Sunday wanderings

Today we decided to break our lazy Sunday into two manageable lazy chunks by taking DD for a little walk to our local country park. The plan was to feed the local duck population the stale bread we'd found in the back of the fridge and wear DD out for her afternoon nap. But when we got there we found this (see above). A free open air concert staring The Stones, a Rolling Stone tribute band. So we decided to plop ourselves on the grass and have a listen

After a quick hunt through mummy's handbag........


.... we found and emergency stash of toys, biscuits and drinks to keep us going. But after a nice sit down and rest it was onwards.......
.....To the ducks!!!!
We found loads hiding the other side of the lake to the music festival. Apparently ducks don't really like The Rolling Stones.


And then we had conquered Staunton once again! Ready to go home for a nice nap.

x x x x

Random days

I have been having a big sort out in the bedroom cupboards today. So far I have found my collection of Tusker elephants. They hadn't made it from our house move in May so I gave them all a dust off and made a nice display on my dining room shelves. They were all gifts from family and friends so each one has a special meaning for me and I just love them.
The Disney plate we brought at a recent car boot sale for £1. Aladdin is my OH's favourite Disney film so he was really pleased to spot it. Looking on Ebay there are lots of different plates to collect so this may be the beginnings of a new hobby.

Also in the dreaded cupboard was a brand new scraperfoil. I love doing these occasionally as they are so much fun. Once DD is out for her afternoon nap I am planning to sit down with a nice cuppa and have a crafty moment. I'm planning to add it to my monotone art display on my kitchen cupboard. I love finding little silly things like this to do. I makes tidying up well worth it.
And finally a quick snap of the 15lbs of Damsons OH and I picked a few days ago. They are currently sleeping in my mums freezer until we can get our hands on the rest of this seasons fruit. Then we are planning our annual jam and chutney-a-thon. So watch this space.
x x x

A long long day

DD is a poorly panda today. I'm pretty sure it's all teething related but she is suffering something chronic. So we are camped out on the sofa with snuggly blankets, lots of fluids and a stack of DVD's. First up we have Evita. I love love love this movie, I always tear up at the end. And I sing along badly the whole way through.

Next we move onto the classic Citizen Kane. I love the storyline, the glamorous ladys, the handsome actors. The killer ending and message. It really is just one of those perfect films, even if Family Guy does dislike the lack of boobs lol.
And thirdly we have The man in the iron mask. Again I love the story and the costumes. I had a huge crush in my teens on Mr. Caprio. I also have a huge pile of films to work through if I need more entertaining. One of the perks of having second hand films in our shop is that we get first dibs and can watch anything we fancy before it goes on the shelf.

What are your favorite films, and what do you have on your "to watch" pile?

Saturday sales and update.

White EWM top 20p - 2 WF DVD's £1.50 - Molten Brown gift set £1

A few little bargains from the community centres table top sale. Apparently they have one quite regularly. The top is a welcome addition to my dwindling collection. The DVD's will give OH and I much entertainment as we love anything WF and Molten Brown for £1 is incredible! I have always wanted to try it.

My parents gave me this wonderful wooden jewelry box a few days ago. I used to belong to my Aunts Mother who sadly passed away a few years ago. I came with some costume jewelry which I have kept a few pieces of. The rest was donated to a local charity before it could become clutter. I'm currently using it for my current quilting project as the little compartments are perfect.
I also recently picked up this stunning Laura Ashley dress for just £1 in a Cancer research shop. It is perfect and wonderful, I felt so glamorous and special when I tried it on. I'm hoping to keep hold of it and wear for my wedding in September.

x x x

Car Boot Sale Bargains

Hello my lovely readers. Today has been simply wonderful as we hit not one but two car boot sales this morning. First the lovely Southsea Sea Front car boot and second the Allington Lane car boot sale.

Cath Kidston Kids Pencil Wallet 20p, 2 VTECH interactive books 50p each, Salt and Pepper set Free, Crabtree and Everlyn shampoo and conditioner 20p, Duck Plate Free, 2 Duck books 10p each.

The duck plate and salt/pepper set came from the same stall which had a "free please take me" box. DD is obsessed with all things duck so her very own duck plate is a fantastic find. The toiletries will be perfect for my weekend away next week, and as for the Cath Kidston case! WOW!

Shiny dress 25p (For DD), Brown top 20p, Blue top 20p, TY beany duck £1

Crochet granny square blanket 20p, Hungry Caterpillar set £1, Blut Dress with shorts 25p

I know I can make them but for 20p I couldn't pass up this colorful blanket for pennys. And to think someone spent so much time making it!!!! I have been looking for a hungry Caterpillar book for a few months now so I was super please to find this cardboard edition with a cute Caterpillar toy. DD is currently fast asleep hugging him so I couldn't add him into the picture lol.

Wooly Cardigan 30p, Christmas dressing gown 50p, Wicket tea set £1.50

The tea set and the dressing gown have already been squirreled away for xmas presents for DD. I've never seen a wicket tea set before and is wonderful a light for DD to play with without risk of damage. Before we hid the set she was sipping tea from the little teacups, and pouring the tea.

What bargains did you find today?
x x x

Disasters into delights

There has been a huge disaster in our home!!! Yesterday we treated ourselves to a bar of chocolate from the pound shop thinking it would be a treat. But when we got home we found out it was actual a bar of that horrible chocolate candy stuff that has no right to class itself as chocolate. You know that horrible brown stuff they put in advent calenders? One huge bar of it was now living in my kitchen!

However all is not lost! For after a little research and a some clever thinking I have skillfully created a nummy treat from this disaster. Enter a recipe for Chocolate Triffin. Even better is a non cook recipe perfect to entertain the kiddies on a horrible wet day.

Ingredients;
1 bar of chocolate
Several broken up biscuits
Handful of marshmallows
Handful of dried fruit/raisins
4 tea spoons of cocoa powder
4oz of Margarine/Butter/Spread
2 Desert spoons of Honey/Golden syrup
2 Desert spoons of Sugar

Method;

Melt the sugar, cocoa, butter and honey together using a few short blasts in the microwave. Once your mixture is smooth and delicious smelling, resist dipping in your fingers and instead add the broken biscuits, marshmallows, raisins and anything else you have to hand into the mix. (I recommend chopped glace cherrys and coconut)
Once everything is nicely covered pop the mixture into a buttered dish and push down firmly to fill as many of those tiny gaps as you can. Leave to one side far away from inquisitive toddlers.
Melt the chocolate using the microwave again and stir until smooth and tempting to drink.
Pour the chocolate over the first mix and spread evenly. Leave to cool a little and then pop into the fridge to finish hardening.

Once is nicely set, hack it into pieces and eat as fast as humanly possibly.





Crisis averted
x x x x

Rain Rain Go Away

Today is a complete wash out here at The Frugal Handmade Home. We were supposed to be going to a water festival but it has been , somewhat ironically, rained off. Next we decided on a mooch around the local charity shops only to find OH has accidentally taken both sets of keys to work with him and we can't go out.
Ho Hum.
So we've made a nummy frugal lunch of dippy eggs and some sneaky chocolate biscuits. That should keep us quite entertained for a while.
x x x