ModCloth Stylish Surprise.

As I have said before I have lusted after a lot of the clothes on ModCloth for a long while but I am always wary as it is US based and I am afraid of the postage and the dreaded customs.  So when I heard that ModCloth a couple of times a year have a big sale selling their stock from $5.00 to $20.00 depending on what you are getting I was in.  The catch is you don't know what you are getting so for $20.00 you get a dress that originally retailed between $30.00 or $299.00, a bit like fashion lucky dip.  As I figured it could be sold on, that $20.00 is like around £13.50 and that I like a surprise I was in.

The only problem was I was bang in between sizes so I ordered a 2XL and a 3XL, which at $40.00 meant I incurred a hefty £13.44 customs charge, a rookie error and if I do this again I will order the dresses separately as the postage is less than customs.

So what did I get for my $40.00  I got a beautiful blue and green dress in the 2XL and a really pretty purple dress which Katt Cupcake also received in the 3XL which unfortunately I didn't have the boobs to fill out so it has been moved on to a better home.

The dress is really lovely in a sort of moleskin/velvet and has an exposed brass zip with a lovely angel wing as the zipper, being a bad blogger I have not got a photo of this.  I have gone for a vaguely 90's styling crossed with school girl chic on this dress as it reminds me of dresses from that period and catholic school girl plaid.

So I teamed it with my trusty denim jacket, really I must get some more jackets!  My school girl shoes that are pretty old from Topshop.  A milk carton handbag via Ebay.

And my Janine Basil Solar system headband.

I also wore my Urban Decay Catfight lipstick but it had worn off a bit by the time I took these pictures and my Dolly Cool Virgin Mary Kitty necklace.

Some other lovely bloggers also got the Stylish Surprise and are posting today so share the love and have a look at what they got.

Katt - A Curvy Cupcake

Kathryn - Miss Kathryn's MissTakes

Mookie - Mookie's Life
Nikki - Natty Nikki

Sarah - Plus Size and Proud

A Birthday Afternoon Tea - Moat House, Canterbury

On Saturday I had a wonderful surprise my friend Jill (whose saying when talking of me named this blog) came down from Oxford to celebrate my Birthday, initially this was going to be a whole afternoon into night affair but my lovely friend who had organised all the wonderful surprises was admitted to hospital so we postponed, but when a girl has traveled that far to see an old friend a celebration is deserved.

So myself Jill, and my friend Max headed to The Moat House in Burgate in Canterbury for a Champagne Afternoon Tea, we were seated upstairs in a little room with a ginormous chandelier and given a huge menu of teas; I chose Russian Caravan that was strong, smokey and quite delicious, Max opted for a strong tea with fruity hints called Monkey's Smile that Jill likened to tea with a hint of Malibu and Jill ever the classic opted for Lapsang Souchon.

  As well as this there were about 7 cakes to choose from I went Victoria Sponge, Jill for Carrot whilst I think Max chose most wisely with the Lemon Cake which looks to have lashings of lemon curd in the middle.

Then the Champers arrived, before the tea and the cake and sandwich selection.

The finger sandwiches were a nice selection of cucumber and cream cheese, ham and mustard, smoked salmon and cream cheese, the scones were homemade, one fruit one plain and surprisingly light, the jam and clotted cream were plentiful.

I didn't taste Jill and Max's cakes so I am thinking they were really good as no tastes were offered.  However, I make a pretty good Victoria sponge (even if I say so myself) and I cannot lie despite it being tasty it was a little dry and nowhere near as good as the scones.

The cake I should of chosen

Nice but a little dry

So would I go back?  Hell yes: homemade cake, loose leaf tea with tons of variety, good scones, vintage china and a quirky charm, what is there not to go back for, and if you like a cream tea I think you could be well pleased with this one.  I will leave you now with us posing with our vintage tea cups.

PS International Wish List - Mod Cloth

When Debs from Wannabee Princess suggested an Plus sized International Wish List of what we would have spent in an International Store if customs and expensive postage were not prohibitive, it was a no brainer it had to be Mod Cloth!  A brand I have lusted after and idled away many an afternoon looking at their beautiful clothes and homeware too.

