Furry Sheets

In my student years, for my first degree I rented and lived on Youth Allowance.. skint city..
But I had a lot of fun trying to make the most of what little income I had

I love thinking laterally and trying to find cheaper ways of doing things... it's great fun, and I get a huge buzz when I find an alternate that works even better than the more expensive option.

Now, one of the things that really chews through the budget is electricity and its the age-old issue in winter of being cosy and saving $$
Electric blankets, although they probably don't use a whole lot of electricity compared to appliances like blow heaters, still made me feel a bit funny when I'd forget to turn it off before falling asleep, and I'd wake up in a bit of a sweat, overheated.
But flannelette sheets were the only other known option to keep snuggly in bed.. but when you jump in bed, they're COLD!

Someone on my favourite savings forum Simple Savings mentioned that you can use polar fleece blankets as sheets for winter.. and because they're synthetic, they're warm on contact - as soon as you jump into bed, they're toasty.
I toddled off to the shops to find some polar fleece blankets, and in Safeway found gorgeous luxurious chocolate brown queen sized minky blankets for $20 each.

The current blankets have been in use for almost 5 years now, and I've not looked back.. no more electric blankets here!

Instructions for use: to convert a queen sized flat blanket into a "fitted" sheet, simply tie a knot in each of the 4 corners, and tuck the knots under the mattress.. hey presto!  Use the 2nd blanket just like you would a flat sheet.

Minky Blanket... furry sheets!

Klever Karats - aka Going Platinum (Part 2)

In my last post, I told you all about how we saved a bundle on my engagement ring..

I'm a girly girl, and I love pretty sparkly things, but I wanted to start our lives together financially healthy too, and didn't want to shell out mega bucks for something gorgeous and lasting.. so I hope the info helps someone out there to start married life without super mega debt, but some lovely bling on your left hand ;)

One question that I've been asked several times, second to people asking how I can be sure what I've received buying online is genuine,  is how on earth do you manage to find the right ring size? 
Australian ring sizes are in letters (A, B, C etc) and US ring sizes are numbered with half and quarter sizes.
I bought a ring sizer from e-weddingbands which in itself was free, they just asked for USD$5 for international postage.  This meant I could buy online from the US with confidence.

Nothing to do with wedding or engagement rings, just some beautiful flowers a dear friend bought for me!

Cape Weather

Teddy taking in the Wintry Weather with his Window View

Chilly Melbourne.. it's a typical winters day.. wonderful for chunky knits and warm wooly coats.
I had made a bit of a win on the weekend, or so I thought, ordering a gorgeous camel coloured, hooded asos wool blend cape for only $37. 

Today I got an email saying it was out of stock and they had refunded my money. sad face :(
Only moments prior I had been silently congratulating myself for finding such a great item at such a great price.

The item on sale had been in their petites range, and it was my size, but probably just a little shorter.  The main size range was still for sale, but at $61.

So, I bit the bullet.. $61 later, I've now ordered the same item from the main range (not petites)
I hope it comes!

ASOS Hooded Military Cape

Klever Karats.. aka Going Platinum (Part 1)

When we got engaged a few years ago, I had well and truly done my research about engagement rings (enthusiastic much?)..

I knew I didn't want yellow gold, and that white/silver tones suited my colouring better, but in my research found that the 14K  white gold in Australia is a kinda gunmetal grey colour, and gets it's shine from being Rhodium plated, which gradually wears away and needs to be re-done every 12-18 months.
When I was chatting to a jeweller, she seemed awfully surprised that I knew about this, and offered me a job!  I laughed, and she said "no, I'm serious.. would you like a job here?".

Sigh - can you imagine working with sparkly things all day? :)

So, when I realised that platinum is almost 100% pure and didn't require plating, just perhaps the odd polish to buff out those little wear and tear scratches, I thought that was for us.  Only one snag.. in Australia, you're looking at about 4-5x the price of white gold, for platinum.
I got a quote for a 2mm wide rounded band engagement ring setting with 6 claws (Tiffany-style) -not including the stone, and in 2007 it was >$2000.. whaaaat?

