DUST YOURSELF OFF AND TRY AGAIN

Guys....I have a confession to make...remember at the beginning of the month I touched upon February being a NO SPEND month...well....

I failed miserably! It's clear I have issues when it comes to spending money so...I have decided to set myself a target for March...

My target is spend no more than £100 on clothes. I went to Primark over the weekend- they now stock size 20 which although still a size too small it beats squeezing in to an 18. I can fit in to some things like tops, skirts, cardis etc but can't fit in their bottoms so I figure that if I need anything in particular I have to try and get it in there to save the dough- if not, I can look elsewhere.

I had a bad experience with New Look this weekend. I went in my local store to return a load of stuff I had bought online that's didn't suit/fit. Straightaway the sales assistant said "are any of these sale items?" errrrm, I had no idea- I thought that was his job to know but I said I wasn't sure- he immediately responded "you can only have an exchange on sale items"
"Oooooooookay" I thought to myself, my blood was beginning to boil slowly. "Can I speak with your manager please?" along comes the 'manager' who basically repeated the sales assistants schpeel. My blood was getting hotter and hotter so I said "fine, I would like to speak to your head office"........
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30 minutes later of
waiting......................
and waiting............................
and waiting..............................
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I was finally handed over to someone not in head office.....but in customer services.....who basically repeated everything the 'manager' said.
I tried to explain to her that on my receipt/delivery note it nowhere stated their new 'terms' regarding no refund on sale items and that I was well within my consumer rights to return these goods. She insisted I could only have an exchange or credit note....
By this point I had steam coming off the top of my head...."HOW CAN I HAVE AN EXCHANGE OR CREDIT NOTE? ALL THE ITEMS I BOUGHT ARE PLUS SIZED! PLEASE TELL ME WHERE YOUR PLUS SIZED RANGE IS IN THIS STORE???!" they were not giving in so I stomped out and I will have to arrange to send the stuff back.

I am furious that I was made a mockery of for about 45 minutes with no resolve. I will be writing a letter of complaint to their chief executive and will have to unfortunately stop handing money from my own pocket to their company (although I will still use things I already have in my OOTDs). I wanted to share this experience all with you so you are all aware when buying things online from New Look. This new rule only came in to play recently so just be very careful that you read their T&Cs before buying!

Aaaaaaaaaand breatheeee.......

WISH TROLLEY

In the Evans wish trolley this week:

1. Beige Sling Back Wedges - Evans £25

2. Bright Floral Bangle - Evans £12.50

3. Black Gusset Heeled Courts - Evans £35

4. Lovedrobe Lace Trim Checked Shirt - Evans £32

5. Fan Printed Dress Swimsuit - Evans £32

SPEC-TACULAR!

I've been a glasses wearer most of my life. I remember my very first pair were a free NHS pair in grey plastic. Followed by metal ones which made me look like Harry Potter. I've tried different contact lenses in the past but my eyes just don't seem to like them so I suffer in Summer. I've had to embrace my specs over they years and decided when I was around 13 that I would make them work for me. I adopted plastic frames as they were more unusual at the time (I like being quirky) and I have never looked back. I now feel like my glasses are a part of me, and help define my image so finding a pair I like is always an exciting thing!

One very late evening I was browsing http://fatgirlslikeniceclothestoo.wordpress.com where the lovely Deena blogged about some new specs she had bought. When I saw them my jaw hit the floor and I went straight to the website to buy a pair. I'm a fond user of the cheapo websites out there for spectacle wearers, where you can get glasses including lenses for under £10. These though...these were special. So special, that I spent over £100 on them!

Behold...

I'm in love with them and plan on wearing them for a very long time! They're the kind of glasses that will look good when I'm 80 so they were worth every penny!
Is there a favourite item you have that you  feel helps define your style?

