Out of My Comfort Zone 9 - tv or movie character

Hello lovelies!

It's out of my comfort zone time again!

 

I chose the theme this time.

I love dressing up, so I want to suggest we do a challenge 'inspired by a movie/cartoon/tv character' as that's really open to interpretation and should be a lot of fun.

I think seeing everyone's creativity coming out and hearing a little explanation WHY each person picked the character they did will be a great way to learn more about each other and we might be able to put across a side of us no one normally sees.

I chose Peg Bundy from Married With Children. I love her!

She's a domestic slut who'd rather sit around filing her nails than do anything else and she gives her poor hubby a lot of stick. She's one of my fashion icons so of course I had to be fat Peg Bundy! Read more about her here.

Be prepared for my chunky self in all my 80s glory, overdone 80s make up and me channelling Peg's attitude. Hopefully these photos will make you laugh!

The ciggy is a rolled up bit of paper - I don't smoke.

Swimming cossie, Bon Prix
Wet look leggings, Miss Difusa
Belt, Simply Be
Shoes, Simply Be
Sweatband, eBay
Earrings, Laura's Jewellery
Lippie, W7 matte red lip colour


Who would YOU dress up as?

Thanks for reading and please check out the other babes channelling awesomeness!

Stephanie - http://www.seeingsp0ts.blogspot.co.uk

Gail - http://www.gailygumdrops.blogspot.ie

Nicole -  http://www.awellroundedventure.com

Becky - http://www.doesmyblogmakemelookfat.com

Mary - http://www.marysbigcloset.blogspot.pt

Emma- http://www.plussizemillard.blogspot.com

Becky - http://www.mrsbebeblog.com

Rachel- http://www.adressisforlife.com

Carlyn - http://www.smokingpeaches.com/

Natalie - http://awheelbarrowfullofstyle.blogspot.co.uk/

Help me pick my new glasses!

Hello sweetpeas!

I'm due an eye test soon and I've been looking at possibles for my new glasses. There are some very inexpensive glasses here and some more expensive ones. I'm really having trouble picking and I need your help.

If I get a more expensive pair I'll be able to get a second pair free, in which case I'll get a pair of prescription sunglasses, and I quite fancy these hot pink ones from Roxy.

Guess which ones are my faves?! If you know me well you may have guessed they are the Osiris ones!

I'll have to pay £40 extra for thin and light lenses (because I'm so poorly sighted I need these or my glasses look like bottle bottoms) then pay for a tint in the glasses I'll be using as sunglasses. All in all it'll come out to nearly £200 if I get the glasses I *really* want. So, is it worth spending almost £200 for something that'll be on my nose for the next 2 years? Or should I get some cheapo glasses to save money?! HELP!

So which ones do you like?

Thanks for reading!

10 day challenge day 8 - 8 fears

Hello!

Today's post is about fears. I'm going to throw some of my longest standing fears out there, but rest assured I don't think about these things too often. I don't want this to be a sad post.

1. Anything happening to James. I dread losing this lovely man who makes me laugh every single day and accepts me faults and all, and I can't bear to think of me dying first and leaving him alone either.
2. Anything happening to my family. I know my parents are most likely to die before me, but that doesn't mean I'm at peace with it. I want them to die at the age of 110, peacefully in their sleep. There comes the time for everyone when they have no older relatives to rely on for help or advice, and frankly that scares the piss out of me! I don't want to see my brother die either. 
3. Anything happening to my friends, be they friends I've not yet met, friends I haven't seen in ages, even people I may no longer get on with, or people I see all the time. Horrible things do happen to good people and I can't bear to think of anyone I care about going through a horrible time.
4. Being buried alive. Yes, I'm weird! When I was a kid I saw a Hitchcock or Hammer thriller where a man was buried alive. The person who was supposed to rescue him from the coffin (I think it was a prison escape) turned out to be the body underneath him in the coffin. Just thinking about it makes my breath catch!
5. Creepy crawlies which move fast. I don't mind slow-moving critters, but anything which flies at my face or scurries quickly makes me jump, and when I jump I get the heart palpitations from hell. So that means huge moths, bees, wasps and spiders scare me. I don't mind the little spiders you sometimes get in the house who stay in one corner minding their own business. I generally name them and talk to them, but those monsters who break the land speed record dashing across the living room scare the crap out of me.
6. The dark - I'm not the greatest fan of being outside on my own after dark, being indoors alone when it's dark and coming home to an empty house when it's dark. I think one of the reasons I like living in a flat is because I feel more secure than I would in a house, especially so on the upper levels as you're less likely to get burgled or intruded upon. I know some of my fear of being indoors alone comes as a result of the childhood experiences I had with my mum's previous partner, the alcoholic git I posted about previously. Because I came home late at night to find him smashing the house up in a drunken rage (twice) I carry that fear of something scary happening again. I think the mind plays tricks on us in the dark.
7. I fear what'll happen to me when the Government stop my ESA around February next year. My illnesses get progressively worse with each passing year, yet like thousands of other people too ill to work, I'm being thrown to the wolves by a Government who are crushing the sick and disabled to enable them to pander to the filthy rich. Will I go back to work in order to bring in money and face guaranteed physical and mental ruin? Or will there be even more pressure on my poor husband to bring home the bacon? It's a really scary time and I need to try to find a way to make money without adding to the strain my body is already under. Ideas on a postcard please!
8. I also fear how my health is going to go in the next 10 years or so. I see the way things have gone since 2007 when I became ill, despite eating so much more healthily, reducing stress and doing gentle exercise when I'm able. I notice things I did a year ago becoming more and more problematic for me now, and it scares me rigid. I don't want to end up in a wheelchair. I don't want to dependant on anyone else for my care. 

