Magazine Freebies & Charity Shop Tales 4

After spending most of one day last week doing work for my small business, catching up with finances, ironing and other bits and pieces that I've been neglecting of late, I ventured out in the afternoon to our local high street.  I needed to post a few parcels, pay a couple of cheques in at the building society and get a few groceries we had run out of and it was good to get out of the house too.

Whilst out and about, I picked up a copy of Issue 24 of Mollie Makes magazine in M&S.   I was pleased to see that it had a couple of free gifts with it, one of which you only received if you bought it from M&S.  The main gift this issue was a sweet little kit to make your own floral oilcloth coin purse and the second gift, which you only got in copies sold by M&S, was a sweet little pair of embroidery scissors which I'm sure will come in handy.

I had a quick flick through when I got home and there's lots of great articles and interviews in there to read so I'm looking forward to reading it properly when I get the chance. If you decide to buy this issue, make sure to get it from M&S if you want an extra free gift.

The following day I was out and about again and bought a few things in readiness to do some food growing at home and the allotment.  I bagged myself some Maris Peer seed potatoes on offer at Wilko for £2.75.  There are probably 40-50 in the bag.  I don't think I've even got room at the allotment for them all but I'll see how many I can get in.  I just need to chit them now.  I also snuck into a charity shop too and found this unused bean planter and frame for just £1.95.  I thought I'd give it a go to help me to grow some beans in the back garden, as it will sit nicely on the decking outside our back door, so long as the puppy doesn't destroy the plants or eat the beans.

When I came home, my Grow It magazine was waiting for me.  I got a subscription for this magazine for free using my Tesco Clubcard points and haven't regretted it.  In the last 3 issues (this one included) I've received about 15 different lots of seeds which means I've got lots to get sowing with as soon as I'm able.   This issue it was courgettes (5 seeds - you don't need many of these as they tend to grow pretty large and produce lots of fruit), leeks (60 seeds), mixed salad leaves (my favourites) (200 seeds), Brussels sprouts (100 seeds) and beetroot (60 seeds).  If anyone is thinking of subscribing or buying a gardening magazine I would recommend this one for the seeds they give you for free if nothing else.  The magazine is a good read too though, with lots of useful advise.

At the charity shop, I also bought a few more books which were all between 95p and £1.25 each (a bit of a shopping theme going on there - surprise surprise - the book pile is almost in danger of toppling, I need to stop buying books now), a new and unused glasses case for my new specs for 95p, some new handmade cards for 50p each (I always like to keep a stock of these for birthdays, etc.)

and finally, this cool handbag which at £6 was a bit more than I would normally spend, but I really liked it as it has 5 compartments inside to house all my bits and pieces.