THUD... and back to reality...

VEIN. ON HEAD. IS THROBBING.

Truth be told, this wedding and this house has absolutely rinsed me. It's not helping that I'm not earning a Social Worker wage yet and that I'm living off a student loan once again (albeit one I thankfully don't have to pay back.) Before we got the mortgage, we were able to pay for our flat with just £400 a month including all bills, and able therefore to save quite a bit every month in our savings. Now we're struggling... well, we're not. But I'm struggling. And I really, really, really need to write this to remind myself of how shitty I feel right now, having finally admitted that I have lost control and need to regain it somehow.

I have just sat here, fighting back tears, and written out my budget sheet for the next 3 months, as we get our student loan quarterly. I have already paid my bills in advance, so that money is no longer available to me. Not that I ever get behind on bills - I can prioritise, at least.
Once everything comes out that has to be paid, I have the grand sum of £250 a month to pay for food and anything else. Yup, that's it. And I have been refusing to admit this fact for 4 months now, and look at the state I have gotten myself into.

BUT NO MORE MULLING IT OVER.

Action HAS to be taken from now:

1. Next month my phone contract of 2 years finally runs out. The plan is to go for a phone that costs me no more than £20 a month, or less if I can stomach it. I admit I would struggle now without a Smart phone, but I need to do some research as I'm banking on the fact that the phones available to me in the shops will be nothing less than 'Smart' now. So I plan to, a) research phone tariffs, b) research phones and their internet usage, c) not get talked into signing into another 24 month contract for a phone that costs me too much.
2. Start meal planning again and make more of an effort to go that bit further afield when we do our food shop. For god's sake, we have an Aldi in town which has already proven to me on numerous occasions that it's cheaper to get our food there. But when you have a Morrison's 1 mile from your house, we often cave and avoid the town traffic. No excuses anymore.
3. We also have a bloody market in town on a Saturday!! WHY AREN'T WE USING IT?!? I don't know. But we will start.
4. Absolutely no more takeaways or meals out for the next three months. Why? It's expensive, it's not usually that great, and the cost leaves a nasty taste in your mouth anyway. My dinner last night (see previous post) proves that homemade is better for you and costs less.
5. The wedding is 13 days away now. After it's over, I'm banning myself from my eBay account and other online stores, because I have been on them weekly since we started all this. We may have saved money on the wedding by getting stuff from such places, but I bought an awful lot of crap along the way too.
6. Charity Shops are also out of bounds for the next three months. The majority of the ones that have good stuff in are increasingly more and more expensive. It is thankfully Boot Sale season now though, so any clothing I desire will be gotten from there. I also plan to find local Swap Shop Parties, and scrounge donations from friends who happen to be clearing out their wardrobes. On the plus side, this will also encourage me to get better at upcycling clothing to my own personal taste.
7. Look into Car Sharing and hiring out our driveway and garage - we don't use it during the day, and the garage has sod all in it. I have heard of several sites that do this now, so that's my tasks for tomorrow. I will blog about it if it all looks legit.
8. Continue making my own lunches for college, and have 'No-Spend' days as regularly as possible.
9. £2 A Day again over May... why not?? It worked for us 2 years ago. There's no reason why this can't happen again, especially as it'll be post-wedding.

I think that will do for now. PLEASE COMMENT if you have any tips or advice on where to read for more tips!! I feel better for coming out and opening up about this, but I don't feel particularly proud of myself either. I believe that some of my readers will feel betrayed to be reading this, but sometimes you lose track of things and it's better to try and regain some control now instead of continuing to pretend everything is OK.

That's all for now... *EXHALE*. See y'all soon.

Button xx

Piggy-Bank Friendly, Pig-Out Friday Meal

Sod it - it's FRIDAY! Let's indulge... but on a tiny, teeny, weeny budget! Seriously though, we went to the gym before cooking all of this, and Tom challenged me to do 2000 metres instead of my usual 1000 on the rowing machine. If I hadn't eaten all this once we got home, I'd be wasting away by now!!
With all this time off I've had this week I've been in the rather luxurious position of being able to try out some new recipes and hopefully expand on our weekly dinner repertoire. I am pleased to say I have succeeded on tonight's recipes alone!

Button Brown's "Piggy Bank Friendly, 
Pig Out Friday" Menu:

Starter: Scallops! (6 of them in half shells from the reduced isle in Tescos, £2... a treat for sure, but a bargain when it comes to fresh seafood like that)

Main Course: LoveFoodHateWaste's Posh Fish Fingers, and homemade chips

The super-dooper easy recipe can be found HERE on their website. Ideally, if you can, have a look at the other cool things they have there. It's all about waste not want not! Yesterday I made a plum tray bake using up the plums slowly disintegrating in my fruit bowl, which again was a very easy recipe to whip up before serving tea.

