Isn't it gorgeous? I love the design as it is so girly and vintagey. Right up my street. I also love the colours as red and blue are my favourite colours.



This set is part of the mix and match swimwear collection so you can chose other styles like bikini top and mini brief.I chose this tankini with the skirted brief as they adds a bit of flirtiness to the set. I love how the little polka dots contrasts the bigger ones as well. 

 


 When I first put this tankini on I was so pleasantly surprised that it had actual cups inside the fabric for more support. I had never had any swimwear that had cups built in. This is the way to go for swimwear for bigger busts. It gives you ease at mind that your girlies are actually secure and won't fall out.








Swimming in this tankini was very pleasant. I felt that my boobs were secure and the briefs stayed up. I had chosen them in size 22 and they were actually a tad too big for me, so I would advice you to size down if you have narrower hips like I do. I like my briefs to be a bit tight as I like them to stay put while swimming, but these briefs stayed securely on throughout my entire swim (and I spend hours in the pool!!! I'm a mermaid!!). The straps didn't fall down even if they twisted so that was good. I didn't notice much of the straps at all when in the water. Just out of the water I wish they were bigger so they could give a bit more support.





Floaty skirt on my briefs are so cute and no wonder I was smiling cause this tankini made me feel so cute and pretty. No more boring black swimsuits when us bigger boobed women can indulge in fun and beautiful prints and styles like this. My 84 year old mother in law commented on how pretty the tankini were and said that it reminded her of swimwear from she was young, only prettier. So there you go Curvy Kate. Great work designing such cute swimwear, but think about adding wider straps in the bigger sizes next time for added support.

Have you tried any swimwear from Curvy Kate?

Xxx,



*this swimwear was gifted me of Curvy Kate, but all views are my own.

Hello everyone.

Leah and I have just started a new blogging challenge and community for women and MEN (I forgot to mention this in the video under) over the age of 40. If you are over 40 and think that there are too few representatives of our age group in the blogging world then please read on for how to join.



As I talked about in my video, why should we conform to what society expect? Why not show more of ourselves? Since turning 40 I have actually had to "excuse" why I have got some piercings and also why I bought a pair of leather trousers. I didn't know there was an upper age limit to get a piercing. Or leather trousers are just for younger people? No! The blogging scene also seems to be dominated by young women and I've been asked more than once if I'm not too old to blog? That is something that never even occurred in my mind. Why would I be too old? I love writing and I enjoy blogging so why shouldn't I? If someone likes what I write that makes it even more fun. And this is some of the reason why we started this as we want to show that being confidence is more important than what age you are. I know it's just a cliché, but age is just a number!

• A monthly fashion challenge on the 2nd Friday of every month where plus size bloggers who are over 40 do a themed outfit post. (Participants can contribute ideas to these posts).
• To share a selection of your posts on our social media when you use the #plus40fabulous hashtag.
• To take guest posts from non bloggers who are plus size and over 40, which will be posted alternately on my blog and Leah's.

Use the hashtags on your social media posts if you're 40+ and plus size (not just fashion posts).

You can find us here: 

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

And again, don't be shy to use the #plus40fabulous as we are going to show the world that plus size over 40 is still fashionable, fierce and fabulous. 

Here is the link to Leah's post about this community. 

Xxx 

My love for ankle boots have come over the last few years when I started following my heart in what I liked instead of thinking that ankle boots would make my fat feet look shorter. We are being told so in what not to wear rules you can read everywhere and I think that is a fashion rule to break right there. I think that with a nice ankle boot you can give your outfit the little extra boost it needs and you can chose if you want to go for colours or more muted black, greys and brown.

I was browsing for shoes the other night and I came across this website called Shoetique. I found lots of inspiring models and I have chosen to share a few with you.

Hush Puppies Vivianna Red/ Rieker Black Boot
Heavenly Feet Annie Boots/ Rieker Wine Boot


I love all the berry tones at the moment. I think that these red colours are such a lovely colour in the autumn and winter as it brightens up an outfit without being too bright.

I also love these two black ones I've chosen as they have that little extra that makes them stand out. Feminine yet edgy and cool.

If I had to mention a brand that stand out to me it would be Rieker Boots. They have so many lovely everyday and more dressed up boots to chose from in some really good colours. They have boots in lots of different designs, some classic ankle boots and some more quirky. If you're looking for something a bit different, take a look in their section.

What are your favourite boots of the season?

Xxx 

Back in July I was invited to an event in London that was hosted by a language company in London called Englishtown. Englishtown is an online English learning website with qualified English teachers so whether you would like to learn English at a business level or just learn a bit more than you already know, than Englishtown might be the place for you. Most of my readers probably already know English very well, but if you're reading this using Google translate or getting it translated from someone else this might be a good website for you to improve your English in comfort at home whenever you have time as it is so easy. Just log on to their website and follow the instruction and off you go.

