On embracing rural life.

This coming week marks 5 years since I packed up my little car and set sail to new adventures in Northern Ireland. I know I've written many times about how much life has changed since that day, and about how some of my wildest dreams came true after I decided to take the leap. I have always dreamed of living by the sea, and at this point the novelty has not worn off. We felt the affects of our location this weekend after being hit with another storm, but for me it adds to the drama and the beauty of our place. 
Connection to place is really important to me, and I wrote about that in a previous post (if you'd like to read it - follow this link). One of the things I love about living in a small place is that it doesn't take long to feel known or to make connections. I was reminded of this a few times in the last few weeks...once when I bought something random from Facebook Marketplace and stayed chatting with the seller for about 30 mins because it turned out she worked at the nursery with Finn. Another when we went to a local market and had lovely chats with people we've been regular customers of, bought some cakes from a lovely friend at her stall, and was treated to a cup made by a wonderful artist who I'd met at a party. One thing I have really noticed about this area is how much small businesses or artisans try to support each other. There are regular markets or events where you can make purchases from local people with lots of different options. We have so many talented, creative people around these parts and I love being able to see, purchase and support those people where I can. 

One of the downsides of rural living is of course that it takes longer to travel anywhere. It is about a 50 minute round trip to the nearest supermarket for us, and I'm struggling to find a time to go that really suits us now. We have tried having deliveries, but I often find that the choice isn't as good, we get substitutions and then have to visit another shop anyway, or the meat/fresh produce has a very short date so it has to be frozen or gets wasted. I sat and thought about how we could shop in a different way that might take less travel time, could help us budget differently, could support local small businesses and would free up our weekends so we weren't dragging two children around busy shops when they hate it! 

The first thing we have done is made a big list of all the things we need both weekly and monthly to help us keep a track of everything. Our new plan is to have a weekly budget that will help us keep on top of fresh things; dairy, breads, meat, fruit & veg and then do one monthly shop to help us fill in the gaps. We are also trying to budget in cash so we have a set budget for the week and can see exactly what we're spending. I have no idea what other people or families spend on weekly or monthly basis for food & essentials, but what I'm trying to break the habit of is going to smaller shops several times during the week because we tend to easily spend £10+ a time with very little to show for it! 

For the last few weeks we have been visiting local butchers to get all our meat from there with a roughly £20 budget for two of us. I've got advice on which things to freeze and what to use first, and we've been cooking and experimenting with new ingredients which has kept things interesting! That budget would get us a mix of chicken, burgers, sausages, mince, pork chops or a small roasting joint and this covers us for around 5 or 6 meals. The other days we would have something easy from the pantry or freezer and I usually make a slow cooker soup or stew of some sort. We think we've landed on a couple of Butchers that we like and will revisit, and we hope they will get to know the kind of things we are after if we become regular customers. 

We have also found a way of getting fresh fruit, veg & eggs delivered weekly from a local farm. I was surprised about how affordable this would be for us as there is more than enough to serve several meals. Our latest order included leeks, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, eggs, peppers, onions, apples & oranges and it cost less than £11. The quality is great and the size of some of the vegetables is probably two or three times what it would be in the supermarket! I ordered some last minute a few days ago ahead of our Sunday Roast and was met by the farmer himself at their honesty box who had prepared everything in a crate for me to pick up. I thought this would also be a great way for us to buy what's in season rather than rely on lots of imported produce.

Our new way of shopping has also helped me try new recipes which I always enjoy, and I thought I'd share a few of our new regulars here...
Pork Chops
Slow cooker beef + homemade gravy

Tuna Pasta Bake (a good one to use pantry supplies)

Caramelised onions (great with sausages - we had these in brioche hotdog buns!)
Bolognese with Orzo (I use a similar recipe to this but can't link it as it was an Instagram reel, but Orzo is so handy!)

The main goal with all these changes is to have more quality time together, especially on a weekend. We want to make sure our budget allows us to give the boys some fun experiences and to free up what precious time we have together on a weekend instead of visiting supermarkets and busy places. The added benefit of shopping locally means we know exactly where our food is coming from and we can get to know the producers. I also really enjoy the process of making things from scratch and creating good quality meals for us. It's all part of the 'hygge' concept that I adore.
And who knew that by adapting some new habits, we'd bring such a fun object into the house that has now become part of the furniture....

     Much love xx