Two Small Carbooties

i was so busy the other weekend that I did not have the time (or inclination?) to organise this post. Now that I am little more organised I've found the time and here it is......

The Cheshire carboot sale had moved to the smaller field and was very small the other week. They still charged the cheeky price of £3 to park your car though - a little bit naughty I think.

I bought a pair of 'as new' prescription PRADA glasses for their frames. They came complete with case, cleaning cloth, box and certificate of authenticity. I need to get my eyes tested again as it has been a couple of years since they were last done and I thought I would use these frames with my new prescription lenses.

I bought a Lanson ice bucket for just £1. I love that it is black in colour rather the usual metal ones that you find. I will keep this one and sell the two metal ones that I already have. One is a Moët & Chandon one and the other a Mumm one. They have been sitting in the garage for the last couple of years so time for them to be sold on eBay. I'm still clearing out my clutter and I think I will be doing this for some considerable time.

I bought a few DVDs for 50p each to keep me out of mischief.

We moved on to the Farmers Market which is just up the road as there had been slim pickings at the  carboot sale and we were done in a little over an hour. I faired better at the carboot area of the Farmers Market.

I bought a few things from one lady as I liked her fresh, clean and nearly new items. I bought this gorgeous butter soft leather bag that had originally come from Marks & Spencers. It was just £2. The colour is called Alabaster and is the kind of colour that goes with everything.

I bought these two square scarves with skull motif. I know that the design is alittle young for me but I love the pattern and the black one has skulls in the same alabaster colour as the bag and I thought I would use them/ wear them at the same time. These were just 50p each.

I bought a bottle of new Bellini scented body lotion from her for £1. It is a pump action bottle and I love putting on body lotion just before I go to bed. It always smells lovely and makes my skin feel soft the next morning.

My final purchase was a Dolce Gusto coffee machine from her for £8. She asked for £10 but I knocked her down a couple of £ on the basis that I had bought a few items from her. It is plain black and white and I like the simplicity of it. She had no instructions but demonstrated what I needed to do.

I couldn't wait to get the coffee pods to try it out. I know it is an expensive novelty but I am a real sucker for a fad and we both love our coffees. I bought cappuccino pods, latte macchiato and cafe au lait pods. Our favourite so far is the a letter macchiato. I have some Baileys glass cups that I bought at a carboot sale that are just the right size and shape to use with the pods. It is an almost daily treat now but the cost is pricey per drink compared to a jar of instant or even the cappuccino powder packs.

Bank Holiday Carbooty

We were back at the Cheshire carboot sale again today and it was much bigger with a great atmosphere.

Here is a list of the items I bought:

Two White Company lamp shades for £2 each. We have black lampshades on our bedside cabinets lights but have been thinking of changing to something lighter. I love the White Company and have bedding and throws from them so I think these lampshades will be just perfect.

Authentic Gucci sunglasses complete with case for £5. I love the slim style of these and you can never have enough designer sunglasses can you? Well I don't think so and so I ended up buying another pair of sunglasses but this time they are Moschino ones again complete with case.

These cost just £3 and are a more rounded style. I think I like the Gucci ones the most but both are great for the price.

I have a fabulous Chanel bronzer which is now discontinued and extortionate to buy on eBay. I always take this on holiday with me and as it is coming to the end of its life I was pleased to find this Clarins duo bronzer for £5. These cost £29 from Boots so I was pleased with the £5 price tag.

I found this cute Soap & Glory set for £1 and this is still sealed. It has two travel sized items inside - not bad for 50p an item.

I bought a spare set of standard ghd straighteners for just £10 from a lovely lady who had just the most divine items for sale on her stall. Her husband said they owned a perfumery in the nearby town which explained all the lovely perfumes and cosmetics they were selling. I had to force myself to not go mad buying lots of things that I wanted but did not need.

I bought another Cath Kidston bag for just £1. This is the book bag in the range and is a handy size for bits and bobs when out shopping. It needs a hand wash to make the handles a little cleaner as they have some slight grubbiness to them but at £1 when they normally cost £18, I think this is no problem.

I bought two scarves for myself for just 50p each. The blue & grey striped scarf is a Marks Spencer one and I have one of these already in a different colourway and I love it. The other is 100% linen and I love the crinkly finish to it. This is new with the tag still attached.

Ten 'no slip' coated coat hangers in pink & mauve for £1 for all of them.

Finally I went a little mad on DVDs but they were just 20p each. Two of them are boxed sets and series 2 & 3 of The 4400. I bought series 1 a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed watching it so am pleased I found more of the set.

I also bought three shirts/tops for my dad. Two at 50p each and one at £1. They are Lands End, Marks & Spencer and a golf wear brand called Backswing. He gets a little spoilt by me and my sister keep buying him clothes but at these prices we can't complain. He visited me on Saturday in a gorgeous striped shirt which is a Tomy Hilfiger one which I bought for him for £1 a year ago.

David bought a new Hugo Boss tie for 20p, loads of CDs at 25p and a set of BT cordless phones for around the house for £6. Why would you go to a shop when you can pay these prices.

