MN Vogue - volume 84

[shopafrolic]

Bring on the cosy sweaters, boots and coats - Autumn is here and it brings lots more shopping opportunities for the Voguettes. Join us for fun fashion and beauty chat from high street to designer. Continuing on from here

(Slinks back in) Ps thank you for the birthday wishes

Fedup not walking yet but she can zoom doing a funny three legged crawl with one leg up and can scale to the top of house very quickly up the stairs (with me behind her) she’s pretty fast

Mara, Blingy, Viva, Lib, and QueenC and everyone (sorry need to scroll back!) it was nice to read your heartfelt posts here’s to a stonking 2019
Big wave to Topaz great to see you back
Stokey good luck with the extension - we should reconfigure downstairs but it wouldn’t add more space and I’m not sure it’s worth it so I keep putting it off. We spent a fair bit on superficial stuff last year and it’s the biggie.

Gosh 2018 was a doozy for so many of us. Huge hugs all around. Viva I hope things start to improve soon. Do get to the MU if you can and even if you can't, stick around here.

Mara great to hear that counseling worked for you and your DH. I'm going to try persuade my (D) H to try it. I'm beyond pissed off with him but need to try mostly for DD's sake. If it was just me I'd be packing my bags atm . Had a good chat about it with a friend here this week. She was pointing out that all relationships have bad patches which is true.

I'm feeling podgy too but going to focus on exercise rather than dieting. I need chocolate and potatoes in my life right now but the weight always bothers me less when I am fit and energetic.

Liberty sorry you are feeling unsettled too. We've had counselling both together and individually and I would recommend it. The trouble with us is that whilst H will go to counselling and says he has learnt a lot from it he then won't do anything about changing anything. So he says he is unhappy but is just stuck where he was when this all started so we are stuck. I've been willing to change things with us, try and make a fresh start but he just sits there not willing to do anything. And I agree we were having a bad patch for good reason but our first in 20 years so I'm so cross at his burying his head in the sand attitude.
Dry I'm the same, born on the South coast so you can't get much southern than that and DC born in Middlesbrough!

For those of you that worry about appearing flippant etc please don’t. This place is a lovely escape whether it’s to discuss heavy stuff or clothes.

I’m with you all on the weight/menopause thing. Luckily the scales have run out of battery and I’m not replacing because I don’t want to know what I weigh. The frozen shoulder is really getting me down as I can’t do a lot of exercise-I miss my boxing and swimming-and sadly even cycling seems to aggravate it. I feel very unfit and flabby. I came off the sugar wagon over Xmas but am back on it as I feel so much better without it. Does anyone have a soup maker? Thinking of getting one but not sure if it’ll be just another unused gadget?

You have my sympathies Mara, FedUp and Topaz, sorry last year was rubbish for you (and dcs), hope this year is better!

Don't worry about appearing flippant. I am very conscious that when we chat on here it isn't just the 12/15 of us chatting but that there are a huge number of lurkers who are reading every word and storing it. I am certain that interest has waned, but i do know at one point these mnv threads were one of the most popular on mumsnet. I try and be disciplined about having a one internet platform policy for disclosing anything personal. If i mention it on here then it doesn't get mentioned elsewhere and vice versa.

A soup maker QueenC? That would live very happily with my ice cream maker and my slow cooker in the cupboard I never open.

Marsha, sorry i am being slow what's LCHF?

Stokey, good luck with the extension!

As we are all roughly the same age, it's good to know that the weight thing isn't just me. I would like to get to acceptance but not quite there yet! What also hasn't helped was that i had to make some adjustments to my schedule for the whole of last term which meant that increasingly exercise went by the wayside...new year, new start!

Blingy it’s just another way to say low carb (the hf part is high fat). I won’t lose weight through exercise alone as what I eat has the biggest impact. It had settled into my daily way of eating but I stopped for pg and bfding. I’ll still do yoga every day, run when I can but the gym is out of bounds as too posh for a crèche. I miss my old gym, loved it.

That’s a good way to do it, I just use this name for everything although I don’t really use fb (just set up for a private group) and the odd holiday snap on IG

No idea about a soup maker but I do use a slow cooker quite a lot in winter.
I do have quite a lot of soup for lunch but buy the fresh ones Yorkshire Provender being my favourite but obviously not as healthy or cost effective as fresh. In the summer I eat lots of salads but no desire at this time of year, infact have made a couple and not enjoyed them at all!
One thing I hate is my open pores, my skin is a bit dull at the moment and I think I might book a facial or something, I have open pores so need to see if there is one that might help with that. I had a microdermabrasion one previously which was good so might look at that. Anybody have facials?

Ah! Get it Marsha. I eat very healthily - porridge for breakfast, mid morning fruit, soup (salad in S/S) and fruit for lunch, mid afternoon fruit and then a proper meal in the evening. It's the hidden treats that I need to drop from my diet and just haven't had the willpower to do it, the way that i did years ago. So once upon a time I would have herbal teas, but now have a penchant for lattes. In my job, you end up having a lot of coffees during the day. And i tend to have a sweet treat of some sort each day, whereas before I never would. I also tend to eat a carby meal with the kids at the weekend as don't want to get into doing one meal for them and another for me. i also know my portion sizes have crept up. These all add up, so if i can drop these from diet and do exercise on a more regular basis then i think i would crack it. Sigh.

