Sunday 27 April 2014

Sunday Weigh-In: The Start of the Uh-oh Week



This week has been a bit of a haze of tending to a poorly cat and making it through those three short days after the Easter holidays and between my actual holiday. Well, I'm not actually going away but we have a week off, the house is empty so there will be a lot of relaxing and I'll go into this a bit more after talking about this week.


I've pretty much managed to keep up 10,000 steps even on days off apart from Friday where I fell 16 steps short, 9,984, although I'm not getting too upset about it as I take my fitbit off when I get in the shower so I'm always short a few steps from that, easily 16. Plus every other day I was over by way more than 16 so there is no need to get upset.

I've had my usual lunch at work, breakfast at work and for lunch when I've been off I've been having Baxters Puy Lentil and Tomato soup which I am slightly addicted to. I love lentil soup with tomato and it is the only tinned variety I can buy in the local supermarket, I plan to try and make my own once Autumn comes around but for now I'll stick with the easy option. Tea has been a bit of a mixed bag as we have got cupboards and a chest freezer full so we've had to improvise with what we have. Chocolate wise I've not had much of my Easter chocolate at all, I finished the Lindt bunny during the week but that is about it.

Now this week has been a bit of a blur as all I have been thinking about (apart from my poorly cat) is my week off. As we moved in with my parents to save money and because I was ill we tend to have some time off when they are away and although I would love a proper week away this will do for now.

So this is the uh-oh part, how on earth will I meet my steps? I want to say that I'll relax it this week but I know I'll freak out. The plan is I try and get my steps but I will also make sure I exercise at least an hour a day to make up for it aiming to burn 500 calories. If the weather is nice we will get out for a little walk but my week off is a time to catch up - reading, gaming, puzzles, jigsaw, music listening and most of all - film marathons. The plan is to have a week long slumber party - we will drag a mattress from upstairs, set up in the living room and watch film after film after documentary after film after TV show - a nice mix. Now we tend to relax on the food, quick and easy rather nutritious cooking but as long as it fits in then it doesn't really matter.

Food wise I'm going with a reverse traffic light system, breakfast is green so completely healthy, bran cereal, a bit of fruit and a low fat yoghurt - something like that, lunch is amber so mainly healthy but with a bit of badness, for example a salad with a bit of quiche, or a veggie hot dog (rather than two veggie hot dogs and chips, tea is red so we're talking take-away pizza, or tofu from the Chinese take-away. I still plan to keep under my calories but I'm going to be a little more relaxed.

Short Term Goals
To make sure I don't go completely out of control and to step up my exercise even if I don't make my 10,000 steps each day this week, I have to at least try and make them 4 days though. I also plan on avoiding the scales for the next couple of months.

Long Term Goals
A relaxing holiday feeling comfortable with having any photos taken AND to fit back into old clothes. I'd also like to be at a point where I can be mobile without taking painkillers.


Wednesday 23 April 2014

OPI Nail Lacquer in Chillin' Like a Villain


OPI Nail Lacquer in Chillin' Like a Villain £8.99 from Amazon.co.uk
Another nail varnish from the OPI Muppets Most Wanted collection for me, not the other half of the double pack I bought instead a singular gorgeous item so very apt for this spring.

Chillin' Like a Villain is a stunning nude peach shade which although it is a very pale colour it manages to looks incredibly vibrant. Two coats is enough for good even coverage but three coats makes it even stronger. It's a really gorgeous colour and manages to make my skin look not as pale as it is, which makes it even more fantastic.

I added three coats in the photo above and needed to leave it a good 30 minutes to dry properly. Adding a top coat has meant this varnish has added to its longevity even today I've managed to do plenty of work without a single chip to it.

It really is a beautiful, attractive shade perfect for 2014.

Sunday 20 April 2014

Sunday Weigh-In: Chock Full of Chocolate


I actually started typing this Saturday night as Sunday will be busy, only slightly busier than usual but I want a little more free time to watch films, spend time with family and (not) eat chocolate - okay, I will be having some but I also plan to work out tomorrow and possibly do some walking.

Another week without weighing myself although I have to admit to stepping on the scales but stepping off immediately before I could even see what I currently weigh. I felt relieved to step off and my partner also agrees it is a good idea to avoid it especially as I'm doing a lot more exercise and work with weights which can lead to weight gain if building muscle - it can still be disheartening even being logical about it.

