Shopping Ban Update: Nearly 3 Months! (p.s. apparently I have 'once again' contravened the rules)

I'm nearly at the half way mark. 5th December will mark 3 months since I started my Shopping Ban road to glory... I'm only a week away... but Mr B claims I have contravened the rules of my shopping ban with this purchase:

Behold the Straw Hat

Yep, that's right. This little straw hat with the pretty pink ribbon that cost only a measly $12.95 from Trade Secret is the subject of such contravention. My argument is that I needed a hat for summer as we are going to be spending our summer holidays at the beach. My existing white ribbon Gregory Ladner hat from David offers excellent sun protection, but leaves an ugly imprint on my head when I take it off. He argued that the hat was not a need, but a want and does not offer sufficient sun protection, thus contravening Rule #3 of the Shopping Ban - I only must buy things that I actually NEED.

Hmmpph. He could be right, but it was only $12.95 so I'm moving on people.

In other Shopping Ban related news, look at these superior high end designer items that are heavily discounted on The Outnet. Totally. Obsessed. Thanks to one Faux Fuchsia. I have had these items sitting in my virtual shopping bag all weekend.......

Vanessa Bruno dress

M Missoni top

Willow dress

I have been trying over and over in my head to justify their purchase, but I can't. I just can't. Well, at least not while I'm on the shopping ban, but if I wasn't - The Vanessa Bruno dress would be perfect for a spring/summer wedding, the Missoni top could be worn with denim cut offs, jeans, black pants, white skirt, it could be transeasonal also, and the Willow dress looks so comfortable and effortlessly cool, plus it would hide all of my lumps and bumps. I think I would wear these items for years to come... alas they cannot be mine.

Damn Shopping Ban.

C xo

Birkdale + Wellington Point + Shopping Ban Undoing. Oops!

Yesterday was such a good day. Mum came over mid morning as she usually does on a Monday, and she suggested we take a drive out to Birkdale and Wellington Point so she could show Little Miss L and I where her grandparents used to live.

It was great to see her reminiscing about her childhood and showing us the old house that is still standing there amongst the suburb that once used to be my great grandfathers muscat grape farm. He owned a massive area of land that went for what seemed like a mile... and it went right down to the waters edge of Moreton Bay.

We then went for a drive down to Wellington Point and went to a little picnic spot right on the water. Mum remembered going down there when she was 13 with her brother and sisters and splashing around in the ocean. She said there used to be a big slippery dip that went straight out into the water. How awesome is that?!! Sadly, it was no longer there, but there was a fantastic looking playground that I will have to remember to visit when Little Miss L is old enough to run amok.

We ordered fish and chips from the kiosk and sat under an old Moreton Bay Fig tree, basking in the dappled sunlight and sea breezes. There was a general feeling of  being on holidays in the air - everyone else down there was chilling out, fishing, wearing thongs and boardies, and just taking it easy. I loved every minute of it.

We then went and checked out the main strip of Wellington Point... and this is where the shopping ban had its undoing... although I don't think it was too bad because I only spent $25 at... wait for it... Lifeline! So, I figure its not that bad because I'm buying second hand AND helping a charity! Yeah, that counts doesn't it? Surely? Come on, I need to justify this some how because I tell you what, I felt super guilty at the time of making the purchase, and Mum kept saying 'I'll buy it for you Catherine' but I couldn't let her do that... Oh well.

Anyway, this is what I bought:

• Cute polka dot cookie jar - $3.50 
• Vintage white embroidered pillow case - $1.00
• Dark denim jeans - $8.50 (they are a weird length, hitting just above my ankle, so I'm going to make cut off denim shorts with them, which is good because I need shorts for summer!)
• Chevron strip maxi dress - $12 this dress seems to skim and hug in all the right places. Its just a Target dress, but I couldn't pass it up. I'm thinking this will be my Christmas day dress
• And the lady threw in a cute pair of sterling silver bow stud earrings for free. Now I've got to sterilise them. Anyone know how I'd do that?

So, am I forgiven for shopping? In reality, only the jeans and the dress qualify as breaking the shopping ban, and well, I NEED shorts and I wanted needed a dress for Christmas day, so therefore they do meet the rules of the shopping ban. Yep, I'm going with that.

C xo

My Pseudo Birthday

I shopped. And it was good but slightly stressful. And it was all within the rules of my shopping ban.

All week Mr B has been talking about taking Little Miss L and I to pancakes for breakfast in the city. Which is strange because Mr B never wants to do anything on the weekend. He loves his couch time, and NEEDS his couch time and I respect that.

