Incoming Mail

Before Christmas, I was lucky enough to win a giveaway hosted by the lovely Dani of the blog DIY Fatshion, and a few weeks ago, a box turned up on my door step all the way from Texas, USA.

Being the girl who loves to take too many photos, my first thought was to take photos of the beautifully wrapped gifts before I opened them. I was far too excited to wait until morning to open everything (in good daylight), so I'm afraid a couple of the photos were taken at night with too much flash.

Everything was so beautifully wrapped in tissue and ribbon, and surrounded by colourful confetti.
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I wasn't expecting to be sent so much! Opening them all felt just like Christmas!

In the giveaway I won a gorgeous purple and blue cotton scarf which was hand made in Southern India through a fair trade company called Handmade Expressions using traditional Batik art. This is a wax-resist dyeing technique. The American based organisation partners with artisans in India, and teaches women and people with disabilities new skills so they can earn a fair and dignified living. Fantastic right? 

The scarf is so beautiful, and I love the unique print of the fabric, and of course those gorgeous colours! It's very well made, and the cotton is thick yet light. It'll be perfect for taking the chill away on a Spring day. I can't wait to wear it when it gets a little warmer!

Dani also sent me lots of other lovely things, including five nail polishes, some notecards, and a set of pretty bow earrings...

...and also a gorgeous beaded statement necklace, and an ELF Lip Exfoliator. I can't tell you just how excited I was to receive something by ELF; I've wanted to try their products for ages as their make up is raved about all over the blogosphere. I've already given the exfoliator so much use, and it's amazing! I don't know how I ever did without it.

Dani knew I loved painting my nails, so she sent me this lovely lot. I'd never tried any of these nail polish brands before. I was particularly excited by the OPI nail polish, and it didn't disappoint! I also really love the bold green polish, and can't wait to try the others.

I love bows and these earrings are so pretty. I already have an outfit in mind for the mint pair for when Spring rolls around!

I just wanted to take the opportunity to say another big thank you to Dani for sending me all these lovely goodies. I'm so grateful, and feel very spoilt by your generosity! Everything is very much loved and appreciated! Thank you, Dani! xx

I don't know if many of you know this, but Dani's blog was actually one of the very first fatshion blogs I discovered when I stumbled up on the world of fatshion and body positivity blogs on Tumblr about two and a half years ago! Until then, I had no idea that such a world existed, but seeing normal ladies like Dani looking confident in their own skin and rocking fashionable outfits with their heads held high helped me to see myself in a new light. They helped me to accept myself for who I am and gradually aided me further and further along that yellow brick road to self-acceptance with each passing day. And thanks to Dani and many other fabulous bloggers that I discovered along that road, I'm closer to the Emerald City than I've ever been before. 

If you're on your own journey to self acceptance or just love reading great fashion blogs, I'd recommend checking out Dani's blog. I'm confident she will inspire you! Why not pop on over and say hello?! 

Have you won anything recently, or been surprised with something lovely?

What's the best prize or gift you've ever been given?

Day Nineteen: Five of My Favourite Blogs

Hey guys,

May I start by apologising for how erratic my posts have been in recent days. I've had a particularly persistent headache over the last few days, and although it's finally beginning to ease now, I had to put the brightly lit laptop screen aside for a while, and recover with some peace and quiet in the darkness. This has meant I've not been able to blog, but I'm going to attempt to start catching up now...

So, the topic for day nineteen of the blog challenge was: 'five of your favourite blogs and what you love about them.'

I knew immediately that this was going to be a difficult post for me to write. I follow close to three hundred blogs at present. Style blogs; fashion and fatshion blogs; beauty blogs; body positivity blogs; life style blogs; and a handful on other subjects. That's three hundred blogs written by unique and interesting women from all over the world. I have more than five favourites which I read on a regular basis; so chosing just five is not going to be easy. I'm not sure if I can even narrow them down. Let's find out...
Pashteit

I first discovered Pashteit through Livejournal about a year and a half ago, and instantly fell in love with Nita's romantic lady-like style. Her outfits are always so beautiful; and often inspired by traditional Eastern European fashion, which is not something often seen in the blogging world. She has the prettiest shoe collection I've ever seen, a designer handbag collection to die for; and always wears the loveliest skirts. Her style is perfect, in my opinion, and her photography is beautiful.
I consider Nita a blog friend, and through emailing each other back and forth, we've learnt that we share many of the same values and interests, and that we've been through similar experiences in the past. She was also my very first follower! Check out her blog here.
A Dress is For Life

