Thursday, December 19, 2013

Not long till Christmas now...

6 sleeps till Christmas, not long now.

The clothes I ordered have arrived, the dress I wanted to wear I am now not sure if I like it, Steph (daughter) is coming over tomorrow to give her opinion, I also have a skirt on the way, which is being held up at customs, so hoping that will be here in time. I got it from "Holy Clothing", I love their skirts and have a few different ones from them in different colours, the two I am waiting on are these:
I ordered this one in this colour - "Green Jade Celia Scalloped Hem Velvet Vtg Lace Gypsy Peasant Boho Skirt" - "A truly stunning Velvet Romanian scalloped hem design with a splendid full flowing Gypsy hem!! Gorgeous Renaissance design, lace embroidery and different fabrics (butter-soft viscose/rayon with velvet inlays front and back)".


And this one in, it is just a basic skirt, but if I like it, might get it in a couple of colours. This one is called "Black Midnight Emma Butter-Soft Victorian Steampunk A-Line Walking Skirt" "Dreams come true with Talia, HolyClothing's delectable fairy-style skirt; what could only be fantasy is now your exquisite reality".



The green one will go awesome with my coffin bag I purchased, which will hopefully arrive tomorrow or Monday :)


I got my nails done the other day, was going to get a couple of Xmas feature nails, but knew that once Xmas was over I would want them off, so we decided to go for a summer look :) (Photos are not the best sorry) - hmmm they won't go with green lol. I get my nails done at 'Get Nailed' here in Rotorua.




Anyway will do an outfit post soon promise :)

Have a great weekend all :)

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Yes I know.... and City Chic update!

I have been neglecting this blog lately, I have been doing updates on the "CRPS Blog", but anyway I went through a bit of a lull - but I picked myself up this week, and got my hair cut and the roots bleached, I now also have a fringe - I also got my eyebrows done, and have spent a little money on myself in the way of clothes, which are still to arrive and really hoping they will arrive before xmas :) - so hopefully I will have some outfit posts up in the next few weeks :)
Well actually I did buy 2 pairs of leggings from Farmers and two tops - might do an outfit post on those in the next few days. I also have had my nails done as well, this last time, I just got the acrylic nails done and painted them myself, but next week I am going to do Gel nails with a couple of feature nails, so that could be another post lol


These are my current nails at the moment




I use "Color Club" Nail Polish - the ones I have on currently change colour when out in the sun
The purple one is "Fate" and the sparkly one is "Desert Valley" - except I am wondering if the Desert Valley one maybe old or something, because it is not like the colour in the picture hmmmmm


I was in "The Body Shop" and grabbed a "Coconut Shower Cream" and a "Cocoa Butter Body Lotion" - I could have sworn I got a "Coconut Body Butter" - oh well I didn't,  I have a voucher, so think I will go and buy some Coconut Body Butter to go with the shower cream.




I also got some stuff from Lush - "R & B Hair Moisturiser", which my hair desperately needs, I have ordered my "wonderbar shampoo block", from "Sorbet" which should arrive tomorrow, I have used it before and it is fantastic.




I got some "Vanilla Dee-Lite" body lotion


And some "Snow Fairy" shower gel, which they only bring out at Christmas time :)


So that was my Christmas shopping for me from me :). 

So now I look lovely and smell lovely, all I got to hope is that my clothes come before Christmas, as one of the dresses I want to wear Christmas Day :). 

I am thinking over the weekend I am going to plan my goals for 2014, and print it of and put it on my cork board so I can see it daily. 

Oh and City Chic responded re: the post below - "Thank you for your message and our apologies we have not got back to you sooner. In the past we stocked XXL in stores however the customer demand as a whole was not there for this size. To ensure we could still cater for XXL, online was the most accessible avenue. Now that click to collect is available you can order XXL online and have it delivered to your local free of charge. You can then try on the garment and if you are not happy with it you can return it for a full refund".

Anyway thats it from me for now, will hopefully get some outfit posts up over the next few weeks. Have a great weekend all :)

Monday, December 2, 2013

When a Plus Size shop stops at XL but.....

goes up to xxl on their online store - what the....

