Matchy-Matchy

Hi Lovies!

Last week, as you know from my previous post here, was FFFweek as well as theCURVYcon. So to say I was a busy beaver is putting it lightly. Thursday was actually one of the more relaxed days, with the Hal Rubenstein and Marla Wynne blogger event. It was great to meet both designers and have them introduce their lines to us bloggers. Both of their lines are currently sold at HSN.com. At the end of the event, they sent the attendees off with a nice gift bag with a necklace from Marla and scarf from Hal. Since the event ended fairly early, me and my girl Darlene of Suits, Heels, & Curves decided to coordinate a "Plus Size Happy Hour" at the Skyroom Rooftop Lounge. It was super last minute and we posted about it literally on the same day. To our surprise, a few folks showed up and it turned out to be such a great night! In the words of Hannibal from the A-team "I love it when a plan comes together!"

Crop Top & Skirt Set c/o Eshakti (currently on sale!)//Sandals - Payless

White Doesn't Scare Me

Hi Lovies!

To some women, the color white can be a frightening thing. We have been conditioned to think that wearing white is taboo, due to the stereotype that it makes already big women, look bigger. I've never felt this way, the only reason I shy from this color is because I am not the most agile person in the world. Food just magically falls on me no matter how hard I try not to stain myself. But even with that, I continue to wear white and love it. Last Monday was the start of Full Figured Fashion Week, a week long series of events related to all things plus size. One of the most highly anticipated events is the Curves at Sea All White Cruise. Sailing around NY Harbor in a newly upgraded yacht, surrounded by so many awesome plus size women, dress to the nines in their best white outfits. Totally unapologetic and kicking all stereotypes in the butt while looking amazing. It's just so empowering to see so many women, of all shapes, sizes and color, feeling the same way, and totally not scared of wearing white. 

Top & Skirt - Eloquii//Shoes - Audrey Brooke via DSW//Belt - SWAK Designs//Necklace - Bauble Bar//Bracelet - Fashion to Figure

Essie Golden #GoldenConfidence Pool Party

Hi Lovies!

Saturday I had the pleasure of attending one of the most amazing events I've been to in a long time. The Essie Golden #GoldenConfidence Pool Party. Essie is a PS blogger/model who is the genius behind this sold out event. She came up with the idea of inviting woman to enjoy a rooftop pool party giving us the opportunity come dressed in our best swimwear. Now I know for some woman the thought of being around a bunch of people in your swimsuit can be a terrifying, but this was a safe, non-fat shaming environment. Where you could come and chill, relax, mingle with other amazing woman, dance and enjoy some pool time. I had never felt so comfortable in a swimsuit in my life and being surround by so many other fabulous woman, that were dressed to the nines in ALL types of swimwear, just made it that much better.

Swim Top, Swim Bottom, Cover up, Sandals c/o Lane Bryant//Sarong (similar) - Swimsuitsforall

Meshing with Watercolors

Hi Lovies!!

So I've come to the conclusion that Eloquii is the devil! Every week I'm just giving them all my money because they are constantly coming out with new amazing pieces. I'm at a point that I have a whole section in my closet dedicated to their stuff. Jesus needs to put a fence around my wallet ASAP! When they came out with this watercolor print, I just swooned. I immediately purchased the midi skirt (worn here) but hesitated on getting the top. Of course when I finally decided to get it, it was gone! But one day during my morning trolls on the site, I saw that it came back in my size and I purchased it on the spot. The top is just as amazing as the skirt and so glad I purchased it. 

Top (sold out, see skirt) & Skirt - Eloquii//Shoes - Lane Bryant//Purse - Just Fab//Necklace & Bracelet - Rocksbox (use code lapecosapreciosaxoxo for one month free)

Athleisure

Hi Lovies!

