Saturday 20 June 2015

Evans - From The Changing Room

Last week I visited Bluewater with my mum and we spent a crazy long time in Evans.


The staff were absolutely tremendous, picking up on cues of what we like to wear and filling our changing room with goodies until the clothes pegs we're fit to burst with an array of styles and colours.

I wanted to push myself a little outside my comfort zone on this trip, not just going for my usual skater style dress with leggings so I bit the bullet and grabbed the Scarlett & Jo trousers and a tshirt. Its the first time I've worn trousers in about a year and a half so it felt pretty good! Unfortunately the proper photo of this ensemble is too blurry to share so instead here's a rather attractive outtake!


Sticking to the Scarlett & Jo theme (because I'm ever so in love with the current line), I next tried on this mesh insert dress. I've always been a huge fan of the 2-in-1 style dresses with the thick elastic waist defining bands so this one was a definite win for me! The mesh providing a bit of modesty and the jersey top giving enough stretch to accommodate any chest size. Perfect!


The above dress came home with me instead of the following one for two reasons. The first being because I somehow managed to get makeup on it (oops) and the second being the sizing.
I am 100% blown away by how gorgeous this rose print prom dress is. From the length to the sleeves and the sweetheart neckline. There is nothing about this dress that I don't like. As I said, my only issue was the sizing. I tried my usual size but it was a strangely tight (there was some misplaced stitching which could explain away some but not all of the squeeze) and the size up (pictured below) was a little too loose around the waist for my liking.


I won't lie to you, I have been pondering over a lifestyle change following some health issues and I'm tempted to buy the smaller size as it's currently in the sale at only £35 and it's Just. So. Gorgeous! We'll see.

Back to the very first outfit, the #stylehasnosize tshirt is only £16 and ALL profits go to the Rainbow Trust Children's Charity. What's not to love about that?!


Saturday 13 June 2015

#BEDJ - OOTD

I know, I know. I missed a couple of days in Blog Every Day in June. Shocking behaviour!
But if there's one thing I'm learning from this challenge it's that forcing posts on topics I know/care little about is probably worse than taking a day or two off from blogging. So from now until the challenge ends, if I have nothing interesting to post, I won't force it.

Yesterday's topic was in fact an Outfit Of The Day which is something I do like sharing so without further ramblings, here I am, a day late!
Taken yesterday from the Yours Clothing changing room.

Dress: Lady V (old)
Bag: Accessorise (old)


Monday 8 June 2015

#BEDJ - Favourite Quote

Lots of things inspire me. Books, films, people, places, passers by on the sidewalk and body positive models on the catwalk.



But when it comes to picking truly inspirational quotes,  I draw a bit of a blank. I can reel off a bunch that I like but none I really connect with.

However if you go back to my Pop Culture post a couple of days ago, you'll notice one of the books I love is Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr Seuss and really I could open that book anywhere and find a motivational bit to inspire me.

One of my fave parts:


I love the suggestion that you can do anything you put your time/effort into.

I know technically it's a children's book and meant for younger audiences but it's so great in saying that you're in charge of your own fate and that if you battle through the tough times, you can do anything you put your mind to.

I'd recommend it to everyone whether you're a book person or not! 

Sunday 7 June 2015

#BEDJ - A Haul

Beauties, we're a week into June which means day 7 of the Blog Every Day In June challenge and today's theme is "Haul."

I don't shop enough to have bought what could be cosidered even a mini haul but I recently won a competition on Kitty's blog which was jam packed full of amazing things so today I am sharing with you the competition haul!


I actually missed one prize from this video and that's this gorgeous Little Miss Delicious necklace in the shape of a cupcake. Yesss. If there's one thing my life was missing it was a cupcake necklace!

So a huge thank you to Kitty at kittyramblesalot.blogspot.co.uk and thank you to all of you for sticking around during this months challenge.

Saturday 6 June 2015

#BEDJ - Stuff I Love (Pop Culture)

Going off course again for today's Blog Every Day In June post. Again, the suggested topic of nail products isn't something I'm hugely enthusiastic about. I have long nails. I love that I don't need falsies but because they're strong and grow so well I take them for granted and do nothing with them.

So today I thought I'd tell you three of my favourite bits of "pop culture." There are two books and a film, all with great messages but all sort of aimed at children!