The best part of making the fish fingers today was all the leftover breadcrumbs I had, which are now snuggled up in the freezer to be used another day. The fish was lovely - we used pollock fillets that we already had in which work just as well as cod or another cheap white fish. I also seasoned the breadcrumbs with some dried herbs and garlic salt, which tasted great once they had browned up whilst cooking. The homemade chips are also a staple in our house - McCain's ain't a patch on them! Cut up white potatoes, par boil and then spray with cooking oil. So tasty, and a fraction of the calories!

Dessert: Skint Dad's Apple, Ginger and Cinnamon Dim Sum

with Greek yogurt

Ricky's recipe can be found on his blog page HERE. This recipe was so unusual that I just HAD to make it, and especially because the ingredient list is so minimal; the dim sum parcels are made of just flour and hot water. Imagine the endless sweet and savoury possibilities with a recipe like that! I am so excited to use it again soon but with a prawn or vegetable filling. Anyway, the results? Absolutely blinding. We loved them!

On the same page he also gives a fantastic Katsu curry recipe too, which sadly I didn't have the ingredients for on this occasion. He is also planning a wedding on a budget among other things he's posting on there. Definitely worth a good nose around!

I am now SO STUFFED... It's difficult to keep from rolling off this chair while I'm typing this. I can't remember the last time we cooked ourselves a 3 course meal on a week night, so it was nice to do it without breaking the bank, which both of these bloggers mentioned are very good at advising us on how to do it. I really hope you all give them a go - at the very least, head over there and say Hi!

I'm going to go and lie down... Love to you all, dear readers! Have a deliciously decadent weekend!

Button xxx

Stamp Duty #3: All in the Details...

This is, probably, the third and final installment in my little Stamp Duty series about rubber stamping. In case you haven't read them, the links to the 1st and 2nd blog posts about these and to see other ideas are HERE and HERE.
The stamps really have been a majorly awesome investment when you think that, not only have they provided us with an entire wedding stationary range which can usually take up a large chunk of a wedding budget, but they have enabled me to create a solid theme throughout the wedding. This has been really important as otherwise I have a tendency to include too many creative ideas, and our wedding might have seemed a bit confused if I'd done that.

I bought these picture frames at the Aston Clinton recycling centre a little while back. Tom's Dad has helped me a bit here, and removed the glass and the back board, painted the board with blackboard paint and replaced. I thought I might chalk on it, but decided to be a bit more creative.

I could do a whole other post about how useful manilla, or luggage, tags have been as part of our decor theme. I ordered three different sizes from various eBay sellers at a reasonable price. They've manifested as place settings, present tags, cheese labels (wait and see on that one...) and more. The large tags here have simply been pritstik'd to the board and the names and other bits stuck on with glue. So simple, but I love the effect against the black in the distressed frame.

No stamps used in this board, but just so you can see what we did with the other frame :) This will let people know that, instead of a guest book, we want them to sign a patchwork square so we can make it into a quilt after the wedding. That project will certainly get a whole post dedicated to it!

What else, what else... Oh yeah - here are our gorgeous Order of Services!

Massive thank you goes to my future Mother in Law, Liz, for printing all of these. Afterwards I stamped the large peacock feather stamp in black ink to give it a personal touch but without cheapening it.
Finally, because I'll need lots of them once it's all over, thank you cards! 

I bought one last little stamp for this, but it's quite generic so I can use it over and over again to make more thank you notes and cards in future. It's two weeks tomorrow until the Big Day... still have quite a lot to organise, but most of it is under control and I'm trying to enjoy the ride!

Til' later...

BB xx

Quick Button Make: Magnets

I have been hunting in the charity shops in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire today and, as per usual, came back with some beauties!! My top tip for anyone just discovering charity shops when it comes to clothing or bric a brac or whatever is to head for the more affluent towns around, as the quality of goods tends to be a little better than the shops crammed with Tesco or Primark cast offs (not that there is anything wrong with that, but you get more designer brands if you go to places such as Berkhamsted!)
Today I found these buttons in Oxfam, and felt instantly drawn to them as they remind me of the expensive silver button keyring that I own. I figured their heaviness would make them perfect fridge magnets, and plan to maybe give them away on Mother's Day.

Here's how I did it...

You will need: silicone glue, or any other extra strong glue tube; magnets (available at most craft shops); any buttons you think will look pretty on your fridge!