My big worry this week was that I would not manage to reach close to my step goal on the extra days I'm off (Thursday and Friday). I know I don't put as much pressure on myself at the weekend as long as I do a good amount of exercise but as I was off the majority of the week I was worried. I've done okay although I can't judge Sunday. Actually I've ended up doing really well this week and I should pat myself on my back slightly.

I'll try not to be too wordy this week and just give a general overview.

Plus points - I have so far managed over 10,000 steps each day. Although I'm unsure about Sunday I do feel that I would be disappointed if I didn't keep over 10,000 so I will really make the effort.

Step this week
The chart above kind of looks like I've done badly but really I just did a lot of walking on Wednesday and really surpassed my goals most days apart from Tuesday and Friday.

Another big plus point was exercise, I've done a hefty amount this week - 3x cross trainer sessions, 2x weights and 2x standing pilates. I plan one more weights session Sunday - I do just log it as standard weight training but I do also do some reverse crunches, planks with a knee bend, and a few other bits. I'm also slowly getting better at it.

Food wise has been pretty okay so far, treats fitted in as usual. My appetite has been okay and as I've been busy when off I haven't found myself mindlessly snacking - I've also treated myself to plenty of prepared fruit which is a nice treat at the weekend. Sunday will involve chocolates although I can make them last, I've done it before plus the best before dates won't be until June.

So Sunday has come we've started with wholemeal hot cross buns and a little it of chocolate, one of those little Lindt individual carrots and a third of a Lindt medium sized Hazelnut bunny which is gorgeous. Currently we're sat rating every Bond theme, a pretty good Sunday so far. Everything is tucked away now and I don't actually fancy much more chocolate today, we have our usual Sunday lunch which for me is just a pile of vegetables, I can never be bothered having a veggie alternative, I like a plate of veg.

Short Term Goals
I really want to maintain this level of activity. I don't want to push myself to do more until I'm ready, I don't want to burn myself out. I am happy with what I'm doing, I will change my work-out in a few weeks but only to keep it effective.

Long Term Goals
Same as ever, it will take a while to get there but it is worth the wait.


Saturday 19 April 2014

The 6 Month Challenge - What the Heck Happened?


A year ago I started a 6 month challenge with myself. My aim was to use up what I had when it came to toiletries, I have stacks of stuff but I don't ever seem to make my way through it. The challenge was apart from buying basics - shampoo, deodorant and shower gel, I was on a shopping ban (cosmetics not quite included). It was started out of boredom from being stuck at home in pain and on a lot of medication but it needed to be done.

I should have known something would get in the way and something did and the whole experiment ended up on pause for quite a bit while I was in hospital having surgery and after while I in bed recovering. I did do an update in August last year and decided to carry on which I did, diligently saving my empties (see below), I just haven't updated until today.


Now I didn't save my empty deodorant bottles AND I forget to save a few bottles, another Skinetica, another nail varnish remover and a few I can't remember.

I get through my fair share of shower gel, shampoo (currently looking for something to replace H&S though) and plenty of nail varnish remover, no surprise there, but I struggle with everything else which is where the problem lies at least I've now worked out why.

For starters I don't have a proper skincare routine, mainly as I haven't found out what works for me. I think it is hard to use something routinely when there isn't a big difference, I've actually had a Simple cleanser, toner moisturiser set since last year and although I use it once or twice a day (when I'm feeling lazy the wipes come out) I'm really not getting through it. I also don't make the effort with any exfoliators and same with moisturiser as I just don't need it although as I'm in my thirties I'm feeling the need to use it just to be on the safe side.

I also find it hard to use my fancy stuff, I like to save it for best when really as I've already bought it I should just get it used up.

Also, notice how there is barely any make-up, nail varnish nor lip balm. I have too many different options when it comes to make-up and nail varnish, even thought I only have one base coat and top coat I'm only half way through them after 18 months! I can't even use lip balm up, a product I use daily. I have a problem with buying more and more lip balm, when I get bored I get a new one. So I do have some bad habits I need to get out of, 2014 will have to be the year for this.

So what have I learnt? Well for starters I don't need to buy anything for a long time, even shower gel, I have four on standby. Fine I'm trying to find a new shampoo but really with the beauty boxes I just don't need to buy anything for a while.

So what lies ahead? 

