Thrift My Style Hand Knit Aran Cardigans for Seasonal Styling and Thrift Tips

Getting ready for Autumn and Winter styling!

Hi everyone! Although it's high season Summer at the moment, whenever I go to the charity shops or boot sales I'm always keeping my eyes open for alternative season pieces.

Which leads me nicely to My First Thrift Tip - Shop items that are not for the current season This really applies if they are available to buy in a charity shop or at the boot sale of course! Keep an open mind in the heart of Summer to check out coats, winter jackets and knitwear as it's a great cost effective way of adding to your wardrobe and likewise so is seeking out and buying summer dresses and swimwear in Winter too!

So to my chunky knits! My first hand knit cardigan was a gifted purchase a couple of years ago which was from the clothes market at Columbia Road Flower Market. 

I featured it on my Instagram feed in 2018 and what I really like about it is the longer length and how I can wear it as a 'coatigan' and as you can see I styled it over a denim jacket and skirt- this kind of styling for me is perfect for Autumn and transitional styling:

What drew me to it was the gorgeous olive colour and chunky style, it definitely is a 'keeper' piece in my wardrobe as it is versatile and stylish and who doesn't like a hand knit cardigan in the wardrobe!

I went to the Saturday boot sale yesterday in Chigwell again and there was a massive stall selling all kinds of different clothes which had a small selection of hand knit aran sweaters and cardigans. 

I've been looking for the traditional cream colour for a while now and have always seemed to come across sweaters rather than cardigans in my size.

Anyhow I found this one which also seems as new and unworn and on the same stall I found a vintage football shirt for the boys. 

So armed with my booty I asked how much for both. The reply was a tenner, which of course is pretty good to be fair, but I decided to put my haggling skills to good use and we negotiated and settled at £7!!

It's a real bargain buy and it's a great feeling to find something which you've actually been after for ages too!

This particular cardigan is a shorter length to the olive green one that I have and has laundered up so well- it hasn't shrunk and because of the summer heat has dried naturally very quickly!

So to reiterate on my Second Thrift Tip - Do haggle at boot sales! I tend to if I've got more than one item and I make sure I don't take liberties as I know this can also be someone else's important source of income. Sometimes I don't even haggle, if I really like an item I'll snap it up at the price given!

But it never hurts to ask and I'll always accept a no with grace and a smile, particularly if I want the said item!

Third Thrift Tip - The Early Bird catches the Good Items! I was at the boot sale before 7am yesterday and it's good to be able to browse whilst sellers have just set up their stall and you know you are one of the first to view their wares!

Fourth Thrift Tip - Buy Quality whatever the price!  So the cardigan stood me in at £3.50 which I was very pleased about- I wouldn't be able to get a cardigan on the High Street for this price plus I'm all for items that promote slow sustainable fashion, that are also preloved and also will have a long term future in my wardrobe!

I remember buying a couple of jumpers in the Primark sale a couple of years ago for £5 each and they didn't hold up well at all, so that was £10 wasted as they didn't last a full winter season.

Fifth Thrift Tip-  Get Charity Shopping now! The charity shops are all beginning to reopen now after lockdown and with donations being received thick and fast in their shops and a limited amount of people being allowed in for social distance reasons, now really is the perfect time to be checking out a new thift bargain- whether it's for this season or for Autumn and Winter! 

HAPPY THRIFT SHOPPING! 

Outfit Post & Current ThriftMyStyle Summer Style Obsessions- Lace, Embroidery, Espadrilles and Denim

 Hi everyone! After hearing the weather report on Wednesday evening for Thursday to Saturday I was really ready to embrace summer dressing-bare legs, dress and some summer sun ready to sit out in and enjoy. Alas, the outfit was there on Thursday but definitely no summer sun to radiate in! 

Style obsessions are currently lace, embroidery and denim and in various mixes for good measure. This outfit features a thrift find from last Sunday- a Gap slim fit denim jacket in exactly the shade I've been looking for this coming summer. I was at a local boot sale on Sunday and saw it on a ladies rail, so I asked the price and she said £2. Definitely cheap enough but for some reason I said to her 'Will you take £1.50?' We both burst out laughing at the same time and I'm sure it was because of my cheek but she said yes and off I went!

