Frump to Fab 2018 - Fabulous Dahhhhlings

lessonlearned

Well I found the 60s one fun, a nice trip down memory lane.

But the 70s one seemed just downright pervy. The person behind the camera appeared to have an unhealthy obsession women's breasts and derrières. I gave up with that one. :rotfl:

pollypenny

Toni'sfriend wrote: »

Hi LL

We're going to Amsterdam, Berlin. Munich, Salzburg, Budapest, Vienna and Frankfurt so could be pretty cold. We're going to the Lake District in December so I'm hoping I might find something suitable there. Lightweight, warm and waterproof but still smart.

That sounds fabulous, TF! A duvet coat would be good. I wouldn't be without mine in cold New Jersey

savingfortomorrow

i nipped into ikea and lessons learned there was a beautiful teal velvet sofa that might be of interest, comfortable but great value. it is amazing what a change in colour can do. hopefully the dying of the sofa will be easy.
it is funny that you wrote about the toning up as sometimes you can loose tone but not gain weight. i am the same weight as a year ago but loss of tone can make a massive change to how clothes fit, posture and overall appearance.

even in school a teacher told me i was like a bag woman, well i had more bags hanging out of me than you could count.

lessonlearned

SFT Just checked Ikea online and found the sofa. It looks lovely. Great colour. Might be a contender.....if the dye job doesnt work. Thanks for that.

pollypenny

I'm about to order a replacement chesterfield from Thomas Lloyd. I lust after a velvet one from John Lewis (the Finton). However, at £1700 and in fabric, it's not going to look pristine in our house for long. We sprawl about with newspapers too often.

Our current chesterfield is getting a bit battered. It was bought in 1992, though, so owes us nothing.

lessonlearned

My parents had a lovely forest green leather chesterfield, nice and "lived in". We had nowhere to store it and had to let it go when we cleared their house. .

I won't be replacing the sofas just yet, the sitting room is next years job because I need a new fireplace. The gas fire in there is ancient and very inefficient. Basically I am trying to do all the dirty jobs first before spending money on new sofas or carpets or nice curtains. Still undecided whether to knock out the wall in there and replace with double doors through to the dining room. However it is a supporting wall - it will need a very large steel beam and it will be an expensive job. It would look sensational though. . Having seen the difference in the kitchen, I am very tempted.

Sunny at the moment but the forecast isn't great. Oh well it had to happen. Still not finished all draft proofing. I decided to get the handyman to do remove the wall instead - again because I wanted the dirty jobs out of the way first. But I'll do what I can over the next few days and get him to do what I can't manage next week.

It's one of the drawbacks of living alone, a lot of jobs do need two pairs of hands. The boys help as much as they can but neither has any time at the moment. DS1 has even pinched my handyman. :rotfl: I never thought he would admit to needing help but he's finally seen the light. My guy is over there today doing some outside works before the bad weather sets in.

I know the heating bills are going to be high this year but it can't be helped. As I work through the house I will be upgrading insulation and making it more energy efficient. I will soon lick it into shape.

All this house stuff means I have rather neglected my personal fabbing. I need to get a grip this weekend. Lol.

Well off to acupuncture and then Aldi.

Have a great day.

moneyistooshorttomention

LL - as you say "Get the dirty jobs done first". Good to hear you've found a suitable handyman and I was quite envious of being in an area where it's easier to find tradespeople. I think I might have found one here (5 years after moving here:eek:). He has picked up a few bad ways from the area (though he's pretty much starting out - early 20's I'd say).

I'm hoping I can "train him in our ways" at least to some extent. He's sent me a message that he can come x day of the week and I've duly sent him one back reminding him what days I'm not available (as I have a Life to lead) - try and train him into "The way round it goes is tradesperson fits in with customer's life" and told him I won't be available on the day he proposes. So - trying to train him into our ways in that respect (ie "Women do NOT wait around for men").