The challenge is ongoing, I'm actually going to extend it and say I have to use up everything I have before I can buy anything other than the basics so no matter how much a new skincare product promises to solve all my problems, tough, I'll have to wait. I might cheat a few times and force James into scrubbing his face and moisturising with my moisturiser but that is it. PLUS no more cosmetics, I know I won't get through it all but I will say that if I want a new lipstick, nail varnish, eyeshadow then I have to use up at least 5 of the ones I already have before buying another product. This is going to be torture but not only do I need to save money but I just haven't got the room. 

Friday 18 April 2014

Easter (Egg) Nails


Now to be honest I don't really do anything exciting around Easter time except eat chocolate, however, this year I felt inspired to make use of a couple of Illamasqua nail varnishes I picked up last year, Mottle a speckled green and Scarce a speckled pink. Both are gorgeous shades but are sadly not available any longer however Models Own have released a very similar style. It was actually seeing the Models Own Speckled Egg collection that inspired me to dig out the Illamasqua nail varnishes and do something with them. I actually had my sensible head on and although the Models Own ones are tempting I'm not going to double up on an effect I already have.

I wanted to utilise both and although I still love the standard alternating two colours between nails I decided to do something a little different. Nothing too hard because I'm not very adept when it comes to fiddly nail stuff, instead I painted all of my nails in the green (mottle) then, once dry, I used a nail varnish remover to remove a good chunk of the varnish on the tips of my middle three finger nails, leaving my thumb and little finger nails intact. Then I simply finished it off painting the tips with Scarce, the pink varnish. A completely effortless sweet style. 

Thursday 17 April 2014

OPI Nail Lacquer in Kermit Me to Speak


The first time I ever really felt the need to try an OPI nail lacquer was when they released their first Muppet collection, I fell in love with Fresh Frog of Bel Air, (a gorgeous, sparkly glitter green colour) instantly and have since expanded my OPI collection vastly. So seeing a new collection released in conjunction with the new Muppets movie I knew I had to get myself a little something from the range, the only issue was choosing which to go for. Now the mini sets always offer good value, especially if you can't make your mind up you can try ta load, usually four, without committing to the full sized bottle and price. The Muppets Most Wanted mini set is a wonderful little selection however this time I set my sights on bigger bottles and the full size When Froggy Met Piggy set is too gorgeous and sparkly to resist.

Both of the nail varnishes in this set are darling but the one I was most excited about trying is the one I'm typing about today, Kermit Me To Speak. Now there are absolutely loads of nail varnishes on the market that are iridescent, heck, I most likely own half of them but most I've seen and worn have been on the cold side - blues, green, silver, purple, all beautiful shades but as we're heading towards the warmer weather they're starting to feel slightly out of place. So step forward Kermit Me To Speak - iridescent but warm, a golden mauve, pretty but not girly and ideal for right about now.

The colour is beautiful, that has been established, the brush is generous and helps spread an even coat, two coats works well but three adds a bit more to it. It dried in rather average time around 15 minutes although I've always found it takes a while longer for varnish to dry on my nails for some reason - I possibly just fidget more than most people and end up smudging quite easily. My only issue is I found that as I didn't bother with a top coat I actually ended up chipping my nails after one day, slightly disappointing as it does supposedly have a chip resistant formula. I usually find the quality of OPI nail varnishes slightly higher, they certainly haven't chipped as easily before but the colour is so gorgeous I'll be giving it a few more goes only with a top coat. 

Tuesday 15 April 2014

What's in my Glossybox? April 2014



Sadly this is yet another month where I'm not exactly overwhelmed by the contents of my Glossybox. Now this is no slight on the products themselves I just don't feel the box is as well put together as it once was. It just feels a bit 'meh', not fully thought out. As usual it comes with a magazine and although a couple of items are in the box is just doesn't feel relevant to the box itself and one thing I'm not interested in is another magazine. I'm even considering cancelling my subscription, once I've used my dots up anyway.

So, what did I get? See after the cut....


Sunday 13 April 2014

Sunday Weigh-In: With Added Bounce...

Yet another week without weighing myself and I'm still feeling rather positive. My clothes feel loose so I'm not worried plus I do find I'm more careful because I can't see my weight.

I've had a rather okay week food wise, I don't believe I've gone over my calories even a single day this week, at least not significantly. I've also made a few better choices, I've been keeping up with my snacking at work which helps keep me going although I still haven't found an extra snack to have.


