Frump to Fab 2017 - A Whole New World

hex2

Much sympathy from me Sukey, I lost one of mine just before Christmas and it hurts.
Lessonlearned the hair sounds lovely.

I've had a manicure today and my nails look so much better. Nice neutral polish but she has done a lovely job of tidying and shaping.

Inspired me to come home and do a pedicure - micro pedi, salt scrub and soak, body shop tea tree scrub, foot mask and then a filing of nails. Looks and feels much better now. If anyone wants a micro pedi, feel unique have the nails inc one for £12 in the sale. I must stop looking at feel unique, the 5 pic n mix samples at £3.95 included 4 different Emma Hardie products that I have wanted to try for ages.

maman

So sorry to hear that sad news sukey. I do hope you and your DH enjoy your time with him at the weekend.:)


Big test for fabbing today. I had to get out of the house early looking presentable for a formal business meeting and also help DH to clear our bedroom as today the carpet fitters came with the bedroom carpet. We did what we could yesterday evening but that left the bed, bedding and mattress to split and carry into other rooms to clear the space. Carpet is now laid and looks fab and lovely and soft underfoot. DH says he's sleeping on the floor tonight!:rotfl:


So the room looks all fresh and clean and colour co-ordinated but I still have a few bits to do to finish it off.


I wore my black pencil skirt with a fine knit red jumper and a black dotty jacket. I wore opaques and was going to wear heels but was advised to wear flats as it was icy underfoot. I had my black velvet frock coat and tartan scarf over the top and my new black gloves.





I've not been good with the walking other than Wednesday evening on the way to football (which we won:D). yesterday was too wet and today I've really not had the time. Tomorrow evening I'm going dancing again so that'll give me some exercise. Glad to hear you've taken up dancing classes indie.


Isn't it great when you get your hair done and you love it LL? My hair isn't grey but it's dull mouse and I think spending on the cut and highlights is worth every penny.


Thanks for the tips about Feel Unique hex. I'm going to check whether the moisturiser I need is any better value on line.


Enjoy your evening all. Its Friday!!:j

chanie

I didn't do fab Friday today, but focussed on some maintenance, which was getting my eyebrows threaded and some waxing. As Mr C wasn't working, I suggested we went to Ikea for breakfast. This was totally against my diet, but we don't get much time together. Plus, it was under a fiver for the both of us for two fry ups and a cup of tea, so very MSE.

indiepanda

Sorry to hear about your cat Sukey, crossing my fingers that you don't have to make that difficult decision x

lessonlearned

Sorry to hear about your cat Sukey......hope he doesn't suffer.

Well ladies how has your first full week gone........:rotfl:

I have been extremely busy with sorting out dad's funeral and made good headway on his paperwork so havent really had a lot of time to devote to myself. However, I have managed to make some improvements to my diet and have eaten quite healthily on the whole.

I did succumb to a few ready meals and wheat based snacks such as sandwiches and Buscuits. I have had to rely on IBS meds but I think the worst of the flare up is over. I'm feeling a lot better.

So not too bad a start all things being considered. And of course, I'm loving the new hair colour.

I finally plucked up courage and weighed myself - not good news.:o but could be worse. I've gained about 4 lbs.

My boys bought me a special watch for Christmas, which monitors my vitals, i.e. Steps taken, hours slept etc. Don't ask me which system it uses........it's beyond me. :rotfl: they set it up and I just check the results on my phone.

However it has proved to be a real eye opener.....I am not making good healthy choices. For a start I am not getting nearly enough sleep.......averaging between 4 and 5 hours - no wonder I feel tired and lacking energy. And of course I am not walKing enough.

I need to address these issues asap. Long term sleep deprivation plays havoc with our health. I'm sure walking and fresh air will help me sleep better, so I must do better - it's just so cold and I find it sets me coughing again. Hopefully it will warm up soon and walKing will be more pleasurable.

I need to look at my nighttime routines - I think they call this "sleep hygiene" and see what I can do to improve my sleep.

So far I have decided to try and reduce screen time - especially in the evening, maybe a warm relaxing bath using soothing oils such as lavender, less caffeine and switching to herbal teas.

I think I will do some decluttering in my bedroom........it's still a bit Too "busy" and I think visual clutter isn't helping. Also try pillow and room sprays.

I did try some herbal tablets but couldn't get my usual brand and the new ones upset my stomach so I have stopped them. Anyway I prefer to manage without if I can.

This last couple of nights I have been reading before switching off the light and I think I have found it easier to fall asleep, so hopefully some light reading and the new measures outlined above might help. Plus of course hopefully less stress in the future will be the big one.

Any sleep tips would be very much appreciated...........

The other thing I really need to work on is my skin.......it's parched....a combination of cold winds and central heating. So I need to up my water intake and also get down to some serious moisturising.

So my focus for next week is improved sleep, water challenge, and better skin care - plus of course good food choices and clean eating.

I think that's enough to be going on with.......

Disflop

So sorry to hear about your cat Sukey.

