Oops I have a confession to make...

I bought a top in Primark yesterday for £2.50!! I know, shame on me lol. I have been wanting some better fitting vest tops as the ones I have are a tad baggy. I knew I'd get a lot of wear out of it as it's black and so I did it, I bought an item of clothing I didn't really need. I could say that I bought it with my birthday money - I got some from my mother in law and have only really bought the Abba dance game for the Wii with it. So... That plus this top plus some walking boots. She'll be happy to know I didn't put it towards a tattoo lol! And yes, I plan on doing more walking. I get so achy when I walk that I'm hoping some proper, comfortable footwear will help. I usually just wear my boots which aren't soft or cushiony so don't absorb anything but are relatively comfortable. Fingers crossed that these boots will help me walk more :o) and yes, they were in the sale plus I got an extra 10% off too :oD And they're not expensive either.

I re-potted some of the tomato plants and beetroot plants today but run out of compost and only Mike has a key to the garage so I'll do some more another day after he's fetched some more from there for me. Got about 17 of the little fellas into bigger pots now so fingers crossed they'll grow big and strong and have a high yield of yummy treats for us :oD I don't actually like tomatoes lol, but I don't mind when they've been turned into a sauce for pasta etc :o)

Bit chilly these past couple of days but I refuse to turn the heating back on, especially after out energy direct debit is about £12 in credit :oD probably because I switched it off the other week so I DO NOT wanna put it back on again lol. I've been stitching and snuggling under the throw on the sofa :o) cosy!

Hmmm... Not much else to say I don't think... I'm so boring lol :-p I'll just leave you with a photo of one of my beautiful purple tulips which is gunna burst open very soon :oD

Hugs to all xx

Bakewell Muffins

So, I've been trying to bake again lately and came across a yummy sounding recipe for cupcakes using almond essence after wanting to make my own bakewell tart/slice tasting cake. The recipe made 12 muffins and are very very tasty!!!

Ingredients:

150g / 5oz butter/margarine
150g / 5oz sugar (the recipe called for caster sugar but I used granular as it's all I had)
175g 6oz self raising flour
3 eggs, beaten
2 tsp almond essence
raspberry jam
icing sugar for the top (optional but much tastier with)

Method:

Preheat oven to 180.C
Beat butter and sugar together and sift in (or not, if you're lazy like me) flour.
Add beaten eggs and almond essence and beat until creamy.
Add half the mixture to the paper muffin cases (or whatever tin etc you want to use).
Add a teaspoon of jam on top of each.
Cover with the remaining cake mixture.
Bake for 30 mins. (The recipe said 20 mins but they were small cupcakes so I did 30 and they were perfectly done in this time).
Once they've cooled down on a wire rack, make up the icing sugar as per pack instructions (or just chuck some in a pot and add warm water, more icing sugar, more icing sugar etc until it looks right if you're still lazy like me).

The original recipe can be found here.

Next I will be trying out some gingerbread sponge cake :oD Yum! Fingers crossed they turn out as yummy as these cupcakes!!

Spending wise, I don't think I've bought anything of note. Seeds for veg etc which I think I've already mentioned in an earlier post. Ummm... Nothing really. Oh a naughty little buy was an old Hugo In 3 Months Italian book. Published back before decimalisation came in. I couldn't refuse, and it was for charity so... I didn't feel too guilty. I think it was £2. Oh, and I bought a Sizzix Bigz Flower die for £3 at the same time which will come in really handy when I make my own flowers again. They had 2 more with it but I decided to leave them there for someone else to grab a bargain, as I didn't really need them.

I'm going into town tomorrow to meet a friend so I will buy some more plant pots to re pot my little babies :oD they're growing so well :oD I'm so happy :oD I even planted some more potatoes today which had sprouted in the potato bag. I have some lovely leafage growing from the ones I found in the cupboard a while ago. I still have some more to plant so I will pick up a couple more potato growing bags from Poundland too and get them growing when I get home.

I've been reading a frugal ladies blog and it seems that being single is a great way to save money.... I thought about getting rid of the other half, but decided it would cost me a fortune in public transport (I don't drive, but he does) so I decided to keep hold of him instead :-p hehe, poor guy, he's not getting rid of me that easily :-p

Been busy stitching away but have been having the urge to tidy up the craft room... Fingers crossed the urge is still there once I've sent this project off!!

When I get down to 8.5 stone I will be getting a tattoo... I'll prob show it to you once it's done :oD I'll be using some of the money my Dad left me when he died last year. I was 3lbs below 9 stone the other day then went on a feeding frenzy so I've gone back up a lb or two. Need to get back into exercising again!! I'm determined (somewhat) to get my tattoo this summer so I can show it off lol. It'll be number 10 and I already have 2 more planned after! Sigh... But hey, I think of it as artwork you can take to the grave with you, an expression of who you are and the journey you're on. Plus it won't get put in a drawer never to be used, won't get lost, broke or stolen and it won't take up space hanging around your house. Not a bad way to spend some money if you have some money put aside for it.

Hugs to all xx

Grow Your Own

Yesterday I decided it would be the perfect day to get out in the garden and get some food planted; so I walked into town and picked up some cheap seed pack from 99p Stores and Poundland. They're doing multipacks of 4-6 and 8 in Poundland of different seeds so I thought why not? Mike picked me up from town after he finished work and we went to B&Q and bought some compost. We now have planted salad leaves, chillis, peppers, tomatoes, herbs, carrots, beetroot and more. We used a combination of regular plant pots and old ice cream tubs, margarine tubs and cut down plastic milk bottles - all with holes made in the bottom with a metal skewer for drainage. These all sit nicely on our kitchen window sil. I also topped up the potatoes with more compost. I'm hoping they'll yield loads of yummy potatoes as these were grown from the shop bought ones I found in the cupboard after who knows how long and they had sprouted like crazy, and I mean crazy! The apple tree is blossoming, the pear tree too. The plum tree has just started as well. I've seen a tiny little fruit coming on one of my Poundland plants I bought last year. We're not too sure yet what it is, but we think it might be a blueberry or a blackcurrant. Oh, Ayse wanted a raspberry plant so I bought her one from Wilkinson's. They had some in Poundland but they were just the sticks and didn't look too good. The one in W's was £3 but had leaves and looked really healthy so I decided that would be better. Just need to get some more rhubarb (the ones I grew before went into a tub without drainage holes and they've been submerged for the past 6 months or so!) and some more strawberry plants (nextdoor's cat decided to pull them up a year or 2 ago when she was a kitten by running over them loads of times!). Fingers crossed we'll have lots of lovely yummy food straight from our garden soon. Just wish we had a veggie patch rather than tubs. Oh well, you just gotta make the most of what you already have eh?

Finished the cross stitch today, for the magazine, and that's all packaged up and ready to send later. Did my second crochet square the other night too! Must, must, must take photos of the 2 to put up here!!!

Hmmmm anything else? Oh yes, tomorrow is a big day... My dreadies turn one year old tomorrow!!! i'm celebrating by dying the top half red! Lol. I was originally only going to dye one then realised I'd end up wasting loads of dye, so was gunna do a few... Then I kept seeing the root bulbs which remain in my hair after old hair gets shed and it really doesn't look good! Little white dots everywhere :o( so I decided to try and cover them with dye too - hence all the top ones. Bonus is it will cover the grey too :-p I'm not bothered about the greys, I'm 32 which is quite a respectable age to flash the grey strands, but hey, if it gets in the way when I dye my hair, I'm not gunna complain lol! I might even give you a before and after photo of my birthday babies tomorrow :-p

A Summer Frugal Tip...
Get that washing out on the line to dry! No need to use a tumble drier in this lovely weather when mother nature can dry it for you for free!

Hugs to all xxx

Update And General Musings... I Think That's The Right Word?

A little update on the washing soap - 30 drops of Peppermint has worked much better for us and we get a hint of scent with the clean clothes :o)

Speaking of clothes, I don't think I've bought any new clothes this year at all - other than the warm gear for Sweden. That really surprises me as I used to buy waaaay too many new items, just because I liked them and not because I needed them. And of course, every item was cheap and a bargain, but still, I DID NOT NEED THEM. Once I realised this, I was able to stop buying new clothes. I'm working my way through the ones I already have. When something gets to the point of being totally unwearable and unfixable anymore I will just move onto other items that I already have and which will serve as a substitute.

