Spotty top from H&M

Along with the green top from H&M that I showed you a couple of posts ago, I got this one. The green one is a 4XL, this is a 3XL, you can see how both fit me. I love this top and have worn it a few times for work. It's a nice size, length, and I love the sleeve lengths too. And of course I love the spots! It was only a few pounds so a real bargain.

I was surprised at the lowness of the back. I thought this was the front but the tag is there. I quite like it now but it took me a while to get used to :) 

Please excuse my tired face. I had had a really busy day when this photo was taken!

Clothes Swap in Leeds

I first attended a clothes swap in Leeds almost three years ago, organised by Kirsty and Emily. But then Kirsty moved and Emily had other commitments, so I took over a couple of years ago. To be honest, I feel like it runs itself. I book a room at Wharf Chambers, set out some tables, and sit on the door, basically! I have help from other people which is great.

We charge £1 entry as Wharf charges us for room hire, even though it is low. There's almost never profit and if there has been it has gone to other community events, such as a zine fest. I'm not in it to make money!

We don't have any kind of bring-five-items-take-five-items or token system, as to be honest there's always SO much left over that I feel if you need clothes, you're free to take them. In the past I have stored leftovers (which is a pain) but recently a charity I work for had an appeal out for women's clothes at a prison near here, so I took them there. Yay, more good works!

I'm not sure yet on a date for the next one, but everyone is welcome to come! We accept clothes for all genders in a size L or 16UK and above.

Here I am on the door:

I was wearing the Pocket Rocket ice cream dress from Simply Be last summer. I don't wear it much but it was perfect for the day. It's so bright and cheerful!

I also wore the Fat Bitch necklace from Black Heart Creatives. Now, my calling myself that is a reclaiming of the insult, an insult that I've heard thousands of times over the years, from when I was very small. I don't advocate anyone and especially any woman calling any other woman a bitch. It's a horrible, misogynistic word. I bought this necklace as a reclamation for myself.

I haven't actually worn it before and I felt quite nervous as I set off. I went into the Post Office to get some change (you always need it on the door as the first person will pay with a £5 note!) and the lady behind the counter surprised me by saying "I need that necklace!" I liked wearing it and may do so again soon!

What I Wore September 18th

I was away last week on a conference for one of my jobs (I am a self-employed bookkeeper and currently work for two charities and an ad agency). I went before in 2011 but I was newer in my post and less confident in myself generally, so I struggled through it. I wasn't really looking forward to going this time, but I actually had a really great time meeting new people and talking to my colleagues more.

I had recently bought some stuff from H&M. Their plus size collection is not amazing, but it does have great basics at good prices. I liked this top a lot; it has decent sleeves that meant I didn't need a cardigan while walking around outside, but it's quite thin so I didn't get too warm while I was inside (last time I had been way too warm inside). I also like the colour, it's a nice summer-to-autumn shade I think!

The top is £7.99 I think, such a bargain! 

The skirt is the black skirt from Yours that I wear a lot

Thank you Yvonne for taking this photo!

11 Things Post

The lovely Janet over at Words Can Only Be Your Own recently did this post so I thought I'd join in. I've been reading Janet's blog for years and I love it, she's such a good writer.

Here are the rules:

- List 11 random facts about yourself
- Answer 11 questions given to you by the nominator
- Set 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominate
- Tag your chosen bloggers and wait to read their answers

So here's 11 things about me you might not know:
- I share my birthday with Dolly Parton, Janis Joplin, Edgar Allen Poe and Paul Cezanne
- I was due on my dad's 31st birthday but was four days early
- My first degree is in Theology because I love learning about all religions and spiritualities and how people came by their beliefs
- I met Lee through a Manic Street Preachers chat room
- My wedding and engagement rings were made by my dad's cousin who is a jeweller
- All I wanted growing up was a cat that would sleep on my feet and early in 2007 we rescued Ivy and she does in fact sleep on my feet
- I am rubbish at cooking but I do make a mean Victoria sponge
- I have five tattoos and two more booked; if I had unlimited money I would be covered in them
- I would love to make a business out of running workshops and things like that
- I have far far far too many books but BOOKS ARE GREAT
- I am passionate about realistic Young Adult literature that reflects the lived experiences of today's teens

Here are Janet's questions:

1. Why did you start blogging?
It was about ten years ago and my friend Melly had a blog and through her I discovered others, and got on to Xanga and LJ. I made friends on Xanga and as I was about to get married it became a sort of pre-wedding diary. Then I got into Libertines fandom and started posting on LiveJournal more.
2. What post are you most proud of?
On this blog, I really like that I managed to blog so much in August and share so much of my general life rather than just clothes.
3. What's your favourite thing about blogging?
Seeing my words and pictures come to life
4. And a least favourite?
Uploading photos, what a faff!
5. Important matters now: what's your favourite colour of sweet?
I’m very partial to the blackcurrant ones
4. And what's your least favourite?
Green, duh.
5. What is your favourite flower?
Tulips or lilies or snowdrops. I love flowers.
6. Did you have a favourite dressing up outfit as a child (or, indeed, as an adult)?
The only one I can actually remember owning was a tabard that my mum had had at work, we used to play shop with it. I don’t really like fancy dress!
7. Zayn or Harry?
HARRY. Sorry what.
My longer answer is, both! I like Harry’s aesthetic, he’s very pretty and from what I’ve seen on Tumblr of him, he’s really getting comfortable with himself and I like that. I like Zayn especially because he is from Bradford, and I also think a lot of the hate he gets is pure Islamophobia and I would like to combat that. So, BOTH.
8. What was your best holiday, and why?
Last year when we went to Benidorm was really good!
9. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
France, I don’t know where exactly but as long as there were sunflower fields nearby and a swimming pool in the back garden I’d be happy.
10. What's your favourite Christmas tradition?
A few years ago I hand sewed some stockings and the tradition now is to have four or five small presents in them that we open while we’re eating lunch. I like that I started my own tradition!
11. Do you have a nickname?
Lots! Lee calls me Bee, my mum calls me Bec, most other people call me Rebs. My name is very versatile and I don’t really care how you shorten it! 

