I am adrift at the moment. My children have gone back to school, which is fabulous for absolutely everyone concerned, but having hollowed out my life completely in order to accommodate them, it’s hard to fill that vacuum with things again. Especially as they will be bounding back any minute now for the summer holidays.
But the fact remains, I am unfettered and purposeless, which I suppose is quite nice, really. Like being on valium. And this post doesn’t have terribly much of a direction, but I thought I would share with you a few things I have come across recently that are worth sharing.
First of all, we have had a massive clear-out. Like massive. Boxes and boxes and boxes of crap. I searched around for a long time to find a company who made it a mission to responsibly take boxes of random clutter and would separate and dispose of it, sending as little to landfill as possible. I have pinned all my hopes on EnviroWaste, which is run by the nephew of a reader and they are coming to collect a front-garden-sized load of junk for under £200. I’m pretty happy with their promise to sort of dispose of in an ethical way, short of getting in my car and following the van to the processing plant to watch them at it.
This amount of rubbish is 9 years of accumulated crap, by the way. Not a usual amount. My Landfill Guilt is so huge that I would happily just keep all the stuff in my house, pressed into various corners, rather than see it go to landfill. But it is now bunging up two entire rooms of my house and really has to go and I’m glad I’ve found the right people for the job. They arrived this morning, smiling and helpful and in all respects cheerful and wonderful. They were as pleased to see my junk as I was to see the back of it.
I had an email the other day from the skincare brand Rodial, welcoming me to their affiliate programme, which was a surprise as I didn’t think I had joined it. But this sometimes happens if you use a linking programme, it automatically joins you to things. Most of the time I am auto-joined to not very impressive programmes like for liver-spot creams or piles cushions, so I am very flattered by the association with Rodial, which is in fact very good. Not cheap, mind.
I can especially personally recommend the Dragon’s Blood Hyaluronic mask. This is a super-duper plumping, moisturising, anti-reddening serum you smooth on before bed and wake up looking, I swear to god, about 10 – 15% better. If you click through the link on this blog and buy a tube then I will get a small percentage of your basket. But I will probably only spend it on Rodial.
Also a recommendation for Balance Me’s new Clarifying Mist. Not an affiliate link this one, I don’t think, but they sent me a sample to try. If you have slightly congested skin this is great at keeping it all basically calm. It smells reassuringly natural and the packaging is recyclable.
A second shout-out to Me + Em’s camouflage jacket, which I self-gifted at the start of lockdown. I have worn it all the time and absolutely love it. At the moment it is £265 but it will go into the sale probably August so hang on until then if that feels a bit steep now. Or if you hate it, don’t buy it at all.
In other news, why do I persist in buying jumpsuits or playsuits when I know full well they don’t suit me? The most recent one I tried from H&M – a safari playsuit! What was I thinking? – made me look like my dad. I mean, I am turning into my dad one facial-tic at a time as it is, but from June to September Dad wears these huuuuge baggy chino shorts that you could properly run up a mast and set sail to Newfoundland with and his legs poke out at the bottom, looking like he is part-seagull. That. I looked like that.
I also admitted defeat and ordered a pair of Mott + Bow jeans because Instagram made me. I will report back on how they are.
How about you? Any recent random purchases you feel are worth sharing?
My main lockdown purchase has been some noise cancelling headphones, best things ever. I love my family dearly but sometimes I just need a little peace!
EnviroWaste looks amazing – shame we don’t live in London as we’re currently having a massive clear out in advance of an upcoming kitchen refit. Not only do I have an amazing amount of unnecessary kitchen kit that just never gets used but we’re having to clear stuff out of the garage and various other rooms to give us space to store the kitchen stuff we actually want to keep. Not to mention the deliveries for the actual kitchen rebuild which also has to be given house room until it’s ready to be fitted! Help!
Oh you’re as funny as fuck …. look like my dad!
A boiled egg top remover ! No instructions First attempt the egg exploded everywhere …then I figured it .. I need to stop buying gadgets.
