A Day to Myself

Lately, I seem to have been crazy busy working on my small business, posting orders out, getting stock ready for sale, etc. etc., and then suddenly I hit a day yesterday when everything went very quiet.  I still made a couple of sales, but it was much quieter than it has been for weeks.  I was a bit unsure what to do with myself, so intense had it been for the past month. Initially, I felt a bit deflated and disappointed, as although I'd had a record month last month in terms of sales, I'd set myself a target this month, for a very good reason and I began to panic about whether I'd meet it.

Anyway, fast forward a day and I decided I needed to have a break and separate myself a little to get things back into perspective and take my mind of things, as nothing ever happens when you are waiting for it.   I decided to take myself off for the day to our local mall to finish off a few bits of Christmas shopping.  I very rarely do this for a whole day or afternoon, maybe once every six months, usually when I go to have my hair done, so I figured I deserved it.  Although I've been a couple of times recently en famille, I wasn't able to get a few stocking fillers that I needed, as it would have been too obvious to the intended recipient.  In addition, I've tended to be restricted by time constraints due to the expensive parking or having to please everybody rather than just go where I pleased.  This visit, however, was going to be different, as I was going on the bus and going alone, and I could visit whichever shops I felt inclined to visit without worrying too much about time.   I really enjoyed it, save for it taking an hour instead of 15 minutes to get there on the bus, due to it not turning up for 35 minutes and then having some technical problem which further delayed the journey.

When I finally got there, I headed off into the mall and had a mooch around a few shops.  OH had asked me to look out for something he could give me for Christmas, so I had some money to spend on myself which was nice.

I did a few bits of Christmas shopping and bought myself a few bits of inexpensive gym gear in Primark.  Although the sports wear in Primark is very inexpensive, I have bought several pieces in the past and I find it very functional and wears incredibly well after washing.  I would definitely recommend it.  I also managed to find myself another great sports bra in M&S, which I've been looking for for ages, so I was really pleased with that.  I've already got a very similar one which I really enjoy wearing and which is so comfortable and supportive, so I am really pleased to get hold of another, as they seemed to discontinue it for a while.  It's amazing how things such as these make a very big difference in my life.   As most readers probably know, I spend a fair amount of my time working out each week, so I need to replace my workout gear quite regularly as it really takes a pounding.  To me this is essential and unavoidable expenditure, as I spend half my week in it. 

I then decided to head to Waitrose on my way out to catch my bus.  It was on the way that I stumbled across a 50% off sale in Jones the Bootmakers, so I just couldn't resist going in for a look.  I'm really glad I did too, as I found a lovely pair of black leather biker boots in the sale, which look great and feel really comfortable.  So that was my Christmas present sorted.  They are going to be added to my new capsule wardrobe and will hopefully be worn very regularly this winter.  I can't wait to be given them now and be able to wear them. 

I ended my shopping trip with the visit to Waitrose.  I rarely shop here as I do find they are quite a bit more expensive than my usual supermarket Lidl, but I had a  voucher to get £8 off a £40 shop with my My Waitrose membership, which was going to expire next week, so I thought I'd use it and get some things in for Christmas.  I bought us a lovely half leg of organic lamb (we're not having turkey this year), some sausages in bacon, some chorizo, mixed nuts in shells and Wensleydale cheese with cranberries, in addition to a few bits of grocery shopping that I needed.  I was limited to what could be frozen or would keep well until Christmas, but I was pretty pleased with my shop and everything is now in the fridge or freezer set aside for Christmas.  This does of course mean that my Christmas food shopping bill will be quite a bit smaller, which is good news.  We often do treat ourselves by shopping at Waitrose at Christmas, so the voucher couldn't come at a more perfect time.

It was good to get out and about for a day.  I do sometimes miss the hustle and bustle of Christmas a little bit when I've done most of my shopping so early.   Sometimes it is nice to get out in the throng of Christmas shoppers, especially if you haven't got to frantically seek out too many presents for people.