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Hello everyone,

So today I decided to share some pictures of me at the pool wearing my two-piece swimsuit. Last year was the first time I decided to wear a two piece swimsuit after many years of avoiding it like the plague.  I have been embarrassed of showing my belly ever since I gained weight the first time and especially after having children since now I have stretch marks all over my belly.

However, last year it all changed when I was walking around TJ Max and saw this swimsuit on the picture. It was my size and I decided to try it on. And low and behold, it fit perfectly. At first, I was having a hard time deciding if I would be brave enough to wear it or not, but then I decided, why not? I decided right then and there that I can show my belly with stretch marks and all. I do wear the high top briefs style so that it holds my belly in but now I even have a little tan on my belly which is awesome on itself.

So I wore this swimsuit so much that this year I even decided to buy another one and just today I was thinking how I might even be able to make one myself. The two I have are somewhat different but both have the high waist briefs but the tops are different. Wearing these suits has been an interesting empowerment in my part.

On another note, today as I at by the pool, there were a group of young people who were taking pictures because they are making posts on instagram and other social media about how people should love themselves. I thought they had such a great message and I was happy to see what they were doing.

Being plus size is so difficult somedays and today was not a bad day, I felt pretty good about myself and my husband did a great job on the pictures above so that I can feel good about myself. I will be honest, I was very scared of looking at these pictures and I am so happy now.

So, go out there and wear your two piece swimsuits…

Thanks,

Juliana

Hello everyone,

So I have been busy sewing some more pieces and trying to come up with my own styles. I have been getting some positive feedback when I wear the pieces I have made. It is rather satisfying to wear something I made myself. On the other hand, it has been dangerous to walk into fabric stores because I come out with an armful of fabrics.

There is also the fact that what I am wearing is all mine and I am the only one who has it.  I am starting to make some pieces as gifts, I made a few kimonos to give out and the next gifts will be dresses if I can get them done right.  I will keep you all posted once I get them done… I will also add pictures here so stay tuned.

It is fun to look at fabric and let my imagination run wild thinking about what I can do with it.  I am still trying to come up with some more fitted styles for myself but I am sure I will get there.

Thank you for reading,

Juliana

Hello everyone,

I am pleased to share with you 3 of my creations this weekend. I made two circle skirts and one skirt that is totally my design.

The yellow one is made of knit material which at first was a bit scary but it turned out to be as easy as the other materials when using my new sewing machine. The animal print one is a satin looking material that feels nice when touching it. To make them long enough it took some researching on Pinterest but I finally found one blog that explained it somewhat, so between that and my playing around with it, I got two beautiful skirts made. I now get to play with what shirts to wear with them. There is something to be said about the feeling of wearing something that I made myself.

The top picture is my pride and joy because I created it all on my own…. There is a secret to that one. It is actually  denim shorts  (I got at Old Navy at their 50% off shorts sale) which I then sewed a lace skirt on to it. I cut the lace skirt as a circle skirt and then used the rest of the material to make more details on the skirt. To finish things off I used the black lace to give it a touch…. I don’t love how the pictures turned out but I wanted to get the blog post out as soon as possible so these are going to have to do it. I am so proud of my first design and I hope you guys like it too.

Thank you for reading,

Juliana

Hello everyone,

I now not only like to shop for clothes, but I can make my own too. I have been experimenting with sewing for a while now and I just made my first outfit with my new sewing machine.  It is a pretty simple one, but it is in my favorite color and it is very comfortable. I am hoping to start designing my own things and not just follow a pattern in the future but one thing at a time.  For now I am just enjoying my new found confidence when it comes to sewing clothes and figuring things out.  I also made a few more kimonos to give as gifts, hopefully the ones who are getting them like them as much as I do.

My next big project will be to repurpose the skirt fabric of my debutant dress (yes, it has been about 25 years since I first wore it but it is still in good shape and looks as beautiful as it did then…). My hope is that I will be able to make it in a way that can be worn in a more casual manner.

Stay tuned to see what I come up with next!

Thank you,

Juliana

Hello everyone,

I know my blog is more for fashion but because of my recent travels I feel like I need to share a few things here.

These are just some suggestions to make your traveling more enjoyable and also to help others around you who are trying to enjoy their trip too.

