I got a comment on the blog saying how it was such a disgrace that someone were selling a fake designer bag on Etsy. There was a link, which I clicked, and it lead me to this. A fake Dior tennis bag. I immediately thought of the vintage Adidas tennis skirt I got several years ago, and the fact that I had been planning to start playing tennis but never did. Seing that I don´t exercise at all, I figured getting a fun bag wouldn´t be a stupid way to actually take the step. So I got it. Fidgetfinds is the shop.

A little part of me was hoping that it would turn out to be authentic, even though I have no idea whether Dior have ever made such a bag. There´s little doubt though that it´s fake, but it still seems to be of good quality. The straps are of leather and the canvas seems in great condition. It has never even been used. But the best thing is the pocket for your tennis racket, that was actually the selling point for me, not the logo print. So it can be as fake as it possibly can be, but I still love it as I´ve never seen anything like it.

Now I just need tennis shoes.

This bag is the third of my Dior bags, all found secondhand. Which one is real and which one is not is left to the experts to decide, although I am pretty sure the burgundy one is authentic, just cause of the things I found inside it as well as the age of it. It´s possibly the only logo print I like, but this is it. Unless I would come across another $10 find, the collection is now complete.

While it´s kind of sad that so many friends of mine live abroad, I can praise myself lucky that several of them live in Sweden, especially when I want to order from Topshop as they ship to Sweden but not Norway. I used the opportunity for the first time today and got the Fantasy Horse Tee that is obviously inspired by the Maison Martin Margiela creations I have been lusting so much after.

I collected the very last of my coins and got an issue of British Vogue. Somehow it makes more sense to spend my money on something fun rather than food. Anyway, flipping through the magazine on my way back home made me realize how much I´d like to get my hands on more prints. It´s just so much easier to mix and match when you have a little to choose from. Even printed socks feels like a must.

The socks are available at MyTights and I will place an order as soon as I get my paycheck.

I went shopping with the intention of getting a couple of pairs of jeans, something I really need as I have only two I wear on a regular basis. Before I got that far my bank account was empty and I had purchased everything but jeans…

A pair of buckle boots.

A full sailor girl uniform, with gauchos as the bottom part. I am really excited about this one as we´re planning on a nice boat trip this summer to Træna, the island I lived the first years of my life. It´s far far out in the sea and has only 450 inhabitants. I´m keeping my fingers crossed that my dad will buy that new boat he´s talking about.

A mohair sweater with pearls and rhinestones. It´s a little oversized and I´m planning on wearing it tucked into a leather skirt.

A Marimekko-esque maxi skirt. I´m starting to get quite a collection of maxi skirts and dresses. If only the sun would shine soon. I don´t really feel like wearing long skirts when it´s raining…

A gold and black batwing super 80´s sweater. It´s really ugly, has got huge shoulder pads, but oh so fun!

In case you´re looking for a motorcycle jacket Bona Drag has one at $75 which pretty cheap right now considering the weak dollar. And while you´re at it, you can also get a pair of gladiator sandals for $54.

The weather was OK when I stepped outside the door this morning to go to the local flea market. All of a sudden it was pouring. By the time I got there people were frantically trying to save their things away from the water which wasn´t an easy task with the wind. I only took a quick look around and when I was about to rush back home I spotted these red leather boots. I didn´t intend to try them on and the seller obviously just wanted to get away from there and offered them to me for almost nothing. It all went really fast and suddenly I had purchased them.

Once I got home and tried them on I realized that they fit perfectly and were in mint condition. It was then I started thinking about when I am actually going to wear them. The color red seem to scare me a little. I got a gorgeous red coat last fall, but haven´t worn it once. I got it secondhand, it´s oversized but can be tied at the waist, and it looks very expensive compared to what I paid for it. But I don´t seem to know what to do with the color, it´s like it eats up everything else. It was probably not a bad idea getting them anyway, I just need to use it as an opportunity to learn how to think differently about colors and step away from all my personal hangups and dos and donts.

