Category Archives: Shopping

Locally Made

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The story of this post began back in October when GMan and I visited several local artisans during the Open Studios weekend in Bendigo.

I bought 2 pieces – a pair of earrings and a watercolour painting. The painting was unframed and after chatting with the artist I have found an excellent local place to have it framed.

This is it unframed. I just love the colours and composition.

I picked up my newly-framed artwork this week and am very pleased with it although the photograph does not really do it justice.

The earrings are from a good friend who makes stunning silver jewellery and participates in the Open Studios weekend. The earrings are silver with Swarovski crystals. The crystals I chose are multi-coloured depending on how they catch the light.

It is lovely to have these one-off pieces and to support local artists.

Bought A Beanie

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While last weekend was mostly about the Folk Festival there was also a Village Fete which was a fundraising event for the local Community Pantry. We popped in to check out the various stalls.

I was delighted to discover someone with beautiful handknitted scarves and beanies. I have some wool which I intend to use to knit myself a beanie, however, the window of time between now and when we leave for Europe in mid-December is closing fast. So I was thrilled with this snug double-layer navy beanie which was $10. I am sure it will be perfect to keep my head and ears warm.

One In, One Out

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A few weeks ago I decided to list these boots for sale on Facebook Marketplace. They are about 28 years old but have not had a lot of wear and the elastic side panels have been replaced. The boots no longer suit my footwear needs and had been gathering dust.

I had several enquiries but they were not the required size and I had planned to relist them another time. Then I received a message from someone who lives a few hours drive from me who simply said she would pay postage and offered $110 rather than the $150 I had originally listed them for. I was very happy to see them go to someone who clearly wants them and will wear them.

These RM Williams ladies boots are top quality high-end footwear and currently retail for around $750. That is considerably more than I paid for them.

Regardless of the price I paid or the current value they were of no benefit to me so I was pleased to be able to move them on.

Meanwhile, my summer footwear is somewhat depleted after having not bought any for at least 3 years. Op shopping sometimes yields so excellent footwear bargains but it is definitely rather hit and miss.

So, last week I decided to bite the bullet and buy something new. I was unsure of exactly what I needed but I was leaning towards white which would be versatile enough to wear with pretty well all of my clothes. I also wanted to be able to wear it with dresses, skirts or trousers.

This is what I found.

These shoes are very lightweight and comfortable with the adjustable crossover strap. They are a bit more substantial than completely open sandals and I am confident that I will get lots of opportunities to wear them as the weather warms up.

Tinned Tomatoes

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You may remember this post from about a month ago. I bought 3 rather large tins of crushed tomatoes. I made sure that I had a plan for how to use/store nearly 3kg of crushed tomatoes once the can was opened. This is important to make sure that nothing goes to waste.

I opened one a couple of days ago and used 2 cups of it in a dish I was making. The remainder are now frozen in quantities which are a similar size to a regular 400g can of tomatoes.

A Day Out – Part 2

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As promised, here is the second instalment of our day out in Shepparton.

We went to the SPC Factory shop and I had no real idea of what to expect apart from hoping to buy some tinned tomatoes.

Well it was an absolute eye-opener as they had all sorts of packaged food, drinks and some household goods.

I did buy 3 large tins (2.95kg each) of chopped tomatoes. You can see them on the top shelf as I had put some of our haul away before I thought to photograph it.

I also bought the 12 bottles of passata, 2 packs of gluten free gnocchi as well as a couple of other packs of gluten free pasta shown here.

Other items were 6 pairs of socks, 2 rolls of baking paper, a travel coffee plunger/mug, several tubes of toothpaste and facial scrub.

Everything that I bought was needed and well-priced. It would be easy to go overboard and be sucked into buying things that you do not need. You also need to know that you can successfully use and/or store various items as well as being aware of the pricing in regular supermarkets or other sources.

I am confident that the $114 that we spent was good value. I certainly would not need to shop here regularly nor would I make the 2 hour drive just to shop here. However, it is good to know what is available should we happen to be in the area in the future.

A Day Out – Part 1

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Today we ventured to Shepparton, a regional city which is a couple of hours drive north-east of where we live. The reason for our visit was twofold, seeing the Brett Whiteley exhibition at the Shepparton Art Museum and going to the SPC Factory Shop. For those who are not familiar with the acronym, it stands for Shepparton Preserving Company, an Australian food processing company based in Shepparton which is well-known for its various canned fruits and vegetables. I was hoping to stock up on canned tomatoes but more on that in my next post.

I did not think to take any photos of the very recent building which houses the Shepparton Art Museum. The current location opened to the public in November 2021. Here is a photo I found online.

The exhibition we visited was excellent but I chose to simply enjoy the works rather than trying to photograph them.

We then walked up to the rooftop terrace where we caught this view which is almost the reverse of the previous image.

On the way up the central staircase I spotted this artwork. It is actually a timber ladder suspended from the ceiling against a circular mirror which creates the illusion of the ladder extending infinitely upwards. Really intriguing………….

The design of the large glass windows frame the view to the lake and beyond.

The spectacular patterns on the bark of these eucalypts caught my eye from the outdoor area outside the museum cafe where we had a delicious lunch. The food was excellent and the majority of the menu was gluten free.

After we left Shepparton we took a short detour off the main road to see the historic Toolamba Bridge. The single lane, timber planked bridge which spans the Goulburn River was opened in 1900.

We made one more stop on our way home. These photos show some silo art at Colbinabbin. The series was too big to fit into a single photo so the 3 photos show the sequence. The idea of painting a silo began in 2015 in Western Australia and has expanded since then to encompass silos, tanks and water towers in dozens of rural towns across the country. The themes are many and varied but always have a strong local influence. The resultant Art Trails have reinvigorated many of the rural communities.

