What I Buy Wednesdays

Well, I haven't even had a chance to get my thoughts together about my trip and here it is Wednesday. 

So, I'm going to start with what I bought in England. I thought I might have a hard time spending in England because...

...their money is so pretty! As it turns out, I didn't have any trouble at all! But you gotta' love the queen! 

 Let me start with the stores. This is Selfridges. I was actually here twice this trip. Nancy and I went on Sunday. We walked around to the backside of the store because I wanted to see the Kitchenaid Store.

 Since it was Sunday, the store was closed so we had to settle for a picture through the window. I considered buying it but didn't think it would fit in my suitcase!

I've just found out that they come in a much smaller size. I might ask for one for Christmas.

This is Harrods. I love visiting, but didn't buy anything this trip.

Fornum & Mason is where I did most of my damage! It's a beautiful store inside and out. And their tea---simply the best.

I didn't really think I'd bought that much until I got home and put it all together.

I bought a sheepskin rug at Chatsworth in Derbyshire. Is that creepy that you can see the outline of the sheep? It is sooooo soft!

I'm thrilled to have it here in my bathroom. When I get up in the middle of the night, it feels so good!! I've threatened Butch that he better not step on it when he gets out of the shower! It is machine washable, but I don't want it to get all matted looking. It's going to remind me of all the sheep I saw in England---especially on the Chatsworth Estate.

There's a little of everything here.

The mug came from The Dickens Museum---I loved this painting in the museum---it was so unusual---all black and white except for the little section with Charles. I'm going to frame the print for the library. Stephanie surprised me with the little teapot ornament. It's adorable--a miniature of the teapots the tearoom uses. Tea at Fornum and Mason was my favorite thing we did in London. The little egg cups came from Chatsworth. I think they will be a cute addition to my Easter decorations. I couldn't pass up the cute bowtie pasta. Our group bought all they had!

Diane's husband, Gren, said that these bamboo socks (yes, made out of bamboo) are the best socks ever. I bought pairs for all the boys for Christmas. We went to Hotel Chocolat which is some fancy chocolate shop from British cocoa growers. I don't know what the hotel part really means, but I pictured rooms with chocolate beds. One of the bottles is a chocolate gin and the other is a salted caramel chocolate gin. We're going to have it at happy hour along with the chocolates. And then, I just had to have this new phone case---printed with all the iconic London spots. I bought the blackberries and plums from Chatsworth to make an arrangement for my kitchen. I'm pretty particular about my fake stuff---it has to look real and these definitely do. I faked Butch out with the tomatoes, we'll see if he falls for these!

Here's how they look arranged for the table.

Here's a close-up of the Dickens print. I had to have the teapot that my tea was served in! This was my third trip to England. I had planned to buy a teapot each time, but I didn't find one the first trip that I just loved. On the second trip, I bought the Downton Abbey teapot. And now this time, the Fornum and Mason teapot.

I got three tins of tea and the big box of teabags. And then I had to get the Starbucks mugs to add to my collection. This collection just makes me so happy! The mugs are big and so colorful! At some point I might take some of them to the beach. I'm afraid they might get stolen. We'll see.

The tea bags fit perfectly in my tea caddy. I take tea bags with me when I travel. I had planned to go to Twinings, so I would have bought more tea, but we didn't have time. Next time for sure.

This was the coolest tote bag from Cath and Kidston. It's really big and has a zippered top. It was perfect for me to carry my more fragile purchases home. I thought that once I got it folded back up, it would never fit back in the bag which is actually attached to the bag and has a magnetic closure.

 Well, it fit back in just right. This is just perfect for traveling.

I bought this cute scarf outside of Windsor Castle. I've already worn it once. Some of the girls were sorry they didn't pick one up for themselves! At 3 pounds (about $4.00) it was a real bargain! I know this is a total tourist purchase. Locals would probably not wear it. But on the other hand, if I found something like this in Nashville, I would totally wear it!

Diane told us about one of the most popular department stores--M & S. We found the perfect coat for Stephanie, but they didn't have her size. They don't ship to the US--I was surprised by that. She did find a cute pair of navy booties. We spent about an hour there. I bought a simple navy sweater for 20 pounds which is about $25.00. It was chilly in London. I didn't bring a jacket or a sweater because when Butch and I went, it was September and it was hot! I never felt like I was so cold that I was miserable, but the last day was pretty cold. I bought the sweater because we were going to dinner that night and I knew I'd be cold! It was just what I needed. I'd say the store is about like Target, prices and all.

The only other thing I would have bought had I found one, was a gold charm for my bracelet.

I don't know what it is about the bags. I have to keep them. I don't know why. All I know is that in about 6 months when the bags are out of control, I'll get rid of them then. I guess I'm sort of a hoarder.

While I was in London, Butch went to Portugal with Bruce (Karolyn's husband who was with me). They were on a tour. Butch said after a couple of days, the rest of the group realized they weren't a "couple!" Anyway, here's what Butch bought:

He bought the dish towels for me with the chickens which is the national symbol. He bought port wine and cherry brandy---Ginja---that had actually cherries floating in it. And then, he made me look bad! He bought something for the girls. I didn't even think of them! The magnets have everything Portugal is known for. The tiles surrounding it a just a small sample of all the beautiful tile pictures Butch took. He said the tile work on buildings and floors was stunning. Side note: I figured out how to get our photos on our Apple TV. We spent 3 (yes, THREE) hours going through them and telling about our trips. He says I rushed him. But oh, my gosh---he gave me a blow by blow history lesson! He had more photos than I did. He's added a few more stories today that he forgot about. 

Just kidding, we had a great time going through our photos together. No one else would have enjoyed that. And to think I almost invited the "kids." It would have been too much for them!

And now for the things I didn't buy this week!

There were so many fascinators on display at M & S.

 I was surprised that Stephanie didn't buy one since she and Mindy are so "in" to them!

I wanted this print so bad, but resisted--only because I have no where to hang it! Maybe the next time.

OMGosh--these bracelets from Fornum and Mason were too cute! But at 127 pounds (about $165), they were more than I wanted to pay for costume jewelry.

The Chatsworth Farm Store had the matching hats to that bow tie pasta. I didn't buy them because I couldn't quite figure out what to do with them. What, does each person get 2? Sauce or no? I don't think pasta is supposed to be confusing.

 I did not buy any perfume, but I thought this perfume chandelier was pretty cool.

And I loved this blouse---the fabric was sort of chiffon-ish. It was easy to resist at 89 pounds (about $117) since I don't buy $100 blouses!

That about covers my purchase report for this week. Did you buy anything fun or interesting?