Regular Ramblings from LookingAhead

LookingAhead

Well it's been a while! But I feel the need to ramble.

So what have I been up to recently?

I went to a wedding last weekend and I have another to go to (out of the country) at the end of the month.

I had already paid for my hotel in London at the weekend so that wasn't an expense I had to find. However I did have to pay for train & tube fares and although I planned it in on the spreadsheet, I couldn't actually cut back on anything else really to cover the cost so....all I saw was the overdraft figure get bigger and feel a bit useless.

Anyway the good news is, I only spent £7 that day on two drinks at the cash bar! My hotel was a 2 minute walk from the wedding venue so no cabs needed either. So that's good.

On the Sunday though, I did spend a bit more. I had to buy a few drinks whilst out & about (very warm day) and an ice cream (ahem). So that was OK but then I met a friend and we headed to Knightsbridge. Ha ha! a DFW going to Knightsbridge! What a laff. HOWEVER amazingly I found three tops for under £19 in a great shop on Brompton Road called UniQlo. Anyone reading this been there? If so - what do you think? I was well impressed and would go back...well actually I say that, I will see what the tops are like after washing them. If they are the size of Kylie Minogue's pants then I won't bother. But I hope they will be OK. The tops that is. Not Kylie's pants.

My mate bought us a cocktail each (and refused to take half the money) so I bought the crisps. £2 for two bags of crisps. And who says London is expensive........cough.

After that I headed home and still had some cash in my purse! I was feeling very pleased with myself when I banked £15 the next day.

However....the Tuesday I had a day off work and I had to pop to town to get some trousers put in for alteration. On the way back to the bus station I passed a new shop which sells surf & sun type clothing & trendy bags made by those trendy surf types. All very very lovely and I was sooo pleased that I managed to put back the £20 bag (which actually was quite reasonable for what it was..considering it was one made by a trendy surf type) after pawing it for 10 minutes and imagining myself parading through the airport with it when I go away at the end of the month. Me? Superficial? Not a bit of it.

Anyway I then passed a charity shop and I got pulled in there by the vibes coming off the very trendy baggy casual combat-y type trousers I am wearing now (yes they've been washed & dried already!). These were £4. And I *do* need out of work trousers. Actually I need work trousers too but one thing at a time.

£4 for trousers that are needed.......handbag not really needed, £20, left on shelf. Did I do well or not? I think I did pretty well.

However it's all gone t*ts up today. I had to go back to clothes alteration venue as they've been bestowed some cr ap luck and the place is being shut down all of a sudden so they won't be able to fit the alterations in. So I had to pick up the trousers today and get my money refunded. Which is a way is no bad thing as I can wait for the trousers to be altered so £20 back in the account is good.

I walked PAST the bag shop again, believe me all the way in to town I was thinking "I could get that bag now....I could get that bag now..." but slapped away such notions.

However I popped into John Lewis en route to the bus station - you can't avoid it. There was ages till the bus arrived so I thought I'd have a look around...just window shop y'know.....yeah right. What is it with me? As soon as I start handling fabric, picking up things, this switch flicks over and I'm taken over!

Now - I'm in the PLANET section and I see a dress, in my size, reduced from £89 to............£29. Yes £29. And it's lovely. It's the sort of dress I can imagine wearing for so many things. A meal out, a barbeque, even just shopping teamed with my brown leather boots would be good. It's V E R S A T I L E. And it's £29.

Then I spot a top in the same fabric & pattern that would be great for work. And it's reduced from £49 to......£24.

I try them on. The dress is everything I thought it would be. The top is even better. There's no contest. I'm at the cash desk before you can say "Justhowmuchisyouroverdraftlady?"

The lady behind the desk says "Well you've done well with these reductions" and to be honest I have. Both items are going to be worn, they're cracking quality and they fit like a glove and look good.

Ooooh I forgot to say. I am getting £487 back into my account next week sometime (or possibly beginning of week after) to do with my re-mortgage that went through last week. So this money will really knock a big chunk off my overdraft and next month should see my signature change quite a lot (can't bloody wait!).

