Outfit Post || Dem Bones

Hiya pumpkins!

Happy Halloween! This is my last Halloween outfit post this year for obvious reasons. :) It's a kinda mis-matched punky look.



T-shirt, New Look Inspire £9.99 (appears to be sold out now, check stores.)
Leopard print skirt, past season New Look Inspire
Black skirt, very old Igigi
Leggings, Primark £5
Shoes, past season Very
Pumpkin hair flower, OWHH Millinery flower of the month club
Ghost necklace, Hootie McBoutique £9
Lippie, Black Heart lip velvet by Makeup Revolution

Are you doing anything for Halloween? We're going to a private firework show tonight with some friends. It should be good!

Have a great weekend and thanks for reading.
Leah xoxo

Outfit Post || Halloween Pumpkin

Hello lovelies!

I'm here with another Halloween outfit. This is my penultimate one. I'm wearing the Boohoo pumpkin dress.



The fabric is very thin, the sewing on it leaves a lot to be desired and the application of the pumpkin details is poor quality - the kind that cracks when the fabric is stretched. But all that said, I'm dressed as a frigging PUMPKIN! :)





Boohoo pumpkin dress, 
Skirt, past season Yours Clothing
Shoes & fascinator, from my Facebook friend Lauren
Pumpkin basket, Morrisons

You may notice I'm putting my watermark quite prominently on my photos now. This is because an unscrupulous arsehole has pinched one of my blog photos to use on his website which is full of other purloined photos of women. He runs Adsense on the site, and he's profiting from his thievery. There are no links to me or anyone else he's stolen photos from, just pictures of women in dresses.

Yet another weirdo is sucked into my orbit. Anonymity is looking pretty good right now! ;)

Thanks for reading!
Leah xoxo

Outfit Post || Curverella Zombie

Hello sweet peas!

I've been a very, very bad girl. When I saw that Nicky Rockets had in a batch of Curverella t shirts up to a 5x I decided I'd splash out on one of them, as zombies are very Halloween-y too. Actually, a zombie is for life, not just for Halloween. ;) I'm rather fond of zombie films and The Walking Dead is one of my favourite tv shows.

Anyhow, on Friday James had the day off work and we went out on a grey, wet and misty day for a walk, as you do. I'm determined not to let the weather stop us from going out and soaking up whatever light there is. I even dug out our matching rain macs so next time the sky is crying we can't put off going out for a walk. We're so cool naff.





Hair slide, made by a friend years ago
Coat, New Look Inspire last year
Skull scarf, eBay
Curverella t shirt, Nicky Rockets wonderful t shirt emporium (I'm wearing the 4x in the slash neck)
Skirt, South from Very past season
Bamboo tights, Donatella's
Shoes, Very past season
Bag, Banned

It hammered it down all the way around the cemetery we went to, but the mist and the rain made for quite a nice walk as the mushrooms we saw growing were glistening (actually they looked like willies!) and the gravestones looked more colourful wet. This cemetery is right next to some woodland, and is interspersed with lots and lots of trees, so it's rather nice. There are lots of benches spread about for people to sit on on nicer days. We noticed some baby graves and young people's graves which is always quite upsetting, and the rain kind of added to the sombreness.

Both days the weekend just gone my shoes or boots came home covered in mud. I think I need to invest in a plastic storage box to put them in while they dry out, then a stiff brush to clean them off with.

Thanks for peeping!
Leah xoxo

10 things Tuesday - checklist before photos

Hiiii!


Before I take outfit photos there's a list of things I have to check.

  1. That there are no hanging loops sticking out.
  2. If it's cold that there are no nipples about to take anyone's eye out.
  3. That my glasses aren't all smeary so you can see mah pretty eyes. :)
  4. That my VPL isn't too bad.
  5. If I'm wearing a necklace, making sure it's round the right way or straight.
  6. Making sure you can't see my bra through the fabric of my top/dress when I use flash. (I use flash on self-timer as my camera is slower that way and it gives me time to change poses without blurring the shots.)
  7. Accessorise! Half the time I get out bags/necklaces to use and then forget to use them. Grrrr.
  8. Making sure there's no annoying clutter in the background of my shots.
  9. Remember to SMILE! Sometimes I'm so busy thinking about everything else the resting bitch face comes out.
  10. That there's no food stuck between my teeth or lipstick on my teeth.
  11. BONUS THING! That I take that bloody hair band off my wrist! The amount of times I forget and that scraggy old hair band is in shot....aaargh. #perfectionistproblems
Phew! What do you do to make sure you're on point, fashion bloggers?

