Frump to Fab 2017 - A Whole New World

Floss

Indie again, have a look on Ebay for guide prices for your bags - if you need to ask about selling just PM me, I've been buying and selling on there for years now.

savingfortomorrow

Hello all
Ive been beyond busy and tried to post twice but first time word crashed and the second time I seemed to have lost the post I was writing. I usually write in word as my grammer can be a bit dire and have lost posts. I have been doing so many courses at the minute and a lot of tasks are due at the same time. Hopefully all this book learning will be of benefit in real like but I always thing everything will have some use or benefit.

Sugar I am delighted that you’re doing great and been given the clearance by the physio. It is great to hear.

I used eBay loads to buy and sell but I stopped after getting a few bad buyers who were very manipulative and mean. But there were few and far between, I also stopped selling as I moved house and working so many hours I could not send items in any timely manner. I used to buy a lot, a huge amount and I agree with sugar it turns you into a brand snob.
I would prefer a second hand designer dress than a Primark new dress. I know it has survived a wash, and given my skills ruining clothes this is a massive consideration. I know that it is not fast fashion so an ethical point. being honest if you go into a posh show learn your designer size (I fit a size 12 ralph Lauren and 14 in Calvin Klein.) You know whose cut fits you as each designer has an ideal customer, some tall, some curvy and some more realistic. I would bid knowing that certain designers had a great chance of fitting. I find that designer clothes last longer and better material lasts longer, less waste and less cost.
I love the bizarre and quirky on eBay but it can be a bit addictive trying to get the item, and I would be very strict at bidding but I try and limit new clothes chopping as I have so much Clutter, ahem clothes.

I had a really unfab day covered in dust, grease and what looked like a pint of melted ice cream. Messy days are not fun when you have to do a lot of work and everything is going wrong. I nearly had spider webs on my head, thank fully I had no plans after work but it can be very unusual to have such a messy day. It was great to get a lot of the things done, decluttered, disassembled but the down side was being a mess. Next week will be better as all the tidying is done and I will be walking into neatness.

I was wondering if anyone has tips on a really good clarifying shampoo. I am on assignment in an area with dire water quality and when the salt runs out you feel it on your skin and scalp. It is something people here complain a lot about affecting skin. So I am itching all over from the rotten water. I feel like buy a bottle of volvic to wash my hair but it would be rather extravagant, I guess.

Indie look after your self and give it time to heal. Keep an eye out in the future in case of any similar reactions as it can be a long course needed pf antibiotics. It takes time to heal.

As regards the clothes.. could a smart and talented tailor adjust the items you love. Look at each piece does it fit with the current you, does the colours flatter you and have you a duplicate. If you would happly pay for it to be adjusted, keep it and bring it for taking in. I find a good belt can work or using a dress as a pinafore helps. Wear a sweater or blouse under the dress and style with a belt or a waist clinching obi belt. Some items can be taken in simply your self with a simple inch or 1 cm seam. Darts can work also to take in a dress or blouse. Jackets can be difficult to adjust your self. If you are a genius like me at shrinking clothes this approach could be used, boil wash to fit (yes I did it and it can work or end up fitting a doll).

lessonlearned

Good morning lovely ladies..

Well I finally had to give in and buy a new IPad.

SUgarbaby. How wonderful to hear you are making such good progress with your health issues. Well done you .....all your hard work is paying off.

I too have been trying extra hard this week, getting my step count up at last.I am extra stiff this morning though....went a bit mad with the housework yesterday. :rotfl: will have a nice soak in the bath in a bit.

I agree with the comments about EBay, although I am a bit late to the party. TBH I have found slim pickings in charity shops just lately so thought I would try eBay. I have had some great bargains recently.

floss - I think your idea of a private email group to organise the meet up is a fantastic idea. I will take you up on your offer of being "monitor" - I am not very internet savvy. I will pm you my details and we can take it from there. So thanks again for that.

Not sure what today will bring but it looks like it's going to be nice and sunny. I have had a busy few days culminating in a family get together last night for DS1s birthday. The food was lovey but a bit rich
And I feel a bit delicate and rather tired today so I think I am just going to take it easy. Maybe pull a few weeds out but just generally relax in the garden and go for my daily walk to maintain my step count.

