Thrifting 2….

Well …I promised pictures of my findings and pictures you will…. not have….
Simply because we came back home empty handed…and I’m ok with that …really, I’m ok with that 🙂 I comtemplated buying a couple of items but then I went down my own mental checklist to ascertain whether it was a ‘want’ or a ‘need’…Was it worth the asking price?…It helps knowing your stuff…In the past I have paid £3 for a jug that cost £1.50 at Ikea…So,they did not make it to our home to later on in the year go back to a charity shop…I told you I was getting good at the fine art of thrifting..lol…

As I said we did not find anything but we did have a coffee break, chocolate actually. And I must confess that sometimes the prospect of spending some quality time with my teenage daughters is what makes thrifting most appealing…They( dd16 and dd13)  can be quite unpredictable in terms of conversation or even be on one of their ‘moody days’ but that’s ok too…I like challenges you see…So anyways we (at least I did) enjoyed the break.

Last week’s finds…all under £4…unbelievable I know…

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

Thrifting and how I go about it…

Today is Saturday and just like last Saturday and the one before I feel like thrifting….I have been doing it for a while now and it brings so much pleasure into my life.
I’m not a thrift savvy by any stretch of the imagination but I’m getting there… Not even sure what thrifting really is…I know is all about getting good deals out there..somehow is linked to frugality, green matters, recycling and saving the planet and now that I have become 40 (here she goes again I hear you saying…) I’m thinking more and more about the EARTH….

As a family we have been taking steps to save the planet and our pockets but I feel that there is more I need to do or can do. I’m not thinking of making my own soap and only using cloth nappies for my baby (I wouldn’t even contemplate it bleugh…) or anything so extreme. I’m talking about simple things like taking my own bags to the supermarket, menu planning which saves me time, money and more importantly some precious brain cells…and Thrifting of course.

So as I was saying….weekend is here and I’m off to a very secret London location which is the final destination for any decent thrifter. I’m talking 6 charity shops on the same side of the road one after the other…and as the area is quite afluent the stuff is mainly good quality .I’m taking with me ‘the list’ which sits on the kitchen wall ….and on the list are the following items: patchwork vintage/old quilts, bone china teacups in green and a pretty cake stand. I might get none of them today but there’ll be other ‘finds’ for sure.

Last week I went out with ramekins in mind for the creme brulee that I was going to cook that afternoon and guess what I found?…6 good quality and pretty ramekins for £2!! So let’s see what today brings…

No pictures today…maybe later when I come back with my arms full of thrifted goodies 😉

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

 

Another tick….

Remember my February bucket list? Not many things ticked off but getting there. I have already shared with you all my achievement on the crafting front…and now let me show you what I have ticked off on the cooking front….actually I wanted to share the pic of the roast leg of lamb but wordpress is not cooperating…it’s saying that my file can not be uploaded for security reasons…whatever..you are gonna have to trust me on this…it was marvelous and my dear friend Noorah loved it too 🙂

Let’s see if I’m luckier with the creme brulee pics… 1 2 3 …

 

A little bit on the burnt side but hey…still a tick ..two actually , one for the roast leg of lamb and one for the creme brulee…so  

 

I’m sitting here thinking of all the other dishes I have to cook by the end of the month and  I’m wordering whether perhaps I was over ambitious…no way I’m gonna manage it in 10 days…well I can only try my best and see what happens.

Back to work tomorrow , no more holidays till Easter…6 more weeks…it’s ok…time will fly and then I’ll have two weeks at home to do what I do best…chillaxing, taking it reeeeeeeeeeeeal slow…

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

 

P.S I have almost finished the front of my quilt ..wanna see it…ok ok here it comes 🙂

Spanish get together with a twist….

Every six weeks or so , I invite my spanish friends living here in London and we get together at mine’s for a laugh…Yes laughter is always garanteed…no matter what we are all going through in our lives, be it illnesses, a miscarriage, financial difficulties, difficult teenagers or even marital problems we always manage to cheer ourselves up with a good dose of laughter.

Maybe it is the fact that we switch off for a couple of hours as if we have made some sort of secret pact to leave our worries at the door that allows us to have such a cheerful uplifting time together.

Don’t take me wrong , we are there for one another when things are not going too well too. Lady X might ring lady Z for help/advice/just to talk to someone who understands….Lady A might get together with Lady B for a cup and a chat during the week…Lady W might just turn up at Lady V’s house because she needs a break from her shitty day….

We don’t all necessarily  know of everyone elses problems and hardships but we all know that everyone in the group has at least one person to turn to…we all have someone whom to offload to…isn’t it funny that even though we are a large close-knit group we also have subdivisions that don’t make us weak but rather the opposite.?..It is very comforting knowing that no matter what, we are there for one another. Thank you God for good friends that are there for me in good and bad times.

Anyways as I was saying, lol, talk about digressing…today was a get together with a difference…when I sent out the invites I didn’t tell them to bring a dish of their choice but I was very specific…I asked for an omelette…yeah an omelette each….so we had a fun time tasting each other’s omelette…so many delicious omelettes to choose from….

 

 

 

 

Good food, good company, plenty of laughter …what else could a lady want? Flowers? Muffins? …We got plenty of those too…

 

 

 

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

P.S I have sent out the invites to the next get together…Italian day …I’ll be making tiramisu…

Monday morning…..

aaaaaaaaah what a feeling….
Monday morning and I’m not screaming the place down. Monday morning and I’m not doing twenty two things at the same time in an attempt to get out of the house by 7:40…
Monday morning and the house is quiet…oh what a feeling…only baby and me downstairs and she is so busy watching the washing machine go round and round and round, allowing me some precious writing minutes…teenagers and teenage wannabe in bed and only God knows at what time they’ll make an appearance…but I don’t care because I’m enjoying the Monday morning peace and quiet…and you know what? I don’t for one minute wish every Monday was like this one…I don’t even wish I didn’t have to go to work early every day and you want to know why? Because if that was the case then I would not enjoy this Monday morning sooooooo much.

I have a ‘to do list’ as long as my arm but I’m ok with that ….I have some very boring phone calls to make but I’m ok with that…I have a house to clean but I’m ok with that too…and you want to know why? Because is  QUILTING NIGHT!!!

I’ve got to show you the pictures …I’ve made quite a lot of progress in just a couple of weeks…quilting is definately the new love in my life.

I love holidays but I love Monday nights even better…And the rest of the week…well I am planning to do lots of crafting, getting together with the people that mean a lot to me and whatever else comes my way I’m going to embrace it…yes yes yes…that’s the new me…40 and loving it and taking things as they come…but that’s another blog post for another day… 🙂

And now to get on with the rest of the day…Washing needs taking out …baby needs some attention…then out to the post office…

I would love to share some pictures here but the quilting pictures and all the rest are in the teenager’s camera and she is not available for at least another four hours and I’m ok with that…It’s her idea of a good holiday and I respect that…I told you I’m a changed woman…40 is definately the place to be…any more laid back and I’d be horizontal 🙂

So for now…

Salaam y hasta la vista

Ines

 

 

 

Not bad for a beginner , even if I say so myself…