May Wishlist

I am quite certain that you could lure me to practically anything if the words “Pretty Dress” were included.  I can’t help myself.

I have been looking around at the new dresses available and have fallen in love with a few that I thought I would share with you.

PeacockSkater Dress Desire Clothing £32.00

RedMulti Floral Dress Lovedrobe £40.00

PaisleyMaxi Dress AX Paris at New Look £35.00

KissPrint Dress – Evans £45.00

 I recently discovered Desire Clothing through a blog post done by the lovely Mrs Bebe.  I love the peacock pattern of the dress and the contrast of blue at the neck and waist.  As to the gorgeous red floral dress from @_Lovedrobe_ , well it's just fabulous isn't it?  I absolutely adore the floral print and the black edging.

I previously saw the paisley maxi dress on the +AX Paris site in their regular size collection and was praying that it would also be created for their Curve section so I was delighted when I found on the @NewLookFashion site.

Finally, the kiss print dress which was modelling by the gorgeous @CallieThorpe of From the Corners of the Curve.  I thought the dress looked amazing on her and I'm itching to see what it would look like on me.

I have previously done a roundup of my favourite dresses back in March and happily managed to buy one of them (read unable to resist so bought with my eyes closed at my bank balance).  I think you’ll agree though that the +Simply Be  dress as worn here is one I had to have ;)

What are your favourite dresses at the moment?

Five Question Friday!

Today I'm participating in the lovely Beka's Five Question Friday!

You may notice, greedy girl that I am, that I have added an extra 0 to the "How would you spend" question! haha

Please take the time to check out Beka's blog, she always has something interesting to read and is currently doing the 31 days of May challenge.

Dear Future Me, Don't be an Idiot

Apologies first of all.  This post isn’t so much a blog post, but more a reminder to my future self.

Sometimes you just have to write things down to remind yourself.  I’m not talking about a “must remember to buy carrots” reminder here, I’m talking about having an experience, or a realisation and writing it down so that your future self doesn’t make the same judgement call/assumption again.

The lesson I have to remember today is not to self sabotage.  Not to presume that something happened for a reason that you can’t possibly know.

So this is my note to the future me.

Dear Future Me,

Stop being such a bloody idiot. 

If a guy finds you attractive, if a guy calls you beautiful and you believe him (something I never ever do usually), then the reason why he broke things off is therefore NOT for the way you look. 

Also, trying to be someone you aren’t just to stay in a relationship you already know isn’t going to work is also stupid.  Trying to be someone else full stop is stupid.  Insecurity isn't attractive.

Be yourself.  Always be yourself.  It will probably turn out that the person you actually are is what they actually saw in you in the first place.

Yours,

The idiotic person who is still trying to work things out.

Staircase to Hell

I recently wrote a post entitled Getting to Know You in order to share a few things about myself with you.  One of points I shared related to my fear of stairs.

I have never met anyone who shares the same fear of stairs as I do although I know that they are out there.  What I think that I have is climacophobia:

“Climacophobia – fear of stairs – fear of climbing stairs or falling down stairs”

Open stairs are a complete no go.  Unless I am forced to go up them or have no other choice to get to where I need to be, I am not going up them.  Thankfully this isn’t a day to day issue.  The daily issues I have relate to going up and down stairs.

When ascending stairs I have to hold on to the handrail, usually for dear life, and my foot must be touching the front of the next step in front of me.   The higher I get, the more panic I feel, I start to feel dizzy and by the time I reach the top I am convinced I am going to fall. 

When descending stairs again I am holding on to the handrail and I am very very careful when coming down.  If the staircase is tall enough I sometimes have to come down step by step by step, which unfortunately is the case with the staircase at my office.  I am convinced that I am going to miss a step and if I let go of the handrail I immediately go very dizzy.

Unlike the fear of spiders or claustrophobia, this a phobia that I have to deal with on a daily basis and something that I am more than used to being made fun of for.  I constantly let people go in front of me as I can’t stand anyone being behind me on the stairs, especially as they usually make fun or try to hurry me along which sends me into near hysteria.

The fact that I live in a bungalow has been brought up on many an occasion as to the reason why I feel like this, but I am up and down two very large flights of stairs at work five days a week so I can’t see that as being the reason why.  I’ve never fallen down stairs either.

I’d really be interested to know if there is anyone else out there who has the same symptoms as I do, and would ask, how do you deal with it and have you have any help?

