Normal Service Will Resume

 

Merry Christmas Duckies, apologies for the lack of posts on this my little corner of the internet but I had a yucky throat infection, went on holiday then returned to be blindsided with a cold/flu virus that has virtually knocked me off my feet and made the most mundane jobs feel like climbing Everest - really you should see my house.  However, rest assured in the new year I will be back like Arnold Schwarzenegger sharing my Indie Hits, holiday which involves some rather nice outfits, even if I do say so myself, food reviews and whatever adventures I go on as we all know I am a little random.

I hope your Christmases are all what you want them to be and if it's not don't beat yourself up, it is just one day.  I myself will be working and the Hub is nursing a rather nasty case of Man Flu.  Anyhow whatever your day is I hope it brings you joy.

I have barely been festive this year but I did have a work Christmas meal that I made a bit of a effort for.  I think despite feeling deathly I made a pretty good elf, helped by Primark and Crown and Glory.

And with that I will wish you a Merry Christmas x

#Plus 40 Fabulous - Introduction

Welcome any new readers, who are hoping over from over Blogs and sorry to existing readers sorry if I repeat myself, but welcome to snapshots of my little world.

I am excited to take part in this challenge devised by Mookie and Leah, as although I am 40 I do not feel ready for slacks or blouses and have no freakin desire to wear beige and although I am fat I do not feel like I should just settle in terms of clothing, I am all about the pretties and I will always search for that Holy Grail a pretty, cheap and comfortable bra in a larger cup.

So how did I find my style, I was a fat teenager and adult who always loved clothes especially unusual or vintage but obviously in the late 80's early 90's this was a bit of a problem but luckily I could always just about fit in the larger end of the High Street.  Then in my 30's I lost my way a bit I blame Trinny and Susannah a bit although they did some stylish makeovers they could make me feel that well I should dress my age! Ugh.  I got a bit lost for a while then I found pretty print dresses in quirky prints and I think this is my style really.

Obviously I love to wear dresses but I am also a carer so I have a work wardrobe which is usually Jeans, so when I'm not flouncing around in dresses I am in my jeans and tops,

So I suppose that is basically my style usually with a hefty injection of faux fur, I flirt with other styles and long for the day I can do edgy street style but that look never quite works for me, but I am all about fashion being fun and have through blogging managed to go from someone who avoids having their photo taken to a bit a of a poser.

I am really looking forward to these challenges as the fashion industry seems to think women of my age are past it and should be looking at classic pieces rather than following fashion, but I stuck my middle finger to that as I fully intend to be all the F's, Forty, Fat and freakin fabulous.

There are some pretty amazing and inspiring women taking part in this so please check out their blogs.

Mookie: http://www.mookieslife.com/

Leah: http://www.justmeleah.co.uk

Cathy: http://www.southernyacht.blogspot.co.uk/

Lee: http://www.pinkybellesshed.co.uk/

Sarah: http://www.plussizeproud.co.uk

Lisa: http://www.kitandkoboodle75.blogspot.co.uk/

Daisy: http://daisysays.co.uk/

Nikki :http://www.nattynikki.com/

Betty Pamper: http://www.pamperandcurves.com/

Kaye: http://www.polishedcurves.com/

Kellie: http://www.bigfashionista.co.uk/

Local Lunches - The Hayman's Kitchen

When my lovely friend Micky said she was returning to Deal and opening up a Cafe in Walmer (For those who aren't local Deal and Walmer are pretty much the same place) I was super excited.  This August The Hayman's Kitchen opened, serving delicious homemade vegetarian breakfasts, cakes, soups and other specials, she has also branched out into selling amazingly delicious sourdough loaves.

The Hayman's Kitchen - photo from Facebook page

I have visited back when it opened but as I am a terrible blogger no pictures were taken but I can report my Mum had a homemade rosti and poached eggs which I can report was bloomin delicious, whilst I had the damn tasty garlic mushrooms on toast.