Viva, i don't really have facials (no time!) but i know @justasecond as a really good skin care routine so she might be able to help. My routine is Liz Earle cleanse and polish morning and evening with a cheap face mask once a week (although that's all dropped over the last few months)

Blingy I've never had time before but now I have time on my own when DC are with H so I'm trying to book things in for me to fill my time, it seems alien to me to just be on my own. Weekdays are fine as working and can do sport after etc but weekends are awful. I do meet up with friends for dinner/drinks etc but need to fill the days, it's just getting used to something that's different from the last 20 years!
I have just put a Filorga Miso Mask on, I think I got it in last years M & S advent calendar and never used it, can't hurt!

viva I feel for you. When we separated for a bit I hated being away from the dc. One of the things that means I keep plugging away at the marriage.

I’ve never had a facial. Don’t fancy the thought of oils on my face. But agree, justa has amazing skin and you could try some of her stuff. If you scroll back she made a list somewhere.

blingy I’m not sure how popular we are anymore either. There’s a few other long threads too now-hushitas and french one and perfume. We must get boring for people to read.

A few purchases for my summer holiday (I know it’s 8 months away!!)

cream espadrilles need a colour that will go with everything

And...

Discovered that this swimming costume was in my basket, now reduced and paid with vouchers....is FREE!!!! This luck never happens to me

Don’t need anything else now.
Last year I tried to not “just stick it on visa and deal with it later”. I’ve tried to lay for stuff with cash or my debit card. I’m going to carry on this year.

placemarking as looks fun here!

Oh you will love the espidrilles Dry can't wait to see what you team them up with. I have them in black and want them in red. One of the Duchesses wore them last summer so I have this feeling that they will be ubiquitous this year if we have another decent summer.

QueenC actually the other thread I enjoy lurking on is the royal thread. The regulars seem lovely and very knowledgeable. It's a fab thread full of outfits and royal gossip. My cup of tea..

Dry great espadrilles, I like them on everyone else but don't own a pair because I had a pair first time round and wore them in the rain the sole expanded naturally and it really cheesed me off so I've never re-bought them as I don't trust myself.

Queen read this before buying the soup maker unused kitchen gadgets

Funnily enough I bought some soup today as when I want to lose weight I have 2 scrambled eggs for breakfast - no toast, soup for lunch and a fish/chicken with couscous and salad for dinner. I can do this fine Monday to Thursday but it all goes to pot Friday, Saturday and Sunday as I feel I deserve a glass or two of wine and some chocolate and bread and cheese as it's the weekend. Then on Monday I step on the scales and have undone all my good work rinse and repeat

Talking of opening up I'm 99% certain I'm going to resign from my job, I've been thinking about it for a while and don't want to do it anymore. I just need an alternative lined up before I hand in my notice. I do have something in mind and am waiting to see if it comes to its fruition first. Only dh knows I haven't told anyone else in rl.

That's why I like a new year, 365 new pages, 12 or 52? new chapters - chapter 1 new job!

Hello peeps, just a quick intro. I'm a SAHM of two, separated since March. My new hobby is shopping and self improvement to take my mind off my alcoholic ex. Also with weight loss, I thought I was getting somewhere by losing a stone since June but then found our scales were wrong by 8lbs so though the weight loss was right, I'm still bigger than id expected!!!!

Always on the hunt for lovely stuff in blush pink for some reason....

Welcome eesha. Love blush pink but it doesn’t love me but i find it great for accessories. What sort of things do you like to wear?

I checked out the espadrilles but oh my, how do you walk in them?? They’re 8 inches!! So I won’t be buying!

@Queenchanel

I can but dream of a Chanel bag so mostly in Oasis, River Island, Topshop or COS. Uniform is skinny jeans, blousey victorian top from Boden or Gap, knee boots. Shopping has really cheered me up rather than moping or even online dating!

Just got this

www.newlook.com/uk/womens/clothing/coats-jackets/mid-pink-single-breasted-formal-coat-/p/613786073

QueenC mine aren’t 8”...at least I hope I have t ordered that. Thought the heels were 3”

also just got this
www.newlook.com/uk/womens/clothing/knitwear/pale-yellow-batwing-sleeve-jumper/p/588446388?comp=NewLookRecentlyViewedComponent

dry maybe it said cm not inches!!! Lovely costume btw.

eesha, you sound similar to me-skinnies and blouses!

Sorry to hear about all the various difficult times that people have been having. I guess life does that from time to time. It must be hard, lib, having had so much change and being so far away. I really hope things improve.

I remember you commenting when I bought my DD a coat before going off to uni six (6!) years ago. Well, DD is still a student (PhD now) and still wearing the coat, which I spent a productive afternoon rewaxing this holiday. It still feels like an act of motherly protection! (Great cpw by now!)

I am glad things are better now mara and hope that continues.

Viva, I am another transplant to the North (north west in my case) with northern DC. I really hope you have a better 2019 after such a difficult time.

Queen is there any treatment for your frozen shoulder is it something that will get better in time? It must be really frustrating! I laughed at your question about a soup maker as I have just made soup the old-fashioned way with a pan and stick blender!

Blingy, I am similar in that I have been having a few too many treats, especially over the holidays. I haven't decided yet what method to use to reduce the excess. Once motivated, I can lose weight by whichever method I use but I need to make a commitment to it!

That is a big decision kitty. Does it feel like a relief to have made it? I hope your alternative works out.

Those espadrilles are lovely Dry and look like they would come in useful in the summer. (Was about to say Queen 8cm surely?, but you and Dry got there first!)

kittyreadibg that, I’d forgotten I have a spiraliser!