I called these the "Stairs of Doom" in Amsterdam

Having to set off a full five minutes before anyone else to get down stairs is irritating

52 Lists - Week 3

This is a series of weekly posts. The idea does not belong to me and I have borrowed from Moorea Seal I have also seen that @boo_brown is also doing these lists and her blog inspires me too.

The idea is to post a different list each week to share with your readers and each other.

 

Week Three - List Things that you should be proud of

Being of quite a self deprecating nature, I have always found it hard to say things I am proud of, but I am trying to break that habit and this list is a good place to start!

So here we go, the things I should be, and are, proud of.

• I'm proud that a year ago I finally forced myself to look at my life and how to improve it.

I held myself back so much over the years, unable and unwilling to move forward confidently instead of hiding in the shadows.  Coming out from behind the shadows is probably the greatest thing I've ever done.

• I'm proud of my new levels in confidence, both in myself as a person and also body confidence.

I'm not going to deny that it has been a hard journey to get to this stage, but I felt improvement with every small step I took, from the first patterned brightly coloured dress I bought, to actually wearing it in public and feeling confident and secure.

• I'm proud of my blog.

Writing on the blog, posting pictures and as a consequence of that meeting and talking to other bloggers have been a brilliant thing in my life and I look forward to carrying on with it.

• I'm proud of how my wardrobe looks these things.  

Just opening it up and looking makes me very very happy.

What are you proud of?

Flash the Flesh Challenge

When a group of bloggers join together for a chat you know that the final result has to be super!! During a weekly #psbloggerschat a few days ago, we were talking about our preferences between mini and maxi and  Becky thought that it would be great to create a challenge which goal was to show a little bit more skin and our body (but with style and no vulgarity) showing proudly our curves. And so it was born “Flash the Flesh”.

9 times out of 10 when you compliment a woman, she will counter with something negative.  "You look lovely" today is answered with "Oh but my hair needs cutting".  

Every woman should have something about their body that they love be it pretty eyes, lovely legs, a small waist; we should celebrate the things that we love, not hide them.

I've have a large chest since entering my teens and I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with my breasts.  I like my breasts but I hate the over familiar attention that they can attract sometimes.  I refuse to let that stop me from dressing how I want however and as my cleavage is something that I like about my body so here I am, flashing the flesh!

Check out the other lovely ladies below!

Becky @ Does My Blog Make Me Look Fat
Charley @ Big Girl About Town 
Steph @ Seeing Spots
Becky @ Mrs BeBe Blog
Beth @ Tinkerbell and the Lost Girls  
Kim @ Call Me Kim 

Nikki @ Natty Nikki
Lolly @ Lolly Likes Fatshion 
Natalie @ A Wheelbarrow Full of Style
Rachel @ A Dress is for Life
Vicky @ Curved Opinion
Leah @ Just Me Leah 

Birdy Birdy Girl

Just a quick outfit of the day post as I wanted to show you the new dress I have from +Very.co.uk .

I absolutely love anything bird print so when I saw this dress for £15.00, I simply was unable to resist!  I have paired it with my trusty teal cardigan from Next which seems to go with everything and some leggings from Very with a PU stripe down the side.

I love the colours on this dress.  It is a little short for me to wear without leggings or tights but it fits very well which is important to me.

I look a little windswept in these photos, apologies for that as I had just come in from a very windy and wet outside.

I love a good bargain, what have you picked up recently?

What does a Daily Mail Reader look like?

If I were asked to think of someone who I would like to physically resemble, I would have said Rachel Weisz.  But now I’ve changed my mind.  I want to look like a Daily Mail reader, specifically, one who writes some of the comments.

 

Now the elusive Daily Mail reader has never been seen out in the open.  From comments made though we can begin to deduce what they must look like.

 

Here’s a profile:

 

Facial Features

Given various comments made with regard to “huge nose”, “needs plastic surgery”, “would need a bag over their head to be attractive” “ugly”, “disgusting to look at” etc etc it can only be deduced that the Daily Mail reader has perfect features, albeit features that would not be so perfect as to be labelled “too bloody good looking for their own good” or “vain” or “must be a slut”.

 

Body

Again, after perusal of the comments it is impossible to accurately guess the size and weight of a Daily Mail reader, other than it is “just right”.  Things therefore that cannot be said about a Daily Mail reader’s body are “you need to eat more pies love” “Fetch a harpoon” “Must have had a boob job” “Tits like a sparrow”, “disgusting” “intolerable” “can’t even look at” “a bad role model” etc.