LL - your new watch sounds very useful - I keep toying with the idea of a fit bit type device, but am still relying on my phone which has a step counter app on it - which only works if I remember to take it with me!! Anyway, I would be very interested in people's opinions and or recommendations re a wristband monitor.
On the sleep preparation front, as someone who regularly wakes up after only 6 hrs of sleep and often struggles to get to sleep, I have found that not having screen time of any sort for at least an hour before bed is helping me to nod off more quickly.
Also, as I am ensuring I walk further every day - 55 miles in total since Jan 1st this year - I am finding a big improvement in other areas as well. I don't feel as 'down' or out of sorts as I did and my energy levels are much improved. I don't always do one long walk, some days it's a few brisk short walks, but it all adds up.

Today I plan to overhaul my wardrobe - be ruthless, which should mean I look more fab more often!
Have a good weekend everyone - and don't forget the slap and perfume!

maman

I'd like feedback on the 'watches' too disflop and I like the idea of reviewing the week and having a focus for the next one LL.


I'm pottering about today and then going dancing this evening. It's just a monthly social dance (just dancing no teaching) that friends have invited me to and I've not really got much suitable to wear. It's fine to wear normal clothes for weekly classes in a draughty school hall and the Christmas dances were dressy affairs. I can do both of those. This is somewhere in between and people generally wear lightweight skirts and a short sleeved top as it can get hot dancing. I only have one really suitable skirt (most of mine are too summery for January) and the tops I have are either too plain (basic t shirts) or too hot (jumpers). I'm going to do some people watching tonight and decide what to add to my wardrobe. I'm determined to do extra dancing this year.


It's a glorious day here, what a contrast with Thursday when it was tipping down and yesterday which was bitterly cold. Hope you're all enjoying your weekends whatever you're doing, even if it's nothing!:rotfl:

ali-t

Lesson learned, for guaranteed sleep i use the clarins relax range (shower/bath gel and body oil). It is like a coma in a bottle.

lessonlearned

THanks Ali.....coma in a bottle is exactly what I need. I did actually splurge this week. Instead of buying el cheapo radox type bath bubbles I treated myself. To some badedas......pure luxury. It smelt wonderful and the water felt really silky so hopefully not as drying for my legs.

I also bought some Aldi body moisturiser, the blue bottle. It's very thick and gloopy and it had to be massaged on rather than just stroked on but my thirsty skin loved it.

I still want to make my own though so I can avoid sulphates and petro chemicals.

MAman.....your comments about dancing clothes were interesting. I was thinking about that the other day because I Intend to start dance classes. I actually rescued a couple of skirts and a dress from the charity bag because I thought they might be suitable for dancing.

I'm guessing I will need skirts or dresses with a bit of "swirl" to allow freedom of movement. I thought Styles like wiggle dresses and pencil skirts might be a bit restrictive and whilst leggings are ok for classes, they won't really do for "socials".

So I rescued a patterned floaty crepe dress which has quite a nice swingy skirt and then a plain red fairly heavy cotton skirt and a summery green cotton which has a few sparkly bits. Both skirts can be dressed up or down. As you say dancing can be hot work so I'm guessing layers, with a fairly lightweight top and maybe a pretty cardigan.

Maybe - a bit like the kind of clothes you see in 50s musicals :rotfl:

My friend dances regularly and has quite a wardrobe of dance clothes, she has some great twenties/Charleston dresses and some Latin American style dresses.

I have both boys laying loft boards at the moment. It will be nice to have the extra storage.

I have just made them a banana cake.........:D

hex2

Absolutely love badedas, and you don't actually use that much so I don't think it's that much more than the cheaper stuff where you (I) tip it in.

Pedometers, I have been using one for years now. It works for me as I am *coughs* slightly competitive. I make myself do the 10k, and you can tell the blasted fibrosis hitting hard when I don't do it. It makes me realise that I have not moved in the last hour (buzzy wrist alert) and is one of those few things I would eat beans to replace if need be. I used to have a fit bug, which was good but didn't instant update so didn't spur the competitive thing as much. Have had a Fitbit zip, and a one for the last few years and liked them both. Easy to lose them though as they clip onto things. They usually survive the washing machine. Most recently I got the Blaze, the original strap sets me off in a rash but I bought a generic leather strap and no longer have a problem although I actually dislike having anything on my wrist. I don't think it matters much which one you buy as long as it works with your lifestyle. I like the step challenges and can often be found doing laps of the house while the bath runs to be in the lead or make my steps. It works best if you are slightly obsessive or slightly competitive. I don't find the sleep thing useful, I know I don't sleep well and verifying that simply isn't helpful for me. I need to sort it, not obsess about it. I don't care much about the heart rate thing either but OH really likes to know he is in fat burn. My knees tell me when I have done 20 flights of stairs but trotting round Derbyshire and seeing how many flights of stairs is quite amusing in a gentle way. Hope this helps. In summary they work if you are the kind of person who will do something about the feedback and make yourself move, rather than someone who says well it's been a busy day.


I went through my product stash today. I also need to be banned from buying beauty stuff as well as any form of knitwear. I'm off to mooch around the no buying cosmetics thread.