7 days in ...

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And I haven't bought a thing. It's only because I was away skiing with a bunch of folks and the village was pretty small with no real shops to speak of.

Fun pics here:

This week will be the real test.

Not allowed to shop

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I got firm talking to the other night (by the husband of course) about my spending. Which can be a little excessive, even though I make perfectly decent money. This all has to be taken with a grain of salt as the very next day he went out and bought new Quicksilver snowboard pants. Hm.

Anyhoo he might have a point. We've been travelling a lot lately and I do get pretty spendy. PS - just scored an amazing looking Stella McCartney tuxedo jacket on eBay for £99. And I've got trips lined up for Italy, Amsterdam and maybe even Boston in the next month or so. So!

My pledge: no spending for 30 days. No clothes, beauty items, shoes, gadgets, inatimate shit of any sort. I'd take the AA method of 'one day at a time' but that's not my issue. I'll go a week without buying anything but then I gorge. I almost never buy one thing...I make up for lost time. So that's the challenge. A bit of a cheat as I'm going away for a week and under the watchful eye of the husband I won't get away with anything. The rest of the 30 days? Say a little prayer.

The cool think about the UK - leaving it.

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A week ago today, I was in Paris with the husband. The neat thing about living fairly close to the Channel Tunnel is being able to be in France from about 2 hours from leaving our door.

So we went to Paris for lunch. On a Tuesday.

Last year we went in June for the French Open tennis and it was very much his trip. We went to his favourite spots, watched the tennis and drank many beers in cafes and brasseries all over town.

This was *my* trip. Collette, Rue Saint-Honoré, Place Vendôme, Hotel Costes and up the Eiffel Tower. For all the times I've been to Paris, I've never been up. Pics and videos here.

One thing to keep in mind if you want to shop properly at Colette: you have to be minted. There were very few clothing items under 500 euros. Dresses and coats? Forgetaboutit. But the upside is that there's a very cool CD and book section. (I discovered the Two Door Cinema Club whose CD I can't get enough of.) Also, the small perfumes and beuty section feels exclusive and very well chosen. I got a small set of Juliette Has A Gun perfume that I'd been coveting in Selfriges for a while. But I'd never seen it in bullet form before. Score!

One thing to keep in mind at Hotel Costes: you have to be minted. Costes in Paris is supposed to be lengendary. So we go for a drink. Sit down at the bar and get completely ignored. The cheapest glass of wine is 16 euros and the cocktails run about 20 euros. So we left. (Maybe we didn't look like we were made of money?) I may have nicked this from the loo on the way out. Bonus that it's completely full. Apparently worth about $45. Score!

Haven't posted in 2 years

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Weird.

Here's what's happened + some random facts in point form:

• Was happily living in Sydney, Australia
• Met my husband March 27, 2008 while he was visiting from the UK
  
• Decided to move to the UK June 2008
• Got married in Greece July 2008
• Economy collapsed August 2008
• Started job search October 2008
• Found job to start in January.
• Christmas 2008 in Vancouver and Whistler
• Started job January 2009. Hated it. Lasted 2 weeks.
• Found new job April 2009. Love it.
  
• Have been working, travelling and generally enjoying life
  
• Christmas 2009 in Thailand
• January 2010: coldest, snowiest winter in UK history
  
• January 2010: decide to get the 'f' out of the UK and back to Australia. And have been trying ever since. See 'economy in toilet' bit above. Our Brighton apt is on the market. Need a taker!
  

Random facts:

• I'm 37 and a half
• I lost 20 lbs last year and feel pretty damn good about it
• I was taking some great pics last year and wish I could get back to that
  
• I hate the UK - happy for someone to change my mind
  
• When bummed out, I shop and eat. More on that later
• All of the above will have something to do with future posts
  

So I kind of regret not documenting what's been happening the past 2 years as there's been lots on. But regret is for dummies and let's just look forward.