Yours Clothing, Bluewater

Have you ever had one of those experiences that leaves you beaming with confidence and feeling better than ever?

When visiting the new Yours Clothing store at Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent last month, that's exactly what happened to me.

Yours has such a wide range that this shop is bursting at the seams with a variety of basic and on-trend styles, colours and patterns. The sheer amount of clothing can be a little hard to navigate when you first walk in. I didn't quite know where to start, but once I found my rhythm there was no stopping me as I scurried from rack to rack picking up all manner of things to try on.

The gorgeous Abi (staff member and fantastic blogger over at aisforabi) treated me to the Worlds Biggest Changing Room. Plenty of room for groups, wheelchair users, mums with buggies or a cat swinging convention. Or, as was the case for me, enough space to go crazy trying on too many clothes.

But the size of the changing room isn't what impressed me the most. The greatest thing about my trip to Yours Clothing that day was the people. I've already mentioned the fabulous Abi (expect a blogger meet up in the future, I need to hang out with that girl!) but the experience doesn't even stop with staff. No, it was everyone. The staff made customers happy and in turn the happiness bounced off every single shopper in the changing room.

I felt so good I even put on a maxi dress!
Sadly it didnt fit my 5ft 3in, big boobied frame.

I've never experienced such community in a fitting room before. Everybody was chatting, comparing sizes, giving opinions and tips and swapping clothes. I tried on things I wouldn't normally dare to because I felt secure in knowing that there would be no fat-shaming or body snarking. Everybody was just themselves. (Or a happier version thereof.) I was stripped to my bra and leggings and comfortable enough to let the other women in the adjacent rooms wander in and see how I was getting on. With the exception of my husband and children, it's the most naked I've been in front of anyone for years!

I don't know what happened to this picture- it's so fuzzy-
but I neeeed this blazer.

Thanks to the amazing people at Yours Clothing,  Bluewater, I tried some new things, met some great people and had the best shopping experience possibly ever. Excellent! Bring on the new Ashford and Maidstone stores!

Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred/World Cup Challenge

I've put my body through a lot in the past 3+ years: two pregnancies, three kids, surgery, sleep deprivation, stress, 3 house moves... It's all taken its toll and I am aware of my body's struggle to remain intact recently. I think I need to change my lifestyle a little bit in an attempt to slow down this gradual falling apart. My joints are stiff, I get out of breath just walking for 20 minutes and I am always tired.

I'm not desperate to lose weight. I've come a long way in learning to accept and love my body just the way it is. And think of all the pretty dresses in my wardrobe that would no longer fit! No, losing weight is not my aim here, however I am keen to try and stave off the pitfalls of being unhealthy. (Unhealthy and fat DO NOT go hand in hand; I just happen to be both.) Any weight loss or gain will be a bi-product of what I am hoping to achieve. 

So anyway I'm setting a challenge for myself and for anyone else who wants to join me.

The World Cup Challenge

The World Cup starts today and concludes in 31 days, on July 13th.

For the next 30 days, I would like to do the following:

1: Take daily cod liver oil for my joints.

2: Say no to takeouts and ice cream (this is currently out of hand and I indulge around once a week at the moment).

3: Do a modified 30 Day Shred with the hope that I'll improve my upper body strength (vital with 3 young boys) and my cardio fitness.

4: DRINK MORE WATER.

I am not going to do before and after bodyshots. To me that would be pointless and irrelevant. What is important to me is how I feel on the inside. Whether I feel my health is improving and how much energy I have. Body positivity isn't just about loving every shape and size, but about loving how you FEEL in your body, and that's what I will be focusing on in the next 30 days. (Of course on day 31 I'll probably be naughty and treat myself to a cheeky ice cream while I sit and listen to my husband tell me exactly why we're not watching the World Cup Final again.)

The first step is always the hardest. But today is the day. I'm going to do this. Wish me luck!

Plus Size Bloggers You Are Good Enough - #PSBYouAreGoodEnough

Hello beauties!