Yip the store "City Chic", in their stores go up to xl, but the shop online goes up to xxl. This to me is really weird, and to me borderlines towards discrimination. 

Is it because they feel that displaying xxl in stores is embarrassing... I really don't know - I will be emailing them to find out what the reason is though and will get back to you on that one.

I love some of their stuff, and travelled nearly 2 hours the other week to go and visit their store to try on stuff in xxl, well went through every thing there and could not find any xxl - first I thought maybe that had sold out, but when we are in Aussie, I remember it only going up to xl as well. 

Unless they have an awesome reason for not stocking xxl, I won't be shopping from them ever again, not that I have shopped much from them before (a pair of leggings) is it lol.

I will come back and update you when or if I get a reply.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Love EVERY Body - Body Positivity Workshop



To find out more about the Love EVERY Body Workshop - click the circle Love EVERY Body in the side bar to the <----------Left :)


Dear Body,

You have been a part of my life for 49 years, I certainly don't feel 49 years old, so you must have been pretty good to me some of the last 49 years.

Where do I begin, when I was young, I did all the normal things that bodies are suppose to do - I kept you pretty active, as I was into a lot of sports and ate healthy, so you were in the best possible place you could be at that age. 

Then things started changing a little, you decided to rebel a little, and gave me a couple of broken legs within 2 years, oh lets not forget the time I stood on a needle and it broke in my foot, and was travelling up the bloodstream so they had to do emergency surgery on you to remove it before it punctured my heart.  But I still did swimming, and rode my pushbike to the beach on weekends, played in the surf and enjoyed life. At this stage you were well in proportion, and I could wear a bikini comfortable, I kept you nice and tanned and life was pretty good, my hair was blonde bleached from all the sun, and I felt like I fitted in the beach lifestyle really good, the beach was my home. 

Then the later teens started, and I discovered alcohol, and parties, this was when I started abusing you, partying weekends, consuming large amounts of alcohol, but was still going to the beach and swimming regularly. When I was 16, I nearly killed you off, I was involved in a car accident, the driver got killed and I came of next worse, with internal bleeding, a raptured kidney and a few other issues, but the wonderful doctors put you all back together again. The life of parties and booze stopped a little for a few years, and I also did have a wonderful trip to Holland once I had recovered from the car accident, where I got to meet all of my extended family, you coped well, considering not much earlier you were nearly dead. 

For awhile after the car accident I treated you with a lot of love, as nearly killing you off woke me up a little. This lasted for a couple of years then alcohol started creeping in, don't get me wrong I was not drinking every night or anything like that, but I suppose I could say I was a binge drinker especially at weekends. I think I must have had 9 lives, the amount of times I managed to bike home after a night on the booze, so that I was not drink driving, instead I was bike driving lol.

Then another thing happened, when a male abused you, details I am not wanting to write about on a public blog, this led me to not even think you were worth anything, I abused you with more drinking, and eating the most crap foods I could find. Slowly over the years, I abused you time and time again, booze, foods, marijuana - I didn't care. I broke my leg another couple of times, over this period as well. I hated myself because of this man, and I had no self respect, it was taken away from me, this behaviour continued for a few years.   

Then all went well for a few years, I got pregnant after only 2 weeks of trying, I think it was payback time for you though, I had the most horrendous morning sickness for the whole 9 months, but it was worth it, you produced a beautiful set of twins, just over 18 years ago, and better still, it was one of each sex. All went well for you, over the next few years, the alcohol became a lot less, I would lose and gain weight over these years, but health wise the doctors were pretty happy with how you were going. I did a half marathon and life was going pretty well for you, I was losing weight getting fitter and finally started treating you with the respect you deserved.

Then the real payback happened from all those years I abused you, I had just competed my first half marathon, and was feeling pretty proud of myself, when I went to see someone and fell down their steps in the pouring rain, I then got another broken leg, but this time it never healed properly like all the others. But I carried on with life, learning to live with the pain, till the pain got to the point that I started abusing you with pain killers. As I was having trouble walking, I decided to start push biking to get fit. Not long after I started biking, I had an accident and fell of my bike, back to hospital I went where I did a nice break in my arm that could not be fixed without surgery. So under the surgeons knife you went again, and out I came with a lovely cast on. Over this whole time in the cast, I felt something was not quite right with your arm, eventually the cast came off, and the pain you were causing was unbelievable. So I took you to a hand therapist where I got told I had "CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome"). My life changed for both you and I from that day on, many different combinations of medications were trialled to help relieve some of the pain I was feeling. You didn't react very well to many of them very well, making me nauseous, dizzy, and many other things. Now you are telling me by the side effects I am having, that I need to reduce my meds, my body is not coping.