When they call to board the plane, board when it is your turn. I realize each company has their own way of doing it but I get so annoyed with the people cutting in line and even worse is that they let them in anyway. Then, what is the point of having the company’s credit card that one of the benefits is boarding earlier, or paying a bit extra to board earlier if anyone can go in at anytime.

When you get on the plane with your carry-on, follow the instructions of the flight attendants and to be honest most of the planes have the same instructions, put your bags with wheels or handles first so more bags fit in the overhead compartments.  Because of the fees that companies now charge to check bags, more and more travelers are carrying bags into the plane. With that being said, be considerate and place your bag in a way that will leave room for others. Also, you should put your larger bag in the overhead compartment and the smaller one by your feet. Why do some people think these rules don’t apply to them? Why can’t we be considerate of others around us?

When in line to visit different sights in other countries, there is no need to push others. Also, why try to cut in to get ahead? Everyone is trying to get in and if we all cooperate it probably will go much faster.

At the immigration line, which by the way it is ridiculous now because in the US they don’t have designated lines for citizens in some of the airports so you stand there for hours…, everyone is trying to get to their connecting flight and why should I let you in front of me if I am also trying to get to my connecting flight. I realize it is stressful but you can’t put your stress on others.  I do hope they figure something out for these lines because our last trip in which we came in through Chicago was a nightmare. I get the impression that this is a way to force most of us to pay to get the global entry… It is all about the money I guess…

This is for the airport workers: Couldn’t you be a bit nicer to the travelers? Must you be so rude to half of the people that ask for help? It is amazing to me how most people who work in the airports are so rude and inconsiderate to travelers who are tired and sometimes just need some compassion.

Well, sorry for this little rant but I thought I could remind some people of the appropriate etiquette for traveling…

Thank you for reading,

Juliana

As many of you know my husband and I went to Europe a couple of weeks ago and we visited 3 different countries and many cities. We were also on a cruise on this trip, hence so many cities… Well, packing was quite an interesting endeavor because since we were on a cruise we needed clothes to change at night before dinner. Especially because we spent the whole day walking around and to make things worse we had a lot of rain while we were there.

I was able to fit everything in a medium size bag and a carry on and I included 2 outfits per day (good thing it was warm weather so that it is less clothes and smaller too). I have pictures here from the different outfits I wore during the day on our tours. We visited Rome, Pisa, Pompeii, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona and Cannes. The one day I did not get right was the day we stopped in Barcelona and we were told it was not supposed to rain, so I left the ship without a rain jacket and needless to say, it did rain and we got soaking wet. Many of the pictures I have my rain jacket because unfortunately it rained more often than we would have liked.

My suggestions to people who travel in the summer months is to take leggings, basic t-shirts with different scarves that become the pop of color. This was basically my uniform and added kimonos as needed and depending on the color of my pants. These were great because they don’t take a lot of space in the bags, they don’t wrinkle and don’t weight much either.

Packing for an 11-day trip that includes a 7-day cruise is not an easy thing to do. I packed and repacked three times at least and I think I got it right now but only after the whole trip will i know for sure.

I figured I needed a couple of outfits per day, because after a whole day of walking around and exploring the sites I would like a shower to then go watch some shows and have dinner. Ours is the freestyle cruise but it is still nice to wear some nice clothes at night for a change.

I ended up with 19 outfits total (the 19th is just in case we get stuck while traveling back and need to stay somewhere one more night), and 4 pairs of shoes, and for those of you who know me, know this is a difficult thing to imagine… only 4 pairs of shoes???… really???? Hopefully I won’t regret such decision.

Well, stay tuned for how the trip goes and how my outfits worked out…

Thanks for reading,

Juliana

So, we were out and about over the lunch hour and came across this small vintage like store that actually sells their own designs and vintage jewelry and shoes… then the sales girl came toward us and explained about their store. This was a store started by sisters whose mom was a seamstress close to 50 years ago.

The name of this gem is Wilbourn Sisters Designs. They create some unique designs that are more flowy and fit every kind of body. They don’t really have sizes, most clothes fit almost every body type. I was skeptical about this since you all know I am typically a plus size, so I decided to try a couple of things on and to my surprise they both fit me and were so cute… the best part is that the tops can be worn in a couple of different ways, one in particular becomes a vest or a tunic top to be worn with leggings.

