Bargaintastic and a roll call.

Hello campers!
This afternoon Teenage Daughter #2 and I have been shopping for holiday stuff. Mainly for her really but I have bought a few things for myself. (No? Really?)Anyway, I won't go into the Primark tat that she wanted, (suits me for holiday purposes and the teenage 'wear once' mentality) but will dive straight in and furnish you with details, plus illustrations by me using the medium of photography, of my bargaintastic afternoon.
Photos first. Ahem, please note that I have kept the kitchen tiles and the badly needs oiling wooden worktops out of these pictures by the use of a vintage (unironed) tray cloth as a back drop.
Feast your eyes on these little babies...

Bling City.
I hope you have been exercising your mental arithmetic skills and adding up prices as you go. If you have then you will see that the total cost for all this loveliness was £11.00. Now you will have to take my word for this because Teenage Daughter #1 has nicked the memory stick and taken it off on holiday to Malia so the camera only takes about five photos without it, and I couldn't be bothered to take two lots of photos so you could see the before prices. The total cost before reductions on this little lot was £67.00. Yes, SIXTY SEVEN POUNDS reduced to ELEVEN POUNDS. I am shouting because I am a little bit excited. I know I do maffs and that in school but I can't work out the percentage on that but it's big. That much I do know. As of today Wallis is my favourite shop and I shall be gracing them with my custom on a regular basis. I also bought a top that, to be honest, didn't look promising before I tried it on, but looked great on, fitted a treat, didn't make me look tooooo fat despite having across stripes and didn't make the chesticles look too big. (Which is always a concern.) All in all, and with the further purchase of a pair of reading sunnies that are pretending to be Ray Ban Wayfarer II's, I am a happy bunny. And, the best bit is I had Debenham's vouchers, so it hasn't cost me any money at all.
Hurrah! I could roll around on the floor with joy.
I phoned my sister immediately I returned and told her to get herself down to Wallis to partake of these wonderful bargains and she told me I had to post pictures on my blog so she could check them out. So I have.

Having a nice relaxing start to the school holidays, the squares are coming along nicely.

Two shots because I like the look of them in a pile. There are eighteen and I am going to make 30 then have another roll call and decide if that's enough. I have also had a practice run of making the square from the bag pattern in the cute & easy crochet book and I don't like it. I will have to hunt another square down because I inadvertantly bought the wool to make it with last week. I was intending to take it on holiday along with about six books and all the home magazines, hence the reading sunnies. I'll see.
On the way back from the shops I drove through Rochford which is five minutes up the road to me but a place I never go to because there is not much there. I took the detour to see if there are any charidee shops there and saw two. Both closed due to the time and both look as grungy, smelly and toot ridden as anything. Obviously I will be getting myself along to them at some stage this week. The good news is that neither of them are chain shops, they are both something to do with saving horses so let's hope they haven't been poshed up beyond recognition.
Last weekend I did my good and best deed for the year. Whilst walking through TK Maxx in Chatham with my sister I spotted and actually dug out from behind thousands of other items, the most beautiful picture ever. As I was pulling it out said sister was not taking too much notice. I said that if it was 20 quid or less it was coming home with me, (I am trying to cut down a bit,) and when I looked it was £25. I made the fatal mistake of umming and aahing and before I knew it my sister professed love for it too and said that she would have it, had the ideal place to hang it, and reminded me that I have barely a centimetre of space left to hang anything on my walls. Anyway, I gave in. I let go of it and did the big sisterly thing and graciously (well nearly...) said I would forego this vision of beauty and let her have it. We fake tussled over it for a few seconds, she always knew she was having it and then took it to the till and paid for it. I felt very virtuous and sisterly and generous and it will look fab up in her bedroom. Best bit is she made me carry the blighter back to the car. I didn't bang it against anything on purpose on the way home. Honest, guv. I have told her that next time I go round there if it's not up on the wall I'm having it. She has till Friday. I hope you're listening Mrs and also that you feel suitably guilty! (She knows I love her really and it did make me feel nice that she had it. )
Well that's enough rambling on from me I think. I am going to try all my bling on with my new sunglasses and top and sit and crochet a few squares.
Happy Days!
xx