What I wore in Venice

I've blogged about what I ate in Venice and posted a photographic summary of our trip, so now it's time to blog about what I wore in Venice. I really love the steady stream of content that presents itself after I've been on holiday.

I checked the weather forecast religiously for about 6 weeks before we went away to make sure I packed appropriately. As the weather was set to be a few degrees warmer than back home, I took a couple of denim jackets to wear over my day dresses rather than taking any big coats. I also packed some nice dresses for the evenings along with my new favourite baby pink jacket. I took a raincoat just in case, but we didn't see a drop of rain for the whole holiday so it stayed safely inside my suitcase.

Once I'd made a final decision on all the clothes I was taking, I decided which bags and shoes to pack. Are you starting to realise why it takes me so long to pack for a holiday? I took far too many pairs of shoes considering we only went for 5 days, but I did wear them all at least once so I don't feel too silly.

I've linked to the items photographed below wherever possible, but most of them are either years old or out of stock by now. During the writing of this post, I realised that only one of the items below was bought at full price which made my thrifty heart very happy.

Day outfits 

Every item that made up this outfit was massively discounted... 

the dress and boots cost £15 in total! 

Denim jacket, dress and boots from New Look, and bag from Kate Spade New York. 

Denim jacket and ankle boots from New Look, 

dress from ASOS, and bag from Kate Spade New York. 

Denim jacket, ankle boots and dress from New Look, 

and bag from Kate Spade New York (bought with my Ebay profits!).
I used this bag as my hand luggage bag to save space in my case. 

Denim jacket, dress and boots from New Look, bag from Kate Spade New York. 

Evening outfits 

 

Jacket and dress from New Look, bag from Ted Baker
(one of last year's Christmas sale bargains).

Dress and shoes from New Look. 

The dress was a massive bargain a couple of months ago at £10.  

Dress and shoes from ASOS, bag from Kate Spade New York. 

I've got the same dress in white because I like it so much!  

Dress from New Look. You can't see it clearly in the picture, 

but it's delicately glittery and I love it.  

I think I've finally run out of holiday content, so there might be something completely different on the blog next week... 

Christmas sale bargains

It's become a bit of an annual tradition for me to blog about the bargains I've treated myself to in the Christmas and new year sales. You can read last year's post here in case it passed you by.

January always feels a bit gloomy in lots of ways so it's been nice to brighten it up with some discounted treats. I usually do the vast majority of my shopping online throughout the year because I find it less stressful, but I actually ventured in to Cardiff for some of the purchases below. There's something very satisfying about buying an item in-store and being able to use it straight away rather than waiting for it to be delivered.

I had £250 saved up in my eBay profit account so I decided to use that for my sale shopping. Using my eBay pot instead of dipping in to my current account made everything feel like even more of a bargain!

Let's find out what I bought and how much I saved...

This beauty from Kate Spade was my biggest treat to myself. I was on the lookout for a pink bag to replace one of my old ones so I was delighted when this one popped up in their sale. 

Saving = £146

I always end up buying a few things from the New Look sale over Christmas. This year I bought a pair of heels, a dressy dress and a jumper. 

Saving = £39

I ran out of proper hot chocolate just before Christmas so I popped in to Whittard to top up my stash. The pretty tin was a bonus. 

Saving = £5

I had quite a few gifts from Lush for Christmas so I didn't go mad in their sale, but I couldn't resist this bath melt at half price. The solid perfume was an impulse buy at the till because it was cute, yellow and also half price! 

Saving = £7

We went to Bridgend's McArthur Glen at the beginning of January and I picked up this cute polar bear jumper in Next. I also bought a pair of jeans for £8.99 (!) on the same trip, so the epic saving I made on those is included in the figure below. 

Saving = £40

These shoes were a complete impulse buy from Dorothy Perkins as I couldn't leave them behind when I clocked them in my size at Leckwith's Outfit store. They're so beautiful and sparkly! 

Saving = £12 

It's been a while since I bought a hoodie from Animal, so I treated myself to one a couple of weeks ago. It's a nice neutral colour and goes perfectly with my classic Ugg boots. 

Saving = £23 

I'm really pleased with my bargains and feel as if I bought a nice variety of items. I've also already sold a few things on eBay this year to make room for my new purchases and started replenishing my eBay profit account in the process. 

So, how much did I save in total? The results are in... 

Total savings = £272

Total spent = £236

I stayed within budget and actually saved more than I spent. That's the kind of result I like!  

Christmas and new year celebrations

Happy new year! I've had a busy couple of weeks over the festive period with my family and friends so I thought I'd write a little summary for my blog.


