On Saturday I met up with Sophie in Bury St Edmunds for an afternoon of charity shopping and lunch, in that order. Although once we'd eaten and restored our energy levels, we shopped some more!

It was a good day for charity shopping, both Sophie and I came away with bags of stuff. Apparently I'm to blame for one of the tartan skirts Sophie bagged. I'm pretty sure she would've seen it and bought it anyway - happy to take responsibility though!

For me, the day was further proof that you can find some great pre-loved bits and pieces if you're prepared to rummage and put some effort in. I'm really pleased with almost everything I bought, but I did buy rather more than I expected to, so when I got home (after a restorative cup of tea and a bit of a nap) I tried everything on and evaluated my purchases. I chuckled at the shorts I'd picked up. Even the most discerning shopper can sometimes make a 'what was I thinking!' purchase and I am no exception. I know they're called shorts but, seriously, what WAS I thinking?


I also decided not to keep a dress, it was a bit young for me, in style and length, and a sheer top as I couldn't make it work with anything else I own. I'm also a little undecided about a cape (it's lovely but the arm holes aren't very well finished and look tatty) and another of the tops which is a bit see through, I need to work up some outfits and decide it if stays...



I eyed my wardrobe and put my one in, one out rule into action. If I hadn't all these new things would've had to live in the plastic bags they arrived in, it was as simple as that. I tried to swap like for like and think I did pretty well. When I was finished it struck me as such as obvious thing to do - swapping something unloved and rarely worn for something new (to me) that I'm excited about wearing!


The frustrating thing is that I won't get to wear most of this until my 3 for 33 challenge is over, but today I was determined to wear this cardigan. It doesn't really work with the dress and could be styled into much nicer outfits but for now, this is good enough.


I do keep thinking about the most amazing pair of Geox ankle boots I saw in TK Maxx (the only non charity shop we went in - hello David and Goliath PJ bottoms for £9.99) - anyway the boots - high wedges, pointy toes, suede, burgundy and gorgeous! Am I the only person who gets buyers remorse about things I didn't buy? Still, they weren't nearly as amazing as the boots Sophie tried...


Any great charity shop purchases recently?