Well I honestly thought that December was going to be a month where I only purchased Christmas presents and especially with me not being well I didn't think I actually had a chance to go out spending money but now I am writing this post I am realising that I have actually spent a lot more than I expected. To be honest though I did want to treat myself on a trip to Old Trafford and I did have some occasions I needed to make new purchases for so I can honestly say I required or saved for a lot of the items in this post. So here is what I picked up in December...
These were a bit of a novelty purchase as I didn't need any new Christmas decorations but the nephew liked them so I picked them up. These were only £1 each so not an expensive purchase and to be honest I think they will get reused for plenty of years to come as they look like they will last.
Tealights have been on my to buy list for a while now however, I kept forgetting to pick them up when I was out and about. Luckily though B&M had them right by the checkouts when I was in there picking up some Christmas gifts so after months of forgetting I finally made the inexpensive purchase. I can finally start using my wax melt burner again and I can't wait.
Oh look an actual essential purchase. I am going through far too much hairspray at the moment and I really need to cut back (more on that another day though). I have fallen in love with this Shockwaves one though and it lasts longer than previous ones and provides a good hold so for now I don't mind purchasing a can every now and then however, that will be changing soon.
We went to Old Trafford to see Man Utd women play in December and I promised my nephew if they had a Fred the Red soft toy I would get us one to share so now we have a lovely Fred the Red soft toy sat in my office ready for when the nephew comes to visit.
I was a bit surprised to see scarves with the Women's players on them so of course I had to have the ones they had on offer. Granted they only had Russo and Toone ones but as they are two players I enjoy watching I didn't mind picking these up and adding them to my growing collection of football scarves. Fingers crossed we will start to see more women's scarves available at games in the near future.
I am sure most people stop buying annuals when they are a kid however, when I saw this one for £2.99 I couldn't resist picking it up. As you all know by now I absolutely love football so this is perfect for me however, the main reason I got this annual is because the women are in it. This has a nice little section about the Euro's win so it is getting added to the Euro memorabilia collection.
Once I was feeling a bit better my mum took me out shopping for the day just to get me out of the house for a bit, I wasn't expecting to buy anything other than a few Christmas presents however, that soon changed when I came across this women's football monopoly which is 100% up my street. This was a treat to myself for actually taking time to get better rather than rushing back to things like I usually would. I am really looking forward to sitting and playing this with Liam.
I guess you can sense the theme in Decembers pick ups... women's football. We needed a calendar for 2023 and there was only ever going to be one winner if I was picking the theme. I am absolutely loving this champions edition and it is going to be great relive the Euro's win all through 2023. Now I just need to decide if it is being hung in the office or the games room as I spend equal time in each room these days.
Oh look another women's football purchase. When we went to Old Trafford I made sure that we got there early enough for me to go into the shop to buy the new away shirt as I have had my eye on it since release. I knew I wanted one of my favourite players Leah Galton on the back of this as I have wanted a Galton shirt for the longest time. I am so glad to have this shirt in my collection now.
On a trip to Home Bargains I came across this tabletop tripod for just £3.99 and couldn't resist picking it up as I think it will come in really handy for this years content. I am really using 2023 to work on my content both blog wise and social media wise so who knows this might help me improve on those. I have a variety of tripods now so I have one for every occasion for the year. It is going to be interesting to see how long this lasts with it being so cheap.
I hadn't bought many new games in 2022 as I wasn't playing anything due to lack of motivation and time however, I made use of the December sales and picked up a fair few games that I had my eye on for a while. First up I got Gotham Knights, this game has got mixed reviews but I managed to pick it up for £24.99 so I am looking forward to giving it a go for myself so I can make my own opinion up of it.
I also finally picked up a copy of Sackboy A Big Adventure, I have wanted this since it's original release date however, I just hadn't got around to picking it up. I found it in the sales for £24.99 in December though so I finally bit the bullet and purchased this. I think this is a game that me and Liam could end up playing together although I think I would enjoy playing it on my own too.
I won a competition on Instagram in December and I received one of the games I wanted to pick up in 2022, the new Saints Row game. I wanted this when it was first released however, with my lack of gaming I just couldn't justify purchasing it. I am so glad I won this as I don't think I would have purchased this for a very long time if I was left to buy it myself.
I am quite ashamed to say I have never played a Halo game in the past, this is because I mainly played on PlayStation growing up so Halo was never available to me. I found this for £14.99 in the sales though and I have heard pretty good things about the campaign on the game so I thought I might as well pick it up and see what it is like, who knows it might mean I go back and play some other Halo games if I like it.