Friday 21 December

I finished work on the Friday before Christmas and drove straight to McArthur Glen after leaving the office to meet Sarah. We had a massive meal in Frankie and Benny's and wandered around a few shops before exchanging Christmas presents. It was absolutely pouring with rain but that didn't take away from the company and the festive atmosphere.

Saturday 22 December and Sunday 23 December 

Neil and I finished off all our Christmas shopping and wrapping on the Saturday, then we had our own little Christmas Day on the Sunday where we opened our gifts from each other. We also went to the cinema to see the new Fantastic Beasts film, had an Indian takeaway and watched Elf on DVD in the evening.

Christmas Eve

Neil had to work on Christmas Eve which meant I had a quiet start to the day. I did some pre-Christmas cleaning and watched The Holiday, then Neil came back home just after lunch. We then headed to my parents' house with Jessie and a very full car boot! My brother had already arrived so Jessie had plenty of attention to keep her busy. We had a lovely relaxing evening with lots of chocolates, Pringles and Christmas TV.

Christmas Day 

Me, Neil and my brother opened our stockings together on Christmas morning, then the three of us went downstairs with my parents to open our presents under the tree. We had bacon sandwiches for brunch then settled down to watch TV and to play with our respective gifts.

My brother cooked the Christmas dinner and it was scrumptious. After dinner, we all flopped in front of the TV and watched Home Alone 2 and Rise of the Guardians. Jessie was spoilt rotten with lots of new toys and treats, and she was in her element all day. We left my parents' house at around 10pm to drive home, and she slept like a baby all the way back.



Boxing Day 

We went to Neil's parents' house on Boxing Day to spend the day with his parents and sister. We all opened our gifts before eating another lovely lunch, then we watched Paddington and Mrs Doubtfire before Neil and I headed home. I know I say this every year, but I feel very fortunate that we've got so many family members to celebrate the festive season with.

Thursday 27 December 

We had a day to ourselves on the 27th, and I'd well and truly reached the stage where I had no idea what day it was. We took Jessie to Cosmeston for a long walk, then I spent a couple of hours sorting through all my Christmas presents and putting them away (after I'd painstakingly photographed them, of course). As always, I'm hugely grateful to everyone for my thoughtful gifts and I can't wait to use them all.

We had a meat, cheese, chutney and mulled wine feast in the evening. I can confirm that it was just as delicious as it sounds.



Friday 28 December 

On Friday 28th, we drove back to my parents' house to see my sister, brother in law and nephews as they'd arrived there on Boxing Day. Jessie loved all the extra attention, and even my smallest nephew made a fuss of her even though he was nervous at first. We then called in to see Nicola and her two children on our way back to Penarth. I think Jessie and Nicola's eleven-month-old baby were equally fascinated with each other! I had some more lovely gifts to open from my sister and from Nicola, so of course I had to photograph those too.

Saturday 29 December and Sunday 30 December 

We had a quiet weekend recovering from all the festivities and spent lots of quality time with each other and with Jessie. We went in to Cardiff for a few hours and picked up some bargains, and Neil cooked a Christmas dinner just for the two of us which was pretty spectacular (and huge).

New Year's Eve 

We did some shopping in Cardiff Bay in the afternoon then went out with my in-laws for a meal in the evening. We all walked to our local Harvester restaurant which was surprisingly peaceful and quiet. Neil and I somehow managed to get a decent pre-dinner family selfie with Jessie after many failed attempts!

New Year's Day 

We had a nice lie in on New Year's Day before taking Jessie for a walk in the sunshine. We then went to see my in-laws in the afternoon and had another lovely lunch with them before watching The Croods together. I was exhausted in the evening so went to bed before midnight for the first time in ages!

We both had the rest of the week off work so we've managed to get a few bits and pieces sorted around the house as well as lots of shopping, walks with Jessie and a trip to the cinema. We're off to see Neil's auntie tomorrow to finish off our Christmas visits, then we'll be taking the decorations down on Sunday to officially mark the end of our Christmas break (sob).

Hope you've all had a great Christmas and new year!

Annual Christmas shopping trip

For the last ten years or so, my uni friends and I have organised a Christmas shopping get-together just before Christmas. We usually meet in late November or early December, but we met a little earlier this year due to my impending trip to New York.

Our first few meet ups took place in Cribbs Causeway, and we've also met in Cardiff a few times. However, in recent years, we've met in Bristol city centre as that's the most convenient meeting point for the majority of the group.

Our trip was scheduled in for last Sunday and I decided to catch the Megabus to Bristol. It only cost £10 for a return ticket and it was certainly a lot more relaxing than trying to drive my way around Bristol. I took a photo of City Hall from the bus just before I left Cardiff, purely because of the unexpected rainbow!

