Sometimes in life it is very important to be able to get home and relax. Whether you have had a gruelling shift in the warehouse or a soul destroying day in the office, sometimes it is nice to be able to come home to one or two luxuries.

Though most people presume that luxuries have to break the bank, this is simply not the case and with that in mind, here are five very affordable luxury items that you might very well be able to afford:

A Corner Sofa

With furniture becoming cheaper and cheaper these days, especially on the internet, more people are being able to indulge in a luxurious corner sofa; something that maybe twenty years ago was simply unheard of.

With the offering for more than one person to put their feet up while having the maximum amount of space, a corner sofa makes the perfect piece of furniture for couples or those with large families.

Of course, if you enjoy having a few dinner parties, these sofas really make entertaining not only easy, but also very enjoyable. Retailers such as www.hellosofas.com make this a more affordable option.

Blow up Hot tub

Though a personal in-built hot tub can cost thousands of pounds, you can for a relatively small fee of around £500, buy your own blow up hot tub that takes only ten minutes to set up!

Great for summer parties and BBQs, you can buy a hot tub which seats up to four to six people and heats the water up to 40°C.

This means at a price which is roughly two to three thousand pounds cheaper, you can enjoy your very own hot tub and the best thing about it is the fact that it is also portable; great if you’re planning a trip to the coast at the weekend!

Portable Library

Carrying thousands of books with you isn’t easy, but you can for a relatively cheap price, carry their digital forms with you for as little as £69.

With the advent of Kindle Fire however, besides having an entire library at your fingertips, you can also access the internet, check emails and stream movies, practically turning the Kindle into a personal computer; at a much cheaper price than the overhyped iPad.

Cinema Chair

With cinema prices seemingly skyrocketing at a rate of nearly every visit, more people are taking to the likes of Netflix and LoveFilm. To support this, and themselves, people are now indulging in their very own cinema chairs.

For as little as £450 you can for your living room, buy your own leather cinema chair with a storage compartment and 3-channel wireless audio system.

Of course, if you’re a gamer and enjoy spending more than just a few minutes indulging in your favourite game, these kind of chairs are also perfect for you!

Mediterranean Barbecue

No one likes a rusty old barbecue sat in the corner of their garden for most of the year, but with your very own mason barbeque you can not only add a valuable cooking tool to your garden but also a very beautiful piece of architecture.

Striking from top to bottom, brick barbeques are often the highlight of many Mediterranean gardens and with that in mind, there’s absolutely no reason why we can’t enjoy that kind of luxury here in the UK, right?

For around £350 there’s really no reason why we shouldn’t.

Well, you know how we like to make everything ourselves. As a crafty so and so over at Red Ted art, when it comes to kids’ parties I do like to “do it myself”. We recently had a Superhero party and we also had a cars party. Now my daughter is “demanding” a themed party and her birthday isn’t for another 6 months! I wonder how long my DIY and creative energy will survive!

One thing we like to do in particular is create our own very special party bags! At the next party, I think it would be fun to get hold of some Custom T-shirts from somewhere like Custom Planet to create some fun Party Bag favours. My daughter is REALLY into Fairies and Flowers and we could design something combining her age and that theme! I bet she would be so proud if all her little friends had the same t-shirt to wear. Just imagine! And I think it would make an adorable little keepsake in years to come.

In the meantime, we have 6 WHOLE months to PLAN her party. I think it will be a Festival more than a party if she gets her way. So I guess we also have 6 months of managing expectations.

Having said all that, I am really pleased that we do have our Kids’ Parties at home. It is so tempting to throw money at the problem and go to a big hall and make the kids entertainment someone else’s problem. I hope that the kids will remember their parties at home, as special and that a lot of effort was put into them for them. Making it much more personal and hopefully meaningful. With a happy side effect that they cost less – leaving more money left over for kids gifts or party favours!

Well as you know, we like all this thrifty and even better anything that helps you save a little money!

As you know, I am a BIG crafter with the kids (check out our Kids Crafts over on Red Ted Art). And that is were my money saving tips comes to fruition – KIDS. I have a number of friends who spend RATHER a lot of money on Lessons here, club there, party here. Kids are expensive! And there is a WHOLE industry built up around getting money out us parents, making us “believe” that if we are good, we shall spend our money. Wrong.

