Pretty Big Butterflies

Plus Size Fashion, Beauty & All That's In Between

Autumn Style Wishlist

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You may well have noticed the temperature DROP recently, I wore my first pair of tights for the season last week and I’m going ankle boots hunting like you wouldn’t believe. I love this time of year because all the new autumn and winter season stuff drops and I feel so spoilt for choice even if the weather isn’t quite COLD yet. Just chilly. The problem is, by the time I’m ready to sort my wardrobe out, grab a new coat, boots and my warming accessories… all the good stuff has gone! So this year, I’m starting my wish lists early so I know what I’m aiming for. Call it strategy… (or just being a shopaholic!) Plus, if I start looking now, I’ll be sure to grab the bargains and discount codes I need over the next couple of months! Winning.

Autumn Style Plus Size Fashion Wish List

1. This cream cable bobble hat is so cute and it warms me up just looking at it. Cream goes with anything and I always feel like less of an idiot if I have a bobble on my hat. I’m not sure why! Also, have you seen that Voucherbox are running a competition where you can WIN £250 worth of Superdry vouchers? I know… you can thank me later.  Think about all the Autumn and Winter goodies you could treat yourself (or others – cough) too! You only need to register for their Superdry voucher page and not only will you get all the discounts but you could win. So, yeah… you might as well!

2 & 3.  I love this River Island jacket and these ripped ‘mom’ jeans. Simple and stylish. Easily paired with raiders or boots to keeps your toes warm! I think the fur trim of the biker jacket would work well with the cream cable Superdry hat too. Ohhhh I just want to snuggle up now!

4. I’m a huge fan of ankle boots and with a small block heel they are super easy to walk in. I always find that my size (UK 7) sells out SOOOO quickly of all the cool, fashionable boots. This year I’m going to try not to hang around. This New Look beauties are straight on my list.

5. Last but not least. As the temperature gets cooler, everything becomes more grey! So I’m going to liven things up with a pop of colour when it comes to my bags! This ASOS suede green number still dreams autumn vibes but without being drab. I love the colour. Just look at it.

So those are my 5 autumn style wish list items… trust me when I say theres more… this is just the beginning! What do you think of my picks? Have you seen anything that you HAVE to have for the chillier days?

 

Home Improvements – My Future Goal

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You might have seen from my numerous tweets and Facebook posts that I’ve moved house recently. Has it been stressful? YES! We’re only here for a couple of years before we have to move again so I’m already making plans for a mortgage and finding a house that we love – not just making do. I know it isn’t easy and I’m saying this in a very blasé manner – but you have to have goals! So yes I have research to do and goals to reach but it’s nice to have a focus… (amongst other things like this baby arriving in a few months!) We have even considered getting a house and doing some upgrades on it. Not that we know very much about it to be honest. Tile Mountain created this informative post about home improvements and how they vary across the UK, US and Australia. Obviously they add value but I want to make sure it will be right for us! I’ve worked out the kitchen is key… well they do say it’s the heart of the home right?

Home Improvements That Add Value

Home Improvements That Add Value

Our new kitchen is super small, so I know the main thing on my list when we look for a new house will be making sure we have more space. Storage is important too. Obviously if we move to Australia we’ll be focusing on a pool just like the infographic says… who needs a kitchen when you can have 365 days a year of outside BBQs?!

An Adventure in the Peak District

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I went on adventure over the weekend. It was last-minute. Well, I think it was. I only found out about it a week before that Mr C would be taking me to “Derby”. I mean Derby’s nice. I loved their big shopping centre last time I went, but I wasn’t sure why we were going on a random trip to Derby in September.

We set off on our journey after work and were in for a four-hour trek, from London, up the M1 and into the Midlands. R&B tunes blasting all the way, snacks and random motorway games kept us going as it was a bit of a drive.  Once we got nearer, I have to admit that I had concerns. The signs kept pointing us in the direction of Alton Towers – a place I do NOT want to be when I’m 6 months pregnant. It was just one or two signs though – I honestly thought that’s where Mr C was taking me when I saw the 8th one!