I have of course ventured back and this time indulged in the yummy looking cakes.  I went for the home made sourdough cinnamon bun which was sweet but not cloying whilst remaining deliciously moist (God I hate that word but I can't think of a better one) and with a decent taste of cinnamon.

My Mum is more of a traditionalist and went for the scone, which was served with butter and local W.I. Jam, cream is available but my Mum is not a fan and asked for it without.  She said it was delicious and I know this to be true as she didn't offer me a bite.

Micky is a charming hostess and the whole place has a lovely welcoming atmosphere. It is also great to have somewhere in the plethora of local cafes that is exclusively vegetarian.  To check out what other options or specials are planned there is a facebook page, which also gives opening times,

Indie Hits - Snixy Swoons

The idea of this post is to share with you my love of indie brands.  I am a big fan of Indie brands whether for clothes or accessories and as a plus size woman I find a lot of Indie Brands really accommodating about doing bigger sizes.  Whilst I appreciate sometimes a dress from a smaller brand can be more money I find that with dresses from places like Simply Be coming in at £40.00 + Indie brands can be competitive especially for those times you don't want to look like everyone else.

I am not saying I wear clothes from Indie Brands all the time, for work I tend to be Primarni, supermarkets and Yours Clothing and I love seeing how people style clothes from chain shops for original looks and the Bargainista in me will always adore Primark.  However, I do love to buy from Independent Brands cos I feel like I am supporting someones dreams and livelihood, rather than paying for some bigwigs posh motor.

So the idea of Indie Hits is once a month I will share with you a Indie Brand I love and some of the bits I have bought from them.  So to start this of I am going to feature a brand  called Snixy Swoons that sell on Etsy.  I wish I could be all cool and say I found them on my own but I found these through a vlog by Betty Pamper of Pampers and Curves.

I then bought these necklaces in their sale for the bargain price of about a fiver for the pair

The brand features decoupage on wood, vintage buckles, toys and influences from Kitsch, pin up, Victoriana, classic children's books, pop culture and nature.  I have worn the cat quite a few times but have been too lazy to do a OOTD, but I am yet to wear the pin up style Hula girl but I am thinking vintage style top and jeans.  What really impressed me is despite my small cheap order it came beautifully packaged, which made it feel really special.

I was then lucky enough to win my choice of necklace a while ago, which I chose a wonderful Victorian Tiger in a Top Hat Necklace which I promise I will feature in a OOTD soon, well when life stops getting in the way.

Other favourites of mine on their website are these.

Cowboy and Indian earrings £8.00

Planet Necklace £15,00

Pin Up Necklace £20,00

Magic Roundabout Necklace £5.00

Other things making my wallet itch are the vintage toys as necklaces I love the Dinosaurs but this Zebra is amazing and could be coming to live with me.

So are there any Indie brands you love? or do you stick to the High Street?  Tell me a hook a girl up with new exciting possibilities!

PS I am new to Instagram and if you could give me a follow for occassional face and what I had for dinner that would be grand.

This Is Home

Over my adult years I have lived in a few places but I have always come back to what I regard as my home town of Deal, although I didn't move there till I was 15 I always regard it as home.

I am ridiculously proud of how beautiful Deal is, google it for more impressive images and love the fact we have the UK's only concrete pier.  Deal is a old smuggling town and I took these as I walked back from going to see a lady about a dress, like some people see men about dogs I see ladies about dresses.

Anyway as I love my home town and think it is beautiful I thought you might like to see some of the reasons why I love it so.

The shelter that I have pictured below always reminded me in my late teens when I was desperate to leave Deal and for something to happen, reminded me of the song Every Day Is Like Sunday andd I would sometimes sit here or lay on the beach humming or singing it to myself.  Funny how things change back then I wanted to be any place else now I love home.

