Back in the Day

Guess what: it's Marvelous Monday! If you're new, go here and learn more.

This week's theme: inspired by a childhood picture!

I'm a nostalgic person, and I take pictures of everything. I also occasionally put those things into scrapbooks, but that mild obsession mostly died out in middle school. Now I use one of those Smash books, and it's slowly filling with fortunes, movie tickets, and random little notes. One of these days, though, I'll add photos.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure nostalgia is genetic, as there are so many pictures of me back when I was a kid. My first eight years or so are very well documented. It was no trouble finding a picture, but it was a bit troublesome to find an outfit to base around it.

Whatever.

The outfit works, and in the picture, I'm eating cake. It was my birthday party, though I don't remember which. Regardless, I don't have cake now, and I really prefer cheesecake, so I've posed myself doing something I did all through childhood, something that I still do now.

Reading.

Yup. I was that dorky little kid spinning around in circles for way too long, reading while walking, and pretending I was Sailor Moon. Now, I still walk around with my nose in a book, but I've given up on spinning for days and playing pretend. You have to make room for things when you grow up, like watching Doctor Who and continually craving pupusas.

The inspiration. I'm so charming.

Dress: Forever 21 | Tights: WalMart | Shoes: Payless | Collar: DIY | Rope bracelets: Claire's | Bead bracelet: gift

Now, go check out the others' childhood-inspired looks!

Sian: Sort Life Out; Buy Milk

Jocelyn: Fat, Fashionable, and Feminist

Cheri: Cheri'z Angel and Style Luvin

L: goodbye hollywood

Alrighty Then

Well, that's it. The giveaway is done. The winners have all been contacted and will be given their vouchers soon. Thanks for entering guys!

Spotted

My bathing suit came today! It fits perfectly, except the bust is aggressively too big, like everything usually is. Luckily, my mom can take that in, so then it will be perfect.

I'll have photos once that's happened!

My Body is Home

This is honestly, seriously, truly one of the most powerful things I think I've ever listened to. The message is vital and beautifully done and I'm not sure if I want to smile like a dope or cry.

Just give it a listen, yo.

The Metal Woman

It's Marvelous Monday, guys, so I went and put some clothes on. If you're new to Marvelous Monday, head here to learn more.

This week's theme: metallics!

The Three Laws of Robotics are:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

Metallics always make me think of robots and cheesy science fiction movies and TV shows. I painted my nails with a new chrome nail polish today ("No Place Like Chrome" from Essie), and they totally make me think of Cybermen from the 60s. I'm not even sorry.

I also brought metallics in with my bag, and my cool shark tooth necklace, and my headband. In case you couldn't tell. You're welcome.

Not-so-gratuitious face shot?

Dress, earrings: Forever 21 | Necklace: Charming Charlie | Bag: Target | Headband: WalMart (probably) | Shoes: Payless

Let's go see how the others styled their metallic looks! I'm sure they were stellar, and certainly infinitely less nerdy than me. Also, don't forget to congratulate L, who got married this weekend! Congrats, L!

Sian: Sort Life Out; Buy Milk

Jocelyn: Fat, Fashionable, and Feminist

Cheri: Cheri'z Angel and Style Luvin

L: goodbye hollywood

Just Keep Swimming

I've already shared my own mild swimsuit debacle this summer, and it's ended quite nicely. Will, it will have done so once it gets here, but that's beside the point.

Anyway, I was talking to the lovely Malene, who lives in Denmark and has had some trouble finding swimsuits that actually ship to her country. She expressed a preference for bikinis, but I also threw in a couple of suits that are obnoxiously cute (not gonna lie: one of them is on its way to me).

Erika's been on the hunt as well, so I decided to help her. And, yes, there actually is a straight-up straight size guide up in here. Everyone deserves adorable swimsuits, not just fatshionistas! She has a soft spot for fringe and monokinis, so I was like, let's find you stuff, and this happened.

Finally, I've included some swimsuits that I just really like because I could.

So...

Yeah.

ASOS, Evans, and Modcloth all ship to Denmark, and I know that for a fact. I did some research. These prices are all in USD. I hope you'll find these to be acceptable, Malene! And, actually, Evans has a great black bikini top (like the one above, but without the print) that I think would look stellar with the ASOS bottoms!