 

As with the facial features however, we must also note that the Daily Mail reader’s body cannot be so perfect as to then be described as “whore” “vain” “who the hell does she think she is” “must have had plastic surgery”.

 

Given the above, I have finally come to a decision of what the Daily Mail reader looks like.  EVERYONE ELSE.

 

No one has the perfect face.  No one has the perfect body.   No one has any right to criticise the way that someone else looks.

 

So whilst I cannot accurately describe the physical features of a Daily Mail reader, their personality traits should be seen from a mile away.  Look out for rude, obnoxious, insecure, under confident and, if one of them ever reads this, probably angry and already writing a comment below of how I should lose weight, wear a bag over my head, live in a hole underground so I can’t be seen and hold up a sign apologising for the way I look.

 

Meow.

Floral for Magnificent 7th Challenge

Hello all!  Hope you are enjoying the sunshine just as much as I am.  This is the second in the monthly challenge in the series and the theme this month is floral.

We will be posting on the 7th of each month, and the aim of the challenge is to create an outfit to fit the theme, using clothes from our wardrobes, and yes that does mean digging deep into the depths and finding those long lost clothes! Hopefully one of us won’t end up in Narnia, but you never know with a bloggers wardrobe!

I have a lot of floral in my wardrobe at the moment and have really embraced the feminine trends of this season.  For this challenge though I am wearing a dress that I bought last summer but sadly, didn't ever pluck up the courage to wear.

The dress is from +Next and with it's floral print and coral tones it is perfect for the summer.  I love wrap dresses and I particularly like this one.  Since as my poor little dress suffered the summer inside my wardrobe last year, I can assure you it will be making many an outing this year!

Please don't forget to check out the other ladies on this challenge too:

Beth

Becky

Nicola

Gail

Kirsty

Kaye

Mary

Kathryn

Steph

Charley

Rebecca

Nikki

Lindsey

Christiana

Anti Idiot Software

When I didn’t have any confidence, what I had instead was a self preservation system in place that would have rivaled Fort Knox with the thickness of the walls around me. In the main I kept myself “safe” from harm by keeping everyone away, but the lone assassin could easily walk through the gates and hurt me.

Now I’ve found confidence, the walls are down and in their place is what I would describe as a firewall. Invisible to the eye, a thin layered deflector that is my personality which negativity just bounces off.

Like any firewall, occasionally malware can get through but unlike the walls that you previously built which had to be rebuilt higher and stronger, with a firewall, you can just reboot and run antivirus. In order words, anti-idiot.

In the weird world that is my head this is what I run through when I hear a rude comment or something hurtful. I roll my eyes, run “anti-idiot” and my firewall bounces back the comment through a little “screw you” spark in my eyes.

Promoting confidence in others is something that is becoming more and more important to me. You can have confidence at any size. It isn’t about promoting a certain weight, it’s about having self worth, self confidence and the knowledge that if people insult you, that is their problem, not yours.

I always wanted to have the confidence to wear bright colours and patterns and now I wear them everyday. My main goal when it comes to clothing was to be able to wear a red dress. I have a thing about red and have red lipsticks, red handbags, red shoes, but have never had the confidence to wear a red dress.

Now the warm weather is here and I'm wearing my red dress from +Simply Be Apologies for the self photos but I wanted to get out in the sunshine!

Getting to Know You

I have seen a number of these types of post lately and wanted to get involved as I think it is good to share who you are with people who are reading your blog. 

Here are a few things about me.

Athough undiagnosed I am sure that I have climacophobia (fear of stairs, climbing, or of falling downstairs).  Be it one step or twenty, when I am walking down stairs I have to hold on to the handrail for dear life as dizziness ensues and I start to panic.  Going upstairs I have to have the front of my foot touching the next step.  

I love sci-fi, action and horror movies, but romantic comedies tend to send me to sleep (although I’ll admit, I cried at Titanic)

I am like Bambi on ice when it snows – I am guaranteed to fall over.  I haven’t met anyone who is quite as bad as me although with my new ice cleats, life is much easier in Winter.

I am still looking for someone who is my brand of crazy, and wonder if I ever will.

I have never had a filling, a broken bone or stitches. 

I have lived in more than one country and would one day love to move away again, preferably somewhere sunny.

At different parts of my life I have been a blonde, a brunette and red head.

I will automatically give you my trust and loyalty, but woe betide you if you break either.

 

What interesting facts would you share about yourself?

 

All that Glitters....

There are some people in the world that sparkle so brightly.  When they are in your presence it is like having the sun shining on you, and it's glorious.  It isn't gender specific, both men and women can have this glow.  I think that we have all met people like this.

