Frump to Fab 2017 - A Whole New World

elona

I am trying to get back to sensible eating and avoiding alcohol for most of the time.

Have just ordered two pairs of Hotter shoes in the sale as the ones I wear just now are looking tatty. DDs are staying over tonight for a family birthday so need to start making meatballs in tomato sauce, spaghetti with salad and garlic bread. I only found out an hour ago I was cooking for six of us so will need to pop out for the salad and garlic bread.

When I got measured in bravissimma the assistant told me about a site called brastop which has the same brands and is much cheaper so could be worth having a look.

So pleased you are rediscovering yourself LL and embracing life etc.

lessonlearned

Hello lovely ladies.

Hi Elona, glad to see you over here.

Thanks for the “brastop” link. Still haven’t managed to get to Debenhams but hopefully next week will get measured up and then look on the various websites that you have all mentioned.

Well despite it being Fab Friday I am not feeling that great, a bit of an IBS flare up so feeling very uncomfortable. No reason that I am aware of,, just one of those things I guess but i really don’t feel like doing much. I’m not sleeping very well either so that doesn’t help. Just feel absolutely drained and shattered. So it’s all a bit bleurgh. :rotfl:

Went for my Physio appt only to find that it had been cancelled. They had tried to contact me but my phone had run out of battery. My fault entirely. I must get better organised.

So all in all I think I will “cancel”today. Just cook a nice dinner and call it quits, maybe curl up with a nice film, no alcohol though, like you Elona I am going “dry”for a while to see if it helps with my weight loss. No further weight loss today, just holding steady.

Not much news. Weather dull, damp and depressing. :rotfl:

Just read back. Oh dear what a boring post, definitely lost my mojo today.

maddiemay

Hi everyone, life has been exceedingly pesky for the last 6 weeks or so, I have been reading along and enjoying everyone's news, lots of great things happening and hugs to those that are having difficult times. As it is Fab Friday, I thought that I would make an effort and join you today.

OH and I met up with my bestie and her husband for a delish lunch at a country pub, OH is 75 tomorrow and we always try to eat out together around our birthdays.

Fabbing has been non existent for the last 2 weeks after my crash from my bicycle, but today I managed to wash my hair and make an attempt at styling it for the first time, thank goodness for dry shampoo. I am still only wearing clothes which zip or button up the front, but the shoulder is improving, today I wore a fine red cashmere cardi under a black button up cardi with black leggings and my flippy black Desigual skirt which has red embroidery, a red scarf and red ankle boots pulled it all together. Managed a light make up too and feel nearly human today:rotfl::rotfl:

We have a family lunch date tomorrow for OH's birthday, two days in a row no cooking is bliss.

LL- I hope that you are feeling brighter tomorrow and Sugarbaby I hope that your knee is improving too, so pleased that you are able to enjoy some singing and dancing too.

Have a great weekend all:D

maman

Good to see you posting Maddie and you too elona.:)


Sounds like you've been through the mill the past few weeks Maddie but good to hear you're brighter today. So frustrating when you can't do what you want. Getting out for lunch and making an effort does help though. Many happy returns to your DH.:)


New day tomorrow LL, hope it's brighter for you.:) Maybe it's a touch of post holiday blues.:(


Those boots sound like a very good solution for the yard and riding Lainey.


I'm rather enjoying the fact that I have to go further afield to shop at the moment while my Aldi is having a major refurbishment. Went to the nearby market town and made full use of the parking.


Today I've worn black jeans, black jacket, black suede ballet pumps and the long sleeved red top. It's become almost a uniform so I was pleased to find something different to wear.
I browsed in a CS and treated myself to another long sleeved top. It's White Stuff in a sort of khaki/green colour with a scoop neck. I also bought this little chap!:D




I don't normally decorate the bathroom at Christmas:eek: but I saw it in CRUK (new) and thought he'd make us all smile. Then I browsed their little town museum which is a mixture of medieval/Tudor and Victorian. So, a pleasant couple of hours and the food shop done too!:D


I use the 'Cutting Down/Giving up Booze' thread on here to keep alcohol in check. It's a great thread, really friendly. If I'm honest it's the thought of wasting empty calories that helps me most although I know there are health and money saving benefits too.


Have a good evening all.:)

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

My right knee is still being painful now and again, but the Ibuprofen Gel is doing a really good job.

I keep feeling tired, so I am having as much rest and naps over the last 2 days as I can get. I had planned to go to a Poetry Open Mic event but I had to give it a miss.

