Champagne Lifestyle on a Lemonade Budget.

Kantankrus_Mare

What a bargainous day LL :T:T:T:T:T

Enjoy your evening.

Ive come back from the allotment with raspberries, courgettes, tomatoes, onions, a squash and some lovely flowers.

My huge picking of blackberries is sitting in the freezer awaiting for me to turn it into wine.

sugarbaby125

LL you have had some really lovely Champagne moments. I am so pleased for you

My Champagne moment yesterday was I used my Odeon Limitless card to buy a ticket to watch the film Angel Has Fallen in the afternoon at Odeon Haymarket. I really enjoyed this action packed film and Gerard Butler was a great lead as Mike Banning once again, but this time he has to save the President of the USA from being assassinated. Having watched the 2 previous films Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen, I had a good idea of what to expect and I was not disappointed. I would give this film 8.5/10

In the evening I went to the Open Mic night Blackfriars Vocal and had a very good evening watching a mixture of people performing poetry and singing songs that they had composed. We had a visitor from Los Angeles that had discovered us online and came along to join us and he sang 2 comic songs that had me shaking and crying with laughter because not only was the content of the songs really hilarious, he had really good delivery. :j:D:T At the end of the evening, I had a good chat with 2 of the other regulars and went home happy and satiated. I performed one of my short stories that was autobiographical and another where I was writing a page in my journal as a slave on Christmas day in Montserrat. They were both well received.

Today my Champagne moments were using my Odeon Limitless card to buy tickets at Odeon Haymarket for the films Good Boys and Pain & Glory.

In between watching the 2 films I had a main meal of Penne Bolognese and a dessert of chocolate brownies with vanilla gelato with a 50ml bottle of sparkling water as I had money on the last 2 Pizza Express gift cards which was enough to cover my meal.

I enjoyed Good Boys, but the humour wore a bit thin for me long before the end of the film, as it became a little predictable. The film was about 3 young boys in the 8th grade and the humour centred around their antics with alcohol, drugs and trying to find out how to kiss a girl. They keep stumbling onto adult sexual aids that they have no clue about. :rotfl: I would give this film 7/10

I really enjoyed Pain & Glory which is about a film director reflecting on the choices he has made in his life as the past and present come crashing down around him. Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz are both great actors in this film. I would give this film 8.5/10 but only because it is a subtitled film so needs a very high level of concentration in order not to miss any of the action or the sub text of the dialogue on screen, otherwise my score would be higher. :cool:

mrs_slapshot

Hi all - I've had a small number of champagne moments (and one very definitely NOT a champagne moment!!). I have managed to go a week without any kind of takeaway - which for me is pretty amazing! I was very tempted yesterday, but I whipped up a chicken curry using up a jar from my overflowing kitchen cupboard

I had a trip out with a friend on Friday, we had a bargainous afternoon tea with assorted sandwiches and cakes, tea and a glass of prosecco each for £20 (£10 each). It was last weekday of my 'mini retirement' so it felt right. We also visited a charity shop and I bought a beautifully decorated evening bag for £3. I went to another charity shop on Saturday and bought a brand new Hairy Bikers diet cookbook for £1!! I couldn't believe it! I've made the skinny lemon cupcakes for me and my son tonight and just had one with a decaff coffee....gorgeous! I've had a big cook-up and meal prep today so we have evening meals through to Weds, and I have work breakfasts and lunches until then too. I've lost 5.5lb so far on my SW diet which I'm chuffed with. I've spent most of today (when I've not been cooking...) going to the tip, sorting out my front drive (re-gravelled the borders, sorting the hanging basket) - all costing nothing as I already had the gardening stuff.

Now, the big 'non-champagne'moment was that I've booked a trip to California next March! Going on my own so I'm a bit scared, but pulling on my big girl pants! I've started seriously on my blog (well, I've written two posts ) and the trip includes me going to an event for people who are online entrepreneurs (which is what I'm aiming for!). So an expensive trip, but I have been wanting a holiday in the States for a long time, and this came up as if by fate. And it will give me a kick up the bum to be working on my blog!

Oh and I made five PPI claims on Wednesday...fingers crossed!

I start my brand new job tomorrow...will feel weird being back at work after 6 weeks off, but the paycheck will be nice, and I'm actually looking forward to it in a way! I feel like I'm in a better place now, I've got loads sorted at home, caught up on my sleep, exercised almost daily for the last couple of weeks, lost a bit of weight and booked my trip so I have something to look forward to over the winter!!

Looking forward to the last Handmaid's Tale tonight, although I am going to miss it over the winter!!

lessonlearned

Wow Mrs S. Just Wow!!! You have been busy. What a lot you have achieved. . :T:T. Weight loss, ppi claims, gardening, bargains galore.

And well done you on putting on your big girl pants and booking that trip to California. Go You. And as for the blog...........well wishing you every success. Have your launched it yet. Are we allowed to have links. .