VALENTINES

So it's that time of year again...It's the 4th Valentines Day with the lovely sometimes annoying man in my life. To celebrate we went spent the day together and went for a meal in a Turkish Restaurant. Unfortunately the meal didn't go to well...for some reason I had a panic attack so left my poor boyfriend eating alone whilst I stepped out to get air and return to normality. I only got around to eating the starters (I had to cancel my main!) we ordered which were mixed meze and delicious spinach and cheese filo pastries called Borek. To be honest, the food was nice but the whole situation was just horrible- I have some making up to do to my boyfriend so I plan on cooking him a nice meal this weekend!

(photo from NYE 2009)

Here's what I wore for Valentines Day (apologies for the worse than usual image quality- forgot my camera so used my phone!):

Dress: Dorothy Perkins (UK Size 22)

Leggings: New Look (UK Size 20)

Blazer: Dorothy Perkins (UK Size 22)

Boots: New Look (UK Size 8)

OOTD

It's been a week of jogging bottoms and pyjamas with a splash of tiredness hence no OOTD. It felt good to throw on some real clothes today! I love this new granny style cardigan I got on sale in Dorothy Perkins with an extra 20% off! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

Tan Cardigan: Dorothy Perkins (UK Size 22)

Denim Dress/Shirt: F&F @ Tescos (UK Size 22)

Grey Burn Out Top: New Look (UK Size 18)

Black Stirrup Leggings: Walmart (US Size XL)

Belt: Dorothy Perkins (UK Size XL)

Brown Boots: Dr Martens (UK Size 8)

Bag: ASOS

Crazy Hair: Leave the house without looking in the mirror!

PLUS LONDON

As you already know I had a blast at Plus London, the gorgeous Champagne that went down with so much ease (I later found out I was drinking the non-alcohol version!) lovely cupcakes and nibbles (the veggie crisps were divine!) and the clothes...oh the clothes! The clothes on the women in attendance, the clothes on the rails...sheer bliss.
Here are a few favourites:

Striped Navy Blazer: Torrid

Dress: Carmakoma

Hooded Cape: ASOS

To be honest, I was expecting a lot more from ASOS, half of the range there is already available online and there wasn't really anything that stood out for me apart form the hooded cape which I love!

I was blown away by the Anna Scholz range! It's always been one of those brands I'd heard of but not ever seen the full range of, I always assumed it was a frumpier label but I was shocked to find so many gorgeous items! My particular faves were these two dresses for their SS11 collection:

I had no preconceived ideas about the styling of the dresses and the first dress (pictured) I found to be 'young' and quite of the moment with its bright, bold patterns but I think the styling of the dress on the model let's it down, it's styled to be quite formal, something you would wear to work or to a baptism. It looks like a very 'grown up' dress on the model, I would have maybe given her more of an edgy look. Trust me though, this dress is gorgeous in person!

The second dress again, is beautiful but the styling of the model doesn't really do the dress justice, maybe an up-do would have been better? It's the little things that make an outfit.

I was thoroughly impressed nonetheless with all the Anna Scholz items, they're quite expensive but would make great special occasion outfits. With ASOS being most big girls favourite shop we tend to all have the same clothes, so I would definitely give Anna Scholz a thought next time I'm looking for that wow factor outfit.

OOTD

Saturday was the day the Fatshionistas of the UK (and Europe) had been waiting for...PLUS LONDON! I stressed for weeks over what I was going to wear, bought untold new garments in the hope of finding that 'perfect' outfit for the evening. I decided on a dress my sister gave me ages ago- it's just the way the cookie crumbles!

Gold Dress: Evans (UK Size 22)

Black Slouchy Blazer: New Look (UK Size 22)

Black Leggings: Matalan (UK Size 18)

Boots: New Look (UK Size 8)

Black Satchel: ASOS

Gold Peacock Disc Earrings: Evans

Scissor Necklace: Evans

Leaf Brooch: Thrifted

It was so much fun meeting all the other bloggers! Everyone looked gorgeous, I especially loved A Monkey Fatshionista's dress! The famous Lauren of Pocket Rocket Fashion was unbelievably adorable and she made a beautiful speech at the end of the night that had us all awwww-ing. It was also lovely meeting Deena of Fat Girls Like Nice Clothes Too and joking about begging family to take our OOTD photos. All in all it was a great evening and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. I hope we can do it all again next year!

