Day 6 part 2: A morning of fasting!

Whilst I've been off I appear to have been particularly stupid and have forgotten to turn off my alarm that usually wakes me up at 7.15am for work. So this morning my alarm goes off, leaving me wide awake.... incredibly annoying when you haven't actually got to be anywhere for a few hours. Despite the fact that I have eaten my body weight at Saz's the night before I am absolutely starving.

Under any normal circumstances I would potter on downstairs and make some toast to take back to bed or raid the remaining Christmas chocs that we haven't already scoffed. However, this is not the case today as I am due to have my monthly blood test at the hospital and am therefore allowed to eat nothing! You can actually go down for blood to be taken from 8.15am-11am but I haven't arranged to meet Nicola for lunch until 12noon so I figure there's no point in me going into town only to come back again.... or even worse spend lots of time loitering around the shops and all my money with it. So I sit in bed watching whatever happens to be on E4.... luckily it's One Tree Hill, 90210 and Friends, all of which I love.

I soon decide that it's about time I got out of bed and get myself sorted to go down into town so to get my day started I whack a bit of Cee Lo Green on, the not so family version of Forget You is a belter to get a girl going in the morning! Once I'm ready, after a lot of faffing as I tend to forget that I'm supposed to be getting ready to go out and start watching TV again, I finally leave the house and trot on down at quite a pace to the hospital as by this time it's 10.30am and I only have half an hour before they won't take my blood anymore.

I get there with 10 minutes to spare. The weather seems to have warmed up a lot so by the time I arrive I am absolutely boiling and my once straight hair is sporting and windswept, wavy, weathered look that I can't even pass off as planned because of the good old British drizzle!

I soon get called into the nurses office for my test. Despite becoming a human pin cushion for the course of a week last year when I was ill, I don't think I will ever get used to needles. I have to look away as the nurse takes my blood, feeling just a sharp scratch and a sting as she takes the needle out.

I'm given my next prescription for my Roaccutane and I go on my way into town. The sensible girl that I am, I am carrying a huge handbag which in true Emma style is full of thing that I don't really need, I just seem to carry them around. I try to carry this in the hand of the arm which the blood has just been taken and then realise that this isn't a good idea quickly swapping to my right shoulder instead. My arm feels bruised and my left hand seems to have pins and needles so I wiggle my fingers to get the blood circulating again. I hate the after effect of blood tests.

I visit Mercury News to grab myself a chocolate bar and a bottle of water, as I still have another half an hour before I have to meet Nicola. I buy two bottles of Evian as they are two for £1 and a bar of Galaxy as by this time I am absolutely starving for 69p. Munching away on said chocolate bar I then head to Boots to get my prescription. The pharmacist there is super efficient and literally takes two seconds to put my prescription together. I pay the £7.20 and quickly leave before I start looking at makeup and lovely smellies!

Now, as I found out at Saz's yesterday, she already has the new Take That album Progress that I bought for her birthday so off to Sainsbury's I go to take it back. After waiting ages for anybody to serve me and being chatted up by a man who told me he was old enough to be my grandad at which I laugh politely and try to look in another direction, I get the £9.99 put back into my account (for the time being) and go for a quick wander around town before I go to meet Nic.

I don't buy a single thing yet again and head to Enigma to meet Nic. It's really lovely to see her and catch up over a spot of lunch. We both got for the chilli con carne on the two for £10 menu and I have an Appletiser and a glass of tap water to drink, so my bill comes to £6.30. We chat about Christmas, our plans for new year and 2011 in general which is lovely as we don't see each other often. Once we've finished our dinner we decide that it's a good idea to check out (for the second time for me) the Accessorize sale.

Again, all the beautiful accessories are sparkling away in front of me and I want to buy them all! My handbag is still in there too, but I resist the temptation as we decide that turquoise doesn't go with my coat. If I won the lottery I would own the entire shop.... but as this is still yet to happen I leave empty handed. I say goodbye to Nic and pop into Wilkinson to see my mum before I trot off home, as I am still not feeling very well.

The rest of the afternoon, which I had planned to be incredibly productive, is spent wrapped up in my IKEA blanket with a cup of tea watching The Devil Wears Prada in an attempt to feel better. What I thought yesterday was a bug on my chest has now turned into a very sore throat and a headache. By the time my folks return home I've pretty much lost my voice, something that they find hilarious!

I still manage in the evening to make it to Jo's which is only two minutes down the road with a selection of DVDs in tow where I find her, Stephen and Phil already sat watching season 1 of Miranda. It's the episode where Miranda goes on holiday to the local hotel in their town, absolutely hilarious! The episode finishes and they decide that they want to save the rest for another day so we watch The Ugly Truth, a film which I think is absolutely brilliant as I a) love Gerard Butler and b) am a child and appreciate a bit of toilet humour.

After the film has finished and we have finished perving on the rugged manliness of Gerard Butler (or Jo and I have, obviously Phil wasn't and Stephen fancied the Doctor bloke) we sit and have a wee bit of a chat while Friends plays in the background. At about 10.30pm we all realise that we're actually quite tired and decide to call it a night. So off I trot home, straight to bed to watch The Big Bang Theory in bed. I very quickly get bored of this and fall asleep listening to Jimmy Eat World's beautiful track Drugs or Me.

Bank holiday Tuesday.... not so restrained!

Can I just start by saying that I think that we should have double-wammy bank holidays all the time.... I am quite enjoying being a lady of leisure and I still have the majority of a week off! It's wonderful!

So over the Christmas period I have pretty much eaten my body weight.... as is only right for one to do so at this time of year! I would like to say that as per usual at Christmas I have also turned my bloodstream to rose wine, this would however be incorrect this year with the exception of the carnage that occurred on Christmas Eve. With the excessive calories consumed I felt it only right that I should pay a trip to the gymnasium, especially as I didn't quite make it there on Monday!

I really enjoy going to the gym.... I used to be one of these people who ate rubbish and didn't exercise at all but that all changed last year and now I really am quite addicted! I go to the Leisure Centre at least 4 or 5 times per week now to attend one form of class or another. Today however, I am feeling so frustrated. I am feeling weaker than usual and unable to train as well as normal as I can feel a bug coming on my chest! I really loathe being ill, it's such an inconvenience as I'm always busy. I can usually run for half an hour none stop, but today I struggle to do 25 minutes! I find this so irritating, especially as I want to train to do the Great North Run in 2011. Frustrated by my lack of ability today, I eventually tire and go home. Lauren is picking me up at 1pm as we are going to see Gulliver's Travels.

For once in my entire life I am actually ready on time. My time keeping is rubbish and I am usually late for everything that isn't work. When Loz picks me up, Jen and Dave are already in the car. We spend the journey chatting about our Christmas, Lauren's birthday, what we got, where we've been and what happened. Lauren, Jen and I haven't seen each other for a week which is a very rare occurrence.

When we get to the cinema I am absolutely starving so when I buy my ticket to see the film I also order a cinema hot dog (being the classy bird that I am) and a bottle of water. This all comes to the horrifying total of £14.60. Luckily, as a huge fan of Jack Black I loved the movie so it was all worth it.

On our way back to Harborough, none of us have to be anywhere until later on that evening so we decide that we should go for a wee beverage in The Cherry Tree. So I get Jen and myself a drink each (a j2O and an Appletiser) and a packet of crisps each which comes to the balue of £5.25. We spend the afternoon chatting until it's time to go home to get myself sorted to go round to Sarah's.

So off I trot home stopping by Sainsbury's on the way to get a few nibbles for the girl's night in we have planned at Sarah's. The nibbles together with a few other bits that I needed to buy, including a CD (whoops!) all come to the total of £20.94. A sizable amount that I should be a little ashamed of.

