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

lessonlearned

Coats, jackets, shawls, pashminas, coatigans, ponchos, capes, macs, .....I could open a shop. I have even kept hubbies big warm regatta coat for when I "do the great outdoors" or go and watch horse shows.

Mind we do have long winters........so my thinking is a girl can never have too many coats.

my husband used to joke......"English weather - 9 months winter, 3 months hell".

Floss - Never thought about transferring the deposit, no harm in asking. Thanks for that.

chanie

Hi fabbers, I hope you are all well.

Nothing much going on here, but I've just updated myself on the thread.

maman

Back from my weekend away and just catching up.


DH kindly passed on his cold a week ago and I'm having trouble shaking it off. I thought I was over the worst but feeling quite sorry for myself today so taking it easy.

hex2 wrote: »

Maman, how did you get on with your stuff from tu?

Tried on the jeans before I went away but foolishly I'd picked up 'short' length.:o They'll have to go back for 'long' and the skirt and joggers are still waiting.

Ellsbel wrote: »

Maddie, do let us know how you find your eye make up; I really need a rethink on mine - both colours and brands, and in particular I need an eye pencil with staying power, so any recommendations will be gratefully received.
Sound like you had a perfect weekend sugarbaby, and you were clearly looking fabulous - lovely to read:)
LL so sorry it's been tough for you lately; the dancing sounds like a great plan for some fun exercise - I think Maman has also mentioned that she goes dancing - I hope your back improves enough to allow you to try it out soon.

I'm all for eye make up tips too Maddie so please let us know how you get on.


I love your posts too sugarbaby. So detailed and positive. CSs are expensive round here too but it's often worth paying for a quality brand compared to the new price. What infuriates me is the price they put on worn out stuff from Primark or Sainsbury's!


I do Scottish dancing which (with a few breaks when career got in the way) I've done since I was a child. A friend is really into jive and another does tango. There seem to be loads of dance classes about so you'll have plenty of choice LL.

My 'everyday' wardrobe is at a fairly low point at the moment. I think I should manage to get by with winter clothes but I'm starting to keep an eye out for summer stuff as I pensioned off most of my hot weather clothes after last year's holiday.


We got caught up in hurricane Katie at the weekend so I mostly wore jeans, boots and parka with a nice jumper underneath for when we were in restaurants/bars.

maddiemay

Ellsbel and Maman - the make up range that I am trialing is for older women, the founder and a lot of her models in the how to use vids are in their 60's and not models. They do not sell eye pencils, suggesting that dark shades of shadow applied as eye liner are more flattering to us of a certain age.

I am practicing the technique for making up hooded eyes, trouble is I rarely allow myself enough time before leaving the house, so need to set aside some time to play, but I am pleased with the products that I have bought so far, generally they are lighter in texture than normal highlighters and lid colours so as not to cake in the less than smooth skin.:eek:

I have always liked the Estee Lauder double wear eye liners, but have finished my last one, as I think that eye liner still suits me I will buy again when I am next in a reasonable sized town. Quite a few gals on the No buying un-necessary toiletries thread swear by the Urban Decay liner pencils and they seem to do some amazing colours, others love the Kajal pencils from the ethnic shops. I also just remembered the L’Oreal Super Liner, I have used this in black and grey. HTH:D

chanie

I popped into Space NK at lunchtime to get matched for a foundation. I've always used a tinted moisturiser, but think I need something with a bit more coverage. I'm not used to wearing foundation and I feel paranoid that the colour wont match and I'll look like a clown. The sales assistant steered me towards a £60 foundation, but I don't want to spend that much. I think I'll try MAC, as they have a wide range of colours.

indiepanda

Phew, not sure quite where the last week and a half has gone - lots on and less time online, which is probably no bad thing.

Last week I did a couple of personal training sessions and two Zumba classes and this week have done two more p/t sessions, a Zumba class, Pilates and on Friday I have Body Balance booked, am definitely taking advantage of singledom to get more exercise in. Feeling a few niggles so got a sports massage lined up at the health suite at work tomorrow - apparantly the chap I am seeing has worked with Roger Federer and a bunch of Olympic athletes. Shame being massaged won't turn me into an Olympic athlete... but at least he should know how to release the tight muscles safely.

Been much better at taking my lunch to work since I got back from holiday which should help me lose lbs while saving £s.

