THIS YEAR

Everything I purchased this month is pre-loved, bringing my pre-loved total for the year to seven items. I've only purchased one new item so far, and this is how I'd like it to continue.

Cream jumper  |  £1.99
It's soft and is a lovely pale cream with long raglan sleeves. I didn't even have to think about whether or not to buy this, I saw it and just knew it was coming home with me. I really must stop buying jumpers though, if only for the time begin,  I've already bought four this year.



Black jumper  |  £2.00
A black fitted jumper is an absolute staple for my wardrobe. My current one is starting to look a little bit jaded so finding this when I did was serendipitous.

Navy bag  |  £4.99
I'd forgotten to take extra bags with me on this particular shopping trip so I bought this, but having used it, I'm not keen and it's not as nice as a navy bag I already own. It's going back to the charity shop.

Camo t-shirt  |  £3.00
I'd been thinking about camouflage material and a few days later I spotted this. Another no-brainer purchase, it's gone straight into my spring capsule.


LAST YEAR


Gap cords  |  pre-loved from ebay  |  £6.49
I love these cords and they've more than earned their #30Wears Badge of Honour. They've been worn 51 times now and have recently been dyed a rather pleasant shade of green (which you can just about see in the first photo), giving them a new lease of life.

Red Warehouse top  |  pre-loved from a charity shop  |  £1.00
In truth this has only been worn once, for some reason it didn't make it into a capsule at any point last year.

White Stuff shirt  |  pre-loved from a charity shop  |  £3.00
This has only been worn 8 times so far. It'll be appearing in a capsule soon!

H&M floral dress  |  pre-loved from a charity shop  |  £5.00
I still have this but I've never worn it. It doesn't sit right on my body, the zip bulges weirdly at the back so it's been sitting in a pile of things to ebay...

Bag  |  pre-loved from a charity shop  |  £3.50
I love this and use it often.

Pink night shirt  |  Primark  |  £8.00
Worn more in the warmer months this has had it's fair share of wear, it's been worn and washed a lot but still looks in good condition.
 

Total for March: £11.98

Total so far for 2019: £35.73

Total at this time last year: £92.23

Left of £500.00 budget: £464.27

Items purchased: 8 (pre-loved: 7) (new: 1)


My new years resolutions, to spend less, and buy fewer new items, is going really well. Summer will be the biggest test of my resolve, I always want all the summer dresses!


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

March 23rd. I had the day earmarked for ticking things off my to-do list but I have to admit it took me a while to get going.

7am A bit of early morning reading. My S-I-L has bought the same book and we’re reading it together, our own mini book club, a few hundred miles apart. 


8am Before wrapping my husband’s anniversary gift I read the instructions, because he won’t! It's a white noise machine, which will hopefully help with sleep. My husband's to be exact.

It's our fourth anniversary and the traditional gift is fruit or flowers, but the modern gift is electrical appliances.


9am Bath. I soaked for far too long considering the length of my to-do list.


10am A very late breakfast. Porridge with chia seeds (not frogspawn), sweetened with honey.


11am One day, when I’m a proper grown up, I’ll remember to include everything I need in my online order, so I don’t have to face the supermarket on a Saturday, or any day. It'll also stop me spending money on those things that accidentally fall into my basket that I had no intention of buying. Unplanned purchase of the day? A small round LED light for the cupboard under the stairs. I did manage to leave behind the confetti filled balloons, but now I know they're there...


12pm Getting sidetracked in The Range. I went in for poly beads for a craft project but also came away with two balls of wool and some 'good' weedkiller (it's not just the supermarket that where unplanned purchases occur).


1pm Lunch of ‘moon crackers’ as I named them as a child, or as they’re commonly known water biscuits. Moon crackers sounds better (and probably improves the taste a smidge). Of course moon biscuits must be eaten with cheese. (You think they look like the moon too, right?)


2pm Blitzing Oreo biscuits for a birthday cheesecake for my middle nephew, in preparation for his birthday the day after. I'd like to say that I didn't lick the spoon, but I did.


