Cooking from scratch...a shortcut

Hi everyone,

September was an expensive month for us and sadly not enough thriftiness going on. There were also a couple of distressful events and this impacted on my blogging. I'm not going into great detail because my blog is public...I was very upset but it's sorted now.

Today my slow cooker is on, even though it's warm and sunny here again. It's a simple beef casserole, but I thought I'd share my little cheat (shortcut) when I'm short of time...

This is simply diced beef (I don't even brown it anymore), a pinch of smart price mixed herbs, a couple of dashes of Worcester sauce and a packet of this...

Casserole veg, chopped and washed ready to simply chuck in! It costs £1, but I think it's worth it. I didn't add any other veg because there is a mixture of onion, leek, carrots, swede and potatoes. 

I then make up a large jug of gravy and stir. I cook it on high for an hour then turn it down to medium for the rest of the day. An hour before we want to eat, I will make some suet dumplings and pop them on the top.

Perfect, easy and delicious! 

I like to cook from scratch, but some days I want to do other things and so the odd shortcut is fine! 

Let's face it, it takes very little time or effort to take something out of the freezer and bung it in the oven for 20mins...easy peasy, dinner is served! I am at home and I do have more time, so there's no excuse! I prepare my veg in the morning and try to get everything else ready so I can forget about it until later. I hate having to rush about later on. Today I felt like cheating :)

Does anyone else have any shortcuts to share?

I don't know if you enjoy seeing my Carboot finds, but here's some more!

I love reading and don't do it enough. I have been inspired by the amount of wartime books on offer lately at the car boot. I managed to pick all these up for £1.60.

These bits for Daisy cost £1.50 (for her Christmas stocking).

At 20p each, I was really happy, especially as one is a next winter coat! The seller even threw in a pretty dress for free as she'd seen me looking at it and put it back!

Something is only worth what you are prepared to pay for it, and I paid £1 for this dress. It's lovely and just what I was looking for. The Christmas card making kit was 20p! Brand new and although a bit tacky, it will keep Daisy amused in December. I can't grumble at spending 20p for a few hours entertainment. Daisy can personalise them as she chooses and send out her own cards at Christmas.

My final purchase was this rocker/see-saw. It's little tikes and it's pink! This was £3, but I know they are quite costly brand new. Daisy will play outside whatever the weather and loves it already. We've been looking out for garden toys like this for ages. 

I'm sensible carbooting and don't buy impulsively any more. We are hoping to do some selling very soon...wish me luck!  I hope to clear loads of the clutter that's stacked up and make some pennies to go towards Christmas. That's it for now.

Thanks for reading,

Mandy x

Shopping Saturday...

Hi everyone,

I've been carbooting again yesterday! 

Sorry if these photos are getting boring, but I've started squirreling bits away for Christmas now. This is what I picked up...

Two Asos jumpers...I'm so short of clothes and I rarely find my size at the carboot. One was a treat from Charlotte :)

I love the colour of the scarf (50p) and the DVD is an old '80s favourite of mine. The card was only 10p and the Christmas DVD was a waste of money sadly...

When we buy DVDs, we always check that the DVD is actually in the case. This has two discs...both of them are disc 2!! So the film isn't actually in there :(

...a lesson learnt.

The two pink sheets will be made into cotbed sheets for Daisy's bed, they were 50p each and I wish I'd bought more. The seller also had the candy stripe ones, all in really good condition. 

The daisy card will be framed for Daisy's bedroom (10p).

The peppa pig stickers and sticker book were 10p each. 

The tweenies puzzle was 20p.

Here are two footless babygros (£1), a raincoat, denim and poppy shorts to be worn with tights for autumn (£1), skirt (20p), leggings and pumpkin patch top (50p) and a pair of peppa pig sunglasses (free...just because Daisy is so cute and the lady wanted them to go to a good home!)

Sorry...the light coming in through the patio doors has made this photo a bit blurry. I will list what's here for Daisy...

Dressing up dress  20p

3 x peppa pig DVD boxset  £2.50

In the night garden watering can. 20p

Macca pacca. 20p

Waybuloo toy  50p

Cuddly rabbit. 50p

Iggle piggle. 20p

Upsy Daisy. 50p

Charlie and Lola hot water bottle. 20p

Nemo book. 10p

Peppa pig socks (new) £1

Spotty shoes  50p 

Finally, some mega blocks. 

Everything will be washed now and either used, or put away for Christmas. I already know what I need to buy, but these little cheapy extras I pick up as stocking fillers. We all have stockings in my house...such a lovely cheap way to exchange gifts. They can be second hand like from the boot sale, handmade, or from the pound shop etc, nothing costs much, just a few presents to put a smile on someone's face! I especially love to have a theme to the stockings (eg: a baking one) and I will be sharing these ideas with you when my Christmas preparations are fully underway.

In other shopping news...

I am now having my shopping delivered on a Saturday. This means we can have a Sunday roasting joint ready and fresh to use the following day. It also helps us to have Sunday as a family day, doing what we want and not having to be at home waiting for the delivery.

I promise no shopping photos tomorrow!

Thanks for reading,

Mandy x

Carboot sale bargains...

Hi everyone and thank you for your comments :)

We went to our local Carboot sale this morning. I picked up some fantastic bargains for Daisy...

