Magical Christmas

Right now, its cold and grey.  We're at the beginning of January, Ruby's just returned to school today and I'm feeling a bit 'meh'.  A friend said to me "there's not a lot you can do about January, you've just got to get your head down and power through it".  I guess she's right.

Trouble is, we had such a wonderful Christmas break, that now it's all over, I'm feeling a bit blue.

The Old Man was off work for the entire school holiday and it was great to be able to spend time together and the extended break meant we could fit in everything we wanted without rushing around like headless chickens as we do most weekends.

We caught up with friends - some of whom only visit down south once a year; spent time with family; partied; ate til we nearly burst and there were at least three occasions where I think I vowed I'd NEVER drink again.

Ruby got to see all her cousins, on both sides of the family, and she's never happier than when she's crashing about with them.  She spent time with grandparents and great-grandparents, aunties and uncles, and Christmas truly was a family occasion.

Some of our magical moments included reading her a special book which arrived on Christmas Eve. I read it to her that night as I tucked our excited little bundle into bed.  She was absolutely in awe of the tale of Santa Claus and how she helped him deliver presents all over the world one special year.  She was literally open-mouthed in astonishment every time I read her name or address or her friends name.

So personal is it I've had to blank out our details here!

I think this is going to become a Christmas Eve tradition as I loved reading it to her and as she grows and develops her skills, she'll be able to read it herself.  I know it's too late for Christmas stories now, but do take a look at the personalised children's books, they make very special gifts for birthdays or other special occasions.

We snuggled on the sofa or all clambered into bed on other nights with huge bowls of popcorn and DVDs.  Our family favourite was The Polar Express [2004] [DVD] which I think we ended up watching four times over the holidays.

The Polar Express by Warner Bros 

I wasn't sure Ruby would like the computer generated animation to begin with, and I have to be honest I found it a bit spooky to start with, but you soon got caught up in the tale of the magic of Christmas, and again I think this is one to come back to year after year - especially as she begins to doubt the existence of the big white bearded fella...

With walks in the woods, trips to the pictures and a day out at Thomas Land, it was truly an action-packed time.  We've started some new traditions and got back to what's really important - friends and family.

After that whirlwind I guess it's not surprising I'm on a bit of a come-down.  So cheer me up - tell me about your magical Christmas moments...

Disclosure: The products mentioned were sent to me at no charge.  All views expressed are my own.

100 easy ways to be a thrifty family - ebook review

Did you resolve to be more careful with your finances this year?

If you're looking for smart and simple tips to save money, then you could do a lot worse than investing in the new ebook by Becky Goddard-Hill 100 Easy Ways to be a Thrifty Family

Becky is a well-respected authority on all matters relating to family finance; she is the author of the very popular book 'How to afford to have time off with your baby'; writes the award winning Baby Budgeting blog and Family Budgeting blog; has appeared as a guest on TV and radio shows and been featured in many magazines and press publications.  But above all she is a super-savvy, generous and helpful all-round lovely lady.  Trust me, she knows what she's talking about.

Now, I consider my self to be reasonably clued-up on thrifty matters.  I may not put them all into practice, but I thought I knew most of the tricks of the trade.  However, this ebook has taught me a new thing or two.

There are ideas, resources and links I'd never heard of before.  Simple and achievable suggestions on how to save money as a family.  There are beautifully sensitive, well observed musings about money - particularly when it comes to kids and cash.

I might like to think I'm money savvy, but I'll never be one of those people who has loads of spreadsheets and plans out meals weeks in advance.  I don't do lists and I'm not too good at checking my bank account.  Sure, those things are covered in the book as you'd expect, but there's something for everyone.  A book that tells me how I can save money and still have life's little luxuries is a winner for me!  One that gives ideas on how you can still afford to pamper yourself (nay, how you SHOULD for your emotional well-being) is a very welcome read in these doom and gloom austere times.

There are little bite-sized tips that I'm going to go through one by one and pop on post it notes on my computer as reminders.  I devoured the book in one go, but it's certainly one to dip in and out of and revisit time and again.

I'm not going to give all the tips away, but I just tried one of her quick ideas and have netted £7.92 in 5 minutes!  It would have been more if I'd been more thorough.  Want to find out what it was?  Well you'll have to buy the book wont you?

It's available for the Kindle via Amazon 100 Easy Ways to be a Thrifty Family priced at £2.05 or as a PDF download Becky's site at £2.99.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of the book in PDF format.  No payment was given or received   All views expressed are my own.

Magpie Monday - Wetsuit Wonder

Morning my little Magpies.  Have you missed me?

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and New Year - I must say 2 weeks offline has done me the world of good.  I almost didn't want to come back...

There's not been much time for thrifting over the break, but I did sneak out between Christmas and New Year for a pint of milk and 'happened' to find myself in the charity shop.  You know how it is.

