Our love was so comfortable….

If you are a regular reader you will already have heard me complaining about the weather & my health. In case you missed it, I’ll catch you up really quick; it’s cold & I feel crap. These two factors have combined to make me crave slouchy, cosy layers. Obviously I still want to look lovely, lovely & so I have winkled out some bits that fit my brief. 

  
Two Tone Leggings – Etsy (DerangedDesigns916)

Faux Suede Pencil Skirt – Misguided

Checked Shirt – Forever21

Mermaid Leggings – Etsy (kolouri)

  
Catalope Leggings – Etsy (SimkaSol)

Pink Lace Ups – Irregular Choice

Yellow Dress – Dorothy Perkins 

Lace Cardi – Dorothy Perkins

I’m very keen to swathe myself in tactile fabrics that feel friendly against the skin. I’m also going for stretchy unrestrictive pieces to soothe my poor sore body & vibrant, quirky prints to maintain my nifty aura. In short, leggings, tunic, cardi’s & flats are what I’m gonna be rocking. 

  
Midi Skater – Misguided

Red Checked Shirt – Forever21

Leggings – Etsy (Bartinki)

  
Cardigan – Monsoon

Flamingo Flats – Irregular Choice 

Leggings – Etsy (HelloMinky)

Denim Shirt Dress – AsosCurve

I get by with a little help from my friends…

Chronic illness can be overwhelming. When every little thing is a struggle it’s hard to remain stoic. In the midst of a severe flare I really have to fight not slip into a morose frame of mind. 

When life is just too hard what keeps me going are all my wonderful people. My incredible friends & family are so supportive. I really couldn’t do it without them. I am a big believer in saying how you feel out loud, so I’m taking a moment to say thank you. Thanks for all the chats, the midnight drives to a&e, advocating for me when I am unable to do it myself, the cuddles, the laughs, the understanding; thank you for the love. 

Not only are my people the best people, they are also a bunch of lookers. Big love, darlings. 

  
   
     

Sending out flares…..

I’m in the midst of quite a bad flare. Please excuse my scarce blogging. New posts coming soon. In the mean time you can enjoy my writing over at The Swag Guide.

I’ll leave you with some pics of some of the family pets. I love these wee faces, I defy you not to. 

  
My sister’s boy Seb giving me a soulful look. 

 My brother’s boy ringo having a wee snooze.

  
And my darling boy refusing to get out of bed. 
 

Woe is me…

I had to go into hospital on Monday. I’m home now, but still feeling rubbish.  Unfortunately this means I have nothing pretty or interesting to blog about. I shall hopefully rectify that this weekend. In the mean time if you can’t live without me, I have a few pieces on The Swag Guide. There are also lots of other wonderful writers, so please do check it out.

  

Gown – Nhs 

My week in pictures…

It has been a week of highs & lows. There has been too much pain & too little sleep. Thankfully I have also been involved in some joy inducing activities. Overall I’m declaring it a win.

A financial boost allowed a wee spending spree. I got a few bits for myself & many bits of my muffin. She will be visiting with my big bro from Australia in April & I am getting very excited. I love Facetiming with my girl, but nothing compares to the wonder of wrapping my arms around her little body & squeezing her tight. I found her a My Little Pony dress that she will freak over & some super cute Comic Relief t-shirts.

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Treats for myself included some budget beauty, freebies from
a plus size event & my very first pair of flatforms. As usual I’m sharing some random snaps of sights I enjoyed; Glasgow & Edinburgh both had some little treasures for me. Talking of the capital, whilst through there for the aforementioned event I was lucky enough to visit my favourite bar with my favourite man. This week even included some flowers, in my opinion white roses stomp all over red in the romance stakes.

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I’ll leave you with my most momentous addition. On Wednesday I finally got my new tattoo. I went to True Colour Tattoo where I was inked by the fabulous Sharon. It was so good to finally be tattooed by a woman, the fact that she is an old school friend made it even better. I am ecstatic with my tattoo & I can not recommend True Colour enough. I can honestly say this was my favourite tattoo experience. I will definitely be going back.

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Paint your love all over my world….

It’s been a rough week & I’ve failed entirely to get out of Jammies. Hence, no exciting outfit posts. I have however created some rather lovely nail designs. So, in lieu of a startlingly original outfit, I give you my delightful nails.

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These are OPI lacquer wraps. They’re stick on wraps made from real nail polish, so they look better & last longer. I love them.

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These are all me & some nail tape. A little colour helps when you feel crap & it’s minus 5 outside.

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I’m currently sporting this manicure, which is a pretty classic design for me. This one was all free hand & I’m pretty chuffed with the results.

Spoonies explained..

I used a term in a post last week that garnered some questions. Spoon theory is a model I am incredibly familiar with, but I forget that not everyone is. So, I thought I’d give the theory & it’s origins.