The evening is spent at Saz's drinking water and juice on mine and Sarah's parts following a rather debauched weekend, while Sarah and Cath sit drinking wine. The nibbles go down incredibly well as we watch the copy of Sex and the City 2 that I bought Sarah for Christmas. Like I said, I have eaten my bodyweight over Christmas and tonight is no exception. By the time we leave Sarah's pretty much all of the food, bar some of the kettle chips has disappeared! But I can honestly say that it was all worth it for an evening of true girliness as I love evenings with Saz, Sarah and Cath!

Bank holiday Monday.... the restrained sale shopper!

I have to admit that I am quite proud of myself today when it comes to my spending.... I have spent a grand total of £12.80 and that includes lunch!

Now as I'm sure you are all very much aware, I have the ability to spend obscene amounts of money that would take a normal person all day to part with in a matter of minutes. However, today this was not the case.

Following a Boxing Day evening, on which I did not consumer any alcohol apart from an incredibly weak white wine spritzer after the shameful Christmas eve carnage that if I'm being honest is still a bit hazy, when I only spent £1.80 on a bottle of water and £5 on a taxi home I was feeling quite alert and had every intention of going to the gymnasium. Though this did not happen as just as I was about to get into my sweats to venture to the gym I received a text from Chloe asking if I'd like to go to lunch with the girls and decided that I would much rather sit in Enigma and eat more food instead, so bang went that idea!

So I get to Enigma and the girls are already there bar Nush, who arrives whilst we are all at the bar ordering, so we have a good old chin wag and catch up on the previous night's events as we usually do the morning after the night before. It's really busy in there so all five of us are crammed around the smallest table until we spot somebody leaving on a big table and literally make a run for it. We're chatting away the whole time, filling each other in on what has happened to each of us on the previous two nights out, I am still none the wiser about Friday. We also discuss the plan for our new year 'fuddle' (apparently this is a Nottingham word) at Nush's, something that we are all very excited about! Finally our food arrives and this is the only time that the five of us actually shut up!

As it's the first day of the sales after we've eaten we decide it only right to visit the Accessorize sale as everything is half price! Brilliant! Now this is something that could have been detrimental to my bank account! So many beautiful bags, purses, hats, scarves, belts, earrings and necklaces all at half price.... I find myself attracted to a turquoise tote. It's beautiful, so vibrant and it would definitely fit everything that I carry around with me on a daily basis. At £18 it's an absolute bargain! I strut around the store modelling it for the girls, they agree that it is very beautiful.

Chloe and Laura are like the little devils on my shoulder telling me to buy it, while Kate is more the voice of reason as she is really good with money, where as the other two like to shop like me! In an impulsive spell of guilt I quickly replace the bag from where I got it from, figuring that if it is meant to be then it will still be in Monsoon when I return in a few days. My bank balance is saved! However, not completely intact as I leave the store with a pair of earrings for £4, the same pair that I bought for the MHMT Christmas party and then lost one of them after a few too many glasses of rose!

We then move on to the Altered Egos sale. As I have said before, I love this shop! So many beautiful things under one roof and Stokesy, Betty and Abs are great! They are all very good at their jobs as they often get me to part with my money! The sale in there absolutely kills me, as I see most of my wardrobe has been reduced. I say this, but it doesn't upset me that much as I have had a good wear of everything that I've bought from there with the exception of a couple of party frocks that I just haven't found the occassion yet. As I already own most of the store, I come away empty handed but Laura buys a jumper at an absolute bargain price. Their sales are great if you get to head down!

As is customary to any girls trip around town, we obviously have to pay a quick visit to New Look. If I'm being honest I rarely find anything in there clothing wise that I like, but when I do I wear it to death! I am more a fan of their footwear, I bought a pair of biker boots a couple of months ago and I have pretty much lived in them! You know me, I have all these lovely clothes and shoes, then you'll mostly find me wearing band t-shirts and converse trainers or biker boots! Anyway, not overjoyed by the New Look sale we leave empty handed.

We are about to call is a day and go home when Chloe darts into Superdrug claiming that makeup could always put a smile on her face! Never has a truer word been spoken. I, however, had my makeup fix on Friday when I pretty much purchases my whole makeup bag! So the girls are looking at foundation while I take the opportunity to peruse the array of lipsalves available. This might not sound incredibly important, but when you're suffering from ridiculously dry lips because of Roaccutane lipsalve is a vital purchase. At the moment I'm getting through the stuff like it's going out of fashion. I should also take this opportunity to apologise to everybody whose glasses now have lipsalve marks on.

After much deliberation of this important decision, and a little bit of eenie-meenie-minie-mo I finally choose a tube of Carmex in cherry flavour as it has come very highly recommended for £2.49. I should add that this means that I now own 3 lipsalves and a tin of Vaseline all of which I believe are in my suitcase of a handbag, at least I'll never run out! We then decide that it's about time for us all to go home. Chlo gives me a lift back and we chat about our upcoming 'fuddle' and our plans for ice skating and firework watching!

Once I get home I'm on Facebook, something that we are all admittedly addicted to, thinking that I have no plans for the evening and about ready to get into my PJs when Jo invites me over for a girly DVD night round hers. I quickly raid my ridiculous DVD collection for a few girly classics before heading over to hers. We decide to watch Never Been Kissed, chatting while it's on about Christmas and the like.

By the end of the film we are both too mesmarized to talk and I am crying as Drew Barrymore finally gets her man.... I am such a schmuck! Realising that Eastenders is on, we decide that it's very important that we keep up to date with what's going on down Albert Square following the Christmas day, Boxing day shinanigins. I love Eastenders, I think soaps are one of life's guilty pleasures. I personally never find it depresses me, fair enough it's not a happily ever after kind of programme, but it bears no reflection on my life so I don't get all that involved! I can dip in and out of it as I please as I'm out most of the time anyway and rarely get to watch it. We re-watch the Miranda Christmas special giggling all the way home before I decide it's time to call it a day and head home to stuff my face with yet more yule log and mince pies!

Here I sit on my PC and I have not spent a single penny more today.... although I do admittedly have the Topshop website open on another tab on which I have found a gorgeous playsuit that I think I might need in my life for £50. However, this would be covered by my voucher so it's like I'm not spending anything at all! I might wait until I actually go into Topshop as I am not quite sure what size I am anymore after mission extreme weight loss! I have Jimmy Eat World playing in the background and this is not shopping music. I may have just been on the iTunes store but I did not buy anything, just the FREE 12 days of Christmas app for my iPhone. I have been and will continue to be good today!

Boxing day.... bring on another debauched night on the town!

Here I sit watching Enchanted, what I consider to be the perfect Boxing Day film, feeling rather festively plump after the biggest left over dinner known to man. There is no longer any turkey, stuffing or any remains of Christmas dinner left in the Waterfield household and I feel like I will not need to eat until at least Wednesday!

I have been excessively lazy over the last few days.... as should be only way to live at Christmas! I wake up at 10am, the whole family is already downstairs so I take the opportunity to get my dose of Winchester beauty and watch an episode of Supernatural in bed. Following this, deciding I should be more social I head downstairs where my family are watching Birds of a Feather (brilliant!) and proceed to make myself a sausage sandwich for breakfast as it is far too cold to have cereal.

We spend the morning watching telly and attempt to watch Funny People, one of Andrew's Christmas dvds which soon becomes very apparent is inappropriate for family viewing with all of the f-ing and jeffing going on.... neither my mother or Grandma were very pleased. The Railway Children is quickly put on which I leave them to watch in peace.

My Dad arrives back from his epic walk that he and Rob left at 8am for (why on Boxing Day? Mad men!) and dinner is very promptly served. A platter of cold turkey and buffet style food is a mandatory feast in the Waterfield residence on Boxing Day.... I get so carried away eating the I forget to take my tablet, pour myself a drink and pull my cracker!

