For the best part of January I thought that I'd have nothing to share with you in this post. I hadn't intended on going shopping at all, but late in the month two appointments took me into town, with an hour to spare between them. Naturally I had a little rummage in a few of my favourite charity shops and came home with this, a green cable jumper originally from Tu for just £2.00.

It has buttons on the cuffs, which I really like, I just don't like the buttons. So, inspired by Ann, who regularly swaps buttons, I'm switching them for a random selection from my button box. Watch this space.

LAST YEAR

All of these items have been worn, and remain in my wardrobe. The red skirt is definitely the favourite and has been worn 25 times so far. I've had to mend it, more than once, but it's still going strong. The green dress, as much as I love it, has only been worn once. This needs to be put into a capsule to ensure it gets the use it deserves.

Total for January: £2.00

Total so far for 2019: £2.00

Total at this time last year: £55.49

Left of £500.00 budget: £498.00

Items purchased: 1 (pre-loved: 1) (new: 0)

It's a great start to the year. My goals are to buy less overall, and for more of my purchases to be pre-loved, so I'm definitely on the right track.


For the fourth year running I'm taking part in A Buyer's Archive inspired by Elise (who sadly doesn't blog anymore but can be found on Instagram), to keep track of my spending on clothes and accessories. Over the years my spending has reduced and changed, I think, in small part, because I keep this record.

8am. Waking up with this little chap is always a delight, unless he's trying to dig his claws into my scalp so I'll get up and feed him. He's so cute, I just want to pick him up and bury my face in his fur.


9am. New book underway. Page 18, Sunday 20 March 2005 had me giggling so much I woke the cat. He wasn’t amused.


10am. Still reading. It was a very easy read. I really needed to get up soon, I was going out and I still needed to eat, shower, and decide what to wear... but I figured a few more pages wouldn't hurt.


11am. I was wondering if it would be possible to eat toast in the shower? Because I didn’t just read a few more pages did I? No, I read several chapters and was running late. And why won’t toast toast quicker!?

Noon. Driving to Felixstowe to meet my Mum.


1pm. Vitamin Sea, deep breaths. I had a few spare minutes to see the sea before I met Mum.

2pm / 3pm. Charity shop rummaging with Mum, I forgot about #PhotoAnHour altogether. I was very restrained and didn't buy anything for myself but I did find a few brand new soft toys that will be perfect for tombola prizes. We're having another craft sale in February and always have a tombola too, people seem to love them.


4pm. Adulting. Asda. Yawn.


5pm. I’d got my hands on my Mum’s embroidery silks for a project. I couldn't decide whether to get started, read more, finish a knitting project that was very close to being finished, or have another cuppa. I had a cuppa and pondered it a while.


6pm. The embroidery silks won the battle of What To Do? This is on it's way to becoming a keyring.

The evening consisted of supper and watching several episodes of The Americans boxset with Andy.


I ended the day how it began, in bed with my book, I couldn't put it down. I stayed up late to finish it, 1am is way past my usual bedtime... last time I was up this late was on the the last Photo An Hour.

Thanks to Jane and Louisa for hosting #PhotoAnHour. 

It seems a little late in the season to be sharing this list now, but it's been written for a while, I've just been posting other things.

I find the new year to be the perfect time to hunker down at home, get stuff sorted, clean the slate for the year ahead, as well as cosying up with a good book, some knitting or such. And after the Christmas period I always feel the need to be kind to myself and my over indulged body.

Everything on this list taps into my word of the year - Better.

Sort the bedroom after redecorating
Aim: Declutter
I moved everything out of the room before I started sanding, painting and glossing, and I promised myself that nothing would go back into the room without being considered. No clutter or pointless item would be put back, nothing that I don't love or don't use.

When, and only when, the bedroom is finished, complete little DIY tasks in the downstairs toilet
Aim: Focus on one thing at a time
I have a list of small DIY tasks for each room, in previous years I've bumbled around from room to room doing a little bit here and there, but this has left me feeling that no room is finished, that we've haven't made progress, even though we have. So my new plan is to go room to room, do what needs to be done, and then move onto the next one.

Get listing on ebay, at least 3 items a week
Aim: Declutter
The pile I have of things to go on ebay is verging on the ridiculous, if I can do at least 3 listings per week it'll be a start, and maybe seeing the pile diminish, and my earnings grow, will inspire me to list more.

Start and finish the embroidery kit I purchased months ago
Aim: Focus on one thing at a time
I think I've had this kit for six months already...

Do a 30 day yoga challenge
Aim: Take better care of myself
The last half of 2018 I got into the habit of doing at least ten minutes of yoga everyday, and I felt better for it. I stopped over the festive period and haven't found the motivation to start again.

Mend my green skirt so I can add it to my spring capsule
Aim: Reduce the mend pile
The zip broke, and now the skirt won't stay up without six safety pins. It's such a faff to get it on and off I just haven't bothered wearing it.

Design a new logo and website for work in time for the new financial year
Aim: Stop faffing
This is something I've been meaning to do since I got married almost four years ago. It's time.

What's on your winter to-do list?

I tend to think of January as the buffer between the new year and the previous year. It's a time I spend recovering from the chaos of the festive season, a time I slowly ease myself into the new year.

