So. The diet. I wouldn’t say it’s OFF, exactly, but it’s not exactly ON, either. If you could see through the computer screen to my desk you would see Nutella. You would also see an empty bowl that used to be generously full of chocolate-covered dried cherries.
I just. You know? Just, eh. Food is so yummy. I like to eat it. This results in me being kind of poofy and soft. I’m having trouble getting worked up about it WHILE I’m eating the Nutella. Check back later.
Oh! You know how I wear jeans and a t-shirt and maryjanes Every Single Day? Well, it’s pretty clear to me after more than three decades that fashion is not going to be one of my hobbies, but I was very encouraged when I bought a new shirt for that Christmas party last year and found I liked it and felt happy in it. I haven’t worn it since, of course. But still! So when I went to Target with Rob and Henry this weekend, I left Rob in charge of Henry and I tried things on.
I tried on ELEVEN things! Including dresses, because Miss Grace has totally inspired me about dresses. I didn’t buy any of the dresses (they were designed for someone shorter than me, I think, because they fit perfectly from side to side and yet looked very comical in the vertical, like I should be wearing a lace-trimmed diaper cover underneath), and I didn’t buy any of the sleeveless shirts (I still don’t like the way they look on me: they emphasize my narrow shoulders and soft upper arms, while de-emphasizing my small waist), and I didn’t buy the shorts (they were the pedal-pusher length I like, but tiiiiiiight at the knee which I don’t like), and I didn’t buy the t-shirts (too boxy and shapeless and short). But I DID buy a Liberty of London shirt, and it is NOT a t-shirt! Dig it:
(image from Target.com)
It does not look quite like this on me. Picture it twice as wide and a few inches shorter, so that the ruffle sticks out like a tutu over my butt if I don’t occasionally adjust it.
I didn’t think I could wear Liberty of London because they don’t have plus sizes (in their Target line, I mean; I don’t know if the regular line has them), but I tried on the XL in a what-the-heck moment of breezy confidence, and it fiiiiiiiiiiit. I don’t know if I’ll ever wear it even one time, because every morning I look in my closet and I choose a t-shirt, but even HAVING this new shirt is a huge step! And it’s so pretty and colorful! I just love it! And now I have a “cute top” in case I go to something where such a thing is called for! And it was 50% off!
Edit: Okay, here is a picture of me wearing the shirt. Do you know what’s tricky? Taking photos in the mirror. I tried not to pose (hip jutting, 45 degree angle, arm flexed, one leg tucked behind other as if needing to pee), but it was difficult to resist.
I also bought a new pair of the Target jeans I like, because one of the two pairs I bought before is significantly tighter (feels a half-size smaller) than the other, and so I never ever wear those, and so I’m right back where I was, wearing pajama pants while the only pair I like is in the wash. These new ones better fit nice or I’mma gonna fling something (possible the Nutella).
<3 I so feel you! Why diet when food is good and dieting sucks? MEH.
I like food, too. Cleaned the closet this weekend and sadly, had to remove many items which seemed to have shrunk! Oh well, makes room for new ones!
That shirt is cutesville. Can you model it?
Wait, did that sound creepy? I just wanted to see the shirt on a real person to verify the cuteness is all.
I love that shirt! I bought myself a mother’s day hat, which I have been wearing since I bought it on Saturday. If I could SLEEP IN IT? I totally would.
And everyone should wear more dresses. If you posted MORE pictures of yourself, then I could get a better idea of what kinds of dresses I should tweet at you with the intention of tempting you into buying them. Shopping for other people is, unbelievably, even more fun than shopping for myself.
Oh and I am hugely in love with food. It’s the source of the failure of most of my diets. Food is delicious!
I never wear dresses or skirts, because of my bulgy varicose veins, and I WANT TO. Dresses and skirts are just so cute, especially in summer. They don’t really fit my life, sadly. Actually I wore a dress a couple of months ago – with thick tights and boots – and I wished I could wear it all the time, I felt so PRETTY. Sadly, even where I live one cannot get away with thick tights and boots in the summer. That top is really cute. Also? Last night for Mother’s Day I made spinach lasagne with extra Parmesan and mozza. SO VERY GOOD.