After a bit of research, I discovered that platinum is common-place for engagement and wedding rings in the US, and as such, rings are made en-masse in moulds.  This appeared to be the point of difference.. I spoke to a trusted jeweler, who explained that the reason they were so expensive here is because it isn't as commonly used, so when it is requested, the ring is hand made, hence you're paying for the jeweler's time and expertise.
A-ha!

I researched and researched, and in the end found a platinum setting from eBay seller Pompeii3 Jewelry for around AUD$450 including shipping. 
There was always a chance that it wouldn't be genuine, but as it needed to be modified slightly to fit our stone, the jeweler could verify whether it was genuine for me.

The jeweler put our stone in the setting, and had to melt a little of it to do so, so could definitely verify that it was indeed platinum, win!

So... a beautiful, durable, quality engagement ring was born... for a LOT less.

It was baffling.. I thought getting a ring made would definitely cost more than one already made sitting in a store window, but it was a much more affordable option.

.. How to buy the correct ring size from the US on eBay in my next post..

Budget Wedding Tips

Wedding Planning. It's an exciting time, but I also found it daunting and at times stressful.

Not only do you have the financial burden of throwing this huge party, but you have the psychological transition of going from someone's girlfriend/boyfriend to someone's wife/husband and becoming your own new family.

Starting out without a huge debt from the wedding sounded like a really happy healthy thing to aim for when we were getting married a few years ago, and I thought I'd jot down a few things I learned in case it can help save others from some $-related stress :)

When it comes to weddings, big ticket items (in no particular order) include:
1. Reception
2. Photography
3. Videography
4. Rings
5. Wedding Dress
6. Wedding Attire for Bridal Party
7. Flowers
8. Invitations
9. Transportation
10. Cake

Over the next posts I'll go through what we did to save $ in each area and still get the result that we wanted for our special day.

Wedges!

Mmmmm wedges.
Nope, not the potato variety - shoes!

I have to remember to close my gaping mouth, and wipe the away the dribble when I pass the Santini store window - if I'm walking with my hubby, he has to pull on my arm a little to get me to keep walking.. I LOOOOOVE shoes.

I can't really explain it.. I'm mostly quite a practical person, I don't like to waste, part of me likes being frugal (I've been a member of Simple Savings since 2005!).. but there is something about shoes that calls to me.

Shoe Hooks

I'm only supposed to have as many shoes as I can fit on the hooks on the side of our wardrobe (hubby's rule).. but it's no secret that I have them stashed all through my wardrobe, under the bed, as well as on the hooks..  and these past couple of years I've been lusting after some nude wedges but being a student up until this year couldn't afford the $200-ish price tag for a good quality pair.

Also after being a student for almost a decade, I learned (the hard way!) that it's (generally) better to wait and buy one pair of great quality shoes than to get a crappy cheap pair that lose their shape/don't fit quite right/hurt! sooner.

So it's probably a good thing that I only discovered asos last year! Because we are in "opposite" seasons to the UK, I can buy current season stock for the Australian weather on sale.. and their shipping is free with no minimum spend... but I read a lot of blogs from the US, so find myself lusting after summer gear in my Aussie winter and winter gear in my Aussie summer..

When I found these beauties -nude leather wedges, for AUD$32 with free shipping.. I couldn't believe it!


ASOS Harrison Cross Front Wedge Sandal

Now I just need the weather to warm up.. or I could get brave and just wear them now I suppose :D

A Fresh Start

Thanks to an inspired post by Chantelle from Fat Mum Slim I feel as though Bloss has a new lease on life.. I have plenty to say, and love blogging, but the blog felt a bit lacklustre..

Now I've figured out how to make my own photos pop, I can post much more pictorally of the things I love!

Without further ado..




My Fave Kitty {his name is Teddy}, My Fave Monthly Mag {Real Living}, My Fave Handbag {Zoe Wittner Bag $4 from Salvos Op Shop} and My 2 Fave Remotes {heater and TV!!}