Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Evening bloggers. We have put the tree up earlier today so now we have it to look at in the lounge for the next few weeks. It really makes it feel like Christmas. Unlike other years I have not put lots of other decorations around, its just the tree. We don't really have a colour theme , we use the same decorations each year which are traditional colours and fairy lights. I want to try and have a go at making a Christmas wreath but that will be next weekends project time permitting.  

Daughters party dress for £1

Morning bloggers and hope you are well. I wrote earlier this week about my charity shop finds and that I struggle to find anything for me however yesterday I found a nice little number for my daughter who now fits in a size 10. I saw a tiny charity shop I'd never been in before and found a dress by Asos , in whats looks like new condition for a £1. The dress is like a pale cream brocade type material with gold thread/detail ( very similar to the dress I tried at Vintage Vixens stall ) it would look equally good for Christmas as it would for a wedding. Nice capped sleeves with a band around the waist, it fits perfectly. My daughter was really pleased with it.

Fabulous day for freebies

Today I have had freebies that have not cost me a thing. I collect my supermarket points and during this month I have been able to double the points vouchers instore on certain items. Having scrutinized the offers we decided upon a new camera, a Nikon that would have cost £109. The supermarket had also sent me a £5 off coupon for their direct service so we ordered the camera, took the £5 off and the remaining £104 was covered by the doubled up points. They had also sent me a coupon for a free box of matchmakers so we thought we'd pick those up at the same time. My husbands was highly delighted when he went off to get the chocolates and came backed armed with three boxes. This week they were on offer at buy one get another two free. So we came away with a free camera and three free boxes of chocolate :-)

Todays date 11/12/13

Apparently there won't be another date like this for 90 years :-)

Cathedral City Chazzing

Yesterday I had the day off work and spent the day at the lovely cathedral city of Lichfield which is just down the road from where I live. Lichfield is a lovely place, beautiful cathedral, nice park and lots of old buildings. Not to mention quite a few charity chops. Normally I don't have much luck at the charity shops, being a plus size the finds for me are few and far between. In the first shop I saw a beautiful pair of T Bar healed shoes in forest green leather made by Jones the Bootmaker, new and unworn at £8.99. Very excitedly I tried them on to find that they were way too tight so I reluctantly had to put them back on the shelf. Moving onto the next shop I was just about to leave when I spotted a black peplum style top made by Autograph for M&S. Tried it on and it fitted just right so that was £6.50. In the last shop of the day I came across my second find which was a party type dress. Knee length plain black body with a round jewelled embellished neckline and chiffon type long sleeves and cuffs. Tried this on and it was a perfect fit and did look good if I do say so myself. The sales assistants and a fellow shopper all commented how nice it looked so I snapped that up at £9.99. Both have been quick washed since I got home and the dress was hung on a hanger and to my delight does not need ironing, if only all clothes were like that ! So although they were not super duper charity shop bargains I got two items for less than £17 which I am really pleased with. Pity about the shoes but you cant have everything.

When Miss Piggy met Vintage Vixen

Hello bloggers and welcome to my new follower, thank you for joining me. I've wrote recently that I hadn't anything to blog about but today I have ! I went to a Christmas Craft Fayre earlier today and who did I spot across the room but none other that local lass and blogging royalty Vintage Vixen who had a pitch at the event. Vix looked resplendent in a long white Grecian type gown and just as lovely in real life as we see on the photos on her blog. Feeling a little starstruck I went over and introduced myself but I'm afraid there is no photo as I am too shy ( I know its silly but that's me ! ) I did try on a lovely dress from her stall but unfortunately it didn't fit however I didn't come away empty handed as I bought a pair of pearly clip on earrings that I will be wearing over the festive season. I have been reading Vix's blog for nearly three years now and it was nice to meet her in the flesh. The fayre was great and like an Aladdins cave full of goodies, I shall definitely be going next time around. If you haven't read Vix's blog yet be sure to check it out at http://vintagevixon.blogspot.co.uk/

It has been a while since my last blog ............

Hello bloggers and hope you are keeping well. I haven't blogged in quite a while but firstly thank you to those of you who have sent me messages and kind wishes xxx. I haven't blogged as I haven't felt I had anything to say to be honest , I still read other blogs and comment from time to time. For me this year has been a bit of a weird one in ways that I can't go into publicly. Areas of myself have changed, hopefully for the better. I no longer ( or at least try not to ) let the words/actions of others grind me down like I did previously. I try and be a better friend to myself. Amazingly by my standards and lack of will power, I continue to go to my exercise class twice a week which I have been doing since the summer. I have lost about 5kg in weight and this has enabled me to dig out some old stuff from the wardrobes which people have complimented me on. '' Nice shoes/trousers/skirt'' etc friends and colleagues have mentioned but its all old stuff, nothing new. Same with make up, I have lots in stock bought in the bygone era of shopping trips and days out. I've started wearing it now and people have noticed which I find awkward. I find it awkward when people compliment it me as I'm not used to it, I have been a bit of a frump for so long I suppose you get used to going unnoticed. I had my hair cut , shorter than usual and more choppy. As I sat there I didn't feel consumed with dread as it was being snipped off, I was feeling quite brave and not worried like I would have been before. Socially my ( our ) life has improved, since moving house we have made more friends and have been out more. Don't get me wrong we are not out all weekend clubbing but the occasional drink and meal with friends has been very nice and a welcome change. I am still at college and sit my exams in the summer. The work can be hard but I have enjoyed the challenge and meeting new people. I'm intending to do another course in September, something different but to keep the old grey matter ticking along. Frugally, I still like to save money and cut costs where possible. I have been able to keep up my mortgage overpayment that I started last year which I am really pleased about but I am making sure that I am enjoying life now. Lots of people have mixed views on this but I have seen so many people over the last couple of years robbed of their retirement through ill health and bereavement I feel its important to enjoy yourself whilst you still have the physical means to do so. We had a great family holiday this year that we all thoroughly enjoyed and we hope to do the same next year, money permitting. My daughter is about to become a teenager soon and she wont always want to be with 'Mom & Dad ' so these times I feel are precious. So as this year comes to a close I feel I'm in a good place/ Bye for now :-)

