Caught stealing!

I mentioned in my last post that I had been over to the Cancer Research shop in St Neots. It’s a busy shop and always seems to have lots of volunteers buzzing around restocking the rails, sorting out donations and serving lots of customers. Its quite a big shop and quite chaotic but its worth a visit every now and then. I was hoping to find something on this visit as I had already scoured the high street and had been left wanting. I got a dress and a shrug so I was already feeling quietly smug when I found an amazing stash of jewellery, all new and in little bags. While I was leafing through this hoard, I felt that I was being watched. One of the assistants seemed to think I was up to no good! Now I’m no hoody wearing dodgy youth so I quickly sorted out what I wanted and headed to the changing rooms. I did check with the eagle eyed assistant if I could take the jewellery in with me and she blustered absolutely yes, whilst keeping a very close eye on me.... 

I bought quite a bit that day including the jewellery and three books for 75p each – hurrah! I trekked back with my spoils and got home feeling ace. It was therefore with dismay that I got home and emptied my bag only to find a pair of garish gold diamond (ish)earrings in the bottom of my bag. Not only were they awful, they were also stolen! I hadn’t paid for them, the eagle eyed woman was right to keep watch on this little tea leaf!  Oh my shame! They must have fallen into my bag whilst I was rummaging, honest Gov, I promise! I told a few of my friends who all thought it was very funny but I had to return them especially as my daughter overheard and thought I was a disgrace!

So a week or so later I set of on the walk of shame back to the Cancer Research shop to return my ill gotten gains. I must have looked like a proper nutter returning something to a charity shop which they hadn't missed and was only 49p. I did have a good look round the shop while I was there so it wasn't a completely wasted trip. My 7 year old daughter now looks at me with a look of shame and pity. A friend asked if I would have kept the earrings if they had been nicer, I still can't honestly answer that one. x

A dress for a Bar Mitzvah (or, any excuse for shopping…..)

I seem to have lost my shopping mojo recently, I’ve scoured the charity shops over the past few weeks and to be honest I’ve been a bit disappointed. I had these images of shops filled with unwanted Christmas gifts with the labels still on and loads of lovely new handbags – sadly not. I have managed to get a couple of tops, a lovely cream one with a bit of sparkle from H&M (for a night out which actually involved cocktails!) and a black shiny top with sparkly shoulders (for a 40^th which included far too much red wine) so I can’t complain too much. Maybe I’m actually shopped out? Have I reached the point where I’ve got enough? No don’t be silly! I think it’s more to do with the fact I’m half a stone heavier than I want to be. This might be something to do with the nights out I’ve had and the subsequent carbohydrate feasts the next day but I won’t bore you with my weight loss journey (did I really just write that??)

Anyway, on a recent trip to the Cancer Research shop, I was just browsing when I came across a lovely little black floaty dress and it was in the sale, yes even charity shops have sales. Rather than thinking “I’ve got loads of black dresses” off I went to try it on. It’s a really nice shape and fairly flattering. And it came to me, my husband and I are off to a Bar Mitzvah soon and I had my excuse to buy it. It was only £2.75 so it’s a bit of a steal. I’ve never been to a Bar Mitzvah before so I have no idea whether my dress will be right. The last time I went to a Jewish do I was massively over dressed but I did kiss Gary Barlow! Lets hope this frock fits in a bit better and I get to kiss another superstar! Xx

The end of an era

I’m afraid I’m going to go all dramatic and a little sentimental this week as I say goodbye to one of the things that got me into charity shopping in the first place.

This time last year I wrote all about the joys of St Neots NCT Nearly New Sales. The wonders I found when I first went shopping in the madness and organised chaos of these bi-annual events. On my first visit I bought so much stuff for my son and for my daughter I think my husband thought I had gone mad! As much as I love shopping, I also enjoyed being a seller, the labelling and pricing was always a bind but to me it was a way of clearing out (hard to do as a resident hoarder) and to make a bit of money for the charity. This fun has lasted for years, well at least 7 as I started out when my daughter was a baby.

I therefore looked forward to the recent sale with great anticipation; I had sorted out the loft (no mean feat) and had plenty of stuff to sell. I got it all ready, washed, ironed, labelled and bagged ready to go. Now as an old hand at this, I obviously didn’t read through the sellers’ notes, even when it was stressed I should do so. So it came as a massive surprise when I read they had dropped to top age of clothing you can sell to 5 years old! I had bagged up so many clothes age 6,7&8 I was gutted that I didn’t read the notes! I also felt a bit silly that those people sorting and hanging my items would have wondered what on earth I was thinking! I think I got most of it back but anything else will hopefully have gone to a charity shop nearby.

So it was with some melancholy and a tinge of sadness that as I realised I was too old. Another nail in the ageing coffin. This age thing isn’t something particularly new for me, I’m never to wear hot pants (thank god I hear you cry), go clubbing “down Ashton” as I used to as a teen and sadly I will never be in a girl band or be a prima ballerina. So this is something else to add. Thank you NCT for all the fond years but you have now gone the way of the gold sparkly hot pants and pints of Snakebite and Black.

Maybe I should organise an over 5’s Nearly New Sale, any takers to help? xx

Bubbles, bakes and wearing purple.

This month is Pancreatic Cancer awareness month and Friday 13th November is World Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day. This is a cause close to two of my friends who have lost loved ones to this dreadful disease. To help with a bit of fundraising, these two friends are taking part in something called Host for Hope a great idea of hosting a night in and getting baking! What could be more fun! The night is called Bubbles and Bakes – happy days. Now the bubbles part I am more than happy with but the baking element has got me quaking. I’m not a natural baker but I’m going to have a go, always reliant on the fact that if what I bake looks terrible I will say the kids helped me!
As an extra little twist, we’ve all been asked to wear purple. A great idea, I had a little look in my wardrobe but couldn’t really find anything I could wear, well apart from my purple boots – hurrah a reason to wear them and look like a middle aged super hero! So with a purple challenge I headed to the charity shops.

