Low spend trip to London :)

   

Long time, no post dear readers! That’s because Elliot and I have been very busy bees recently with starting our own allotment, going away for a city break in London, rekindling old hobbies and just plain old chilling out. Never fear, our lives still as cheap as ever!

So, the topic of todays post is how we kept down the cost of a 4 day trip to London.

First and foremost is the travel expenses. We live in Leeds which gives us three options for travel: Train, Car or Coach. We explored every option and found that we could get the two of us to London and back to Leeds for just £19.50 on the MegaBus. Absolute bargain. Yes, it is five hours each way on this service, but we just made it part of the relaxation time of the trip. Plus they have free wifi– result!

Secondly, where did we stay? Well the accommodation cost is usually the killer of a city break so we phoned in a favour from a friend who recently moved to London, who very kindly let us stay with her free of charge! Yes, kipping at a friends house isn’t the most glamorous option but we decided we’d rather save money and spend it on all the activities to do while we were there. The bonus of course is getting lots of time with a best friend we rarely see, thanks by the way Daisy!

Thirdly, we found a package deal for some of the attractions we wanted to visit. As Madame Toussauds, the London Eye and the SeaLife Aquarium are all owned by the Merlin company, we got all three attractions for £55 each. As we had never been to any of these we thought it was a good offer, particularly taking into account the price of each attraction individually. Of course we did visit free touristy places including The National Portrait Gallery, Camden Market (No purchases made), Covent Garden, Nelson’s column and all that jazz. We could easily have spent nothing on entertainment though theres soon much free shizz to do in London!

If you’re wondering, we travelled mainly by tube using Oyster cards, for which I was very excited to be an owner of, as they remind me of the scene in Harry Potter where Mr Weasley tries to copy the muggles on the tube who slap their Oyster cards on the scanner, by smacking it and trying to walk through the closed barrier. Hilarious.

Other than that, of course we bought meals out and even had a few not-really-necessary coffees but come on fellow money savers, it was a holiday!

Happy Holidaying !

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IKEA Haul

Myself and my partner share a dream that one day we will live in a cute country cottage, much like the one Kate Winslet’s character lives in in ‘The Holiday’, filled with homemade decor or one-of-a-kind pieces which add a unique feel to our home. At the moment we pretty much live in the exact opposite of that, in a teeny eco-flat which might as well be sponsored by IKEA and The Range (Sadly it is not or we would have saved a lot of money).

Despite our dream, I don’t dislike ikea decor in the slightest, in fact I think ikea have totally genius ideas for storage and lots of great home decor ideas. So, yes, Elliot and I are the stereotypical twenty-something couple in their first home, surrounded by everything IKEA and loving every minute of it.

The other day we snuck a few hours away from uni and work to go play in what Meg from Megsboutique recently named ‘Adult disneyland’ and, as I personally love getting home decor ideas, I thought you might like to see what we bought !

1- GODMORGAN Make up storage £15: Previously, my make up lived all sad and jumbled in my bedside drawer, making getting ready in the morning somewhat of a lucky dip. Now as you can see from the pictures below it is super organised and ready to grab! It also supposedly has a ten year guarantee? Big claim IKEA, I’ll keep you posted in ten years. (Side note: Most of my make up brushes needed a wash so they are currently drying and will be filling the remaining slots later)

Although I didn’t measure (rookie error *slaps wrist*), thankfully it fitted perfectly back in the drawer. It’s easy to access the palettes under the brushes as that section can be swung forward.

  2. IMMELN shower basket £6.50: Another bit of beauty organisation! We have a large, gorgeous glass unit with a metal frame which houses all of our bathroom products, but since we moved in the ‘in use’ products lived on the floor. We thought this little basket would be fab to help stop faffing in a morning, and bonus points for the sucker pads which stick to the glass so we don’t have to ‘damage’ anything in the rented flat. 

3. Spritta apple slicer £1.50: Fairly self explanatory, but Elliot also had the idea of using it to make potato wedges. These literally make up about 1/5 of our diet so we got very excited in the ikea hype and got it. It was only a £1.50 anyway. What is it about sliced apple that makes it taste better than a normal apple? 