Still exercising

Hi Bloggers and hope you are keeping well. Not much happening here not at least to write about anyway. I have been continuing with my exercise regime since the beginning of the school holidays , which for me is massive as I usually throw in the towel after the first few attempts. I have been going to zumba at least twice a week sometimes three. I feel so much more energetic and capable. I went to a party two weeks ago and whereas normally I might muster a dance and then sit down puffed out, I was up bopping away for some considerable time and didn't feel the need to call an ambulance thereafter. Also I have managed to lose weight, since I first weighed myself four weeks ago, I weighed in again this week and have lost a total of 2.8 kilos which I am very pleased. I even wore a knee length skirt to work which caused nearly all my colleagues to comment upon , as I usually wear a long skirt for work. I have a dress that I am hoping to slim into, so all being well I could wear it at Christmas if I am lucky. Bye for now

Starting back at college

Last year I went back to college. I bit the bullet and decided to improve my maths. I got a grade D at GCSE and I could retake it for free thanks to my local council. As my GCSE was older than 3 years, I had to take a City and Guilds exam in Functional Maths first. This is a qualification in itself but also a bit of a refresher for people like me who have been out of the school system for many a year ! We took the exam in July and I was most pleased to receive my certificate the other day to say I'd passed. The college advised us that we could finish with that or continue with the GCSE which will be done over one year quite intensively. I have signed up for another year and start back next week. Although at times I found the class hard to fit in with my other commitments in adult life , I persevered. I only missed two classes in the year when I was ill and caught up quickly. I enjoyed being back in the class room environment, mixing with other people and doing the homework. I also liked receiving my homework back , more often than not, all correct and welcomed the encouragement from my tutor. I liked college so much that I toyed with the idea of also doing Sociology but decided against it this year. Because the Maths will be intensive I want to give it my full attention and get the best grade I can. I really want to improve upon my school grade to prove to my self albeit 20 years later that I could do it. I plan to do the other course next September as I want to continue learning but probably will be all Maths'd out by then and fancy a change. A big bonus for me is that I can understand and discuss my daughters homework with her, whereas before it was a bit daunting. It will be hard work for me over the next year but in real time its only until July with a few school holidays in between.

Clunk, clunk....sounds expensive !

Hi Bloggers. I have been driving in my car the last few days and it has been making an unwelcome sound. Clunking at certain times which doesn't sound good. The garage has been able to fit us in today so we should be getting a call later to advise of the 'damage' , damage as in the repair and then damage as in ££££ !!

Tasty meal for pence.............Risotto

Welcome firstly to my new followers. Thank you all for joining. I have found a whole new world recently and that is the world of Risotto ! Previously it never really appealed to me. I'd watch Gordon Ramsey on TV tasting it at the hatch then rejecting it and I never thought much of it. It always looked like rice pudding which I don't like. Then recently I had it for a starter when I had a restaurant meal. It was delicious but even then it wasn't something I thought of doing myself. That was until my husband came home with a reduced box of 'Riso Gallo' for 50p from our local store. It sat in the cupboard for a few weeks until I bit the bullet and decided to try it out. I used half a box , an onion, some mushrooms, a chicken stock cube and some grated cheese. It was delicious and a great way to have a meat free meal that was relatively quick and easy and the whole family enjoyed. We have been thinking about when to make our next one and what to include. I imagine that any odd bits and pieces could be thrown in. We bought our first box reduced but I have seen online that I can get a pack for about £1 full price so even then it wouldn't break the bank and still come in as a cheap meal. Do you have Risotto ? If so what ingredients do you use ?

Four months today is Christmas Day

Love it or loathe it but Christmas is fast approaching. I ,like many people , prepare in advance and I have bought cards in the January sales and gifts throughout the year when money and time allows. I find this suits me as I then don't feel stressed again with time and money in December when most peoples shopping marathon begins. I also get any stamps I need well in advance and post my cards during the first week in December, wherever possible I hand deliver. I try and fit in any visits in the week running up to the day itself to hand out gifts and then that just leaves gifts for my immediate family and anyone else who I will be with on the day. This year I think we will be having dinner at home so soon I will be stocking up for the meal. I usually begin my 'Christmas Hamper' around now whereby I purchase something each week and put it aside in a box for Christmas. In fact I already have my first item, a Christmas pudding which I bought in the January sales half price. The puddings have long dates and mine is dated well into next years new year. I like Christmas but I don't like a big cost, that's why I always plan ahead as best I can.

Starting to prepare for the winter months

Although its still August I am thinking ahead to the dark nights and winter months. I've started to make a few preparations so I'm organised in good time. Here are some things I have been doing lately;

Central Heating and Gas fire check;

I've had them on for a very short while as I want to make sure that everything is in working order. If not I don't want any nasty surprises when its cold to find that it doesn't work and I have a huge bill for repairs. If you have to call someone out now they are probably not as much in demand either as when its cold and everyones boilers are breaking down.

Clothes and shoes;

In the good weather I have washed the winter coats, found all my scarves and gloves and put them all nicely together along with umberellas. I have sorted out my socks and thick tights and I have alos found out my snow boots and other winter boots ready for the bad weather. I have these all to hand so if I wake up to snow one day I am good to go.

Food Store;

I have started to restock my garage with non perishable items. In last years snow we were well stocked when the bad snow came so we had no worries about getting out to the shops.

Some change;

Again in the snow I had to get the bus into work some days. The main roads were not to bad but where I live the side roads were very slippy and dangerous. I didn't want to risk accident or injury with my own car so jumped on the bus a few times.

Scrapers. De icer and snow grit;

These are usually lurking around in bargain bins during the summer so I stock up.

Blankets and hot water bottles;

Again all blankets laundered and ready at hand if the cold strikes.

Candles and Matches;

Another store cupboard item just in case of any power cuts, I have strategically placed around my house a candle in each room. If the power goes I know exactly where the matches are and also spare candles.
 

A good day for bargains

We headed off into town this afternoon to buy school shoes. I always leave it as long as possible in the holidays to get the new shoes to avoid any last minute growth spurts. I already knew which shoes we wanted, a pair of Clark's brogues at £54.99. More expensive than the school shoe range but a better heal and sole that could be redone when they are worn down , so I didn't mind the extra expense. Feet measured and shoes collected , the sales assistant told me they had 20% off. The shoes cost me £43.99 which I was very happy with.