After dinner I sit and have a chat with my Mum and Grandma before realising that it is time for Enchanted to start. As the rugby is on, all of the men congragate in the living room for an afternoon of manly sport viewing while I settle down in the kitchen to watch Enchanted subjecting them to bad renditions of That's How You Know and True Love's Kiss every so often.

Another huge Boxing Day tradition, I will shortly be heading out for yet another evening of debauchery with the girls because a) it is Christmas and b) it is the 28th anniversary of Miss Sarah Butlin's birth. So far today I have spent no money, I do not intend to spend an awful lot tonight as I don't think I should drink what with my next blood test being on Wednesday.... famous last words. I'm sure that I'll probably be updating this tomorrow to say that I decided that it was a good idea to have a couple of cocktails at The Oat Hill as they are mostly fruit juice and good for me or I decided that a small glass of rose wouldn't hurt.

Speaking of which.... I'm due at a house party in a couple of hours so I should actually think about what I am going to wear.

Christmas day.... I'm sure I could find a way to spend money!

So today is Christmas day.... I woke up at about 8.30am still drunk from the night before and with an incredibly hazy memory of the night's events. Classy as I ever, I was still wearing last night's makeup, still had tape stuck to me where I had glued my dress in place and a bruise on my bum which I am still none the wiser to how it got there!

Anyway, I quickly composed myself. All make up was removed, I brushed my hair so I looked ever so slightly presentable, brushed my teeth and headed downstairs where everyone else was already waiting to open presents. This year (as with many years) I have been really spoilt.... as far as I knew I was getting tickets to see Take That and Foo Fighters which is absolutely fine by me. I love going to concerts and those two will actually make my life next year! I have been waiting for those gigs for ages and when they were announced within the same week I was so excited that I could've cried! I'm quite happy to sit and watch everyone else open their presents knowing that I have something amazing to look forward to next summer. Little did I know that my mother had a few surprises up her sleeve.

I am now the very proud and lucky owner of the following:

• Robbie Williams - In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest hits 1990-2010
• Take That - Progress (Thanks Auntie Jane!)
• Supernatural Season 5 boxset (Winchesters.... whoop!)
• Jimmy Eat World - Futures (I already had it on iTunes but I wanted the CD for in the car when I pass my driving test)
• Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American (Same)
• Jimmy Eat World - Chase the Light
• Olly Murs album
• Take That calendar
• Converse trainers (mine died so obviously this is amazing as I live in them)
• Sex and the City 2 dvd
• Thomas Sabo sneaker charm (very me!)
• A colour your own snowman cookie jar (thanks Rach!)
• Body Shop Cocoa Butter smellies (very handy with current dry skin situation from tablets)
• A ticket to see The Saturdays (so excited Jen!)
• A social butterfly which glass (love it Stephen!)
• Marley and Me dvd (thanks Phil!)
• PJ bottoms
• A 2011 diary covered in shoes
• Some slipper booties (thanks Santa!)
• A hand warmer (much needed Rach!)
• A topshop voucher from work (they are very good to me!)
• Some kinder chocolate (which as you can probably guess.... didn't last long Rach!)
• Some mini eggs

So yeah, I've been very spoilt today! So the woozy effect starts to subside and the hangover starts to kick in.... I feel like I've pickled my stomach, not the best feeling on Christmas day. My Grandma and Uncle arrive and we open more presents and settle down to watch Singing in the Rain while Dad cooks dinner. Christmas dinner is my favourite dinner of the year.... it's always a very exciting event in our house.

So while dinner is cooking I put all of my CDs onto my iTunes (obviously a very important job) and decide to check out the Amazon sale. The camera I've had my beady little eye on has gone up by £30 so I decide against it, checking out the prices of the boxsets I've wanted like Grey's Anatomy Season 5 and Ugly Betty Season 3.... I come away empty handed without spending any money, something that is very impressive for me!

Music is a contraversial topic at dinner as I subject my family to Take That.... something that me, Mum and Grandma love but Andrew hates with a passion! We ignore his protest as dinner is served and we are not disappointed this year, my Dad has surpassed himself. We're all still eating when the Queen's speech is on so of course in true family tradition (much to Andrew and Uncle Mike's disgust) we watch together in silence as we eat.

After dinner much to my delight Shrek the Third is on so I make the whole family watch is as I love the Shrek movies. However, following the events of last night I am very tired and like the old lady that I seem to have turned into in my mid-twenties I promptly fall asleep in front of the telly woken only by the promise of chocolate pudding for dessert an hour later!

At tea time my Nanna and Grandad come round, when more presents are given, everyone else tucks into a sandwich but I am still far too full from lunchtime. We all sit down to watch Dr Who and Eastenders together. Then we watch The Royale Family Christmas special when I finally decide that I might be able to manage a sandwich.... and fruit cocktail and a slice of yule log! It is Christmas after all!

We have a tradition in our family that we all save a small present for after tea which is hidden away in a stocking. This is always fab.... my surprise is the Olly Murs albums and I am dead chuffed with it! It's been a lovely day and so far I have spend no money, not even on iTunes or Amazon.... well done me!

Christmas eve.... total and utter carnage!

First of all.... Merry Christmas everybody! I hope that you've all had a fab fun day eating, drinking and generally being merry!

So here I am.... back on the blogging again as this time I really do need to stick with it and sort my life out as I am beyond skint and if I'm being honest in the past couple of months I have been absolutely terrible whilst I haven't been keeping track! I have again lapsed into being quite the social butterfly again going out at every opportunity, bought a hell of a lot of new clothes that I didn't need and my music collection has gone from excessive to ridiculous!

I figure that as my new years resolution is to sort out my money situation then there is no time like the present to start updating my blog on my silly spending being as I got paid yesterday.

So anyway my Christmas eve went like this. After being awoken on Thursday at 9.30am by a phone call from Dad asking if I can go and get something from him to Mum (he does this every year) I trotted off into town armed with the £30 that he had given me for her gift. I had of course prepared for such an event and had previously asked Mum what she wanted.... this is how to get your Christmas shopping done in half an hour!

The first place I visit is Wilkinsons, I am aware that I shouldn't buy my mother presents from her place of work but this is where I had been told to go. She requested Britney Spears Fantasy perfume and some Baileys, little did I know that Dad had already bought some Baileys so she now has two bottles! The perfume came to £15 from Wilkinsons, then I head to Boots to visit Jenny and give her Christmas present and the money that I owe her from JLS on Tuesday.... yes we are cool!

I love Boots.... so many lovely potions and makeup bits under one roof! Jen's really busy so I leave her present and money with her and head to the makeup counter as I am running out of foundation, mascara and cover up - something that is obviously very important and could be traumatic if I actually ran out giving the current state of my skin! I buy said items which come to around £35 - I am a makeup snob and only buy No.7, plus my skins so sensitive I have to stick to what I know. So once I've had a quick chat to Graham I then promptly leave before I attempt to buy the rest of the shop!

I now head to Tesco to buy the bottle of Bailey's that my mother has requested for Christmas and it is hell on earth! You can't move for people! Christmas eve shoppers amaze me.... because the supermarkets are closed for one day they seem to think it appropriate to stock up as if we're all going to be snowed in for weeks! Anyway, while I'm there I pick up a dvd for Saz's Christmas present of Sex and the City 2, Mum's Bailey's and a bottle of wine to take to Jess' that evening to have with dinner, all of which comes to about £35.

I am then left with 10 minutes before I have to go and meet Sarah for lunch so I pop into New Look (as you do) to see if there is anything exciting in the sales. There really isn't.... I don't know why I looked as I cannot bare sale shopping! Sale racks are the worst.... if it's not jumping out at me then I'm not buying it! Stores like TK Maxx make me anxious as they are such a mess and I quickly have to leave, they upset me a lot! Anyway, I leave New Look empty handed.