4. SKUBB set of 3 black boxes £10: We wanted something to sort out the messiness of the top of our wardrobe, which could only be described as looking like TK Maxx if they had a 90% off sale. We were also in the market for getting a new box for our KALLAX unit (see below), which separates our kitchen and living room. I’d seen these online and thought they’d be a good solution, 2 in the wardrobe, 1 in the KALLAX.

Please excuse the messiness in this picture, also the other SKUBB box is the black area of the photo! 

5. A big plant £8 and a plant pot £7.50 because A) We were very excited on an IKEA high and B) we love a bit of greenery in the house, and this obnoxiously large plant in the corner of our pokey flat can only be a good thing.

6. GLIMMA tealights £1.75 and a SINNLIG vanilla candle 99p. Standard IKEA purchase. We got the tealights for both atmosphere on an evening and to go in our wax melt burner, and we had previously bought and loved the vanilla candles in the tealight version and loved the smell so we got a big one. 

Last but not least, MEATBALLS, pudding and a free coffee with our family card. mmmm. 

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IKEA shopping top tips

• Go when it’s quiet- first thing on a weekday is the best time for ours, my parents say later on a Friday night is good for theirs. We’ve had too many stressful trips with being unable to park, looking at a room in their showroom like sardines in a can and getting really stressed. The more relaxed you are the more you’ll enjoy it and the less you will shove in your big yellow bag without thinking first.
• Make a list and stick to it. You know why.
• Don’t forget to take your own bags or risk having to get another big blue one!
• Either plan a mid-shop meatball feast or eat before you go. Shopping at IKEA is a full on workout and you will need the energy.
• Try to pronounce all the names of the products you like. Hilarity will ensue.
• Go to the food shop. Buy the little chocolates that come in a clear orange bag. You won’t regret it, those things are addictive.

Low cost health and fitness for newbies

Along with all the other resolutioner’s, January was the start of a new health and fitness regime. The thing is, the last thing I wanted to do after Decembers festive spend-a-thon was go out and spend money on it. So I did what any wobbly woman would do and raided my existing stash, did some googling and planned.

To give you a bit of background, around 5 years ago I was slightly overweight but otherwise very active. I joined weight watchers and lost around 21 pounds, and was working out every night. Its probably the best I’ve ever felt in my life, both within myself and about myself. Then came my first three years of university life, which saw me sitting at a desk most of the time, and drinking and eating takeaways the rest. Of course, I gained back my weight and then some.

In my third year (2014) I decided I wanted to do something about my weight re-gain so I joined Slimming World online, absolutely loved the plan and lost about a stone before I went through a really tough time in my personal life. At this point I focused all my energy on my mental wellbeing and put my wibbly wobble to the back of my mind for pretty much the rest of 2014.

I’ve come to a point now where I’m feeling positive about life again and I’m ready to enjoy whatever life throws at me next, so the following is what I’ve started doing to edge my way back into a healthier lifestyle.

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1. Going it alone with Slimming World – I no longer have the online account, but I do know exactly how to do the diet so as of a week ago today I am fully in control of whats going in my body! As I rarely see my partner on weekdays due to his job, I’ve decided to be 100% committed during the week and indulge slightly on a weekend, so he doesn’t miss out on his weekend treats and I have something to keep me motivated.

2. Using herbal teas for their true benefits- Black tea for antioxidants and a caffeine kick. Green for kicking my metabolism up the backside. Peppermint for a digestion aid (and to relieve trapped wind sorry tmi). I’m not sure if this is just me but I find teas quite filling, peppermint is especially good because to be honest it makes me feel a bit blergh after a bit and totally turns me off snacking for half an hour or so which can be good when I know I’m not actually hungry just bored.

3. Free fitness- Although using gyms has been valuable to me in the past, I am in no position to pay for one at the moment. I do however already own the Just dance game on the wii and have access to youtube, both of which I’ve been testing the waters of in january. Youtube is one of the best resources for free exercise videos, and best of all you can choose the length to suit you. My favourites are Blogilates and Yoga with Adrienne.

For those brave enough to take their wobble into the outside world theres nothing like a jolly good walk and even a run if you’re really energetic.

4. Sourcing cheap equipment/fashion- At first I began my exercise in devours using the rug in my living room as a yoga mat. I’ve since upgraded to a black yoga mat from Primark for £5. When not in use its kept in the corner of the living room, making Elliot and I look super sporty.

