and its time to meet another femme fatale. Our cinema & style loving friend Carrie over at Stylegroove has been tirelessly covering New York Fashion Week for the past two weeks and is probably kicking up her heels and having a cocktail or two to celebrate her hard work.... even more reason to celebrate it's her birthday on Sunday {Happy Birthday!!}

Speaking of fashion weeks, I'll be covering a closing event for London Fashion Week next weekend, so expect a few sneaky snaps from all the mayhem! For now.... Stylegroove  introduces us to yet another classic beauty.

Happy Weekend my beauties!

Clara Bow (1905-1965)

{watch}

❝ Clara Bow’s beginnings were anything but glamorous. Born into a tumultuous family and raised in a rough Brooklyn tenement, she rose to stardom in the silent film era and came to represent the quintessential flapper party girl of the Roaring 1920’s. With women shortening their hemlines and haircuts, wearing heavy makeup, and treating sex less as taboo than it once was. Clara Bow, with her deep set eyes, heart shaped lips, and affinity towards a sensual wardrobe, exuded a sex appeal never before seen on the silver screen. After starring in the 1927 film It, she became known as the first official “It Girl.” ❞

Crank My Ride

We had to stash Ashi's beloved bike in her Dad's garage, back in Canada, before moving to the UK, so I've been trying to replicate her noble steed.... which is isn't exactly easy when she's knee-high to a grass hopper and not too fond of pink children's bikes. But, with the help of Cranks, a locally run volunteer, bike work-shop I was able to customize a miniature road bike that I purchased online and bravely rode across London months ago {an experience I can only liken to that of a midget on a tricycle}. You see, unfortunately, Ashi couldn't master the racer handle bars, so to avoid any road kill major reno's were needed!

Thanks to some spare parts we found at Cranks and some classic bodge jobbing, Ashi is back on the road {well... when it gets above 20 degrees!}, fair weather rider it seems! In the meantime she's put in requests for me to 'change the colour of her new ride and install a basket'. Looks like I may be hanging around Cranks a fair bit this spring.

The Brit

Love Is All

It's all about the homemade cards and home cooked meals that have been making our little hearts pitter patter this Valentines Day. Last night we put on our trusted friend David Attenborough, watched a fascinating series on Lemurs {cute little buggers} while having an epic collage session as we made each other Valentines Day cards. 

Wishing you all a lovely Valentines day. We {heart} you all!

Here's an old guilty pleasure of ours, crazy 80's music videos and all.

♬  Lovers In a Dangerous Time- Bruce Cockburn ♪ 

xo Ashi & The Brit

Screen Sirens

It goes without saying when you love vintage, you love the babes who originally rocked the gorgeous frocks we sellers spend all our time trying to hunt down... and no one loves the classic ladies more than my dear friend Carrie, the creative force behind Stylegroove. 
Carrie is a fellow Canadian living the fashion dream in the Big Apple and my go to girl for all things high fashion {she's currently covering New York Fashion Week for New York Magazine !!!}

We've decided she's the perfectly girl to give us a little weekly dose of femme fatale.... who knows it may be some good fashion inspiration for your weekend.

Enjoy!

Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) 

{watch}

❝ As an American film actress and dancer, Rita Hayworth attained fame during the 1940s not only as one of the era's greatest stars, but also as a sex symbol, a statues insured in the film “Gilda”. In 1940, she was named "Best Dressed Girl in Hollywood, and wearing beautiful clothes was a big part of her image. Professionally, Hayworth wore sexy black strapless dress, black gloves and heels (strapless and off-the- shoulder tops were her favorite items), always with seductive edge. But in reality, Rita embraced laid-back style, preferring slacks, a loose top and flat comfortable shoes, which she was almost never photographed in to retain her bombshell image. ❞

Stylegroove

Northwest Apartment

We couldn't understand at first why we needed to mission on the train for an hour to some town we'd never heard of before, Bexhill, to see our favourite Pacific Northwest rockers Band of Horses {after Nirvana of course}. Surely Brighton has more than enough venues to host their show... so why the random location? It turns out Bexhill isn't just any other seaside town, thanks to the De La Warr Pavilion. Designed in 1935 by famed architect Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff, the pavilion was among the UK's first public Modernist buildings. It was originally commissioned by an extravagant mayor in hopes of turning Bexhill into a cultural hub within Southeast England. Fast forward to present time with artists like Patti Smith and Jose Gonzalez scheduled to take its stage, a free Warhol exhibit and films such as Amelie and The Motorcycle Diaries regularly screening.... I think our visionary mayor got his wish. Band of Horses filled the room with warmth and sincerity and looked like they were having the time of their lives while at it. 

Think we may be due for another trip out to Bexhill.

xo Ashi & The Brit

Holga Holidays

There's nothing like getting holiday photos developed long after the tans have faded and the sand has been cleaned out of the bottom of your suitcase. These Holga snaps from our holiday in Ibiza are a warm reminder of the sunnier days.... nice thing to have when it's dark and rainy outside. Gotta say though, I've been really impressed with my fellow bloggers braving the cold and snow to get the great pictures, throwing on the bright colours and making the best of the dark February days. I'm inspired.

xo Ashi

Animal Collective

It feels like we've been away for ages, we've missed you guys! 

Although... must admit, life has been pretty sweet for us while visiting the Brit's father in the French countryside; away from our computers, cell phones and twitter accounts. In Brittany it's been all about the crisp, sunny days, collecting eggs from the chickens and earning the trust of some very shy goats with chestnuts {not bad for a pair of city slickers}. Not to say we didn't take off for some lovely seaside jaunts and track down maybe a few too many decadent French desserts and wine tastings... but this post is dedicated to the lovely creatures we got to hang out with every day... yes even Curry the terribly timid goat, who spends her days in his little shed. Safe to say country life suits us perfectly well.

xo Ashi & The Brit