Sarah is running late so I decide its best to go to Monsoon to see if they have any nice earrings to go with the gorgeous dresses that I have recently purchased for when I'm off out later on.... obviously they do but none of them are right. So by the time I'm out of there Saz has arrived and I drag her up to Dorothy Perkins to see if they have any earrings that will suit. I find a black sparkly pair for £4 and a pair of big diamante studs for £4 which I of course buy both. By this point we are starving, especially as I didn't eat breakfast, so off we trot up to the Golden Orchid thai restaurant in town for some grub.

Christmas eve lunch has become a bit of a tradition for me and Sarah, it is now mandatory to have a bottle of wine over lunch. They have a fab new lunchtime menu which is an absolute bargain.... for £6.50 we got thai green chicken curry, rice and duck spring rolls. The food is gorgeous too! Any sides that you want are only £1.50 too so of course being the foodies that we are we have 4 of those too. We have a fab catch up, talking careers, weddings and general girly stuff and our bill only comes to £16 each.... which is fab.

By the time we leave the wine has gone to our heads and we're a little bit giggly so we wander down to see our friend Sarah in Jacks. As she is busy our visit is cut short and it's time to go home to get ready for my big night on the town with the girls. It's really cold and I'm already carrying 2 big bottles so I decide to get a taxi home costing me £4.50.

Anyway, the next couple of hours are spent beautifying, fighting with my hair and deciding which dress I should actually wear! I love having so many lovely clothes but it's a nightmare when it comes to actually going out. Anyway, I settle on my new Rare dress which is one shouldered with a huge batwing (which my brother says reminds him of Batman's Batplane.... nice!) and a diamante detail on the shoulder. Nush picks me up at 6pm and we head to Jess' to begin our evening of carnage in a more lady like manner of dinner and drinks.

I am currently limited with the amount of alcohol I can have, at 5 glasses of wine per week this has proved very difficult at Christmas and we have come up with a few rules to bend it a little bit. Of course with all of my Christmas dos, meals and lunch with Sarah I have already consumed my 5 for the week so from the offset it was not looking good.

So dinner is really nice, our stomachs are lines, we've had a couple of glasses of wine and we head into town to meet the girlies. I proceed to carry on drinking the wine while I sit and chat to my theatre friends before they all head home to start their Christmas'. The rest of the night is a bit of a blur.... I know I didn't mix my drinks but there was more wine involved and I did have a really good night but lets just say I won't be drinking that much on my meds again! I am £25 poorer from a night that I was supposed to be on the soft drinks! Whoops!

I remember dancing to Mariah Carey and chatting to a few old faces but that's pretty much it.... so it was a very merry Christmas!

Day 27: Ladies what lunch....

Today was the first day back to work after my holiday and it's actually been a really lovely day. Got to work early as I knew this week would be busy, plus I need to catch up on what had happened in the week that I was away.

So, I left the house pretty early this morning at about 8.10am so that I would be at work by 8.30am to get a head start on everything. Braving the wind and the rain (that rubbish kind of rain that doesn't feel like anything but soaks you through) I walk to the office stopping off at Tesco on the way to buy breakfast for me and Tamara (chocolate coissants £1), my daily chocolate fix (Galaxy bar 52p.... FYI they do not sell these in Portugal!) and a pack of chewing gum.... so that's about £2.10 gone!

I am very pleased to say that today I got my iPhone back, at last! After having two disaster iPhone's I am hoping and praying that this one will last.... I just need to make sure that I do not drop it this time!

So anyway, the morning goes incredibly quickly, I'm all caught up on the weekly goings on, I start to actually remember what it is that I do and getting back to everything that I was setting up before I went swanning off for a week. Tamara has organised for us to go to lunch with Liz who used to work with us, which is fab! Liz is a lovely klady who will very soon be bidding farewell to the grey skies of Blighty and hello to the Spanish sunshine when she moves out to their house in Spain next month! I am incredibly jealous!

We had planned to pay a visit to Toro Latino, the tapas just around the corner from the office as we are big fans, although we have now discovered that they now only open at lunchtime once a week. This does not fill us with joy. Instead we decide to trot on down to Pizza Express for a bite to eat and a catch up. So I quickly scour the internet for money saving vouchers and print one off which entitles us to one of our mains for just £1.... bargain!

Now, I am a big fan of Pizza Express and since the Market Harborough branch has opened this is only my third visit. Being as it opened at the end of June this is very good for me! The girls are not wanting starters but in my book you can't go to Pizza Express without having dough balls. So I order a portion and devoir all eight to myself as when offered both Liz and Tamara declined.... but I am not ashamed!

All three of us have the same pasta dish as a main, Pollo Pesto and it is just divine! All washed down with a chilled glass of Appletiser (another addiction of mine as I can't drink Coke anymore) my lunch comes to £10 when we split the bill.

I spend the afternoon feeling slightly guilty for my calorie fest and even though I have the urge to make myself some Weetabix as a healthy snack I resist, hell bent on burning everything that I have eaten in my torturous Spinning class this evening.

I leave the office just after 5.40pm and head for the Leisure Centre ready for my 45 minutes of torture ahead. Of course, in my usual characteristic style I am running late and being the disorganised little madam that I am, I have forgotten my water bottle and do not have any change at all for the lockers.

I end up having to change a fiver and using £1 of that to buy a bottle of water from the vending machine at the Leisure Centre before running into the class and barely having tome to set up my bike properly. Obviously I set it up wrong, leading to the most uncomfortable work out session ever and because I have chosen a bike with no water holder my bottle falls on the floor several times throughout the work out causing me to dismount several times.... not the best!

Luckily Body Balance afterwards is very chilled and flies by so before I know it hometime has arrived. It's the time I look forward to the most.... dinnertime! Now I am aware that I ate a rather sizeable lunch but I have worked hard so I make Mum and I a prawn stirfry and sit down to eat it in front of One Tree Hill.... my favourite thing about a Monday!

I am proud to say that I have updated my new iPhone and I have done no internet shopping, real life shopping or bought any albums on iTunes today.... although I have just seen that Jimmy Eat World and Friendly Fires have new albums, so I may well need those in my life! Maybe I will wait and see how much money I have spare before I buy them though as this month I have quite a lot going on what with the show and everything.... but maybe if I don't go out I can get them?! Yeah that'll never happen!

Day 26: Old habits die hard....

So we are now back in the UK after a holiday that almost made me teetotal.... don't ask!

The sun was shining, the villa was gorgeous, we spent endless days by the pool, played Come Dine With Me at night and I now have a tan to die for.... we have had a brilliant week, Albufeira is beautiful.

I have spent the week sunbathing, swimming, doing yoga in the garden and eating my body weight. Sheer bliss! I even finished a book for the first time in years that wasn't Bridget Jones' Diary which is quite an achievement let me tell you. The book was of course Confessions of a Shopoholic... whatever else?!

On the money front I had been such a good girl. All we'd bought was the food shop for the week and had been out to eat a couple of times. On Thursday I still had 200 euros left, which is very good as I had taken 340 altogether and this was 5 days into our holiday.

As it turns out it rained all day on Thursday so we decided that it would be a good idea to take a trip to Algarve Shopping.

