Curvy Autmn Lookbook - Work & Weekend!

Hello my lovelies!

I don’t know about you, but in my little part of the world it has started to get decidedly colder… autumn is finally here! Although winter is my absolutely favourite season, autumn comes a very close second. I am a creature who loves cold weather outside and a roaring fire inside. Autumn is the perfect time to start lighting the candles and setting the fire. It’s a beautiful time of year, perfect for long walks, hot soup, romance novels and plenty of scarves and fluffy socks.
When it comes to autumn style I have two looks. A work look and a weekend look. I work quite a distance from my house (a three hour round trip here and back) so when I am at home I really like to get comfy and enjoy spending time with the hubs and our boys. I know a lot of people relish going out at the weekends and “having a good time”, but there is truly nowhere I would rather be than in our little house, snuggled up on the sofa, having a laugh at some rubbish TV show or having a full on WOW session (Warlords of Draynor is out soon, whoop whoop!) with lots of junk food - and my autumn looks totally reflect this.

Weekend Casual
 
I love comfort, and my casual look is comfy but still smart enough that I could throw on a pair of TOMS or some boots and go for a coffee without any fuss.

When it comes to the weekend I'm all about comfort. I like to wear something that's cosy enough to lounge around the house in but also tidy enough that I can be out the door without too much fuss. Jeggings are perfect weekend attire - a cross between jeans and leggings they are the perfect blend of comfort and smart. I got these ones from Matalan for £12. Pair them with a t-shirt and a chunky cardigan and you've got an outfit cosy enough to laze about in, but stick on a pair of TOMS or some biker boots along with a woolly scarf and you're good to go meet a friend for a coffee. I got the Hogwarts logo t-shirt from Primark and the leopard print loose fit tee from H&M. The TOMS are from Schuh and the black leather bikers boots are Steve Madden for Dune. The double loop cream and gold scarf was a Christmas gift and the multi-coour Damask scarf is one I brought back from Budapest a few years ago. The bag is from Romwe.

Work Smart
 
My work look is still comfortable but definitely a lot smarter. Loose jumpers and jersey pencil skirts are my staple along with thick tights and chunky heel boots.

I bought this black pencil skirt from Matalan for £12 recently. It's made of a lovely comfortable stretch material and is a really flattering length. As far as I know they still sell them, or at least something very similar. The grey jumper I got from Romwe and the black and white stripe jumper I got from H&M in August. I really like pencil skirts and loose jumpers together - there's just something really smart yet cool about it. I match them with these Irregular Choice boots and my coat from Primark. I prefer boots over flats or heels during the Autumn as the weather can be so unpredictable here. It can be dry one minute and tipping it down the next. In my opinion a chunky heel is always better than a stiletto for work, it's more sturdy and it’s definitely more comfortable to walk in than a skinny heel.

I hope this gives all you curvy gals a bit of inspiration for your autumn style. You are all beautiful just as you are and I hope I can help you learn to love yourselves no matter what your size or shape - it doesn't matter if you are a size 6 or a size 26, your body size/shape does not define you.

Stay stylish,

Kiki x

House Clearing, Caveman Keto and Eat Water Slim Pasta...

Hello my lovelies!

Sorry for the big gap between posts, last week was a little bit mental. I’ve been clearing out the attic, toolshed and utility room in preparation for ordering a skip in a couple of weeks. I can now at last say the toolshed and utility are completely cleared and the attic is basically cleared too, just a few bits and bobs of old paper work to sort out, which feels so good! I had been feeling a little like things had stalled a bit on the house, we are so close to being able to say it’s completed that I just wanted to make an extra push to get the rooms that needed the most work and clearing completed instead of avoiding them.

Keto has been going well. I’ve lost 5 pounds total. I did have some carbs and sugar over the weekend, but although it was over the 20g a day I’m allowed, it wasn’t massively so. The breakfasts and dinners are really easy, but the lunches are a bit boring. They have me a bit stumped to be honest. I’ve tried to pep them up this week by making up some keto bento but I’m really missing sandwiches. I tried to find some flax bread. I’ve read about it online and it seems to be a pretty good low carb bread replacement, but I couldn’t get any in my local health food store so I’m looking for a recipe using almond flour as I was able to get some of that.

I’m thinking of getting a deep fat fryer and using lard in it, but I’m really not too sure if all deep fat fryers are compatible with lard? I’ve been reading a lot of Caveman Keto’s blog and he uses one to make deep fat fried cheese and keto chicken nuggets and they sound delicious! I’m also going back to the Eat Water Slim Pasta. It is so low in carbs and will be a great filler food for with a meat and sauce. Pasta dishes were my go to quick meal before keto.

Also the Romwe stuff arrived, yay! So my haul is ready to go and I’ll get that up during the week along with a Curvy Autumn lookbook. I’m very excited about this. It’s my first proper fashion’y blog post and I’m excited for you to see my outfit choices.

Big love,

Kiki x

Curvy Confessions, Confidence and OOTD...

I have a confession ... since I dropped off the Slimming World bandwagon and put the weight back on, I haven't been too concerned with what I wear. In fact I've hardly given it a second thought - the last time I went shopping was before I got married last November. 

I have been in a bit of a denial about the weight gain really and simply refused to purchase anything in a bigger size, after losing weight on the plan and being very happy at a size 12/14. But this hasn't helped matters at all, it has in fact I think hindered me. 

I used to love buying new clothes (both before and after doing Slimming World for the first time) and the fact that I have become complacent about my appearance has got me in a bit of a rut. Does this ring true with any of you ladies?

So to get back to feeling more myself I had a little clear-out, got rid of everything that doesn't fit (too big or too small) and only kept what actually fitted me. The worst thing is trying something from your own wardrobe on and having it be too small, I don't know about you but that just really puts a downer on my whole day.

What was left was actually pretty decent on the whole and I have had a mini-splurge online for a few bits and pieces that will update everything that's left. I'll upload a haul when everything has arrived.

So I thought I would make my Sunday posts Outfit of the Day posts. For this week I only have two outfits, but since I have decided to do OTTD posts it will give me the motivation I need to dress well everyday and hopefully every Sunday I will have seven detailed OOTD for you all. I'll also upload daily pictures to my Twitter and Instagram and would love you to share your OOTD with me too. You can find my Instagram and Twitter on the panel on the left.

So these are my Saturday OOTD. I went out and about vintage furniture shopping during the day then had a quick change to go meet a friend for dinner. Apologies about my dirty mirror and non-existent camera skills!

For my day outfit I'm wearing:

Black & White Flats - Matalan - £12 (which will be in the haul post)

Black Supersoft Skinny Jeans - Primark - £8

Black & White Stripe Oversize Jumper - H&M - £18

Curvy girls can absolutely wear skinny jeans. I think they look gorgeous paired with over-sized jumpers and flats or boots.

I was in a bit of a hurry to get changed and out the door again to meet my friend for dinner, but still wanted to make an effort. It was a casual dinner at a lovely local Chinese place so I stuck with the same flats and the handbag I had used during the day to save on time.

For my evening outfit I'm wearing:

Black & White Flats - Matalan - £12

Thick Black Tights - Primark - £2.50

Grey Swing Dress - Matalan - £14

Cream Oversize Cardigan - Tesco - sale item approx. £10

The only new item I'm wearing here are the black and white flats from Matalan, everything else was already in my wardrobe. It's amazing what you can find when you get rid of all the clothes that don't fit! What do you think?

Big Love,

Kiki x