Money: Keeping to a budget

A couple of months ago, I was sent a wonderful package from Zeal Buzz which included a Shopping List & Meal Planner Notepad , Organised Mum Budget Book and a book called The Wealth Chef: How To Make Your Money Work Harder, So You Don't Have To . I was asked to keep a spending diary for a month.

I decided to start on June 1st and try my best not to overspend as I went away to Paris on the 20th. I started off by using the shopping/list meal planner; first of all I planned the meals for the week and then wrote down what I needed to buy for each one. This only really included fresh produce like meat and vegetables, as our cupboards are usually fairly well stocked. I did this at the beginning of each week and I found that taking a shopping list into the supermarket with me, helped me to only buy what I really needed and not what I wanted. I have a terrible habit of going into Waitrose to buy a couple of items and coming out with six different types of cheese, a few bargains from the reduced section that end up going to waste as I don't have enough time to eat them and a couple of magazines.

In the three weeks that I was using the notepad and the budget book, I managed to save around £50 a week which is brilliant as I would usually be spending it on things that I don't need at all. This meant that I had a good amount of spending money to take to Paris with me.

This post from Wilson Field explains how over 1 million families in the UK are suffering from 'problem debt'. Thanks to my new budgeting book and shopping list/meal planner notepad, I know that I will be able to keep within my budget from now on. I highly recommend getting your hands on these books if you're also struggling to keep to a budget.

Review: Makeup Revolution Essential Mattes Palette

Makeup Revolution Essential Mattes Palette* - £4, available here

I'm sure you've all heard of the new makeup brand, Makeup Revolution. There's been a lot of talk about them on Twitter and on other blogs so when they offered to send me some of their products, I was over the moon. One of the items I chose was the Essential Mattes Palette. I'd been after a nice matte eyeshadow palette and had originally been eyeing up the Urban Decay Naked Basics, however a couple of the shades don't show up on my pale complexion so I didn't want to pay £20 when I couldn't use a third of the colours. Luckily, this offering from Makeup Revolution has twelve neutral matte shades and is a complete bargain at just £4!

As you can see from the swatches above, the three lightest colours don't really show up on me as I'm so pale. However, the other nine show up just fine. Each colour is extremely pigmented with very little fall out and they're so easy to blend. I've been using a couple of the lighter colours all over the lid, with a slightly darker one in the crease for a simple look for work. I've found that with a primer they last just as long as the eyeshadows I've got from other, high end brands and the colours in this palette all compliment each other so there's so many looks you can create.

I'm glad I didn't fork out for a matte palette from any other brand now, this one has all of the colours I need including a blue and a lilac which are great for the spring.

Have you tried anything from Makeup Revolution yet?

Outfit: Do supermarket brands cut it?

Dress* -  F&F at Tesco, available here

Jacket* - F&F at Tesco, available here

Boots - F&F at Tesco

I was recently contacted by the people at Debt Free Direct and asked if I wanted to take part in a challenge in which I had to create an outfit using only clothes bought at a supermarket. Anyone who knows me will know that I'm all about saving money in any way I can, so this challenge was right up my street.

I love how easy it is to pick up a new outfit along with your toilet roll and bagels nowadays. My two favourite supermarkets are Tesco and Asda and that's not just because of the cheap food, I think their clothes ranges are amazing too. I had a browse online and decided to go for Tesco as it's closer to me so therefore easier to get to to pick up an order.

I think that Tesco have a fantastic range of womenswear in at the moment and it was such a struggle for me to pick just one outfit. In the end, I chose this heart print jersey dress which I love because it's really comfortable and can be dressed both up or down. I also went for this amazing jacket which looks like it cost a lot more than it actually did (£28, but it's now down to £14!) and I will definitely be wearing this a lot in the spring. It's also a good, smart jacket for job interviews. The boots are just your basic, black ankle boots with a small heel and a zip on the outside but I think that they really finish off the outfit and they will also go with anything. 

This is the first time I've done an outfit post using my tripod and new camera. I'm still getting used to the self timer, hence the daft blurry photo. I thought it showed off my lipstick nicely though which is one of the Revlon Matte Balms in Audacious.

Saving money with Voucherbox

By now, you should all know how much I love a bargain. Before I buy anything, you can guarantee I'm googling on my phone to either find a voucher code or to find it cheaper elsewhere. This is why I was really pleased when I found Voucherbox UK - a website that's full of the latest and best voucher codes to use both online and in stores. I was having a browse last night before I placed an order on the New Look website and managed to find a code for £5 off which really helped! As well as having discount codes for clothing retailers, you can also find codes for restaurants and bars and even for travel!

If you want to find out how else I save/make money online, check out this post.

Paris on a budget: Where we ate.

