What I Wore 29th September

On 29th September Lee and I headed out for tea to meet Bettie and Jen in Sheffield. We haven't seen them since March when we met up at Rivelin Valley Park, so it was beyond time to see them and catch up. Bettie suggested Mount Lebanon on West Street so we met there after work. They have tons of vegetarian starters but not many veggie main dishes, so I went for feta salad to start with and then the vegetarian mezze platter for mains, even though it's really a starter. Bettie did the same thing, the waiter was amenable to it!

The food was delicious - I loved the sharp salad and feta, and the falafel on the main was so good. I would go back there again.

I was wearing this New Look dress - it used to be black and white but ended up in the wash with something that made it not white anymore. I dyed it black but you can still see the stripes. I quite like the effect though so I wear the dress anyway. I pulled out my red cardigan from George at Asda to put on top. I think it's a good outfit!

Please excuse the mop and computer next to me in the photo - I know we need to get rid of both but we haven't got to the tip yet! So glamourous! 

Still wearing my Converse everywhere

Delicious feta salad

And the mezze platter - hummus, baba ganoush, falafel (heart shaped!), spicy potatoes, tabouleh, stuffed vine leaves. All so good!

Lunch Out with Sarah

Towards the end of July I went to Pot House Hamlet which is near my house to meet my friend Sarah for lunch. I haven't seen her since, like, February, and I've really missed her. We've been texting of course, and we video chatted once in lockdown, but it was nice to see her in person. 

I went to Pot House Hamlet a few weeks previously for ice cream, and was impressed how well it was set out inside. It felt like things were really sensibly laid out and I said I wouldn't mind going inside. I said this to Sarah, but we could also have sat outside too as the weather was nice. The table we ended up at wasn't surrounded by others so we were pretty okay. 

The menu at Pot House isn't huge, and they've got rid of my favourite thing off it, which is a shame. But I had spiced beans on toast, with a soya yoghurt dressing, with tomatoes and salad. It was vegan, and very delicious. I would have it again and would love to recreate it at home. With that I had twice cooked chips with truffle oil and parmesan. 

The service was a bit slow, and I'm not sure if that was being of staffing numbers or new measures in place or what. But we each got a millionaire's shortbread and a coffee for dessert. I also got a slice of chocolate cake to take home for Lee. 

I was wearing my blue dress with a pattern like a china plate on it, I love it and pulled it out of the wardrobe. It's from George at Asda originally, but a fair few years ago now. I like to pair it with a wide belt from Evans. It's a nice summer outfit. 

I hadn't slept very well the night before for a few reasons, so I went to bed for a nap when I got home!

I've never had this flavour of Belvoir presse before, and I really liked it. Sweet, cucumbery, crisp and delicious

Fancy beans on toast!

And delicious chips

Millionaire's shortbread. All the cakes are homemade

And here's my outfit!

A Clothes Swap Cardigan

Hello, I'm writing to you from last decade, 2019! Gosh, doesn't life move so fast. I remember where I was for the dawn of 2000, do you? Happy New Year, anyway!

I picked this cardigan up at the clothes swap in Leeds back in August that Lee and I went to. It's a size 22, but cardigans are often looser, and with this style being that waterfall kind at the front, I tried it on and thought it fitted fine and would look nice. I forgot I'd picked it up for a while, but then in November I picked it up. The weather was dropping colder and my office at work is not the warmest of places. It does have a radiator but then it's too hot, so I turned it off. So I was tending to layer up, and this cardigan was perfect to do that with.

Plus it was free! I like spending my clothes money on fun clothes, not work appropriate clothes. So to pick up something plain like this to wear for work is ideal for me.

I want to link again to my post on Fast Fashion and the Plus Size Consumer, because I think my points are worth reiterating. It isn't easy to shop ethically as a fat person, so clothes swaps, which encourage reuse and recycling, are really good.

I took this photo when I got home around 3.30, so it isn't perfect, but it'll do.

Evening with Elly Griffiths

At the beginning of November I got tickets for Lee and I to go to an author signing by Elly Griffiths in Derby. I love Elly Griffiths (you can see my reviews of her books here) so was really keen to go, even though it meant driving to Derby. It was the closest place she was going, so we decided to go anyway.

We set off nice and early and had to wait a bit to get into the Waterstones, so we went to Costa for a drink first. Once we got into Waterstones we were greeted warmly and offered some wine or some juice.

Elly talked for a bit first, then read an extract from her new book The Stranger Diaries. She then let us ask her questions - I asked whether she answers to Elly now (her real name is Domenica de Rosa) and she said she does, even though her friends and family call her Dom. There were about fifteen people in the audience and we had a nice discussion about who would play Ruth or Nelson if the Ruth Galloway novels were ever televised.

I bought myself a copy of The Stranger Diaries and I had taken all the other books by Elly that I could find, so I got those all signed and had a lovely conversation with Elly. She follows me on Twitter so she knew who I was, and it was a real honour to meet her. I love the Ruth Galloway novels because they mix crime fiction with theology and myth, which I love. My favourite is The Janus Stone, which Elly said she was glad to hear because it's one of her favourites!

After the event we went to Yo Sushi for food; it was just closing so not everything was available but we still had a nice meal. When we got home there was a fracas going on in the shared yard outside our house, which wasn't nice at all and really ruined an otherwise lovely evening. But I'm really glad we went and that I got to meet Elly!

I wore this Scarlett & Jo dress because it's comfortable, and paired it with my reddish cardigan from George at Asda. I've been trying to wear some of my pin badges more often, so I wore this nautical star.

I also took this photo of all my signed books - don't they look lovely?

Elly while reading from her book

Me and Elly

A close up of the pin badge

All my books signed!