I am just about to pop my Mod Cloth Cherry as I have ordered their stylish surprise (but more of that in a later blog) but until then here is my lust list.

Cosmic Kitty Tee $29.99

I spend a lot of time at work in my jeans and what could be more perfect to team my jeans with than a navy tee with a dipped hem, with oh a space cat in a stylish wig on the front.  How could T shirts get better than this.

Canyon Dig It Dress $99.99

I may have mentioned I am all about the prints and this dress is just amazing with it's Grand Canyon style print complete with Cactus', prints like this are one of the things I adore about Mod Cloth.

Hooked on a Canine Dress $89.99

Still all about those prints and hooked on my favourite animals, regular readers will know I have a love of my life a rather elderly Staff X Lab called Madame Beyonce, who I think would approve of this print.

Record Time Dress $49.99

As I have spoken about before I am a huge fan of the 60's and this dress makes me want to put my hair in a beehive (well if i had hair) pop on eyeliner and a pale lippie and dance around my front room to some old tunes.

Novel Tee In Madeline $29.99http://www.modcloth.com/shop/graphic-tees/novel-tee-in-madeline

There are quite a lot of these Novel Tee's on Mod Cloth of classic Novels and I love them all, but this is my favourite one of Madeline, the story of little red head living in at a boarding school with eleven other girls.  

Blossom and Found Dress $104.99

There are a lot of these beautiful party dresses on Mod Cloth and I think this one as well as being stunning and having a Black Swan vibe about it (or that might just be me) really shows that diversity in sizes can be done as it runs from a tiny US size 2 to a curvaceous US size 26, UK manufactures take note.

Fruity Suity $89.99

I have wanted a fatkini for a while and I love this one at $89.99 if this was translated into pounds I think it would be a bit over what I would want to pay, but hey it's a wish list right?

Catch some Berets Dress $69.99

Finally I really like these dresses that are made to look like a Tee and skirt combo and this one makes my heart sing a joyful song with it's stripy top and French Bulldog in a Beret, picture perfection I tell you.

So that is my list it could have gone on and on as there is loads of choice over 1400 items in their plus sizes, which made me feel like a fat girl in a department store and  I didn't touch on homeware, accessories or shoes all of which have loads of lovely things.  Please Mod Cloth make this fattie happy and open a UK store.

I can't wait to see what all the other bloggers have chosen and please show the low by clicky, clicky on the linkies bellow. 

Debz - http://www.wannabeprincess.co.uk

Katt - www.acurvycupcake.com

Kelly - http://www.adventuresofariotgrrrl.com 

Steph - http://www.seeingspots.co.uk/

Kim - http://www.callmekim.net/

Sharon - http://www.bigfatbetty.com

Sarah - www.plussizeproud.co.uk 

Victoria - TheCurvedOpinion.com

Becky - http://www.doesmyblogmakemelookfat.com/

Leah - http://www.justmeleah.co.uk/

Nikki - www.nattynikki.com

Charli - http://curvygirlthin.blogspot.co.uk

Mookie - http://www.mookieslife.com 

Filipa - http://uniquelyfilipa.blogspot.pt/

OOTD - Robots Take Over.

So Saturday was the day of my Birthday surprise that had been meticulously planned by my friend.  Unfortunately she had been pretty poorly throughout the week and on Saturday she ended up admitted to hospital, it seemed a bit unfair to go ahead without her when she had put so much time and effort in the planning that we postponed, but not all elements could be put on hold as my old housemate from Uni was in Canterbury for the occasion.

  Unfortunately she couldn't do the whole surprise thing cos because of the situation I now knew but the girl had come a bloody long way for my birthday so it was only fair we did cake and cocktails and my other friend Max came too and took these pics.  I will do a review of the Moat House Tea Rooms later, but for now lets focus on what I wore.

I wore my new red robot print Get Cutie Dress with my trusty Henry Holland Denim jacket.  The dress is a nice light weight cotton and really easy to wear and gives good cleavage.

I teamed it with these Silver Sandals from River Island at ASOS, which whilst having a bit of a heel were comfortable and practical to walk in, if you have visited Canterbury you will know there are a lot of cobbles which with my proficiency in heels could be dangerous.

