Frump to Fab 2016 - Lets make it AWESOME!!!

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

Thanks for the compliment about my MSE skills.

As my son is 16 and my daughter 24, they like to join me in going for nice meals in restaurants. Mind you sometimes my son opts to stay at home as he does not like to be parted from his laptop too often. :rotfl:

Tesco Boost is great for Pizza Express vouchers and as Nectar did the Summer Rewards Pizza Express deal of £5 of Nectar points for a voucher for 2 free Pizzas at Pizza Express, I exchanged £10 worth of Nectar points for 2 Summer Rewards vouchers. Although it says 2 free Pizzas, you can also choose pasta dishes or mains salads, so it was a very good deal indeed. Somehow the food tastes even better when it is 'free'.

If we can not eat out for 'free', then it has to be at least a half price Groupon voucher. If it is just my daughter and I then I try to get a deal that costs less than £20 for a 2 course meal with the 1st drink included.

I went to my local Cinema this morning to see the film 'I, Daniel Blake'. I loved the film, I was one of the audience who applauded at the end of the film, because it was so moving and had such believable, strong characters. I had a free ticket to this preview, so no cost to me.

The sun is shining again in London today. There is some breeze, so it is pleasant rather than sweltering. :cool:

Ellsbel

I love Rome and Florence, LL - we went back to Rome a couple of months ago, actually; always something new to see and learn there.
Maman I do sympathise with your DD - my eldest is at home on his work placement year at the moment, but when he goes back to Uni next year I'll be so upset to see him off again, and in all likelihood my youngest will be starting Uni at the same time; I'll be devastated! Although of course, very proud too, and grateful for the opportunities they have.
Sugar, I too am in awe of your mse ways, as well as the fact that you're always so busy doing lots of different things:)
Not an awful lot to report here - just plodding. I've an interview on Tuesday for a local, part time job; just a few hours, three days a week, but it sounds ideal, so I'd very much appreciate any good "vibes" that are sent my way! I've no idea what to wear either!
Floss, I've been thinking about Ruby, too - hope she's ok. Also Indie hasn't been on for a while - hopefully she's busy doing exciting stuff:)
Have a good day all.

indiepanda

Ellsbel wrote: »

Also Indie hasn't been on for a while - hopefully she's busy doing exciting stuff:)
Have a good day all.

Hello!

Just back from a couple of weeks away, hiking in Austria the first week and yoga in Italy the second week. Lots of fun and the yoga week was quite inspiring, definitely intend to do more yoga and also eat more vegetarian, diary and gluten free food as the diet there seemed to agree with me - stomach much better behaved than when I indulge in pizza etc.

I had some domestic issues before I went away - discovered had brought bed bugs back from the ex's on top of having a bit of a moth issue, so had to get the whole house treated - they are doing 4 visits in total. It's quite stressful as you have to clear all your wardrobes and drawers of clothes and bag up and make sure only large items of furniture are on the floor, where I had quite a bit of junk in my spare room. Anyway, a couple of visits to the tip with various things I should have got rid of ages ago and a couple of carloads of books and spare pictures to the charity shop, some general tidying up plus some help from Dad to get remaining pictures hung which had been propped up on the floor since I moved in and a few late nights bagging up clothes and we were ready for the first treatment. Got the fourth and final in a week and a half so am still living out of bags, but at least I had a couple of weeks away without that stress. Looking forward to it all being finished, have been sleeping on the sofa while my bedroom is in chaos and whilst it's comfy as sofas go I don't sleep so well down here.

Was quite illuminating to see just how much stuff I had... going to be carefully Kondo-ing as I unpack and trying to keep the clutter down - don't want to give the moths another hiding spot to breed in and would be nice for my clothes to have a bit of breathing space in the wardrobe instead of getting crumpled due to over-crowding.

Bit unfortunate I've come back and the washing machine has broken on the second load... got tons to get done and need my hiking kit for the next trip so going to have to check out launderettes while I wait for the repair man in case he can't fix and I need to replace. But at least the suspected broken boiler that my housemate had messaged me about just before I came home just needed restarting so I don't have that expense too.

Got a very hectic couple of weeks coming up - seem to be out more nights than not, including for my birthday at the end of the coming week and then going to a family wedding in a couple of Saturdays and then away hiking again for a week the day after. Rest of the autumn will be a bit calmer, but I still have a few weekends away to look forward to.

Hope everyone is well and apologies in advance for being missing in action as am likely not to be around much for the coming month either given the state of my diary.

chanie

indie pleased to see all is well with you, other than the household issues.

I managed to buy some net curtains today. We still need proper curtains, but we'll get them this weekend, along with a curtain pole. The living room looks lovely, although the children were unimpressed (dd wanted it pink and DS thought it looked better with his 'art work').

Whilst shopping for curtains, I popped into IKEA and bought some cute drinking glasses with flamingoes on them. They are a frivolous purchase, but we're 50p each, so I couldn't resist buying a couple.