Then off to Boots to pick up some bits. The children's toys had a half price sale on selected items plus a 3for 2 offer. I managed to get three things that are a Christmas present and two birthday presents for next year;

Play Mobil Boat £7.50 from £15
Play Mobil Cafe £8.50 from £17
Richard Hammond's Blast Lab science kit £7.50 from £15... Total spend for 3 gifts £16

My last bargain was school blazer , £33 in one shop . I managed to find it in another shop for £26.

So bloggers I am quite chuffed with my bargains today !

Food Banks

Hi Bloggers. Like many of you I have seen a few blogs about Food Banks over the last few days. Its something that I have heard about but never really thought about. I suppose that could be said for a lot of people that you see things and think what a good idea they are but then the thought stops there. Reading about Food Banks made me think about our own situation a few years ago when we faced redundancy and the dark days that consumed us until my husband was fortunate enough to get another job just three weeks before he was due to leave his employer. In the preceding months of his redundancy date I had made my own food bank. I stock piled lots of tins ,non perishable goods and toiletries etc and I bought as many supermarket stamps as I could to prepare ourselves. We were very lucky that it didn't come to that for our family and I suppose that we may have been in the position ourselves where we would have had to use the services of a Food Bank. After reading the articles yesterday I contacted my local councillor and he told me where I could take any donations locally. I think I will start to buy a few items each week and then maybe do a drop off once a month .

Its a Boy !!

Well the wait is over and the new Royal Baby Boy has arrived earlier this afternoon. His parents must be over the moon as we were when our baby was born. I am a bit of a history geek and have been following the events closely and wished I could be outside Buck House this evening to join in the celebrations. A future King has been born, I wonder if I will live to see that occasion ?

I have achieved something this week.......

Morning bloggers and I hope you are well. This week I am pleased with myself as I have achieved something, I have finally bit the bullet and gone to an exercise class. I have been toying with the idea for a long time as I am a bit of a ponderer and decided to take decisive action and go. Where I live the council with the NHS have some free activities each week to encourage healthy living. There are a few classes but times & locations don't always align with my timetable so I found that the Zumba class would be most convenient for me. Now I was unsure before I went along ; would I keep up ? would I be the biggest there ? would I be unco-ordinated ? would I be wrecked afterwards ? The answer to those questions really surprised me as it was NO. Obviously I did not know all of the moves so if I was out of sync at any time I just marched through it until I could catch up , but I did manage the whole session without lying down or sitting out!! Afterwards I didn't feel too bad either. It was a really hot day and I took plenty of chilled water with me that came in very useful. I have felt achy over the day or two since the class but on the whole I enjoyed it and felt slightly empowered by going. I do intend to go again as I want to be fitter and healthier and if slimmer comes into it then all the better.

Pizza Disappointment

I am cross with myself today. Last night I was weak and bought a takeaway pizza , £10 ( yes I know ! ) and it was rubbish. I only have myself to blame but it was a busy day. We have all been there but I am still cross and feel yuk today :-(

Enjoying my weekend

Good morning bloggers. I am enjoying a lovely weekend. Yesterday I spend most of the day at a friends BBQ. We had such great food and company and enjoyed the sunshine. Today I am off for Sunday lunch with some relatives so good food and a chat will be on the menu. I'm having such a lot of fun that nothing much is getting done at home but I'm not worrying too much about that. I had washed all the school uniform yesterday and some bird had pooped on the school trousers so they have had to be washed again today ...grrrrr ... never mind at least the weather is super and they'll dry again in no time. Bye for now

Recycling a ripped towel

Good afternoon bloggers and I hope you are enjoying the sunshine.

I have managed to get my friend with a sewing machine to do a little job for me all in the name of recycling and reusing. I have a large bath sheet that I am very fond of and discovered that it had ripped when I used it the other day. The rip is a horizontal rip , just a couples of inches long but it runs neatly parallel to the top of the bath sheet. Rather than throw it away or consign it to the rag bag I have cut it and now I have a hand sized towel and a decent sized bath towel. My friend will then machine stitch it for me on the cut edges and voila ! , I now have decent towels again.

I am chuffed with it as it was a good quality towel I have had for a long time and I was reluctant to part company with it. Plus I have to admit that the idea was not entirely mine as I have seen it done on other blogs so I have to give credit where credit is due, if my memory serves me correctly I think it was Scarlet at ' Finished Article'.

** It was Scarlet's blog, she turned a big towel into smaller hand towels ***

Cheap and Tasty Supper

Good evening bloggers. Its Friday, I'm tired and I wanted something quick and easy for tea. I defrosted some chipolata sausages from the freezer earlier, you know the kind yellow stickered 29p reduced fron £1.46.

I squoze the sausages out of the skins and browned the sausagemeat, threw in a sliced onion, a few mushrooms and a pepper with some garlic granules. Then I added 200ml of hot water to a chicken stock cube (10p a pack from Tesco ) and then added that to a tin of chopped tomatoes ( 25p) which I blitzed in the blender. I then poured the tomatoes into the pan with the sausagemeat and added a squirt of tomato puree and some salt and pepper. I then left it to simmer until it had reduced down and thickened up.

Meanwhile my water was bubbling away, I boiled my pasta ( Tesco everyday 30p pack) and then I added the meat to the pasta and cooked for a few minutes together.

At the table I sprinkled the pasta with some grated cheese and we all enjoyed a yummy pasta meal.
Quick and easy but mainly inexpensive. Crudely its probably cost me about £1.50 for a yumtastic meal that's fed three of us. What are you having for dinner ?

Are things built to last ?

Hi bloggers and welcome to another new follower, thanks for coming aboard.

When I moved house last year I bought a new fridge freezer, it is now less than a year old and we have had to call the engineer out. At our old house we had a fridge and freezer that we bought in 1996 which still works and now lives in the garage. Only last week my husband suggested getting rid of them as we hadn't used them since we moved. Now this week the new fridge seems to be warm. The engineer came earlier and said the freezer isn't working properly either, and although frozen now it will get warmer also over time. We have someone else coming next week to flush it with gas, this apparently may work and correct the problem.

The old fridge and freezer are now back and operational. Luckily so or all my stuff would have spoilt.

What do you think, are things not up to the job nowadays ?
 

Wash-a-thon

Good afternoon Bloggers and its a glorious day where we are. I feel I have woken up in the Canary Islands , it is SO hot !!!