I’ve a very ancient kitchen table it’s even got dogs teeth marks round the edges I’m sure it has a tale to tell.. anyhow I bought a gadget to carve my name on it too.. so when I die my kids will be bereft ‘ oh look mums carved her name here. …. mwaaaaah
I am wel jel of your child-free house. I know a reprieve of 3 weeks isn’t much before a return before “holidays” and, as you say, you’re slightly adrift as it’s not enough time to do anything significant.
As we’re not spending any money on TfL or Pret, I’m spending it at John Lewis. I have overhauled my makeup. My foundation was so old it had separated. I have replaced my ancient bralette-thingie but irritatingly, M&S discontinued the one i liked. I bought a ridiculously vibrant strapless swimsuit just because I liked it. Sadly I’m not going to wear it poolside in France. Sob.
And best of all, I’ve just had a new washing machine installed hooray! Being at home all day every day made me realise how LOUD the spin cycle was. Like 80DB loud :-/ After 6 years hard labour, it’s gone and I have a sparkling (quiet) new one. I am more excited about this than I think I should be.
Emily this all sounds absolutely terrific. I am very sorry you still have children there. I don’t know how the schools can justify it really. People are suffering!
It’s really hard to complain (although I have!) because the school is, quite rightly, prioritising vulnerable and SEN kids and kids whose parents are essential workers or can’t work from home. The deputy said that, to maintain social distancing bubbles, they can cope with enrolling only 15 kids out of each 90 kid year group :-/
So even though I know there are very good safeguarding reasons why my kids aren’t at school… FARK!
BTW, the new washer is whisper quiet <3
Best random purchase: elasticated yet formal trousers from M&S. So comfy yet also could be mistaken for tailored wool work trousers if you want to feel more put professional on work Zoom calls.
Stupidest purchase: frilly £30 quid Vampire’s Wife mask which will just make me look ridiculous because I’m not Susie Cave and I live in a home counties town.
I’m not a big fan of Vampire’s Wife
I love Nick Cave and she seems lovely but I can’t say I’m much of a fan of that label either. As soon as your dresses are being modelled by Eugene and Beatrice that’s really the kiss of death…
It’s just… I don’t know… for how much they cost they feel a bit flimsy. And not many people look nice in them. Respect to the designer for making them such a thing though
Tried one on in Liberty once and it fitted me like a dream (something about the bust darts being spot on for me) and was insanely flattering. It was a pretty heavy jumbo corduroy – which was what put me off as it was rather sofa-fabric like. That plus the £600+ price tag …
The mask is definitely a case of ‘they’re selling like hotcakes – I should get one too!!’ madness.
Bravo on your aversion to landfill and your enthusiastic junk clearing which is something I aspire to. I did take the plunge and get rid of 20 years worth of bank statements and other paperwork which felt fairly cathartic. We’ve given away some bits and pieces on local groups too.
On the flip side I’ve bought loads of stuff during lockdown – clothes, lamps, bedding, stuff for my teenage daughter to fill the endless days with including stuff to make her room really cosy. Two days ago I heard the sound of a power tool coming from her room, went in and she was assembling a cabinet using a drill to drive in the screws. I was seriously impressed and have to say this is probably a more useful life-skill than much of what she would have learnt at school.
If you’re still feeling restless and in need of a bit of feel-good stuff on Thursday you could do worse than watch the Ashden Awards on YouTube at 3pm. We give awards to climate heroes and usually bring them to London for a celebration. For obvious reasons we’ve moved it online. Apologies for the shameless plug but I’m really excited about what we’ve managed to do under really trying circumstances. My brilliant producer managed to get footage out of India, Brazil, Africa – and Hammersmith – under lockdown.
Happy to share more information if you or other Spikers are interested to watch it.
Yes please! I like the sound of this.
Hi Nancy, that’s great! Just go to eventbrite and ‘book a ticket’ obviously it won’t cost you anything, it’s just a good way for you to get reminders to watch on Thursday. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/2020-ashden-awards-virtual-celebration-tickets-107799346748
And if you do watch I’d love to hear your feedback – doing a virtual celebration is a new challenge after 15 years of churning out a ceremony at the RGS every summer!