Walking Breaks in the UK

He reassured me that it wasn’t our final destination, thankfully. He said we would be staying in a hotel, and that it was close. Next panic: where the hell are we? We were driving down the narrowest country roads, over cattle grids, past sheep and through cottage-filled villages. It was too dark to see where we were in detail but it was getting cooler and I could sense we were in a fresher environment.  Mr C wouldn’t tell me what we were doing though! I didn’t get it. He wouldn’t explain why we had to basically drive through bushes to get to where ever we were going to.

Dovedale Valley

It was getting later, darker, and we were taking so long to get there that the person on the hotel’s reception phoned to say she was going home if we didn’t get there by 11pm! I did slightly panic at this thought. With 14 minutes to spare, we pulled up in an olde style establishment with very welcoming staff. We settled down, cuddled up in the cosy double bed and got to sleep in a lovely room that made me wonder what the hotel used to be 100 years ago.

Walking Weekend Breaks

When I woke up and drew the curtains, I couldn’t believe where we were. We were in the Peak District, Dovedale to be exact. There were MASSIVE hills all around us, and this hotel (the Izaak Walton) was in the perfect location to access it. The view from the hotel was immense, the breakfast was lush, and it couldn’t have been closer to our final destination – the Dove Valley. The journey has got me wanting to look into more walking weekend breaks like this in the future. Even being pregnant I felt so invigorated and the scenery was beautiful I wondered what else the UK has to offer! If this is anything to go by, a British Break is the way to go. The scenery is just stunning, especially compared to London.

The Izaak Walton - Dovedale

What else happened there? Well I’ll let you all know soon… but it’s all very exciting!

 

 

Simple fixes to overhaul your home

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Whilst we can all dream about treating ourselves to buying a big new bed or sofa, the reality is that most of us are restricted by our budgets. But regardless of whether you’re slightly overspent on your summer holiday, we can all do some simple fixes to our existing home designs to give our interiors a welcome revamp for the upcoming colder months!

 

As the kitchen is often the most overused area of the home, it’s often the area that could use the most love. Getting a full kitchen refit isn’t something that many of us can do that often, but just about anybody can get some lovely new tiles or even a pegboard that can be used to create a striking backsplash that can subtly enhance the effect of any culinary workspace.

It’s little decorative touches like this that can make all the difference, whether it’s having a metal headboard on the guest bed, or even just adding a cornice to emphasis a particularly glamorous section of the living room.

Making sure that the bedroom is cosy enough for the coming winter months is obviously a real priority, so make sure that you’re eliminating any unwelcome draughts from doors and windows. And even if you can’t afford a new bed at the moment, you can give your existing bed a bit of extra love by getting a new metal headboard from Bedstar to accompany it with lots of lovely new plump cushions and pillows of course!

Other pieces of bedroom furniture can also benefit from little aesthetic touches like this, whether it’s repainting your wardrobes or even getting some cute doorknobs for your chest of drawers, it shows that the little things can add up to make a big, beautiful picture!

 

Whilst the bedroom can be relatively easy to give a facelift, it can be tougher to transform a particularly dingy bathroom. Obviously having a proper cleaning session is essential, but also consider getting some new faucets if your sink is seeming a little ramshackle and mucky. And never underestimate the power of some bold new wallpaper to make that tiny downstairs toilet suddenly seem a lot more exciting!

And finally, as it’s going to be getting darker a lot earlier once the clocks go back, make sure to think about how you can maximise the light in your home through new lighting, mirrors and the wonderful natural light of candles!

