January sales charity shop style

Who needs retail when you can have a ball in the charity shops and still come home with change from a £20 note?

Following on from my birthday, when there was a complete lack of anything remotely interesting in the charity shops for me to treat myself to, I went a bit beserk the other day and really splashed out.

I'm not a great one for make up, but I do try and paint my toenails throughout the Summer, and I like to treat myself to a couple of new nail varnishes a year.  When I saw this Nails inc nail varnish (colour is Holland Park Avenue) in the local PDSA, complete with free lapel pin and just a pound, I had to have it!  Along with the Baylis and Harding shower gel, just 25p, and a new tube of Avon hand cream, my favourite, for 20p 

Footwear next, couldn't believe my eyes when I saw these Morlands sheepskin booties for £2.95, my size and hardly worn, so a must buy.  I think there was a strap across the back that a previous owner has removed, but they stay on fine and are so warm and comfy.  As someone who has permanently cold hands and feet, these should make things a bit more bearable in the cold dry days of Winter.

More footwear, I had spied these Josef Siebel leather casual shoes a few weeks before Christmas, they had a beige pair as well, but I'm a fan of green and really like the cut out design.  Both pairs were my size so obviously the green pair came home with me, for £3.99.

I have been looking for some sort of headwear to go with my new favourite black quilted John Partridge jacket, and stumbled across this black quilted hat in a bin full of hats, scarves and gloves, I always rummage in those bins!  The hat is unbranded and cost 95p.

Something I've taken a chance on now, following on from the poncho purchase a couple of weeks ago, which I confess I haven't yet worn, I found this huge soft wrap thing on a pound rail, and as I liked the colours, I bought it.

You will need to use your imagination here, I didn't have anywhere to display it, it's one of those huge things like a big blanket with a slit down it that you drape over your shoulders and then throw the two front bits back over your shoulders.  I'm not overkeen, as it really is large, so it may just turn into a poncho, at the moment I'm still wondering what to do with it, but hey, it was a pound!

A couple of tops now, both a bit Breton in style. Jack Wills size 8 top, which was 50p, bit of a fail as when I put it on it is a little small and has a hole near the hem and seam, I may stitch it and give it a go.

Last up of my mega haul, this really soft Peacocks top, 50p, and a size 14 I think, in navy and terracotta, a great colour combination I think.  

Finally, in true pennypincher style, I have a reward credit card which gets used whenever I need to buy anything and can do so without penalty (as some companies charge for using a credit card as payment, don't they) I sent off for a high street voucher from my card, as I had amassed quite a few points, I received this voucher the other day, and am almost able to send for another of the same value, yay!

Here's a tip though, I have tried to pay for holidays before with my credit card but can't because they want to charge an extra fee.  I have a paypal account and it uses my credit card if the balance on my paypal account is low, so, when booking a holiday last year I transferred my paypal balance to my bank account and then paid for my holiday through paypal.  The amount was added to my credit card bill and I had successfully paid for my holiday with my credit card, getting points towards rewards!

A few more bills paid and I shall have £100 to go mad with in M&S, woohoo! 

Finally, I had a bit of a haircut the other night, I've been growing layers out of my hair for a few months and decided to put them all back in again, and cut about three inches off the length at the same time!  It actually doesn't look much different but feels so much better and lighter.

We don't go to the hairdresser, OH found these crea clips on Amazon and we use them to cut our hair.  As my hair is poker straight and very shiny, the only problem I have is the clip slipping off, but I always double check the cut with OH afterwards and tidy the ends up if necessary, it means I can cut my own hair completely and not just the fringe.  I do layers by pulling my hair into a ponytail on my forehead and snipping the whole pony tail off at about 5 inches from my head.

You'll have to wait for the next trip out to see if you can spot the difference with my new haircut.