Finally Deal has been voted High Street of the Year by the Telegraph, now I have to say I am not sure if it is High Street of the Year, or if it has been voted that due to some down from London's who work for The Telegraph, but there are some rather nice shops here.  This one Taylor-Jones & Sons kindly let me take a picture and they sell really lovely quirky homewear and art.

Anyway this is my home town, have you ever been here?  Or are you ridiculously proud of your town, tell me I want to know dear reader type as I am dead nosy!

Perfect Prints

Sorry for the sound of silence on this Blog, but y'know life and not feeling bloggy.  However, I am am back and those who know me or regular readers of this Blog will know I am potty about prints.  Give me a quirky print and I am a happy girl.  I often have a lust list in my head of what prints I want next, so I thought I would share with you some of my current favourites that are currently making my fat little heart sing.

Usually I go for dresses but I am loving the idea of this Banana crop top and skirt, from Oh My Honey, which I could totally see Paloma Faith rocking.  It costs £59.00 and goes from a size 8 to 20 but fellow fatties do not despair there is a custom order on the site which I am taking to mean that they will do larger but alas I cannot find the crop.

The Cat dress is from Mod Cloth and is very high on my lust list at the moment, when finances allow and I feel brave about possible customs charges I believe this will be my new print frock.  Those who regularly read this blog will know my favourite ever item of clothing is my Get Cutie Gnome dress as featured in this post, with that in mind who could resist in adding to their collection of Gnomes this cute skirt is also from Mod Cloth and is $59.99.

I am loving the Fox Print on this lovely dress from The Victory Parade by Limb Clothing, unfortunately they only go up a size 20 on the site but do know they have sent me a 22 before so I think maybe they may be up for negotiation but at £99.00 it is an investment piece.  If you love prints then this dress is available in loads of fabrics so have a look.

I have included this beautiful Flytrap dress by Deadly Dames at Pin Up Girl Clothing, with more than a nod to Little Shop of Horrors and the punch of the blue against the green I love it, but it is always out of stock! Boo!!!!! However, you can ask to be notified when it is in stock.  At $128.00 plus possible customs and shipping it would definitely be an investment for me but if your feeling rich and brave.

Lastly the dinosaur dress is from Vampire Bunnies I know they only list to a 18 but I know I have several custom size dresses that have been made for me by Ellie, I think generally she charges a £5.00 extra for a plus size and a £5.00 extra for straps or to make it longer and I have to say in my dealings with her she has always been a pleasure. Again Ellie carries loads of different fabrics and is approachable to ask about hunting down a fabric.

I have to say this is a highly edited list but if you love a print and want to check out some other great retailers with fabulous prints I cannot recommend Get Cutie and Silly Old Seadog highly enough.  Debz from Wannabe Princess has also featured some lovely print skirts from E Bay which are pretty reasonable and Betty Pamper has featured a brand called Little Wicked's Emporium which does some lovely prints.  Although Collectif, Lady V London and Hell Bunny are more retro I have seen some amazing prints by them, one of which I will feature as a OOTD soon.

If there are any brands you know that I might love especially if they feature prints not in a 50's retro way, let me know as I am always hungry for prints.

Birthday Take 2

As I said my original day out with the girls came to a bit of a halt when my lovely friend and organiser of the day ended up in hospital.  So what's a girl to do when a celebration has been planned and cancelled, redo it of course!

So three months after my real Birthday like the Queen I trotted out to do a second one.  My original outfit was the Gemma Collins dress I tried on a Bluewater but due to the searing heat body con was out  and my beautiful Lady Voluptuous Phoebe got her first outing.

 I bought the Phoebe in size 22/24 and it is a tad bit too big if I am honest but I don't think a size 20 would have fit me as there is around 3 to 4 inches of material spare at the waist but not 6" which on the size chart is the difference.  I am really hoping that Lady Voluptuous does away with the dual sizing as for me I don't think it is a winner.  The dress itself is lovely and features a little net underskirt which gives it a bit more poof and elevates it from a day dress into something a bit more special.  Be warned though a gust of wind can see you doing a Marilyn in this dress.