5 Things No One Told Me About Pregnancy

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These last few weeks have been an eye opener for me. Seriously, I feel like it’s been a whirlwind of mixed emotions. I’m now 25 weeks pregnant (just in the 6th month!). I haven’t had time to sit and write and in depth post about certain things yet (like scans) because it’s so personal I want to give it the time it needs. BUT I’m telling you, there are some things I’ve learnt about pregnancy this week that no one has mentioned before – and well I thought I’d share them with you. There may be too much information shared, but that’s the disclaimer right there! (Also, this is my perspective from being plus size and pregnant, this may or may not relate to ‘straight size’ pregnancies)

#25weeks pregnant & plus size.

#25weeks pregnant & plus size.

1. Crusty Nipples AKA dried colostrum

Now after a bit of research I realised I didn’t have some weird infection or that my nipples were falling off. I just had these tiny little flakes almost embedded in my nipple and it felt pretty sore. My boobs feel sore in general, but I’m used to that now. Basically, colostrum is the very first bit of milk that your breasts produce and if you leak a tiny drop and don’t notice in the day, it will inevitably go dry and a little…. Crusty! It sounds gross and it kind of is. But it also made me happy that my boobs may actually have some milk in them hills!

2. Not sleeping on your back is hard. Very hard.

Almost impossible! I was never a back sleeper, more of a belly sleeper. But since I read numerous articles warning against sleeping on your back because of the weight on your nerves etc., it’s like I naturally roll on to my back every bloody night! You know the moment someone says don’t you can’t help but do it! I’ve been using support cushions to prop me up but twice now the Mr. has had to wake me up and tell me to roll over. Both times I’ve thought he has just told me he loves me and I sleepily say it back before he cracks up laughing and we’re both wide awake. Delirium.

3. People will blame your hormones and they are half right.

OK, when your pregnant your hormones are all over the shop, I can put my hands up and admit to that. But seriously, I am currently unable to let anything go. At one point I literally thought I was surrounded by morons. I just couldn’t believe what people were doing, saying or how they were behaving. From colleagues to traffic wardens and it was to the point I had to check with people that this was in fact not just I. But alas, I guess that super sensitivity really does kick in and you just have to give it up and admit it for an easy life. It’s OK. You’re pregnant.

4. Appointments. Appointments. Appointments.

It’s not a secret, but because of my BMI I am classified as a high-risk pregnancy. That’s’ just what it is. A box I’ve been put into and I’m OK with that. I’m high risk based on a flow chart literally based on the size of my body. It is what it is, just words on paper which means certain procedures have to be followed. You can be high risk based on age, size, heritage, medical history and living conditions. It does not make me a bad person, a bad mother or unhealthy. It DOES means I have appointments coming out of my ears, but you know what. It means the baby and I get checked every couple of weeks and IF they did find anything to be concerned about at least they’d pick it up sooner rather than later. Seriously though I have 4 more scans, bi weekly blood pressure checks, numerous consultant checks. That being said (especially with the people who will say big is not healthy etc.), so far my blood pressure has been described as perfect and all scans are fine. Things could change yes, but right now things are good. So yes, it is a tick box exercise rather than it being on an individual basis. But the extra vigilance is not a bad thing. I realise that.

5. 100% doesn’t exist.

I’m someone who wants to be told everything is fine, relax, it’s all-perfect. 100%, A OK, totally on point…. You kind of catch my drift. But NO ONE will say it. My midwife even confirmed. That no one will give you the all clear and say your baby is 100%, your pregnancy is 100% everything is 100%. I’m not usually an anxious person but seriously this has pushed me to the edge. But now, finally, at 25 weeks, I know all my tests are fine, my baby is growing in line with normal stats and so far so good. But I guess you just need to relax. It’s hard. I’m trying. But I’m getting there and I’m starting to enjoy pregnancy. Nothing is guaranteed in life and pregnancy is such a natural phenomenon that no one can be 100% certain about any aspect of it, no matter how much we might want it.

 

That baby bump fashion

That baby bump fashion

So that’s that! My 5 things that no one told me about pregnancy. I hope that if you’re going through or experiencing any of the above it makes you see you’re not alone and no pregnancy is ‘normal’. I have to say writing this need make me laugh and feel a bit emotional at the same time…. Those damn hormones!