I walked away in the face of a truly awesome bargain this afternoon. Because the 112 tram had broken down, I was taking a stroll up Brunswick Street and happened upon a shop selling discount Allanah Hill clothing, along with various other designer labels. Against my better judgement I went inside to scope out the racks, and found the most gorgeous hand beaded silk dress which was reduced from $489 to $69. I’m not great at maths, but I knew that was a damn fine bargain, so I picked it up and carried it around for a little while, trying to ignore the fact it was totally see through, and completely impractical - much more so than a bargain Target dress, which doesn’t show my underwear.

Further down the rack, there was a supercool bright red 100% wool dress that buttoned down the front, which was named after Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I love red, I love that style of dress, and it was only $50. So I carried that around for a while too. In the past, I wouldn’t even have bothered trying them on, but I’m trying really hard to be sensible when buying clothes, so I went into the changeroom (no mirror inside) and put on the red dress first. It was missing two buttons but still looked great (but God that lighting made me look hideous. Even the fluoros at the gym aren’t as harsh). I tried to imagine it with long boots and a slightly better lit face. Then I thought about the buttons. Would I replace them? (No). Would I always look at the dress, thinking “I spent $50 on you, and you’re missing two buttons I’m too lazy to replace” (Yes). Did I need it? (No) Was it the tram’s fault I put myself through this? (Yes). So I walked away, dressless. Amazing.

Today I had lunch with Jane, who’s been training with me since early this year. Sometimes we go out after yoga, which is always fun. It’s nice when people you’ve originally met as clients become your friend as well (especially when you’ve forced them to do lunges and they still like you - well, perhaps forced isn’t quite the right word, but you know what I mean). I also give Jane top marks for not even blinking last time we went out as I ordered a huge slice of chocolate cake with cream - possibly not the best example your personal trainer could provide. Today I was far more reserved and just had chicken risotto with wild mushrooms.

Miss M is at camp tonight, but left me the most gorgeous answering machine message, which I’ve replayed a couple of times. I’m imagining her swinging around the ropes course and demanding a lot of food. I hope that camp’s stocked up well on groceries. To celebrate my relaxing evening I’m cooking lamb shanks, then I’m going to have a bath and go to bed super early. I was going to go to a movie, but I really wanted to see the new James Bond film, and it hasn’t started yet, and I can’t decide on a replacement.

As a footnote, I forgot to mention the second, less practical and seethrough dress, which didn’t fit properly and had a dodgy zip. Needless to say (although I think I already did), it went back on the rack.

Today I’m loving: willpower, baby!