What I Wore 21st December

On 21st December I went to Meadowhall to see my friend Sarah and swap presents with her. The roads outside Meadowhall were packed but inside it wasn't too bad. We usually go to Yo Sushi and stuff ourselves. It was yummy! We popped into Lush and both treated ourselves to some bits - a facemask for her and two facemasks and a bottle of Snow Fairy for me.

Here's Sarah all ready for sushi

There's so few photos of us together so I was determined to take one

Here's what I was wearing - Scarlett & Jo skirt from Evans that I haven't worn before, black top from Evans and black cardigan from George at Asda. I love these skirts, I have four now!

Photo An Hour 19th December

It was time for Photo an Hour on Saturday the 19th, and I had a pretty chilled day with Lee, so my photos aren't thrilling but they're nice enough.

I woke up looking so beautiful, haha. This was around 11am, oops

Lee and I went to run a few errands in town - this is Barnsley town hall

We went to the supermarket, it actually wasn't as packed as I thought it would be

My mum gave me this stocking when I was in my first year at university, filled with advent presents. Now it goes on our fireplace at Christmas.

I was watching Nigella's Christmas show, I love her

This is my SAD light. I have pretty severe SAD and this helps combat it

Watching Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry cook Christmas things.

We had breakfast for tea, it was YUMMY!

The cat sat on me for a bit, isn't she cute?

Watching the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special. 

With an appropriately festive tipple to wash it down with!

I didn't take any photos after 9pm, oops. 

More party pictures

I thought I'd share some more photos from the party and from the day after, which was my aunt's birthday. 16 of us went out for a pub meal which was lovely. It definitely got me in a festive spirit and it was lovely to spend time with my gorgeous cousins.

Here's my stepcousin N and me

Here's me and my darling Peter, I love him

Here's my aunt and uncle dancing 

My mum and family friend Diane, isn't my mum's dress gorgeous?

Here's Peter and me and Lee in the pub on Sunday

My mum had these decorations made for the tables in the venue, so we each got to keep one, isn't it pretty? 

What I Wore 12th December

December 12th was my stepdad's 60th birthday so we had a party. It was held in the same place I had my 30th party almost two years ago, we decorated with some banners and the venue did the food. It was chicken curry, chilli, jacket potatoes, rice, and cheese, it was delicious!

I had seen this dress when Betty modelled it for Scarlett and Jo, but I couldn't justify the £72 price tag, not even for a party. I kept keeping an eye on the Evans website and eventually the dress went to half price, just £36. That was much more my speed, so I ordered it straight away. I love it even more in person. It's sort of a stretchy cotton, and it's fully lined (I wore a red bra underneath and you can't tell) and the pattern is just gorgeous.

I'm wearing it with leggings from George at Asda and a lace-backed shrug from New Look, both of which you've seen before. 

What I Wore 6th December

On December 6th I went to the Roast and Conch, which is the Hotel Chocolat restaurant in Leeds, with my friends Leanne and Laura. We always meet up before Christmas and we've been there for the past few years. It's always delicious and you feel like you've had a really special meal out.

I wore this dress from Scarlett & Jo for the first time. I got it in the sale in June but haven't worn it before. I felt it was appropriately festive, though!

I love how fancy it looks. The lace is really nice and the chiffon skirt part is too!

Periodic Table of Cake!

My friend Dan recently had an event called The Periodic Table of Cake, where you paid £5 and got to eat 10 slices of cake that you had to then rate. Well it sounded fantastic to me so I decided to go, and I also invited my friend Gillian along, as she lives in Leeds and also likes cake a lot! We met just after 6 and got stuck in.

My favourite was definitely the coffee and walnut cake, with a special mention to the chocolate orange brownie (which I believe was gluten free).

Dan is going to be running more events over the year so I recommend liking the Facebook page if you want more information! Also, all money paid goes to charity - I think this time we raised £200 for Breast Cancer Care!

Here was our mark sheet. We had to rate on "richness", "density", and "flavour". I didn't try all the types as I don't like Dundee cake or Pineapple cake or Parkin. I never used to be too keen on Carrot cake but I really enjoyed this piece. 

Here's Gillian with a plateful! The event was held at the most gorgeous vintage tea rooms.

And here's what I wore. I've had this red top for YEARS, the print is an eagle. 

Photo An Hour November

21st November was Photo an Hour which I always like to join in with, and it was also the day of one of our plus size clothes swaps in Yorkshire, this time another one in Sheffield. Here's my photos.

Lee wasn't actually asleep here, and he did agree to my posting this photo! 9am

10am post shower, I always have a photo like this on Photo an Hour!

11am and my outfit for the day 

Noon and I was here, Bettie had already set things up which was excellent!

