Giveaways

I'm gutted ! I fell in love with a pair of shoes on Ebay, bid and won and now they've arrived ...... yep, you guessed it ....... they're too bloody small ! I'm a size 6 so bidding for these beauties seemed a sure-thing.

Anyway, I've made my friend really happy. Sent her a picture and asked if she could give them a loving home for me. I'm pretty sure they'll fit her, she's a 5. I feel like one of the ugly sisters who couldn't get her foot into the glass slipper !

Talking of giveaways, the lovely Danni has a rather cute scarf and other items up for grabs, all she wants to know is what is your least favourite bit of clothing - I nearly said the red shoes I just bought ! I'm loving reading her blog and since she's from my neck of the woods, we have something in common :0)

Stock-taking at work is ruling my life at the moment so outfit posts would be rather boring with me in my sexy (NOT!) uniform. Back to normal hours next week so I'll get busy blogging with my most recent purchases (shhhhhhhh don't tell hubby !) The good news is that I had to get smaller sizes in quite a few things

Fruits Of My Labour

This is what I've been doing the last 2 evenings .............

Picking, picking and more picking ! The strawberries had gone mad with all the rain and the blackcurrants were huge ! I think it'll be the last of the rhubarb this year but we've been eating it for a good 3 months so this little lot will be cut up and frozen ready for the winter months when only a crumble will do.

Blackcurrants have also been frozen in readiness for a mega jam making session when the weather isn't being very kind. The raspberries are starting to come in now too (my favourite fruit).

I love my garden (I think I've said that before !)

Spare a thought .....

Today is Armed Forces day and I will be taking time to think about those who have given up everything to provide me and my family with the freedom that we have now. I'm proud to be British and it's a great day to show support for both past and present soldiers ......... thank you x

Our volunteer group always takes part in a big event down on our seafront and I've been up since the crack of dawn baking cakes for a cake stall. My daughter is off down there for the day supporting the event. I, unfortunately, have to work (boo hoo). There are some fantastic things happening, a fly past, aerial displays, parachute jumpers, tanks etc etc ... I'll be sad to miss it ! Over 200 events are being held throughout the UK so if you get time, and there's one near you, then do pop along. It's a great day out.

It's my friend's 40th tonight so I'm off out with our little lad for the celebrations. Hubby is on nights, daughters are both out on sleepovers so it's just us. I've done the cake (it's ok but not up to my usual standard as I've had to rush it a bit  ) ......... the gap is for a cake topper that I'm picking up later. The birthday boy is my son's football manager so we've decided to get the team logo put on the cake - I hope he likes it !

Have a good weekend xxx

Car Booty

We're pretty lucky down here, there's always a car boot sale to go to at the weekends and a mid-week one as well !

The Thursday car boot is a mixture of what I call 'traders' and 'proper booters' the latter being more of interest to me as I'm more likely to snaffle a bargain or two. The traders mostly sell antique (if you can call it that) goods so I tend to steer clear of them unless something catches my eye on the way past, which is a rareity.

It can be a bit hit and miss too, some weeks I come home with a few bags, others I come away empty handed. This week was ok .....

3 tie and cufflink sets for hubby - brand new (£5)
10 books for my daughter (£7) - 4 hardback and 6 paperback, all the modern 'vampire' titles which she's very much into at the moment. She's a complete bookworm and it costs me a fortune but I'd rather she had her nose into a book than hanging round the streets like most of her peer group ....
 

2 bracelets for moi ....

They cost me a couple of quid each, a bit more than I wanted to pay but I liked them so didn't mind parting with my pennies.

And a couple of clothing items that I might have to keep under wraps for an outfit post once the sun comes out.

The car boot sales down this way to tend to charge a bit more than others around the country, not sure why ... one of life's little mysteries !

Stocking up!

After a 'heads up' on one of my favourite websites - Money Saving Expert - I hot-footed it down to Superdrug to see if they had any knock-down bargains at my local branch. Hey Presto ! I filled my little boots (well, basket ..) but left plenty for other bargain hunters. My toiletry stash is now replenished with toothpaste, toothbrushes, shower gel, mouthwash and shampoo. Total saving? Over £37 ! I paid less than a tenner.

I also got this to try tonight:

It's a night serum and since I have very straw-like dry hair I thought I'd give it a whirl seeing as it only cost me 49p (original price over £7 - yikes !) I'll let you know the results in the morning once I've looked in the mirror - if Worzel Gummidge isn't staring back at me then I'll be happy with it.

