Little Miss Plus Size & Friends!

When I created my website 'Little Miss Plus Size' I was in a dark place in my life, and I am in no way recovered, but I am on the mend.

Something that has helped me soo much is feedback and comments from my readers, I cannot thank you enough!

I am in no way a well established blogger but knowing the effect my readers and followers have had on my life is truly inspireing!

With that being said, I thought what better than to have a space on my blog where my readers can interact with each other, support and help each other, including me!

Whether you are having a down day, found success with weight loss, used an amazing beauty product or anything you feel you would like to share including blogs you like or follow then I welcome you as a member.

All you have to do is register then you can start interacting with other members and create messages.

This may or may not be successful but if there is a way I can help or make just one person a little bit happier or share something that you think is worth sharing then it is worth a try if nothing else.

So the concept is that Little Miss Plus Size & Friends will be a part of my website that will be a social media Site.

If this sounds like it could be a good idea and you fancy being one of the first members to try it out then please register here!

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks for reading

Tracy xx


 

Trying to learn to Accept!

This week has been very interesting for me, it began with Lulu going for her operation which terrified me but everything went well, there were a few problems but once she was given some pain relief things calmed down, so I was very grateful.

If you have been reading my recent posts you will see that I have been doing a bit of clothes shopping. I always bought new clothes and kept up to date with new styles and fashion, however over the past few months (possibly years) I have lost interest and had a 'why bother' attitude.

With that being said I thought what better way to inspire me to lose weight than to start building up a new wardrobe of clothes. I took some time to buy pieces that I would normally wear but shy away from as I am determained I am going to do the best I can to not let my past reuin my future.

I have bought them in two sizes littler as I thought this was more practical, it is not too much to loose that it would be impossible but can be very practical.

I have neglected getting my hair cut or wearing my make up but this week i decided to book my hair appointment and i have been enjoying exploring my make up again.

Wearing makeup and making an effort on my appearance has been a battle over the last few months, it sounds strange but i felt like I was not worth making an effort for. That makes me sad to think that at 27 I had given up! Not now, I have realised that little things like spending time putting on my make up or experimenting with hairstyles is something I am worth doing. It makes me happy, I do it for me and no one else.

My food has still been an issue, I have not followed an eating plan but I am hoping to fix this in the next few weeks once I start getting into a routine again.

My mind set this week has been a lot more positive and I am trying to be less harsh on myself and learning to be happy in the moment rather than thinking I don't deserve to be happy.

I was looking through Twitter this morning and came across a tweet that said : you don't need the best to be the best, you just need to do the best with what you have got. I think this is going to be a motto I start living by and think we should think about how lucky we are to have what we have got.

The thing about depression is your moods can be up and down, but I am very grateful that at the moment I can see a brighter happier future.

I have stayed away from adding photos of myself on my blog, but I decided that I want this to be my space, an place I can be honest, truthful and not hide away. So I gave myself a challenge of uploading a photo which I have done but I am also going to upload a make up free photo too, so you can see me flaws and all.





Thank you for reading

Tracy xx

Lush Christmas & Halloween Haul 2014!

So the wait is over, yes Lush have now released their Christmas & Halloween 2014 products and I can safely say they have not disappointed!

I don't know about you but there is nothing better than a cold winter night after a long day and enjoying a hot bath! I have been a fan of Lush ever since I can remember and I love products.

Friday I thought I would have a look on their website and I saw that there new products had been released so first thing Saturday I went shopping to my local store where there were benches dedicated to the new range.

I was pleased to see that a few old favourites were included but also a wide selection on new products to get my hands on. So what better way to share my love for Lush than to let you know about whats available and dream of my wonderful baths that are yet to come.

I love everything about Lush, the friendly staff, the fun atmosphere and there enthusiasm its soo refreshing, they don't force products on you, they just give advice and help if needed.

Now obviously this is just going to be my opportunity to show what is on offer in store and a brief description as I have not tried these products yet to give a review (but I am so excited to have loads of baths!).

Something which caught my eye as soon as I walked in the store was Holly Golightly, a gorgeous glittery (more sparkly) bubble bar. The smell is very refreshing and is described as uplifting and refreshing. I think this may be a good weekend pamper product.