CUTE! I’m thinking an occassion perfect for that blouse is BlogHer! Not that I’ll get to see it, but I know conference rooms are sometimes cold even when it’s 90 degrees outside, so the 3/4 sleeve is just right. :) Way to be brave and try things on!!
And the advertisement on this post? KFC. Mmmm, chicken. I am with you, honey. Dieting stinks, most of the time. And trying on clothes has never been fun for me, not even when I weighed a whopping 60 lbs less.
Food wins with me every time.
For my birthday a few weeks ago my husband got me a Liberty of London nightgown. Adorbs.
For Mother’s Day I got a Liberty of London hat AND wallet. I thought of you.
That shirt looks super cute and at 50% I might need to go see if I can pick one up myself.
Dieting is the worst. Honestly it mostly just makes me feel worse about myself than if I wasn’t trying to lose weight. (Which, based on the M&Ms on my desk, I’m not gonna do.)
I, too, am poofy and soft and I LOVE everything from Lands’ End. Everything. And best thing about it is Sears takes back Lands’ End online stuff for free. No return shipping charges. I shop shop shop for my poofy and soft self online, try on at home, and return for free whatever I don’t like or want at my local Sears.
Every time I attempt to diet, I decide I like food more than I like fitting into my clothes. Good luck to me in about three weeks when this baby is born. Well, in about three weeks, plus the six following that where I’ll milk the “no exercise” rule for everything it’s worth. Add that to the ravenous eating of breastfeeding and I’m screwed.
i have been on a program for a while. i have lost 70 pounds. at first when my clothes got too big, i could go out to the shed and find something to wear- something i had previously outgrown. but then i ran out of clothes. so i decided to buy only pair of jeans to wear until i needed the next size. worked great. but again, only 1 pair of jeans, albeit they are getting smaller. i fell 2 weeks ago and somehow managed to bust open the pants right along side the zipper. i get paid once a month, so i can’t buy more until next week. right now i’m wearing the joke jean capris my sister bought me on store clearance for 74 cents! the pockets are covered in bling and there are lots of “cat whisker” fade-out.
Super cute shirt and it looks good on you – it’s also a good picture, at first I thought you were holding up a frame, but it’s the window behind you. Clever!
You look really cute in that shirt! Blouse! Whatever it is! v.v. flattering as Bridget Jones would say. I lost 20 lbs on the “just don’t eat so much” diet, and felt great about it. I could really stand to lose another 20, but I just feel like, Damn, HAVEN’T I DONE ENOUGH?? The answer is no, but it feels like yes, if yaknowwhatimeanandithinkyado.
Swistle, you look AWESOME in that shirt. Totally adorbs. And not NEARLY double the size in the non-Swistle picture. Methinks you’re smoking crack. Said with love.
Although I did just look back at picture #1 and dang, that is some bone-age sticking out. So you do look bigger than that but in a completely good and womanly way. Hawt.
I like the shirt on you a ton! Wait, that sounds like an underhanded compliment… But I do, I really love it! And maybe I’ll buy it too, and we can be shirt twins.
Is it bad that I’ve been happy-ish about being so sick lately b/c I haven’t had an appetite and I’m thinking YAY weigh loss! Food is yummy, I agree.
Miss Grace is UNCANNILY good at picking out clothes (specifically dresses) that look good on other people. She’s bossy but she’s usually right….
The shirt looks great on you.
Oh, oh! And that shirt looks super cute on you!
Shirt is totally cute, and you look awesome.
Meh, my diet isn’t going so well either. I actually gained a pound last week. *sigh* BUT – I too bought a new shirt yesterday and it’s a Med. and it fits!! Who knew an $11 shirt could make someone that happy!
PS – love the shirt on you!
That shirt must have screamed your name & flung itself in your cart. If I’d seen it in the store, I would have thought “Swistle would love that shirt”.
*happy hand clap*
I bought that same shirt for our family pic. Love it. Love Liberty of London stuff. Looks good.
luuuurve you in the shirt!
