Welcome to our regular monthly shop and share, where we look back on our virtual bank statements and see what we bought. No gifts, no discounts, just ‘nice things’ we loved enough to spend our own hard-earned cash on – and that we’d recommend to you.

As the autumn chill hit, we clearly went into cosy mode with two cardigan purchases as well as a few other cocooning essentials.

Widdess mohair hand knit cardigan, $489

I can’t remember the last time I saw something in a storefront window, walked in and bought it immediately – especially when it has a 3-digit price tag. I normally agonise over a new clothing purchase for weeks until it either sells out or I’m over it. It must have been our recent Colour Week, I was so drawn to this cobalt blue knit and I have no regrets for impulse buying it. It was a real SJP in Sex and The City moment, love that for me (hate that for my savings). This colourway has unfortunately sold out, but there are still lots of cute knits available: the pink and green, purple, and rust colourways are dreamy, and soft as a cloud. - Lara Daly 

Thea matcha powder, ceremonial blend, $50

Last month I was reducing my alcohol intake with shrubs and other ferments, this month I’ve cut coffee. I adore matcha; anyone who finds it bitter isn’t preparing it correctly or is using old/oxidised powder. Ceremonial blend is the highest quality matcha you can get and I like it as a morning hot drink with steamed oat milk. A matcha macchiato, if you will. 

I also pulled out an old favourite cookbook recently, Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson, and it has a page of matcha spritzers. I’d never thought to mix matcha with fizzy water but it works a treat. Two favourites are matcha with East Imperial Grapefruit Soda whisked together, and matcha mixed with soda(stream) water and a dash of the Beauty Chef Hydration boost which contains fermented hyaluronic acid and coconut. The perfect replacement for my evening G&T. 

The matcha, in a beautiful reusable tin, also came with a note thanking me for supporting a small business; I love it when I know my money is going to a good place. - Rebecca Wadey

Wixii cashmere cardigan, $375

If you’ve seen me in the past month, chances are I will have been wearing this cardigan. A red crew neck cardigan was the only item on my Autumn clothing wishlist, and I publicly declared that I was going to thrift one, and had set up saved searches on many reselling sites only to literally run to Wixii to nab this one that is, in my eyes, perfect after Zoe sent me a link with the caption “personal shopping alert”. - Tyson Beckett

Le Bon Shoppe denim skirt, about $250, from Lisa Says Gah

I actually bought this at the end of last month, but it arrived in March so it counts – and I didn’t buy anything fun this month because I had to pay for my cat to have a very expensive biopsy (RIP my bank account). This is also expensive, for a denim skirt that looks vintage, but an instant favourite and a good replacement for another vintage-inspired denim skirt that I’ve had since 2015 but no longer really fit. The denim is soft, and it’s the perfect bogan black denim wash. - Zoe Walker Ahwa

General Sleep robe, $174, from Made Good (on sale)

I’ve been wearing the same blue satin robe from Cotton On for about seven years, it was time for an upgrade. This one has everything I want in a robe: it’s roomy, soft, has deep pockets, and a nice weight to it - perfect for all seasons. Also, nice to support a business with a transparent supply chain that uses fair-trade, organic cotton. - LD

Cowboy Carter tee, $65

This little indie artist called Beyoncé has gotten some much-needed funds from me this month. She’s welcome. I’ve given up on seeing her in concert anytime soon so this t-shirt is a consolation prize if you will. I love a cowboy or cowgirl motif; we once holidayed at a dude ranch in Bandera County, the cowboy capital of Texas, and it was some of the best fashions I’ve ever seen. This t-shirt is still making its way to my letterbox so I’m unsure exactly how I will wear it, but be sure I will! - RW

Apple iPhone 15, $1649

Is being contactable at every waking (or sleeping) moment a ‘nice thing’? I’m not sure. What I do know is that my iPhone didn’t survive a six story fall off the deck onto concrete and shortly after that crushing fall I came to realise how utterly reliant my life has become on that thing. The forced reset has had some positives though, here’s another potentially short lived  public declaration: I’m off TikTok. Siri, start a stopwatch. - TB

OOB supercharge smoothie mix, $14

Look I know I could very easily make this myself but I am very lazy, so I don’t. And this pre-mixed bag of frozen kale, kiwifruit, apple and mint means that I actually drink something before coffee some mornings. The other smoothie mix that I buy, and more regularly as it’s at my local supermarket, a bigger bag and cheaper, is The Orchard Gold ‘crave your greens’. - ZWA

Affogato, $12, from Island Gelato

Back when I was on TikTok (two whole weeks ago) I was inundated with videos of linen clad tourists strolling through the streets of Florence in search of a viral affogato from Vivoli Gelateria. The rest of my spending this month will tell you I’m not affording a trip to Italy anytime soon, but an affogato eaten with a wooden paddle stick from a paper coffee cup, while standing in the sun on Ponsonby Road was an accessible proxy for La Dolce Vita. - TB