Christmas eve eve

To celebrate Christmas, sans toddler who had the day at nursery, Mr Eclectica and I went out for lunch at a place that has been one of our favourites since moving just outside Cambridge a couple of years ago.

View from table. Not a nice day.

Me, bad hair and sitting Buddha like.

We like going out to eat, but what makes a place a pleasure to visit isn't just the food but the environment. The restaurant is a converted mill in a small village. A little bit shabby, but in summer the gardens more than make up for it. Unfortunately on a damp and wintery day the environs weren't that enticing and the food wasn't up to its usual standard. The staff were brilliant though and we had a lovely chat and a laugh. Definitely a lovely and calm way to start the Xmas period!

(Please note that just after lunch I was off to get my hair done so please excuse the bad hair and any 'natural' highlights peeking through at the roots.)

In a time not that long ago my 'go to' outfit was always jeans or if it was a dressy affair, trousers (black). Somehow over the last few months this has changed. If I need to get dressed in a hurry and am heading out somewhere that doesn't involve mud and huskies then I find myself reaching for my denim skirt or a dress. So for my lunch and hair appointment I wore this..

Me wearing Wallis cardi, Primark shirt, M&S skirt, Primark leggings and Evans boots

Not sure about the cardi to be honest, but didn't want to wear a coat and wanted something that wasn't black or hid my shirt too much. The shirt is Primark. Yes I know they don't do plus sizes but sometimes the styling of certain clothes means that they can work on fat bodies. Love the colour of this and for £8 I'm happy I took the chance and tried this on in the store.

As for the skirt, really glad I bought this from M&S. It's a size 26, good length, thick stretch denim and with a button fly. Great quality for £25.

And as for New Year's Eve, what will I be wearing? PJ's most likely. After going out every NYE since age 17 I'm staying home, although maybe not sober!

Happy New Year!

Festive Fivetake

Well I'm a bad bad blogger because I hadn't read my email properly and so didn't realise that we were doing something today to kick off fivetake. In the end though I went for something that I got recently. Well, I didn't get 'it' as such.

What I found was a great pure wool heavy fabric jacket that I loved, but with no stretch at all. While this didn't matter in the body of the garment it meant that the sleeves did not fit. AT ALL. As in, couldn't bend my arms when it was on, and it was also making the back feel like it was too tight across the back. But I couldn't leave it sitting there so I took a risk. Not a huge risk mind as it was thrifted and £7.

I bought it, took it home and simply cut off the sleeves right at the top where they joined the jacket. Hand hemmed it and then fell in love. Love the pink band, love the fabric and love the fact I can play Mary Mother of Jesus if I so choose to.

So why is this my festive look? Well I don't do Xmas tree earrings, but I do warm and toasty (which this is). I also think the festive season isn't just about what you spend, but what joy things you buy or are given bring you. This top is the perfect example of that.

Jeans are from Evans (note visible tummy!), under top from H&M and shoes from Next. These shoes have been to two Xmas parties so very festive too! And the jacket? Think it is by a small designer and bought by someone who obviously liked the idea of it, but then realised it wasn't really them as it was unworn when I bought it.

I still have the sleeves in case anyone needs some :)

Now go see how Rebecca, Monkey (otherwise known as Claire), Becky aka Mrs BeBe and Nicole, the owner of  A Well Rounded Venture have interpreted this theme!

Exciting bits and pieces...

So, it's been busy in Eclectica land. Work has been non-stop and been fitting in socialising and visiting new babies etc! All fun but taking its toll on other things, like blogging.

I've also been thinking that I need to return to the main reason I started this blog: an admiration and a wish to copy  follow in the footsteps of the other wonderful plus size fashion bloggers out there.

I'm therefore intending to make myself get organised, take more photos and actually do more of that kind of blogging, rather than ranty pant blogging (not that there is anything wrong with that...).

Just as well really as I'm being going to be doing a wonderful #takefive challenge with the fabulous A Monkey Fatshionista , The Ramblings of Mrs BeBe, The Plus Side of Me and A Well Rounded Venture. I am not worthy, I am not worthy...

Anyway, for those of you who have not come across this before, takefive means that one of us will choose a theme or item of clothing or look and we all have to do our own take on it. And blog about it. With pics.

I think one reason it's an excellent line up of bloggers for this is that we all have very different styles and are of different shapes and sizes.

Looking forward to it starting the new year...

And also happening in the new year (4 Feb to be exact) is Plus London 2. I didn't go to the first event but heard about how wonderful it was when I started blogging. The date is already in my diary and it should be in yours too!

Chattermonkey has been working her little cotton socks off to organise it and already has some huge plus sized brands champing on the bit to be involved. It's evolving into a more wonderful event by the day so sign up here!!!

Other than that, I keep buying things from H&M.

New Year's resolution: more pics, more posts!

Take care. Merry Christmas and hope to see you at the Plus London Event :)

Conflicted

I used to believe that my life was like a sit-com. Ok, there wasn't canned laughter and all my houses have had four walls rather than a stage audience staring in from one side, but there was a reason for my suspicion. It used to seem that I had 'themed' weeks. Like a sit-com where the episode would be about 'trust' or 'being grateful for what you have', I'd have weeks where the universe seemed to be sending me a message, where there was a recurrent theme.

The underlying message about this last week has been about conflict. Not as in battle grounds and bombs but about being conflicted about what I want from life and how to get there. What is the right and best way to live my life? What is most important to me?

The problem is with these big life questions is that they impact on every decision in my daily life (very joined up thinking).

Here's an example over something I'm conflicted about. I think I want a life where doing things is more important than having things. I want to do some more travel, experience more things, live a full life. Spread my wings, have my heart stirred by amazing scenary and feel that I have visited some of this fantastic world that we only have one chance to live in.

But, but....but... I also like owning things and having pretty bags and shopping and all that other owning stuff, well, stuff.... so can I do both? Not on our current income no. So what is the answer?

And, here's another one. Very much related to the one above. It's about having a house that needs work doing. And having a house that although it is 3 bedrooms and has a relatively large garden, is still much smaller than some of our friends. So do we save, do it up and then buy another that we pay another huge mortgage for? Or do we do it up as we need to and want to, and then enjoy it for being what it is: a comfy compact home that is a base for our family and not a status item?

When I die will I regret more that I didn't have 3 reception rooms, or that I didn't see the sun setting on the pyamids?

Writing that down made the answer clear for me, but the problem is remembering that when I drive past the detached 6 bedroom country piles around our village and go green with envy.

The hardest decision at all is what do we do about our family itself. We have a darling daughter and maybe want more. Or not. It's the hardest decision (although of course with this particular issue sometimes the decision is out of your hands anyway).

Can we live the life we want with more than one child? But will our family feel complete with just one child? Answers on the back of an envelope please but this is one thing that I don't have the answer for, and worse of all I'm not sure how to find the answer for either.

Are you conflicted about anything in your life? How do we resolve these issues?