Saturday Treats

 Yesterday my MIL popped up to visit us for the afternoon. We haven't caught up with each other for ages so it was lovely to have a chat over some pizza in the local pizza hut. DD loved trying a little bit of every ones pizza and was like a kid in a candy store at the salad bar with her own little bowl.

    Because DD had behaved so well during our meal, I treated her to a ride on Iggle Piggle in the local shopping centre of the way back to see Daddy in his shop.

A finally a little treat for all of us. Iceland have KitKat chunky bars on offer for £1.50  for 8 bars!!! At less than 20p a bar and use by date of 2013 we will be filling our boots on this offer by picking up a pack or two each time we pass.

And finally a 10p bargain from a local chazza shop. DD picked it our because she recognised the number and she liked the birds. She insisted on putting it on straight away and I have a feeling this will be a new favourite for a little while.
 In other news, we finally got in touch with the tax man about our letter to find out that money is in fact flowing toward us :) So we have almost £1000 travelling its way towards our holiday, Christmas and savings accounts. Our holiday next month is going to be super luxurious now with a little extra boost to the saving pot, I'm thinking of all those cream teas already!!!

x x x

P.S I will picking a winner for my giveaway this evening to give people some extra time to enter. With only 2 entries so far you have a good chance of winning :)

A long long day.

 (I love DD's hand sneaking into shot)

 Today has been a long long day. A grumpy DD who needed a nap desperately but refused to have one. And an OH who had accidentaly corrupted his computer game save after spending hours trying to get an achievement. Both we're comforted somewhat with biscuits but even so it's been tough staying sane.
 On one of our many walks around the town centre trying to get DD to nap I picked up a cheesecake mix for 60p. I'm planning to make this tomorrow with DD seeing as she enjoys helping mummy cook. It also helps that it's one of Daddy's favourites.
 The England 2012 paper chains will be a great addition to DD's craft box. And a great addition to my England corner of the front room.

I also picked up a wonderful pair of Next trousers for just £1, they still had their tag on saying they were on sale for £12! They are sightly long at the moment but I think she'd be in them by autumn which would be perfect for the colour and material they are.
 The book is being tucked away for reading on holiday. I love QI and have read the other QI books they have released so this was a gem of a find for £1.25

 x x x

Thursday happenings.

 -9Today has been quite the day for freebies and bargains! First off at my weekly knitting group I was given 2 gorgeous patterns that are just perfect for DD. I'm hoping to start one as soon as I've finished a birthday scarf for my SIL. I just need to decide on which one to do first lol, decisions decisions.
 Freebie 2 was a voucher via email for a Gordon's G&T at a local pub. Being quite pregnant and not really a drinker anyway I have passed it over to my hubby. He was delighted at the idea of free tipple and we are hoping to redeem it on Saturday after we close the shop.

And finally freebie 3, a nice book to read. I received an email for the first time in ages from Bookcrossing and remembered that our local museum has quite a nice crossing corner. I wandered up with DD and had a browse of the dozen or so titles currently up for grabs and picked up one that appealed to me. If your not familiar with book crossing I really recommend you take a peek at their website and see if anywhere near you has joined in.

After all those free goodies it was time to hit a local charity shop. I picked up this huge pile of children's books for a measly £2 and most of them look brand new!!! A few are going to one side for a friend's son's birthday that's coming up and the rest will be going onto DD's bulging bookshelf. She loves an afternoon story or two and I'm trying to get a book into her bedtime routine as well.
 The cuddly toys were in a bargain basket near the door which DD fell upon the moment we entered. It was perfect because she was nicely distracted while I had a little rummage in the book box, but meant a choice of toddler tantrum or a toy purchase. She's been such a treasure lately that I couldn't resist giving her a little treat.

I also picked up a copy of  Iron me on. I don't know if anyone else has noticed but am nearing the 100 posts mark on my little old blog, and to say thank you to all my readers and followers I am planning a giveaway. So watch this space for an announcement soon.