Both my kids have had very little “structured” activities so far. My 5yrs old has tennis lessons and that is it.

The rest I feel is “our job” – I want to teach him to swim. I want to spend time with him at a (free) museum. I want to sit down and get crafty with him. It isn’t about how much something costs, but the fact that you are spending time with them. Also, when I DO spend money, say on Thorpe Park, I want them to REALLY enjoy the experience and not take it for granted. Also, many parents forget the value of “down time” and free play. If you have too many clubs booked in the week, there is no time for just relaxing at home or having a spontaneous play session with chalk on the pavement and the kids next door. These are the things that childhoods should be made of!

So my money saving tip to any new parent:

Less is more.

Do activities, but do them targeted.  Focus on the ones that matter, rather than doing them all. And start them at an age, when your child canbenefit from them an actually learn, rather than “just be entertained for an hour” (this is generally from 4-5yrs +).

Now we have saved some money on the kids.. time to look at MY spending on myself – and the biggy in our family at the moment is our PENSION, we are currently discussing offshore pensions – I like the sound of “Not paying tax on interest when you have no legal obligation to…” Definitely something worth investigating me thinks!

Disclaimer: this is part of a competition entry

Well, I don’t know about you, but sure am glad that we are FINALLY shaking off the gloomy Winter days, Spring seems to have been skipped and we may *just* head straight into Summer. Though the weather is still a bit unreliable and you may need the odd jumper on a day or two, we are finally heading in the right direction. What a relief! We are certainly in dire need of some lighter, warmer and sunnier days. Time to shed that gloomy Winter wardrobe and relax in the sun.

So in preparation for the Summer months, we have been growing seedlings in doors – they are finally big enough (and the weather good enough) to have been transplanted outside and now it is all about waiting and observing with the kids. I love Summer time, when kids can watch things grow, as well as harvest the rewards of our efforts and eat fresh strawberries and tomatoes straight from the garden. Nothing quite like homegrown vegetables and fruit (and you never know, you may get your child to try something they refused to eat to date!). We are eagerly awaiting to see if we will manage to grow some carrots, potatoes, courgettes and spring onions too!

Summer is also about holidays! Hooray. We have booked our family holiday and now have a lovely two week break to look forward to. This year we will be taking an over night ferry (we are pretending it is a mini cruise) to the South of France to visit relatives. Hopefully, we will indeed have a proper Summer there this year (last year it was pouring down). Nothing quite beats the warm sunshine on your face.

Though I guess that is still a few weeks away. First we have the last few weeks of school to get through, but as the holidays approach, the classes “wind down” and school is becomes about fun activities and seeing your friends.

So. Summer, here we come! We are ready for you!

As you know, I have been on the reduce reuse recycle bandwagon for a long long time now! There are so many elements to living a more environmentally friendly way these days – from how we shop, what we shop, how much we consume etc. I am a great believer in “reducing” what we consume in the first place. The reusing being the next step – can you reuse and old item and make it into something new? And only as a “last resort” should you recycle. Many think that “recycling” is being good.. but actually reducing and reusing are by far more important!

We are lucky enough that the kids, who grow so very quickly, get a large amount of hand me downs from neighbours and friends. It is literally bags full of stuff, which makes your realise quite how many things you go through and how quickly.

Naturally, we also pass on many of these clothes to friends with younger children. But sometimes you have an item, that is by a good brand and you it is hardly worn and you know it is worth a little money. So there is also the opportunity for clothes recycling. Never mind fretting over selling your clothes on ebay, you can now go to online stores that will buy these off you too. Worth checking out for sure. Means reusing what you have, doing good for the environment AND earning a little extra cash.

If things have gotten to old to give away or sell on, then keep them as fabric scraps for making things. We love making all sorts – from pillow case dress, to kids toys, to a new skirt made from old jeans and every item is unique and special.

Repurposing what we have is easier than you think and is very rewarding.

Well. It has been quite sometime since I Last posted about the myHome system that British Gas brought out a while back – in short it is a system that allows you to control the heating settings whilst you are out and about. Things always seem great at the beginning, so I think it is good to give it another little review now, a few months later. Especially since we had so many cold spells in the Winter.