1) Where The Wild Things Are


This book was made into a film but I prefer the book. It's really short and leaves a lot to the imagination. The illustrations are beautiful. I mean really gorgeous.
Max, the boy in the book reminds me of my eldest. He's spirited. He's high energy. He makes mischief of one kind and another... but he will always come downstairs for tea.

2) Oh, The Places You'll Go


Love or hate Dr Seuss, this book is lovely. It wasn't until my son reached applying-for-school age and we decided to home educate that the meaning of this book hit me. Our destiny is in our own hands. We can be the masters of our own fate.


3) Wreck It Ralph
Bit more of a modern one, this is my favourite "new" Disney movie. It's all about a bad guy in an arcade game wishing he wasn't bad anymore. It's a story of consequence and of self acceptance. With lines like "there's none I'd rather be than me" and "you must love you," it's a fantastic moral behind a brilliant story.


These 3 stories are meaningful enough to me that I have (and still am) considering tattoos of all of them.

Would you consider a tattoo of a book or a movie? Have you already got one? Let me know in the comments!

Friday 5 June 2015

#BEDJ - Blog Roll

I've put todays blog off until the last possible moment because how on earth do I narrow down a list of a billion amazing bloggers to a select few to tell you about? I've met so many beautiful, inspiring women that I wouldn't have a clue where to start.

OKAY. So here are some of the beauties I have met and there are just so many more that this will never feel fair!


1) Sarah
plussizeproud.co.uk

Sarah is one of the loveliest, most honest and caring people I've had the privilege of meeting. Her blog reflects this and just look how beautiful she is! Even in fancy dress stood next to a toy sheep she's bloomin gorgeous!


2) Becky

doesmyblogmakemelookfat.com
Becky gives me extreme dress envy. We have fairly similar loves when it comes to brands and styles. She owns almost every dress I've ever wanted and on the day the photo above was taken, after trying on the same clothes, I may have tried sneaking out of the changing room wearing her dress!

3) Caroline

curvywordy.com
What's not to love about this lady? She's stunningly beautiful inside and out. Her blog is THE place to go for bra advice, sizing and reviews. She's also a fellow Kent lass, so she gets extra points for that!

4) Leah

justmeleah.co.uk
Leah is one incredible lady. She tells it like it is, isn't afraid to speak her mind and sticks to what she believes in. We need more Leahs in the world.

5) Debz

wannabeprincess.co.uk
No list is complete without Debz. She has done so much for body positivity and campaigning for size inclusive fashion. She's a huge inspiration to so many people and the plus size blogging world wouldn't be the same without her.


I told myself when I started writing that I'd limit myself to five bloggers. There are so many more people I want to mention but it is twenty to midnight and I need to stop somewhere. I will write another one of these very soon, sharing more of my favourite plus size bloggers.

Thursday 4 June 2015

#BEDJ - Wishlist

I love a good wishlist so I love that this is the next topic on the Blog Every Day In June list.
Does anyone ever read the intro in wishlists? I don't. Just show me the pictures!


These novelty bags from Matalan are glorious. Look at them! The ice cream and lemon slice are incredible!


I adore these recent bluesy greens dresses from Lindy Bop. I've only ever bought the Ophelia dresses and I would love to give some of these other styles a try.


And these dresses from Lady Voluptuous (top) and Polly Grace (bottom) are beautiful. I love the summery prints on all of these.

These are just a few of the things on my ever growing wishlist. What's on yours?

Wednesday 3 June 2015

#BEDJ - I Am The Mum Who...

It's day three of Blog Every Day In June and today is meant to be Make Up Must Haves.
If you're a regular reader you may have noticed that I don't do makeup posts. My criteria is cheapness, not quality, so I feel like maybe this isn't the best topic for me.

I thought long and hard trying to decide what to post instead and was reminded of a tag post I hadn't had a chance to do.



The beautuful blogger mum Nikki from Natty Nikki tagged me in her I Am The Mum Who post ages ago and there's no time like the present so...

I am the mum who...

  • Helps save the world from the zombie apocalypse
  • Will never stop saying "I love you"
  • Encourages puddle jumping at every opportunity 
  • Shouts QUACK at the ducks
  • Enjoys counting in the dark during thunder storms
  • Starts her Christmas shopping in June
  • Loves movies-under-a-blanket days
  • Encorages independence
  • But loves cuddly days the most
  • Will conquer Mount Laundry another time
  • Should put her phone away for longer periods 
  • Whistles along to Charlie & Lola
  • Can't do elephant sounds
  • Or roll her Rs
  • Or grow sunflowers
  • But makes excellent cookies
  • And even shares bowl licking duties
  • Is the luckiest Mum in the world, to have 3 such incredible little boys

As this is a tag post, I am tagging Daisy to do this next.

