A Quiet Week - W/E 8th February 2025

This week has been a quiet one. We didn't really have any plans at all this week and I've stayed home when not working or exercising. Sunday was a quiet day at home. I had some month end financial reckoning to do in the morning. It was a bright but very cold day and I just didn't feel like going outside all day, which was a bit of waste really. We started watching Yellowstone on Netflix on Sunday night, which is quite dramatic but watchable.

On Monday, I headed out of town to do the weekly shop as usual. I used my 10% off voucher at Lidl, which saved me £8 or so. A new Aldi has opened near to where I shop, so I went in there for a look around and bought a few bits we needed. I have to admit that I much prefer Lidl though, perhaps just because I have better knowledge of their products after decades of shopping with them. I did drop into my favourite charity shop, but only found one item I liked which cost £2. I will add it to a monthly clothing haul towards the end of the month.

Tuesday, I headed out to my usual gym class which was good. I found out this week that the sports centre I go to several times per week is closing for refurbishment in September for three years. This has come as a bit of a surprise, so I'm having to think about what I might do when the time comes and have been looking at other local gyms that I may decide to join. It is going to signify the end of an era and will be quite a wrench, but nothing stays the same does it.

I stayed home sewing for the rest of Tuesday, as going out anywhere usually involves spending money and I'm trying hard not to do that this month.

On Wednesday, I got up, had breakfast and then headed out for a run. I ordered the spotted dress I bought for £1 in a larger size from Vinted. It cost me £5. I got a notification that it was at a local inpost point, so on my way back from my run, I stopped off to collect it. I tried it on when I got home, once I'd had a shower. I was much happier with the fit and have subsequently donated the dress that I paid £1 for.

I was due at work for 1.30pm, which was an unusual shift for me, but I'm not complaining, as it meant that I didn't have to work until late and I also didn't get stuck in horrendous traffic at rush hour, which was a blessing.  I also managed to pick up an extra shift on Thursday, which I couldn't really turn down when we're being given only basic hours at the moment. Any extra money is welcome

OH had made supper when I got home which was nice and then later I watched the new Motherland offshoot series called Amandaland, which was funny.

Thursday, I had a lie, as I'd come down with a cold and wasn't feeling great. I needed to be at work for 1pm, so I had a leisurely breakfast, got ready and then had an early lunch before heading off. Work was good today, I was working on my favourite job, so it passed quickly. I couldn't wait to get to bed though later and just snuggle up under a heavy quilt and feel warm and snug. Having a cold is lousy. I've not had one since last summer, so I can't really complain, it's just that it's come at a time when I'm due to work quite a bit over the next few days, which isn't ideal.

I skipped my run on Friday morning. I figured my body had enough to contend with at the moment fighting off this cold and it was raining to boot. Instead, I decided to get all my out of season stuff out of storage and go through it again, to see if there was anything there I could declutter. I decided to part with quite a lot of items that just don't fit, aren't flattering or have had their time. This boosted items for donation to over 100 and I've mainly only tackled clothing so far.

I was due at work for 5pm, so I had a late lunch and then got ready to go. I have to allow more time to get there now, especially on Fridays, when the traffic is bad due to everyone finishing early for the weekend and due to changes in our local road systems, which are very annoying, but there's nothing I can do about it. I just have to suck it up.  Work was okay, but I was glad to get home and chill, knowing I had a day off the following day.

Saturday, I skipped the free gym session. I woke up feeling lousy and spent most of the day in bed. It's very rare I have a duvet day, but I felt I needed it to at the very least give my body a rest. It was a bit of a non-day, but such is life. I felt better for it and it seemed a suitable way to round off what has been a pretty quiet and uneventful week.

I hope you've had a good week, free of any ailments or illness.

Monthly Financial Update - January 2025

The first month of my supposed low spend year, has had mixed results. I can't really say that I've had a low spend month, for various reasons.

The first reason is because I went on holiday for a week, so my spending money of 300 euros was quite an outlay. It was mostly spent on groceries and eating out. I didn't really buy anything much for myself whilst away, I probably spent less than 10 euros on non-food items. We did eat out every day, whether it be lunch or supper. I also spent 50 euros on a gift for LB and I came home with 20 or 30 euros, so I don't think I did too bad.

The second reason that January was an expensive month, was that it was LB's birthday. I had bought her a few gifts before January, but I did give her some cash too, so that was another outlay.

Aside from the above expenditure, the main area of essential spending this month was the food budget, which I managed to keep low this month and still stocked up the pantry. I think I was able to do this due to us being away for a week and also having so much food left over from Xmas. 

Some things I spent money on this month were necessary, such as a new pair of trainers for the gym, as I was getting pains in my feet and calves wearing my old ones and I think it was time to invest in a new pair. I use them multiple times a week, so it's important that they give me the support I need. I spent £40 on a new pair and wore them for the first time at the gym on Saturday.

In terms of non-essential expenditure, there was a quite a lot this month. It didn't seem like it at the time, but it has all added up to quite a large amount. I spent £14 on an ASOS sample sale haul, in which I bought 4 items of clothing, plus paid for postage. I spent a total of £16 on two separate visits to my favourite charity shop. This was, however, less than the monthly amount I am allowing myself to thrift shop with. (i.e. £25) I also got tempted by a couple of very inexpensive items of clothing in the store where I work and spent £12.50 on these, which wasn't too bad, but I could do better by resisting temptation altogether.

Scarily, I also managed to spend around £200 on a variety of other items during the month. These items ranged from bulk buying household products (£50), bulk buying vitamins/supplements that I use daily (£27), Xmas wrapping items bought in the sales (£32), Valentines/birthday gifts/cards/postage (£14) and toiletries/beauty products (£45) which did include stocking up on some quite expensive dental products that I use for my current dental hygiene regime. The remaining £30 or so, was spent on various small items for the house/garden/craft/travel.

As a consequence, it's not really been the most successful first month of buying/spending less, but I am hoping to improve as the months go by and reduce my spending still further. I always do find that coming out of such a spendy period as Christmas, it is a big challenge to break the habits of the previous months. 