How did you do at you carboot sales?

More Carbooty Finds

I am feeling a little guilty for neglecting you all as I have not posted for a while. I hope you can forgive me?

So we visited the Cheshire carboot sale which is now reducing in size as we come towards the end of the summer. It was warm today but there was plenty of cloud with that slight threat of rain. This seemed to keep the sellers away but the forcast for tomorrow is good so we have high hopes  for a bigger carboot sale tomorrow.

I bought a few things today - a real mixed bag. So here's what I got:

A Cath Kidston Country Rose hand bag which is like new. It still has the silica gel packs inside. I love that it is in shades of beige and red with that faded print feel about it. This cost me £9 which is good considering they cost around £40 - £50 new.

I also bought this Marc Jacobs tote for just £1. I use these as gift bags god my sister and niece and they are the same cost as a gift bag from somewhere like Clintons.

I have a vintage Kenwood Chef and have done well to have found boxed attachments in the past. I bought this haul here on the Cheshire carboot sale earlier this year.

I was pleased to find a slicer and shredder attachment complete with box for just £2. I think I have the full set of attachments now. I had a look on ebay and this attachment is on sale at between £20 -£30 so I think this is the Best Buy of the day.

I bought two Le Crueset oven mitts at £2 each in coastal blue. I thought they came as a pair and paid £4 - the seller said they were a pair too but on looking on line, they are for sale individually at £20 each.

I bought this great Sanctuary gift set which is in quite a sturdy set of drawers. I think I will use this a jewellery case in my bedroom cupboard. It will be great for storing all my bits and bobs. It was full of toiletries and missing just two bottles. I don't care because the lady selling it only wanted £2. It has bath soak, body scrub perfume etc inside it. Brilliant!

I also bought this Cath Kidston soap from her 50p.

I also bought these 3 Disney mugs from her at 50p each. They are unused and so "as new". There are two Christmas ones - Eeyore and Tigger - and a standard Winnie the Pooh one. We have two mugs in the same style and size at the moment and love them for a big mug of tea in the morning.

I got this new Christmas votive set from the linea range at House of Fraser for £2. The scents are Mulled Berries, Winter Spice and Enchanted Forest. It is sealed up and new.

From the same girl I bought this brand new and sealed set of nails inc bling it on rocks nail glitter kit. I remember when these first came out and they cost £20 new. I paid £3 for this set. I will give this to my niece as a gift.

I got a tube of Bach Rescue Remedy cream for 50p. We use Bach remedies in our family and it is good to have a cream instead of the liquid drops. This will be good for taking away on hot sunny holidays for relieving burnt skin or insect bites.

I loved this blown glass heart, and at £1 I thought it would look good on our Christmas tree or hung on a wardrobe handle or door handle in one of our bedrooms. It is so pretty.

Finally I got two DVDs at 50p each. One of them is a boxed set with 3 films in it.

Well I'll see what we can find tomorrow. As David said on the way home today - why would you go to shops to buy things when you can get them so much cheaper in a field?

Clothes Splurge

It is that time again when the end of the summer sales start and I can stock up on items - some for the next summer and some for wearing any time of  the year.

Marks & Spencer Plus Size range  does the job for me. Even better is that M&S emailed me two days before the sale started today and gave me a sale preview with 50% off all sale items. This was supposedly because I have a set amount of points on my sparks card. Not sure whether this is correct or not but I am delighted with all my purchases bar one item which will be going back.

So what did I buy?

Gorgeous kimono style jacket which will look great over skinny jeans (or not so skinny in my case !) This is dressy enough to wear in the evening over a navy dress or trousers & top too. Just love it.

Floaty very dark navy top. The colour is so dark I have seen similar coloured clothes sold elsewhere be called "midnight". This fits beautifully and again will look great casual with jeans or with linen trousers. I so love this top too.

Tankini top and boy short bottoms. The tankini top has sold out already. This will make a change from a full piece swimsuit. The fit is great.

A 3/4 sleeve grey t shirt top with fake shirt detailing at the hem. This is also a great fit and I think this will be taken on my recently booked 10 night trip to New York  which will be this December. This is the kind of top that looks good with trousers and jeans and when worn with a long pendant necklace or scarf. The fake shirt section was a little creased when I took it out of its packaging so I'm hoping the creases will fall out with hanging.

Two grey fleck t shirts - just great for under a suit for work, with jeans or shorts or linen trousers in the summer. I buy quite a lot of t shirts like this in different colours for just general wear. They usually only last so long before they need replacing but at £6.25 each I'm not too bothered at this price.

I feel the need for a couple of plain shift style dresses to see me through the winter. I would like a dark navy one and a black one. I struggle to find dresses in this style in my size which are made from forgiving fabric. I'll keep my open and see what I can find.

So what is going back?

This kaftan style top. I have a dress in the same pattern and loved it for on my recent Kalkan holiday. This was the deciding factor for buying this top. When I tried it on I didn't like the fit or style on me. A fail that will be posted back tomorrow.