Why does it have to be overcast when I want to take photos?

I take far too much delight in acquiring things. This needs to stop, really it does, even though I don’t have *that* much stuff in the grand scheme of things. I spent altogether too much time yesterday (while doing masses of chores) wondering what the hell I would do if I was to go out alone for the day and not shop. I still have no answer for that and, to be perfectly honest, that lack of answer is a scary thing indeed.

Anyway, enough navel-gazing and on to some recent additions….

The Glasses (as mentioned previously). Way too much money, but hey, now I can see.

Close-up. They are in no way this bright at the sides – that is thanks to the flash. They are more like the image below In Real Life.

Yes, definitely more like this – unless I am in waaaaay bright light, in which case, they are like the above.

On Thursday I purchased a quilt/duvet/whatever-you-want-to-call-it cover which Don and I have been coveting since January. It thrills me and the purchase thrilled me. As with most things, there is a very long and involved story surrounding this, which I will bore you with now….

In January we were in Myer (I no longer call it Grace Bros because it is nowhere near as good as Grace Bros was in the Good Old Days ) looking at manchester for our naked quilt/duvet/whatever-you-want-to-call-it. We came across a discounted quilt/duvet/whatever-you-want-to-call-it cover which was truly magnificent, and it was discounted to around $80 – sadly though, there was only one, and it was a double (and we have a queen quilt/duvet/whatever-you-want-to-call-it). Bummer. So we came away empty-handed.

Visits to Myer and searches on eBay/internet in the ensuing months had proved fruitless and still the quilt/duvet/whatever-you-want-to-call-it remained naked. We returned back to Myer and the double was gone .

In March we were in Lincraft buying some fabric for Joe/Frank to make boxer-shorts at school (as you do in Year 7, well in most Sydney schools, you do). And we saw a very similar fabric to that of the coveted quilt/duvet/whatever-you-want-to-call-it cover, but it was something like $15 a metre (and rather on the not-very-wide side), so we discarded the idea of quilt/duvet/whatever-you-want-to-call-it cover making as rather too expensive.

More internet searches, still nothing.

In July, I was wool shopping in Lincraft and noticed the fabric had been discounted to $6 a metre. This seemed much more do-able. So I toyed with the idea for a bit and took measurements and did calculations and convinced myself that I would make one (even though it would not be quite so divine as the original). On the way I thought I would just pop into Myer to see if by some miracle the double was back (thinking maybe I could buy a double quilt/duvet/whatever-you-want-to-call-it and put that atop the bed, perhaps it would be more economical that way?).

And there it was! The QUEEN sized /duvet/whatever-you-want-to-call-it cover! Gosh! The excitement! It was $119, but I did not care (I had $40 worth of Myer gift cards in my purse). Turns out it was on sale and ended up only costing me $31 in cash (when you factored in the gift cards – woo!). Thanks universe!!

And here it is (well, the fabric anyway, it is too overcast to get a decent shot) :

And if you hate it and are saying to yourself, “what the hell is she thinking?”, I don’t care, because I just adore its fabulous-retroness.

And I think I purchased this in June, on impulse, as it was a cold day and I was unscarfed. I spent a little more than I was intending, but it has been totally worth it. It is surprisingly warm and, of course, awesome.

I plan to imitate for Bess (probably in pink or something equally girly).

It hasn’t been all shopping though. My latest project is this scarf.

Very skinny, which I plan to make super-long and then I can wrap it around and around and around. This seems like a good plan, although it could, of course, turn out to be crap. But as it is another $2 ball of acrylic, it doesn’t really matter.

Am currently reading smitten kitchen and becoming very hungry in the process, and also wishing that my photographs were even a tenth as spectacular!

I’m off to make that cake (and then onto roast beef this evening). If I can’t take delight in shopping, I will delight in cookering, doesn’t really get me out of the house though.