All kitted out

I finally managed to get some shoes today. Two pairs, in fact. One of them was as like my old pair as I could possibly have hoped to get- same height and width of wedge, same covering of wedge in plaited metallic threads, same vague colour scheme. Sadly they're not exactly the same- these ones are a kind of goldy silver all over, with a peep toe, whereas the others had a kind of mesh thing going on except for the toe (embroidered flowers in the colour of the new shoes) which made them seem like they were barely there. Which is what I look for in a shoe, besides practicality of course, even if I am paying £75 for them (which is what the old ones cost).

I used to be unwilling to pay more than £30 or £40 for a pair of shoes. But I've realised that they'll get a lot of use (hopefully, if they don't give out on me too soon), and so it's worth paying a bit more for something that's really right. The new wedges cost £55, which isn't too bad, while the others (white patent courts with black bow and very small (1 1/2 cm) heels) were £75, which is a bit more brace-yourself. But I won't buy any more shoes for about a year now- or I hope I won't have to. The idea behind getting two pairs was that they can help each other to last longer, and that it's a nightmare finding something nice, but I'd seen two possibilities right now- it made sense to get both rather than have to start looking again sooner after they'd both left the shops.

That wasn't all I got in my assault on Oxford St. I also got some more knickers, from M&S (been meaning to for a while; I seem to have only brought seven pairs or so down with me which means laundry needs to be fitted in every week even if I'm really busy), a propelling pencil to replace the one I lost during Climate Change Awareness Week* (when I was using it to make mounts for the photos in the photo exhibition, had to leave for a lecture at 10 and handed it over to SC2 who happened to arrive and be able to take over, since she didn't have one; she handed it to the next people and there the trail runs cold (since she insists the next people were CMCC and the Residences Officer but they deny all knowledge**)), some more woolly tights from John Lewis (white, tan and very dark brown), and some toiletries. In addition I succumbed to a final extravagance- I saw Waterstones calling out to me and thought "I wonder if they have that Terry Pratchett book I missed last summer? I'll just go in and see if they do and have a look at it and see what it was about, but not buy it of course, because of my rule about not buying new books which I've already broken once". And of course once I was face to face with it, and noted that it was reduced to half price, and thought that it was my last chance to get it in hardback (to go with all the other ones since Carpe Jugulum which I also have all in hardback, though mostly received as Christmas presents), and for not really much more than paperback price at that (the cover said £14.99 so I made that reduced to £7.50), somehow I did end up getting it. Sadly though I must have made a mistake somewhere because I was charged £9.99. Still, it looks to be a good book.

Oxford St was really beautifull with all the Christmas lights- though the crowds were a little annoying. But it seems wrong for them to be up already- yes, Halloween has been and gone, yes, there's barely more than a month till Christmas, but in my head I'm just about accepting that it's autumn. Blame the unseasonably warm October? Possibly- though I don't think my perceptions of seasons have been quite right since Japan. After swelterng hot summers, winters with constant metre high snowdrifts, autumns with stunning orange and yellow blocks of colour and springs with a week of pinkness wherever you look***, English seasons don't quite whack the machine hard enough to ring the bell.

And now I really am going to stop the spending. I've had a week of getting through far more than I should have; it was kind of ok because I really needed almost all of it, it's not like I got all the cardigans or the shoes just because I saw them and thought they were nice, I was really struggling without them, but now I have what I need and I am going to return to frugality. From now on, no clothes till after Christmas***, no new books, lunch to cost more than £2 only if breakfast has cost hardly anything (due to being eaten at home)- no extravagances. Except that I will let myself get Chorus when it comes out next month- after all it'll only be around for a certain length of time. Apart from that, the only non-necessities will be Christmas presents. And hopefully I'll have time to fix my bike after college tomorrow- so that will cut down on bus fares!

Here's to tightening my belt!

*I told you I wouldn't manage to avoid mentioning it again

**I felt bad about asking them- I just wanted to know as if they knew where it was or vaguely where it was then I could get it back instead of getting a new one (it would just be more efficient), but I think I came across as quite petty and overly concerned about it. They were very nice and suggested I use Green Party funds to finance a new one, since I'd lost it in the line of duty- which of course only made me feel worse and wish I'd never mentioned it.

***I'm not sure why I'm using the plural when I was there just one year...

****Except this really nice skirt I tried on when I was shopping with I, which is not strictly a necessity at all but really did show off my legs to great advantage while not looking ridiculously tarty. Technically it counts as part of this last week's spending as that's when I saw it- but I didn't actually buy it then, and would have to go back sometime over the next couple of weeks for it if I do, as I probably will, decide to get it.