Frump to Fab - A Whole New World.

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies, 
LL your grandson looks tall for his age already. You have had an early start this morning, but at least you decided to put the time to good use. Really good on the weight loss front as well 

The Great British Sewing Bee is one of my favourite programmes and I love sitting down to watch it with my daughter. Initially she did not show much interest, but within a few episodes she was hooked, whereas I was smitten from the 1st episode of the 1st series.  When I am watching the dress makers, it brings back fond memories of my own attempts to be a dressmaker when I was a teenager and in my early 20's. It also reminds me of all of the dressmaking skills I learnt that I no longer tend to use. 

I have to stop making excuses for myself and buckle down to losing weight.   I had been eating whatever I fancied, but as I do not want to continue to gain weight, I have finally used some will power and stopped so much indulgent snacking. My downfall will always be chocolate, crisps, biscuits and cakes, but I have cut right down and will continue to do so. My actual meals do not really need adjusting as they are varied and well balanced on the whole. 

helensbiggestfan

It’s the snacking that does it for me too. I don’t know why but lockdown seemed to be my trigger, as if I had just given myself  cartes Blanche. Thankfully I’ve got it back under control now.  

Yes GS is tall, already wearing clothes for  size 3 years and he’s not two yet, but then we are quite a tall family I suppose. He is the absolute spitting image of my other son who is 6ft 3 so looks like he’s going to be another tall one

Apparently  UV rays are “very high” today so take care  everyone.  Back to “high” tomorrow.  It’s breezy too so it’s easy to burn without realising.  

maman

It is hard to stick to our normal eating habits in lockdown. I think we all need a few treats in our lives and they've been sadly missing recently. I've been doing very well on the food front, probably even better than usual as I haven't been able to eat out. Drinking is another story. I usually try to only have alcohol at weekends but Thursday has become the new weekend for a few weeks.  

I noticed how dark your grandson was in that sleepy photo the other day LL. I'd anticipated that his mother would be dark but as your son is too then he's following both of them.

I made an effort to look smart before I went food shopping. As it's so lovely and warm, I dug out one of my summer dresses. It's a loose, casual one that I'd normally wear during the day on holiday.

It's very similar to this but in navy blue and white and without the buttons. I bought it a couple of years ago in Weymouth in a little independent shop. While I was in my holiday clothes box I found a brand  new pair of shocking pink Birkenstocks  (from TK Maxx which I'd forgotten about) so I wore those too. I felt very cool and summery and I even wore some light make up. 

The weekend looks promising again so we'll try to get out for some more walks but keep away from beauty spots. National Trust properties are opening next week. We tried to book our local one this morning but all next week's slots were taken so we'll have to try again next Friday when they release more. It's all done by queuing on a phone line but I suppose they decided to do that because many NT members may not have internet access or smartphones. It's no wonder the tracking/tracing app is hitting problems on the Island. The demographic there isn't typical of the country in any way.

Take Care all. :  

savingfortomorrow

LL .. I had a mini declutter this evening  clearing  out the car. Tossing grimy stuff and removed a few not wow but ok items. 
I don't agree with the bot used in  6 months rule as now reusing items I bought  second hand 10 years ago.  I keep quality only even  if  less used as pure quality  will be useful.  My second  hand Ebay finds last longer than  a new item from fast fashion.  

Sugar  be gentle to yourself.  Limits are good but it's been a hard few months  for you.  Try and have high satiety foods for snacks that fill you up and are enough... the opposite of  pringles. Things like high protein skyr yogurt or similar.  We all have our own things that we find " enough" for snacks. 

chanie

I bought this Lidl veggie box for £1.50.  It contains veg that is past its best but still edible. It had;
5 bags of new potatoes
5 avacados
1 small cauliflower 
1 bag of spring greens
1 bag of organic carrots 
I worked out that it would have cost me about £9 to buy the items individually and I’m in the process of freezing it.

i know there had been a lot of discussion in here about healthy eating, so I thought I’d share my bargain.

Wednesday2000

chanie said:

I bought this Lidl veggie box for £1.50.  It contains veg that is past its best but still edible. It had;
5 bags of new potatoes
5 avacados
1 small cauliflower 
1 bag of spring greens
1 bag of organic carrots 
I worked out that it would have cost me about £9 to buy the items individually and I’m in the process of freezing it.

i know there had been a lot of discussion in here about healthy eating, so I thought I’d share my bargain.

