Collecting Collectif - the sale haul!

A good ten years ago, my mama took me to a small store in London selling reproduction vintage style clothing. She bought me a dress, which I kept in my wardrobe and only wore for special occasions, and when I was feeling brave. Fast forward to today, and as my regular readers will know, I'm wearing my vintage gear full time and I've rekindled my love of Collectif Clothing. They recently had a fantastic sale, and as a wee birdie in one of my fb groups had warned me it was imminent, I'd been perusing the site for a while, mentally filling my basket. I was a canny shopper and had been hoarding my Christmas monies to spend there and so I filled my boots. I've only worn a few of the things, so I'll be reviewing my pieces here and there.

First up, the wonderful Pippa dungarees and Chrissie Fair Isle sweater.

So  the waist of these is just like a normal pair of jeans, except with the zip at the side, so you can flop the pinafore down and tuck the straps in if you like. I'm a UK 18/20 waist and have always sized up to the 22 for my boobs. As there is no back, and the straps adjust, I probably could have stuck to a 20, but I'm not a fan of tight denim, and this is a good solid weight denim, so these are perfect for me. The button is a bit stiff, but I'm pretty sure it will loosen up with usage. The sweater is divine. Double knit, so super warm, and just the right length for me in the body too. The sleeves have enough give to be comfortable and hit my elbow just right. It's washed like a dream, making me very glad I bought it in both green and blue!

Next up is the red check Caterina dress

I ADORE THIS DRESS. Oh my goodness it's such a delight! The fabric has a similar feel to a brushed cotton, so I think it will work all year round. The sleeves are generous, which is often something companies forget when sizing up for us larger lovelies. I get so frustrated when I buy a dress that fits beautifully everywhere but cuts me off above the elbow. These have a bit of give, but don't look baggy. My only complaint is the belt. There is no prong/notch fastening, it just slides, and every time I bend or sit it loosens and dangles when you stand back up. I'm toying with trying to order this in the green/blue check too. 

I'm not much of a trouser person, but I did buy the Bonnie cigarette pants.

I loved the feel of these, and the size 20 was the right choice. It was pretty big in the waist, but comfortable around my tummy, and I loved how they looked, however within an hour of this photo being taken, the seam in the right leg had ripped open all down the tummy, and the left was starting to rip.

Now the customer service people are usually fantastic, so I have no doubts that they will sort it out for me once business hours start again tomorrow, but I was so disappointed as I really loved these. 

Today's ensemble is the Elsa skirt and Alma cardigan

No issue with this belt, and I like how the waist sits higher and has a wee arch detail to the front. The fabric is a little thin, but feels nice and looks like it will hold its shape well. The pleats are in a nice position, and though the skirt is a little long, I'm happy with it. The cardigan is deliciously thick and toasty and the cabling pops really well. The sleeves are very long, coming all the way to my finger tips, but the cuff is strong and holds up easily enough. It is true to size, and generally gorgeous all round, so again, I'm glad I bought it in green too. 

So far, apart from the hiccup with cigarette trousers, I am loving my haul! Collectif remain one of the few companies who do decent plus size items, particularly in tops/blouses and these guys in particular have a lot of feeding friendly items. 

Keep your eyes peeled for part two and the rest of the haul 😉

Tootsie's Big January Giveaway!

Nothing beats the January blues like a good freebie, and though I haven't had any myself, it's no reason why my lovely readers should dip out, so I've gathered a few lovely items to give away this cold dank January. (Don't forget to hit the Facebook and Instagram pages for their giveaways too!)

Unless you've been under a rock ( or full of the joys of flu like us) you'll have heard someone raving about a dress. Whether they called it a fake Monica, or simply THE dress, most of the body positive forums and groups are talking about a ruched wiggle dress and I have one to give away. Meant to be a Uk20, it is very forgiving and very stretchy so would easily fit up to a 24 and in this teal, with the draped sleeves, it's eye-catching! 

 

The rules are simple. 

1. Comment below telling me where you would wear the dress.
2. Share a link to this blog on your favourite platform.
3. Don't forget to pop back and see if you've won.

The winner will be pulled on Sunday 29th January 2016

**Please note: All items being given away across the blog, Facebook and Instagram have been bought by myself. Nothing has been donated by the suppliers. If you are a brand and you'd like to be involved in a giveaway collaboration then feel free to send me a message. 

Cheap overall bib tip

I'm trialling a new look to th blog for a new year. My "intention", as I don't do resolutions, is to aim for one blog post a week, but rotating topics, so alternating between parenting, clothing/shoe/accessories reviews, top tips, and I'm determined to try out some of the trillions of tutorials and hacks I have pinned.

