It's Not Always Rainbows and Butterflies

I was hoping to have an outfit post for you by Thursday this week, but sometimes I forget I can't plan anything in advance with disc pain controlling my every action. My pain levels can be unpredictable from one day to the next; some days are better than average, and other days are incredibly worse. On those days, the pain engulfs me like a flood, swallowing every last ounce of my strength and energy until even every rise and fall of my chest adds to my pain. On those days, I barely have the mobility to turn over in bed. 

This week, I've had six of those days in succession.

On Monday I had my fifth group physiotherapy session at the hospital. I was struggling before I'd left home, and had to push myself through the stretches. The physiotherapists who lead these classes always say that if we're grimacing, we're pushing ourselves too much, and should ease off or stop that exercise. They say they don't want us to push ourselves to a point which leaves us physically set back and immobile for the rest of the week. This week I felt like the male physiotherapist we had was pushing me far too much, and instead of stopping when I knew I'd reached my limit, I did as he suggested. Big mistake. I pretty much crawled out of the hospital at the end of the forty-five minutes, and have been confined to bed  feeling like I've been hit by a bus, ever since. Thus explaining my absence the last couple of days. The pain has hit me hard, much harder than usual, and it's taken the life out of me.

I had no choice but to pop in to town to pay a bill yesterday afternoon, which was exhausting and so painful I've actually worsened the pain. I did, however, quickly snap a few photos of my outfit before I crawled back in to bed. And I'm sure you'd rather see them then read my musings above. So, here you go...

Firstly, sorry for the quality of the photos. As soon as I grabbed my camera grey clouds decided to race across the sky to conceal the lovely blue sky and sunshine. And would you believe, once I'd finished they dissipated!

Anyway, I'm wearing a Dorothy Perkins pinafore dress which I got for my birthday last month. I realised I was lacking casual dresses in my wardrobe, and I thought this one fitted the gap perfectly. It's black with a white bow print all over the front and back, and it's made from a thick stretchy cotton. The waist is fitted, but it has some stretch, so it's so comfortable! It also has a pockets, which I think more dresses should have!

I will say that it's a dress best suited to cooler days, especially if like me you become easily overheated during Spring and Summer, as the fabric is quite heavy. 

I ordered this dress not expecting to like it, but it turns out I really love this dress. And not just because I think the square neckline is flattering on my broad shoulders (which I'm still learning- and failing- to love).

This dress was just £18.00, and I think I used a couple of discount codes, too, which brought it down further. DPBDAY will get you 15% off Dorothy Perkins dresses, and it seems to have unlimited use as I've used it many times over the last couple of years. This dress is only available in a couple of small sizes now online (here), but it also comes in plain cobalt blue, green, and heart print (which I also own).

I wore this dress with a pair of plain black New Look leggings, my Lovedrobe off-white shrug, and a double cameo necklace, which are all pieces I've featured recently in my outfit posts. I just needed a comfortable, casual outfit to run a couple of errands, and I think I found it. I forgot to keep them on for the photos, but I also wore a pair of gold flat sandals, and accessorised with my red heart print Zatchels barrel bag.

Outfit Details

Dress-Dorothy Perkins // Shrug-Lovedrobe // Leggings-New Look // Necklace-From Rachel's giveaway.

I hope you all have a great weekend!