I'm not going to ask questions, but feel free to answer Janet's too :) 

What My Mum Wore

Welcome to another instalment of What My Mum Wore. To remind you, my mum is in her mid 50s and a size 18/20.

It was my stepcousin's birthday so my mum and stepdad went over to see him and the rest of my stepaunt's family. My mum is in their garden in this photo.

The top is from Wallis, the trousers are BHS, and the shoes are from Yours. You can't see them clearly but they're floral sequin flats - I might steal them!

Lee's first camping trip

I grew up in a caravanning family; we had three different touring ones as I was growing up and my mum still keeps the last one on a site in York. I've been all over Europe in a caravan and although Lee has been with my family, he didn't enjoy it.

Last year though I got bitten by the camping bug when I went to Wales. I'd been twice this year already, once to York and once to the Lake District. I really wanted Lee to like it so we decided to go to Monyash near Bakewell in Derbyshire.

We went Sunday and Monday nights so the site was practically deserted. Each pitch had a picnic table which was really useful. Lee and I put the tent up at got everything sorted.

My mum and stepdad bought Lee a small grill/barbecue for his birthday so we took that, some turkey to grill, and some salad. I also made a nice salad with a yummy avocado.

The site had a washing up area, two nice showers, and several well stocked loos. They also seem to be working on a new shower/toilet area so I think the facilities will only improve. However, the road nearby was quite noisy so I was glad I'd taken earplugs.

Our camping area. My tent has a sleeping area at either side.

The grill - I swear it wasn't that close to the tent!

On Monday we wanted to go into Bakewell but they were doing roadworks and the queues were stupid. We went to Buxton instead, which is a nice little town. We had lunch in Costa and then perused all the charity shops. Lee likes to buy jigsaws and I like to look at the books. 

In the evening we went to the Bulls Head in Monyash which was really nice if a little expensive.

Lee enjoyed his first camping trip and did well at setting everything up with me, so I think we'll definitely go next year too! 

Wedding of the Year

Haha the title is not me being sarcastic! This past weekend Lee and I went to our friends Leanne and Adi's wedding. I have been friends with Leanne for almost ten years and I adore her, and Adi is such a great person too. We've been out as a foursome for food lots of times, and I'm so glad we're all friends. I was thrilled when they got engaged a couple of years ago.

The wedding was held in York at the Merchant Adventurers Hall which is the most beautiful medieval hall right in the heart of York. The ceremony was beautiful, the meal was lovely, and I saw an old friend and made some new ones.

I thought I'd post some photos of the day.

This is Leanne and Adi just after signing the register.

And their first dance in the undercroft.

And there's me, slightly drunk after lots of wine! I wore this dress that I wore for Style XL

Leanne and Adi are currently on their honeymoon in Morocco which I'm very jealous of as I've always wanted to go. I'm looking forward to seeing then to hear all about it!

What My Mum Wore

This is the second part of my mum's anniversary post. She went away to quite a nice hotel so had to dress up for dinner. As a reminder, she's mid 50s and a size 18/20.

This dress was from Debenhams Collection, as was the cardigan. For reference, my mum is about 5'5", she's slightly shorter than me

I think you'll agree my mum looks great here!

Degustabox Review

First off - I was not gifted this box for review - it was purchased with my own money.

Debz mentioned on Facebook that Living Social had a deal on to get a Degustabox for £4. I love deals like that, so I skipped across and bought the deal, and redeemed it in time to receive the August box. I was impressed! I filled out some preferences on the website and feel that these have been adhered to.

This is a really substantial box and it's well packaged inside. My croissants and pains au lait did get slightly squashed but it won't affect the taste I'm sure.

Left to right - pains au lait, fajita spice mix, Berry White juice, Lindt chocolate hearts, Spanish chicken spice mix, apple and pear juice, edible cupcake cases, croissants, tortilla chips, Caribbean Twist alcoholic drink

I'm looking forward to trying the spice mizes. They are little pots of oil with the spices already in so I imagine you just heat them up and add your chicken or whatever. I also love apple and pear juice so I'm sure this will last no time. And who doesn't like Lindt chocolate?!

The Caribbean Twist looks interesting - it's strawberry daquiri flavoured. I might take it away camping actually! 

The box regularly sells at £12.99 which I feel is worth it, so for now I'm going to keep the subscription and see how we get on with it! 

Blog Every Day in August - Round Up

I had so much fun trying to blog every day in August. Although I missed a couple of days, I still managed to blog much more than I would in a normal month. I also posted about a lot more things than I normally would, not just fashion. I like that, and I think I'll keep doing that. This is my blog and I want to share things from my life as well as what I'm wearing.

It was a busy month but really fun. I really enjoyed Style XL, going away for Lee's birthday, and the meal we had one Saturday lunchtime just with each other. I enjoyed having friends to stay and seeing a few more at other events. I read a couple of good books this month and watched some great films. It's been a nice, happy making month.

This photo is of the dessert I had when Lee and I went to the Toss O' Coin pub in Holmfirth. It was really yummy, as was the fish and chips I had before it. I recommend the pub if you're close by!