On the weekends, I like to dress super comfortable, especially on Sundays. I just want to throw something on that I don't have to put too much thought into. Now don't get me wrong, I love dressing up when I can but sometimes you need a no nonsense outfit. When I saw this Locker Athletic Stripe Dress from Fashion to Figure, I immediately fell in love. The Athleisure trend is very popular right now and this dress had the perfect amount of sporty with the  sports jersey style stripes on the sleeves and neckline. But still remained feminine with the drawstring waist, curved hem and pockets. This dress is extremely soft and feels amazing on, you almost want to sleep in it! 

Dress & Bag c/o Fashion to Figure//Sandals (similar here and here ) - Lane Bryant//Necklace - Melody Ehsani

Palm Print and Stripes

Hi Lovies,

Palm prints are popping up every where this season and I'm loving it. All the beautiful bright color combos I've been seeing, like these palm print pants I wore here for instance. It's just a super fun print to wear and makes you feel like you should be on a beach somewhere. This tank from H&M was nothing short of that. It's a nice light and comfortable top, perfect for the summer with it's delightful tropical print. You can definitely get a lot of use from this top, it goes with almost anything.

Tank - H&M//Skirt (similar) - Eshakti//Sandals - Dolce Vita//Necklace (similar) -  c/o Fashion to Figure//Bag (similar) - Street Fair

To the Max!

Hey Lovies!!

If you've noticed by now, I'm the type of gal that likes to show some leg...to a certain extent of course! I normally prefer my skirts or dress to hit right at the knee but I've kinda stepped out of that as of late. I now have a growing collection of midi skirts and I've even gone as far as wearing maxi length! Yes, me in a maxi skirt or dress is unheard of! But I find them to very elegant looking and so figure flattering. So when I saw the Makena Maxi Skirt from Fashion to Figure, I knew it would be the start to my Maxi collection. Just like their midi version that I wore here, the maxi version was just as fabulous. The vibrant green color was definitely an eye catcher and I just loved the way the skirt moved with my body, especially when the wind caught it.

Styling tip: Do keep in mind this is maxi length, I'm 5'7 and it was grazing the floor without shoes on, so if you're shorter, heels are a must. I'm wearing a 3X. 

Fashion to Figure gifted me these items but all opinions are mine own

Top, Skirt, Bag, Necklace, Bracelet c/o Fashion to Figure//Shoes - Old Navy

Pattern Mixing

Hi Lovies!!

Pattern mixing to me is a total science, you really have to know what you're doing otherwise you could end up looking crazy. Now I am far from an expert and rarely dabble in it. My boo Georgette from Grown and Curvy Woman, who is my pattern mixing inspiration, makes it looks so effortless or Mo from Lion Hunter who is basically a pattern mixing Guru!! Since I'm a fledgling at this, I decided to try a simple mix, florals and stripes. This mix seems to be a popular one with most folks and I have to say I am loving it!

Blazer (similar, similar, similar) - Forever 21 (old)//Top & Skirt - Eloquii//Sandals - Old Navy

Clothes before Bros

Hi Lovies!

I love graphic tees, especially when they have cute sayings or phrases on them, I've collected quite a few. You can do so much with them and they can easily be dressed up or down, depending on how you want to wear it. So when I saw this graphic tee on Lacey from The Lacey Perspective I squealed a little and immediately bought it! It was such the perfect phrase cause umm, clothes come before a lot of things in my book lol!

Jacket//Top //Skirt //Shoes

Memorial Day Simple

Hi Lovies!

Having a 3 day weekend is always a good thing, they should definitely happen more often. This weekend was Memorial Day weekend and I have to say mine was pretty low key. I didn't go away for the weekend nor did I attend any BBQ's (insert sad face). But I still enjoy it and got to spend Memorial day with my BCF (best cousin ever) who is an awesome cook. She made sliders, shish kebobs, and of course some rice & beans. So even though we weren't at an actual BBQ, she made it feel like one. Since I was keeping it low key, I also kept my outfit that way. The folks over at Fashion to Figure must have known I was keeping it simple cause they sent me a surprise gift Friday of this adorable outfit. It totally made me want to go sailing on a boat, it was such a nautical ensemble.