The good news is, that I did manage to put aside some money in savings. Not a huge amount, but anything is better than nothing. I did also set aside £100 for birthdays/Xmas 2025 this month and I'll continue to do this each month this year, so that the cost of Xmas is evenly spread throughout the year.

Next month, however, I will be getting paid a bit less, as I've worked quite a lot less hours, so that should prevent me from spending too much, as I just won't have the money. I will, however, need to book a dental check up and get my hair cut, which could prove expensive, especially if I need some treatment and I do have a 21st birthday this month, but I have already set aside some money to give as a gift. Other than these things, I don't have any planned spending in February, so I'll just have to see how it goes and try to do better.

Feeling More Motivated - W/E 1st February 2025

It's taken a couple of weeks since getting back from our holiday, but this week, I finally felt like I was getting back to normal. I've been suffering with a lack of motivation to do anything much, but I've kept on keeping on and gradually small things have been crossed off my to do list. There's still a good few things on it, but these are mainly dependent upon good weather and it was very wet at the beginning of this week.

On Sunday, I was due to work from 11.30 am until 6pm. I managed to keep myself busy all of the shift by having a thorough sort out of the section I was allotted to. It often gets neglected, but it kept me occupied for the shift and helped it to pass more quickly. We ended up leaving half an hour early too, as everyone had finished recovering the store early.

Monday, was the usual weekly shop day. I needed to head to Home Bargains today, to get a couple of toiletries and supplements I use regularly and ended up spending £45 there, which was a lot for me. It was mainly due to finding the face cream that I like to use, which I couldn't find last time I shopped there, as I think they've discontinued it or didn't have it in stock any longer. I could only find it in a solitary gift set on the shelf, so had to buy that, but it wasn't too expensive at £4.99. Maybe it is super popular and sells out, I don't know. Anyway, I also treated myself to another face cream, for when the first one runs out and I can't get hold of it anymore. This one was £3.99. I shouldn't need to buy any more for a long time now.Other than these items, most of what I spent was on food.

I then bought more food items from Tesco and some dental care items. I spent more than I intended to, which I regretted as soon as I left the store, because I remembered that I needed to spend £94 at Lidl this week to qualify for the 10% off my next shop. As a consequence, I kept adding things to my trolley to hit this figure and ended up spending more than this and really stocked up the pantry. I still came within the monthly food budget though, which was good.  This should mean that food spending in February should be lower, as we can eat from the pantry/freezer for a week or two and February is also a very short month.

It was quite stormy when I finished the shopping and I headed home. I avoided the charity shop this week. I really do not need any more clothes. My wardrobe is bursting at the seams. I need to start wearing more of the things in it, instead of constantly buying more.

On Tuesday, I was booked into my class in the gym in the morning. I'd made overnight oats, but had made way too much. I still ate it, however, and then it felt heavy in my stomach all through the class. I won't be doing that again, at least not making as much anyway. I pottered for most of the rest of the day, doing a bit of blogging and sorting through charity donations. I've now put aside 59 items for donation, as I'm hoping to declutter at least 500 things this year. I also made a few more hexies for my star quilt. I'm down to making the last two star blocks and then I'm almost finished. It will just be a case or backing and binding it. It's been a long project, but I've enjoyed it.

In the evening, OH went out to the cycle track, so I had the house to myself. I was feeling a bit of a mess, so I decided to get a shower and have a self care evening. I felt better for it and then watched an interesting Storyville on TV. I've not been sleeping well for a few nights now, waking every few hours to go to the toilet. I decided not to drink any alcohol or fizzy drinks and not to eat past 7pm and it did work. I had the best night's sleep that I've had in a while getting a full 6 hours at least and then a further couple of hours. I definitely need to be more mindful of what I consume in the evenings, as sleep is so important for feeling positive and having energy.

Wednesday morning, I got up feeling quite refreshed and whilst making breakfast, I decided to make a candle from all the dregs of candles that I've burned over the last year or so. I melted all the waste wax that I keep in a jar and added it to a clean candle jar with a new wick. It seemed to turn out okay and it's made a good sized candle, but it will probably be a strange mixture of scents, although that doesn't worry me. I'd just finished burning a candle the night before, so this will be the next one I burn. I only really burn candles in the winter months to create a bit of cosiness. I enjoy the ritual of lighting a candle when I sit down to watch TV or do some sewing.

A bit later, OH and I headed out for a run. He's recovering from and injury and just getting back into running, so decided to come out with me, bless him, as it was a slow one.

When we got back, I felt inspired to go out in the garden and get some work done. It was finally dry enough to do this, as it had been raining for 3 or 4 days. I managed to tidy the beds, plant out some ferns and hellebores that had been hanging around in pots for months, put some bulbs in, albeit very late, tidy up a few plants, sweep up and finally put the cherry tree prunings on the beds to try to prevent them being used as litter trays by the local cats. I don't know if it will work, and it doesn't look that pretty, but I'll try anything. Here's a couple of pictures:

It felt very satisfying to get these jobs done, and now all that's left is to do some pruning, which I need OH's help with and to take some garden waste to the tip.

After lunch, I rewarded myself by spending some time working on my hexi quilt until I got a call from work asking me to work in the evening, which I agreed to do. I quickly got ready and headed off only to find that the road system where I live has changed since I last went to work and I had to go a different way which took ages and was very busy with traffic. Work was okay when I got there though and the shift passed very quickly.

On Thursday, I had a lie in as I didn't get to sleep until the early hours. We had arranged to meet LB at the Barbican in London (again) to see a movie and then go out for something to eat.  The movie we went to see was The Brutalist, which was 3 hours long. It did have an interval though, thankfully. It was lovely to see LB again. I've missed her. The movie, however, was brutal. That's all I can say about it. We went for some supper afterwards and then for a drink before heading our separate ways home. She's coming home for a night or two in February, which will be nice.

On Friday morning, I had a lie in again, as once again I didn't get to sleep until the early hours. When I eventually got up, I had breakfast, went for a run, had lunch, did a few household chores and then went back to bed for an hour or so before getting ready to go to work in the evening. Work was good tonight, I enjoyed it.