How do I feel about you now, for many years, I hated you, as I put on so much weight, I felt like I was worth nothing, I think you were one of the lucky bodies though, that never really got teased or taunted about the extra weight you are carrying, but that did not make my mind feel confident. But over the last 12 - 18 months, I now see you as a body and thats it, you are a body, a physical thing that is a part of me, you have arms, legs, and a head etc. like most other bodies out their in the world. Just because you are surrounded by a little more fat than some other bodies does not make me any less of a person as anyone else. You have been through some rough times, but you have always bounced back for me, so now it is my time to respect you, and love you for the body you are now. There are still parts of you I am learning to love, but each month I am learning to love you more and more.

Love me :)

And just remembered another 2 things, that was not fun, I had another 2 accidents one with my father driving, and we ran into a cow, we were all alright, but sad to say the cow didn't make it, it was a wet miserable night and we didn't see the cow. You body brilliantly made it through with only minor injuries. Then lo and behold I was with my ex-husband and we hit another cow, again it was a raining night and we did not see it, miraculously you survived again with only minor injuries.

Friday, November 29, 2013

Whoops, what happened to this month?

I have been a bit quiet, and that is probably cause I have not been doing much, or buying much - but that is just an excuse I got lazy in taking photos :)

But anyway here I am back again and hope no am going to do at least 2 posts a week, ideally 3. 

Now with all the Black Friday sales happening, I could not resist, I am always unsure about a first order with a shop, has you never know what the fittings are, but today I took a risk and placed an order with "Modcloth" . They had 50% of a lot of items, and also free international shipping for orders over $150. I read all the reviews etc and hope I have ordered the correct sizes - time will tell :)

This is what I ordered in $US:


"Floral Flashback Dress" - was $54.99 with 50% off I got it for $26.99



Next up is this - "Top Deck Dinner Dress" $84.99, but I will change the belt I think, this was not in sale but I loved it so much and the reviews were great, so figure it was worth the risk.


Next up is this "Charter School Cardigan in Black" to go over the dresses if it is a little on the chilly side, 
this was $34.99


And last to make it up to the $150 I got a "Alluringly Aureate Headband" which was $8.99



LOL after all that, I only got 1 thing that was 50% off, oh well, I love a lot of their clothes so if they fit nice, I will buy more.

Anyway not to much has been happening, got my nails done again, but this time I didn't get gel polish though I loved it, I also love to change my colours of my nails to match what I am wearing, next time I will get a couple of feature nails done, still trying to decide what I want done on them, was going to do something Christmas themed but know once Christmas was over I would want them off. Will show you what I get done :)

In about 2 weeks, I get my roots bleached and also get my eyebrows reshaped again, so I will be all up to date when it comes to Christmas. Speaking of the clothes I ordered today, they should arrive in time for Christmas, and I think I will wear the Top Deck Dinner Dress.

Anyway have a great weekend all, and  will be back on Sunday with a post, I have joined a workshop called "Love EVERY Body" - A Body Positivity Workshop, but more on that on Sunday :)

Friday, November 1, 2013

BUGGER!!!

My lovely converse shoes are owned by Nike and we all know they are not on the fair trade list.... so I am going to have to look at alternatives when they wear out. There are alternatives out there, just got to search for them.

