Frump to Fab 2021

candygirl

Oooh LL , I'm loving those coats, especially the red one! ❤❤❤ That Pope tin is also fab!
As a teen , I was lucky enough to see the Pope at Heaton Park in Manchester.We didn't realise at the time , what a momentous day it was , n wondered why our Mum's were getting so excited 🤣🤣
I've been pampering my nails n hands with almond oil from Goa,  n also my fave Clarins hand cream , n they look a bit better 😊
WORT my eyebrows went thin when I started with hypothyroidism .Are your levels ok? X

Wednesday2000

I light a candle in the afternoons/evening too. I have my fairy lights up in my living room and some in my bedroom and I'm keeping them up all year around.

We started watching a show called The Staircase yesterday on Netflix. The Staircase | Netflix Official Site Accident or murder? After the mysterious death of his wife, author Michael Peterson watches his life go under the microscope. Fascinating. We have binge watched quite a few episodes already! 

My husband has a work course today in central London but he will be back early and we will carry on watching that.

I want to get a new kindle as mine has a scratch but want to read all the books on there first as a challenge. *Gulp* I have 47 books on there. I am terrible for buying books when they are 99p. I'm going to start one today called Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making peace with your money.  

I am about to have a bath and wrap up and go for a walk. I wore my blue scarf yesterday and I was looking at it and thinking what a perfect shade of blue it was and realised it must have been a charity shop buy that I dyed the "correct" colour for me. I think it was beige beforehand if I recall. The horror.

helensbiggestfan

Good Mornjng lovely ladies......

thanks all your coat comments.  Nice to get feedback because these are exactly the type of clothes  I aim to sell.......classics in good quality fabrics made by good brands and hopefully mainly made in the U.K. although I'm not averse to the odd bit of  French styling. Oooh la la.     So it's good to get your views and makes me think I'm (hopefully) on the right track.  

I think rather than stock a huge range and try to please the greater number it's better for me to have a clearly defined market or customer profile in mind.  Anyway I really do want to champion British manufactoring and tailoring.  I think we are (or perhaps were before we started outsourcing) world leaders.  I am hoping that eventually we will see a renaissance in the British garment industry.  I would love to see a "I'm Backing Britain Campaign" again.  

I can remember....yes I'm showing my age here - when Britain led the world in an explosion of British design, music, film, fashion and the arts with London as the epicentre of fashion and Liverpool and Manchester were the twin peaks of pop music. "Swinging London" was the coolest place on earth and a Mecca for young people from all over the world.  Happy Days
 

I worked for British Rail at the time and one of the perks was 5 free rail passes a year (across Europe as far as Turkey, although the furthest I got was Belguim) and when you didn't want to use them you got 1/4 fare on all U.K. travel, including ferries.  I used to use my 1/4 fare rates to travel down to London more or less every other weekend where I would go round Carnaby Street and Portobello Market and hang out with all the "Beautiful People". I couldnt afford the clothes of course so when I got home I would head down the market for fabric and out would come my trusty second hand  Frister & Rossman sewing machine where I would endeavour to copy the latest fashions.

 Derby's answer to Mary Quant.  😂🤣 

It's like Siberia here this Morning. I doubt I shall go for a walk unless the ice melts, so an indoor day and more decluttering.  

Stay warm and safe.....

MrsPorridge

I love the Pope tin too.

Went for a walk today along the cliff path so was quite strenuous and muddy in parts.  I am glad I did it now, I feel very pleased with myself  for making the effort.

Looking forward to the new series of Death in Paradise tonight - nothing like sunshine and murder in January

helensbiggestfan

A duvet coat would look terrible on me. I would look like the Michelin man.  

You lot are making me chuckle about the Pope tin.  Im surprised at how much you all like it. Pure kitsch really. 

It has sentimental value for me, mum used to keep all her old utility bills and "rates" bills in it, life insurance policy.  My sister kept the "button box". A lovely old tin, full of buttons, many vintage going back to Victorian times.  If we were very good and handled them nicely we were allowed to play with them.  My boys loved playing with the button box too. 