3pm Wandering down the drive to collect the wheelie bin and I turned to see I had a small companion.


4pm This is what happens when I try Viparita Karani (legs up the wall) when the girl cat is about... 


5pm I almost finished this pom pom wreath whilst listening to BBC Radio 2. I really enjoy listening to Rylan on a Saturday afternoon. I found him incredibly annoying on X Factor but now I think he's rather sweet, he makes me chuckle.


6pm Cooking lamb mince with broccoli, served with skinny fries because I forgot to put the baked potatoes in the oven.

I didn't take anymore photos after this, Andy came home just before 7pm and we chatted for a while before getting stuck into some more West Wing episodes on DVD. It's only about the fifth time we've watched it together. 

I hope you had a lovely weekend. 


Thanks to Jane and Louisa for hosting #PhotoAnHour. 

Is it starting to look like spring where you are? The sun seems to be making more effort to shine through the clouds but the wind is still a little on the chilly side. Things are starting to bud and grow outside and warming fires lit inside are becoming less frequent. Yes, warmer weather is on it's way.

My plans for spring are as follows:


1. See the bluebells
Aim: get outside and do nice things
This appears on the list every year and needs little explanation.

2. Finish decorating the bedroom
Aim: focus on one thing at a time
I've been waiting for nicer weather before finishing the last three painting projects for our bedroom. I have a mirror frame, freestanding shoe shelf, and chest of drawers that all need a coat or two of paint. I've picked a fab colour for the drawers, and tracked down the exact drawer pulls I wanted, and now can't wait to get started!
 
3. Finish decorating the downstairs loo
Aim: keep up the DIY momentum
Once the bedroom has been completed I have a print to frame and hang, and a loo roll and towel holder to be fitted. I also want to track down a nice soap dish as I've vowed to ditch liquid soaps when my current ones run out (being my Mother's daughter, I had a large stash bought during a three-for-two offer, possibly the year before last. I've been waiting for it to be used up ever since).

4. Hit the beach
Aim: do nice things, get some me time
Any or all Suffolk beaches will suffice, paddling optional.

5. Mend my old jeans
Aim: reduce the mend pile
I have two pairs that need repairing again, but they still have plenty of life left in them.

6. Have a wardrobe cull
Aim: declutter and get organised
Since removing everything from our bedroom in order to redecorate I've been really picky about what gets put back. I've started to be more considered about what I keep when it comes to clothes. I'm thinking now is a good time to go through my all my clothes, I'm in the right frame of mind.

7. Attend an exhibition
Aim: do nice things
I've seen a few exhibitions recently, after years of not seeing a single thing. My love for them has been reignited and I want to see more.

8. Plant up the hanging baskets and sow seeds in the greenhouse
Aim: get outside!
I'm probably a bit late to plant some things but I can certainly make sure we don't run out of lettuce leaves and spinach this year.

9. Eat the pantry
Aim: declutter and reduce waste
At some point I want to get in there and declutter and reorganise, it seems like a daunting task at the moment so reducing the amount of food will help. I don't know why I thought I'd ever need seven tins of pineapple chunks when neither of us particularly like it...

10. Carboot or ebay
Aim: declutter
I still have a huge amount of unwanted stuff that needs re-homing. With the money I make I'm going to buy a large rug for the bedroom.

What plans do you have for spring?

Ah spring, it's almost here at last! The warm interlude in February awakened my love of bright sunny days that are warm enough to leave the house without a coat. I'm hoping that the sun will be back with us sooner rather than later.

The improving weather turned my thoughts to my spring capsule, I'm looking forward to wearing some recent purchases, mixing them with older items to create new outfit combinations. My cropped jeans are making a reappearance, and my cropped dungarees their first. And the green skirt is back now that it's been mended and is wearable once again.

I've decided to make my spring capsule monthly, just like I did in the summer. It allows me to wear more of my wardrobe, and it lets me tweak the capsule depending on the weather. Spring and autumn are always tricky to get right as the weather is difficult to predict.

