Hello Pretty People, welcome to another new feature on Brocante: The Housekeepers Shopping Basket. Although I inundate my Darling Vintage Housekeepers and Puttery Posters with advice on creating home-made cleaning recipes, aromatherapy blends, scrumptious foodstuffs, lists of little pretty this and that’s and everything else it takes to make a house a scrumptiously happy home, I very rarely link to specific products, share my personal wish-lists or point you in the direction of the best places to treat yourself to a little something designed to make life as Domestic Goddess a little less like a chore and a little bit more like the gentle joy it could be… But from this week on, all that is gonna change when I invite you to take a quick peek inside my shopping basket at all the puttery little somethings, I buy, covet, use daily, or discover. .. In This Week’s Shopping Basket?
Elderflower Cordial
I know I bore you to death rambling on about my beloved Elderflower Cordial, but it truly is the most scrumptiously fragrant of thirst quenching treats, and though I usually reserve it for elevenses on warm days, (simply mixed with ice cold lemonade), I recently discovered this recipe for Elderflower Martini and from now on, Friday night cocktails will never be the same !
Elderflower Martini
2 Measures of Gin, 1 measure of vermouth or dry white wine, 1 measure of Elderflower Cordial and a squeeze of lime to taste. Shake with ice and serve with a smile. While the Bottle Green Elderflower Cordial that is my elderflower cordial of choice, has been available in British Supermarkets for a while, I have only just recently managed to track it down on Amazon for my Darling U.S Brocanteers and here it is! A tad expensive for a cordial perhaps but such a scrumptious daily treat, I really wouldn’t be without a bottle sitting in my fridge door…
Savon de Marseille Soap Flakes
Because I am a lazy Madam and can’t quite be bothered with the grating of my precious Savon de MarseilleI am going to start ordering Savon de Marseille Soap Flakes from Hunter Gatherer, specifically and rather joyfully for the hand-washing of my delicates… Hunter Gather deliver worldwide but for conveniances sake, a similar product by L’Amandecan be ordered on Amazon, and is packaged in quite the most scrumptiously vintage packaging, making my rule to decant everything you bring in to your home into something prettier, utterly redundant!
Zoflora Concentrate.
When I gave up toxic cleaning products, there was only one product I couldn’t, no make that wouldn’t give up: my Hyacinth Zoflora. This teeny little bottle of potent amber coloured liquid smells divine, and goes to battle with the niffs and whiffs that emanate from plugs and drains in the summer in a way that no other product comes close to. Available in a variety of floral scents that really do smell just as they should, each little bottle costs buttons and because it is a concentrate, lasts forever. At Chez Brocante, I pour it into my sinks last thing at night and wake up to the whole house fragranced with hyacinths… Available in the UK just about everywhere, including rather joyously the pound shops (!), these little bottles are often to be found on the top shelves of your local supermarket, and are available for worldwide delivery from the Brit Superstorewhere rather bizarrely, you can also throw in a packet of our much loved Marks and Spencer Percy Pigs! Happy Shopping Housekeepers!
Ohhhh look! Never in my wildest dreams could my limited imagination have conjured up such a scrumptious re-purposing of vintage doillies…Absolutely beautiful. From Etsy store Nice.
Come downstairs to find a lorry load of teeny slugs sloping their slimy way a round your kitchen for the second time this week. Sprinkle with talcum powder whilst resisting the urge to vomit. Wipe with kitchen towel and resume Mommy tasks of the morning. Head upstairs to wake sleeping child. Try not to look…
It’s been a funny day. My plans for living in this here bungalow have suddenly become precarious and that old familiar blanket, fear, has wrapped it self around me all over again. And so tonight I have sought comfort. In Butter Pie and a slice of Cappucino Traybake. In Coronation Street and in Ste’s arms….
I do hope you are grateful for the dedication I currently have to expanding your vocabulary. This week my subject is ABLIGURITION – or else the urge to lavish money on fine foods just for the hell of it. Though the word itself is now considered obsolete, the sentiment is not. For yes… guilty as…
Described by one little soul as "simply the most inspiring girl on Flickr", Paula Wirth’s Flickr pages are indeed eye candy for those of us with a passion for all things nostalgically vintage… With over 8900 photos uploaded Paula has an amazing eye and prolific dedication to recording the past through the pulp fiction and…
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Love Housekeeper's Shopping Basket. Living in Holland I miss some of those things. Time to stock up on my next visit to Blighty. Thanks and keep em coming!
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Love Housekeeper's Shopping Basket. Living in Holland I miss some of those things. Time to stock up on my next visit to Blighty. Thanks and keep em coming!