Making £5 go a very long way.

 Hi everyone,

I've had a really busy few days getting ready for the new term and I'm glad of five weeks away from school as I can complete all of my planning in that time............just. I'll keep checking in here each day to update what I do but I'm also getting ready for a busy summer working on my house. As well as the house renovations which range from monumental to mediocre, I have lots of craft projects to finish. I thought I'd share my car boot sale finds and what I'm going to do with them. The retro material was a delight to find for £1. I'll probably recover the dining room chairs with this and use it as a colour idea for the room, which I intend to paint mustard. I may use the material for something else entirely. It's cotton and I think it would make fabulous aprons to make as gifts for friends and family.

 My star find of today was my print of the two Tamar bridges side by side. The artist is a local man from Plymouth called Brian Pollard and his work is mass reproduced and often over priced. I bought this little framed poster for £1.50 and I think it's charming.

I then found a pretty polka dot jug and I recently bought a butter dish with the same design and they'll go well together in my kitchen. I love the serving plate with the glass dome that I found. I often bake a sponge cake for Dearly Beloved and just leave it on a plate on the side with a tea towel over it to keep the dust and the cat off it. This is not only practical but I thought it was really striking looking. The jug was 50p and the cake plate was £2.

Dearly Beloved is down stairs causing havoc in the utility room and kitchen as our son is coming home on his holiday to spend a week refurbishing with us. He's bought everything for us with trade discounts and he's doing the work for nothing. We've also got trade invoicing so what ever is invoiced to us on the 1/8/2011 has 90 days to be paid, which effectively allows us 4 months to budget for the work before we have to settle for materials. I'll photograph it when it's all done and I've finished painting it. It all might seem rather extravagant to renovate a house just before selling it, but I'm determined to get the very very best price for it, so my downsized home has as small a mortgage as I can possibly arrange and would be even better if there was no mortgage.

I'm off now to do some more lesson planning for September.

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs

Can you handle it?

 More second hand 'junk'. None of the furniture was bought new. I painted some 'utility' furniture with my favourite 'French grey' many years ago and I've used up the left over paint all over the house. They were from the auction in Lostwithiel and cost about £5 for the pair. The chest of drawers below were from the reclamation yard behind Union st, called Grosvenor Chambers. It sells everything from marble fire place to piles of tatty half broken furniture, piled up in the street outside. Gary used to accept any reasonable offer! To tart up old tatt! I add nice handles. The bedside drawers in an attempt to create that French shabby chic look and the pine chest, so you had some thing decent to get hold of as they are deep, heavy drawers.

It was scruffy, warped and damp when we got it for £10 about ten years ago. We sanded and sanded it and then waxed and waxed it, until it has a lovely shine. I like to have an assortment of wood and painted surfaces.

I must find some more cheap, second hand furniture to share with you. How do you tart up old tatt?

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxx

Tarting up tatt!

Hi everyone,

I'll let you into a little of the frugal home decor and release some of my inner Barbara Cartland over the next few days. The tiny side table started life in a reclamation yard at the back of Union street in Plymouth (best known for slappers and kebabs) and was bought originally for £20 as my daughter's school desk for her bedroom. It now makes an ideal lamp stand. The lamps in my sitting room were red clearance labels from TK Max. But the real bargain in the corner is the car boot vase for a couple of pounds filled with flowers bought a few at a time at car boots, jumbles, charity shops and Trago. Tat? but I love them!

 At last week's car boot sale, I bought the two piccies of two different Cornish harbours. Cadwith and Portloe. The stall holder wanted £5 for the pair and I got them for £4, but I still think that was expensive.

I just sanded the frames and painted them with white egg shell and now they are hung in my porch and yes, they are linked together with old paper clips.

 My other purchase last week was a side table, often called a butler tray. It's made of teak and meant for the garden. It has taken several coats of egg shell to cover it, but DB got there in the end (come on! you don't think I do it?)

Here it is, in my sitting room. Next to my £1.20 ebay arm chair and my very old and many times repaired sofa. I paid £5 for the butler tray and thought it was worth that.

No car boot saling today, but I thought I would show you my afternoon walk yesterday. Watergate Bay on the north coast. Beware, be very ware! If you go before 2pm the car park charges £5.60 and due to the one car wide roads to get there, you can not park anywhere else. It's a stunning place, the play ground of millionaires, with the tiniest holiday apartment costing half a million quid! Also, check the tides, at high tide, there is no beach. We get mussels from the North coast, the sea is rougher and the water quality is of the highest standard. They are still a bit small, but have less dense 'beards' when they are young. Rock grown mussels have more flavour than the rope grown type you get in the shops. You can also just help yourself, no one cares and very few people eat them here. I do, and they are worth the trip over to the north coast. Enjoy the views.

