Frump to Fab 2021

Floss

@maman that's gorgeous! The Clarice Cliff film Colour Room is on my to-see list too.

chanie

maman your cactus is awesome.  I didn’t realise they flowered like that.  What lovely colours for autumn.

I went to BIuewater shopping centre today to do some more Xmas shopping.   This is my last week before I start my new job, so I’m trying to use the time I have to get sorted for Christmas, both in terms of presents and food.

chanie

hi fabbers, 

I hope you are all well.  I thought I should pop in as this thread has been a bit quiet recently.  

Nothing to report here, which is good news.  I really think my little break between jobs has done me the world of good, as I feel much more relaxed. I’m looking forward to  Christmas and 2022 and hopefully covid becoming less of a ‘thing’ as we learn to live with it.  

helensbiggestfan

Good Morning Lovely Ladies. 

Not much happening here, a case of no news is good news.  Had my covid booster the other day, no real side effects.  Flu jab due on Tuesday.  I'm doing well with the Christmas shopping.  Determined not to leave it till the last minute.  

Have been busy with my little sideline business, had a good month this month.  My next project is to reupholster my dining chairs.  Bought the fabric from Dunhelm but couldn't do them because my arm hurt after my jab.  😂.  It's not urgent.  

 No storm damage, largely due to the fact that I had the roof overhauled over the summer, so that was a good investment.  

Apart from that nothing new here.  Nkt doing very well with the weight loss.  Oh well just need to try harder.  

Maman. Your Christmas cactus is lovely. Reminded me of my mum, she had a lovely pink one.  It was her pride and joy.  

2021 has been a funny old year. Frankly I shall be glad to draw a line under it and hope 2022 will see better times ahead.  I want and need a new and different kind of life.  It's up me to create the life I want and that will be my focus next year.  

Nice sunny day here, always good to see blue skies.  

chanie

helensbiggestfan said:

I want and need a new and different kind of life.  It's up me to create the life I want and that will be my focus next year.  

 This is key.  For most of us, nothing is going to change, unless we do something ourselves.  Sometimes, opportunities fall into our laps, but most of the time, we need to be pro active. 

helensbiggestfan

So true, Chanie. I am finally ready.  Goodbye widow, hello singleton.

 Ok maybe too old to be a Girl About Town 😂🤣 but still relatively young and healthy so time to make the most of the time I have left before decrepitude sets in.  😱😂. 

Got lots of ideas and plans which I will reveal in 2022.  A lot will depend on Covid of course, but as you say, it's here to stay for some time yet so we just need to focus on what we can do......getting our jabs, mask wearing and just generally being sensible but after almost 2 years we need (or at least I need) to just get on with the business of living.    

And I'm definitely going to be pro active.  

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

It has been a good week for me. I went to the event at Brixton Library on Monday evening. On Wednesday I went to the discussion group at Blackfriars Settlement. On Friday I went to watch the film House of Gucci with my daughter. I used my CEA card to purchase my daughter's cinema ticket for my local Odeon, so that I got her ticket for free. I would give this film 9/10 although my daughter only gave the film 7/10.

I got £11 Quidco cashback paid to me on Wednesday.   

I went to visit my older brother H, who lives local to me on Saturday morning. I had agreed to wait in with him for the EDF engineer to come and change his electricity smart meter, which was not functioning. I stayed after the engineer had finished his work to continue talking to my brother. We had a lot of laughs together. 

Today, I had the utmost pleasure Live streaming the play Foxes It exceeded all of my considerable expectations and it was so great to watch the play from the comfort of my sofa in my ultra warm and cosy Living room.   

chanie

Well, my new job is going to be a different way of working than what I am used to. I’ll be working from home 100% of the time, unless I’m visiting clients, which will probably be a couple of times a week.  The positive is that I can be around for the children more but the negative is that, as an extrovert, I’ll miss getting out and about.  I’m trying to think of the practicalities of my new work life - for example, getting a decent one mile wear wardrobe (but without turning into a slob) and healthy lunches.

I’m really looking forward to not having to commute and getting that time back - it’s tiring and takes up my whole evenings.  I want to use the time I get back more productively for exercise or hobbies.  

Well, that’s my plans for 2022!,,

maman

I'm still here and still suffering from, what I believe is called FOGO (Fear of Going Out). It's not stopping me doing anything but it makes me anxious before I go anywhere. That's not strictly true. It's going anywhere where I'll be under any stress or have to take responsibility. I'm sure it's caused by being out of practice and I'm not going to give in to it, so I'll just keep plodding on😊. 

I'm sure that a daily walk will be a good routine to develop in your new job @chanie. Which hobbies do you have in mind? 🤔

As a result of the thread, I do plan what I'm going to wear  for every occasion. The latest challenge is what to wear as the weather's turned colder, particularly as so many venues are chilly because of increased ventilation. I'm so pleased I bought myself a range of thermal tops last year. In fact, I've worn the black one so much that I bought a new one the other day. They make a perfect layer underneath all sorts of outfits. Last Friday we went out to dinner and I wore my black top, leggings and boots under a Top Shop velvet wrap dress that I bought a couple of years ago. 
Topshop gorgeous autumn colour velvet wrap dress 6 *New’ | eBay

That's another challenge that I'm enjoying. I've got several meals out and dances planned for the coming weeks but I don't intend to buy any new outfits unless I saw something I really loved. We had so few occasions last year that the clothes I have are like new to me and I like finding new ways of wearing what I have. Yesterday I wore a sparkly skirt with a jumper and thick tights. 
PHASE EIGHT black striped linen blend flared skirt 12 | eBay

That's interesting about the Gucci film @sugarbaby125. It had very poor reviews in my newspaper and there was quite a difference between how you and your daughter viewed it. I remember having a discussion with my DGD1 along similar lines and she said that I probably disliked a particular film because I wasn't the target audience. It's obvious when you think about it but it just hadn't occurred to me before. 

I'm reading Sathnam Sanghera's book Empireland at the moment. I've just watched a tv programme he did on the same subject. He normally writes short pieces of journalism which he's good at. I don't think he's a particularly good author or presenter but the subject matter is very thought provoking. 

I'm keeping up with all fabbing routines. I had my hair cut last week and eyebrow wax/tint booked for this coming Thursday. I snagged a nail yesterday so that gave me the motivation to do a proper  manicure. 

Bright and sunny here, if cold. Have a good week everyone. 😊

sugarbaby125

Maman, as there is a 30 year age difference between my daughter and I we tend to have different opinions about films we watch together. I do not watch films based on critic's views, only if a film appeals to me, especially if I have seen the trailer for the film and it whets my appetite for that particular film. 

I used to own that Phase Eight skirt in size 16, but it was too long on me, so eventually I donated it to one of my local charity shops.