I thought I'd put all my foodie photos into one blog post rather than on the individual days. I had some amazing food while I was in Paris but surprisingly, I didn't eat one croissant or baguette. Weird.

Le Village Ronsard

On the first night we came across this little authentic French bistro by chance after we'd been to Notre Dame. I ordered a Pina Colada and rump steak with peppercorn sauce and french fries. I asked for my steak to be well done and the waiter even said it was well done when he bought it out, however it was very pink in the middle. I really don't like pink steak and didn't feel like I should send it back so I ate the more cooked parts and left the middle bit. It was nice though and my cocktail was very alcoholic!
See the Trip Advisor page for Le Village Ronsard here.

Le Ronsard

This little cafe was opposite Sacre Coeur and we thought it might be pricey as it's a very touristy place. However, the sandwiches were reasonably priced and it wasn't too busy inside. I had a croque monsieur and french fries while Amy had a three cheese panini. The waiter was a little bit eccentric but the food arrived quickly and it was delicious. I've been craving it ever since!
See the Trip Advisor page for Le Ronsard here.

Le Bistrot Chat Noir

This is situated in the red light district, a few doors down from the Moulin Rouge. We popped in here for cocktails as it was happy hour, it's always happy hour somewhere in Paris. I think it was around €4.50 for each one. I had a mojito which was absolutely delicious and so alcoholic. I felt quite tipsy afterwards!
See the Trip Advisor page for Le Bistrot Chat Noir here.

La Favorite

This was one of the places that we knew we wanted to visit before we even arrived in France. We went on the same day as Le Ronsard and I was still full from my croque monsieur so I just ordered french fries, however I did have the most delicious Watermelon Martini as it was happy hour. The food is very pricey here (around €16 for a burger) but there's a great atmosphere and fantastic cocktails. Plus, free wifi!
See the Trip advisor page for La Favorite here.

McDo/McCafe

We'd heard so many wonderful things about the French McDonald's and couldn't wait to find one. We were so pleased when we finally stumbled across one on the second day. They do a massive variety of hot drinks, (I wouldn't blame you for thinking that you were in Starbucks not a McDonald's) and we both went for a caramel macchiato. They also do a great selection of cakes and desserts including tiramisu and cheesecake! We both had six macaroons which were €5 (or €0.90 each) which came presented in a little box.

Breakfast In America

This is another place that we knew we wanted to visit. It's actually just around the corner from La Favorite although we didn't realise that the night before! We went for breakfast and I ordered a Cafe au Lait and French toast with maple syrup. The portion sizes were huge and I only managed to eat half of mine. It wasn't too expensive, so I definitely recommend it if you don't fancy the traditional French breakfast of pain (bread) or croissants.
See the Trip Advisor page for Breakfast In American here.

Laduree

This is definitely somewhere you go to treat yourself. It's very expensive but it's something that we both really wanted to do while we were in Paris. I went for a coffee eclair and an iced coffee - they weren't the best things I've ever tasted but it was worth it for the experience. It's so posh in there and the atmosphere was lovely. We bought some macarons from the shop afterwards. They're priced at €1.85 each but I wanted them in a box so I paid €15.60 for six. A bit steep but it meant that I managed to get them back home to Staffordshire in one piece!
See the Trip Advisor page for Laduree here

Le Rey

We stumbled upon this restaurant in Bastille and decided to have our last meal in Paris here. We both ordered burgers and french fries which were delicious and it was probably the best burger I've ever tasted. I did find it a bit weird that although my burger was piping hot, the bacon on it was cold.. It didn't really make sense to me! The food and the cocktails were both reasonably priced. I had an apple and kiwi mojito which was lovely.
See the Trip Advisor page for Le Rey here.

Paris on a budget: Day Three

Our final full day in Paris was meant to be our more relaxing day but we still ended up doing as much as we did the previous days.

Our first stop was an American style diner called Breakfast in America for a spot of breakfast. I'd read about this place online before we went and we were both dying to go. I'll post more about the food in a separate blog post that I'm planning but let me just tell you that it was delicious and everyone needs to visit there!

We then headed to Musée D'Orsay (on a double decker train!!) which I was really excited about. I love impressionism and was really looking forward to seeing some of my favourite Van Gogh paintings (Starry Night Over The Rhone which I actually have a poster of, La Méridienne and his famous self portrait from 1889) and also some Monet and Manet. This museum was so much better than the Louvre. Firstly, it's in a converted railway station so it has amazing architecture and secondly, it's easy to navigate your way around the place. We found exactly what we were looking for straight away. We had to queue for about half an hour to get in but it was totally worth it. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who's into French art from the late 19th century.