I'm wearing one of my items from the clothes swap party a couple of months ago, a Topshop blush pink lace dress. It's sleeveless and backless and is an ideal length for me and so perfect as a daytime summer dress if I wear it with denim. I'm also wearing some tan sandals which I thrifted a couple of summers ago- they are Clarks and were from my local Sue Ryder charity shop for around £8:

My new pinterest board, Crafted Style-Embroidery, Lace et Al is quickly expanding with images of everything embroidered, lace and summer boho orientated:

With this inspiration in mind I stopped off in another local town for a spot of charity shop thrifting this morning as the boot sale didn't appeal weatherwise and found this charming embroidered lace cotton camisole by Fat Face in the £1 Sense charity shop:

It's a replacement for one I stupidly put in the charity shop bag a couple of years ago for no good reason and will be perfect under denim jackets and waistcoats and summer blazers too.

Another style inspiration that's been hot on my mind are espadrilles and slides so how chuffed I was to find an unusual mix of the two earlier as well- they are Pare Gabia espadrilles made in France and were in the Sue Ryder charity shop for £3.95:

Brand new too and a much needed addition to my summer wardrobe, these will get worn a lot and will go with so much that I have already.

Unfortunately the sun shows no sign of returning any time soon where I am and my feet are freezing- I may have to get the socks and boots out  ;- (

What is on your style radar at the moment- are you shopping for summer and if so do you have current obsessions of the moment?

Have a lovely Easter weekend and I hope the sun is shining for the rest of you, wherever you are!!

Boot Sale Buyer and Seller Tips- The ThriftMyStyle Way!

Hi everyone!!  I hope you are all enjoying the week so far- for us mums it's Easter school holidays and my youngest is enjoying a well deserved break, where as I'm working on and off over these two weeks!

I thought I would revisit a post from last year as it's not long now for the boot sale season to be fully up and running and I for one can't wait!! These pictures are from a popular Saturday boot sale not far from where I live and is held at Chigwell Rise in Essex. As our shed is again fit to burst this Spring I don't think it will be long before we're having our next sale to clear out more accumulated clutter!

About this time last year hubby decided to do one with a selection of vintage items, antiques and general household items that we no longer wanted and I decided to go along to be an early bird to catch some goodies. This was the view from our window queuing to get in at 5 am on Saturday morning, so cold yet so lovely to see the mist and dawn rising over the fields so early:

Once he had paid the pitch money to get in (£12) he started to set up while I decided to wander around and wait for people to start setting up and selling. As you can tell from the frost, it was freezing cold and I was glad I had my layers of a tee, sweatshirt, scarf, gloves, boots, socks and parka on, with my hood glued to my head for the first couple of hours!! First tip of the day, make sure you wear layers- as the morning proceeds, you will start to lose them but they will be well needed the earlier you start. Second tip-if you are doing a boot sale then it's also a good idea to bring a thermos flask of tea or coffee and some home made sandwiches to keep you going for the duration as you won't want to end up spending your hard earned cash on food at the site.

I haven't been to a boot sale so early for years, so it was glorious to see the dawn rise and take pictures of the red sky beckoning a new day ahead:

Another useful tip is to make sure you take a fair amount of change and some carrier bags with you- no one will be too happy to be greeted with a £10 or £20 note at 6:30 in the morning and having your own bags will save time to dash on to the next eagerly sought after bargain too! So by about 6:45 a lot of stalls were set up and buyers were descending on sellers like their lives depended on it-what a frenzy!! I didn't know whether to elbow my way in or wait my turn and a crucial tip here-definitely do both to get those all important early bird bargains!!

The boot sale is held in two adjoining fields so it was good to cross over every so often to catch new sellers setting up. Make a point of checking them out as soon as possible as you may miss out if you carry on looking at stalls that are already well set up. Another tip-if it is very early don't always buy on the first price that a seller says (unless your heart is set on the item of course) as in a couple of hours they may well be welcome to a bit of haggling. Also when we actually do a boot sale we never mark up prices on our items-buyers as I well know love to not only get a bargain but haggle too, plus it gives you the opportunity to have a chat with them.

Just because items are cheap does not necessarily mean they should be bought for the sake of it-in the heat of the moment it is tempting to buy up everything you see because of the low prices but you do still need to be selective about the labels and items you choose. If you do see something that you are in two minds over, then do buy it-going back for it means it won't be there later!! Also just because something has a designer label in it does not always make it a must buy and constitute good value for money-it's only worth buying if it's going to mix in successfully with the rest of your own wardrobe and be worn regularly.

Don't be afraid to have a go at haggling yourself either- if you're reasonable in the offers you make and are polite and friendly it's odds on you will get that item for cheaper but if not, at least you asked! Don't be put off by something if it is a bit dirty or has some loose stitching-this is an ideal way to haggle and it's not hard to do some cleaning or a repair job on your chosen item when you get home.