This is something my mother suggested and it works like a charm. My lil dude was 4 weeks early and is a dainty little guy. Most overall bibs drown him, and even more annoying for him, he has teeny t-Rex arms. I haven't met a sleeve yet that I haven't needed to roll up. This was from Christmas Day and he was getting pointers from his great Granda 

 

He gets super frustrated when he's trying to eat and the billows of overall get in his way. We've tried plastic and terry and still have the same problem...until today. My mum made the very simple suggestion of using an old onesie that he has outgrown, cutting off the bottom and putting it on back to front. We tried it (without cutting off the bottom yet) this morning and what a difference! Despite being poorly and not his usual chirpy self, he found eating so much easier! Thanks mum!

 

What's your favourite hack?

I've got big hair and I cannot lie

So I've had a lot of people asking me how I manage to get my hair up into a scarf. You see I have a lot of hair. A LOT. I once had a hair dresser tell me I had three heads worth, and it costs twice the usual price to get it dyed as they need to use so much dye. Appointments at the salon can take a whole day, and you can see the "oh shit" look going across a hairdressers face when I take my hair down. Hair elastics and bands take one look at my head and quiver in fear. It can break a bobby pin in two without breaking a sweat, and needs a gazillion pins and clips to hold any style in place. Added to this I have a huge head. I adore hats, and even suit them pretty well, but rarely get any that fit my ginormous head and those elasticated headbands just slid right off my oddly shaped bonce. Because of this I'd always shied away from bandana hair styles, as those measly lil things so rarely ever went around my fat head.

All that changed a few months back. I went to see the fabulous Sarah Dunn, proprietor or Sarah's Doo Wop Dos, and she set my hair in rollers for an event the next day. I'd brought along a huge silk scarf to tie around the curls, but hadn't expected anything other than the most perfunctory of bows, and totally assumed it would look like a dog's dinner. However, Sarah is bloody magic, and managed to whip up the most stylish turban. It got me thinking, and a few weeks later I saw another pal who had a lot of hair wearing a turban and looking bloody amazing so decided to give it a go for myself. After some practice and a bit of finessing, I've found a method that works well for me, and it's now one of my favourite quick and easy hairstyles for a vintage look that doesn't take much time. Below is my method, which you are welcome to use and adapt to suit yourself. I hope it helps some busy mamas to have an easy hair day once in a while, whilst still looking like you've made an effort.

First you will need a few essentials. 

Hairbrush

Tailcomb

Your preferred pins and clips

Hairspray, and pomade if you have any

A large silk scarf (Primark are currently doing some fabulous ones, like the green I've used today, for just £3, and if you are in Northern Ireland, Dunnes Stores have a few gorgeous ones in their sale too)

 

Start by brushing it out, and using the tail comb to section off the centre front segment. I use the end of my eyebrows as a guide to my sectioning. 

That done, I roughly brush the rest back into a ponytail and twist it up into a rough French pleat. 

 

Over the years I've found that the best way for me to ensure it stays up is to secure it with a few extra strong hair pins first, by inserting the pin in the opposite direction first, then bending it back on itself before sliding it into the hair. It's really hard to describe so hopefully the photos below will help.

 

Add as many pins and clips as you need to feel secure, but don't worry about it being neat cos the scarf hides everything anyway. 

Now we go back to our front section. Comb it out neatly, then back comb the Shit out of it. That's a technical term and a vital step. In order to not kill my hair, and to be able to brush it out less painfully later, I find that only combing downwards helps. Insert the comb, pull it downwards, then take out and repeat. Spray copiously with your favourite hairspray.

 

At this point I add some pomade to ends of the hair, as I find it makes it easier to get (and hold onto) a roll.

 

Now wrap the segment around your fingers and wind inwards until you get to the head. 

 

It does take some practice, but now clip the roll into place on both sides then grab your scarf and fold in half, point to point.

 

Find the centre point of the long side of your scarf triangle and place it at the nape of your neck. Secure it by crossing two clips over each other. Gently pull the side of the scarf into place (without tying it! Not yet!) and secure at your temple with more crossed clips. When both sides sre clipped into place, lightly roll the ends of the scarf inwards (see bottom right pic)

 

I tend to tuck the point in my mouth here to hold it in place as I tie the ends on the top of my head, behind the roll. I then pull the point over the top of the tie to the back and tie the ends again, before taking the point forward a final time and tucking it under the knot. 

 

Finally, I take the ends of the scarf down the sides and tuck them under the scarf, securing with yet more pins. Voila! Neat, tidy and it looks like you made more effort than you actually did! 