However I feel BAD. I really want the overdraft gone. But I want these clothes too. I'm not taking them back - I just want to enjoy them.

I went through all this the other week didn't I when I bought the dress & shoes for the weddings and that lot was so much more than these two things and will be worn far less.

I think I need to create an occasion to wear this dress with my boots and enjoy wearing it, and hope that someone pays me a compliment (I can hope!) then perhaps I might stop feeling like an idiot.

I don't know what the actual problem is here.....am I angry with myself for spending money or am I annoyed with myself for buying clothes.

Me & clothes. We have a funny relationship. I went through years of buying what was fashionable (like most young girls do) but a lot of these items didn't necessarily suit my shape. So I'd go out - in theory I should be feeling great in my new outfit but instead I'd feel uncomfortable and keep tugging at the skirt or top or whatever and then never wear it again. I must have spent a fortune over the years on clothes that got sent to charity shops, or more recently, sold for pennies on EBAY.

So anyway I have kind of started again, with the help of Trinny & Susannah books. Invaluable those books. Brilliant.

Anyway these days if I try something on and I think "YES!" then I buy it. Well of course providing it is a sensible purchase i.e. a good top & pair of trousers as opposed to a cocktail dress.

I'm slowly building my wardrobe again. But I still make the odd mistake. I won't be a style guru overnight, unfortunately it's not an innate skill with me!

So yeah, anyway, I think I have this left over hangover feeling from all the money I wasted on togs before and I worry that I am buying things now that might end up on the clothes scrapheap again.

Couple that with a feeling that I should be saving every penny to pay my overdraft off....you can imagine the internal fireworks that go off every time I do spend money, unless of course it's from a charity shop.

Now I'd love to be able to get all my clothes from a charity shop believe me, but that's just not practical or realistic. So the next best thing is reduced 'new' items. As these things were today. That's what I aim for most of the time.

I think I need some sort of clothes counselling!

So anyway.....whaddya you think?

Karmacat

I relate! Not with clothes, but books........ ooh, that sounds interesting. And it does. But I never read it. At its worst, I had 4 bookcases, each 3 feet wide, 6 shelves high, all jammed with books, plus a cupboard jammed with files of old magazines (gardening and science fiction). Thats when I started to declutter. Unfortunately, it never occurred until about April this year that I could sell any of it on amazon etc, by which time an awful lot of it had gone. Still, I know now.

Still...... you and clothes and your hangover (I love that description, btw). You have a new test for your purchases

if I try something on and I think "YES!" then I buy it. Well of course providing it is a sensible purchase

As long as you listen to that, I can see you being okay with it all.

My rule now is that if I buy a book, I have to throw one out - I'm not done decluttering, but I'm okay for now. I did buy a book recently and haven't thrown one out, but it was a 20p job from the library that I'm not planning to keep unless its *much* better than I think it is.:rotfl:

So, long story short: you don't need clothes counselling! You've already done it!

taxi73

Hi LA...nice to see you posting again...STOP right there girl...you need clothes you can't walk around naked and they were wise spends..so don't feel guilty about spending on them..you say they fit nicely and that you look good in them..so there's no problem...you haven't gone overboard on them...and you did buy combats from the charity shop...so it's all balanced....enjoy your purchases..

MinnieSpender

Whoa! And breathe, lady!

:rotfl:

Cast your mind back a few posts. "When you get to 30, add a nought" ringing any bells? The joy of getting older is that you finally get to know what suits you and how to dress. And what you do buy is likely to be as an investment and to make you look and feel good - not some tat that leaves your bits hanging out because it fits badly because it's the "fashion" (diversion - saw a grown man wearing too much bling today in the form of an oversized gold necklace. With stonewashed jeans and a nice tight white T-shirt. Not a good look, unless I've missed the Next Big Thing).

You did good today! Two items (which you'll wear and wear and wear) and in the sale too! And they fit! And you're happy!

I don't see a problem.

