Silent sunday..simple homegrown pleasures.

10P curtains and Happy pictures

I needed curtains for my attic room (i had a pair of pillowcase type ones up but they where so insipid they made everything look insipid , (i will reuse this gifted material elsewhere) The colour didn't go and just looked odd. I have been helping declutter my mums house and she had some perfect chintz material she was throwing out..err no that will fit my attic room windows I'm sure! Drag out the hand crank and 1 hour later i have new curtains that look stunning (well I'm pleased!) and only cost about 10p in cotton. I have to also put a few pictures of my attic room and machine just because i think wooh we saved for this all ourselves on a 19k income , 5 person family after being rejected for a remortgage as apparently we couldn't afford the repayments according to them .seems like one in the eye for our bank, because we paid for it in cash 30k and saved lords knows how much in interest and years by not having a remortgage..ha ha ha i laugh in your face bank! You did us a huge favour Thanks!

Hunkering down ready for winter..and its not even summer yet

Terrified of the increase in gas and eletric rates..despite cutting back a lot and swapping to cheapet provider..its still costing us more our last bill was £450 for gas for the 3 months over winter..im hoping to off set this cost by having more food stores in thus lower food bills..this week ive dried mushrooms..in the traditional way by threading them onto cotton and hanging to dry..takes about a week..i also have plans for our 91 !! tomatoe plants as well as the leeks, onions, coureggtees etc etc etc lol..i think i may be busy in a few months drying stuff out! Boiler is still broken a man is coming to look at it, themostat has gone i beleive..wonder ho wmuch that is going to cost?!

Carrot and potato cake..wartime recipe number 2

Potato and carrot cake feeds 4

3 large potatoes
2 large carrots
1 stock cube
2 tablespoons of rough oats
2 teaspoons of mixed dried herbs
butter and milk
Optional..1 onion and handful of coriander

Peel chop and boil potatoes , add milk and butter to make a mash set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to gas mark five
Grate carrots into a frying pan, add enough water to cover, crumble stock cube , add herbs and if you wish some coriander and an onion (the stock cube, onion and coriander was additional to this traditional wartime recipe..the rest is authentic)
Boil for about 10 mins in the pan..allow to cool slightly and add the porridge oats to the mix.

Paper or use tin foil to cover your baking tray, layer down half of the mashed potato and flatten, add the carrot mixture on top, then layer the last of the mashed potato on top totally covering the carrot mix. Bake in oven for 20-30 mins until crisp and golden
Works well with baked beans or green vegetables and gravy

War time ration foods

In a bid to be even more frugal i found this blog sometime ago 1940sexperiment.wordpress.com/100-wartime-recipes/

Ive decided im going to attempt to try them all starting with this one http://1940sexperiment.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/carrot-roll-no-108/

wish me luck lol..hopefully will have some nice frugal yet nutricious new recipies to add to my fiddle

Free cinema tickets.

I love going to the cinema but wow its just sooo dear! Like really dear we can't afford £21 to go! Then theres popcorn, sweets drinks and a baby sitter. So we have been thinking outside the box so to speak..Now im sure most people take snacks to the cinema..we do! We do have the odd baby sitter sometimes in exchange for (last time my old blackberry ! this time a little bit of cash and some unwanted beauty things i won as part of a bigger package)
BUt recently we have only been going to the omg really want to see it films on Orange wednesdays as hubby is with 02..so its about £9 ? and ive just discovered this https://www.showfilmfirst.com/service/ticket_order.php ..and look on mse for the pincodes and wher they are showing im now off to the for the first time totally free of charge! ..Can't get more frugal than that!
Looking forward to it , taking mumma and having a nice mum/daughter day out ,
Also this week i got a voucher for oaty drink? £10 worth of pizza vouchers and a a small bag of curry that i can bulk out for 2 with rice :D Have a great weekend all x

Competitions

I love entering competions..i find it a great way to get things that i cant otherwise afford treats..i do about 2-3 hours a day..ive won some fantastic things today i won a book, a childs comforter taggie toy, a kenwood smoothie maker and breakfast hamper and £72..this is a huge amount for me too win, i feel very lucky indeed, i only enter things id like to win and when im finished with it i pass it on..i don't have time to eneter everything anyway but it makes me happy and i think its a worthy tip to pass on..i love the prizefinder site. Heres a pic of me modeling a win of aztec style costume jewlerry for dazzlemelooks blog..such a sweet set, i also got a cool camera ring, a chain link bracelet and a stud bracelet! Lucky lucky lucky. please do excuse my very shiney natural face lol..im just wondering what do you do to cheer yourself up when money is sparce?

