four years on a shoe-string.

an old friend of mine is due to start at uni in september, and asked me (as I have JUST finished my degree!) if i had any advice as regards to cheap living. what a perfect blog opportunity! here goes...

1. budgeting

work out a weekly budget and stick to it! it's worth considering that occasionally time will call for 'one off' items outside of a normal spend; make a note of what these things are likely to be (ie work clothes, books, urgent trips home) so that you don't end up straying off budget with the excuse that that pair of heels/ ben and jerrys stash/ amazon splurge 'doesn't count' because it was only a 'one off' spend. let's be realistic here.

a really great way to stick to your budget is to withdraw the amount you intend to spend each week on the first day of the week; and then leave your card at home if you think you might still be tempted. every time you open your purse, you will know exactly how well you have been spending/ splurging because the evidence is right there!

if you have any left over at the end of the week, you can be cheeky and let it roll over into the next week and have an extravagant 7 days (because you're only human after all), OR you could be a proper goody-two-shoes about this and pop it in a piggy bank. allocate a use for your savings: paying bills, buying birthday and christmas gifts OR just treating yourself; if your piggy bank is nice and heavy, you've earned a treat anyway. GUILT FREE!

when you go food shopping, make a list! don't be tempted by things just because they are on offer. yes, i know it's 2 for £1, but do you really need those party canopes?!

2. lunch time

meet your two new best friends, mr tupperware and mr thermos flask.

there are several ways to save money at lunch time, and it's really important to try to do so as it's unbelievable how much you can end up spending;
a cup of tea: £1.50
a mid morning snack: 75p
a sandwich/ snack/ drink meal deal: £3
....that's just over £5 a day...that's £25 a week!

SO...

you could prep yourself a sandwich each day (loaf of bread, some sliced ham or chicken or cheese, some salady bits = £8 for the week)

you could make enough food at dinner time to have some left over for lunch the next day (caution; will power is required so as not to eat it all at once...)

you could take a thermos of soup each day, plus a few slices of bread/ ryvita/ rice cakes.

as regards snacks: fruit, dried fruit and nuts, carrot sticks are a cheap and healthy alternative to things like crisps and cereal bars. also, if you can buy fruit and nut mixes/ trail mixes etc by weight from a market, it's generally cheaper than buying from the supermarket. and you generally get more choice too.

it sounds really cheeky, but some union coffee outlets or staff canteens will let you have free boiling water...bung a few fruit tea bags in your handbag and save on pricey teas and coffee.


3. dinner time

if you get along with your housemates, suggest taking it in turns to cook for each other. this saves time, and it's cheaper to cook a meal for x number of people every x number of days than it is to cook a meal for one every night of the week. alternatively, cook enough for several days and freeze some. again, portion control is key here...


4. keeping track


i always strived to do this but have only just really started to be really strict with myself. keep a record (in a notebook, on a wall chart, in an excel file) of how much you have spent each week and what you have spent it on; it's a lot easier to keep track of everything. if you have a part time job too, write in how much you have earned. this has only just become really useful for me because i'm saving hard, so it's good to see how far i have to go before i reach my target.

5. don't stress


 stay smart, don't panic, HAVE FUN.


as a wise woman once told me,

'even if i could tell you just how fast time flies, you would never believe me'

that said, try not to look so far into the future (ie post deadline parties, end of year celebrations or even graduation) that you miss out on what's happening right NOW!

good luck amy, you'll have a ball :)

new additions.

ginny

hestia.

yvonne.

I went to the funeral of my great aunt on Friday. She will always be remembered for her loud and beautiful laughter, her love of family, friends and parties and her amazing nail varnish and stiletto collection. This passage of the Bible was read at the ceremony, and even as a self confessed athiest, I can still appriciate the bible as literature, ok? You will be greatly missed Yvonne.

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails."

careers.

I was wrong, before.

I can still feel like a human being when I am at work. I can still be myself, and be creative and happy. Just because I am not in a museum, or a foreign country, or out with friends, or in a position of influence in my job, it doesn't mean that I have to put myself on hold.

Considering the decision I have made, to put my career on hold for the next 15 months at least, it's really important that I get this notion out of my head that 'life begins when you have a career.' Every day is an opportunity to meet new people, to discover new things (about yourself and about the world), whether you are travelling the world or working in a corner shop, looking after your children or working in a school.

Neither of us have ever 'put our lives on hold', and we never will. There is no such thing.

super powers.

I'm a super hero when I wear my housekeepers' uniform.

• I'm invisible.
• I'm a mind-reader.
• I make tea approximately 120 times a day.

I'm my OWN mother-effin' role model.

But seriously...I am dreading staying in work like this for the next two years...even if I AM in Australia. I need to find something to do which makes me feel like an actual human being in my spare time, because it's not happening in my work time.

cutest tv couple.

dear felicity kendal of the 1970s,

please don't age.

yours sincerely,
chloe x

looses.

last supper.

friday was the last day i cooked for my housemates. and so i treated them to some sushi and grilled rice balls. :)

i found a recipe for rice balls on www.bento.com, but it called for numerous hyper-linked ingredients, which had their very own recipes which took literally weeks to make (reminiscent of polyjuice potion mebe?). so i just mixed sushi rice with some rice vinegar and soy sauce and it seemed to do the trick. dobbed a blob of miso on the top of each one and hey presto!

simple awkward phone call solution.

Uh, everything's under control. Situation normal. 

What happened? 

Uh, we had a slight weapons malfunction, but uh... everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here now, thank you. How are you? 

We're sending a squad up. 

Uh, uh... negative, negative. We had a reactor leak here now. Give us a few minutes to lock it down. Large leak, very dangerous. 

Who is this? What's your operating number? 

 Uh...

nicola roberts & diplo.

spring time pub times.

i enjoy that polyvore set making is no longer a procrastination activity.

inspired by my outfit on wednesday night, when i celebrated the end of uni FOREVER. unfortunately i do not own most of these items, BUT OH WHAT I WOULD GIVE FOR A KINGFISHER BLUE BLAZER. i do, however have a gorgeous stella mccartney imitation necklace, moto high waisted skinnies and a white cropped blouse (bought for a fiver at a vintage clothes sale on campus...then majorly adjusted for frill minimisation). i also have a floral envelope clutch, my favourite handbag of all time, which i bought at portobello road markets.

check my style skillz beetches. 

pushing forwards.

musings in the marks and spencer underwear department on a very slow and hungover day

with most feelings or experiences, when experienced for a set duration, they come to a head and culminate in some sort of expression or occurance.

with pain, you snatch your hand away from the hot surface, say 'ow', get your burn treated and eventually it subsides.

with happiness, you smile and laugh.

with sadness, there is a process of grieving. 

but when i miss you, it just keeps going. i'm not grieving, because we are both in each others lives. but i'm not happy, because we are not in each others lives the way i would like for us to be. i'm just stuck here, in this same place in my head and my heart, with no real change or relief, as the missing feeds forward and forward into more missing.

500 days.