Frugal frump to Fab - Astonishing Autum Exquinox to Wondrous Winter Solstice

lessonlearned

Well the house is all ready and waiting for our visitors. We are all primped and primed and scrubbed and polished - me included:rotfl:

Sounds like a lot of hard work - and yes it is but the market is so tricky at the moment that we are going to have to go the extra mile.

What we are selling is not bricks and mortar - we're selling a lifestyle so I have to look the part too. Going for the "Glamourous Granny" look today.

Hopefully they will see this as a lucky house - if the old Granny can look good having lived here for 25 years ......

Actually I think it is a lucky house, I've been very happy here and now that it looks so pretty again I'm not sure that I really want to leave it.

Unfortunately needs must.

Today I went to ASDA - talk about "Chavtastic". Remind me never to visit a supermarket during half term ever again. It was horrible.

I know this sounds outrageously snobby but I have never seen so many er hem "unfortunate looking", scruffy, slobby, down at heel, stinking people in my life.

They say you should never judge a book by looking at it's cover and people cannot help being poor at the moment but OMG do they have to look (and smell) so awful. I've seen better clothes on scarecrows and "Guys" (for Bonfire Night).

The place was heaving with people who looked like they slept rough.

Women who, judging by the children in tow, could have been no more than mid-thirties who looked like they were in their fifties. Whilst the older folk say 50 to 70 looked a right sorry spectacle, huffing and puffing along.

I know this particular ASDA is in a working class area (nowt wrong with being working class - I consider myself working class) and the working classes are having it really tough at the moment but this was much worse than that.

I know this sounds awful but these folk looked more like the "Underclass" than Working Class. They looked so ground down and beaten.

As for the amount of seriously obese people. Mind you you only had to look at their trollies piled high with junk food, crisps and snacks, and booze to see where the problem lay - not a piece of meat or few veg in sight. And of course they all queued up at the kiosk on the way out for their ciggies and lottery tickets.

It was a very sad and depressing snapshot.

I know I've been seriously poor this last couple of years but I still bathe and dress as nicely as I can.

Ladies - there is some great fabbing going on here.:D

Keep it up.

mineallmine

Let us know how the viewings have gone LL. Have you seen the programme Secret Agent with Phil Spencer - he talks about those exact things of selling a lifestyle, curb appeal etc.

Not had much energy today but will have a bath now and use some nice pampering products :A

Cherryprint

Evening!

Just settled down under a blanket with a nice glass of Belgian strawberry beer. I don't like beer generally, but got into fruit beer when I went to Belgium last year and it's so nice to be able to pick it up at the supermarket here

Bratz81 - what is your tattoo? I hope you have a relatively pain free few days!

LL - I heard one supermarket recently banned people from shopping in their PJs :rotfl: I think that's hilarious. I love pyjamas, but even I draw the line at that.

Ohh you are all making me wonder where you buy clothes! My favourite outfit for Autumn/Winter is dresses with leggings and boots. But where do you all get your lovely jersey dresses from?

WW - a Kindle Fire sounds a really great present idea for your sister. I don't have one, but they do look good.

lessonlearned

Cherryprint wrote: »

Evening!

Just settled down under a blanket with a nice glass of Belgian strawberry beer. I don't like beer generally, but got into fruit beer when I went to Belgium last year and it's so nice to be able to pick it up at the supermarket here
ew days!

LL - I heard one supermarket recently banned people from shopping in their PJs :rotfl: I think that's hilarious. I love pyjamas, but even I draw the line at that.

:eek:

Viewings seemed to go well. Both young couples with a child and desperate to get into this area for the schools. I made a point of highlighting the negatives as well as the positives and neither of them seemed particularly fazed. I always used to do this when selling houses professionally.

It may seem an odd tactic but I always explain to them why I'm doing it ie I don't want anyone to proceed with false expectations and then incur solicitors and survey costs unnecessarily should they want to change their mind and not proceed.

I believe that honesty pays off. Less likelihood of cancellations.

Anyway nice quiet evening now - just vegging in front of the TV. The house is so clean and sparkly I won't have to do any cleaning for a few days now.

So hopefully a couple of nice easy days.

floss2

Cherryprint wrote: »

...Ohh you are all making me wonder where you buy clothes! My favourite outfit for Autumn/Winter is dresses with leggings and boots. But where do you all get your lovely jersey dresses from?....

Mine are from Tesco & Asda, mostly bought last winter. Asda have a few in this autumn, and you sometimes see them on Ebay. I think the fabric is called "Ponte" and it is very forgiving, easy wash, no need to iron, and really comfortable to wear.