A Dress is For Life is another of my all time favourite style blogs, because Rachel, the lady behind the blog, has impeccable style not unlike my own. She wears dresses almost exclusively, like I do, and her frock collection is even larger than mine. I didn't even realise that was possible! It's lovely to find a blog written by somebody who shares my passion for dresses, polka dots, bird prints, animal motifs, and quirky jewellery. Even though we own similar clothes and often dress alike, I still draw so much inspiration from Rachel's style and confidence, and particularly enjoy lusting after her amazing Irregular Choice shoe collection. Rachel is also lovely, and has been supporting my blog since the beginning, and that means a lot to me. 

Vintage at Heart

Vintage at Heart is a vintage-inspired style blog from an Australian blogger known as Harlow Darling. I've been following her blog for several months now, and look forward to seeing her posts pop up on my reading list. Harlow (I don't actually know if this is her real name, or a pen name), wears the loveliest fifties and sixties style dresses I've ever seen and wish I owned; and usually has a parasol to shade herself from the sun, which I just adore. The photography on her blog is also so wonderfully magical; and they really help bring the settings for her outfits to life.
Scathingly Brilliant

Another of my favourite style blogs is Scathingly Brilliant. It's ran by Kate Gabrielle who has one of the best wardrobes I've ever seen. Ever. I'm regularly in awe at her stunning outfits, and I adore her colourful vintage style. She wears a lot of sweet pastel colours, and fabulous dresses, and is always perfectly accessorised. I draw so much inspiration from her blog, and if you love colourful outfits and pretty dresses like I do, this is the blog for you. Take my word for it!
I Like Pretty Clothes

I Like Pretty Clothes is one of the very first plus size blogs I discovered just after I injured my back, which led me to discover a world of plus size blogs, and fat acceptance / body positivity which I previously hadn't known existed. It's from finding Cara's blog that really started me on my journey to self-acceptance, and helped to raise my confidence! I was enthralled by her confidence, and her amazing collection of (yep, you've guessed it) dresses, and I still am today. She's always very glamorously dressed, and can often be seen rocking a gorgeous swing or circle dress, with a petticoat or two underneath!
Daisies and Dr Martens

I've been following Daisies and Dr Martens for well over a year now. In fact, Hannah and I have been blog friends since our blogs were just starting out, and she's always been incredibly supportive of my blog (thanks, Hannah!), which means a lot to me. 
Our personal styles may be very different, but I'm constantly inspired by Hannah's edgy but feminine outfits. I adore the way she can make an all black or neutral outfit interesting with different textures and different fabrics, and she's has accessorising down to an art. Hannah also blogs about music, which I love as we have similar tastes, and she shares her wonderful illustrations, too. She's incredibly talented, and even surprised me with a portrait of myself, which you can see somewhere to the side of this post.
I know this challenge was to write about five favourites, and I've already written six, but I'm finding it extremely difficult to choose favourites. I feel like I'm picking people for sports, and that I'm going to leave someone out, and upset them. I can't end this post without at least linking you to the rest of my favourites! Check them out.
Wait Until the Sunset- A fab plus size fashion blog by a lady with a infectious smile!
Miss Indie- A plus size vintage inspired fashion and craft blog. She wears the most gorgeous dresses!
Esme and the Laneway- A beautiful vintage inspired style, beauty, and life style blog. She wears stunning outfits.
Little Chief Honeybee- A lovely style and life style blog.
Goodnight Little Spoon- A beautiful blog which often focuses on arts and crafts, style, and life style.
The Near Sighted Owl- An amazing fat acceptance / body positivity / fat activism blog, which also features on plus size fashion, thrifting, and life style.
The Militant Baker- A seriously amazing blog that regularly focuses on body positivity and acceptance at every size.
DIY Fatshion- One of my favourite plus size fashion blogs.
Linzerello Does Fatshion- A fantastic plus size fashion blog.
The Agoraphobic Fashionista- A wonderful blog dedicated to mental health, style, and beauty.
Forever Fabulous in Bows- A fab plus size fashion and beauty blog.
Hidden Gem- A lovely plus size fashion blog.
Does My Blog Make Me Look Fat?- A great plus size fashion and life style blog.
I think I'd better stop here, or I'll be listing all night! There are so many more that I love to read.