Thanks
Jo
My best purchase was an overhaul of my skincare routine. Previously I just wiped my face with a wipe, some toilet paper, a small child’s sock, whatever was lying around. Now I have a few steps and have abandoned foundation which is freeing. Esther I do have a problem that I blame you for…at the start of lockdown you recommended barre and once I’d got through the ‘eat all the sugar, drink all the booze’ section of lockdown I started doing at home barre classes which has led to me working out every day. I have never, ever done any real exercise, I hate running or moving fast in any way but barre is slightly addictive in a weird masochistic way. Anyway, now my waist has got smaller but my bum is bigger and none of my jeans fit. I have to drag them over my bum only to find they are huge on the waist. Any spikers have any tips? I’m 5’11 so they hardly ever sit in the right place anyway, maybe I should just give up and wear joggers.
Ah yes you have “barre butt”! It’s a nice problem to have though. Barre is deeply deeply addictive because there is so little loss of dignity unlike if you are doing star jumps/mountain climbers.
Esther I started barre on your recommendation and have done a mix of Nathalie’s free Instagram lives and the Les Mills barre classes. I’ve been recovering from a slipped disc & it’s worked wonders. Barre butt is a definite downside though, my failsafe boyfriend jeans look ridiculous now
I don’t live in the UK so have spent all my time looking at expat shopping sites and ordering lots of chocolate bars not available here. Also many Sloggi bras and knickers and a bizarre t-shirt dress which has come up x10 too large and hangs like a weighted blanket. Oh and a BBQ which is far far too big, and is sitting in the garden like a space ship. Ho ho.
Off topic, but have you closed Recipe Rifle? Went hunting for your brownie recipe yesterday and couldn’t get in. Boo.
Hi Kat yes I’ve had to close it for a while for boring reasons, but it’s not deleted
Urgh, sounds painful. Remembered it was in The Bad Cook anyway, d’oh
Argh, I have gone mad on buying contraptions to try to make my face look less haggard (two small kids at home, no botox). I have bought:-
A Nu Face electric face gym
A derma roller
A face bra (I can hardly admit to this last one)
I can confirm that they are ALL a slight waste of money, but the Nu Face does make me feel like I’ve been for a run (although I can’t see any facial tightening). The derma roller makes me red and then no different. The face bra is to try and combat ‘tech neck’ from looking at my screen so much. I can’t really give an objective review on it as it’s quite new, but I suspect it’s a waste! All gadgets are used furtively when my partner is out, as he will object (and then spend £50 on another set of bike pedals). I love your podcast btw!xx
Rodial Bee Cleansing Balm is wonderful. I got it as a freebie in some beauty box and used it for a few days without thinking much about it & was quite delighted with how my skin looked- admittedly it was before bed so a bit pointless but I was impressed at the glowy effect after a relatively short period of time without having to change diet / sleep pattern etc. It was a bit of a sickener when I saw the price of the full size version …£65!
Also whoever said noise cancelling headphones, YUH HUH. my boyfriend got AirPod pros and I relentlessly took the piss out of him before they arrived for being a sad middle aged man wearing AirPods but I had to eat humble pie after borrowing them from him. You can be on calls and make lunch, or even just be in the same room as a child watching Jessie on Disney plus and able to listen to a podcast without feeling like you’re ignoring said child. I haven’t bought my own pair yet but it probably will happen. I’ve also bought lots of lovely Barolo (the schools in Scotland remain closed until 12th August).
You’ve just put your finger on exactly how I’m feeling; adrift. My husband’s back at work, my toddler’s at the childminder’s two days a week, I still have a baby and a dog to look after but I feel very odd indeed. Adrift is right. I’d been so looking forward to a quiet house as well!
As far as random purchases go….a simple human dual compartment bin (recycling one side, rubbish the other). It cost a lot more than I’ve ever thought I would spend on a bin, but it does look good. And the dog can’t get his nose under the lid, which is the original reason we started looking for a new one, before getting a little carried away!
Bought lots of nice wine and some shiseido face cleanser which is amazing! Also started running so some sweaty Betty kit…. kids back to school but sharing office with husband is sometimes challenging….