 

PSA for new mamas

It's bloody hectic this time of year, and I'm discovering that it's twice as bad...and twice as fun...with a baby. However several things seem to keep coming up in my parenting groups that are really starting to get on my tits & I've decided to address them. As I tell anyone before I offer advice, feel free to ignore me and scroll on, I won't get butthurt over it. This is just intended to hopefully hold a candle...(or flame thrower, pick your poison) to those first 100 days of darkness of the fourth trimester.

1. "My partner sleeps in the spare room cos they need to get some sleep for work" 

Are you frigging kidding me? Being a parent is a full time job and one which requires boatloads of energy. They need to help with the night tasks, end of. I know it can be hard. We breastsleep, so the husbeast can't really help with feeds, but if all the kid needs is a bum change I hand him over and go right back to sleep. Look at it this way. If you were putting your child in a daycare type place, would you be happy if the staff were running on sometimes less than an hour's sleep and no food or drink? I sure as hell wouldn't be, so why expect it of yourself? Work out a routine that makes sure they pull their weight. For us, the husbeast gets up 30 minutes earlier than he used to and takes the boy downstairs for a bum change and a play, while I starfish across the bed and snore my head off. After an hour he dumps the baby back in beside me and I give the lil dude another feed. The baby goes back to sleep and I can get up and start getting ready for the day in peace and quiet...except I can't shower. The kid totally has a radar for that thing and loses his shit the second my toe touches the water...which leads me onto my next point. 

2. "I know it's ungrateful/terrible but I just want to feel like me again/pee in peace/shower alone"

Why is that so bad? Does your partner get to do these things? Then why the hell shouldn't you? Look, being mum is hard. 9 times out of 10 the kid will want you, and while your partner is at work it'll be nigh on impossible to do anything alone, but when they get home all bets are off. You deserve the chance to wallow in a bath or shower once in a while.

And talking about wallowing, or feeling yourself again, will you cut yourself some slack? You just created life and that shit does not come easy. Not to mention the fact that that wee life's mission is to break you. You will have changed. In so many ways for the better, but I can understand that some people will struggle with their new body. You have to live with that body though, so try to find ways to love it, or change it. I chose to love mine. I try to have one nice long shower on a Sunday morning, where I leisurely wash my hair and shave my legs (ok, so I don't always manage those) and spend at least 30 minutes without being covered in pee, snot, poop or puke. It doesn't always happen, and these last few weeks have been hectic so it's been snatched chances to wash here and there and my poor legs haven't seen the light of day in forever. If it makes you feel better, before the shower I just had, I could measure my leg hair with a ruler and it took an entire tube of hair removal cream to defuzz them. Uh huh, that's right...A WHOLE TUBE OF VEET! I'm petty sure that new civilisations were forming in the rainforests on my legs 😳 

3. "You've got everything together, how do you do it all?" 

I don't. Basically, something has to slide. I pick my battles each day and decide what has to be done and what can get put off. I'm incredibly lucky. The husbeast has no expectations of a clean and tidy house, or food on the table when he gets home. He fully understands that some days it's all I can do to get the kid and I dressed, let alone tidy or even leave the house. God bless the man, he never, but never, leaves work without asking if I need him to pick up dinner and I won't tell you how often I say yes. We have a joint cleaning blitz at the weekend. I do the kitchen, he does the bathroom and we both hit the lounges/bedrooms/laundry. I've started laying out clothes for the baby and me the night before, so I'm not faffing about in the morning and I no longer waste a trip. If I'm heading upstairs to pee, I take up laundry, or bring it down to the machine.

But most of all, I try to keep my expectations of myself fairly low. Is the kid alive? Has he been fed? Is he clean and warm? If the answer is yes, then I give myself a pat on the back and a choccie biccie. Go team me! 

You have to stop thinking that what you see on social media is real cos it's really not. We only show our best to the world, so of course we look like we've got it all together. We are terrified that if we show our true selves, child services will show up at the door to take our kids away. 

It does get easier, I promise, but nothing will change until you make the changes. You have to be the driving force. Whether that is accepting your mumtum (or taking steps to get rid of it), or telling your partner to suit up and be a parent too, nothing will get better until you set it in motion. 

Good luck and Merry Christmas! Now excuse me while I continue to frantically pack for our first ever flight with a baby...or pray for me, that works too! 

 

''Tis the season!

It's the most wonderful time of the year, and we are shrugging off the the doom and gloom of illness to don our brightest most cheerful duds. I adore Christmas. The sparkle and lights and shiny shiny lovelies just lift my heart. My wonderful husbeast is a bit of a grinch, but three Christmases in and he's slowly coming around...he's even offered to wear a Christmas jumper this year! The last few years, the school I work at has taken part in the Save The Children Christmas Jumper Day event. On Friday 16th December, all across the U.K. People will dust off their favourite Christmas jumper and wear it for charity. Jamie, Phil and I will be taking part at home and so I thought I'd round up some of my favourite Christmas sweaters in case you fancy joining us. I will apologise now, cos this post is super pic heavy.