Next time I will share the details of our shopping exploits from today.

Opportunity Knocks

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Browsing in op shops can be a bit overwhelming if you don’t have some sort of strategy. When it comes to clothes I am always on the lookout for certain colours and types of fabrics as well as generally restricting myself to spots, stripes or plains. This way I can eliminate about 90% of the stock fairly quickly.

I have a bit of a mental wishlist but you also need to be alert to unexpected possibilities. This is particularly important to keep in mind as you can sometimes score some bargains by buying summer clothes in winter and vice versa.

When we were in Sale last week I spotted (pardon the pun) these trousers for $4. They are Fella Hamilton brand and made in Australia. I think they will be perfect for most of the year in our climate apart from the depths of winter or very hot summer days.

On our way home from Sale we stopped in Kyneton with the specific purpose of going to the Salvos op shop which I have previously found to be very good. We didn’t find anything on this occasion, however, we parked the car directly outside a secondhand shop which happened to have a rack of clothing on the footpath and I spied this jacket on the end of the rack. It has a fully detachable hood and lining as well as inside and outside pockets and a drawstring option at the waist. It will be a great addition to GMan’s selection of jackets and perfect for our overseas trip in December.

Meanwhile, 2 things that I have been actively searching for were a pair of tongs as GMan needed a pair for extracting lumps of charcoal from a jar jar of kerosene (his homemade firelighters) and a king-size sheet or doona cover in shades of pink. This is for the backing of the patchwork quilt I am currently making.

I was in Bendigo today and after my appointments I made a concerted effort and went to 6 op shops. At the final one I found both items that were on my list. One side of the doona cover will be perfect for the quilt backing. The tongs I found are brand new so I have earmarked them for the kitchen and the old ones can be used for the firelighters.

In another shop I picked up a dress for $5. It is a good quality knit fabric and will pair well with tights, boots and a coat and scarf. I did not bother trying it on but I suspect I may need to shorten the sleeves a bit.

The final buy was a set of 4 x double point knitting needles. All in all I have had a very successful week of op shopping.

Stocked Up

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We have arrived home after a couple of night away at Sale which is about 4 hours drive from home. You can read all about it here.

Apart from the obvious holiday we used the travel wisely to source some grocery items with having to deviate too far out of our way.

The route took us through Melbourne so we took advantage of the fact that it was Tuesday and we called in to Graina at Moonee Ponds where we buy most of our bulk dry goods. Each Tuesday they offer a 20% discount if you bring your own containers which I always do anyway. I did not have too much on my list but managed to top up a few things. I also stopped at Ray’s Top Nuts nearby for a couple of other things.

As we continued towards Sale I noticed a roadside stall, The Spud Shed with a board advertising potatoes for $1/kg. I made a note to check this out on our return trip. The advertised potatoes were clearly small/seconds but they suit our needs perfectly and I selected a couple of kilos.

Our next stop was in the outer south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne at the warehouse for Australian Organic Products. I had ordered a 20 litre drum of laundry liquid by Kin Kin Naturals. The laundry and dishwashing products are produced by a small family business in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, not far from where we lived in Queensland where I bought them in recycled containers, directly from the maker, Felix. I had to change my purchasing arrangements once we relocated to Victoria and I discovered I could source the products through Australian Organic Products but the delivery costs are pretty steep to our regional location so I used the opportunity to pick up my order directly from the warehouse.

We usually do our regular grocery shopping in Bendigo at a greengrocer and Aldi but since we were traversing the suburbs of Melbourne we took advantage of suitable hops along the route.

This is everything I bought in our travels apart from the 20 litre drum of laundry liquid.

The weather is tipped to be cold and wet tomorrow so I am looking forward to staying indoors and working on some more of the patchwork blocks.

It Takes Time

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I have been looking for a new pair of black ankle boots to replace a pair that I have had for 6 years. I love them and wear them almost constantly.

They look OK at a casual glance so I have continued to wear them.

However, a closer look reveals the true state of them so they are definitely not suitable for wet weather.

Every time I go into an op shop I scan all of the boots on offer but had not found what I was looking for. That all changed today when I found I picked this pair of Rilassare ankle boots for $15. It is not a brand I am familiar with but they are apparently a European brand, super soft leather and are a current style retailing for $230. They have some very slight wear on the soles but are otherwise perfect.

Patience does pay off.

I plan to take the old pair to a cobbler in Melbourne to see whether they are able to be repaired but if not, I can dispose of them knowing that they provided excellent service over a number of years.

Buying Basil

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Basil grows easily here during the summer and sometimes I am organised enough to make and freeze some pesto for use throughout the year.

However, I bought a large (800g) can of basil pesto a few weeks ago when I spotted it at Cheaper Buy Miles when were in Melbourne. There are several of these stores, predominantly in inner suburbs of Melbourne, where you can buy an amazing array of short-dated items.

Here is an image from their website.

You never know quite what you will find so it is quite an adventure. They often have a good selection of gluten-free and vegan foods, too.

Anyway, back to the basil pesto. I bought a 800g tin for $6 and based on the average price per 100g of basil pesto at Woolworths it is worth about $20!!

Of course, it can be quite daunting as to what to do with this kind of bulk quantity. I used some to make a creamy basil pesto and mushroom pasta dish for dinner the other night then I portioned the rest up in ice-cube trays and froze it.

I now have a bag of frozen cubes of basil pesto which will thaw quickly and easily for a multitude of uses.