At the moment, I'm a little bit obsessed with 'cheap treats' - little things to cheer you up which don't cost more than £5. The glasses are an example of that. Here are some more of mine:
Lush bath bombs/melts - from £2-£6. I bought a bath melt on Friday for £2 which left my skin lovely and moisturised. I desperately want to buy the pink glittery one.
M&S low fat chocolate muffin pudding - I've rediscovered these. They are about 130 calories, but are a good sized portion.
Tk Maxx tights - they do premium brand tight (falke, wolford etc) for £5 ish. I love seeing them in House of Fraser for £20, knowing how cheap I got them.

Moving onto the not so frugal. I bought my first pair of ankle boots today. I know I'm really late to the party, but I haven't really liked the look, although, as a short ar*e they should suit me better than tall boots. I picked some up from New Look, which were real suede and only £35. I've also ordered some new mud blue jeans, to replace a pair which had worn though at the thighs.

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

I went to Karaoke last night. I wore a black sleeveless low cut top with hidden support and a black pull on skirt with my black patent leather Van Dal sling backs with the gold cutouts. I wore solid gold jewellery and was carrying my red patent leather Osprey handbag. I layered my perfume and I wore black mascara, bronze eye shadow, clear lip gloss and clear nail polish.

I saw Wayne there, so I spoke to him, I allowed him to buy me a bottle of water and danced with him at the end of the night. He wanted us to go on a date and talk, but I just told him there was nothing for us to talk about and that I was happy to talk to him if I saw him, but I do not want to start dating him again. He misses me, but I do not miss him and there is no going back to a intimate relationship with Wayne. I have moved on and there is still so much I want to do with my life and none of it includes Wayne.

I some how manged to pull a muscle in my left leg when I was dancing last night. I took painkillers when I got home and that has brought the pain to a manageable level. I will be able to go to work as long as I am taking painkillers today. Hopefully it will improve over the week and I can forgo taking any more painkillers.

I have no housework to do or any washing or drying today, so I am just going to relax and watch recorded TV programmes before I get ready for work.

Have a good day ladies.

maman

Good to see you back indie. I knew you were off on your travels, glad you had a good time. Moths are a flaming nuisance, we've had the odd problem too. Glad your dad was able to step in and help out.


I'm with you on cheap treats chanie. The Ikea Marketplace is excellent for that. Some of their glasses are good as sundae dishes for puddings too. http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/tableware/glasses-cups-mugs/rättvik-white-wine-glass-clear-glass-art-90239592/


Another thing that I know LL and I indulge in is browsing/buying from charity shops. Of the three Breton tops I wear, two came from the CS. One is Gap and one Boden and I liked them so much that I bought this new full price one from Boden too.
http://www.boden.co.uk/en-gb/womens-tops-t-shirts/long-sleeved-tops/wo091-red/womens-dark-burgundy_ivory-long-sleeve-breton?cm_mmc=PLA-_-Google-_-Shopping-_-Product&istCompanyId=a40e1fa1-0635-4a1b-8d9a-2caa763eeee2&istItemId=xtlamaqpwl&istBid=xzat&gclid=CMvCiqnbrM8CFVKZGwod00QH5g


I started using the CS when I was losing weight as I didn't want anything full price that I planned to grow out of very soon. I also buy occasional colours that I'd be reluctant to spend too much on.


It's a good idea to have a friendly relationship with Wayne sugarbaby. He'll just have to get used to the idea that it stops there. I'm sure the more you see him on a Sunday evening, the more it will sink in for him. Sorry to hear about your leg, hopefully the pain will pass soon.


Not too much going on here today although I have a busy week coming up. Shortly I'm off to the dental hygienist. My surgery offers this and she's been really helpful giving instructions on using inter dental brushes and the like. Then I must do some ironing so I'll think of you watching catch up TV sugar!;)


Dancing this evening so I'll be getting fabbed up. For a few weeks I've been wearing my one long, black cotton skirt and ringing the changes with different tops. It's an in-between season because it's not been sunny enough to wear a short skirt but not time to get the winter ones out.


Your holidays sound good LL. You're fortunate that the agent lets you transfer the bookings. Maybe you'll get to do a bit more sightseeing in Barcelona which will be more comfortable at this time of the year. I've only been there for a day (when staying nearby) and I'd love to spend a bit more time on the Gaudi stuff particularly. I've had week long mini breaks in Rome and Florence though and they are definitely worth visiting. I'd suggest you book in advance fro the Uffizi, we went there about 8.30 in the morning before the large groups arrived. I enjoyed St Peter's too but the Sistine chapel, although worth seeing, is a literally a pain in the neck!:rotfl:


Rain has stopped and sun is trying hard to come out but it's definitely autumn. We can't complain for the last week in September. Have I got it right and you're near Carcassonne Carmen or did I imagine that?

lessonlearned

Good morning lovely ladies

Sorry to hear about your domestic woes, Indie. That's a lot to deal with all in one go. I can definitely recommend a bit of kondoing as you get straight again.

Re moths. I know it's a bit Late in the day but as a preventative - they hate lavender........ I also put bars of soap in each drawer, doesn't have to be lavender any nice strong smelling soap will do. I usually buy a pack of guest soaps.

