Shine Bright

I've had this obnoxiously bright orange dress for a little over a year now - and every time I wear it - it quite literally brightens up my day!

A Time Away

Dear Readers,

Are you still out there? If I've lost you forever, I apologize. I hope that you moved on to other Plus-sized Mom blogs full of sarcasm and love. If I haven't lost you, then I am soooo glad you're still here!

I didn't plan it, I just found that I needed time. I love this blog, I love you, dear Readers, but I needed a time away. A time to focus on myself, my family, my home businesses, my life! But the other day I thought - you know what I miss? Blogging!

Complimentary

There's just something about using complimentary colours in an outfit. Nothing quite speaks to my psyche like rich complimentary colours.

Bright tights and floral

Oh thank goodness - it must be springtime!

 

The girl in the Purple Dress

I absolutely love this purple dress. It was such a find on a Walmart Clearance rack that myself and two of my other good friends also have it! One day we're going to plan ahead and all wear it at the same time - just for giggles!

Colour Comfort

Some things just make you feel like you. And for me, that's wearing bright colours. I love the rich, saturated brights of this top and cardigan.

Floral, Cobalt & Leopard - Oh My!

Sometimes an item will just jump out at me when I'm thrifting.
Sometimes, it's meant to be.
Sometimes I notice a super cute pair of leopard print flats on varagesale and then I notice that they're only $2.00.... how can it get any better than that, you ask?
Well I'll tell you.

Pepluv it.

Okay.
I admit it.
I am officially in love with peplums.
I know, I know, you're thinking "Tea, this is not new news". But I didn't realize until I started going through my fall wardrobe this week and trying to decide if there was anything that needed to leave and go start new life elsewhere that every. single. peplum. I owned went immediately into the keep pile. I just love this silhouette.

This red hi/lo peplum has the added bonus of being a DIY so I can feel extra proud when someone compliments me on it. It was once a skater style dress, which was obscenely short on me (hi, plus sizes, short waist and long legs do not make for a good skater dress body. Oy). So I gave it the chop and turned it into a cute, ballet back, hi/lo peplum top instead. Yay!

How do you feel about peplums? Pepluv it? Or Pepleave it?

Blue Blazer & Print Dress

I recently picked up this blue blazer from Suzy Shier. It's purely for looks as it has no buttons, no lining and is actually quite stretchy, but I loved the colour and I think it's good to have a few "not quite" blazers in the wardrobe to throw overtop of a sleeveless dress or shirt when the occasion calls for it.

 

Shifty

I bought this colourblock shift dress from Target last year - and admittedly I have only ever worn it the way it was styled in store. Which was... not. Literally I wore it with the belt it came with and plain shoes, or even occasionally orange shoes (which my boys gave me for Mother's day last year). But since it was only 7 degrees out this morning when I was getting dressed for church I knew I needed sleeves. I went through several iterations of outfit ideas before I finally settled on this bubble hem blazer I picked up off varage sale back in the spring. But since the blazer was black I decided to switch out the belt that came with the shift dress for a black belt, added some black bow pumps and silver jewellery. Voila!

I wore this to church to worship, lead in the music and sing a solo. I felt dressed but also very comfortable. I feel like I would have worn this outfit back when I was working at an office as well.

It's my birthday, I'll wear hot pink if I want to

Hey there Blogees! It's my birthday! I'm 32! I don't know why I'm writing that with an exclamation point!

Okay, I'll stop.

Seriously though - something about birthdays after a certain age losing their lustre makes me want to wear hot pink and/or other freakishly bright and annoying colours. Kind of like, hey, I'm 32 and I'm gonna wear whatever the hell I want... or something.

Also - I love this skirt.

Anywho - this morning I went to the park with my BFF and her kiddos (and my kiddos, obvs) to hang out and be outside in the sunshine and have celebratory birthday timbits. And this is what I wore. Yay for birthday outfits (NOT to be confused with birthday suits - no one wants to see that, trust me).

Mud Run Fun Fashion

Today's post is going to be a bit different.

For the 2nd year in a row now I've pulled up my big-girl panties and gone and done Mud Hero: a 6k mud obstacle course fun-run. It is seriously the hardest thing I do all year (and no, it's not nearly as hard as Tough Mudder, or Warrior Dash or a myriad of other mud-runs.... it's kind of like those runs goofy little brother... but hey) and I'm usually really sore and really proud of myself the next day. I'm not the most fit person around, but I manage to complete the run and do all the obstacles, so I love it. And I'm so doing it again next year.

This year, the hubs decided to join me, and our team "Muddy Mayhem" was made up of myself, the hubs, my folks, and my friend (who is way tougher than me and has done Tough Mudder approximately 18000% more times than I ever will) and I decided to share some "mud run fashion" with you.

For mud-runs, the normal fashion rules do not apply. You need to wear clothes that are fairly tight, made of wicking material, and add some wacky costume accessories to make you stand out to the photographers around the course. So here's what we wore!

 

My folks - possibly the coolest parents ever. 

 

My tough mud-run friend - this hero is ready for mud-battle!

 

Here you can see us rocking the neon yellow knee highs and yellow bandanas we chose for our team this year. Also - fluorescent shoelaces. Obviously.

Summer Blues

The end of summer always gives me a slight case of the blues. Summer is so short here in Ontario, and while I do look forward to crisp fall days, and the colours of the leaves on the trees (and all the thing I'm allergic to being dead and not affecting me anymore) I know that it will only be a short time before I'm longing for the hot, lazy days of summer.
Also - it just so happens that my birthday falls in the last week of August, so I have to officially get older every year at the end of summer... so, y'know, there's THAT.

That said, the blues in this outfit do not give me the blues. They're actually quite bright and fun, and I love these printed pants so much that they basically always get worn straight out of the laundry basket.

Chambray and Floral

Sometimes when it's grey and rainy outside I like to wear the brightest possible colours. It sort of acts as a pick-me-up when the weather is crummy. This chambray shirt was the first one I ever picked up (and now I have 3 in various washes and sleeve lengths) and started my love for this amazing neutral.  To address something really quickly: chambray is not denim. It is denim-like. It comes in washes (like denim) and has a kind of blue, brushed cotton feel... but it is NOT a denim shirt. It's much lighter and more wearable. So if you're looking for a chambray, look for something that has a little bit of texture or weave to the fabric, but still flows and moves nicely. A good chambray can act as a neutral with basically any colour, but is more casual than a white button down, can also act as a great neutral layer. Okay - enough chambray talk.

I found this fabric on sale at a fabric store and I knew it was destined to be a skirt. I loved the slightly watercolour feel of the print and the colours are so bright and saturated. I paired it with a bright pink chemise and my chambray to hang out around my house, do laundry and walk the dog. It's cool, comfy and looks nice enough that if I were to go out later I wouldn't have to change.