GIVEAWAY WINNER

The lucky winner is......

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LAURA of The Blog Of Worldly Delights (Number 3)! 

I'll be emailing you shortly to arrange delivery of your goodies! Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone who entered! Giveaways are fun so there will be more coming soon!

OOTD

I wore this outfit to meet up with some friends this evening. I love this jacket/cardigan/shrug thingy but can't really think of what else I would wear it with apart from black. Any ideas?

Jacket/Cardi/Shrug thingy: Evans (UK Size 22)

Black Camisole: ASOS (UK Size 20)

Black Jeggings: Evans (UK Size 22)

Boots: New Look (UK Size 8)

Plus London is in a few days time and I'm seriously in a huge dilemma over what to wear!! I was thinking I could either do casual chic (kind of like the above outfit) or something more glam (I'm thinking gold and sparkles!) I just have no idea! Help please....

One last thing...my giveaway ends this Sunday so get your entries in soon!

RUBY WAX - LOSING IT

Last night, I was invited to a special preview of Ruby Wax's new show, Losing It. It's a 2 woman show. Ruby chronicles her battle with mental illness in a beautiful, humorous way with Judith providing a gorgeous soundtrack.

I have been battling my own mental health demons for the past 2 years or so. Things are good now, I've found my light at the end of the tunnel and I'm slowly beginning to get my life back on track so I could completely relate to Ruby's story minus the celeb status and being a wife and mother. It's good to know there is someone famous out there spreading the word on mental health conditions. Kind of like weight, there is a huge stigma attached to mental health difficulties. I cringe when I hear people joking about "mental hospitals". Just the other day an aquaintance on my facebook went on a long rant on her facebook status about some guy who I assume has been hassling her friend, please bear in mind the person who wrote this is almost 30.

"go doctors, get yourself diagnosed for your ADHD and get your medication...there is 30 years worth of disablility allowence that you are owed. That will pay for your gym membership loser...text my friend again and I will get Maudsleys to take you away"

Maudsley is a hospital in London which specialises in Mental Health care, it also happens to be the place I sought help for my own problems. I don't feel in any way abnormal and it just angers me to see such rude, ignorant people pigeon-hole those who are trying to mitigate their circumstances by seeking help. 1 in 4 of us will suffer from mental health conditions in our lifetimes so no doubt some of you reading will relate. I just want to be clear that you are not alone and you most certainly are not abnormal!

On a lighter note; after the show, I bought Ruby's biography and asked her to sign it for me. Mum was also on hand to catch a photo.

PS. Only a few days left to enter the giveaway here to win a life-changing new nail polish and surprise goodies!

OOTD

I went to a special preview tonight of a new show by Ruby Wax and Judith Owen...more on that tomorrow!

Here's what I wore, I had my new boots on which are awesome, unfortunately my photographer (ahem, mum) didn't capture them! I feel awesome whenever I wear this dress- it's the second time I've worn it. I love the colour, the style, just everything about it although I was incredibly embarrassed when I took my mac off- the bottom of the dress was all the way over my bum!!! The horror! Thank God for leggings though- the man behind me, that saw the drama unfold didn't get too much of a peep show!

Dress: ASOS (UK Size 22)

Black Leggings: ASOS (UK Size 20)

PURRRFECT NAILS

So very very late last night I decided to paint my nails, thought I would try out the combination of my new free Nails Inc polish in Caramel, which folks in the UK can find in Boots when you buy 2 bottles of Diet Coke.

I put on a couple of coats of Nails Inc. Caramel, then a thick layer of Barry M Nail Effects, followed by Hard as Wraps by Sally Hansen and you can see from the results I ended up with a leopardy kind of effect. I think it looks ace.

Don't forget, I am giving away a bottle of Barry M Nail Effects to one lucky winner. You have a maximum of 3 entries (check the rules) and the winner will be draw this Sunday so get your entries in!