Thanks for peeking,
Leah xoxo

Out and About || Hastings Cemetery

Hiya!

If you are sick of my obsession with cemeteries, now is the time to back away. Actually I'm kinda feeling the overkill too so I'm promising some non-cemetery shenanigans at some point in the near future....but first have at this lot.

I can't believe I'd written Hastings cemetery off as being tiny (it looks so from the front as we whizz by in the car) when it's actually huge. We spent about 90 minutes there and saw about a quarter of it.

So, why the fascination with cemeteries? Well, they're outdoors so you're surrounded by nature, they're free to visit, they're peaceful and I love history. I guess I've been fascinated with death since I was a teenager. When I was a teen I had a bit of a rough time because of my mum's then-partner, and I developed my first mental problems then. They manifested in a couple of ways - I was terrified of my mum's partner (and of being in the house alone with him), and I was terrified of dying, which is reasonable when you're forced to live with a violent, alcoholic abuser of women. Do you remember book clubs? Well I joined one when I was about 16-17 and bought a book which was all about death, all the gory stuff which happens afterwards, and it took away the unknown and eased my fears. The issues with my mum's fella weren't so easily explained away, unfortunately.

Moving swiftly on....I guess it fascinates me that people would make such elaborate and beautiful memorials to their dead. I love the workmanship, the art of it all. You rarely see elaborate gravestones in the modern age, so there's a wistfulness, a romanticism of days gone by.







There's one small area which was my favourite part. It was under the cover of trees and very overgrown. As you can see from the photo below a tree has swallowed up and broken a gravestone. It'll probably totally engulf it in time.




This one on the left looks like a fireplace. The right one is modern but I like it.

Thanks for looking!
Leah xoxo

Outfit Post || The ghost with the most

Hello lovelies!

Another week has whizzed by, and here in the UK our clocks have gone back meaning it's getting dark at 4pm now. James and I got out of the house on Friday, Saturday and yesterday to top up the Vitamin D and I feel so much better for it.

We took photos of a couple more Halloween outfits, this one being the one I was most looking forward to - the one with the ASOS Curve ghost dress. James loves me spending money like most people like having teeth pulled - not a lot! But when I showed him this dress he said 'You should buy it!' so I did. :)

Of course I wanted to take photos in a cemetery. It's rather fitting, don't you think?


Cardigan, from Mookie
Dress, ASOS Curve sold out
Skull bag, eBay
180 denier bamboo tights, Donatella's
Boots, past season New Look wide fit
Scarf (in last shot) eBay
Cadimhe star necklace, Missguided
Bracelet, Bluebirds and Daisies
Lipstick, Serpent by Makeup Revolution

I won't rave on too much about how soft and comfortable this dress is because it sold out in lightning speed and doesn't appear to be coming back. Boo. But it is very soft and comfortable and comes to just above my knee at the back, even taking into account my shelf butt, which steals inches like cute dogs steal food under the dinner table.

These tights! I've been wanting thick ribbed tights in my size for ages. And now I have them, yaaasss! Cosy, warm, totally opaque tights which are so warm I never want to take them off. You can't make me. Top tights tip - if you're wearing boots and want to wear socks, put them on under your tights. That way the socks don't yank your tights upwards and cut off the circulation to your toes. Especially important when wearing fishnets or you'll garrotte them little piggies.

Glowing ghosts. Oo-ooh-ooh-oooo!

Thanks for reading!
Leah xoxo

The Undress Kickstarter and interview with the founders

Hiya!

Happy Saturday! I am super excited to bring you details of a Kickstarter campaign I fell in love with from the moment I saw it. The Undress is a mobile changing room with the slogan 'Change clothes in public without ever getting naked.' It appealed to me in so many ways - it's a great idea with a bunch of novel features, it helps women to not be exposed in public, and it's a solution for a lot of problems. It's available up to a US size 28. Watch the video and let me know what you think. You can also check out The Undress Kickstarter page which runs until Nov 1st.



I thought it was such a good idea that I shared the Kickstarter on Twitter and Facebook and the Undress team contacted me and offered me the chance to interview April and Dennis, the smiley founders of The Undress. How fantastic! *bites knuckles* I spent a while thinking of which questions to ask, then fired them off in an email, and April and Dennis filmed a Youtube video with their answers.

