Summer bargains

You all probably know by now that I'm off to Florida in September. I've lost weight and gone down a clothes size or two since I went last April, so I needed to buy a brand new holiday wardrobe ready for this year's trip. I love it when I have an actual legitimate excuse to go shopping. especially if it's because most of my clothes are too big for me!

I've been purchasing items steadily since the beginning of the year rather than buying them all at once just before going away. This means I get to spread the expense between a few pay packets and I can also keep an eye out for spontaneous bargains. I've trawled a lot of internet sites and charity shops... I love a bargain.

I think I've nearly finished shopping for holiday clothes now, and I've managed to do it pretty cheaply considering I had to re-buy nearly everything. I thought I'd share some of my favourite new summer clothes with you in this post, and I've provided links to the items where I can and where the items are still available. Enjoy!

Dresses

£14 from Primark

£13 from New Look

£5 from Primark

Playsuits

See previous blog post for details

£23.60 in the Debenhams sale. See my Duffy the Disney Bear 

blog post if you want to know why I'm holding a bear!

Shorts

Absolute bargain from Play at £6.99 each. I'd have paid over £30 

if I'd have bought these from a proper surf shop!

Skirts

£3 from a charity shop, originally from New Look

Vests

£3 each from Peacocks. These are a lovely fit, even if they do look creased!

Shoes

Trainers - £6.99 from Primark

White flip flops - £4 from Tesco

Blue flip flops - £3 from Tesco

Swimwear

In the sale in Debenhams. Got to love Mantaray!

Accessories

Minnie Mouse sunglasses case - £3.75 in the Disney Store sale

Sunglasses - £4 in a random shop in Cardiff's Queen's Arcade

Black bag - £2 in a charity shop

White bag - £5 from Tesco

Spread over seven months, I've managed to buy a new holiday wardrobe without breaking the bank. I've even managed to wear some of these clothes in this country in the last few weeks as it's been so hot. Bonus! 

Has anyone else been shopping for summer clothes? Any last minute bargain ideas for me?

Day out in Shrewsbury

My boyfriend has been living in Shrewsbury for the last year due to unforeseen circumstances, but we haven't had much of an opportunity to explore the area as he comes back to Cardiff every weekend. He'll  be moving back home shortly (yay!) so we wanted one last chance to have a wander around the lovely area. Last Thursday evening, I travelled up to Shrewsbury on the train so that we could spend some time there before heading back to Cardiff on Friday evening. The train journey took just under two hours so I amused myself by listening to my iPod and reading McFly's brilliant autobiography. I passed some fantastically comical place names on the way... I think my favourite was Woofferton.

Shrewsbury is a quiet and pretty town with nice views, plenty of shops and lots of places to eat. Perfect! We walked into town in blazing sunshine after having breakfast on Friday morning. It's so nice to go out in a vest, skirt, flip flops and sunglasses without having to worry about getting cold or rained on. Long may it last...!

There are some lovely houses in Shrewsbury! House envy...

Lovely view from the bridge into town

The town itself is filled with a mixture of independent shops, vintage stores, charity shops, coffee shops and the usual chain stores. It's all pretty hilly, so walking into town in the heat was good exercise and helped to burn off some calories from our rather large breakfast. 

One hill!

Lovely building in the centre of town

Market stalls!

Selections of jams at one market stall... I loved the display.

My favourite shop in Shrewsbury is definitely Mollie's sweet shop. It's full of every kind of sweet thing you can think of... retro penny sweets, huge assortment of fudge and chocolates, American sweets, ice cream, sherbet, lollipops, Slush Puppy, nuts, and a whole lot more. I would definitely recommend popping into Mollie's if you're ever in Shrewsbury for the day. The pick'n'mix was 80p per 100g (I think), so not as extortionate as a lot of other places. Definitely not as expensive as cinema pick'n'mix, and there's a lot more variety too.

My bag of Pick'n'Mix!

I also found a lovely dress for £3.95 in a charity shop, which I'll be blogging about in a separate post on my recent charity shop finds. 

Has anyone else visited Shrewsbury recently? Did you go to Mollie's? I'd definitely like to repeat the experience one day!