Light the fire...

woodfired

Oooh, forgot to say we spent £730 whilst away :eek:

More than I was hoping for but well under the £1000 I had saved just in case. That was for 4 of us over 10 days and we did hire a boat that was £75 so just over £65 per day on food and other entertainment (read: ice cream and other treats ). We ate out most days and occasionally twice but I also brought quite a few meals with us and every breakfast/most lunches were made by us.

woodfired

Well yesterday's shopping trip could have gone better.
I set off to Aldi, armed with a shopping list only to find the entrance blocked. As I couldn't turn round I carried on a little down the road and decided to fill up the car as I used the filling station to turn round. £55 later I came back down the road to read the signs saying Aldi was closed for refub til thursday. Great. Anyway, there is a Tesco across the road so I went there instead, spent probably 30% more than I would have in Aldi and then to top it all, got a 10p off fuel voucher that is only valid til 19/8/19. Marvellous. We use the car so little these days that it likely won't need another tank until the end of September!

The rest of the day was better, visited Mum and Dad, made jacket spuds and prawn salad for lunch then really nice bean enchiladas with home made guacamole and salad for dinner. Yum. Popped the to park across the road after tea with the children to meet my sis and nephew for an hour then a shower and an early night.

Today is miserable out so we have lit the Esse and I have some braising steak defrosting, I will slow cook that today with the free heat and may use this week or freeze again for another day. I like to make the most of the Esse's ovens when I can in summer as it is rarely lit at this time of year. May have a think and see if I can cook anything else in advance, puddings/pies/cakes are always good but I'm trying to avoid them!! :rotfl:

Dinner tonight is looking like poached cod, mushy peas and HM healthy chips.

woodfired

I've had a really nice day today.

I made the beef stew, it spent 5 hours in the oven and is beautifully tender. I collected some home grown potatoes that had been curing? is that the right word? on top of the soil since last night to harden their skins, these have become chips for tonight and mash to go with the beef.
I also cooked 3 large potatoes as jackets in the oven as it was on and made a pan of carrot and lentil soup with the carrots I had left over from the stew (peeled and chopped too many). The soup is lovely, I couldn't be bothered with the blender so just squashed with the potato masher to break up the carrots and it tastes really hearty and wholesome.

Finally, Sis and Mum turned up with nephew so I dug out some balls of oaty biscuit dough I had frozen ages ago and we had freshly baked cookies with our coffee. Simple pleasures.

savingholmes

The holiday sounds great. We often come home the night before so we're not stressing in the morning - not morning people...

irritating about the fuel coupon - can you either use it to part fill up or give it a friend to avoid wasting it?

Fresh baked cookies and the beef sound amazing. You've reminded me I need to get my beef out the oven and put it away too!

woodfired

DH gently reminded me that we also have a van and that will need filling up fairly soon, forgot about the van! :rotfl: At least it won't go to waste now.

Quiet couple of days back at work, weather decidedly iffy. Not a lot to report. Used my meerc@t code to take children to cinema last night, took our own snacks to avoid astronomical prices there. Saved £8.50.

Been to the driving range this afternoon, again took our own drinks etc so just £6 spent.

Trying to be good food-wise this week, been ok so far bar a little slip up at the cinema. Tonight's dinner is mexican themed. Spiced chicken and roasted veg, lots of salad, refried beans and a bit of mexican rice. May throw in a couple of boiled eggs to fill us up?

House news: The EA rang to say potential buyer has been in the office today to meet their FA. She said buyer was desperate to buy our house, they have seen a couple of others since "but nothing comes close to it". She's self employed though (that sounds familiar! :rotfl:) and so needs to see if she can get a mortgage. Really hope we have some good news in the next few days, it all hinges on her financial situation. I hate the waiting!

savingholmes

Sounds great news if you have a buyer

woodfired

Hello All,

Yup savingholmes, it would be great if we had a buyer but STILL not heard anything so none the wiser yet! Did email the agent this morning but no response yet. The wait is killing me! :rotfl:

We've had a busy weekend, crammed lots in and now very tired but all within budget which I'm really pleased about as this month is going to be very tight (I *may* have over-stretched myself with the OPs & savings!).

Day off yesterday, fairly productive. Booked DS a course of intensive swimming lessons in a very small group at the local leisure center. Starts today and is half an hour a day for the next 9 (working) days, I'm hoping it will give him a head start then he can start normal weekly lessons in Sept. I've also ordered the logo'd school uniform from the supplier, will collect on Thursday.
I washed and dried 2 loads of washing (first time in a week it's been dry enough!), slow cooked a joint of beef for tonight's dinner and made a huge pan of carrot and swede mash to go with it. Will need to make normal mash for the kids but DH and I are trying to be good.

savingholmes

Oops on the stretch. It will come right....

woodfired

STILL no more news on the house, another positive viewing but ultimately no nearer to selling. Sigh.

On a more positive note, the over spend has come right (thank goodness for weekly paydays!) and I have almost completed the uniform/school shopping for both children. We have been and bought shoes and trainers today, I picked up the sweatshirts on Thurs so now just need socks and shirts for DD and polo shirts for DS. ASD@ or similar will suffice for these.

We have had a cheap but nice weekend in other ways. Friday we were meant to join friends for drinks but a lack of babysitter prevented this and saved us a fortune :rotfl: (£25 for nephew to sit + drinks + taxis + inevitable take-away!). Last night DH really fancied a takeaway but I'd made a really nice chicken dish in a creamy white wine sauce with roast potatoes and I persuaded him to eat that (he really enjoyed it too) so another £25 ish saved. Total weekend spend would have been about £10 if not for today's shopping excursion.

We took children and neice & nephew to a bike track/playground yesterday and really enjoyed sitting in the sun for a couple of hours whilst they had a fab time. Free entry and I took some drinks and a packet of cookies from our shop so a cheap morning out and lots of fun for them.

This afternoon I am going to tidy up a bit, sort the laundry and then relax for an hour or two. HM corned beef pasties (using tortilla wrap as 'pastry') for dinner tonight.

Happy Sunday everyone.x

savingholmes

Well done on averting high weekend spend and making gorgeous sounding meals!