After stopping off at a cafe for a cold drink and a quick look at our guide books, we decided to catch the metro to Mouton Douvernet as I wanted to visit the catacombs. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the road on the map or see any signs or directions to the catacombs, so we just ended up wandering around a few shops and having a Starbucks. I was pleasantly surprised that they managed to spell my name right on my cup, they don't usually get it right in England.

We then headed to St Germain so that Amy could see the two famous cafes, Café Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore. We also found a vintage shop so had a little rummage in there but everything was quite expensive so we didn't buy anything. 

We then got back on the metro and made our way to Galleries Lafayette which is pretty much the Parisian version of Harrods. Unlike Harrods though, it was way too hot and busy and we didn't spend long there at all. I purchased an Eiffel Tower Pandora charm for myself and then we decided we deserved a special treat..

We got on the metro to Champs-Élysées for the second time but instead of shopping, we headed to the famous Ladurée and treated ourselves to a coffee and a cake. I had the most expensive coffee eclair I will ever have (I think it worked out to be about £6!) but it was so worth it, just for the experience. We then purchased some macarons from the shop to take home in little boxes. They were very expensive but it's just something that you have to do when you're in Paris. 

We decided to have a look around Bastille for somewhere to eat that evening and ended up settling on a bistro called Café Rey (which had the best toilets I've ever seen) where we had a cocktail and a burger before going back to the hostel to pack and sleep before our long journeys home the next day. Paris was exhausting but it was fantastic and I can't wait for our next adventure.

Find out what we did on Day One and Day Two.
Look out for my next post about where we ate while we were there!

Paris on a budget: Day Two

After falling asleep almost as soon as we got back to the hostel, we were up bright and early on Tuesday morning. Once we were up and dressed we headed downstairs to the bar for our free breakfast which neither of us really ate. We then headed off towards the Eiffel Tower for when it opened at 9:30 to avoid the queues.

 We still had to queue for about thirty minutes, however that was nothing compared to the queue we saw afterwards! It cost €13 for me to go up to the top as I'm under 25 but it was only €1.5 extra for Amy. We were extremely lucky with the weather. We had clear blue skies which meant that we got an amazing view of Paris from both the second floor and the summit. It was a little chilly at the top but that's to be expected when you're so high up. I thought it might be a bit scary in the lifts going up but it wasn't at all. I managed to get some amazing photos. My favourite is the one where you can see the shadow of the tower - it really shows just how high up we were!

After the Eiffel Tower, we decided to head to the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Élysées as Amy wanted to find a Disney Store and we were both desperate to find a McDo with a McCafe! We eventually found one and were served by an English girl who lives just a few miles away from me when she's in England. It's a small world! We both ordered a caramel macchiato and six macarons (yes, in McDonald's!) and had a look around some shops. Neither of us were impressed with Sephora, there wasn't much that we can't get here in England and the prices were all so expensive as it's all imported from elsewhere. We did find an Yves Rocher shop though which we loved!

It was then time to get the metro over to the Café des Chats where I'd made a reservation the previous day. I was so so excited as I'd heard so much about cat cafés in other countries and had been dying to visit one myself. It was like heaven. They have twelve cats there, just sleeping or walking around doing their own thing. The café is based on ronronthérapie, or purr therapy which is the idea that stroking cats is relaxing and calming and a great benefit to you. I definitely agree with that! We both had a cold drink and I wandered around looking at all the cats. My favourite was a black and white one called Oreo who was the baby of the group. She was adorable!

After Café des Chats we headed to Montmartre to see Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge. Montmartre is a very touristy area with lots of souvenir shops which we both enjoyed looking in and we purchased a few things as well. We had lunch in a little bistro called Le Ronsard (not the one from the night before, it's just coincidence that they had the same name!) and then climbed the steps up to Sacre Coeur. I was pleased to find that there were a lot of cats around there too! There were also a lot of men who were trying to tie bracelets around our wrists (and were going to ask for payment afterwards) who wouldn't take no for an answer. I don't know why the police weren't around but it was horrible!

After Sacre Coeur we walked along the red light district to the Moulin Rouge. The red light district was amazing and I couldn't believe the things we found, France really aren't as strict on beastiality as they are in England. We were both so shocked. We went into a couple of shops and then popped into a bistro for a cocktail as it was happy hour before we finally found the Moulin Rouge. It was now dark so it was all lit up and looking pretty.

It was then time for dinner and we knew we wanted to go to La Favorite so we caught the metro to Concorde and walked down rue de Rivoli looking for the restaurant. It ended up being right at the other end (3.2km away) so we had a good 40 minute walk looking for it. We were so grateful to finally sit down! After we'd eaten we were both completely exhausted again so we headed back to the hostel for a shower (or a douche) and then went to bed.

Keep an eye out for Day Three!