At Englishtown you can chose different ways of studying English either self-directed or if you would like some more structure and help, request for one of their teachers to start learning the language better.

We were invited to this amazing hotel in Soho called Sanctum Soho Hotel which is an amazing and exciting hotel with beautiful and quirky rooms and even a cinema in the basement.


Look at this amazing interior!! It's so quirky and fun and what an absolute treat to watch a movie in comfortable seats with tables to put your drink. At the back of the room is a bar where you can get served drinks to keep you refreshed throughout the movie as well.

 I was invited to the event by the stunning Erica from Talented Talkers. She looked so pretty in her dress and was so lovely.


We were given goodie bags with everything we needed for a movie night and everything in it was typical English. We got some gin and tonic, after eight chocolate, English tea and of course popcorn.


I met an old friend at the event as well. Lovely Hanna from Hanna Wears. As a fellow Nordic English is not our mother tongue so it was fun to meet up at an event that was not about plus size fashion.

Beautiful and different wall decoration at the Sanctum Hotel Soho.

We had been invited to watch an English movie that we could chose the genre of before the event. Most of us chose to watch a comedy (me included) and the movie we saw were Austin Powers. I had never seen it before, but I thought it was great fun.


 Since my daughter was over for the summer holiday I had kindly been given the chance to bring her and she had a fun time although I think she was most happy there was Wifi in the cinema :)

Ceiling lights

Stained glass decoration in the hotel, Jimi Hendrix has rarely looked more colourful.

It was a great event, different and fun. Great way of getting "foreign" bloggers together since we all are living here in England for different reasons. Erica herself are Australian and Hanna is Finnish. I'm Norwegian and we all have the English language in common.

Xxx 

I was so lucky to win a competition on Facebook a couple of weeks ago where I could chose any dress I wanted from the Sample Sale at Scarlett & Jo. I couldn't believe it as it was such a surprise. It certainly made me cheered up in a time that has been and still are very challenging.

Scarlett & Jo had their sample sale at their offices in central London so I was lucky to get Mike to come with me up to London so I could go and pick out my dress and also look at the other goodies that was on offer for ridiculously low prices.

My good friend Mayah works for Scarlett & Jo so I had arranged with her to come up to the office a bit early to try it on as I had another event to go to the same day, but the train was delayed, so unfortunately so no early arrival for me. I met the lovely Gifi for the first time and that was such a pleasure. He is such an inspiring and lovely person. So genuine and easy going. He promised me a tour of the offices, but I had to take a rain check on that one till next month as I didn't have that much time. It was a shame as I would have loved to stayed on and chatted more. Hopefully I will have more time next time.

But I had time enough to browse through all the lovely dresses, skirts, tops and jackets that were in the Sample Sale and I chose this dress for my competition price. It's one of their lovely prom dresses. A shape and design I know suits me as I've got a few of them in my wardrobe already.

Photo courtesy of Scarlett&Jo on Instagram.

While looking for which dress to choose, I saw so many nice ones that I wanted to buy, but I had to limit myself a little bit. I still went home with 4 dresses in total.



My prize and these three are now the newest Scarlett&Jo addition to my wardrobe and I can't wear to wear them all. I absolutely adore the animal print one. I've worn it several times already and it's so easy to wear and very flattering. It's made in a thin and ultra stretchy scuba material which feels amazing on your body.

I wore it out the other night when I went out for a drink with some friends and I got lots of compliments for it.

 The fit of these rings from Harry Fay is amazing. I have fat size U fingers and where other stores and jewellers has stopped their sizing further up the alphabet Harry Fey can make rings up to a size Z4. Please see the size chart HERE.



 If you haven't heard of Harry Fay, you should take a look at their website as they have stunning jewellery for very affordable prices. They are one of very few places where you can buy plus size rings which is a godsend for me and my fat fingers. They also have other jewellery and also some mens jewellery. A great place to find a gift as well for someone you love. 

They have a sale on at the moment so make sure you stop by their online shop while the prices are even cheaper. 


Xxx 

*this product was gifted to me, but all views are my own.

I was kindly invited by Jess And The Bandits to come and see them perform at the Ramblin Man Fair in Maidstone in July. Since I've been poorly I haven't managed to get this post out earlier, but I had such a lovely time. And Jess, she is an absolute star! I have so many photos to share with you as well so I hope you like this post and that it gives you a little view on how lovely and inspiring this woman is.


I loved Jess' outfit as it's cute and edgy at the same time. Definitely something I could have worn.  Love the red skirt and the denim jacket has been a go to look for me this summer.

After the concert I met Jess backstage and was greated with a big hug and a welcome like we had known each other for a long time. We had a little chat about the concert and as I had already agreed on a talk with Jess later in the day, I went out and had a look at the some of the other concerts, had some food and took a look in all the stalls that was there.
 Earlier in July Jess and The Bandits recorded a video for their new single Nitty Gritty in collaboration with Evans for the #stylehasnosize campaign where several plus size ladies had been picked to take part in the video. It's such a feel good video that oozes of body positivity and diversity so it's definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it before.