Freebies!

I made a pledge a while ago to stop buying "stuff" it means ive cleared some debt and decluttered..but a girl needs treats!! Especially i find them helpful as i suffer from senstive skin and often end up with bottles that hurt my skin..and its all very good for frugalness..heres what i recieved last week.

Hers a list of some of the freebies ive sent for..hope they havent expired for you

Please note i am not endorsed by any of these companys ..some links need to be copied and pasted..happy hunting!

 free choc sample http://gimichocolate.com/fg/u/order_sample.php

taylors one pot caffietre sample https://www.facebook.com/taylorscoffee/app_364041783617057

boss orange sample female and male http://fragrances.hugoboss.com/uk/boss-orange-woman-eau-de toilette-for-woman-free-sample

evening primrose seeds 

http://www.efamol.com/about-efamol/evening-primrose-oil.php

loreal nude magic cc cream http://www.loreal-paris.co.uk/cc-cream/sample-login.aspx

potty training kit..website down but can get from contact us on link https://www.pottytraining.co.uk/potty-training-camp

toothpaste sample http://www.colgate.co.uk/app/ColgateOralCare/Toothpaste/MaxWhiteOne/UK/EN/Promotion/PhotoShoot/RequestSample.cwsp

Free Badge, pen and binoculars for that budding gambler in your life ..seriously though what child doesnt love getting post, plus bincoulars allways popular for bug/bird watching http://www.coltsandfillies.co.uk/clu.html

 garnier moisture match https://secure.garnier.co.uk/_en/_gb/moisture-match/free-sample.aspx

Boots soft cup feminine protection http://www.boots.com/en/Softcup?affwin&cm_mmc_o=-uubkbzfwlCjCKww5kbELCjCvi%20i9%20niioCjCC

join newsletter for 2 free condoms http://www.britishcondoms.co.uk/?source=webgains&siteid=78996

cherrys in the air fragrance sample https://www.facebook.com/ESCADA/app_417914901633359

e45 skincare sample http://www.e45.co.uk/our-offers/lotion-campaign/

polar frost pain relief gel http://www.polarfrostuk.com/sample-request.ashx

colagte interdental toothpaste sample https://forms.colgate.co.uk/page/s/Interdental-free-sample

hugo boss mens samples http://fragrances.hugoboss.com/uk/hugo-just-different-fragrance-for-men-free-sample

loreal bb cream http://www.allaboutyou.com/bb-sampling?cmpid=aaygnsl201112

lady millio paco rabam sample http://info.pacorabanne.co.uk/public/signup.jsp

tena lady samples (or useful nighttime towels) http://www.tena.co.uk/women/products/free-sample/

mens gomme de garcon evergreen sample http://comme-des-garcons-parfum.com/selector/

tena lights sample http://www.allaboutyou.com/health/try-lights-by-tena

live below the poverty line

Saw this on facebook, and thought id give it a go, our main meal costs less than £2.00 usually for 2 adults and 3 children, so im hoping that it wont be that hard a deal to do, and if it raises awareness of how hard it is to eat on so little then doubly good! More info here..shall be posting once a day with dinner ideas and fruagal tips https://www.facebook.com/LBLuk

I have a pantry :D

Anyone who has a larger family knows..more mouths to feed means more food storage required. I have been sooo jealous of peoples pantrys but i have no space to put one..or so i thought. I have an old chimney breast in my kitchen i cant remove it as its a supporting wall, as i was short of space i used it as storage and it was just full of junk..so i decluttered it ..went out spent £10 on wood ..also used some recycled wood batten  and heres the result..im so pleased not preety but functional and now means i can get more food from approved food (allways been put off getting too much due to no where to put it!) ..Then of course afterwards the children had great fun taking it back out and stacking it again lol.

Weekend fun!