Anyway onto some fair trade things I have found, all pictures will be linked if you want to find out more info. :)

First up we must remember "Trade Aid", stores around New Zealand or buy online, with Christmas next month, check them out for some special gifts :)


I am loving this "beach chic wrap bracelet"
$58 ($NZ)
I have found this wonderful full length wrap skirt - Made from soy or bamboo cotton. Available from the Etsy store "VioletStarCreations" 



$99.30 ($NZ) - Sizing up to 5xl (Made to Order)

Here is another one of their dresses $136.54 
"Sleeveless VNeck Dress" Soy or Bamboo Organic Cotton Jersey)


And this one I love - "Patchwork Peasant Dress"
By the Etsy store yanadee $105.51 ($NZ)




It is made from organic fabric - also what I love is that these people will make to measure as well :) - I really think I am going to order this one :)

I am really enjoying finding these shops etc.... and am loving the clothes, yes they are more expensive but I think it is worth every penny spent :)

Anyway sorry for being quiet on here, and on that note have an excellent weekend all - oh and one more thing got my nails done the other day, and got my first ever gel polish :)

Am loving them....

Oh and 1 more thing I am after a coffin handbag - I love them :)



Friday, October 25, 2013

Where is the time going...

Time is going so fast, have nearly finished doing all my study notes, so then it will all be revision and more revision. 

I have found some awesome clothes on Etsy which are Fair Trade clothing, I will be sharing some of them on here hopefully next post. I have also found many other things on there as well that I have fallen in love with lol.

This weekend here in New Zealand is a long weekend, David has been in Wellington for the week and due home in a couple of hours. 

Next week, now that the pressure is off, I am hoping to start back at Aussie Curves, I feel a little bad that I have not been doing them, but I had to prioritise. 

Anyway hope those that are having a long weekend has a good one, and see you next week, with a new improved me, well maybe not that improved yet but changes are going to be happening again, I started neglecting myself, time to put me first again.

Oh yeah got my nose pierced again, which I love, and Wedensday am getting my nails done, then in about 2 weeks, will be getting my hair done again. Oh and one more thing, I have been doing a bit of exercise again, just on the Exercycle and Ab machine - small steps :)

Catch you all soon and stay safe :)


Sunday, October 20, 2013

I am on a mission....

Since reading the blog the other day (post below), fair-trade clothing has been on my mind, I purchase fair-trade makeup, and now I am going to try and purchase fair-trade clothing which is not an easy mission for anybody, but with a lot of research over the coming months, (in-between my exams), I am hoping to give you vital information on what brands to avoid (if you want to support fair-trade) and hopefully find some awesome brands to buy from. If thats not hard enough I am going to try and do this for plus size fashion as well...... Not only am I going to look at clothing, but I am also going to look at make-up as well. 

First stop would of course be "ETSY", a place where a lot of clothes are made by the owners themselves, what a great way to support a small business. I will add links to the places on the side bar, or I may open a new page for it, depending on big it gets :). Not only can you find great clothes for all sizes, but you can find some awesome handmade jewellery as well. 

This is not going to be an easy mission, and if you see any errors, please please let me know:), and also if you know of any good sites leave a comment so I can add them.

So watch this space :)

Thursday, October 17, 2013

An eye opener.....

I found this blog today..., All my make-up is animal friendly and have been thinking about clothes for a while now, anyway check out this "blog", it is well worth the read and in case you can't be bothered (shame on you), then here is the list so far. 


Quoted from the blog:

The following list of brands are some of the top worst offenders, violating numerous human rights, labor laws, utilize child labor, and/or pose immense environmental hazards, and are not working to improve their practices. So because they won't change, we can! Let's try our best to avoid these horrible corporations and put morality and ethics over blind consumerism (and in doing so force these companies to do the same!) 



Victoria's Secret
Ralph Lauren

Giorgio Armani
GAP
Banana Republic
Old Navy
J-Crew
JC Penny
DKNY
Hugo Boss
Tommy Hilfiger
Kate Spade
Hanes
Express
New York & Company
Bath & Body Works
L'Oreal
Diesel
Nike
American Apparel
Vichy
Mango


No need to say anymore....

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Where oh where do these weeks go!

On the weekend, hubby and I went to Napier, to get away for a bit. I happened to be looking at "Trade Aid" where I found this wonderful handbag from India. I love love it :)


I also went to "The Original Gypsy Fair", where I found this herbal vanilla shampoo powder, I have used it twice now, not sure yet if I like it or not, the smell is lovely, I also got some Vanilla Perfume  I love Vanilla and Coconut, my favourite  two smells. I also had a voucher from "The Body Shop" and got some vanilla shower gel. 


