Frugal Frump to Fab/Winter Solstice

Dawning

Good Morning Ladies!

Happy Birthday for yesterday Carmen :beer:

I have been reading (ok skimming) the books, and the 'Elegance' one, I do have to laugh at it sometimes. Lovely snippets of advice, some seems rather old fashioned though and not suited to today's world, IMO. Some basics of looking elegant will probably never change, but the way we live has changed. For example I bet none of you has a pair of white gloves, which apparently were a standard item of clothing for ladies in the early 60's.
Just had to share this quote with you : "earrings in particular can give a woman's face an air of vulgarity if they are not selected with great discretion" :rotfl::rotfl: I do agree, but it's the wording that tickled me. This book is the least useful of the ones I bought and I'd only recommend it to someone who is ok for money and wants to collect lots of these little fashion books.

After looking through the books I got more confused about whether I want to be an elegant dresser, or a glamourous one, or a chic one.

I need to catch up on the past posts so I'm off to make a cup of tea and have a read.
Also on my list today is to start sorting through my stash of toiletries and make up.

ps LL - I'm thinking of joining WW. How do you find the new ProPoints system? I'm a bit concerned because I used to have 24 points a day on the old system, now I'd only be allowed 29 and I know that the points values of most foods have gone up, so I'm worried that I'd be starving all the time.

Ok, off to catch up, back later. Have a good day everyone!

lessonlearned

Good morning everyone

Lovely morning - breakfast al fresco in a minute.

Hope you are all doing well. Am very much enjoying the chatty, gossipy style to the posts - when I read them it feels like a virtual coffee morning.

Alias - sorry you are struggling with the format of my posts - I am not really a "list" kind of person - I just start typing and it all comes out - my uni essays were always done that way. I would pour it all out in one go. leave it a day or two, then go back and edit it into shape. Just the way my brain works - sorry.

I think I may have confused you - when I do the little add on sometimes for example Daily Treatment & Daily Exercise - then that is what I m doing/have done - it was never meant to be an insruction as to your "task for the day". I just post them to shame me into doing something. If you want to use them as a plan for yourself then please feel free.

If I set "homework" tasks - it's usually just for fun or a suggestion for inspiration - i.e. Watch the Kennedys etc.

The very first "task" was to wear perfume - a very good reason for this - obviously to smell nice but also to illustrate that the road from Frump to Fab was not going to be a long hard slog but something that we could just slide into and enjoy.

The two mirror tasks- well they were essential to the process - we do need to stock take from time to time.

Anyway for newbies a quick recap

Wear perfume every day
Wear rubber gloves (keep them by the sink)
Get organised - keep you kit together, e.g. I keep some basics downstairs so I can slot in mini treatments as and when
Time planning - how multi-tasking can help
(Mrs W mentioned she had her face mask on & was conditioning her hair whilst posting on here - good time planning Mrs W)
Think about whether some daily vitamins might help

Any new recipes are usually at the bottom of the post. Again there's no set pattern here - I just post things up when I think about it or if I notice someone has mentioned a particular problem and I think I have a simple "kitchen cupboard" recipe that might be suitable.

It may seem a little bit disorganised and "all over place" but in a way that reflects how my approach for Frump to Fab works - little and often just slotting things around our busy lives.

There's no master plan - we're all different - so there's no one size fits all solution.

Hope that helps.

lessonlearned

Floss - your wardrobe sounds great - lots of choice for mixing and matching. Thanks for the Asda £1 nail varnish tip, will def take a look at those.

I am always appalled when style gurus suggest you throw just about everything away. Chuck the rubbish and tat out by all means although old t-shirts make great cleaning cloths - very MSE.

I have in the past been too ruthless - thrown stuff away and then regretted it. I am far more selective now about what I throw away.

Why of why did I throw away a timeless classic Jean Muir jersey two-piece. Or a beautiful wrap around LBD (Little Black Dress) - I called it my Marilyn Monroe dress - it was similar to something I'd seen her wear.

As for my vintage 60'70s - let's not go there - a Biba original for goodness sake. I know you can't keep everything but sometimes we can be too quick to clear everything out.

This time as I replenish, edit and refine my wardrobe, I am going to
make one exception to this rule. As I continue to lose weight I will cheerfully get rid of the large sizes (good riddance) I am never going to get big again.

However, I will not be throwing away accessories, shoes, bags, gloves, scarves etc until they drop to bits. The jewellery will be for my hoped for future DIL's and grandchildren. (Come on boys what are you waiting for - get cracking, find a girl)

Dawning I'm finding 29 points ok - although to be honest I tend to do my own thing anyway - e.g. very little bread hence very few starchy carbs. My tip - always have some protein with each meal - apparently it helps keep you feeling full longer. I think for me it's the discipline of the weekly weigh in that keeps me on track.

BTW - I love the idea of collecting old fashion/style books - if you don't mind I'm going to pinch that idea. Some of them are a bit twee but there's some truth behind them.

When I was a teenager I read a style book which included sections of charm, grace, etiquette etc - they contained lovely little truths like always write a thank you note etc. Old fashioned nonsense - I don't think so - just simple good manners, courtesy and thought for others.

Another BTW - if you have old (vintage) copies of Vogue - they are fetching a small fortune these days.

Anyway time to get cracking. Have a good day.

Laters ...................

