Champagne Lifestyle on a Lemonade Budget.

lessonlearned

ska lover. Thank you for your kind words. Glad my philosophy is working for you but don't sell yourself short. You are the one putting in the effort, you deserve to reap the rewards of your hard work.

I have read a lot of self help gurus and so many of them preach a gospel of hard graft, going without and sacrifice. Also I think a lot of the self help measures aimed at alleviating depression and issues of low self esteem are far too negative and prescriptive.

I definitely prefer my approach. Well in the immortal words of Mandy Rice Davies "I would say that, wouldn't I":D

But, in all seriousness, I don't know quite how or why my philosophy of TLC, and "fabbing" as I christened it, works so well, but it just does. And, as you have begun to notice, it affects not just our appearance but it also seems to permeate right through our lives.

When we "dress up and show up" things just change. We grow and blossom, we walk taller and prouder, we become quietly assertive (without becoming aggressive), we become more tolerant and patient with others, we become kinder, more friendly, outgoing and open to new ideas.

This in turn has an enormous impact on our lives. People start to see us differently and respond to us in new more positive ways, often becoming more appreciative of us and showing us more consideration, courtesy and respect.

In short I think we become "Queens" :rotfl: and people start treating us like queens.

People have told me I am lucky To be an optimistic and enthusiastic person with a happy go lucky nature. I say poppy c o c k or something a little more colourful..:rotfl: I don't believe in luck ......but I do believe in work and effort.

And I know this sounds contentious and I am opening myself up to being flamed here but I genuinely believe that happiness is a choice. It sometimes takes courage and a leap of faith but I think it's better to try and fail and pick yourself up then to give up when the going gets tough.Optimism and enthusiasm are traits and skills which can be learned and acquired.

We can change our stars.!!!

Interesting question there about splurging and skimping. I'll come back to that later.

Need to cut the grass now......

lessonlearned

candygirl wrote: »

As some of You might remember, I lost my 15 year old Buddy almost a year ago now Anyway I spotted a new book on Amazon, about a rescue dog called Buddy, so saved it on pre order.It arrived yesterday, n I thought nothing of it, but it turns out a lovely ex mser had sent it to me :eek:When I realised I burst into tears.My faith in human nature has been restored a bit :A
LL me n mum are going to see Downton on Wed, can't wait:D
Have a fab night WEDNESDAY XX

How lovely. What a kind thoughtful gift. Hope it made you feel better and brought back fond memories of your sorely missed Buddy.

Wednesday2000

candygirl wrote: »

As some of You might remember, I lost my 15 year old Buddy almost a year ago now Anyway I spotted a new book on Amazon, about a rescue dog called Buddy, so saved it on pre order.It arrived yesterday, n I thought nothing of it, but it turns out a lovely ex mser had sent it to me :eek:When I realised I burst into tears.My faith in human nature has been restored a bit :A

Aw, how sweet.xx:A

lessonlearned

Ska lover.....first well done on the £6 coat, even if the dry cleaning did bump up the overall price I'm sure it's better than a cheap new one. Which brings me nicely to what I think it's worth splurging on but first do you not have any local shops or businesses that take in dry cleaning as an extra sideline. We have several newsagents, garages etc who do this. They send them away, so it's no good for express cleaning but if you don't mind waiting for a few days, they have offers usually something like three items for £20.

Anyway back to splurging and skimping. I think it will be different for each of us but I would invest in the following

Clothes

Coats......I think a cheap coat is a false economy. They look cheap. Often the colours are garish, the fabrics are usually horrible and they end up looking like a limp dishcloth in no time. I would rather buy a fabulous second hand one than a cheap new one.

Shoes......you only get one pair of feet. And I have reached the stage where I want comfort as well as style. Unfortunately if you want both, then nice footwear doesnt come cheap.

Speaking of feet.....good foot care. DIY care as much as possible but I do visit a chiropodist every now and then.

Underwear.....a good bra works wonders and again the good makes aren't usually cheap.

Cosmetics/toiletries

I think a lot depends on your skin, if you have allergies or are sensitive. But I do think there is a an awful lot of marketing hype. Some budget ranges are just as good as premium brands. Aldi, Lidl, Superdrug do some really good dupes but I guess it really is down to trial and error. Good moisturisers are my must have. I have very dry skin, especially my hands and legs. I need industrial strength hand and body lotions. :rotfl:

My all time must have though is a nice bubble bath. Badedas is my favourite. However, although there are much cheaper options it does last for ages so I don't think it works out more expensive in the long run. Asda have it on offer every so often.

(As an aside Aldi do fabulous dupes of Jo Malone Candles).

Interior design

This is where you can really make serious savings by careful shopping. Junk shops, charity shops, auction houses can be real treasure houses for furniture, porcelain, glassware, curtains, artworks and object d'art. I have picked up some amazing bargains over the years.

