Confessions of an Accidental Shop Lifter & What I Packed to Travel to France

And some things I wish I'd packed tbh

Bon Jour! And bon anniversaire! I hadn’t even realised it’s been a whole year until I saw Jack post that he had been writing on SubStack for a year and we started at the same time. When I started I wasn’t sure if I’d stick to it at all but it turns out I really enjoy writing here and I can’t believe how quickly the year has flown! I hugely appreciate the messages I receive saying it’s now become part of your Sunday morning ritual with your morning cuppa! Thank you so much for being here!

You can find Jack here - He writes a fab post each week, sourcing excellent items to tempt you with. He has a lovely style.

RIGHT! Back to this week’s shenanigans

I have so much to tell you and I promise to write some detailed posts about the campervan, the trip, places we stayed etc etc - however, today’s post is all about packing.

Packing to go away somewhere new is always a bit tricky.

If the weather is reliably warm it makes things a whole lot easier, and if you kind of know what to expect out of a place, that narrows it down too. For instance if you are headed to a 5 star all inclusive hotel in the Caribbean, you most likely won’t need your jeans and a cagoule.

If you are off to Europe camping, you might need your jeans and cagoule, then again, you might not. JEOPARDY.

I am a serial over packer. I know this fact even before I start the over packing process. The trouble is, in my defence, I just don’t know what I will FEEL like wearing. So OBVIOUSLY I have to pack more than I need in case I simply change my mind. I also know that if we stumble across a market or shop, and something just happens to *follow me out*, I will wear it for the rest of the holiday and everything else will come home clean and very creased. *That sounds like I am a highly skilled shoplifter - I promise I’m not - although I DO have previous…. OH GODDDD (wailing) I will have to tell you know, to appease the guilt that has been with me for the last 30 years.

The Confession…

Let us for a moment, go back to 1990. I was working in a fancy salon in Guildford called Dedlock & Barnett. It was such a fun job, there were about 25 of us girls (we named ourselves The Dedlock Dollies - we were quite the squad) and one very out numbered chap called Gary, who we all adored,was an honorary dolly too whether he liked it or not. (He ended up at Vidal Sassoon, he was and still is an amazing stylist.) ANYWAY, I used to nip out between clients because the salon was about 5 seconds from the high street. One chilly day I popped out for a mere nano second while my client’s perm (YES PERM haha) was processing - I darted out to buy a sarnie - diverted very quickly and swung by the swimming costumes in Top Shop on the way back - nothing jumped out at me (or so I thought..) so I headed back to the staff room clutching my lunch. I got back to the salon and went to hang my coat up,

and THAT IS WHEN I SPOTTED IT. Hanging, still on its hanger, swinging almost jauntily, from the belt on the back of my trench coat…

…a gorgeous swimming costume, bright green with neon pink straps, in my exact size. No idea how it arrived there, and it must have been attached to me all the way back down the hight street until I found it. Now, did I take it back or did I let the perm over process… my client would ALWAYS be my primary concern so I did as anyone would do and left it on the back of my coat and continued with my day. We worked long hours and by 8pm I was thinking about leaving when I suddenly remembered I was a shop lifter (albeit an accidental one) and the stolen goods were still hanging with the coats.

I figured Top Shop would be closed by now and anyway it was my actual size and I hadn’t been arrested or set off any alarms, so I hooked it off my coat, popped it in my bag and had a quick look outside the salon door… (just incase obvs)…checked it was all clear and legged it to my little white mini, patiently waiting for me in the carpark and took it home. THE STOLEN GOODS WERE MEANT TO BE MIIINE

That swimming cossie was my absolute favourite for about the next 5 years. I loved it and always felt a teeeeeeny bit like a woman on the run when I wore it. I wore it to death and eventually it went all out of shape and, kind of like an elastic band when it perishes, it perished and eventually went to wherever swimming costumes go to die. And I have carried the absolute guilt of it ever since HA!

Phew. That’s off my chest now. This is like therapy.

Right, back to the packing.

And the tale of a search for a yellow cardigan. Which ends in triumph! Settle back while I regale the story…

We were at the beach bar in Newquay one sunny afternoon a couple of weeks ago. In walked a lady wearing THE most delicious outfit - she looked absolutely FAB in it, and over her arm was a yellow cardigan. The whole ensemble just looked SO good.

So I bring you her outfit - I went to great lengths to find a yellow cardi like hers. She was deep in conversation with her friend and much as I was ITCHING to tell her she looked amazing and by the way, where’s the cardi from, it didn’t seem appropriate. (Regretted it ever since. Rolls eyes at self)

I found a (frankly sub par) cardi in a market. It sheds yellow fluff everywhere I go (literally like a trail. If I was kidnapped whilst wearing it you wouldn’t need a blue tooth device to find me, just follow the trail of yellow fluff) and I don’t think I will ever be able to actually wash it - that’s if there is anything left of it to wash after it ends its shedding period. I am GUTTED I didn’t find the one in the pic above until it was too late. However, it’s not too late for you!

