It’s been a few weeks since I posted anything. I haven’t been overly busy but I have a few things to update on.

I will start off with design based updates. Finally I have pulled my finger out my bottom and I have started to get some bits done and I will start with the Paperchase competition.  Now I know Christmas (much to my dismay) is long gone, but this was a competition to design a Christmas Card for 2014!

‘The Paperchase Christmas Card Competition

Designed & Chosen by You

This year we are asking you to remember the best bits of your festivities and take part in our Christmas Design Competition.  For Christmas 2014 we would love a card designed and chosen by you!

Do What?

Design a new charity Christmas card, your design can be funny, emotional, patterned or plain. Just make it festive.

The winning design will be printed and sold in Paperchase stores across the land for Christmas 2014.

Why?

If the joy of taking part isn’t enough...

The winner will receive £200 and a Paperchase goody bag

The winning design will be a used as part of our Charity Christmas Cards range

Imagine the glory of handing out your own professionally produced cards!’

So that is what is was all about. I saw this back at the beginning on January. In true Toria style I of course didn’t get round to starting this until the day before it was due in February. Luckily I had a design from December I was ACHING to put together but never got round to it so I went from there. I ended up being really pleased with the result and although it was the day before I was pleased to submit what I had designed. The final entries were meant to be going up on the 12^th Feb and then the winner announced on the 20^th. As you can guess that has come and gone and no word from Paperchase so that’s kind of annoying. They said they had more entries than planned but still they are taking a rather long time with no update.

Anyway this is my final design.

So I am keeping my eyes peeled for an update.!

Moving on I was rather productive Monday evening. I have been saying I want to have my own little shop and sell necklaces and my designs and such…. I decided to do this is MAY! MAY 2013! I realised that was almost a year ago and I thought SOD IT!

I’m going to do it. So I went home and I ordered my first batch of acrylic charms. I then set up a little shop and I then bought e-mail hosting, ordered business cards and did everything I have been putting off for a year! Now I cannot WAIT for them to come! I’m going to hobby craft this evening to get some equipment for putting them together when they come!

I’m ever so excited. I know it’s a tiny start but at least I have started it now and hopefully I can grow it from here! I plan on getting 2 more designs made if these turn out well maybe at the end of the month!

So that’s that with design. I hope within the next week to 2 weeks I can post up some photos of the charms as necklaces. I really hope they come out nicely!

Moving on to dress related things. So basically I am dress obsessed. I’ve decided a new me this year and new start. New job weight lost! (almost back to the weight I was before Christmas) so I’m going to go with a style I’ve always wanted to indulge in but felt too big and clumsy to wear before. I REALLY believe in loving yourself whatever your size. I follow lots of plus sized blogs and these girls all look fabulous. It’s obviously looking good come through confidence NOT your dress size. What is sad though is I cannot apply this to myself. I still see flaws and I still see so much room for improvement and I WONT look good until the weight is lost. This makes me sad and disappointed in myself.

Anyway moving on.

I will start with my Owl Dress.

I saw this on thecluelessgirl blog. I thought it looked lovely on her! I looked it up on yours clothing and it was £12 in the sale. I was a little unsure on sizing as I’m a 12-14 in dresses and being a plus size store I worried the 14 may of come up a little larger. But I didn’t need to fear it fitted amazing!

The next dress I was strolling through town at lunch time. There was a little dress shop next to Debenhams and I poked my head in. I saw a little pink number with pandas all over it! I squealed a little, worried that it wouldn’t fit as these little shops tend to run up very small, but it fitted well and I was exceptionally pleased. Then I was informed it was only £10 so I ran to a cash machine and snatched it up straight away without hesitation.

  

My last 2 that I am excited about come from Soho’s and they are Hell Bunny dresses. The first one was the last in stock and in my size and they put it up for £5!! A FIVER I guess to clear old stock. I ummmed about it and then pictured wearing it to the beach on a really hot day and I was SOLD!

I’m quite pleased with it and I worried it would be a little short but I think it’s a nice length actually!

The last one is a replacement for the one that didn’t fit. Soho’s did 50% off of sale items and it cost about £17! The one I ordered didn’t fit at all so I changed the style and I am really pleased with this one! It’s a real beaut!

Of course I am pinning after things and currently on my wish list are cropped cardigans which I hope they bring out soon I guess it’s still a little cold for them and these two dresses. In actual fact its possible that the first one MAY come home with me tonight mwuaha

Got some plans this weekend. Had a lovely weekend just gone went to a party and saw friends I hadn’t seen in YEARS AND YEARS! Did lots of dancing and had party food. Of course as always went too quickly.

Now I am dead excited about all my charms and business cards to arrive so I can get them up on my shop asap!

Saving the pennies. HA!

Ok so I have been waiting till I have received a few bits in the post over the last week to make this update!

