As my plan was to buy less this year, I decided to write my Buyer's Archive posts every three months, now I realise that it makes them a bit lengthy, so I might go back to monthly posts. Please let me know what you think (if you ever make it to the end of this!).



My challenge to buy just one item per month this year got off to an interesting start.

Because I purchased two items in January. Two items sold as a pair, I can get away with that, right?

I don't usually set out to buy something specific, but I wanted to wear my navy jumpsuit more often. I was limited by a lack of warm(ish) items that I could comfortably wear beneath it in the cooler months.

To avoid the uncomfortable and unflattering bunching up around the waist that sometimes happens with longer fitted tops, I decided I needed a crop top (not something I ever thought I'd say in my 40s), with long sleeves, in either white or blue and white stripes.

I typed 'long sleeve crop top' into the ebay search function, filtering it to UK sellers, and used items, and these tops appeared with a Buy It Now price of £4.00. Job done. I just need the sun to come out again so that I can wear them more.

I love this jumpsuit, but it lacks pockets. Pockets would've been lovely.



In February my one item was a not very interesting, but slouchy, comfy, and warm grey funnel neck sweatshirt for £4.49. It's a good throw-on-over-anything top that comes in handy at this time of year. It'll be worn with PJs just as much as daytime clothes I'm sure.



Early in March I found a pair of skinny jeans in a charity shop for £4.50. I'm always looking out for jeans so I decided that these would be my purchase for the month. You can never have too many pairs of jeans.



Having decided to buy only one item per month has obviously had an impact on my shopping. When I see something that last year I probably would've bought without too much hesitation, I've been asking myself 'do I like this enough for it to be my one purchase?'. Often the answer has been no, and the item goes back on the rail. It's a great way of identifying the items that I really like, as opposed to the ones that are just OK.



Then, after meeting friends, I took a shortcut to the car park through TK Maxx. I had no intention of browsing but a small leather rucksack caught my eye as I walked passed.

I've been looking for one for a few years, and I'd been hoping to find one second hand but had had no luck. I instantly loved this but I put it back on the shelf, only to return the next day to purchase it. I figured if I was willing to pay £70.00 for it, and willing to break my one item rule, I must really like it, and when I really like something it gets used a lot. It'll last for years and I'm not at all sorry for buying it. It's just a shame that during lockdown I have no need to carry a bag!

LAST YEAR

January 2019

I purchased just one item last January, a green cable jumper originally from Tu for just £2.00. It's been worn 18 times over the year. I love it worn over my blue shirt.



February 2019

I purchased three items last February. The yellow jumper (£3.50) has only been worn three times, but the gorgeous leather bag (£8.75) has been in near constant use. The ASOS boots cost me just £9.50 in the sale. I have to be honest and say they haven't been worn as much as I thought, but they're still in circulation, they haven't been forgotten.



March 2019

The cream jumper (£1.99) was only worn a few times before going back to the charity shop, as did a navy tote bag (£4.99, not pictured). The black jumper (£2.00), and camouflage t-shirt (£3.00) have both only been worn a few times.



Total so far for 2020: £82.99

Total at this time last year: just £35.73

As I'd planned to only buy one item a month I was hoping to spend no more than £200 on clothing, shoes and accessories this year. Obviously buying a £70 rucksack puts a bit of a dent in that budget!

But if I divide what remains by the number of remaining months, it leaves £13.00 per month, which is doable, even without being on lockdown, as I mostly buy second hand. With the non essential shops shut I won't be doing any charity shop rummaging anytime soon, I'm sure I can remain within budget.

Left of £200.00 budget: £117.01

Items purchased: 5 (pre-loved: 4) (new: 1)


For the fifth year running I'm keeping track of my spending on clothes, shoes, and accessories with A Buyer's Archive.

Did you make it to the end? Is this too long?

Saturday I woke up with another urge to clean, I find it baffling as normally the thought is 'I guess I should do some housework', never before have I woke up wanting to do it! I had a few tea breaks though. I phoned my Dad at 10 o'clock with a cup of tea in hand ready to join him on his tea break. He's retired but still has a cuppa at 10am everyday, a little fact that delights me and makes me smile.

Later I FaceTimed my sister-in-law and we chatted for an hour. She's now on week five of lockdown. She had laryngitis a few weeks before social distancing started, and as Coronavirus started to emerge she was advised to stay at home as she's in the high risk category. Her voice is still croaky but she remains cheerful.

Then my aunt phoned me and we chatted for nearly two hours. It's the most sociable I've been all year!

The next day I woke up to snow flurries and high winds. And a power cut. If I gotten up just five minutes earlier I'd have had the chance for at least one cuppa before the power went out, but I'd decided to stay in bed for just a little bit longer.

The wood burner was lit and the camping kettle was retrieved from the back of the kitchen cupboard. I'd never had to boil a kettle on the wood burner before, I was interested to see how long it would take.

