Oh I do love free things!

Seriously good haul on the old O2 Priority Moments today! I got all of these lovely things for free!

Do you think they're trying to get people instore for Mother's Day? ;) Unfortunately it didn't work on me as I only picked up the free things...

I missed getting some more chocolate (all sold out) and I passed on the free Nero's coffee as I wasn't really feeling it today.

I was also starving as I'd had a work thing on this morning that dragged through lunch so instead of getting sucked into a wrap to accompany a free coffee I helter skeltered home and had some yummy honey on oatcakes instead.

PS. Did rather well in Boots today as well, a combo of points offers on things I often buy netted me an extra 350 points! I'll be saving those up and using them on another frequently used product - can't let any free pennies go to waste!

xx Cie

It's the little things

I rescued these soap bottles from elsewhere in the house, something tells me I'll get another couple of weeks-worth of soap out of them.

Yum-central! It's amazing how a bit of pasta and pesto can transform leftover veg into a scrumptcious meal. 

Luckily I have loads of frozen ice-cube shaped pesto in the freezer ready to go the moment I have some lonesome veg kicking about the corners of the fridge. :)

Perfect storecupboard staples in action!

xx Cie

Using up the booze

Mr Me mentioned the other day that we should throw out the sherry bottle as we only had dregs in there and the empty bottle was taking up space - but I couldn't let dregs go to waste!

I found this old (ashamed to say how old) fruit mix kicking about the back of the cupboard, so revived with the sherry and a random teeny bottle of Schnapps given to me by a friend ages ago I thought I could use it up in some sort of pudding.

I contemplated muffins or cake but suddenly remembered that crumble was a thing and thought it'd be perfect mixed with some fruit. I was going to buy some apples but actually opted for pears as I seem to have so many in the house.

I love Nigella's Blackberry Crisp crumble topping, so put together a version of that (sans sunflower seeds and with extra ginger and half flaked almonds, half ground) to go with the wintry, boozy fruit.

Seriously yummy! And loads left to tuck in the freezer for pudding emergencies.

xx Cie

Stocking up

We nipped down to Costco yesterday to replenish our supplies. Luckily we can get there via the bus, though it does mean we have to resist the temptation to buy too many heavy items.

My flapjacks and nakd bars keep me on the straight and narrow and stop me snacking on copious amounts of biscuits at work. It also work wonders to keep one in my bag At All Times as this helps me resist the urge to stop and buy cake while out and about. ;)

Blister plasters... I'm planning to do some serious breaking-in-of-shoes over the coming weeks - so best to be prepared!

Oops, I may also have bought another jacket.

£11.98 for this little beauty was money extremely well spent, I reckon. I've been on the lookout for an extremely lightweight, fairly weatherproof jacket for ages; this one can roll up into a small ball (roughly the size of two fists) and weights virtually nothing (once you add in a bottle of water, snacks and an umbrella to your handbag you do start to swiftly feel like something of a pack horse).

So, in a nutshell, perfect for keeping/putting in my bag during spring and autumn while I'm out on an all-day adventure.

We rounded the evening off with a rather yummy tea from the cafe. £2-odd each - not bad for a date-night evening meal out(!).

xx Cie

Using up jars

Oh yummy, another free bar of chocolate for me!

We had a delivery from Waitrose (one of those ones that we managed - between cashback, introductory offer and discounts - to get over £50 of food for free - woot, woot!) and upon exiting the van the driver instantly flourished this freebie into my happy, outstretched hands.

In other news, I've been raiding the fridge...

I thought I had nothing for lunch today (despite the food delivery - we mostly got heavy, store cupboard bits and no fresh stuff), but then lo!

I remembered I had a jar of grilled peppers that needed used up. I whipped them up with some tuna, artichoke pate (another languishing jar in the fridge), and a little olive oil. Into the toastie maker it all went with some lovely seeded bread and a yummy lunch was had!

Mr Me had bought some fancy tortilla chips made from kidney beans the other day (he's ever one for trying out new foodstuffs) but he rejected them - so I'm on a mission to munch those up too (they're flipping lovely! Sometimes having different tastes works out for the best ;).

