Posted By Laura in Featured, For Mums, Just for You, Shopping | 2 comments

So last week I was planning my day off, remember? I had it all worked out, thanks to One4all, and I was really looking forward to selfishly enjoy every last second. So at the end of the week I put my plan into action.

I took a day off.

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I Took.
A
Day.
Off.

I KNOW!

It wasn’t actually too tricky – I don’t have kids young enough to need military-style childcare in place; my youngest is 11 now, and as long as there’s a Dad or a big brother in the house to make sure she’s fed occasionally, that’s as much as I need to think about for a few hours.

So I notified Mr LittleStuff and The Four of my ‘off duty’ status, and I actually did it. I really did.

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So many times I’ve thought about it, but you know how it goes. You really will have a day off, but first you’ll just pop to the supermarket ‘for a few bits’, or answer ‘just a couple of emails’… maybe do ‘a quick vacuum’… and before you know it your ‘day off’ is half an hour with a coffee a magazine and a guilty iced chelsea bun.

Well not this time.

I shut the door firmly behind me at 8.30, and headed out with my one4all gift card, anticipating a day of pure selfish indulgence ahead.

First stop, the sales. I need some new decent winter shoes (HELLO Clarks!) – just because I’m having a ‘me’ day, that doesn’t mean that all sense goes out the window. So whilst I really fancied these pretty babies…

Sooooo Pre-ett-t-tyyyy

What I actually walked out with was these beauties…

My afternoon plan was a for a stroll along the Ox Drove on the South Wiltshire Downs – one of my favourite walks, and one I have avoided since we lost our darling rottweiler Blue in the Autumn.  But before I left the city I stepped into Carphone Warehouse. They also have a sale on at the moment, of course, and I’ve been meaning for ages to get myself a new powerbank – the one I use when travelling is a freebie I got on a press day which barely runs my phone for an hour, let alone actually charge it back up again. Useless.

So I nabbed myself this shiny new one in their 50% off sale – 12,000mAh which’ll charge my phone up to four times, for under £20. Deal.

Then of course I passed Waterstones… but naturally no one on a day off actually ‘passes’ Waterstones. You just step in for a second… and come out half an hour later with a satisfyingly heavy bag (the new Jodi Taylor, White Silence,  plus the latest Lee Child/Jack Reacher (I know, I know, the last few haven’t been as good but I couldn’t resist…) and a delicious Vintage Camera Photo Album.

Lunch time, and I accidentally fell into Pizza Express. I know – I tried really hard not to, but I just couldn’t tell my feet no. So a Fiorentina it was. To myself. And no, I’m not sorry. I sat at my table and shared the silence companionably with my new Jodi Taylor. Perfect.

Finally I headed out on to the downs, for a bittersweet solo walk in the brisk January wind (yes, I love the fresh air, but of course I would have gone to the cinema if it was raining!). It’s been a few years now, and yet I still miss my girl (Blue the rottweiler) galumphing along ahead, and found myself looking back for her more than once. But it was good to get out, blow some of those sluggish cobwebs away and use the quiet space for some thinking and planning.

On the way back I stopped into Laithwaites – I’d abandoned the family all day, but I was heading home for an evening date night and whilst Mr LittleStuff was cooking up the curry I was tasked with bringing home a bottle of something lush to go with it; I opted for a crisp Chablis, and grabbed a couple of bottles of Fürstenberg too. Call me an Essex girl, but I just like a cold beer with a curry. The wine was opened later, while we watched The Zookeepers Wife (not Mr LittleStuff’s first choice, but he was sweetly going with the ‘me time’ theme of the day :) )

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It was a really surprisingly perfect day. I’ve been mulling over just how good it was – and why – but more on that soon. If you have a friend, sister, or Mum who you know is in need of a little pick me up, why not treat her with a One4all gift card yourself – have some fun planning your own day off together. How would you spend it?