The chick has attitude

I detest shopping in normal shops.  If I'm forced to go normal clothes shopping (usually only ever if I have vouchers to spend) I get very twitchy if I can't find anything within an hour.  As I'm not a follower of fashion and the range of clothes I feel comfortable in is very narrow, this can be a trial.  I'm not one for make-up, can't blow dry or even think about colouring my own hair and don't do perfume or products.

So, I thought I would do something totally against the grain and recommend some products I've been using recently.  Knowing me they could possibly be discontinued as it takes me an age to get round to using 'stuff'. 

Here goes:

I do like a good body scrub.  I usually buy whatever is available in the pound shop, but a while back got this product from Boots 75% off sale.  Soap and Glory the Breakfast Scrub.  

The smell is amazing, have to stop myself from scooping it out and eating it! 

They've changed the recipe since I bought this, and it is available on a buy two get one free at the moment in Boots.  The reviews are very good and I can concur, it is fab! 

Next up, I'm getting better at using hand cream, and over the years have tried some supposedly great ones (Neutragena, I'm looking at you!) but have settled on cheap Avon ones instead.  By the computer I've got an Avon Christmas one based on paraffin, which is excellent, but this Avon one smells divine and sinks in really well

I do have an Avon one with royal jelly in it, absolutely horrid and am using it on my feet.  Once it is on your hands it just won't rub in.  Gah, I really hate sticky hands!

Hair next, I'm currently using a men's Next shampoo that OH was given for Christmas but can't use as he has fussy hair.  It is absolutely fine for me.  My choice of conditioner at the moment is this cheap Creightons one from Bodycare, 99p.

Lovely stuff and doesn't weigh my fine hair down at all, actually I think it is giving it a bit of body.

Body moisturiser next, I'm using this at the moment, bought it in Poundland and love it, when I remember to put it on.

So there you go, if you have tried any of these and agree with my findings, I'd love to know!  (if the opposite is true, let me know too)

Back to the task in hand, I'm still decluttering like a good 'un, and my ebay listings grow ever longer.  The local charity shops are doing well too, and so is Facebay.  I have a bin bag of stuff to get rid of this week as well.  This was last week's pile

We had a big birthday in the household last week.  My little Araucana hen, Lola (as in "her name was Lola, she was a showgirl") turned 7 on 31st March.  She was the first chick to hatch out of a box of six hatching eggs I bought off ebay.  She wasn't supposed to be a bantam, but she is.  She spoke to me from inside the egg, I spotted the egg rocking violently as she tried to break her way out, and gently "peep peeped" at it to encourage her.  It "peep peeped" back, very loudly and rocked violently!

There she is, one day old.  The girl's got attitude!

Here she is at seven

She is still laying, albeit a little sporadically, but I am so pleased she is fit and healthy in her mature years.

After throwing out so much of my wardrobe, and realising that some of my more well loved items were a bit tattier than I thought, I was very pleased to discover a BOGOF in one of my local charity shops.  i was thrilled to find a couple of tops in with tags still on, and got both for the grand sum of £3.

The one on the left is an Artscape top, still for sale (albeit discounted now) on the QVC website.  The striped one is Esmara, which I now know is Lidl.  Both fit me, although the Esmara one is a 14/16 but works well a bit looser I think.  Here I am modelling them, excuse the cheesy grinning, I need to work on my selfie face.

I'm wearing my £1 Jane Norman jeans which I have altered the turn ups on, on the left I have Moshulu slides from Ebay and on the right I am wearing white BHS sandals, that were free with a cashback credit card voucher.

Saving the best till last, OH and I went on a charity shop trawl last Friday and made an impulse purchase. We spotted this table and chairs in the local YMCA shop, which is closing down this Friday, and decided we couldn't leave it.

It was £45, and is Ercol (yes!).  

The table is the Chester pedestal style and the chairs are Windsor Shaker.  The cushions are a bit ropey but replacing them with proper Ercol ones will cost hundreds, so I plan to cut the tabs off and make my own cushion covers to go over the foam pads.

  

The highly sought Ercol button!  

The label says they were made in 1981. 

I have cleaned the chairs since the photo was taken, they were rather dusty. To continue the good karma, I gave the old table and chairs away on Facebook to a nice young couple.  It was a modern Argos set I bought in 2007, and has served me well considering it only cost £80. 

What's your latest bargain?