Me

Me

Monday, 26 March 2018

Meal plan Monday

My meal plan as promised...

Roast chicken, rice noodles and stir fried vegetables.

Steak pie, mash, kale, carrots, swede and gravy.

Jacket potatoes, cauliflower cheese or beans and cheese.

Sausage, mash, veg and onion gravy.

Homemade vegetable soup and crusty bread. Treacle sponge and custard.

Roast pork, roasties, stuffing, veg and gravy.

Egg, chips and beans.


These are in no particular order and we've already eaten two of the meals. I'd like more meat free days, but this is something I'm working on.

Each day we have a pudding, normally something simple like jelly, custard and sprinkles or ice cream. We eat fruit and yoghurts throughout the day so pudding isn't a healthy option! I used to make proper puddings but rarely have the time now. That's going to change...lots of fruity puddings in the week then treats at the weekend.

I've sorted out my recipes and am ready to meal plan using them next week. Food shouldn't be boring! 

Mandy x


Thursday, 22 March 2018

Less waste

Today's project is a linen bag gifted by a vintage seller friend on Instagram. It was in a sorry state but I know I can put life back into it! I hate things going to landfill and rarely buy anything brand new these days. 


It's been soaking in vanish all day. Look at the colour of that water!!! When it's clean I wil do a few little repairs then it can be used for storage. 

Each week I will tackle a new item (I have a pile of them) to restore and put to good use. Does anyone else take on projects like this or make do and mend?

Mandy x

Wednesday, 21 March 2018

Trying out new things...

Thank you to Emma and Margaret for your ideas from yesterday :)

This morning I've been thinking about how I can organise myself to try out new things. I find it difficult to find time to do the things I love or try out new things. I want that to change. My aim is to add more routine to my evenings. Sometimes I'll do my online food shop or the ironing or other stuff that needs doing, but I'd love to make this time for me too. I have been collecting bits and bobs together to try new hobbies. I really believe it's important to have interests like that. 

Something else I love doing is testing out new recipes. I need to enjoy my huge collection of recipe books. Many of my books are vintage and the recipes are very simple, cheap and look delicious. 

So this is the plan...

I will try really hard to incorporate my normal evening chores into my day.

I will go to bed earlier and read my book. I'm currently reading 'The Darling Buds of May' I don't even manage a chapter at the moment because I'm so tired!

Each week I will try something new. This could be a baking recipe, a new knitting pattern, sewing, embroidery or cross stitch. I have many new interests. I will plan for this on a Tuesday evening and tell you all about it on the Wednesday. 

I need structure to keep me on track and hopefully this will free up time to be more creative. Do more of what you love! 

More plans tomorrow

Mandy x


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Tuesday, 20 March 2018

Meal planning

I've been thinking about making small changes to help the day-to-day stuff run more smoothly. We already have routine, we have to now that Daisy is at school, but some things work for us and others don't. I love baking but easily get bored of cooking. I hate trying to decide what to cook, which is ridiculous because I have so many recipes to choose from! I end up cooking similar food each week and that's just boring for everyone. As I intend to get rid of my modern cook books, I'm turning my attention to my lovely vintage recipes. These tend to be meals that we prefer. Traditional food. 

At the moment I shop online and make my choices hoping to find things on offer. I then decide the night before (I'm hopeless at remembering to get meat out of the freezer) what we will have the next day. I'm trying to reduce food waste so often it's a concoction based on what needs using up. So lately I haven't bothered to meal plan. I find I work much more effectively with forward planning and have decided to start meal planning again. 

I'm looking at having some meat free days so would really appreciate your help on this. Any meat free meal ideas? We'd love to try them. I'm open to new ideas and have bought a bag of lentils to try. I have no idea how I'm going to use them yet but I'm sure I can find a recipe :)

I plan to bring back 'meal plan Mondays' as these commitments keep me motivated and organised. This will start next Monday.

I've got lots to do today so I'll leave you with yesterday's vintage find...

A beautiful (photo doesn't do it  justice) 70s green dress for Daisy. 

Mandy x


Monday, 19 March 2018

A lovely day

Yesterday was a lovely day (even though we had snow)! While the rest of the family ventured out to play, I got on with some chores...


I love my vintage Hoover! Jake is 16 now and had no intention of moving :)

I roasted a chicken for lunch and made pear and chocolate pudding. I made extra to do a tray of chocolate fairy cakes. The children enjoyed decorating them with sprinkles.

 We had visitors in the afternoon so Daisy made rock cakes...


The only help she needs now is weighing out the ingredients and using the oven obviously. She's such a good baker!

Thank you for your comments on my last post...

I hope you're feeling better Phyllis. 

I'm tackling the paperwork one bag at a time and only keeping what I really need.

I'm always trying to be better but time management has never been my strong point! Looking back over my blog it's obvious that writing does motivate me and routine keeps me on track. I also love a Monday, fresh new week and fresh start.

I'll leave you with a photo of my latest find for Henry. He loves the Mr Men books and these 1970s dungarees are perfect for playing in.

Mandy x




Wednesday, 14 March 2018

Ready for spring!

I always find winter a struggle. I hate being cold and not being able to hang the washing out! The higher gas bills and need for warming comfort food. Worst of all the battle with colds. Oh yes and I hate snow!! I've been quiet over the last month from lack of motivation to do lots of thrifty cooking and baking. Everything seems so much better when the sun is shining! 

Right now my washing is out. It's chilly but windy so definitely worth it. Another load is spinning so that'll go out too. I feel  like I'm winning if the laundry is done. 

I'm always busy with the day-to-day stuff but in spare moments I'm tackling the stuff we don't need. I don't feel the need to hoard now but things do need moving on. There are many areas to sort out so I've taken one room at a time. The biggest task is paperwork. I've always kept paperwork for years but I'm sure I can let go of much of it now. The rest will be neatly filed and put away. This is a mammoth task so I've put it off! 

My reward for healing myself from my hoarding ways is to spend my spare time learning new crafts. I've bought some cross stitch kits and vintage embroidery tray cloths and tablecloth. They are my incentive to get things done. 

I've also treated myself to some vintage cooking booklets. I get stuck in a rut making the same food and baking the same cakes. There's no excuse with all the lovely recipes I have to hand. I'm excited to make changes. 

My love of all things seventies is ever growing and so is my collection of vintage items. I will share photos of Daisys vintage toys soon. 

Exciting plans are being made too. I've been busy making a dream come true. Still lots of work to be done but things are coming together for a new business venture. 

See you soon!

Mandy x