Ah memories, I am in reminiscing mode today....,.😂

I've now done all the drawers and wardrobes in both rooms. Not got rid of anything but they are all neat and tidy again. Now that I have rejigged the way everything is stored I can get rid of a small chest of drawers.  It will make the room look more spacious.  Just need to sort out the shoes, I think I'll leave those until tomorrow. 

Still horrible so not going anywhere. 

littlegreenparrot

maman said:

Gorgeous coat and jacket LL. I'm going green. They're absolute classics and would go well with trousers or skirts or boots. 😁

That was really brave getting everything out like that. Good move though.

I agree about the one year thing. Obviously this year it's Covid but some years it's not cold enough for certain coats or hot enough for sun dresses. It's the same with evening wear, that depends on what sort of events come up. Shame about the leisure clothes. I'd really like some smart joggers but not sure where to go for quality. 🤔

They're quite expensive, but hush do lovely joggers. 
I try to stalk them in the sales 

maman

Thanks for that littlegreenparrot. I'll venture to the Hush website. I know chanie likes that brand too. I still have a great black, pencil skirt that she recommended a couple of years ago. 😊

Wort, you're so right that it's not just about decluttering but making sure you don't buy more unnecessary items to replace what you get rid of. DH and I  were standing in a queue outside a local bakery  the other day and the queue went past the window of the neighbouring antique/bric-a-brac shop. They had some lovely things in there  but we have enough ornaments and crockery and vases etc so decided it was 'stuff' and it could stay where it was.  

I must say I'm absolutely converted to duvet coats. I wear mine all the time as it's so light for walking compared to a cloth coat and beautifully warm. I'm still looking for one that is a bit longer and with a hood but haven't been lucky yet. I almost got the Uniqlo one when I was in Regents Street before Christmas  but they only had navy and I wanted black. 
Women Ultra Light Down Long Coat | UNIQLO UK

The off white thermal top is a keeper. I'm wearing it today and it's lovely and warm. I went to our local Sainsbury's and got a  dark grey one too so now I'm fine for the rest of the winter.  They had slightly better stock but not that much in terms of plain ones. It seems people don't want thermal vests with star constellations printed on them?? 😉 I needed to go out to pick up the Benefit gift sets from Boots so I'm OK for moisturiser for a while. I had a browse around Poundland too and bought some tartan paper napkins for 25p. 😊 Despite the masks, i still feels fairly normal to be in the supermarket.  

Still cold but bright.😊

wort

Candy girl, I am on levothyroxine for underactive thyroid, didn't get my annual check last year due to covid but never usually changes much in  the last 12 years, I put it down to menopause😞 I could do with getting checked as soon as lockdown is lifted though. Thanks 

wort

My fairy lights are round the mirror over the fireplace, they are the tiny leds on thin copper wire, I also have lights across the tops of my kitchen cupboards and my metal bed frame! ! 
LL I remember Mary Portas doing a programme were she was making knickers using only British manufacturer,  it was interesting as she gave a few comparisons to how we made things to how it is now. The main thing being costs, such a shame really as the British made stuff was always better quality and it provided jobs. You'll have to let us know when you get your website up and running g.

maman

MrsPorridge said:

One thing I want to try and do this year is to try and eat a couple of meat free meals each week.  I am also trying to up our fruit and veggie portions at each meal.

I try to do that too Mrs Porridge. Our favourite is Veggie Chilli. It's so delicious I don't think my DH is aware it hasn't any meat in it. 😉 I use the Hairy Bikers Chilli Con Carne recipe but leave out the meat.
Chilli con carne - Recipes - Hairy Bikers
I substitute 2 extra cans of different pulses (butter beans, chick peas, cannellini whatever you have) and extra veg like diced carrot, mushrooms and peppers. I still use a beef stock cube as we like the flavour and a Tesco red  wine stock cube  too.  I make a load in my slow cooker and then freeze it in single portions. It's good with rice (that's what we're having tonight😋) but sometimes I have it on a jacket potato for a quick lunch. I serve  it with cottage cheese as an alternative to sour cream.