Second-hand find: Pointy earrings

Pointy earrings from the Oxfam charity shop in St. John’s Wood. Price: 6 pounds. I love the bold, studded design as I don’t like my jewellery to be too cutesy & dainty.

I don’t really know what the material is, but the colour is something in-between silver and gold.

The old-fashioned clasp means that you have to fasten the screw until tight enough, which almost stopped me from buying them, as I thought they would be really painful to wear.

But they have turned out to be super comfortable, almost as comfortable as normal earrings – something I’m too afraid to wear at the moment, as I have a very active (and surprisingly strong) baby in the house, who happens to loooove grabbing shiny things.

He even managed to sneak himself into these pictures, while mum was busy taking pictures of herself. Can you spot him in the corner? I think he is pretending to help me with the laundry.

Second-hand find: quilted 70’s Laura Ashley bag

Dark grey vintage Laura Ashley bag from my favourite charity shop, St. John’s Hospice shop, in St. John’s Wood.

Price: 8 pounds.

I love the pattern and the fact that it is easy to slide over the pushchair’s handles.

It’s perfect for holding all the baby necessities such as wipes, drinks and food as I don’t have to worry about spillage. I’ll just chuck it in the washing machine…

Second-hand find: 2 x green Jonathan Adler vases

I love ceramics and pottery and have been collecting the fragile, hand-made pieces for many years.

When it comes to vases, Jonathan Adler is a firm favourite. (You might have spotted his pieces in Carrie’s flat in Sex and The City).  All Adler pottery is designed in his Soho studio in New York and then thrown in Peruvian workshops which have been found through Aid to Artisans, a non-profit organisation that promotes fair trade.

And what’s not to love about a designer with a an amazingly inspired and witty cv like this. And take a look at his manifesto.

I used to own only two Adler vases. A blue and a white. The blue one I don’t think is in production anymore and I bought it on sale in the shop Stilleben in Copenhagen. The white bulb vase (£118) is a gift from my former colleagues.

But then recently I spotted these two in my favourite charity shop, St John’s Hospice Shop, in St. John’s Wood:

I actually first thought they were cheap copies from Ikea, so I quickly turned them upside down:

“Yay me!” I silently shouted to myself and ran to the till. The were both £7.

The left one is called gourd relief (£98) and the one on the right is called abacus (£88). Both are inspired by “seeds, barnacles, pebbles and other natural wonders”.

‘Skwish, skwish’

And while we’re talking about wooden toys: I found this other classic Manhattan Toy the other day in one of the second-hand shops in St. John’s Wood. It only cost 99p.

It’s called a Skwish because the black cords are elastic, so not matter how hard you ‘skwish’ it it always snaps back into shape. This is the classic version, where complementary coloured wooden poles and balls meet.

It costs around 12 pounds on Amazon and comes in other versions too, like the colour burst one. There’s even a natural coloured one for the purists.

Elliot seems to like it so far…he particularly likes to throw it on the floor.

Who let the dog out?

I love quirky cushions, and this hand-made wool one barked at me the other day in the Octavia Foundation charity shop in St. Johns Wood.

Who can say no to a bulldog? SoI handed £3 over to the guy at the till, and the cushion was miiiiine. When I came home I googled the name on the back (that’s one of my favourite things about second-hand shopping, checking to see if you’ve found a real gem).

And I padded myself gently on the back when I discovered that this pillow is still in production…..at £92.50. On sale here at the moment.

Dressing the bump – rainbow summer dress

I bought this rainbow cotton dress many years ago in one of my favourite second-hand shops in Copenhagen. It cost around 8 pounds.

I love the bold and bright colours as you can’t help but feeling cheerful when you wear it, and it’s perfect for hot and humid summer days where you need a bit of ventilation under your skirt.

I remember thinking that someday this would make a great maternity dress, as it can accommodate even the biggest of bumps, so the other day I decided to give it a try.

I’m wearing it with a ribbon tied around it, to make sure that I wouldn’t be mistaken for a ginormous tent

Dressing the bump – Japanese polka dots

I had a dinner date with some friends in East London last week. And with all the young hipsters running around in that part of town old Mette kinda felt the pressure to retro-dress-up the bump a bit.

Looking in my closet the options were very limited, but then I remembered this dark blue polka dot dress with puff sleeves, which has a very high waist. I bought it ages ago in a second-hand shop in Japan for around 3 pounds.

But the big question was: could I squeeze the bump into it?

I could. So I chose to ignore the fact, that it’s made from 100% polyester and left for a lovely dinner at one of my favourite East London restaurants, Lennie’s Snack Bar.

Here I’m wearing it with a pair of studded ankle boots from Topshop to make it less dressy.

Dressing the bump – black and blue dots

HAHA! I found another two items in my wardrobe that still fit.

Strangely enough I’m not really into (second-hand) clothes shopping at the moment, so I get very excited when I discover that I can squeeze the bump into old stuff from my closet.

Like this black & blue dotted top, bought from a second-hand shop on Edgware Road ages ago for around £10. (I’m also wearing it here in a non-pregnant state).

I’ve paired it with an old H&M zip-up skirt which fit the bump after I stretched the seams until they started popping…..woops.

I really like the puff sleeves and cheerful dots on this hand-loomed sweater and the fact that the look changes, chameleon-style, from black-on-blue to blue-on-black dots, depending on what side you’re facing.

Second-hand find: Anglomac Camel Coloured Coat

This winter jacket is not very thick but has a thin layer of insulation, so it’s perfect for this time, when winter slowly starts to loosen its grip.

I bought it aaaages ago (5-6 years) in one of my favourite charity shops in Copenhagen, Røde Kors at Nørrebrogade. It cost around 150 DKK (£17).

The first couple of years I didn’t wear it that much, but today it has become one of my favourite jackets. I really like the colour and the warm fur (sheep skin??) collar.

When I bought it I had to take it in a bit by moving buttons etc. But with my growing belly I suspect I have to take it out again soon.

Dressing the bump: new from H&M

So, the other day I finally reached a state of “oh my god I don’t have ANYTHING to wear”. I needed a quick fix and didn’t have enough patience nor time to rummage through numerous charity shops.

So instead I headed straight for the always helpful and cheap H&M, and apart from maternity leggings and tights (oh boy, are they comfortable) I came back with these three items in my shopping bag.

Neither of them are from the boring maternity range, I’ve simple bought a bigger size.

First up is this oversized grey polyester *shudder* poncho/sweater. It comes in off-white and dark blue as well. Price £14.99. I’ve paired it with a wool skirt, Carvela wedges and an old plastic necklace from a Wood-Wood fashion show.

I love this long cotton dress because of its crazy animal print-like pattern. And because it was reduced to £10 from £24.99.

Last up is this beige and black striped cotton dress. It’s very stretchy and sooo comfortable. It cost £14.99. Here I’m wearing it with a second-hand necklace and my beloved Shoe Biz boots.