One caveat though. My dad always taught me that cheap paint was a false economy. I have found he was right. Good paint is easier to work with And you get a nicer finish.

And I do like to splash out on nice linens, good cotton bedlinen and thick fluffy towels. I always wait until I see them in the sales.

Food/drink

Again you can make clever savings with the food budget although like many of you I have my non negotiables.......especially good coffee and chocolate. :rotfl: luckily Aldi and Lidl come up trumps.

Tired now so a nice lazy evening.

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moment on Friday evening was my younger son deciding to come home for a week from his Urbanest accommodation. :j:T

My Champagne moment yesterday was having a free ticket to go and watch Heartbeat of Home at The Piccadilly Theatre. I was sitting in Row B so I had an unimpeded view of the dancers and musicians on the stage. :j

It was my first visit to The Piccadilly Theatre, but I had planned my journey with TFL journey planner before leaving home.

Hearbeat of Home completely exceeded my high expectations. It is a wonderful dance and musical extravaganza with extremely talented dancers and live musicians. :j:D :T I was very happy and emotional throughout both acts of the show. The dancers did Irish dancing in the main, but there were a flamenco dancing couple, 2 salsa dancing couples and 3 contemporary dancers and a female vocalist with 7 musicians to complete the company of dancers. I would give this show !0/10

The sun was shining again so I was able to wear summer clothing with a pair of my black Van Dal patent leather sandals.

lessonlearned

Good evening everyone.

Lots of lovely champagne moments today.....mainly linked to the house renovations. Feeling very satisfied having had a good productive day.

Builder here, finished the plastering in the kitchen/diner. His labourer meanwhile did some heavy digging in the garden for me, planting all my bargainous Aldi shrubs.....16 of them and then putting in some edging strips in the front garden, separating the gravel from the flower bed. Looks much better.

Builder finished first and was kicking his heels a bit so I had a brainwave and asked him to remove some wall cupboards in the kitchen. They were too near the window for my liking and I felt they were blocking the light. I was right, now that they are gone the difference is amazing, the room is much lighter and feels much more spacious.

Just after they left a couple of friends dropped by so we tucked into tea and biscuits and had a good old natter. Nice excuse for a rest.

After a beautiful warm day it has turned chilly this evening. I shut the curtains and popped the heating on just for half an hour to take the chill off. Now sitting nice and cosy with candles and a throw.

Love autumn and the chance to Hygge. :rotfl:

DundeeDoll

Champagne moment yesterday - happened to be walking past Dundee Rep at 2:15, noticed people going in for the matinee of Tay Bridge, decided to go in on the off chance. £12 for an excellent play.
And for today
getting to my 2 hour guided walk 30 minutes early (i like to allow lots of time when it's sunday buses!), so going to Costa, handing over my refillable cup and having it filled with hot coffee for 75p (and of course using their loo just before my walk!)

ska_lover

You are so right with your ideas of what to splurge on , and what not to LL, and definitely about a well fitting bra - makes an enormous difference in comfort as well as shape

I accidentally brought yet another coat from ebay last night

I really should stop myself lol

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moment yesterday was going to watch the live podcast Trolled at King's Place in King's Cross. I had a free ticket for this event so I saved myself £14.50

One of the UK’s great actors, Tracy Ann Oberman, discusses online abuse in this frank, fearless and funny podcast with Guardian journalist Nick Cohen and Countdown's Rachel Riley.

Just what does it take to make your point heard without getting death threats? How can you have a conversation on an issue and not trigger a landslide of abuse? What impact is all this having on our national state-of-mind? Expect answers to all these questions, and much more besides.

I really enjoyed this live podcast that was being recorded, but it became a very narrow discussion about antisemitism in the upper echelons of the Labour party and why it was not being condemned by the Labour leader and the Labour party elite. What Rachel Riley in particular had to say about the subject was very informative and based on her personal experience of being trolled and libeled and what action was available for her to take to try to prevent herself from being targeted. :cool: I feel the podcast would have been more beneficial to the live audience and the audience who would watch the recording if it had been more generalised and had a wider scope on what happens when you are subject to relentless online abuse and what steps you can take to protect yourself from online trolls. Nonetheless I really enjoyed my 1st experience of a live podcast.

I have always loved the venue King's Place as it is a building with beautiful architecture and spaces particularly suitable for creative events.

chanie

This is a champagne moment, but also a tip!!!!


I have recently discovered that my library has an e-library and registered.


The first part relates to magazines - can download about 20 different titles to read of up to date magazines like Grazia, Woman and Home, Marie Clare and Womans Own.


The second part is the e-library where I can search the app and download books without going to the library. The range isn't huge at the moment, but I have reserved a couple of books which will automatically appear on the app once they are available.


I have the app on both my ipad and phone, so I can read whilst at home and also commuting to work.


Its a great way to access free books, particularly if you are busy like me and can't always get to the library (plus it supports the library).