January Sale Shopping

 

It's no secret that the January sales are notorious for big deals and bargain finds. Due to overspending in the lead up to Christmas this year I didn't do too much sale shopping this year, but what I did do was buy loads of shoes. (This was whilst I was on a shoe buying ban, oh dear.)

 

 

 

My obsession with shoes is now getting a little out of hand, but once I aw these gorgeous burgundy chunky boots in the New Look sale, I knew that they would be going home with me. I persuaded myself that they were an absolute 'must-have' and I'm so glad I picked them up as I know I would have regretted it otherwise.

 

 

One amazing thing about these boots are that they have a zip on the inside of the shoe, which means that you aren't spending forever and a day unlacing them everytime you want to wear them. The laces are more of a decorative feature and I haven't even tied them whilst I've been wearing them.

Another bonus is that I can actually walk in them without looking and feeling like an idiot and a huge bonus is that I can safely drive in them! (It's always a pain when you have to take a flat pair of shoes to drive in when all you want to do is  wear heels.) These beauties were reduced from £29.99 to £22.49 in the New Look sale, but honestly I would have paid full price for them anyway! They also come in grey too I think.

 

This winter it is safe to say that I have gone a little bit boot crazy. However, I had my eye on these cut out boots from New Look from the moment they were released into stores. I love the cut out detailing on them and that they are a little bit different from other boots and shoes I owned. So imagine my delight when I spotted them in the sale in Cambridge, and I got the for a ridiculous bargain. Originally retailing at £30, I scooped these up for £12! Admittedly, I haven't actually worn them yet and I have no idea if I can sensibly walk in them, but at £12 it was worth it.

 

So, these heels pictured above weren't actually purchased in any type of sale, but as they are so gorgeous I thought I would feature them in this post. After realising that you can never have too many pairs of black heels (or shoes for that matter) I decided to firstly buy this pair to wear to my work's Christmas meal.

I think they look really sophisticated and I love the t-bar styled straps which give me a bit more support and doesn't make me feel like I'm going to fall out of my shoes every two minutes. Also I loved the price of these, only £24.99 from H&M. The only bad thing about the is that they aren't particularly comfortable to wear, but with some gel cushions in I can easily last all night in them.

 

A few years ago I received a pair of dark brown brogues from New Look for Christmas and wore them until there was practically nothing left of them. Since then however I haven't had the chance to repurchase some replacement brown brogues and so whilst buying other shoes in the New Look sale, I came across these. Originally priced at £14.99, they had been marked in the sale at £8 which was a great find for me. Even better, when I got them to the till I was charged £6 and I wasn't complaining! 

 

Finally, I thought I would add two pairs of boots which I was lucky enough to receive for Christmas this year. Above are my ankle boots from Topshop, which I actually got for £45 after they had been reduced from something like £70. These boots are so comfortable and go with pretty much everything and are so easy to slip on and off, they really are great.

 Below are probably my most worn and most loved boots this season. Similarly to the boots above, these ankle boots are black yet have this lovely buckle detailing on them to make them stand out just a little bit more. They are also my most expensive pair of shoes, costing me £60 from River Island. They are so worth the money though, and I think I've been living in them since I unwrapped them on Christmas day!

 

With January coming to an end, the sales are thinning out. However, this means that soon spring and summer clothes will be hitting the stores ready for my favourite time of the year! I can't wait to start shopping for summery clothes, although I will miss wearing my boots!

 

 

What's In My Purse?

I find that it's always really interesting to see what other people have in their makeup bags or purses or bags. I've had the purse I'm currently using for the past two years and over this time I've found it has got heavier and fuller so I thought that I would have a look and see what is really in there. 

The purse itself was a birthday present from a friend two years ago and is from River Island. Although they are quite expensive at £17 they are absolutely worth every penny. I love their purses because they are able to hold so much and have different compartments where you can organise all your cards and cash. I love the detailing on the front of the purse and the contrasting coral lining inside.

