Post40Fabulous - childhood influences

Hello there,

This months topic was to talk about how our teens/childhood have influenced our choices.

Now, I have to admit, this was a hard one for me. I know lots of people have childhood icons or people they admire during their teenage years, but me, nope! 

Don't get me wrong, there was and is plenty of music, artists, groups etc I liked. But apart from a few years where I loved Bucks Fizz (which I'm not ashamed to admit!) and the non-stop playing of Garbage while I was attempting to write my dissertation, no artist, group or person has ever stood out for me. I don't recall ever admiring anybody's style or aspiring to be like anybody. Maybe that makes me unique? I don't know, but over the last few days, I tried hard to think if this really was right.Was I going to draw a blank on this topic??

And then I realised, there was one big, almost huge influence that was just so big, I couldn't see it for looking. As a child I was intrigued by all things American. I watched as many tv shows and films from there as I could. I loved the Bionic Woman (anyone remember that?).

Early influences - how many do you remember?

I thought Las Vegas sounded like a dreamland, the deserts were full of cowboys and everyone in New York carried a gun. As I got older, it became an obsession, a goal to visit, to go and see all the places I'd watched on TV and experience all the things that Americans take for granted.

And so I did. To date, I've visited 37 US states. I've watched sunrises in Hawaii and sunsets in Key West. Drove through desert floods in Arizona and snow in the Rockies. Ate pizza at the top of the Twin Towers in New York and days later watched them fall while sat in a bar in Las Vegas. I've met the most amazing people, and been treated to wonderful hospitality and kindness.

How can you not fall in love with views like this?

I kind of dress American when I'm there!

They say you should never meet your idol, that they can never live up your expectations. I half expected this before visiting Las Vegas, after all, this was the big dream - and you know what? It exceeded all expectations. So much so that I've revisited the city many times since. I am the person you will find wandering through the casino at 2 in the morning people watching. 

So I truly think that America, it's people and culture was and still is my biggest influence. Look carefully and there's pictures of America all over the walls at home, the bookcases are filled with American books, fiction and non-fiction. One wall in the kitchen is covered with an American map and my inbox is full of American newsletters. If we could move there tomorrow, we would.

For me, it's an everlasting love and my biggest influence in terms of what I read, watch and aspire to travel to. There's nothing better than picking up a car and just heading out far away from all the tourist areas into the heartland and meeting real people. Whenever the plane lands on American soil - I feel like I've come home. I don't know how else to describe it.

These are the are the other lovely folk taking part in Plus40Fabulous, be sure to check them out.

Betty Pamper: http://www.pamperandcurves.com/
Christy: http://www.sprintingwithscissors.blogspot.co.uk/
Daisy: http://daisysays.co.uk/

Kath: https://fatheffalump.wordpress.com/

Kaye: http://www.polishedcurves.com/

Kellie: http://www.bigfashionista.co.uk/

Leah: http://www.justmeleah.co.uk
Lisa: http://www.kitandkoboodle75.blogspot.co.uk/
Mookie: http://www.mookieslife.com/

Nikki :http://www.nattynikki.com/

Sarah: http://www.plussizeproud.co.uk

Vicky: http://www.therandomnessoftwee.blogspot.co.uk
Yvonne: http://woosangwashere.blogspot.co.uk/

Thanks for reading

Cathy
xx

A New Year - 16 in 16

Hello there,

Happy New Year! The lovely Sophie from Busy Little Fee had the wonderful idea of looking at 16 things we can do in 2016.

I have to admit, it was pretty hard to think of 16 things. I don't believe in making resolutions as such and I don't tend to share my personal life on here too much so inevitably there are some things which I will keep private. But I did eventually come up with a list of 16 things:

1. Move the blog to self hosting. Now I'm just a hobby blogger, I'll be the first to admit that, but I do love doing it and it's coming up to the two year anniversary in March this year. So I aim to try to move to self hosting by then. Arghhh.....!
   
2. Try to do 4 posts a month. Sometimes life overtakes us and plans like this go out the window. But I'm going to try my hardest. I did my own version of Blogmas last year and I survived, so 4 posts a month can't be too hard...can it?
   
3. More OOTDs. I have a terrible habit of getting to the end of the day and completely forgetting to take a pic of what I wore. Now admittedly, a lot of the time, it's just jeans and jumpers, but on some days, I push the boat out and it's those days I need to remember to blog about.
   
4. As some of you will know, I work free-lance from home. This year I really want to build on this and be more successful.
   
5. Travel more. Ideally round the world! But failing that, anywhere. Working from home esp, it's far too easy to become housebound. This isn't really a new goal, more of a continuation from previous years. Even a trip to the next town along to do some shopping, or a day trip to London. A change of scenery does you the world of good.
   
6. Try vlogging before the year is out. Now, I've done holiday videos in the past and some for hobbies, but none yet for the blog. Quite what I could talk about, who knows, but I'll try to do something this year.
   
7. Ignore the people who think blogging is silly, vain, a joke, a waste of time etc. I don't tend to tell many people that I have a blog for this very reason. But even so, I've heard all of the above.
   
