8 ways I use IFTTT to make my blogging life easier

Since I've rebranded my blog I've had to streamline all the ways I share my content across social media. IFTTT (IF This Then That) is by far the most useful of all the tools I use to share my content. It's a content automation wonder tool which automates sharing your content to free up more time for all the fun stuff, like writing posts. Here's an example of how it works - IF a new blog post goes up on Blogger, THEN the post will be shared on my Twitter. Each little task is called an IFTTT recipe. Here are the recipes I'm using right now - 8 ways I use IFTTT to make my blogging life easier.

Knitwear with George at Asda & knitwear care tips

Howdy! I have a great affordable outfit using Autumn knitwear from George at Asda to show you today. I'm wearing/using 5 items from George at Asda in this look and the total comes out at under £60! If you're not in the UK, Asda is the UK equivalent of Walmart and offers affordable clothing and accessories (as well as groceries) online and in store. A lightweight cardigan is a way to transition towards Autumn without committing to a jacket. I don't know about you, but I avoid wearing a proper jacket for as long as possible to hold onto that summery feeling!

5 Autumn/Winter trends you need in your life

Present mini-heatwave aside, there's no doubt the nights are drawing in and Autumn is coming. With a change of season comes a change of wardrobe (out of necessity in the UK or we'll freeze!) but you don't have to wade through dozens of trends to be fashionable. Fear not, just pick a handful you feel comfortable with and work them into your wardrobe. I've been looking at all the trends for Autumn/Winter and here are 5 things I think you need in your life. Are you ready? Let's dive in!

Boohoo Plus Dina cropped camo print bomber

This is my favourite outfit for a long time and I felt really fabulous wearing it. Today I'm going to show you the Boohoo Plus Dina plus size camo print bomber but before that, a frank discussion about nipples. Yes, N-I-P-P-L-E-S.

August Glossybox review and contents

August Glossybox review and contents

It's been a while since I did a beauty post, so today's post is all about August's Glossybox. I've had it a couple of weeks and I've tried everything out so I can share everything with you. It's Glossybox's 5th birthday, so they've teamed up with Rae Feather to make a special Glossybox monogrammed bag.

CowCow kawaii ghosts plus size dress

Hiya love bugs! I'm wearing ANOTHER CowCow dress from the American Amazon store. I can't get enough of them! If you haven't seen my other posts, CowCow are an amazing clothing company based in Hong Kong who make dresses from sizes XS-5XL. They do a few kinds of dresses like scoop neck ones and ones with sleeves, but I stick to the basic sleeveless skater dress styles.

Magisculpt concealing swimsuit from Simply Be

Hiya pickles, I have another swimwear post today! This time I'm wearing a swimsuit and some accessories from Simply Be. My obsession with blue and greens carries on, and they're colours I don't often see mixed, which is why I've mixed them. I'm wearing this Magisculpt concealing swimsuit in a size 30. I read reviews which said the swimsuit comes up really small so I sized up and I'm glad I did.

Label's Body Positive Art Festival in Manchester

On Friday August 26th there's a fantastic event lined up in Manchester. It's a Body Positive art festival to be held at Islington Mill in Salford, Manchester, a unique arts venue with wheelchair access. I was invited to the event By the organisers Label, but sadly I can't make it due to the distance involved. Label are a company who run body positive performances. From their website: Label is an organisation that runs body positive performances. We believe in inclusivity, and the value of offering people a platform to share their stories and reflect on their identities. Their tagline is: Labels are for clothing : Labels are not for people. I love that!

Outfit August: Be seen in green and why I wear crop tops

Hiya pickles!

I've got a right lust for everything green at the moment, so here's an outfit I put together to go to the cinema to watch Star Trek Beyond. I liked the film - especially Jaylah (she's brilliant and I adored her makeup!) but it lacked a little something for me. I'm not sure what. Maybe it was a bit heavy on effects and slightly lacking in storyline. Did you see it? If so, what did you think of it?

The Thirty Plus Awards and what I wore

Hiya loves,

At the end of July I attended the Thirty Plus Awards as I was lucky enough to be a finalist. It was a fantastic night out and I took Mookie and her daughter as my dates.

The Thirty Plus blogger collective and the awards themselves are organised by Hayley of London Beauty Queen, and they're a fabulous thing which draws bloggers together regardless of genre. There was a really warm friendly feel to the event - I got to meet lots of lovely people and Mookie and I made a couple of new friends.

Outfit August round up 1

Hey loves!