Dawning

floss2 wrote: »

OK - work wear today will be a brown linen shift dress, a 3/4 sleeve brown & cream suit jacket and my pink pearlised wedge Clarks sandals.

ooohh Floss2 - this outfit sounds absolutely gorgeous! It sounds very much what I'm aspiring to.

Dawning

LL - From what you've written it sounds as if PP will actually suit me better than the old system. I was always hungry on that. I've been advised to try to 'limit' starchy carbs, especially most types of bread, by the nurse at the health centre. Basically the notes she gave me to follow are a low gl/low gi type food plan. So PP could work well with that. I do need to feel a bit more accountable, and weekly weigh-in and counting points will help. Will take a deep breath and join WW !

lizzie157

Can I join in please? Have just started to feel my age abit- youngest DD goes to secondary in September so the end of an era -sort of. Now need to think of my own needs abit. Have made a start - had my eyebrows threaded, dyed them myself at home- made quite a difference to have some definition there. Have started to wear make up a little if I go out in day ( never bothered before). Mostly just doing housework and dog walking so don't usually bother with make up, perfume, or clothes for that matter. I like others have said save things "for best" and cos I hardly ever go anywhere they don't get worn. Just can't seem to get out of that mindset though. Usually try to do some excercise 4 times a week, not done any this week - too hot for me, but have just started zumba. Have started to worry about wrinkles, in fact I'm getting a bit obsessed tbh even though I know theres worse things. Thats about it I think.

podperson

Morning all, LL I totally agree with how nice the style of this thread is - it's like coming back to a nice little gossip session every day

Jellybaby - welcome to the thread, am so sorry for your loss. I'm the same in that I have no idea when it comes to things like manicures, make up but am just starting small and is surprising how just making an effort with a few little things can you make you feel more confident.

All you coataholics are making me a little embarrassed that I think I have 2 and one of those is rather scruffy and has a patch on it that's not including cardis and light jackets but don't have a massive amount of those either. Think I may need to buy a nice new coat this year but since it's actually sunny this week for once I'll put it off for now!

Floss - your outfit sounds lovely, and am very impressed with your extremely organised beauty day

Lizzie - welcome how did you find the eyebrow threading? have been debating getting it done, does it hurt?(am such a wuss! ) Am just the same with saving things 'for best' went to the piccies and for a drink with some friends on Monday and tried to force myself to wear something nice (not drastically glammed up but just not a t-shirt like I normally would). I don't think I have major wrinkles (well not yet anyway!!) but got sent a free sample of the new Garnier ultra-lift that I'm trying at the moment. You just apply on their website and they send you 14days worth and a little comparison chart to see if you think they've improved at the end. Am only on about day 4 and can't see much difference yet but skin does feel a little firmer and am always a sucker for a freebie

Managed to do day 2 of the shred yesterday through some rather protesting muscles and did seem a little bit better, was still knackered but didn't actually collapse :rotfl::rotfl:One of OH's friends came round though so ended up having a few drinks with them - on a school night as well Had a look in Matalan on my way home from work last night but was extremely unimpressed, think I might have a nice charity shop mooch this weekend. Am going away for a few days in just over a week and would quite like something nice to wear.
Wow, this has turned into a long post. Hope everyone has a good day x

MrsWoolfe

Good Morning Ladies and lurkers!

Just wanted to say welcome to all the new joiners!
PD congrats on the pregancy! looking after you is now a priority, just make sure you eat enough, get plenty of rest, and try a make veggies and fruit a big part of your diet- no other advice as I've yet to go through it but I'm sure you'll get plenty of advice from the lovely ladies here!

YM well you are already on the journey, and we'll certainly help you the rest of the way, well done for making the first steps, it's always the hardest part.

JB welcome and my condolences, I know it's a really weird and hard time, but we'll be here to help you along a bit of pampering/looking after yourself will definately help you find your way through.

If there is anyone I have missed please don't be offended! it's just that I'm slightly all over the place today getting bits ready for the wedding and this thread is growing so fast! Lovely to see that it's striking a chord with so many though!

My dress arrived yesterday (cutting it fine!) and it fits beautifully- if anything I could have gone a size down but hey, it fits it's here and it will work for the theme!

still don't have an outline of what they want said/how the ceremony will go- chased them yesterday but groom had yet to go through it! so will just have to read through tonight and just read it off paper for the ceremony I guess...:eek:

no time for more, must go pack, nip to me T's to buy ingredients for strawberry daquiri ( for the bride in case of nerves) and get our butts down to suffolk!

HOpe everyone has an awesome weekend!

MrsWoolfe

LittleBoots

Hi Everyone

Just finished nightshift and now have a whole two nights off!!
Not feeling very pretty just now but have managed this week to get hair highlighted and cut, also got lash/brow tint and brow shape. I must keep up with the eyebrow tidying...
Would like to get nails done too
And of course looking for miracle cellulite busting treatment...anyone??

Dawning

Does anyone use rose water for a toner? If so can you tell me where you buy it from please?
I used to get it online but priced it yesterday and with the postage included it was going to be almost £10 for 500 ml.:eek:

I do want good quality but was wondering if anyone knows anywhere a bit cheaper?

ps- I know I'm not replying to most posts but I am reading them! I'm sorry I've not had chance to say hello to everyone individually yet. I work from home and I jump online in between, and there's so much great info and advice in our thread I am making notes as I read along but haven't yet found the way to be efficient about reading, taking in the information and replying to everyone! I'll get there eventually..