Almost every Saturday over the last few years have involved thrift shopping in one way or another. It´s one of my absolute favorite things to do. I love searching through piles and piles of crap for those few gems, and I love to find things I never would have thought of wearing otherwise. Today I got a pair of pants. I have two pairs of jeans that I wear, no pants. I mean, I have them, I just don´t wear them. When I spotted these on a sale rack for $2 I figured it was about time to give them a go. They were too short and had an awkward cut to them. I lengthened them, made them skinnier and folded up the hems. I realize this may take some time getting used to and I might end up altering them even more before I am satisfied, but I am still pleased to have found something that is so completely different from everything else I own.

I also got a few more bow ties to wear in my hair or on my wrist.

An odd necklace. Update: Due to help from a kind reader I have discovered that the necklace is from the Finnish designer Pentti Sarpaneva and is actually quite valuable!

And a chain belt with tassels. I might turn this into something else as I rarely wear belts like that.

I can never seem to stop picking up new shades if I come across something special at flea markets or high street shops, and over the years I have build up quite a collection. Even though I have them in all kinds of different styles and colors, it´s the aviators that I most frequently wear. I figured I could just as well put some money in them and get a pair of Ray Ban aviators seeing that they are such classics. I had a look on eBay and I came across this shop selling them for no more than $9.99. The fact that they´re so cheap and that they are being shipped from China doesn´t really speak “authenticity” out loud. At that price it was too tempting not to give it a go though. I picked them up at the post office today and while I am no Ray Ban expert and even though they came with all kinds of proof of authenticity, I am still sceptical. That doesn´t really matter though, cause I do love the shades, although I would like to get a bigger pair as well.

I strongly believe that all things bad eventually lead to something good. After a tiff with my husband I stopped by H&M just to cheer myself up - and there it was. The dress I had wanted so badly but completely lost hope of ever finding. With the print that I love so much and already have on a shirt and a bikini. I knew it was supposed to be dirt cheap so I thought that the reason I didn´t find it was that it was sold out. It wasn´t and now it´s mine - another maxi dress. Oh, how many warm summer days are going to be spent in the backyard wearing this! The best thing is that it´s so long that I can easily wear it with heels.

I woke up this morning with a lot lighter mood and planned on wearing my new dress along with a vintage fur coat. I jumped in the shower and got ready. Then I looked out the window - it was pouring. The day didn´t at all end up as planned, just much better. We started with breakfast at Hotel Havana. They have the best sandwiches in the world, no doubt. Then we took the tram over to the west side of the city and went to Tonica. The women there for some reason love my husband. They keep finding him stuff and giving him crazy discounts. He bought an Yves Saint Laurent blazer that he got dirt cheap. I felt a little left out as I didn´t find anything at all. I had my eye on a feather collar, but it was Tonica´s personal belonging.

Then we continued shopping other places and I got some things intended for DIY projects, as well as another pair of shoes at Zara. Now I can forget about the ones I was waiting so patiently for, but it´s no biggie.

We took the tram over to the east side of the city where I got some more craft supplies. Yellow taffata that I am going to use for a D&G inspired dress and some other things. After that it was dinner at Punjab Tandoori. Lamb Karhai and a beer for a few dollars. Yummy. I was so stuffed afterwards it felt like I rolled my way home.

This evening, unless I hear of some fun party, I´m going to spend working on my DIY projects.

There are so many things I want yet too little money in my bank account. I am desperate for a pair of Ann Demeulemeester boots and there´s a pair of shoes on Zara that I also desperately want, that has still not come to Norway as far as I know. I need to save up for those things and buying little things here and there really doesn´t make it any better, except for being some sort of comfort while I wait. Today I stopped by Zara looking for the shoes I originally wanted and I noticed these heels on sale. Just one pair left and they were in my size. Now, I have a lot of shoes, a lot of black shoes too, but when it comes to actual wear, I usually opt for my stripper heels and I am getting a little fed up with wearing the same shoes all the time. So I grabbed the Zara heels before I got the time to change my mind. They weren´t expensive but in the long run it really does make a difference.

By the way, they came with an extra set of heel taps. It so rarely happens while I really think all shoes should come with an extra pair, especially stilettos as they wear down so fast.

