Champagne Lifestyle on a Lemonade Budget - 2021

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moment yesterday was receiving the Sports Direct order that I had placed online. I spent just over £193 on clothing items for my son and 3 Pierre Cardin shirts to lay down for my son-in-law as Christmas presents. As all of the items were in the sale, I saved £232.49 on this order.     

helensbiggestfan

Wow SUgarbaby - you really are good at finding bargains.   

Well hello my lovely friends.  

Just having 5 minutes indoors to cool off. Have been gardening but it's like a furnace out there.  I'm delighted to say I have almost finished the fence painting - just the baseboards and some touching up now.  What a marathon but I must admit it looks fab.....even if I do say so myself.  

Other than gardening, not doing much.  Just enjoying the summer, pottering about, loving this fine weather.  Had a couple of low days......no reason, just "widows stuff" as the 7th anniversary of my late husbands death looms on the horizon.  Hey ho.  Just need to ride it out.  

Still doing the Miracle Mornjngs, exercising most days.  Definitely getting stronger - I managed to dig a hole deep enough to plant a rose bush that my DS2 bought me for my birthday.  Feel quite chuffed.  I definitely wouldn't have been able to manage it a few months ago.  Working out with small hand weights is definitely improving my muscle strength. 

Have you ever heard of Ernestine Shepherd - an athlete and one of the oldest female body building champions.  She is not overdeveloped like some body builders but rather she is a testament to glowing health and vitality.  Yes she's muscular but not ugly or masculine.  She motivates me.  She's well into her 80s and looks around 50-60. I'll never be in her league but I can do my best to emulate her ethos and get fitter, stronger and healthier, to be the best I can be. Like planting a bush by myself......I just want to be independent for as long as possible.  

I looked at some pictures of our some of our senior actors at the Cannes Film Festival.....my alter ego Helen Mirren (😂🤣), Andi MacDowell, Jodie Foster - all looking fab.  And Sharon Stone looking sensational as always.   

If Helen Mirren can rock a bikini in her 70s well so can I on my next holiday.........well that's my target.   

I've been looking at cruises......😂🤣.  Not booking anything though, travelling abroad just seems like too much of a headache at the moment.   I'm happy enough just enjoying my home and my quiet life for now. 

sugarbaby125

LL well done on almost completing painting your garden fence. It was a mammoth task, but slow and steady has gotten you where you are today.   

helensbiggestfan

I'll post pictures when it's done......😉.   

I need to sort out the planting, but that might be better in the autumn,  

helensbiggestfan

Have spent the evening in my neighbours garden, drinking wine and chatting,  lovely warm evening.  

helensbiggestfan

Phew.   Scorchio. !! 😎

phoebe1989seb

Hi all 😃

There's been so much going on lately, I forgot to post 🙄

Huge congrats to LL for your recent birthday 🎂 and to Wednesday for offers achieved/accepted on your house sale and purchase... hope all continues smoothly!

My recent champagne moments -

We finally finished the upper hallway and office, including an 8' wall of 'built-in' storage topped by open shelving for my Bretbty jewelware pottery collection. I'm so pleased with our choices of William Morris Strawberry Thief wallpaper and Karndean flooring! Just have to get our oversized and very special copper Arts and Crafts mirror hung now!

I found the perfect desk in a peacock colour (massive saving as being discontinued!) and a Homesense chair that doesn't look too office-y (only £60!).

After three years of debate - not to mention numerous sketches - we reached a decision on how to deal with our awkward ground floor layout. This won't be completed till the end of 2022 at the earliest, as we'll be DIYing (what's new, lol?!?), but we're both convinced this is the way to go... and - if it's anything like the first floor - our deliberations and patience will pay off 😉

1st August sees us start the first phase...I'm so excited!

My lovely little laundry sink arrived and will soon be fitted, giving us another finished project. It took a lot of searching for the right size/shape, but the sink - in resin stone and resembling a mini butler sink with fabulous square lines - was less than half RRP!

DH did a car boot and cleared loads of 'junk' including a few items we'd been given - with the proceeds we purchased some treats for the cottage (mirrors for the main bedroom, pretty kitchen pieces from Anthropologie and - also from Anthro - a combined loo roll/magazine holder in brass for the proposed ground floor cloakroom. The latter was £78, but imho, is stunning!).

The garden has been my sanctuary recently - time spent reading in the egg, plus we've had loads of alfresco meals in the hot weather - it's maturing nicely, although huge areas still need clearing/the creation of more beds/paths...not to mention the pond we hope to add next year. I think our hard work is being rewarded though 😊

At the weekend we moved the egg seat (ahead of the building work) and it's now in a position to take advantage of an almost panoramic view of the garden. We need to get the composite decking done in that area - we've chosen Millboard (£££) as the samples showed it to be a million times better than the others we considered.

DH says the money we're spending on the property means we definitely won't be selling up - although we've been there before, lol! - but a recent valuation suggests the cottage has more than doubled in value since we purchased in 2018 😄

Right, there's a pile of bricks that need moving so I'd better get back to work...enjoy the sun everyone!

 

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moments last week was having various events to go to from Tuesday until Saturday, that made my life feel as normal as it could do while living through a Pandemic.   

The only event that I had to pay for was the Poetic Unity Open Mic event and as the ticket for that event is less than £9, it is a very affordable event. 

Humdinger1

@helensbiggestfan late to the party but just wanted to say how much I admire you.  From afar but that's the world we're in right now! You will meet and exceed your goals I'm sure.   Love Humdinger x

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moment yesterday was going to The Young Vic to watch Changing Destiny. I really enjoyed watching this preview of this innovative piece of theatre. It really grabbed my attention from the 1st line to the last line. I had got my e-ticket for only £5 for a ticket worth £25, so it was a real bargain night out for me.     

It was not a socially distanced audience, so everyone in the audience, including crew and support staff had to wear a face mask at all times.