On Saturday morning, it was nice to wake up in a new month. I was glad to see the back of January, as it was a bit of a struggle for me if I'm honest, save for the week when we were on holiday. Anyway, I got up and ready to go to the free gym session again, which I enjoyed. OH was out cycling, so I decided to take a walk onto our local high street. First stop was Greggs, to pick up a free vegan sausage roll that I had a voucher code for. I also dropped into Primark, as I needed some sports socks. 

On the way home, I visited an old favourite local charity shop, that I hadn't visited for a month or two. It was nice to have a leisurely browse. I ended up buying a handmade dress for £3 on the sale rail, which is really sweet and I couldn't resist, a brand new t-shirt for LB and a couple of very small bits and pieces. I spent £10.50 in total, which wasn't too bad.  I also picked up a free book on the way home from the Little Free Library. It sounded like an interesting read.

I wasn't scheduled to work all weekend for a change, which was nice. I didn't have any particular plans for the rest of the day. I just enjoyed chilling at home and doing some sewing. Later, OH used up some mince from the freezer and lots of veg from the fridge to make us a lovely shepherd's pie for supper. It was a nice way to end what has felt like a better week.

January 2025 Clothing Purchases

As requested by Kezzie, and in an attempt to keep me accountable during this low buy/spend year, I thought I would do a post about the items of clothing I failed to refrain from buying this month. None of them were very expensive, but that's not really an excuse, the plain truth is I just wasn't able to resist them. So here goes:

The first two items were from the charity shop, one was this pair of black jogger style pants, which I think are men's, but I figured I could wear them for work, as they have deep zippable pockets to keep my phone etc. secure.

This short camo style jacket, I will hopefully wear in the summer months.  I like the pockets on this jacket and am hoping I can find a suitable way to style it. Both cost £3.

The ASOS sample sale was the next temptation, from where I bought the following items:

This navy bridesmaid dress was hard to resist for £5. I've wanted a net/tulle skirt for a while and I'm thinking of wearing this with a tailored jacket over the top. It's very pretty for the money I paid.

I then bought a pair of black parachute pants, which I thought were cargo and would be good for work, but did in fact not have the pockets on the sides. They are still wearable for work purposes if I wear a gilet to keep my belongings in, but they're not ideal. They cost just £3 and fit okay, so it seemed churlish to send them back. As you can see, I do have a bit of a habit of buying black pants for work and I now have way too many pairs, so this is definitely something that I need to focus on curtailing.

I also bought a pair of black knitted ankle warmers, which I wear to the gym in the winter months. These will get used regularly and have already been worn. They were £3, which compared to the other items I bought seemed slightly more expensive, but they weren't really, as I doubt I would get them for less elsewhere.

Finally from ASOS, I bought this black racer back long t-shirt dress. This also cost £3 and fitted well. It can be worn either as a dress or possibly as a nightdress on really hot evenings. I was very happy with this purchase. I can see me wearing it with a denim/camo jacket or layered in the spring/summer. I often get too hot wearing sleeved nightwear in the summer, so having this to potentially wear is a definite plus.

A second visit this month to my favourite charity shop resulted in my purchasing the following items:

This spotted top was £2 and I really like the style and fit. I will enjoy wearing this in the summer months.

This spotted dress is actually way too small, as it is only a size 8. I could get it on, just, but it was very tight. At £1 on the sale rail, however, it was worth buying to help me source the same dress in a bigger size on Vinted. Yes, I could have saved a £1 and taken a picture, but I didn't. I've since looked it up and have found a few of the same dresses for sale in size 14, at a very reasonable price, so I may indulge in purchasing one next month, as it is a really flattering style for me. I really like it.

I also bought a grey knitted snood for £1, as I wear these a lot in the winter months and have worn this already on a number of occasions. 

This Gerard Darel paisley blouse I also bought for £1. It is 100% cotton and is lovely quality. It's a little small, but I bought this to potentially use the fabric, as I'm not sure I like the collar on this shirt and this might prevent me from wearing it. I haven't quite decided yet, but it was too pretty to leave behind. If I decide to re-donate it, £1 isn't a large amount to lose. I'll just consider it a donation to charity.

My final charity shop purchase, was a black crew necked knitted tank top, which I could wear/layer in a number of ways and is a good wardrobe staple. This cost £4.

The two other clothing items I bought this month included this pair of Bershka black cargo jeans which cost £7.19

and this long silky khaki leopard print skirt, which I will probably wear with a long black knitted sweater and boots.  This was in the sale and cost £5.40.

So there we are. My clothing purchases laid bare for all to see. Maybe I will post my purchases every month, to keep me accountable in this year of supposed spending/buying less, as it will be a good way of making me think twice before each and every purchase.

Did you succumb to temptation this January or did you stick to your low buy?

A Better Week - W/E 25th January 2025

This week got off to a good start. I had a nice morning on Sunday. pottering and getting ready for work at 12 noon. I had time to do some journalling, which I now only do when the urge takes me. When I tried to do it daily, I would get days behind with it and then find it a chore to catch up, so I think this works better for me.

Work was quite varied, as I got to work in a couple of different places in the store. I found out that one of my colleagues is leaving this week, after 10 years with the company. I'll be sad to see him go, but at the same time I'm very happy for him. It must be exciting, if a little daunting, to move to pastures new after 10 years in the same job. Good for him. At the moment, I feel quite grateful to have my job, as I keep reading about stores of big chains closing. Nothing is guaranteed in retail these days.

On Monday, I got up early and headed out of town to do the weekly shop. I needed to get back early, as OH had booked us Monday Matinee tickets to see the new Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown at our local independent cinema. I was looking forward to it and the tickets cost just £7 each on Mondays, as opposed to more than twice that on other days. We couldn't get into the evening showing, as it was completely sold out.  Our local cinema is great and has a lovely bar and very comfy seats. It's quite boujie. We need to make a habit of going more often.

