(no subject)
Finally a very productive (and expensive!) weekend, particularly Sunday.
We got up really early on Saturday, and headed into town to have a potter about and look at the sales in the camping shops around Covent Garden. We didn't expect to buy much, and the trip out was mainly to get out of the house for a while but we did buy a few bits n bobs - a book about the Lake District, Paul got some new trousers/t-shirts, Super Mario for my DS (as a trade in from CEX). Then we went for lunch in the little Bistro 1 just off Covent Garden before pottering to the station to head back home. On the way home we popped into B&Q on the small industrial estate down the road from the house, where I bought a handful of tester pots so we can start thinking about what colours to paint each room in the house (eventually!).
Buying the tester pots now means we can put some colour on the walls and live with them for a bit to see what colour they actually are when dry but also which ones we like enough to live with. We're going for mostly natural colours, in the green, brown, grey, white spectrum (erk sounds horrible when you write it like that - but there are so many lovely colours!) because we think that suits the age of the house. However, I can't guarantee a purple or pink tester pot won't sneak into my purchases in the future ;)
Sunday was really productive - though in an unplanned way, which is what makes it even better :D We got up early again, and went to the launderette and were back home before the shops would be open, put the washing on the line to dry and then headed to IKEA. Once there, we had a cuppa and a sausage panini (98p - bargain!) before going to get the shopping. IKEA is next to the big Tesco in Edmonton (5 mins drive from the house) and the plan was to get a new loo brush from IKEA before going over to Tesco to do the food shopping. As usual, I couldn't possibly leave IKEA without at least 2 further impulse purchases, so we also bought bedsheets for the spare bedroom (tried to find a pic, as the colour of the sheets is perhaps the inspiration for what colour we'll eventually paint that room), pegs and a little silver tray for the bathroom with coloured glass containers on it (the only really frivolous purchase).
I should really take this opportunity to explain about the bedrooms - currently me and Paul are living in the back bedroom, though it's not the main bedroom (which is in turn being used to store our camping equipment!) because the main bedroom is the one room in the house that needs the minimum doing to it we think. It's floors feel like they're in ok condition and so once we've saved up and had an electrician out to look at the rewiring, that room will be the one we do up first and then move into it. We've chosen our furniture and colour scheme, we just need to pick a carpet (we can't afford to have the floorboard all stripped and varnished just yet, so we're going to leave it upstairs initially - we'd rather have the pleasure of a room finally done!) So for now we're staying in the back bedroom to enable the work to be done without us needing to move a whole bunch of stuff when it comes to it.
Anyway, after IKEA we went over to Tesco for the food shopping, where we ended up also buying a pressure washer (as you do). It was at a really bargainous half-price and I've wanted one for a while (will be even more useful at this place for washing the stone tiles out front and cleaning the front of the house before it's repainted). However, it kind of blew our 'let's not spend more than £45 on the weekly shop' resolve. No more expensive purchases this month!!
Came back from Tesco, had lunch and checked the washing (still damp). We went over to the industrial estate by the house again because Paul wanted to look at things in Currys, so while he was doing that I went to look at washing machines. Having forgotten that it was a bank holiday weekend, I hadn't thought of the fact they have their bank holiday deals. Long and short of it is we ended up also buying a washing machine. So much for no more spending! It was such a good price though, £249 when it should be £400. And given we're currently spending £3 per week on the launderette, we had been thinking that the sooner we can replace the broken machine the house-vendor left, the better. Just didn't expect it to be this month. We can kind of squeeze it out of the last bit of money that we got back from our deposit on the flat, but that really has to be it.
Monday we sat in initially as Currys were meant to be delivering & installing the washing machine. However, due to a complete screw up at their end, it is coming today instead (lucky we were already taking leave today). I'm a bit concerned after all the messing around with our order though, that the people bringing it have only been booked to deliver it and not install plus take away the old machine as promised (and paid for!). Paul says I shouldn't worry though, and that I've been reading too many horror stories on the review websites.
So having yesterday unexpectedly freed up we went for a long walk along the Lea Valley canal - further than we have been along it before. Mostly so I'd get my fitbug steps, but just to see where the path went too. It was very sunny and hot and I was glad to have suncream or I would have fried. We got home in the afternoon and had a lazy remainder of the day in front of our computers :)
Today we're off because I'm taking the kittens to the vet for the snip (I feel so guilty!) and now the washing machine is being delivered - between 12 and 4, worst slot in the day possible :( Will use the time to tidy and clean the house though as I've been putting it off all weekend.
I'm sure there is more I meant to write but I better go pack the cats - will write more later if I remember what it was I meant to say!