I asked:

1. How did you first come up with the idea of the Undress - was there one situation which triggered the idea, or was it more of a slow burning thing?

2. Do either of you have any previous experience in the garment industry?

3. I'm really glad you're making the Undress available in a wide range of sizes. Why is important to you to include larger ladies in your sizing structure?

4. Do you think your size range will pave the way for more active wear solutions for larger ladies? It seems to be the case (in the UK at least) that it's very hard to get fashionable active wear in larger sizes, perhaps as the assumption is larger people don't exercise.

5. Have you been surprised by the success of the Kickstarter campaign so far?

6. Do you have any plans to expand into active wear at all?

Here are their answers.



I have pledged towards the Kickstarter because I believe in the project, and because I really want an Undress. I can think of lots of situations where having one would be useful. A few years ago when we went to my friend Helen's funeral, I decided after I'd left the wake that I wanted to change out of my funeral dress into something less sweaty and more comfortable for the 5 hour journey home - it was a boiling hot day. I ripped my dress as I tried to change in the car in the middle of a car park as it was impossible to do it and protect my modesty at the same time.

My preferred form of exercise is walking. James and I usually drive into the countryside for walks as fields are gentler on my sore Fibromyalgia-affected joints, but we avoid doing so in the summer as I HATE wearing sweaty clothes for the journey home. If I kept the Undress in the car or even on me, I could change wherever we were. Because I prefer taking outfit photos for the blog outside as the scenery is nicer, having an Undress would mean I could take more than one lot of outfit photos in the same day, because I could safely change in any place without being exposed.

It would bring the possibility of more activity into my life as I could do things, get sweaty and not have to do the head-down-don't-look-at-me thing. (I'm speaking to my fellow fats here when I say fat people dressed nicely and looking presentable is one thing, but if you're a fat person who's just exercised people tend to treat you like you're a contagious disease. Sweat is sweat people, it's no more gross on a fat person than a thin one!) I do avoid going out and getting sweaty as I dread the filthy looks I tend to get afterwards, but I'm sure it'd be a different situation wearing an Undress rather than some leggings and an old top.

What do you think about the Undress and have you got any questions?
Thanks for reading.
Leah xoxo

Outfit Post || All trick no treat

Hello love bugs,

SAD and PMS are kicking the shit out of me right now. This is as much of an outfit as I could muster today and that involves no makeup, no accessories and sod all done with my hair. I had to go out to post parcels and I couldn't do it naked...

Click to enlarge photos
This t-shirt is one of last year's New Look Inspire Halloween goodies, but they have a very nice skeleton one which may or may not have already fallen into my basket. ;) This one glows in the dark, and so does the skeleton one. Earlier on I came out of the bathroom into the dark hallway and caught myself glowing (I'd forgotten) and called James out to come and have a look.

The t shirt is really thin but I don't mind it at this time of year when I can get away with a cardigan over the top of a shirt and still be warm. The skirt was a sale purchase from Very earlier in the year and has the fat girl holy grail - pockets! The skirt and top are both a size 24, which shows trying smaller sizes can sometimes work! I have everything from a size 18 to size 32 in my wardrobe. Hell, I have a coat that's a size 24 from last year and one from last year that's a size 32 and they fit identically! Try, try, try and don't take ANY notice of the size. If it fits you, then buy it. 

I'm wearing the dark purple cardi from New Look I wore previously, a skirt from South by Very and my shoes from Very also.

These early dark evenings and grey days are sucking all the joy out of me. Without being too much of an emo I'm finding life really difficult at the moment. I have no motivation. All I do is sleep and read and some days I only eat one meal and a snack a day. I've been making sure to get some fruit in mah belleh every day but other than that I'm a disaster area. I must've read about 20 books in the last month alone. Maybe I should write a post about that? Heh.

I'm dreading the clocks going back. My sleep is so screwed at the moment I don't fall asleep until about 6 am (no matter what time I go to bed) so I'm waking up halfway through the afternoon. James is really struggling to cope with work at the moment as he's so tired so I'm going to work on him buying us a SAD lamp as I know it'll benefit us both. UK peeps - how are you doing with the winter blues?

New Look Inspire dark purple cardi
T shirt, last year's New Look Inspire
Skirt, South by Very
Shoes, past Very

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.