In the front section of the purse I store all of my cards and bank notes. Also, I can put coinage in the zipped section  in the middle, but I usually use this section to put receipts and other important pieces of paper.

In the back of the purse is another section designed to store more notes or coinage. I love the clasp for this section and it is here I store all my coins and occasionally notes and receipts if I am in a hurry.

Contents of my purse

Currently I have a £10 note, a £5 note, two pound coins, two 50p coins, two 20p coins, two 2p coins and one 5p and 1p coins. This amounts to £18.50.

After my holiday to Majorca in July, I found that I had a few cents left over. However, I cannot exchange these back into pounds sterling because I am only able to exchange notes so these coins are still in my purse and will probably stay there until I go abroad again. 

I'm not really sure why I have a Hollister receipt in my purse seeing as the last time I brought something in there was before Christmas last year. I think I've also stuffed other receipts into this to try and regain some sort of order in my purse.

From looking at the receipts in my purse you can tell which shops I go to the most. These are probably Superdrug, Costa Coffee and Morrisons as I have the most receipts for these shops. I don't actually have that many receipts at the moment because I try to shred them on a regular basis so they don't take over my purse.

My purse is absolutely overrun by cards. I think I counted about 27 of them and the reason why I have so many is because I don't throw them away even if I don't use them. Also, if a company offers me a free points card or something similar I always take one!

I have quite a few beauty and lifestyle points cards. From the top these are: 

Debenhams beauty club card

Superdrug beauty card

Matalan points card

The Body Shop points card
Boots Advantage Card
Holland & Barrett rewards card

Whenever I make a purchase in any of these shops, the cashier scans my card and depending on the scheme I then earn points. These points can then be used to pay for entire products or in some cases can be used to pay for part of a product and then I'll use cash or my debit card to pay for the rest.

I also have a few random cards in my purse, some of which I don't even use anymore. The top card is a W H Smiths giftcard, which has about £2 on it I think so I'm just waiting for something I want to buy to use it.
  The next card is a something called a coastal card which I use to get money off if I go to the local leisure centre or sports centre and the next one is an old library card from my high school, which I obviously do not use anymore.
 Finally, is my Morrisons Miles card which is used whenever I fill my car up with petrol at Morrisons. The card is scanned and I earn points which when I get to 5000 is converted into a £5 voucher which I can then use in store to spend. I've had the card about 6 months and fill up my car every week yet only have about 1,800 points I think, so it's going to take a while.

The next set of cards are all food related. At the bottom and in the middle I have a Subway and Nando's card, which is used to collect points similar to my other cards. However the top card is for Makro, a cash and carry shop which specialise in selling products in bulk to businesses. In order to have a makro card you need to have a business or work for a business that has a makro card.

For my final set of points collecting cards, these are all to do with drinks. At the top I have two Shakeaway points cards, which is for a shop which specialising in making a range of delicious milkshakes and drinks. Then I have a points card for a local coffee shop in my town called Crafty Coffee. These cards are similar because once you have 10 stamps (you get one stamp per visit) you get a free drink. 

  At the bottom, there is my Costa Coffee club card, in which you get 5 points for every pound you spend in store. Then once you get enough points, you can use them to pay for your purchase. Each point on the card is worth a penny so in order to pay for a hot chocolate you would need 250 points as the drink is £2.50.

These are the last of my cards and are the most important ones that I keep in my purse. The top three are all debit cards for the bank accounts I hold with Santander, Barclays and HSBC. Next is my national insurance card, to prove I am illegible to work in the UK and then it is my European Health Insurance Card. This is used when I am travelling in Europe and it means that I get healthcare for the same price as citizens in the country I'm in. 

 Then finally it is my UK full driving license, which proves that I can legally drive either a manual or automatic car in the UK.

Then I have a few random business cards and paper-type cards in my purse. These are business cards for my hairdressers and Santander. The other two are my organ donor card and a card to certify that I am immunised against cervical cancer.