Re sofas - come the time - you could take a look at Sofa Workshop. It's got various shops across the country and can be "remote ordered". Having bought an item from them before (ie whilst I could still access a showroom I could get to) I know that the quality is reasonable (ie it still looks new).

So I ordered a sofabed from them since moving here. It does take a rather long phonecall from afar - by the time one has specified: this style/that size/that fabric/etc/etc. But I've got it and that's fine.

I'm now in process of ordering a small sofa from them. Thankfully a rather shorter phonecall with my specifications this time - as I'd chosen one of their stock suggested material/colour combinations one can see online. The sofabed took a longer phone call because I was saying "I don't see exactly what I want online - but the material I want is similar to that one on the website, the colour I want is similar to that one on the website. Can you send me fabric samples in that material in the various similar colours in that colour range you will have to colour x I can see on your webpage. I want a colour that's like so". So they duly sent me various fabric samples and I was able to remotely choose the colour I wanted.

They're mid-price range. The small sofa now being made for me is around £750 (15 year guarantee). The rather large sofabed I got from them since moving here was around £2,500 (from memory - think it was a 25 year guarantee??).

https://www.sofaworkshop.com

humptydumptybits

Pleased with my Sainsburys shop, spent £45 and got £10 of bonus points which I will use in the double up to get £20 of Christmas stuff. So my shopping was only just over half price. I'm thinking of doing a "stocking up for winter" shop over the weekend, if I can get it for half price it seems silly not to. Of course I can't guarantee what I would get on the bonus points, could be more or could be less. Probably worth a punt as I do need to do some cupboard filling in case we have a hard winter.


I've got a voucher for a couple of treatments at the spa in a local hotel. Might think about that in November, might give me a boost before Christmas.


On a positive note I've managed to put on 1/4 of a pound by pigging out for two days. Hopefully I can at least put on the 1.5 lbs I've lost since doctor told me to put weight on, getting back to the starting point would be something.

lessonlearned

Thanks for the link, Money. Some nice looking sofas and as you say prices seem reasonable, nice to know they are good quality.

Manic day here. Hardly had time to draw breath. Could have done with the handyman today but he's busy on DS1s property. He's scheduled to come here next Thursday and Friday. I have a To Do list as long as my arm.

I got his name from the local iron mongers shop. They keep a list of recommended trades. Or places like B&Q or Wickes have notice boards with business cards, although tbh I think personal recommendation is the best way really.

I was fine with builders, plumbers etc but what I really needed was an odd job/handy man/gardener for the small but heavy jobs I can no longer manage. He really is worth his weight in gold. I shall have to nurture and treasure him. .

Money...a tip. I have found that good trades people are busy people and, certainly initially, you do tend to have to fit in with their diaries. Once you have established a bond of mutual trust and respect and have a good working relationship then they will usually do everything they can to accommodate your schedules.

Also I believe that if an unknown to you tradesperson can fit you in at the drop of a hat then they are not busy and alarm bells should ring. The good ones are generally booked weeks in advance. My plumber is usually booked months ahead, although he will always do his best to accommodate an emergency.

I am now at the happy stage with all of my people that I can just give them a key and let them get on with the job. They know where the kettle is. :rotfl:

I am aiming to have a nice quiet weekend and get down to some diy and some serious personal fabbing. My skin feels like sandpaper and my hands are like a navvies. :rotfl:

pollypenny

Well, chesterfield ordered! Lovely to chat to a woman from my hometown, which is where they are made.

LL, I'm not sure your advice about tradesmen will appeal to money. She has just complained about those who are typical of the area. They're likely to be the good ones.

I've also ordered some snow boots from America! I wore DIL's last year in deep snow while we played with the boys and they fitted beautifully, keeping me dry and snug, too. Unfortunately, the only ones in my size were in red. But do what, eh?

As she is so stylish and the boots looked so good, I was convinced they were expensive, but they'll just cost $50 or so. My clunky Cotton Traders boots can go to Oxfam.