Leah xoxo

P.S. I'll hopefully drag myself out of bed early enough this weekend to take photos of another Halloween outfit I have planned (much nicer than this one!)

10 things I haven't got time for

Hello loves!

We've all got things we've got no patience for. What are yours?

10 THINGS I HAVEN'T GOT TIME FOR
Mine are (in no particular order):

1. Going back to check for replies on blogs which don't notify you by email that you've been replied to. If I go back to check if you've replied, I love you basically. I LOVE Disqus for instantaneous notifications if I've been replied to.
2. Skeevy men on Twitter with their dick pics. Ugh, ugh and thrice ugh. If I want to see a naked mole rat, I'll watch a nature programme.
3. Skeevy men on Instagram with their 'kik me bebe' or whatever. I'll kick you all right, so hard you end up with three Adam's apples.
4. Annoying sales calls, especially those bogus pre-recorded PPI reclaim numbers which boom down the phone at about 110 decibels.
5. Spammy text messages. "Have you been in an accident?!" No, but you will be if I get hold of you.
6. Ironing. 'Nuff said.
7. Spammy DMs on Twitter. You know, the 'Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, and join my nana's knitting circle!' ones. Guaranteed to unfollow you within about 2 days. Number collecting shitbags.
8. Doorstep cold callers, especially those of the religious variety.
9. Junk mail. I have to recycle that shit.
10. Shaving my legs every couple of days. If my leg hair grew at the same rate as my brows, I'd be screwed. Having to deforest my eyebrows constantly is bad enough. Thank jeebus my leg hair is sparse and soft.

What are your pet peeves?

Thanks for reading.
Leah xoxo

When a fan becomes a fanatic

Hello loves and happy Monday.

Today I want to talk about the down side of sharing your life online - specifically when we attract someone with sinister motives into our orbit.

Bloggers want 'fans' - we want people to connect with - because after a time talking into the ether can get really boring. I know this because I blogged for a long time with just a few readers. ;) Building an audience is a really wonderful and humbling thing, because you find all these amazing people who get what you're about, like what you write or your general vibe, and they become your clan. Every blogger who's being writing for a while has loyal supporters or 'fans', and it's a beautiful feeling.

But sometimes we attract people who want something more of us. On the next level up there are people who feel they are entitled to our time, and they might ask things of us we don't have the time to do. They want something from us but they come across as genuine fans who just have no idea of the amount of time blogging takes up. (It's very nearly a full time job). I try to be as 'available' as possible on social media, replying to as many things as I can, but I have over 4000 connections and it's getting to the point where sometimes I feel like I need a PA. :) (I have no idea how more popular bloggers with loads more followers than me cope). Still, these people are lovely, and the onus is upon me to learn to manage my time better whilst still being as friendly and open as I can.

Then we get to the cyber-stalkers. Right now myself and several other plus size bloggers are being constantly harangued by a man who won't take blocked for an answer. He creates dozens of back up accounts so he can keep following us all against our wishes. This has been going on for months. If you block him he simply creates another account and refollows. Over this weekend he followed me (and was blocked) on GFC, Bloglovin', Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, my blog Facebook page, Google+ and he even tracked me down to my personal Facebook page. When he was blocked he tried again. My weekend was marred by the constant ping of notifications which are intrusions into my life. His persistence is extremely troublesome. Where does he get the time to harass so many women in this way? Why won't he take the hint? Is he developmentally challenged, mentally ill or plain evil? What we know so far is he has a thing for plus size women (particularly in skirts) and a fetish for watching women with long hair brushing it. He shares photos of bloggers on his social media rather than blog posts which leads me to believe he's not a fan of our blogs, but our bodies. His detachment is creepy. He won't take no for an answer and either doesn't realise or doesn't care that he is veering fast towards criminal behaviour.

If you're reading this WH then realise if you persist it will become a matter for the police. I don't want you to follow me anywhere. How would you feel about your mother or other female family member being harrassed by someone they don't want to know? You'd want them to stop it, right? I want YOU to stop. Every blogger has the right to choose who interacts with them and who can follow them. Blocking you is not cat and mouse. I don't want anything to do with you. If you constantly go against my wishes you are cyber stalking me. That is what you are doing. You are harassing women. You are an unwanted intrusion into my life. I'm not scared of you, but if you don't leave me alone you better be scared of me. Take the hint mate. DO ONE.

