Have you got your High Street loyalty card........charity ones of course!!

Following on from my Give More post previously, I thought I would share with you how I show my loyalty AND get rewarded for it through my local charity shops.

I have used the Sue Ryder loyalty card scheme for years now and for every £5 you spend in their shop, you receive a stamp-collect 10 and you get a whopping £5 to spend on anything in their shop!!

For a die hard charity shopper like myself, this is a must have in my purse and I always seem to get at least 3-5 freebies a year!! I would really recommend you sign up for one-if you can't get in to a shop, then you can apply online for one here

 

Another loyalty card in my purse is from the Salvation Army which not only does a similar scheme but it also rewards you if you take in your unwanted items too! I've got all my stamps on my card now, so my next visit will be to choose my free item!!

 

 

A couple of days ago I also used up my stamped up Sue Ryder loyalty card so I thought I would show you my latest buys. I chose this Gap 1969 denim shirt for £3.75:

 

 

 

I also chose a Marks and Spencer dark olive and black snakeskin digital print blouse for also £3.75:

 

 

So both items came to £7.50 and  with my loyalty card discount I only paid £2.50 for both items!! That is what I call rewarding loyalty and these cards are a real incentive to shop at your local charity shops as often as possible.

 

 

Do you hold any loyalty cards for your local charity shops-if not, why not sign up as soon as you can!!

Source: WomensPersonalFinance.net

Give More Time-Money-Energy

 

I have just been made aware of an organisation called 'Give More', which is a growing movement of thousands of people within our communities who are pledging to give more time, money and energy to the causes they are passionate about.

In their own words, the need in our communities is going up and charities and community groups are struggling to cope. The facts are stark – 83% of teachers have seen a growth in the number of children arriving hungry at school. At the same time there’s been a 100% increase in the number of people being fed by foodbanks, with 4 new outlets opening up every week. 5.4 million households are living in fuel poverty, almost half of those individuals are over 60.

 

In response to this, thousands of people from every corner of the UK are uniting to fight escalating need by each giving more time, money and energy to the community or cause they care about and inspiring others to do the same. Give More is an independent, privately funded initiative that asks you to stand up and be counted – join the movement and be part of something vitally important. We rarely talk about giving, but if we don’t shout about the good work going on up and down the country, many charities and community groups may cease to exist.

 

There are many ways you can join in and help the Give More movement grow:

You can Sign up – show your support by signing up and learning more about Give More

Make a pledge – make a public pledge, and add your cause to our face wall

Inspire others to join in – invite 3 friends to make a pledge, and help the movement grow

Spread the word – use your networks to help us raise awareness of Give More via Twitter and Facebook

Encourage your organisation – encourage your organisation to become a Give More partner, and help us reach more people.
Get the Give Guide-The Give Guide is a free, tailorable resource packed with simple ideas for helping charities or good causes this Christmas.

 

Read Wayne Hemingway's story- like many of us, he is a big charity supporter and if you don't necessarily have time to be a volunteer, then by regularly donating unwanted clothes to your local charity shop and also choosing to buy your purchases from them is a fantastic way of supporting your community. I do so hope this has inspired you to take part-whether its by social media or down at your local chazza!!

 

 

 

Christmas budget

Breaking the Christmas budget: do you spoil your grandkids?

December is a time for festivities and merriment, Christmas decorations,

puddings, tinsel and, of course, giving - and new research suggests that Brits

are anything but Scrooges when it comes to the festive season. A recent

survey of 135 UK-based women conducted by an online retailer

among them mothers and grandmothers, has shown that more than three-

quarters of those surveyed believe that children are spoiled with gifts on 25

December.

But are Britain’s children really being spoilt? And are parents and

grandparents stretching their budgets to accommodate all the most

popular ‘batteries not included’ toys this year? The survey seems to indicate

that we Brits are aware of the indulgence of the season, but treat the urge to

splurge with a certain amount of caution and restraint, with only 2 out of 10

women stating that they plan to spend over £500 on gifts for the whole family

this year.

However, when the question was refined to ask ‘How much would you be

willing to spend on toys for the kids?’ more than a third of those surveyed felt

that up to £50 was the right kind of budget. To put this response in context,

when asked how much money was appropriate to spend on a gift for a

partner, the budget increased, with almost 1 in 3 putting themselves in the

£50 to £100 range.