Firstly..

The heating is really easy to programe online:

You simply move the sliders around to suit the time you need. I have just adjusted it all for Summer Time – i.e. I want the heating to be off at all times now that we are in April and Spring appears to be around the corner. The only “hard bit” for me is remembering my passwords (and if you do forget, you can reset it v quickly with an email update from British Gas).

I did have “some problems” back in January – basically, I had problems “connecting to the heating App” on my smart phone. I had gone out for the day with a friend – a special treat at Fortnums and Masons:

Goodness the tea was a treat! It was that very cold spell in January, where suddenly the whole of London was covered in a blanked of snow. As we were sitting down, enjoying our treat – tasting different teas in a beautiful environment, I remembered that the heating was due to go off after the school run – I tend to turn it on manually during the day and that really I should be turning it on for my husband who was home with the kids.

Unfortunately, the app wasn’t working! Argh – mainly because I had knocked the internet connection in the morning when cleaning.

But fret not – the heating system still has a wall unit, which is easy to use. My husband figured out that you just click to manual mode and the heating comes on. Phew. Disaster averted.

Rather, uhm, stupidly, I called customer services to find out why the device wasn’t working. They were SUPER friendly on the phone and we quickly established what the problem was. They also reminded me, that it is possible for several members of the same household to download the app, so you can all control it – especially as my husband could have just given the internet connection and nudge and all would be well.

So. Yes, you could say “teething problems” – but mainly my end. And the system still is VERY easy to use, I was just being a little dim, when I couldn’t figure out why the app wasn’t connecting (ahem, you even get an email telling you there is an internet connection problem). The friendliness and helpfulness of the customer service centre set me right. And the main thing: the heating still works regardless, so you will NOT be left cold.

Disclaimer: British Gas kindly let me have the system for free and set me out for the day with a friend

Weeeell, today has been “one of those weekends”, where you look at the space around you and you suddenly have lots of new ideas of how you can improve it or simple things that you want to change… we had one of those days today. And it is amazing how a little reorganising what you have, the odd new cushion from Web-Blinds here, a different throw there and already the place looks different.

Our main plan of attack this weekend were our walls – I wanted to free up a WHOLE wall for the kids art, so that we could display it properly. We already have some fun, frugal and easy to make DIY box frames for their art, but wanted a more prominent place for them. This meant we had to take down some existing artwork – and shuffling it all around. Luckily my mother in law was visiting and she had some great ideas of where to rehang existing pictures and paintings. An hour later and a large wall is freed up for the kids art work!

I started going through the last 2-3 years worth of scribbles and drawings, mounted some of colourful paper and put them up. Beautiful. The kids came in and the first thing they said was “WOW! It looks so different”. Then they sat down infront of their art wall and just stared. Too cute.

In the meantime, we changed a couple of throws of on the family room sofa, added a couple of cushions and already the place looks new and fresh. Ready for Spring and Summer. I think it is great to freshen up your living space every so often, it doesn’t have to cost a lot – just changing things around can make a difference. And I LOOOOVE that the kids art is now on proud display!

…well, I am increasingly entering into the world of “vlogging” and “hangouts” – in my case craft videos sharing craft ideas etc. And what makes any good video excellent, is of course accompanying music!

I have noticed with my children even, that if we add a little music to something we have created it suddenly becomes a lot more fun. They are instantly drawn to the computer screen and want to see what I am “watching”.

Music gives meaning to our videos, you can make the same video lively or emotional. You can make it happy or sad. Good choice of music makes all the difference!

Check out the following little video for example:

1) Turn the sound off and watch it.

Then…

2) Turn the sound on again and watch it.

What do you think? Quite different, no? Which did you prefer? I am guessing Nr 2! And the music you choose, really makes a difference to the feel of what you are watching! I need to redo this video with lots of different music and see what effect it has on our production. It would be a fun experiment!

But increasingly it is difficult to source music, or at least source muic EASILY and conveniently.

I love the look of Beat.suit. Beat.suit is an online music stor that offers a huge range of music tracks – many of which are royalty free (can’t argue with that!).  I also love that they have their own Audio Production suit to help you find exactly what you need!

Fabulous. Now on to some more vlogging!