Champagne Lifestyle on a Lemonade Budget - 2021

sugarbaby125

Liberty Lily what a great eBay bargain. You cannot own too many books

My Champagne moments:

On Tuesday afternoon, I took my son to the Ant House restaurant for lunch. I had a Groupon that I paid £15 for which entitled us to £40 worth of food and drink. We had starters of vegetable spring rolls and chicken wing skewers, both of which were served with salad vegetables and dips that tasted delicious. For our mains, my son had chicken Bahn Mi and I had a honey roasted chicken leg with egg fried rice and salad. My son had a can of coke, and I had a small bottle of sparkling water to drink. 

On Wednesday, I was singing in the intergenerational choir in the foyer of The Old Vic Theatre. We sang 6 carols: Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, Silent Night, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, White Christmas and It Feels Like Christmas (from the Muppet Christmas Carol). I was told by one of the theatre staff that I had a lovely singing voice when we had finished singing. I thanked her for the compliment. We also did a carol sing-along with the audience when we had finished performing. It was an event filled with good cheer and tuneful singing. My son and daughter came to watch me sing and my son recorded some of the choir's carols.

liberty_lily

That sounds fabulous, Sugarbaby....so pleased it all went well 😀 It reminds me of when DS was a cathedral chorister and the choir would often sing carols at local shopping venues in the run up to Christmas. I found some promotional posters from that time whilst clearing a cupboard the other day....happy times 😊

Champagne moments -

I've been working on my upholstery project today and will share pics when the two chairs are finished...its been another slog but I'm nearly there now! 

Yesterday we did a bit of Christmas shopping locally in Llandeilo, then back at home I succumbed and put up the kitchen Christmas decs. This year I've changed things up a little by mixing some paper baubles we bought previously in the sales (reduced from £36 to £20 for sixteen 😉) with the vintage glass ones on the 'twiggy trees' display. The kitchen fireplace felted wool garland looks much better now we've banished the brick chimney breast too!

sugarbaby125

Liberty Lily your decorations are classy and elegant

liberty_lily

Thank you Sugarbaby ☺️

My champagne moment over the past few days has been once again celebrating the fact that thanks to DH's skills we don't have to fork out a fortune for stuff such as plastering. We must have saved thousands over the years 😄

There's still a few odd bits of (mostly ceiling) to plaster in the living room over the next two nights, plus an area of the room where DH needs to reconfigure some copper pipework.  I've accepted the latter might not get done ahead of Christmas because there's a lot of boxing to build, then plaster in order to conceal the pipes. The time to get this dry enough to paint - even assuming he is able to get the pipework/boxing done this weekend - is running out, but overall if we get all walls and ceiling plastered, mist coated and painted it will be a huge achievement as we can finally put the furniture back and start using the space after some ten months 😁

I'm pleased too in this cold snap that we have our own supply of free wood to burn...even if it means I have to make numerous trips to our various wood stores where it's been seasoning 🙄

Also, I've almost completed the fireplace makeover using F&B tester pots and the chairs just need the decorative braid attaching 😉

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moment today:

I am finally over my cold.

I took my daughter to the Ant House restaurant for lunch. I had a Groupon that I paid £15 for which entitled us to £40 worth of food and drink.  We had starters of vegetable spring rolls and chicken wing skewers, both of which were served with salad vegetables and dips that tasted delicious. For our mains, my daughter had beef bun sa (a vermicelli noodle, stir fried vegetable and noodle dish) and I had a honey roasted chicken leg with egg fried rice and salad. My daughter had this strawberry soft drink, and I had a small bottle of sparkling water to drink.   

liberty_lily

Glad your cold has cleared up Sugarbaby! Sounds like you and your daughter had a delicious lunch 🙂

happychick1976

liberty_lily said:

That sounds fabulous, Sugarbaby....so pleased it all went well 😀 It reminds me of when DS was a cathedral chorister and the choir would often sing carols at local shopping venues in the run up to Christmas. I found some promotional posters from that time whilst clearing a cupboard the other day....happy times 😊

Champagne moments -

I've been working on my upholstery project today and will share pics when the two chairs are finished...its been another slog but I'm nearly there now! 

Yesterday we did a bit of Christmas shopping locally in Llandeilo, then back at home I succumbed and put up the kitchen Christmas decs. This year I've changed things up a little by mixing some paper baubles we bought previously in the sales (reduced from £36 to £20 for sixteen 😉) with the vintage glass ones on the 'twiggy trees' display. The kitchen fireplace felted wool garland looks much better now we've banished the brick chimney breast too!

I LOVE your twiggy trees. Where did you get them or... how did you make them?

liberty_lily

Thank you happychick1976 😁 We bought it/them in Homesense but that was last Christmas and we only saw the one. I've not seen anything similar in Homesense or their sister store TK Maxx this year. The whole thing (minus baubles obviously!) was £19.99. The tips of the thicker 'branches' light up....

You could construct one using twigs lightly sprayed white to represent a frosting of snow and add tiny battery operated lights to create the same effect. Then pop the lot into a sturdy wooden base or plant pot(s) - I did that with an *Easter tree* (minus the lights) once 😉

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moment today: 

I went to the Ritzy cinema this afternoon to watch the Ingmar Bergman film Fanny and Alexander. It was subtitled, which did not take away from the action or the dialogue as the story unfolded. I really enjoyed this period drama, it is full of human failing but also human warmth. It is quite melodramatic. I got a free ticket, as a Picturehouse member so saved myself £8.70.  For me this film was a 9/10 

Even the heavy snow fall on my way home did not dampen my spirits. I was wrapped up very warm with my faux fur hat and scarf and leather gloves. I had one of my wind proof automatic umbrella, so it kept most of the snow fall off me. I was also wearing thick leggings under my skirt to keep my legs warm. 

It was so lovely to arrive home to a really warm home.

sugarbaby125

My recent Champagne moments:

On Tuesday evening I went to watch the film The Worst Person in the World at the Ritzy cinema. I got a free ticket worth £8.70. It was another subtitled film, but I was totally engrossed in the film For me this film was a 9.5/10.    

On Wednesday afternoon I went to see the play Kerry Jackson with Fay Ripley starring at The National. I really loved this play. I was totally invested in what was happening with each of the characters not just the main character of the title. For me this play was a 9.5/10.    I got my ticket for £10 in Friday Rush. The front row ticket was worth £30.

On Wednesday I received my DWP £10 Christmas Bonus

Today I received my December Energy Support Scheme voucher for £67 from my energy supplier