Frugal Frump to Fab - 2015

indiepanda

Hello all, hope you had a good weekend.

Mine was incredibly hectic albeit fun (mostly). Drove to Bristol on Friday morning to meet an old work pal for lunch - she moved down there earlier this year. Was lovely to catch up with her - miss being able to go to lunch with her at work - really need to make some new work pals to lunch with as two of my best friends left, one is on maternity leave and another works part time and mainly the other side of town, so I am a bit short of company for lunch and winding up eating at desk too often.

From there I drove up to Herefordshire for my hiking weekend. One of the girls I was in Austria with in September was there and it was really nice to spend some more time with her - very good company. We pushed ourselves to do the longer walks each day - overseas we'd do the shorter ones. They were easier than a long walk overseas as they had less ascent but the pace was stiffer than we're used to, so we had to work a bit not to get left too far behind. Walked about 12 miles Saturday and 9 on Sunday. Was a bit wet both days but didn't rain all day. Was very muddy underfoot though - my waterproofs are in the wash now and I need to give the rest of my kit a good clean later - even my backpack got muddy when I put it down for lunch and my boots are a disgrace.

Got fabbed up for the evening meals at the hotel - just jeans, nice boots, fitted tops, jewellery and a touch of make up, but compared to hiking kit that's very glam.

Had a long drive home yesterday with a diversion to Leamington Spa to visit my ex boyfriend's flat and collect the various possessions I left there and drop off the smaller collection he'd left at time. Was pretty emotional driving through places I'd been with him and going back to his flat, but fortunately we'd arranged for his flatmate (who I know) to let me in, and the ex had collected all my stuff up and put in the lounge so I didn't have to go hunting round in his bedroom. Was a bit tearful chatting to his mate over coffee, but managed not to disgrace myself sobbing on him or anything embarrassing like that. Not sure if I will ever see the ex again, have very much left the ball in his court - he'll be down in London to play real tennis much more often than I will be in his part of the world. Part of me is really quite upset at the idea of not being friends with him and another part thinks I would be far better off just putting him in the past. If he doesn't bother trying to keep in touch with me, I certainly won't pursue him - have plenty of friends and I don't need one that can't be bothered to make the effort to see me.

Got lots of chores to do today but hopefully will find a bit of time to relax too after the hectic weekend. I'd like to sort out the lounge a bit as I mentioned a few weeks ago. And it's getting to that time I could think about putting the Christmas tree up too. I only have a little fake one as my lounge is too small for anything else, but I still like having the fairy lights on in the evening, it gives the room a nice cosy feel.

Got to sort out the kitchen too - the fridge is full of fruit and veg that is past its best and if I don't fill it with lots of tempting healthy stuff I will end up buying junk every day. At least I am home until Christmas Day, this month I have been away three weekends out of four and the other one I was out most of time so the diet wasn't great then either. It's a bit harder to plan a healthy diet when you're out that much.

Better get a bit of fabbing done today, all that walking in the rain isn't great for the skin, although it doesn't seem too dried out fortunately. Nonetheless I am sure my face would benefit from a little home facial.

Have a good week all x

lollyfin

Hi indie sounds like you had a great weekend apart from the detour to exs. Your right you don't need someone in your life who doesn't make time for you, hugs.
Well I had quite a good morning in the cs's today and got a few needed and gorgeous items. My oldest DD came with me and bought even more than I did and was delighted with the things she got, I was delighted when we got back to her house and she gave me a pair of size 10 skinny jeans and they fit! Ok I have a muffin top but my legs look good haha
I am one of these people who holds all the extra weight on my stomach so legs and arms are ok it's just the middle that's the problem, I think I need to work out a way to hide the middle any ideas?

indiepanda

lollyfin wrote: »

Hi indie sounds like you had a great weekend apart from the detour to exs. Your right you don't need someone in your life who doesn't make time for you, hugs.

Thanks, yes I look back and I wonder why I put with it for so long. I can still hear myself explaining to friends it was ok that we didn't get to see each other much since he moved because I have a busy life with lots of interests but it simply wasn't true and I knew I was lying to myself as well as them.

It's hard to know just how much compromise is too much, but I am not by nature an insecure person and yet within a few months of dating him I started to feel insecure with him - he's really a bit of a confirmed old bachelor sort (even though he isn't that old) and I could sense him pulling back from me even though he was very keen at first. Maybe I should just listen to my feelings next time.

