I found myself idly scrolling though the ASOS sale. I had no intention of buying anything, I was just wasting time, waiting for Andy to finish a phone call so we could continue watching season six of The West Wing for the tenth time. And then I saw this dress. I had a maxi dress, a floral one, on my shopping list but I kinda fell in love with this.


Dress  |  £18.00  |  ASOS
Did you notice the pockets? It was originally £50.00 but was reduced to £18.00, I had £10 in vouchers to use so a cheeky £8.00 later this was mine! It'll definitely be making an appearance in my spring capsule. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some warm weather, failing that it works well with the denim jacket I purchased last month.

In February last year I purchased a very odd collection of items, and it's safe to say that these were never worn as an ensemble!



Beaded clutch bag  |  £6.49  |  ebay auction
Purchased for a ball, taken to the ball, almost taken to a wedding in July, left in the wardrobe ever since.

Slippers  |  £10.00  |  Next
Worn all year round until I could no longer ignore the the fact I'd worn through the sole on both feet. My Mum gave me a similar pair for Christmas with a more robust sole so they might last even longer...

Bikini  |  £30.00  |  Next
Worn once - under a robe for a spa day. The only other person to see this was the massage therapist, and even then she only saw the bottoms. To be fair there was the possibility of using the Jacuzzi so I did need one to wear one but I now realise I could've managed with the slightly tatty tankini I already owned. £30.00 wasted.

Total for February: £8.00

Total so far for 2017: £55.98

Total at this time last year: £104.49

Inspired by Elise, I'm posting my clothing and accessory purchases each month in A Buyer's Archive, to keep track of what I'm buying and spending, and to compare with that of last year.

Look out for the #buyersarchive hashtag to see others taking part. 

Coveting Ego trainers

I don't wear trainers very often so I was surprised at how much I wanted to buy myself these gorgeous embroidered trainers after seeing them on Laura's blog. I immediately saw them teamed with summer dresses and my khaki dungarees. I'm so tempted, but if I do give in to temptation I'll have to wait until Frugal February is over, which might just be long enough to cool my desire...

Cooking

When I read Jennifer's post on cooking with leeks I knew I would be making the Creamy Squash Leek and Pancetta Pots sometime very soon.

Oh-my-goodness they are delicious. The recipe was for four people - enough for two nights for Andy and me. Having finished my first helping I could've easily tucked into a second, not because it wasn't satisfying, but because I was being a glutton. I resisted so that we could enjoy it re-heated the next day. I spent the entire day looking forward to it and we ended up much eating earlier than usual.

Filming

I downloaded the 1 Second Everyday app after seeing it on Oh Gosh. I decided to wait until something exciting happened before starting to film snippets of my day but with little on the horizon I decided to just start. Naturally the first clip is of the cats. On the second day the most exciting thing to happen was me curling my hair for the first time in ages, so that's clip no.2 (did I mention I had nothing exciting coming up?)

Maybe I'll share a full month when it rolls around? Or perhaps a week of clips would be enough. My goal is to film everyday, even the most mundane of snippets, to end up with a year of little memories. I'm so excited by the prospect of this!

Going sugar free

I have an allergy to sugar beet and in an effort to cure it I'm taking a homeopathic remedy for a week. This means I have to cut out sugar altogether. I'd been putting it off, knowing that it would be a pain as soooooo many things have sugar in. I'd decided that I needed to do some research, plan my meals in advance but I was procrastinating and in the end I decided to start and wing it.

So far, it's been OK. The Spag Bol I made last night wasn't as tasty as it could've been as I couldn't use stock or Worcestershire Sauce. My lunchtime cheese on toast has been left wanting after discovering I couldn't use my usual ketchup on it (thinking about it I might've been able to use tomato puree). So many surprising things have sugar added, it's been a real eye opener - I even have to be careful when it comes to bread. Bread!!

If I'd thought about it I would've weighed myself before I started to see what difference it made, but I don't own scales, so...

Living in chaos

We discovered that our central heating pipes where leaking under the floor in the lounge, so we've had the plumbers in digging up the concrete and scaring the living daylights out of the girl cat in order to sort out the issue.

The house has been in chaos for the best part of three days. We decided to replace all of the under floor pipes downstairs so carpets have been pulled up, furniture bundle out of the way, they've needed to take up floorboards upstairs in most rooms. Only our bedroom has remained intact although it has been filled with bits of furniture and odds and ends from other rooms.

I've been hiding in my bedroom reading, and scrolling through Instagram and Pinterest.