As the buttons I bought have quite a deep hole in the back, I used silicone glue to fill them so that the magnet would fit on top of it and be flat against the fridge. For flat buttons, simply dab a blob of glue on to the back, and attach the magnet.

Et voila! Chunky, attractive magnets that cost a pack of magnets and buttons to make! I plan on displaying these on some manilla card tags and personalise them for people as gifts. Alternatively, they would look really pretty in an organza gift bag.

And that's why charity shops rule, and that's why I'm Button Brown, y'all!!

BB xx

Hungover Hen Hunger Buster

I really have the best friends ever. Period. Tired even now on Monday after a brilliant night out on Saturday in Camden with my Hens. The main event was a show at The Proud Cabaret club in Camden Market - a classy, sexy burlesque show right up close and personal. 

So many nipple tassels and high heels! Would you believe that 80% of the audience were female?! That's right, and we were one of four hen parties that night. My favourite memory from the night was my hairdo that my friend Charlie did for me - tonnes of back combing, tonnes of dry shampoo, millions and millions of kirby grips, nearly a whole can of hairspray... But such brilliant results!

Charlie C playing hairdresser, whilst bridesmaid Charly B sits patiently whilst her rolls are pinned in!

 

She did such a great job, this picture now adorns all my Facebook/Twitter accounts.

In the morning we had a slap up breakfast in The Diner, which in retrospect was maybe not the best idea after quite a heavy night of drinking! The only breakfast worth picturing here is my bridesmaid Charly's:

Waffles. Crispy bacon. Roasted banana. Maple syrup. Butterscotch sauce. Do I need to comment any further!? I am planning on posting this to Food Porn (#itsfoodporn on Twitter - not recommended if you're REALLY hungry or on a diet! The pictures they put up are mouthwatering!!)

You can imagine how tired I was once I got home. Even my breakfast hadn't been enough, but thankfully Tom was there to save the day. As I kicked off my shoes and dropped my bags, he emerged from the kitchen with two of these on a plate for me...

Bacon, egg and bean cupcakes! He was having such a Pinterest-success moment with them, he made me take pictures and put them up on here, obviously with a nod to his genius! Well done, baby. You couldn't have timed these better.

He even put cheese on them.

I am marrying a legend.

Thank you to all my Hens and of course my incredible bridesmaids, who know me so, so, so well! I had a great time and am very proud to say my best friends will be walking me down the isle on my wedding day. Love you both!

BB xx

Curry Chickpea Loaf and other interesting snacks!

I'm thinking of starting a collection of posts called 'Unusual Loaves' series, because recently I seem to be doing a lot of baking of this shape and ilk. Very much like the lemon couscous cake recipe I posted last month, the curry and chickpea loaf is another excellent Slimming World recipe that packs in tonnes of flavor and is mega simple to make. I wouldn't like to put on here the Syns that the loaf contains, but the recipe is freely available at Slimming World meetings. It's just one that I cook even when I'm not dieting. It makes an amazing lunchbox snack, to change things up from sandwiches or salads.

Curry Chickpea Loaf

4 medium eggs

1 packet of Batchelor's Golden Vegetable rice (or the supermarket equivalent if you're on a budget!)

1 tin of chickpea dahl (I struggle to find this sometimes, it's usually available in Tescos. This is also the bit of the recipe that can have hidden Syns in if you buy a certain brand, but as stated above, if you're following SW your best bet is to ask your group leader!!)

1 tsp curry powder or similar (cumin, coriander, chilli flakes...)

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees c. Cook the rice packet as per the instructions written. Try to cook it leaving as little of the water as possible, as otherwise it will make your loaf quite soggy!

2. Once the rice is cooked and drained, spoon into a mixing bowl and mix in the chickpea dahl and the 4 beaten eggs. Mix thoroughly.

3. Pour the mixture into a lined and greased loaf tin and place in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and firm, and a knife comes out clean.

4. This loaf makes a great dinner hot, but you have to trust me when I say let it cool down and go cold - it tastes even better then!!

Tuck in and enjoy... Guilt-free!!

This week I also stumbled across quite a fantastic Buzzfeed page that lists 17 low fat and healthy studying snacks to try... again, as a change from junk food and sandwiches! You should go and look at the post HERE and try some out for yourselves, but I just wanted to show you what I made yesterday - Frozen Yogurt-covered Blueberries:

Quite fiddly and time-consuming to make, but they're really tasty and again makes a nice alternative to ice cream (which I can't stand!!) Kind of like really icey popcorn...?? Anyway, check out the page and see which ones tempt you off the sofa!

