Wide Calf Boots Y’all!

How excited am I to finally find a pair of knee-high boots that REALLY fit my calves? BEYOND THRILLED. These beautiful leather boots are from Ted & Muffy – a UK boot brand that offers CUSTOM calf sizes on their boots. Additionally they offer sizing up to US 12 and wide shoe widths as well. I am so excited to see so many options for folks of all sizes. 

It’s been so long since I’ve had a pair of wide calf boots that was big enough to wear OVER a pair of jeans, that I just had to try this Demeter Boot with a pair of skinny jeans. Weekends are made for a casual look of skinny jeans, boots and an oversized top. But this style of boot could be dressed up quite well too – I love the versatility. 

OUTFIT DETAILS
Dip Hem Black Top – City Chic – L (special sizing)
Skinny Jegging Jeans – Torrid – 18 – available here
Parka – Old Navy
Demeter Boots – Ted & Muffy – available here
Black/White Bag – Rebecca Minkoff
Glasses – SEE Eyewear

Products provided by Ted & Muffy. All opinions are my own.

Beauty Thief: LastCraft’s Amanda Stilwell Has A Shocking Beauty Sleep Secret | Autostraddle

I had so much fun chatting with Aja at Autostraddle for this piece on my favorite skincare and beauty tips.

 

A little sample…

AA: I know our readers are curious about others’ skincare routines. Tell us more about yours!

AS: My regimen is to wash with a no-soap product, Melee Facewash by Brazen Bee, apply a tiny bit of jojoba/almond oil and then apply some sunscreen before my makeup, which I keep really simple during the week (concealer, mascara, lipstick). At night, I remove makeup with the jojoba/almond mix and a warm washcloth.

Beauty Thief: LastCraft’s Amanda Stilwell Has A Shocking Beauty Sleep Secret | Autostraddle

Just a few photos from the birthday trip to Palm Springs

Going to the desert in the middle of summer is probably not the best decision – it stayed in the 100′s the entire time we were there. But since several of my favorite bloggers had made posts about it in recent months, I really just needed to see what all the fuss was about.

Where we Stayed:
The Saguaro Hotel – A colorful hotel with a great pool and decent location.  About a mile from downtown – but near the ACE and a lot of really lovely little spots. 

What we Ate: 
Date shakes and lots of snacks at Hadleys Fruit stand in Cabazon on the way in to Palm Springs. Personally I wasn’t blown over by the Date Shakes, but I LOVED the dried fruit and veggies and nuts

Absolutely delicious brunch at Cheeky’s – perfect iced coffee, cute outdoor seating and beautiful art

Sweet little hippie meal at Nature’s Health Food cafe – love vegan options and I had a great red bean taco and a smoothie

There were tons of ice cream and candy shops downtown.  We stopped in a few while shopping during the Thursday evening Market.

What we Did:
Of course we had to stop and see the Cabazon Dinosaurs and take some photos

We took the Aerial Tram up to the mountains and hiked around. I highly recommend this excursion, but wear decent shoes and bring some water. The shortest hike is about 2 miles and I was totally unprepared.  It is $25 to go up and honestly it’s completely terrifying to travel 9,000 ft by tram, but once you’re up – it’s totally gorgeous and about 30 degrees cooler than it was in the desert.

A visit to the Palm Springs Art Museum is a MUST. Absolutely lovely collection of modern art and we had the pleasure of enjoying a contemporary woodwind quartet while we were there. It was one of my favorite museum experiences ever

And I’m obsessed with succulents, so we had to make a stop at the Moorten Botanical Garden. I was amazed by how many different types of cacti they had. However, it was too hot to enjoy it too much – my fault for going in the middle of the day.

Overall the trip was wonderful, but off-season when it is over 100 degrees the entire time was not super pleasant.  Even the pool was too hot to enjoy a dip in.  And shopping wasn’t happening either because it was too hot to even walk around from store to store.  NEXT TIME there will be a lot more shopping and hiking.

Summer Days in Los Angeles

My birthday is smack dab in the middle of the summer and when I was a kid, I just hated the fact that all my friends were away on vacation when my big day came around. It made for a lot of family filled birthday events – I guess it helps that I have FOUR siblings.