I'm glad to say it's now sorted, order has been restored. Now I just need to get rid of the thin film of dust that now covers everything we own. It's so true that you don't appreciate what you've got til it's gone. Boy! I missed my usual peace and quiet.

What have you been up to this week?

8am - not a bad time to be woken up by a hungry cat wanting some food.

9am - Breakfast

10am - showered, dressed, face in progress

11am - I couldn't make up my mind about what to do, so much on the to-do list but I sat with a cuppa and read a little instead. Time spent reading is always time well spent. In stark contrast the following day I'd ticked off several things on the list before 10am.

12pm - Doing something less interesting but more productive. Ironing. Blurgh.

1pm - After lunch I got back to it, almost done though. If I didn't leave the ironing pile to get so big it wouldn't take so long, but this is something I never seem to learn.

2pm - I gave up trying to be productive and hit the sofa with my book and a snack. I'm going sugar free at the moment to treat an allergy to sugar beet. But so many products have sugar in (basically anything not made from scratch in your own kitchen), I think I might starve. Dates give me a (natural) sugar fix, but I can't stop thinking about chocolate.

3pm - still reading.

4pm - Finished.

5pm - trying a new recipe Spinach Lasagna. Not bad, if a little soggy, it was actually much tastier when reheated for supper the next day. As with most veggie recipes I felt it could be improved with a little ham... (and I would've done so if one of the ingredients used to roast the ham wasn't sugar).

6pm - waiting for supper to finish cooking, stuck under a cat.

7pm - Tinker managed to make me spill an almost full cup of tea on my lap, so I was early into my PJs.

8pm - Fire roaring, cats snoozing, husband home, The West Wing boxset (again).

9pm - New book selected. One that's been on my shelf for years. Loving it so far.

Saturday February 18th - Photo An hour arranged by Louisa and Jane - thanks ladies!

One of the oldest items in my wardrobe is a khaki skirt I bought from Next. I wore it a few weeks ago when visiting family, my sister-in-law commented on how much she liked it, saying she'd never seen it before. I was really surprised by this as I've had it for years. It's very likely that this skirt predates my husband!



It's made an appearance here more than once, the first time was June 2011. I have no idea why I thought that a khaki skirt teamed with a grey t-shirt, with my pale complexion was a good idea!

We live and learn.

It reappeared during my Wearing It All challenge in September 2011. A like it teamed with a black top, it's a much better way to wear it don't you think?

A year later I was wearing it with burgundy and tweed - a combination I have to say I loved! I think I need another jumper just like this one.

Despite wearing it a lot it didn't make another blog appearance until August '15. I tend to wear it with striped tops these days, I like the combination of texture and stripes.

In March '16 it featured in my first capsule wardrobe and it was worn more than ever, although I don't think I'll ever wear it with my cat jumper again *hides face in hands*. I do like it combined with orange though.

I don't wear it without tights so I put away for spring and summer to return in Autumn '16. Probably my favourite way to wear it is with my navy jumper and long sleeved t-shirt, I love it teamed with navy and the stripey top showing at the arms and waistband delight me.



It's also in my current capsule too. This is one of my capsule wardrobe cheats - you see the pale blue top showing beneath my jumper? It's not in my capsule, it's one of my PJ vests, I have a variety of colours and often use them to add another layer, or a splash of colour to an outfit.

Which item have you owned the longest?

Normally in my This Week posts I list five things that have stood out for me over the past week. But, sad as it might seem, I can't really think of one thing never mind five.

It sounds dull, but it isn't, not to me. Since the beginning of the year I've been enjoying some quiet time. My days follow a similar pattern, weekends don't really exist. Andy works, so I do too, and the weekend is much like any other day of the week. If Andy is home on a Sunday afternoon we'll pop and see family, or go for a walk.

Life currently has a gentle rhythm. I get up, potter about tidying, and doing what ever jumps out at me - laundry, vacuuming. I'll bathe, dress, and work for a few hours. Andy isn't crazy busy at work at the moment so he's able to come home for lunch most days.

In the afternoon I'll work for a few more hours, I'll blog or spend time organising life - paying bills, ordering groceries. If I'm going to work out I'll do it in the afternoon, before settling down with a book and cuppa to read for a while before Andy comes home and I cook our evening meal.

Reading has been my stress relief recently. I'm one of life's worriers, I overthink everything and reading helps to stop me getting inside my own head. Sometimes I find I have to read a paragraph several times before I stop thinking and start reading. But when I do, it's a great way to relax.