Dressed Up To The Nine(lives)s

Morning guys,

Last week, the lovely Rachel of A Dress is For Life and I were chatting on Twitter, and we realised we both own the same cat print dress from AX Paris. This isn't really surprising as she and I both share a similar style; she has an even better dress collection than I do! 

Rachel invited me to join her for a little blog post duet, and I was more than happy to oblige. We've both dressed an outfit around our cat print dresses and created separate blog posts to show you how we've styled our frocks. A little post we're calling 'Dressed Up to the Nine(lives)s.' One dress, two different looks, and twice as much cattitude!

Read on to see how I wore the dress this week...

(Sorry about the quality of the outfit photos; the timer on my camera is awful!)

I had a few outfit ideas to mind before I dressed for this challenge, but when I opened my wardrobe doors I had the urge to style the dress with shades of purple, so that's what I did.

I wore it with a pair of opaque berry tights, and my purple round neck Matalan cardigan. I bought this cardigan back in the early Autumn, along with three others in different colours, and they're some of the best cardigans I've ever owned. They're super soft and warm, have beautiful mother of pearl buttons on them, and came in the most striking colours. I haven't worn this purple one much, yet, but I like how well it goes with the coral dress, and will have to try this colour combination again.

My accessories were simple, and a little bit dull. I felt I was lacking the right pieces for the look I wanted to create. I just added a chunky purple beaded necklace, which I think my mother gave me at some point; added two enamel bangles to my wrist, and pinned the purple and pink brooch on to the cardigan. These three pieces were acquired during two separate visits to Camden.

I would have liked to have added a belt to break up the colour of the dress a little, but I don't own one in a suitable colour. I'll have to make it my mission to add a couple of belts in purples, corals, and pinks in to my collection.

If the outfit wasn't colourful enough, I painted my nails mint green because I think the colour goes perfectly with coral. I used a Barry M nail paint in Mint Green, and have three coats on my nails here.

Outfit Details

Dress- AX Paris // Cardigan- Matalan // Tights- Evans // Necklace- a gift from my Mum // 

Brooch- Camden Lock Market // Bangles- Camden Lock Market // 

Nail Polish- Barry M Mint Green //

I can't express just how much I adore this dress, and what a great buy it was. I've so many other outfit ideas planned for it in my head! The dress is still on sale for just £7.99 over on the AX Paris website, and if you sign up as a new customer, you'll get 20% off your first order, so take advantage of it! I bought the dress for just £6.39 this way!

 Make sure you pop on over to Rachel's blog, A Dress is For Life, to see how she's styled her dress. I'm personally looking forward to seeing how she's dressed it, as she has fantastic style. If you love dresses and amazing shoes, you'll love her blog, so give her a follow while you're there, as well!

I've featured this dress in an OOTD post once before, which you can see here if you'd like to see a third way to wear it.

Thanks for reading,

Extraordinary Girl

Last night my lovely blogger friend Hannah surprised me with with an amazing illustration that she made of me. I was actually rendered speechless when I saw her blog post because not only did I think it was perfect, but I had no idea she was working on it. I was stunned!

Nobody has ever done anything like this for me before, and I'm honestly so touched by the gesture and everything Hannah wrote about me in her post. I can't say I've ever loved photos of myself, but I adore this illustration! She got me so right! The illustration was based on my last OOTD, although Hannah chose to make my dress blue to represent my love of colour, which most of you will know is a big feature of my personal style! I love it!

Don't just take my word for it, you can see it for yourself...

Amazing, right? I think so! 

I can't believe I have an illustration!

Hannah blogs at Daisies and Dr Martans about fashion, her style, illustration, and music. I'm constantly amazed by how gorgeous her outfits always are. She makes black clothes and accessories look so interesting and edgy, with so much attention paid to detail and texture. Aside from her wonderful style, Hannah is also a talented artist. The illustrations she shares on her blog never fail to amaze me. I love the style of her work; I'm no artist, but they're always so beautiful. Her portraits in particular always capture each individual perfectly. 

Make sure you go check out her blog here, and her Facebook page here. While you're doing that, I'll be working on giving my lovely portrait pride of place on this blog!

Thanks so much again, Hannah! I adore it, and I'm so glad we became blog friends!