Sunday 28 August 2016

Budget holiday time

Being on a really tight budget we dont have foreign holidays , Its not just about money either we love England and there are still lots of places we haven't visited and prefer to be closer to home with our health problems just in case we need to cut a holiday short for any reason.

 We try to get a bargain holiday and use the private static caravan sites to book a late deal most of the time , You get a better equipped van than you do when you book through a main site.

So this year we are going back to the place where we honeymooned over 38 years ago , Dawlish Warren ,
 We like somewhere where we can drive to different places daily and it looks like there are a few places in that location ,

I always combine the holiday with places to go to that i can get stock for my  business from too.
 So if any of my readers know the area and can tell me of locations  that have good charity shops or car boot sales there please let me know.  


We always take our own food and i try to Squeeze out the meals from our meagre food bill so the food we take with us does not cost any more than what we would normally spend in a week , So i am now starting to fill a draw in the freezer with 5 meals we usually have fish and chips on the day we get there and eat out just once.

This weeks meals from  our meagre food shop were.

Tuesday 

Gammon and oven chips. I  Already have the oven chips its one of the items i buy from lidl they taste very good   at 50p a bag they are a bargain too.

Wednesday

Home made Chilli with rice & Garlic bread 
 Sticky chicken thighs , these are too homemade  jacket potato coleslaw and salad

I would love to find a way to make coleslaw that tastes like shop bought as i have made it in the past but prefer shop bought its one of the very few things that i cant get right. 
  


Thursday.

Pork chop Dinner.

Friday.

Burgers and Salad (The burgers and baps were  Already in the Freezer)  , This is a quick meal as i do the market on a friday and when i am back home i am no good for nothing  lol.   


Saturday , Home made Pizza .


I use  A few tinned pineapples  on my pizza and Dave has pepperoni , The rest of the pineapples will be used on Sunday with old fashioned jelly an blancmange ( had to get the packet to spell this lol ) and Belgium buns.  



I made a large batch of pizza dough some wholemeal base for me and some plain white for Dave as he doesn't like anything healthy lol , Although he does eat in moderation.
   


Sunday

 Pork loin dinner.  




Lunches consisted of mainly sandwiches, Cheese , bacon, beans on toast , Home made soup.

Breakfasts were either stores own weetabix ( Already in the store cupboard) , shredded wheat or wholemeal toast. 

Treats this week all home made include a batch of home made Chelsea buns ( Forgot to photograph them ) , Half have been frozen so they keep longer. 

 We do eat different meals to each other but whenever this happens the extra cooked is always frozen for a future meal so nothing goes to waste. 


Some more vintage finds.
This beautiful geometric Art Deco table cloth.






I wish i had the patience to embroider these imaculate framed pictures.










And these i really dont mind if they dont sell as they look so good in my hallway. 










Then i bought this for £2.00 ,  It needs rewiring but as it happens  my son in law  is an electrician.   






xxxx

11 comments:

  1. It's a long time since I've been to Dawlish Warren. We often see buses going there from Torquay and you were only a stone's throw from us, here in the Bay! I hope you enjoyed your time in Devon.
    Like you, we don't have foreign holidays, the last time we went 'abroad' was for a long weekend to Bruges in 2006. And now we simply stay at home, having days out. But when you live in Torbay that's hardly a hardship! It's one of the most beautiful places in the country and we can see the sea from our sitting room. When we went away when our children were young we couldn't even afford caravan (static ones, I mean) holidays, and so we did holiday house swaps which were free apart from petrol and food, and of course, having a meal out was out of the question, we behaved just as we did at home, only we were in someone else's house. We'd have days out, taking sandwiches with us, and come back and I'd cook a meal. A treat would be an ice cream while we were out. A pity more people don't behave thus, there'd be a lot less debt. Making up sandwiches and putting together a picnic lunch is so easy - perhaps add a picnic pork pie as a treat, some crisps and some cake and fruit and you have a meal for far less than what you'd pay for a family of four in a café or restaurant.
    Your meals look wonderful, but my goodness, those are platefuls! Now we are old, one of those plates would feed the pair of us. This is what we do now when we eat out ... we usually have a starter each as a main course, and if we fancy the main, then we order one and ask for two plates. No one has refused us - yet!
    All good wishes,
    Margaret P