I emerged from said shopping centre with the following items:

• 1 strapless navi and cream dress from Stradivarius - Obviously a must have as it had a millitary detail front with gold buttons and also you can't buy it in the UK. Plus it's so cute!
• 1 Christmas style cardigan from Zara - who knows if you can buy it in this country and who cares?! It is honestly the most amazing cardigan ever. It did cost 50 euros so I did try to leave it in the shop but I almost had heart failure walking out and had to go back and buy it. I have worn it every day ever since, even on the plane. Bob's reaction on meeting us from the airport was "Bloody hell Em.... did you get that out of a Christmas cracker?!" I don't care because I like my reindeer!
• 2 cute necklaces from Accessorize - fair enough I really could have bought them in the UK but we had to queue for ages for a taxi so I decided that I needed to pay them a visit!

As I only allowed myself to spend 100 euros that day I came in well on budget. I did buy another jumper but I decided that it wasn't a to die for item and could therefore be taken back. So anyway.... what with my thrifty money saving for the rest of the week, I still had 60 euros left at the airport, that was until I got to the duty free.

Duty free is like heaven for me.... I love perfume and I love makeup, especially the expensive stuff. So I try on about 5 different perfumes (by the end of which I can't smell any of them) settling on a 100ml bottle of my trusty old favourite Stella McCartney, Stella as my treat for saving money. This actually costs 72 euros so I have to pay a little on my card but I figure that is fine as I was paid on Friday.

I also have a weakness for lipgloss, I have loads of them. I do realise that I only have one set of lips but obviously a girl a different one to suit her mood. I perruse the shelves picking up several along the way, Lancome, Clinique, Channel, finally settling on a pink little Dior number as my favourite one that the girls got me for my birthday last year has sadly passed and needs replacing. So that's a total of 91 euros, I think I'm done and walk away from the store only to find that we are missing Nush so we head back on in to find her.

So we find Nush and she utters the magic words.... "have you seen the Kinder Buenos?"

For those of you who don't know me very well.... I love Kinder chocolate. When I was in the sixth form Sam and I used to eat several Kinder eggs a week and created a little town called Sandbyville in our form tutor Mr Sandby's room on one of the shelves, he loved it. Anyway, Nush shows me to the most amazing display that I have ever seen. There are Buenos, Kinder sticks, Schokobons.... everything that Kinder have ever made. I quickly decide upon a MASSIVE bag of Schokobons and a slab of Kinder sticks thenmake my way to the check out for a second time.... whoops!

The worst thing about all this is that I have bought all of these wonderful things from Duty Free and have left them in the back of Bob's car! Rubbish!

So now I'm at home, it's great to be back and to see everyone, but the trouble is that I can already feel the post holiday blues setting in. True to character this usually means a shopping trip of some variety is in order.

So I met Lauren for a catch up lunch at Enigma, after which we pay a quick visit to New Look. About 20 minutes and £50 later I am now the proud owner of the beautiful blouse that I had walked away from a couple of weeks ago and a pair of brown cowboy ankle boots.... will I never learn?

Day 17: If you want to go out....

I'm pleased to report that the last couple of days have actually been a great success spending wise.... in a way!

Put it this way, if I only spent during the day while I was at work then on Thursday I would've spent a grand total of 48p on a Galaxy bar.... what else?

However, this was not the case as I hit the pub in the evening with a couple of the guys from theatre group.... 3 glasses of wine later I have spent £9. Still not all that bad to be fair!

Yesterday we had a training day in the office and lunch (from Marks and Spencers.... yum!) was provided but I'd already spent £3 in tesco on the way, although to be fair I can't actually remember for the life of me what on apart from Galaxy bar and a huge bottle of water!

As Tamara and I spend the afternoon munching our way through the leftover food in the office, my bikini diet seems to have ended and my holiday has started a day early! Thank god I'm going to the gym!

So straight after work (my last day for a whole week.... yay!) I hot foot it to the gym as I'm off out again with the girls that evening.... tired from a busy day I struggle a little bit and settle for burning just 600 calories instead of the usual 800 and head home where I am greeted with yet more food!

So I meet Lauren and Jen in Enigma at 8.30 and we head to Evolution to see Jen's brother's band, The Working Projects do a gig. They are very good actually, well worth a look up! This is when the drinking starts.... a WKD blue and a shot later the drinking has began!

As we are old ladies now, the noise soon gets a little bit too much. The boys join us for a bit but then head off to The Square and Jen and Bob go home, so it's just me and Lauren left. We decide to head to The Loaf so that we can actually talk to each other.... a couple of Koppabergs later and we're putting the world to rights, joined by Sarah! Good times!

My final spend was around £5.10 for my round of drinks and £2 for some chips and cheese on the way home.... all in all not too bad! Could do better!

Like the nut job I am, just off to Body Combat before I head off on my jollies to Albufeira at 2pm this afternoon where I'm going to blow caution to the wind and blow £300 in a week! I can't bloody wait!

See you in a week kids! xx

Day 14: Hello my name is Emma and I am a shopaholic!

Now I am aware that I have been a tad lackadaisical of late.... in fact I have not updated my blog for the last week. My bad!

So anyway, I'm back and I have a confession to make.... I have been a very bad girl!

In the last week I have spent quite a lot of money....

Thursday wasn't a bad day.... I spent a total of £1.26 for the whole day! That was on the usual Galaxy bar and a packet of gum. Not bad if I do say so myself!

Friday was ok.... my total spend was £10.08 which consisted of:

• 2 bottles of Blossom Hill White Grenache (only the best wine will pass my lips.... plus it was on offer at £4.49)
• 1 bar of Galaxy
• 1 packet of chewing gum

I was very proud of myself.... however, disaster actually struck on Saturday when I realised that I was running out of makeup - obviously I cannot go on holiday without makeup or live without it in general as right now I have the skin of a teenager! My iPhone had also broken, which had upset me quite a lot and therefore retail therapy was needed!

I emerged from boots with the following:

• 1 No 7. Stay Perfect foundation
• 1 Rimmel clear complexion powder
• 1 Rimmel hide the blemish concealer

After spending a good half an hour in Carphone Warehouse trying to sort my phone out, where it became quite evident that I would be iPhone-less for my holiday, my panic stricken state needed this spend to calm my nerves at the thought of being without music until I return from Portugal!

As I was in town waiting for Lauren and Dave, I also decided that it was a good time to get my euros sorted for my holiday.... so there went £304 out of my bank account! Bad times.... but at least I am organised!

So after these two splurges I decide to blow caution to the wind and head to Starbucks to read my book.... and am then later joined by Lauren and Dave. Two Caramel Macchiatos and a Rocky Road (which can also be described as around £8) later I leave Starbucks and embark on an evening of X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing while putting all of my music onto my old phone so that I am not music deprived until I get my iPhone back after holiday! I therefore spend nothing.... this is good I feel!

Sunday is Arts Fresco.... now this was not supposed to cost me anymore than a lunch in the Sugar Loaf and possibly a bottle of water. However, I did not anticipate the bottle of Bulmers consumed with lunch and the 3 pints of Strongbow and bottle of Bud consumed throughout the afternoon.... I'm a classy bird, me!

When I've had a few money becomes like Monopoly money.... so I somehow manage to spend about £40.... whoops! I did have a fantastic day though so if I'm being honest I am really not sorry at all!

Monday, I bought my lunch and breakfast for the week from Tesco which consists of:

• 2 packs of chargrilled chicken pieces
• 1 bag of lettuce
• 1 bottle of sweet chilli sauce
• 3 peppers
• 1 pack of organic cherry plum tomatoes
• 1 Galaxy bar
• 1 actual lettuce
• 1 box of weetabix
• 1 bottle of semi-skimmed milk

This comes to a total of around £13.... but I figure that is ok because it's for the whole week! Especially as I have no plans for most of the week except for packing.... obviously after killing myself in Spinning, Body Balance and Body Combat classes in my final push to get my bikini worthy bod!