The wonderful Debz has invited the plus size blogging community to take part in a collaboration to remind us all that each and every one of us is good enough.
It's all too easy to focus on negatives, parts of ourselves we don't like and hide away from the world. What we want to achieve is a little bit of happiness. A bit of positivity shining through. A reminder that you ARE good enough.

Even in bed with no makeup and a spot on my face... I am good enough!

I am learning to love myself more every day. I have, in recent months, grown rather fond of my silhouette. I love that I have big boobs and a smaller waist to give me an almost hourglass figure. I have embraced my hip size as that contributes to the aforementioned figure and also serves a few other purposes. For example I like that my husband has something to hold when he puts his arm around me. I love that my children have a place to sit if they are tired and need a carry. And of course a swift hip bump makes it easy to shut a drawer quickly when rushing around the kitchen with 3 meals on the go.

So... I dedicate this post to my boobs, waist and handy hips. And to all of you. Because you ARE good enough.

What do you love about yourself today?

How about other positive plus size bloggers taking part?
Follow the hashtag #PSBYouAreGoodEnough or take a look at their blogs here:

Debz - www.wannabeprincess.co.uk
Kitty Kaos - http://misskittykaos.blogspot.co.uk/
Hannah - www.fabulouslyfatfashion.com
Lucia - www.ucantwearthat.com
Sarah - www.plussizeproud.wordpress.com
Michaela - www.cardifforniagurl.blogspot.com
Kathryn - www.misskathrynsmisstakes.co.uk
Steph - http://www.seeingspots.co.uk/
Katt - www.acurvycupcake.blogspot.com
Sally - www.thehumanmannequin.co.uk
Nikki - http://www.nattynikki.com
Vicky - http://therandomnessoftwee.blogspot.co.uk/
Mayah - http://beautyfulyouniverse.blogspot.co.uk
Vicky - Www.thecurvedopinion.com

You've Got My Back

When the lovely Leah over at Just Me, Leah asked if anyone would brave the subject of this blog post, I instantly put my name down. Almost everyone has this little extra padding yet it is never talked about in a positive or even neutral light. I'm talking about the dreaded back fat.

We all have issues with parts of ourselves. Some of these problem areas are so seldom discussed that we suffer in silence thinking that we're the odd ones out with back fat, cellulite, an overhanging tummy. But we are not alone. These things are normal. WE are normal.

So everyone, please say hello to my completely normal back.

It has fat. Rolls. In some unflattering bras, I'd go so far as to say it looks like a second set of slightly too high up jiggly buttocks. But it's mine and it's here for the foreseeable future.
Do I love it? No. Do I even like it? Not really. But I accept that it is part of me. I am learning to accept myself for who I am and looking at my back, learning about a part of me that I never actually see, is quite liberating. A revelation of sorts. In fact, even now as I look at the photos, I hate them less and less. I'm sat here thinking y'know what? Shar Pei puppies are cute and they have rolls. Maybe I can look at my back rolls like a shar pei. Huggable, squeezable... maybe one day I could learn to love the folds of my back. Maybe.

That's not to say that I enjoy showing off this back fat or that I will be buying backless dresses any time soon. In fact, the reason I jumped at the chance to write about my back folds is because I tried on a dress a few days before I volunteered to do this post. The dress looked lovely from the front. It made my boobs look fab and my waist nipped in nicely. But then I turned around and looked in the mirror over my shoulder. Oh, hello, unexpected bulges!

I bought the next size up in the dress, making the waist slightly less nipped in and my boobs a little less fabulous, just to attempt to cover up something that is just a part of me. But now, looking at the pictures, I regret that decision. Why did I try hiding something which isn't all that offensive in the grand scheme of things? And that's the thing. It's NOT offensive. I'm not offensive. I'm completely normal.

So here's to having back fat, being normal and still feeling fabulous.


A massive massive THANK YOU to Leah for encouraging me to look at a part of myself in more detail than I would normally find comfortable. It's been a real eye opener and it feels fantastic!

*Please visit Leah's original post where she gives two perspectives on back fat and body positivity.