After a frugal February I expected to make quite a few purchases this month and I was right. I kinda went a little overboard with my spending.

This year

Maxi skirt  |  pre loved via ebay  |  £0.99
I can imagine wearing this, with the hem skimming the sand of a far away beach. It'll probably skim no more than the streets of mid Suffolk this year, perhaps the pebbly beach of Felixstowe, but I can live in hope! It needs mending (the seller didn't mention a rip), and probably taking up and it's super long, but I'm looking forward to wearing it.

New Look heart shirt  |  £4.00  |  F&F floral top  |  £3.00  |  local charity shop 
Looking ahead to my capsule wardrobe change over I wanted to add a few prints for spring. A little rummage in my local charity shop offered up these two tops. I love the little hearts!


New Look Shirt dress  |  pre loved via ebay  |  £6.50
I have a black shirt dress that I love, it's easy to wear so when I spied this floral version on ebay I couldn't resist - it's perfect for spring.


T-shirt £4.00  |  Dress £24.99  |  Dress £9.00  |  all New Look
New Look had a sale, what was I supposed to do? 


ASOS boyfriend jeans  |  pre loved via ebay  |  £9.99
Too much of a bargain to pass up, they still had the tags on (originally £30.00). The seller purchased them last year but had never worn them. 

The prospect of warmer weather clearly sent me into a bit of a buying frenzy!

Last year

In March last year I spent £78.19.


T-shirt Bras  |  New Look via ASOS  |  £7.99
Standard stuff, worn a lot. Not much else to say.

Skirt  |  clothes swap  |  Free!
I love this skirt. After altering it I wore it a lot in the spring.

Long cardigan  |  H&M  |   £14.99
Worn once or twice but I went off it after a short while. I'm going to try it in my spring capsule and if it doesn't get worn it'll be popped in the charity bag.

New Look Sunglasses |  New Look via ASOS  |  £12.99
Worn a lot, and will be again when the sun comes out.

Bras  |  Next  |  £20.00
I wore the black one once but soon realised that it wasn't a good or comfortable fit. They both went to the charity shop.

Dorothy Perkins dress  |  £0.99 and New Look dress  |   £1.24  |  both via ebay
Neither of these stayed in my possession for very long. The one on the left didn't fit well. The other was rather more colourful than the ebay photo led me to believe, both were given to charity within days.

Black heels |  New Look  |  £19.99
Thankfully these are much more comfortable than the ones I purchased earlier in the year. I've only worn them an few times but they're comfortable and a good staple to have.

Some good purchases last year in the New Look bras, sunglasses, and heels. The clothes swap skirt was definitely a winner. But once again I feel I wasted money. I'm hoping that this won't be such a common theme when I look back at this year's purchases next year.

Total for March: £62.47

Total so far for 2017: £118.45

Total at this time last year: £182.68

What have you been buying this month?

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

At last spring is here! The sun seems to be making a more regular appearance which always lifts my spirits and makes me feel more energetic. I'm so excited to start putting my plans into action, and doing all my usual spring things.

See the bluebells
I always look forward to this, Andy and I go to local woodland and wander through the gorgeous carpet of blue. It never disappoints.

Plant up container pots and hanging baskets
This is another yearly task that I enjoy immensely, even though I know I'll be watering them daily for months I love how much colour and character they can bring to the house. They make it look so cheerful and welcoming.

Hit the beach
I'm hoping for some company this time around - my nephews with a big bags of coppers for the arcades, followed by chips, obviously.

Do It Myself
I've purchased paint for two decorating projects and I can't wait to get started.

Make a plan to grow soft fruit
My vegetable seeds are being planted this weekend, and after that I want to turn my attention to soft fruit plants - strawberries and raspberries are a must.

Mend
Having ignored my mend pile over winter I need to set about it. Most items are warmer weather clothes so the sunshine should be a good incentive.

Veggie meals
After a good start over the winter I want to continue cooking a vegetarian meal once a month. My new recipes to try are Chickpea Tikka Masala, Vegetarian Lasagna (hopefully it'll be better than the boring spinach lasagna I tried in the winter), and Three Bean Chili. And I also want to try this cucumber pickle recipe I found thanks to Vix.

Read 12 Books
I've read one book already - The Winter Place which was a tad unseasonal but enjoyable none-the-less. I'm looking forward to my first hammock reading session. Perhaps I can squeeze in a beach reading session too?

Attend the Suffolk Show
I've lived in Suffolk for most of my life and I've never been. Shame on me.

What plans have you got for the spring?

With the arrival of spring it's time to look back over winter, but first a quick digression - when did meteorological seasons become a thing?