As for weights, long ago I used to use bottled water or tins of food while I did my work out vids, but last year I picked up the ones pictured above in TK Max. They tend to do cheap sports equipment around January, as most stores do. Damn you shops for cashing in on our January jiggle.

Stuck for what to wear? I have a huge stack of highly attractive old pairs of leggings, baggy (mostly stained) tops and one good pair of trainers. Although the psychology of buying nice work out clothes to motivate you will work for a few days, if you don’t have true motivation for working out it won’t stick and you’ll end up with a drawer full of lycra reminding you of failure. Save your money until you get to your healthiest body and treat yourself then.

5. Inner me Energise Me vitamins. Click here to view them. I cannot thank this company enough for existing. I bought this course of vitamins on a total whim (hence the slightly pricey-ness) because I’ve been so fatigued for months and I was completely desperate to try anything that might work. I was totally sceptical and expected a trip to the doctors to get some tests done after these vitamins failed, but they have totally surprised me. I am overjoyed with how much better I feel after 2 weeks on these. I am aiming to get a full review of them done soon when I am closer to finishing the 28 day pack, but I can already promise you a positive one. If your interested, check back on this blog soon!

6. Write it down. Find a notebook, or a section in your diary, to use as a tracker. Writing down everything you eat and what exercise you do helps you to see what you’re doing well and how you might improve.

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An Ideal day on my new plan

7am- wake up, take vitamin tablet, make slimming world breakfast

(Example: Omelette, made using low calorie cooking spray)

8am- commute to Uni or work

 Lecture/ Work SIP LOTS OF WATER!

Break- snack on fruit or veg sticks with hummus. Green or black tea.

Uni/work 

Lunch- packed lunch, usually a salad, pasta salad or sandwich. Another good thing to include is a  Muller light yoghurt. (Or often lidl or aldi’s versions!). Water, green or black tea.

More Uni /Work

Home- If its still early I might grab a snack like fruit or a >1% mugshot pasta. Otherwise I might cook my dinner at this point. Again sticking to the slimming world theme!

Down time- catching up on internet goings on/ blogs/ youtube/ homework. Probably another tea (sorry, I am British after all)

Exercise- I prefer evening exercise because I’m busy during the day and quite honestly too lazy to get up early!

Shower and do my skincare routine 

Get everything I need ready for the next day

Watch some Netflix or read with a peppermint tea

Go to bed! 

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Have you any cheap health and fitness advice to share ?

#100happydays

It’s hard for anyone who uses Instagram to have escaped the #100happydays infiltrating your newsfeed over the last year. For those who have the challenge is to take a photo of something that made you happy for 100 days, with the hope that you will see the joy in everyday life throughout the challenge and beyond.

A few months ago I was having a spot of the blues. Although I’ve always tried to appreciate the little things in life, a combination of my reduced income and adjusting to life in a new city and a different university left me feeling a little overwhelmed and a bit ‘meh’ about life. So one boredom filled evening came and I thought ‘why the hell not?’

Now the challenge is over I really feel like I’ve benefitted from it in a number of ways. What I found most challenging was submitting on days when I had a truly miserable day. One day in particular something awful happened at work and I came home in tears. When I remembered I had to submit something it forced me to evaluate the whole day and think: yes today on the whole has been inexplicably awful, but this hoody I’m wearing is jolly comfy and this cup of tea is working wonders. Therefore I’ve definitely learnt to stop writing off the whole day as a bad job.

As silly as it sounds I’m also proud of myself for actually committing to something for 100 days without giving up. I can’t think of a time I’ve ever committed to a project for that long. Its shown me that I’m capable of seeing through a personal goal, even when no one was asking me to or checking up on me. I can’t wait to use that new found skill to carry on with this blog! It’s become part of my routine so much I’ve thought about it every day since like, what would I have submitted today?

Below are most of my submissions sans the captions which explained most of them, sorry!– mixed with other instagram photos I took over the last 100 or so days. Enjoy.

Now I challenge you !

Eyeshadow Nail Art

Here’s a creative way to make your eyeshadow work harder. YES, EYESHADOW ON YOUR NAILS ! This look is super quick,and can be done with any colour combination of nail polish and eyeshadow that you like.

Step 1: Remove any old nail polish you have on.