UniQlo - we had one of these years ago before it closed down - boo! Very well priced and don't worry - their stuff washes very well and doesn't lose its shape. I'm still wearing a couple of their T-shirts from about five years ago. They also do very good cheap accessories - i.e. nice bags!

LookingAhead

Thanks ladies!

karmacat - I hope you can make some money back now from Amazon etc for selling your books! Do you do boot sales by the way? You might shift some more there perhaps or see if you can get into a book fair.

Taxi....thank you. I will endeavour to enjoy! I shall make a point of wearing the top tomorrow and then it will be 'out there' and not hiding in my wardrobe.

Minnie...as ever, the voice of reason & a good kind of authority!
Ooooh gold jewellery, stone washed jeans...? Ooooooooh. Nasty. Poor guy.

Thanks for the UniQlo tips then! The next time I go down to fancy London, I will head back over there (if I have some cash of course...ahem...) and see what I can find. I hope these tops last me 5 years - there are a great shape & the colours are lush. I got one cheerful orange top, one green top and a cute/feminine floaty vest top in a darker orange colour (think blood orange!) which I am yet to wear - but I will!

Anyway thanks all - nice to know I am not going bonkers anyway.

LookingAhead

Oh by the way I have listed one pair of those trousers on EBAY (the alteration ones) and I have decided to take the others back to John Lewis! I still have the receipt and it it's less than 28 days since I bought them so.....I will get a refund and be £28 better off I think.

Karmacat

Hiya LA
Nice result in your post at 10pm! £28 better off, I like it. Thanks for your query re books - books and CDs are selling slowly on Amazon, but I don't want to do a boot sale - too many clients would be at the local one, and its one step too far in relation to self-disclosure! I don't seem to quite be able to hack selling on ebay either, what with charges upfront and seeing so many items like mine not being sold. I suspect its better to just hike it all off to a charity shop (tho I saw an early post from hypno today on somebody's thread mentioning selling empty printer cartridges?... maybe I should get my act together). Sorry to hijack.

GirlRacer_2

Hi LA, I can so sympathise with you hun. I went to M&S yesterday with a friend and ended up buying a pair of those magic knickers for £16..... £16 for a pair of knickers, I'm imagining myself looking like a size 8 in them - yeah right!

Don't feel bad though, if you need the clothes then you must have them and you did buy them at a reduced price - very DFW.

Try to keep thinking positive until that mortgage money goes into the bank and eats up some of the OD, I'm sure you'll feel much better then.

Big hugs x

hypno06

Hi LA, nothing more to add to what the others have said really - they all talk such sense!

Enjoy the new clothes - you have got a lot for your money, AND you put money back in the bank after the wedding AND you are getting a refund/ebaying other stuff.

I am sure you will look fab, and feel fab. Enjoy!

LookingAhead

Thanks all for your replies.

karmacat - obviously you must do what is right for you regards the sale of your books etc. I know what you mean about seeing things not selling on EBAY - I have quite a lot of bits that I could try to sell but I know that they would just not sell so what's the point!

I listed some clothing items on the 10p listing day - all to finish on Sunday. So far, only one watcher on one top and that means diddly squat! EBAY is so frustrating at times. You can sell the most unlikely of things one day, then list some great quality, pretty & useful things another for literally pennies and no-one wants to know! I don't get it sometimes

Anyway I have paid my EBAY account now and it's at £0.00 so if these things don't sell I will think about taking them to a car boot next weekend or donate them to a charity shop just to get them out of the way so I am not tempted to waste money listing them again! I think it's time I took an EBAY break.

THE MORTGAGE MONEY IS BACK IN MY ACCOUNT ALREADY! :j woohoooo!
I am very pleased about that.

I phoned John Lewis earlier to ask about the trousers I want to return as the card I bought them on has now been shredded. They said as long as I have the receipt and can prove (with my statement) I had the card then refunding onto my Switch card won't be a problem. So that's good! I am now waiting for the showers to die out a bit then I will hop on the bus and go return them.

I am on a bit of a mission to get the overdraft down down DOWN as soon as possible! Every penny counts.

Let's hope I find a penny on the way!

Have a great weekend all.

LA xx