Rule Breakers Club

Something I really love to join in on (particularly on Instagram) is a good photo-a-day challenge. If you don't know what that is well basically it is a challenge where you are given a theme or topic per a particular time frame whether that be every day for a week or every week for year (such as I've previously done with NZ Style Curvettes and Aussie Curves.

You then have to take a picture of you and the theme or topic and post it online. 

I have just finished a plus size fashion photo-a-day challenge called Rule Breakers Club run by Jo from the blog iCurvy and it was great fun. We had 7 themes, one for each day of the week thatwould basically require us to break some stupid fashion rule made by society regarding what clothes a plus size woman should or shouldn't wear. 

The themes were Stripes, Fluff & Fuzz, Leggings as Pants, Bright Colours, Graphic Tees, Sequins & Sparkles and todays theme, the last one was Leopard Print.

Well I had a ball and it was made alot more fun and visually exciting with Jos awesome gold themed graphics! 

So here's a bit of a visual show of this weeks challenge!

And just like iCurvy's graphic to follow says why don't you go be your own brand of badass and break some fashion rules!

 

My Story: Narcolepsy

Ok my story of Narcolepsy.
Im not sure where to start so i'll start from the beginning.

From the first day I started high school I came home exhausted everyday. My tiredness was extreme all throughout my teen years and I had been tested for all the most common deficiencies and causes. We just put it down to puberty and growing. 

* Photo of me asleep after school the year I started highshool

 
Years down the track when I was doing my VCE, my last years of high school, I was sleeping through classes and during recess and lunch. I knew deep down there was something wrong with me but I just sounded like a hypochondriac.

Dreams were always very real to me and often I would confuse them and reality but it wasnt until I was in my senior years at school (around the age of 16/17) that I started to hallucinate, however I wasn't aware I was hallucinating, I thought it was real.

Some of [what I think were] my first hallucinations are still some of the most vivid in my mind still to this day.
My bedroom was a in a studio separate from the house. I could see the shadow of the clothesline through my window and I was sure one night I had seen the shadow of a tall alien like figure walk past, I was terrified however I couldn't move anything except my eyes and I couldn't speak so I forced myself back to sleep and put it down to being a bad dream. 
Not very long after this I awoke lying in bed, again unable to speak or move anything but my eyes, which is what I now know to be sleep paralysis that would always accompany my hallucinations. There was an alien sitting beside me on the bed who seemed to be giving orders somehow and another crouched over my chest who had a foul temper. Although I couldn't move I somehow seemed to bite it and it snarled at me and I saw sharp razor like teeth even though I recall it having little if no mouth at all. The next day I'd asked my parents if they'd heard anything that night knowing my Dad was a light sleeper and would've heard anything and they hadn't so I just started to think I was going a bit crazy but mostly put it down to another dream.

Not long before I turned 18 I noticed that when my friends would make me laugh my neck would go limp and my head would just hang there. I could still talk but couldn't use the muscles in my neck until I'd fully stopped laughing. It was hard to believe unless you saw it and it had to be a proper laughing, hysterical and it wasn't until the night of my 18th birthday dinner celebrations that my Mum saw this for herself.
Soon after this I was with a friend getting videos and she was being funny and I had real trouble standing when I laughed. My knees would wobble and go weak and I'd stumble into stands of videos trying not to knock them over. As we left the store and crossed the road to her car she made a joke and I fell to the ground like a ragdoll in the middle of the carpark. Luckily it was late and there were no cars around. My mind was completely conscious. I could hear everything around me but couldn't move as I was still laughing inside my head. It wasnt until I forced myself to stop laughing that I could stand again. This is what I now know as Cataplexy. A loss of voluntary muscle use with extreme emotions; for me, laughter.

My Mum and I made a trip to my GP and he basically said it sounds like a nuerological issue (I was surprised he even believed me!) and referred us to a Nuerologist. Once the appointment finally came I explained my Cataplexy experiences and he just nodded amd asked me about whether I'd had any hallucinations or seen anything abnormal to which I replied to him about 'that time with the aliens'.
He straight away answered "You have a textbook case of Narcolepsy". I just bawled my eyes out as he described the disorder; cried with relief that I wasn't crazy, that my fatigue I'd struggled with for years wasn't just me being lazy.

 
12 years down down the track and I'm medicated and living almost like a normal person. 

I often take naps during the day or if I'm working I know when I start to get tired I need to change things up to stimulate my mind or else I go into a trance like state where my body is trying to shut down and go to sleep but my mind is fighting it trying to stay awake.

As a measure against cataplexy attacks I noticed I distance myself from situations that might involve me laughing hysterically or I just completely tune out. I still have Cataplexy during family dinners, its almost guaranteed as my siblings know my sense of humour and know how to make me laugh.