Step 2: Gather supplies, decide your preferred colour combination. I’m using Barry M’s Gelly nail polish in the shade ‘Cardamom’, and a gold coloured eyeshadow from the ‘Girlson Film’ palette by Revolution (which is only £6 from Superdrug if you’re interested which is a total bargain for 18 good quality eyeshadows!)  

Step 3: Apply hand cream if you have one and file your nails into your preferred shape.

Step 4:  Apply a base coat (I’m using OPI start to finish which is both a base and top coat but use whatever you have!), wait for it to dry and apply your colour polish.

Sorry about my very imperfect nails, it comes with working in healthcare and not being allowed nail polish at work!

Step 5: The most important step. Wait until your nails have become just tacky and no longer wet. To test this press two nails very lightly together (for example, the thumb nail of each hand), if they very gently stick together but come apart without a mess then your ready. Lightly apply eyeshadow to the top 3/4 of the nail using either your finger or an old eyeshadow brush you no longer use on your face. Pat on more colour on the top 1/2, and very densely on the top 1/4. This will create a gradient effect.

Step 6: Seal with a top coat and leave to dry!

Ta Da !

Why I, an adult, have a colouring book

In light of my New Years Resolutions to save more money and do more arts and crafts I got thinking about what sort of things I could do to meet them. Now, my reasons for saving money are fairly obvious (I’m skint) but the reason I wanted to get back into arts and crafts is because I spent all of my free time as a child drawing, painting, colouring and generally making things. I found that when I did tasks like this I was always engrossed on the project alone, and the days seemed to last a little longer, whereas now I can’t even watch TV without checking Facebook-twitter-instagram at the same time. My mind buzzes along all day like a little bee, time whizzes by and I can’t deny this is the reason for a lot of my stress. Therefore I resolve to include more mind-quieting activities into my daily routine.

When wandering around Waterstone’s (A bookstore for any lovely readers not familiar) and happened upon this adult colouring book (pictured above) and thought this fit the bill perfectly. As a student, who also spends a lot of time on placements I don’t have the time or money to spend on fancy art supplies and creating something to rival Van Gogh on a daily basis. How simple (and mess free) is it to sit with a colouring book and just mindlessly colour ready-made gorgeous artwork? You can even leave off wherever and come back to it whenever you’re ready, without the hassle of cleaning up one day and setting back up again the next.

Below is an example of a page I’ve been working on this week. I’m not even thinking too much about making it match-matchy with the colours because I just want the book to feel free, no wrong or right.

It’s already making a difference to my days in the short time I’ve had it and I recommend anyone doing the same!

TIP: For an even more frugal way to do this you could google free colouring pages and print them off! This would be good also to test whether you enjoy it before you dedicate spending money on a book. For me though, I think the price of the book is cheap in art-supplies terms and it will probably take me most of the year to fill up at the rate I’m going!

DIY: Birdcage Decoration

This birdcage started out life in the ASDA living store, dreaming of becoming a light-shade, when it was discovered by Elliot and I. We instantly fell in love, took it home to our apartment and I watched on as Elliot bravely stood upon a chair to adorn our living room light. Unfortunately it didn’t fit our unknown-to-us massive light fitting. Add the disappointment of that the fact we had foolishly cut the tag off in all our excitement. Not one to see it go to waste, I kept it aside for a fateful night of boredom, which struck me last night.

Bits and bobs you might need 

An ornamental bird cage (Obvs)

Scissors

String

Scrapbook paper

A needle with a large eye

How it was made  

Step 1: Choose your paper. If you don’t have scrapbook paper, you could use newspaper, magazines or old book pages.

Step 2: Choose your design. I went for butterfly shapes, mixed with cut outs of vintage typewriters from my scrapbook paper.

Step 3: Cut them out, and use string to sew them together in a line. If you want it to be permanent you could glue them directly to the cage but I wanted to be able to change the design if I felt like it and eventually use the light-shade for its actual purpose!

Step 4: Wrap it around however you like!

I went super simple with this design but you could go mad! Add flowers, fairy lights, whatever you fancy.

I chose to put a simple tea light holder inside for now, but I think when I have a bit more disposable cash I will invest in some teeny tiny fairy lights to wrap around the cage instead. 

Hope you enjoyed this DIY!