Had a nice weekend, went for a day out with a friend on Friday including visiting some antiques centres in Essex, got a few pieces of glass to add to my little collection. Saturday was a day of chores and then a night out with the girls dancing at a 70s/80s night at a ballroom near us. Was positively empty compared to when we went last month, but at least it meant the queues for the bar and ladies were much shorter. They had an amusing cabaret slot with hula hooping and we got to have a go - so hard to keep it up. I can remember as a child having the knack for it - could keep a hoop up for ten minutes, but now even ten rotations seems to be beyond me. Bet it would be good for the waist if I could manage it though. Sunday was a sofa and DVD day - not really hungover, just tired - hadn't really stopped for weeks. By Monday I had more than enough of being at home - met a friend for lunch and an exhibition at the V&A.

No plans for this weekend yet, but will probably aim to get out for a day hike one day as though I have more than enough chores to keep me busy at home, I know I will get grumpy if I spend all weekend at home. Got a comedy night tomorrow at the local pub, going for dinner first.

Got just over four weeks till my next holiday - juice detox in Turkey - been the third year in a row I have been. I am hoping to arrive in a better state of health this time - first time I was utterly exhausted when I arrived and last time I was a bit jaded although not in quite the same state of exhaustion. Got another holiday booked for the autumn, hiking again in Austria. Got some nice complements last autumn from people I hadn't seen since the previous year about weight loss so will be aiming to have made demonstrable progress by then.

Been interesting to see although I have plenty to do at work and still no progress on getting someone to help me, somehow I seem to be better at not worrying about it so much. My fitbit is recording a lower resting heart rate than it has been pre holiday, which is notable as it tends to drop when less anxious - e.g. had noticed it being lower on weekends than during work week. Guess the hiking might have improved my cardio fitness a bit too, got to be better than sitting at a desk. Plus not having a man's needs to cater too is probably reducing the stress levels too.... the ex was high maintenance to say the least.

Need to do a bit more fabbing, lots of my fingernails have broken and need tidying up and my feet are getting a bit hoof like again despite slapping on lots of foot cream when hiking. But my wide arches and small feet relative to my weight mean hard skin is a bit inevitable - constant job trying to keep under control.

Been debating getting some new clothes - could do with some smart trousers to wear with my nice Kettlewell jersey tops for work rather than just living in my dresses. However I think I will delay till I am back from Turkey, just in case I get down a size afterwards.

Commenting on a few other people's posts now...

Re eyeliner, I am a definite fan of Urban Decay, wouldn't buy anything else. Great range of colours, really easy to apply- don't drag, wear well.

Re dancing, I've dabbled with a variety of things, Ceroc, Salsa, even Flamenco, and as a child what we called country dancing - basically what you do at a Ceilidh. I am far from coordinated, but it's so uplifting. I have been meaning to find a class and go regularly but it's not quite made it to the top of the to do list yet. Anyway, I've been chatted up / asked out a few times at classes and I am not quite ready for that yet, so no hurry!

Re charity shops - do any of those of you who are a fan wear size 16 or over? I've tried looking in charity shops, but I've always struggled to find much that wasn't seriously dowdy / black in my size. I was wondering if it was just paranoia on my part, but when I donate a bunch of stuff last year I was told by that shop they struggled with getting donations in larger sizes, and especially colourful ones.

Minimalist wardrobes.... not me. I do need to exercise a bit more restraint, but when I see these articles about people who have the same "work uniform" each day when it's a self imposed one - you know, black trousers, white shirt etc, my heart just sinks. It all sounds so joyless. I like to have fun with clothes.

Finally, best wishes to those of you who haven't been feeling at your best, either through ill health or grief. Good to hear you all sounding so positive despite the challenges, you're an inspiration x

lessonlearned

Good morning everyone.

It's a beautiful day - just been out for a walk and it's warm already. Have twisted my back again - yes overdoing it......:rotfl: so a perfect excuse to get my zero gravity deckchair out and soak up the sun.

Purely medicinal, Vit D you understand.;)

Catching up on some paperwork for dad after visiting him yesterday. He's settling in well at my sisters and has even started gaining weight, he looks a lot better for it.

Speaking of weight, have stayed the same this week, which given the lack of activity and not being quite so creative in the kitchen I am actually quite pleased. I did think I would have put some back on.

Great to hear from you, Indie, some good plans There, especially the sociall whirl. I don't mind being a homebody but I do need to make more of an effort to get out and about. I'm not a "joiner" as such though but I have been reading quite a bit about how it's not good to be alone, especially as we age.

So......although I am happy enough with my own company and I'm never alone as such because I live with my son it's probably time I picked up the threads again and built up a new social life.....