Let’s make a distinction here between spoiling the children by getting them

a lovely, much desired present, and spoiling them by indulging them to the

point of letting them run roughshod over their elders. Whilst the former may

occur, the latter, returning again to the survey, is not likely. Parents and

grandparents are setting excellent standards of Christmas etiquette in terms

of gift giving and receiving. Almost 9 in 10 of those surveyed said that they

would never get a deliberately awful gift for someone they didn’t like, and four-

fifths admitted to telling that most acceptable of white lies - pretending that a

disappointing present was perfect.

So, with all that in mind, it seems the best course of action is to let

our children or grandchildren enjoy that all-singing-all-dancing toy or gadget

they’ve been longing for, within reason - but to make sure they write a thank-

you note afterwards!!



Thrift Inspiration..............Net-A-Porter and Vintage Style for Heritage Dressing

Hi there!! Heritage dressing for this season is not only super stylish, but practical, functional and so very versatile if the right key piece is picked. 

A wool tweed jacket is definitely my pick of the season and as usual this can be found from designer right through to high street- I love these from Net-A-Porter who have a lovely range of wool tweed items in a range of different colours and styles:

 Carven forest green tweed wool blazer, £450





Joseph Hutton wool tweed blazer £495

Browsing this trend from designers to high street this season has really inspired me to 'Shop Vintage'. What inspires me so much about vintage for this trend is the sheer quality of fabric and that a lot of wool and tweed items are made in Great Britain. On my hunt for the key 'heritage' piece this season, my key requirements were pure wool fabric, luxe tailoring and to be made in the British Isles.

This jacket ticks all the boxes-it is a recent vintage find by Burberry and is not only 100% wool it is also made in England. I love the attention to detail too- it has a cute velvet collar, leather buttons on the cuffs and the front and it is a perfect 'boyfriend' style, ideal for keeping warm with chosen layers underneath.



The colour of the jacket is more 'blue' and it goes perfectly with skinny jeans and my favourite jean style of the moment, indigo skinny flares. I found a fabulous pair by J Brand for only £3.99 a couple of weeks ago and they are a perfect accompaniment to this Burberry jacket.

Will you be doing heritage this season? Whether you choose designer, high street or vintage this is certainly a style which if chosen right will be a perfect wardrobe staple for years to come!

MyStyle......My Choice of Dresses at Phase Eight

 

Hi everyone! The 'C' word is drawing ever nearer and if thats not an excuse for a new dress, then I don't know what is!! I love how at House of Fraser there is such a fabulous range of these Phase Eight dresses which are not only party dresses, but also some gorgeous day, evening and cocktail dresses that suit all budgets, tastes and styles!

 

Here is my virtual shopping list of my favourite six dresses, some of which would be perfect for a smart daytime to evening look with the addition of heels and jewellery.

 

Each dress here is completely on my style radar-black lace, midnight blue, winter florals, ruched jersey-whats not to love with these choices and not only are they ideal for Christmas, they will seriously work as year round dresses with that forever timeless style factor that each of these have!

 

More Phase Eight dresses can be seen here and a lot of them have some seriously high reductions-do check them out!

 

This Rhona lace dress is reduced from £99 to £59 and is a perfect choice for a transitional day to night outfit.



 This midnight blue Ema silk cape dress is half price-now £44.50



Digital prints and winter florals make this Kara print dress a perfect choice for this season, now reduced to £59

 



This is the perfect style dress for Christmas Day-Side ruched jersey dress, £79 will still look fabulous after that gigantic Christmas dinner!!

 



 

I adore winter floral prints and this will certainly take you into Spring, Secret garden cowl neck dress now £65

 



 

My perfect style of cocktail dress- Harriet dress £160

 

 

What style of dress will be on your shopping list for Christmas? I hope these choices have given you some gorgeous dress inspiration what ever you decide on!!

Tim Walker Exhibition at Somerset House

Hi everyone!! Sorry for not getting over to you and leaving comments-I'm very much the 'blogger lurker' at the moment in that I am visiting your blogs to read, but not leaving comments-naughty I know, but still very self indulgent and enjoyable!!

 

Last month saw a visit to the Tim Walker exhibition at Somerset House which was made all the more enjoyable as it was with the lovely Mrs TNMA. We enjoyed a fabulous chat in Fernandez and Wells before viewing the exhibition. I will let the pictures do the talking-all I will say is its a free exhibition and is on until 27 January, so if you are in London check out the link above for more information and do try and stop by for a visit:

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you are all having a great week-I'm currently still not a well bunny so have nothing more than rest and recouperation on the menu!!