I think yesterday is best described as 'Confessions of a Shopaholic'
It started off so well. The weather forecast was good so we decided to do a healthy hike and then head to the beach. We got up early and packed a big picnic -actually, DH did all that while I stared bleary eyed into my coffee-. Frugal and healthy so far, eh? What could go wrong?
We drove to Wicklow and ascended The Sugarloaf mountain. I almost gave up about half-way up but promised myself coffee and cake if I made it to the summit. I was very proud of myself when we got to the top and the views the whole way up were amazing. We almost made off with a dog when we were leaving The Sugarloaf car park - a lovely lab jumped into the boot of our car and made a little bed for himself in amongst the bags and hiking boots etc. 
Then we drove to a town called Arklow because I'd seen an ad for a festival. We wandered around for a while taking in the sights and sounds. We spent €2.55 on ice creams and €12 on the fairground rides - €3 per ride x 2 rides x 2 people. The sun was getting very intense at this point and we couldn't drive off as our car was blocked in (they'd closed off some of the roads for the festival). DD was complaining that she was getting a headache so we went in search of a cafe so we could get out of the sun for a while. We had some coffees and cake and DD had a smoothie and a crepe. DH paid but I'd say we easily spent about €20.
There was a shopping centre at the back of the cafe and I was lured into Next by some Sale signs. I bought 2 tops for €8.50 each and DH got a set of shirts and tie for €24 (half price). DD was feeling a bit left out so I went into New Look with her and she got a pair of floral dungarees and white top for €27.98. Unfortunately, there was no sale on in New Look so we paid full price for her things. I haven't bought many clothes for her this year as she's mostly still fitting into her summer clothes from last year.
The roads were re-opening at this stage so we drove to a nearby beach (a bit later than intended). €4 for parking - I thought it was a bit mean that they charged us full price when we were only going to be there for the evening. Anyway, it was one of those rare evenings when it was still warm even thought it had clouded over by this stage. DH and DD had a swim and I paddled a bit and had a nice walk along the beach. We finally had our picnic about 7 and left the beach about 8.30 p.m.
I guessed we'd spent somewhere between €60 or €80 and was a bit shocked to tot it up and discover that we actually spent over €100 
. A perfect illustration of how you can fritter away large sums of money in a matter of hours.
In a way I don't regret it because it was a lovely day and we made the most of it. We certainly packed a lot in. We will use the clothes so at least we have something to show for our money. But we really should have stuck to our original plan of hike and beach which would have cost us very little.
Moral of the story - steer clear of festivals and shops and cafes.
Having a quiet day today and taking advantage of another lovely day to do some laundry. I'm safe with laundry, right?