20 recipes under £1 per head

I found this great recipe site called Good To Know and while on there I discovered this great page - 20 Recipes under £1 per head.  They're healthy, look and sound delicious and there's not one I wouldn't happily eat.

Fearne's Fab Hat Box filled with funky make-up

You don't have to be a Fearne Cotton fan to like this fab "hat box" - filled to the brim with everything you need to look fabulous for the festive season.

Best of all it's reduced from £40.00 to £19.00 and available from Boots now. 

I find Fearne a bit irritating to be honest, which is kind of putting me off but really, I must see sense as this is SO worth it and an amazing bargain.  I'm considering getting it for myself..............................  [mutton, lamb........ what!]

Woo hoo! Sweaty Betty Warehouse Sale

Already thinking about New Year's resolutions - like maybe using that gym membership which you've used precisely three times this year?  Well, get kitted out for bootyliciousness at the Sweaty Betty Warhouse Sale happening this Thursday and Friday, 25th, 26th November in W6, West London.

Sadly I don't live in London - so I won't be going - which is a crying shame, as I actually go to the gym three times a week - yes people, three times a week!   In my very manky, old gym kit which is at least 2 years old. 

El cheapo Christmas pressie buying also possible.  Your friends will wonder how you've managed to spoil them with fab gear and feel guilty about the bath bombes they bought you.

Get freebies with a Starbucks Pre-paid Card

Even though you KNOW you should be cutting back on your consumption of over-priced coffee - are you still addicted to your caffeine fix on the way to work?  Still rushing off to the nearest coffee shop come that 4pm slump over the desk?

Did you know that by using a pre-paid Starbucks card you get free extras:  extra shots / free syrups / free whipped cream etc

So if you're loathe to forego your grande, de-caff, skinny, extra-hot, extra-shot, almond flavoured mochachino to go -  then at least get a few things for free!

Thomas Sabo - fab bargains to be found

I know I probably shouldn't but I started liking Thomas Sabo jewellery quite some time ago.  I don't own any, I hasten to add, as it's out of my price range. 

Today I discovered that their online store has a great sale section.  My partner's daughter loves TS, so I'm going to be having a trawl to see if I can pick up a bargain Christmas present.

La Redoute - Christmas Sale

Wow - check these out:

• L'eau d'Issey fragrance by Issey Miyake was £49.00 now £19.60.
• Brightly coloured leather gloves - were £19.00 now £9.50
• Dolce and Gabbana The One - was £49.00 now£24.50

La Redoute [the French catalogue company] has some insane bargains!

Ted's Shed - an extra 20% off

Oh I do love Ted Baker stuff.  What a shame I can only touch it and smell it and try it on.  I can never bring myself to take the beloved item to the till.  I am the Queen of Self-Control I tell you!

If and when I have a permanent job and if and when I earn a decent wage, the first thing I'm going to do is buy myself a congratulatory treat from TB.

Ted's Shed [the TB online outlet store] is offering an extra 20% off until Monday, 22nd November 2010.

I optimistically trawled the site, hoping my latest object of desire, somehow magically appeared.  Maybe a bored website administrator made an error and posted a current design?  Sadly no.

This is the current object that I'm lusting after:

I'm currently using a bag that I bought 3 years ago from Office that cost me £40 - yes three years ago!!  AND I only possess three handbags.   So don't go thinking I'm so bag obsessesed WAG-like person, cos I'm SO not.  Now and again I see something so classic and so ME that it takes all my willpower not to get out the plastic.  Pat on the back to me then!

20% off everything at Ted Baker - TODAY ONLY!

Oh my God - I love Ted Baker stuff.  I could spend £1,000 every time I go into one of their stores.

Today and only for today - you can get 20% off everything at Ted Baker's online store.

If only I had a permanent job I'd be very tempted to splash out on some of my favourites.

Sadly I'm buying nothing because I'm not using my credit card and being sensible.

Amazing money saving tool from MoneySavingExpert.com

I first started listening to Martin Lewis on Jeremy Vine's show on Radio 2 - his high camp enthusiasm and scathing humour makes his money saving tips and good old common sense approach highly amusing.

