On Touring, Thrifting and Coffee

Well in the past 72 hours I have driven 1200km through snow, rain and sunshine, performed, bought amazing things en route, and made new friends. And now I am relaxing for a day before another big week.
After our first show in Whakatane was postponed because the weather meant we couldn't get there, we rescheduled for Friday 7 August. So at 7am on Friday, I headed off to pick up my two companions and fellow performers, Moxie Fizz and Lady Sane.
We drove nearly 600km in wonderful weather, for which I thanked many lucky stars, and got to Whakatane by 4pm as planned.
The saga of the show began when we walked into the room, saw the stage and all of our hearts sank. All being the three of us, our wonderful leader Cherry Boomb, and Pussy Galorrez. Real names withheld to protect the innocent. I am not going to go into the details of the next three hours, wherein LadyPower transformed an almost unworkable set up into a passable venue, nor of the show itself which was pretty damned good in spite of said venue and because of us! And the great staff there who did their best to help us out. We were a Test Case for them so the boss didn't want to overinvest, you see. So we got paid the worst and had to deal with the worst conditions. From now on it will probably be fabulous. And this is why I would quite like to go back, in spite of it all.
ANYWAY, what I wanted to show you is the loot I scored on the way home!!! We stopped for a good break in Taupo, which for the uninitiated is a gorgeous little town on the shores of Lake Taupo the population of which increases 20x over in summer. It is winter here but it is still hummy, and Moxie and I went off to find junk or craft shops as we love to do.
We ended up in an antique/junk shop where the owners were enjoying a fish and chip lunch on the counter because classy. Smelled good though! Scanning the crammed cabinets of china and knickknacks, I spied buttons. BUTTONS!! Czech glass, old buttons. Just a few but so pretty. Mrs Fishnchips said, there's more in those drawers - and soon we had the little shallow drawers flung open on hundreds of twinkling glass buttons.
Between us we bought about 70 buttons and this is my haul:

Aren't they pretty! The big leaf ones are 32mm across (1 1/4 inches) and are what drew my eye. 

Glass buttons make the most incredible sound when you move them around together. I am immediately reminded of the precious glass marbles so popular when I was young. I took this photo on my kitchen bench, and as I never wear blue, it's probably not the best backdrop to show them off - they are chosen to wear with rich red, purples, golds and blacks, cos that is how I roll.

After beating the snow front on the Desert Road, where State Highway 1 runs across a volcanic plain of extraordinarily wild beauty seen many times in the LOTR and Hobbit movies, we ended up in Taihape. Here we found a junk shop so unappealing I nearly walked out, until I saw that among the total rubbish were some gems, at proper junk shop prices. I could have filled a trailer with charmingly ugly, oak modernist furniture for a few dollars, but I restrained myself to one oak Queen Anne stool that would fit in the back.

I am so torn between giving this a chalk paint treatment or leaving it as oak. I think I'll re-cover the top and then decide. It is so lovely - and useful too! 

Lady Sane came away with a bag of clothes and Moxie found some sewing patterns so everyone felt the opshopping love.

Now on the way up, I got my first speeding ticket since 2000. So, my first in this century. MORTIFIED was I, as I am a nana driver, but it was a straight bit and I got carried away. This happened on the outskirts of Hunterville, where we also stopped on the way home for a hot snack. I did what I have done many times - putting a hot coffee on the dash while I get into the car and move it to the cup holder when BOOSH, off it fell, spilling its smelly, milky self all over me, the driver floor, door and dash. Many tissues later, the worst was cleaned up but I am never stopping in Hunterville again as I feel it is not on my side.

 

In spite of speeding tickets, rickety stages, microphone batteries dying mid song, coffee spills and because of fantastic company, show camaraderie, a great audience, sequins, comfy motel beds, beautiful snow and op shopping, it was a fabulous weekend.

And to come - this week is the Award Ceremony for the Top Shop awards, in which Made on Marion is a finalist, and I have a posh top to make for it so double reason for a follow up post - new outfit AND outcome!

Happy Sunday everyone! xo