Have a lovely week everyone. I will be back with a clothing upcycle before the weekend, in preparation for my Hen Do on Saturday!! Yaaaay!!

Lots of love,

BB xx

Make Do and Hen Do!

So, if you haven't been around in a while, here's a quick update for you...
4 weeks yesterday until our WEDDING DAY!
1 week today until my 2nd Hen Party in Camden!

Squeak!!

*Calm...* So, quite a small amount of time now in which I still have plenty to do! But tonight on my to-do list was to make myself an apron to serve as the main focus of my hen party costume, which has to be themed around 1950's housewives. This is because, among my friends, I am the Ultimate Housewife! And I have the perfect book to inspire me. 

'The Vintage Tea Party Book' by Angel Adoree (yes, I know, what a name!) is home-made jam-packed with traditional tea party eats and drinks recipes, but the most brilliant part is the Style section; step-by-step tutorials in how to make fascinators, style your hair into Victory Rolls, make up guidance and party decor to make sure your party has that 1940's edge to it.
I am following her guide to making an apron - there are three styles to choose from in the book, all slight alterations on one basic pattern, so you could easily make all three if you wanted!

I've decided to go for the classic vintage Patisserie apron. I'm making it out of a 2nd hand tablecloth that I picked up in Oxfam a few weeks ago - £4.00 with four napkins in the same material, and loads leftover even after I made this tonight.

I'm so chuffed! It was really easy to follow, and I love the shape of the main apron. Apologies for not being able to post a better picture, there's no one else here to hold the camera for me! I added the little heart appliqué as I ended up using red thread on the machine by accident, so decided to put the heart on and make a feature of it!
I will be wearing a pencil skirt I have already and some sort of top tucked into the waist band as the rest of my costume. It would be wrong not to try and do a Victory Roll in my hair too, but I'll attempt that on the night with the girls around me to help me pin them in!

If you would like to try this apron make or read the rest of Angel's fabulous book, get yourself a copy of the book, and have a go at this and the other scrummy recipes!

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

BB xx


(PLEASE NOTE: I am under no obligation to endorse products on this blog, and receive no recognition for this mention. Many thanks.)

Stamp Duty Part #2

A little while ago I blogged about my love of printing stamps and the role they've played so far in my wedding stationary... It seems I continue to get my money's worth!

Without giving the game away too much, here is what I've spent my evening stamping on... Paper bags:

These are the same stamps that sorted us out for our Save The Date cards, our invites and for place settings. We had one personalised with our names and the date on which cost us a little more, but as I say, they have been used a lot. The ink pads bought from Hobbycraft have just about managed to ink stuff up, although I think they're probably finished...

A worth while investment, I'd say.

BB xx

Lovely Lemon Couscous Cake

I have had this recipe for a very long time. Years ago when my Mum and I first joined a slimming group, this recipe was given to us at one of the meetings and we made it weekly after that, as it was one sweet treat we could eat without guilt or shame! It's sweet enough to stand as a worthy substitute to a biscuit with your afternoon cuppa, and stodgy enough to serve as a post-dinner treat that's nice with a small ball of ice-cream maybe. I found the recipe, printed out and decorated with felt tip pen, inside some old school work that came with us when my family moved house last year, and before I lose it again, I'm going to put it up here so I can always refer back to it. I am also confident that once YOU try it, you'll be hooked too! As a plus, it's also very cheap to make and lasts about 5 days kept in an air tight container.

Lovely Low-Fat Lemon Couscous Cake

200g (7oz) plain couscous

6 fluid ounces boiling water

2 large eggs, beaten

2 fresh lemons

2 tbsp lemon curd

2 tbsp granulated sweetener

1 tsp vanilla essence

1) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Lightly grease a 1lb loaf tin. Set aside ready.
2) In a mixing bowl, pour the boiling water on the couscous and leave to soak in for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then add the beaten eggs, lemon curd, sweetener and vanilla essence. Stir well until all mixed.
3) Add the grated zest of both lemons, then squeeze the juice of each into the mixture (avoid letting pips in there!) Stir well again.
4) Add to the loaf tin and cook in the center of the oven for 30 minutes. The top of the loaf should be dry and firm to the touch, a knife should come out clean. Turn out on to a wire rack and leave it to cool.

Once it's cooled it will cut very easily into clean slices. The outside should be slightly crunchy and inside lovely and stodgy! We went to the gym after making this and leaving it to cool, and a slice of it with a cup of tea was the perfect refuel.
Have a go - even if you're not a big fan of couscous normally, this will hopefully sway you...

Have a lovely Sunday, everybody.

BB xx