A favourite of mine from last year was this little fella, The Christmas Penguin. now I am not sure exactly what a Christmas penguin is but this smells fresh and clean, not overpowering and would be lovely after a hard day Christmas shopping! Again this is a bubble bar. For those of you who are not aware a bubble bar is essentially bubble bath in a solid form. You crumble it under hot running water and they create lovely soft bubbles. Very luxurious!



Even though I have been a fan of Lush for sometime, I never really use their bath melts, however this year there was a new one in the collection, Snow Angel. This melt looks so pretty, it is a white angel dipped in gold glitter, looks like it is going to be very indulgent to use. It is meant to be very moisturising so I look forward to using this in the colder months when my skin is a bit dry off the cold weather.



Over previous Christmases I have seen The Melting Snowman, but I have never tried it, until now! He looked soo cute and I could not resist. With almond oil and cocoa butter I'm hoping this will also be very moisturising. Bath melts are added to a nice hot bath to melt away and leave heavily ingredients in the bath that are then soaked up onto your skin.



Another favourite from the past is Candy Mountain which is a bubble bar that smells good enough to eat! If you don't like sweet smells then this is not for you, this smells like sweets (funnily enough) and reminds me of Snow Fairy shower gel. Very feminine and lovely to use.



I love bubbles but I also love the experience of using a bath bomb! watching them fizz away and some even surprise you by changing colour or including confetti, so when I saw the new bath bombs in the collection I had to give them a try.

Butterbear is a new bath bomb, the smell is very subtle and soft, not heavily fragranced. It smells very comforting and has the same fragrance as the butterball bath bomb.



I loved this last year! Luxury Lush Pud bath bomb, it is very colourful and looks great fizzing around your bath. I really enjoy Lush's Twilight bath bomb and Luxury Lush Pud has the same smell.



Northern Lights, I was told by the lady in store that this is lovely, apparently it fizzes away at the ends until they meet in the middle. Very excited to try this!



Sparkler, If the name was not enough to make me buy and try this it also smells like their Rose Jam scent which I am a huge fan of. This bath bomb fizzes and crackles which sounds amazing and great for bonfire night. Cant wait to try this!



Last year I made sure to stock up on Snow Fairy and Rose Jam shower gels so when I saw that they were available this year I thought I would buy a Rose Jam (I love the scent) and try a new release for this year which is So White, this smells like apples, so crisp and clean and I can imagine feeling very clean using this. I think this would be lovely in the morning.



I don't know about you, but dry cracked lips are a pain that comes with colder weather. With that being said I like to make sure I keep them hydrated and exfoliated. At the moment I am using Lush's Bubble gum Lip Scrub which I enjoy using. So I decided to try Santa's Lip Scrub for a change as my bubble gum one has been great and thought it would be nice to try a different flavour/scent.



My skin has been acting up lately so I am on the look out for a new skin care regime and whilst I was looking in Lush I discovered Bûche de Noël, which is an alcohol free cleanser. The idea is that it brings radiance back to dull skin and includes very seasonal ingredients such as Satsuma and cranberries. I'm not a huge fan of the smell but I'm expecting big things from this cleanser and hoping that it will do the trick.



I also decided to pick up the Wizard Bubble bar which is part of their Halloween collection. It is a shimmery bubble bar that aims to help relive stress which can only be a good thing and it smells so good and can not wait to try it.



Whilst I was making my way to the till something caught my eye, this lovely orange and gold glistening pumpkin, Sparkly Pumpkin. It just called out to me and jumped in my basket so I had no choice but to buy it (that's my story and I am sticking to it!). However I did end up covered in gold glitter but I can live with that. The smell is very uplifting and you can smell the citrus fruits.

I hope reading or seeing the products in this post inspires you to visit your local Lush store and try out some of these goodies. What would you choose? Have you already tried any and what are your thoughts?

I am off to enjoy a nice bath the only problem is, is which one do I choose?

Thanks for reading

Tracy xx

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One Lovely Blog Award!

Thank you Stephanie Louise from Steph's Silver Lining for nominating me for such a lovely award. I love things like this and think that they are a great way to recognise bloggers for the work that they do and also a good way to get to know bloggers a bit better.

The Rules

1. You must thank the person who nominated you and include a link to their blog.


2. You must list the rules and display the award.


3. You must add 7 facts about yourself.


4. You must nominate 15 other bloggers and comment on one of their posts to let them know they have been nominated.


5. You must display the award logo and follow the blogger who nominated you.

 

7 Facts About Me!

 

1) I studied Graphic Design in Collage and have a degree in Graphic Design.

