Champagne Lifestyle on a Lemonade Budget.

balabooberlies

Losing weight, organised for Christmas already............

Sugarbaby et al........................... (is that right ?)...........you are all such an inspiration.............

x

helensbiggestfan

Good Morning my lovely friends........

Well here we ago.  Lockdown 2.  Good luck everyone.  Stay well and happy and keep enjoying those Champagne moments.  

Edited to say.......

champagne moments........

yesterday finished painting my hall console table, and refinished my dining room table. All looking super smart now.  

This morning checked my energy provider and discovered, that thanks to such a lovely summer I'm £300 in credit.  My current monthly payment should be enough. I purchased a gas cyclinder for my new portable stove yesterday.  I also have a load of coal and wood left over from last year so won't need to buy any more this winter.  

Nice to know I'm not going to be cold.....😂. 

  

balabooberlies

LL.........this one is for you.........

When I first started reading this thread I quickly realised that I would have to make lists of books, websites etc that were recommended.  So I did.

This morning I watched Meik Wiking on telly (the happiness doctor) and as you have mentioned 'Hygge' many times I ordered his book on the subject.  All the while thinking of you LL.  So thank you................

Hugs to all

bala

x

Debsnewbudget

Champagne moment for me was finding a dishwasher for free on f,book marketplace.  Only needed it to fill a space in the kitchen in a house we are selling, to look good on photos 
Apparently it had not been used for 12 months due to not draining, got it home and it works perfectly 😄

phoebe1989seb

sugarbaby125 said:

I was determined to buy far more modest Christmas presents for my family this year and I hit that goal. I am pleased to say that all of my Christmas presents are wrapped including my 4 sisters presents which I have packaged in grey mailing bags and I will post to them.   

That's amazing and so organised, sugarbaby.....well done!!!

We aren't quite that organised, although we do have most of the stocking fillers, all wrapping paper/tags etc plus I've been keeping back large boxes and bubble wrap from recent deliveries in case we are unable to visit/hand deliver our gifts and have to post instead 

Fortunately we only have each other, DS, his partner and DGD to buy for.....no surviving parents  and although DH is one of six - with loads of nephews/nieces - we've never exchanged gifts with any of them. I'm an only child.

So it's just the main presents left to buy here - three items in total as DH/I and DS/partner are having joint gifts this year 

We also have a couple of decent boxes of crackers - including some William Morris ❤️ ones found in Homesense a while back - plus Christmas cards and more decorations than we need, lol! Hopefully when the time comes we'll be able to get a real tree as we got rid of our two large imitation trees when we moved to Wales. We do have a tiny vintage 1960s tree plus a pair of small, real, potted trees in the garden from 2018 and 2019 if all else fails!

It's another chilly but sunny day here. I've still got some allium bulbs to plant out - as well as two fruit trees (a quince and a Medlar) - but  really can't summon up the enthusiasm to put on scruffy clothes and get dirty today 🙄 Instead, I'm snuggling up, planning how the extension will look when built and thinking about furniture placement etc.....far more enjoyable!

Bonfire night tonight - no fireworks obviously (our dogs are petrified of the sound and hated it when we lived in a more built up area with lots of bonfire parties), but we will be following another family tradition and having hot dogs for supper/lighting the pumpkin one last time 🎃

mrs_slapshot

Good evening everyone, I've been catching up with your posts! Some fabulous champagne moments there, especially Spider! You are so organised Sugarbaby and Phoebe - I have done a Christmas list but have bought nothing yet! I'm going to start this weekend. There's not too many to buy for, and I have a few ideas.

My house move is (hopefully) getting closer...spent this afternoon getting frustrated with solicitors...my local search is due back next week, then the final pieces of my purchase are almost in place. It's the rest of the chain I'm not confident with - although the agent dealing with the top of the chain says we are aiming for week 3 or 4 in November. Maybe we'll be in for Christmas! Can't remember if I said but I've decided my son can have the master bedroom as it has a huge built in wardrobe and he needs lots of space for his sports kit (and clothes! I did his ironing the other day and he has too many clothes for his current wardrobe...). I'm looking forward to being in the second bedroom, which I plan to decorate in pink/grey/white. There are laminate floors everywhere in this house (except the front room which has a lovely wooden floor) and I do plan to replace them but I will be checking out irugs so thanks for that LL!