And carrying on with the Robot theme I wore a Janine Basil Robot headband that kinda reminds me of Metal Mickey a TV show from the 80's.

It was still a wonderful day after all who can really complain about seeing an old friend and having tea, cake, champagne and cocktails.

Outfit details:

Grace Dress in Robot print made shorter - Get Cutie

Denim Jacket - Henry Holland at Debenhams (old)

Sandals - River Island at ASOS no longer there but these are similar

Headband - Janine Basil (could only find hairclip version now)

Fabulous Forty Necklace - Blackheart Creatives Custom order

Channeling my Inner Ronette with Chiara Aprea

I have always loved the 60's especially girl groups, Twiggy, Mod and beatniks, so when I saw Chiara Aprea was doing a shoot inspired by the 60's I was in there like a shot.  As I don't just want to be the fat girl doing the 40's or 50's thing, even though there is nowt wrong with that what so ever and I will always worship the goddesses that were Elizabeth Taylor, Rita Hayworth and Grace Kelly.  It is just I don't always want to be that sometimes I want to be 80's punk, riot grrl or space age pretty.  I am a magpie taking and  indulging in whatever influences me.

If you haven't ever had a shoot consider it, as I believe it is a fabulous confidence boost and if you get nothing else from it you get a stunning profile pic.  Chiara's shoots are really reasonable, others charge much more for the same service and my personal opinion is she is a bloody genius with make up and a camera, as well as being really friendly, providing tea and biscuits and coaxing brilliant shots out of even me who has a habit of pulling a strange Cherie Blair grimace whilst trying to get rid of my double chin and can definitely do some very strange starey eyes.

From Chiara's selfies.

First Chiara does the make up and the photo above is after she had done the eyes and the base, then we focused on the hair which for this shoot was a fabulous beehive.  After we did this it was time for some cheeky selfies on Chiara's I phone which I think are almost as good as the finished article.  I have put them up, so you can judge how much is photoshop and how much is Chiara's genius with make up.

Then we shot the final images which I have to say I am bloody thrilled with and I feel like a fat white Ronnette or the homecoming queen who dreams of escaping to San Fransisco to become a Beatnik.

So remember fellow fats don't feel limited you can be whatever your little peacock heart desires and eff what people think is flattering to the bigger girl.  Now I am off to channel my inner Ronette for a while more so I will leave you with this tune.

My favourite hair accessory - In support of Sarah shaving her head.

A lovely lady called Sarah from Plus size and Proud, is shaving her head this weekend to raise money for Cambridge Mind through her involvement in a beauty pageant for Plus sizes called Model XL.

Sarah can explain this much better than I, so I will hand over to Sarah:

"Model XL wanted to choose a charity that suited their beliefs best — Model XL believes that having confidence in yourself is about your state of mind, so Mind is perfectly in harmony with what Model XL wanted to achieve.  Sarah said, “Model XL want to find the beauty inside the person — this was why I decided to shave my hair off.... my hair doesn't make me the person I am, so I decided to show that I am still the same person with or without it!”

Sarah has asked if people can write about their favourite hair accessory, mine is one that I have posted before a beautiful blue glittery star headband from Janine Basil.

I bought this for my nieces wedding and although it wasn't cheap I have worn this more times than I can remember and it always makes me feel special and brightens up an outfit, so what more can you ask.

If you feel like you would like to donate to this worthy cause the link is here, Sarah would like to raise £1000.00 and is £590.00 there so I know any donations will be gratefully received.

The Day I Became The Unwitting Star of Someone's Vine - updated

Yesterday I was on my way to shoot with Chiara Aprea and this happened.  I was a bit hungry my train left at 08:30 and I knew it was gonna be a long time till I ate, so I had bought a sandwich in Sainsbo's.  I got as far as Dover and absent mindedly I opened my sandwich, and not paying any attention to my surroundings and began to eat.

 Before I even had a chance to say anything a bloke bounded over, saying: "I hope you don't mind I always wanted to do that, I was going to do it in McDonald's but they kicked me out."  I stated: "Would it matter if I did? You already did it." but he just talked over me saying I was a really nice woman before bounding away saying: "Don't worry I'm going to London."