I spend most of these cold days at home wearing comfy clothes, so I have 2 pairs of tracksuit bottoms, 2 pairs of velour-type trousers, 2 black fleece trousers and 1 pair of fleece skull and crossbones trousers. Even if I could no longer wear 2 of these trousers, I would still have 5 pairs which would last about 10 home days without washing - more days if I only wear them a few hours if I have a late shower and spend the morning in my jammies. If I go out into town, to see a friend etc I will usually wear a pair of skinny jeans of which I have 4 pairs (have been after a plain black pair for ages but can't find any that both fit nicely and are a decent price). I have a purple pair, grey and black leopard print, black and grey checked and a purpley-blue with a subtle black lace print. They look better than I can describe them lol! But again if I can no longer wear 1 or 2 pairs, I still have 2 or 3 left for going out, and I don't go out very often so... But even then I don't *have* to wear jeans; I have skirts and a couple of other trousers or jeans which I don't wear very often and leggings too. so even if ALL my jeans were to magically (and tragically, as I do love them!) disappear from my life, I would still have other clothes to wear in public. I have t-shirts by the tonne, so if one gets too shabby it's no big loss. I have a few dresses which I wear when going out-out and I don't mind wearing them time and time again, if my girlfriends don't like it - tough! Lol. But I'm sure they must know I'm a skinflint by now lol :-p I expect I'm the only person they know who only takes £10 on a night out and expects to come home with change! And to be proud of it too! Hehe :-p

The only thing I can see me buying in the next 6-12 months are bras because they're getting a little tatty. One is tearing apart and one has a hole in ont of the cups. Quite a few are starting to dig in with the underwires which isn't very comfortable! Also one has a bent underwire somehow which isn't pleasant either! Bras are the new shoes for me - when I was a kid it was a HUGE hassle finding me new school shoes. I have wide feet and a stubborn and fussy nature lol. I so feel sorry for my Mum, bless her, she must have despaired every time my feet grew! And now, it's bras. I can never find them to fit properly and at a decent price too. I managed to find some amazing ones from BHS a few years ago and loved them so much I would buy one whenever they had a sale and had some in my size. Sadly I don't recall seeing them in there anymore and the ones that I'm guessing replaced them aren't as good. I have a few, but I rarely wear them due to them being uncomfortable and they end up rubbing and digging in to my skin after a while :o( Oh well. I just need to sew up the centre strap on one of the good ones so it lasts a bit longer :oD I really don't wanna have to go bra shopping!!!! *Insert shocked, scared and traumatised face here*

Hmmm... What have I been buying lately? Did I tell you about my "new" Pyrex dish? No, I don't believe I did! Well, I went to my favourite charity shop the other week and saw a retro Pyrex casserole dish for £2. It's similar to the one below and has that design which I discovered is called Matchmaker.

Then the last trip I went into town I saw a couple of bowls which I just had to buy. One was a creamy colour with a brown retro pattern and is to replace one of the chipped cereal/pudding bowls. It was 20p too so I definitely couldn't leave it behind! The other was a bit of a naughty purchase as it was 50p and wasn't really needed. It's a small bowl and would be great for a dip or to put in carrot sticks or a handful of nuts or dried fruit as a snack. What really won me over was the colour. It was a purpley colour with black marbled type effect. If I remember to, I will take pics of these bowls so you can see them :oD I'm especially proud of the first one. Not only was it needed to replace a chipped bowl (them along with glasses get broken all the time in our house!) but it was only 20p and it was retro style :oD And of course, all the money went to charity which makes it a sweeter pill to swallow when spending money!

Ooh ooh! Guess what I did the other night? I actually made the first crochet square from the partworks magazines I get!! I know, I know, about bloody time right?! I was very proud of it too lol :oD I'll have to take a piccie of that as well... Ooh ooh! And I was a busy girl yesterday! I finally turned my Poundland tea towels into napkins!! YEY!!! We now have about 20 napkins which have been kind of neatly sewn up using my sewing machine which I realised I have had for about 10 years now! Think I got it for my 21st birthday and I turned 32 last month. Lol, I had to work that out - wasn't sure if I was 31 or 32 now!!! Oops! But yes, we have about 20 napkins all ready to be used and about 4 which have been washed prior to sewing up - not a good idea as they frayed - oops! Ah well. So we have 24 napkins, made from 12 tea towels which came in packs of 2 and were 3 packs for the price of 2. So 24 napkins - £4. Not bad even if I do say so myself :oD Definitely beats the 6 I bought at Christmas, from Poundland again but were actual napkins, packs of 2 which made them £3 for 6! If I were to buy 12 packs to equal the 24 I made, I'd have to spend £12!!!! A huuuuge difference to the £4 I did spend!

What else have I been doing? Ooh I started another cross stitch kit the other day - for myself, not a magazine for a change. I finished this one first:

Please excuse the pattern coming through from the bag underneath lol! Something else I think I got as a gift for my 21st birthday lol! Only taken me 11 years to complete!!! And now I have started this....

And a frugal tale? I bought this about 10 years ago from Trago Mills down Plymouth way. The price sticker says £17.50. The price online now? Around £45!!!!!! Yikes!!!! I don't think I'd ever pay that much for a cross stitch kit! It would have to be something extra special for sure! At the moment, I'm doing the white bit in the middle. I got so excited today as I got to add a little pale blue lol!!! It's quite a challenge as there are lots of whites and pale greys so far, and it's on evenweave which makes it more challenging! Give me aida any day!! But yes, a past time using stuff you have already accumulated instead of buying more! Love it! And because evenweave likes to fray, I decided to whizz round it with the sewing machine which led to me thinking I might as well finish off the napkins :o) something else I can tick off my to-do list :oD I'm hoping to get another project from the magazine folk tomorrow - she sent it today so fingers crossed there isn't a backlog at Royal Mail. I love receiving them in the post, opening it up and seeing what stitching I'll be doing :oD hehe.

Well, thank you for reading down to the bottom. I would love to know what amazing finds you've found at charity shops lately and what cross stitch project you're doing. Are you also doing the crochet or quilting blankets from the Hachette Partworks series? How are you finding it? Are you a model stitcher for magazines too? I would love to hear from you :o)

Hugs xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On Using Homemade Washing Soap

Sorry I've been M.I.A. for a while. Sadly I've also not been quite as frugal as I had been previously either. Not spending a lot but still spending - some of it unnecessarily so.

I just wanted to let you know that we tried out the homemade soap for washing clothes, using the recipe I put up on here. I believe it was Frugal Tip #25. We've run out so we're gunna make another batch :o) Altho, this time we will add more than 20 drops of Peppermint Oil as we found it didn't give much of a smell. So maybe 30 drops this time. It could be different with other scents so always worth playing around with it. Oh, and it is also worth noting, that it is best to put the concoction on top of the clothes, near the back of the drum. A couple of times, we found undissolved soap caught between the window and the rubber seal...

Hope everyone is well and not spending beyond their means. I will try and write a bit more frequently... Fingers crossed!

Hugs to all xx

10 Countries

I'm really happy to announce that I have had page views from 10 different countries!! :oD

United Kingdom
United States
Germany
Ireland
Moldova
Australia
Brazil
France
Kazakhstan
Malaysia

I would love to have the whole world covered in green and would really appreciate it if you would say hi and tell me where you're from :o)

Hugs xx

My Free Night Out

Went out last night and spent a grand total of: £0!! Yep, didn't spend a penny :oD Here's how I managed it...

Went to a nightclub with free entry.
Didn't get suckered into buying 5 drinks vouchers for £10.
.... I was hoping to use old vouchers that I had left over from previous nights but saw they were a different colour so was unsure whether I could... BUT...
I found a voucher on the floor when my friend put her coat in the cloakroom :oD Freebie drink number 1!
I didn't bring a coat so saved £1.50 :oD
On the way to the loos I spotted another voucher on the floor! Freebie drink number 2!
A bit later on I found yet another voucher on the floor!!! Freebie drink number 3!!!
In between these drinks I had some well needed tap water from the bar - for free.
Afterwards, I didn't buy any chips or a kebab altho I did pinch a few of my friends chips :-p
We decided to leave early which was fine by me, especially this morning my body is thanking me for it as it doesn't ache as much as usual lol :-p

So, a free night out and free exercise :oD love it!!! Had a great time, didn't get wasted and didn't come home skint :-p I did borrow £10 from Mike just in case they wouldn't accept the old vouchers but I can give that money straight back to him which is brilliant :o) OH!! And bless him, he kindly played taxi for me so I didn't even have to walk or pay extortionate taxi fares :oD

Frugal tip: Besides the ones I mentioned in another post re clubbing? Keep your eyes peeled on the floor in clubs for vouchers and money. Especially as people get more and more drunk and unaware of whether they drop anything when paying for their drinks.

Noisy Neighbours Rant

I am so fed up with my neighbours being total inconsiderate you-know-whats. For several years now we have had to put up with their loud bass music, the smell of weed and barbecue smoke coming into our garden when we have washing on the line. They just don't seem to care about anyone but themselves. Thoughts of suicide come to mind but more often then not it's of homicide and long, painful torture of the self-centered audio space invaders. I just don't understand how some people can be so uncaring and inconsiderate of other people. Why are they like it? Bad parenting? Were they ok before they started smoking weed? Is there an arsehole chromosome yet to be discovered? It's no wonder I long to live in a remote location with no neighbours when I'm subjected to this all too often. It really puts a dampener on the idea of meeting new people and making new friends. I sooo wish I could move, I really hate it here. Another planet would be ideal but I'll settle for nearby just as long as there are decent people around. 