As I'm learning from the CBT I'm having, our fears are often WAY bigger than any possible reality. I'm learning how to examine my thoughts and recognise when I'm stuck in a vicious circle of worry. Something my counsellor said today resonated with me about bad thoughts - what is the PROBABILITY of them actually happening? 50%? 10%? 1%? So small it'll be a cold day in hell before it happens? ;) I think rationalising fears is useful, and it'll be something I'll be trying to master so I can live a fuller and happier life. Something else I've realised after just 2 sessions of CBT is sometimes in life, in times of depression, anxiety or stress we tend to focus on the things that go wrong. I want to focus more on the things that go well. I'm thankful for the NHS so I can have this treatment free of charge. I think it's going to be really useful alongside the meds I'm on, which are making a great difference.

If you've got time, would you care to tell me one thing you're scared of and one thing you're thankful for? 

Thanks for reading!

New Look floral maxi OOTD

Hiya lovelies!

I hope you all had a good weekend?

Some of you may know I won a competition at Christmas to win a £12 voucher from New Look every month of 2013. This is what I put the voucher towards this month.

Click photos for larger images.

This is the Inspire black floral belted bandeau maxi dress. Try saying that in a rush! I wore a normal bra with it as I'll generally have a cardi or shrug on when I wear a sleeveless dress and I HATE strapless bras with a passion. They may as well come with barbed wire because they hurt like a mother.

The dress is a really light cotton material which feels cool and summery. It has elastication at the waist and at the top under the armpits. I sized up to a 28 for a loose boho feel and am glad as I did as I don't think a 26 would've gone round my IBS belleh as there's no stretch. I'm 5 foot 5 (and a half) and it is floor length on me. I use a trick Rachele mentioned and hitch/roll it up a bit under my boobs so I don't trip up when I walk up stairs and things. Such a simple idea which had never struck me before! Use those boobs as anchors.

Here's my face:

Dress, New Look
Denim jacket, Yours (past season)
Badges, Funkimunki Badges

The dress was a hit with hubby and it's really comfortable to wear so I'm sure it'll be gracing my bod plenty this summer.

Thanks for reading.

A few things/update

Hi!

On Friday it was the first anniversary of my friend Helen's passing away. She was only 39.

Her long time partner got special permission from the people behind the Download festival to scatter Helen's ashes with some friends before the main arena opened on Friday. I knew this would be at 10am so I got up, had the same Iron Maiden beer everyone else would be drinking to toast Helen with and got out my Bagpuss bag. The significance of the Bagpuss bag is that Helen and I both had one and we took it to every gig and festival we went to together. I spent an hour reminiscing to myself, talking to Helen and having a bit of a cry, then went about my day afterwards. I'm lucky that I can 'move on', albeit with a Helen shaped hole missing from my life, but her poor partner is struggling to make his way through life without her.

