Decorating dilemma

I’ve decided that decorating is rather like plastic surgery...

You get one thing done to perfection and it just shows up the flaws in something else.

So, while I’m thrilled to bits with the new carpets, they’re just highlighting all sorts of other interior issues which I fear could spark a shopping frenzy.

We’ve already had to buy a new vacuum (marvellous Miele) to cope with the blonde dog / dark carpet dilemma and yesterday’s delivery of the latest White Company catalogue has done nothing to calm my inner Martha Stewart.

I’m suddenly seeing the appeal of living in a cave.

I wonder if the taupe cushions would go best with the stone walls...

All Slog & No Blog

Two weeks and not a word typed!!

Between my poorly partner having another set back in his recovery and my foolish decision to have the entire flat carpeted in one day (where the hell will all the furniture go?), it’s been all slog and no blog.

I’ve spent the last fourteen days desperately trying to clear out as much clutter as possible before the fitters arrive tomorrow and despite numerous trips to the bin shed / charity shop / council tip, there appears to be more stuff than ever before.

If nothing else, it has – yet again – flagged up just how much we own versus how much we need.

Having so many possessions is exhausting! It’s stressful and a horrible reminder of all the things you’ve bought, never used and then stuffed in a box, only to uncover them a couple of times a year so you can feel guilty about them all over again.

Perhaps this is the starting point of turning my dream of clutter free, minimalist living into a reality.

If only I could remember where I put the dog...

Shop Yourself Slim

Usually when I read surveys, I skim over them with a disinterested air and an urge to get onto some more constructive reading – such as what shoulder pad size we should all be sporting this season.

So I was knocked sideways when I saw a survey that thrilled me so much, I read it twice!

The basis of this revelatory read was that shopping can make your slim- oh yes! Apparently, during the course of a year, the average woman takes a trot round the shops over 130 times and that can result in 48,000 calories being burnt off over the twelve months.

Clearly if that's based on an 'average woman', then a shopaholic is going to be shedding a lot more pounds and ounces in her quest for the perfect purchase!

Yes, I know, there is a flaw.

For people like me who really shouldn’t be shopping, this is simply a case of shedding more pounds from my wallet than my waist.

But I have a solution…

If the shopping alone burns all those calories, just think how many more you’ll burn when you return all those goodies for a refund.

Loving My Lunch!

Much as I love them both, when it comes to food, I’m fed up mooching around M & S and I’m bored with Boots. And that can only mean one thing...

It’s time to start packing my own lunch!

Okay, so this isn’t the first time I’ve launched myself into lunch brought from home and on every previous occasion I’ve lasted about a week before I’m sick of the sight of soggy cheese sandwiches and a bashed apple.

Not this time - oh no!!

To keep me keen (and lean) I’ve invested in the cutest lunchboxes ever. They arrived yesterday and bring a smile to my face with the thought of all the dinky delights I’m going to pack into them.

They come from a brilliant company called Pinks and Green, and range from teeny yoghurt pot size up to fairly chunky sandwich size. You even get a boy and girl version - although I opted for the boy version as it has a dog on one of them (wouldn’t like to upset Hobbs with a cat).

Too cool for school!

You’ll have noticed by now that they are clearly designed with kids in mind, but why should they get all the fun when it comes to food?

Now what shall I pack in them first? Crudities with dip in the middle sized one? Some chopped fruit and yoghurt in the smaller one? Chicken and salad in the big one? Definitely some chocolate raisins in that teeny little one!

Posh & Her Dosh

Good old Posh - just as you think you’re starting to warm to her slightly, she does something else that has you wanting to bash her over the head with her own Hermes handbag.

She has just announced that she is a shopaholic and that it’s like a drug to her. A drug that she happily told us got her high enough to spend a cool one million dollars in just one day.

Shopaholic needing our sympathy
or just plain smug?

Being a recovering shopaholic myself, part of me can see where she's coming from, but instead of her using the media to get a serious message across, it feels as though she's just rubbing salt into our poor, raw, recession inflicted wounds.

You can see why I was struggling to be sympathetic towards the plight of poor Mrs Beckham and her million dollar trolley dash, when I was given the opportunity to talk about all things shopping and debt related on the Stephen Nolan Show on Radio 5 Live last night.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, the rest of us Brits are stuck in the grip of another week of Arctic weather - and part of me is secretly pleased.

The reason being that it takes about ten minutes to get on enough layers just to walk the dog, so the mere thought of trailing into town and removing even one of those layers in a chilly changing room is enough to put me off the January sales forever.

So far, the only item I’ve forked out on is a pair of blissfully warm Marmot gloves to see me through the snowy season.

The big freeze is saving me a fortune!