My steps have been spot on this week, I'm well on my way to 10,000 steps today (mid post Beast feed took me over 10,000) - unbelievable for a Sunday, I also managed to go over 10,000 yesterday - without even leaving the house, okay, I went in the garden but no significant walks. One thing that has helped my weekend walking was bring into play what I do in the week to hit my target. Basically I break the day down, I see my 10,000 steps spread over 12 hours so every 3 hours I aim to do 2,500. I start my day at 8am and if by 10am I'm not close to my 2,500 I make the effort to move. I really find setting this small challenge makes 10,000 steps feel like nothing.

We had planned to go for a walk yesterday but The Beast had been poorly again in the morning so we wanted to keep an eye on him. I found myself pacing a lot which helped get my steps up, plus running down the stairs every time I heard a strange noise helped with the step count. As he was a little more settled by the afternoon I made the effort to get on the cross trainer and do some weight lifting which was good as I've only exercised one other night this week - I want to make sure I do a little more this coming week especially with the weights.

Today we went out to lunch with family, I made better choices whilst at Pizza Express - I always say what you fancy in moderation but I decided to go with lighter options today rather than stuffing myself at lunch. We then went on a walk straight after up to a second-hand book shop I love, I've been meaning to pick up a copy of Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go for quite a while but hadn't made the effort until today. It was great to get out and now I'm feeling nicely tired and very relaxed. It has been a very good week. Next week might be a challenge though.....

Short Term Goals
Next week is a funny week, on the plus side it will be a short working week, I'm only in Monday to Wednesday Thursday I'm off to take The Beast to the vets then I have Friday and Monday off. I plan to relax, exercise and catch up with the pile of magazines next to my bed, however this means next week I'll have to work extra hard on Thursday and Friday to meet my step goals - I am slightly more positive by this weeks triumphant steps but depending on how it goes at the vets I might be focusing on something else. I aim to keep my steps up but my main goal next week is more full on exercise.

Long Term Goals
The usual long life, health and fitting into old clothes however in the short term long term I would like to drop a couple of dress sizes by the end of the year so that I'm comfortable wearing jeans again. I would also like a sun drenched holiday this year but this might not happen due to money constraints anyway. 


Saturday 12 April 2014

What's in My Birchbox? April 2014


Now I usually find the month flies by between one box from the next but this month I feel like I've been waiting forever. It hasn't actually taken any longer to come through but as I was able to choose which colour I wanted with one of the items my excitement has meant that it has dragged but finally I have my box. 

As usual Birchbox have not disappointed, I have a nice selection of items that I haven't tried before, none of which will go to waste.

So what did I get in my Birchbox? Find out after the cut...


Wednesday 9 April 2014

Ciaté Empress Nail Polish


I've had little time to myself recently, rarely a moment to try something new but I was desperate to try something from my birthday goodies and considering I received a total of 11 Ciaté nail polishes I decided trying one of them was a good place to start!

So I decided on Empress, part of the Dragonfly collection, was a great place to start. I love light colours when I'm busy, they aren't as high maintenance as bright or dark colours and I needed to be able to put something on I could forget about. Empress is a stunning soft, pale, pearly blush pink with a gorgeous gold sparkle to it.

I've been highly impressed with the quality of Ciaté - I've only really been using this brand seriously since last years advent calendar which was beyond amazing. It applies so easily and smoothly and dries in super quick time. With a good base coat and top coat it really lasts but when it does chip you can barely notice as it is such a soft colour

In my eyes this is another winning shade from Ciaté!


Sunday 6 April 2014

Sunday Weigh-In: All About the Steps


Another funny week, another week without the scales and I'm still feeling rather positive about it. It was also a funny week for other reasons, as mentioned in last Sunday's post we have a very poorly cat on our hands. Although when we took him to the vets he was much better we've stuck solidly with the tablets the vet has given us and he seems to have finally adjusted to them, it's been hard though and we're still running around after him, checking his litter box to see what has been deposited and basically mollycoddling him. He is perfectly fine, active, good appetite, interested in life, sleeping well, cleaning himself, drinking, tail pointing up with an inquisitive curl, skipping around and perfecting waking us up in the middle of the night with some charming singing or just leaping between myself and James, bladder to bladder. Well I say perfectly fine but the vet has said he is terminally ill so that is something I can't clear from my mind. Anyway the mollycoddling has had a positive effect on my steps.

I'll start with my steps, Monday I only hit just over 8,500 as The Beast was still not reacting well with the tablets and ended up getting a lift down to my bus in the morning so not terrible. The next four days were perfect, Tuesday - 10,941, Wednesday - 11,862, Thursday - 12,053, Friday - 13,245!