The term was originally coined by Christine Miserandino in response to a friend’s question about what having lupus feels like. Miserandino explained that the conversation took place at dinner & she used what she had to hand in her metaphor. Hence, spoons became her unit of measurement. She asked her friend to consider that each daily activity (including the very basic, washing, dressing, eating) required a certain number of spoons (energy)to complete. Whilst a healthy person will usually have unlimited spoons, a person dealing with chronic illness or disability will have varying quantities of ‘spoons’ each day. As a result a chronically ill person must carefully calculate a day’s activities in advance in order to avoid running out of spoons before the end of the day. When a person has used all their spoons they are no longer capable of much more than resting. So, in effect, life with a chronic illness becomes a constant balancing act of tasks the must be done against spoons available to do them.

There you have it, an introduction to spoon theory. I am aware it’s not a particularly cheery topic, as a sweetner I offer you some cute pictures of my darling boy, Bronan.

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If you like what I do you can support me here or on Patreon.

A little something to make me sweeter….

I had a bit of a rest last week. I had been very busy the preceding weeks & my poor wonky body was feeling the strain. As a result I didn’t get the chance to take any OOTD pictures. I did however procure a number of treats designed to make me feel lovely. 

There is no better treat than a free treat, so I shall start off with my first freebie (courtesy of a dreaded glossy mag). Balance Me Super Moisturising body wash is exactly what I need at the moment. I have been slathering on copious amounts & my skin is feeling better. 

My next pick me up was a fabulous bargain. I am very fond of big, shiny faux engagement rings. I found this sparkling ‘ruby’ on eBay & had to have it. 

I was lucky enough to receive a 2nd freebie last week. This time some smart glasses from SpecSavers. If you get your contacts from them & sign up to a direct debit they offer you a free pair of specs. It’s a great deal. I picked these round tortoiseshell frames. They are actually from the men’s section, but I love them. I wanted something completely different to my usual style & these fit the bill perfectly. 

My final little delight was actually a Christmas gift. My lovely almost brother in law surprised me with his present buying talents when I opened this Molton Brown candle. I had lit it before, but really appreciated it’s calming scent over the last few days. It’s called Imp’s Whisper, which is a name that pleases me. With hints of lavender, tobacco & vetyver grass it is the perfect soothing scent. 

I would be good…..

So, here it is, the obligatory New Year’s resolution post. I doubt it will surprise anyone to learn that I will not be worrying about any of the dieting bullshit. In fact I shall be trying my best to eschew all negative, body policing type thoughts. My focus shall be on enjoying life & challenging myself in positive ways.

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Living with chronic illness can make seizing the moment difficult. Sometimes I really am too sick to do anything, no matter how amazing the opportunity. This year I have decided I will try to be a bit more strategic about my day to day life. I’m hopeful that simple changes such as keeping track of how much sleep I’m getting, taking gentle excercise when I feel up to it & keeping up with my food diary will ease managing my illnesses. I have also resolved to make bigger changes for instance trying a gluten & dairy free diet & pushing my consultants to make a care plan of sorts instead of just constantly adjusting/altering meds. Of course none of these things will cure me, but perhaps a change in diet, being conscious of getting enough rest & so on will improve my symptoms somewhat. At the very least I will feel more in control & I am big on control!

That time of year can be a nightmare for fat folk. Everywhere you look there are diets & fitness regimes. Friends, magazines & celebs alike insisting we must lose any xmas weight gain, pushing us to aspire to a ‘new you’ for a new year. Well, I am hoping for a slightly new me, but it has nothing to do with my weight. I am striving to block it all out completely. I no longer want to think of myself in terms of fat/thin. If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you will know I have already come a long way on the body acceptance trail, now I want to consolidate that. I don’t want to waste energy worrying about weight loss (through ill health) or any future weight gain. My plan is to divest my identity of it’s link to my size. I will be me wether I am a size 22 or 12. My writing, opinions, talents & interests will remain unchanged. This is the message I hope to drive home.

On the challenging front I want to push myself in healthy ways. Instead of berating myself or being
weighed down by guilt, I plan to make it ok for me to be unable to achieve certain things. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not giving myself permission to stagnate. In fact, the opposite, by stretching myself to try things I worry will be too much, I will perhaps surprise myself. However, if I prove unable, I refuse to beat myself up. With a bit of luck this approach may help me extend my freelance work & possibly even branch off in new directions.

Finally, I aim to have as much fun as possible. I will see friends & family as often as I can. Try new activities, even if they scare me or I am rubbish at them! I don’t want to deny myself anything that will make me happy. Be that expensive shoes, a man, a big cake or a day in bed.

2015 is my year to get living.

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