I am going out tonight for a night of dancing and tomorrow I am going to Karaoke in Forest Hill.

chanie

Hi fabbers
Sugar I hope your knee is okay.

Maman your Xmas duckie is a brilliant find.

Maddie pleased you managed some light fabbing, despite being in pain.

Hope everyone else is okay.

I’ve had a busy but productive Saturday, decorating DS’ bedroom. We started it a few weeks ago and then we stalled, but I wanted it finished for half term, so DS could enjoy spending time in it. We are about 90% done, but we’ve moved DS in. It was a frugal project though - we spent around £100, which was for paint and soft furnishings.
We are going to chill tomorrow and finish off next week. Then it’s onto DDs room. We will have to spend a bit more on her room as we need some new furniture in there, but will still be relatively cheap. We’ve been living on what feels like a building site for weeks now. Everything is taking ages because we have to work around our jobs and finances.

maman

Hope you feel well enough to dance and sing today sugarbaby.:)


It's lovely to hear about your home coming together chanie. It's horrible living n a mess but so worthwhile when it all comes together. We'd come to a bit of a standstill too. Today DH is (at last) boxing in the pipe that leaked behind the skirting board. OK, so he had to leave it open for a while to dry thoroughly but I think a month was stretching it!:D So then the painting can be finished in the hall and then we're calling in a carpet shampooer. We decided that the carpets are fine so just having them professionally cleaned.


I'm still keeping up with the foot creaming (very proud of that:)) so it's a shame that they won't be on show. I finished one tube (handbag size) of handcream and so pleased to see that off but have another to use up. Today I finished a bottle of Clarins serum. That's lasted 4 months of once or twice a day. I know it's expensive (cheaper for me because I bought it at Gatwick) but it does last.


It's a lovely bright day here. I'd like to get out for a walk but as DH is busy (and I wouldn't want to keep a man from his work;)) it may not happen.


Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend, whatever you're up to.:)

chanie

maman wrote: »

I'm still keeping up with the foot creaming (very proud of that:)) so it's a shame that they won't be on show. I finished one tube (handbag size) of handcream and so pleased to see that off but have another to use up. Today I finished a bottle of Clarins serum. That's lasted 4 months of once or twice a day. I know it's expensive (cheaper for me because I bought it at Gatwick) but it does last.

Pleased you’ve been keeping up with foot maintenance. It’s embarassing to have to go barefoot and then realising they look horrendous. I love The Body Shop hemp foot cream. It doesn’t smell very nice, but it works well. I used my Body shop £5 reward to put towards it.
I think your Clarins is good value if it lasts for 4 months. The cost is worth it if it makes you use it and you feel good using it. I buy higher end make up products. I justify it because firstly, I don’t have loads of products and secondly, when I buy cheaper ones, I just don’t use them.

I’ve been enjoying home fabbing, over the last year. We did what we could when we moved in, but having children soon after meant we didn have the time or money to progress. Over the last year,we’ve done a couple of rooms. The big job is next year, which is the combined hallway and dining room. It’s a big job because the walls are in bad condition, we need new flooring and furniture. But once it’s done, all the rooms will be pretty much done.

indiepanda

lessonlearned wrote: »

Indie.....sorry to hear that you are feeling so bad (and that your house is turning into a bit of money pit).

Re the coughing at night. Have you tried adding some kind of extra humidity to your bedroom. Maybe just a bowl of water near the radiators.

I have noticed that air conditioning really affects me very badly, it dries up my sinuses, makes my nose bleed and gives me headaches. It also gives me a hacking cough.

So this time I bought a small humidifier to take on holiday for my cabin. It worked like a charm and although lots of people developed what we christened the “Columbus cough” (the ship was called the Columbus) I remained entirely symptom free.

It cost me around £25. It it was worth every penny. I shall definitely use it again in future.

Although it might also be damp spores affecting you. Or perhaps plaster dust from all the work you are having done.

Well, the coughing at night has more or less stopped, so I think it was mainly just caused by the cold. Usually air conditioning doesn't bother me at all - if it's warm I will stick it on in hotels and the car where my ex used to turn it off saying it bothered his chest.

I doubt the damp spores are good for me, but my last rental flat had some quite bad damp behind a chest of drawers in my bedroom (i.e. it took a while for me to notice it and was quite bad by the time I did) and it didn't seem to make me cough.

Suspect dry atmosphere and damp might make it worse when I have a cold but not noticeably affect me otherwise. But if I do get one of my hacking winter coughs (not had one for while) then I might invest in a humidifier to see if that helps. When I do get a bad cough it really seems to linger at times.

