Frump to Fab 2021

Floss

thepurplepixie said:

Thanks Wednesday and Chanie I think I'm going to give it a go.  I looked up Paradise Blue and it looks like the right sort of colour.  If it doesn't work it isn't much of a loss as they are pretty grotty anyway.  I had some lovely new white ones so I thought some white and some turquoise would look nice.

Purplepixie, I've dyed some faded pale aqua towels Paradise Blue - it's a lovely colour but I would suggest using 2 packs to give the rich depth of colour. I used 1 for a flannel/hand/ bath/ bath sheet set and they aren't as good I had hoped. Chanie is also right about thread not taking the dye.

helensbiggestfan

Hello lovely ladies....

Gorgeous day here, bright sunshine, blue skies and surprisingly warm. I flung open the windows and set to with the hoover.  Then I went for a nice little walk, it was lovely, the birds were singing, bulbs pushing through the earth and the trees and shrubs are budding well.  A little foretaste of spring.  

Whilst cleaning I decided I'm going to switch the rooms round a bit. I want to get rid of some of the larger pieces of furniture.  When I decluttered my bedroom I freed up a chest of drawers so that can be sold and I have moved the large chunky coffee table from the sitting room. I'm going to look for a smaller one. All part of the simplifying process.  

 Tomorrow I'm going to change the rugs round and switch cushions, throws and ornaments, I just fancy a change, it might help me avert cabin fever and make lockdown a bit more bearable. 😂  Luckily I dont have to buy anything. 

I have used the Dylon dyes too.  I think the trick is not to try and make them stretch too far, so using 2 packs might be a good idea.  My biggest job was the loose covers for two large three seat sofas.  They went from yellow to terracotta and they took up the colour really well. I think I used 8 packs.  They were colourfast and didn't rub off to people's clothes and washed well.  

Tonight I'm watching chick flicks......😂  thanks for the heads up about Chatsworth, I'll give it a whirl.  I watched the Real Marigold Hotel when it was on first time round.  Interesting. I actually felt rather sorry for some of the celebs.......some of them seemed rather lost and lonely now that they are no longer in the limelight.  

Last night was Bowie night.....some great programmes about him.  A great trip down memory lane. I can't believe it's 5 years since his death.  

candygirl

I can't wait for the chazzers to open again, then I can buy stuff, n dye it , like WEDNESDAY. 
Have had a chilled day today, but as ever , have been cooking to relax.Have made a spicy 3 bean chilli, n a red lentil n mushroom Dahl. All ad hoc recipes that taste fab 😋 
Am going to finish watching The Serpent tonight.It's fab xx

savingfortomorrow

All the talk of decluttering has me inspired. But I have to get the motivation to get the paperwork done as it is time sensitive and clean the house tomorrow.

 I have worked so much this week I'm exhausted. Make hay while it shines and all that. People are panicking here it's gone from far away in their minds to dinner tables in 2 weeks, christmas day will be memorable for so many. The same people who laughed at my caution are now reconsidering. Its means more work for me, more pressure and onwards and upwards. 

The chilli that you described sound lovely maman. I have pressure cooked some kidney beans and it sounds ideal. I have reduced red meat to once max twice a week. I'm really trying to limit meat to twice a week and eliminated processed meat fully and have increased the beans, tofu and pulses. I made a simple chana dal soup with a little spice but so beautifully simple.  I over ordered the spinach and have 4 big bags so it will be loads of goodness.  

I eat whole food plant based 80% of the time with dairy and a little meat, I have reduced the amount of processed foods to zero. I remember being in a bad food zone a few years ago eating a golden processed thingy with wedges and thinking I can't remember when I last eat a vegetable. It must have been a few weeks but made me change a lot.  

Lessons- love the coats. I'm addicted to coats. They look so beautiful in a winter's day.  The red is lovely in winter.  I once tried on a beautiful max mara coat in Chester, I wish I had bought it but money was tight and rent needed to be paid but I often wish I could have afforded that coat. 