This is what I'll be wearing in April.
I've got plenty of things for cooler days, but have enough for days when the sun comes out.

Happy spring!

You know it's been a while since you last posted when someone takes the time to comment and ask if you're OK because you've been quiet on the blogging front (thank you Kezzie, you're very kind to ask).

Grab yourself a cuppa, this is going to be a long one.

February was a busy month, there's a lot going on, all of which takes up head space and energy. I miss the blogging world when I'm away but it's the thing that sometimes has to be put on the back burner when real life becomes all consuming. Life seems to have returned to a more normal level of activity, and I'm very grateful for that. They say 'things come in threes', and if there had been just three things to deal with I probably wouldn't have disappeared for a month. The saying should be changed to 'things come in multiples of three', as that would be more accurate.

I had wondered at the beginning of the year if I would continue with my Weekend posts, and wondered if I would post my Photo An Hour photos here as well as on Instagram, and life seems to have made that decision for me. But there are things that I'd like to document because whilst things have been hectic and trying at times, they've also been rather lovely.

The first week of the month I was busy making items for a Valentine's Cake and Craft sale. My Mum, a friend, and I hold these sales three or four times a year at our local hospital. It's the first time we've done a Valentine's theme and we didn't leave ourselves nearly enough time to make everything we wanted to. When we planned it we thought 11 weeks would be plenty of time to prepare, but we (stupidly) didn't factor in Christmas and all the time that would take up, and then we took a while to get going once the new year arrived. The date got close very quickly and we were left in a mild state of panic.

So, for a week, when I wasn't working, I was knitting, or making pom poms. This, of course, coincided with work picking up a little after the Christmas lull, and for a while I didn't know if I was coming or going. The sale went well though, we raised £500, which surprised and delighted us as it didn't seem as busy as usual.

I allowed myself a little 'playtime' one day as I'd promised myself that I would see the Kiss & Tell exhibition at Christchurch Mansion. I had an appointment in town and took the opportunity to go and see it. The star of the show is Rodin's The Kiss. When I arrived there was a gaggle of small children on a school trip with all the noise that that entails, but it wasn't long before they left and I was alone and free to enjoy the sculpture. It's bigger than I thought and beautiful. I really wanted to lean over and touch it but I resisted. I wonder if it was because I wasn't allowed to touch it that made me want to?


For Photo An Hour, on February 16th, I only managed to post four photos on Instagram but I had a lovely day. I went to see Calendar Girls at The Theatre Royal with Andy's Mum, aunts and cousins. The play was fantastic, definitely worth going to see if you get the chance. We met beforehand with plenty of time for lunch and a look around the Norfolk Makers Festival. I now have a hankering to try whittling, and making a mandala, and have a funny story to tell about seeing a policeman, naked, holding his truncheon (not a euphemism). (It's fine, he was knitted and in a stop motion animation).

Then it was half term week which meant Andy's sister was home with her family. I like to spend as much time with them as I can when they're home as we don't get the opportunity to visit them very often, at the same time work shifted up a gear meaning my week was hectic.

My niece asked if she could come for a sleepover. She's six and it was her first solo sleepover, she'd only been on one before and that was at Granny's house with her older brother. She was very excited but also a little apprehensive so I wanted to make sure she had a lovely time. I have a small floral two-man tent that I put up in the bedroom and made cosy with pillows and blankets, framing the door with fairy lights and adding a little lightbox that said 'hello [name]'. I thought this might help her to feel safe in a strange environment.

She was very excited when she saw it and kept telling me she couldn't wait to go to bed. We played all sorts of games, had pizza for supper, and three bedtime stories. She did have a little bit of a wobble at bedtime but a FaceTime chat with Mummy made her feel better. The next day she woke up ridiculously early, but luckily Uncle Andrew was already up and willing to play until I got up at a more sociable time of 7am. Her stay also meant I had a legitimate reason to buy, and watch, Finding Dory on DVD. She needs to come again so that I can buy, and watch, Moana.