Tuesday comes and goes with what I would like to say was only spending £1.26 on a Galaxy bar and chewing gum but at lunchtime I take a sneaky trip to Altered Egos.... my Mecca of shopping in Market Harborough. All of my favourite brands under one roof and only minutes away from my office!

Betty and Stokesy know exactly what I like.... it probably won't surprise you to know that I already own half of the shop! They are great at their job and show me a fab Quiksilver crop top which would look amazing with my Firetrap denim shorts and be great for my holiday. It looks fab on and this time my conscience doesn't even kick in once.... it costs £31.50! SOLD! I am now the proud owner of said crop top.... it is already packed in my suitcase.... Whoops!

Today I thought that I would be extraordinarily good but no such luck.... I buy my usual Galaxy bar on my way to work and head straight for the office. For some reason today I am absolutely starving and salad just won't cut it.... so at 1pm I decide to take a break and head to Starbucks to read my book. By this time I am so hungry I am ready to eat somebody's arm so I naughtily order a chocolate chunk shortbread and a skinny Caramel Macchiato, which is the best part of £5 gone!

Before leaving Starby's I grab Sarah a Hazelnut Latte to take to her in Jacks before heading to Emerson and West to grab a jacket potato for lunch. I am then disappointed to find that they have ran out and have to settle for a turkey, stuffing and apple sauce roll.... which was delightful! So that was another £5 gone..... oh dear!

I have not since spent a penny but am sat here thoroughly ashamed of myself that I have not resisted the urge to spend!

I am now going to take my sorry ass off to bed to watch Clueless.... night kids! xx

Day 7: A little Starbucks treat....

I think I'm getting the hang of this spending less Millarky now.... today I take some of Daddy Waterfield's homemade leek, bacon and potato soup and a bread roll to work for my lunch. So today I have bought the following om my daily visit to Tesco:

• 1 pack of pain au chocolats £1.00 (1 of which is still left as Tamara didn't want hers so that's tomorrow's breaky sorted!)
• 1 Galaxy Bar 52p

So that's a total of £1.52 spent in Tesco.... not bad!

At lunchtime I meet Jenny in Starby's for a catch up coffee. I decide it's time for a treat so I try a Caramel Macchiato for £3.15, which I have to say is delightful! I resist the temptation to buy a cake as everytime I have cake and coffee from there I seem to feel sick!

So we have a lovely lunchtime catch up and chat, sharing gossip and filling each other in on the weeks events. We haven't seen each other since Saturday.... obviously a lot has happened since then! Before we know it lunchtime is over and it's time to get back to work.

I spend the afternoon writing a piece about Christmas Party styles. I actually love feature writing.... it's my favourite part of my job! I wish my hair was longer so that I too could do my hair in such wonderful ways!

Anyway, after work I head to the Leisure Centre where I realise that I a) do not have £1 for a locker and b) have left my water bottle at home! Well done Em! So I have to change a £10 note to get change for the locker and then have to spend £1 on a bottle of water. I need to learn to be more organised!

So that's a total of £5.67 spent.

I have just put myself through an hour of Body Attack then 45 minutes of Body Balance so my legs are burning. The things I do for my holiday! Time for bed me thinks.... night kids!

Day 6: Nothing extraordinary

I was a little bit naughty yesterday and was rather lazy in not updating my blog, so here it is. Being as my lunch was already at work from my uber organised purchase before I spent the following:

• Galaxy bar and Orbit chewing gum from Tesco £1.10


• Birthday and iTunes voucher for Laura from Tamara and I £16.00 (but divided by both of us means that it only actually cost £8 each.)

So as you can see on my way to work I didn't do too badly. So I had the most productive morning at work and before I know it, it's 2.45pm and I haven't had my break (I have a habit of eating at my desk) so I wander into town, popping to see Jenny in Boots and Mum in Wilkos on the way.

While I'm in Wilkos I have a horrifying thought that I have left my brolly at home so I make a purchase of a beautiful red polka dot umbrella for £3.00.... bargain!

Before I have time to spend more money I think that it's probably best to head back to the office so that I am not tempted to spend anymore money.

After work I head to the gym without going in any shops at all. On a mission to get in shape before my holiday I slaughter myself on the treadmill before going to Body Combat, then I go home to collapse, eat and watch TV.... what an exciting life I lead?!

Day 5: Home alone....

So I woke up this morning after a rather difficult nights sleep.... I had some really horrible dreams, most of which I can't remember now and I kept waking up with muscle ache and tension in my shoulders. The alarm goes off and I immediately hit snooze because I am really not ready to be waking up.... not only because of the bad dreams but also because I may have stayed up to watch The Waterboy on TV. I love it!

So eventually I do get up, jump in the shower and start to begin to feel ever so slightly human. I turn the old iPhone on for a few tunes while I'm getting ready and the first song I hear is 'Sweet Disposition' by The Temper Trap. I love this song, when I hear it I just instantly feel happy and lifted. It's going to be a good day.

I do however, seem to be having a bad hair day today. So I straighten it and pull my fringe to the side in a quiff, wack on my blue Religion t-shirt dress with my Converse trainers (again), grab my gym kit and head for the door.

My walk to work passes in a sea of daydreams amongst the tunes that are playing on my iPhone. As soon as I get into town I head to Tesco to buy some breakfast (as it seems that there was no bread left in the Waterfield household today) and my lunch for the next couple of days. The total of the bill comes to about £6.50ish, which if you count what I bought is actually alright:

• 1 bag of British salad leaves - £1.00
• 1 tub of cherry tomatoes - £1.07
• 1 carton of fresh prawns - £2
• 1 helmans Thousand Island salad dressing - £1.08
• 1 pack of Finest pain au chocolats - £1.29
• 1 Galaxy bar 52p

To be fair, the salad and everything that I have bought for lunch will actually do for lunch for two days, so that means that I won't be buying lunch tomorrow. That's money saved, right?!

So I get to work and it's the day of Creative Head's Most Wanted Awards which the girls are going to. Several of our clients are up for awards and it's always an exciting night - I love to hear how it went the next day. So that means that I'll be on my own in the office as of lunchtime. This is usually when my shopping habits get the better of me.

With no one for company but the tunes on my iPhone it tends to get terribly lonely.... so off I trot into town to get some fresh air and hopefully see a friendly face or two. If I'm being perfectly honest, I don't know where I want or need to go.... I just know that I need to get away from my computer for a little while.

First stop is Monsoon.... possibly not the best place to start. I peruse the accessories as I love Accessorize! I'm surrounded by beautiful bags, necklaces, earrings, shoes.... everything and I want it all. In particular I want a gorgeous large black handbag that is hanging just above my head.... mine is a little bit worse for wear having been used day in, day out for the last 2 years. I then decide that if it's not for my holiday then I do not need it. What on earth am I going to do with a black handbag in the Algarve?! I promptly leave so that I don't change my mind.... but not before I have a quick look at the posh frocks. With two weddings to attend next year I need to get an idea of dresses obviously!

My next visit is to Dorothy Perkins.... I love coming here, not only for the clothes but because my friends are here! Today I'm thinking I'll have a little look at what's in there as I haven't actually been in for ages.... as is usually the case these days I am not tempted by a single item. Not shoes, not clothes, nothing.... what on earth is going on?! I have a quick chat to Mary and Rae but leave empty handed.

I'm feeling a tad naughty, so I pay a visit to Altered Egos to see if there is anything new in there that I don't already own. I have a quick chat to Claire, Betty and Abs before sauntering upstairs to see what wonders are in store. There is a lovely, lovely Ted Baker dress but at £119 this is not something that I will be buying in the not so distant future. My new philosophy is if I leave it and I'm still thinking about it a week later then maybe it is meant to be but I don't love this dress enough to spend that amount of money ont it. There are things that I need so much more on my return from holiday like new trainers and sportswear.

