Consider me Clutched and Covered...

I hope you're all having a great weekend with awesome weather. It's been a little rainy here, but I plan to take advantage of every bit of sunshine possible. Yay Summer! Now on to the OOTD.

Who says big girls shouldn't wear white? Those same people probably say we shouldn't wear skinny jeans either. Tuh! Well, I'm about to get on some folks nerves with this one! Ask me if I care.

I have a confession: This "top" is actually supposed to be a dress from H&M. I saw it on the mannequin, and loved the color. I got the biggest size they had (large) and prayed that it fit. Welp, it fit... but not like the store intended!! I saw it as a nice, casual tunic type top and bought it as such. I always tell women, never write off a store because you don't think that the sizes work for you. You never know what gems you could be passing up! 

These jeans you ask? They're from Target. I copped them on clearance for a mere $8.98. They are super comfy and soft. My first pair of white skinny's! I will have to be sure that I don't wear them too often. I don't want any discoloration, or rubbing in the thigh area (dreaded chub rub). I swear, if they had another pair I would have bought them too! 

Now lets get to this clutch! My girl Rocquelle of Consider Me Lovely started a clutch cover company: www.clutchedandcovered.com. This beautiful, stylish woman took a DIY project of her own, and turned it into a business. Her clutch covers are all hand made to order and FAB-U-LOUS!! I'm telling y'all, Rocquelle is creative and talented. Visit my girls' shop and show her some love. I promise, you won't be disappointed.

Until next time...

My girl Whitney over at Whitney Nic James.com has a personal style link up! Head on over and see what it's all about! :)

Top - H&M

Jeans - Target

Wedges - Target

Clutch Cover - www.clutchedandcovered.com

Connect the Dots...

Happy Friday!! I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I LOVE the weekends!! There's just something about having the chance to rejuvenate after a long 5 days of work, work, work that makes me feel so good! :)

This was my OOTD last Saturday. The sun had finally come out, and the temps hit a little above 40, so naturally I had to show a lil leg. Ha!

This dress from H&M was perfect for dinner and drinks with my girls. My blue clutch was a no-brainer. I'm getting into taking pics with my bags now. That's new for me.

I was going to throw on a pair of simple black heels, when my leopard babies jumped out at me. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't just leave them in the closet! They were perfect! I kept the accessories to a minimum because I feel like there's a lot going on here. A simple gold necklace and hoop earrings was all that I needed.

The dress is a little short for my normal taste, but as I said in my previous post, I'm trying to step out of my comfort zone. I'm enjoying it so far ;)

Until next time...

Dress - H&M  (I couldn't find the dress on their site for the life of me)

Clutch - Darby Smart (A DIY company)

Heels - Target

Busy Body...

Happy Sunday! Spring has finally arrived! Well not so much here, but I've enjoyed seeing the pics and posts of you guys enjoying the warmer temps and sunshine in your neck of the woods. Minnesota is always a little late to the party, but we'll be there soon enough. 

Back in December, I participated in a Twitter chat hosted by Alissa of Stylish Curves & Simply Be (click the link for the dress). By using the hashtag #HolidayCurves during the chat, I won the chance to choose a dress from the Simply Be site. I chose this cute little number. Although my eye was drawn to the dress, I was hesitant to order it because there's a lot going on! Normally when I wear a pattern, it's usually stripes, and maybe a little leopard when I want to call myself pattern mixing. 

I stared at the dress on the site for a little bit, then said, "Why not?!". I placed the order and anxiously waited for it to arrive. I have to be honest and say, when I took it out of the packaging, I wasn't impressed. I held it up to my body, and thought that it wouldn't look good on me. The dress looked lifeless.

Let me tell you. I couldn't have been more wrong. I put the dress on and BOOM!! Instant sexy! I fell in love with the colors, the material, the length, the fit, and the way that it laid over my curves. It was the perfect example of the saying, "Wear the clothes, don't let the clothes wear you".

I couldn't wait to style it, and take pics! Now I can't wait to wear it for a night on the town with my girls or with the hubby.

I decided to keep accessories to a minimum since I felt like such a busy body in the dress. I could have done a black clutch, but that's no fun. I pulled out my pink one since there's pink in the dress. But the way I see it, the possibilities are endless for color pairings.

These ankle strap Sam Libby heels from Target are the bizness!! I copped them on clearance about a month or so ago, and I'm swooning over them! They aren't too high, and they're just the right amount of sexy to pair with this dress.

Until next time...

Dress - Simply Be

Shoes - Target

Clutch - JC Penny

Leather, Peplum & Marilyn

Happy Friday Eve!!! You may or may not know that I'm a huge fan of the weekend. HUGE!! I wear what I want, do what I want, and chill like I want. Of course they go by too fast, but I aim to enjoy them while they last. Do you make plans, for your weekends, or do you just go with the flow?

On to the OOTN.

You know how you have an outfit in your head, then you put it on and it looks nothing like you pictured it? Well this outfit was the opposite of that. It turned out exactly how I wanted it to. The jacket, the Marilyn Monroe crop, and the peplum skirt (another Target clearance steal) all just worked. My initial idea was to wear all black heels, but my lace Steve Maddens jumped out at me. I threw them on, and loved it. This type of thing only happens ever so often, so I relished in the moment.