People will pay for quality that lasts. After reading a out the boohoo scandal on staff wages people want to buy less and keep it for longer. I bought 3 tops before the lockdown in November in primark and honestly they did not survive the tumble dryer. It's not worth buying cheap. I see work colleagues returning from lunch with bags of rubbish and wonder if the lure of the shiny will stop now that people have been on a shopping detox.

helensbiggestfan

Good Morning lovely ladies.  

All I can say is brrrr. 🥶.  well it is January, what else should I expect. 

SFT A very thoughtful And provocative (in a good way😂) post. Lots of food for thought there. I think you are right in your approach, which, if I'm correct,  is all about making better choices, better food, better clothes.  Quality over quantity.  And you are making subtle changes which are sustainable in the long term, rather than crash diets or quick fixes.  Better for your health and probably better for your bank balance.  Win, win. 

Sometimes I hear people say they deserve that treat of a bottle of wine or bottle of Coca-Cola and a big bag of cheesy wotsits, whilst they veg out and watch some awful crap on TV. They have worked hard, they deserve a treat.  Really??  Is gorging on rubbish a treat for our body, is gorging on junk tv a treat for our brain.  Is that the best can we can do, don't we deserve better.  😂

 Now I'm no killjoy, I love a nice glass of wine, or a G&T, I love a little bit of good chocolate, and I love a nice film or tv programme which makes me laugh or which entertains me or makes me think.  All of these things light  up the pleasure centres of my brain and make me feel good but I know full well that too much alcohol will give me a hangover and too much chocolate will make me feel sick and queasy......and, although I've no proof, I think probably too much low quality tv can dull the brain. Certainly too much sofa time makes me feel sluggish and makes my muscles stiff through inactivity.  

I think we deserve better than that. Our bodies deserve to be nurtured with good food and gentle movement, our brains deserve to be stimulated and kept active.  And, as vain as it might sound, I think we deserve to look good, to wear attractive clothes, to take care of our appearance. 

And yes, this is a money saving website, and many of us have to watch the pennies especially now, when the economy is so fragile and when we can likely expect rising prices, but being economically challenged and having a small budget doesn't mean we have to make do with poor quality food and    walk around like bag ladies.  

I know there will be folk who disagree but I still maintain that a healthy diet need not cost much more than a poor one and you don't need fancy spa or beauty salon treatments for good personal care.  And I firmly believe that a good quality garment will ultimately be more cost effective than a cheap one, it will look better for longer.   And that's without taking into account the incredible bargains you can find in charity shops.  

I have to admit that finding the gold among the dross in charity shops or even the high street is time consuming and not everyone can spare the time needed. It's often just easier to pop into Primark or Asda, or go online.  Hunting down the diamonds in the rough is challenging and takes time and effort.

And of course shopping for food takes time and effort too, as does cooking and clearing up afterwards. At the end of a long day at work sometimes the last thing I wanted to do was cook a meal from scratch and even now I'm retired and have plenty of time I still have my cba days😂. I'm not perfect.

We are only human. So instead of aiming for perfection and then berating ourselves when we don't reach the impossibility high standards we sometimes set ourselves maybe we should perhaps just relax a little and go with the flow sometimes.  The odd ready meal won't kill us, just not every day.  

I believe in the 80:20 rule. 

So here's my challenge to the newbies........or to those who have maybe fallen by the wayside.  

No crash diets or punishing routines, just a series of easy tweaks, some good daily habits and a bit of discipline. 

Stick with it and I guarantee within six months you will be transformed.  