Keeping with the family theme for birthdays this year, I planned a trip to visit my sister in L.A. Usually when I visit, I stay on the west side (UCLA area) and stay with her and my lovely nieces and nephew.  This time, I still spent lots of time with her, but S and I wanted to check out some stuff in other parts of L.A. We booked a gorgeous little airbnb in Silverlake – our hosts had two sweet pitbulls and a lovely patio area for us to hang out on. We spent a lot of time between Silverlake and hollywood.

Our trip was so fantastic – I want to share my favorites with you!

The best coffee in Silverlake was Dinosaur coffee by far – they had delicious almond milk lattes for S and I am an iced coffee or iced mocha girl and all were perfection. The pastries were also just to die for – the strawberry croissant just took me to a new level. I also loved my rice bowl from Sqirl – a hearty and filling breakfast at this hip brunch spot.

Of course no trip to LA is complete without a visit to Lucky Scent’s Scent Bar where I sampled lots of delicious perfumes and bought Kilian’s Imperial Tea which smells like sticking your nose into a big glass of iced tea (and it was my wedding day scent!) – perfect for a summer night.

There was record shopping at Amoeba Records and browsing for tchotchkes at Wacko/Soap Plant. My favorite dinner of the entire trip was the vegan mexican food at Gracias Madre. The patio was perfect and the food was unbelievably good (and with a hot queer chef to top that off!)

I also experienced the largest Forever 21 plus size section I’ve ever been in while at the Ontario Mills Mall – I highly recommend a trip if you’re anywhere in the area.

OH! Also I chopped off my hair! Fat girl pixie cut and silver toned 🙂

OUTFIT DETAILS
Gray hooded dress – 2x – Forever 21+
Birkenstocks
Necklace – Forever 21
Glasses – SEE eyewear
Bag – Rebecca Minkoff

White/Black shirt – 3x – Forever 21+
Black skinny jeans – 18 – Torrid
Silver sandals – Sam Edelman
Glasses – SEE eyewear
Bag – Rebecca Minkoff

How I wear a #croptop

The topic of fat people in crop tops has been trending recently because of the statement in O magazine. I haven’t really weighed in with my fellow plus size friends because frankly, I don’t really wear crop tops all that often and honestly I’m of the option that everyone should wear whatever they want to whenever and don’t go making big statements about it.

So I personally don’t like showing my midriff skin, but I do really like this chopped up crop top sweater vest that I layered over a sheer button up top. It gives me the layered look I love and a way to wear a shorter shirt.

I love seeing how all of you are rocking and styling your crop tops. I add mine to the mix and recommend trying this if you’ve been feeling shy about trying it!

Outfit Details
Polka dot sweater – thrifted, chopped
Sheer shirt – forever 21+
Black shorts – city chic
Espadrilles – Aldo

Watery Print Dress

One of my favorite american artists is

James McNeill Whistler – his “Nocturnes” specifically are so evocative of a specific space. His color palette is often quite muted, in lots of greys and blues – with wispy weird light sources that seem to really glow. When I saw this dress on Gwynnie Bee, it immediately made me think of Whistler’s work.  I love the tunic shape and subtle drop hem. I wore it to work with a sweater and dark blue wedges. I wore it this weekend with my favorite birkenstock sandals and a belt (seen above). 

This weekend was so humid and I wanted to be by the water – isn’t chicago just so pretty in the summer? Watercolor print clothes are just perfect for a nod to summer.

OUTFIT DETAILS
Jete Watercolor Hi-Lo Tank Dress – Size 2x – via Gwynnie Bee subscription
Birkenstock sandals
Turquoise leather and gold belt via Asos
Long Necklace – Forever 21
Short necklace – Dana Rebecca
Glasses – SEE Eyewear

ProudMary’s Plus Size Fashion Show – Fashion on the Fringe

This week was super fun for me. I spent a lot of it with Jessica the owner of the perfect online plus size boutique Proud Mary. She held an amazing fashion show and shopping event Friday night at Fringe Salon (this is where I get my hair done BTW – by the amazing Patrick McAfee). 