Ladies who are also being cyber stalked by WH, feel free to contact me privately so we can collate information and present it to the police. Don't comment on this post about it. I don't want to give him the satisfaction.

Thanks for reading.
Leah xoxo


Makeup Revolution Sticks and Stones eyeshadow and brow palette

Howdy!

Today I have the mouthful that is the Makeup Revolution Sticks and Stones awesome eyeshadow and brow palette to show you. Phew.

Makeup Revolution Sticks and Stones eyeshadow and brow palette
Makeup Revolution Sticks and Stones eyeshadow and brow palette swatches

Makeup Revolution Sticks and Stones eyeshadow and brow palette swatches

It's quite a small palette - hand held and in total you get 5.7g of product - but it packs a punch and has some really gorgeous colours in it. The two matte shades you see in the bottom photo in the 2nd and 3rd photos - the matte blonde and brown colours - are the brow shades. There are 14 small eyeshadows. The greenish gold is my favourite shade of them all, closely followed by the taupe in the bottom row. They eyeshadows really pack a punch but I found the brow powders to be a little too powdery when using the tiny brow brush that came with the palette. It's far too harsh for them so bin it, I'd say. These colours might be a bit too out there for some people but I love the jewel colours.

You can find the palette on the Makeup Revolution site, or on Superdrug.com and in selected Superdrug stores. It's £4. Availability online for Makeup Rev seems to be quite hit and miss on Superdrug though. I always buy direct.

If I was going away for the weekend and didn't want to faff taking an eyeshadow palette and my brow powder, this is just the kind of thing I'd pop in my travel bag because it's light and small.

Thanks for taking a peek.
Leah xoxo

Nicky Rockets Halloween T-Shirt

Happy Saturday pickles!

When I saw Nicky Rockets' new Halloween tee on his lovely wife Betty's blog I was ecstatic, because Halloween is my favourite time of year. It was in my basket quicker than I could say 'Hubble bubble toil and trouble!'

Halloween also gives me a chance to dress up and act like a child, which is one of my favourite things to do....even if the pumpkin fascinator I'm wearing here makes me look like a tit head! ;) It looked a lot flatter on eBay.

I'm wearing the slashed neck tee in a XXL which is a size 22-24 but as you can see it fits me at a size 28. It's a lovely thick quality cotton and very comfortable.

NICKY ROCKETS SLASHED NECK HALLOWEEN T SHIRT
I love Reese's peanut butter pumpkins!


NICKY ROCKETS SLASHED NECK HALLOWEEN T SHIRT

I love playing with Picmonkey at this time of year too. This is my first of a few Halloween-themed outfit posts I have coming up, so keep your eyes peeled!

T shirt, Nicky Rocket's most excellent t-shirt emporium

Pumpkin fascinator, eBay £3.95
Skirt, old Igigi
Fishnet tights, Donatella's £6.99
Stripey socks, eBay £1.79
Pumpkin trick or treat basket, Morrison's £4

Thanks for peeking boils and ghouls!
Leah xoxo

About 'promoting obesity'.

Hello!

For many (most?) of my usual readers, this might be preaching to the choir, but today I want to talk about the bullshit phrase 'promoting obesity'.


promote
prəˈməʊt
verb
verb: promote
1.
support or actively encourage (a cause, venture, etc.); further the progress of.
synonyms:encourage, further, advance, assist, aid, help, contribute to, foster, nurture, develop, boost, stimulate, forward;
advocate, recommend, urge, support, back, endorse, champion, speak for, proselytize, sponsor, espouse, push for, work for

Do I encourage fatness? Do I further it? Do I advance, assist, aid, help, foster, nurture, develop, boost, stimulate, forward, advocate it? Yadda yadda yadda. No. I simply dare to exist in my body without the shame society expects/demands me to have. When I refuse to be shamed or refuse to hate myself that's when the bigots crawl out of the woodwork. 'Promoting obesity' is a bullshit phrase used by people who want to deny basic human rights to people based on a physical characteristic. For all the posturing and the fake concerns for our health that is what it boils down to - bigotry. Pure and simple.

I'm fat, and I exist. I'm not promoting it. I'm just living my life. I breathe, but that doesn't mean I promote breathing. I have hazel eyes and freckles, but I don't promote them. The only thing I promote is not being a dick to other people to boost a superiority complex. I don't want to eradicate people who aren't fat and I've never heard of anyone who does. I don't encourage anyone else to try to become fat, and I'm certain no one has ever seen a photo of me then jumped up and declared 'Whoooo! It's the fat life for me!'