I then looked up his website and subscribed to his newsletter and now I'm a huge fan.

His latest genius tool is a mini search engine which allows you to look up amazing discounts on Amazon.co.uk.  It's called the Amazon Hidden Discount Finder .  You can search not only by category but by how much discount you'd like to see off the product.

Apparently this coming Monday, 22nd November is when internet present buying goes ballistic.  So get in there quickly!

Edible Christmas Gifts

Here is a REAL way to snip away at the cost of Christmas - make some or all of your gifts.  If you feel a bit "cheap" by just giving a homemade gift, then buy a smaller shop bought gift and add a homemade gift.  Friends and family will really appreciate the effort.

The Martha Stewart website has some wonderful ideas and recipes.

What a shame I have a mind-numbing temp job that takes up all my time, otherwise I'd be happily esconsced in the kitchen making lots of yummy goodies.

Don't forget it's ALL in the packaging - for instance you could make some lovely festive fudge and pop it into one of these lovely little boxes from Ikea:

Amazing fragrance bargains from Fragrance Direct

There are some great bargains and gift sets from Fragrance Direct.  Generally they're about £5.00 - £10.00 cheaper than the high street plus no struggling through the crowded streets.

Fragrance Direct also sell make-up, skincare and bath and body products.

30% off at Gap

Click here a voucher for 30% off at Gap - 17 - 28th November.

Personally I only shop at Gap for jeans, I find the rest of their collections rather snooze worthy.  But 30% off is a great saving!

25% off everything at Debenhams online

Wow - start your Christmas shopping early - offer starts in store on Wednesday.

Grab great bargains before the hordes!

PLUS FREE DELIVERY!

http://www.debenhams.com/?CMP=AFC-AWIN

Homemade Christmas Decorations that rock!

This great website gives step by step instructions to make fabulously simple Christmas deecorations.  So don't buy bad quality plastic made in China -  make your own bespoke designs.

Kids will love to help.

Let your imagination run riot.  Sprinkle on some glitter - hang them up with ribbon and wa-lah!

With the metal stand from Ikea for £6.99 and your homemade decorations you could have a funky, arty Christmas tree for around £12.00.

Here's an idea - if you horde your old christmas cards, or have left over wrapping paper from last year, why not cut them into strips and use them to make decorations with -  zero cost!

Rowleys - posh food for pennies

We recently went for a very posh meal at Rowleys in the heart of Piccadilly.  I'd never have dreamed of going there before but spied an amazing deal on Groupon.  For £14, you got a voucher worth £30.  To make matters even more sublime, there were no pesky conditions attached.  After an ardous day of window shopping [I swear I think I bought a shower scrunchie from Bodyshop for £1] we restored ourselves with some retro cuisine, served on crisp white linen, by attentive staff in one of London's oldest restaurants.

How retro were we?  Well, we shared a prawn cocktail starter, followed by the house special of char grilled entrecote steak, served with unlimited french fries.  Unlimited I tell you!  These were simply the best french fries I've ever tasted.  They are THE BEST IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!  We then shared a sticky toffee pudding, which was a veritable cloud of pleasure, swimming in a golden lake of caramel sauce.

In case you're pondering why I'm telling you this, when the coupon deal is no longer, well, it's because Groupon sometimes shoots out a gem.  You simply have to sift through lots of irrelevant offers for waxing, teeth-whitening and haircuts.  Having to hit the delete key many, many times was more than made up for by a great evening out.

Christmas Cuts Part 3

These stunning Christmas Candles have a very retro feel about them.  They're £1.99 each.

Christmas Cuts Part 2

Some more very cute Christmas decorations from Ikea - darling and not dear!



These adorable gift boxes are only £3.99 for three - they displayed "russian doll" style.

Christmas Cuts Part 1

Year before last we missed out on buying a lovely, modern metal Christmas tree from John Lewis.  They sold out!  If I remember correctly it cost £25.

Lo and behold I've stumbled upon this GREAT futuristic looking metal Christmas tree in Ikea that only costs £6.99.  I went and bought it this morning.

I'm loving Ikea's christmas range this year - very contemporary and fun and best of all affordable!