All I want is to be able to live peacefully in my own home without other people ruining it. Is that really too much to ask for???

Spend Month

Yep, my no spend month turned into a spend month and we're only 5 days in. I bought:

Pegs for 74p from Wilkinson's and;

Hairpins for £1.79 from Superdrug.

Both needed items so I don't feel so bad for spending this month after all. And as I was in town I had a nice chat to lovely guy from Greenpeace who also had dreads and his glasses only had one arm! He did want me to part with £8 a month so of course I declined but it was nice to sneakily admire his (much more formed than mine) dreads as we chatted about the Arctic region and fracking.

Got some free exercise as I walked into town and back but oh boy am I suffering for it already! It was a lovely day though :o) and I even managed to get 3 loads of washing done and out on the line :o) yey!

Also got a compliment on my bridge piercing which was nice too :o) I can't wait for my dreads to lock up more and be more tidy so hopefully I will get some compliments on them too!

I am currently stuffed with homemade chick pea curry - found the recipe online when I Googled for cheap recipes and thought I would give it a go :o) it was ok, Mike thoroughly enjoyed it, Ayse didn't like it and I was impartial to it but wouldn't rush to make it again. I do like the fact that it was cheap and all we had to buy was 2 tins of:

and a pack of:

Anyone got any cheap recipes, which you love, for me to try out?

Hugs to all xx

No More Ebay!!!

After having such a terrible experience with a seller on ebay I have decided to never use the site again.

I bought 3 thermal vests from a seller called ecksbiz (trading under Sockco) and as you can see they have loads of negative feedback but the good outweighed the bad so I thought it would be ok. But no. They sent 2 correct vests and one pair of thermal leggings instead. Finally they replied to my emails and I had to send it back with a note quoting what they told me to say which included that they would pay return p&p costs. After all it was their mistake not mine. I am now £2.05 out of pocket as they refuse to even acknowledge that they received the item! Thankfully I returned it using Royal Mail Recorded delivery so I have proof that it was received so I was (finally) able to get the product cost and initial p&p for the item refunded through Ebay themselves. Ebay don't want to help me further so I am in contact with the CAB for advice. It's only £2.05 but it's the principle of the matter and I don't like to be lied to or conned. The seller has until Friday to refund before I take the matter further. I have left them negative feedback which I hope will spur them to pay me back although I don't hold out much hope for an email response let alone payment or an actual apology!

In future I will probably just buy from the high street, even if it costs me more it will be money worth spending if I know I can return it easily or get help should I need it. I refuse to line the pockets of shady sellers who don't give a fig for their customers.

I really really don't like Ebay right now. Good bye Ebay = Good bye stress!

Hugs xx

Back From A Snowy Paradise

We had a wonderful break in Sweden and altho I didn't speak much Swedish, I definitely enjoyed being surrounded by the language :o) The snow was amazing and we saw the Northern Lights one night and although it was only a kp index 1 or 2 so only showed as a creamy-beige colour to the naked eye (bright green on digital camera) it was truly beautiful and I would have stayed up all night to watch it had it have only stayed to play longer.

Food in Sweden (or at least Stockholm and Porjus) is sooo expensive, especially when you're used to cheap value brands over here. The two main supermarkets we were able to go to were ICA and COOP. They both had their own value brands but I think they were about another 1/3 of the price on top of the UK version. We didn't starve though so that was the main thing :o) just keep an eye out for the weekly offers, especially on meat as that seemed to be really expensive.

A Swedish Frugal Tip
...For when you're in Stockholm. Try not to pee! We were based around the train station and thankfully used the free facilities at the airport before we caught the coach to Stockholm. The train station wanted to charge us 10 kronor each to use their loos! That's about £1 in GBP!!! Roughly 1 euro! When there's three of you, that makes £3 each time! Mike googled and it seems that everywhere charges about 50-100 kronor in Stockholm. Somehow (especially with my walnut bladder) we managed to hold off until we got onto the sleeper train. On the return journey we didn't stay too long in Stockholm and decided to wait it out at the airport - mainly because of the free to use loos! I know we used to charge 1p when public loos first came about (I think in London) in order to pay for their installation (?) and this gave rise to the saying of "spending a penny" when saying you need the loo. But I don't think we have that here anymore... If you know of anywhere that charges, please do let me know as I'd love to where and how much. I'm sure it wouldn't be £1 though, surely?

It was wonderful being out there, the view of trees, snow, snow and trees was totally amazing and I miss that immensely. But... It's sooo good to be back! Back around my familiar every day life this and that. My own bed, a decent shower, Tesco value loo roll (where the apartments loo roll makes ours look like it's from Harrods!). It's amazing what things you miss or discover you take for granted... I never realised how much I love the little sink next to the regular kitchen sink! It's so great to be able to pour away the tea dregs when you're mid-washing up and not have to make sure all the mugs etc are empty before you fill the sink up! I will now forever look at the mini sink with fondness and appreciation.

Not our sink, but you get the idea :o)

Well, I'm back on my no spending lifestyle now. We came home Saturday and besides having Chinese late that night for dinner (and breakfast the following day) I have not spent a penny, so to speak! I really can't afford to. Came home to find that our incomings are going down but our outgoings are going up! Not good. Looks like I won't be able to save my stitching money for a summer holiday but it'll have to go on bills instead :o( I think I'm gunna have to take back full control of the money (not an easy thing to do when the money doesn't go straight to you) and work out some super cheap yet tasty and filling meal ideas. We've only been back 3 days, but I'm very proud to have not spent any money :oD and I'm gunna try and continue for the whole of March - anyone wanna join me on a no spend month? I will say it now though that I have to take out some birthday money to get my 2 sisters and 3 of my nieces and nephews sorted. So £50 will have to be spent soon :o( All the cousins are sorted though and I've given their cards and money to my Mum already to hand out when the birthdays come around. Oh bugger! And a few quid for Easter eggs too!Looks like it's gunna be an expensive month after all... Good job I'm not buying anything for myself eh?!

Ok, so besides Easter and birthdays, I'm not spending any money! Oh!! And Mother's Day!!!! Yikes! That's in March too (UK). I was thinking of stitching something for my Mum, so I might do that, although I only have a couple of weeks to do it in... We shall see...

Anyway, that's it for now... Big hugs xx

A quick frugal tip

When labeling tubs of leftovers for the freezer... Be sure to label them before being put into the freezer as permanent marker doesn't like to be used on frosty cold lids. Oops! I will remember that next time lol! Hugs Xx

Cheap As Sausages!

We had sausages, mash and beans tonight (or sausages, noodles and raw carrot for Ayse lol). We already had everything barr the sausages so only had to spend £1.22 on two packs of Tesco value sausages for the four of us. I would say definitely less that £1 a head for dinner tonight, including cooking fuel. (Not my photo, just one from the www)

Mike's diesel consumption for last month was £225!!! More than double the last month's cost. So we definitely have to cut back on food cost this month. We have taken some chicken breasts out of the freezer to defrost overnight and we will use them tomorrow along with pasta, pesto, mushroom soup as a sauce and mushrooms (I think). Yum!

Got my Mum coming over this weekend to see us before we go to Sweden. Will be great to see her, she's only 45 mins by car away but I still don't get to see her as much as I used to, which is a shame. When we're millionaires, I plan on buying us both somewhere very close :oD or she can have a granny annex in our mansion lol. Ooh if I were a millionaire, I'd buy a house here in the UK, one in Sweden, actually one anywhere I fancied... It would be awesome! And I could go anywhere I pleased and just immerse myself in their language and culture without any financial worries... It would be awesome. I would definitely do some charity work too and help people recover from natural disasters and the such. Help them rebuild their lives. Do you hear that PTB, I would be good for the world if I had millions of £! Next time you're dishing out the 6 zeros, keep me in mind lol. On a similar note; if I ruled the world....

So, anyone want to share one of their cheapy meal ideas which you have to help keep costs down?

Hugs xx

No Spend Day - ish!

All I spent today was postage. 1) sending the cross stitch off, p&p to be refunded. 2) sending off something I sold on ebay - p&p cost already received. 3) sending back an item I bought off ebay as they sent me thermal leggings instead of a thermal vest! P&p should be refunded! Fingers crossed I don't have any more problems with this seller.

Frugal tip (and common sense tip!)
Read the feedback!!!
I was stupid and didn't read it. Having problems. 'Nuff said.

I was gunna have an exchange but instead I'm gunna get my money back (hopefully!) and borrow my friends thermals she took with her when she went skiing.