It's only over the past few years that I've been hearing about meteorological seasons (it's not wholly beyond the realms of possibility that I've just had my head in the clouds for years  - no pun intended - and just not noticed).

I've always followed the astronomical seasons and for some reason become disproportionately annoyed when people say 'hello spring' on March 1st.

It's. Not. Spring.

I can't imagine many people get annoyed by such a thing, but it niggles me. Isn't it nicer to be guided by the stars than by the weatherman?

Anyway, for winter I set myself a few goals, incorporating some of my resolutions. Winter was very much about taking it easy, staying home, hibernating and planning.

1. Read 12 books
I'm pleased with the amount I managed to read over winter. When I originally typed '12' I thought it was unlikely that I'd succeed. In the end I read 14 and I'm almost half way through my 15th, which means I'm nicely on track to meet my target of 29 before my next birthday.

2. Plan my greenhouse growings
I have packets of spring onions - two varieties, salad leaves - two packets for staggered planting, garlic chives, thyme, and climbing peas waiting to be planted and nurtured (and in the case of the peas, picked and eaten straight from the plant - pod and all).

3. Make home improvements
This didn't really happen. I've done a lot of decluttering but no actual DIY. I do have lots of plans for the spring though - which is a much better time of year to tackle home improvements.

4. Mend
With a sewing pile on the verge of toppling over I decided to dedicate a weekend to making alterations but got side tracked by a book. I have a hankering to wear my maxi skirt again so I'm certain I'll get the sewing machine out soon to repair the hem.

5. Felt
I spent a pleasant afternoon teaching my friend the basics of needle felting. I started her on a pumpkin, which is the first thing I ever made too. Within days she'd posted a picture on Facebook of a hare kit she'd bought and felted. She's hooked just like everyone else who gives it a go.

6. Veggie meals
I earmarked a couple of meals that took my fancy and added them to my meal plan - Lentil Chili, Spinach Lasagna, and Veggie Burritos. The Lentil Chili was much nicer than I expected it to be and I've already cooked it three times. The lasagna was rather dull, every mouthful was the same and I couldn't help but think that it would be vastly improved with the addition of some beef mince. The Veggie Burritos were delicious, full of flavour - something that I'll definitely be cooking again.

7. Do stuff
This was simply a promise to myself to make plans for my weekends instead of drifting through them, feeling like I was doing nothing much at all. It's worked well, some weekends have been full of going out, doing things, ticking things off my to-do list, others I planned to simply relax with a good book. Either way I feel like I'm making more of my weekends.

How has your winter been?

Andy came home a while ago and told me about an interview he'd heard on the radio with a lady talking about how, and why, she wears her wedding dress regularly.

He knew I'd enjoy hearing about it as I can often be found wandering about the house wearing mine. Instances have become less frequent but I still enjoy wearing it once in a while. Andy has received several selfies of me in my dress, usually accessorised with slippers or an old cardy.


Before we were married I read an article about a lady who wears her dress every year on their anniversary, no matter where they are or what they're doing. She'd worn it to breakfast in a small B&B it one year. I love this idea.

I wore mine on our first anniversary. I put it on and walked out into the yard as Andy came home from work, we were going out to dinner that night and I was forbidden from wearing it, I think I probably would've given half the chance.

One day I was in a bit of an odd mood, y'know one of those I'm not sure why I feel like this kinda moods. I snapped at Andy (I forget the reason, if there even was one), so I went upstairs and slipped into my dress. I reappeared in the kitchen doorway and asked if he'd like a cuppa. I then spent a very pleasant few minutes sitting with him on the sofa sipping tea, mood lifted.

At some point I'm going to have it dry cleaned and then vacuum pack it, but that means I won't be able to unzip the cover and gaze at it. And then give in to temptation and put it on, again.
My friend told me that her Mum's dress has been vacuum packed for over thirty years and it's as white as the day it was purchased. No yellowing at all. I can't bear the thought that happening to mine.

After we got married Andy and I both said we'd like to renew our vows, I think all newly weds say this in the glowey aftermath of their nuptials, I very much doubt we ever will but if we do I hope I can still fit into it.

What have you done with your wedding dress? Do you still have it? Do you ever wear it?

1. Phone my Mum
I stopped writing this to phone her. She's fine, but I should ring her more often.

2. Go for a walk
Being outside, for the sake of being outside instead of being because you need to get somewhere, is guaranteed to lift your mood. Ten minutes is enough but an hour is better.

3. Focus
I'm easily distracted. I want to focus on what I'm doing, on doing one thing at a time, and doing it well.

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