Frump to Fab - A Whole New World.

chanie

saving more - it was sugar who got me into eBay a few years ago and I buy loads of stuff from eBay.  I only buy ‘brand new with tags’ items and when I buy clothing, I only for for items which I know will fit (eg stretchy material).  I also don’t bother to bid and just go for ‘buy it now’ prices, so I don’t always get the same bargains as sugar, but I’m happy with that.
Ive rarely had problems eg items not arriving, not as described, but when I have, they’ve always been resolved quickly between me and the seller.  My eBay approach is only pay what you are willing to loose.  

maman

Glad to hear you first day went well chanie. is the flexible working permanent or a Covid thing?🤔

Your plumbing story reminds me of that old music hall song pixie. 
https://genius.com/Flanders-and-swann-the-gas-man-cometh-lyrics
I can see why you're leaving your new bathroom until next year but I would highly recommend it. We did spend a lot on ours but it's given us pleasure every single day.  No progress on house fabbing here yet. Although the house next door is sold, apparently they don't have the keys yet  so waiting to catch up with our new neighbours. Not that they will be neighbours as such because it's been sold to a developer.

I don't usually think early about Christmas but I think we need to this year. At the moment, in our area, groups of 6 can still meet indoors but I'd be surprised if the family came round. DD2 hasn't come at Christmas for some years as her MIL is on her own and they tend to spend it with her. Although DD1 could come round, she's avoiding meeting up indoors. She comes to see us regularly but just as far as the garden still.  She only lives a mile away so I can see us doing 'meals on wheels' on Christmas Day. I have a group of friends who we usually eat out with in December and exchange  token gifts. That's become something of a tradition so we need to book early as restaurants will only be taking bookings limited by the social distancing. 

I'm going into the city centre for some special birthday cards shortly. It's OK here but a bit overcast so I'm playing safe with black jeans and a grey Breton top. I might put a cardigan in my bag just in case. I might do a little bit of browsing but it will depend how fed up I get of my mask.  I find if I'm too active and/or wear it too long it  an make me tired. I suppose it's to do with a lack of oxygen as we're breathing stale air. ☹

Maisie_Moo

Glad your first day at work went well chanie your work outfit sounded nice.
All the talk of food has had me looking in the freezer and it will be a beef casserole tomorrow night as the weather is not looking too good tomorrow.
Been into town this morning and did just over 8000 steps but will do at least another 5000 this afternoon as meeting a friend.
I agree that walking can be boring LL but I am very fortunate that with a 10 minute detour I can walk into town through a beautiful park that has almost half a mile of horse chestnut trees. I have watched them get their leaves , then flower and now begin to lose their leaves I've found it very cathartic over the past few months. I can also walk into open countryside within 10 minutes, don't do that so much on my own but have discovered lots of local footpaths with DH. Wednesday has the same idea as me  I always walk for a purpose and it's quite easy as 3 of my closest friends live around 3 miles away so providing the weather is dry I always walk. There is also a wonderful little bakery so I sometimes walk there and back which is around 12000 steps.
Going to make some cauliflower and broccoli soup for lunch as it's a bit nippy here.

Maisie_Moo

Maman, yes I think Christmas will be different this year although I'm not going to let it worry me, my friend who has a large family had been discussing Christmas with one of her daughters who said they could have a 'round robin' of Christmas dinners but she said how many dinners can you eat ?
Pixie our shredder is on it's last legs too, DH takes over if he sees me using it as I get a bit impatient with it !!

maddiemay

Hi everyone, 53 posts read this morning so all caught up now.  Chanie I hope that the new job pans out well for you. Lots of lovely mentions of yummy food and gorgeous clothes, thank you for the photos Sugar, you always look great.  LL all good wishes to your family for the impending new arrival, new babies are so special.
OH and I are going through all kinds of hell ATM, any one thing would be enough to deal with, but 3 at once is too much. Not going to bring this lovely thread down with details, we will deal with things as we all have to, all your posts bring some light and normality as you detail your successes and (occasional) failures.  Maisie_Moo had to grin about your reference to Christmas dinners, remembering the Dawn French Christmas programme.
Take care, stay safe and well.
x

Wednesday2000

Sorry to read that Maddie.xxx

What an utterly dismal day, grey and dreary. At least it didn't rain while I was out. I did 9000 steps walking to Superdrug and to a couple of chazzers. I hadn't been in those charity shops since about February. I bought an Oasis silver grey sparkly top for myself and a navy blue jumper for my husband. At only £1 each it would have been rude not to. I bought lip balm, lipstick, conditioner, cotton buds, mouthwash and hand cream from Superdrug.

I had PB toast before I went out and I still feel full up. I have some stuffing left from Sunday and lots of potatoes as the delivery driver gave us double bags by mistake. I am going to do roast potatoes, Quorn fillets with veg, stuffing and gravy when my husband wakes up.

I am going to hang up the clothes I just washed and then go outside to play fetch with my dog. It actually looks like it's brightening up a bit. Oh yes, the sun is out now.

thepurplepixie

I'm not sure how Christmas will be here, I have 4 kids, their 4 partners, 6 GC so the rule of 6 is going to make it tricky.  Christmas Day should be easy it will be us and DD and her husband.  The boys all seem to go to their in laws and then come to us on Boxing Day.  The other thing would be going to DD as she is sort of in the middle between us and her brothers, so if we were with her we would be near enough to go and visit each of them separately.  I'll think about it closer to the day, hard to plan ahead at the moment.  I've already got the children's presents and I will give cash to my kids and their partners.

Floss

For those of you with temperamental shredders, spray a sheet of paper with WD40 and put it through the shredder. It should be nicely working again after that, but you could do it again if you feel it necessary.

maman

Sorry to hear things are tough but great to see you posting maddie.😊

I think domestic shredders can only take so much before they need a break. It's best to just do a few bits at a time and then leave them to rest. 😉 I generally leave a bag of stuff next to the shredder and often find that DH has finished it off when I go back. Result! 🤣

I bought a few bits and pieces while i was out., mainly basic toiletries and the birthday cards I wanted.  I went into Asda  planning to maybe get the gold pumps but but it's a smaller branch so didn't stock them (although interestingly they hadn't removed all the mirrors). I did buy this really soft cardigan:
https://direct.asda.com/george/women/jumpers-cardigans/charcoal-marl-hooded-lightweight-cardigan/GEM779158,default,pd.html?cgid=D1M1G20C5
and a long line light  grey top also in the lovely soft fabric. I'm not sure they'll be keepers as the cardigan is a bit too waterfall for me and the top could be baggier but it's the sort of thing I want for one mile clothes in the winter. I suspect other stores will have similar lines as they realise that this sort of comfortable leisure wear is what people are wearing during lockdown. 

Wednesday2000

maman said:

 I did buy this really soft cardigan:
https://direct.asda.com/george/women/jumpers-cardigans/charcoal-marl-hooded-lightweight-cardigan/GEM779158,default,pd.html?cgid=D1M1G20C5
and a long line light  grey top also in the lovely soft fabric. I'm not sure they'll be keepers as the cardigan is a bit too waterfall for me and the top could be baggier but it's the sort of thing I want for one mile clothes in the winter. I suspect other stores will have similar lines as they realise that this sort of comfortable leisure wear is what people are wearing during lockdown. 

I was watching a YT video by the stylist woman and she was saying the exact same thing that cosy/comfort was a theme for Autumn this year as people are indoors so much and also working from home. She was saying cardigans, shawls, scarves and capes would be popular this year.

I personally wouldn't wear a cape as it's not my thing but I love cardigans.