Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Getting Engaged



In July 2015, Jeff proposed. I'd like to tell you the story, because I've realised that I'd never shared that online and I haven't written it down - not even in a journal. I was also so shocked on the night that I didn't take any photos. 

Jeff and I had our first date on July 15, 2011 - so we kind of regard this to be our "anniversary". The week leading up to the 15th of July in 2015, I told Jeff that our anniversary was coming up and I asked him if he'd given it any thought. He said, "not really" and I got really stroppy with him! Whinging, I said, "Why am I the only one who thinks about this? I always have to be the one to book a restaurant. I'm not this time! You do it. It's your responsibility!" I distinctly remember this argument in our kitchen, haha. He agreed to do the organising this time, and we tossed around a few ideas and places that we liked. 

He decided on a restaurant called The Jungle. We had been there once before and loved it. You can click on the link to the website to see some photos. It used to be an indoor driving range. Millions of dollars have been spent transforming it into a jungle-themed restaurant. It's very atmospheric and the Churrasco menu is delicious. Palms tower above you; huts and walkways are suspended among the treetops. There's even an adult slide and giant gorilla statue for a bit of fun. Tarzan plays on the big screen and the staff wear name badges labelled with random Hollywood stars. It's certainly not five-star dining, but the waiters bring you delicious juicy meat skewers to slice right onto your plate.  

I remember having a really lazy Saturday. I was in my daggiest clothes, on the couch, painting my nails, watching movies and drinking cups of tea. I was looking forward to our anniversary dinner that night, but was totally vegging out during the day. Jeff said he had to go to Bunnings (hardware store) to get a few things. He had been gone a really long time, but I didn't think anything of it. Little did I know that while I was lazing around and clipping my toe nails, Jeff was asking my father permission to marry me and buying me a ring. 


As evening approached, I showered and dressed up for our night out. We walked into the restaurant and they seated us in an area that was empty of patrons. We ordered our food and then Jeff excused himself, saying he'd left "something" in the car. While, he was gone, I perused Facebook and just enjoyed the atmosphere. As I was waiting, a party of about ten middle-aged men arrived and sat on the table next to us. It must have been someone's birthday. Looking back, I really feel for Jeff because when he came back with the ring and saw that he'd have an audience, he was so nervous! 

I saw that he was holding a rather large blue Swarovski jewellery box. I felt surprise and pleasure spiral through me, as I thought he'd bought me a necklace or something. He's not one for big, romantic gestures, so he'd really caught me by surprise. Then suddenly he was on his knee. I honestly didn't comprehend what was happening and actually asked, "What are you doing down there?" 



Because of our audience, he very quickly said, "Sophie, will you marry me?" Heads were turning to our direction in my side vision. My brain was still so scrambled and overwhelmed that I said, "What?" 

A little more clearly this time, he said, "I'm asking you to be my wife!" 

I said yes, and the table of guests next to us clapped and congratulated us. I think we barely said two words to each other the whole meal. I was just in shock! My sister had been in a relationship with her partner for longer than we had, and Jeff and I had always thought we'd wait until they got engaged before we even thought about it. I asked him why he decided against waiting. 



The day before, he had $5000 of savings ready to spend on a car. The deal fell through, so he thought, might as well buy Sophie a ring instead and propose at dinner. He didn't even know he was going to do it until the day before! I had always told Jeff that I didn't want a big proposal in front of a crowd. Just something between the two of us. I stipulated that he would have to get down on one knee, otherwise I might think he was joking. 

The ring actually didn't fit! So the following day, we went back to Swarovski and I was able to exchange it for one that fit. Then he took me to Michael Hill to choose the ring. I had no idea what I wanted, so I worked my way from one end of the shop to the other, trying on everything and coming up with a shortlist. I finally decided on this one.


When we left the restaurant that night, we drove to my parents' house where they had a bottle of bubbly ready to celebrate. Then we went home, watched Masterchef in bed and fell asleep! 




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Monday, February 6, 2017

My First Camilla Kaftan



With a Thailand honeymoon planned for October this year, I decided to try on a Camilla kaftan when I was shopping with my mother and sister in David Jones before Christmas. The mother told me not to try it on because of the price tag. "You'll love it and want to buy it," she said. I ignored her advice and toddled over to the changing rooms.

She was right, of course. I loved it. Aside from the gentle turquoise and orange colouring and beautiful embellishments, it felt like wearing nothing! Amazingly light, the silk gliding over the skin like butter. The name of the kaftan is Desert Rose

Really, I was quite silly to treat the kaftan in such a flippant manner. A Camilla kaftan is not an everyday purchase. It's an investment. 