You are adorable. I love love LOVE that photo of you. Also, the shirt does NOT look twice as wide as the model version. It doesn’t!
GAH! Stop being so damned cute!
That shirt looks great on you.
Also, what the hell is wrong with jeans and t-shirts? I pretty much live in t-shirts and yoga pants. Putting on jeans is “dressing up” for me.
Looove the new shirt! I think it looks great on you!
Also I’m very glad to learn that I’m not the only person who just has ONE pair of jeans that fit and has to wear PJ pants when they’re out of commission. It makes me feel less.. alone. haha
Super cute shirt. You definitely should wear it.
You SAY you’re plus sized, but damn you do not look plus sized at all. Those thin wrists! The clavicles! The facial bones that show! You certainly wear your weight beautifully, unlike those of us that sit and suddenly have large loaves of fat spurt out in all directions.
You’re too cute in that shirt.
I am plus-sized. You do not look plus-sized to me! As far as I can tell I aspire to be your size.
Yay for stepping out of the comfort zone and buying something new. Now the trick is to make your self wear it.
You knockin’ pajama pants? UNFOLLOW.
That shirt is SO cute on you! I always want shirts like that to look cute on me, and they never ever do.
CUTENESS! Hope it runs in the family! :o)
Love the shirt!
Oh come on; POSE!
I have that shirt in both of the other Liberty prints that they made it in! I love it. Wear it! It looks cute on you.
If you find a good source for dresses, let me know. I end up looking round around the middle and top-heavy if the skirt is anywhere above my ankles.
I laughed all day about the lace-trimmed diaper cover, because I know exactly what you mean.
I like the shirt! It looks comfortable but so much prettier than a t-shirt.
Adorable! Love the Liberty of London stuff…have had to be forcibly removed from their stationery end cap.
Very cute shirt. I will get so stressed when clothes shopping that I am near tears.
That shirt looks absolutely rad on you.
I’m glad to see there are a few others that were thinking the same thing as me. I just don’t think I believe that you are “plus sized”. I just don’t. Every picture you post of yourself contradicts your claims.
I gain weight when I diet. Awesome.
Megan- Ha ha! I carry it mostly in Teh Buns Region and in Teh Tum Region, so you’ll notice I never post sideways shots!
You are very photogenic. I am very jealous. And the posts about you not looking plus-sized are true.
If you have a secret to phototaking that reduces the quadruple chin effect, I would love to hear it.
(and nice to hear the pj admission, although my version is yoga pants.)
Hah. The verification word was bagel.
Bunnyslippers- I have two secrets, no three secrets:
1. Stand very carefully so that tum and buns are in two dimensions not three.
2. Backlighting.
3. Take 60 pictures and only choose 1.
Cute top – wear it tomorrow!
I don’t like to have bare legs in dresses…so I wear a dress, LEGGINGS, and a little cardigan.
ON has a really cute plus size sleeveless dress right now (black, empire waist), then get their leggings, and the ‘boyfriend cardi’ and you’re set – it’s like a $50 outfit (sometimes they have free shipping or 30% off codes – but I love that black dress they have right now….
Anon- LEGGINGS!!! THAT is what I need! I tried on some dresses and I was like, “I like everything about these except my bare legs.” I need LEGGINGS.
Is it the time of year? I am suddenly feeling the urge to acquire new clothing, too! That shirt looks terrific.
I think you look beautiful in that shirt! Wear it and wear it often! :)
I’m a little late to the party here, but I have to say I LOVE this: “Food is so yummy. I like to eat it. This results in me being kind of poofy and soft.” That’s how it is in my family, too. Although I’ve been lucky to avoid it so far, quite a few of us are “poofy and soft”. But the bonding we do over our favorite meals? So, so worth it. (To me, at least…)
And I second (third? fourth?) the leggings suggestion. My absolute favorite spring/summer outfit is a comfortable dress or skirt. At work, or when I feel a little too bare, I throw on a cardigan (for those troublesome upper arms) and some leggings. Score!