I finally met up with her (plus bf and bro!) yesterday. Was lovely seeing her again but I didn't really enjoy her talking about how much money spending activities she was doing and trying to get me to spend money too. She was suggesting we all went out for dinner for my birthday - only £25 for a 3 course meal and entertainment. Now, in theory that is a very good price for what you do get. But when there's two of you and the price doubles to £50... OUCH!!! Sorry but sofa and jammies it is. Maybe push the boat out and cook a special meal for £10 at home instead. £50 is soooo much money. That's a big chunk towards a holiday or debt repayment!

Anyway, reluctantly spent £1.60 on a cuppa tea and £1 on a Galaxy caramel bar of chocolate but the rest I spent was on bits for Sweden and semi necessities - travel size plastic bottles to decant shower gel, shampoo etc (not gunna buy full travel size bottles! Pah! Bought 2 sets from Poundland - £2. 200 Muffin cases £1. Set of 2 Microwave "lids" to put over your plated food when reheating rather than using copious amounts of clingfilm £1 (been wanting some for a while and finally found some in Poundland). Paracetamol etc just in case for Sweden. Plastic tubs for freezing leftovers. My friend bought a pair of boots in the sale £5 (a bargain if I needed some new boots for sure! Very proud of myself for not even looking at any :oD ) pair of sunglasses £3 and some rings £2.I found myself wondering why she was buying them, thinking does she really need them? Lol. Some people might see it as quite sad, but I don't care. I see it as keeping my money for more important things and keeping that space free in the house. I still reckon we need to declutter more.

I'm feeling rather smug with myself coz I didn't even feel the need to browse and look for things to buy. I'm learning that I don't need to buy anything like more clothes, shoes, jewellery etc.

Things currently (still!!) on my "To Buy List"
Teapot
Pyrex dishes especially rectangular for lasagne
Cloth napkins
Decent tea towels (we have plenty still usable but not a very nice colour due to a black towel running when we washed them - oops! These can wait until we see some decent ones cheap or get as gifts)
Hankies (must try and stop my tissue habit lol)

I don't think there's really anything else I need or want and all of them can wait until I find them cheap or in the charity shop. We can still make tea without a teapot, still make lasagne - just can't bulk make, we have 6 napkins from Christmas, tea towels are still usable and we have some hankies. It feels so good to not feel dependant on buying things :oD I love it!!! I strongly urge you to try it, even if just for a month :oD be sure to let me know how it goes!

Ooh had a major clean in the kitchen today!!! It felt gooood!! And hopefully worked off that Galaxy I got yesterday lol! Sorted out all the recycling :o) again, it felt gooood! Lol :o) had a mini sort out of the lounge - it's a work in progress lol :-p I think I wanna get stuck into our bedroom again. There are always clothes to be put away! Sigh, perhaps I shud just walk around starkers... Naaah wouldn't wanna scare the postman! Hehe. On that rather creepy and scary note, I shall say good bye and give you hugs xx

Half of the cake

Was yum!

Cake!

I forgot to tell you about the cake I made... It was yummy! And I found the recipe HERE The two sponges didn't rise *that* great for me but it was still very tasty and I don't think it would have been any better had it have been thicker so... I was happy :o) I do have a photo on my phone, well, half of the cake lol, I forgot to take piccie earlier - oops! Never mind :o)

Ayse enjoyed making the filling with me, or rather, she enjoyed licking the bowl afterwards! I had to give her a minute countdown to release it lol! Needless to say, the bow didn't need any soaking... Bless her!

Frugal tip...
Make cakes when your kids *aren't* around... So you can lick the bowl yourself!
But no, make your own cakes. You know exactly what's gone into them, they're probably healthier and cheaper and you can tweak it to your own desires... This cake would have been yummy with sliced strawberries inside too!! Yummmmm!!

Life Is Strange

I just watched Coyote Ugly, I'd seen it before - I have the dvd somewhere, or is it on video?! But as I hadn't seen it for years and it was on tv, I thought I'd watch it. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was great to see a young Piper Perabo and Adam Garcia. What I didn't expect to see was Tyra Banks and Erin from Blue Bloods dancing on the bar! It's so bizarre when that happens. You have someone come into your life on a regular basis and then you realise you had already met them many years earlier! (Figuratively speaking of course, lol). It was great to see the old 90s fashion, I'm a 90s girl, born in 1981 so my years of shaping were the 90s. It's so strange, you never think that the fashion or technology you currently have will look so odd in just a few years time. Videos were great until dvds showed up with a clearer picture. I'm wondering what we will think of skinny jeans and floppy fringes in 10-15 years time. And what will be the current fashion then? I love to see tv or films made 10-20 years ago and it's set in our current year with what they think life and fashion would be like. We still don't have flying cars and we don't tend to wear silver clothing. I am noticing tho, that the portrayal of our future life is looking darker and more grim than the technological Jetsons type of scenario. I guess that's what happens when you, as a planet, start to worry about global warming, over population, nuclear issues etc. Technology still plays a part but it doesn't seem as carefree as previous portrayals. I will be very interested to see what the future will really be like.

Hmmm not so much of a frugal tip, but perhaps a philosophical frugal tip?
The future is not always what you expect it to be. You may have it all right now, a nice car, great job, great house etc etc but it could all change and your future could be the complete opposite. Do something now to ensure you can cope should things change. Start saving a little every week or month. Learn the skills needed should you find yourself on your own. Learn to cook, sew, clean, car maintenance. Anything you think could be necessary if you couldn't rely on someone else to do it. If  your money suddenly took a drastic cut and you had to feed a family of 4 on £20 a week instead of £50, could you do it? Should this happen, it would be so much easier and less worrying if you already had a stock of recipes to work from, knowing how to choose the items of best value and price rather than sticking to brand names etc.

We never know what is around the corner, life is strange, anything can happen. We need to be prepared for any eventuality. What's the saying... Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. It's a bit doomsday-ish I admit and perhaps we don't have to go quite to them extremes, but I do believe in knowledge being a power to be kept in reserve for a just in case situation. I think I will start to learn some first aid. What are the chances of someone knowing what to do in an emergency situation? I think it should be taught at school.

Anyway, enough of my wierdness for one night! I'm off to bed to study some Swedish :o)

Swedish Bedtime Reading

Not very frugal unless you take into account that the Hugo's Swedish in 3 Months book I'm studying from was second hand from ebay or Amazon but it's what's going on at the mo'. I have been studying in bed before I turn the light off and it's great to know that I still remember stuff and that the stuff that slipped out of my brain is coming back in and staying there :o)

I only have a couple of hours worth of stitching to do and so I will send that off on Monday worked into a trip into town to get the bits and pieces previously mentioned.

Not spent a penny today which is awesome :oD and we're having chicken noodle soup made from the carcass tonight for dinner - smells gooood!! Mike even munched away on the carrots that were added for flavour and nutrition, so even they weren't wasted lol. I didn't see him go for the onion so I think that made it's way to the scraps bin lol.

Had to tape up my laptop today... A bit of the corner had broken off! Eeek! But it was found and taped back into place until I cba to glue it back on. My poor baby, he's had good innings and I hope he lasts a lot longer. He has already had his screen replaced just before the manufacturers warranty ran out and he's started flickering again. Fingers crossed he'll be ok.

Frugal Tip Du Jour (no idea on the number lol)

Use things until they wear out rather than replacing them. Use it until you can't use it no longer, if you can fix it, fix it so it will last longer. Make the most out of everything :o)

Hugs xx

Back Again

Hello readers, I received some more stitching today so have felt back to normal. Perhaps I need to feel like I have a purpose to feel normal lol? Who knows. I'm just gunna make the most of feeling good :o)

I'm meeting up with a friend tomorrow and I'm hoping to bake a cake before I meet her at lunch time and will take some with me for us :o) yum! (Fingers crossed!!)

I've not spent any money today - yey! - But I will be on the look out for the few items I'm still after - teapot, vintage pyrex etc - and I'm also  gunna pick up them hot chocolate sachets for Sweden. I shouldn't spend more than £10... If I do, there had better be a good reason for it!! Eeek! Altho I have just remembered I need to get some money out for this years birthday cards so I can give them all to my Mum to hand out when the birthdays appear. This is the only way that most of them will be received around the time of their actual birthday! I swear I used to be organised!! Honest!

Mike has a late lesson tonight so I will get a little more stitching done before he comes home. I feel in the mood for snuggling up on the sofa with him in front of the tele :o) with a nice cuppa tesco value tea of course hehe :o)

Yes, lots of lols hehes and smiley faces... I must be feeling better! Frugal tip catch ups to follow soon...

Hugs xx

AWOL

Sorry I'm away from blogging at the moment. I'm really not feeling my normal self. I'll be back soon xx

Not a good day

Money wise, it's brilliant, I've not spent a bean. But emotion wise it's been a crappy day. Just lately I've been hating my life. Now don't get me wrong, as far as lives go it's a pretty good one. It just doesn't feel right. Maybe it's my depression sneaking back on me, I don't know, but I don't like it and feel there's nothing i can do to change it.