Anyway, so on Friday Mr B came home and he and Little Miss L handed me a very heavy envelope. In it was a card saying 'Terrific 30' and a beautiful message from my husband and my daughter saying how much they loved me, how proud they were of me, how they think I am a good Mum, and how 36 weeks ago Little Miss L came into our lives and stole focus from my 30th birthday (which was the 10th February).

On the day of my 30th birthday I spent my last day of a total 10 days in hospital after giving birth to my daughter on the 1st February and having a significant operation that saw me lose my reproductive system because of the dreaded c word. Cancer. On the 10th, I didn't open any big presents or have a big party with my friends and family like I always imagined I would. But I had my health, I had my husband, and I had my daughter, who blessed my life by assisting the Doctors in finding my cancer at my first ultrasound. And I was so so so happy with that and didn't want anything more. And IT was gone. The c word was no longer there. And I was happy. I AM happy.

That seems like a lifetime ago. But in fact it was only 9 months ago. 9 months ago I was being wheeled into surgery without knowing what the outcome of the operation would be, who this little person was, what she would be like, if I would ever get to see her grow up. But here I am. Everything turned out so well. Even better than we could have imagined.

So, back to the card.

Inside the card was 36 $10 'gift vouchers' made especially for me by Mr B. He explained that the number 36 had significance because of two reasons. 1) because it was 36 weeks since Little Miss L came into our lives, and 2) because it was to celebrate 30 years of my life and 6 months of my shopping ban.

I was so shocked and surprised and felt so loved and special. Mr B doesn't often do big romantic gestures and in fact only usually does them every 4 years. Don't ask my why, I don't even know why, he just does. It always falls in the same year as the Olympics.

My initial reaction was 'No! I don't want this! I don't need to go shopping. I don't want to go shopping'. See what this shopping ban has done to me. Its conditioned me to not like shopping. I know. Crazy.

Anyway, after I'd had some time to think about it and Mr B assured me that it was ok to shop, and I was only allowed to spend it on myself, I started planning my purchases. And this is where the STRESS started. What to get? I've got $360 to spend on whatever I want. But its my 30th birthday money so I don't just want to buy everyday ho hum items, I want to get something grand and keepsake so I will always look at it and say 'That was my 30th birthday present', but I actually need to get some basic things for summer - a hat, shorts, togs, etc. But that's BORING. Ugghhh.

So, I've bought two things so far - a Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in Whoppin' Watermelon. I love it. Its so soft and the hint of colour is just gorgeous, plus the cool chubby twist up stick is pretty awesome too. Ok, I know this is not a grand 30th birthday type present, but I've wanted one for a while now, and well, its my pseudo birthday and I'll buy a lip balm if I want to.

And then I also bought a beautiful big glass vase by Georg Jensen. It was on special from David (Jones, that is) and was tall with a narrow opening, which is what I've been looking for in a vase for a loooong time because all of the other vases I own (cheap ones) have a wide opening and my flowers just flop out and look silly, but this vase, it makes a cheap $9 bunch of roses from Woolies look spectacular.

And so now I've got $230 left to spend, and I feel like I can call my vase my 'big keepsake 30th birthday purchase' and now just buy stuff that I want/need. Now I've just got to figure out how best to do that in the most bang-for-your-buck kind of way! Stay tuned.

And, if you're still reading this - well done you! I think this is my longest blog post ever in the history of my blog!

C xo

Update - No Shopping. No Buying Anything New.

Right. Mr B is out at a work function, Little Miss L is tucked up in bed, so I thought what better opportunity do I have to update you all on my shopping ban and my participation in Buy Nothing New Month.

First of all, the shopping ban. I've survived a month of zero, zilch, nada shopping for myself. A WHOLE month. Let me tell you, I am a bit proud of myself. When I told my out-laws that I was on a shopping ban, they laughed in my face! They don't think I'll be able to do it. But let me tell you, the doubt of others only makes me stronger. Even Mr B said to me the other night that he thinks I will just revert to my old shopping obsessed self when the 6 months is up, but I don't think I will. Even a month of not shopping for myself has made me realise that I was obviously doing it to fill a void, and I was buying things that I don't need. The shopping ban has already taught me to really think about what I have in my wardrobe and to figure out what I really need. I am embarrassed to say that the three outfit options below have never ever been worn before. I have three beautiful dresses just sitting there, unworn. What a waste! That's why this shopping ban is so so so good for me. I am cutting down on the unnecessary buying and 'shopping my wardrobe'. Man, it feels good. I've even found myself being really really careful about how I spend my gift vouchers I have sitting in my wallet since Christmas and my birthday. I value these gift vouchers so much and want to make sure I make the best use of them. I have come a long way people, a long way. I wonder what five more months will do?!!

