Today's Finds

What a lovely August bank holiday weekend we are having weather wise. The sun shone nearly all day yesterday and we spent most of the day in the garden. I filled two green bins with garden waste after the lawns were mowed, the front garden weeded and some of the shrubs pruned. I wanted to do more but as the bins were full I usually use that as a sign to stop otherwise I wear myself out. I often do too much and David has to stop me. My cat PG enjoyed sunbathing on our garden patio table all day. 

The good weather meant the Cheshire carboot sale was rammed today. We walked around for 3.5 hours and then decided that we had had enough. My feet were starting to ache from walking. We have  come home with a host of bargain finds.

I was running out of magazines and had looked last week for some but to no avail. Today I struck gold and bought three bundles of magazines for £9. There are 35 in total and are all last year and this year's (with the odd 2015 in there). There are 18 Harper's Bazaar, 12 Vogue and 5 Elle. Now David said £9 was too expensive (3 bundles at £3 a bundle) but given that 2 magazines would normally cost £9, I think £9 for 35 is an excellent price and I just love a big thick glossy magazine to flick through. They work out to be just under 26p a copy so I am happy with the price. She had 3 more bundles but I just chose the titles I wanted and I think 35 is enough.

I bought two boxes of Yankee Candle tealights for £3 a box (less than half price) from an on off trader who visits only when the sun is shining. He sells all the things you would normally find in a Hallmark store. Lots of candles, cards and some soft toys. The scents I bought are fresh smelling Clean Cotton and Midnight Jasmine.

I found a soft as butter 100% cashmere scarf in a candy stripe for just £1. It is a longer length so I can wear it doubled up. It is from Scotland and the make is Brora. These are up for sale at £50 upwards on eBay but this is a keeper and I'll be wearing it this winter with a plain coloured coat.

I bought a number of 50p items from one lady. A Boots No7 swirl blusher/bronzer, a dark chocolate eyeshadow, a Soap & Glory hair band (great for keeping my hair off my face when I have a wash) and a Champneys hand cream. All new and unused.

I also bought this Champneys Citrus Blush mini duo of shower gel and body lotion for 50p. I have had one of these before and they are great for a holiday or weekend away. I love the fresh lemon scent which is just perfect for a sunny holiday evening freshen up.

I bought four of these Elemis Pure Zest cleansing soaps at 50p each. They have a fresh citrus smell. I'll keep a couple myself and use the others as little stocking fillers. These would normally cost considerably more given that Elemis is an expensive brand.

My bed needed another black cushion to match the one I bought a couple of weeks ago. It was looking a little lost and lonely on its own so I was pleased to find two Laura Ashley cushions of the same size and similar design for just £1 each. Now these are clearly not black but I love the soft grey colour and they are like new. Laura Ashley cushions are ridiculously expensive on their website (even in the sale) so these are a perfect snip at £2. I like the beading on the sides of them.

On the home front I bought another le Crueset storage jar for £2. This is in a lovely mauve colour (not sure of the proper name for the colour). I have one of these already in blue to match my set of le Creuset pans which I have had for over 20 years. I would have preferred another blue one to match but I like this mauve colour and as they usually cost £28 to buy new I was not going to walk away from one at £2.

I have a little shopping list of DVDs that I am after and I managed to tick one off my list today. I've watched the boxed set of Breaking Bad series 1 - 3 and was after the set of 4 - 6 which I managed to find today for £4. I also bought my usual selection of other DVDs for between 20p and 50p.

I bought David a great Adidas bucket hat in blue for £1. Great for on holidays and he looks a little "Madchester" wearing it. I also bought him a new Next collared t shirt in a purple pattern for £1. He's wearing this already so no photos I'm afraid.

Well tomorrow is a bonus booting day so  I'll let you know what bargains I find tomorrow.

This Weeks Finds

The weather has been lovely since late yesterday afternoon. This has meant spending some time in the garden and a fairly busy carboot sale this morning. I bought two pairs of sandals - one pair are new whereas the other pair look like they may have been worn once or maybe twice as they have little signs of wear on the soles. The new pair are crocs and the nearly new pair are fabulous Fitflops in black suede with diamonte detail in black and clear diamonte. They were £4 a pair and I love them.

I bought a Scentsy wax warmer which is new and two Scentsy wax melt blocks for just £3 for all. The wax blocks are in "Adored" and "Sparkling Black Plum". Both of the scents are delicious fruity floral scents and lovely to freshen up a room in the summer. I have quite a few Scentsy winter style fragrances so these are a welcome addition.

I thought this huge Cath Kidston storage bag in candy stripe was just great for £3. The lady I bought it from said she had used it for going to the beach and carrying all their towels. I think it is really useful for storing some of my throws and cushions and it looks so cheerful and summery. I may use it myself for going to the beach or as a weekend bag on our UK weekends away.

I could resist buying some toiletries because they were so cheap. I am using up the stock that I have so am trying not to buy anymore but when they are 50p and £1 I can't help myself. I bought this large Soap & Glory Foamous body wash for 50p (£6.50 in Boots), large Hand Food for 50p (£5.50 in Boots) and Shower Puff for 50p (£4 in Boots). From the same lady I bought this full size Cowshed body lotion in Knackered Cow scent for £1 (£32 on line). Who pays £32 for a bottle of body lotion?