It's half term holidays here and like any family on a budget we worry (or maybe over worry) about how to entertain the children for free or as cheaply as possible, This weekend we helped a friend de-clutter and clean her bedroom, which was fun as she has 2 girl children of similar ages to my two eldest , so most of the day they entertained each other, we had a nice lunch together and managed to sort her bedroom out..win, win and win! Then i took this adorable picture of all 3 of my children playing nicely together (hard to find a joint thing to do that all 3 enjoy as there is a big mental/physical difference..digging in the dirt seems to work well too) i just felt lucky to to have them. Then today (Sunday) there was a Chinese new year parade in our local high street, the sun was out and very warm for mid February , and we where thrust a discount voucher for the local burger place £10 for family of 4 ( a very rare "treat" (using that term loosely) ) normally it would have cost £16 :( ..we all really enjoyed the lady fan dancers the most because the where mostly elder lady's who knew how to shock us with the fast "CRACK!" of their fans opening.... I mentioned that it was often used as a weapon and it was bladed. Hence why they cracked the fans so fast..you can even observe the "throwing" stance and after all who needs ninjas when you have Nana's with hand fans?  A deadly weapon I'm sure and much more subtle! http://mortalkombat.wikia.com/wiki/War_fan

Steping back from the social media madness

I'm increasingly getting more upset about how vast chunks of people treat each other over social networking sites, there's a difference of opinion and then there's just being plain right rude and evil! So i have decided the only way i can keep my soul happy is to just step back from it, being as I'm on the F..book every day imagine what i can do with that extra time..read, knit , crochet, bake , all stuff that makes my heart sing..and after all if I'm happy that positivity will flood out of me ..(i hope!)
Yesterday we celebrated valentines our way..we don't send cards because well we celebrated our anniversary the week before and got married. DH presented me with the most beautiful ring, when we where alone in our hotel room, he carried around all day hoping to find the perfect moment , i cried with happiness, I'm truly blessed. For valentines day my sons helped prepare dinner for daddy when he came home and we had a family meal together , the boys had made cards at school for me and daddy, simple yet perfect. My middle son Keon has decided to get into the baking bug in a big way..here he is helping make cheese sauce, he was thrilled he had made it!

Marble Madness!

Whilst i created this, it reminded me a lot of those marble cakes you see about lol..hence the name. Please feel free to use my patterns for sale etc but please do not claim it as your own invention, thanks! Also please remember i am not a professional pattern writer hence why i offer my patterns FREE, enjoy x

Please note i use British terminology.

Dk weight yarn and 4mm hook 2 Different shades of yarn

Magic loop..chain 4 join end to starting chain to create a loop.


Htr (hd) Half treble or half double
Trb (Db) Treble or American double
ss, slip stitch .

Starting corner = Work 2 chain, 2 htr ,2 chain, 3 htr (all into same space)
Corner = 3 htr ,2 chain, 3 htr (all into same space)

Using A make a magic Loop.

Round 1. Into magic loop, work 2 chain, and 11 htr join to starting chain (12 stitches).

Round 2. Change to B. Work starting corner * Skip 3 htr , Into space work corner * repeat from* to * round to starting 2 chain ss to join.

Round 3, Work starting corner   * Skip 3 htr , Into space work 3 htr, skip 3htr into next space work corner ,* repeat from* to * round to starting 2 chain ss to join.

Round 4, swap to A, work starting corner skip 3 htr *chain 1, into the 2nd row below work 1 trb into the middle htr , chain 1, work htr into middle htr of the 1st row below repeat to corner , work corner* ,.repeat from *to *  around to starting 2 chain corner, ss to close.

Round 5 swap to B, work starting corner  *chain 1, work 3 htr into trb stitch, chain 1, skip htr stitch* repeat from * to * to corner work 3 htr into last trb stitch, work corner ** Repeat from * to **around to starting 2 chain and ss to join.

Round 6,  work starting corner * Work 3 htr into space between htrs to corner work corner * * repeat from * to * to starting 2 chain ss to close.

Repeat through rows 4-6 to desired size (6 repeats for 12" square)

Mini hexagon one a day almost 3 months on!

Can't believe i started this almost 3 months ago Where on earth has the time gone? Hope you all had a great Christmas and New years eve? Ours was fraught with illness, we thought my eldest might have men c, 5 hours in A and E and coming back at 2am , thankfully it wasn't , but he had a virus that was attacking his immune sytem poor mite lost 2lb and theres not much of him anyway! We all ended up poorly and without any enthusasim at all, i myslefhad parovirus (slapped cheek) tonsilitus and conjunctivitis on top of a cold! Thankfully everyone else just had a cold, so i was happy to shouldler the brunt of it, if it meant they got away lightly. Anyway onwards and upwards, i have a wedding to sort and only 4 weeks to do it! Ive booked jack Dee tickets for dave and me as our presant to us, im going to see billy elliot with mum this weekend, we are also going to legoland in March and Venis in May..so looking forward to this year! Have a great New year, blesssings to you all.