First up is Evans:

A little pricey for the novelty market, they range from £25-£38 and run from truly cheesy to the slightly more tasteful ivory fair isle (I might yet go back for that!)

 

 

 

New Look:

I was a little disappointed in their efforts this year. Prices run from £15-£28 and the candy cane version wasn't too bad in person but I didn't bother buying.

 

 

Yours clothing : 

I won't lie, I'm so so tempted by the "Handsoff my pudding" one. For real. If it wasn't just a tee shirt I'd have pulled the trigger already, but the weather has finally turned and jumpers are essential. 

 

George @Asda had a slightly better selection. I've got the gingerbread house & the baubles sitting in my online basket waiting to go once all my gifts are bought, as I'm just not convinced I can resist them.

 

 

 

Tesco had a range, but to be honest I still feel that they are a little pricey for something you can wear such a short time. I quite like the calories don't count one, and I'm tempted by the Disney holidays red jumper too. 

 

 

My final contender is Peacocks and that is where I got the sweater I'm wearing today. At £16 it is soft and warm, if a little thin. The colours are bright and I love the vintage feel to the pattern

. 

 

 

My little Elf and I also checked out Primark today, but I was underwhelmed 

 

So what beauties have you discovered? Feel free to share your festive finds with us, and definitely come join us on the 16th to raise some funds for charity! 

 

MIA....or almost

Well it's been about two weeks since I last posted. I thought we'd hit the bottom, but the following day (after another horrible puke-filled night) the GP referred us to the hospital. My poor lil bird  spent the next six days being fed through a tube, as he was just so tuckered out from the constant vomiting and the coughing that disturbed his sleep, he couldn't find the energy to suckle. A viral infection with bronchiolitis was what they told us, but all I knew was that my wee man was dehydrated and so far from being himself that I barely recognised him.

Being as it is bronchiolitis season, the place was packed & we spent two nights on the assessment unit waiting for a bed on the children's ward. But even with the move to the ward our problems didn't end. No one was deliberately negligent, but they were so overworked and understaffed that problems were unavoidable. My biggest annoyance, of many, was finding that the hospital had either lost, thrown away, or given away to another patient (😱) breast milk that I had fought hard to express. You see while my little boy is doing just fine feeding from the source, I've never been a great pumper. Apart from the first day my milk came in, I've always struggled to get more than 50mls between the two boobs & when he started refusing bottles around 4 months, I stopped bothering. As they were giving the boy 60-80mls per feed, I spent the first few days pumping around the clock like a crazy lady, and panicking when I didn't have enough. 

At this point my tribe went into action. I am so incredibly lucky to have found the haven of the Retro Mummies & Pregnant Pin-Ups group on Facebook. The women there are strong, fierce, non-judgemental and a force to be reckoned with when united to a cause. Between them, they put the call out to all their groups and before I knew it, my messenger inbox was filling up with offers of donor milk. Total strangers to me and my boy went out of their way, in some cases by many miles, to bring sustenance to my child when I was not enough. Women from as far as Luton & Leighton Buzzard made their way to MK General Hospital with bags of liquid gold to help get my wee man back on the mend. With the pressure taken off me, I was able to attempt to get some sleep (I'd been pumping hourly to try to keep ahead of the feeds) and to concentrate on being there for my baby. 

There are not enough words in any language to tell these ladies just how much their kindness and thoughtfulness meant. I was going out of my mind trying to be all and do everything and their donation gave a much needed respite that allowed me to focus on the baby. Between the kindness of strangers, and the support of our families, and my tribe, I survived our stay. There were many times I thought I'd crack, but every single time there was a mama there to hold a candle to my darkness. Even when I live streamed my hoarse, croaking lullabies at 2am, god help them, they sat through them. 

Thankfully, a week on from our discharge, things are slowly improving. All three of us still have a lingering cough, we are still catching up on our sleep and the baby is clingy as fuck...but we are home. We are past the worst & taking it easy. Lil bird even took most of his grandparents (my daddy had to stay home and mind the shop, so we will repeat later on for him) to meet Father Christmas. Despite the beginnings of separation anxiety, he was so good! We are excited about the holidays ahead and can't wait to see what Santa has in store.

To all our wonderful donors- Thank you seems so small, but it is honestly, and truly heartfelt. To my amazing tribe - Thank you. Always, always, thank you. To our parents -thank you for all the wonderful support, it was and is truly appreciated . To my long-suffering hubs -we can do this!