I can recommend either lavender sachets or cedar wood balls or discs for your wardrobe. And of course not jamming clothes too closely together will help.

And of course lavender smells much nicer than mothballs.:rotfl:

Love the tops MAman, just wish I could do horizontal stripes.

I think I will go with the ships tours for both Rome and Florence, because of getting from the port into the city. I will get the feel of them and the lie of the land with a view of going back and taking my time. That way I will know which district will be best for hotels etc.

This will be my fourth time to Barcelona and there's still lots I want to see and do. I would imagine it's the same with both Florence and Rome, far too much for just a day trip. I could probably quite happily spend a week in each place.

That's the beauty of cruises, you get a taster and then you know where you want to revisit in depth. No disrespect to the Caribbean but I found each Island was fine for a day but I wouldn't wish to spend two weeks in one place. Just me but I know I would get restless on a beach holiday. Different when you have children of course.

Hope your arm gets better soon, Sugarbaby. Yes just be friendly with Wayne but keep him at arms length. He's not the one.;)

Right time to get cracking, dull and grey here but plenty to keep me occupied.

sugarbaby125

I had myself a lovely meal in Pizza Express all on my own. The food was good and the restaurant was only half full and service was very good. I had a read of my free Evening Standard while I waited for my meal to arrive at my table. :j

I had to finish an hour early today at work and I was certainly not complaining. It was Open Evening at the Sixth Form College I work at and the Principal wanted all of us cleaners to be finished and off the premises by 6 pm rather than our usual 7 pm.

My pulled muscle in my leg has already improved a great deal over the course of today, so hopefully I will only need painkillers today. I have a high pain threshold, so as soon as pain is bearable for me, I will stop taking painkillers. A nice long bubble bath certainly helped earlier on.

Wayne can count himself lucky that I am willing to be friendly when I do run into him in the pub on dance or Karaoke nights. No need for any unpleasantness when I run into him but there is no chance of me ever wanting to have contact with him unless our paths naturally cross in a public space.

Ellsbel

Glad you're well, indie. Sorry about your unwanted "houseguests".
Sugarbaby how lovely to give yourself a nice well-deserved treat:). It's good that you can keep things civil with Wayne. Hope your pulled muscle continues to improve.

Well, I had the interview yesterday. I wasn't really happy with what I ended up wearing; I'm a bit out of the loop as these things go. I tend to wear mainly smart jeans rather than trousers, but this didn't seem right for a job interview, so I went with the only black, formal trousers I have, paired with a blouse and shoes with a small heel, rather than my usual flats. I didn't feel very well put together, and the ladies that interviewed me, who were about my age, were much more casually dressed and up to date.
I felt quite frumpy:o
They were very nice and they'll let me know the outcome today, but I'm certain I've not got the job, as they asked me absolutely nothing about myself! I think it was a going through the motions thing, and they already have a preferred candidate.
Met a friend for a cuppa later and wore a jumper for the first time since Summer; definitely turning much cooler and autumnal now.

lessonlearned

Good morning lovely ladies.

Chanie - fingers crossed for you. But if not, well Que Sara And all that. Regard it as good interview practice and at least it gives you a good idea about appropriate interview attire.

I think interviews are like any other occasion, it really helps our confidence to know that we are appropriately dressed. A lot will depend on the job of course but I think it is perhaps best to err on the side of caution, so nothing too "frightening" or outrageous.

I think you can't go wrong by going for "smart and well groomed". I think it's not so much as what you wear - within reason - so much as how you present yourself. So whatever you choose should be clean, well pressed, shoes polished, nicely styled hair, a bit of make up, not too much jewellery. Just well groomed and discreet.

I also think aiming for stylish is better than the height of fashion. I agree though, it's not nice when we feel frumpy - it can really sap our confidence and bring us down.

Well today I'm off to the hairdresser. Just a cut and blow dry today. It has grown very quickly this time and definitely needs a tidy up. Yesterday went to Physio. I have been doing yoga more regularly too, definitely seeing an improvement in pain levels.

Like Sugarbaby I have a relatively high pain threshold - good job really because most pain meds play havoc with my stomach so I stick to drug free therapies. Yoga, aromatherapy oil massages, topical gels and heat in the form of warm baths or self heating pain relief pads and wheat packs generally work well and no nasty side effects.

I have started adding either magnesium flakes or Dead Sea salts, or Epsom salts to my bath. I have also started taking vitamin D and glucosamine - in readiness for winter.

Spoke to a taxi driver yesterday who told me that whiplash injuries can take up to six months so it's still early days really. But I'm getting there.

Plumber coming today to service the boiler. Need to make sure I'm warm and toasty, autumn is definitely here. I do like this time of year, I have already stated lighting candles in the evening and we have started cooking nice hearty casseroles.

Not managed a fasting day yet this week but still on track with eating healthily.

2 inches off my waist so happy with my progress.

Have a great day, looks like the sun is trying to come out - trouble is it shows up my dirty windows. Lol. .