Top, Skirt, Necklace & Earrings, Bracelet c/o Fashion to Figure//Shoes - Lane Bryant

My Good Day NY Segment with Eloquii

Hi Lovies!

Back in April, Eloquii reached out to me and 3 other women asking if we wanted to model their clothes for a Good Day NY segment. Of course I said yes, it's Eloquii, my fav plus size brand! After saying yes, I started to get nervous, I have never been on TV before. I pictured myself falling flat on my face as I walked down or just looking like a goofball in general. My blogger boo Georgette was one of the women asked, so we had each other for moral support. Luckily the segment wasn't being aired live so that eased the anxiety lol.

Instagram Outfit Recap #28

Hi Lovies!

Here's a recap of my Instagram OOTD's from last month! See photos for outfit details.

Mother's Day

Hi Lovies,

Most of my friends and family know that I lost my mother last July to Lupus. It was a long and hard struggle for my Mom due to the fact that the Lupus affected her lungs. She was so strong and such a fighter to the very end. This Mother's Day was the first without her and it was a tough one. But I'm very lucky to have such great family and friends that help eased the pain with their kind and thoughtful words. So instead of spending the day at home sad, I decided to get dressed up in some her favorite colors and spend it with my family. My sister had a nice BBQ at her place and it was just what I needed. We ate, shared stories of our mother and just surrounded each other with love. I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Top - Old Navy//Skirt - Eloquii//Shoes - Dolce Vita//Bag - Aldo via ASOS//Necklace - Rocksbox

The Curvy Con

I am so excited to share with you some amazing information regarding a wonderful event hitting my backyard, aka New York City. theCURVYcon is the first conference dedicated to plus size women, fitness, and lifestyle. It will take place June 20th at the Metropolitan Pavilion West in New York City It is a day-long event that will bring plus size brands, fashionistas, shopaholics, bloggers and YouTubers into one room, to chat curvy, shop curvy and embrace curvy. They are providing a space to embrace our curves, do a little shopping, and tackle topics like confidence, fashion and style, health, fitness, dating, body positivity and everything in between. And yes, you know I already have my ticket!

Hawaiian Dreams

Hi Lovies!

I am far from a world traveler but there are many places I want to visit before I kick the bucket. My top destination is the UK (I'm obsessed with the British!) and one of my others is Hawaii. Every time I think of Hawaii, I think of the gorgeous beaches, coconuts, grass skirts and palm trees. So when I saw these Lena Printed Crop Pants from Lane Bryant, my mind was immediately carried off to the island. I fell in  love with the vibrant green palm leaves print as well as the crop length which made them such a fun and casual pant. Perfect for a Saturday brunch with my honey or vacationing on any tropical island lol!

Jacket & Pants - Lane Bryant//Top (similar) - Old Navy//Shoes - ASOS//Bag (similar) - Forever 21

I've Got The Blues

Hi Lovies!

If you're a shopaholic like me, then you tend to stock pile on clothes. Even if it's something off season, but it's a great price, you buy it. Well I have a few things in my closet that I stocked piled and this ASOS Curve Longline Blazer was one of them. I remember seeing it last year and lusting over it. so when I saw it on sale for $30 back in February, I jumped on it! I tucked it away in my closet, anxiously waiting for Spring to arrive so that I could wear it. I finally got to wear it this weekend, TWICE! I love the blue and white floral print, it reminds me of oriental porcelain. It's super comfortable and can be dressed up or down, which I did over the weekend.

Blazer  & Shoes - ASOS Curve//Dress (similar) - Fashion to Figure//Bag - TJMaxx

Nudes and Neutrals

Hey Lovies!