Until next time…

Leather Jacket - Borrowed from SIL
Crop Top - Target
Peplum Skirt - Target
Steve Madden Heels - DSW

Steal of a Deal

I could get used to this regularly posting thing! HA! I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but I'm freaking happy to be blogging again! 

You know the feeling that you get when you're browsing the clearance racks at your favorite store (in this case Target), and you come across an item that you just can't pass up? Well my friends, this dress was that for me. I had been hesitant to try the "Skater" style dress/skirt because I'm Poison… you know… BBD? Poison? Big butt, smile, etc. Yup, that's me! I felt like I was too Poison to have my business all in the streets from the back in a skater skirt/dress, so I never even tried them on. Then I spotted this color-blocked bad boy!

Picture is from my Instagram

When I looked at the price tag, I ran to that dressing room! lol! Once I saw that it fit, I knew that it was coming home with me. Now you may be wondering why the receipt says $6.80. I got to the register, and the clerk noticed that the belt had a rip, and gave me an additional 10% off. SCORE!! I think I may have even done the running man. I just love a great steal deal!

Have you scored any great deals lately? Do tell!!

Until next time...

The dress is a pretty nice length. Not too short for my taste.

I put on my Target leopard pumps, because the colors are perfect with the dress.

Even though the back of the dress does rise, the opaque tights add a level of comfort for me :)

The Skin I'm In...

I hope you guys enjoyed your weekend. For those of us who work a 9 to 5 from Mon-Fri, tomorrow it's back to the rat race for another fun week of work. Yay *insert sarcasm*!!

Winter has come for us in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes". And even though it didn't stick, we've actually gotten some snow! That may be a surprise to you (depending on where you're from), but it doesn't surprise me at all. Pretty much, any time after September, we expect it. lol!

It was such a nice Fall afternoon, that I decided to step out and take a few pics! I'm giving myself and my daughter a huge pat on the back for this, because it's been a struggle. My bathroom "selfies" have been off the chain on IG because of how my schedule has been. Are you following me on Instagram (@TickaNascha)?? If not, you're really missing out. Well, you're not really missing anything, but you should follow me anyway. Capeesh? Now on to the OOTD.

The dress that I'm wearing was given to me by Sis-Inlaw. She's a rockstar with her weight-loss and gave me a bag of items that she could no longer fit. One of the items I chose was this dress, knowing full well that I could not fit it. It was just too cute to pass up! I tried it on later on that evening, which confirmed what I knew to be true. There's a little bit of stretch in the material, but I couldn't get it past my hips/butt!! At that time, I hadn't really started my health journey, but I knew it was coming. This dress became somewhat of a goal for me.

Fast forward to now… I forgot all about it. I was looking for something to wear to work, complaining as usual about having nothing to wear, and this dress jumped out at me. Literally. It fell off of the hanger. I stared at it, and went back and forth on if I should try it on or not. Even though I know I'd been consistent in the gym (still got some work to do on my eating habits), I didn't see myself as being able to fit into the dress. I didn't want to be disappointed. Long story short, I tried it on, and... WAH-LAH!! It fit!! I haven't stepped on a scale in months, but once I was able to pull this dress down over my hips and it didn't cut off my circulation, I knew a few changes had taken place.

This served as a reminder for me. A reminder to continue to work towards my goals. Just because I don't see change everyday, doesn't mean that it isn't present. I'm going to keep going, and keep loving me along the way. This is why I rock =)

Blazer - Target

Dress - The Limited

Shoes - Urbanog.com

I Got a Secret...

Hey peeps!! As the weekend ends, I'm lounging in sweats, a t-shirt and socks. Minnesota weather is quickly turning to Fall, and we're at a cool 50 degrees and rainy, with no signs over summer left. I haven't left my house all day, and I make no apologies for it. I see most of my Instagram & blogger buddies wishing for Fall weather around their way. You ladies should come to Minnesota, we have all the chill in the air that you need :)

This was a work outfit from about a week ago. It was around 70 degrees and sunny. That's the perfect Fall day for me. I got to pull out my favorite knee boots and a cute scarf for a pop of color.

Wanna know a little something about this dress? It's from Target. Wanna know something else? It's from the maternity section. Yea. I said it. The Maternity Section. 

So there I am. Perusing the Target clearance isles, per usual. I came across this cute little striped number for $8.97. It was two of my favorite things. Striped and cheap. I took it in the dressing room and tried it on. It fit!! I looked at the tag again before going to the register, just to make sure that I counted all of my items correctly… and that's when I saw it. MATERNITY. o_O

Say what now? Maternity?! I was ready to put it back. I was so mad. I couldn't imagine that I would wear a maternity dress without actually being pregnant. I'm not sure why, but I just couldn't. It made me feel some type of way :/ Then I remembered a post from one of the first plus sized bloggers that I "followed". Ever so stylish GabiFresh blogged about a super cute dress that she wore from the maternity section of ASOS. Then, I thought… Why not? Because it sounded bad for me to be able to fit a maternity dress.