Here are the details of the best outfit I have seen for ages. All the moving parts can be worn easily with other stuff you all ready have and the cardi is PERFECT to pull everything together

1. Excellent blue stripe linen shirt - lovely with jeans, and jean shorts and very nice over a vest and worn open LINKED HERE

2. Sunnies FIND THEM HERE

3. Woven belt HERE

4. Linen Trousers HERE

5. Amour Paris woven tote LINKED HERE

6. Woven Sandals Find THEM HERE

7. And last but absolutely not least ….PERFECT YELLOW CARDI IN THIS LINK!

Now let’s take all of that on holiday …. I am massively regretting the fact that I found the lemon dress, too late!! I must also add, that I know I have been banging on about those FitFlops, I have them in the muti red colour - and I can now report that I walked over 10km in them yesterday and they really are fab. Also, and this may be a slightly niche observation - they are high enough off the ground that you don’t get any stones flipping up in to them and under the soles of your feet. If that makes sense. Zero grit. (I am aware that all of that is terrible English and if I asked ChatGPT to paraphrase I am certain it would be more succinct. But here we are)

1. Oyster tee From HERE

2. THE CARDI WALK DON'T RUN

3. Blue linen smart shorts Find Them Here

4. Lemon Tote Find It Here

5. Fit-Flops Step This Way

6. Amour Paris Tote Le Sac Magic

7. Lemon Dress When Life Gives You Lemons...

8. Stripe Linen Short Sleeve Blouse Goes With Everything Short Sleeved Blouse

And here are some really good bags at EXCELLENT prices - from around the £12 mark to £35 - I love them alllllll !

1. Diamond Raffia Tote Find It Here

2. Monogrammed Straw Shopper Linked Here

3. C’est La Vie Tote Excellent Price

4. Pink & Orange Tote Linked Here

5. Olivia Rubin Stripe Tote Absolute bargain

6. Talking Tables Tomato Stripe Tote Linked Here

I have also brought my vitamins with me and in particular I am finding the magnesium is really helping with the sleep situation (ngl, a super-king bed with Egyptian cotton sheets and a daily turn down service would help too, but c’est la vie)

And I would be traumatised if I didn’t have my collagen - my old sore joints in my hands and knees have improved SO much I am kicking myself for not taking the plunge sooner

My discount codes are still live so it’s a great time to try it (for transparency I have worked with Higher Nature - but was a customer before that happened and sharing bc the codes are still active and I get asked alot re the collagen - which you can put in your coffee so if you aren’t a fan of putting it in your water, put it in your tea, coffee, hot choc and I promise it has no taste)

Here is a copy and paste of the deals from the earlier blog post And here is a link to the website

15% off a single order of over £10 using SALLY15

30% OFF FIRST SUBSCRIPTION ORDER - ACROSS THE HIGHER NATURE RANGE

Code: SALLY30

Dates: 30th March 2025 - 30th June 2025

T&Cs: Terms and conditions apply. Subject to change and availability, Higher Nature reserves the right to remove the offer at any time. Offer valid from 30th March 2025 - 30th June 2025. 30% off subscribe & save applies to the first order only when using the discount code SALLY 30. £10 minimum subscription purchase amount to activate the SALLY30 discount code. Limited to one use per customer. Discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer, discount or promotion. Second and third subscription orders enjoy 15% off, then 10% thereafter. Discount does not apply to any applicable delivery charge

And I think that rounds up this week’s post!

I am still posting on IG even though IG doesn’t like holidays (apparently) but I have no desire to go viral or get thousands of likes on a post - I just want to post a nice photo or make a reel here and there - like the olden days :) It is actually very liberating!

I always hark back to the time ‘I left 1500 people in China’ when I was there with Gav on a work trip - perhaps the info on a fancy loo that you could programme for a wash and blow dry (ahem not on your head… I know right!!) was too much ! Still makes me laugh! tbh though what I’d give for a heated loo seat…. In France it seems you are lucky if you even get a loo seat and some places don’t have loo paper at all. I was shooketh at that particular discovery. This is all clearly going to take some good prior planning.

That reminds me - did I ever tell you the tale about the MASSIVE toad in a roadside loo in Northern Australia?? Or the disaster in the unplumbed loo in Alice Springs?

I could literally write a book about these ‘events’ but it would put you off your granola.

I will leave you with that delightful thought!

Until next week!

Bonne Journee mon petits filous!

Much love

Sally xxxx

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