OMG, that is unbelievably good value.

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,
Chanie, that Lidl vegetable box was a great bargain.  

I find myself more and more content to stay at home. I am keeping in touch with family by phone, but I have decided to cut back on telephone calls to family, as I was spending far too much time discussing the negative effects of the pandemic. I personally prefer to look at all of the positive effects it has had in my personal life.

Like LL, I prefer the much slower pace of my life. I am surprised that I do not feel that I am missing out because I no longer have the busy social life I used to enjoy. I do miss getting all glammed up though to go out. My daughter and I have become so much closer, as we have now spent so much time together 24/7. 

Only being able to have very small, intimate birthday celebrations is not an issue for my younger daughter, my younger son and I. It has been so much better for me from a financial standpoint as well. I do not think that when restaurants have fully reopened that I will ever do birthday celebrations with the wider family in a restaurant, I will simply invite all of the family to my home and cook for everyone. My younger son will turn 20 at the end of June. I have only bought him a few inexpensive presents, mostly clothing, as we have all agreed not to exchange high monetary gifts from now on. So now my upper limit per adult child or grandchild will be £50 and £100 for major milestone birthdays. 


I have been spending less money since lockdown even though I have been doing lots of stocking up on cleaning essentials, toiletries and non perishable food items. As I am doing so much more home cooking, I have really been stocking up on lots of seasonings, cook in sauces, marinades and rubs for chicken, lamb, steak and pork.  

This month I have managed to save £645 taking my savings to £4.710 

Wednesday2000

I have really upped my fruit and veg intake by having a salad with my lunch and dinner the past few days.

I have been doing some decluttering this weekend. I have thrown away some old makeup and recycled lots of packaging and done some rearranging. I have quite a few clothes I want to drop off at the charity shops when they open again. 

It's really warm weather. My husband pulled up the weeds and I jet washed the drive and patio. We are going to watch a film later on. I've been using my foot spa most evenings lately. I will do a face pack as well. 

maman

The veg box was a brilliant bargain chanie. Very healthy too. So win/win. 😁

It seems that your amazing ability to save is reaching new heights sugarbaby . 👏👏👏 May I ask where you keep your savings? It's so difficult to find anywhere that even keeps pace with inflation. ☹️ Maybe we should just spend.😉 I was joking with DH earlier that tomorrow we're allowed to go out and buy a new car! 🤣🤣🤣

I was thinking about a foot spa when I did my pedicure on Friday Wednesday. I just soaked my feet in a bowl of scented bubbles but it would have been good to have the massage as well. I think we're all starting to think about what to prioritise as lockdown eases. 🤔

We've  been out for a shortish local walk today (6000+ steps). We skirted the other boundary of the former country estate, we went to last weekend, to look at the remaining lodge house. I'm finding the local history fascinating. It's so interesting how much is left if you look carefully. This particular family were the descendants of one of the lawyers who tried Guy Fawkes. He and his wife have one of those fancy tombs (with painted effigies lying on top) in the local church.

DD1 starts back to school full time tomorrow. Up to now she's been 2/3 days in school and the rest at home doing planning, updating the online learning platform and contacting parents and children. Tomorrow she has all the Year 1/2 children of key workers and vulnerable pupils in a 'bubble' to keep them separate from the new arrivals. She doesn't have any underlying health conditions but I'm still worried that she could be at risk. We're told that children aren't hugely affected but it's less clear how much they can pass on. One positive is that children who've missed so much schooling will have a good chance of catching up in classes of 15 or fewer . It fits well with the manifesto pledge of 'levelling up' so hope it continues. 🙂

chanie

Although it has been nice having a slower pace of life, it is deceptive.  Both me and OH have continued working albeit, me from home and OH as normal.  But neither of us has taken much annual leave this year and we are both feeling it.  I’m holding out until my contract expires in a couple of weeks so I can be paid for my leave.

i have been surprised at the amount of traffic on the roads and people in the streets over the past few weeks.  I just hope that people are still social distancing.  It will be interesting to see how the next few weeks pan out, as shops reopen.