A big aim of mine for 2023 is to be more organised and just have a clutter from house. I picked up these storage cubes ready for when I redo my wardrobe. These will be used to store my t-shirts in when I get around to redoing the wardrobe later on in the year, this will just free up some other space for trousers etc which have previously just been shoved away and forgotten about in most cases. 2023 is definitely the year of change though in so many was.
In December I had the football Christmas party and it was my first time out in a long time so I needed to get a few bits for it. Normally if I go out I give Liam my wallet and phone to look after however, he wasn't going on this night out so I had to get myself a bag. I opted for this little black bag from New Look as it fits everything perfectly and should last. I love the look of this bag and as it is my only one it should be used plenty of times in the future.
I also got these earrings whilst in New Look buying the bag as I have wanted some new ones for a while plus I didn't have any gold ones to go with my party outfit. I absolutely love this pack I purchased as there really is a pair for all occasions, I am tempted to go back and see if they have the same pack is silver as I like them that much.
I have been on the look out for some new slides for a while so when Miss Kick said they had some left I jumped at the chance to get these and I am glad that I did. These are really comfortable and are the perfect fit, no doubt I will be wearing these a lot in the summer however, they are also going to be perfect for post football when I can just take my boots off and slip these on for comfort on the way home.
I had been tempted to purchase some Doc Martens in December as I needed some footwear suitable for the change in weather and I also want to move away from wearing my sneakers all the time as I want to switch up my style from time to time. I just couldn't justify the price of the Doc Martens though if I don't know I am going to get my wear out of them so I got these wool lined boots from H&M instead for £30 to get me started on wearing sneakers less. Who knows if I get plenty of wear out of these I might upgrade to Doc Martens in the future.
I needed some shoes for my night out too and thanks to my love for Leah Williamson's style I knew I wanted to have some loafers in my shoe collection so I went straight to work looking for a pair. In the end I opted for these New Look ones which on the night out ripped my feet to shreds however, I am hoping the more I wear them the more they will break in. Any ideas on outfits I can wear with these??
Oh look another pair of shoes, as I said I am determined to not wear sneakers everyday and again I was looking at the Doc Marten shoes however, couldn't justify the price until I knew I would wear them. I got these from Shoezone to give them a try and see if they work with the kind of style I am aiming for. Again if I do wear these quite often the Doc Martens ones could become a future purchase.
As I am changing up my style in 2023 towards the end of 2022 I did a bit of an audit of things I could do with to create a style I have wanted to try for a while but haven't been brave enough to do in the past. I realised whilst going through things that I only own sports socks, I didn't have any regular dress socks so whilst in H&M I picked up some of these socks in a variety of colours just to give me some options. I think I saw some other colours of these too so I might even go pick up some more just in case.
I treated myself to a new top for our party too as nothing suitable I had in my wardrobe fit me right. I ended up getting this shirt from Peacocks of all places and had to actually size down quite a bit but I absolutely love it. I wore it for the party and it was absolutely perfect and I know that with the style I want to go for in the future I will get plenty of wear out of this top.
Did I really need a Tom & Jerry jumper? Of course not but as this was a cartoon I loved growing up I really couldn't resist it. This with some nice jeans and my new boots or shoes I think it will look great. You know by now I don't shop in the women's section too often however, I wanted a jumper that wasn't a sweatshirt type and this one ticked all the boxes plus for once a women's fit top from Primark actually fit me really well. I can't wait to get wearing this.
These leather effect trousers are a pair I had my eye on for a while in Matalan but people laughed when I said I was going to get them. In the end though I just ignored everyone and tried them on. In the end those who originally laughed actually like how they looked on me and I absolutely loved them so I had to purchase them. I can't wait to work out different ways to style these trousers.
Oh look another pair of checked trousers, I don't think these will ever not be a staple piece in my wardrobe when it comes to work and going out outfits. I absolutely love these ones as they are a bit darker than other pairs I own and the pattern is brilliant. I love the fit on this pair and I am 100% going to get my wear out of them.
Whilst I was in New Look I fell in love with this grey coat, this is a lot smarter than any other coats I own and will go well with the new style I keep saying I want to try, I managed to get this in the sale too which makes it an even better purchase in my eyes. I am really looking forward to wearing this coat as I think it will go well with other items I have purchased for this new style. It is definitely different to other items I own but I guess sometimes different is good.
So there you have it December 2022 was definitely an expensive month however, I am not planning on having another month like this anytime soon as it is now time to focus on saving, decluttering and getting things done around the house. I am aiming for a low spend year so yes treats will be happening but just not as often and they will now have a purpose rather than being for the sake of it. I am looking forward to continuing these posts in 2023 and also seeing how my spending habits change month to month.
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