I’ve known two people like this now.  What I’ve come to the conclusion of is; all that glitters is not golden.

Friendship should be about loyalty, about mutual respect and going that extra mile for someone you care about.  Celebrating each other’s achievements and above all, always being there for that person.  Friendship isn’t one sided.

I’m finding more and more that the people who sparkle are also the ones that don’t make the effort.  They expect other people to run after them and unless something involves them, they just aren’t interested.

But because they sparkle, they tend to be forgiven as soon as you see them.

One day, inevitably with a friendship with someone like that, you stop making the effort.  You decide to let them do the contacting and wait and see if they support you as much as you have supported them.  The answer is always the same, they don’t.

Just like the firework sparklers you have on Bonfire Night, these people shine so brightly when they are around and the world seems little darker when they disappear.  But they have no substance and give nothing back. 

The truth of the matter is, I would rather have than a slow burning candle, just as bright, just as beautiful, but always there when you need it, than a flash of light for entertainment purposes any day. 

The sparklers are a nice distraction, but true friendship lasts a lifetime. 

I'm Declaring it Summer

A quick outfit of the day post today.

I bought this dress from +Very.co.uk last year and wasn't brave enough to wear it.  This year I said sod being scared and I have worn it today, inspired by the gorgeous sunshine outside and have teamed it with a red cardigan from Primark.

 

With the bright blue and red I feel like I am chanelling Superman, or Superwoman in a longer dress? 

 

My thought of the day is therefore - Never be afraid to wear something, you wear the dress, it doesn't wear you.

 

Happy sunshine everyone!

 

 

 

 

52 Lists - Week Two

This is a series of weekly posts.  The idea does not belong to me and I have  borrowed from Moorea Seal  I have also seen that @boo_brown is also doing these lists and her blog inspires me too.

The idea is to post a different list each week to share with your readers and each other.

Week Two - List your great comforts

Being at peace with myself

Having a mum that is also a friend

Knowing that I have the kind of friends that I could trust with my life

A long soak in a bubble bath (when I can get one, no bath at my house!)

The #psbloggers community.

My bagpuss

Hugs

Listening to Moonlight Serenade with my eyes closed

Sitting inside watching rain pound the pavements outside

Writing on my blog

Having go to music for every kind of mood

A cozy bed on a cold night

Review: Scarlett & Jo Pink Floaty Dress

I was recently lucky enough to be asked by +Evans to review the Pink Floaty Dress from their new range from Scarlett & Jo.

The hot pink of the dress is gorgeous and the fit is true to size.  I would actually probably classify this dress as a tunic myself as at 5ft 4 I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing it without opaque tights or leggings.  It hits me at around two inches above the knee.

I've styled the dress today with black leggings and my new sandals which work well for a daytime look but equally the dress would be fantastic with a statement necklace, some opaque tights and skyscraper heels.  Unfortunately due to an injured foot I can't show you that look!

The dress can be found at Evans in sizes 14-26, priced at £35.00 which is a great price considering that it is a dress that can be styled up or down depending on where you are going.  I will probably use this dress as a go to for when I go out in the afternoon and want to style up in the evening, without having to go home to change.

What do you wear for the afternoon/evening look?

I have not been paid to write this blog and the opinions in the same are honest and my own.

Girls Night

The weather in the UK certainly challenges you in the wardrobe department.  Yesterday I had organised a meet up with my two best friends in the afternoon for a late lunch following by drinks through to the evening.

Now if I lived in sunnier climes that this transition from afternoon to evening would not have been a problem, but here is a different story.  What do you wear when it's late April, the weather is veering between very cold and very slightly warm depending on the time of day and you want to wear something pretty, preferably without a coat?

Well my answer yesterday was my new purchase of the absolutely gorgeous Enchanted Print Dress from +Simply Be with a long line teal cardigan, black leggings and my new black sandals, also from SimplyBe.

Out of every outfit I have worn in my quest for brighter, more fashion forward clothing, this outfits brings all the pieces together for me and I love it.  I feel confident and it makes me happy.  What more can you ask for?

What outfit puts an instant smile on your face?

You Get What You Pay For!

I’m doing something on the blog today that I have never done before.  A bad review.  I hate giving a bad review of something, but in this case I was very unhappy with the product and felt that I should.

 I have been buying clothes from Very for some time and have always been happy with the quality and item that I have received.