I want to be allowed to live my life in the face of overwhelming bigotry and I want that for everyone. I don't walk down the street carrying a placard that says 'Be fat or die!' I ask for the same rights as anyone - to exist, to be happy, to flourish, to be loved, to be treated equally. Many would say those rights are my due, but a small percentage would say I deserve nothing good because I have more adipose tissue than others. Isn't that ridiculous?

Imagine if you will that suddenly thin people are despised. Yes, let's pretend just for a moment.

'Jeez, that's just promoting thinness!' 
'Ugh, if they keep making clothes for thin people they won't put on weight!'
'Who does that thin bitch think she is, wearing nice clothes and pretending like that's normal?!'
'God, she's so unhealthy! I bet she eats nothing but quinoa and mung beans! That's not a balanced diet!'
'Who could find THAT attractive?'
'Ugh, all thin people should just die.'
'That person is totally going to die young or get ill and use up all my tax £/$!'
'That's just setting a bad example! Won't someone think about the children?!'

Shaming people on their physical characteristics is ludicrous.

Fat people daring to exist, quietly minding their own business is a big problem for bigoted asshats all over the internet. I don't know of any fat person with a secret desire to take over the world and kill all the slim people. We're not the ones who want to eradicate a percentage of the populace just because of the way they look. We're just doing our thing, living our lives and getting judged all the time.

I have a lot of friends and sometimes I like hanging around with other people who know what it's like to be 'othered' constantly. I have friends of all sizes though, because I'm not a bigoted jerk. I don't have size requirements for people who get to be in my life. I just go by 'Don't be an arsehole' and expect the same from my friends.

I've heard some ludicrous things typed by internet warriors such as 'Having clothes to fit fatties just encourages them.' Err, do you want to see us naked? No? Then shut the fuck up. If you think fat people deserve to wear sheets until we slim down enough to fit in 'normal' clothes, you really are a piece of work.

What do you think about the phrase 'promoting obesity'?

Thanks for reading.
Leah xoxo

Outfit post || Autumn palette with New Look*

Hiya loves!

Recently the lovely people at New Look got in touch to tell me about their new Autumn Palette (which I absolutely love the colours of) and offered me a couple of items to try out. As I was saying last week, I'm really into wearing the colours of autumn this year - the various shades of greens, mustard, berry shades, brown, etc. All the colours of fallen leaves and the berries which are abundant right now.

With that in mind I picked a lovely green floral dress and a deep purple cardigan to contrast with it.


The dress is one I've had on my wishlist for a while. The dark green and florals are lovely and very season appropriate. The lace section at the chest is a really pretty touch, and it's high enough up not to flash off my bra. It's made of polyester and is the floaty, lightweight material which a lot of New Look Inspire dresses are made of. I like it because the material doesn't stick to me if I get hot. I prefer a lighter dress so I can layer up with cardigans, coats and scarves in the colder weather which can be taken off when I start to warm up. I'm wearing a size 28 which is more than sufficient. I could probably wear a size 26 in many New Look elasticated waist styles but I err on the side of comfort and prefer items to be slightly too big.

The cardigan! Oh my lord this cardigan is like wearing a hug. I sized up to a 32 as I wanted a really cocoony feel. It's so soft against my skin and has a lovely fleck to it. You can see it in the close up photo below - you can see darker and lighter fibres. It looks black from a distance, but as you get closer you can see the lovely rich aubergine colour. It comes below my bum and has two pockets at the front.



These photos were taken in a hut in our local park




I'm wearing:
Inspire Dark Green Lace Insert Floral Print Dress size 28 £19.99
Inspire Dark Purple Cardigan size 32 £19.99
So Fabulous Cynthia Embellished Ballerina wide fit
So Fabulous leggings
Handbag, from fellow blogger Abi (originally from M&S)

I may have to be crowbarred out of this outfit in the coming weeks. What do you think about green and purple mixed together?

*Post in conjunction with New Look. All opinions are honest and my own. 

Thanks for reading!
Leah xoxo

I Feel Good

Hello again fruit bats!

It's the monthly opportunity to show off a photo of us when we feel we look good. I've been rubbish at keeping up with the challenges I'm in recently and I'm trying to address that!