WelshWoofer

Just back from the nighttime walk and it was an experience! In pitch black darkness on the top of a windy hill in the driving rain but oddly it was good fun! The dog is filthy and shattered - he's just had a quick undercarriage wash in the shower to get the muck off but needs a good shampooing tomorrow.
Only problem is I'm starving now!

No work tomorrow - hurrah! I'm hoping to sleep later than I have the last two days and actually have a bit of a rest and maybe do a bit of school prep for next week. Then in the evening I'm off to a Halloween film night with the Spice lot - a real cheap and cheerful thing but quite sociable I hope.

I bit the bullet and ordered a Kindle Fire for my sister today too - will have a little play and get it all set up and ready to use for her and will probably spend Christmas Day doing a tutorial on it for her. I'm sure she'll like it though.

Right, off to forage in the cupboard for something to eat.....

bratz81

morning all

LL - glad the viewing went well. I agree it is better to not hide any negatives as well as I think people will find out eventually and either pull out of be very unhappy.

cherryprint - it's stars going all up my back/side from my hip to my shoulder. It's still a bit tender to the touch but on the mend soon I hope cos I can't even get hugs off the husbandino. He can be a bit rough without meaning to though bless him, forever standing on your foot and accidentally headbutting you!

I'm off to a Samhain ritual tonight which I'm looking forward to but also dreading as it starts at midnight and I'll be shattered tomorrow. I will get to wear my wool cloak though and I love the colour of it, a deep forest green.

fedupandskint

WW - that walk sounds great and good fun and brill experience too!
LL - glad your viewings went well and a good idea too to be open and honest about things

As for me, I went to bed feeling really dreadful last night and woke up feeling the same this morning. Meaning the plans for today are not doing much at all. I was going to drive to uni to drop off a recalled book but that's going to have to wait until I feel a bit better and I'll have to take the fine but hey, I'd rather feel better first!

I did sort my nails out yesterday - buffed away the ridges and smoothed out the peels, shone them up and then painted the nail strengthener on after lots of application of vasoline. I had a search online to see what would help repair peeling nails and found out among other things vasoline could help and as I had a half used tin in a drawer and after a few applications my nails felt a lot better. Pleased with that result and at least my nails look a huge amount better than they did!

What else? Did a tot up of the christmas present lists and discovered I'm almost there and done with only a few things left to get, thought I may as well use this time off to get something done especially as I don't feel up to much else and especially not uni work!

bratz81

fedupandskint - I remember reading somewhere that eating a square of jelly a day helps strengthen nails and stop them peeling. I followed it for a while when growing my nails after years of biting them and it did help mine.

podperson

Morning all,

Katie - interesting on the M&S tights - I usually buy cheapy ones and I must admit they don't tend to last me very long. Might need to splash out a bit more for them!

WW - wow, that's quite a turnout at school - great that so many kids are putting the extra time in! Hope you have fun at your film night

bratz - tat sounds fab, I think we need piccies when it's slightly less painful I have a small one and have wanting another one for years now but I need to save up and find one I love. I want a dragon but I'm a bit fussy with it :rotfl:Have fun tonight x

LL - glad the viewings seemed to go well, fingers crossed something comes of them.

Cherry - I got my jersey dress at Asda last year but they don't seem to have as good a selection this year, lots of shift dresses which don't really suit me. I've actually done very little for Nano, I meant to plan out the story a little but haven't had time the last few days. I do have about 8-9k on it already so at least the start is done. I talked a friend of mine into signing up as well and we're going to go to a local meet up on Sat for a 'launch' event and a write in - hopefully should be fun

Am trying to be more organised clothes-wise this week. Wore the jersey dress again yesterday with the purple layered scarf I bought a few weeks back - was a little worried might be too much purple but got a few compliments so can't have been too bad It was nice because I saw the woman who'd made it as well and she was really chuffed I was wearing it - said she'd never seen anyone out and about wearing something she'd made before. I said that must her a professional designer or something now Today am on grey checked trousers, a white longline top with a grey and white lace top with slightly flared sleeves over it, my purple scarf again for a wee bit of colour and actually remembered to bring shoes to change into at work (chucking it down again so wore my waterproof boots in) so wearing pink leopard-print ballet pumps
Had choir last night, we were starting on xmas songs - which I think we all felt was a bit too early even the md so we slightly rushed through them and she said we can come back to them in a few weeks :rotfl:Did my nails last night so they're a deep purpley-red colour at the moment - like a wine colour - so quite appropriate for Halloween I suppose! Need to get some cleaning done tonight, OH's mum texted yesterday to say she's coming up tomorrow to see his gran - little surprised she's coming up now but didn't do when gran was in hospital but I guess gran'll be pleased to see her. I really hope that since they say they're coming up to see her then they actually do make a bit of effort - last time they came up for a week and saw her for one day and half an hour before they were leaving.
Anyway, hope everyone is having a good day x