All I want is to live a simple life, in the middle of nowhere without the need for much money. Growing our own fruit and veg, keeping chickens etc. It might sound boring but I long for a simple, slow paced life where you work hard for your own benefit and not to line the pockets of the big bosses. Having your loved ones as the priority in your life.

I feel out of kilter with the world and don't belong here. That feeling sucks.

No tip today but I will do two tomorrow instead.

Hugs xx

Frugal Tip #25

Nearly forgot lol!

#25 - Homemade Washing Powder

Something which we saw on SuperScrimpers and looking to give it a go :o)

1 Bar of vegetable oil based soap
Soda crystals
Essential oil

1 pint water

Boil 1 pint of water
Grate soap and put into the boiling water
Once melted turn off heat
Measure out 150ml of soda crystals top up with water to 1 pint
Put into saucepan and mix
Add 20 drops of essential oil
When it looks like risotto put into a jar
Put about 1/2 cup full into the drum of your machine
            (the woman used a hairspray lid for this but if you use your baking measuring cups you can find out how much 1/2 a cup is and try lids, containers etc to work out the same quantity)

If you've tried this or have other methods of making it, please do let me know :o) I would love to read your recipes and experiences. Also, what's your favourite scent to use? The woman on tv used lemon...

Hugs xx

Another Day Without Money...

Well, it's only 10:42am so there's still time lol. But I'm not going anywhere, there's food in the cupboards, freezer and fridge so all is well with the world :o)

I'm meeting a friend next week in town and I'll grab the few bits I need to get and have a mooch for a teapot etc that I want, but only at a cheap price, I can wait for it, it's not essential.

Cook from frozen lamb chops tonight courtesy of Aldi. Might do mixed rice and veggies to go with it. Think I might crack open the butternut squash and see what that tastes like. Ooh and the salad leaves too... Mustn't forget them!

Had planned on having a Swedish day today

and do lots of studying and watching of Swedish media such as Wallander (without subs). I'm feeling somewhat lazy but I know I have to do it. Ok, so I don't actually *have* to do it but I want to be as good as I can be at Swedish once we're out there so I can make the most of the trip - through my eyes of course. I haven't eaten yet so I may watch something English whilst I eat - chomping makes too much noise and I can't concentrate very well lol so English is the way to go. Then I shall study and watch Swedish after... Yes, that sounds like a jolly good plan to me! :oD Only 3 weeks to go! Yippeee!!! A little scary but exciting too :o)

Found my toothpaste is 1/3 off in Tesco at the mo' so I'm hoping to find some and stock up! If I bought 10, for example, I would save £4.50 as the last one I bought from Superdrug was 45p more. I think I will only buy 5 though as I don't really want to spend £20 all in one go and on toothpaste lol! If my teeth weren't sensitive I would buy cheaper ones but I tried the whitening version of the same brand which is for sensitive teeth and it made my teeth sensitive again so I went back to the regular version and have refused to change again. I'm very naughty though and only brush my teeth once a day so it lasts twice as long as it *should* do. I went to the dentist last year, first time in about 6 or 7 years and she said I obviously look after my teeth really well so that makes me happy and I feel it's enough, at least for now anyway. She did tell me I needed to have my wisdom teeth removed but that's a whole other scary and fear provoking story! The idea of having a regular tooth removed fills me with dread, let alone this! I don't even know if I could do it... And the cost - £0 as it's on the NHS so it isn't even a matter of money. Sigh.

Anyway, a humble day at home, eating home cooked food, homemade entertainment and homemade love of my family. What more could I ask for today?

Hugs xx

No Spend Day

I've been reading about "no spend days" and I seem to have quite a lot of them unless I go into town. I used to quite easily spend £50 a day on stuff that I didn't actually need, even though they were bargains, I didn't need them. That was when I decided enough was enough and to not go into town and shop as a hobby, an expensive one at that. I now only go if I need something and think twice about stuff I don't need. As soon as we're back from Sweden I will be counting how many spend days and no spend days I have each month and tell you how much I spend when I do hand over the well needed cash.

Had a somewhat lazy day today. I had planned on going into town to get the drink sachets - hot chocolate, coffee, from Poundland for Sweden but I was too tired and really couldn't be bothered. So, I stayed home and finished watching the first series of BBCs Survivors and then I watched Cast Away with Tom Hanks - I have seen it before but not for many years. It was good :o)

We had the two pork belly pieces in a sauce that I picked up for about £1.26 each a while ago. I definitely wouldn't have paid full price for them as they were tiny for the original cost! Although they were nice and it was nice to try them :o) they tasted like pork ribs you can get in a sauce but without the bones and sticky fingers lol. We had potatoes - boiled then swooshed around in butter and rosemary, carrots, courgette, sweet potato and parsnip. Whilst the big oven was on I also made an apple crumble. Our bellies are so stuffed though that we haven't had any yet! It'll be a yummy treat though for later on tonight if we start getting peckish :o) I reckon no more than £5 for the 3 of us including cooking fuel? Maybe a bit more, but definitely filling and definitely cheaper than eating out or having a takeaway :oD

Hugs xx

My wrist warmers

One of my wrist warmers made by moi. Iv not taken a photo of my hat as its not as easy or exciting lol but i will one day :-) hugs Xx

Frugal Tip #23 & #24

Just in case I don't blog later or forget the tip I'm about to give, I thought I would do it now :o)

Frugal Tip #23 - Emails

Delete straight away any emails from shops and stores telling you about tempting, mouth watering sales. Don't even open them to have a look, coz if you're like me, you will be tempted to buy something which you probably don't even need. I have so much stuff which I don't need and have because I like to have them. So much craft stuff which again I don't need, don't even use but which I like to have them because they're nice, I'll use them at some point or it was cheap etc etc. I haven't even done any crafting for ages except for crochet and a bit of sewing the other day... Which I think I will bulk blog and give you tomorrows tip now...

Frugal Tip #24 - Repurposing Clothes

I have now had white girl dreads for 9 months and as such have difficulties finding hats that fit! Even men's hats are too small. So... I decided I would make one using as large a size reduced fleece nightshirt from Primark as I could find. It was £6 down to £3 and I sat and unpicked the seams which was very satisfying believe it or not lol. I then measured my head and worked out what size I wanted, cut it, sewed it and now I have a hat :o) I didn't stop there though... I also made myself some wrist warmers and Ayse says she would like a pair two. So, £3 for 3 items = £1 each plus fabric still left over for other projects. Not bad, not bad :o) I will take a photo at some point and aim to upload, also at some point in the hopefully not too distant future!

I am now gunna get dressed and snuggle up under the throws on the sofa with a nice cuppa tea and watch something nice on my laptop :o) - price? Free :o) I did think about going into town but that price - not free :o( so I'm just gunna chill at home, open up the curtains and keep an eye out for any falling snowflakes. Hehe I love the Swedish word for snowflakes - snöflingor - sounds like you're flinging snow around hehe :o)

Hugs xx

Final Spend?

Hello readers, how are you all doing? Are you coping ok with the snow if you live in the UK?

I think I have pretty much made my final spend for our trip to Sweden - yippeee! I bought our remaining thermal vests off ebay. All I wanna get is some hot chocolate sachets and coffee sachets to see us through our week there. Poundland here we come lol. Then I think we're done and dusted :o) woo hoo! I look forward to many no spend days in the future :oD

Dinner tonight was chilli with our Aldi mince and very tasty (and cheap) it was too :oD and it has fed 5 of us with fully bellies :o) awesome! And a few mince grains left in the freezer too.

Mike is really getting into the frugal mood too which is great! Makes life a lot easier when you're not trying to do it all yourself or battling with someone who's doing the complete opposite to yourself. He still fills up the sink to wash up and leaves it to "soak" all the time, but I'll get him sorted eventually :-p baby steps lol. One day he'll have as little water as possible with a tiny squirt of liquid and will wash it all up there and then lol. He mostly fills the kettle by mug so he's catching up with my frugal ways :o)

Frugal Tip #22 - Kettle filling
Fill your kettle only with how much you need. Use your mug to measure the amount you need. If you're on a water meter then you'll be charged less for not guessing the amount of water to use and it'll be quicker to boil so will also cost less in electricity too.

Hugs xx

Oops £30 Spent Today...

On a food processor from Tesco:

Reduced from £60 to £30 and seems to have quite a large volume area compared to the mini/compact ones I've seen at £15 which one review said was good for one person but not for a family or even a couple. So... I bit the bullet and ordered it. It will definitely get used as I hate cutting onions for starters - they make me cry and my eyes sting and they become very very painful (I now like to avoid crying where possible lol!). I can't wait to make coleslaw!! My arms and wrists kill when I grate carrot (due to dodgy muscles) so this should make my life sooo much easier! I've been looking on Freecycle and Gumtree for a while and haven't seen anything local so I decided it was time to spend some money. Sigh.