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This weekend hubby and I went to London to stay with his parents and to meet our little niece, who is now 2 months old. I was slightly apprehensive about meeting her and how it would go, with this big ol 2 x ectopic pregnancy/dying to be a mum thing hanging awkwardly over my head. Pam (sister in law) put me straight at ease. Her and Mike (brother in law) came in, got their shoes off, got baby E out of the car seat and promptly handed her over so I could feed her. Of course, it was love at first sight. She's still so tiny (she was a month premature but would've been a low weight baby even if she went full term) and she's not quite 9lbs yet and so cute! Her little nails are only about 2mm wide. She's a brilliant baby. She hardly ever cries - only when she's got a poopy nappy, is hungry or wants to be held, and as soon as her needs are met she's happy again straight away. She hates being laid down and likes being held sitting up facing you so she can see you. She's smiling already and tracking things with her eyes. Like all babies she likes being bounced on your knee and she's so chilled. I think it's because Mike and Pam are so relaxed. Some people are very protective over their offspring and guard them jealously like you're going to drop the infant on its head on top of an anvil or something. Mike and Pam are like 'Right, whose turn is it for a cuddle now?!' and pass E over for some fussing. E fell asleep on my chest for a while and it was so sweet. Is there anything lovelier than watching a contented baby sleep? We didn't take any photos of her as I don't want to be up in her grill (get me!) with a camera when I could be having cuddle time. Plus her daddy takes so many photos of her and I'd prefer them to have the control over who gets to see her.

We bought E a couple of little gifts for her to grow into - 2 leggings and a pretty broderie anglaise dress.

You can't see it in the photo, but the leggings have got cute little ruffles on the bottom. I want ruffles on the bottoms of my leggings! :)

It's amazing how a baby can unite a family, even if you're already close. We all got on so well on Saturday, which is a good thing as we're all going on holiday soon - me and James, Mike, Pam, E and James's parents. We're going for a 5 days break to Dorset. Each couple has our own caravan but we'll meet up to do things each day. Hopefully the weather will be nice!

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Because we'd had a period of sunny weather followed by crappy weather I noticed how the grey days affect me. I crave white carbs so badly when the days are grey and rainy and I'm not like that on sunny days. I ate a lot of white bread last week as a consequence and now my IBS is awful. I look and feel heavily pregnant and feel really sluggish. It's just reaffirmed what I already knew - white carbs and I don't get on at all. I pushed my luck and now I'm paying the price. I'm going to keep an eye on things and do plenty of yoga in the run up to the holiday as I want to be able to keep up with everyone else. No one apart from James knows how badly my health affects me these days and if I can, I want it to remain that way. Of course it might all come back to bite me on the arse, but if I can scrape through the 5 days without the whole thing having to be embarrassingly based around my health demands that'll be just grand. I don't want to spoil anyone's fun and I certainly don't want to find myself under the microscope.

------

I hope you had a great weekend. What did you get up to?

Have a great week!

Peplum VBO OOTD

Hi loves!

I've been wanting a peplum top for a while and was lucky enough to find one at the fat swap last weekend. I paired it with my checkerboard skirt from ASOS Curve.

Apologies if you've seen this already. It was supposed to schedule to post yesterday but it posted Friday night instead. I blame user error! :) I quickly reverted it to a draft but some of you may have seen this post anyway.

Click on photos to enlarge.

I got junk in the trunk!

Peplum top - New Look via swap
Skirt - ASOS Curve
Belt - New Look (from another dress)
Shoes - Simply Be (past season)
Necklace - Extreme Largeness
Flower ring - New Look
Haematite bracelet, gift

This perhaps isn't the best skirt to wear a short peplum top with, but I rock it anyway. The search endures for a longer length peplum which skims over my tum. Any ideas, fashion mavens? If so, leave me a comment!

Do you like peplum tops? Do you care if your VBO (visible belly outline) is on display?

Thanks for reading!

My nail polish collection - greens, corals & shatters

Hiya loves!

This brings me to the last in this series of posts about my nail polish collection...although a few more have been gifted to me since I started this. I fear this might be a never ending task, so maybe I'll revisit it next year...or maybe I'll have a blog sale and sell some off!

Pinks are here.
Silver/grey, grurple here.
Purples and lilacs here.
Blue and teal here. 
Reds here.
Blacks, browns & golds here. 
Whites, nudes & yellows here.

OPI Shatter The Scales, OPI Super Bass, OPI Gold shatter, MUA Shattered Ice, MUA Quiver, MUA Jailbreak,  MUA Shiver, MUA Broken Arrow.

MUA Pistachio Ice Cream, elf Mint Cream, MUA Shade 5, Sally Hansen Lickety Split Lime.

MUA Shade 13, Models Own Golden Green, W7 Metallic Saturn, Models Own Dancing Queen, Barry M 299 Racing Green.

elf Nude, Barry M 318 Peach Melba, Ruby & Millie Nude (this is about 10 years old!), Front Cover Cupric.