H&M used to be the ultimate shop for me, I stopped by at least once a week not to miss all the good stuff. Then it something changed and I usually only got my thrills from secondhand shopping. Just this morning, on my way to work, I thought about how I rarely stopped by H&M anymore, how I usually never found anything in particular when I did, and how I maybe should just stop going there all together. Then, when I got home, I saw a picture of an H&M dress I liked. It´s the same print as I´ve already got a shirt and a bikini in, and the dress looked like just perfect. Floor length but not floral as I have trouble finding florals I really love. I ran off to H&M with a feeling of excitement, afraid that it would already be sold out. The dress wasn´t there. As far as I can tell it hasn´t come to Norway yet. But even though I didn´t get the thrill of finding the dress of my dreams, I found a nice little frilly white scarf. Nothing too special really, but it reminded me of the images I picked yesterday with the soft shades and suddenly spring didn´t feel too far away after all. Only that was a little thrill in itself. Now I just hope I snatch the dress too before it´s all gone.

The rings had to go when I went outside and discovered that huge cocktail rings didn´t go well under mittens, and mittens are a must now that it´s snowing sideways.

Since I was a kid I was pretty good at money. I never spent money on more than what I really needed or wanted, and the rest was put in the piggy bank. And I had quite a few tricks up my sleeve to hustle my little sisters for their savings. I´ve always been in control, never really broke. Lately things seem to be changing. I think getting a job has put me into a different mindset, like I can´t really spend too much, like there will always come in more. For some reason that is impossible for me to understand, just a few days after receiving my paycheck, I´m already nearly out. I am still reasonable enough to put aside money for food, rent and all of that, so it´s no crisis, I just don´t get why I´m not in control like I used to be. Anyway, I was quite pleased with the fact that it´s Easter and all the shops are closed over here. It would put a stop on my spending. But then there´s today, the only day when shops are open, at least for a little while. I deliberately only went to secondhand shops, and picked up…

…a men´s vest. I wanted an oversized since the fall of 2006, but never really got to it.

I also got what must be a fake Dior umbrella. It´s very old which speaks against it being fake, but I assume authentic Dior umbrellas are of better quality, even though this one does have a nice wooden handle. It was only $2, so I didn´t even bother to consider the fact that when it is raining, I am too lazy to carry an umbrella anyway.

At last there was this floral shirt. I have a hard time finding floral garments I like and I´ve wanted a shirt like this to wear with shorts, so I just couldn´t leave it behind. It looks like it was home made, no tags and the seams are far from perfect.

However, the point of this post is that there´s still eBay. All the shops are closed but I have of course placed a bid on a pair of ridiculously expensive boots on eBay. Today´s purchases may not have cost much but if I win those shoes I am in trouble. I am going to Stockholm in April, to Copenhagen in May, to Berlin and Paris in August, I really need to save some money. In a weak moment though, I figured that if I should be too broke to be able to do any shopping in Stockholm, at least I could walk around in a pair of fabulous boots. Who knows, I might lose the auction, I´ll leave that one up to faith.

I spent a small fortune on hair products today. On impulse I stopped by a hairdresser telling them about my hair problems, how it´s dry and brittle but also gets greasy really fast. I really never could figure out what to go for and nothing seemed to work. So they suggested a combination of different hair products from Redken. I got the Redken All Soft shampoo and conditioner, and for occasional use, the Redken Scalp Relief shampoo. All together it ended up being quite pricey, but they were sweet and gave me a hair dryer for free, so it didn´t feel too bad. So far I can only report that my hair feels different, I noticed it the moment I put the shampoo in the hair. The last time I spent a little money on hair products it was from Kérastase after reading great reviews online. I didn´t however notice anything different compared to the low price products I have used before. I am hoping today´s little investment will give me less hair problems and hair that will stay fresh for longer!

I seem to be on a roll with this vintage lingerie hunt of mine. Two more pieces made it to my collection today, although they weren´t nearly as cheap as those I got this weekend. They seem to be in perfect condition though. I got them at a little shop called Et Dukkehjem (as in A Dolls House, by Henrik Ibsen). They have a lot of great stuff like this there and I have bought vintage lingerie from them before. The only problem is that the shop is such a mess, piles of clothes and bags with clothes in them, filling up all the floor and wall space. You really have to set aside some time to go through things or you´d just turn at the door. There should be a discount for doing half the job yourself, but the old ladies that run the shop are so sweet. They sit there gossiping all day.