My next thoughts were, it's cute, and I look good in it, so I bought it and wore it. POW!!

Until next time…

Jacket - Rue 21

Dress - Target (Maternity Section)

Scarf - Target

Boots - Target

Spotted...

No need to adjust your eyes, or refresh your browser :) After almost two months of allowing dust to cover my blog, I'm finally posting. I haven't been completely incognito though. I've been around… Reading blogs, tweeting/retweeting, commenting and "liking" on IG and Facebook. I promise, I have! Even though I haven't put hand to keyboard here, I've seen and interacted with most of you on other social media outlets, so trust me when I say, I haven't forgotten about you.

To the peeps who don't currently "follow" me elsewhere, please take a moment to do so if you can. I'm on Instagram & Twitter for the most part. I also have a FB Blog Page. Now, admittedly I'm not very active on the FB blog page, but I promise to pop up every now and then :)

After my outfit post for date-night, there's a few pics that I've also posted on Instagram. Stick with me though! I mean, you've come this far, so why not?!

Now, about this outfit… For some reason, blogger buddy Kim of The Natural Fashionista has me thinking that I can sport crop tops!! Yea, I said it!! Crop tops!! And ya girl drank the Kool-Aide. I saw this cute crop at H&M and couldn't pass it up. The polka dots caught my eye, and it's right on trend with the now fading comic art craze. Not that I'm super trendy or anything, but I do like to try new stuff sometimes.

Let's talk for a second about this high-waisted pencil skirt!! I picked this bad boy up at Stella Blue, a little boutique in my area.They normally don't carry plus sizes, but I always stop by just to see what they have, and to try a few things on. Plus they sell some really nice smelling body oils. I was drawn to this skirt. The $10 price tag may have had something to do with it, but I digress. But when I saw that it was a size M/L, I got a little said. Something told me to try it on. Again, it could have been the $10 tag, but I can't say for sure. I tried it. The end result?!? It fit, and I loved it! Throw it in the bag! 

It started raining outside, hence the final pic in my basement ;) Ha!

Top - H&M

Skirt - Stella Blu

Shoes -DSW (Steve Madden)

I received this shirt from a fellow IG buddy. Check out her on-line store for more styles of tees for ladies with natural hair! 

Bella Donna Kinks Tees

Tee - See link above

Shorts - Calvin Klein (DIY Distressed)

I just kind of loved the color of this wrap dress that I picked up from Old Navy. I paired it with my leopard print babies from Target to add a little flair :)

Dress - Old Navy

Shoes - Target

Until next time (which I promise will be sooner than later)…

Mixing it up...

I hope everyones week is off to a great start. I just wanted to quickly post one of my favorite outfits to date. If you've been rocking with me for a while, you'll remember the bottom half of this dress from a post last year (May, 2012) titled, Curves Ahead. This dress was my very first purchase from ASOS and I love it! I refuse to let this dress go, so I had to "take it in" a bit because I'm in the process of changing said curves. I'm thinking that's a good problem to have. At least in my case it is.

Aside from my striped dress worn here, here, and here this top is my only other peplum item. I love the trend, but have found that not all peplum is created equal. You have the find the right cut for you, and I do adore my two lonely little purchases.

 As some of you already know (and saw if you clicked the above links) I'm all about repurposing a wardrobe item. This is no exception. I wore the dress as a skirt this time, and added my new peplum top from Target (which I got on clearance for $8.97).

Last but not least, lets just take a sec to talk about these lace covered Steve Madden heels!! They've been in my closet for over a year, and this was my first time sporting them. Super cute, with a capitol C! I wanted to wear them with this dress/skirt because it gave me the feel of print mixing. Subtle, but still there.

Until next time…

Better Late Than Never...

Hey peeps! I hope you guys are enjoying your weekend!! I know I am. Currently Hubby and I are working on getting our pool & hot tub together so they can be in usable condition by the 4th of July. We're almost there. All we need now is for the weather to cooperate, and it will be all good.

For those of you who rock with me on Instagram & Twitter, you can look forward to a plethora of pics that include me chillin by/in said pool with some sort of cold beverage (which may or may not be of the alcoholic variety). #dontjudgeme ;)

Moving on to the OOTD. As I've said in a previous post, I am a "repeat offender" when it comes to clothes. You might read other blogs or have friends/family who you never see in the same thing twice. I am not one of those people. And since my blog reflects me, you will see some of those things once, twice or three tiiiiiiiiimes (a laaaaadaaaayyyy) here. *sorry about that Lionel Richie reference, it just came to my mind*

I was trying to get my life together to participate in the #StyleMeFriday segment of Eboni's blog, but I didn't make it in time :( It was all about peplum. Since I only have one item in this style (I actually JUST purchased a shirt from Target today), I had to dig deep to figure out ow to re-work it since I've worn it twice on the blog already here and here.

I think this worked. It turned out just as I saw it in my head. Don't you just love it when that happens?

Until next time…

***Remember that Google Reader is going away next week. Check out my previous post regarding migrating all of the blogs that you read to Feedly so that you don't miss any updates/new posts***

Dress - ASOS

Jeans - Old Navy

Shoes - Payless