Worst Week

Sorry I've been MIA again. It has been a rough week. I've been sick with some new internal thing where my body has decided that food is the enemy and as usual the doctors don't know what's wrong with me. I will be going in for an upper GI exam and an abdominal ultrasound next week.

But the worst part of this week is that my cat, Rooster, is very sick. He has also been having a hard time eating. It turns out his tonsils are so swollen that food can't get down his throat and he almost died Thursday night choking on food and mucus. I rushed him to the emergency vet and he quit breathing in the car on the way there. Thankfully they managed to clear his airway and get him back and he seems fine except when he tries to eat. I have to liquify his food and he still has trouble getting it down. He is the closest thing I have to a child and I would be devastated if anything happened to him.

He is 12-years-old and I actually delivered him when he was born. When I am at my lowest points in life, he is my shining light. This might sound silly to some of you but I am a gal who is not married and lives alone and this cat has more personality than a lot of people I've met in my life. Outside of my family, he is the longest relationship I've ever had.

The vet told me it is possible he has an autoimmune disease and I just started laughing. If my cat ends up with autoimmune issues like me then there really is no justice in this world. They took a biopsy of his tonsils because it is also possible he has lymphoma. Luckily, all of his blood work was normal and he does not have FIV or leukemia. Best case scenario is that he has feline herpes virus which is still really horrible.

Anyway, I just wanted to give an update. I will resume my curvy reviews and reading of your wonderful blogs as soon as my Rooster is back up to speed. I will take on all the sickness this world wants to throw at me as long as my kitty is happy and healthy. Please send good thoughts his way!

OOTD & Another Curvy Girl Review

I'm back from my blogging respite which was really just a week of exhaustion. You know I'm exhausted when I don't even check the Anthropologie website on a daily basis! So I apologize for the lack of reviews last week and for falling off the face of the internet but this is what happens from time to time when you have exhausting autoimmune illnesses. Well for me at least, I don't know how Chloe does it!


First is an outfit of the day (not today) that I wore to a birthday party weekend before last. I don't get to do many of these OOTD posts so I thought I would sneak it in here. It is all from Anthro except for my jewelry which is an antique locket from the 1930's and my sexy medical ID bracelet.

Dress - Dandelion Wish Dress (style #933240)
Shirt - Paramount Scoopneck (now called Pure & Good Basic Scoopneck) (style #953623)
Tights - Opaque Tights by Hue (style #953451)
Boots - Winding Ruffle Boots (style # )


And now for Another Curvy Girl Review:


You guys, I literally got to Anthro 30 minutes before they closed so please excuse the rush job on the pictures. I also didn't realize there was a big smear of yuck across the bottom of the mirror until I saw it while resizing the pictures. Let the games begin!

This is the gorgeous Particle Daisy Dress by Leifsdottir ($328 style #030027) in a size 12, because it does not come in a size bigger than 12. Now ladies, just because this dress is too small for me, please do not let these pictures discourage you! If you have a bucket of money to spend on a dress and are at least 5'7" with breasts smaller than 38D, THIS IS THE DRESS FOR YOU! It is soooooo beautiful and feels exquisite on! Unfortunately, I do not have a bucket of money, I am 5'5", my boobs made the faux-wrap style create a peak-a-boo slit in the bust, and I just do not do this dress justice. Everyone should at least try it on though just to experience how wonderful it is. That third picture is of the little metal balls which hang on the end of the attached belt ties. The SA in the dressing room said that not many people having even tried on this dress which is a damn shame because it is divine! Moving on...

The Optical Illusion Dress ($188 style #033042) would be a cute party dress had it been able to zip up past the bottom of my bra. Therefore, you only get 1 picture to imagine what it could have looked like. Optical illusion indeed! This one probably has too much cleavage than some will like, but I personally don't mind it because it tends to distract from the belly. At least that's what I tell myself... Oh yeah, the biggest size my store had to try on was a 12.

Here we have the latest in maternity wear. Just kidding! Seriously, don't get on me for the self-deprecation, it is just part of my shtick! This is the Lisbet Blouse ($128 style #013076) which I think might only look good on an extremely thin woman with very small breasts who wouldn't get this tent effect, but even then I'm skeptical.

Maybe I just don't know how to wear these types of shirts but this one (I can't find it on the website) wasn't doing my figure any favors! I grabbed a sash off of a dress to see if it made things any better, and there was a slight improvement but I think I still look like a potato. This color green is fantastic though!

The Corsage Twirl Dress by Deletta ($138 style #033043) definitely runs big. The first pictures are the XL and the second set is the L. However, once in the correct size, I realized that this dress accentuated ALL of my curves and not in a good way. My boobs look HUGE and that is not a look I'm going for. Plus there are lumps and rolls in other places which I like to hide as a rule. I'm not sure if it is the color or the material or both but this is not the dress for me. I actually think it looks better on me when it is too big.