I have not done any outfit posts lately, or "Aussie Curves" posts, I have not been in the right frame of mind, and also had lots to assignments to get done. Hope to get back into outfit posts in the next week or two. The worst of the study is over, apart from exams in about 4 weeks. 

Anyway hope everyone is doing well out there and will be back soon :)

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Big News for 'Autograph' Fans in New Zealand

"Autograph" is coming to New Zealand, Ok they are already here in some places but they are opening in The Base Hamilton soon, I am stoked. I love a lot of their stuff ...

And are already in Auckland at Sylvia Park, Lynmall and at North City Wellington. I can't wait for the Hamilton one to open, then I am going for a day's shopping and will suss out Autograph, City Chic, and TS and Virtue Boutiques - I will be in heaven so I had better get saving :).

I know what I want, just need the money :)

Another week has passed for Aussie Curves and I failed to join in once again, I have an excuse, I have assignments due and they have been taking up all my time :). I am hoping to join in the stripe one for this week, providing I can find something stripy, not sure if I have anything :)

To be honest I have been a bit out of sorts lately but hope to get my mojo back soon :)

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Introducing "PINK CLOVE"

I have been seeing on blogs lately a relatively new company offering plus size clothes "PINK CLOVE", sizes 16 - 32. It is a UK site, and has some awesome stuff, to ship internationally it is a fee of   £9.99, which I think is pretty reasonable.

Here are a few of my favourite things, they are not badly priced and once I save some money up, I plan to do an order - the twins 18th cost a wee bit more than planned, but it was worth it :)

Cap Sleeve Lace Dress - £26


 Floral Skater Dress With Belt - £22


Gold Roses Foil Print Pencil Skirt - £12


Graphic Print Woven Front Top - £9.10


Love Print Tank With Studs - £9.80


Peplum Top With Contrast Upper - £8.40


Tartan Skater Dress with Belt - £22


Very reasonable prices even with the exchange rate, I will do a review on the clothes when I place an order.... but in the meantime go and check them out, and if you buy something come back and let me know :)

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Where I am at....

I did a more in-depth post over on my CRPS blog, if you want to check it out properly :)

I am loving that I can buy nice clothes at my size, but I need to lose weight, not because I think I will look better but for my health, with CRPS, I need to get fitter and healthier, I have ignored it before, but I am wanting to move to Aussie in about 2-3 years, which means I need to get myself as healthy as possible, so I can get back into part time work and of ACC. I will always a be a plus size, so this blog will be continuing, but sometimes health has to come first....

Anyway if you want to know more, check out the CRPS blog link up above, and next week I will be back in here blogging about fashion etc... Am hoping to get my "Tee Aussie Curves" post up this week still :)

Anyway onto a healthier life I go, if you want to follow I will be mostly updating on the CRPS blog, so follow me there :)

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Aussie Curve - $50 Outfit

This weeks Aussie Curves challenge is an outfit under $50, well I was hoping my stuff from Autograph would have arrived but no such luck, seeing as today is a stay at home day, this is what I chose to wear.... it comes in under $50. No makeup, wet hair just me :)
Sorry the pictures are blurry, not sure why as the iPhone is usually pretty good - anyway onto my outfit.  And also Biscuit our dog has to always be in the picture :)




 
Leggings - ASOS - $19.20
Top - Virtue - $29.95 (Less a $10 Voucher) so really only $19.99 (Feel like a bit of a cheat lol)
Shoes $9.99 (Not sure where I got them from but last summers). 

Total $49.14 (Bugger just realised it was over $50 as the Virtue top was Aussie $)

Phew just got this in time, next week I will be more organised :)

And after that we decided to go to 'Tirau' for a look around, so added a bit of make-up some decent shoes and away I went :)

Catch you all next week :)


Saturday, September 14, 2013

Dresses...

After a couple of days of rain, the sun is back out, and Spring is with us once again... and the bright sun and the luscious colour of the grass and flowers makes me want to splash out in some of these beautiful summer dresses from 'City Chic'

Here are some of my favourites....