So then I visit Sarah in Jacks to tell her about my self control and to hear all about her weekend in Brighton.... at this point I am incredibly proud of myself! I have been into several clothes shops and have emerged with nothing!

The afternoon passes rather quickly with a flurry of jobs that need doing in the office and before I know it 5.30pm is here. Sarah meets me out of work to walk up together as I'm heading to the Leisure Centre to go Spinning. Yes, I go Spinning.... I have taken it up in my mad panic to shed a few more lbs in the last twelve days before holiday. I am currently cardio mad!

I sit here now a literally broken woman and my legs refuse to work after I have put them through a 45 minute Spinning class, followed by 45 minutes of Body Balance. The scary thing is that I'm going back to do it all again tomorrow with 50 minutes in the gym followed by an hour of Body Combat.... I will look like a bikini clad goddess on holiday! Well, I'll at least try!

So how have I done today?! Pretty well actually.... I haven't spent any money since this morning! I feel quite proud!

Day 4: I have will power!!!!!

I am awoken without a hangover, bright and breezy by the smell of breakfast.... now still being at home does have it's advantages. I'm broke but I am well fed and get a full English brought to me in bed on a Sunday morning.... I know I'm spoilt but I know when I've got it good!

I lay in bed watching Hollyoaks more than a little confused by all of the new people who seem to have appeared in the last week, including Jacqui Dixon from Brookside?! My fitness regime of attending several classes a week, going to the gym and rehearsals for the next Market Harborough Musical Theatre show Summer Holiday has meant that I've lost touch with Hollyoaks and seldom watch it during the week now, so Sunday mornings are my catch up time!

I'd already arranged to meet Sarah for lunch, so we decide to meet at 1pm in The Sugar Loaf, as if I'm being honest I'm quite comfortable and not yet prepared to leave my pit for a little while.

My guilty pleasure of Big Brother's Little Brother comes on (purely for George Lamb, not that I really watch Big Brother. Ok that's a complete lie because I wrote an essay about it at uni) and their guests today are McFly.... also a guilty pleasure. So Emma Willis is interviewing them and they mention their new single 'Party Girl' is out today. That's it, the iPhone is out and I'm on iTunes buying it for 79p.... oh dear!

Eventually, after a lot of lazing around I decide it's finally time to emerge and head for a shower before pulling on my Mumford and Sons t-shirt, striped French Connection cardigan, Firetrap denim shorts and Converse trainers (which obviously go with everything) before plaiting my hair into pigtails and heading into town to meet Mr and Mrs Market Harborough.


After having a quick chat to my mother before I leave, as usual I'm already running late. A very hungry Sarah and Andy are not looking too impressed when I rock up at 1.25pm after visiting the cashpoint for some dollars.

My concept of time is terrible.... everyone who knows me will say the same. No matter how good my intentions are to get to a place on time something will happen to make me late. The only place that I'm not late to is work and that takes an extraordinary effort.

By this time I am so hungry I could eat someones arm.... as my eyes are bigger than my belly I order a roast beef from their Sunday Club special for £5.99 and then a chocolate fudge cake for £1.99 as dessert. I have been told that the desserts in there are about 700 calories a pop.... I'm glad I'm going to the gym in a bit!

Anyway, we enjoy a lovely chat catching up on the weeks events. Sarah tells me about their honeymoon that is already booked to Bali. My friend Sarah is quite honestly the most organised bride I have ever known.... the wedding is next July and everything has been booked for months and the whole operation has been planned around Summer Sundae Weekender festival, which is our yearly ritual to attend. I have to say though, Friday 22nd July 2010 is going to be a brilliant day.... I can't wait!

I leave Sarah and Andy, being a teacher Sarah has lots of planning and marking to do on a Sunday afternoon and head home. On my way home is New Look, which I am reluctant to go in as a group of gypsy kids I see ahead of me have just gone in, but I decide to brave it and see what goodies they have in there. I do my best to avoid the group, one of whom shoves me out of the way so that she can show her friends something.... as you can imagine they are just delightful and have lovely manners.

Trying to ignore that they are even there I'm just happy looking around when I see it.... a beautiful loose blouse in grey blue in a butterfly print. It's gorgeous, I love it.... I pick it up in two sizes and make my way to the fitting room to try it on. It would look great with my denim shorts, it would look great with leggings or jeans.... could I need this in my life?!


As I thought it would, it looks fab and the smaller size fits me.... get in! It costs £25.... then my conscience kicks in. Can I justify spending that amount of money right now? After all I am off on holiday in two weeks. But then I can wear it when we go out for dinner in the evening.... I decide that the answer is no I do not need it and if it is meant to be then they will still have it next week if I have enough money left. I also tell myself that everyone else will probably have it too.... New Look being one of the only fashion shops in Harborough means that we are very limited when it comes to shopping.


With a heavy heart I quickly leave the shop before I change my mind, grabbing the iPhone and wacking on some Jimmy Eat World to distract me from the heartbreaking choice that I have just made.


I get home to find that my brother has very kindly bought me a pack of white chocolate chip cookies from Sainsburys and left them on my bed. This is just what I need to cheer me up, so I eat one and then hide the pack so that I cannot consume anymore chocolate for the rest of the day.


Since coming home I am proud to say that no more internet shopping has occurred, I have not spent anymore money in any other way and the only place that I am heading to tonight is the gym.... which I am a member of.


So I am upset that I did not buy the beautiful top.... but happy as I seem to have gained strength and will power! Not bad really....

Apparently hungover and forgetful....

Ok so I've just checked my iTunes and it seems that in my hungover state I did actually buy the new Arcade Fire album because I enjoyed listening to is at Chez Marriott on Friday.... thought I should be honest about my disgraceful behaviour. This set me back £7.99.... oh dear!

Day 3: horribly hungover

Ok so I had every intention of going to Body Combat and Body Pump Saturday morning but obviously being the morning after the night before that really didn't happen as I woke up 10 minutes before the classes were going to start.... whoops! If I'm being perfectly honest after ingesting that much alcohol the last thing I wanted to do was get fighting fit. After just four hours sleep I didn't really want to do anything, just wallow in my self inflicted state.

I had however, already promised the girls that I would go for a walk down the old railway line with them to take Kate's dog Millie for a walk. So after moping around the house, feeling a little bit sorry for myself I eventually pulled myself together, drank lots of water to stop my pounding head and trotted on down to meet them.

Now it is my experience that every bad hangover can be cured by sugar hit so I decide to grab myself my usual Galaxy bar from the petrol station and two bottles of Volvic (one is just never enough) which came to £2.07.

So, once we're actually walking I start to feel much better and the walk is no way near as hard I had imagined it would be. Jenny, Kate, Nush and I are having our usual girly chats/gossip/catch-up/random conversations (some of the things we talk about are just plain bizarre) when we come to Waterloo Farm which is about two miles up and decide to stop for a cuppa. Jen has literally only brought her lovely self with her so I offer to buy her tea for her, knowing that she would definitely want one. For her cup of tea and my carton of apple juice the total was about £1.60, which I don't think was bad.... thinking we were going to have a picnic I'd already made up a tuna pasta salad which I promptly tucked into, everyone else had failed to tell me that they had already eaten. By this time it was 3pm and I was starving!

So we're at Waterloo Farm for quite a while, just sat chatting and putting off the two mile trek back to Market Harborough for as long as possible. It is a really lovely place, there is a little fishing lake and a craft shop as well as the cafe, its so peaceful and the surroundings are beautiful.

Eventually we think it's probably best if we head back and have mustered up the energy for the two mile walk ahead. It goes much quicker than on the way as we're all chatting and laughing as usual.

I leave the girls and come home, without spending anymore money, for a bit of a chill out and tidy the house before Jen comes over for a night in and a takeaway in front of X Factor.... something new for us!