No dating agencies though. :rotfl:

Now that I've got dad sorted out and finally have a bit more time for myself I think that will be my next priority this summer.

Re charity shops - I think it's definitely true that the nicest clothes are usually in the smaller sizes. Maybe that's because the 14 to 18s are snapped up quickly. I do find you need to "pop in" fairly regularly. Also you do have to go in with an open mind, you can't say right today I want a blue dress and then hope to find one. The other thing is you need to pounce as soon as you see something - you can't leave it a day or so to mull things over.

The other day I spotted a couple of cut glass whisky glasses. Just perfect for my g@ts . Rather than carry them round with me I continued browsing. When I went back to the shelf a few minutes later they were gone. Saw them in a lady's hand....:mad::rotfl:

Speaking of shopping - yesterday I snaffled up a pair of burgundy loafers and some brown ankle boots from my favourite shoe shop, which unfortunately is closing down. There is a sister shop in the next town so I'm hoping they will still remain in business.

It's a shame but this branch is in a shopping complex which once really thrived but I can see they are not getting the footfall - it's often very quiet and there are a worrying amount of empty shops. A lot of the traders are concerned. One of my favourite little boutiques is also in The same complex.

Both the shoe shop and the boutique are Independent traders and they just can't compete because the city council charge such high shop rents and business rates. They are being pushed out, the owners just retire and get out whilst they can and younger people can't afford to set up new businesses because of high costs.

Very soon we are going to have no independent traders left - it will just be the giant chains. No wonder all our towns and cities look the same and shopping for clothes etc is becoming such a chore.

Discretionary shopping - clothes, shoes, household goods etc should be FUN.

Rant over.

Ellsbel

Couldn't agree more LL; my nearest town once had a fab high street with all manner of unique shops. It's now an enclosed mall - completely soulless and uniform, such a shame.
Maddie and indie thanks for the eyeliner recommendations. Will definitely check out Urban Decay as I've seen several good reviews. I have tried the dark shadow as a substitute for liner but it doesn't last five minutes on me before completely vanishing!
Love reading about your activities, Indie, especially your hiking trips. Do you belong to a club or just arrange them on your own? I'm trying to convince OH to come on a walking break - trouble is his long legs mean I have to run to keep pace with him on my decidedly shorter ones and I end up shattered
Chanie I don't blame you for not shelling out £60 for the foundation :eek: Make up can be so expensive now.
Maman hope you're managing to take it easy and you're feeling better soon. Hope you enjoyed your break, too.
Had a walk earlier and am now home alone whilst the "lads" are golfing; love us all being home together and we've had a nice week but I don't love the constant food preparation for hungry teens or the tidying up after everyone!!
Not much else to report here. Have a good day everyone x

lessonlearned

Hi again.......I've made a decision but first........

I forgot to,say to Maman and Shandy Clover - hope you both feel better soon. There seems to be a lot of lurgies still lingering around....... All I can say is roll on summer. I have been outside but there is intermittent cloud and it's not overly warm.

Anyway my decision......I'm definitely going to cancel Cyprus. I will put the money saved to a different purpose, namely........

I have booked to see an aesthetician on Saturday. I cannot delude myself any more - my face is definitely lopsided as a result of the cancer surgery and it has gotten worse.

I have just received my new passport and when I compare it to the last one - well let's just say the last 10 years have not been kind.:eek:

Apart from the lack of symmetry, all that stress and worry, the cancer surgery, the ill health have taken their toll. I'm going to see what he can suggest and take it from there.

I'm a bit nervous but it can't be worse than the dentist or childbirth:rotfl:

Speaking of dentists I have decided I'm going to going to get some quotes for the dental work I need. It won't be cheap but needs must.
I won't start treatment until after the wedding but theres no harm in getting some idea of just what is involved.

Oh dear I'm getting to be very high maintenance these days. I think further cruises are going to have to go on the back burner for a while.:rotfl:

shandyclover

Thanks for the good wishes LL, feeling a bit more positive today, thankfully.

Hubby and I went to see 'Eddie the Eagle last night. I was not as familiar with the story as my hubby, and I didn't think I would enjoy it, but it actually has a beautiful, uplifting theme. I particularly like the quotation it ended with from Pierre de Coubertin -

The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part; the important thing in life is not triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well. To spread these principles is to build up a strong and more valiant and, above all, more scrupulous and more generous humanity.

I feel like that's me right now, maybe not particularly triumphant, but as long as I keep fighting well its what matters.