I am taking advantage of this super weather to wash and dry all the winter coats. I have a really thick fur like coat that when I wear it I feel like I am one of the children in Narnia. It is super thick and warm but a pain to get dry so it gets laundered on a day like today. The line is full but everything is drying so quick, you don't get many days like today.

I could be out today enjoying the sunshine but I am also suffering with my hayfever massively so I am content with getting jobs done and relaxing around the home. Are you out today basking in the sunshine ?

Yellow Brick Road

Evening bloggers. Another new follower this week so a big hello and thanks for joining. I have just got back from a 24 hour supermarket and have stocked up with bargains once again.

If I look in my freezer I expect to see Dorothy with  her little dog and the Lion, Scarecrow and Tin Man. My freezer looks like the Yellow Brick Road with all its little yellow stickers lined up nicely.

Tonight I snapped up some bargains ;

Chicken fillets from £7.74 to £1.16
Chicken Kievs from £5.50 to 55p
Onion loaf from £1.40 to 14p
Spinach and Ricotta Sauce from £2 to 22p
Sausagemeat from £1.85 to 28p
Ham from £2 to 30p
German meats from £1.70 to 26p
Pizza from £2 to 30p
Beef hotpot from £3.50 to 33p

These lovelies will be gobbled up next week. Nighty Night !

 

Still trying to live better for less

Hi Bloggers and thank you to my new followers, please drop in from time to time.

When I began my blog it was in the main about living better for less. I still try to do this and try and source bargains wherever possible. I have managed to get a few cheeky bargains recently from the British Heart Foundation charity shops. Recently I got a brand new Kipling bag , although someone had removed the monkey! I got this for £5.99 and the bags retail in excess of £30 brand new. Today I got a Tula leather bag, although second hand for £3.99. It was in excellent condition with no nasty lingering smells or scratches and I have seen a similar bag online for £47.

Food wise I have managed to get some bargains and these will go in the freezer for meals later in the month:
Warburtons loaf 45p reduced from £1.49
Leeks 25p reduced from £2.09
Egg custards 19p reduced from 69p
2 packs of diced lamb 89p per pack reduced from £5 each
Pack of diced beef £1.79 reduced from £4.99

And lastly two bunches of flowers 29p reduced from £2 per bunch ( they were on offer at £2- should have been £4 !!)

Bye for now x

 

Its six months until Christmas Eve......

Hello bloggers and I hope you are all well. Thank you to my new followers who now total 99, if anyone else would like to follow please do as 100 is a nice number !

The year is whizzing by so fast and today is 24th June which makes it six months until Christmas Eve. Even though it falls on the same day each year there will still be some headless chickens running around buying food, presents etc on Christmas Eve. Christmas is always one thing that I am very organised with as I like to do as little as possible in December with regards to shopping. I hate going round having to fight my way through crowds and dawdlers. I always buy things in advance to make it as stress free and as inexpensive as possible, and I have quite a stash already.

I have bought some wine which is on offer 3 for £10 from Asda. I like to have some in stock for any last minute presents I may have overlooked and also in case of any visitors. I will get some more between now and then. Also another lucky find was a big box of Thornton's chocolates ( the one the size of a tray ! ) They were £4.99 from Home Bargains with long dates well into the New Year. I have bought two boxes to give as gifts to relatives. Then I saw them in Tesco, same sized box for £13.99. Needless to say I was very happy with my bargain. Have you started Christmas shopping yet, if so what bargains have you managed to get ? Cheerio for now x

TGIF

Hello bloggers. It is a lovely afternoon where I am and the sun is shining and all is well. I'm considering eating al fresco this evening as it is so lovely, today feels like summer is really here. I have a weekend of fun planned, we are off to Alton Towers with our free Sun tickets so I hope the weather stays at least dry so we can enjoy the park. I have been very organised this week and got all my jobs done and everything ready for work and school on Monday so now we can just chill out and enjoy the sunshine. Enjoy your weekend bloggers :-)

Cobblers

Good afternoon Bloggers. Today I have been to the Cobblers, for those readers who may not be familiar with the term it is a person who repairs shoes. I have always used their services and when I was a young child one of my jobs was to take our shoes down the road to the local cobbler to get them re heeled. I think their services are more popular in this age of making do and mend. One of my colleagues has a grand daughter who each time the heel wears down she throws the shoes away, even if the shoe itself is perfectly OK. Imagine throwing away decent shoes like that, it must cost a fortune to replace them. I have taken my boots in to be resoled and re heeled. It is so much cheaper than keep buying new and if you are like me, it can be hard to find comfy shoes. My boots will be ready to collect on Saturday and then I will have at least six months wear before I have to take them in again.

Pork Aplenty !!!

Afternoon Bloggers and I hope you are enjoying your bank holiday whatever you are up too. We have had a lie in and general lazy day before heading to the supermarket to pick up a few bits. Its near the end of the month and time to stock up, however that's not why I went but I managed to swoop up some meaty bargains so my freezer is restocked for the weeks ahead. Its mainly pork but that's OK it will all get eaten. Here's what we got ;

5 twin packs of bacon chops 62p per pack, reduced from £2.49 per pack.
2 twin packs of gammon steaks £1.13 per pack, reduced from £4.50 per pack
Gammon joint £2.97 reduced from £11.87 ( and that was on offer half price !! )
Chicken goujons 57p, reduced from £2.25
Steak mince 56p , reduced from £2.29
6 pork loin steaks £1, reduced from £4.

All for the sum of £10.46 ( should have been £41.86)

Its all in the freezer except for the gammon joint. Its so big I haven't the room for it so its now in the slow cooker and we'll eat it over the next few days.

 

Bluebells

Good afternoon and it certainly is sunny where we are. When I was a young girl I loved bluebells and was always happy to see them dotted around where I lived. This time last year I was not in my new house so I was very pleased to find recently that I now have my own bluebells in my own garden. We've had a few surprises since we moved in last year but this is probably one of the best.