Face is now feeling nice and dewy soft - the Emma Hardie face mask I bought the other month has done its job. I have been looking for a moisturising face mask for years, and this is definitely what I have been hunting for. Not terribly frugal I have to admit, but especially while I am trying to lose weight and wanting my skin to be able to shrink back when the fat beneath is whittled away I think it's worth shelling out for something really effective.

lollyfin

It's so nice when you find something that actually works, I might go and have a look at that indie. I completely splurged about 3 months ago on Sunday Riley Luna oil, it was way way over what I usually spend on myself but it has made a huge difference to my skin and since you only use 5-7 drops its lasting ages. I honestly think 2 bottles would do me a whole year and since people have been commenting on how good my skins looking I really think it's worth it, it's not very ms but very fabby

Rummer

Indie, what walking boots do you have?

indiepanda

Rummer wrote: »

Indie, what walking boots do you have?

I have a couple of different pairs on the go, a Scarpa fabric pair and a Zamberlan leather pair. Both are quite solid/heavy and I've been considering a lighter weight pair - something like Salomons which some of my friends use - however I am told they do wear out more quickly.

If you need to get boots I would recommend going to an expert shop like Cotswold outdoor, make sure you buy ones with Goretex or similar to keep your feet dry and buy a larger size than your usual one to allow room for thick socks and to keep your toes from getting bruised when going down steep hills. There are plenty of decent brands and to a certain extent it's going to depend upon the shape of the manufacturer's last compared to your feet which will fit best.

Cheap is likely to be a false economy, there's nothing worse than blisters on a long walk, well, other than leaking boots that is. Wet feet are miserable and generally the cheapest boots won't have goretex. I wear two pairs of socks to reduce blister risk - the idea is if there's any rubbing it will be sock against sock rather than against foot. The inner pair is a thin liner, the outer thicker with padding where you need it - e.g. heel and ball of foot.

Floss

I have two pairs of walking boots - leather Scarpas and mid height Salomons, which replaced Merrell walking shoes which I wore out the sole of (on two pairs:o). The Scarpas replaced some leather Grisports which eventually split after around 7 hard years. We used to fo a lot of walking up or down the Prom here, a lot of which is concrete and wearing on the soles! No we tend to be road, footpath & track based.

I find that the 2-layer anti-blister socks are a godsend, I used to get blisters most walks until I found them. I also swear by Compeed plasters and always have some with me.

chanie

indie your hiking weekend sounds amazing and I would love to go myself. I thunk you are doing the right thing about not keeping in touch with the ex, he soUNDS like deadweight and nobody needs that!!

lolly all of my weight goes to my middle too. I try and avoid wearing anything too fitted.

OH and I had a hectic but nice day. I did wear make up and perfume, but was otherwise casual. We picked up our Christmas tree today as we saw some in costco for a good price and wanted to get it before they went. We managed to squeeze it into my car!!! Then we went for lunch - it was a buffet, so plenty opportunity to overeat, but I only had one plate of food, which is unlike me. By the time we finished lunch, we had to pick ds up from school, so we didn't have as long as we would have liked.

Tomorrow, I'm working from home as I have a document to write and want limited distractions. indie's post about hiking has inspired me to.go for a run, so I'll go at midday if it's not raining.

Rummer

Thank you for the walking boot feedback Walking style trainers may be more suitable for what I am planning, I have been walking a lot recently and have been wearing my trainers which are just soaking through in this weather. So I need something waterproof and comfy for lots of walking. Maybe I should explore some of the walking style trainers?

chanie

Hi everyone,

I'm working from home today, so I've been in my PJs all day, which has been nice.

I bought this lipstick, which I love. It looks different on everyone due to the PH levels in your lips, so its a great universal shade. I've been saving up my pennies and finally had enough to buy it. I would recommend this if any of you are looking for a nice lipstick.
http://uk.spacenk.com/en_GB/frog-prince/MUS300024891.html

My focus is now on getting some new underwear. Underwear isn't something I've really thought about over the last couple of years and tended to buy the multipacks from the supermarket. I've recently bought some nice knickers from M &S, which were a couple of pounds more, but the quality is so much better. So now, I'm going to restock over the next couple of months. I'm also going to buy new more bras as I desperately need some.