I will start with my quack quack dress. Or if you are an adult my new duck dress.

So I am honestly trying to save money! I swear I am.

But this caught my eye and then when I pictured myself skipping around in the summertime wearing it I struggled to say no to my inner self. Plus I love ducks they are so cute. I was a little taken back ordering this as Yumi is a brand I’ve always imagined to run small in the sizing. I ordered a unicorn dress a few months back in a 14 and it actually fitted very very well. What concerned me this time was the fact that my other dress had a much loser fit and also an elasticated waist band! ASOS only had 14 left no 16 so I took a chance and it paid off. It actually fits beautifully! I am very pleased with it indeed!

Now I am imagining myself visiting a duck pond on a lovely spring weekend wearing this and grabbing a bite to eat after eheh!

I also have been quite spoilt by the boyfriend again. Models Own have been saying for the last month if they reach x amount of likes on their Facebook page they would do 50% off everything.

I didn't mention in my previous post about the models own stall I visited in Bluewater. I went the first time with Matt and the sales person was quite pushy, and ended up making me feel so uncomfortable I just left. Then when I went again with my Grandma at the weekend I readied myself and made it VERY CLEAR I was just looking. Unfortunately she followed me around, showing me polishes continuously asking me questions and I was quite firm, I said multiple times ‘no thank you I don’t know what I want I’m just browsing’. I’d even move on to a different part of the stall and she would follow me round. I got very uncomfortable again and felt pressured so I put back the 3 I picked and left again. I wish they hadn't done this as they were  6 for £15 which is a great deal.

Anyway it turns out they hit the target online and they did the sale which worked out the same deal as the stall! I picked and few and got Matt to pick some too, he likes to have his toe nails painted and he seems pretty good at picking out colours that end up working really well. However I planned on getting around £15-£20 worth MAX and with our basket it came to £30. I said it was WAY TOO MUCH but he was very sweet and treated me to it anyway!

Mermaid Tears – Splash, Green Flash – Champagne, Pukka Purple - Ice Neon, Emerald City – Glitter, Aqua Violet – Beetlejuice, Purple Blue – Beetlejuice, Disco Mix – Glitter, Blueberry Muffin - Fruit Pastel, Grape Juice - Fruit Pastel, Apple Pie - Fruit Pastel, Pink Fever – Tropical, Banger – Fireworks

I can’t wait to have a play with some more nail art now! My nails are so long now; I think I may have to file them down as typing is getting effected now lol and I am rather loud ‘TAPPING’ on my ipad.

Then after work we headed to the Harvester because we were soooo DAMN HUNGRY we just wanted warm hot comfort food and LOTS OF IT! As I was packing up my desk I got a e-mail from www.sohos.co.uk saying that everything in the sale for two hours would have a further 50% off. I thought WHOA THAT’S A LOT OF MONEY OFF so of course I had a look see. There is a purple hell bunny dress I adore but they were out of my size, then I saw a little sailor number that was just lovely! Even matched the buttons on my fancy hell bunny coat! Matt LOVED IT and insisted I got it. At £17 for a £50 dress I couldn’t really say no!

Much to my dismay however it doesn't fit. I have contacted the shop to see if i can get another dress, and they said yes! Hurrah. The arms were insanely tight on it so i think even if i sized up i would still have the same issue
Anyhoo this is the one that has now caught my eye!

The weekend as per usually went past far too quickly but I had a really nice one! Saturday we took full advantage of our Cineworld cards. We woke up quite early and I took matt off to the surplus store in Croydon so he could get his gun checked. We also grabbed a maccy d’s breakfast on the way. God I love breakfasts! Hhhmmhmm!!

Then we headed home didn’t do too much and headed to Crawley around 4pm so Matt could pop his head in another surplus store and then we potted around the shops for a little bit and headed to tesco to get some popcorn on our way to the cinema. We sae 12 Years a Slave first and it was a beautiful film! Heart-breaking, and touching. I really enjoyed it. We planned to be out by 10ish so that left 1 hour and 30mins to get Nandos, but the trailers went on for over bloody 30 minutes so we didn’t get out till 10:30ish. We RAN out the cinema and grabbed some Nandos. They had, had a huge rush so they were out of a fair bit of food but we still got most the bits we went in for!

Then the second film started at 11:40pm. It was I, Frankenstein and it was AWFUL! It was cheesy and tacky. It was boring pointless and just down right shit. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone unless you are a little 10 year old emo kid. I was SOOO UNIMPRESSED with it that as I usually do when I’m bored I fell asleep. It was awful GOD!

This Saturday with our Cineworld cards we are going to see Robocop so that should be more fun! Just the one film this weekend I think!

So yeah it’s Tuesday and the week has only just begun but I am already counting down till Friday as per usual! Let’s hope it flys by!