Almost that time of year again.............school uniform

Hi Bloggers and thank you to those who left me kind messages earlier this week. Its hard to believe that June is almost upon us. The schools break up today for a week and when they return I think my daughter has eight weeks left before the summer holidays. She told me the other day that she would like some new school trousers to which I retorted I'm not buying anything for the remainder of this school year and she would have to make do with what she has. That then reminded me that I had an expense that I had forgotten about and that was new uniform for September. I have been lucky with school shoes that have lasted from last September and I hope they make it through until July. I always buy Clark's school shoes as I find cheap shoes are false economy, but now she is in ladies sizes they are more expensive. The brogues that are suitable for school are around £50, a new blazer is £40 , shirts and trousers are needed also so I am probably looking at around £150. I'm not buying new PE kit and I hope the trainers will be OK size wise as they are practically like new, worn once a week during the good weather months. Her school coat she has worn rarely only in bad weather , which still fits so that is another expensive I don't have to find. Luckily I have the opportunity to work extra hours at the moment so I am trying to equate my extra shifts to an item needed and cross it off the list like that. Some parents have the uniform dry cleaned during the holidays, I have washed mine in the machine and have found it to be OK. Extra hours help me out at times like this but another savings pot may be needed from September onwards so I could then save towards the annual expense for next years uniform.

It has been two months since my last post....................

Hello bloggers , hope you are all well. As the title says it has been two months since my last post. I have not felt much like blogging but have continued to read some of my favourite blogs. In real life like Blogland there are some genuinely nice people and some not so nice people. I have been spending time not letting the real life 'not so nice' people get me down and I feel that maybe I am in a better place now than I was earlier this year. Nice things have happened to me ; I have been away on a family holiday, a week of sea and sunshine was a great tonic and we all felt great when we got back home. A weekend away with my husband was another pleasant experience which we would like to repeat again at some point, maybe this year or next, money and childcare permitting ! I have lost a little bit of weight, nothing drastic but all in the right direction and finally I have continued with my college course and have felt like I have achieved something , albeit I have the exam later this term. Do tell what you have been up too, I would love to hear ! Cheerio for now

Budget Stories

Good afternoon bloggers and thank you to those who left me kind messages yesterday, they are very much appreciated.
I have been reading details about the Budget in the newspapers. Its just the same old stuff really that you can have no control over. What interests me are the stories that follow in the days after where people tell their stories about how the Budget will affect them. There is a story today about a couple who earn over £90k p/a and they talk about being worried about childcare and money. Is it me or what ?? Are these people indicative of everyday families ? In my experience they are not. Our family income , which is joint, comes nowhere near £40k however people band these figures of £40k, £50k, £60k etc around like they are insignificant amounts. I find it hard to be sympathetic towards these high earners when there are thousands of low income families genuinely struggling for the necessities in life rather than the niceties in life. What do you think ?

Not being at my best

Hello bloggers and thank you to those of you who have sent me kind messages in my absence. I have'nt blogged for about six weeks. I have looked at other blogs but have not had the energy or enthusiasm to do my own. A lot of bloggers feel from time to time that they have nothing worthy of writing and I have been in that camp myself. That still hasnt changed but I felt today like writing something whilst I was in an upbeat mood. In real life things have also taken a back seat. In reality I know that I have nothing to be down about , I have a happy home , husband and child and that things are ok but certain situations occur and thats what has bought me down. Often the actions of others. I am a ' dweller' and that is part of the problem. I have been told recently that life is like a river and that things should float away but that I am hanging onto stuff and not letting it float past me. In some respects that is true but you cannot help who you are or how you deal with things. I have also had a 'persona non grata' situation , with me being the 'persona'. In hindsight this has been on the horizon for a while but I failed to pick up the tell tale signs. I have now turned a corner with this situation and it no longer eats at me like it once did, perhaps I am letting it float past. In the last two weeks there have been a few positives happening so it seems that things are changing and maybe getting better. You could compare it to Narnia when all the snow melted and the spring returned. One of the positives is that we have booked a holiday in a few weeks so we are all looking forward to that. So dear bloggers thats all for now , I hope to speak to you again soon xx
 

Blog Vacation

Hello bloggers. I have decided to take a blog vacation, events are such that they are consuming all my waking hours and I feel I am not good company ( if I ever was lol ). I hope to be back soon. I am off now for a bath and a chill out. Bye for now

Horrible week

Hello bloggers. Not much blogging this week as I have had an awful week. I notice I have had a new follower but I can't see who it is for some reason, would the person please say Hi so I know who they are, I don't want them to think I have ignored them.

Hello Doggy

Hello bloggers. No blog for nearly a week now as I have been busy in other areas , that being a little doggy. We have taken the plunge and had a Yorkshire terrier. So we have been busy walking the dog and getting her used to our house. Its quite strange having to factor the dog into our everyday life, thinking about walks , food etc and to consider when we have to get back home etc. My daughter has wanted a pet for a long time and she is enjoying making a huge fuss of her. We have noticed the impact of the dog walks, we have been doing three a day at least ; morning, noon and night, so we are feeling tired in the evening ourselves more so than normal.

More Tesco Bargains

Evening bloggers. Made a trip to Tesco tonight to stock up on half price washing powder, whilst there managed to snaffle more lovely bargains for my freezer. Two packs of large gammon steaks reduced from £4 to £1.20 a pack, two packs of 8 pork sausages reduced from £1.87 to 60p per pack, Two Warburtons loaves reduced from £1.49 to 20p each and last but not least Mr Kipling's Cherry Bakewells reduced from £1.49 to 22p. I almost have a full freezer now so I am well stocked for the next few weeks.

Waitrose Whoopsies

Good evening bloggers and hope you are well. 'Whoopsies' used to be a dirty word, in years gone by I knew many people who would not consider buying or eating a reduced item. Friends, family and work colleagues who look in horror at anything displaying a yellow sticker but times have changed and so have attitudes. I have always bought reduced goods and shall continue to do so but also nowadays there does seem to be less bargains to be had. Yesterday I had to go by a Little Waitrose, depending on the time of day I pop in to see what bargains are lurking around and I managed to snap up some goodies that went straight in my freezer. This is what I got;

Tuna Steaks ..... ...............2 packs reduced from £7.31 each ( !!!!) to £1.29 each .....Saving £12.04
Scampi .............................1 pack reduced from £4.49 to 99p.....................................Saving £3.50
Aberdeen Angus burgers.. 3 packs reduced from £2.99 each to 79p each..................Saving £6.60
Chicken crispbakes...........1 pack reduced from £1.49 to 49p.....................................Saving £1.00
Wholemeal loaf ................reduced from £1.35 to 29p................................................Saving £1.09
White loaf..........................reduced from £1.09 to 29p................................................Saving 80p

I wouldn't usually buy Tuna Steaks at £7 each but I thought they would be a nice change. So the freezer has a bit more stock for not much money.  Have you got any bargains lately ?
 