An hour before bed on Thursday
Now as I've mentioned previously I've stopped concentrating on steps at the weekend and instead are focusing on exercise. Mainly because I'm so exhausted most of the time, I'm taking painkillers from the moment I wake up and I just need a bit of rest at the weekend. Although with following The Beast around has meant I'm not doing bad, not only did I do some exercise yesterday but I also managed to clock 8,569 steps which is a miracle as the day was terrible, I slept until 1pm after being up early with The Beast and I did nothing I planned to do which brings me to today, I have decided to do nothing, no exercise, no step watching, I just want to do weekend stuff and a little of the tidying up I planned. Although I'm still wearing my fitbit - I always wear it - so I've been taking a look and I'm pleased to report that as of 2pm I'm up to 3,414 steps - not bad for a Sunday. I've always said I'd be happy with 5,000 steps on a weekend day so I'm over the moon.

However with one positive comes a negative, I have only exercise 3 days this week. A little on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. It wasn't just Beast-watch but I've hurt my knees. I have a terrible habit of pushing my knees back further than I should, not just to gross people out but I sometimes find it hard with certain exercise so I wanted to take it easy to avoid exacerbating the pain which can be hard to judge over all my painkillers. Just as I was starting to feel better and planning a workout on Thursday I injured myself, in typical clumsy fashion I kicked the base of the shower, my toes went crunch and have slowly turned a nice shade of mauve. It wasn't too bad yesterday but the pain has flared again - I'm hoping all will be back to normal in the next few days.

Eating wise I've been okay apart from Wednesday. I always believe in eating in moderation but including everything you want to eat but I still trying to make sure I'm 80% good on weekdays and Wednesday I wasn't. It was a colleagues birthday so he brought in tons of treats and I not only had a little bit of everything but I had a chocolate muffin for breakfast instead of my usual. It wouldn't be too bad but I found having a big, un-nutritious breakfast left me hungry all day and nothing fixed that. I was still under on calories but over with fat and frankly I felt sluggish so lesson learnt there.

I've made a small change to my lunch at work, still obsessed with Ebly durum wheat but I'm not having 40g rather than 50g. Now my lunch is rather low calories anyway, this takes it down to 290 calories, 44g carbohydrates and 7g of fat, I'm not trying to cut down my total calories but spread them around. I've frequently found myself slightly peckish so I've decided to move my snacks around, usually one mid morning but I now plan to have three every hour after lunch. I'm also looking at cutting my main meal down slightly as I usually want another snack when I'm back home. So I'm still trying to find what works.


Another positive from this week is I bought a new water bottle. I always used to buy bottled water not because I perceive it to be better quality but so I can keep on top of how much I drink. It always felt wasteful which is why I finally decided to pick up a Bobble water filter bottle. Now I can get water from the cooler at work which also gets me up walking and I plan to continue with this but I find it very handy to keep by my bedside, use while I'm working out and taking on walks. It's really quite amazing as I usually hate plastic water bottles as they always taste slightly funny but now I'm just having perfectly filtered water - definitely worth £8.99.


Short Term Goals
Focus on the exercise, I can keep track of my heart rate which means I can push myself efficiently burning more calories in less time - still the same but I also want to make small alterations to my diet.

Long Term Goals
A holiday somewhere warm where I'm happy to have my photo taken at a distance although The Beast comes first - very much still the same but I also want to be able to wear jeans comfortable again. I also want to see my ticker moving again. 






Saturday 5 April 2014

Manchester Shopping Trip February 2014

Time to post photos of the goodies I picked up in Manchester. I actually started typing this when it was merely a couple of weeks after the shopping trip now it is way over a month it is time to finish this post as I've got some more shopping to show off!

First stop Kendals or House of Fraser as it is now officially known. Even though House of Fraser took over the Harrods group (who at the time owned Kendals) in 1959 the name has only changed in recent years from Kendals to House of Fraser. Although losing many hours of my childhood shopping with mum in Kendals means the name will stick.

Now there were loads of clothes I liked but didn't want to blow all my money in the first shop, sometimes hard to avoid when the first shop is a department store! I was good though.


Two pieces of jewellery from Oasis, both bargains at £4 each. The little hoops with the hearts on remind me of my teenage years where Hooped earrings were permanently in my ears, this time a gold colour has replaced the silver of my youth. Then there are the big hoops, I have never in my life worn hoops this big but I was drawn to them!