Weekend in Chester - Day 2

This is a shorter post for the Sunday of our trip to Chester, as we didn't do very much. The thing is, my friends and I can have fun driving in the car with a playlist on, so it's fine. You better believe I'd made a playlist especially - this is a playlist of bands from Cheshire (plus a couple from Stockport - which used to be in Cheshire - because Cheshire bands are a bit thin on the ground).

We left the hotel just before eleven and drove through Chester a bit. We had considered going into the city on the Saturday, but I'm not sure I'd be able to cope with it currently, so I'm glad we stayed the other side of the county and that we went to the Spaceport too.

Sam and I had planned to go back to Huddersfield the scenic route, and meet up with Steph on the way. Steph is one of the best people that I've met through blogging and it's always lovely to see her. We'd asked Steph for pub recommendations near where she lives, so we decided to meet up at the Farrars Arms in Saddleworth. It was absolutely gorgeous, a really traditional old pub with amazing good. Sam, Jac, and Steph all had a roast beef dinner which looked amazing. I had a cheese and onion pie with chips. Then we all had sticky toffee pudding for dessert. The portions were really generous and the staff were friendly. I'd definitely go back!

I was wearing this purple dotty dress that I always wear - it's easy to put on and always feels great. It's effortlessly chic, I really like it. My cardigan is from George at Asda, it's really comfortable.

I had such a lovely weekend with my bestest friends!

Jac and Sam in the pub - Jac's jumper is from Next, I really like it

Me and Steph

Cheese and onion pie

Sticky toffee pudding

The outside. We drove back over the tops which were really foggy and rainy and slightly terrifying!

Dotty dress

That day's pin badge!

What I Wore October 7th

Lee and I went to Sheffield on October 7th to hang around with Bettie and Jen as we'd not seen them in a while. We went to their house to begin with and ate sausage sandwiches. Then we went out to Rassan's, the dessert restaurant, which is what we did with them last time but it's really nice there and I like it.

I pulled out this mint green flocked dress from Lovedrobe, I don't wear it often because it feels quite short on me, but I decided that with thick leggings it would be fine. The weather had dropped cool so I put my long leggings on, and then my ankle boots. I love these boots, I got them last winter and didn't wear them much so I'm looking forward to wearing them lots this winter. I even put socks on even though I don't wear socks, because they make the boots more comfortable. I've also decided I need to wear some of my pin badges more often, now they're all nicely in their little board ready, so I chose the mint green one to put on my cardigan.

At Rassan's I had ice Vimto, which was unusual but delicious, and hot cookie dough, which I really like and often choose!

Mint green and flocked dress, black leggings, boots, and cardigan. I don't think the dress looks too short, but it does feel it

Close up of the boots. They've got an elastic gusset on the outsides and zips on the inside. 

My pin badge!

Icy Vimto. Jen had it too

Cookie dough, delish!

What I Wore 26th March

26th March was Mother's Day, so we went out for a meal with my mum, stepdad, and grandma. We went for tea at a pub near Wakefield - it was cheap but the food was only so-so. Oh well, it was nice to see my mum and grandma for the day. I bought them both an Easter egg and some jewellery for my mum.

Beforehand, Lee and I went to Leeds to see Logan at the Everyman cinema. It's a gorgeous cinema with comfortable sofas and stuff. You can also get food delivered to your seats. The film was fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though it's really sad too.

I needed an outfit that would be comfortable enough to wear to the cinema but nice enough to go out in, so I ended up pulling out this dress from New Look. I've only worn it once before, but it's really nice. The sleeves are sheer and I love the bows on the end of them. I paired it with my grey Joe Browns leggings, which are maybe slightly longer than I'd like them to be. They're comfortable though. Then I wore these new shoes I bought from George at Asda. I love them - a cute colour, with funky straps, and really comfortable to wear. They were only £12, too!

What I Wore 23rd April

Debz linked to this dress on Facebook, saying that she'd just bought it on everything5pounds. I've bought from there before but not for a while. Their plus size stuff tends to be a bit haphazard, it's not always actually plus size and the quality can sometimes be really ropey. But I've had a few nice things from there and this dress is definitely one of them!

It has a slight stretch to it and the chiffon sash is really nice too. I think the length is just perfect on me, and the stripes are really nice.

I was wearing a lacy shrug from New Look that you've seen before, leggings from George at Asda, and shoes from New Look 

My face didn't have a lot of make up, but I love this Rimmel lipstick. 

What I Wore 23rd December and a trip to Manchester

My friends from college and I always have lunch together to swap presents and catch up before Christmas, and it's always lovely. We alternate where we go - last year it was Ilkley and this year we decided to go to Manchester where Amy and Michelle live. Sadly Ailsa couldn't make it this year. Gillian and I car-shared from Yorkshire so it was lovely to get extra chat time with her!

We went to Greens in Didsbury which is a vegetarian restaurant as Amy is vegan. It was delicious! I had hummus to start with, then a bean burger with chips, and then a chocolate and orange pot with a red wine syrup shot.

Hipster burger in an enamel dish, tsh

And dessert in a kilner jar for goodness sake!

Here's what I wore - a dress from Joe Browns that I bought last year, and my cardigan from George. I feel like it's a festive pattern!

And here's my beautiful presents from my friends! I can't wait to open them (but I will)

What I Wore 22nd December

I went to see my friend Stacey's new house on the 22nd, she's a school teacher so I only see her in the holidays. Then I went to counselling - I've had around 8 sessions now and I'm finding it useful although difficult.

Here's what I wore, anyway. My top was from New Look last year I think, and the cardigan was from George at Asda, I love the pattern on it. My earrings were made by my talented aunt a few years ago!

Isn't it cute? I love the penguin

And these are just so sweet!

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!

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!