Anyhow, I'm rather happy with my find.  Given the Old Man's new found obsession hobby of outdoor swimming, I seized on this little wetsuit in Ruby's size. It was only £2.49, total bargain!

Sadly, there weren't any ladies neoprene outfits on offer or of course I'd have snapped that up too (yeh right).  The plan is, when summer comes, she can splash about in the water with the other nutters, while I sit languishing on the river bank, picnicking on dry land.

Good plan huh?


Grab the badge and link up your thrifty pleasures.

<a href="http://missielizzie-meandmyshadow.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i785.photobucket.com/albums/yy135/missielizzie/MagpieMondayBadge.png" border="0" alt="Me and My Shadow" /></a>

Last minute gifts from The White Company

Are you dreaming of a White Company Christmas?

It's one of those stores where I could suggest somebody gets me 'anything from there'.  When I go up to London, getting off the train at St Pancras, I have a little ritual of shops I visit on the concourse, and this is always one of them.

So it was very lovely of them to send me a few Christmas gifts to show off to you.  If' you've been rather slack in the present shopping department, fear not, you can order online up until midnight tonight (Friday 21st Dec) for guaranteed delivery in time for the big day or visit the store in person this weekend.

If you still need a bit of sparkle for your tree, then these star decorations are beautiful, with a romantic, vintage feel.  I have mine hanging on the inside of the front door - who says the outside should get all the attention with lavish wreaths...

Tiny littlies are always difficult to buy gifts for, but this soft and snuggly bunny is just perfect.  Ideal for a new baby or Christening gift too.  A real keepsake toy and there's lots of other animals to choose from too.

The White Company are famed for their fragranced candles.  Effortlessly elegant and beautifully perfumed they have a gorgeous range of seasonal ones to choose from.  I was sent the 'Winter' candle fragranced with cinnamon, clove and orange wish is divinely heady.  I also adore the sound of Pomegranate and the Cassis one has got to be delicious.

And if you're STILL struggling, then no girl would be disappointed to receive something from their bath and body range.  Decadently luxurious and indulgent, choose from their range of beautifully presented gift sets.

 Wishing you a white Christmas!

Disclosure:  I was sent a selection of products to sample and review.

Homemade Candied Orange Peel

This has to be the ULTIMATE thrifty Christmas treat.  Basically, it's made out of something you'd normally throw away.

Although, what you save on ingredients you probably more than make up for in trips to the dentist.

Think not of it as giving your nearest and dearest food salvaged from the compo bin, but rather a thoughtful and tasty homemade delicacy.  You get the added bonus of making your house smell amazing while you're making them too.

You will need:

Large oranges (the nice big ones with thick skins, such as Sevilles.  This is no place for the satsuma)
Sugar
70% dark bitter chocolate if you want to fancy them up

Begin by removing the skin.  The easiest way to do this and to give reasonable size pieces is to score through the skin with a sharp knife (skin part only, try not to go through the pith or the flesh).  Do this all the way round as though you are scoring segments.  Then peel the skin off.

The oranges will keep for a day or two in a sealed bag in the fridge if you're not using them straight away.

Holding a sharp knife flat, slice off as much of the white pith as you can.  Um, remember to do this away from you.  Just sayin.

Pop the orange boat skins into a saucepan with just enough water to cover them.  Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15 minutes.  Then drain, refresh with clean cold water and repeat twice more.

After they have been cooked in this way for a total of 3 times, drain, rinse and them slice into sticks.

Into your pan, make a syrup - again enough to cover the orange slices.  Amounts will depend on how many oranges you are doing, but you need a ratio of 1 part sugar to 2 parts water.  For example, I used 4 large oranges and used half a mug of sugar and 1 mug of water.  Heat and stir until the sugar is fully dissolved then add your orange strips to the pan.

Bring to the boil then simmer for around 45 minutes, until they have turned translucent.  Don't be tempted to wack up the heat to speed things up, or, I dunno, say go and do the hoovering upstairs...KEEP AN EYE ON IT, sugar burns easily and you don't want a kitchen full of acrid smoke.  Again, just sayin.

Once they are cooked, turn off the heat and leave until they have cooled down enough to handle.

Rest them on a wire rack with a tray or greaseproof paper underneath to drain off the syrup.

Pour some caster sugar into a bowl and toss the orange slices ensuring they are covered.  Make like Ian Beale battering a nice bit of haddock.  Hmm in fact, they look a bit like goldfish, maybe next time I'll cut them fishy shape.

Pop on a sheet of greaseproof paper and leave overnight to firm up.

As a final touch - it is Christmas after all- you can dip them in chocolate.  A good quality dark chocolate is best, and choose a bitter one to off-set the sweetness.  Melt in the microwave or in a bowl over a pan of water and dip the ends of your orange strips in.

Leave to set on greaseproof paper.

Keep them in an airtight container or pop into a pretty jar for a thrifty Christmas gift. They are tangy and twangy and deliciously fabulous.  Enjoy!