Also in Kendals/House of Fraser I stopped by Office, they had a gorgeous pair of leopard print Vans Half Cabs, I've wanted a pair for a while (not as long as my partner has) and at £28.00 I had to go for it, especially as they were in my size, well at least one of the sizes I go for with Vans.


On the way out I was given a sample of the new Alien fragrance, Eau Extraordinaire which I adore and now have a super sized bottle of it thanks to James picking it up for my birthday - he likes to point out he got the biggest bottle! What is it with men and size?


Next stop Space.NK, my first time in one of their stores so it only felt right to go with two products I hadn't tried before. I had quite a few items from Lipstick Queen on my Christmas wishlist but received none, even though I'd browsed their products before it was ever so hard to decide which to go with which is why I went for a daytime shade, Pink Bluff. Same with the NARS eyeshadow, I went with a practical daytime shade to try.


Next up a trip to Lush, I love the Lush in Manchester on Market street, friendly staff and it isn't too big to be overwhelming. I'm honestly like a kid in a sweet shop when it comes to Lush but the real reason we went was to pick up a couple of presents for my friend. I did come out with a couple of things for myself, the Popcorn lip scrub and the gorgeous adorable Mumkin fellow above so I could have a relaxing bath and smell gorgeous afterwards. I regret not picking up any Fun, but it's something for me to focus on picking up next time I'm shopping.


This was my first time in Selfridges, Manchester. It struck me how much Manchester has changed since I used to go as a teenager, some for the best. I was over the moon to see an Illamasqua counter and easily persuaded to part with over £60 in order to get the Bronzing Duo for free (usually £26.00). Now I've already featured two of the items on my blog, two items from the Glamore collection the lipstick Glissade and Shattered Star nail varnish Marquise. The final edition to my shop was the Complement palette, my first palette from Illamasqua. It's a gorgeous selection of shades suitable for both day and evening.

Next stop is Topshop, I bought a lot from Topshop, we were running late so it was my third to last clothes shop. The last time I was in Topshop in Manchester it was in a completely different location!


Now I've featured the cat joggers previously but I'm mentioning them again. I love them, they're comfy and perfect for slobbing about the house in. I'm actually wearing them right now.


Next up more socks, I can't leave a Topshop or complete and online order without stocking up on socks and these slinky ones are my favourite, not only do they come in an array of colours but they leave me none squeaky, it might be just me but I find a lot of socks + footwear = squeaking.


This was my pointless purchase, being a child of the 80's I couldn't resist this Transformers body even though it's slightly too big I love it especially at £5. 


I used to be swimming in jewellery from Topshop but over the years my consumption has become less and less so I had to pick up something and this gold coloured flat snake chain multi row necklace was perfect for £10.


I picked up a red tartan jersey pencil skirt before Christmas and I loved it. Now my favourite colour is green so I couldn't resist getting this green check shirt.


Time for some dresses, I fell in love with this floral dress immediately, it's a beautiful fit, and feels gorgeous on. Plus it's versatile I can either wear this with a cardi and tights in the cooler weather and sandals in warmer weather. Next up this green t-shirt dress, as mentioned before green is my favourite colour so the colour attracted me. When I realised it was a gorgeous t-shirt style but beautifully fitted dress I snapped it up. Another plus is that the arms are really quite long, elbow length, I keep saying I'll have to pick up another in a different colour but money has to be funnelled elsewhere for a while.


Two things attracted me with this vinyl edge satchel, you can guess the first one, the colour green and secondly this is polyurethane so no leather involved AND a bargain at £20!


We moved on for a whirlwind trip around the H&M in the Arndale Centre. I was very good, I picked up a few basic items. Two jersey pencil skirts, £7.99 each - I'd bought a grey one last year and I've worn it over and over. I couldn't resist the striped one and decided to go for an orange to add a splash more colour to my wardrobe which was the same reasoning behind this £3.99 vest top. I also picked up a basic sweatshirt which I haven't photographed.


Last up (excluding the dvds I picked up from Fopp) we went to Urban Outfitters but I didn't get anything. Although I did, I saw this gorgeous Minkpink Personality Crisis jumper but I didn't pick it up, regretted it immediately and ordered it as soon as we were back home - along with a new throw for the bed. I was over the moon when it arrived the next day. I asked James to hang it up for me, he washed it instead which is why it looks so heavy in the photo above. It's such a gorgeous jumper, everyone has complimented me on it. I definitely think I need more Minkpink in my life.

That's it for my shopping trip. I rarely go on proper shopping trips, I think I have been on three in the last two years although I haven't been for years before then.