Finding Fun Week 2.2

 Just a quick blog today as I have a house full of people. I wanted to post a quick snap of our game of Cluedo, which was one of the suggestions from Carolyn for this weeks FF challenge.
 I have my brother and a few friends over today to watch the football and have a takeaway pizza feast with so it was the perfect opportunity to get a game on the go. After a few rule checks and mini debates over how to play we were off and running!
 It was fantastic fun and kept us all happily occupied for an hour.
x x x

Saturday Shopping

  Last night was horrible. Poor DD had night terrors and woke up screaming and almost inconsolable at about 4am. It took forever to calm her down and settle her back to sleep and today I am paying for it. I was planning to have a good mooch around the charity shops but I was just to tired today. So instead I wandered up the road to the local museum to add some books to the Bookcrossing shelf and pick up something new and interesting. I'm going to try Eating Cake by Stella Duffy. I think it was the title that appealed to me.

  Today the museum was also hosting a Unique arts and crafts fair. It's a regular event where local crafters and artists can sell their handcrafted wares. There is lots of wonderful variety and a fantastic showcase of different talents. I wish I'd taken my camera to take some snaps but alas I'd forgotten it. I did however have some change in my pocket and picked up 3 delicious looking chocolate and raspberry scones. They are made by Teresa from Teresa's Cakes who if you are local makes cakes worthy of legend!!!!

 As you can see they certainly meet DD's approval. This picture is of her teasing me with her cake, she holds it out so you can try a bit and then snatches it away at the last minute giggling.

 She also helped Daddy price up some new stock with the pricing gun. Not sure I could bear to sell her for £14.95. To me she is priceless.

 I also picked up 10 lovely cards from Card factory. 10 cards for £1 is a deal I couldn't miss with so many birthdays in our family in the last 4 months of the year. This little lot should keep me going for a little while. As long as I don't forget where I put them!!!

x x x

Week 2 of Finding Fun

Week two of Finding Fun is upon us already, this week with  a theme of houses. One of challenges is drawing a house like you used to as a child. So below is my attempt, I'm really chuffed with it and it was a lot of fun. I wouldn't mind living in it actually, it has a lovely sunny garden and a handy clothes line nearby.

 Other challenges this week include building a house of cards, playing Cluedo and drawing your dream home. My brother is coming to visit us on Sunday to watch the football with OH and give DD a belated birthday present, so we are hoping to hook him into a quick game of Cluedo. I haven't played a board game in years so I'm quite excited about busting one out from the back of cupboard.

 Thank you for another week of fab suggestions Carolyn.

x x x

Photo's of my day

  Our Veggie plants are growing well, and look pretty healthy to me. Having almost owned them for a week I am very pleased they haven't turned brown and crispy.

  OH had a quiet morning in the shop so used his free time to sort out this lovely photo frame and surprised me with it when he got home. It is just perfect for the TV table and has made me smile each time I glance at it. He also had a game come in the shop that I've been desperate to play with ages!!! I am such a spoilt wifey.

And I have finished the pom pon scarf I was knitting for SIL's birthday. I just need to wrap it up and pop it with her card ready for sending. I hope she likes it :)
 I have also been trying my first challenge from the second week of Finding Fun, but feel it deserves it's own post so will blog that in just a mo after my dinner.

 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.

Busy Morning.

  

It's been a busy morning at the Frugal Home. I've  managed to get a load of laundry organised, washed up, had a general tidy and whip up a tray of Banana and chocolate cakes for OH. It isn't even lunchtime so I'm quite impressed with myself.

 

DD loved helping with all the stirring and mashing up the bananas. Not sure there is as much banana as there should be in the final cakes, some of it mysteriously disappeared during baking.I have a suspect but I can't prove it as she is getting more and more sneaky every day lol.

  

Here are the goodies from my mums swap meet. A pair of dark trousers for OH, some lovely blue linen trousers for me, perfect for when we go on holiday soon. They are drawstring as well so I can adjust them during the day according to which way the baby has decided to lay. There is also a top to go with the trousers but DD has hidden it somewhere and I haven't had chance to go hunting. The socks are just so fun!!!

A finally a wonderful soft cardigan, perfect for the cooler evenings and sofa snuggles. DD loves to cuddle into it so I know it's met with her approval. Not sure why hippo and penguin had to be included in the photo but DD insisted they did.  

 My plans for the afternoon are to continue knitting a Christmas present and if possible catch a nap with DD in the afternoon. Tonight is date night so DD is going to spend a few hours with her grandparents while me and daddy have a pub meal and catch a movie. I can't wait.

x x x

Mystery Monday

  So my mystery day out yesterday was a trip to Marwell Zoo!! One of my most favourite places of all time, and all arrange in secret by the wonderful hubby. He even supplied us with a lovely picnic lunch to take with us. I felt truly spoilt.
 I loved watching Anya peeking into all the enclosures and trying to spot the animals. The weather was perfect for walking around and we were quite comfy in our shirts and jumpers for the day.

  We haven't been here since last summer so DD  was a lot older and alert, which made everything so much more fun. We'd normally walk straight past the hippo statue but DD was fascinated for nearly 10 minutes and insisted on riding on it.

 It was nice to see so many of the animals out enjoying the sunshine as much as we were. Not very many people were about either which meant several of the shyer species were in full view for a change.

  We had our lunch half way around the lemur trail. They kept us quite entertained while we enjoyed our sandwichs and nibbles. I actually got to finish my lunch in peace for once as DD was kept quite amused by their antics.

 This lemur kept posing for the camera beautifully and we caught several shots of him.

After the zoo we popped into my parents house on route home, for a cup of tea and a slice of cake. My mum gave me a bag of goodies she had picked up at a local swap meet for us all, which I will blog tomorrow. Needless to say we all slept extremely well after our adventures.

x x x