Meal plan plan

With my car out of use it's meant I've had to go into the smaller, more local supermarkets and pick up what I need nearly everyday and carry the heavy bags (I do miss having a pushchair to throw all my shopping on) home or struggle on and off the little, packed bus.

I've done online shopping with all the major supermarkets in the past and as I'd recently installed the Tesco app onto my tab I thought I would give it a try.

The first thing I noticed on the home page were the half price, bogof and offers link... I am such a sucker for these! So quickly filled my basket with all those goodies that are not actually good for you at all but oh they do taste good!!

Cupboard essentials, a months supply of toilet roll, cat food and packed lunch fillers soon added up and the basket totted up to over £100.

After having all my shopping delivered I thought about what I would cook for dinner, realising I didn't actually have much of a choice. I missed the whole frozen section during my shopping because I am waiting for my oven to be delivered so whatever I was cooking would have to be on the hob.

I hadn't actually planned very well and although I always have some sort of idea of what I'm going to feed the family I think the time has come to put it down on paper.

I'm thinking a meal plan will make me more organised meaning I don't have to run around after work wondering what to buy for dinner, it should be better financially because less trips to the shops means less picking up those offers on crisps and chocolate that I just have to have, and hopefully I will be trying out some new recipes that I always intend to do but never get round to.

I have seen some blogs with fab recipes so will be looking out for some good, cheap, wholesome meals I can feed the clan.

If you have any tips on meal planning they will be greatly appreciated!

Changes

You may follow me on Twitter as Tracey@bodyshop and as you can see from the page above I have been working as a body shop at home consultant but I'm sad to say I will no longer be a part of the body shop team (apart from as a customer) and I will just be known as Tracey@tantrums from now on.

I've decided that it's just not working out for me and I can't dedicate my time to make it into the business I envisioned it to be. It was great fun while it lasted but as with everything in life you get out of it what you put in and with 4 children, a full time job and lots of plans up my sleeve I just haven't been putting much into it!

The great news is I get to use all those delicious products for myself and may even have a few I can give as Christmas presents to save on the spending (obviously the unopened ones, half used body butter wouldn't make a great gift!)

It is sad when anything that takes up part of your life comes to an end, especially when you go into it with big expectations but it's all part of life's lessons and onwards and upwards I say! So the future for me will involve lots of photo taking a college course spending more time on my blog and fingers crossed I will be going to university....eeeek!

A-Z favourite Sunday afternoon movies

There's nothing I like best on a Sunday afternoon than to snuggle on the sofa with my kids and a blanket to watch a good movie, especially when it is so miserable outside!
Snacks are optional but personally I think a movie just isn't a movie without popcorn!!
So here is a list of what I could happily watch again, some of these are my all time favourites but as it's limited to 1 movie per letter I have missed some good ones out :(

A- Avengers assembled

B- Batman (all of them)

C- City of god

D- Dirty dancing

E- Edward scissorhands

F- Forrest Gump

G- Grease

H- Hairspray

I- I don't know how she does it

J- Julie and Julia

K- Knocked up

L- Love actually

M- Matilda

N- Notting hill

O- One day

P- Pretty woman

Q- Quantum of solace

R- Robin hood prince of thieves

S- Shallow Hal

T- Toy story

U- Up

V- Valentines day

W- When Harry met Sally

X- X-Men first class

Y- You've got mail

Z- Zoolander

I have realised I'm very much a superhero and Rom-com type of girl! What about you, what would you put on your list?

Living room creations

I have recently joined Polyvore (just another website to take up my time) I have seen loads of sets on Pinterest that are made up using this site, some of which I have re-pinned but I didn't realise how simple it was to put your own sets together.

My own house is not too bad but I'm sure if money were no object then I would change EVERYTHING!

I have put together this blue and cream living room as I think it looks light and relaxing and I can just imagine lazing on that sofa watching eastenders with a nice glass of wine sitting on the coffee table, although it would have to be white wine or it wouldn't match the decor!

The site is great for making rooms for the home or creating your own outfit, the only downfall is that it is American (not that I'm against Americans) It shows where you can buy all the goods in dollars and I think if it showed products from Britain in pounds it could actually be used as a kind of wishlist. It does show the website addresses so I'm sure goods could be shipped but I would prefer to buy from stores I know that I could visit.

A rare night out

I haven't put a post up for a little while now as I just haven't done anything very exciting, so as I had a rare night out recently I thought I would share.

It was the man's birthday last week and a friend invited us out to celebrate, so we threw caution to the wind and took a trip to a restaurant... on a school night!
There were 5 of us that went and we had a table booked at the swanky OXO tower in London.

We got there early evening when it was still light out and there was a lovely view of the Southbank and the river Thames, its just a shame it was quite grey as it would have been nice to sit outside and eat.

I must say I struggled to find anything on the menu that was to my taste as when I usually go out its to the local wimpy or TGI Friday and I'm used to ordering a big fat burger with a side of fries but these were not on offer. The food was more elegant than I'm used to but its nice to go a bit up market once in a while!!
For starters I had deep fried soft shell crab. Main course was corn-fed chicken breast with mashed parsnips and a few other things... you know how they just pile things up in the middle of the plate. For dessert I had a bitter chocolate and blonde tart with a strawberry sorbet. Even though its not my usual it was all very delish and I would certainly go back for more (If I become highly successful, win the lottery or someone else is paying) I wont say what the bill came to but lets just say including all the champagne and cocktails it cost more than my beloved W reg Fiat Punto!!

I would have had loads of pictures of the culinary delights and the views to share with you if the man wasn't such a man and didn't leave the memory card for the camera at home!! Unfortunately my phone is from the stone ages and not sure if it even takes photos so the experience will have to stay in my memory and I hope it will be a lovely memory for the man of his birthday.