The shopping went okay. I found a few very inexpensive items in my favourite charity shop. I spent just £10 and got 6 items, three of which cost £1 from the sale rail. I was very happy with them. I'm still well within my £25 thrifting budget for the month. I also bought a few final clearance items in TKMaxx, mostly Xmas items for use next year. I made sure to get them before we put the Xmas boxes back in the loft.

The Bob Dylan film was great. I'd definitely recommend going to see it. It made a nice change to go to the cinema in the afternoon. My ASOS order also arrived on Monday afternoon. When I tried everything on, it all fitted okay, so I was happy.

On Tuesday, I got up and ready for the gym, as I'd booked my usual class. I did a bit of tidying around upstairs before heading off and put some more washing on. I'm almost caught up on laundry now, from Xmas and the holiday, just one more load to wash, when I've got room to dry it inside.

After lunch, OH and I ventured to the allotment and did some weeding and digging over before spreading some manure and compost on the plot. The only thing left to do now is to prune the fruit bushes. It felt good to finally put it to bed for the winter and forget about it for a couple of months. I also planted some tulip bulbs at the plot whilst there, as I hadn't got around to planting them in the garden. I'm hoping they'll grow okay, but I'm very late getting them in.

On Wednesday, I headed out for a run in the morning. It was nice to get out and get some fresh air to be honest. It's one of the things I miss about no longer having a dog to walk. I miss getting out in nature and seeing the wildlife whilst out and about.

When I got in, I decided to tackle the ironing basket, as it was full of things that I need to put away with the Xmas decs and I wanted to gather it all together and get it back in the loft as soon as possible. I watched some Netflix as I did it, finishing a 4 part series called The Inheritance that I'd begun previously and then starting to watch a new Harlan Coben series called Missing You.

Later, I made us a spicy Chicken Casserole, which made a nice change, before getting ready for work. Work was a little different tonight, as I didn't start until 9pm. I was working on the yearly stock take and due to finish at 2am. I was a little apprehensive, but the night went okay. I did feel very slow compared to some of the younger people I work with. They are so quick and nimble in everything they do. I feel old and clumsy in comparison. Anyway, I left at 2am and after having some crumpets as a snack when I got in, I headed straight to bed.

As a consequence of working late on Wednesday, I had a very long lie in on Thursday morning, which took care of most of the morning. I then got ready and decided to do a bit of hand sewing in front of the TV. I had a few bits that needed repairing, so I sat and did that and finished the series I'd started the day before.

I then watched a film on Netflix, called The Secret Scripture starring Vanessa Redgrave, which was really good and worked a little on my Hexi Star quilt before supper. Later, OH and I watched this week's first episode of the Traitors which is always entertaining. It was a bit of a lazy day, but I needed it and don't indulge myself in watching TV during the day that often. Sometimes, it just hits the spot.

On Friday morning, I was up late again. I'd not slept well in the early part of the week and I think I needed to catch up on sleep. Once up, I had breakfast and then headed out for a run. I'm gradually increasing the distance as the weeks go by, but the speed isn't increasing at all. I pride myself on being the slowest runner in town.

By the time I got home it was lunchtime, after which I did a few bits and pieces in the sewing room. I'm altering a few bits of clothing that I won't wear as they are, to make them more wearable. 

In the evening, OH had booked tickets to go to see some classical music at the Barbican in town. I wasn't very keen to go if I'm honest, as I wasn't that familiar with some of the music, but I decided to go anyway and I was glad I did. We had a nice evening out. We don't go into town that often, and it made a change.

On Saturday, I was up early, despite not sleeping well, to go to the over 50's free session at the gym, which had restarted for the Spring term. I enjoyed the workout, but didn't work too hard. On the way back, I picked up some groceries and then bumped into the mum of one of LB's old primary school friends. I'd not seen her for years and thought she'd moved out of the area, but she hadn't. It was nice to see her and have a chat about what has happened in the intervening years. I've always found her to be a very sweet person.

Anyway, when I got home, I headed out to a college Open Day, to see about the course I was interested in. Once again, I think it was more or less a waste of time. I don't think the course will be running, as there still didn't seem much interest. I might have to start thinking about studying elsewhere if I really want to do it.

I spent the afternoon pottering at home, doing a bit of cleaning and pickling the remainder of the beetroot that we harvested from the allotment earlier in the week. OH made us a curry for supper. LB messaged to say she had some free time next week, so I think we're going to meet up with her for a belated celebration for her birthday. It will be lovely to see her.

We ended the week watching the finale of The Traitors, although I already knew who was going to win, as someone on the radio announced it earlier in the day, which was very annoying. OH didn't hear it though, so it was still a bit of a surprise for him.

It's hard to believe that we're almost at the end of January. By the time I post next week, we will be in February already. How time flies.

Reusable Gift Wrapping Haul January 2025

For Christmas 2024, I tried to use some reusable Xmas wrapping techniques for some of the presents I gave to OH and LB. I didn't, however, succeed in completely doing away with wrapping paper, but I did avoid anything with a metallic finish or glitter, so that it could at least be recycled.

My intention going forward is to lean into this practice for future gift giving, so this sale season, I have been looking out for reusable wrapping ideas and products that I can use year after year. I've found quite a few items on clearance at TKMaxx this year and I thought I'd do a little post about them.

Some of my favourite finds have been reusable fabric sacks or bags. The ones I've found have been quite luxe, being made from a velvety velour-type fabric. I like the different designs, and the odd one lends itself to use for birthdays too. Here's a picture of the ones I've bought:

They have tended to cost anywhere between £1.70 and £3 each, but I think they are definitely worth it to be able to use them year after year. They also make it much easier to wrap awkward shaped gifts or large bulky items that aren't easy to wrap with paper. I'm looking forward to using them. The one below, is actually a really colourful pillowcase that I bought from a charity shop. I couldn't resist bringing this home with me. It's currently wrapping a gift I bought for LB's birthday.

I've also bought a few ribbons and strings that can be used year after year. I tend to collect them after use and wind them up ready to be used again.

