Busy

Been doing the post Christmas tidy up and washing catch up.....went food shopping for the first time since before Christmas...and this.....

(Also my Country Living came today too, which is back on track imo.)

We went up north for New Year (I'm not a New Year fan but we had a good time and I stayed awake and everything lol!!), that little lot was waiting on the table for me when I got home.

My mother in law (who had put our bins out etc) must think I am super extravagent, squandering away her sons hard earned on frivolous magazines lol!!

But you shouldn't judge a book (or mag) by its cover....

Now I shall justify my current magazine glut...none of them have cost me real cash...(Country Living I subscribedto through Tesco clubcard deals) I have taken out a 3 month trial (which I will cancel)- most found through MSE - a couple of them I will keep on (like CHI for example), but the others are ok but I'm not right bothered!! English Home is delicious eye candy but a bit rich for my tastes lol!!

I fell lucky in that I took out the offer in October/November so I got more Christmas editions than I would have otherwise paid real money for! I now have a good afternoons chopping and pasting my bestest pics into scrap books ahead of me.

I've not had a problem when cancelling, but you do have to remember when the offer ends so you can act accordingly in order that you don't pay full whack, but it was worth it for the luxury (to me) of having 6 mags on my doorstep each month!!

So thats Claires Thrifty Tip for January lol!! I'm trying to have a no spend month - so if you see me near anything non wedding related, shout!!!

Another magazine post

The last couple of months I haven't been enjoying Country Living how I used too!! Don't get me wrong I had a slightly racing pulse when it plopped on the door mat each month but once opened there has only been the odd thing inside to tickle my pickle :)

But then this came - the December/Christmas issue - and CL has redeemed itself.

I had to go to A&E with the eldest boys facial injury (see last post!!) yesterday teatime so I shoved it in my bag. Every page got an ooh! or a 'look, isn't that gorgeous!!' Surprisingly, 13 year old boys can show some enthusiasm for gorgeous things, especially this...

This was met with a - 'why can't our fireplace look like that!'

(because I haven't got a stylist coming to my house sweetie to clear up the debris of 4 stinky boys xx)

I apologise for another magazine post this month but look at this picture - does anything say Christmas/Winter more than him??

And the winners from the summers 'what you gonna do with an empty Bonne Maman jar' comp were announced....and I love this idea...

I have lots of non Maman jars so I may experiment with this.

There are tons of fabulous Christmas ideas for decoration (love the red hanging stars from John Lewis) and foodie ideas too.

We didn't have long to wait in A&E (the benefits of a dedicated childrens and young persons consultant!) so I had to have an early night with my magazine, so thats the ironing not done again. Oh well priorities eh!!

Oh and his face is fine - nothing broken!

House Porn

Today this plopped on my door mat....

After I finished hyperventilating, I noticed that the nice people at CHI had sent me (and I'm sure everybody else) a 2009 calendar full of lush Laura Ashley room set pictures.

My patio is sure to look like this in July!!!

And this will be my lounge in November......

And my back door in January 2010!!

So I'm now going to give the bathrooms a quick flick so I can sit down and enjoy!!