I teamed it with some very old Primark Wedges, my Blackheart Creatives Fabulous Forty necklace, some amazing donut earrings that Jenny bought me, My Janine Basil Pixel Cherry clip and a Drumstick handbag also a present from Jenny.  With my hair I had tried to create some ommph and mini short hive as I am growing it but I'm not sure it was that successful, and my lipstick was a Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Ole Flamingo which is a lovely long lasting bright pink.

It was an amazing day full of friends, food, cocktails, cake, gossip, laughter, fun and dancing after we swapped the more serious club for a cheese fest!  I could not have wished for more.

Guilty Pleasures - The Hunt for The Best Veggie Breakfast, The Sea Cafe, Walmer Green

I have a secret I LOVE a fry up. As a recent sorta veggie (I eat fish still) the  wife of a Veggie and the lover of a going out for a brekkie, I am a girl who is on a hunt to find the best brekkie that my area has to offer!

So as it was a glorious day me and The Hub thought we would walk Madame Beyonce our aging Staffrador (Mongrel, if we're going old school) down to the seafront and try our fried breakfast luck at The Sea Cafe as there is a lot of seating outside and it looked dog friendly.

The Sea Cafe is converted from the old public toilets, which upsets some people on Trip Advisor but not me I didn't spot a dirty old urinal in the kitchen so I feel quite happy!  Now this is not chi chi Latte Deal and I may well come to that in further reviews, but more your greasy spoon but that was the order of the day I wanted a hearty breakfast.

Inside is kind of arty and eclectic with mismatched furniture and art.  However as we had Beyonce we chose a seat outside and me and the hub went for the Veggie Breakfast which came with a Veggie sausage, egg, fried bread or toast, beans, mushrooms, egg, hash browns, bread and butter and a mug of tea at £4.50.  Madame Beyonce prefers a more meaty option and I thought she would appreciate a sausage.

A slight disclaimer any breakfast with beans and a fried slice is a winner for me and the fried bread was good.  I would have liked more mushrooms and if I was to return I would order extra mushrooms and I was thrilled that they were real as a few times I have been horrified by tinned mushrooms on my breakfast.  The egg was well cooked and still runny and I liked the veggie sausage (I think it was a Linda McCartney one) The tea was good and strong so I am voting this breakfast a 8 out of 10.

I think my happy face bellow sums it up.

Now as I am ridiculously in love and proud of my home town I will leave you with some pictures of our splendid seafront and the Lifeboat station on Walmer Green

A random Totem pole by the beach huts

Those benches were home of many a teenage snog!

Stay tuned for more of guilty pleasures and if you know of the finest breakfast available to humanity let me know people!

PS; Beyonce also enjoyed her sausage, but this should not necessarily be taken as a recommendation as she is not the most discerning of eaters

Bluewater Blogger Meet and Boobies

This Sunday I had the pleasure of going to my first Bloggers meet, I have long wanted to join in these fun filled days but I am usually working!  However, this weekend I wasn't and it would be rude not to attend.

It was a pretty intimate get together as it was Father's Day so a lot of people were doing family stuff but the amazing Anne-Lise from Mookies Life, Leah from Just Me Leah, Abi from A is for Abi and Caroline from Curvy Wordy all made it, as well as Leah's lovely friend Rach.  I had never met any of these ladies bar Mookie before but I can report with all honesty that they are totally lovely, gorgeous people inside and out.

First stop was Evans I didn't see a lot that I wanted but me, Mookie and Leah all had a blast trying on this lovely Scarlet and Jo dress in the sale, like a fat bunch of Charlie's Angels.  Leah's friend Rach made a excellent artistic director directing us for our shots and this was the rock one I think you can tell Leah and Mookie are more authentic rockers than me.

I did try on this rather beautiful dress by Gemma Collins that I am kinda in love with, it is a bit different for me as I usually do quirky rather than glam.