We settle down for a delightful Indian takeaway, chicken korma, pillar rice, naan bread and poppadoms, while observing our weekly ritual. Jen and I decided that a curry was in order as we hadn't had a Shagorika for ages and it's our fave. This however, was not cheap at £12.50 each, but we had Chinese two weeks ago and pizza last week so we figured a change was in order.

Anyway, it seems like all this excitement was all too much for me and I fell asleep in the recliner at 10.30pm, so Jenny left me to it. I'm just not hardcore anymore.... but on the spending front it was not a bad days work!

Day 2: Presents through the post

Not the best day on the money front if I'm being honest.... first thing I went to Tesco and spent over £5. Just the usual breakfast for myself and Tamara (we have chocolate coissants everyday. It costs 65p for one or £1.00 for two so I figure that it's a better deal to buy two so we can both have one), sushi that cost £3 as I thought that's quite a healthy lunch, my usual bar of galaxy and a bottle of apple juice. So I didn't think that was too bad really.

Checked my account balance and my heart sank as I had less money than I thought.... but then I remembered that I still have a cheque to clear so it's all ok. Phewww!

So I get to work and much to my delight a lovely courier arrives with gifts from Warehouse.co.uk. My bikinis are here and they are fab! I may have tried one of the tops on over my jumpsuit to check if it fits.... it does, so it's fine! Can't wait to wear them on my hols!

Whilst I'm writing a news story to be sent out for a client the post arrives.... this is a very exciting time in the LWPR office as it's HJ Friday! So I quickly run to the door, open up our post box to rip open this week's copy. There is also a little packet in there for me, after a traumatic disaster with my iPhone (where it fell out of my bag on my way to work and smashed on the pavement) and having to claim for a new phone on the insurance my new iPhone is the most precious thing in the world and will be well protected for all eternity so I'd invested in a hot pink hard case from Amazon.co.uk to hopefully prevent this from ever happening again. Imagine my horror to find that the case is infact broken on arrival.... how annoying?!

At lunchtime Tamara and I head into town as it is Daddy Waterfield's birthday today I obviously had to get him a card and a present being the good daughter that I am. I settle on a card after perusing the funny ones, my favourite of which said 'Dad, I've been trying really hard to think of a compliment to give you for your birthday.... you've got a really great kid', now to look for the present. My dad is so hard to buy for.... then I notice some Ticketmaster vouchers, sorted! He can use that to buy tickets to go and watch the cricket or something.... why on earth didn't I think of this before?! Genius! That's him sorted.

I leave Tamara and head to Boots to see Jenny, to sort out exactly what we're doing this weekend. It suddenly occurs to me that the O2 shop sell iPhone covers and decide to go and look for one in there.... being the clutz that I am I desperately need one. I already managed to drop my new phone in Tesco the other day! My bad! I settle on a pink one (nothing says Em's phone like a pink phone case) which fits all the way around the phone and stays on securely. Now at £15 it cost a little more than one would have hoped to pay, but that's cheaper than paying £30 excess on my insurance for a new phone again!

As I'm leaving St Mary's place my eyes fall upon Starbucks.... it won't hurt to buy a coffee, I really fancied one. My downfall is cakes and cookies, so of course I end up buying a chocolate chip shortbread aswell, something that is well justified as 1. it's Friday and 2. I'm going to the gym later on and will burn it off. That of course costs me £3.80.

So for the rest of the day I'm really good.... I run past all of the shops as I leave work and head to the gym, refusing to even look in a shop window. Just as I'm about to leave the gym I get a text from Kate asking if I fancied going to watch the football.... men running around on a pitch in shorts?! Of course I do! So I go home, have a shower and some dinner, then head to Beccy's to watch the game. By this time I'm already an hour late so I caught the second half.

Now obviously one can't show up at a friend's house empty handed so I grab a bottle of Blossom Hill White Grenache from Londis which sets me back £6.99. So here I am thinking that I'm going to have an quiet night watching the football so I'm Bloc Party t-shirt and demin shorts clad with my converse trainers and my hair in pig tails. I did not predict the turn of events would lead to us ending up in the Sugar Loaf and Enigma.

So several Jagerbombs later, I have spent another £12... whoops! Great night though.... didn't get in til just before 6am finishing the night at Chez Marriott where more vodka was consumed, we were treated to some of Daddy M's chilli whilst listening to Arcade Fire, before the sambraros, chicken hats and adult babygrows came out.... Facebook will eventually explain all!

Day 1: a minor hiccup

Hmmm.... I'm going to be honest from the beginning of this blog. Although I was a very good girl on the way to work and only bought my usual Galaxy bar and apple juice from Tesco, I have become quite the master of internet shopping meaning that I have the ability to spend money from the comfort of my own home.

Today I purchased two (three if you count that I bought two of one item...) necessities via the wonderous world wide web:

• Foo Fighters door poster from Amazon.co.uk - this was a must as mine died tragically this morning and every girl needs a bit of Dave Grohl in her life!

• Bikinis from Warehouse.co.uk - also a NEED as I go on holiday to the Algarve with the girls in two weeks and have a grand total of one bikini which is far too big for me! They are both being delivered tomorrow to work.

Come to think of it.... I haven't made any other purchases and I didn't go to Psychic Night at The Cherry Tree with Nush in the end so that's like £15 saved. So all in all, not a bad day's work!

The challenge....

It is no secret that I, Emma Louise Waterfield, am a shopaholic. It is also no secret that my addiction to shopping or just buying in general has left me with a debt that quite possibly keeps the Market Harborough branch of HSBC in business. But after many years of spend, spend, spend I have decided that it's time to sort my life out and my finances along with it.

Although in some ways I can be the most determined little madam on the planet, trying to overcome my shopping habit is not something that my will power can uphold so instead I have decided to make my battle public. Hopefully by creating a blog about it I will be able to curb my spending once and for all. Usually if someone tells me that I can't do something then I will want to prove them wrong, but this is different.

I can't even begin to explain the excitement of buying something makes me feel.... if I'm having a bad day I just go into a shop get something shiny and new in exchange for handing over a piece of plastic. All of a sudden my troubles have lifted and I feel so happy and excited to take home my spangly new dress/jacket/handbag/shoes. I know it's sad, but I'm actually telling the truth.... shopping can solve anything!



If you have ever been in my bedroom then you will know that there are two wardrobes rammed full of clothes, dresses hung on the back of my door, one wardrobe has more clothes hanging on the outside, while the other is strewn with handbags and I have scarves draped all over my DVD player stand. I could possibly dress in a different outfit everyday for a month, yet I still want more. What makes it even worse is that I don't have cheap taste either.... my favourite brands are Ted Baker, Religion, Firetrap, Full Circle and French Connection. The horrifying thing about this is that half of my clothes will leave my ownership barely even being worn.

My extravagant spending doesn't end there either.... I also have a DVD collection that could easily rival Blockbuster, an ever growing music collection and a need to buy tickets to every single gig/concert or show that I want to see. Music is my life and my CD collection isn't even the half of it.... I have a massive iTunes library and have been known to spend £50 at a time in the store for several albums as there are no music shops in this little town of Market Harborough to speak of. None that sell music by the bands that I want anyway.

I should probably also point out that I have a lot of hair products.... this however is because of my job, not my shopping habit. I work in Hair PR.

You see I have two problems.... I get bored very easily and also have the inability to say no!

In writing this blog I am setting myself the challenge only to buy what I NEED and not just what I WANT. If I am being honest, in the past few months I have learnt to budget but this has just lead to me living within my means, I am now trying to save money. This challenge also means that I need to be honest with my spending and I will be openly shaming myself in my blog posts.

Watch this space.... xx