Wedding guest

Hi Bloggers. Hope you are well. We all look forward to things for the year ahead but I have for some reason completely forgotten about a wedding we have been invited to this summer. That means I have to factor in a gift and outfits for the big day. All being well ( fingers,legs and everything else crossed ! ) I may have lost weight by then so I may have to get myself a new outfit. It would be nice to have something new and smaller to wear but the thought of going out clothes shopping fills me with dread. Maybe a new lighter me may not feel like that but I won't know until if/when that time arrives. Regarding a gift , the happy couple already have a home so I may get something like new towels so at least I have time between now and summer to source something nice but affordable.

Preparing for emergencies - Candles & phones

Hi Bloggers.Welcome to two new followers who have joined up, big hello to 'Compostwoman' and JoAnn Hewitt , thanks for joining and please drop by from time to time.

I have been reading a series of posts by A Thrifty Mrs about being organised and she has been sharing great ideas about being more organised. One post was about emergencies and it got me thinking about something that happened last year when we were in our rented house.

One winter evening around teatime all the electricity went off. Looking out the window the whole street was in darkness. It later transpired that there was some problem and half the town was without power for around an hour. Being in a temporary home I had bits and pieces everywhere but couldn't lay my hand to anything quickly, so we sat in the darkness and waited it out. It was only for an hour but we didn't know that at the time. So after that I got some candles and matches in stock and placed , safely around the house. Each room now has at least one candle ( in some form of nice decorative holder ) dotted around the place should the need arise again with a big stock of traditional candles in the kitchen.

The other thing with the electricity going down was that the modern cordless phone we had in the lounge didn't work as it was powered off the electricity. We have now reverted back to the old BT style phone, so not only does it work off the phone line but also saves us a bit of cash not using the electric. Maybe if you have a few phones in your house, consider having an old style one somewhere so at least you have a fallback phone if the power does fail.

Just for fun

Hi bloggers. Hope you are well. Its still snowing here today and we have woken up to a fresh blanket of snow covering everything.

Its always nice to read your comments, today I thought just for fun it would be nice if you would leave a message to say Hi , where you are reading from and what your weather is like. That would be really great xx

Cutting down on laundry

Hi bloggers and hope you are keeping warm and well over this cold spell. In the old days I was very much in the 'wear it once' camp. I wore an item and it went straight into the laundry basket. Nowadays I have changed our habits to save time , money and energy and also because life is too short ! I wear the same skirt for work ( I am part time ) I put it on Monday morning and it goes into the basket Friday afternoon. I wear a clean top each shift and after work I take my work clothes off and put my house clothes on. If my top is not too pongy or dirty I will wear it another day when I am not in work. If the weather is good outside I will also air my clothes to freshen them up. Again when I am off work , if I go out and wear my jeans , I take them off back home and wear them again a few more times before they get laundered again. I also find that by wearing my old stuff around the house it prolongs the life of my decent stuff I wear when I go out. I also used to use a towel once then put it to be washed. Nowadays we use a towel and hang it over the banister on the landing. This can then last us a few days which has really helped to cut down using the washing machine. Again in the summer time I air the towels outside to freshen them up. I often used to have the washer on every day but now I may do 3 or 4 loads a week : dark, light, coloureds and towels. I also make sure the washer has a full load and not just half a dozen items.

Its like Narnia !

Hi everyone and a very warm welcome on such a cold day to my new follower Ragged Wren, thank you for joining.

It is like Narnia where I live, deep snow everywhere and rather chilly. I have made it back and forth to work today and I am now back home with a nice hot drink reading my blogs. School predictably was closed today so my daughter has been out all day with her school friend enjoying the snow, I await the return of a damp child and a pile of wet clothes any time soon ! I hadn't thought ahead yesterday to get something out of the freezer for tea so we are going to have soup and crusty bread. I have plenty of milk, bread and tins in my store so I have enough to keep us going should we be stuck indoors for a few days. I heard on the news that people have been fighting in supermarkets and stripping the shelves bare. Surely over the winter months it pays to keep some stuff in stock on the off chance of illness or inclement weather, or is that just me ? My husband cooked his big lump of gammon yesterday so that will keep him going for days, when I looked at the label it weighed over 5kg ! So if all else fails folks we will be living off the gammon and the remaining tins of tomatoes, 27 at last count ! Enjoy your evening xx

Food for thought

Good afternoon bloggers and hope you are all well. The recent news about the contents of beef burgers brings to mind again about what goes into our food. We discussed it at work today. Some people seemed genuinely surprised that all these unannounced ingredients go in. Surely by the look and taste of ready made food, you can tell its not the real deal , or is that just me ?? Some foods taste so chemical and artificial they are just disgusting. Recently I had a freezer meal of fish fingers and chips, it was a quick in stock meal and after I ate it I felt really disappointed and had a yukky after taste. We have never really had much in the way of processed meals, I would be lying if I said never but certainly not on a regular basis. I think my taste buds have changed especially of late since I have trying to be good and cut down on the junk. This week I made a shepherds pie, mince lamb, leek,  onions and mashed potato. This time however I had half a bag of vegetable stir fry lurking around so to use it up I put that in too. It contained broccoli, red and white cabbage, onion, carrot and beansprout. I then chopped it up really finely and quick boiled it , then stirred it into the shepherds pie. I used the veg water to make the gravy then I also added my own little special twist, mint sauce to the gravy. It was delicious and as there was enough for two nights meals I didn't need to cook again last night. Despite my husbands initial reservations of adding stir fry to a pie , he did concede and agree that it was tasty. Afterwards we had a slice of home made sponge cake. A nice meal, prepared at home and empty plates afterwards.

Tesco Burgers & Bargains

Good evening bloggers and welcome to a new follower 'Hope', thank you for joining.

I saw the news last night about the burgers and emailed Tesco at about 10.30pm as I had some in the freezer. Someone called me around 9.30 this morning to say I could return them for a refund. Quite prompt reply I thought. We had to get petrol so I took them back in the store and returned them. For the first time in ages I managed to get some decent bargains whilst there;

Gammon joint , should have been £19 , reduced to £5.60
Warburtons square wraps, £1.45 per packet, reduced to 22p ( got two packs to freeze)
Slice loaf 15p reduced from £1
Roberts Deli rolls 10p reduced from 89p.