 Yours' truly and the headland in the background.

 Measuring the mussels - they cover every rock for as far as the eye can see.

 Still a bit small.

 Crystal clear water, and five hours since high tide.

 Newquay in the background.

 View to the left. Click to enlarge.

 View to the right.

Kite surfers; playing.

Until tomorrow,

Froogs xxxx

Got to get up early to be this stylish!

This photo is a homage to our stunning Vintage Vixen!!!! I even donned the over sized sun glasses in deference!  I actually made it to one of our local jumble sales today. Everything was 20p. I've got some skirts, a few tops, two or three scarves, which I love to add to any outfit. One of my scarves was a hand painted silk scarf, that I'll pass on to mum. My dress isn't retro, but it's certainly retro style with its big patterns. It's a Next wrap around dress. I've teamed it with one of the scarves that I bought too. So the cost of my outfit was 40p!!!!!

The huge Klimt print on canvas behind me, was bought years ago from the 'Chinese shop' (all locals will know it) on the Barbican on Plymouth's waterfront. It's got to be the loveliest thing DB every bought me......it's the 'lovers' and it reminded him of us! It was just the canvas and DB made the frame and stretched it himself.

As promised, I'm going to catch up on my second hand theme and will be back later to blog some of the items that have been titivated after last Sunday's car boot sale. I'm off to paint a table and I'll show it to you all later.

See you all again soon,

Froogs xxxxxx

I've got one of those!

Ta-da! Dualit toaster and my two mug tea pot from Sunday's car boot sale. Oh the joys of second hand. I'm also sitting here in a fab pair of Long Tall Sally size 14 (which are actually a bit big!) jeans, which arrived from Dearly Beloved. He met our daughter in his lunch break and they perused the Heart Foundation shop on Cornwall Street in Plymouth. Girly of mine was treated to a few bits by Dearly Beloved and they both found the jeans in my size for £7. I really think charity shops are going to price themselves out of the market. Nonetheless, I'm delighted with them! There is truly no more spending here this month or we won't keep to the budget!

Tonight, as well as doing some gardening, Dearly Beloved is putting another coat of paint of the table we bought at the car boot sale on Sunday. I'm shut in my office getting some school work done. DB has already eaten egg on toast for his supper! It's anyone's guess what he'll have for breakfast.

Over to you all now, what have you managed to find second hand recently, that you've either really needed or wanted?

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs

Hey big spender!

 After a week of being so frugal I squeaked when I walked, today loosened up my wallet a bit! We walked into Liskeard this morning for a charity shop mooch. I bought this lovely blue top for £3 in the Hospice shop - excuse the mess in the back ground, I really should tidy up.

£6 - a bit steep but I haven't spent any money in ages.

 Later, we had a look around a second hand shop in Callington that specialised in furniture with some accessories too. I bought the lovely little harbour scene print, because it reminds me of Polkerris, although the real harbour wall doesn't have a light house.

£4 for the butter dish; I think it's really pretty!

I also bought this spotty butter dish. We don't eat butter but the soya marg tub fits inside perfectly. I promise I'll go back to my frugal ways and not spend any money on pretty things! Have any of you 'wasted' a few quid recently?

Car boot booty!

I've just got back from the local car boot sale. Unlike some areas, there are no regular car boot sales; instead the local cricket club holds them on Bank Holiday Mondays. Two bank holidays, mean two car boot sales and today I went to the second of the year. My first purchase were three pink Hydrangeas for £7......I haggled the vendor down from £3 each. Hint for haggling, have the money you want to pay in your open hand and offer him/her the price with the money under their nose.

The plants were a bargain, even Aldi sell these for about £6 each and garden centres, for even more.

My next purchase was a very small saucepan and a large frying pan for £1 for both; they need a scrub up! Our pans are family size and often the tiniest pans are needed for just the two of us.

I love the cottage industries that seem to exist is Liskeard and the surrounding areas. There seem to be so many people raising seeds, potting on and making a bit of money at car boot sales. I have no where to raise seeds and my window sills don't seem to get enough light, so I'm happy to pay a bit of money to someone to start the job for me. Dearly Beloved recently mentioned that he would like more flowers in the garden, and if my beloved requests something, then I'll do anything I can to make that happen for him. I bought a packet of lupin seeds a few years ago and the slugs ate most of the plants but those who survived are now perrenial heroes that tower out of the flower borders every year and the bees loves them. I bought two little trays for 75p each.

Sorry for the close up. I love the spelling! I loved the old dears selling them too! They had trays of lettuce, cabbage, beans ect; they were flying off their stall. Loopings!!!!! I love odd spellings.......I once had a child hand me some homework about a 'memory' and he wrote about falling off his bike and having to go to hospital in a 'hambilants'. I shall leave the lupins in the polytunnel for a week and then pot them on to get them into the garden for the summer. Flowers he wants and flowers he shall get!