The great thing about this blog is that I really get to see what types of styles and fabrics work for my figure and what types don't. Some of you might think I'm overly critical but I'm actually not sitting here hating my body. I actually just lost 30 pounds that I had gained from steroids and I'm feeling wonderful! I know my figure can look good and I know it can look better depending on the outfit! I'm just not willing to spend big bucks on something that doesn't make me feel pretty :)

I was really looking forward to this top, Assemblage Tank by C. Keer ($58 style #913906). You can't see its lovely details in these pictures, but it has some colored fabric pieces peeking out at the bust line and sewn into the sweater knit collar. The only problem was the giant armholes. This seems to be a recurring theme. I may overlook the armholes though because I live in Texas and that sweater knit collar would be really hot in the summertime and giant armholes might be a blessing in disguise. We are talking every day over 100 degrees here, people!

Lastly is this strange bird of a dress, Caballo Falls Dress by Lil ($168 style #033013). I had this on my wishlist after seeing it online because I liked the colors and thought it would do good for my figure, but unfortunately this dress has issues! First of all it would not zip up over my chest and this was a size 14!! Secondly, I could not get that dang bow to look pretty no matter how many times I tried to tie it. Go look at the shot on the website and then look at my picture again. Mine looks like a wet noodle! Too bad because I think this would have been very flattering on me. If I lost a few inches around my ribs (what I lovingly refer to as my "back boobs") and got this dress on sale I guess I would wear it with a different belt. Woe is me...

Enchanté!

I defy you not to smile when viewing this picture of my friend, Nicole, and her daughter, Colette, dressed up in French costumes. Just in case you were having a bad day and needed a little pick-me-up, I present this to you because I think this is officially the best picture ever!

Who decided this was a good idea??

Am I just old or am I missing something? Jeffrey Campbell shoes confuse me!

Even if I could wear some platforms like this, I don't understand the choice to have the toe and heel extend beyond the base of the platform. To me it is like having "stripper toe" in the front (thankfully without the toes actually hanging over and gripping the shoe) and the back seems like it would just hurt your heel. Maybe I am just too sensible...

Another Curvy Girl Review

Only a few reviews today as the newer dresses had either not arrived yet or were not available in my size. It was also a solid color day which sort of describes how I was feeling physically yesterday when I tried these on. Either way, a trip to Anthropologie always makes me feel better even if I leave without a purchase!

This is the beautiful Cherie Dress ($188 style #033007) that looks so wonderful on the hanger but not so wonderful on a body. I tried on the 14 and the zipper stopped dead in its tracks right at my bra, so here I am trying to fake it for the review but really it is not zipped up all the way. However, I could already tell that the elastic middle would cause problems as other reviewers have noted because it wants to bunch up instead of staying flat. I'll never know if the wide set straps were a problem for me or not but many others seem to think they are. Adieu sweet Cherie dress, adieu!

Here I am wearing the Cosgrove Dress ($128 style #933180) in a size large, although I think an XL was in order. This dress just fit very strangely. The waist is in an odd location but perhaps just needed a belt. This is definitely a pass for me.

UPDATE: I remembered that Roxy reviewed this dress and it seems to have worked on her when she sized down to a small. You can see it on her here.

Here we have a comparison of the Curvy Shift ($118 style #033058) in an XL in the first picture and a L in the second picture. It is not often that I try on a dress at Anthropologie and feel like I am swimming in it (especially in the bust) but this was one of those dresses! I have no idea how someone with a small chest would wear this dress at all because even though the large fit, the top still had some gaping in the middle. Overall, this dress is soft and stretchy but it did not provide a flattering silhouette and for $118 there are many, many prettier dresses to choose from! However, if I were in need of a comfortable/professional looking ensemble (which I am not), I could pair it with a sweater like below:

I could not locate this sweater ($118) on the website so you get a blurry tag photo below. UPDATE: This is the Honey From The Bees Blazer ($118 style #013170) - thanks Kathleen!! It also comes in a black & white version and I think it is adorable! If anyone knows the name of it please let me know. I tried on the medium because it was the biggest size they had but if I could find it in a large on sale I would definitely buy this. I'm a sucker for a blazer style sweater and this one has some really cute details in the pockets, shoulders, and single large button.


That's all for now. I'm excited to see what goes on sale tomorrow even though I can't buy anything. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

OOTD - Manisa Dress

I finally got my hands on a Manisa dress in a size 14, which does run small, but I found it to be quite slimming and it is possibly my new favorite dress! I wore this yesterday when I stopped at Anthropologie for my dressing room reviews which I will be posting later this evening. Please excuse the yellow pictures, I tried something new and it didn't work out so well.

Dress: Manisa Dress - Anthropologie

Sweater: Gap in Paris (The Gap has a completely different line for France from the clothes they sell in the rest of the world and they are MUCH better!)

Shoes: un.poem - Clarks (Unstructured line)