VIVO Funfair, Nails Inc Copacobana, MUA Shade 4, Accessorize Orange Flash.

Thanks for reading/looking.

Lilt OOTD/H&M discount code

Hiya pickles!

I have a totally tropical outfit post for you today. I saw this dress on H&M and fell in love with it. It was only £9.99 and is 100% cotton.

Click on photos for larger images.

The dress reminds me a bit of a can of Lilt, hence the title. Totally tropical taste!

I've just gone to look for the dress on the H&M website but it's not there. All the plus stuff seems to sell out online so quickly. If you like it you could always check eBay and in store?

Hubby came home from work while the self timer was on so I grabbed him for a quick shot.

Outfit details:
Dress, H&M
Belt, ASOS Curve
Leggings, ASOS Curve
Shoes, Very
Necklace, New Look
Red bracelet, via swap
Mint bracelet, H&M
Flower ring, Primark
Lipstick, W7 matte lippie

Also - a discount code for H&M. I've used it twice online in the last couple of months, the last time which was a couple of weeks ago. The code is 1304 and it takes £5 off your balance. I think you have to spend about £10 after the £5 off for it to work. Let me know if it works for you.

What do you think about my 'totally tropical' dress?

Thanks for reading!

10 day challenge - 9 loves

Hiya loves!

9 loves...only 9? I love so much of everything. Let's prioritise then!

1. My husband. He puts up with my spending, makes good tea, compliments me almost daily and makes me laugh all the time with his silly ways. Plus he has a really cute bum! :)
2. My family. They're all as mad as a box of frogs, but I share their DNA so I can't say anything bad about them, can I? ;)
3. My friends near and far. The ones who live in my puter, the ones who live in my heart, the ones who've left us.
4. Make up, shoes, make up, bags, make up, clothes, make up. Did I mention make up?
5. SUNSHINE! It's like my oxygen. I hate grey days.
6. Cute animals and cute kids.
7. Myself. Look, I hope to live for at least 70 years and I'm just over half way through (scary thought, fuck!) so I may as well appreciate myself or else it's going to be hell. I love myself. Things could be better, things could be worse. Why stress?! Just enjoy the journey.
8. Sea views, sunsets, and all the beauty of nature there is to look at.
9. Blogging. I feel if I didn't have this release I'd be stark raving bonkers.

How about you? Care to share 9 things you love? If you can't think of 9, give me your top 3!

What do you think of my new header, by the way?

Thanks for reading and have a lovely weekend! (Ssh! P.S. Come back at 6 for an outfit post.)

NOTD - Barry M sequin nail effects

Hello lovelies!

When I heard Barry M were doing some new sequin nail polishes I was very excited and bought 2 of the 3 available at the moment - black and pink. The black one has subtle gold sequins in it and the pink one has multi coloured sequins. There's also a white one available.

 Click on photos for larger images.

The base colour I used is Papaya, from the Gelly polish range, which is more coral than these photos show.

On my forefinger I used OPI's matte top coat. On my middle finger I used the pink sequin effect polish and on my ring finger I used the black one.

The pink based sequin polish is quite watery, at least in comparison to the black one, which is crammed with sequins and lays down in a quite thick layer. With the pink one you have to artfully arrange the sequins to cover the nail as it doesn't give as much coverage. The black one is opaque on the nail, so much so you don't need another colour underneath. I painted that nail with Papaya as I assumed the black polish would be thin and watery. Wrrrrrong!

I feel that the black polish is a bit too thick and the pink one a bit too watery. It's not very often I dislike something from Barry M - they're one of my favourite make up brands by far - but on this occasion I'm not wowed. At £3.99 each (and often on 3 for 2 offer in Boots and Superdrug) at least they're the kind of thing you can experiment with at little cost. Maybe I'll like them a little more on my second attempt. I certainly prefer the black one over the pink one anyway, who has time to faff around pushing tiny bits of sequins around their nails?!

The next offering to catch my eye from Barry M are the confetti nail effects, which to my eye are Barry M's version of Nails Inc's feather nail polishes. It's basically nail polish rammed full of bar glitter. How on earth they came to call it feathers is anyone's guess, but I'd like some of what they're smoking! ;)

Have you tried any of Barry M's new polishes? I must say they're bringing so much new stuff out at the moment it's dizzying. Bravo, Bazza!

Here's a conundrum for you - why is it as soon as I do my nails I either find myself absolutely busting for a pee or with terribly itchy ears I can't scratch?! :) 

Thanks for peeking!