We're gunna have the salmon parcels (?) we got from Aldi last week, brown rice, the remaining bag of salad leaves and some carrots. For some reason I love having brown rice with salmon! Yummmm! Altho I am very naughty and add a large dollop of buttery substitute on top of the rice hehe. Tastyyyy!! I have taken a look at the salmon pieces and they are really small :o( so if we like them, I might try and make them myself next time. We have the pesto and now we'll soon have the processor I can bread crumb some bread really easily and coat some salmon myself :o) sorted!

Ooh did I tell you? We had them reduced lamb steaks yesterday - omg they were sooooo goooood!!! I love grilled lamb mmmmm! I'm pretty sure all 3 plates were clear at the end lol :-p Hmmm maybe a chilli tomorrow using the free flow mince we bought at Aldi last week... I think we have all the ingredients for it :o) maybe get a bag of tortilla chips for madam. She loved the taccos we had and we told her it was pretty much chilli without the rice in a big tortilla chip so I'm hoping we can get her to eat chilli again - altho I don't hold much hope on her eating the kidney beans but never mind lol. Mmmm chilli.... Can you tell I love food? :-p I doooo it's so nice and tasty and yummy! And even nicer and more tasty if you manage to make it on a budget hehe.

Hmmm...
Frugal Tip #21 - Inventory
Make a list of what ingredients you have, even if it's just in your freezer and if you're feeling a bit skint one week, try and make meals from what you already have. Use the internet to search for recipes and don't be afraid to be inventive with what you dish up next to each other. Taking inventory will also help when coming to write your shopping list and you won't end up buying stuff you already have and don't need, especially handy if you don't have the space to store it or if it's perishable.

Mike's Pork Balls and Snow

Yeps it is Mike's turn to make the pork balls today (aka faggots). He's making them for stepson's work lunch as he loved them so much.

We had a wonderful time today playing in the beautiful snow. Mike, Ayse and myself had some fresh air, exercise, fun and got to try out our Sweden gear (snow boots etc) and realised where we had to improve - making sure there were no gaps between trouser legs and boots, jacket cuffs and gloves! We were rolling in the snow, throwing snowballs at a couple of metal posts trying to hi them, attempting to make snowmen, snowdogs and realising that a loaf of snowbread is pretty much our limit lol! We had a mini wander up the alley just because. It was brilliant :o) and most impressive of all? It was free!! :oD yep, we didn't have to spend a single penny on all that fun :oD

I had some leftover chicken noodle soup for lunch which was yummyyyy and Mike had some celery, cheese and toast. Ayse had a fried egg sarnie. So pretty much a cheap lunch too :o) I even thought that if I were living on my own, I reckon I could make a whole chicken last all week! That was a pretty cool thought lol!

Frugal Tip #20
Get out and play! Have fun where you can outside, get some free exercise and free fresh air.

Sleepy Day

Got woken by Mr Postie ringing the doorbell this morning but I let him off as he had a package for me from a wonderful friend I met on Youtube. She wanted to offload some cross stitch supplies on me as she doesn't stitch anymore and thought I would get more use from it than she would. THANK YOU ANGELA!!! She really is a wonderful lady and even though we have never met, I still class her as a friend and know she would always be there for me :o) she rocks!

Had chicken soup again tonight for dinner - yum! I was gunna have it for lunch today too but I had some of Mike's cake instead and it filled me up. Oops! I'll finish off the first batch for lunch tomorrow. Mike has just come home with some reduced lamb so we'll be having grilled lamb tomorrow with hmmm I don't know. We still have salad left but also loads of veg and rice too. Maybe chips?  Who knows? But I'm sure it'll be tasty :oD

Frugal Tip #19 - Yellow Stickers

I'm not sure if I've given this as a tip before but I'll say it anyway :o)
Look out for yellow stickers at your local supermarket. Find out when they do their final reductions on their stock that's on the use by date and go around that time. Make sure you put it in the freezer straight away though and not left in your fridge beyond the date shown.

Frugal Tip #18

Oops I forgot to blog yesterday as I was so tired but here is number 18:

Frugal Tip #18 - Use Less

Basically if you use less then you have more remaining which will last you longer.
*Reduce your sugar in hot drinks by half a teaspoon each time until you get to as low as you think you can go then reduce it once more for a while longer and see if you can get used to it- you can always go back up to the more comfortable amount half a teaspoon up if you decide it's not for you.
*Use half the amount of shampoo, conditioner, shower gel etc that you normally use. Do this on a day that you're not going out so if you feel like it wasn't enough you can go back to your previous amount. On the next day you stay home decrease by just a quarter this time and see how you go.
*Try reducung the amount of washing powder/liquid you use. Most people find there's no difference and by doing so can make it last twice as long.
*Reduce the temperature on your washing machine to 30C for regular clothes. You might like to keep it slightly higher for whites, sheets and towels.
*Reduce car use - this will use less petrol/diesel.
*Ketchup etc. Put less on your plate, you can always squirt out more but you can't really scrape the unused sauce back into the bottle.

You can pretty much use this idea of using less with everything. 

Just a quick Post

Yes, just a quick post (or I intend it to be lol, but I am rather known to ramble some!).

I sent off my cross stitch today - YEY!!! Had to pay for special delivery which was £6 odd but I will get that back :o) I didn't go into town so I have spent zilch today :o) Mike on the other hand went to Tesco and picked up some reduced ready cut mango as I think he wants to make sorbet. In this weather I might ask for hot custard to go with it lol!! We're expecting snow tomorrow!! Yey I can try out my new snow boots before we go to Sweden haha! Mike has the day off work tomorrow so I'm dragging him into town so I can go to the bank and Primark to try and get some more thermal vests for me and Ayse.

Dinner tonight was made from me picking the rest of the meat of the chicken carcass and Mike made a korma using a jar we had in the cupboard. I think we worked out it cost less than £2 for the 3 of us :o) yey! We also had chicken sandwiches for lunch using some of the salad leaves I picked up the other day. Tomorrow we're gunna be slow cooking chicken soup!! Maybe break the carcass into two halves and do another batch on Saturday. It's only a 3 litre pot and I don't wanna be using the gas hob for that length of time. Mmmm I love the smell of chicken soup boiling down :oD YUM!

Well off to snuggle up in bed now (it's half 10pm) and watch an episode or two of The Colony season 2. Am loving this show. I think I need to learn mechanical engineering and stuff or befriend many people with skill sets needed in such a situation, just in case! They've made generators, windmills and all sorts! I'm very impressed with their ingenuity! Ok an a tad jealous lol :-p but if someone needs to communicate in another language or make the house look pretty with cross stitch then I'm your gal hehe :oD

Night, night and hugs xx

Oh! Frugal Tip #17 - Packaging
*Recycle old jiffy bags and padded envelopes that you receive in the post. use a piece of paper or even the back of a used envelope to write the address and then tape it on and tape it all up nice and secure using wide, clear tape. If you're in the UK you can usually get a pack of two from Poundland and 99p Stores.

Woo Hoo!

Why the woo hoo? Because I've finished my cross stitch!! Woo hoo!!! The thread arrived in the post today so it is all completed :o) just gunna wash them tonight and hang them up in the airing cupboard so Mike can iron them for me in the morning all ready to be posted :oD I might naughtily go in to town and have a mooch in the charity shops again to see if I can find 1) a teapot, 2) pyrex dishes 3) a recipe tin. Altho I was thinking I might just use what I have and create something for my recipes. Perhaps some kind of junk journal...

Mike has just been sent on a secret errand for me :-p a Freecycler put up an offered ad for... wait for it... a Chinese take away 2013 calendar!!! Hehehe I've not told Mike what he's picking up (hence the "secret" errand) so I'm hoping he'll burst out laughing when he collects it :-p We still have out 2012 one hanging up and I'm wondering whether it would have stayed up all year if we hadn't found one?? Yep, most probably!

Bought a small whole chicken when we went to Aldi so we had that tonight with beetroot salad that I picked up yesterday and some rice flavoured with a couple of sachets that you get in dried noodle packs. It was yum! And there is still a bit of chicken on the bones so that will be picked off and I might use it in sandwiches or a curry. I don't know yet, depends on how much comes off. Then the best bit? Chicken soup made from the carcass! :oD Yummmmm!!!! Oooh I do love homemade chicken soup lol!! Smells so good during the day too. We cook it down in the slow cooker and the house smells so gooood!

Frugal Tip # 16
Boil your chicken carcass! Add a carrot and onion (no need to chop, just peel) and a stock cube or celery etc if desired (it's all down to personal preference and what you've got in the fridge) and let it do it's yumminess. Strain off then add some leftover cooked chicken and noodles at the end if you want too as well. Yummy yummy chicken broth soup :o) great when you're ill too.

