Mortgage freedom..Shala_moo's attempt at a diary..

Evening...

Quick post before i get tea on and watch X-Factor.. I know it's rubbish but you have to watch it don'tcha :rotfl:

I've just finished my last novelty cake for the foreseeable future, i'm looking forward to the rest for a bit! I don't mind the baking but I'm not even really a cakey person - i'd much rather have a packet of crisps (although i do have to taste test every cake i make obviously ) it's doing no good for the size of my belly anyway.. but i've made a bit of profit so i can't moan.

Not particularly money saving but we're going away Monday night with a Gr0upon voucher that I bought OH back in May for his birthday.. Basically we get a stay at a hotel, free lunch with wine and a breakfast so not too bad for £56. I've also got £30 in Strada vouchers for the next days lunch/dinner so hopefully a minimal spend trip and it'll take us away from the stress of the house move.

Today's job was making an inventory of the freezers so i can start planning some meals around the food we have, rather than just going and buying new stuff all the time. We've also got to defrost one of them for the move so this will help. So far, i've got a list of 18 meals we can make :eek: and more stuff left to allocate to meals!!

Next job - the cupboards!

We're having pasta bake for dinner.. i'm trying a tip that i picked up off one of the boards. I've put the pasta in a pan and poured boiling water over it, i've then left it to absorb the water for a while. In theory it shouldn't need boiling as long now, so saving on gas. I'm also using my remoska to bake it in so saving on electricity too :j (the left overs will be tomorrows lunch so more money saving!:rotfl:) i'm on a roll...

hope everyone's enjoying the weekend x

Hi Sepa74.. i apologise to the Italians..

Trust me i won't be doing it again.. i'm not sure where i read it but i don't ever recommend anyone doing it.

It was nasty i can't even describe the texture of the pasta but it wasn't normal...

i'll stick to the usual way i think, but sometimes you just have to try stuff :rotfl:

Well the night away didn't go quite to plan.. i won't say where i went incase i offend anyone with any negativity, but the town was a little bit disappointing so we only went to visit for a few hours and then went back to the hotel bar.. but the hotel was lovely, meals were fab and the atmosphere/ambience was very warm and inviting (i imagine with snow on the ground and a roaring log fire it would be almost magical!)

Our spends for the weekend/day out...

£50 on a throw and 3 cushions (for new house)
£12 on diamante candles for Xmas pressie - i love these but more importantly I've started my xmas present shopping :j
£12 piping nozzles
£44 Boots - my pressie from OH for xmas
£13 ish on 3 pints and a coke
£10 Subway:eek: - we didn't get to go to Strada - will pass on my vouchers to my sister

Came back and spent £75 on food shopping for the week - we spend this most weeks but i don't smoke or drink so food is like my treat i guess (hence the reason i'm now trying to go on a diet:rotfl:)

Will be getting paid in the next few days so i will transfer the remaining balance in my current account to my savings pot (after i've seen whether i can get some Westlife tickets:o.. i know... my OH regularly tells me i have no music taste!)

We're still battling to get an exchange date for the new house... we've rang a few people and complained but unless we ring everyday it's like hitting your head up a brick wall :mad: i think that may be preferable at the moment.

I think i'm finding it most frustrating because i want to start paying down the mortgage! I told OH last night that i would like to try and get under £100K in the next five years.. :eek:

Hi Mouche... thanks for dropping on by..

How lovely to have a massive kitchen already - i can't wait for ours... i only have the computer drawings at the minute

I only bake for friends and family at the moment (work colleagues mainly) so i dont make any money on it really, just building up a portfolio etc.. i think i'm allowed to bake 4/5 times a month without having to be registered with the council. I pick up all my info from cakecentral.com - its an American forum but there is a Uk bakers thread on it. The ladies on there are very helpful and some have their own businesses already... i don't think i'll ever be able to do it as a full time business it just wouldn't get me enough income...