Wild Floral Dress
Dress Spring Garden

When I see dresses like this, I just want to pack up a picnic, go and find a nice beach somewhere and relax, or the bottom one I would wear in a cooler evening and sitting outside somewhere enjoying a nice dinner :)

Shame the weather is not quite warm enough to enjoy outside yet, but wont be long :)


Thursday, September 12, 2013

Natio

Is it time to update your face cleansers etc, well carrying on reading if you want a good deal, which I discovered today, if you don't like Natio, then Revlon have also a good offer going.

'Farmers' stores have a great deal on if you happen to like Natio, and it goes till the end of September or till stocks run out.

Spend $45 on Natio products and you get a free gift valued at over $94, and better still spend another $15 and you get another smaller free gift. This is to good to resist, and it is all animal friendly :)

I purchased the Natio Ageless Toner, and the Ageless Day and Night Cream....


And got this free........



Renew Neck & Decolletage Cream 20g
Renew Day Cream SPF 15 20g
Rosemary Hand & Nail Cream 75ml
Instant Bronzer 50ml
Super Long Lash Mascarra - Black 10ml
Renew Radiance Foam Cleanser 20ml
Rich Colour Creme Gloss - Calm 6.5ml


And then if you spend the extra $15 you get
Ageless Extra Firming Moisture Treatment 20ml
Gentle Facial Scrub 20g
Shea Butter Lip Balm 4g

I am not sponsored for this post, I just figured I would spread the word on such a good bonus. 

This weeks Aussie Curves theme is "under $50", am hoping to get some photos taken tomorrow for this, was hoping my Autograph clothes I ordered last week would be here,but no such luck, so will have to see what else I can find :). 

Thats it from me for tonight, have a great weekend all, and come back on Sunday and see what I will have up for my $50 Aussie Curve theme. 

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Morning Tea...

The other day I was meeting a friend for coffee, so it was time to make a bit of an effort with my appearance, I really need to look at getting my haircut and coloured again soon, getting the eyebrows done next week. 

Anyway this is what I wore (excuse the blue tape on my arm, it was the only colour I had, now I have some different ones to match the clothes):





Headband: 'Circle of Wolves'
Necklace: 'Cobalt Heights'
Earrings: 'Skingraft'
Cardigan: 'ASOS'
Tunic: 'Autograph' - Currently on sale
Belt: Came from another outfit
Skirt: 'Holy Clothing' The colour is majolica blue
Shoes: 'Converse'

Today one of my skirts I wear around the home, ripped beyond repair, a year ago I would have been freaking out because I would have only owned a couple of skirts, but now it was ok not a problem it lasted well and I have plenty of other clothes to replace it, I really need to thank 'Aussie Curves' for this change, reading all the blogs has made such a difference to my life :)

Makeup wipes, I was feeling a bit broke so purchased some cheap ones the other week, OMG never ever again, will I go cheap, just getting them out of the package they break up. The ones I am talking about are Athena Beaute Facial Cleansing Wipes.
This is one of those times when you get what you pay for. Can't wait till they are all gone and I can replace them with some different ones. What ones do you use?

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Goodiebox - August

'Goodiebox' is a beauty box that comes once a month, you pay $29.95 and you get samples and full size products to try out.


Sorry the quality is bad, but it was the only way I could upload it :(.

Anyway thats it, will let the video tell you all about it :)

Monday, September 2, 2013

Aussie Curves


This weeks Aussie Curve theme is "Vulnerable Side"... for me that is my arms, I hate having them naked, I feel very vulnerable when they are not covered. But this is why I am doing Aussie Curves, to take me out of my comfort zone :)

Meaning of "Vulnerable"

  • Capable of or susceptible to being wounded or hurt
  • Open to moral attack, criticism, temptation, etc
  • (of a place) open to assult


I believe this one looks much better with the arms covered up...



Today I am wearing:
Cardigan: 'Autograph'
Leggings: 'ASOS Curve'
Shoes: 'Vans' Not sure where, but know it was a shoe shop in Byron Bay
Headpiece: 'The Rainbow Shop'
Necklace: 'Markets'
Earrings: 'Gypsy Fair'


If you want to join in, click 'here' to join the challenge !