Its all gone in the freezer to use later. I like to keep a loaf in stock, we have a lot of 'on toast ' for breakfast, eggs beans etc. Rolls and wraps will be used for lunches.
My husband is looking forward to cooking the gammon, it will be interesting to see how long it lasts. Its a big piece and it was like carrying a new born baby round the store !!

Keep for best - jewellery

Hi bloggers and hope you are well. A week or so ago I wrote about my china dinner set and whether to keep it for best or use it more often. I then got to thinking about other possessions I have and the next one was jewellery. Like a lot of people over the last year or so I have sold unwanted items as the gold price has been high but I still have some left but again kept for best. I decided that I would start wearing it. For the last few days I have been wearing some of my rings, not all together I add, but I have been wearing one and changing it every few days. Of course being so close after Christmas , people are thinking that's what I had but some of the items I've had for years but they rarely see the light of day. So I am going to start wearing more of my collection so I can enjoy it.

Weight loss

Afternoon bloggers and a very big hello and welcome to my new followers who are Amanda Ayres, Hawaii Planner and Frugal in Bucks. Thank you all for joining.

Today I have weighed myself and found to my astonishment that I have lost 5 lbs in weight. I weighed myself last week and noted the higher figure and was flabbergasted to see the new lower figure today. I must admit that I don't feel it in myself but a couple of people have said I look slimmer in the face ( what about the rest of me ??) Anyway I am encouraged by the loss and perhaps the small steps I have taken have all helped. The real bonus will be when I can get my ample frame into smaller clothes. Excuse me for not sharing the weigh in figures with you but its rather like reading the lottery results, there's quite a few numbers. Bye for now xx

TGIF

Hi Bloggers and welcome to another new follower Fiona Moss, thank you for joining.

Here we are Friday evening and I have had a busy week again. I like to relax, sit about in my fleecy PJ's and watch TV. For some reason I always fancy an early night on a Friday as I like to recharge myself , some people on the other hand are out partying all night and back home on Saturday morning. Especially in winter time I just want to stay in all warm and toasty. No plans for tea tonight so to avoid takeaway temptation I stopped at the local butcher on the way home and bought some minced beef. I am going to rustle up a quick spag bol. Nice and tasty , easy and quick, perfect for a Friday night dinner. How will you spend your Friday night ?

Trying to be a good little pig instead of a lazy one

Hi bloggers and welcome to my new follower May, thank you for joining.

Since New Year I have been trying to be good and keep new resolutions, the old favourite being ' lose weight' popping up again to make an appearance. I have tried to make small changes but hopefully these will be long term improvements not just to lose weight but also to be healthy.
Since childhood I have been a massive sugar addict having two sugars in every hot drink. I have never before attempted to curb this addiction, you may think this is ridiculous as some people can just cut it out completely and easily but I never have. The day after Boxing Day I reduced from two spoons of sugar to just a quarter of a spoon. The tea has taken some getting used too but its getting better. Also and this is good as I didn't realise I was doing this !! I have stopped eating biscuits with my hot drinks, I haven't done this now for at least three weeks and I haven't really missed it. I always used to like a biscuit to dunk in my drink and can't remember the last time I did - again major achievement for me as 'McVities' was like my middle name !
At work I have been taking just my sandwich , no extra like crisps and again I haven't really missed it and in the evenings I have stopped snacking . Some nights I have even gone to bed early so hopefully I am fast asleep when the snacking would have started.
So far so good and I don't feel cheated. You probably read this and think how pathetic but I hope that these little steps will improve things for me overall.












































 

My own little food store

Hi Bloggers. Firstly a big hello and welcome to two new followers 'sarahfoxx and claireevanscritten', thank you both very much for joining.

When we moved house we were fortunate enough to get a garage. Never having had a garage before we were delighted with this as it gave us lots more storage. We acquired some shelving and over the weekend my husband has built it and we now have our very own food store. No its not huge and really I suppose its like having a pantry/larder but we have all our stuff sorted and organised, easily viewable and accessible. We have dry goods on the top two shelves, tins on the next two shelves, then veg on its own shelf, then cleaning goods and bottles on the bottom shelf. I can now see at a quick glance what I have and also what I need to replenish. The largest item we have in stock is 28 tins of tomatoes but these will be used as they are a staple item in our cupboard. I like being able to have the space to store stuff, with prices increases or the possibility of inclement weather its good to have things to hand. It has also freed up space in my kitchen as I had things on top of my cupboards, whereas now it looks clean and uncluttered.

Nice Family Day out for less than £10

Hi Bloggers and hope your are well. We are busy getting ready for first day back at school tomorrow, making lunches and getting bags and kits ready. To end the school holidays we have spent the day together and we went out for a film and lunch. However it wasn't a big spend as my budget doesn't stretch to that, but nevertheless we had a fun time and didn't break the bank. First we went to see a film Hotel Transylvania, very funny and this was a kids showing at £1 each so £3 in total. This film was out a few months ago but we always wait to see things when they are on the kids showing heavily reduced !! Afterwards we had lunch in Pizza Express, now in real money it would have been expensive but we traded our £10 Tesco voucher against a £40 restaurant voucher and had a yummy free meal. We had starters and mains each and just had to pay £6.75 for our drinks. So all together we spent £9.75 today for entertainment and food. I do like a cheap day out :-)

Things for our new home

Hi Bloggers. Over Christmas my friend came over to visit, that being her first visit to my new house. I showed her around and she liked my new place. As we went round from room to room , she liked what she saw but then was very surprised to find it was all mainly 'new to us' and other items that had been recycled;

Porch - Ding Dong doorbell - we acquired this wireless doorbell via someone who had a deceased relative. It has lots of settings and also a flash light if you want it. We set it to the traditional chime and put the box in the kitchen. We can hear the bell from all around the house whenever anyone calls. This doorbell is still on sale and the cheapest we have seen in online is £49 - free to us.

