Frump to Fab 2021

maman

Definitely much colder @Wednesday2000. When I went out I wore a maxi skirt with boots and a fine knit jumper with a thermal layer underneath. 

Well done on the alcohol free days. 👏🏼

@helensbiggestfan often treats herself to flowers. I think they're well worth it as they have a feel good factor. I have some autumn coloured chrysanths that I was given (not my favourite but nice colours) but they're on their last legs so need replacing.

I also have 3 Christmas cacti. One is in bloom and the other two aren't far behind.

Last weekend there was 15% off some branded make up in John Lewis so I ordered some moisturiser and eye cream and picked it up from Waitrose today. I'm not running out but it's good to have some in stock at a good price.  

I've been enjoying using this highlighter pencil too.
High Brow Glow Brow Highlighter | Benefit Cosmetics

I prefer a highlighter to on my brow bone to eye shadows. I have their High Beam liquid one too, which is a pearly pink colour. 

Do let us know when your poems are available on YouTube @sugarbaby125. Is there a difference between open mic and a poetry reading? 🤔

MY DD1 is slowly recovering from Covid but it's taking a while. Otherwise all is well here. Hope you're enjoying your break from work @chanie. 😊

chanie

maman I love watching flowers bloom.  Thanks for sharing yours.   

Sorry to read your daughter has covid.  I hope she gets better soon.

ive been offered a new job.  My plan was to take a few months out, but I’ve been keeping my eye on the labour market in case something decent came up in the meantime.  The job itself isn’t brilliant, but it’s working from home job with local client visits, as needed.  This means I get to be at home more, plus no commuting to Central London, so it will do for now.

In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy my remaining time of freedom.   I’m going to use the time to prep for Xmas, plus lots of ‘me’ time.  I totally forgot, I won a voucher for a beauty treatment, so I’ve booked a massage.

candygirl

Congrats on the new job CHANIE, it sounds ideal 👌 

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

Congratulations on your new job Chanie.  Enjoy your free time before you commence employment again. Working from home will give you a much improved work/life balance. Your children must love spending more time with you. 

Yesterday evening I went to an event at Brixton Library. It was 'Black London: History, Art and Culture'. The 2 authors Avril Nanton and Jody Burton were selling copies of their book which details over 120 places that you can visit for free to immerse yourself in Black London. I bought a copy of their book and had it signed by Jody Burton.
 
Jody was convinced that she knew me from somewhere, but I was sure that the only time I had ever seen her was on television when she was being interviewed by Ronke Phillips. I told her that I had never met her before and she was genuinely surprised. Then the woman that came and sat in the chair to the right of me, also tried to insist that she had met me before, when we were total strangers, so as this happens to me far too often, I can only presume my Doppelganger lives in the local area. 

I won £25 on one of my premium bonds this month. 

I did my 1st order online with a new company I discovered called Bother. I stocked up on Ariel washing powder and Ariel pods as I had a coupon for £25 off my 1st order of £50 or more. You get free next day delivery.  When my order was delivered, one of the boxes of soap powder was leaking as it was damaged. I took photographs of the damage and the spilt soap powder and sent an email to Bother to inform them and ask how they wanted to resolve the issue. Less than an hour later I had a reply from a representative of the company who apologised and offered me a refund or they could send me a replacement box of Ariel. I opted for the refund and was astonished at the speed I received it, as it was in my bank account today. I am so impressed with the great customer service I received from Bother. When supplies are low, I will definitely be placing another order. 

Wednesday2000

Sorry your daughter has been ill Maman, is this the GP? I did look for fresh flowers yesterday but I didn't see anything that caught my eye.

Well done on the new job Chanie. Good news on the win with the massage voucher too. You have had some luck too Sugarbaby.

I really am feeling the cold. I have put my heating on full. I haven't tried my hoodie blanket yet but I will wait until it gets really chilly.

I am going to go and put my ring in to be resized and go for a meal this Saturday with my husband and then we are going to come home and watch a film instead as the film we wanted to see at the cinema has only limited showings. I actually prefer watching films at home as you can pause them when you want.:)

I don't think I gave an update on my house move on here. The person buying our house is proceeding fine but the people we are buying from are in a bidding war with other people for the house they want. I doubt we will be in the new place by xmas now.

We still want the house and we don't mind waiting as we are saving up more money. I just hope the person buying our house is equally patient. It benefits us as we were going to have to get a small loan to buy the house and now we almost have enough money that we wouldn't need to get one.

We have booked our dog in at the kennel next weekend so we are going to go down to the coast to look around our new area and go out for a meal there. I was thinking that I have only visited the specific area we are moving to four times which is quite absurd when I think about it!

It seems like that whole house hunting back in the summer was a dream that didn't really happen as it seems so long ago now. It all happened so quickly in two weeks. This year has flown by as well.