I bought a couple of fabric re-usable bottle bags this year too, as the paper ones, although reusable, do tend to look worse for wear, especially if we travel at Christmas and they get squashed into bags in the car. I hope to make a few more fabric ones myself at some point during this year, as well as making some fabric gift bags and furoshiki fabric wraps from fabrics in my stash, for both birthday and Xmas use.

Not everything I've bought has been reusable. I do like tissue papers of different designs, and always tend to buy a few in the sales. They are good for wrapping clothes and bottles. Here's a selection of the ones I bought this year:

I bought some Xmas cardboard gift boxes too, that I do try to reuse from year to year. These cost 80p for two boxes, which was great value and they are also great for gift wrapping clothes.

This book of Xmas papers and card also came home with me, which I can use to make tags or envelopes to give gifts or money in. There are an interesting mix of designs and they were very inexpensive at £2 for 25 sheets. There are some glitter card sheets in here, but I don't really intend to use them unless I can think of something that can be reused year after year.

Finally, I bought a cardboard advent calendar for £1.60, which I intend to use next year. 

I already have one that I got in the sale last year and used this year and I'm keeping it and may alternate which one I use every year for a bit of variety. I bought a couple of advent candles too, as I do like to burn these on a daily basis through December. I used one from Cancer Research this year and it worked really well, some don't in my experience, so I bought a couple more for future years in the sale. They were just 99p each or something similar.

I've spent a little money on the above things, but I'm happy with everything I purchased and they will all get used at some point and hopefully re-used multiple times. I'm enjoying gathering together a variety of wrapping options, but I look forward to making some of my own too. I'm currently curating a list of videos on YouTube on how to wrap gifts with fabric, so this should help me put these items to good use.

In the meantime, I tried to wrap most of LB's Birthday gifts using fabric or reusables this year. Here's a picture of my efforts:

She's yet to open these, although her birthday was 10 days or so ago, as she's been very busy at Uni and we haven't had time to meet up. It will be a nice surprise for her, if she comes home at some point during the term.

Do you use reusables for gift wrapping? 

Home Again and Getting Back into a Routine - W/E 18th January 2025

Returning to the UK in the middle of a spell of very cold weather was a rude awakening.  It took quite a while to get the house warmed up. We spent Sunday at home just chilling, unpacking, opening mail and having a very lazy day. I caught up with a bit of blogging. I'd taken my laptop on holiday, but didn't use it once, so I could really have left it at home.

We seemed to miss the worst of the weather whilst away, although I don't think London was badly affected with snow in any case. Just ice and cold temperatures. A few of my plants had got too cold and were badly affected, especially the ones in the shed. I'm not sure if they'll recover. I just didn't think about how it might affect them.

We didn't have much fresh food in the house when we got back, but we managed with what we had in the cupboards until I did the weekly shop on Monday. OH had bought bread and milk at the petrol station on the way home and I didn't want to venture out in the cold weather, so we just made do on Sunday.

I wasn't due to work until the end of the week, so I was looking forward to a free week, doing exactly as I pleased. I'd done a bit of sewing whilst away, on my hexi quilt. I'd put the needles and scissors in OH's bike box which went in the hold, so was able to take my sewing with me. I had worked on a couple of star blocks when I got the chance and I was looking forward to doing more when I got home.

OH lit a fire on Sunday afternoon, to keep warming up the house and we sat by it watching TV in the evening. We binge watched the 4 part series Archie, about Cary Grant. It was good. We also caught up on one episode of The Traitors.

On Monday, I was up late after not getting to sleep until the early hours. I had a slow start to the morning, making sure to contact LB and wish her a Happy Birthday. She was busy going back to Uni this week, so we weren't able to meet up with her.

I then ventured out of town to do the weekly shop. It was so quiet out and about. I guess no one has any money to spend after Xmas. I just got the basic essentials that we needed, so it was a slightly less expensive shop than it had been in the weeks leading up to Xmas.  I did go to my favourite Charity shop, but my heart wasn't really in it. I spent £6 on a couple of items, so that now leaves me with a maximum of £19 left to spend on thrifting for the rest of the month, as I'm trying to be very strict and spend no more than £25 per month.

After supper, I got a message from work asking me to work on Tuesday. I agreed to work from 5 till closing, as I have been scheduled for only my basic contracted hours this week, so any extra hours are a bonus. I was happy to just go to work when required and then stay home for the rest of the time this week, save for doing the odd run or gym class/session. I had still got lots of washing and putting away to do from the holiday, so that kept me occupied.

I went back to my usual gym class on Tuesday morning, which was good. I also did a few small tasks around the house and did some more laundry, before getting ready and heading off to work in the evening.  I had to catch a bus to work, as OH needed the car and the bus I needed didn't come, so I caught another one and walked part of the way, which at least extended my steps for the day. Work was okay and passed quickly, as I was kept very busy all night, even though it was quite quiet compared to before Xmas.

On Wednesday morning, I had a lie in before getting up and eventually going for a run. Since losing 2 and a half stone, I've regained a stone, so I'd really like to shift it, or some of it again and running did seem to help a lot towards the end of my previous weight loss journey. I've been way too relaxed about my calorie intake in the last six months and as a consequence, I've paid the price by gaining some weight back. I'm not going back to calorie counting though, as I'm over it, but I do need to exercise a bit more restraint in relation to my eating habits and see where it takes me.

On Thursday, I decided to skip the gym and have a day where I could dress in normal (i.e. non gym) clothes. I put on a dress I'd not worn for ages and some boots and tried to get some steps in by walking into town and doing a few errands. There were a few things that I needed to buy. I decided, after reading around the subject of metabollism, to start eating a couple of brazil nuts and some nori seaweed every day, so I picked up both on my travels.  The seaweed will also help with my hypothyroidism. I intend to crush it up and scatter it on my salads at lunchtime and poached eggs on weekends. 