Fun day out at the festival.

I had brought my daughter with me to the festival and we had access to all parts of the festival area. Also to the VIP area where we got to meet Jess after the concert.

Jess, me and my daughter

The vegetarian food at the festival was amazing. Best falafels I have ever had.

I sat down with Jess and had a long talk. We talked mostly about what challenges plus size women has in today's society where we are so bound by media's  influence on us all. I thought it was especially good to sit down and have a talk with her and my daughter as my daughter is 18 so she is feeling the peer pressure of fitting into the picture that media and things around us more than I did when I was her age. I will write a longer post with more in depth of what we talked about in a later post, but the most important message that Jess can give is to continue to be a great role model for young women out there in an industry where image is more important than talent in very many ways. Cause she is a stunningly beautiful plus size woman with an undoubtedly great talent.

Wearing my cute animal print rucksack from Primark

Awww mother and daughter love <3

Jess and the Bandits is performing at the UK Plus size week in London this weekend, so if you have the chance, come down to central London and watch them perform. They are also having an UK tour in October so if you want to watch them perform live you can buy tickets HERE.

Hello everyone.

This post is long overdue and I'm so sorry I've been away for weeks, but I've been poorly (and still am poorly) so I haven't had any energy to write at all. More about that in a later post as I don't want to take the focus from this post as it's one that I took the photos for a long time ago and have been really feeling bad about not publishing.

I was contacted by Evans in connection with Scholl if I wanted to take part in a campaign called Love Your Feet and I accepted as I thought it would be a fun post to make as it's nothing ruins a pair of new cute sandals more than ugly looking feet.



I was sent Scholl Velvet Smooth Pedi 3-Step Perfect Feet Kit* containing an electric foot file, a foot soak and a foot moisturiser. I was so thrilled to try the foot file as I had seen it before and wanted to try it. I do struggle with hard skin on my feet and need to use a lot of strength into filing them manually so it was a heaven sent to use this file. It's incredibly easy to use and it removes hard skin in no time. And very effortless as well.





As you can see the file really takes off the hard skin and leaves you with a lot of dead skin. I used a towel under my feet when I did this to collect all the skin. I had to brush the skin off the file several times while doing my feet which to me was just a good sign of a good product. I even tried this foot file on my husbands stubborn callus and it worked a treat. It reduced it massively and that is quite an achievement cause normally I have to help him cut the callus off with nail scissors. For his callus though it would be advisable to buy a more coarse file to swap with this one(Scholl has a coarser one HERE) as I think it would give a better result. Mike was complaining a bit about that the file got very warm after using it a fair bit on his callus so this is why I say that I think it would be better with a more coarse file for heavy tasks like that. But for my feet this file is perfect.

Mike's callus before filing

Mike's callus after filing

After preparing my feet by removing all my dead skin, I went over to soaking it first with the Velvet Smooth foot soak and soaked them for a good 20 minutes. It was lovely and soothing as I'd been walking a lot this day I did the photos.

After the soak and drying my feet I used the third step in this pedicure set, the Velvet Smooth Intense Serum, to make my feet feel restored after a good relaxing footbath. I applied a generous ammount as my feet needed a bit of extra care. The moisturising serum was really good and had a nice smell. It made my feet feel very soft to touch after.

And as you can see from the photos, here are my feet after I have put on some nail polish aswell and filed them.

Evans kindly gifted me these lovely yellow patent floral sandals which you can buy now at a bargain price of £15 HERE*. I have had and still have a big love for yellow and these are amazing. When I first got them I loved the colour so much. It's such a bright nice summery yellow. When I tried the sandals on they fitted perfect. I chose size 6 and they are a good width for my wide feet. I love the design of these with the pretty enamel flowers making these sandals stand out.

Comfort wise these get top marks from me. In the sole there is added padding for extra comfort. It feels like I'm walking on airy pillows that's how comfy they are. The straps are comfy and fully adjustable if you want them to fit loser or tighter.

What I also love about these sandals is that they can be dressed up or down as they are pretty enough for a beautiful dress as I've styled them in my photo, but you can just as easily wear them with shorts and a t-shirt if you are going for a more casual look.

I can't wait to go on holiday to Spain in two weeks time and wear these a lot more, cause they are one of the best sandals I've ever worn. I do have a weakness for Evans footwear, and I will continue to go for Evans shoes after these as well as they are comfy, stylish and great quality.


If you are in need of a great pedicure set for resonable money, I can't rate it highly enough how great this Scholl Velvet Smooth Pedi 3-step kit is. It makes your pedicure so much easier and the result is as you can see flawless.

Do you take good care of your feet?
Xxx 

*These products are gifted to me, but all views are my own.