Needless to say, I loved the store and I have to say it was a wonderful find… So next time you are in Atlanta or Los Angeles check them out… I did not get anything for writing this post, it was just a fun experience and I wanted to share with all of you…

Check  out their website  here.

It was not only a shopping experience but also a cultural experience to say the least.

Thank you for reading,

Juliana

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello everyone,

Our trip to Ulm was a big success and the boys enjoyed more than they thought they would. I know you can’t see much of my outfit here but this was what I wore a lot since it was colder there. I wore my fleece and my raincoat most of the days so no good shots of my outfits are available.

I wore my scarves often and they were a pop of color on top of my jackets.  My boys wore their sweatpants everyday and they seemed to be very comfortable all the time. I only took my boots and that worked too. Granted some days I wished I had tennis shoes too but at least I felt like I fit in the whole time.

All and all I did very well with our packing and I only had one set of clothes left at the end which was just perfect. (In case we got stuck on the way back, we had a change of clothes.)

Thanks for reading,

Juliana

Hello everyone,

I know my blog is for fashion and I will get to the clothes part of this post soon enough… But first I wold like to mention a few tips for packing for a trip with your kids overseas.

Well, I am going to Germany with both my boys. It is for a full week and my oldest is a big kid so his clothes and shoes take a lot of room.  At first I was hoping to just take 3 carry-on bags and our backpacks but as I kept checking the weather we will have while there, this idea quickly became just a dream.  We are also visiting family while there so there are the gifts that we are taking that need room in the bag.

As far as my clothes went, I started with the shoes, after all, it will be raining and possibly snowing for most of the time we are visiting. So I decided on short boots that are comfortable for walking around, yet ok to get wet. With that in mind, I started choosing my clothes. At first I had considered taking all casual clothes such as sweat pants and leggings, then I talked to a friend who has gone to Germany often and she shared with me that Germans tend to dress a little more dressy and that I should probably not wear sweat pants.  With this new knowledge I started over with my outfits.

What I have in my bag now are jeans and cute tops that go with the boots I am taking. I am also taking some scarves to help dress up some of the outfits if necessary.  I hope I got this right but I can let you know when I get back from the trip.

The packing did not end there though, now I needed to have enough outfits for my boys. The younger one was fairly easy since his clothes don’t take nearly as much room.  I had to do some shopping to make sure their clothes looked nice and had no stains or rips.  This is where things got more complicated.  My oldest is 6 feet tall already and only likes to wear sweat pants. One would think this should be easy, but I have to tell you, IT IS NOT! We visited many stores and finally found enough pants to take on the trip. The ones he had at home were all too short, stained or had seen better days.  I think we went to at least 5 different stores to find enough pants. It is really hard to find sweat pants that are long enough for him…UGH…

After all the shopping for their clothes was done, it was time to decide on what souvenirs to take.  Since I like to make crafts, I decided to make a quilt for them, then I found Harry Potter fabric and she loves Harry Potter so I made a second blanket and some bags with the fabrics I found. Well, as you can imagine blankets and quilts take up a lot of room.

(The picture above and below is of the earbud bag I made too. I thought it turned out really cute and it is the perfect size to through in any purse or backpack and no danger of your earbuds get ruined.)

Will all these things we ended up with 3 carry-ons, 1 medium size bag and 3 backpacks. The part I did not tell you is that 2 of the backpacks are full of chips since my youngest is an extreme picky eater and only eats specific things, he is even picky about the brand of the chips. On the picture above you can see that we have a blanket hanging from the backpack. This is a precaution because my son has some anxiety issues and I am hoping this will help throughout the trip, it is something familiar and cuddly that will keep him calm. (He also has a stuffed animal monkey in his bag.) Then you add the electronics each wants to have and books to read in the plane and airport and ‘voilá’ we have 7 pieces of luggage total…. It seems a bit insane for a 7 day trip but I believe that considering it is still cold and we need winter clothes it might be warranted.

Stay tuned for how correct I was in the choice of my clothes for this trip…

Thank you for reading,

Juliana