By the time I got home I'd walked 7,000 plus steps, which was good and spent way too much money, which wasn't good. It was mostly on regularly used essentials that I needed, or that were on offer or subject to coupons I had, so it wasn't money wasted at all. I've stocked up on a few things and shouldn't need to buy them again for a while. I'd also decided that the dress I was wearing could be donated once washed. It harked back to a different time of my life and wasn't that flattering, so it was time to let go. Sometimes you just need to give things a final chance before making a decision.

On Friday, I was due at work for 1.30pm, so I got up and went for a run in the morning. I listened to an old music playlist whilst running, which I made to get me through a difficult time. It felt strange listening to it a few years later and realising that I'm in a much better place now.

I got a bit side tracked whilst getting ready for work, by an ASOS sample sale that had just dropped and I spent £14 on 4 items. I may do a small haul when they arrive. I probably should unsubscribe to the site to prevent me spending money on it this year, but I do enjoy a scroll through and I try to be very selective. We'll see when the items arrive, whether they were good value or not and fit well.

Work was OK. I kept myself busy enough. It was nice not to work late though and be home in time for supper. Whilst at work, I received a text about a college course I'd applied for, which seemed to suggest that it might be running soon. I was invited to attend an open day next week about it. I'm hoping it's not another time wasting scenario, which the last enrollment day was.

On Saturday morning, I had another lie in and a leisurely breakfast. The free gym sessions I normally attend re-start next Saturday, so I'm looking forward to going back to them. I was due at work for 4pm, so I just pottered around the house for most of the day, doing small jobs such as laundry, sewing repairs, tidying things away, etc. I'm still not fully back into the swing of things since our holiday and am definitely lacking motivation at the moment.

Work was good. I enjoyed it because I was working my favourite job. OH and I watched a movie when I got in from work, which was a nice end to the week. I'm hoping that my energy and motivation levels pick up next week as I get further into January.

How's your January going?

A Week in Tenerife - W/E 11th January 2025

This week, OH and I had booked to stay in Tenerife for a week's holiday. OH's sister had taken his mum there for three weeks, as it was her first holiday after several years spent looking after his dad. We arranged to go along for one of the weeks and spend some time with them, although we were staying in our own accommodation.

We had quite an earlyish flight at 11am, so we packed up the car and set off for the airport. At the same time, LB packed up her stuff and headed back to her flat, so we said our goodbyes before she left. We would have liked her to come with us for the week, but she had work to do on her dissertation and was looking forward to spending a few days at her flat on her own, before her flatmate came back.

Our flight to Tenerife on Sunday went okay. We had a few small issues at the airport, with overweight luggage and my toiletries not being in the correct bags, etc. It was a learning curve for me, as I've mentioned before, travelling with just one small carry on suitcase and a bag. It has inspired me to get better at this in the future, now that I've done it once.

We had a spare seat next to us on the flight out, so could spread out a little, which was welcomed. This made the flight reasonably comfortable, if a bit long. It was strange to step out into sunshine once we got there. We picked up the hire car and eventually got to our hotel around 6pm. The apartment was nice and well equipped. We then had an hour to get a few provisions before meeting up with OH's mum, sister and brother in law in a nearby restaurant. We had a lovely first evening with them, but were glad to get back to our apartment, unpack and go to bed after a long day of travelling.

The next morning, we had to be up early, as OH needed to move the car. Car parking wasn't simple in the resort, as a lot of spaces couldn't be used during the day, as they were used for deliveries, so we had to find a space where the car could be left all day rather than pay £8 per day to leave it in the hotel carpark.  OH then went for a bike ride up Mount Teide and I went out for a run along the promenade which was lovely and quiet early in the morning. I then plonked myself on a sun lounger for a couple of hours, had a swim and a little foray into the hot tub, before getting a shower and getting ready to head out and meet up with family again. We did try to go grocery shopping on Monday, but it was Epiphany which is a Bank Holiday in the Canary Islands, so the supermarkets were closed.

On Monday night we went out for Tapas in a local restaurant. The food was very nice and three of us shared 12 different dishes between us, which was quite reasonably priced.

On Tuesday, OH and I got up and used the hotel gym for the first time which was good. We then got ready and we all went out for the day in the car. We stopped off at the small historic town of Candelaria which was quite interesting. It was much less touristy than the resort in which we were all staying, which I enjoyed about it. From there we also headed into the capital of Tenerife, Santa Cruz where we had a walk around and had a meal together in a restaurant. We had a nice day out and then did a grocery shop and just chilled when we got back.

On Wednesday morning, OH's other sister was flying into Tenerife to join us in our apartment. It was a surprise for his mum, who had no idea she was also coming. OH got up really early and went for another bike ride before picking her up from the airport. I, meanwhile, went for a run, spent a couple of hours by the pool and then did an aqua aerobics class in the pool which was fun, before we all went back to the apartment and got ready to go out and meet the others and surprise his mum. We were meeting at a bar where we had a late lunch and there were a couple of singers performing, which was quite entertaining. OH's mum was very surprised to see her other daughter join us, which was nice.

Thursday, we went out for breakfast and then all spent the day around our hotel pool. It probably wasn't allowed, but we weren't challenged by anyone. We all had a nice relaxing day together and OH's sister joined me in another aqua aerobics class. Later, we all went out for supper. Some of us went to a really good Indian restaurant in the resort and OH's mum, who doesn't like Indian food, and one of her daughters went elsewhere. Our curries were amazing. We were so glad we went there. I've never tasted better Indian food. We all then met up again later for drinks, before eventually heading home.

Friday, was our last full day on Tenerife, as we were flying home late on Saturday.  I did my usual of a run followed by a couple of hours by the pool, before heading back to the apartment, doing some packing and having a nice salad for lunch. OH went on a bike ride and his sister went to meet her family. Later, OH drove some of us up Mount Teide, which was very beautiful. We stopped off at a small museum dedicated to the last person to live high on the mountain side in a very simple small house. It was interesting. We stopped off at a cafe and then came down to La Calleta, a very pretty fishing village for a walk around. It was very picturesque and you could enter the water from some rocks. There were lots of black crabs crawling all over the rocks though and the sea was quite choppy so we didn't go in. It was a beautiful spot though.  We didn't stay too long, before returning to the resort and joining OH's sister and brother in law for supper at their hotel restaurant.