Good luck with your new job. Hope it is all you wish for.

TBH didnt feel too good yesterday. Upset tummy so it was a bit of a write off. Thankfully feel a bit better today so hopefully can play catch up today.

Need to make a to do list and get organised. Just need to summon up some enthusiasm though.

I think Ive lost my mojo....;). It will come back soon......lol.

lessonlearned

Good morning everyone.

My mojos back.:rotfl: feel more like my normal perky self. Tummy better too. Yesterday afternoon I crashed out on the sofa and slept for 1.1/2 hours, then slept for over 7 hrs last night. I think I must have needed the sleep.

Feeling energised this morning. It feels like on of those "good to be alive" mornings.

Not much planned, acupuncture on my knee this morning and then maybe cut the grass this afternoon.

Have a great day y'all.

Keep living those champagne moments.

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moment yesterday evening was going to watch the 'dark comedy musical' The Feeling at The Other Palace Theatre.

I had a free ticket for this event. :T:D

The play did not live up to my expectations on the comedy side, as it just was not funny. There was literally only one moment in the 2nd act of the play that any member of the audience laughed.

The singing on the other hand was extremely good apart from one of the characters who did not have the range of the other actors/singers. The unfolding story was very good even though the acting talents of the actors needed a lot more polish and professionalism.

Saying all that, I did really enjoy the play despite the negatives because overall it was a good play.

DundeeDoll

Just about to take on big mortgage to buy xoh out so definitely concentrating on champagne moments on lemonade budget Last week was my birthday, so my moments were:
1) gbf took me out for dinner - he paid (does that count?!)
2) lovely colleague brought in cup cakes -i'm on SW so I took mine 'to eat later' (well done on loss so far mrsslapshot I got my stone award on monday)
3) a friend won two tickets to the pain and glory (agree sugarbaby very good film) but couldn't go so gave them to me i took gbf for the 6pm showing after work. When he suggested we eat out after I was able to say I had something waiting at home - tuna steaks with hm puttanesca sauce and fresh veg and I gave him the cup cake for pudding
4) friday went to a free concert
5) saturday went to another, this time donations so did put £5 in the plate
6) sunday went to a free guided walk of street art. as it was 2 hours after church rather than go home between i made a packed lunch, helped clean out the west vestry then the walk
I am cooking much more since joining this thread, looking out for free or low cost events, and due to xoh selling car on monday (as part of settlement but since i paid all the bills will be a huge saving to me!) planning things more carefully.

lessonlearned

Good morning everyone.....

Dundee Doll.....sounds like you had a great week. Lots of lovely champagne moments there. Good luck with your new mortgage. I too still have a mortgage but it's not too onerous. It enabled me to buy a bigger better house then I would have otherwise been able to afford if I tried to buy outright. It's an investment. Lol.

Got my pet builder coming round in a bit, hopefully to to put the last finishing touches to the kitchen so I can then get cracking with the decorating. I will meet my friend for the cinema and leave him to it. (meerkats 2 for 1) so definitely lemonade.

You are right about home cooking. We can save a small fortune in the kitchen. I did some batch cooking the other day so I now have a nice selection of curries, chilli and meatballs as healthy easy home made ready meals.

I had a very expensive month foodwise last month (did a lot of entertaining) so I'm having a use up month although I do need to do a bit of winter/Brexit prepping.

Now that I have decided for definite that I will not be returning to work I am going to do all the painting and decorating myself to stretch the renovation budget. Also to trim the fat from the day to day spending wherever I can. And of course I also want to have fun, and still be able to buy some fripperies.

Life is too short to go without fripperies. :rotfl:

breadcrumbsmofo

I don't have any advice unfortunately, I've been working poor my whole life and its my other half who tends to like the finer things in life, however the phrase "Squeeze them until the pips squeak" was originally David Lloyd George and his cabinet, referring to the need to "squeeze" as much out of Germany in the treaty of versailles as possible

lessonlearned

breadcrumbsmofo wrote: »

I don't have any advice unfortunately, I've been working poor my whole life and its my other half who tends to like the finer things in life, however the phrase "Squeeze them until the pips squeak" was originally David Lloyd George and his cabinet, referring to the need to "squeeze" as much out of Germany in the treaty of versailles as possible

:rotfl::rotfl:

That's interesting....Lawson obviously pinched the phrase from Lloyd George then. Thanks for that, always nice to learn something new.

And welcome to the tread. Don't worry about not having any advice or tips to impart, feel free to just stick around and join in the fun. The more the merrier.

Well last night I eventually got around to seeing Toy Story 4. (Meerkat 2 for 1 of course;) Loved it. Then for a quiet drink and a natter. Spent the grand total of £5.

Today I am off into the city. See what bargains can be found. :rotfl:

Have a great day......