Have a lovely day. X

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

Indie, I am a member of Applause Store for free audience tickets for TV shows :cool:

I use eBay for almost every type of purchase I need to make, but the majority of my purchases are clothes, footwear and handbags. Unfortunately women are always buying these types of items and not wearing them or only wearing them once for a special occasion like a wedding.I only buy shoes if the seller insists they have only been worn once, otherwise I usually buy new shoes and boots in their original boxes. I am happy to buy good quality leather handbags that are lightly used and new handbags. Even with private sellers you have the right to return items if they are not as described or faulty even if a seller states no returns in their listing and there is also the eBay money back guarantee.

Your Radley handbags should sell really well on eBay. Take lots of photos of each bag from every angle as this will ensure the buyer really can see what is on offer. I have wanted to own a Radley handbag, but even on eBay the bidding usually ends at the kind of price I am not willing to pay for a single handbag, even a quality designer one.

You have a lot of house fabbing that you want to complete, but you also have time on your side. Do not overwork yourself by sticking to tight time frames. The ceiling seems to be your priority so concentrate on that being completed to your satisfaction and then move on to tackling the other jobs around your home.

My advice with reference to the clothing that is now too large for you, is to donate it all to charity shops. You do not need the clutter and you do not want any incentive to allow the weight to begin creeping back on because you will have clothes in bigger sizes that you can wear.

I have a massive wardrobe of clothing which is size 14 tops and dresses and size 16 skirts. I have gained 2 stones over the last few months because of my ill health so now have a limited amount of my clothes that can fit, but as I intend to lose the 2 stones and more, I have refused to buy any new clothes for my larger body.



SFT thanks to the ease of buying from eBay and the rock bottom prices for quality brands I have bought more than I personally need in the way of clothing, footwear and handbags from eBay. This year so far, I have bought very little for myself and bought gifts for family members instead and put them away in storage boxes.



I went to Thorpe Park yesterday with my grandson, my eldest granddaughter and my older son. We all had such a lot of fun. Because of my heart condition, there were only 2 of the rides that I went on. The teacup ride was tame enough for me, but I accidentally went on the ride simply named 'X' and got the shock of my life. :rotfl: It was being 'sold' as a children's ride, but it turned out to be a Roller coaster ride in the dark! :eek: I felt quite ill immediately after, but began to recover within 15 minutes and made sure I did not go on any other rides.
I hope to return next year in a family group and have improved my health enough to go on most of the rides. It was my 1st visit to Thorpe Park, but it will not be my last.

maman

Completely agree with you about getting rid of 'fat' clothes sugarbaby whether that's ebay or the charity shops. I think you're doing well to tackle your weight gain so quickly before it becomes the new norm. I let myself gradually gain over 10 years before I tackled it properly. Even then I kept a few really favourite items from when I was thin and I'm so glad that I did as I loved being able to get back into them.


I haven't been to Thorpe Park for years but I think the teacup ride would be my preference now too.:)


We had another good day out on Friday. We visited two NT properties, had a light lunch at one and then stopped in a country pub for dinner on the way back. It was bright but not overly hot so I wore jeans and a Jack Wills tee shirt and my fit flops. I've worn them a lot lately as my GP said they were good for my ankle which is fine now. I'm also doing really well keeping my handbag contents to a minimum.


Interesting comments from Helen Mirren last week.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/02/helen-mirren-admits-loreal-moisturiser-probably-does-f/
I think she was taken out of context to an extent. I believe she was trying to say that she'd use moisturiser for the pampering even if it didn't do any lasting good for her skin. I can understand that.


I wish she wouldn't use that sort of language though. Why do some people think swearing is clever? It's not that I don't use the odd swear word myself but it's in private amongst friends or family and always to make a point. Some people seem to punctuate their speech with it. It makes me shudder.


It's bright and fine here. I've washed a number of cardigans as I decided to work my way through the wardrobes washing things ready for winter:( My plan is to get rid of anything I won't wear and then come up with a system for monitoring what's clean, what's been worn but can be worn again IYSWIM. I want something more sophisticated than piling worn stuff on the bedroom chair!

Floss

maman wrote: »

... I've washed a number of cardigans as I decided to work my way through the wardrobes washing things ready for winter:( My plan is to get rid of anything I won't wear and then come up with a system for monitoring what's clean, what's been worn but can be worn again IYSWIM. I want something more sophisticated than piling worn stuff on the bedroom chair!