2) I live in Newcastle upon Tyne and have done all my life and I love it here, everyone is so friendly.

3) I used to be a bar maid and loved it!

4) I love writing, reading and would love to publish a book one day.

5) I am always sketching and designing pieces I would love to make for the plus size market and have a passion for fashion.

6) I enjoy sewing and being crafty. You will find me with the paper, glue and glitter!

7) I am a only child.

I would like to nominate......

Seereena

Abigail Wilson

Georgina Alice

Leah Shafik



Prompts By Dee

Hayley Sinead Flynn

Christiana Gabriella

Velvet Blush

Sammie Scaldwell

Hannah Cozens

Sarah Watson

Thesaltlifewife

Robyn Kimberly

 

 

 

 

 

Simply Be Haul!

So what do you do when your worried and your dogs having an operation? Well after I took Lulu to the vets and had an emotional goodbye my only option was to go home and wait. I don't know about you but if I am in the house on my own and something is on my mind the only thing I do is panic and think about the worst scenario that could happen.

With that being said I thought I might as well use this as an opportunity to have a look around my local shopping centre. So sitting in the car park waiting for the shops to open feeling anxious and nervous but I decided I was going to be brave.

The first shop I went to was Lush, I love this store! I was hoping that there Halloween products might have been in store but unfortunately they weren't so I decided to head to Simply Be.

I find that you either go shopping and find nothing you like or you go and end up buying the shop! Ok so maybes I didn't buy the shop but I had a pretty good go so I thought I would share with you some pieces I picked up.

Firstly with Lulu on my mind I saw this t-shirt and knew I was going to buy it. It is a nice white t-shirt with an adorable black and white image of a pug wearing a red bow tie! Where I work I have to wear smart/office wear so on weekends I generally wear t-shirts whilst I'm at the beach, going on walks etc so I thought that this would be perfect for then.



I love dresses, I normally wear them with leggings or over the top of skinny jeans. I saw this dress and thought it would be perfect for work or even dressed up. It is navy with a white and burgundy pattern. It synchs in the waist and skims your hips, I love it! It also has mock lapels on the shoulders which have small gold buttons which in my opinion instantly makes it a more interesting piece.



I love patterns (as you might be able to tell!) and when I saw this dress I liked the mix of different textures and print. The top half is a stretchy fabric and the skirt is made of chiffon with a navy underlay. The top has a lovely dark pattern and reminded me of autumn, the pattern is lovely burgundy/berry flowers with a forest green leaf. Very pretty! I also think this would be very versatile and could be worn dressy or casual.



My last dress I am in love! the style, the pattern, the colours are me to a tee! It is a gorgeous skater style dress with sleeves. The pattern is so feminine yet suitable for autumn/winter. I will most likely be wearing this with a black waist belt and a statement necklace. It was £50 which I think is very expensive but the material and cut justifies the price tag.



Lastly I saw this onesie, I love onesies for lazy winter days. However all my onesies are very thick and fluffy (which is great when its freezing) and I tend to get too warm in them. So when I saw this I thought it would be ideal for me, it is short sleeved so I wont get too hot and the material is kinda like jogger material so very comfy. I love that it has a hood so I can get all snuggled up! You guessed it, its patterned! Lovely Scottie dogs wearing different patterned bow ties, what's not to love!



 

Hope this has gave you a look at what's out in store, and just to let you know Lulu is fine, the operation went well, she was sleepy yesterday but back to her usual self today, which makes me  very happy!

Thanks for reading

Tracy xx

 

Sad Times!

So those of you who read my blog will be aware that I suffer with depression, anyone who knows about or is going through depression you will be aware that small things can seem like the end of the world.

I am still taking my medication but recently I have started to have panic attacks (something I have never had previously). At first in all honesty I thought I was having a heart attack! My chest felt heavy, I was going dizzy and burning up.

This happened about three times in the past week and once I thought about when it was happening I realised that it was actually happening in situations I was panicking or anxious.

My moods have been so up and down this week and found it hard to focus or think positive about things, which has meant my relationship with food has taken effect. I have decided to take a bit of time off over thinking about my food and spoke to my Sliming World consultant and discussed that my mind set is not there at the moment and she was very supportive and no doubt I will be back at her group  over the next few weeks but at the moment I am finding that it is one more thing that I am doing wrong.