It was raining when I left Cardiff, but I was met with brilliant sunshine and blue skies when I arrived in Bristol. I wandered around a couple of shops and made some standard purchases from Lush before making my way to our meeting point on Park Street. I got trapped in the massive Remembrance Day crowd while I walked to Park Street, so I stopped for a while to watch some of the ceremony and to pay my respects by observing the two minute silence.

We all met just before 12 and decided to go straight for lunch. These days, there's a lot more focus on eating and talking than there is on actual shopping during our meet ups. Our go-to restaurant is Pizza Express as there's always something on the menu to suit everyone, so we made our way there immediately.

I ordered a pink gin cocktail and the ragu romana pizza. I don't think my pizza was quite as good as last year's festive beauty, but it was still pretty excellent. To be fair, I don't think I've ever been disappointed by a meal in Pizza Express.

After a long lunch with lots of catching up, we looked around a few of the pretty shops on Park Street. Although I didn't buy much as I've nearly finished my Christmas shopping, I always love looking around the beautiful independent shops and soaking in the Christmassy atmosphere.

I needed to get back to the Megabus stop by 4:30pm, so we finished off the day with a caramelised orange hot chocolate in Costa. Let's be honest, no Christmas shopping trip is complete without a Christmas hot chocolate with all the trimmings. I did accidentally ask for a caramelised onion hot chocolate which was pretty embarrassing, but let's gloss over that part.

I was completely exhausted by the time I got on the bus. I even managed to have a little nap on the journey back to Cardiff which is unheard of for me. I loved catching up with everyone and sampling Bristol's Christmassy atmosphere, and it feels pretty exciting that one of my pre-Christmas staples has already taken place. 39 days to go until the big day!

The joys (and frustrations) of eBay

I've been selling items on eBay on and off for the last 8 years. In the last year or so, I've properly got in to it and it's been my most productive year yet in terms of sales. I've also bought a few items from eBay for the first time ever, although I definitely do more selling than buying at the moment.

I thought I'd list some pros and cons of both selling and buying on eBay for my readers. I've also got some tips for those who are thinking about starting out, along with my personal buying and selling rules.



What's great about eBay?  

• The eBay app is fantastic and makes listing and re-listing very simple. Gone are the days when I had to photograph all my items then laboriously sit and list every item on my laptop. The app is also great for buyers and easily lets you keep track of items you're watching and those you've placed bids on. 
• My eBay obsession means that I'm regularly de-cluttering my wardrobe. I have a pretty strict 'one in, one out' policy when it comes to new clothes and bags, and selling items on eBay helps me to enforce that. 
• The integration between eBay and PayPal is seamless, so you never have to worry about how buyers are going to pay you or how you're going to pay for items you've won. Once you've linked both accounts, all the work is done for you. 
• Although eBay is generally known as the place to go for pre-owned bargains, you can also buy new items from well known brands at hugely discounted prices. For those of you who are nervous about buying used items, this can be a good place to start. 
• The majority of sellers offer 'click and collect' as a delivery option which is very convenient when you can't get parcels delivered to work and don't want to keep knocking on your neighbours' doors when you get home. 
• The most obvious benefit is the extra cash, which you can then use to buy the new things you've made room for! For example, a couple of months ago, I had a really good month on eBay so I bought myself a beautiful Kate Spade bag. It was guilt-free spending as it was bought entirely out of my eBay profits, and everyone knows that guilt-free spending is the best kind.
  
  
  
  
  

What makes me want to tear my hair out? 

• Although the app is fantastic on the whole, it does have its drawbacks. There are some things you still have to do from the desktop site on your laptop such as checking your account balance so that you know how much your monthly eBay invoice is going to be, opening an unpaid item case, and reporting buyers. Hopefully one day it'll be a full-service app!
• Time wasters who bid for your item then don't bother to pay for it are the bane of my life. And, most frustratingly of all, you can't give negative feedback to buyers so it feels as if they're never shown up for their actions. 
• Between eBay and PayPal, fees for sellers are quite steep. eBay will charge a 10% final value fee for every item you sell, and PayPal will slap on 3.4% plus 20p on top of that. Don't forget that eBay will also take 10% of your postage charges, so make sure you allow for that so that you don't end up out of pocket. 
• eBay can sometimes feel like a second job. Photographing your items, listing them, packing them up and taking them to the post office takes up a LOT of time, as well as making sure items are re-listed correctly if they don't sell.

Weighing up the pros and cons, I think eBay is definitely worth the effort in the long run. However, I have set myself some selling and buying rules to make sure I don't go overboard. Rules control the fun! 

