071. Visit 5 UK cities I've never been to before (1/5)

CAMBRIDGE

James was away in Manila for the Bank Holiday weekends at Easter and the Royal Wedding, so the holiday at the end of May was a pleasant surprise. We decided to seize the opportunity of a day off work and do something that we weren't able to do while James was away.

On Monday May 30 2011 we took an early morning train to the city of Cambridge. Where we live now and where we grew up at not that far from Cambridge but it's a city I had never been to before. Such wonderful things are always said about such a place because of it's history and beautiful buildings, we had to visit eventually.

Armed with our smart phones and the knowledge that we at least had to get a bus from the train station to the main city centre we headed for the shops. Norwich is a top shopping destination but Cambridge is amazing. The shops are so exclusive and expensive, selling lots of high-end products - I imagined quite a shopping spree until we arrived, I really didn't spend much at all by the end of the day.

As well as the shops, there were the historic college buildings which the city is completely built around. It was really great to be surrounded by the tourists visiting the city just to see such famous sights, but we were only there to explore, observe and not take part in any tours. I did take a few photos of the buildings, but I couldn't tell you exactly what buildings they were - I really should've turned on the GPS for my camera!

And the bikes! I had never seen so many bikes or nearly knock down as many cyclists! Amazing! Anywhere there was a railing, any space against a building, was owned by a bike.

Finally, on recommendation from someone we work with, we headed to Patisserie Valerie to pick up a little treat for the journey home.

No Buy May 2011: Week Three (and a bit)

I slacked in updating for week three, so I'm catching up! I hope I don't miss any spends out because I've been forgetting!

May 01 - £0
May 02 - £0
May 03 - £198.77 (£37.62 quarterly TV Licence Payment); (£19.63 monthly minimum Credit Card payment); (£41.52 monthly Car Insurance); (£100.00 monthly savings direct debit);
May 04 - £47.24 (£47.24 Asda grocery shopping);
May 05 - £61.30 (£61.30 Emirates Cup tickets);
May 06 - £0
May 07 - £65.00 (£26.00 dress from Dorothy Perkins); (£36.00 haircut) (£3.00 car park);
May 08 - £0
May 09 - £0
May 10 - £0
May 11 - £0
May 12 - £1.20 (£1.20 staff shop @ work);
May 13 - £0.30 (£0.30 staff shop @ work);
May 14 - £2.45 (£2.45 magazine);
May 15 - £0
May 16 - £312.50 (£312.50 rent);
May 17 - £0
May 18 - £62.02 (£62.02 full tank of diesel for my car);
May 19 - £0
May 20 - £0
May 21 - £0
May 22 - £0
May 23 - £47.86 (£41.00 water bill); (£4.07 Lovefilm); (£2.79 eBay magazine);
May 24 - £0.90 (£0.90 staff shop @ work);
May 25 - £0

Total 'No Buy' Days = 14

089. Try 20 new recipes - Plain Scones

I've made cookies, cupcakes and brownies but never made scones and never done anything where I had to make dough and roll it out. Today was fun, I made plain scones. Plain because I forgot to put the fruit in! Nevermind, there's always next time.

Check out my before and after baking photos below!

No Buy May 2011: Week Two

It's been a fairly quiet week, it's really easy to save money at work - well, until they introduced daily sample shops. But at 30p per product, I can't see myself spending that much.

May 01 - £0
May 02 - £0
May 03 - £198.77 (£37.62 quarterly TV Licence Payment); (£19.63 monthly minimum Credit Card payment); (£41.52 monthly Car Insurance); (£100.00 monthly savings direct debit);
May 04 - £47.24 (£47.24 Asda grocery shopping);
May 05 - £61.30 (£61.30 Emirates Cup tickets);
May 06 - £0
May 07 - £65.00 (£26.00 dress from Dorothy Perkins); (£36.00 haircut) (£3.00 car park);
May 08 - £0
May 09 - £0
May 10 - £0
May 11 - £0
May 12 - £1.20 (£1.20 staff shop @ work);
May 13 - £0.30 (£0.30 staff shop @ work);
May 14 - £2.45 (£2.45 magazine);

Total 'No Buy' Days = 7

No Buy May 2011: Week One

I've been forgetting to record my daily spending, so looks like I'll be going with weekly check-ins from now on?!

May 01 - £0
May 02 - £0
May 03 - £198.77 (£37.62 quarterly TV Licence Payment); (£19.63 monthly minimum Credit Card payment); (£41.52 monthly Car Insurance); (£100.00 monthly savings direct debit);
May 04 - £47.24 (£47.24 Asda grocery shopping);
May 05 - £61.30 (£61.30 Emirates Cup tickets);
May 06 - £0
May 07 -

Total 'No Buy' Days = 3

022. Watch 100 never-seen-before movies (12/100)

I have a subscription to LoveFilm which I don't really use anymore and have had the film 'Coco Before Chanel' in the DVD drawer for a long, long time. I'd never felt in the mood to watch it, until today.

Although, a foreign film with subtitles is not the best thing to watch when you're trying to eat....I had to keep looking at my bowl instead of the TV!

I did enjoy the movie, but found it hard work - I didn't really know anything about the Coco story which I might have benefited from had I read about her before watching. Her complete story still isn't that clear to me, but I got the general idea.

Time to refresh my LoveFilm list?