Seriously I am almost without words about how cool this event was.  It was filled with my people –  gorgeous wonderful fat women 🙂 I honestly have never had such a positive response from walking a runway – everyone was so kind and generous. It was also great that there was so much shopping and this amazing photobooth by GlitterGuts

Above are all the outfits I wore – and they’re all available now at Proud Mary

My nails are by gigi at fringe salon find her on her tumblr thegigijigglesnails and IG @thegigijiggles 

Makeup is by Liz find her on IG @itslizmedaris 

Farmers Market and Striped Maxi Dress

I’ve been a vegetarian for several years now and one of my favorite things about spring is that the farmers markets finally start up again in Chicago and I have access to loads of gorgeous fresh fruit and veg. My favorite market is in Logan Square on sunday mornings.  I usually meet up with a friend or two for coffee at one of the many coffee shops in the area and then head over to buy delicious foods. 

This week I bought a new squash plant and some lettuce and spinach. My lovely pal M bought a giant loaf of sourdough that I wish I had also purchased because I’ve been thinking about it ALL week. That is on my list for this weekend for sure.

I decided to wear this lovely sheer striped maxi from eShakti over some shorts and a cami with my birkenstocks.  It was a perfect choice for the windy but warm weather – I love nothing more than a breeze blowing my maxi dress around me. I feel like I’m conjuring up something fun – hah! 

OUTFIT DETAILS
Sheer Striped Maxi – eShakti – Sz 20
High-Rise shorts – City Chic – Sz 18
Cami – St. Eve – Sz 1X
Braided Belt from Nordstrom
Gold Moon earrings – limited edition top shop
Black Diamond Necklace “Sylvie” – Dana Rebecca
Backpack – gift
Strappy Birkenstocks via zappos, Sz 41
Glasses – SEE Eyewear

Oh where oh where has InTheThickofIt been?

Well first of all, I’m still posting a lot on instagram @inthethickofit and i would LOVE it if you follow me and interact with me there. It’s not just clothes posts – it’s also a lot of my day-to-day and my sweet dogs Scout and Sailor and delicious food I eat. Typical insta, right?

Oh dear readers of InTheThickofit – it’s been a heck of a year. I just wanted to issue a quick apology for the slowing down of posts in the last 6 months. I am trying to get things together for more MORE MORE!!! but that hasn’t happened as quickly as I’d like. My lovely partner S is my photographer and between my schedule and his, there has been no time to take decent outfit photos. 

Also my weight has fluctuated quite a bit in the recent months and I’ve been finding it difficult to readjust my wardrobe accordingly. Sometimes it’s just hard to admit that life isn’t super easy. But I’m working through it and drinking lots of chai which seems to help a little 🙂

Here’s what’s happening though…I’ve got an amazing little Etsy shop called LastCraft that has just totally blown up.  There’s also my full time day-job that takes up about 12 hours of my weekdays. It’s just busy. 

I do have to say i am completely thankful for my plus size clothing subscription service Gwynnie Bee. It’s been so nice to add items that fit my ever-changing body to my wardrobe, even temporarily. Seriously if you haven’t tried them, you really should (and here’s a code that includes a free month if you’re so inclined). Below is one of my favorite recent purchases from them

I’ll be hopefully posting more soon – just wanted you all to know I’m thinking of you and missing you lots!

Impromptu Date Night

It’s been a really really busy few weeks. I’ve not had one relaxing night in forever. After seeing a post from Reno Chicago about their $5 pasta night, S and I decided to go on an impromptu date! Just look at those delicious dishes of fresh pea and mint pasta and burrata on toast.

I had just a few minutes to change – and it’s still been quite cold. I wore a sleeveless sheer cream top with a denim shirt and then a light faux-leather jacket from city chic on top.

OUTFIT DETAILS
Quilted Jacket – City Chic (M)
Sheer top with buttons – Forever 21+ (3X)
Denim shirt – Forever 21+ (2X)
Black Jeans – Target Pure Energy (16)
Suede Booties – Sam Edelman