Check bak tomorrow for another Blog Every Day In June!

Tuesday 2 June 2015

Here's What I Would Have Spent: River Island

Welcome one and all to another instalment of Here's What I Would Have Spent.
This feature focuses on brands that would get our money if they catered for all sizes but as they do not stock plus sizes, we spend our money elsewhere. We want to show companies that it IS worth it to increase their market to include ALL sizes. This time around we're looking at what I would be interested in buying from River Island.

So here's is my River Island wishlist


As you can see I have included a bag in this list. I understand that of course I could walk into River Island to buy this bag but there are a couple of reasons why I won't do that.

1) If a brand doesn't sell my size in clothes, I'm almost 0% likely to wander into their store to find that accessories such as this bag exist.
2) Now I'm aware that this bag does exist, I'd be much happier to find a similar bag in a store that wants my custom, ie a brand that sells plus sizes.

Do you agree with this sentiment? Would you buy accessories from somewhere that didn't make clothes available to you?

Please take a look at the River Island lists from these beautiful plus size bloggers:


Debz - www.wannabeprincess.co.uk
Mookie - http://www.mookieslife.com/
Steph - Seeingspots.co.uk
Toni - Www.theleftofperfect.blogspot.co.uk
Kitty - www.Adventuresofariotgrrrl.com
Vicky - http://thecurvedopinion.com
Sarah - www.plussizeproud.co.uk
Daisy - https://iwillnotwrapmyselfinsmocksandapologies.wordpress.com/
Katt - www.acurvycupcake.com
Abi - aisforabi.blogspot.co.uk
Lisa Marie - www.diaryofasize22.wordpress.com
Kathryn - http://murderofgoths.co.uk

#BEDJ - OOTD

Woohoo! Day two of Blog Every Day In June and this one's an Outfit Of The Day post. (I need to do more of these.)

Today, the weather is dreadful and I'm in "Indoor Mum" mode which means no makeup and no effort! So I want to share an outfit from a few days ago.


This lovely number is brought to you by Joe Browns at Simply Be. I picked it up during the manic and amazing blogger takeover at Simply Be Oxford Street following Curvy Convention last month. 


I ummed and ahhed for what seemed like an age because I was torn between this and another dress but this one got the final vote!


Dress // Simply Be
Shoes // Primark
Necklace // Ladybird Likes

I love the way the dress hangs. It's medium weight so it skims over bumps while keeping its shape, and the hint of turquoise amongst the purple flowers brings it together beautifully (and goes well with my hair).


I also tried a different makeup look with this. I'm a big fan of neutrals with a small hint of colour but I thickened the teal eyeliner and used MUAs Matte Lipstick in Wild Berry on my lips. What do you think?

Monday 1 June 2015

#BEDJ - What's In A Name?

I've been blogging for nearly two years now but I don't think I've ever gone into much detail about where A Curvy Cupcake got its name. The Curvy part is self explanatory but this Cupcake has a backstory.

Take a seat! I may ramble on.



Many moons ago I was a regular at gigs across the country. When you spend 3+ days a week in the same environments you see the same faces and because of that I made a lot of friends in the music industry. From day one I was a pal and I was rarely seen as anything else. I was happy with that but everyone once in a while I'd become the centre of someones attention. On one such occasion, when something happened, the someone told his friends and they laughed at him for "pulling a cupcake" because I was chubby and didn't compare to their regular girls.

It was at this time I started to hide away. I went on a 300 calorie diet and shed a lot of weight. I became quite unwell and for what? Because some idiot musician called me a Cupcake.


This stuck with me for a long time. I lost confidence, I lost friends and I stopped having fun. So a few years later when I decided to start blogging I wanted to come up with a name that would turn that lingering negative into something positive. Into a symbol of strength, love and confidence. 

And A Curvy Cupcake was born.




Now the idiot musician is the last thing that comes to mind when I hear the word Cupcake. Now it is my blog. It is me. It is part of who I am, how far I have come and how many amazing people I have met on my journey. 

In a way I have The Idiot to thank for that. But I think I'd rather thank myself. And all of you who have helped and supported me on my way.



Do you have a blog?
How did you come up with the name?


(This is DAY ONE of my Blog Every Day In June Challenge. Check here for the original post.)