The final purchase caught my eye just as I was about to walk home. I love gossipy pointless magazines. Infact, I love all of them. It's a way of switching off your brain. Usually, 'Bev' has 'lavished her home with love and attention and particular attention to detail which has resulted in...............'. I could write them myself! Nonetheless, I love the silly fashion articles, the glossy pictures of lovely houses and recipes that would make you fat if you just licked the page! They cost a fortune but I get magazines from Dearly Beloved that he finds on the train. You see, he gets on the train that has come from Paddington and on its way to Penzance. When I say 'finds them on the train' he walks up and down the train looking for magazines and newspapers that people have left behind; I plant flowers for him and he scours trains looking for magazines! The magazines are current issues and the lady wanted 30p each for them and I got 4 for £1!

Thanks again to everyone who reads this; a big thanks to everyone who is now a follower as it's always nice to know about the people who read about my everyday life. I'm now off to spend some time digging over a few borders and thinking where I can get more colour into my garden without spending too much money.

Until tomorrow,

Froogs xxxxx

Hey big spenders!

 Hello again,

My day started with us both standing in a big blue box (not at the same time) and saving our water, we watered our flowers, veggies and hanging baskets. I washed my hair today (don't fret....I use Faith in Nature, so all eco) , which took twice as much water as yesterday. I'm not sure how this is going to work when I've got seconds to spare as I have to leave for work at 6.30 am? I may only get to save water at the weekends or I'll have to get up even earlier.

We had a fun morning as the local cricket club had a car boot sale this morning. After all the shenanigans of bucketting water around the house and garden, we arrived at 10.30 to find the sale in full swing. I bought.....

 a red bucket for 10p, it will be all part of my water and money saving plan.

 I bought a 50cm high shrub, exactly the same as the one in the photo. I paid £2.50 for that.

 I bought a foxglove for £1.

I also bought a kilo of rhubarb for £1...............delicious stewed and eaten with custard. I'm trying to fill the garden with beautiful plants and I'm obviously doing that by spending as little money as possible. The foxgloves grow really well in a shady spot and my 'front' garden is north facing, spends most of the day in shade and will look wonderful with a border backed with tall foxgloves. The shrub/Weigela Florida Variegata will thrive in the warm sunny front garden which is in full sun, all day long. I think I had a good morning for £4.60. What have been your star purchases from jumble sales or car boot sales recently?

Car boot, closing down sale and ebay

We don't often go on a shopping spree, but we did today. The posh frocks and handbag shop is closing down, so we bought the posh essential oils for £1 each.............a blog will follow with what I will do with them.

The car boot sale didn't have anything I wanted to buy today but people were selling surplus from their gardens, I bought the veg for 50p a bunch and the cucumbers for 20p each, so £1.90 for our veg for the weekend.

The bargain of the year was my purchase for Dearly Beloved and he's always wanted one. I've been watching a trailer on ebay, I sat and waited at the end of the auction, no one bid and I put in my bid and bought this trailer for the unbelievable price of £50.01

It used to be a trailer tent, but now it's just a trailer and will be brilliant for our camping trips, when we've paid off our debts and can go again..........probably this time next year at the rate we're going. Talking of debts, today I paid off the last of Dearly Beloved's HSBC card of the balance of £609.14 and another £500 off our Virgin card, which we have at 0% and another £225 off Barclaycard which we also have at 0%! It may be extreme debt repayment and a massive overpayment each month, but the debts are just melting away.

The trailer is in good order, the electrics work and all it needs is a number plate and we can go off camping for a few days.

At £50, it has to be the best bargain I've ever bought!

Amazing Car booty find!

I love car boot sales! I went to the car boot sale in Looe this morning, in the murk and the gloom and found, under the table, in what looked like a house clearance this beauty! I intrepidly asked "How much?" and nearly ran around screaming in delight when the stall holder asked for £10! I was away with it tucked under my arm so quickly I almost ran all the way back to Liskeard. It's so solid and well made, although I might have a new power cable fitted; it's fantastic and I've always wanted one. Not only are car boot sales a brilliant place to buy useful items but to sell them too. I'm so delighted that FOSTER MUMMY had a successful sale herself today but earned enough to pay for something important and got a real buzz out of doing it! Why not follow her blog and support her on her journey to a debt free life, I know the support I have had has spurred me on the low days and boosted my confidence when it's been tough! We all have to start somewhere and my first step was to give up credit cards and foster mummy has made that decision too. I'm off to make some cakes and enjoy my 'new' Kenwood!!!