I need to tidy up and clean for my brother coming over to stay as he is taking care of our dog while we go out.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend.:)

maman

I think, when you visit next weekend,  you'll love the coast out of season @Wednesday2000. I love it when the tourists have left, totally different atmosphere. You definitely need the right clothes though as it can get very blowy by the sea. I find a hood or hat of some sort is helpful as ears can get very cold. 

Thanks for the good wishes for my DD1. This one is a teacher and, although double vaccinated, as soon as she told me her Teaching Assistant and several children had it then we expected her test to be positive. That was 3 weeks ago. I think there is a new strain going around which is extra contagious as she's had children in the class positive before. It's an occupational hazard though as there are no precautions in place other than handwashing and opening windows. Bubbles and staggered opening/break times have stopped, contacts can still come to school and far too many in one room for any distancing. Obviously it worries me but I'm pleased she's started to feel a little better. 

That website sound good @sugarbaby125. You are amazing finding bargains. I remember when you posted about Woolite for dark clothes in the £ shop. I bought loads and have only recently run out. I then found some in Poundstretcher (but with eastern European writing on🤔) but that's almost all gone too. I'll probably go back to Aldi or Lidl liquid as I find that our water is too hard for powder on dark clothes at a lowish temperature.

It's good to be offered a job @chanie, even if you didn't want one just yet🤣. Your skills are obviously in demand.

It's bright but chilly here today. I'm going out for lunch with friends and this evening to watch football. Strategic dressing is needed! We're going to a lovely, old country pub  but I've found lately that many places try to save money by not lighting fires or putting heating on for as long as they can get away with it. I'm wearing a maxi skirt with thermal leggings and boots underneath! 😁 Later I'll hang on to the leggings but wear them with jeans to the football.😁 Fortunately after years of watching football in all weathers I have suitable clothes for all occasions. 

Have a good weekend all. 😊

chanie

sugar I love the idea of a book on black Londoners.  The history of London is fascinating, but there is so much more to London than we know.
Maybe you were recognised from The Chase?

wednesday hopefully you will be moved soon, but it’s good to take advantage of being able to save more money while you can.

maman enjoy your planned events.  Hopefully, the weather remains warm for the football.

sugarbaby125

Maman, sorry I forgot to reply to your question, but here is the answer at last.

For me the difference between poetry readings are that they are much quieter events and the poets literally just stand  or sit in front of the audience and read their poems aloud to the audience. The audience tends to be quiet and only claps at the end of the reading. 

Open Mic poetry evenings are where an eclectic mix of poets of all ages perform their poems as opposed to just reading them aloud. These poets add so many more layers and more passion and fire to their performances and the audience is not silent in their appreciation. The audience is encouraged to click their fingers to show their appreciation while the poetry is being performed, so they are more involved in the poet's performances. Poets use hand gestures and body language to emphasis their words. 

Maman I hope that clarifies the differences. 

Maman I still only use Woolite Dark for dark coloured washing. I find it harder to find suppliers of it though. At the time that you mentioned purchasing it in Poundstrecher, I went to my local Poundstrecher, but unfortunately for me, they did not have any Woolite Dark in stock. I managed to find 1.5 Litre bottles of it from an eBay business seller, so I stocked up. I hope I now have enough to last for 10-12 months. 

miniriot

Hi all, I'm new to the thread and the forum but been lurking for a bit, wanting to join the challenge proper now but wondering whether I should wait until start of 2022 or can jump in now. I have some fabbing goals, as am trying to lose a couple of stone and also wanting to revamp my wardrobe and just be a bit more groomed, especially now I'm in my 40's.

I also do love a bargain, though can be a bit of a spendthrift and a shopaholic at times eek. I especially have a weakness for luxury skincare, perfume, and beauty products like Clarins and Chanel. I'm more of a skinflint when it comes to clothes, although I do very, very occasionally occasionally splash out on a label, like when I bought my cK jeans, I tend to nearly always go for cheaper brands though I do look for good quality bargains.

Then again, I couldn't afford too many designer clothes anyway, beauty products are cheaper than shoes and clothes and bags😃

Luckily, this year things have been better on the work front (I'm a freelancer) so I've still been able to pay bills and afford a treat here and there but would still like to be a bit more savvy with money, hence another reason why I joined.

One of the things I do enjoy is a nice facial at a salon but haven't actually been to any since before the pandemic started. I do them at home though, with my Clarins or Chanel stuff every week,  and that is a real treat for me. I do the full bit, herbal tea, candle or incense and I'm cheeky because I get the other half to give me a foot rub, while the mask's on. Probably not the most enticing thing for him but heyho😋

Anyway, probably talked enough now, so I'll sign off, just wanted to introduce myself and tell the reasons why I joined properly and not just make a standard boring "hi here I am" post.

Really looking forward to being a part of this forum and particularly this comment thread, hopefully I'll get the chance to chat with some of you on here soon.

sugarbaby125

Welcome Mini Riot