Category Archives: Shopping

A Lucky Find

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While some of my op shop bargains have been deliberate purchases, many are simply incidental finds.

My win from today was not even in an op shop. We were walking the dog and as we approached the main street there was a small rack of secondhand clothes outside a craft shop.

I spotted this coat and immediately thought of our elder granddaughter who is coming to visit for a week in July. Since she lives in Queensland her selection of clothes for a Victorian winter is somewhat limited. The coat is a small size which will be perfect for her and it was $5.

This is the view from the back.

The colour in the first photo is the most accurate. I love the shaping and pleated detail which gives it a bit more style than a puffer jacket or the like.

I barely hesitated before buying it as I figured that worst case scenario was that I would simply donate it if it was not deemed suitable, however, she seemed genuinely pleased when I rang to let her know what I had bought. I have even offered to store it in the wardrobe between her visits as she would not need it where she lives.

Autumn Afternoon

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We went to Melbourne yesterday to stock up on some dry goods for the pantry but more on that another day.

When we arrived home I took a few photos as I wanted to show you GMan’s latest landscaping handiwork. He built this garden bed using salvaged timber from the original front fence. That was a few weeks ago and it has been on hold as he seemed to have hurt his back while doing it. Anyway, the construction is now in place and has been filled with soil. We have planted some bulbs which we salvaged when the fence was rebuilt. I think they are freesias and hopefully we will have some flowers in a few months.

Meanwile, we have added a couple more native shrubs to the front garden which is gradually developing.

The autumn colours are everywhere and we are enjoying the view of the neighbour’s trees on the fenceline.

Finally, we have another good crop of lemons on the tree which are almost ready to pick.

The last couple of days have been rather mild for late autumn so we are enjoying them before the weather is forecast to turn cold and we early next week.

From Black To Navy

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Over the last few years I have been looking to gradually transition at least some of my dark neutral pieces of clothing from black to navy.

My latest 2 op shop purchases support this transition.

The first was a dress I bought when I was in Brisbane recently. It was brand new and still had the original swing tags attached. I am not familiar with the brand and the fabric is simply described as ‘cotton blend’. The style is very simple and super comfortable to wear and it could be dressed up or down depending on the accessories chosen. I am thrilled with this addition to my wardrobe for a mere $10.

Last week I spotted a Liz Jordan navy jacket. The fabric is 40% wool and 60% polyester. It is fully lined and no front closure. It needs a little bit of attention as the lining seems too long for the sleeves so I am going to do some running repairs. I paid $15 for the jacket and am sure that I will get plenty of wear from this piece during our cooler weather.

I have numerous other navy pieces, both plain and patterned, in my wardrobe and I will show those another day.

Daily Doings

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In the week since my last post I have celebrated another year around the sun. My birthday was fairly low-key but enjoyable. GMan and I had dinner at the local hotel and I was overwhelmed by the many celebratory messages from family and friends both near and far.

The soundtrack to our lives for the past several weeks has been the heavy machinery working on completely resurfacing a couple of kilometres of our road. It is the main truck route which bypasses the historic centre of town and some sections were in very poor condition so the upgrade is welcome. It should be finished within the next week or so.

These are a couple of views at the moment. It is all wet as the water truck had just been past. They are working hard to minimise the impact of dust on adjacent properties.

As you can see from the photos we are enjoying some glorious autumn weather but we know that winter is not too far away.

Hence, one of my activities today was to cook up a big pot of leek and potato soup. I bought a 5kg bag of local potatoes from the farm gate about 10 days ago so the soup was a perfect way to use quite a few of them. I bought 3 large leeks a few days ago.

Here they are sliced up and ready.

I like to have a stock of premade soup in the freezer as it is perfect for a quick lunch or evening meal in the cooler weather. I have a bunch of celery which will also be turned into soup. That could be a job for tomorrow.

Making A Decision

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I can remember telling my elder daughter that making decisions was part of being an adult. She was about 14 years old at the time and vacillating about what to do in a particular situation and really wanted me to make the decision for her. That was not going to happen, hence my comment.

Today we went to Melbourne with the express purpose of making a decision. We agreed a couple of years ago that our next car would be an EV. Since then we have been debating about when we would actually go ahead and buy one. Several things have happened, including the current global instability which is substantially affecting fuel prices and supply. This is not expected to improve any time soon so we were convinced that now was as good a time as any and we needed to make up our minds about exactly which EV to buy.

Coincidentally, the Melbourne Motor Show began today and runs for 3 days. We were armed with all of our research so far and a short-list of about 4 or 5 vehicles that seemed to meet our various criteria including price, range and features. So we set off with hundreds of other car enthusiasts and would-be buyers. Once we saw the vehicles in real life and were able to sit in them our previously preferred option of the Geely X5 appears to have come out ahead.

The final step will be to organise a test drive at the dealer closest to home which is about 80km away.

Decision making is never easy and this has been particularly challenging as we are comparing features and capabilities such as battery power and range with which we have no previous experience.

Let Me Loose

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Although I buy virtually all of my clothes secondhand it is still easy to end up with more than you need in your wardrobe. So, I made a conscious decision at the end of last year that I would be a bit more considered in my clothes purchases this year. To that end I have assiduously been avoiding op shops most of the time because once I am there I invariably manage to find something to add to my wardrobe.

As a result I have only bought 2 pieces so far in 2026.

Today I went to one of my favourite op shops in Bendigo. It is not large but I almost always find something there. This time it was a pair of red linen shorts for $9. They are Jacquie E brand and appear to be barely worn. Even though we are officially into autumn they will be a welcome addition. Coincidentally, I noticed that the white shorts I was wearing yesterday are starting to look as though they have seen better days. This is not bad considering I paid $5 for them at an op shop over 4 years ago and have worn them consistently ever since.

My other purchase was about a month ago. I bought this top at an op shop in Melbourne when we caught up with some of the family for lunch. I altered it slightly as the underneath layer was longer than the top and I am not keen on that look. I have yet to wear it but I am sure I will find an occasion soon.

Butcher – Bulk Buying

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I buy a significant portion of of grocery items in bulk nowadays but that was not always the case. However, I have bought meat in bulk for as long as I can remember. It is not because we eat a lot of meat, in fact, we eat less now than we ever have. Convenience is the name of the game and sometimes it is more cost-effective, too.

Yesterday I bought 10 chicken breast fillets and 2kg of premium beef mince. This cost me $80 which works out at $2.22 per serve. That is based on using 250g of mince or 1 chicken breast fillet for a meal for the 2 of us. Depending on what I make there can be leftovers for lunches or it may make 4 serves. Lasagne is a case in point where I actually stretch 250g of mince to make a lasagne that serves 4-6 people.

I generally go to a butcher where I am happy with the quality and price as well as ensuring that I can take my own containers. This is what my purchase looked like when I arrived home.

I spread the chicken on trays to freeze them individually then I bag them up in large bags.

The mince is weighed out in 250g portions and flattened in freezer bags which makes it quicker and easier to thaw when required.

Finally, when I was digging around in the freezer I found a bag of green tomatoes from last summer. I have thawed them ready to make some chutney. They are sliced and resting overnight with the diced onion and I will make the chutney tomorrow. The recipe is here.

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.