 

Unfortunately the shoes appear to be a different story.  This is a second chance story with Very’s shoes as I had previously bought a pair of boots for the Winter from South that I was unhappy with;  namely with the soles coming away from the boots and the leather coming off at the front of both boots.  I had decided that it was a one off and having not paid over the odds, I left it there.

 

Approximately two months ago I bought a pair of black glitter ballet shoes from Very for £15.00.  I have worn them no more than five times.  Here is the result.  Given the state of the soles coming away from the shoes I have had to throw them away. 

 

I realise that I have paid less than £20.00 for the shoes and if I had been wearing the pair for a while, I would have been fine with the end result.  But for a pair of shoes I have barely worn?  Unacceptable I’m afraid. 

I will continue to buy clothing from Very as I think that they have a great selection and I have never had a problem with quality on that front.  But as for the shoes and boots, a little more quality please!

 

I hate doing bad reviews......

Review of MUA £1 Lipstick!

I recently ran out of my favourite red lipstick and so headed over to Superdrug to find another.  Having had a good experience with their mascara and blusher, I decided to give their lipstick a go too.

 

Just like with the mascara and blusher, I’ll confess that my expectations of the lipstick weren’t that high.  What kind of quality can you expect from a £1.00 lipstick after all?  Turns out quite a bit!

 

I chose Shade 13 from the £1.00 range which is a lovely bright red lipstick. 

 

Upon applying it glides on easily and your lips feel immediately moisturised.  I’ll admit that I am always a bit careless when it comes to applying lipstick and rarely remember to blot to improve the staying power.

 

This is another area where the lipstick shows its excellence as it stayed put and in place for some hours without smearing and still looked great.

 

 

Still there two hours later, not a smudge in sight!

I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase this lipstick again and on saying that, I am heading out for more colour options in my lunch hour!

 

 

Schooled for Confidence

I was watching a film over the weekend.  I was in the mood for something silly and when I saw a film entitled “School for Seduction” with Kelly Brook I thought why not.  It’s not my usual kind of film, no zombies, no action, no sci-fi but I was game for a laugh.

I was expecting a silly plot, bad acting and a lot of Kelly Brooks in various poses and to the large extent, I got what I expected.  But, I admit, there was a little substance there too.

Behind the title and the usual kind of story where you know from the start what is going to happen, there was a message.  If you looked through all the twaddle, the main premis of the film was that women don’t need to change their appearance or pander to someone else’s will to be loved, all they need is confidence in themselves.

If you take away the excesses of the film, the characters in the School for Seduction could be based on so many women out there.  The woman whose husband thought that her life should revolve around him, the girl who didn’t think she was good enough, the woman with aspirations but no confidence to achieve them, the girl who didn’t feel pretty enough.

I may have been looking too hard for some depth in this film; in fact I know I was.  In the end though, it gave a little nudge to my confidence, a reminder that confidence is sexy and we don’t need to change what we look like or who we are.

So there you go.  I found a positive in a Kelly Brook film.  Stranger things have happened.

52 Lists - Week One

This is the start of a series of weekly posts that I intend to start.  The idea does not belong to me and I have borrowed from Moorea Seal  I have also seen that @boo_brown is also doing these lists and her blog inspires me too.

The idea is to post a different list each week to share with your readers and each other.

This first week is: Words that Touch your Soul:

Whimsical
Friend
Exuberant
cryptomnesia
banter
challenge
alpha
beautiful
Chrysalis
Collective
Décolleté
Curve
Truth
Honesty
Happiness
Bliss
Transparent

In truth if I went through the alphabet for my favourite words we would be here forever.  But those are some of my favourites that resonate (another favourite word) with me.



A Belated Birthday

I've just realised that I have missed my blog's 200th post, so I have to wish it a belated happy birthday.

 

I'm not the same person who started writing this blog and in a lot of ways, that is as a direct result of creating the blog, putting myself out in the world and the people I have met and interacted with.

 

Along the way I have written about issues that I care about, had a good old rant when the mood has taken me and in the past six months have started posting about plus size fashion and shock horror, have even posted photographs of myself.  Me, the girl who untagged every photo on Facebook with the merest excuse.

 

They say that they get out of something what you put into it.  Well, I'll admit that there is a fair chunk of me in this blog but I have received so much more back.  I've grown in confidence, I am a happier person and all my old issues are falling away.

 

Co-incidentally I have just been contacted by my first high street brand to review a dress and I have also had my first guest post published!! I have never been happier in my life than I am right now.

 

Happy birthday blog!