The price was around the seven hundred dollar mark, so I put it back and thought that I could save up for it over the year. Then, after Christmas, I received an email from Camilla . It was on sale! So I thought, "Stuff it. I'll put it on my credit card".






It's a little transparent when the sunlight is behind me, so I purchased a white cotton slip. I actually googled "plus size white cotton slip" and I accidentally found a fantastic one from a Brisbane store called Adrift. They have some great plus size stuff! The postage was quick and the packaging was thoughtful. I highly recommend checking out the website HERE. Is it just me, or is finding plus size clothing in cotton really hard? Anyway, I figure that all us plus size Australian babes need to know where all the cotton is at, am I right? 

If you get a chance to buy a Camilla, do it. It ain't cheap, but it's rare to find something that is simultaneously ridiculously comfortable and dripping with glam. 

If you're after a more affordable option, Adrift actually have some lovely cotton kaftans that I've been eyeing off for a while. 

Thanks for reading!

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Friday, January 20, 2017

See A Nice Outfit And Read About My Lump



When work finished last year and Christmas drew near, my skin turned on me. My face broke out like I was a teenager again, my scalp developed a scaly and weeping case of psoriasis and I developed not one but TWO cold sores in the worst possible place: on the corners of my mouth, where the mere movement of eating caused them to split back open. I probably get around two cold sores a year and have learnt my triggers and how to treat them. This means that when I get them, they are generally quite small and only last five days or so. Unfortunately, these ones caught me unawares, as they began (or disguised themselves) as a split lip. For this reason, I have spent nearly all five weeks of my summer holidays with cold sores that have taken WEEKS to heal. This also means that I can't even kiss my fiance or wear lipstick, so I've been feeling very sorry for myself.

But that's not all!

A lump started to develop under my chin. I thought maybe it was an ingrown hair, but it got so large and tender that I assumed it was a swollen lymph node - perhaps a reaction to my other skin problems. It felt like I had a ping pong ball under the skin! I'd never experienced anything like it. I was speaking to Jeff about going to the doctor in the next few days if it didn't improve, but he asked to take a closer look. He saw that there was a small scab over the middle of the lump, so he peeled it back and what happened next was Doctor Pimple Popper worthy! I was both horrified and fascinated. I continued to drain it over the next few days and now it's gone right down and doesn't hurt anymore. But after the breakout, cold sores and stinging scalp, it was just another thing that made leaving the house make me want to cry. Jeff was very good at lightening my mood and helping me to laugh at myself by singing Lump by The Presidents of the USA whenever I complained. 

I'm glad to say I'm on the mend now and everything is clearing up. So because I was feeling strangely optimistic and happy to be leaving the house, I decided to dress in my favourite style, boho chic, and get Jeff to take some photos for the blog. 




Thank you for reading, lovelies x

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Hello From The Other Side


blue dress XL CITY CHIC// necklace LOVISA

I am very pleased to be blogging again after having such a dry spell over the past year. I have missed it a great deal. I don't really even have a proper reason why. I guess after moving into our first home and the DJing taking off over wedding season, I was just too busy and put blogging in the "too hard" basket. In that time, I also stopped checking my favourite plus size fashion blogs regularly and started checking Instagram once a week instead of the usual two or three times a day. 

It seems silly considering that I still spend a lot of money on clothes and enjoying what I wear, and since I've been on holidays over the past few weeks I've felt rested enough to feel the drive come back. Plus, I also need to write blog posts about getting engaged and finding a wedding dress! Both of which I have not announced on my blog or on Instagram, and I plan on fixing that over the next week or two. 

Although I haven't been quite so immersed in the online plus size fashion community, I've dabbled here and there, checked out hashtags, popped back onto some of my favourite blogs and checked out new brands. Exciting things seem to be happening! New faces are popping up too. It feels like there's a new phase of the revolution. A settled, more steady growth of body positivity, and I don't want to miss out!

Now onto my outfit. This dress came out in black at City Chic in the pre-Christmas season. I bought it because the fabric was very light and comfortable, with no lining. Perfect for a scorching hot day. Then it came out in blue as an online exclusive, and I leapt at the chance to have it in such a dynamic and eye-catching colour. Easy to wear, but great impact - and can be dressed up or down. 

One of our rabbits jumped into the photo without me realising, too. 

Thanks for reading. Maybe comment below, and then I'll know if people still read this! haha