There's a lovely smell coming from my oven at the moment, I've been asked to make a birthday cake for a friend's 40th at the weekend. I'll pop up a picture once it's been iced and decorated. Maybe if it's good enough I'll get a bit of interest from people attending and I may get an order or two, who knows?! It would be nice to make a few pennies from a hobby ....... but only if it doesn't look like this ..

 

Stuffed!

We had our meal out on Sunday evening and all ate a bit too much ! The kids wanted to take Dad to Smith & Western, we've never been before so had no idea the portion sizes would be so huge. However, the food was delicious and cooked to perfection and we'll definitely be visiting again, only next time we won't eat for a week beforehand!

This is what I wore (I thought I ought to make a bit of an effort seeing as it was our anniversary too):

(Skirt: Matalan, Cardigan: free - given to me by my lil sis, Vest top: cheapy from tesco, shoes: DP Sale)

This necklace is a favourite of mine, my daughter bought it for me on Mothers Day with her first ever wage packet. It goes with so many things. As it's quite a statement bit of jewellery, I didn't wear anything else as I thought it might be a bit too much.

The nail varnish is the freebie copacabana Nails Inc colour - excuse the poor effort, I'm crap at painting my own nails !



Friday freebies !

Who doesn't love something for free?! There's a fab little boots promo on at the moment - buy 2 Dove Deodrant and get a Nails Inc polish for free. I got the copacabana one and can't wait to sit down later and do my nails. I'm definitely into the corals/oranges at the moment and despite having auburn hair, I think I'm getting away with wearing it now I'm 'maturing' in years.



Yet another long day at work beckons tomorrow and Sunday but we're off out for a family meal for Father's Day with the added bonus of it being mine and hubby's wedding anniversary. I'm hoping to do an 'outfit' post Sunday evening .......... ohhhhh what should a girl wear !???!

Tie Die and clay day ......

Tonight is my 'volunteer' evening and we had a smashing time doing tie dye and making clay pots/models. I was very impressed with myself seeing as it's been about 30 years since I attempted to tie dye - the kids were pretty happy with the results too. I just hope they don't all bring their wardrobes in next week to re-vamp !

Paid work is incredibly hard at the moment, retail lead-up to Fathers Day so always a big week for us. But, being so busy is stopping me from snacking and keeping me on the move and I'm sure it'll have a positive effect on the scales next week - watch this space ! I am eating healthily and regularly and feel very much in control, which is a good thing!

I've also had a little 'splash' on some new clothes today. I've had my eye on a top for ages and it finally hit the sale (virtual) rail today. There were a couple of other items that seemed to just appear in my basket too . Now all I need is a night out to wear them.

Work beckons for the next 3 days so I'm not sure if I'll have much to say other than 'I'm tired!' Hopefully by the next post I'll have my new clothes and I might be brave enough to put up a picture of moi ....



Monday's aren't so bad .....

Finally, the sun came out today just in time for me to get out and do a bit of picking/harvesting. 4 bags of spinach and a decent amount of gooseberries that'll do for a crumble tomorrow, that's me happy ! The strawberries don't even make it to the house I'm afraid, the kids are forever in my planters searching for the hidden red gems.

 Mind you, we've got some real whoppers this year !

I've been very good today and hauled my rather large behind down to the gym. After a bit of a weight gain on the scales (health reasons deem it necessary for me to watch my weight), I need to start eating healthily again and make sure I do plenty of exercise. You don't get to lose 5 stone and keep it off without a bit of hard work, I've learned that much over the last 10 years or so ! I do tend to yo-yo a bit but have now accepted that's me and I'm always going to want that cookie or bit of cake (home-made of course!) and as long as I work out regularly, I'm also beginning to realise I can actually have it without feeling too guilty.

Managed to snaffle a few bargains at the local supermarket earlier this evening, got there at the right moment just as things were being reduced. It's been a while since I've ventured out on a yellow-sticker hunt. With 6 of us to feed and weekly hikes in basic food stuffs, I shall have to go hunting whenever possible.

The gym has left me feeling tired (I must have done something right !) and I'm looking forward to a relaxing bath and starting a new book before bed.

A First Time for Everything ...

So, a first blog post and I'm not entirely sure what to write ! Unusual for me to be lost for words as my family and friends would say .....

A wet and windy day here which suits me fine seeing as I've been at work all day. An added bonus for the garden too which has been struggling with the dry weather. My sapling cherry tree is taking a battering though and I hope it's not shedding all those 'nearly ripe' cherries !

I'm feeling a little 'sensitive' today after a night out with a friend so an early night is in order in readiness for my day off tomorrow. I've got to catch up on a bit of housework and do a bit of planning for my voluntary role but other than that I've more or less got a free day. I'm sure I'll find something worthwhile to fill my time.