Lilydale lode

Recently my friend H returned home after several months of flying around Europe with her boyfriend in a plane they built themselves. The obvious thing to do after such an adventure was to head back to H's family residence in Melbourne's outer suburbs for some R&R, and it was there that I visited her earlier in the week. She seduced me out into that untamed territory (ie Lilydale) with promises of toasted sandwiches, but I have to admit it was when she started talking about hidden treasure (ie lots of op shops) that I really took the bait.

Lilydale turned out to be everything H said it would be, with op shops aplenty AND an NQR store (which is sort of like an op shop for food!). The usual characters are there, ie the Salvos and Vinnies (which is where I got this chain for $1)...


... but I found the best stuff at a place called The Mustard Tree which has its own cafe and also seems to work as a relief agency of sorts as I noticed there was a basket that had been filled with free bread for the needy. I got some sewing patterns and this kangaroo fur clutch bag (still feeling guilty as I'm anti fur... is it OK to make an exception for vintage?).

One of the patterns was very grotty but it's got Jaclyn Smith from Charlie's Angels as the model and I couldn't resist. Plus, check out the gold suit!

The pattern must have put me in a shiny mood because I also found this... I think it would be the perfect top to wear when you need to win an argument as your conversation partner would be so dazzled that there is no way they could think up clever comebacks. Sort of like a weapon of mass distraction. Oh, and it was only $1!


In fact ALL the clothing is only $1, apart from some better quality leather jackets up the front. There were also dining chairs for $5 each and toys for 10c (from memory). So I'm not sure why the accessories were so expensive (well, 50c, $1, $2 etc... only expensive by comparison with the other stuff).

I ended up spending $16 or so all together, not bad for this huge haul! Enough to put me in the Christmas spirit, anyway. Hope you all have a great one!