Temporary Shopping Retirement

        If shopping qualified as an Olympic sport, I think I would be in with a pretty good chance of winning a gold medal.
    But as it's the start of a new year, starting February, I have decided to cut right back on my spending. I would like to try and cut down for a year (or more realistically 6 months!)
       I have enough clothes for about 4 people to last God knows how long, so that shouldn't be a problem.  I may even... GULP... try to sell some things. Anything but my black cat collection and my beloved Birthday, Christmas and Halloween presents from the year just past.  Hmm... I don't know if that leaves very much to sell.
    So come the 1st of February I will cease my training for the Shopping Olympics. I have trained for years to perfect the art of shopping. Hopefully I won't get too rusty! Surely it can't be that hard to remember the basic moves:
1) See it
2) Grab it
3) Dip hand into purse
4) And pay
        
    Now there is an opening for the gold medal. If you decide to pursue the medal, I wish you the very best of Luck!  

Oh Sweetie!

         I am loving the pastel trend that's around right now. It makes you look like a giant sweetie (which is a good thing in my book!).

    Limited edition pastel beaded coil bracelet £12.00.

Rare lace cap sleeve skater dress in pastel pink £49.00

Both available from ASOS.

Glimmer glitter pointed shoes £58.00

Online exclusive MOTO lime Jamie jeans £40.00

Nails in Parma Violet £5.00

All from Topshop

Lip gloss in Pastel Pink £4.49

Dazzle dust in Candy £4.59

Both available from Barry M.

I like sweeties locket £18.00

by Zena & Me

Tatty Devine pink and white leather "plastic bag"

Available from Ebay for £40.00.

Goodies Galore Right To My Door

       I have been feeling rotten this week (I still do, I have an awful bug). And my Mum has been feeling even worse than me. What better way to cheer myself up with a spot of shopping, done from the comfort of my living room of course.
       Today  I had two very exciting deliveries, the first from ASOS. I decided  to treat myself to two things that I have had my eye on for a little while and to make it even better they were both in the sale.

     These gorgeous Zoe & Morgan Cat Paw stud earrings were reduced to £53.00. They are so much prettier in real life and they are very dainty. I would reccommend them to any cat lover. If you would like them, there are still a couple of pairs left.

    
     I grabbed another bargain with this quirky cat tee by Numph which was also in the sale. This T-shirt is also available in mustard.

        Later the postman brought me another exciting parcel. I was lucky enough to get a cushion from fellow Scot, Nikki McWilliams' etsy shop. My Mum bought me this Oreo cushion for half of the original price. When they are gone she won't be making any more, if you would like one there is still one available in her Folksy shop.

      While out shopping today, my Mum picked up a book for me that I keep meaning to get but hadn't gotten round to it yet. Home Cooking Made Easy by Lorraine Pascale really is a great book. I have Lorraine's previous book and have watched both series and find that you really wanted to get into the kitchen after watching them. And the books are every bit as inspiring.

     If you are a little bit under the weather too, I hope you feel better soon. As for me I am off to enjoy a lovely Burns' Night supper (no not haggis).

New Year New Shoes

      It has been a bit quiet on the blog front for me lately. I have been busy having a good old winter clean and going through a few of my old bits and pieces.
      This time last Wednesday I went into town to collect shoes I had ordered online from Schuh (I had them sent to the shop because every time I get shoes through the post from them, the boxes get absolutely wrecked).
    While I was in the shop, I bumped into an old classmate (I have to confess I didn't recognise her at first, she's changed quite a bit in seven years.) I didn't know her that well but after talking to her I realise she is a lot nicer than some of the people I was friends with at school. After saying our goodbyes I went to the till to collect my shoes.
        As the man (who was really quite handsome) opened the postal bag and pulled out the box I saw that it had made it to the shop unscathed. After checking and signing for the shoes I brought them home.
       You may be able to guess the theme of my new shoes (that's right, black cats) In fact they are a gorgeous pair of Irregular Choice Cheese on Toast wedges. To make it even better I got them in the sale with 30% off! I almost bought them a while back but now I am very glad I waited. I would recommend them to any black cat lover, they are so much prettier in the flesh. Mine still have the protective wrapping on the whiskers, so I have used the picture from the Schuh website.

More Sale Delights

       Yesterday  I decided to go into town to see for myself  what the sales had to offer. And I was not disappointed. Although my purse may not be so happy!
         My first stop was Lush and my luck was in, the half price sale was still on. I bought all single items, mainly Christmas items with a couple of Halloween thrown in. It was a great feeling going to the till and getting change from a £20.00 note for all this lovely stuff.

      My next stop was Paperchase. I love their Patisserie Pals range. I have the cake stand from the range. They had this gorgeous tin reduced from £7.50 to £3.50.  Then I spotted these very cute and quirky cookie cutter lights. These were a steal at half price, down from £15.00 to £7.50. I fell in love with them and they had to come home with me.

    
      While standing in the queue in Primark buying some rather mundane things, I spotted these Lip Smackers reduced to £1.00 each.  I really like these fizzy drink flavoured Smackers (I'm using Cherry Coke at the moment). So I went for Orange Fanta and Sprite.

       Then H&M, this item wasn't in the sale but I just had to have it. I was in the children's section to see what Hello Kitty items were on offer. I couldn't see anything of great interest. Until I saw this beautiful little cardigan which was a reddish orange colour with a white collar and it had a very cute little black cat on it.

       I have to confess that I do buy children's clothes if they have a black cat on them for my collection. So it goes without saying that I bought it and I think it was reasonably priced at £9.99.

           If all of this wasn't enough I then decided to make my way to TK Maxx. My Mum had mentioned to me that the last time she was in, they had Ruby cake sprinkles. She was going to buy them (she knows I'm a sucker for anything with my cats' names on). Even better if it's baking related. But in the end she didn't get them. So I thought I would go and see if they had any left because I knew I would love them. They did and I bought a tub for £2.99.

      Always on the hunt for a new cookbook to add to my growing collection, I went upstairs to see what they had to offer.  I came away with The Best Of Cadbury's Chocolate Cooking. A bargain at the same price as the sprinkles.

After all that it was time to make my way home. I am so pleased I had a good look around. I came away with some little gems.

I Love Anthropomorphic

     My obsession in life is most definitely black cats. Another thing I have a soft spot for is anthropomorphic food (or as I like to call it, food with a face). In fact, I am a sucker for it!
      My Mum was out shopping Wednesday before last (21st Dec) and when she popped into a charity shop, she found a little gem.  She bought me this gorgeous bag in the style of Louis Vuitton with cute little anthro cherries all over it. The bag doesn't have any labels but is very well made and has a vintage feel about it. I think she got a bargain at £2.99.
    I am going to save it for Autumn, I think it will go well with all of the autumnal colours.

 I really love this bag!