it's time to get thrifty...

For the month of June, I set myself a challenge where I am not to spend any money on shoes or clothes until the next pay day. Well, I wasn't even past day one of the challenge and I failed. I went to a scarf sale in East Malvern and bought some beautiful wool scarves in bright colours. Can I say though, in my defence,I bought one for my mum. Ok, and the rest were for me... but they were 50% off the reduced price, so I got them at bargain-basement prices.

I then headed to a shopping centre, only because I wanted to get some ramekins so I could start experimenting with souffles, individual self-saucing puddings, etc. I came back home with 8 ramekins. Whilst not shoes or clothes, I was still spending money. Whoops. You know what I've done - I've transferred my spending on to something else! How terrible.

Right, that was yesterday. Today is a brand new day. I stayed in bed for as long as I could (it was a cold morning and I figured the longer I stay in bed, the longer I can fight temptation). I couldn't lie in bed all day so I got up and thought right, I still have about $30 on a David Jones gift card, why don't I use that up? It's like I'm spending money but money I already have. Plus, it's a shame and waste to not spend / use it. Off I went to the City in search for something worthy to spend my gift card on. I had already bought ramekins yesterday and was thinking I wouldn't mind some nice servingware. Off I trudged to David Jones. What a mistake. I pretty much fell in love with all things homewares.

There is something whimsical about homewares displayed in large groups, particularly when they are grouped by colour. I instantly fell in love with the Ecoya Metro candle jars and reed diffusers. Not only are the candles natural and made of soy, they smell divine! Unfortunately, I just couldn't justify spending my voucher on something that would melt. I wanted to buy something that I could keep and would last. I decided to head over to the cook books - I've been keeping my eye out on a couple of books (namely Jamie Oliver's 30 minute meals) and wanted to see if they were in stock.

Today, there truly is a plethora of cooking books. I sometimes think to myself and wonder who isn't putting out a cook book these days? Gwenyth Paltrow, Olivia Newton John, Lisa McCune, Sophie Dahl, Masterchef winners, actors, chefs, home cooks - it seems everyone has put out at least one cook book. It's quite inspiring actually. I must admit, quite a few cook books caught my eye - I am very much drawn in by rich vibrant visuals. Not wanting to make a hasty decision giving that I'm pretty much cutting off my right arm by vowing to limit my spending, I wanted to make the right choice. I kept ploughing through book after book.

I continued to wander around the floor and found myself in the servingware / dinnerware section and lo and behold I found a book by Bill Granger - bills sydney food. The book is beautifully presented in hardback and comes in a hardback sleeve. I opened it to the page that contained the recipe for his ricotta hotcakes. It was a sign - I tried the hotcakes not long ago when I went to bills earlier this year. I knew it - I had to get the book. This was the one. I remember coming out of bills thinking how wonderfully fresh and clean the place was. It would be silly of me to not buy the book. Off I went to the register. No cognitive dissonance here! I plan to make everything in the book and I promise to blog about it (eventually!)

So happy with my purchase, I decided to go for a bit of a wander into Myer, mainly I wanted to go through the gorgeous Perfume hall. I love looking at all the different shapes and colours of perfume bottles. On my way I got distracted and decided to have a quick look at the homewares section. Funny isn't it, I don't have a home to furnish with homewares yet I just love browsing through the section. I love how homeware displays have been put together. I always feel the stylist has put so much time and effort into putting different elements together.

I found the different products and colour / shape combinations put together quite inspiring and of course, pretty to look at. Hey, if I can't have the displays in my home, I might as well appreciate the installation display somewhere else.

After providing a feast for my eyes, I knew it was time to head home (plus, heading home meant that I wouldn't be spending any more money for the rest of the day!). I took a little detour and went through the back of Myer when my eyes caught a glimpse of the flower shop. Wow. Such beautiful flower installations on display! Such a foray of flowers in vibrant colours, shapes and types. It felt like being in an art exhibition of flowers.

And with that I leave you with a feast of flowers.