On Saturday, we got up, got packed up and left the hotel. We moved all our luggage to OH's sister's hotel, but then got into trouble sitting by their pool, as it wasn't allowed for insurance purposes. I wasn't happy, as we'd spent quite a bit of money staying in a different hotel owned by the same company and felt they were being a bit inflexible, but rules are rules. As a consequence of this, we headed to the beach for a few hours, which was nice, as we'd not really been to the beach before this. OH and I later went back to their apartment and got a shower and rearranged our bags ready to head to the airport for our flight home. We said our goodbyes and then we were on our way home. It was a bit touch and go whether our flight was going to leave due to freezing fog at Stanstead, but it did leave half an hour late. Again we had a space next to us, so could stretch out and once again the flight wasn't too bad. They did land the plane using Auto pilot, which I'd not experienced before, due to the freezing fog, but we landed safely, thankfully, and managed to get our car back and get home for 2am or thereabouts.

The house was so cold when we got in. It was quite a shock to our system. We put the heating on and filled every hot water bottle we owned, wrapped ourself in layers of clothing and headed to bed, very glad to be home safely and back in our own house. We'd had a lovely time, and a bit of winter sun was lovely, but it was now time to get back to normal and get on with our everyday life.

A Short Week - W/E 4th January 2025

It was a short week this week, once New Year's Day was over and done with. I stayed home, watched Mary Poppins on the TV, a documentary about Gavin and Stacey and the first episode of the new series of The Traitors. I ate far too much and vowed to get back to normal the following day. I'm sure this may have rung true for many people. 

I'd got off to a bad start after LB was robbed of her purse. One small thing can throw me out so easily. OH and I decided that between us, we'd reimburse LB the Xmas gift money that was stolen from her.  The family members who gave her the money would have liked her to spend it on herself, so it seemed like the right thing to do. I'm not prepared to let the unscrupulous actions of one individual derail what has been a lovely Festive season.

Anyway, now most of the seasonal food has been eaten, (the appealing stuff anyway), it was way easier to get back into a healthier eating regime. On Thursday, I got in my first run of the year. My running is incredibly slow, I look like I'm walking, but I don't care, just getting out into the fresh air on a day when there was a blue sky and the sun was shining was wonderfully uplifting.

LB was working and OH had to go out to meet a client, so I had the house to myself for most of the day, which was nice. There were lots of things I needed to get on with in the house this week, such as tidying stuff away, taking down the decorations, ironing, putting laundry away, packing for our holiday, etc. It was enjoyable to get back to doing such things after the holidays. I did another wardrobe declutter, as there were a few things lurking in there that I no longer want to keep. I also cleaned all of my Xmas earrings ready to put them away until next Xmas.

On Friday, I needed to take all the Xmas decorations down. It took a couple of hours in the afternoon, to carefully put everything away. There's still a few bits to iron or wash before they can be packed away. I always feel a little sad when I do this job. It always seems such a long time before we get them out again and the house always seems a little bare. We're keeping a few lights up in the back garden, just to brighten up the long winter nights.

On Saturday, I went for a run in the morning and then later I was working in the evening. In between, I was packing ready for our holiday to Tenerife. Work was okay, but I was glad to get home, knowing that we were flying out the next morning.

Welcoming a New Year

This New Year, I was very much looking forward to welcoming in a fresh year. 2024 had thrown up a few difficult challenges, the main two being losing our lovely dog sooner than we expected and the loss of OH's dad after a long illness. (I've mentioned these things in order of the timeline in which they occurred, not their significance.) 

As a consequence, I was looking forward to turning the page. We will continure to think about and miss our dog and OH's dad throughout this year, and we can't really change anything about this, but there are areas of our lives where we can make changes. For me, personally, I am particularly looking forward to a fresh financial start in 2025, as my spending habits got a bit out of hand in 2024 for various reasons and I am looking forward to getting them back under control.

I'm not doing a no spend year or any such thing in 2025, as for me this is totally unsustainable and there are still unfinished and ongoing projects that I need to spend money on, such as the garden, but I do intend to try to spend more intentionally, rather than participating in impulse shopping, which I've done a lot of this year. I also want to curb my thrift shopping habit a bit this year, although I'm not going to completely stop, as I prefer to buy things in a circular economy, rather than buying them new. I just need to be a little (lot) more mindful about it.

New Year's Day here was a bit of a washout. The weather was rainy, which meant that I didn't get out for a planned run. I spent the morning in my nightwear contemplating the consequences of LB's disappointing New Year's Eve incident, as mentioned in my previous post. I then decided to all park that in 2024 and move on to the New Year ahead.  

Before moving forward, I just had one more backward looking task to complete, which was to empty and re-read my Happy Things jar and start a new one. It's a habit that I started last year, where I write on a post it note whenever something good happens or we enjoy a happy event or day out. I put the note in the jar and at the end of the year it enables me to look back at all the good things that happened that year and not dwell on the bad.

With that task done, I could start to think about the New Year and what I want to try to achieve. I came to the conclusion that I mainly just want to spend my money wisely, save more, keep working on the garden and decluttering unwanted stuff. Other than that, I just want to be kind, supportive, grateful, resourceful, creative and productive, give more to charity, look after myself and enjoy the good times. Simple as. I have no firm plans, but so long as the things I do work towards these aims I'm happy. 

What are you looking forward to this year?

Our Festive Season 2024

We had a lovely Christmas this year.  We didn't need to go anywhere or have to do anything. We just stayed home, ate, drank, watched TV and just generally enjoyed one anothers' company. Perfect in my opinion. We enjoyed opening our presents. OH had bought most of his and I mine, so we got exactly what we wanted. LB seemed to like hers, most of which were from her list. 

We watched Die Hard on Xmas Eve, my first ever time watching it, Gavin and Stacy on Xmas night, which we really enjoyed and Outnumbered on Boxing Day night which was also good. In between, LB and I watched the Devil Wears Prada. I've watched it before several times, but it was still good.

