What I'm Listening To...

I am so in love with this beautiful lady's music. Her name is Zahara and this is my favourite song from her album.

Do listen and enjoy.xx

March's Challenge Update

11) Look after myself .
12) Try something new/ different this month.
13) Upcycle some of the stuff i have been putting off.
14) Get in touch with someone i havent spoken to in a long time.
15) Sacrfice the extra 30minutes i get in bed on a Thursday morning and take Master T tap dancing.
16) To use cash only when shopping.
17) Not to stress over small stuff. 
18) Meet new people/ make new friends.
19) Learn a new skill.
20) Have More Fun.

As you can see most of this months challenges are about ME personally. I am on a small mission to improve my life and i have to start somewhere. I think most of these are doable so wish me luck.

Hope you have all had a good weekend. xx

February Challenge Update

1) Writing a meal plan every week and sticking to it. I did write a meal plan for 3 out of the 4 weeks. I was flexible with it swapping meals around if i did't feel like eating something. The best thing i discovered about meal planning was it actually saved me money because i wasn't panicking last minute thinking what to eat and going to the shops when i had food in the house.
2) Reading one novel this month. I managed to read more than one book, i read three.
3) Learn to use my sewing machine properly and make something with it. Made a felt bag for my friends daughter, see previous post.
4) Tidy the house as i go along instead of leaving it for the weekend. Took some time to get the hang of this challenge but as the month drew to a close i got into it.
5) Eat dinner at the table. Most days we have eaten dinner at the table. Master T isn't keen on this one, he says he only wants to eat dinner at the table on special occassions.
6) Be more involved with Master T. To be honest i don't know how well i have done this challenge, i have been having some problems with his behaviour.
7) Take part in Fat mum slim February photo a day challenge. Failed miserably due to a lack of time.
8) Start thinking and planning my garden. Does buying an Emma Bridgewater gardening journal count. I have sorted out my seed stash and bought compost.
9) Start writing lists of the things i need to do, in other words be more organised. Lists, what lists.
10) Nip my spending in the bud by drawing up a spreadsheet of my income and out goings. This challenge is still work in progress. I have done better than previous months.
11) Blog more often. See for yourself and be the judge of this challenge.

All my challenges are things that i want to be able to do everyday without thinking, things that will hopefully make my life better in one way or another.

Hope you have all enjoyed the lovely weather we had to day.xx

Using My Sewing Machine

One of my February challenge was to learn to use my sewing machine and this is what i knocked up, a felt bag. I made this for my friend's daughter, it's her bithday soon.

                                                     I stiched her initials KH free hand.

I decided to put a flower to make it more pretty. The camera didn't capture the red and black very well, the colours look much better in real life. I enjoyed this little project as it was not so time consuming and i sort of got the hang of using a sewing machine.

I had never used a sewing machine before and was quite interesting, the only problem i found was that when sewing i couldn't maintain a straight line. Any hints and tips will be greatly appreciated.

Hope everyone had a lovely day, i am enjoying the long days and can't wait for the summer. xx

This Weeks Meal Plan

Sunday- Salmon with potatoes
Monday- Rice cooked with kidney beans and beef stew
Tuesday- Sausage and mash with vegetables
Wednesday- Cous cous with smoked mackerel
Thursday- Steak and ale pie with potatoes
Friday- Vegetable pizza with salad
Saturday- Burger with homemade wedges and salad

My Treasures...

This is the first item of clothing i have bought for myself so far this year...

Bought this dress from the YMCA charity shop on Thursday. It's from All Saints and it cost me 4 pounds and 99 pence. I wore it on Saturday to my friends birthday dinner. There was an all white dress code and i wasn't going to follow it because i couldn't justify spending a small fortune on one night then i saw this dress. It would have been rude not to buy it. I actually love it and will wear it other wise my previous post would have been a waste. Please ignore the headless/ faceless model


  
I love books and at the moment i am reading self help books. I am on a small mission to improve my life and everything around it. They now know me at my local library. The first 3 books were from ageUK a pound for the three and the last one was 99 pence from YMCA. It's entitled Naughty But Nice The No Excuse Guide To Getting What You Want, it's a self help book. I love the Chicken Soup books and even though i am far from being a grandmother i know there are some useful things in there. Linking up with missielizzie @ me and my shadow

Enjoy your day.xx

Decluttering...

Since the New Year started and like everyone else i have had to cut my spending and that has meant not spending money unnecessarily. I used to buy things simply because they were on sale and hope that one day i would use them and most of the time i never. With my spending habits in mind i also started to think of the many items of clothing in my bedroom that i never wear, i realised that some things hadn't been worn for years because they had been replaced by something new.

This past week i had a few days free so i decided to declutter my wardrobe, i discovered that i own 7 coats, 6 winter scarves, 4 pairs of gloves, i couldn't count how many pairs of socks many of them new, 3 morning gowns, countless handbags and belts and many items of clothes that hadn't seen the light of day in years. I felt so bad because, one i had wasted money and two it shows that i am a greedy person, wanting more than i need. I have bagged the items that i do not need and am sending them to the charity shop. I am going to go through my wardrobe one more time because i know i will find other things that i have missed.

After i had finished my bedroom i decided to tackle my kitchen, i have a lot of gadgets and gizmos and general kitchen equipment that i bought in two's just incase. Just incase what i wonder. While i was working in the kitchen i decided to clear my food cupboard, i discovered foods that date as far back as 2009 i cringe just writing about it, spices that had been bought to try a new recipe, half used packets of stuff and the like. I still have the baking cupboard to sort out and i think it's worse than the food one.

I am glad i sorted this stuff during lent, it has given me time to reflect on how easily i get consumed with earthly possessions, how i buy without thinking whether i need it when i could be putting my money to good use helping the poor and needy or even saving for my own and Master T's future. As a christian and as a mother i am embarrased and ashamed to have discovered the extent of my greed. Gluttony is one of the 7 deadly sins.

Don't get me wrong i am not saying i will never spend a penny again because i bought myself a dress on Thursday, but i am going to think about whether i really need an item before i buy it.

I hope you all had a good weekend.xx