I spend January looking back over the year just gone, and deciding on what I want the new year to bring. Come February the looking back stops and the new year, with all my good intentions, has my full attention.

I read somewhere that by the time January 5th rolls around most people have failed or faltered at their New Year's Resolutions, I had to chuckle as I was still pondering mine.

I don't feel the need to make huge changes in my life. Life is pretty good, but I do think there is room for improvement. So I thought about the ways in which I'd like life to change, it didn't matter how small these changes were, I considered anything that would enrich or improve life in some way, big or small.

I came out the other side with a word for the year. And that word is Better.

Better at:
(in no particular order)

meal planning

making plans to see friends

cooking from scratch

keeping on top of the housework

finishing projects (and doing one thing at a time)

listening

taking care of myself

meditating regularly

regularly practicing yoga

money management

decluttering

gardening

parallel parking

reversing

forgiving

communicating

asking for help

sticking to a routine

not buying books

resisting impulse purchases

using less single use plastic

remembering birthdays

focusing on one thing at a time

getting something out of the freezer for supper the next day

being grateful

The plan is to come up with ways to make these changes stick, to implement new routines, set aside time for specific things. I'll tackle each one, and try to find a better way of doing things.

One of my stumbling blocks is that I crave routine, but when I get it I get bored and want more freedom and flexibility. That's when things fall by the wayside, routines get forgotten, stuff doesn't get done, and then life feels hectic and I feel like things are getting on top of me.

I need to learn to rest and not quit. It's an on going thing. Can anyone say "I don't need to change anything about myself or my life. I'm perfect"? Except, of course, every cat that ever lived.

I really enjoyed having a reading challenge in 2018 and decided to put together another for this year. I thought I'd use the Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt as inspiration for prompts. As I want to buy fewer books this year, using my TBR pile as my hunting ground seemed like a perfect idea. Here are 23 prompts that should make a significant dent in my bookshelves.

Find an author’s name or title with the letter Z in it
Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert

Find a classic 
Any one of my Jane Austen collection.

Find a book with a key on it
I currently have nothing on my shelves. I'm thinking that I can read Moving by Jenny Eclair, as when you move you get a new set of keys. It's the best I can do without buying a new book! That said, I can always rely on Andy to buy a book or two for my birthday...

Any recommendations gratefully received.

Find a book with a girl on the cover
Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver

Find a book with a boy on the cover
The Last Wild, Piers Torday

Find a book that has an animal on the cover
When Bad Things Happen in Good Bikinis, Helen Bailey

Find a book with a male protagonist
How To Stop Time, Matt Haig

Find a book with a female protagonist
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood

Find a book with only words on it
The State of Grace, Rachael Lucas

Find a book with illustrations in it
The Shock of the Fall, Nathan Filer

Find a book with gold lettering
A Weekend in December, Sebastian Faulks
Given my most recent reading challenge was to read a book with the month in the title each month, I can't help but feel I have to read this in December.

Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells at The Christmas Fayre, Heidi Swain
And as this is obviously a Christmas book, I'll be saving this for December too.
  
Find a diary (true or fictional)
This Is Going To Hurt, Adam Kay

Find a book written by someone with a common name (e.g. Smith)
Two O'clock Boy, Mark Hill
The Red House, Mark Haddon

Find a book that has a close up of something on it
A Wedding in December, Anita Shreve (another one for December. I hope December 2019 isn't going to be too busy, I'm going to need plenty of time to read!)

Find a book on your shelf that takes place in the earliest time period
The Diary of Samuel Pepys, 1660


Find a teal/turquoise colored book
I have four options for this!

Find a book with stars on it
When God Was a Rabbit, Sarah Winman

Find a non YA book
Call of the Wild, My Escape to Alaska, Guy Grieve

Find the longest book you own
The longest book I own is in the Twilight series. I've read the first two, and a bit of the third...

Find the shortest book you own
If Cats Disappeared From The World, Genki Kawamura

Find a book with multiple PoVs
The World According To Bertie, Alexander McCall Smith

Find a shiny book
Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell
Ink, Alice Broadway

Find a book with flowers on it
She Dies at the End, November Snow, Book One, A. M. Manay
1,001 Ways to Save the Planet

Of course I've already started reading. I've finished two and am almost at the end of the third. 

Have you read any of these?

This capsule marks the start of my fourth year of seasonal capsule wardrobes. I briefly pondered whether to bring it to a close but as I've found them easy and enjoyable, so I decided to keep going.

The jury is still out on whether they'll remain seasonal or switch to monthly, but until I make up my mind here's what I'll certainly be wearing in January, and possibly for February and March too.

I've only included 30 items this time as I found I had a few things that I didn't wear last season and a few items that were only worn once or twice. I have more summer clothes than for cooler weather so having fewer items in this capsule seemed like an obvious choice.

I find it interesting to see what gets worn the most, I obviously reach for my favourite items more often than not. This info will come in handy if I ever get around to clearing out my wardrobe and actually removing some unworn clothes.

I've been living in jeans and jumpers recently, with a skirt thrown in once in a while, so I've stuck to that for this capsule, why fight the inevitable?

I've got some old favourites and a few new-to-me items, some colour and plenty of stripes. What more could I possibly wish for?