OH cooked Xmas dinner for a change this year, so I had a break from that responsibility, which was nice. The day after Boxing Day, OH headed up north to see his mum. I decided not to go as I wanted to spend as much time with LB as possible whilst she was home and she was working that day, so couldn't go.

I started watching The Empress on Netflix whilst OH was away. It's the story of Empress Elisabeth, wife of Emperor Franz Joseph of the Habsburg dynasty in the Austrian/Hungarian Empire, set in the mid 1800's. It's subtitled, but very good. I binge watched three episodes in one night. I then googled the Emperor to find out more about the history of this era, which was interesting.

Anyway, LB had a day off on the Saturday between Xmas and New Year, as did I, so we both headed out for the afternoon/evening to a local independent cinema to watch Spirited Away, a Japanese anime film. She'd seen it a number of times before, but it was my first time watching it. It was nice to have some time out and about together, first chance of the holidays. We dropped into a couple of thrift shops before the cinema, which was fun. I know I'm supposed to be curbing my spending, but I did buy a couple of things in one shop. One was an organic cotton blouse for my holiday in Tenerife and the other a colourful pillow case that I'm going to use for gift wrapping large presents. (LB's birthday is coming up very soon, so this will come in useful)

We then went to a Turkish restaurant for supper. By this time, it was time to go to the cinema, so we headed there and enjoyed the film. It was unusual, but entertaining. Later, we caught the bus home and OH was home from Yorkshire when we got there. He'd had a nightmare two days travelling there and back due to heavy traffic. Bless him.

On Sunday, I was due at work for 12 noon. I had a bit of a lie in before breakfast, then went to get ready for work. Work itself was very busy. I didn't stop from the minute I clocked on till the minute I clocked off. It was good for business though and it helped the time pass quickly, so I can't complain, but I wasn't expecting it to be so busy.

On Monday, LB and I had our last chance to have a day out shopping out of town, before she goes back to Uni. She's working for the remaider of the holidays, so there wasn't another time we could do it. I also needed to do the weekly shop, although we didn't need a whole lot, as we've got a cupboard full of food we can eat. OH's mum sent him home with a couple of hampers of food items that she'd packed up for us. We mainly just needed fresh things.

We didn't actually set off until lunch time. It was very busy everywhere we went. We started off at Home Bargains, where I needed to buy some toiletries and household items. I bought a few food items here too. I didn't spend as much as I normally do, just £24 or thereabouts this time.

Next, we headed to Tesco, where I bought more food items and more toiletries, followed by a look around TK Maxx where I purchased a few Xmas things for next year which were on sale. These included a couple of fabric sacks for gift wrapping and some brightly coloured cord for the same purpose. I'm trying to build up a stock of reusable wrapping items, which I'm going to add to by making some of my own this year.

We also paid a visit to my favourite large charity shop, where I tried on a number of things. I was looking for very lightweight items to take on holiday next month. I found a couple of things I liked, which included a skirt and a dress. This will probably be my last thrift shop this year and I'm hoping to severely curtail my thrifting next year. I might give myself a £25 per month thrifting budget and try to stick to that. It will definitely be a challenge though. I will need to be uber selective what I buy, which is fine as I have been fine tuning my choices lately.

I then went to Lidl for the majority of the groceries, as I had a 10% off my shop voucher to use, which saved me nearly £7.

Later, after supper, I decided to trawl through my finances for the month. It wasn't a pretty sight. I'm so ready for a new financial start in January. My payslip was live too, so I downloaded it and was happy to have been paid more than I expected after a very basic month at work. Next month will be a lot less I think, as I will have done very little in terms of extra hours outside my contracted hours, so February may be a month where I need to be very careful with my spending. Luckily, it's the shortest month of the year.

On New Years Eve, I went to my usual class at the gym. I was in desperate need of doing some exercise by this point in the holiday. The class was good.

In the afternoon, OH and I spent a few hours heavily pruning the cherry tree in the garden. It hadn't been tackled for a number of years and had got way out of hand with way too much growth.  We were very ruthless with it I'm afraid. I'm hoping it will recover in time and that we can keep it under control in the future.  It was a weight off my mind to get it done, as it's been on my to do list for the whole of the year. Here's a before:

and after:

It was a brutal chop, and we'll miss the cherries this year. I felt really guilty for it, but it had to be done, as it was growing very high and also growing over the fence into our neighbours garden. Living in London, in such close proximity to others and with such a small garden, it's not really a good thing to let trees grow too big, as they can cause disputes and problems. Our neighbours were away, so we could do it whilst they weren't around. They'll get a shock when they get back, but they may be happy that we've done it. I'm going to use many of the pruned branches to keep the local cats off our beds, as they are still a popular place for them to do their 'business'. Hopefully, making it a less comfortable place to do this will deter them.

On New Year's Eve we all went out for supper to a local restaurant. LB was heading out afterwards to spend the evening with friends at a local pub, so we dropped her off after we'd eaten and then we came home and had chilled for rest of the evening. It was the first year that we didn't have to stay home to console our dog, who was terrified of the fireworks. We miss her terribly though and would have her back with us in an instant.

New Years Day didn't get off to the start I expected. Firstly, I wasn't too well all night due to the meal at the restaurant, which was meat that I suspect was defrosted and then cooked in a microwave. My upset stomach kept me awake most of the night. 

LB got in very late, but safely and then on New Years Day we found out that she'd not had an altogether great night. Her card holder was stolen from her handbag in the pub just before midnight. The perpetrator then used one of her bank cards at a corner shop. Luckily, she didn't have much money in her account, as she transfers it to other places, so they couldn't steal anymore from it, and she did get it refunded by her bank. But sadly, all her Xmas gift cash from relatives was stolen (£90), her provisional driving license, which she uses for ID, other cards that are difficult to replace and her Vivienne Westward card wallet, which I'd bought her for her 18th birthday.  I'm really disappointed for her. It's a cruel lesson when it happens to you, but it's not going to spoil our day or our year. 

I hope you had a good start to the New Year.