If we get it right 80% of the time we can relax a bit for the other 20%.  And when we want to indulge ourselves in little treats, whether it's clothes or chocolate, go for quality over quantity.  

thepurplepixie

Thanks for the tip Floss, I'm definitely going to give it a go before the end of lockdown.  I'm so looking forward to a new bathroom, wanted to do it 2 years ago, was definitely doing it a year ago so it is well past due.  I'm considering doing the en suite as well, in for a penny in for a pound.
I've had a series of plumbing disasters during lockdowns over the last  year and last week had another one.  Changing the water filter in the kitchen I didn't tighten it enough, it is really awkward to get at due to waste pipes and water pipes, by the time I'd turned the water back on and walked from the garage to the kitchen and saw the water going everywhere and then got back in the garage to turn it off the kitchen was floating.  I've dried out the cupboards but one of the kickboards has warped so I need to find a replacement for that.  It never stops does it.  The filter is good, we've had one for over 20 years, and it makes the vile Devon water taste better but I hate the ritual changing of the filter every six months.  The thing that amazes me is that local people don't seem to realise how awful the water is.  I've lived in other areas and Devon is the worst.  At one time I lived in Worcestershire for a while, the water came from underground aquifers, don't know if it is the same for all of Worcestershire but the water was the best.  Even with the filter the Devon water isn't great.   I wonder if I'm fussy about water?  A water connoisseur.  
I had an appointment to have my hair cut and coloured in mid February but I suppose that won't happen, I'm not looking forward to going back to the Wurzel Gummidge look.

Floss

Purplepixie, I'm the same with water. I live in Cheshire (Welsh mountain water) for over 30 years before moving to Blackpool for 12 years (upland ground & river water). The water there was vile, I couldn't drink it plain, but as soon as I came back to Cheshire I was back on plain cold water again. My water company gives the source based on postcode - maybe yours does too?

maman

I think doing the ensuite at the same time as the main bathroom is a good idea pixie. If you were to choose the same look/tiles/paint colours then it could be cost effective too. You might even get a better price from the plumber for the whole job rather than two separate ones and it's only one lot of disruption. All worth considering.🤔

I'm a great believer in cost per wear LL. While I'm certainly not averse to buying some  more 'disposable' things from  Sainsbury's or Primark, I think paying for quality in timeless clothes is well worth it too. The very best buys are quality items from CSs or TKMaxx  or sales or Ebay though, where you're getting the quality you like at  discounted prices.

I'm a huge fan of healthy eating. I did have treats over Christmas but they were carefully chosen favourites  rather than just eating junk because it's there. Or rather not there IYSWIM?😉 I think if you have the freezer space then homemade ready meals are a godsend. We all have those CBA  days or busy days when we need to rush in and get a meal in a hurry. I enjoy cooking and have always been happy to be in the kitchen listening to the radio or an audiobook and prepping meals in advance for the freezer. 

DH and I sat down together and watched the Real Marigold Hotel last night. It was great to relive our memories of our trip to India. From a fabbing point of view I was  unimpressed with  how frumpy Miriam Margolyes and Rosemary Shrager and even Jan Leeming were especially compared with Wayne Sleep who had really kept himself in shape. They need to join this thread!! 🤣

Wednesday2000

I'm sure Jan Leeming visited my school once, Moira Stewart did too.

I just went for a walk and wore my purple coat that I bought in the summer from a charity shop. It's definitely the warmest coat I have. I just looked at the label and it is a White Stuff one. It really is cold today.

We started watching another Netflix documentary The Keepers yesterday. We are almost at the end as there were only 7 episodes. Very harrowing subject matter but well done. We will finish that later. I have a hot water bottle on my lap again!

thepurplepixie

Floss said:

Purplepixie, I'm the same with water. I live in Cheshire (Welsh mountain water) for over 30 years before moving to Blackpool for 12 years (upland ground & river water). The water there was vile, I couldn't drink it plain, but as soon as I came back to Cheshire I was back on plain cold water again. My water company gives the source based on postcode - maybe yours does too?

I've lived in areas with Welsh water and it was good.  I think our water comes from Dartmoor but I will check it out.
Just had a look and it says our water comes from reservoirs and rivers.  The worst thing is we have the most expensive water in the country and it is undrinkable.