Hugs xx

Frugal Tip #15

...Which I forgot to add yesterday...

Don't throw out your empty margarine tubs, ice cream tubs, large yogurt pots with lids etc as you can use them for storage if you bulk cook or just have a little leftover. These can be put into the fridge or freezer for another day. A homemade ready meal :o) perfect for when you don't want to cook and don't want to spend any money at the supermarket :o)

Hugs xx

A New Addiction???

I have just come back from Tesco after getting a few bits that Aldi didn't have and managed to spend £20.63 :-s them damn yellow stickers!!! (Reduced items). I will list them for you. I did get quite a few bits altho I was hoping to get them cheaper due to offers but never mind... Perhaps they had gotten wise to it lol.

White bread flour - 66p
Chilli con carne mix - 49p
Stock cubes - 10p
Loo rolls - £1.96
Teabags - 27p
Coffee - 47p
Stuffing mix x2 - 15p each
2 Grapefruit x 4 - 39p each (reduced from £1.25!!! Who would pay this, I don't know!)
Beetroot salad x2 - £1.05 each - buy one get one free (reduced from £1.50 was hoping to save £1.50 but saved £1.05)
1kg Fusilli Pasta - £1
Large chicken - £3.35 ~(reduced from £5.61)
Mixed leaves salad x2 - 65p each (reduced from £1 each, 2 for £1. Was hoping to save an extra £1 but only saved 30p making it £1 for 2 still)
Puff pastry x2 - 89p each (reduced from £1.50)
Tinned tomatoes x2 - 31p each
Pork belly with honey and ginger glaze and a hint of chilli x2 - £1.59 each (reduced from £4, buy 2 for £6 - again was hoping to save an extra £2 but didn't)
4 Organic kiwi - 59p (reduced from £1)
Mango x2 - 85p each (reduced from £1.50) LOVE LOVE LOVE mangoes!!! Yummmm!!!
Loose mushrooms - 55p

Total - £20.63

Saved an extra £1.35, due to offers on reduced items, not quite as much as I was hoping for but never mind. I still got some amazing bargains with the meats which are now in the freezer. Loads of meals just waiting to be cooked now :o) shouldn't have to do a big shop for 2 weeks I reckon! :oD if not more! - Fingers crossed!

Need to get back to stitching now. Had to ask them to send me some more thread as I ran out of one colour :-s just hoping it turns up tomorrow, otherwise they may not get it back in time :-s eeek!!

Hugs xx

Aldi Shop

Not my local Aldi but a pic off the internet. Finally got to Aldi thanks to Mike and his car :o) Spent £33.16 so not quite on budget but we have stocked up which is good. I'm thinking I'll try and not spend much next week. I forgot to take pics of the food we bought, oops! But we got quite a bit of meat including frozen lamb chops, frozen chicken breasts, whole chicken, frozen mince. We stocked up on pesto as it's about half the price of Tesco's and we also bought a red pesto to try. Got looooads of veg so we had a veggie soup tonight with a tiger french stick. Got some left over which I will tub up and freeze, or have some for lunch tomorrow maybe. Need to find a yummy recipe for butternut squash. I've never had it before so it'll be fun to try it out :o)

Had a little snow falling this morning which was fun :o) I have trouble keeping my eyes off the beautiful falling snowflakes so it was probably a good job it didn't last long as I had to do some speedy stitching! I'm finally on the last piece - number 6 - and will wash, iron and send it off on Thursday to be received on Friday :o) yey! Then I can get sorting out around here and get some Swedish studied! Omg there were some beaautiful skies in Northern Sweden last night!!!

I can't wait to (hopefully) see them in person next month!!! It's going to be amazing if Mother Nature works her magic whilst we're there! :oD :oD :oD excited chica here!!! It's gunna be bloomin' cold but I don't care lol :o) It's going to be such a wonderful experience and we're even going dog sledding! Eeek!

Frugal Tip #14 - Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe

I never NEVER use a spag bol sauce from a jar and I love to pack my spag bol full of healthy veggies :o)

Ingredients (amounts and veggies can be varied to taste)
Onion
Mince
Mushrooms
Tinned tomatoes (I use 2 for about 5 portions)
Dried spaghetti
Beef OXO cubes (I use 2)
Bell pepper
Mixed herbs (or ones of your choosing)
Cheese
Optional salt and pepper to taste

Method:
I like to boil my mince in some shallow water (from kettle) then drain and place back into a saucepan and crumble the oxo cubes and stir add chopped or sliced onions, chopped or sliced pepper and mix. After a few minutes add chopped or sliced mushrooms and tinned tomatoes. Stir around, add some herbs and stir some more and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes whilst you cook your spaghetti per pack instructions.

When you feel the sauce is ready, place spaghetti on your plate, sauce on top and if desired, grate some cheese on top :o)

You might need to tweak it to your tastes but I find it makes a yummy wholesome meal and much better than a jar which I find too rich and saucy lol.

Hugs xx

Sooo Sleepy

I couldn't sleep last night and didn't go back to bed until half 6!! Got out of bed around 2 and went downstairs and started to watch the first series of The Colony. I'm really enjoying it :oD I would love to know how I'd fare in a restart situation like that, would definitely bring out hidden characteristics in yourself! I seem to be obsessed with Apocalypse type programmes lately :-s Doomsday Preppers, Derren Brown Apocalypse and now this?! Altho I used to watch Dark Angel many years ago and I'm sure plenty more so I guess it's always been there, I just have more opportunity now with the internet and sky tv. I think the world could probably do with some kind of disaster, if only there was a virus that attacked only murderers, rapists and arseholes... A culling of the bad, let the good rise from the ashes and bring about a better world that doesn't revolve around money, crime and selfishness. Ok, so that would never happen but hey, it's a nice idea lol :-p

As I was too tired to go to Tesco, we're having spag neo tonight - Spaghetti Neopolitana. I don't know if it's the correct name for it but it's Mike's spaghetti dish made with tomatoes and cheese. It's using all stuff we have in the cupboards and we have enough for packed lunches tomorrow so all is good :o)

Frugal Tip #13 - Food
*Try and use up what's in your cupboards, fridge, freezer. This way it saves it going out of date and saves you money. The most bizarre concoctions can be quite tasty. Think of it as a Masterchef Mystery Box lol

Hugs xx

12 Days In...

 And doing ok and not so ok. Mike's just off to Tesco to put some old clothes into the recycling bin there and is also getting some cinnamon whirls :-s not so good for saving money! He's also gotten other stuff during the week from there too :-s one good thing was that he picked up two packs of salmon last night heavily reduced. They were £4 each reduced to about £2.39 and they were also 2 for £7 so they also took that £1 off our price too. We had them tonight with the rest of the potatoes which a few had started to sprout, and we had some of the carrots which had started to go a bit manky on their ends (I cut them bits off lol!). It was delicious!! I'll probably use up the remaining carrots tomorrow and get some new ones when I go shopping - probably around lunch time again to try and get some more reducies :oD and I'll probably meal plan a but better for next week too. We still have one pack of pork mince so maybe a chilli one night with that... Might have to reintroduce Freezer Nights on a Friday too and eat up the frozen leftovers from previous meals. So that will be 2 nights down, only 5 to go :oD sorted! And you know what, the odd treat is good for the soul. I refuse to feel guilty for it. We're bound to have ups and downs with this frugal budgetary malarkey and we just got to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get back to it :o)

Had some free entertainment tonight after dinner. Ayse's been learning "The Cup Song" so gave a demonstration for Mike at the dinner table which led to me getting Wenty (laptop) and pulling up some videos of Stomp on Youtube for us to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0XdDKwFe3k&feature=share
Hehe just seen that you can actually add links to your blog! Awesome! Fingers crossed it works lol :-p

Hmmm Frugal Tip #12 - Entertainment
*Free entertainment is all around you
*Instead of the cinema, buying, or renting a dvd or new film on Sky Box Office etc, have a regular swap of dvds already owned with friends, family or co-workers. Make sure everyone has stuck a label with their name on inside the cover so it gets returned to the right person. If you have 10 people to swap with and you all have 10 dvds to pass around, that's potentially 90 new ones for you to watch
*Make use of websites such as 4od and youtube
*Download free books, all the classics tend to be free. Also fanfiction could be fun if you like certain films, tv shows. You could also decide to write some fanfiction to share
*Have a family game of charades or play board games. Many families have a weekly game night
*Take the dogs out for a walk as a family

Just remember, it's the people you do the activity with that make all the difference. You could pay to go to the cinema with someone you don't like and end up having an awful time whereas watching a dvd at home, snuggled up on the sofa with a loved one for free would be so much nicer. Make the most of what you have and who you have. Can you tell I watched Derren Brown's Apocalypse today? It was awesome! Two parts roughly about one and a half hours in total :o) Did you see what I did there? I noticed you can change the wording for the link!!! Hehe I'm so proud of myself lol!! One day I will get the hang of this technology malarkey and know what I'm doing!... Maybe!