At that point I wasn't aware if I had been filmed or not, I felt angry with myself for a while that I hadn't stated more clearly that actually it wasn't okay and if he had filmed it he needed to delete it because filming someone minding their own business without their consent is not okay. When I got to Chiara's I talked about it stated I was angry that I hadn't told him off and checked he hadn't filmed it and promptly forgot it.  By 8:00 that evening a friend messaged me asking if the person at 0:18 on this video was me.

 It seems I had been posted on Arron Crascall Vines a facebook page with over a million likes some of who are friends of mine, where me eating my sandwich along with other clips of Arron doing amusing stuff around London has received over 500,000 views.

I then came home and wrote a angry blog about consent, then decided I would message him as it was only fair he had the chance to reply.  I didn't really expect a reply and even entertained the thought it could backfire and I could be trolled by his fans.  Instead I received a really lovely reply, a offer to take the film down and a promise he will rethink his after shooting approach, on his birthday as well.  Which in honesty I couldn't have hoped for more.

OOTD - It's my Birthday and I will wear what I want to.

This weekend I celebrated my 40th with a weekend in London with the Hub, we shopped, munched, went to galleries and to a musical.  It was amazing and really bloomin special and I feel like a really lucky girl.

So what did I wear for this adventure?  Well as a young girl I had always wanted a ballerina dress or a tutu and had longed for one but had never owned one so what else could it be.

I loved wearing this and felt swishy and special all day, but a slight word of warning going to the toilet in a tutu was a bit of a nightmare and the Hub did have to help me out a bit with readjustment afterwards.  As some of you know I have been searching for a plus size tutu that is coloured for a while and this one is from MT Coffinz, which are US based but Elsie's Attic have also got some nice looking ones.

My only regret for the day is my hair was a bit flat as I forgot my hairdryer, Doh! and I flirted with a nude lip that made me look a bit washed out in my opinion.

I teamed my Tutu with a Nasa crop top from Primark and my old H bu Henry Holland denim jacket, although I think a pastel biker jacket would look slightly better.  I also had a fab necklace saying Fabulous Forty made by Blackheart Creatives made but none of the pictures really do it full justice.

However the silver sandals I had bought to wear with it didn't go at all, remember kids always try an outfit out at home first, but by chance my new trainers went perfectly and as my feet were aching from my shopping march the day before that was a blessing.

I will leave you with a pic of my new trainers which were a birthday present from the Hub, as they saved the day and are a thing of beauty.

Outfit details:

Denim Jacket - H by Henry Holland (old)

Nasa Crop Top - Primark

Tutu -MT Coffinz

Trainers _ Adidas at Schuh

Necklace _ Blackheart Creatives

The Liebster Award

I was totally flattered and honoured to be awarded The Liebster award by the lovely and talented (check out her artwork) Kat from Murder of Goths, she wrote some lovely comments about my blog that made my heart do a little happy dance.  Not just because she said such nice things you should check out her blog it is really good with gorgeous art work and opinions.

I had heard of The Liebster Award and the idea is to award it to people who are just starting out blogging or have less than 200 followers.  I really like the idea (not just because I was nominated) as it is a great way to introduce people to new blogs they might not come across.

The Rules are:

• Thank and link back to the blogger who nominated you.
• Answer the 11 questions that they have asked you.
• Nominate bloggers who have a following of <200 on Bloglovin’
• Ask them 11 questions.
• Notify the nominees.

The Questions

Why did you start your blog?

I have always loved writing, wanted a creative outlet and I suppose something that was just for me, not related to work, family or other schizz.  I didn't know if anyone would read and am pleasantly surprised by any comments left and people who do read my random adventures, look at my outfits and read my weird little rants.

Best piece of advice you’ve heard for bloggers?

Just write for yourself and try and let you shine throughout your blog, not everyone will love you but that's life innit?

Who is your favourite female role model?

God, that is hard there have been so many kick ass women throughout history from Boudica, to the women who fought for my rights to vote, have access to contraception and education, to music and people like Pauline Black, Debbie Harry, Stevie Nicks and Madonna, Comic Books like Wonder Woman, Tess Holliday/Munster with her #effyourbeautystandards movement.