Later in the week I went on a night out with some friends I hadn't seen for ages. The last time I saw one of them was at my wedding reception! We went to a steakhouse, followed that with cocktails and then ended up in a club that we frequented a lot in our 20s. It's called something different now, and only takes up the ground floor of the building, instead of the three it used to inhabit. The DJ was playing some of the same tunes, and the place smelled exactly the same. And of course there was a drunk girl sitting on the floor in the ladies, just as there always was. She told me I was 'cool' which just goes to show how much she'd had to drink.

We ended the night in a bar, which was quieter and had somewhere we could sit down (showing our age here). I dropped into bed at 2.15am. The next day I felt fuzzy and not particularly inclined to do very much at all. But it was a really good night, and great to see everyone.

The following weekend, after another busy working week,  I decided that I would ignore my to-do list and do exactly as I pleased. I went to Bury St Edmunds, getting there early enough to have breakfast in a lovely little cafe called The Bay Tree, before going to see Museum of the Moon. 


Artist Luke Jerram created a 7m replica of the moon. It's internally lit and uses detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface. You're encouraged to lay down beneath it for the best experince, and of course I did amid all the small children, watched by all the adults that obviously didn't fancy being horizontal. I had a wander around the charity shops (I won't mention the trip to a tea shop where I had a slice of cheesecake and a chocolate brownie), and on my way home I decided to pop to my local charity shop too, that's where I found the gorgeous leather bag.


The next day (Andy was working all day again) I continued to ignore the housework and decided to make a start on making some items for our Easter Cake and Craft sale. I found a pattern and instructions on Pinterest to make some cute carrot shaped bags, which I plan to fill with Easter treats.


Whilst I had the sewing machine out I decided to mend on old pair of jeans. They've been awaiting repair for years, I just couldn't decide the best way to go about it. I'd recently started following the #visiblemending hashtag on Instagram and when I saw this post, I knew I'd found my solution.

Several colours of cotton and about an hour later I was finished, and very pleased with the result. Knowing that it takes over 1,000 gallons of water to make just one pair of jeans means I want to get as much wear out of my jeans as possible. One pair I have needs to be repaired a little more after almost every wash but I'm not getting rid of them just yet...

So that's what I've been up to. If I haven't paid your blog a visit and left a number of comments in the past few days then expect a visit soon, I've got some catching up to do.

xx

THIS YEAR

My first new purchase of the year was a pair of black ankle boots from ASOS. They were in the sale, and I had a voucher to use so they ended up costing me just £9.50. They remind me of a old pair that I used to love (seen in this post back in 2012). I think I'll get a lot of wear out of them, especially as I've sold all my other black ankle boots on ebay.

Just look at the colour of this Tu yellow jumper, found in a local charity shop. How could I not part with £3.50 to make it mine?


My best buy of the month must be this M&S leather bag. I paid £8.75 for the gorgeous aged leather in my local charity shop. Why would anyone want to get rid of a bag that's just starting to get beautifully worn in?

Whatever the reason, I'm glad they did because I love it.

LAST YEAR

Last February I spent £9.75.

The gloves have been worn a lot (they were purchased in the H&M sale because it was a bitterly cold day and I was out and about without gloves, I was more than happy to pay £3.00 for warm hands).

The PJ bottoms were £2.00 from a charity shop but still had the Next tags on. They turned yellow when I stupidly washed them with my dyed yellow maxi, but have now washed out to a rather pleasant cream colour. Maybe one day they'll return to their original white. Not that it matters, they get worn on rotation with my other PJs, no matter what colour they are.

The cardigan hasn't been worn much, only five times in fact. I do like it but we seemed to go from winter straight into summer last year and the opportunity to wear it came and went in the blink of an eye. I'm beginning to think that this year will be much the same.

I am enjoying the warm weather, I've just been out without a coat on, but it does seem too warm for February, and that feels all kinds of wrong.

Total for January: £21.75

Total so far for 2019: £23.75

Total at this time last year: £65.24

Left of £500.00 budget: £476.25

Items purchased: 4 (pre-loved: 3) (new: 1)


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