I have a couple of different colour hangers that I hang the days clothes on at bedime then I know what is wearable again or is ready for the laundry basket. TBH they usually hang from my wardrobe door knobs, so I can see them

lessonlearned

Maman ........I watched an interesting programme the other day about etiquette....BBC4. I think it was called How to be a Lady, A history of elegance. It's probably on catch up or it will be repeated.

It was presented by Rachel Johnson (sister of Boris), a journalist and writer in her own right. She was an editor of the "The Lady". She is very intelligent and articulate and professes not to be "a lady" having refused a place at Cheltenham Ladies College but I find her charming and quite delightful.

However, despite being very down to earth and unassuming, she certainly doesn't swear on camera and I got the distinct impression she does not approve of "potty mouths", nor of showing too much flesh......as we discussed the other day.

"La Mirren" has always made a habit of swearing .....I think she does it quite deliberately to be seen as hip and "Edgy". Perhaps someone should tell her that the Ladette thing is soooooo last century dahhhhlings.

One interesting fact that Rachel mentioned was that the very word "etiquette" is French (as we might guess) and it originates from the court of King Louis 14th. It's literal translation is "admittance" so I think we can see how not knowing the right way to speak, dress and behave in public can be a way of being denied access to the kind of life, jobs etc we might want and how we can easily upset other cultures, especially in a business setting. For example all know that business dealings with the Japanese can be subject to all sorts of misunderstandings, purely down to body language and sloppy speech. And who hasn't cringed sometimes to see badly behaved "Brits Abroad".

I know it sounds snobby and maybe a bit sexist but I hate to see young women staggering around, drunk, abusive, semi naked and foul mouthed. It's bad enough when it's men.......but I find it very sad that young women sometimes demean themselves like this.

I think sometimes it's actually down to lack of confidence, pride in oneself and low self esteem......all the things that "fabbing" can help us overcome.

As Rachel explained, if you knew you are getting it right, then you can relax and feel more confident. There was a section on how to leave and enter a room and as the students found out, something as simple as the way you walk into an interview room can determine whether or not you get the job. As we all know you only get one chance to make a good first impression and you only get a few minutes to impress the interview panel, so these first few seconds are crucial.

I found people who fidget, shuffle, avoid eye contact and who swear a lot are often very ill at ease and lacking in confidence. Actors of course are notorious for having low self esteem in real life so perhaps that's another reason that's why she swears such a lot.......perhaps out of bravado to cover up her insecurities.

lessonlearned

maddiemay wrote: »

Hi everyone, not posted for ages, but am trying to keep up with the fabbing and I read all your posts. We have spent quite a lot of time away in our caravan and have also been using the tablet rather than the laptop, I am useless at posting on it, but now back on the proper keyboard, so hopefully will participate more.

The meet up sounds great, sadly my mobility is not good enough for train travel and getting around is difficult some days, so will sadly not be able to join you all, but I am sure you will have great fun:D

MM

Oh Maddy I am so sorry you cannot be with us. If I met you at the train station at the London end would that help.

maman

Thanks for the heads up on the etiquette programme LL. I checked and it's on BBC 4 later tonight along with a number of other things I'd enjoy. There's such junk on tv that I like to have things to hand for when I feel like relaxing.

chanie

Hi fabbers,

I wrote a long post yesterday, but it disappeared when I submitted.

sugar well done on your health improvements.

indie I agree, get rid of the clothes. If you are concerned about potential weight gain, buy clothes that will accommodate this. I wear lots of wrap dresses, elasticated waists (I know!!!) And jeggings. My weight has crept up, but a lot of my clothes still fit.

We had a lovely family weekend. We've spent some time in the garden painting the woodwork, plus mowing the lawn. We also visited Hampton Court Palace. It's somewhere I've always wanted to go, as I am a bit of a history buff. I got free entry through work, so it was an MSE day. They have a lovely children's playground with a water playground and both children stripped to their underwear so they could get wet.

Other than a couple of ad hoc days, I'm off work for the next few weeks and that includes our holiday. I have a couple of ideas of places to take the children, but will be MSE because of the holiday.