 By mid morning the layers of scarves, hats and gloves were gone-it's amazing what a difference a few hours makes!! As you can see the sunshine there was positively glorious by midday, even if parts of the field were still waterlogged-another tip, make sure you wear your walking boots or wellies if the weather has been previously rainy, the fields can still be squelchy and muddy even if the skies are blue! If you're not in a hurry another invaluable tip is to go around the boot sale again- buyers have a habit of not putting everything out initially and a disregarded stall first time around may reap you a bargain buy on your next visit.

When I look around I tend to look at clothes and accessories- another good tip is to check out mens wear stalls as I've found really good buys such as belts and tees that can easily be unisex items. I love looking out for handbags too, boot sales are great for finding good quality leather handbags-both designer and vintage for really reasonable prices.

We packed up shortly after midday and headed to our local supermarket to stock up on some fresh crusty rolls, sausages and pure orange juice for a home made brunch for when we got home. Boot sales can be expensive for eating out and you don't always get quality food for the money, so we just had cups of tea and some fresh donuts there and ate at home. 

You can use google to find local boot sales near to you as well as checking out your local paper too- I would certainly recommend them whether you are a seller or a buyer and getting there early regardless will inevitably set you up for a good morning of bargain hunting-you can be back home again for around 1 pm to enjoy your afternoon, so what's not to love?!!

Have a great weekend whatever you get upto-I'll be checking out my local paper this week to see what ones have started up this year in my area. Do you have you any plans to visit a boot sale this season?

Double Denim Outfit Post, My New Red Handbag and some Vintage Sunglasses

Hi everyone! I hope you've all had a lovely week and are enjoying your weekend-it's great to see Spring is officially here and the sun is shining today even though temperature wise it is cooler than in the week.

On my day off midweek I decided to wear my degrade denim shirt that I got from the Voucher Codes swap shop party last month and I paired it with my 7 For All Mankind indigo straight jeans that I've had for a while (originally thrifted). I think this shirt does work well with a darker denim rather than a bleached or lighter colour denim and I'm wearing my Matalan navy ballet pumps:

Even though ballet pumps are flat shoes and in theory should be comfortable, by the end of the day my ankle and foot was hurting- I believe I can't wear flat to the floor shoes for a long period of time so it's just as well these didn't cost me too much- the shoes themselves are great value for money at £6 a pair but I don't think this style of shoe is a regular for me!!

In one of my previous posts I mentioned how I've been searching for a red handbag. I've looked in charity shops and decided this morning whilst in town to look in the department stores. I went into Dorothy Perkins, River Island, T K Maxx, Debenhams and Marks & Spencer and although I did see a couple of bags I liked, they were either just too small or too much money for non leather. I didn't really want to pay £25 upwards for a bag that isn't leather- I was tempted by a Jasper Conran cross body bag in Debenhams which with their 20% discount would have made it £28, but it was just too little.

On my way back to the car I stopped off in a local handbag and shoe boutique that has been in my town for years but I've never been into. I spied this red quilted bag and reduced down to £10 I knew I had to have it: 

It's rather more of a giant wallet on a chain as the inside has credit card slots, a zipper compartment and 3 clear compartments for keys and phone, definitely big enough for carrying the essentials and style wise it's quite classic and ideal for day or evening.

For a non leather handbag the price was right and just an ideal size too! 

If the weather's nice then I may go to the boot sale tomorrow morning- I managed to pick up a pair of vintage 70s Ted Lapidus sunglasses at last weeks one for just 50p-it's inspired me now to get a cracking little collection like my lovely blogger friend Vix at Vintage Vixen- hers include a few Ted Lapidus, Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent so watch this space for future finds!!

My vintage Ted Lapidus 50p find from last weeks boot sale

Have a great weekend everyone!! 

Vintage Presents:The Classic Car Boot Sale

On Saturday 12 October over 100 classic cars and vintage vehicles will descend on to Southbank Centre’s riverfront for London’s first classic car boot sale, curated Vintage Festival. The Classic Car Boot Sale will take place on the riverfront at Southbank Centre between the Queen’s Walk, Hungerford Bridge and Jubilee Gardens. 
Traders will assemble the finest vintage fashion, homewares and pop culture memorabilia, operating from the boot of their vintage vehicles. Show stopping car displays will include vehicles of all shapes and sizes; from classic cars such as the Aston Martin DB4, to VW campervans and beautiful vintage bicycles.