8. De-clutter!! Again, this is a continuation. I've been selling on Ebay and charity shopping all the things I no longer wear or need. It's hard going - I tend to get over-sentimental and hate getting rid of things. But de-clutter I must - esp if I want to buy new things!! (see the problem there??).
   
9. Save money - use charity shops more. Now this isn't hard to do at all. I love nothing more than having a good old mooch around our local charity shops. But they don't just do clothes. Use them for homeware, books, curtains and even greetings cards.
   
10. Museums. I love museums and I'm so aware there's lots in the Hampshire area that I haven't yet visited, despite living here all my life. So I plan to compile a checklist and see how many I can do in the coming year.
    
11. Do one thing per month that's new. This kind of ties in with the previous goal, but doesn't just have to be museums. Instead of passing by a cafe or shop and wondering what it's like - stop and go in. You might find a new favourite.
    
12. Stop for coffee - again, similar to the previous goal. I want to rush less and stop for coffee (or in my case - hot chocolate). Take time out to stop and watch the world.
    
13. Spend less time online. Now this is a weird one. Yes, I want to grow my blog, but I also need to spend less time comparing it to other blogs. It's mine and unique to me and will grow in it's own time. I don't spend a lot of time on Facebook already - anything with too many dramas is a real switch-off!
    
14. Crafting. I love crafting, esp jewellery making. That's really dropped by the wayside though in the last year or so as I've had less free-time after going freelance. It's a relaxing hobby so I'd like to start again in 2016.
    
15. Remember to reply to messages! Those that know me will know how bad I am at this! I look at a message, think of a reply in my head, then get distracted and never actually do it. I will try to do better - honest!
    
16. Be as fabulous in 2016 as I was in 2015! I saw this image going round online in the last few days and I think it's so true.
    
    

These aren't resolutions, just goals and aims for the forthcoming year. And if none come to fruition - than we'll all still be just as fabulous as we were at the start of the year.

Anyway - that's my goals for the year. Hope you enjoyed reading them and I'll try to revisit maybe halfway through the year to see how I'm doing.

Thanks for reading

Cathy

xx

Blogmas 24 - Christmas Eve and Primark PJs

Hello there,

It's finally here! By the time this post goes live Christmas Day will be nearly here and everything will be wrapped and ready for delivery.

Christmas Eve was a quiet day. Not everything went quite to plan (cue the last minute dash out to Asda) but overall, it was a lazy relaxing day.

I started off by wearing my absolute favourite jumper of the season. It's a Primark special and to be honest I haven't worn it as much as I would have liked as it's just been too flipping hot here in the UK! I think though it should be worn on Christmas Day - whatever the weather.

As there were no plans to set foot outside the door for the rest of the day - it was was time for pajamas and real relaxing. I bought this set from Primark a couple of months ago thinking it would keep me warm. Well it certainly did that - I nearly expired wearing it!

The detailing is so cute! These were an 18-20 and fitted just fine.

From about midday onwards, it was time to track Santa on the Norad web site. This is a tradition we do every year. It was something we started doing it with friends in Australia a few years back so that we could all see at the same time where Santa was at various points throughout the day. I can't imagine a Christmas Eve without it now.

And now, the Sephora Advent Calendar. The last 4 days had a body wash, ribbon (?), nail varnish and finally an eye shadow for the 24th.

Overall, it's not been a bad calendar. As it's the first ever beauty type calendar I've ever bought, I've really enjoyed seeing what goodies there were each morning. Like most, there's been a few odd days, but overall, I'm quite pleased. Next year though, I already have my eye on the Body Shop one. After watching some YouTube videos of it, it looks amazing.

Finally - a very big THANK YOU for taking the time to read my Blogmas posts. I managed to do more days than I thought I would so I'm pretty chuffed.

I hope you all have a peaceful and happy Christmas xx

Cathy
xx

Blogmas 21-23 - Last minute shopping and cooked breakfast

Hello there,

Only a few days now until Christmas and it seems to be a whirl of last minute food shopping and hunting for the last present I forgot to buy (why does that always happen? I even have a spreadsheet for present buying as well - arghh!).

A couple of months ago a TXMaxx and HomeSense opened about 10 mins from me. Excellent for shopping - terrible for my purse. I spent a good hour or so on Monday morning having a browse around.

 
Some beautiful evening dresses too - not many plus size though :-(

 

Tuesday was a real errand running kind of day, whereas Wednesday was the start of Christmas! No work for anyone now until next week, so the chance for a few days of unwinding.

We started the day off by having a cooked brekkie at our local Toby Carvery - seemed like a perfect way to start the festivities.

The grounds of the pub are right next to the Itchen River, which was flowing pretty well after all the weather recently.

As you can see from the carpark, it was pretty busy, even early in the morning.

It's really starting to feel Christmassy now. An afternoon of movies and final bits of present wrapping helped with that. Plus this little guy has been varnished ready to be given as a gift on the big day.

I'll do a final round-up on the last few days of the Sephora Advent Calendar in my final Blogmas post tomorrow. Like most of the month it's been a bit up and down, but I have high hopes for the final day - lets hope I'm right!

Thanks for reading

Cathy
xx