Over the past few years my dog (Lulu) has became my best friend. Now many of you might think that sounds ridiculous but she is. When I have been sad she has been there, when I have been happy she has been there and we have shared many days at the beach playing with her tennis ball, She is my world!

Thursday I took her to the vets for a check up and it looks as though she might have cancer. They have found a lump and there not 100% sure what it is but they are going to operate. She is almost 8 so she has that on her side so fingers crossed everything will be ok.

Monday is going to be a very long day for me, she has to be taken to the vets very early and is expected to be there most of the day, leaving her will be hard, she wont understand why she's being left and will be in a lot of pain afterwards.

So I'll be keeping everything crossed in hope it goes well.

Just thought I would give you a update on what is currently going on

Thanks for reading

Tracy xx

Fresh as Pure Soap!

I absolutely love the fragrances made by Philosophy. My favourite is Baby Grace, then my second Pure Grace. Baby grace is a soft comforting smell and designed to make you feel nurtured and comforted. I love it, I always get compliments whilst wearing it and its not heady or strong yet its not too light that you cant smell it.

Pure grace is a clean fresh fragrance, the best way to describe it is the same or similar smell as drying your washing outside, or getting into clean sheets. Very crisp but subtle and not over powering.

I have always been conscious of smelling fresh and clean, I normally carry two perfumes, a deodorant and body spray on me at most times (excessive I know!). I hate that feeling when your out and about and you can smell that someone is not so fresh and I feel that being a bigger lady people like to assume that its you that smells. So I like to feel fresh and 100% confident that I smell good.

I find that a lot of larger branded perfume's tend to be quite heady or overpowering or even synthetic which is even worse, so I have always stuck to Baby Grace, however it is now discontinued. Me being me I have two 'back up' bottles for when I run out.

So with that ramble out the way, I have been looking for a everyday fragrance that suits me. I have struggled to find one on the high street and last week I found The Library of Fragrance (@LibraryofFragUK on Twitter). What drew me to them was the fact that there header picture was a picture of 3 fragrances, Dirt, Grass and Tomato! Not your typical fragrances so this intrigued me and I decided to look at there website.

They have a huge range of fragrances and a lot are not your traditional ones, for example Gin & Tonic, Fireplace, Four leaf clover, the list goes on.....www.thelibraryoffragrance.com.

I was happy just looking around there website when I found 'Baby Powder'. I find ordering fragrance online quite daunting as you cant smell it (obviously) and I always like to see how a fragrance suits me throughout the day before purchasing.

Something drew me to Baby powder, it was described as being calming and bring backs comforting memories of being a child. I decided to order it as that's the only way I would find out if I liked it and it cost £15 for 30mls which was not too bad (Baby Grace retails for £34 aprox).

Whilst I was on the site I spotted 'pure soap'. Being someone who wants a subtle but fresh smell I was naturally drawn to this fragrance also so I ordered that too.

The delivery was Royal Mail 2nd Class which meant I ordered late Saturday evening and received the fragrance Wednesday. The bottles were packed very well and made the process a bit more exciting as you had to search for your bottles amongst the little foam pieces. This was ideal as they are glass bottles so this ensured that the product was delivered safely and without and breakage.

The first fragrance I tried was of course Baby powder, and I was not disappointed. The smell is almost identical to Johnsons Baby powder. Very clean and comforting. It sits on the skin well and is very subtle, I could imagine people saying 'you smell nice' opposed to 'what perfume you wearing?'. This is defiantly going to be a handbag fragrance for me, you can top it up throughout the day but you don't change the smell i.e. it does not get too strong.

If you like the smell of powder or you use powder purely for the smell then this is defiantly worth a try.

Pure soap, where do I begin! I would say its a little more fragrant than Baby powder but still a clean fresh fragrance. The best way to describe it is imagine going to a posh hotel or store and using there hand soap, the feeling of being clean keep smelling your hands because you love the smell (hope that's not just me!). It actually smells like white pure soap, imagine a thick creamy bar of soap that has a rich creamy lather, that's what 'pure soap' smells like.

I am really pleased I bought these fragrances and I hope in time I am brave enough to try some of their more unconventional fragrances. Why not give them a visit at http://thelibraryoffragrance.com/and see what fragrance you would choose I would love to hear what you think or if you have any recommendations.

Just been informed that there fragrances are also available at boots too! (really helpful as you can actually smell them before you buy!)

Thanks for reading

Tracy xx