You know sometimes when you spend ages getting ready for a night out, an event or even just a blog post, and the reflection in mirror isn't what you hoped?  This challenge is for those times when you look in the mirror, no pre planning involved, and think "I look good today".

We all have our good days and our bad, but this challenge is to record those good days and to remember that confidence, at any size, is beautiful.





So that's me feeling good. I took this photo last week when I was having a good face day! The outfit post that corresponds is here.

Thanks for reading.
Leah xoxo

Red velvet, but no cupcakes

Greetings earth dwellers!

I'm wearing burgundy and velvet today and this combination makes me think of red velvet cupcakes for some reason or another. These photos were taken last Friday when James and I went to Hastings Cemetery. I nearly died....it's so good! There will (of course!) be photos to follow. We barely scratched the surface because it is huge and there are some fantastic gravestones there.


We had a spot of lunch sitting on a bench with a tree behind us to protect us from the wind, then took some photos of what I was wearing. Doing photos after lunch was a bit of a silly idea, as I had some of James's diet coke then bloated up and nearly popped my belt off, hahaha.

Hello you. No, hello you!
It was nippy in the wind


The Mr in his aged Slayer tee.


Jacket, old Taking Shape
Dress, old New Look Inspire
Leggings, Very
Shoes, Very
Hair flower, OWHH Millinery flower of the month club
Belt, old ASOS Curve

Thanks for reading.
Leah xoxo

Extras

Hiya love bugs,

Happy Monday, if there is such a thing! This is a post of all the little things which don't necessitate a blog of their own but deserve to be seen anyway.

Sunsets are always good, right? They're so lovely at this time of year. Autumn and winter's saving grace is the low sun which makes for spectacular views when the sun falls beyond the sea.


 This one is a bit blurry, but I like it anyway because the sky is so dramatic.


This lovely bracelet was made by my friend Sarah. She does lots of one off pieces as well custom jewellery and she's also a dab hand with wool as well. She's usually the first port of call for my friends' birthday presents and you can find her Facebook fan page here. (I started off as a customer of Sarah's which blossomed into friendship very quickly as she's so warm. If she wasn't in Liverpool I'm sure we would've had many chin wags over cuppas by now).


Here's a recent mani I did. A few people on Instagram said the feature nail reminded them of sprinkles on a doughnut. I hadn't thought of that before, but it kinda does! I used Barry M Greenberry, the accent nail is MUA Mud Pie and the sprinkles on the accent nail is Barry M Sour Apple.

How was your weekend? Mine was good. James had Friday off work so we had 2 little outings this weekend (photos will follow) and a day of rest yesterday. I'm finding exercise slightly counteracts the crappiness of SAD, but that is hampered slightly at the moment by the pain when I walk. On both Friday and Saturday when we ventured out, it felt like the muscles at the backs of my legs were piano keys and someone was belting them with a tent mallet. It was sharp stabbing pain (if it had a theme tune it'd be the high notes of the Psycho music!) but thankfully it went away after a few minutes both days. It has reminded me to keep my joints well oiled, even if it's a mad dance around the living room a few times a day. I really need to start yoga again as that's great for working all the joints too.

I had a couple of days off from reading blogs this weekend (and planning for my own posts) as I needed to chill out. I laundered a bin bag full of clothes I'm going to sell and will put them up on the blog soon.

I'm looking forward to Mookie and her husband Mike coming to stay with us this weekend. It's Hastings Bonfire on Saturday and we're going out for a meal and a drink, then we'll watch the procession. It's a lot of fun - cauldrons of fire are dragged through the town, there are members of various local bonfire societies in all kinds of fancy dress carrying fiery torches, and there will be drummers banging in tempo so loudly you can feel the vibrations in your body. There's a primal, earthy, pagan vibe to it which I love, but it isn't for the faint hearted as there's a lot of noise and a lot of people. When the procession gets to the seafront, a huge pile of wood awaits (which is about 50 feet tall) and a representative from each bonfire society goes up to the pile with a flaming torch and throws it on. The town will be absolutely heaving with people and we'll watch the fire dance in the wind before watching the firework display afterwards. It's a fantastic night out and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who can get get there. I can't wait to see how my new phone handles the difficult light conditions. (I've had the LG G3 about a week). So far the photos on it are fantastic.

It'll also mark a year since Mookie and I met. Time flies!

What have you got planned for this week?

Thanks for reading!
Leah xoxo