Champagne Lifestyle on a Lemonade Budget - 2021

liberty_lily

Thanks both...your lovely comments make all the hard work worthwhile 😊

Weekend champagne moments have mostly revolved around finally beginning the demolition of the front elevation of the existing extension 😀 

Originally we'd hoped to have the whole reconfiguring including adding a cloakroom completed by the start of May (now looking at August at the earliest). Lots of hard work and late nights ahead, but hoping the results (not to mention £££ saved by DIYing!) will be worth it.

The plan is to create an interior elevation (of extended part) that less resembles a shed, lol! (the previous owner who had it built - by cowboys, it appears - didn't have a clue 🙄), whilst bringing more light into the opened up space. It's challenging, but incredibly exciting!

Good progress has been made and already it's possible to get an idea of how much better it will look, but the moment of truth will come when we take out the block work...

Between kango-ing (DH) and removing rubble/rotten timbers (me!), we've managed a spot of gardening  - mostly relocating some geraniums that were in the way of the work. These are now in the rose beds, adding further interest 😉 Have also given our little oak tree a haircut!

Talking of roses, the ramblers are starting to do their stuff. Here's Frances E Lester...

And Wedding Day...

sugarbaby125

Phoebe such lovely photographs of your garden 

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moments today: 

I just had a great evening at Black Ballad Presents: In Conversation with Candice Carty-Williams. Another black female author Jendella Benson was having the conversation with Candice, then the women in the audience were asking Candice questions. I bought a hardback book of Canice's latest novel People Person and a copy of Jendella's debut novel Hope and Glory and had the 2 authors do me a personal message to me in their books. It was held in Brixton Brewery Tap Room on Brixton Station Road which is only 4 bus stops down the road from where I lived, so was literally only a 5 minute bus ride for me. It was lovely to go out on a warm, sunny evening.    

I am looking forward to reading both of these novels   

I got a free can of low alcohol beer at the event, which I only drank a few sips of. I am a complete lightweight even with low alcohol drinks, so I felt my head swim after a few sips and wisely decided not to drink any more of the can of beer.   

liberty_lily

Sounds like you had a lovely evening, Sugarbaby 😃

My champagne moments yesterday were - DH taking a surprise day off (partly to compensate for working the two Jubilee Bank Holidays) and whilst he did some more extension demo work in the morning, in the afternoon we went out for a little drive to a garden centre and ultimately to TK Maxx.

We picked up a couple of astrantias for the white bed and in TK I treated myself to a kimono/dress (£24.99, RRP £79) and some 'snake venom' (!!!) moisturiser for £12.99 (RRP £70) 😉 That's the first clothing I've bought for several months 🙂

The removal of the old frontage is going really well - half of the stone has gone (where the block work is visible) as well as the rotten T&G cladding (that was above the window/doors) and the blocks behind cut (with the angle grinder) to create the 'nib' that has to remain for support. Next up is removing the remainder of the stone beneath the existing single glazed window, then building up the stone at each end. There's two windows (one out of sight, around the side) and the French doors to come out. Also all the insulated area above will be removed. Then the block work area removed and all the rest will be replaced with a 'wall' of tempered glass....

The frontage actually looked ok(ish) from the outside (if you ignored the rotting cladding, poorly fitted shoddy windows and doors, lol!), but inside looks appallingly bad...not to mention dark! Can't wait to get it completed now....

liberty_lily

And, because that pic wasn't exactly pretty, lol, here are the riotous rose beds, taken in today's lovely sunshine (one day I'll get round to finishing the paths 🙄).....

sugarbaby125

Thanks Phoebe, I did have a lovely evening. Your garden is looking gorgeous. You and your husband have made great inroads with the removal of the old frontage. 

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moments yesterday:

I went to my local Odeon to watch the film Operation Mincemeat. It was based on real life events and it was about a brilliant deception played on Adolf Hitler which saved tens of thousands of Allied soldiers lives. It was very entertaining as well as being informative. It was a silver cinema screening so my ticket only cost me £3.50. This film was a 8.5/10 for me. 

In the evening I went to Brixton Library for an event with the female author Leila Mottley where she answered questions about her debut novel Nightcrawling. It was very interesting to listen to Leila answer questions from a librarian and members of the audience with a candour that was astonishing for such a young author. Leila explained that she was originally noticed for her poetry and although this is her debut novel, she had in fact written 3 novels. She wrote the 1st novel when she was aged 13-14, the 2nd novel aged 15 and her debut novel when she was 17. She is now 21 as it is her birthday today. She had flown all the way from her home in Oakland, California. She told us she was feeling a little jet lagged, but it did not show. I bought a hardback copy of her book and Leila wrote a personal message to me in the book. I really enjoyed this event even though the room was a bit too warm, as the windows did not open and the sole fan was inadequate. 

liberty_lily

Thank you so much, Sugarbaby...how's your play coming along? 

My champagne moment today is the fab sunshine again, which is most welcome in the garden 😀...and the first flower opening on one of last year's bare root roses, the appropriately named Comte de Champagne 😁

sugarbaby125

Phoebe, I have paused on typing up my play, as I just want one of the professionals from The Young Vic to take a look at what I have written so far and reassure me I am on the right track before I continue. Thank you for asking. 

liberty_lily

Sugarbaby, that makes good sense 🙂 I'm sure they'll reassure you about what you've written so far....it's all very exciting and I so hope you achieve the success you deserve 😊