Build Me Up Buttercup

Hey Everyone!

Now I've been teasing you with pictures of this print jersey jumpsuit ever since I got it, but it's finally here!

I knew from the minute I saw it on the Simply Be website it had to be mine, it's jersey so really comfortable and it's floral, as you know I bloody love florals! 

I've paired it with an Asos blazer which has scallop detail at the bottom and just a generic pair of New Look pumps. I don't really rate the pumps as they wear out ridiculously quick but they are quite convenient to just throw on for pictures and only cost a grand total of £7.99.

I love how Simply Be are on form lately with clothes, I have bought far more stuff there in the past couple of months than I have at ASOS which is pretty unprecedented for me! I have quite a few more outfit posts coming up featuring them so keep an eye out for those.

The jumpsuit runs true to size, there is a bit of stretch in it as well which is always good as the waistband is elasticated and the material is a soft jersey. The legs are also a nice skinny fit, I hate it when jumpsuits get the leg shapes wrong to the point they look like flares.

The sleeves also offer a bit of coverage meaning I can wear the jumpsuit on its own in summer without baking in a cardigan. A huge plus for me! It even has pockets, perfect for stashing your phone and a credit card in if your just popping out.

I am really pleased with how the photos have come out, I spotted the buttercups in our local park when I was just driving and I knew it would be perfect for this outfit!

The buttercups really compliment the yellow florals on the jumpsuit, I would like to get a nice yellow envelope clutch bag to go with it and wear with black heels for a casual evening look.

What do you guys think? Let me know below in the comments!

Thanks for reading, love Sally x

Marisota Ava by Mark Heyes Event

Last Wednesday I attended a fabulous dinner event put on by Marisota to showcase the new AVA collection by celebrity stylist Mark Heyes (Yes he is the one on Lorraine!). 

After work I headed to Covent Garden to the gorgeous Kettners, I got there far too early and nervously hung around outside for a while waiting for Vicky over at The Curved Opinion who I'd been speaking to on Twitter. I thought I saw her go in so I darted after this woman but turns out it was someone else! At this point though I was inside and being directed upstairs to the event so it was too late to try and retreat.

I made a beeline for the ladies to powder my nose/ de-oil my face from the sweaty mess that is the London Underground.  In there I got talking to a couple of women (sorry I can't remember your names) who had won a competition to attend the event and I think they were as nervous as me but totally excited. This was reassuring.

After a few stern words with myself ie "pull it together woman and get out there" I broke free from the shackles of the ladies and embarked upon the beginning of my Marisota adventure.

This began at a small clothes filled room with a photographer on hand where you could play dress-up to your hearts content. I bumped into Betty over at www.bigfatbetty.com who I started talking to, forgetting she has no idea who I am. I would later on also fianlly meet Vicky from www.thecurvedopinion.com and Hanna from thewardrobechallenge.co.uk/ who were really nice.





Even at a first glance I could see some pieces that really stood out, being the pink coat and a gorgeous knit tunic (link to outfit post here). You can check out the full collection here and Marisota give you 10% off your first order which applies automatically to your basket.

Here are some pictures of me goofing around in front of the camera for your amusement. 

I couldn't resist grabbing Hanna for a quick photo!



We then went into the dining room where I was sat opposite the lovely Linda over at High St Style, Jenny from SCPR and next to Lauren from Woman's Own. The other psbloggers were up at the other end so this gave me a bit more of an opportunity to step outside of my comfort zone and the ladies were so lovely I needn't have been so anxious. 

Mark then told us about his vision for the collection and the process of picking out the range and sharing his enthusiasm for the famous pink coat, which is machine washable! 



We then had a delicious 3 course dinner



I chose the Charcuterie Platter



The rack of lamb



and finally the Chocolate Marquise which was heaven!



After dinner we then went back to the Aladdin's cave of clothes and accessories and chose out a couple of pieces to take away with us. I couldn't resist the lure of the pink coat, especially after we all donned one (including Mark!!) for one of my favourite pictures below:

We also received a goody bag as we left which contained a Jo Malone gift set and look books with the full clothing ranges to flick through with DVDs to watch! I didn't look at these until I got home and was a nice surprise in the morning.

To finish off the post, this is a picture of me at around midnight after I'd just got home, I never want to forget how I was feeling when this photo was taken. I was so tired, yet so buzzed about how good the night was. I've never been to a proper event before and it was such a big deal to me, that someone had gone out of their way to invite me along because of stuff I have written. It made me feel really good and I literally cannot thank everyone enough that made that event as amazing as it was.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sally x

Blog Goals before The Human Mannequin turns 1

Hi All, 

So I've been seeing a lot of blog birthdays on my feed lately (including Big Fat Betty and Does My Blog Make Me Look Fat who are running giveaways to celebrate so go check them out) and it got me thinking about my blog and blog related things I want to achieve before it's first birthday on 31st December.

The list I have so far includes:

1. Start a Youtube channel alongside my blog
2. Get the hang of Instagram and post pictures regularly
3. Go back to doing regular OOTD's 
4. Get more involved in the plus size community, attend some networking events etc
5. Take part in a blog every day for a month challenge
6. Set up the online vintage plus size boutique I have such big dreams for
7. Do features on different "fad diets" each month recording the results achieved and any side effects
8. Do a giveaway when I reach say 50 followers on Bloglovin or 1k on Twitter

Some of these are already being planned/worked on and others are going to need research and will take a bit longer but I am confident 31st December 2013 I will have achieved all of my targets and I think it will be really good for my blog to have a bit more of a direction.

So far my posts have been a bit of a mish mash with beauty, fashion, travel etc but I really want to focus on the plus size aspect as I feel that is what makes the blog more unique as there are really not that many plus size bloggers in the UK but hundreds of beauty/fashion ones who do what they do far better than I ever could. It's going to be a learning curve and I completely accept that it takes time to really find yourself with your blog and work out what you enjoy writing about the most and I am going to enjoy it every step of the way.

I would appreciate any tips on improving the blog and suggestions of things you would like to see from me so please comment below if you can help :)

Thanks for reading, love Sally x