Wall light - In the B&Q sale, reduced from £15 to £3

Cloak cupboard - It is the size of a double wardrobe and had one shelf near the bottom and pegs around three of its walls. Using the inners from the fitted wardrobes we knocked out upstairs we made three lower shelves so we have a shoe shelf each. We also put one of the clothes rails at the top of the cupboard so we can hang full length coats in the space as you open the doors. This area is something we are really pleased with as it holds so many jackets and its all neat and tidy. Cost £0

Hall - Burglar alarm - The vendor unkindly never gave us the code so when the electricity was turned back on , the alarm was ringing like mad. We had to isolate the alarm switch that was until we worked the code out. As a smoker the alarm was nicotine stained except for the four digits she used. We then knew what the four digits were but not the order. That was until we found some paperwork with her date of birth on. Guess what the alarm code was ??? That saved us a few hundred pounds getting a new alarm and the box cleaned up very nicely with some cif. Cost £0

Lounge - New suite - or at least new to us and yes it is from DFS but I bought it second hand from someone I knew for less than £300 and it is 3 years old and very well looked after. Leather and very comfy.

Wooden side table - This has had a few admiring comments, my table with a drawer cost me the grand sum of £5 from ebay .

Lined curtains - These were given to me by someone who thought I may need some dust sheets. They had a skip at their house and a neighbour kindly dumped their rubbish inside ! When they opened the bag it contained a set of curtains which was then offered to me for dust sheets. When I saw them they were almost similar to the ones I wanted from M&S , albeit these are a pale gold damask whereas the M&S were a mushroom damask. They were the right size for the window and I had them dry cleaned . People do not believe they came out of a skip ! Dry cleaning cost me £16. M&S would have cost me £119.

Ceiling lights - The vendor kindly removed the two ceiling lights, inconvenient but not to my taste. Nevertheless we had to pay to replace. Two new in the box ceiling lights , from ebay £5. When I collected them they were in the original box and they are still on sale now at £30 each.

Bathroom - The door had split and was not repairable. I found a door on ebay, not very old, newly glossed complete with door handles and hinges. Cost £2

Main bedroom - Again lights removed by vendor. A friend gave me a ceiling light and we got two wall lights from the B&Q sale, £5 each reduced from £20 each.

Spare room - Light removed again. A friend gave me a new unused cream lamp shade which coincidentally matches perfectly with the colour scheme.

Daughters room - She had chosen a big round mirror from Ikea which is £27. We then spotted the same mirror at a car boot, for the grand sum of £3.

Garden - we wanted to get some slabs for outside the shed. We managed to get some old large pavement slabs, larger and stronger than modern slabs. Got these free from someone who took up their front path to block pave instead.

I am always on the look out for things. Like other bloggers I am happy with my home and surroundings and don't feel the need to live my life out of a glossy magazine or to keep up with the 'Jones's'.  Cheerio for now x
 

Keep for best or use everyday ???

Hi Bloggers. When I got married 16 years ago I put together a wedding list and all the guests bought items from it. Lots of guests buying an item each resulted in me having a china dinner service, plates , dishes, side plates, serving plates etc etc. I used to use the set for special occasions and it was in a base cupboard in my kitchen for a long time. That was until my daughter started crawling when it got boxed up and put in the loft out of harms reach. Then we moved house last year and all the loft boxes were bought down and although still boxed it is now back in my kitchen in a base cupboard. I got it out and used it over Christmas. It was lovely to see, it is white with a gold rim , very understated and classic. It got me thinking that I should use it more often as it has sat up in the loft for ten years ! What do you think bloggers ? Should I use it or cherish it ?

Mortgage Overpayment

Hi guys. I made mortgage overpayment number 2 yesterday but I then read Frugal Queens post yesterday about her mortgage milestone and I got worried. I thought that my overpayment was against capital but some bloggers suggested that sometimes it gets applied against interest. I emailed the bank straight away to ask the question as I didn't want to make overpayment's to find out further down the line that it has been applied against the interest. I have checked my email this morning and the bank have replied promptly and confirmed it is against capital. Phew !! Panic over. I did think it was against capital but my brain has been such a sieve just lately that I thought I'd better double check. I was initially worried last month when we made the first overpayment as I thought I'd bitten off more than I could chew but it was OK and the second one went out yesterday. I may try and increase the overpayment later this year. When we first moved into the house the water company took the direct debit over 5 months , in April we start a new year so it will be taken over 10 months so my d/d will reduce by 50%. I may then put that chunk of money into the monthly mortgage overpayment. This time last year I would never have dreamt that we would be overpaying on a mortgage. It goes to show that you can achieve things even in a short space of time. TTFN x

House is now back to normal

Evening bloggers and hope all is well. Today we have bit the bullet and got rid of all the Christmas decorations. The tree has been boxed up and all the decorations packed away. I have recycled again today. My daughter was given a slanket at Christmas and it came in a large , clear zipable bag. I have put all the decorations in this to keep them tidy and safe. Next Christmas I can then see at a quick glance what is inside and it is all kept together. I have also taken the cards down. I recycle these but I pick out the best ones to recraft. I am going to make some Christmas cards for next year. I have been cutting and sticking for about an hour this afternoon. I will keep my creations in a tin ready to stick on the cards at a later date. Today unfortunately was not a No Spend Day as I had to go to the supermarket and restock as the cupboards were bare after the Christmas festivities. I managed to spend £45 buying all my essentials so I was pleased to come in under £50. The fridge freezer is well stocked , there was lots of Warburtons bread reduced for 59p per loaf so I had 3 , one to use and two to freeze. I even managed to attack the ironing basket although I still have the school uniforms to do ready for next week. I only have two days left of my holiday then I am back to work myself, have you started back yet ? 

New Years Day

Happy New Year bloggers and what a lovely start to the New Year. The weather here is glorious, sunny and dry. I feel strangely invigorated today so much so that I may tackle the ironing basket. I have done a few loads of washing and they are blowing nicely on the line. I have decided to keep a food diary from today to try and watch my weight and count the calories, it may or may not work but I am giving it ago. I also gave up sugar in my drinks last week and today was my first palatable cup of tea. I am hoping to end my life long habit of two sugars in my hot drinks, again I can try ! I started in Wednesday last week and as today is Tuesday I am doing fabulously well by my own standards, as previously stated I have NO willpower when it comes to things like that. I have done my first recycling of the year as well. Each year as I take the old calendar down , I save the back page with the new years dates on. I use this at work as a quick reference guide in my desk folder as I use a lot of dates in my job so it saves me the expense of buying a desk calendar. Is there are anything unusual that you recycle ?