Kool-Aid

I'm sure you've all heard of Cult of California by this point, and if not, then fix that. Now. Seriously. They're this amazing, independent plus brand that I want filling my closet. And, once you've checked out their stuff, I'm sure you'll agree.

Anyway, they've recently hit a bit of a snafu regarding their Summer 2013 line, and have since sought the help of friends, enthusiasts and customers in the form of a Kickstarter campaign.

They have some awesome stuff up for grabs if you back ($100 gets you a dress and buttons and fuzzy feelings, which is cool).

Independent brands are great. Independent brands that cater to plus sizes are amazing, and need to be kept in the world. I'm still too broke to contribute (soon, though, I swear it!), so I'm doing my part by spreading the news like that Kool-Aid you shouldn't be drinking.

If you have a bit of cash to spare, then go for it. And I'm sure sharing this project, and the brand, wouldn't be too bad an idea, either.

Plus, they're based in LA, and I like that.

The Glorification

I just read this article about Abercrombie, and the first thought running through my head was, "They are going to go out of business in no time."

The second thought was the dumb one.

Hm, I wonder what the comments will be like?

Seriously, never read the comments

So many people were actually lauding the CEO for his decision not to cater to people (women especially) above a size ten.

I'm not sure how many times I read the phrase "glorifying obesity."

Here's the thing that people don't understand when they throw that phrase out there: no one, not a single person, has stood up and encouraged people to be fat. Certainly not in the way that everyone is encouraged to be skinny. Not even the Fat Acceptance movement does this!

I'm just ridiculously tired of people crying out "glorifying obesity" like a protective spell anytime anyone, a company or a blogger or just a normal person, simply says that not everyone fits beauty standards. That's it. They don't say things like, "Fat isn't bad," even though they should, but that's much too controversial. No, they simply state the fact that fat people exist, and suddenly they're telling everyone to adopt "unhealthy lifestyles."

A couple of months ago, H&M put up size-12 mannequins (in Sweden, though, I'm not sure if that's happened in America), and that phrase came up again.

Really?

And then, even more recently, they used a plus size model in their beachwear campaign. Of course, for a plus size model, she's still quite slender, but she has a belly, and it's soft, and there are rolls, and oh goodness me, why did you put her in a bikini?

Seriously, though, people need to cool it with their "glorifying obesity" shrieks. No one is doing that, so just calm down and maybe drink some chamomile and take a breather. I think you need it.

Shield Your Eyes

You guys know I like firmoo.com, right? I mean, you can get cool sunglasses for a pretty good price, and that's awesome. Of course, you can also get regular glasses, but we're not talking about that, so ignore that fact (for now).

Well, these lovely folks have contacted me, and I'm pleased that my first giveaway will be with them. Cause, seriously, I love sunglasses. A lot. And I'm sure you do too!

They're offering up six $20 vouchers, which will then be turned into sunglasses to put on your face. But, if over fifty people compete in this thing, then one additional winner will be given a free pair, shipping included.

Did I mention that you can get the lenses tinted on any frames, too? Cause you can. I did that, and you can copy me to your heart's content.
And, if you have prescription glasses, you can turn them into prescription sunglasses. So you can see all the time, even in the sun (and they offer photocromic lenses, which even I think is really cool).

All you have to do to win is visit the site and post a comment here, telling me which pair you'd love to own. It's as easy as that. It would be nice if you gave me your email address, too, so you can be contacted if you win. Just saying.

This contest is open very nearly worldwide (if your country is listed here, then you're good), and the winners will be announced on May 20th!

Till then, here are some other people wearing firmoo sunglasses.

This has been a sponsored post. All opinions provided are both honest and unbiased.

Ye Olde Everything

Posting a picture in my flower crown yesterday reminded me that I didn't give you pictures from the Renaissance Faire!
Oh.
I should be more sorry about that, shouldn't I?
So, flower crowns through the ages Ren Faire photos!

Aww, my first Ren Faire. Also, a barbarian.

I am so going to be a pirate next time. Or River Song. Either works.

I don't know who the waving guy is, but I like his cheeriness.

Guys, that's the queen.

It took some maneuvering to get an angle where you could 
actually see his face under all that hat.

Compare the 2013 photos to this one and
 laugh.

Oh, and as I'm sure you've noticed, I've done a bit of messing around with my layout. Thoughts? Feelings? Opinions? Nada?

Yeah.