Once we've eaten and caught up with the news of each others day, we tidy up and I make sure I'm all set for the next day's evening meal (you wouldn't believe how frequently I plan a meal but fail to get a vital ingredient out of the freezer), then we settle down for an evening in front of the TV with a film or a boxset, usually accompanied by two sleeping cats.

I will get bored of this routine at some point, I'll crave change, but for now the routine is comforting. It feels like we're in hibernation, preparing for spring when we'll venture outside our bubble and engage with the world once again.

I'm looking forward to it, I'm just not ready for it just yet.

I hadn't planned on being frugal this month but thanks to a post Christmas credit card bill that needs my attention, and a seasonal slump in invoicing, I need to be super careful with my pennies for a while.

I really enjoy being self employed but it means I can't rely on a set monthly wage. I don't want to dip into my savings, and whilst I can always lean on my husband if I'm strapped for cash, I find that my independent streak doesn't allow me to ask for handouts, not even from him. That said, if he offers to take me out to dinner I won't be saying 'no'.

It doesn't hurt to tighten my belt once in a while, and practice being a little frugal.

My monthly bills are covered, it's just the disposable cash that's limited this month. I've pushed my allergy follow up appointment and my next haircut to March, and I plan to spend the rest of the month doing things that cost nothing.

Reading will be my saviour. I've well and truly found my reading groove this year, so a lot of my free time will be spent with my nose in a book.

My to-do list is a mix of things that will cost me money, and things that won't. I have plenty of the latter to keep my occupied. I'll be setting about my mending pile, completing all those little repairs and alterations that I've been meaning to do for ages. And there are some small DIY projects that could fill some time.

Weather depending I might have a car boot sale, if I can't spend money I might as well try and earn a little extra.

Of course there is always the de-cluttering that seems to be never ending, and invariably there is always some housework that can be done. It might not be an exciting way to spend time, but it does feel great to have a really good deep clean.

I could do some needle felting, or crochet. I can wander the in the woods, or drive to the coast and take a walk along the beach. I'm sure I can stretch my budget to a bag of hot salty chips.

One thing I've already done to help my pennies go further this month is to write a meal plan using up everything in my freezer and pantry.

How do you spend time without spending money? What do you do to make your money go a little further?

Over the course of last year I compiled a list of things that I felt were missing from my wardrobe. This was most definitely helped along by having a capsule wardrobe, which highlighted some gaps. As a result I purchased a pair of black court shoes, a basic grey tee, a black t shirt, a new winter coat last year, and most recently a denim jacket with long sleeves.

I'm slowly but surely whittling down my wardrobe to be one that my dreams are made of, and I think the addition of a few specific items will complete it.

I'm going on a mission to find as many of these items as I can, with luck by the end of the year I'll have found most of them, and I'm hoping that having this list will help stop any purchases I later regret.

In no particular order the items are;

Slouchy jeans
Slightly distressed looking, boyfriend or lose skinny, turns up maybe? I hate shopping for jeans but the perfect pair is out there...

Black knee boots
Mid heel, smart. I have some I love but they're not particularly comfortable after years of wear, I want to find another pair, and will happily invest a little more than I usually do now that I know how much I'll wear them.

Ankle boots
Small heel, leather, semi smart, Chelsea boot or brogue style, possibly burgundy. I ordered a few pairs last year but all they were all returned, I haven't given up hope of finding the perfect pair though.

Bright jumper
Pink or coral, chunky knit, round collar, raglan sleeves. This thought came on a particularly grey day, I wanted to inject some colour, and once the thought was there it didn't go away. It brought to mind this pin from my Looks I Love Pinterest board. I think it'll be a nice change from my normal muted hues.

White shirt
Semi fitted, soft fabric, rounded hem. I can't believe I don't own one!

Basic white t-shirt
A white version of the black t-shirt I purchased in the summer would be perfect.

Black jacketSemi fitted, smart, lightweight - something to wear in the evenings to go out - you know, out out.

Statement jacket
Something unusual, simple in shape and style but in an interesting material, perhaps with some sort of embellishment.

Grey jacket
Slouchy, comfy to wear in lieu of a cardigan.

Floaty floral skirt
I'm thinking a maxi, light fabric with muted toned flowers.

Black mini skirt
Not tiny mini, mid thigh mini to wear in the cooler months, probably a tweedy or textured fabric.

Floaty maxi or midi dress
Something with a cap sleeve, v neck, loose fitting

Smart trousers 
With a high waist, a wide leg. If I can't find a black pair a navy pinstripe or tweed will do.

I have images in my mind of how all of these items should look, which of course will make it much harder to find something that fits the bill, but hunting for the right things is half the fun of clothes shopping.

Do you have a list like this?