1pm, the swap was in full swing

2pm, here's Lou and Bettie and Jen, three of my favourites ever 

3pm ish and we'd packed up, here's Bettie with the swap leftovers. Usually I bring them home but Lee isn't very well so we took them all up to the Mind shop on London Rd - they were really grateful for them!

4pm, I managed to parallel park my car 

5pm, I had dropped Lou and Bettie and Jen off at the station and set off home. 

6pm, I was reading in the living room

7pm, my mum and stepdad arrived for tea and we decided to get a Chinese takeaway, I had crispy chilli beef 

8pm and I was drinking cheap white wine

9pm, I was sitting on the floor with the cat because Lee was lying on one sofa being ill, and my mum and stepdad were on the other. 

10pm ish found me back in bed!

What I Wore 21st November

I recently was browsing Yours Clothing as I wanted a new black skirt. My old one was looking a bit tired and the hem was ripping away. I got one, it's practically identical to the old one but I love it! Anyway, this dress also caught my eye and for £15 I ordered it. It's a bit shorter than what I'd usually wear, but I like it too much anyway!

I love the mint green, and the black parts are flocked which is a really nice texture! My cardigan and leggings are from Asda, I've posted them both recently. 

What I Wore November 14th

November 14th was the 40th birthday party of my incredibly talented friend Chloe, held in Leeds. Lee and I went with Bettie and Jen, and even though I had a good time I forgot to take any photos! Fail! I took this photo when I got home which explains the slightly ropey lighting, sorry.

I got this dress recently - I'd been stalking the S&J collection on the Evans website because I wanted the floral prom dress, but wasn't willing to pay full price. I happened on the website when that dress and this were both half price! I snaffled them up quickly!

I liked this dress a lot - it's very similar to this one, except that it's navy blue and there's extra seams on the top which give it a nice shape on me. I love the pink flowers on the skirt of this dress, they're so bright. These dresses are so easy to wear and look good in.

What I Wore November 8th

On November 8th me and Lee went to my mum's for tea, and to see my mum and stepdad's photos from their trip to China. It looks like they had a fantastic time - I'm jealous that they saw the Terracotta Warriors, for one!

Anyway, I wore this new dress from George at Asda. I was looking for a new black cardigan and Bettie told me to look at Asda. While I was on the website I bought three cardigans, some leggings, and this dress, all for the bargain price of £60! That'll do nicely.

This dress was just £14 and is from Asda's plus size range. I love the pattern - it looks like china! My mum liked it too, and when I wore it for work a couple of days later I got compliments there, too!

Meeting up with Mookie!

I'm lucky enough to have made a lot of friends from blogging and the plus size community, including Anne-Lise, aka Mookie. I met her in person for the first time at Style XL last year, and Lee and I had a lovely time with her and her husband Mike. It turns out that our families live in the same place in Surrey, so when I was down there in October half term we made plans to meet up.

We went to a nice pub and chatted about mutual friends and what's hot right now in fat clothing! It was lovely, she's such a lovely person.

I'm wearing a black camisole from Evans, this gorgeous yellow Scarlett & Jo skirt, and strappy shoes from New Look!

Trip to Portsmouth

During October half term my friend Sam and I went to Surrey to stay with my cousin while my aunt and uncle were in Budapest. He doesn't really need babysitting, he's 17, but we were happy to go and keep an eye on him and the cats. We had a really chilled week with lots of delicious food. On the Friday we went down the A3 to Portsmouth.

My godmother lived in Portsmouth until a few years ago, so I'm familiar with it. She and her partner actually lived in Southsea so we headed there first to play in the amusement arcades.

Sam and Peter were much better than me at 2p machines :(

I beat Sam at air hockey though.

This is where the hovercraft arrives to.

Selfie - and yes I had an infection in my right eye which was why it was almost closed! You'll be glad to know I went to get it looked at, was sent to the eye clinic at my local hospital, and came away with steroid drops to mend it!

Peter is taller than me, I can't believe he's 17 (aren't I 17?)

I put this picture on Instagram with the caption "two of my favourite people in the world" and it's so true, they both are.

After a lunch of chips and pop in the car, we decided to go up Spinnaker Tower, I'd never been but Peter had. 

The hand samp is shaped like the tower!

Various views from 100m up

There's also a glass floor at 100m, you can walk on it but that freaked me out too much!

Sam did though

And Peter

And Sam even lay down on it for me!

This is the rest of Gunwharf Quays. That building in the middle at the top is nicknamed The Lipstick!

After the tower we went back to Southsea for ice cream.

I love beach huts, they're so beautiful. I have fond memories of hiring one on Scarborough beach on the Sunday School trip!

And another selfie - my eye looks terrible, doesn't it?