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    1. I agree with you its one of the most beautiful parts of the country , You are lucky to live there , The food looks a bit bigger portions than they actually are in the pictures , When we do eat out wich is very rare we only have a main no starter and no pudding Well that apply's to everything we eat at home too xxx

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  2. Hi Shabby some good meals there and some lovely finds. I can quite see why you wouldn't mind the pictures not selling they are lovely. I have just bought some more Tiffany style lamps from the States - which cost an arm and a leg but which are a treat to me from my mum and dad. That is a very different lamp though and will go well with anything and the price an absolute steal. Well done you. Dawlish Warren - lovely place or it was - many years since have been there - had my first Chinese in this country there when I was 16 holidayed with my cousin. Happy days and hope you have a lovely time. lovely way to celebrate take care. Pattypanx

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    1. I love Tiffany lamps but i cant afford the prices lol xxx

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    2. The only reason I have bought them is I was left a tiny sum of money by my parents. I have allowed myself some spending money but the rest is tucked away for a rainy day and over the past 28 years we have had quite a few of them so real life has taught me to be cautious. The lamps are a present from my mum and dad. I am not frittering it but when I find something nice I am very occasionally buying it. When I was married my main weakness was my house - doesn't matter about a lot of things but the house that's different. A lot of things are new to me not necessarily new and other things like you I make. First husband and I bought our own house and did it up from scratch, electrics, central heating ceilings, new kitchen the works just got it right and we split. Even though I live in rented at the moment I still like it to look reasonably nice. I know I am very privileged at the moment but that doesn't mean I do not understand the importance of making do and scrimping and saving wherever I can. I also know that one day you can be rolling in it and the next left high and dry. I am busy at the moment preparing a lot of stuff for the pantry shelf. Bottled tomatoes, tomato pasta sauce, summer fruit berries in syrup, greengage jam, greengage jelly. I am fortunate that I am able to source the fresh ingredients in bulk relatively cheaply and so I carry on as this helps elsewhere. There is possibly one more thing I am going to treat myself too once I can find the right price and that will be a proper pressurised American canner for bottling veggies, meats and soups. But it will not be bought unless it is the right price. Its the last piece in the preserving jig saw for me and potentially could save me a lot of pennies even though have the initial outlay. Take care and keep on with what you are doing and I feel it will all turn out right in the end. Take care. pattypan x

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    3. I think however much it costs we need to treat ourselves to things that we love we used to own our own house ,I dont know how long you have been following my blog the story what happened was on here in the beginning but i decided i didnt want to share it any more But i think exactly the same that even if you rent your home you can make it a tasteful palace with a bit of effort and imagination ,I dream of owning a beautiful cottage but at our time of life and limited income that's only ever going to be a dream xxx

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    4. Not always sometimes its down to timing and being in the right place at the right time. Never say never. I am an optimist. I too am after a cottage in the country one day. Take care. pattypanx

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  3. I LOVE those embroidery flower pics -- I have such a weakness for those. Great finds. Enjoy your time away!

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    1. Thank you , I too have a weakness for embroidery but i do like the older stuff more xxx

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  4. What lovely finds you found!

    Hope you have a lovely holiday, too.

    Veronica
    vronni60s.blogspot.com

    Please could you include a FB link to your site where you sell your items, please? Thank you.

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  5. Thank you Veronica there is a link to my Facebook page at the top of my blog on the left if you private message me and you dont mind giving me your email i could also send you links to my ebay xxx

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thank you for your message , Shabby