We got up really early on Saturday, and headed into town to have a potter about and look at the sales in the camping shops around Covent Garden. We didn't expect to buy much, and the trip out was mainly to get out of the house for a while but we did buy a few bits n bobs - a book about the Lake District, Paul got some new trousers/t-shirts, Super Mario for my DS (as a trade in from CEX). Then we went for lunch in the little Bistro 1 just off Covent Garden before pottering to the station to head back home. On the way home we popped into B&Q on the small industrial estate down the road from the house, where I bought a handful of tester pots so we can start thinking about what colours to paint each room in the house (eventually!).
Buying the tester pots now means we can put some colour on the walls and live with them for a bit to see what colour they actually are when dry but also which ones we like enough to live with. We're going for mostly natural colours, in the green, brown, grey, white spectrum (erk sounds horrible when you write it like that - but there are so many lovely colours!) because we think that suits the age of the house. However, I can't guarantee a purple or pink tester pot won't sneak into my purchases in the future ;)
Sunday was really productive - though in an unplanned way, which is what makes it even better :D We got up early again, and went to the launderette and were back home before the shops would be open, put the washing on the line to dry and then headed to IKEA. Once there, we had a cuppa and a sausage panini (98p - bargain!) before going to get the shopping. IKEA is next to the big Tesco in Edmonton (5 mins drive from the house) and the plan was to get a new loo brush from IKEA before going over to Tesco to do the food shopping. As usual, I couldn't possibly leave IKEA without at least 2 further impulse purchases, so we also bought bedsheets for the spare bedroom (tried to find a pic, as the colour of the sheets is perhaps the inspiration for what colour we'll eventually paint that room), pegs and a little silver tray for the bathroom with coloured glass containers on it (the only really frivolous purchase).
I should really take this opportunity to explain about the bedrooms - currently me and Paul are living in the back bedroom, though it's not the main bedroom (which is in turn being used to store our camping equipment!) because the main bedroom is the one room in the house that needs the minimum doing to it we think. It's floors feel like they're in ok condition and so once we've saved up and had an electrician out to look at the rewiring, that room will be the one we do up first and then move into it. We've chosen our furniture and colour scheme, we just need to pick a carpet (we can't afford to have the floorboard all stripped and varnished just yet, so we're going to leave it upstairs initially - we'd rather have the pleasure of a room finally done!) So for now we're staying in the back bedroom to enable the work to be done without us needing to move a whole bunch of stuff when it comes to it.
Anyway, after IKEA we went over to Tesco for the food shopping, where we ended up also buying a pressure washer (as you do). It was at a really bargainous half-price and I've wanted one for a while (will be even more useful at this place for washing the stone tiles out front and cleaning the front of the house before it's repainted). However, it kind of blew our 'let's not spend more than £45 on the weekly shop' resolve. No more expensive purchases this month!!
Came back from Tesco, had lunch and checked the washing (still damp). We went over to the industrial estate by the house again because Paul wanted to look at things in Currys, so while he was doing that I went to look at washing machines. Having forgotten that it was a bank holiday weekend, I hadn't thought of the fact they have their bank holiday deals. Long and short of it is we ended up also buying a washing machine. So much for no more spending! It was such a good price though, £249 when it should be £400. And given we're currently spending £3 per week on the launderette, we had been thinking that the sooner we can replace the broken machine the house-vendor left, the better. Just didn't expect it to be this month. We can kind of squeeze it out of the last bit of money that we got back from our deposit on the flat, but that really has to be it.
Monday we sat in initially as Currys were meant to be delivering & installing the washing machine. However, due to a complete screw up at their end, it is coming today instead (lucky we were already taking leave today). I'm a bit concerned after all the messing around with our order though, that the people bringing it have only been booked to deliver it and not install plus take away the old machine as promised (and paid for!). Paul says I shouldn't worry though, and that I've been reading too many horror stories on the review websites.
So having yesterday unexpectedly freed up we went for a long walk along the Lea Valley canal - further than we have been along it before. Mostly so I'd get my fitbug steps, but just to see where the path went too. It was very sunny and hot and I was glad to have suncream or I would have fried. We got home in the afternoon and had a lazy remainder of the day in front of our computers :)
Today we're off because I'm taking the kittens to the vet for the snip (I feel so guilty!) and now the washing machine is being delivered - between 12 and 4, worst slot in the day possible :( Will use the time to tidy and clean the house though as I've been putting it off all weekend.
I'm sure there is more I meant to write but I better go pack the cats - will write more later if I remember what it was I meant to say!