I was totally influenced by a terribly chic woman on instagram who has 8 children – most of whom are at boarding school – and lives in Chelsea and bought a rebounder trampoline and it has changed my life. This is not an overstatement. I am addicted to it, do 20-30 minute a day on it using youtube tutorials and have totally changed shape. I’ve not lost an enormous amount of weight (7 pounds in 6 weeks) but almost all my cellulite has gone, my saddlebags are gone and I have a waist. It is honestly the best £180 I have ever spent. I do classes from the Harbour Club which are live streamed on instagram 3 times a week (as well as this brilliant Essex fitness franchise called Bouncefit which is 3 madly women who look like Fay Tozer from Steps who you follow for 45 minutes) and can see why the club costs a million pounds to be a member of and is so prestigious as I have never had a workout like it. I honestly can’t recommend it enough.
You must have a pelvic floor of iron. I would just wet myself
OMG. I literally have nowhere to put a rebounder trampoline, but I desperately want one now after your review.
OOh – are they good? I’ve always loved skipping, but knackered knees and broken ankles put paid to that. I’ve been skipping on the kids trampoline, but its so noisy, and a bit overlooked by the neighbours. Am going to have look on amazon now…
Who’s the instagram woman?
I’ve been on lockdown since the 9th March when the kids (7, 4.5) started coughing then husband fell ill then the schools closed. We live in Scotland so they are now going back for one day the week commencing 11th August. I’ve done all the home school stuff while husband works in relative peace and quiet. I went a bid mad on M&S with beauty products including the Glow serum that was in The Times magazine the other week. I’m hoping for miracles as the kids up at 6 and awake until 9 is wrecking my face. I also ordered the Take Back Your Glow (ha) exfoliator. I’ve aged about two decades in the last 4 months. I really wanted the Summer beauty bag as rifling around in little pots cheers me up. Only the whole of the summer holidays to go..
LOL! Yeah just eight more weeks *DIES*
The rebounder – I have one and it’s next to the dining table in the basement. I LOVE it. I bounce on it on the way to the washing machine, the dog sits on it and my son watches Modern Family slowly jumping.
It takes up room but not that much. Have a wee beforehand.
Apart from that I signed up to Beauty Pie which I’m just trying to work out if I like.
And a beautiful honey pot. And amazing square paper photos from Inkifi which I found online – printed from my iPhone as a birthday present for my other half, random ones like screenshots of scrabble games and his dog in a French Revolution outfit – just arrived and I cried!
My children are still at home (YES EVEN THE ONE IN SPECIAL SCHOOL FFS), so I’m barely hanging on. I keep buying old Nigella books to keep me company and dresses in the Joe Browns sale, which seem to cause the weather to instantly shift from boiling to cold and wet.
Dex how can they justify keeping that school closed? That is really bad. You must be suffering
The kids at his school are all autistic so they struggle to understand social distancing and the staff can’t use usual restraining methods in a crisis, or the soft furnishings the kids use for calming down (beanbags are verboten). So the youngest kids have gone back, and so have year 10, but not the middle ones (my boy is yr6).
My youngest is in reception in mainstream but he’s also autistic and the school can’t do his personal care so he’s at home too.
And the middle one is in year 4, so doomed to be at home anyway.
I may pass out before the end of term and simply refuse to wake up again.
I don’t blame you
Ugh I just ordered another jumpsuit last night even though I, too, know that they don’t suit me AND I’m breastfeeding so also practically speaking a terrible idea. Dreading the parcel arriving
When it does and you open it and… all your hopes and dreams are just SHATTERED
This is the worst thing about online shopping. You see the item. It looks amazing on the model. You imagine yourself looking like that. Then it arrives… oh the heartbreak and also the embarrassment and having to hide it at the back of the cupboard… and then five years later finding it and thinking WHAT? WHY? HOW DO I OWN THIS??? Maybe a friend left it here? Yes, that must be it. A friend strangely purchased this item which would never suit me and then left it here behind my high heels (not worn since before I was first pregnant nearly 8 years ago but kept as it makes me feel like I might be Carrie in sex and the city
In lockdown I have been buying jumpsuits (some of them do suit me), and have become a regular jumpsuit wearer. And sparkly shoes (why? I am literally not going anywhere to wear nice shoes). And earrings, because in a bored moment I opened up the holes in my ears which closed up about 15 years ago, and went down an earring rabbit hole – I am now obsessed with having a curated ear, and buying beautiful “ear parties”.