How to make wooden photo cubes

Remember back in the day, when you used to trot off to the chemist and hand you roll of film in, then excitedly go back a fortnight later to collect your photos?  Then you'd proudly display them in an album, frame them for the wall or pop one in your wallet?

Nowadays family snaps are more likely to be hidden away on your hard drive or floating around the internet ether on a cloud hosting service.

Well, it's time to bring back the humble photo!  Follow my tutorial to make these gorgeous, ever so retro photo cubes.

You will need:

Selection of photos, cropped to size and then photocopied
A wooden craft block (try craft stores or online, I can recommend Craft Shapes)
DYLON Image Maker

Firstly choose your photos.  Crop them to size and print off on good quality photo paper - a photocopy is only as good as the original.  I've discovered I live not only in a one-horse-town, but also a one-photocopier-town, so black and white was the only option for me.  No matter, I really wanted a vintage feel anyway, but just so you know, this will work with colour copies too.

Trim your photocopied pictures to fit the sides of the cube.  It's easier and less fiddly if you make them smaller all round, leaving a wooden 'border'.  I've gone all fancypants instagrammy and rounded the corners too.  You could cut them to any shape though - I imagine hearts would look lovely.

For this one I'm showing you on a natural, untreated wooden block.  I also tried it on one I'd painted, which gave a different effect - a much bolder image, more solid, but I found the image didn't adhere as well and parts of it rubbed off in the later process.

A natural wooden block will give a sepia type tone to your images because the natural wood colour shows through.

Once your images are trimmed, squirt a good dollop of the DYLON Image Maker onto the printed side and spread out with a paintbrush.  Do this on a protected surface, such as a sheet of greaseproof paper.  You need a good, generous covering, so the image is barely visible through the white product.

Carefully peel up your image, pick it up and lay it onto a face of the cube.  Treat it carefully - wet paper isn't the most robust thing in the world.  Slide it into position, and then smooth down carefully.  The excess gloop with splurge out of the sides, so scoop that up on your brush to use for the next picture.  Make sure it's fully pressed down, with no lumps or air bubbles.  Wipe the surface carefully with a dry sponge or paper towel (if you have a coating of Image Maker on the back, the rubbing off process will be much harder).

Repeat on other sides.  Obviously for a cube, you can't do all six at once or it will have no way to stand and dry.  I did 3 at a time.

Leave to dry for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Then, take a clean wet sponge and dampen the paper on one cube face.  Keep wetting it until it's saturated - you'll see it change to a darker colour.  Then, with your finger rub back and forth until the paper peels away.  Lots of slow gentle rubbing is much better than fast and furious rubbing.

Err. Moving on.

I love this part of the process.  Much like old fashioned photo developing, you'll see the image magically appear before your eyes.  Wipe off the bits of paper and continue with your other sides.

Leave to dry off and you'll be left with images which have a slightly fuzzy, flocked paper feel.  Rub again with your finger (gently!) to remove the remaining paper.  You might find it better to wet your finger first.  Once all the images are clear, you can seal by rubbing a little more of the Image Maker over it, but this gives a glossy finish.  I sealed mine with a matt modge podge and am really pleased with the final result.

Let me know what you think.

Disclosure:  I have been working with DYLON throughout the year.  Please see my disclosure page for full details.

Pets at Christmas

Our dog is an integral part of our family, but now I kind of feel she should have her own Twitter profile...

According to an International Animal Welfare Charity, one in ten pets now have their own social media account.

 
SPANA

If they can run a Facebook page, surely they can write a letter to Santa? Right?

With this in mind, me and the hound sat down to peruse the GJW Titmuss website to come up with our entry to their Christmas Stocking competition where you could win your choice of gifts up to £200.

She's a high maintenance kinda girl, so here's what she chose:

A Hunter Tweed Padded coat, for all those long winter walks.  She needs to look as stylish as her mummy after all.

A super comfy new bed, with added padding and high sides to keep out the draughts and keep her snug all winter - although the look in her eye tells me she doesn't think it looks quite as comfy as the large double bed upstairs...

Every girl needs some smellies in her Christmas socking, so she's chosen this deodorising spray.  Although she visits the doggie salon, this will keep her smelling fresh in between trips.

Being a Labrador, when it comes to food more is more, so although there were lots of tasty treats to chose from, she's gone for bulk in the form of her regular dog food.  This brand is great for her health, her coat and helps keep her weight under control.

She's picked a nice new grooming brush to keep her looking slick and glossy.

And lastly, because she's going for all round good looks, something to keep her teeth clean and healthy.  She LOVES these sticks and doesn't even realise they are doing her good.

So, our basket comes to a grand total of £198.64.  What do you think?  Is she worth it?

What Ella hears: "mwa mwa mwa mwa"

We've had a long conversation about how Santa will only come if she's a good girl, and no, chewing up my leather gloves does not constitute 'good'.