Honestly and I know it is a bit of a cop out but we are an amazing 50% of the population and I am finding it too hard to choose and I know I didn't even touch on scientists and astronauts, not to mention all the absolutely amazing women doing fantastic jobs out there completely unsung.  Sorry for me it is impossible to choose just one. 

Favourite item of clothing?

I think I have talked about my favourite item of clothing on the blog, but in case you missed it!  It is my Get Cutie Gnome Print Dress.  I think bar my wedding dress it is the most expensive dress I have ever owned but I have worn it loads which offsets the cost a bit and it started my love of print dresses which I think would be my personal brand.

Best decision of your life so far?

I think the best decision of my life is moving back to Kent.  Following my Dad dying I moved to Swansea to be with my Mum with he Hub and dog.  We uprooted and it wasn't working, at first I didn't want to admit defeat and do the process of moving again but we were both miserable.  Moving back was a huge release and both me and the Hub are so much happier and my Mum is going to join us when she sells her house.

What would your perfect day be like?

My perfect day would involve getting up late, having a yummy breakfast out, maybe American style pancakes, looking round shops, museums or galleries, and either something yummy to eat out and a show or a gig or an evening at home with some delicious munch and Madame Beyonce and the Hub.

What are you most proud of?

This is really hard I don't have any particular stunning achievements that make people go Wow!  I am proud of my little life with my Hub and dog.  I suppose I am quite proud of my work with kids and helping them with their emotions and hopefully making a difference to their lives.

Most embarrassing fashion choices in your past?

Oh so many: Global Hypercolour anyone?  Silver trainers, mustard coloured jeans, ra ra skirts, embellished jeans, ravc wear to name a few luckily I was a sulky fat teenager with an aversion to the camera so few pictures of these monstrosities exist.

Favourite plus size brand?

It varies I don't have one that is my absolute favourite.  I suppose my favourite brand would be Get Cutie but they are mega expensive and not plus size.  In terms of plus size brands I suppose I like Simply Be, Asos Curve, Yours and Evans.  I like the look of loads of others but haven't got round to shopping in them yet.  I tend to buy print dresses from independent brands, tops and other stuff from Primark, supermarkets, Debenhams and maybe Matalan with more specific plus size brands to mix it up.

Your favourite hobby?

I don't have a hobby as such as work and life seems to keep me busy enough.  As boring as it is this blog and writing would probably be it.  I also love reading, walking the dog, enjoy cooking and have an unhealthy interest in celebrity gossip and cheesy stuff like pop music and Eurovision.  

Oh and if I ever get time I really like the idea of joining a quiz team, as I know a realm of useless knowledge that nobody cares about.

What is your dream career?

I suppose my dream career would be a buyer of vintage evening dresses or a proper fiction writer.  Failing that I will do this little blog and carry on working with kids.

My Nominations are:

My first nomination is Kerrie at Dressing This Cherrypie, this lady is super stylish and sassy.  I love her slightly retro twist on fashion and have coveted every outfit she has posted as they are so wearable, simple whilst being stylish and original.  I particularly love the Cherry patches on this simple dress.

She also has a tumblr called The Pajama Project featuring less glamourous images of fats when they are off duty and well lounging in their PJ's.

My next nomination is Isha at An Autumn's Grace, firstly what a beautiful name for a blog and her photos are lovely and make me ashamed of my in my front room or back garden outfit of the day shoots.  There is a lovely mix of lifestyle, beauty, travel and fashion, not to mention she owns the Lady V Medusa dress I am coveting and how fab does she look in it.

My last nomination is Lottie from Diary Of A Curvy Girly, I really like her tone and style of writing and she talks a lot of sense about body confidence.  I really think it is well worth a read and how cute is her pic with Tess Munster.

*All pics taken from the blogs I have nominated.

My eleven questions

1. What inspired you to blog?
2. Who are your favourite bloggers?
3. What is your dream outfit?
4. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
5. What would be your last meal?
6. Who is your style Icon?
7. What are the three songs you would listen to if the world was ending?
8. Dogs or Cats?
9. What is your beauty essential?
10. What is your favourite smell?
11. Where is the best place you have ever been to?