I love the fact that I am truly a girly girl, I adore all things, dainty, delicate, frilly and frou frou. As of late, I've found myself drawn to delicate nudes and neutral colors. I think they are so feminine and classy, making you look so put together. Not to mention the simplicity of the look as well. So when I saw this top and skirt from Fashion to Figure, I knew I wanted to wear them together. The colors paired so well together to create such a simple but sophisticated look.

Top, Skirt, Belt & Bag c/o Fashion to Figure//Shoes - ASOS

Black and Florals

Hi Lovies!

Today I'm bringing you another review for the UK brand Yours Clothing. The first review was on one of their dresses (see here), this one is a little different. As you know I am a total dress/skirt girl, I just love them but I do wear pants or jeans, especially at work. I've been looking for the perfect black skinny jeans and these Super Stretch Skinny Jeans from Yours Clothing are just amazing! They are super soft, comfortable and even though it doesn't say high waist, they fit me as such, which is great. They are also skinny from thigh to ankle, I hate those jeans that claim to be "skinny" and they bag out at the knee or ankle area. I would recommend sizing down because they do have plenty of stretch, also please refer to the size chart since it's UK sizing, I ordered mine in a US20. 

Jacket, Top, Jeans & Bag c/o Yours Clothing//Shoes (similar) - Old Navy

Gone With The Wind Fabulous

Hi Lovies!

When I showed this picture below to my BFF Jamie, her response was "Gone with the wind fabulous!". I laughed of course but loved it so much that I knew I wanted it to be the name of this blog post. Little did I know that it was a tagline of Kenya Moore's from Housewives of Atlanta. Now I don't watch the show but it's definitely a cute tagline and will be using it in my repertoire! It was quite the windy day when I shot these pictures which kinda worked out great to show off this cute Pleated Midi from Simply Be. The perfect skirt for the spring/summer season with it's amazing vibrant pink color and delicate pleating. It's super comfortable with it's no fuss, easy elastic waistband. Just an fyi about this skirt, it is VERY sheer so make sure you're wearing the proper undergarments because they can totally be seen.

Top - ASOS Curve//Skirt - Simply Be//Belt (old) - Forever 21//Shoes - Lane Bryant//Clutch - Just Fab 

Birds and Pastels

Hi Lovies!

Spring weather is inching it's way here to NYC and we've had a few beautiful days. When we have these warmer days, all I want to wear are spring colors, pastels especially. So the other day I took the opportunity to finally wear this amazing duster coat from H&M. I can't even get into words how much I love this coat, it is pure perfection. The amazing pastel peach color along with the beautiful bird print, its EVERYTHING! I can't tell you how many compliments I got on this coat. This is from their straight sizes, but it is oversize so a large fit me perfect. 

Jacket (similar) - H&M (only small and medium available)//Top - Old Navy//Skirt - Modcloth (only 4X left similar here)//Shoes (old) - ASOS

PopSugar OPI Hawaii Color Challenge Plus Size Edition

Hi Lovies!

I love doing blogger collabs, it's always fun to get together with awesome woman and see how we all show our own personal style. So I was super excited to be part of this colorful one that Pepper from Pretty Plus Pep Put together. She saw a great piece on PopSugar about a OPI Hawaii Color Challenge. The nail polish brand OPI has a new collection called Hawaii and she thought it would be a great idea to do a Plus Size Edition of this challenge. She reached out to 12 bloggers and asked that we choose a color from the collection and create a look around it. I immediately said yes and couldn't wait to see how all the other fabulous bloggers styled their colors.

Jacket (similar) - ASOS Curve//Dress - Love Squared via Macy's//Shoes - DSW

#ImNoAngel

Hi Lovies!

It always surprises me when women ask me in person or via social media "How did you become so confident with your body?" It surprises me because, though I may look confident, I still continue to have my issues with body acceptance. We all have our qualms with our bodies, from the skinniest of girls to the heaviest of girls. After I had my son (in 1996), I gained a lot of weight due to being depressed in the relationship I was in with my son's father. We eventually broke up but it wasn't until 2006 when I decided to get out my funk and make a change. I'm still not where I want to be but I am happy in the skin I'm in.