I've been feeling a bit low too recently, a combination of not feeling 100% and the winter arriving - although like you LL I do love closing the curtains and snuggling up on the sofa. Problem is I've snuggled up too much with naughty drinks and snacks and now I am on a fitness drive!!
 
I've sold some more stuff on eBay and also listed a sofa bed I've decided not to take with me, so my funds are increasing slightly...until I move and start renovations when they will decrease rapidly! But I'm looking forward to budget finds and styling tips to help my budget stretch.

In just over a month I will be 55, and able to start drawing from my private pension...it's sadly not enough to pay my bills so I am leaving it where it is for now, only planning to draw some next year to pay off my car which is on a lease deal until July. Once that's paid off I will have £170 a month to put towards my mortgage so I can aim to pay it all off within 5 years. One of my best friends is also now 55 and has decided to leave her job and draw her pension from next March. I admit to feeling slightly envious (especially after a tough day at work like today) but I also feel extremely lucky to be able to continue working through this pandemic when so many others have lost their jobs.  And my job is great really, I would just like to be able to choose how I spend my time - but I also need the income to help me to do that, so until I have 'enough' in my retirement fund I'll keep working.

helensbiggestfan

Hello my lovely friends.....having a bit of a restless night, so thought I'd just drop by.  I'm tired but can't seem to switch offf. 😂. 

Mrs S. great catch up. 🤞 your house move goes through soon. It would be nice if you could be in and fairly settled by Christmas.  Sounds like a good plan for your early retirement too, sounds like you are on track.  

I have found a local Nearly New Shop who might be interested in taking some of my clothes.  I was thinking the heavier items like winter coats and some of my boots.  I thought I would try them with a few items and see how we go.  I'll take photos tomorrow. Then I could maybe try selling some of the lighter items (reduced postage costs and easier to parcel up)  on EBay.  I have wardrobes full of clothes I never wear and as I approach my 70th next year I want to revamp my image. 😂.  

Now that I have broken the back of the house renovations and have a bit more time I have been thinking I could maybe try dealing in vintage clothing as a little sideline. Anyway, I thought I would start with my own unwanted clothes and take it from there. It won't make me rich but every little helps.  😂. My late husband and I used to do a bit of antique and bric a brac as a sideline and I loved it. I would love to do it again but ideally it takes two people to man a stall.  I guess I could deal in small unbreakable items and do it online.  

Right going to try and sleep now.  X

phoebe1989seb

I do hope you're in your lovely new home in time for Christmas, mrs_slapshot  We've moved in the run up to Christmas a couple of times (once we completed on 30th November, the second more recent time on 16th December) - it was all a bit hectic, especially the latter occasion and both were long distance moves of around 200 miles, but it felt really good to have it all done before the New Year!

Actually, I have such fond memories of that last house and am currently feeling a little nostalgic/sad about selling even though we've been here almost three years now. Things didn't go brilliantly straight away tbh, we were due to complete on my mum's birthday (16/12) - she was in a nursing home with dementia and my dad (who also had dementia ☹️) had died six months previously - so ideally we had hoped to spend the day with her. Our buyers could only do the 16th or else it would have to be postponed till after Christmas, so reluctantly we went ahead. Then my aunt passed away and her funeral was arranged for our moving day! Our actual move took five days using professional removals - three to load up and two to unload at the other end. The first thing we did on arrival was rush out to buy a real Christmas tree in the village. Next morning we came down to find the tree had collapsed breaking almost every glass bauble 😥 Still, I absolutely loved that house, lol!!!

LL, I hope you managed to get some sleep in the end? Those sleepless nights are awful - you have my sympathies! I often read into the early hours....once I remember reading all night, lol!

A vintage clothing business sounds huge fun! I've probably said this before, but like you, DH and I used to run a small antiques/collectables business that grew from selling stuff when we downsized in 2007. Initially it was done alongside DH's day job, then when we were settled in our new location we did it full time, primarily as a registered eBay business, but later we did fairs too. After a while DH began to concentrate on vintage vinyl/music memorabilia and we also upycled a few vintage furniture items. When we moved here to Wales in 2018 DH took a room in a local antique centre but eventually we realised that my specialism (arts & crafts movement/art nouveau, which at that point comprised the bulk of our stock) wasn't as popular here so gradually we wound things down, which was a shame as it was something we both enjoyed......

