It's been incredibly gray and rainy here for the last couple of days!  Which is why I'm still in a floral and bright colors mood!

I offer you my outfits from the last couple of days.
I am seriously in love with this Lularoe Amelia Dress - guys it has freaking pockets!!!  Did you catch that?  Pockets!!!!!!  Ok, ok, I'm a dork, but a dress with pockets is like a magical unicorn to me.  And the top is fitted - nice to show off the um... assets - hey flaunt it if ya got it (within reason of course)!  While the bottom has these incredibly cute pleats that seem to hide my belly!  (And no, I don't sell Lularoe - I'm just a huge fan and appreciate that they make cute clothes for ALL SIZES!)

My necklace is a go to from Stella and Dot that I picked up a couple of years ago!
Then there's this beautiful perfect pink open cardi I just picked up from Torrid a few weeks ago and I have to say it is perfect with pretty much everything in my wardrobe.  I'm wearing a Torrid size 2 for reference.

And of course there are those amazing sandals again from DSW and Steve Madden!  I love that I can use olive as a neutral!


Maybe florals aren't for you... that's ok!  Try any of my outfit ideas and sub in a bright print.  Case in point, my outfit from yesterday!

I seriously love the abstract combo of bright orange, purple, and turquoise in this Lularoe Carly dress!!! Yep... it's a dress - I tied it up in the front with a pony tail holder to make it more into a tunic!  I added leggings in a complimentary color - one from the top, and because it's rainy and a chilly a long Purple duster, and some metallic flats!  If you remember my "rules" from my post on Monday, you'll remember how with wearing florals and bold prints you should "break up the pattern"  This outfit perfectly illustrates that concept!

I couldn't end this without showing you a picture of my face from yesterday compared with my face from exactly a year ago!  Make sure you are following my Instagram to see more!

My eyes are so dang puffy I could barely see out of them.   I was a vision of unhealthiness.  I let myself go so far and I thought I would never dig myself out!  Now, this April I'm lighter - with a LONG ways to go still but that's ok!  I'm also so much happier.  I have truly nourished by mind, body, and soul.

Love yourself.
Take care of yourself.
You are worth it.
Trust me ... I've been there and back!
Have an amazing day, and leave me a comment telling me what you'd like to learn more about/see more of from me!



















Sarah XOXOXO

Happy Monday!  Hopefully you are rested from the weekend.  Here in the middle of Minnesota it was actually amazingly gorgeous spring weather and I spent a lot of time outside just soaking up some sun!   I am loving a red lip lately with a really natural face - I think it plays off my pale skin (aka white girl ghost emerging from winter).

Makeup:  Younique foundation/concealer and 3d+ Fiber Mascara Lips:  Blu-Red Lipsense

And now it's Monday and we are back to our regularly scheduled gray and rainy April!  Honestly the cure for me on a gray day is a bright, fresh, and usually floral outfit.  Let's talk about florals for a minute.  So as a fat girl, I always thought there was NO WAY I could wear florals - I would look like a beached whale in a mumu.  Oh boy, oh boy was I DEAD WRONG!  Case in point, my outfit from Sunday

Blazer:  Gap (a few seasons ago, but recently fits again!), similar style here: Old Navy striped Blazer Floral Top:  Dolman Top from Agnes and Dora Jeans:  Torrid Shoes:  Steve Madden - found at DSW!

The key for me and my apple body shape is balance - basically doing things like make me look less blob like!  What I've done here is a super easy combo that any of you can easily recreate by following the rules I'm going to give you.  Also these pieces are basics!  Think of how many other ways you could remix them!

1.  Pick a way to break up the pattern:  You could do a solid bottom with a floral top, or a floral bottom with a solid top.  Or if you are working with a dress think about a cardigan or denim vest or jacket as a layer to accomplish the same effect.  Above I used a solid bottom with a patterned top.

2.  Add structure:  There are lots of ways to add structure to an outfit, but basically this means again to do something so there is a "nipping in" sort of effect at your waist, top or legs.  You could use a belt, a structured cardigan, jacket, or blazer, or use sleek/straight/skinny bottoms with a fuller top or a more fitted top with a fuller bottom.  Any of these will add a nice amount of structure to your outfit and accentuate your curves!  Above I used a fitted blazer to accomplish this

3.  Pattern Mixing:  This goes along with the concept of "breaking up the pattern", but seriously do some amazing mixing here!  And don't be scared!  I'll write another full post about the "rules" of pattern mixing, but for now know that florals pair great with polka dots or stripes!  And seriously... do not even get me started with the whole I can't wear stripes - they make me look fat crap!  Are the stripes I'm wearing making me look fatter in the pic above?  If your answer is "no" then don't tell yourself that!  The more we tell ourselves something the more we believe it!  So look at yourself right now in the mirror - or on your phone if you don't have one, and say:
"I am beautiful!"
"I am worth it"
"I am enough"

Keep on rocking what the good Lord gave you ladies XOXOXO!
Sarah

Yeah - I know, it's mid April, and my last post was at the end of November.  Let me catch you up a little, and talk about the direction I hope to take going forward.

In November I came down with a horrible bought of pneumonia that lasted until the end of the year.  I thought I would never get better, but slowly I did.  We saw 2017 in and I sat myself down and said pretty sternly to myself, "Sarah, you try and try to find happiness and lose weight.  You think that losing weight will make you happy, but it won't.  What will make you happy is to start living your life again, and stop waiting for the weight to come off."  

And you know what?  I took myself seriously.  No, I didn't stop my weight loss journey.  I continued, and I'm happy to say I'm down 36 lbs and 30+ inches now!  I'm down 3 sizes! 

Progress!!! 36 lbs and 30 inches gone!

But what I did do is start filling my head with images of real people.  Women that looked like me, not like models.  I stopped reading things with airbrushed images.  I started looking at cellulite, and fat legs, and bellies, and seeing the beauty that exists.  And along the way I started to freaking love myself!  It was incredibly freeing, and honestly the more I loved myself the more I took care of myself.  I was healthier mind and body.

In March, I turned 40 and spent 5 glorious day with  one of my besties on the beach in Cancun - minus kids or hubby!  Oh... and I wore a freaking bikini for the first time in my life!  And I ROCKED the SHIT outta it!




Oh yeah, and my sneaky sisters collaborated with my husband to surprise me and come the 1200+ miles to be with me on my birthday! 



I guess you say I have been out enjoying life! 

Through this journey of self love and #bodypositive or #bopo if you follow Instagram I have been taking a lot of pics!  Especially full body pics!  And have been exploring and experimenting with outfits - even wearing some things (i.e. shorts and bikinis) that I would have never wore before!



So that brings me to moving forward with this blog.  YES!  I am still losing weight and want to share about that.  But even more so I would love to bring you beauty and fashion tips to help you on your own body positive and self love journey!  If you are like me, I truly now believe that this is a must if you are going to positively affect your weight!  I can't wait to share more on what is up my sleeve!  But for now - TGIF!!!  

XOXOXOXO
Sarah - aka Fat Little Legs