That's why I love the #ImNoAngel Campaign by Lane Bryant. In one day LB has revolutionized the definition of sexy. I had the honor of being apart of this amazing movement last Monday and I'll never forget it. They are promoting that ALL bodies are sexy no matter what shape or size you are. AS well as empowering women to embrace their bodies and not be ashamed of it, to own you sexy! It was just amazing to be riding around NYC in the "Plus Size" bus, as we called it, with beautiful plus size models of different sizes and ethnicity. Seeing the reactions of the people and how excited they were as the models gave out the wildly popular #ImNoAngel t-shirts. Umm not to mention they had Salt N Pepa perform on the bus! The #ImNoAngel hashtag was flooding every social media outlet and it was just great to see women using it along with pictures and captions of what sexy meant to them. The Ceo of Lane Bryant Linda Heasley couldn't have said it any better.

"Our #ImNoAngel" campaign is designed to empower ALL women to love every part of herself. Lane Bryant firmly believes that she is sexy and we want to encourage her confidently show it, in her own way."

Jacket & Skirt (sold out online, check in stores), T-shirt (gifted by LB) & Shoes - Lane Bryant//Bag - Just Fab

My Curly Hair Regime

I've been getting a lot of questions as to what I use on my curls or what is my hair regime. So I figured I’d give you the rundown of what I've been doing as of late. I have noticed as I've gotten older my hair has changed a lot. My new growth is not the same as the rest of my hair, in curl pattern or texture. I use to be a one product brand type of girl, if it worked for my hair I stuck with it for like ever! But like I previously said, with age came a change in my hair. So I have abandon my old faithful and have ventured out to see what other products might fit the bill. My current regime has been working very well for me and will stick with this for a while. Here’s what I've been doing…

Red, White and Blue

Hi Lovies!

I was recently approached by the UK brand Yours Clothing to review some of their pieces. I had already heard of them and seen a few other bloggers reviews. I've always been partial to UK brands, not only because I'm obsessed with the British but their clothing tend to a little more generous. When I perused the site I was impressed with the variety of things, from basics to staples and super trendy pieces as well. With an international brand it's imperative that you to go by the size chart because they are UK sizes and you have to convert to US sizes. I normally wear US18 and according to their size chart I had to order size US22. I was totally happy when I got the stuff and it all fit well. I picked out a few things (another outfit to come soon!) and this dress was one of them. Now I know Spring has somewhat sprung here in NYC and floral print is all a buzz but for some reason this print caught my eye. I love that this dress had a mix of prints, like stripes, florals and geometric all in one without being too busy. And the color combo worked as well.

Blazer (similar) - Torrid//Dress c/o Yours Clothing//Shoes (similar) - DSW//Bag (similar) - ASOS

Casual Easter

Hi Lovies!

Yesterday was Easter and it was great to see people and kids out in the streets all dolled up in their Easter best. All the pretty pastel colors, the Easter baskets,  and colored eggs, I just love it all. I'm not super religious and my son is all grown up so I don't really have a reason to get dressed up anymore. I normally keep my outfit pretty casual but I still want to have some hint of Easter in it. When I first saw this Pink Moto Jacket from Simply Be last spring, I was totally in love. I didn't get it right away but kept it in my cart for like EVER, hoping for a good sale. Of course this jacket sold out but by some miracle they never removed the one I had in  my cart so I was able to get it! 

Jacket (similar) - Simply Be//Tunic - Wet Seat Plus//Jeans & Shoes - Forever 21

Stepping into Spring

Hi Lovies!

As you know, we are officially in Spring, even though Mother Nature hasn't gotten the memo here in NYC. But I'm not letting that stop me from getting into the spirit. I find that bright, colorful and bold pieces can make you feel like you should be in warmer weather, they just scream spring/summer. So when I saw these pieces from Lane Bryant, I knew they had to be added to my spring wardrobe.