Frugal pleasures

[Alanamackree]

I thought it might be helpful to share some free/cheap pleasures to see us through January.

I’ve just rediscovered the pleasure of a hot water bottle, after getting a gift of one at Christmas. We used them a lot as children but I’d forgotten how nice it is to have warm toes watching the telly.

Even better is the pleasure of two hot water bottles, one on the feet, one to hug.

Being out with the dogs in the morning, all wrapped up, and watching the pink and red in the sky as the sun comes up.

What a nice idea for a thread 😊 Alas I can’t think of any! Perhaps a nice bath 🛁 or a good book (from the library)!

Lobbing stuff in the slow cooker and returning home in the evening to a delicious meal that just needs dishing up.

Seeing the light on bare tree branches on a sunny day - that lovely pale gold winter light.

I’ve started knitting again. Made a nice cardigan for DS last week. And hats & scarves with crochet dinosaurs on. Keeps me productive in the evenings!

I have been sorting out the lego, I know but I enjoy it. I do a lot more reading at this time of year.

Exactly as did today Justmuddling. The house smelt great when I got home! I also enjoyed a walk in the sun today. I live by the sea and it's great in Winter because it's pretty quiet on the promenade

I've just started doing a proper routine with serums and face oils every night. I enjoy the whole ritual of it all.

Watching the birds coming down to the feeders.

Lighting candles in the living room, makes it look and feel cosy.

A blanket on the sofa and a good book. Simple but effective.

Listening to BBC Radio plays. There are hundreds on them on YouTube as well as the BBC Radio App.

A good packed lunch. A little bit of home in the middle of the day.

A lovely walk with the children all wrapped up in scarves and hats and gloves in the frosty white morning on the way to school. A beautiful day today, absolutely freezing but the bluest sky and the clearest light. It's been just lovely. Even better to get in out of the cold to some twinkly lights and the heating on.
Oh, and a nice cup of tea and a slice of £1 Tesco fruit cake. Yum!

This isn't frugal unless you already have a gym membership and Prime, but if you do it costs nothing extra. I've been getting fitter these last few months by watching box sets on my phone as I do an hour on the cross trainer.

So far I've watched This is Us and an currently watching Life In Pieces. It's great as I rarely get time to watch TV otherwise and it makes me stick to exercise to get my next fix.

(My gym is just a leisure centre one so kinda frugal).

Buying a cheap bottle of bubble bath (nice ones but that are only £1 eg radox) and putting as much in the bath as possible. Huge bubbles then watching the ipad or listening to the radio.
Agree with hot water bottle.

Cheese on toast
Pasta
A hot bath
Warm coffee
A hug
Laughter

For me today it was sitting down with a cup of tea and a left over mince pie with my six month old sleeping on my chest. We were all wrapped up in a blanket, the fire was on and I was just sat there drinking my tea and listening to my baby’s gentle breathing. It was bliss to just sit there

I love to batch prepare slow cooker packages and freeze them. I often do them with friends, we all take turns in hosting, have snacks and drinks, and around a table, we prepare multiples of one SC meal and then share them out with each other at the end.

Happy days.

Baby a d a mince pie sounds lovely 😊
Slow cooker packages sounds a good idea. What meals do you prepare?

Home popped popcorn.

The winter sunset. We are west facing and rural. Today the sky was a hot orange blaze with pink tinges across to the north and south. It was spectacular.
And, I've just been out doing the bins and it's a bright starry sky with a new moon. Stunning!

Doing something mundane like washing a cup at the kitchen sink, or putting rubbish out in the bucket, and seeing a robin in the garden. It never fails to make me smile.