I picked up eleven books, all in really good condition for the total of £3.40. Some were only 20p each. All of Daisy's favourite animals and characters are in this collection and she loves stories. 

Pooh bear toy was £1. I tried to get it for 50p, but the lady wouldn't go for that because of the battery!

This puzzle is perfect for Daisy because she can gar the pieces easily. It was 50p.

This lovely little hand knitted dolly was £2, but I think it was worth that. My knitting is very basic! 

Daisy loves dogs and this is really cuddly. It cost me 50p and needs a good wash!

Piglet was 20p.

These little sets are perfect for Daisy. She loves to make marks and you can see the pooh bear theme going on here! These were 50p each.

Daisy is really into anything Beatrix Potter at the moment. This was a 10p video and yes we do still have a video player!

Finally I picked up these clothes from the same seller. I paid £3.75 altogether. There are two dresses (one is baby gap) and two tops and two bottoms.

My total spend was £12.45. I only pay what things are worth to me and I put many things down again! Having said that, I paid less than what I would charge for some of my purchases. Even supermarket children's books and clothes are becoming expensive. Daisy has at least one new book a fortnight from asda and some kind of clothing. By buying at boot sales, I can reduce our expenditure. She loves to play outside every day so it's not worth me spending a fortune! She has clothes for playing in and some for best. Everything gets used, played with, read or worn and then sold on. This turn around will keep the clutter under control. I have only kept a few things for any future grandchildren we may have and Daisy's special things for her memory box. 

I am still working hard, assessing every corner of our home...decluttering what's not needed and moving things to a more appropriate place when spaces are not working well for me. There is still too much stuff out and on show (which makes cleaning take longer) and I need to make space to store these things away. I still have clutter hotspots and dumping ground areas...the kitchen table and utility room work surfaces. I would love to post photos of these areas clear and tidy...perhaps that should be my next challenge to motivate me to solve the problem??? Fingers crossed I can achieve this very soon X

Another issue that I have faced this week is simply having no desire to cook. I have cooked, but not enjoyed it and found it a huge chore. I'm not sure why but I need to snap out of it! Does anyone else ever feel like this?

How's your week been?

Mandy x

Didn't I do well?!! Carboot sales, sewing again and Mother's Day goodies.

Hi everyone,

Sorry I haven't been around lately, but I've not had anything interesting to say!

A little declutter update for you...

Charlotte decided to do a Carboot sale last weekend (earlier than the end of my challenge) and took lots of my stuff with her. I priced my items to sell and they did.   I didn't make a huge amount of money, but it's all about the decluttering at the moment. As far as items go, I have cleared over 60 things from our home (thanks to Charlotte).  There are still boxes of stuff to sell, but these are neatly stored in the garage for the next sale. 

This event ended my challenge early, but I continue to find stuff to declutter and sell or throw out on a daily basis. 

I have started up my current sewing project again. I'm making a memory quilt for Daisy. Some of her clothes are too stained (she can't wear plastic backed bibs because she is allergic to the plastic)  to sell on, so I cut these up into 5" squares and sew them together. It is growing nicely... A photo will follow shortly. 

I was thoroughly spoilt on Mothering Sunday. Ashley treated us to an Indian takeaway on Saturday evening which was lovely. Sunday was an early start because we went food shopping, but I had beautiful cards, flowers, perfume, Emma bridgewater storage jars and chocolates!

Thank you Daisy xxx

Thank you Ashley xxx

Thank you Charlotte xxx

Cards are important to me and I keep them all. That's a lot of mother's days when Ashley is now 24!!

Thank you Ashley, Charlotte and Alice xxx

Finally a lovely card from Daisy 

Thank you grampy xxx

I love you all xxxxxxx

After lunch we went for a lovely walk over Everdon Stubbs (sorry but no photos because Daisy is in all of them). We looked for Peter rabbit and squirrel nutkin! 

He was at home all along!

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day too. 

Mandy xx

First Carboot sale of the season...what I bought

Hi everyone,

Today we went to Finmere in Buckinghamshire to our first Carboot sale of the season. It was so cold and windy! We picked up some lovely things for Daisy...

A box of balls! These are to go in the ball pit her mummy bought her for her birthday, they cost £2...they need a good soak in soapy water as they've obviously been played with outside.

A pooh bear flap book, costing 50p...Daisy loves the flap books and this is brand new!

A nursery rhyme book, costing 50p...another new book! Daisy loves singing and we're teaching her new rhymes. There's a few in there that I'd forgotten about!

A set of four puzzles, costing 50p...these were brand new and still sealed. Daisy loves a puzzle and these are a little more challenging for her. 

A quiche/flan dish, costing 50p...this is teeny tiny and just right for making Daisy's quiche in. I make a dairy free version for her and always make too much. This is just right.

A little plastic stool for Daisy, costing £2...this was brand new in the packet. It's now been assembled and she loves it.

A tweenie doll, costing 50p...Daisy loves rag dolls and the tweenies...it's a shame she wasn't selling the others :(

Three pairs of socks (new), costing £1.20...Daisy gets through a lot of socks!

Finally a pooh bear blanket, costing 50p...Daisy loves pooh bear, and although she has got blankets, this is for when she snuggles on the sofa.

So these little purchases don't look good for my declutter challenge, but my decluttering is ongoing and I will continue past my 100 item challenge. 

I will post up my latest declutter photo later.

Thanks for reading xxx