The event will also boast some of the finest food traders, serving premium street food and craft beers from converted vans and campers. Traders include Engine, who serve artisan smoked sausages, B.O.B. Lobster’s famous lobster rolls and street food favourite, Bleeker Street Burgers. Drinks will be provided by Beetle Juice, a stylish mobile cocktail bar. British Music Experience’s “Traffic Jam”, a renovated Austin Morris J4 Dormobile, will have DJs playing a mix of music inspired and influenced by Lord Kitchener’s 1950s calypso classic London is the Place for Me. In between DJ sets, visitors will be invited to try out playing BME’s selection of instruments, such as a tea chest bass, ukulele and percussion steel pans.

Further musical entertainment comes from Vintage Festival DJs, who will be playing vinyl from the top of an open air London Routemaster. Also appearing at The Classic Car Boot Sale will be [re]design’s Chalkyvan, a rejuvenated campervan redesigned and upgraded to be used as a mobile chalkboard. 

Entry to The Classic Car Boot Sale is £3, and tickets can be purchased at Southbank Centre on the day of the event.

Thrift Inspiration.....Day Birger Et Mikkelsen and Dune Way!!

Hi everyone!! Over the last few weeks I haven't been visiting the boot sales as often as I have done in the past, so on Sunday I decided to visit my local one as inevitably boot sale season will be coming to a close shortly. I do love Autumn as I'm most happiest in jeans, jackets and boots which are my three favourite items that I can have in my wardrobe. I was fortunate to be gifted some flat ankle boots from T K Maxx which I showed you all at the beginning of the week and I was inspired by Vogues Spy section in choosing them.

Well my latest boot sale trip provided dividends as I was rewarded with this pair of black leather riding boots by Dune, which I so love and can't wait to start wearing:

They're knee height and being flat are perfect additions to my wardrobe as I've far too many heeled shoes and boots that rarely get worn:

As you can see, riding boots are very much on trend this season and not cheap either- to shop Dune for their current riding boots you're looking at an eye watering £250 and Ralph Lauren's are an even more unbelievable four figure amount of £1050-gulp!!

Which is why I love to see what is on trend for coming seasons and try to thrift accordingly!! My Dune pair were a bargainous £3- a lady spotted them before I did, tried them on and slung them aside and I just pounced and paid my money for them without any hesitations! If these are my last boot sale bargain of the year, I shall be most pleased!!

My second bargain over the weekend was this stunning cotton and silk peasant blouse by Day Birger et Mikkelsen a Scandinavian company which produce really unique covetable pieces and can be found at the likes of Net-A-Porter and My-Wardrobe:

The colour is very much plum/grape which is a perfect Autumn colour and will work easily with existing jeans, trousers and jackets in my wardrobe already and the price from my local Sue Ryder charity shop? A wonderful £3.25, less than a bottle of wine and a perfect weekend self treat!!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend whatever you get upto!! I've been a bit behind updating my other blog, LiveToLoveDenim.com, but I've just put a new post up-it would be great if you get a chance to check it out!!

Outfit Post: Jean Paul Gaultier and Double Denim

Hi everyone! I hope the weekend weather has been kind to you-where I am it's been getting warmer over the weekend and it stayed dry yesterday for the boot sale. It was slim pickings on the bargain front but I did manage to get some All Saints jeans for just £3 which are the perfect darker blue shade for Autumn and Winter. My outfit choice was a mix of double denim and my Jean Paul Gaultier 90s stretchy dress which I wore as a top. This was originally a boot sale find and was only £1 a few years ago:

The Gaultier top is ideal for wearing with blue denim and I wore my yellow neon hoop earrings to go with the yellow in the top. My denim jacket is by Gap and was a charity shop find earlier this year for around £4.99:

I also wore my trusty grey skinny jeans from River Island which are one of my favourite pairs to wear when it's not so hot. Grey jeans for me are an essential in a denim wardrobe, they are a great neutral and work with virtually any other colour for any season too:

I'm currently debating what items I want to invest in for the Autumn/Winter season- a couple more pairs of jeans and some knits definitely feature and of course as soon as I make my thrifty purchases I'll be sure to share them here first!! Look  out for my thrifted All Saints jeans in an upcoming outfit post on LiveToLoveDenim.com

I'm linking this post to the lovely Patti at NotDeadYetStyle for Visible Monday and the gorgeous Claire-Justine oxox for Creative Monday. Wishing you all a great week ahead too. I know there are some of you that are not even thinking of Autumn purchases but for those of you that are, what is on your style radar for the coming new season?