I've been really good at taking photos of what I've been wearing and really bad at sharing them, so here's a little outfit round up for ya!

Cute mix and match plus size swimwear from Swimsuits Just For Us

Hiya lovelies!

I've got some lush swimwear to show you today which has come to me from across the pond! I got you, American lovelies! 

Life Lately including my rebrand!

Hi lovelies!

It's been a while since I did a life lately post. So, what have I been up to? A lot. July was an incredibly busy month for me. It was such a good month, full of family and good times.

Fun and affordable plus size dresses from CowCow

Hello lovelies! Did you know you can get plus size dresses in fun designs like unicorns, cupcakes and penguins up to a US size 5XL and for less than £15 each? No? Then read on, my friends!

***See updated sizing info at the end of the post***

Visiting the Big Tights Company

Hello love bugs! When I was on holiday in Cornwall a month ago I went to meet the lovely ladies of the Big Tights Company. I've spoken to them over email a lot over the last few years and I really wanted to meet them. They were one of the first companies to deal with me as a new blogger and as such they'll always have a special place in my heart. I also think it's important to show you, my readers that the companies I work with always have a human touch - they're not nameless faceless corporations, but often women just like us.

Outfit August | ASOS Curve night foil metallic leggings

Hi loves,

OMG, I've bought the best leggings in the world. I'm basically living out ALL my childhood dreams as an adult because when I was a child/teen there was never any fun clothing in my size.

I'm not stranger to 'out there' looks - blue lipstick, undercuts, hell I even shaved my eyebrows off once. (No you can't see the photos, I looked like an alien!) But this might be my most out-there post of them all. Tank Girl and Mad Max are being channeled in this look.

Trenance Gardens, Newquay and OOTD

Because I've been such a slacker over the last month I have many things to share from the last 4 weeks, including my holiday to Cornwall.

One sunny day we went to Trenance Gardens, near Newquay. It's comprised of two parts either side of a main road. You arrive at the car park near a children's play park and a small cafe, and there's a lovely garden with lots of mature trees and a gorgeous rose walk on the other side of the road, along with facilities like a tea room with a large seating area and toilets. We spent about an hour in each part. It's a nice place to go if you have people of all ages you need to keep happy. It's wheelchair accessible too, which is always handy. We were a family unit consisting 3 generations and we all found something to enjoy here. Of course I was in my element soaking in the views and admiring all the flowers.

What my periods are like & about my future operation to remove my ovary

Hi loves,

There's something I haven't mentioned about my future operation to remove parts of my reproductive system. (Read this post first). Basically this future operation to remove my ovary comes with a proviso. I have to lose weight first. 

Because the entire medical community has no idea why anaesthesia works (no shit, this is absolutely true) anaesthetising people of size is something doctors really don't like. To be fair to them they haven't said 'You have to lose 5 stones or we won't do the operation'. They haven't given me a figure of weight to lose at all (yet) but I'm keen to make sure this operation goes ahead at all costs. You'll see why when you read what my periods are like.

Sprinkle of Glitter denim dungaree dress

Hiya lovelies! Before I went on holiday earlier in the month I bought this dungaree dress from Simply Be. It's from the Sprinkle of Glitter range and is currently just £20 (at time of writing).

Outfit August 2016

It's August and as such I'll be doing Outfit August again just like I have for the past two years. If you're a new follower it's basically a month long exercise in dressing for fun. I normally use the month to re-wear older things from my wardrobe which need a little more love, or to accessorise more, but its interpretation is entirely up to you. I've fallen out of love with getting dressed to please myself recently as blogging pressures found their way into my head, so this'll be just the thing! There will be no view to entice the attention of brands or sell product for anyone, just the joy of experimenting with different looks and seeing what happens.

When I first started Outfit August in 2014 I used to post daily, but I won't be doing that this year as I have so much going on both personally and professionally. I'm not putting any pressure on myself, so I'll be sharing outfits when I can, and you can join in as frequently or infrequently as you like. Just pop the image (above) at the end of each of your posts. Right click to save it, and if you have any problems give me a shout and I'll email you it. Once I have a list of participants (register your interest by commenting on this post) I will include those links in each of my Outfit August posts. It's for everyone - all genders, all ages, all sizes - and representation from people of colour, disabled people, LGBTQ peeps, alternative folks, androgynous dressers, the little seen chubby men, etc etc are all important so please feel free to take part. Diversity is the bomb.

Participants so far:
Me
Hanna
Christy
Nikki
Becky

You can read through the last 2 years' posts here and here if the urge takes you.
Leah xoxo