Looking for a specific colour in charity shops does make the process a little trickier, it takes less time as you can quickly skim through the rails but it is hard not to get side tracked! The Salvation Army is perfect for this as everything is sorted by colour which in this case was more Bonne Marche floral lilac not really my thing. I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t find anything in my favourite shop so I headed to my other fave Barnardos. This shop has a new manager and now has much less stock to rifle through, the layout is better but there it does feel like something is missing. I did however manage to stumble on a little turquoise coat for £2, what a steal! It was a size 14 but when I tried it on it felt a bit tight round my shoulder. Never mind, it’s a Butterfly by Matthew Williamson and its only £2 so I bought it. It wasn’t until I got home I realised it was actually not a size 15 but an age 14! On the one hand I’m quite pleased I can fit in a kids coat but on the other hand, I’m afraid I’ll be matching the local schoolgirls! Anyway, I digress.  Undeterred I nipped in to the British Heart Foundation shop and had a good old rummage, there is something about this shop which I find really homely. Maybe it’s the lovely lady who works there or maybe it’s the way it’s laid out, BHF does have a higher price point but it is a really nice shop. Happily I found a fabulous little purple and black skirt from M&S, it’s a 10, which is a bit snug, but so long as I don’t sit down (!) it should be fine! I’m going to finally wear my purple superhero boots and I’ve bought a lovely little necklace which should look ok so fingers crossed it will all work out! I must say I did feel a certain level of satisfaction as I legged it back to the car as my parking ticket had run out. I’d achieved a double result, buying from a charity shop to wear something for a charity do – hurrah!

Photos will be uploaded after our charity night; I’m really looking forward to it. Now for the small matter of baking a cake, step aside Nigella; the new finest baker is in town………

A dress inspired by Corrie?

I don’t know about you but I am known to have a bit of a gawp at other peoples outfits and try to emulate them. As I write this I am wearing a pair of red skinny jean which make me look a bit like the posh one off Gogglebox but without the Gin. Yes I know, sad but true. I look to many places to get ideas on what to wear, I rarely read magazines so being super fashionable isn’t really my thing but I do look to the TV, high street shops and other people to find my inspiration.

Now those who know me will know I’m not exactly edgy in my style and I’m pretty mainstream but I do like to look at different things every now and then. For example, I own a fabulous green skirt (from Salvation Army) made by a designer in Turkey which I love but I lack the cool edge to really pull it off. I’ve not quite made it to a Jean Paul Gaultier like Sophie but I do own a rather spectacular pair of purple knee length boots which would look fab if they fastened and I didn’t look like a middle aged Super hero whilst wearing them.

I do watch a lot of telly so I have been known to try to wear something a bit sparkly on a Monday after a weekend marathon of Strictly Come Dancing. One staple watch in our house is Coronation Street, I’d even say it’s a family favourite. My husband and I have always been big fans and I do sometimes worry about the story lines and the characters (poor Tyrone and Fizz) but I never thought my going out outfit would be influenced by one of the characters. Now, who on earth do you think I mean? I’ve often think that I could pull off the Carla Connor look and I do look forward to ageing like Rita or Audrey but in this case it was the one and only Liz McDonald. I kid you not. I bought a dress from Banardos inspired by this very special Landlady who does have some somewhat unorthodox outfits. It was the way the arms were cut that attracted me, have a look and see what you think, I will hopefully be serving in the Rovers very soon. X

Can clothes make you grumpy?

A bit of a random question but one that dawned on me the other day whilst winding myself up into a proper mood. We are in the midst of a marvellous Indian summer, which I love and loathe at the same time. Every year I do the same thing (I really should learn), at the end of August I decide that summer is indeed over and all my summer clothes are going away back into the loft and the jumpers are coming out. I say goodbye to with a wistful sigh to my strappy tops, floaty skirts and summer dresses only to replace them with knitted jumpers, boots and a plethora of dresses – all v warm. The only thing that stays are my trusty flip flops of which I have a fair few pairs. I must admit that being able to keep them going for a few more days is ace! I wonder if I’m the only one who is struggling to fit my summer feet back into shoes and if I’m the only one in agony by the end of a day in ballerina flats?


So when the sun started shining and the temperature headed for the high teens I found myself in a proper old pickle, I can’t wear my autumn stuff, as I will be boiling and annoyed. But then all the summer stuff is away and lets face it, it’s a bit fresh for a maxi dress. What to do? So I head for tops and jeans, but here again is another problem I can’t quite fit into them – horror mc horror I nearly got the January jeans out! I did try to squeeze into a pair of black jeans that are a little snug to say the least. I’ve spent most of today (Tuesday) pulling them up, wriggling them around and basically trying to retain my muffin top inside the waistband – not a pretty thought. This, along with the fact I was hot and a bit sweaty made me rather irritable. I must admit I may have lapsed into “mardy mother mode” and wasn’t quite the patient, kind and thoughtful mother it is suggested we all should be. And all because I put on the wrong bloody jeans!!! Who would have thought an item of clothing could have such an impact?

I’m writing this in my trackies, hoody and I am happily shoeless. I couldn’t be in a better place (well apart from Sky Sports babbling away in the background) and feel like a different person. I might just make this my new every day wardrobe although I think my 6-year-old daughter may have an opinion or two on it…