My pastry shirt...

M had to go to Derby police station for a short job today. I decided to join him on the basis that we'd be back before school ended and the alternative was staying home and passively smoking forty cigarettes a day. Cough cough. The plasterer is doing a fabulous job but every day when he leaves we have to spray the entire house, it wafts through from the open back door where he smokes. I don't know what they are but they reek.

So, I got dropped in Derby city centre, feeling rather like a country mouse in the big city. Well it has been a while since I shopped anywhere but locally to us. I remembered where the majority of the charity shops were located and got stuck in; it is pretty competitive bargain hunting these days.

My first find was a lovely shirt, in natural linen colour, with a grandad collar (I love these). The charity shop had attached a label saying 'Pastry £3.30'. On closer inspection the shirt label actually said 'Poetry', a quite pricey brand of clothing. I told M and he suggested we call it my pastry shirt from now on.

My next find was a brand new pair of cotton pj bottoms. Another £2.50. No idea what brand but they feel like good quality.

Another pottery mug for my collection. M doesn't mind that we have quite a few now, they do get broken from time to time. This one set me back 20p.

Sorry about these dark photos btw, I had all the lights on in the bedroom but they are still dull and grainy. I spotted this crochet book in the window of Oxfam. It was only £1.99 and quite honestly there is nothing in there that I would necessarily make. It's a strange book, I've bought it mainly out of curiosity, for inspiration and the rug section at the end, since I've been thinking about rugs lately, but that's a story for another day.

I shall be leaving the husband and children and dogs, and cat, to their own devices for a few days and taking a short trip 'home'. I've been washing clothes and packing my little brown vintage suitcase. I've had the suitcase for over twenty years now I guess. I can remember the day I bought it, in Sussex, like it was yesterday. I was at a table top sale with my grandparents and I spotted it and handed over £3 for it. Grandad was nearby and said, 'what do you want that old thing for?' Followed by, '£3? They saw you coming girl!' Here we are twenty plus years later and it's still perfect for a few nights away. I liked it for its boxiness. So much easier to pack with straight sides don't you think?

So, as I'm packing my £3 jeans, my £3 shirt and my £2.50 pj bottoms into my £3 suitcase it suddenly occurred to me that if I'd carried on buying things for £3 since buying that suitcase I'd be quite well off by now!