• I never ever sell items that were bought for me as a gift. I'd feel terrible if I made a profit from a gift that someone had put a lot of thought into, and it suddenly wouldn't feel like guilt-free spending any more.
• I regularly review my eBay pile and move things to my charity shop bag if they've been listed for a few months and still haven't had any interest. This means I'm still contributing towards good causes as well as making some extra money for myself.  
• Whenever I withdraw my 'winnings' from PayPal, I put the money into a separate account. This means I can keep track of what I've made on eBay and it doesn't get swallowed up in my regular account. When I want to make a big purchase specifically out of my eBay funds, I'll move the money back into my current account to cover it. 
• I never buy anything from anyone who's got less than 100% feedback. This is probably a bit harsh, but I'd prefer to have as much confidence in the seller as possible.
• I refuse to get drawn in to bidding wars which often end up with the buyer paying way more for an item than they initially planned. If I really want an item, I'll bid when the auction hasn't got long left and will set my maximum bid while I'm at it. My maximum bid will be the very top end of what I'm willing to pay for that particular item. If someone else beats my maximum bid before the action ends, I bow out. 

Do you agree with my pros and cons? Have you got any tips to share with me? Let me know!

It's all yellow

Wearing yellow used to be a big no-no for me.

I used to think I could never wear yellow because it clashed spectacularly with my hair. I also happened to be in the yellow team in both primary and secondary school, so anything remotely yellow always reminded me of dreaded sports days. I've always been terrible at any kind of competitive sporting activity so sports day was consistently my least favourite day of the year.

It's not difficult to see why I didn't used to be a yellow fan... 

Fast forward a few years and I've suddenly become a big fan of all things yellow. I stopped caring about things clashing with my hair a long time ago, and yellow is such a lovely sunny colour which always cheers me up. In the past I would have hastily scrolled past any yellow items while browsing my favourite websites, but now I've actively started seeking them out. 

My very yellow dress and shoes for this year's birthday meal. 

This yellow dress and matching flip flops were perfect for our

holiday to Walt Disney World earlier this year.

 

I even chose a yellow MagicBand for this year's holiday! 

I couldn't resist buying this denim jacket from New Look, and these shorts from ASOS were an excellent find just before our holiday. 

I bought the dress on the left with this year's birthday money and the one in the middle with last year's birthday money, both from ASOS. The playsuit on the right was a bargain a couple of weeks ago from New Look. 

My rapidly growing yellow obsession hasn't stopped with my clothing. We've been redecorating the house over the last few months which has resulted in a major overhaul for several rooms, and the guest bedroom has ended up with a yellow and grey theme. It's beautifully bright and sunshiny and I love it!  

I've obviously got a selection of Disney teddies for every colour coordination under the sun. 

My Winnie the Pooh shelf looks perfect on our yellow wall. 

Any other yellow fans out there? Please send me your recommendations! 

Walt Disney World shopping haul

There are only two things that provide a quick fix for those unrelenting Disney holiday blues. One is booking your next trip, and the other is making the most of everything you bought while you were there.

I blogged about my holiday shopping wishlist a couple of weeks before we left and I managed to pick up most of the things I wanted to buy. It's also quite fair to say that I bought a few extras. We received a $200 gift card with our holiday booking which was a great bonus, so lots of the items in this post were bought using that. Free money!

We also had some productive trips to the many shopping outlets outside of Walt Disney World, but I'm just focusing on my Disney haul for this post.

Two of my favourite purchases! A little Dooney and Bourke bag and a Mickey Mouse topiary charm for my Disney Pandora bracelet. 

I bought some lovely clothes this year, including a baby pink spirit jersey which was even prettier than the rose gold one I'd coveted beforehand. I also bought a pin for my office lanyard, and I couldn't say no to these two pairs of amazing Disney Parks ears. 

I bought some practical items for the house including fridge magnets, a new mug and bowl, and several pens (which I definitely didn't need but just had to have). I also bought a beautiful Dumbo necklace, just to go with the continuing Dumbo theme. 

As per my wishlist, I bought the special edition Flower and Garden Festival Minnie Mouse. Look how pretty she is! I also bought Figment, Dug, and a Tramp costume for Duffy. I wasn't supposed to buy any more costumes for Duffy but it was $10 in an outlet store so I couldn't resist.

We spent a long time over several evenings in the fascinating Art of Disney store and eventually decided on this beautiful Dumbo sketch and a Mickey, Minnie and Pluto postcard for our newly redecorated bedroom. 

We bought a new Minnie Mouse collar and tag for Jessie along with some Disney toys. The pictured toy only lasted a day before she broke it, but her squeaky Mickey waffle is thankfully still going strong. 

Have you blogged about your Disney hauls recently? Send me your links, I'd love to read them!