And Buy Nothing New Month. Holy moly its hard. I have to really make a conscious effort not to buy brand new things (apart from groceries, hygiene products, medicine, etc). I want to take Little Miss L swimming, but alas, we have no togs for her. I can buy second hand, but didn't know if that was a bit gross for baby swimmers??? Who knows what the previous owner did in those togs?!! I guess we'll have to wait until November to go swimming. And Little Miss L is growing so fast... she's nearly out of her 00 clothes so we might have to hit the op shops for some size 0 outfits this month.

So there you have it. The update. Now, I might go and wash my hair, put a face mask on, and tuck in to a bowl of Peters Light & Creamy raspberry ripple icecream with a dark chocolate TimTam mushed into it. Yum!

C xo

Weekend Visitors + Shopping Ban Update (Day 7)

We had lots of lovely visitors over the weekend. I love entertaining and especially baking for my guests. Friday night saw Mr B entertaining the boys with footy, pizza and scotch and I made a pear and apple crumble for dessert. Saturday we had plans to go to our friends K & M's place for a celebratory birthday dinner for K, but with the Antarctic winds blowing a gale on Saturday, they offered to come to ours and bring all of the food so we wouldn't have to get Little Miss L out in the cold. And Sunday saw the arrival of an awesome father and daughter combo all the way from Norway, and a cowboy from Dalby. These two boys were my best buddies at work and when I lived on the Gold Coast back in the day - we have all gone our separate ways now, but we still manage to keep in contact and when we all get back together we just pick up where we left off. Don't you love friends like that?

I baked this yummy Strawberry Summer cake that I found on Smitten Kitchen for Sunday afternoon tea. You can find the recipe here. It was so delicious - the sweetness of the cake and the tartness of the strawberries went perfectly together.

After afternoon tea we headed down to Southbank so the Little Norwegian could have a splash around - she loved it 11/10. It was so nice to be in the warm sunshine - we even got chocolate paddle pops and I had to take my cardi off - it felt like summer.

Right, I know you've all been waiting for a shopping ban update, so here it is. I have been on the shopping ban for a week so far and I have survived a few good sales and numerous trips to the shops without being tempted to buy something for myself. Ok, I lie, I have been tempted as there are so many pretty new season things out at the moment, but still, I have resisted purchasing by chanting in my head 'I must succeed on the shopping ban'.

I am starting to think more about my wardrobe and what I have in it and how I can maximise the use of the items I already own. In my dreams I own a computerised wardrobe ala Cher from Clueless, however in reality my plan is to take photos of my outfits and file them in a cute folder. I often forget about items that I own and if I can organise some photos of outfits then it might spark me to wear more of my wardrobe instead of the 20% that I wear 80% of the time.

So, all in all, a successful first week and I am very keen to continue on this no shopping journey.

C xo

Shopping Ban Update: Day 3

Time for an update on the shopping ban. 

via Pinterest

Its Day 3 and I have managed to unsubscribe myself from a few retailers email send-outs AND reject a shoe sale 'heads up' from a dear friend. I am so strong.

On Day 2, I did however buy Miss L a top to wear to an upcoming wedding (which she needed), and buy myself a leopard print belt that I've had my eye on with my Forever New gift card - both within the rules of my shopping ban, so its totally OK.

It does concern me slightly that I went shopping on the second day of the ban though.

C xo

Buy Nothing New Month

Well, it seems that I am keeping up with the times people, because what did I see on KAK (Kerri-Anne Kennerley to you non-Australians) this morning, but none other than this new concept called 'Buy Nothing New Month'.

For the month of October, there is a campaign being run to buy nothing new - the aim of this campaign is to encourage people to think about their purchases and promote conscientious and sustainable buying. Whilst I've taken it one step further to not buy anything new for myself, this campaign is encouraging buying secondhand, swapping items, recycling things, and so on.  You can read about why you should not buy anything new here

I really like this idea. Whilst it may not be good for the economy, it might teach people to shop more responsibly and to also learn to live with only the essentials. So often these days we as consumers are pummeled with advertising about what we must have and what we need - we often take things for granted these days - the simple things in life are often the best.

I know this is an extreme example, but when I read The Diary of Anne Frank, she lived with only the bare minimum and came to cherish the small things during her time cooped up inside the annex. It made me realise how lucky we are these days, that we have access to anything we want, we don't have to live on rations and we can shop online and have things delivered to our door.

I have pledged to Buy Nothing New during the month of October. You can too here