Bottom shot encouraged by Leah

Then after Evans we met Caroline, who I greeted by stating: "You're the booby lady, right?  Can you help me find a bra that pushes my boobs together as there too far apart."  The lovely Caroline took this in her stride and said she would and through her I discovered my boobs are 3 cups sizes larger than I thought as through wearing badly fitting bras a lot of boob was living under my arms! (who knew) and that  I had been putting my bra on all wrong for like 30 years!  Although now getting dressed takes a while longer!

We then all headed for a noisy lunch where we chatted nonsense and generally had a lovely time.  Fair play to all the husbands who met us they managed this brilliantly, then took the pictures at our insistence, whilst we posed and mugged for all we were worth.

After lunch Leah headed off for family matters, Rach and her man went off for a wander, whilst Abi, Mookie, Caroline and I headed to Yours and I finally tried on the Tess dress, as I was feeling left out as every other blogger has tried it.

Thanks to Abi for taking this

After that we headed to Marks' for Bras and Caroline helped me with my bra problems, if you don't read her blog do as this lady is a boob and underwear genius and as predicted the husband was appreciative of the new fit.

We then did ice cream and drinks and it was time to say goodbye for me as I had a busy day the next day, but I can honestly say it was the most fun I had, had in a while and proved to me good company is what makes a day as I only spent £14.00 on a bra but it was the best shopping trip in ages, so if more brands could take note so there is a bit more range we could explore whilst out that would be great.

*sorry for the lack of group shots but I am a bad blogger, but if you look on other people's blogs you might see more pictures.

Fat Pinups Forever Or My New Tattoo

I have been wanting a fat pinup tattoo for quite a long time, the plan is it will be part of a bigger piece.  So as Dave Grohl cancelled our date on Friday and my local tattoo studio Tribal Nation in Deal was having a walk in day it just seemed like fate.

I had narrowed it down to these three beauties:

So which did I go for, well it had to be the librarian really as a huge book lover I felt it reflected me the best.

I am thrilled with it and although it is a bit ouchy at the moment I can't wait to add to it.  I am loving the change of hair colour to red and the hub says she reminds me of Thelma from Scooby Doo a bit which is a good thing as she was my first chubby role role model, as I always thought she looked great.

Sometimes I Wish I Had Wingz - A Product Review

Firstly apologies to the lovely Sarah who sent me these Wingz to try out a little while ago and I had meant to review much sooner.  However, life has been kicking me in the arse a bit and if I was the Queen I would certainly be using terms like Annus Horribilis, but things like blogging have been low in my list of priorities as have even hair dying so excuse the barnet.

Now for the Wingz, my husband thought they looked a bit like crotchless leggings but the idea is they give you sleeves to pop on under dresses or tops without sleeves and look a bit like this when on.

Not me - Taken from the Wingz Website

I Chose the 3/4 length fitted sleeve version as I felt this would go best with my style and what is already in my wardrobe.  I teamed these with Vampire Bunnies Star Trek Print Dress with spaghetti straps, I have a sneaky suspicion that a thinker strap might of looked better but here is how it looked.

I found the Wingz pretty comfy to wear after getting used to them, as initially they did feel a bit odd and I liked that you could see all of my dress as a cardigan can hide such a lot and sometimes ruin the line.  I think the weight will be perfect for Spring, early Summer and Autumn although I would maybe want something a bit warmer with this dress in Winter.

If you fancy giving Wingz a go there are several styles on their website - Here

*I was gifted this item for review but my opinions are mine, mine, mine!

My Five Plus Size Summer Promises

The wonderful Debz at Wannabe Princess took inspiration from the lovely Katt at A curvy Cupcake who did this amazing and positive blog on her summer promises to herself, I have posted it so if you haven't watched it have a look here.

So taking inspiration from this Debz challenged us to post 5 promises to ourselves for this summer.  So these are mine:

1/ To Get my legs out.