Outfit post: Thrifted Versace and Kimono Blue Florals for Sunday Boot Sales

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend, the weather is still really gorgeous and it's so nice to enjoy the school summer holidays with fabulous sunshine on tap.

We decided to visit a new to us countryside boot sale which is a few miles away but is mainly filled with sellers who are clearing their cupboards rather than new market trader stalls. It's a perfect size too-not too big and not too small and the bonus of this one is it's a 'lazy bones' one which gets going from around midday onwards. En route we also found another one which was literally only a few minutes away in the car from the lazy bones one and which shuts at around midday.

I decided to wear my favourite cobalt blue original 90s Versace skinny jeans with a mushroom colour cami top from Marks & Spencer (new) and a thrifted blue floral kimono from Matalan which I thrifted at last weeks lazy bones boot sale for just £1:

 I love how the modern blue florals combine nicely with my nearly 25 year jeans, which are so stretchy, so comfortable and still on trend colour and style wise all these years on. I thrifted these Versace jeans a few years ago for around £5 from a neighbouring town's Cancer Research charity shop- I remember I nearly passed on them but I returned a liitle while later to buy them and they've been a real style staple in my wardrobe:

This was photo was taken on the car park field of the first boot sale we pulled up on-the view was spectacular of the reservoir lake in front of us:

As it was our first time at this one and we arrived at around midday, the sellers were already packing up. Eager to get even just one bargain, I came across a lady selling this vintage and 'as new' faux fur jacket who didn't want to take it back home and said I could have it for £1!!

We then went on to the lazy bones boot sale but I didn't get anything-except a sugared donut to eat with some fresh watermelon that we had brought with us- it really was a yummy combination!!

En route home we decided to stop off for a cheeky drink before catching the athletics and football which were both on the TV. We love going to this particular little pub and we always seem to go there when it's gloriously hot and sunny:

The blooms were beautiful and the view from our seat over the village green was so lovely too:

It always seems to be so windy lately, excuse the windswept pose!!

A relaxing end to the boot sale walks was to enjoy a mid afternoon lager shandy before going home to a lovely roast dinner!!

I'm linking this post to the lovely Patti at NotDeadYetStyle for Visible Monday. Another week involving volunteering means I'll be in and out a lot but I will try my best to visit all my lovely readers and commenters-wishing you all a really great week ahead!!

My Recipe for Successful Thrifting and Recent Finds: Zara, Topshop and Church's Shoes

Hi everyone!! I've been pretty quiet on showing my thrift finds recently and also having regular 'bloggers block' bouts lately too where I've been not sure what direction my blog is going in and what I want to regularly post about really hasn't helped. Thankfully I've had a 'lightbulb' moment in that my blog is ThriftMyStyle so I should really go back to my roots and get back to sharing my finds with you all, so hopefully you gain some thrift inspiration for future purchases and get an idea of what 'thrifting' is all about.

 Searching out decent pieces at the boot sales and charity shops seems to be getting increasingly harder, but not impossible and I hope my finds will inspire you to get to your local boot sales or charity shops and check out what's on offer. 

When I go on my thrifting trips I try to stick to an agenda of things I want to get-like normal shopping, it's still important to have an idea of pieces that will compliment and enhance your wardrobe so you don't end up coming home with carrier bags of clothes just because they were cheap. When I am on the hunt for things my main priorities are quality and potential: whether it's a vintage, high street or designer item it has to be right for me and not just bought because of the label attached to it- I've knocked back plenty of designer pieces on my travels-just because it's got a Chloe or Roberto Cavalli label in it if it's not my style or doesn't suit me, then it's not coming home- I'd rather go away empty handed then spend money on items that I know I don't completely love. In the same breath, be prepared to keep your eyes open, rummage and expect the unexpected to pop up as you never know when you're going to come across that 'right' item for you.