I still have a few peppers left (not to mention all the flavoursome oil in the jar), so I'll need to get my thinking cap on once again.

xx Cie

Best charity shop finds ever!

I went adventuring to a new town (well, both myself and Mr Me) and we found a hidden seam of fantastical charity shops! (As in, wealthy area ergo awesome finds but proper, old, charity shop cheapy cheap prices, woot!)

The first shop we came to I found these two coats. I've been on the lookout for a spring/autumn jacket for ages and this one ticked literally all the boxes I had (super colour, hood, toggle buttons but tailored fit and a belt!). 

It gets better.

It's from Laura Ashley, from the looks of things it's barely been worn, and was the princely sum of £5.50! Very pleased indeed.

This next jacket is possibly my best find EVER, in my whole career as a miner of charity shop gold. This is a Hauber (German design), and they tend to cost circa £220 new! 

This beauty looks brand new and it was mine for £3! 

It helps that it looks like something out of an episode of Miss Marple. I literally watched 'By The Pricking Of My Thumbs' the other day and thought to myself, Ooh, I'd love a jacket with velvet trim like Tuppence Beresford! And lo, the universe did listen.

Greta as Tuppence, rocking 1950's chic. And I already have the pearls - win.

Xx Cie

Chocca weekend

Did rather well this past week with some serious freebie finds.

Free foodstuffs above from O2 Priority Moments (chocolate from Hotel Chocolat, Graze Box from Boots). I'd been thinking of giving up O2 as my contract is up soon and Three do a cheap sim-only deal - a fantastic feature of which allows you to use your phone abroad (calls, data etc), just as if you were at home. 

Now I'm wondering, however, if it might be better sticking with O2 as I also nabbed a free coffee at Caffè Nero yesterday (consumed before photographic evidence acquired). They also do Boots meals for £1 on Mondays, not bad.

Even getting one free drink a week would seriously help with my wanderings in far flung towns, as sitting down for a warming drink somewhere cosy on a brisk winter's day can do the world of good.

What a quandary!

xx Cie

The whys...

    Mmm, muffins ready to be tucked away in the freezer.

So, a bit more blathering about this new venture, and why.

A couple of years of sadly seeing friends and family pass on, some very scary health scares in the family (including one of my own), made me realise that putting life on hold to save as much as possible is possibly quite stupid indeed.

As much as I'd love to save every single penny towards financial freedom, in fact it was breeding a mentality of poverty that didn't seem terribly healthy. Getting my health and mind into a state of abundant wellness feels like a better long-term plan.

So time to loosen the reins and get back into the world. Not least because partaking of cultural activities is super inspiring and makes me even more focused to pursue my own work.

But that doesn't mean I have to give up my savings dreams entirely. It's possible to live a fun-filled life on the cheap. Just read How I Lived A Year On Just A Pound A Day by Kath Kelly (and feel your horizons expand!).

As well as engineering cheap days out, I'm planning to note the bits and bobs I do to make life more thrifty and what helps save pennies that I can put towards cheap theatre tickets and the like.

And with that, I must be off. A day of board games with my beloved, tucked up inside the house away from the grey rain awaits!

xx Cie

Let us begin!

       Life, with a cherry on top.

I don't know about you, but I like going out and about in an effort to gather up as many tales of Adventure that my tiny arms can carry.

The more thrilling, art-centric, culture-vulture-like the better. I'm on a mission to download as many happy experiences into my memory banks as possible - sort of like that scene in The Matrix, only no rods/holes-in-head required.

I'm not a fan of using all my hard-earned pennies to do this. In fact, the cheaper/free-er/more frugal the better. I like to win when it comes to Achievements In Thrift. ;)

And so, after a few years of silly life shocks, I realised the time to Live is NOW. 

Time to get that thinking cap on and work out how to do as many fun things as possible, as thriftily as possible. 

Documentary evidence seemed like a good idea, a journal to remind myself How To Live (And Love Life). 

Let's get started! 

xx Cie