I like to think of myself as confident but looking through these blogs and all my photos my legs don't come out at all, they are always shrouded in black leggings or tights.  So this summer I think it is time that they came out to play.

2/ To eat ice cream in public (an anything else I fancy)

To be honest I don't have a problem eating in public but this summer I will continue to eat what I like and offends any one, I don't care and I do not do this just because I like food but as a statement of this fat girl will eat in public and she don't give a damn if that offends you.

3/ To embrace the Fatkini

Last summer I was wildly jealous of the girls who wore bikinis and I want in, after not wearing one since 1996 I want in I want the marvelous feel of sunshine on my midriff.

4/ To get my arms out more.

I do get my arms out but often I will wear a denim jacket or a cardie this summer they are coming out a bit more.

5/ To enjoy summer.

It is only a few months of the year and I love it. It usually makes me happier and more positive so I just wanna live life to the full throughout it.

Please read the other bloggers involved and share the love, as I am late posting I haven't read them yet and can'y wait.

Katt - www.acurvycupcake.com
Debz - www.wannabeprincess.co.uk
Hayley - Curvesncurlsuk.blogspot.co.uk
Toni - Www.theleftofperfect.blogspot.co.uk
Kitty - http://kittyramblesalot.blogspot.co.uk
Kitty Kaos - www.Adventuresofariotgrrrl.com
Vicky - http://www.thecurvedopinion.com
Kathryn - www.misskathrynsmisstakes.co.uk 
Sarah - www.plussizeproud.co.uk
Becky - Bixxboxxbitsbox.wordpress.com
Kerry-Ann - http://voluptuouschatterbox.blogspot.co.uk/
Daisy - https://iwillnotwrapmyselfinsmocksandapologies.wordpress.com/
Leah - www.justmeleah.co.uk 
Charli - http://curvygirlthin.blogspot.co.uk
Tanya - http://secretplussizegoddess.blogspot.com
Filipa - http://uniquelyfilipa.blogspot.pt
Kathryn - www.murderofgoths.co.uk

She's Not Ashamed To Come Out Of The Water.

Wow!  What amazing time it has been in the Plus Size Blogesphere, with the airing of Plus Size Wars (Ladies you all rocked! and were seriously articulate)  this was followed by Jamelia's very literal body shaming that I should be so ashamed of my size that I should be made to feel uncomfortable when I dare to look for clothes to adorn my body!  Oh bore off, hasbeen!  Katie Hopkins has already been voted the nations number one mouthpiece so that role is filled, try and find a new unique selling point Ms I'm against bullying but it's fine to bully the fat or very thin.  Big thanks to Debz at Wannabe Princess that created the hashtag #wearethethey, a most brilliant response to such stupidity!

Unfortunately throughout this exciting time I was silent as work stuff meant I didn't feel like blogging and was too tired/busy, but I loved reading everyone else's stuff.

Anyhow in celebration of being fine, fat and forty, I intend to parade my fat old body in my first bikini since my twenties and these beauties are the contenders.  The first sites I looked at were the US based sites but around $80.00 is a bit costly for a bikini especially with possible postage and customs.

The first contender is this Avon Bikini, Avon is definitely not even somewhere I think of when considering clothing but this beauty is affordable at £9.00 for the top and £8.00 for the bottoms.  The sizes are up to a 40F on top and a 26 on the bottom.

A bit pricier but also very lovely is this summer rose set from Asos it goes up to 42F on top and a size 28 on the bottom.

I have no idea of what the quality of this would be like but if you are a smaller fat and I would say more modestly sized on top like me, this might work.  It goes up to a size 22 and is under £6.00 on e bay.

This bikini by Liz McClarnon is fun and fruity I can see it teamed with a fun fruity clutch for a day out at the beach.  Although I am pretty confident my only concern it is a bit lower waisted than the others but the print is so fun it could win me over.

So which would you choose and what will you be wearing at the beach this Summer?