After searching for weeks and weeks in early Spring for denim shirts and coming up with nothing I've now found about three which will be real staples in my wardrobe. This particular one by Zara was £2 at the boot sale a couple of weeks ago and is a nice longer length to wear over cami tops and tees open in the summer:

It also has some lycra content so it's nice and comfortable for wearing as a casual piece this Summer and I love the short sleeves and navy popper detailing too:

My other thrift find from last week is this pair of mock croc leather heeled shoes from the legendary shoemaker Church's English Shoes which is a brand with such heritage and quality, it was actually taken over by Prada in 1999. These were from my local Sue Ryder charity shop and the person who had them before me had actually newly reheeled them- bearing in mind this normally costs about £6 now, the shoes were worth buying for just £5.75 and in my size too:

They are a timeless, classic design and will go perfectly with jeans so they don't look too matronly or mumsy. I love the gold gilt chain and the little heel is the perfect height for me:

This Topshop gold and silver lurex tee was from the boot sale a few weeks ago for just £2. It is actually more gold in colour with a silvery thread running through and is my nod to the metallics trend this Summer:

It has a real slouchy relaxed feel to it but being metallic it can easily be dressed up or down-the down side of the top is the glitter comes off it a bit, but for the money if it lasts the summer it was worth buying:

Even though it is currently sales season, boot sales across the country are now in full swing with plenty of ladies of all ages trying to sell their quality unwanted items-so for a Sunday morning change go and take a browse and try and bag yourself a bargain, after all it's the cheapest and easiest way to tap into a particular trend for the coming season without breaking the bank!!

Boot Sale Saturday

Hi everyone!! Today's post is about the boot sale that we went to on Saturday, which is currently held at Chigwell Rise in Essex.

Hubby was doing one with a selection of vintage items, antiques and general household items that we no longer wanted and I decided to come along to be an early bird to catch some goodies.

This was the view from our window queuing to get in at 5 am on Saturday morning, so cold yet so lovely to see the mist and dawn rising over the fields so early:

Once he had paid the pitch money to get in (£12) he started to set up while I decided to wander around and wait for for people to start setting up and selling. As you can tell from the frost, it was freezing cold and I was glad I had my layers of a tee, sweatshirt, scarf, gloves and parka on, with my hood glued to my head for the first couple of hours!! First tip of the day, make sure you wear layers- as the morning proceeds, you will start to lose them but they will be well needed the earlier you start.

I haven't been to a boot sale so early for years, it was glorious to see the dawn rise and take pictures of the red sky beckoning a new day ahead:

Another tip is to make sure you take a fair amount of change and some carrier bags with you- sellers won't be too happy to be greeted with a £10 or £20 note at 6:30 in the morning and having your own bags will save time to dash on to the next eagerly sought after bargain too!

So by about 6:45 a lot of stalls were set up and buyers were descending on sellers like their lives depended on it-what a frenzy!! I didn't know whether to elbow my way in or wait my turn, I think you have to do a mix of both to get those all important first bargains!!

The boot sale is held in two adjoining fields so it was good to cross over every so often to catch new sellers setting up. Another tip-if it is very early don't always buy on the first price that a seller says (unless your heart is set on the item of course) as in a couple of hours they may well be welcome to a bit of haggling.

I was fortunate to bag some lovely pieces but another tip is just because items are cheap does not necessarily mean they should be bought for the sake of it-in the heat of the moment it is tempting to buy up everything you see because of the low prices but you do still need to be selective about the labels and items you choose. If you do see something that you are in two minds over, then do buy it-going back for it means it won't be there later!!

Don't be afraid to haggle either- if you're reasonable in the offers you make and are polite and friendly it's odds on you will get that item for cheaper but if not, at least you asked! Also don't be put off by something if it is a bit dirty or has some loose stitching-this is an ideal way to haggle and it's not hard to do some cleaning or repair on something when you get home.

 By mid morning the layers of scarves, hats and gloves can easily be replaced with those well needed sunglasses from SmartBuyGlassesUK and an open jacket-it's amazing what a difference a few hours makes!! As you can see the sunshine there was positively glorious by midday, even if parts of the field were still waterlogged-another tip, make sure you wear your walking boots or wellies if the weather has been previously rainy, the fields can still be squelchy and muddy even if the skies are blue!

We packed up shortly after midday and headed to our local supermarket to stock up on some fresh crusty rolls, sausages and pure orange juice for a home made brunch for when we got home. Boot sales can be expensive for eating out and you don't always get quality food for the money, so we just had cups of tea and some fresh donuts there and ate later. If you are doing a boot sale then it's a good idea to bring a thermos flask of tea or coffee and some home made sandwiches to keep you going, plus plenty of change and carrier bags too.

You can google to find local boot sales near to you and I would certainly recommend them whether you are a seller or a buyer-getting there early regardless will inevitably set you up for a good day and if you can be back home again for around 1 pm to enjoy your afternoon, what's not to love?!!

Have a great week-I'll definitely be checking out a couple more booty's by the time the week is out-have you any plans to visit a boot sale this season?