I sat dozing on the sofa and waited for it to boil (has anyone else found themselves feeling lethargic during all of this? Some days I have no energy at all - maybe it's all that cleaning?). I tried to read but couldn't keep my eyes open.

I gave up waiting for the kettle to boil after two hours and decided to just make the damn tea! The two glasses of water I'd had over the course of the morning just weren't cutting it. The water was just about hot enough, and, my goodness, I enjoyed that cuppa!

The UK Power Networks website said the power would be back on by 11:30am. At 11am the power was back, I clicked on the kettle, plugged in my mobile phone and sent Andy a text to say the power was back on.

And then it went off again.

I sent another text to Andy and settled back on the sofa with my book. 11:30 came and went and the UK Power Networks website updated to say power would be returned to us between 3:30 - 4:30pm.

My plan for the day had been to do some work work and do the ironing, both of which required electricity. If the sun had been out I'd have happily pottered in the garden but at times the hail was almost horizontal.

My phone battery was very low and slowly counted down to switching itself off. I sat wondering what to do. I had some Ryvita and soft cheese for lunch, and realised that if the power didn't come back soon things would start to defrost! I decided not to worry, knowing that it would be short lived - hopefully.

Without power and without any form of communication I had a glimpse of the true meaning of isolation, and I felt even more grateful for all the methods of communication we have available to us - so long as we have power.

The power clicked back on at 4pm.

Did you have a good weekend?
xx

This year I'm making my resolutions at the start of each month, hoping that this will make the year a productive one. Obviously anything I do this month will be based at home.

It was hard to think of things to do this month. Whenever I thought about what I wanted to do the answer was always 'see my family'. Not knowing when I can see them again is upsetting. I imagine you all feel the same, it's hard isn't it? I know we're more connected than ever but nothing beats seeing someone in person. I'm going to hug my family so flippin' hard when I see them next.

It's a worrying time for everyone, and my worries are not as bad as for some, in the grand scheme of things I'm very lucky.

So, here's what I decided I would do in April.

1. Mend my green skirt
I'm going to give it a go, zips aren't my strong point but it can't be that hard, and it's not as if I've never sewn a zip before. I think I'm just being a bit precious about it because I like the skirt so much. My motivation is that if I don't mend it now, I won't be able to get it professionally mended for a few months and I want to start wearing it again.

2. Fill the greenhouse
I want to plant as many seeds as possible, I've already made a start. I have loads of packets, some veg, some flowers, and I want to grow more this year than ever before. Getting outside and pottering in my greenhouse is one of my favourite things to do, so I'm going to get out there as much as I can. If there is one thing that will keep me sane during lockdown, it's this.

3. Pick at least four DIY jobs and get them done
I always have a DIY to-do list, some of them are fiddly little jobs that in all honesty would only take a short time, and now's the perfect time.

What do you have planned for April?

Stay safe and take care.
xx

This week has seen lockdown introduced. At this time last week I was only just beginning to feel the effects of coronavirus on my life - appointments cancelled, trouble buying cat food, questioning if my reason for leaving the house was valid enough - and now it feels like I'm living in some kind of weird Truman Show style reality, I mean this can't really be happening, can it?

When I look out of my window every thing looks exactly the same. My husband is still going to work, I'm still working for myself, my days look very much the same but I know that beyond what I can see from my window, everything is different.

At times I feel unsettled and have moments where I feel quite upset, but for the most part it just feels very unreal.

Putting the current situation to one side, I'm going to share one happy thing that happened this week.



I know I told you about our Remembrance Tree - pictured above are the first blossoms we had in 2018 - but I don't know if I told you that in June last year, despite having a fence around it, deer stripped the bark off the lower half of the tree and chewed off four of the lower branches.

Every one I spoke to, and everything I read, told me that the tree wouldn't survive, that the bark was too damaged. But there were new shoots at the bottom of the tree, where the bark was still intact, so we just hoped that the shoots would continue to grow and we wouldn't lose our tree entirely.

I kept an eye on the shoots, and they were doing really well until they were nibbled off a few weeks ago by something that had managed to wriggle in under the chicken wire we'd added to the fence.



But yesterday I noticed buds. Lots of healthy looking buds. So maybe, just maybe, it will survive after all? The thought of this made me really happy. I'm looking forward to the buds bursting open to reveal the first blooms.

What's made you smile this week?

This year I'm making my resolutions at the start of each month, but March didn't quite go to plan. Coronavirus put a bloody great - if absolutely necessary - spanner in the works.

Here's what happened

1. Get my green skirt zip professionally mended
I'd found a place to take it but hadn't managed to do so before social distancing kicked in, and now, lockdown.

2. Get out
I'd been hibernating over winter, and wanted to get out and about a little more (Ha! if only I'd known). My plan was to visit the Ed Sheeran Exhibition at Christchurch Mansion, and the new (and only) independent bookshop that'd just opened up in the town centre. The Ed exhibition was closed due to coronavirus long before it was mandatory, but I did get to visit the bookshop.