Shopping bargain in April

  

 3 Retro (?) wooden puzzles 50p each.

Oh dear, I haven't been a very good blogger have I? Will you forgive me if I post about my latest charity shop bargains? 

 First I discovered these wonderful wooden puzzles, I say I discovered them, it was actually DD. My DD can spot something remotely duck shaped from a mile away. Behind the duck puzzle were the sheep and polar bear puzzles at the same price. I'm not sure how old they are but they needed a hefty clean when I got them home. The style of the animals is making me think late 70's perhaps. Anyone recognise them?

  Gorgeous sequin sundress with matching bolero and hat. Ages 3-4. £1.50

 Next up this wonderful dress for DD.  It is so light and summery, I'm putting it to one side to take on holiday with us soon. At only £1.50 I'm not worried if it doesn't survive the sand and beach based abuse holiday clothes can get. I'm tempted to take a snap of DD wearing it before we go.

 10 balls of Rico Pom pon in spearmint - £10.99   New Cath Kidston catalogue.

 And finally a sneaky peek in HobbyCraft led me to a bargain pack of wool. I'd been eyeing this wool up at a show I went to in London recently. Sadly they only had pinks and blues left and I wanted a neutral colour so I could make a little something for impending arrival. At £1.10 a ball this wool is better than the show price I saw of £1.25 and miles better than the £3 a ball the local wool shop is charging. I've almost finished my current knitting project (a dress for DD) so expect a post about my spearmint coloured creations soon.
  And after all this shopping I was delighted to find the new Cath Kidston catalogue waiting on my doormat. It will be the perfect read while I'm soaking in the bath this evening.

 Have you found any bargains lately?
x x x

Lots to do

100 down.............

1,000,000 to go! I picked up this bag of stamps in a charity shop a short while bag for just £1. They all need peeling off the backing or cutting out but think of all the wonderful crafting possibilities!!! I'm having thoughts about using them as mosaic tiles and covering something.
Any suggestions?
x x x

P.S Sorry for the short post but we have a grumpy toddler full of cold here today, I sense that not a lot will be achieved today x x x

Bargains galore

Good evening lovely readers. I made a fabulous discovery yesterday. A wonderful scheme called Healthy Planet one of their schemes is Books for free all the books above were from our first visit. The top two are OH's, the Fairy Tales are to read to DD, and the bottom two are all mine mine mine. I'm hoping to try a few things from each of them shortly so watch this space.

2x Cath Kidston tissues £1 - Book for DD 40p -
2X Key rings £2.00 - Vintage pillowcases - 50p

This is my charity shop haul from today. One of the key rings and tissues are for someone for Xmas and will be put away. The book is for DD, and the vintage pillowcases have an undecided fate for now. I hardly ever see vintage pillowcases so these were a wonderful find.

This is my current project, can you believe this chair was in the communal bin shed? I think its beautiful and under the scuffs and dinks I could see some potential shining through. So I brought it indoors..........

... gave it a good sand papering. It took me about an hour but I found it really therapeutic. And then..........
... gave it two coats of Wickes Petal. It not the biggest of painting projects, so I used a tester pot and even after two coats I still have a healthy blob left for touch ups.
My job tomorrow is to give it a light sand down to even out the paint and then a coat of varnish.
Then I can move onto making a nice cushion to finish it off. I promise to keep you posted :)
x x x

Shop but don't drop

Vintage Bird Book 50p - 2 Swarkofski crystal charms 50p - Disney CD 50p - Hot choc sachets x4 £1 - 20 sheets of vintage wrapping paper £1

Today has been horrible weather wise around these parts. If your not being soaked to the bone, you being blown over! I was trying to keep DD out of the worst of it which happily meant hiding in charity shops :) And the best news is that one of my favorite charity shops has just reopened after its August break. Big whoop.
Most of the above will be put away in the present cupboard for Christmas. Except the hot chocolate which is definitely needed on a night like this before snuggling into bed with a good book and a mountain of blankets.
Any crafty ideas for using up the wrapping paper? I might use a little for gifts but I can't help feeling all that paper has some crafty future ahead of it.
x x x
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