Anyway, I have a gaggle of men downstairs working on the damp in the lounge so I am sat in the box room at the moment. (I say box room, I think it's about 11 x 7 so it's not actually that small, decent sized single I would say, though I don't have a bed in here) I've got a nice armchair in here which I hadn't sat in for years as it had been in the lodger's bedroom. Doesn't fit in there now I've got more built in storage but it's quite nice to have in this room as I can look out over the garden and to the trees beyond from here - doesn't look like a city view at all.

Had a good week last week as was starting to feel a bit more myself - went to a dance workshop on Sunday, then went to class on Monday and Wednesday and a freestyle yesterday afternoon. A and I met for lunch on Saturday and went to the John Soane museum which was good. Be interesting to see if having met at my suggestion he makes the effort to suggest meeting again. I'd like to be friends and it didn't feel awkward to me (and I wasn't looking at him wishing we were on a date rather than meeting as mates), but I've no way of knowing what was going on in his head.

I got chatted up yesterday but unfortunately the chap concerned though nice enough to chat to really wasn't someone I would fancy - not sure I can put my finger on why not, but I guess he just looked older than me which doesn't tend to float my boat (I might make an exception for John Cusack...) and he didn't seem that dynamic. But when someone asks to buy you a drink, tells you that you have really nice eyes, says you are a really nice person and asks when they are going to see you again, it's hard not to get the impression they feel differently about you. Anyway, I managed to escape without agreeing to a date but he did find out where I usually dance so I might find him turning up there. Fortunately I didn't mention a new class I've found that I like so if he does become a bit over-keen I have somewhere to retreat to!

Not got lots of fixed plans in the diary for the coming week nights, just dinner with a friend on Friday, but I am sure I will go dancing a couple of times. Out for the day on Saturday with friends, think we are going to go to Hastings which will be nice, not been all year and I miss it. Will have to try not to go too crazy in my favourite boutique though.... funds are getting a bit tight... Was a bit naughty on Saturday and bought a couple of jumpers, a khaki one in Oliver Bonas and a coral oversized one that's a bit like a poncho with sleeves.

I do have a facial this afternoon, but that's already paid for - I buy a course as you always get one or two facials for free that way. It's painful the time you have to pay for it, but more economical that way and I don't think I need to pay again till next year.

Anyway, got quite a few errands to run so I had better get myself moving. Have a fab week all x

lessonlearned

Good morning lovely ladies.

Well here we are with another new bright and shiny week ahead of us.

Hope you are all well, and the poorly ones are feeling better now.

My IBS flare up was a bit rough and lasted several days but thankfully I feel a lot better today. I have also slept better this last couple of nights and I think that helps

Indie........Some interesting comments about the men in your life.

I have to say I do find the whole men/dating thing a bit of a minefiled.......:rotfl: but tbh I have never really “dated”as such. I met my first husband when I was 15 through work, the second love of my life when I was 25 again through work and I was introduced to my second husband when I was 31. So really I never joined the “dating scene”. I was never “on the shelf” for long between relationships, I fact I enjoyed being in my own and wasn’t even thinking about meeting a man, they literally just fell into my life.

I do seem to have led rather a sheltered and somewhat charmed love life. :rotfl:

J1 is still in regular contact but I think he’s finally got the message that it’s a “just good friends” thing. J2 hasn’t contacted me so I think we can just chalk that up to a mild holiday flirtation and leave it at that. I think if he was really interested he would have contacted me by now. No worries, no harm done.

I am not going to fret. I had a lovely holiday and without being too conceited it was gratifying to have a couple of nice men find me attractive. I am grateful to both of them for making me realise that I am now in a position where I can be attracted to another man and not feel that I am “betraying”my husbands memory iyswim. I think that was a big hurdle for me.

Still not ready to brave the shark infested waters of internet dating though.........:rotfl:

I met with the ladies from the Jolly Dollies yesterday and we had a lovely lunch and a nice long chat. There are now three ladies who have joined up who live locally and they all seem ready to start getting out and about more so I feel that life is beginning to open up a bit more fir me. I do have female friends but many of them are married and although I don’t mind going out alone to the cinema or theatre etc it will be much nicer to have girlfriends I can go out with sometimes.

I have decided to kiss the Silver Fox goodbye......whilst everyone else seems to love my white hair I think I prefer to have some colour in it. It’s ok whilst I have a tan but I can look very pale and washed out in the winter so I have decided to have my hair coloured on Friday.

Hope you all have a lovely week.

Raining here so just a gentle day of pottering.