I also found another of my favourite Bomb Cosmetics bath bombs for 50p. The scent of this one is Cotton Flower. They are just so scrummy smelling and I just love watching a bath bomb fizz and melt away in the bath. I also bought this Body Shop lip and cheek tint for 10p.

My other finds were this cute mirror which has a X4 magnification on one side for £1. It has a $7.99 price tag on the base from TK Maxx. This is a pretty good size for taking away with me as I have found that as I get older I need a decent sized magnified mirror.

I found these Guess sunglasses with case and cleaning cloth for £2. Handy for in my car as the ones I currently use are getting a bit sad and tired.

I bought 10 multi packs of Tesco tissue for £2. They are gold, silver, silver & white patterned and an iridescent effect. These are great for Christmas wrapping or scrunching into the top of gift bags. £2 for 40 sheets is not a bad price really.

I didn't find any magazines this week but I got my usual DVDs at between 50p and 3 for £1. I am buying DVDs as fast as I am selling them on eBay.

The other week I bought a fabulous black quilted throw for on my bed which had bead trim. I love it and like that the black picks out the black of our lampshades on our bedside lamps. Well today I found a matching cushion for £1. It looks a little lost on our superking bed in the middle but I like the fact it matches. I would like to have two - sadly the stall holder only had one, but I am sure with patience another one will turn up at some point.

Yesterday I finally found the elusive Jo Malone lookalike candles in Aldi. I don't shop in Aldi despite all the hype and how "trendy" it is to shop there at the moment. It is just not for me but I did want one or two of the candles as they have scents that are very similar to the Jo Malone fragrances. I looked a few weeks back with no joy but managed to get one of each scent yesterday. Pomegranate Noir, Blackberry Bay and Lime, Basil & Mandarin. They were £3.99 each, come with two weeks and look quite classy for the price.

I'm off to spend some more time in the garden now and enjoy the sun while it is still shining as I'm sure it won't last that long.

A Much Better Carboot Sale

After saying that the carboot sale was going downhill after going there last week, it was greatly improved this week and I managed to get some reasonable buys at decent prices. 

I bought this lovely Louis Vuitton scarf from one of my usual sellers. She is such a glamourous lady and sells gorgeous items - mainly perfumes, toiletries and homeware. All of them new. I was suprised to find this scarf for sale and asked if it was the only one she had and she said it was hers but I could have it for £4! It is a lightweight silk and should brighten up a black coat come this winter. I resisted the White Company, Asprey and Orla Kiely toiletries that she had for sale.

I bought these two Soap & Glory items for 50p each from one lady along with some DVDs for 50p. Both of the items are currently £8 to buy in Boots (although there are offers on them both).

I also bought three Bomb Cosmetics bath bombs from two different stalls for £1.20 in total so 40p each. The larger one lasts for up to 6 baths. I love the two cute Christmas ones which will both just last for one bath each. These cost between £2 - £4.50 each and although I usually save these to give as stocking filler gifts, I have decided to keep these for myself as I love them so much. I found three more Joules egg shaped soaps for 10p each (the same soaps as last week, for the same price)

I bought a couple of pairs of reader glasses for just 50p a pair (complete with felt case). I never seem to have enough of these as I need a pair in just about every room of the house. A pair in the kitchen for reading recipes or cooking instructions, a pair in the bedroom for reading just before I sleep, a pair in the bathroom to check I am putting on my make-up correctly ......

I resisted the stall selling all new Yankee Candle jars (£10 large, £8 medium and £2.50 small) as I have lots already but I bought this votive holder for 50p (it has a £4.45 price ticket on the base) and this Wedding Day votive for 50p too. This votive has a fresh floral scent which will be lovely to freshen up a room.

I love Penhaligons perfume and leather goods. One couple had these three items for sale - two lipstick holders and a purse keyring with metal perfume bottle charm. They wanted £10 for the three but I said I didn't really need them (which I don't so much) but they knocked the price down to £8 which I could not resist. These would normally sell at around £20 each. I think I may keep one of the pieces and give the others as gifts.

Other bits and pieces I bought were a tortoiseshell effect LSA vase for £2 and a lead crystal vase for £1. There is no makers mark on the crystal vase and it is a really heavy weight. I bought it for the window ledge half way up my stairs as I think it goes well with two Waterford Crystal vases that I have there already.

I bought a toiletry set for my nephew for £1.50. I liked the names of the shower gel & shampoo in it - Bloke Soak and Total Filth. A great little stocking filler for the price.

An Emma Bridgewater hessian mini shopper for 75p. I have an identical one which I use for taking my lunch to work in. This new one can be a back up when my current one becomes a bit too tatty. These shoppers only last for a limited time before they start to look a little shabby.

I didn't know that Thomas Sabo made Christmas decorations but I found a box of four glass baubles which cost me £2.

My usual selection of DVDs at 50p each - some new and sealed and I found that one had three different discs for three different films in it when I opened it at home.

I also bought 16 magazines (many 2017) for £2.80. These usually cost £3.65 - £4 each which I refuse to pay these days. Far too expensive for something that I just tend to flick through. Once I read through these I pass them on to my Dad (his favourite is Cheshire Life).

Well that was it for this weeks finds.