Hugs xx

Awol Yesterday

Sorry for being awol yesterday but I was too tired to blog... But I will make up for it with 2 frugal tips today :oD which I'll type up first so I don't forget to write later :-p

Frugal Tip #10 - Shopping, errands etc
*Try and do all your errands in one go, especially if you use a car or paid public transport for this
*Make a list and work out your route and order which will use the most petrol
*Stock up on non-perishable goods so you don't run out and need to make a special trip to replace
*If you start to run low, make sure to top up on your next shop before you run out so you can replace immediately

Frugal Tip #11 - Posting items
*If you need to post anything, cards, letters etc. Make sure to get to send them on time or early so as not to need to pay for first class stamps. It'll only save you a few pennies here and there but it will soon add up
*If you use a lot of stamps and Royal Mail raise their prices, stock up on stamps whilst they're still at the lower price

We opened up one of the posh custards we bought for 15p yesterday :oD It was very tasty!! Mike made a fruit cake in the bread maker and we poured some over a slice each. It was very rich and very filling! Weighed a tonne too! I had some more for breakkie today and after slathering it in custard, whacked it in the microwave for a couple of minutes :oD yum! Kept my belly happy for quite a while too :o)

Started on number 5 of 6 cross stitch pieces today - yippee!!! I need to send them off Thursday to be received Friday, so the deadline is getting closer and closer. I think it should be ok :oD Just need to stitch  like mad lol! We have about 35 days until we go to Sweden so I need to cram in some Swedish study too :-s eeek!! Am feeling very rusty and I would really like to hone my skills before we go... Altho I don't know how much I'd use it when actually there lol. I hardly said 2 words in Greek when we went last year! Oh well, it's fun to recognise words :oD and if someone doesn't actually know English, I can give Swedish a go instead :o)

Hugs xx

My Tummy Rules The Roost

(Or at least it rules my body lol) I went into town today and bought the pig livers. I made the faggots pork balls and I did not like them at all! The whole dinner was quite pants to be honest! Well, the carrots were ok lol. I made instant mash with Sainsbury's basic powder - yuk! Pork balls - yuk! Mike ate his up and said they were ok. Ayse was freaked out coz some of the inside was pink - think was the bacon. My tummy just freaked out coz it knew what was in it. It wasn't a success lol!! I think I tried a bit of liver and it was even worse than the rest of the meat lol! It was almost enough to make me vegetarian again! I won't make it again that's for sure and should Mike or Adam want some there will be plenty in the freezer lol!

Edit: Just found out that the cat likes them! Hehe.

Ayse had pasteena for dinner (pasta in veggie oxo cube) and I just had a bowl of cereal.

Sing with me "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger la la la la" yeah, let's just hope I don't wake up dead in the morning lol.

Altho I have been feeling a bit rough all day (maybe the idea of liver kicked in early?) and I came over all hot in the queue for the bank, my back was killing me and I couldn't wait to get home. I did have a look in the charity shops. Didn't seee much but I did buy a small vintage cookware pot for 50p :oD it made me happy lol :-p

Frugal Tip #9 - Meals

Don't be afraid to experiment with meals... Just make sure you have something edible close by in case it doesn't turn out right or you don't like it.

Hugs xx

Sleepy Day

...So I decided not to go into town but spent the morning asleep on the sofa instead and the afternoon stitching. Had a really bad night's sleep and felt somewhat zombiefied so I'm going into town tomorrow instead. I was hoping to get an early night tonight but I watched some tv and then decided I had to finish the piece of stitching I was on and start the next one (4/6) and I've just done half an hours worth and it's now 23:48 according to my laptop and I really should be getting to bed and getting a good night's sleep!

<<Zombie photo was gunna be here but they were too scary and bound to give me nightmares tonight so instead I shall put a piccie of....>>

He's so much cuter and I would much rather be counting these tonight :oD Awwww I want one!!

Frugal Tip #8 - Sleep

Make sure you get enough sleep at night so you can do all you want to do during the day. That walk home from work so you don't have to pay bus fare. That veggie chopping so you can cook from scratch instead of buying more expensive ready made meals or take away. Yeah, I know, easier said than done! We don't go to bed intending on having a crap night's sleep, it just happens. But in an ideal world, this would be an awesome frugal tip lol.

Sheepie hugs xx

Snowflakes and Chocolate Cake!

Well, It's 23:59 as I start typing so I just about count this as a blog entry on the 7th Jan :-p

Made a yummy beef casserole today with the stewing beef I bought yesterday, bulked it out with cannelini beans (forgot to soak them overnight but weren't hard at all so slow cooking them all day did the trick!), pearl barley and the rest of a dried casserole mix from Sainsbury's. It was yum! And I even manage to portion out 4 extra tubs for another day or two as well :oD they'll go in the freezer :oD

I'm off into town quickly tomorrow morning as I want to try and get a lasagne dish so I can bulk make tomorrow and get the second one portioned out and froze too (can you see a theme here? Lol). If I've got the oven on, I might as well make the most of it so I might even make an apple crumble too... Ooh I'll get one of them posh cheapy custards out when I put the tubs in the freezer! The chest freezer's in the garage so trips must be planned lol :-p I wanna try and get some vintage cookware from the charity shops as they always seem to have funky patterns and are made better than todays, and hopefully cheaper too! I'm hoping to find some of the white ware with black snowflakes! They remind me of my Mum as she has some, and even Mike has somehow managed to get a plate and mini bowl from somewhere - I think they must have been borrowed from his Mum and not taken back lol!! Plus, I love snowflakes so... Win win! :oD Must remember not to spend too much tho! I did try a request on Freecycle but didn't have any offers so...

I found a picture! There were some other cool snowflake designs too! I loved the crisp ice blue colour! Eeee you just gotta love retro! It's so funky and FUN!!

I also want to try and get some pig livers for the "pork balls" I wanna try and make. Hmmm there was something else I wanted to get from Sainsbury's but I can't remember what now...

I read out instructions and measurements to Mike tonight and he made a choccie cake and sauce in the microwave -

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/8763/lois--7-minute-gooey-chocolate-fudge-cake.aspx

We used an 850 watt microwave, regular granulated sugar instead of caster sugar and it took 8 minutes to cook not 5. It ended up as a sponge island with a choc sauce sea around it lol. Wasn't bad. And we served it with cream still in the fridge from Christmas.

I guess I best get to bed as Ayse is back to school tomorrow so it's back to the early mornings! Eeek!!

Bought the last pair of ski gloves needed for our trip too! £2.99 incl p&p from ebay :oD I've been lucky in that the 2 pairs I've bought I was the only bidder :oD Awesome!!! Just need more thermals too... Then I think we're done :oD

Oh...  Frugal Tip #7 - Shopping
Don't be afraid to check out ebay and charity shops for bargains! One shop in town has ski gloves (in the sale) for £11.49! I'm so pleased to have won the ones I did on ebay, although they're not new and it's not as easy to take back if they're too small, but definitely worth a try in order to save money :oD

Hugs and snowflakes! xx

2nd Shop of the Year and Under Budget!! :oD

Yep, just did my second budget shop and came away with £1.97 out of a £25 budget :oD

Items I bought were:
Tin of hotdogs x2 - 55p each
Tin of baked beans - 28p
Tin of garden peas - 21p
Stuffing mix x2 - 15p each
Pork mince x2 - £4.39 each, 2 for £6 (saved £2.78!!)
Stewing beef - £2.02
Streaky bacon - £1.06
Beef mince - £2.34
BLT sandwiches x4 - 25p each (reduced from £2 each)
Breaded chicken, frozen - £1.15
Bread x5 - 23p and 20p each
Hula hoops (7 pack) x2 £1 each
Citrus fruits - £1.19 (reduced)
Mushrooms - 75p (reduced)
Apples - 82p
Small potatoes - 69p
Bananas - £1

Total = £23.03

I originally picked up the mushrooms and they were reduced to 89p which I thought was good... Then I went round to the normal fruit and veg isle and saw them in their usual spot reduced to 75p! Needless to say I swapped them over lol. Was hoping to get some meaty bargains but never mind. I've sorted out 4 peoples lunches, got loads of food in for the week and have stocked up the freezer with bread :oD I wanted to try out Frugal Queen's faggot recipe:

http://frugalincornwall.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/saving-time-and-money.html#comment-form

but they didn't have any pig livers so I shall have to seek them out elsewhere and try them then. Could make for an interesting meal and I shall call them pork balls instead so as not to have Ayse turn her nose up at such a weird name lol :-p

Now on to stitching! Sigh, a stitchers work is never done :-p altho I will have a 25p BLT first lol!

Hugs xx

Edit: Frugal Tip #6 - Don't forget to check produce at the supermarket, even if reduced they might be reduced further somewhere else!