With the benefit of hindsight for us it was the right decision as coupled with the prohibitively high eBay fees, most of our stock came from fleamarket/auctions - as well as car boots/record fairs for DH's music items - and this year those have been non-existent where we are 🙄 

Champagne moments - another super sunny but bitterly cold day, so keeping warm inside going through my gardening books/magazines getting ideas for next year. Yesterday I made some toffee apple muffins as a nod to bonfire night, using lots of ingredients found in the larder including a load of quality street toffees that otherwise would have been wasted Am about to have one now....they are surprisingly delish!

helensbiggestfan

Alas I didn't sleep much at all last night, only managed about 2 hours. About an hour round midnight and then wide awake through the night. Finally dozed off about 6 ish and woke up at 7.30 feeling wretched.   I feel absolutely shattered today.  I managed to drag myself round Aldi's first thing. I have flung the fresh stuff in the fridge but haven't even managed to put the non perishables away yet.  It can wait.  

The family came round yesterday and the human tornado (GS). caused absolute devastation.  He's had a nasty chest infection this week but obviously he was feeling better.  😂🤣.  I think he might have passed his lurgy on to me because I feel so wiped out I haven't even got the energy to clean up properly.   A lot of fibromyalgia pain today too.  😒. So the house has just had a lick and a promise today.  I have managed to fling some laundry into the washing machine and have cut some flowers from the garden and dotted them round,  to cheat and make the place look nice but it's all superficial tidying up though.  I really feel that each room needs a thorough  "bottoming out". I think I'll get down to it next week, make the most of lockdown to get everywhere spick and span for Christmas.  😉.   

Phoebe....I know what you mean about upcycling furniture for resale only working in certain areas.  It definitely wouldn't work here. I have seen several businesses try it and fail.  I think you need areas where people are cash rich but time poor.  There's a lot of work involved and it's not really possible to charge a proper rate for your labour to make it a viable business.    

  I once revamped a solid pine Welsh dresser, paid £25 for it and spent about £25 on materials.  It was gorgeous when I'd finished and loads of people admired it. I saw one almost identical in Laura Ashley for over £600 but of course it was factory made and finished, so quick and easy to make.

Mine had taken hours and hours of work.  The thing is we cant ever compete with mass produced items.  A lot of people want "vintage style" but don't want pre loved, even if they are bona fide antiques.   They aren't getting such solid and robust good quality items but they aren't really bothered as long as they get "the look".  

The dresser now sits in my sons conservatory. He loves it, not sure if DIL is quite so keen.  She likes vintage style but wouldnt dream of buying pre loved. I once picked up an amazing Armani dress for her from a charity shop but she chucked it in the bin. Lol.  

I think she only tolerates the dresser because it's in the conservatory which is just used as a store room at the moment. I am guessing she will want to get rid of it one of these days when she gets round to decorating and dressing the conservatory so I might get the dresser back. 

I am aiming to turn my shed into a nice feminine "she shed" at some point -  it would go a treat in there.  😉. 

phoebe1989seb

Gosh, I know exactly what you mean, LL! The couple whose garden DH has been landscaping this year are multi millionaires (he sold a business for £20m a few years back 🙄). They bought a beautiful old - but unfortunately not listed - early Victorian mansion for £1m+ then spent a further £3-4m pulling it apart and rebuilding as a pastiche of what they had originally.....because they don't like anything old, lol!

Sadly their builders ripped out all the original fireplaces, staircase etc and threw them on the bonfire 😮 Around here it seems people equate old to *can't afford new* ☹️☹️☹️

DH was there when they moved in earlier this year - all their furniture came as flat pack.....not an antique in site or even high end contemporary, yet they could easily afford either. They did splurge on a grand piano.....but it's one of those automated ones as neither of them plays 🙄

Fortunately we sold the majority of our personal arts and crafts furniture collection to a high end specialist dealer in the south of England before we sold our last house.

I wouldn't say we made money, as most sold for the price we'd paid 10-15 years previously (eg, we sold a Liberty sideboard for £4000 which is exactly what it cost us in 2004 😉), although we did get £500 for a copper embellished arts and crafts movement dressing table lacking its mirror.....it was an eBay find for £50!!!