It isn't huge but it's lovely. It has bowls of sweets, plants, and a wonderful selection of books. I might have fallen in love with the Macmillan Collectors Library, and made the first of what I'm sure will be many purchases. The bookshop has since closed it's doors for a while, just three weeks after opening.



I can still get outside into my garden of course. My greenhouse is very welcoming at the moment, it provides shelter from the chilly wind, and allows me to enjoy the warmth of the sun. It's not the same as getting out to do things and see people but it'll be the thing that keeps me sane over the coming weeks.

3. Get listing
On the first Saturday of the month I listed a number of items on ebay, most of which sold. I'd planned to list several things every Saturday morning throughout the month, but decided not to after the first week. I cancelled the listings of the things that had relisted automatically so that I didn't have to go to the Post Office again, keeping my public appearances to a minimum.

It's hard to believe that only a few weeks ago life still looked so normal, and here we are on lockdown, I'm trying to keep things as normal as possible, taking note of all the things that haven't changed. The birds are still singing, the signs of spring are still emerging, life maybe a muddle but it carries on regardless.

I hope you're all well. What are you doing in the 'new normal'?
xx

March 21st, 2020. I was supposed to be meeting up with a friend but we postponed to adhere to social distancing, so I thought I'd have a day of doing nice things instead but I woke up with other ideas...



7am
Waiting for the kettle to boil for my first cuppa of the day, Tink had a drink too. My cats have a glass of water on the kitchen window sill because drinking from a glass (or a bowl) on the floor next to their food bowls is, apparently, abhorrent. 



8am
Cuppa no.2 and a little reading. How To Be Happy? Stay in bed and pretend everything is normal (just for a little while at least). I had an unusual and overwhelming urge to get up and clean. Strange times indeed!



9am
Felt the need for some colour, this bright yellow jumper did the trick. Colour often lifts my spirits, especially in uncertain times. The day before I'd worn a skirt I usually keep for dressy occasions to the supermarket, 'Vix would be proud' I thought as I stepped into it and teamed it with an emerald green jumper.



10am
Cleaning in progress. I washed floors, walls, woodwork. I vacuumed, did laundry, wiped surfaces and polished. I have no doubt that all this cleaning is a way to have some control in these uncertain times.



11am
I took the time make one of my ‘special’ teas - Sencha Cherry Rose. I took my time drinking it too, savoring the taste. Taking note of the little things has always proven to to be a good way of keeping things in perspective. Being in the moment seems all the more important now that the future seems so uncertain.



Noon
The first time I’ve hung anything out on the washing line this year. Look at that sky! I think the sunshine is helping me to remain (mostly) positive. Can you imagine dealing with all that Coronavirus entails, and having to put up with cold, grey, windy days as well? No thanks, more sunshine please.



1pm
I had my lunch looking out into the garden and noticed the birds needed a top up. It felt like a very ordinary thing to do, the world feels like it's tipped on it's axis but the bird feeder still needs to be filled. Strange times.

I missed my 2pm photo because I was vacuuming, the sort where you move the furniture out of the way to get underneath, y'know, the kind of vacuuming I really should do more often.



3pm
I left the housework chaos for a while. Do you ever start housework and end up just making more mess? That's exactly what I did, but I'd run out of housework steam, so I escaped to my neglected greenhouse. I wanted some fresh air. It needed a good tidy up after the wind had thrown it's contents around, and broken a number of it's windows. The sun felt pretty fabulous beneath the remaining glass panes.



4pm
Of course Andy left the wrapping of his Mother's Day gifts to the last minute, he came home to ask me to do it so he could give it to his Dad before he went home for the day. I had a little ‘help'.



5pm
My greenhouse planting was cut short when I only had enough compost left for one planter. The big bags I had stored in there turned out to be bark chippings. It's good to stagger the planting of spinach anyway, or at least that's what I told myself. I was annoyed that I hadn't checked, I could've picked some up during the week, or ordered some.



6pm
I’d got to that point in the day when I just wanted to sit down, but I had to make dinner. I pondered sitting down for a bit but my hunger was stronger than my weariness.



7pm
I made sausage and bean herby stew with broccoli and mash. I watched an episode of Escape to the Chateaux, and didn't move far from the sofa again until bedtime. Andy came home not long after I took this, we watched a few more episodes of The West Wing for about the 17th time.

Before bed I messaged my Mum and brother to reluctantly cancel our lunch the next day. I'd really hoped that we could still get together, but it was the sensible thing to do. My inner toddler was stamping her foot and yelling 'I don't want to', but adult me accepted that it was just what needed to happen.

I hope you had a lovely weekend, despite the social distancing. Thanks to Jane and Louisa for hosting #PhotoAnHour.