I struggle alot from depression too which is another part of Narcolepsy. Just imagine knowing you are literally going to sleep away more than half of your life! It's especially hard at the moment as I am looking for work. I need to go into retail as I love fashion which makes it stimulates my mind better helping me stay awake. However there seems to be a small ratio of retail work available compared to people looking for work. 

My dreams are always vivid and I can often confuse them with reality. My hallucinations are now minimal thank God to the medication but I do still have them occasionally where I usually find someone has to snap me out of it. 

I guess in some ways I am lucky that I have all the symptoms of Narcolepsy; the fatigue, the cataplexy, the hallucinations and the sleep paralysis. Not all people who have Narcolepsy have all the symptoms which would make it so much harder to diagnose. And apparently [in America] 1 in every 2000 people have Narcolepsy, alot go undiagnosed.
 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Spin the Pin - March 2016

Jo from iCurvy revealed the March Spin the Pin late February (pictured above and here) and I knew straight away what top I wanted to wear for it. 

I usually know straight away whether I'll struggle to be inspired or not. I did not struggle at all this month; next month could be a challenge for me though!

Outfit Details:

• Black top with white stripes || By I-N-C International Concepts || Opshopped within a $10 bag of clothing

• Denim jeans cutoff to make shorts || Autograph || Opshopped as jeans for $5

• Wedges || I Love Billy || Opshopped for $4

• Sunnies || El Cheapos from Thailand || Gifted

Check out the other entries at the Link Party 

NZ Style Curvettes - Green

I'm totally loving khaki green atm!

One piece especially that I can't wait to get more wear out of is this Kenneth Cole top I recently thrifted.

The pleather sleeves are a bit tighter than I'd like, meaning I can't bunch them up, they have to stay covering my forearms. This basically means it is not a summer piece of clothing. So when the cooler weather comes... eventually expect to see a lot more of this top.

I love the style of this top. It actually reminds me a lot of my Harlow Invincible winner top (below) that I wore nearly everyday last winter! 

This Chrissy Swan skirt that a friend gave me goes perfectly with the green top. The trim of pleather on the skirt matches with the trims of pleather and sleeves on the top, and you should all know by now how much I love being matchy matchy!!

Outfit details:

• Green top with pleather sleeves || Kenneth Cole || $3 (half price) at an opshop

• Black skirt with pleather trim || Chrissy Swan for Avella, Big W || Given to me by a friend

• Black leaf necklace || $1 at a garage sale

• Black sandals || Target || $15 (at a half price sale)

My Birthday Op Shopping Adventure

My 31st Birthday. Getting older but getting wiser and by wiser I mean knowing that I can get some awesome clothes for just a fraction of the retail cost at Op Shops!

My birthday this year fell on a Saturday and this particular Saturday my Mum had a business meeting in Ballarat. Knowing me Sooo Well she suggested that my Sister and I go with her and make a day of it, op shopping! Best.Idea.Ever.

Saturday morning and we hit the road coffee in hand fairly early. I drove cause if I didn't we all knew I would fall asleep! Lol

When we got to Ballarat we dropped Mum at her Business meeting and arranged to meet her in town later on.

My Sister knows my passion and was well prepared for my mission. We started at the Red Cross Op Shop on Sturt St. We were more trying to plan ahead fitting in op shops as most seemed to close are 1pm so I didn't search every rack like I usually would. However shoes were half price and I found a practically new pair of black City Kitty heels for $4 instead of $8! Bargain number 1 for the day!

We then decided to head to the Mall area cause there was around 4 or 5 oppies clustered together.

First we went to Wozzles Warehouse, an op shop for C.A.F.S (Child and Family Services) and I was pleasantly surprised! When I saw thier sign iutside thier store saying items had been washed and laundered I thought it would be super expensive but it wasn't! It was easily cheaper than the previous Red Cross Op Shop.

So here I bought a cool $3 necklace, a pair of $3 reading glasses (both in my selfie below) and a silver wideneck top by BelleCurve (Target) for $6. I think that is pretty impressive.

I even come across this (photo below), which I assume is a rare one. Considering Harvest Powell is the name of the amazing babe behind Hope and Harvest which has been around for years! I imagine it as something she might've made in her early designer years which went from woman to woman and has eventually ended up right in front of me in a Ballarat Op Shop.

Next we popped into the Vinnies in the Mall and I found an As New Ts14+ black skirt for $8 and some really comfy jeggings (photo below) by Crossroads for $5.

Not far down the Mall was The Salvos, so naturally that was our next stop. I was starting to get pretty hungry and couldn't focus but I stumbled upon an Eve Hunter jumpsuit in the wrong section and decided to get it simply because it was a jumpsuit and size 20. I didn't have the energy to try it on, but I really wanted a jumpsuit and was hoping it would fit. The tag said $10.25. At the counter I find out its a purple tag which was half price and it even fit perfectly when I eventually got home and tried it on!!! Score!!! I put it down to birthday luck.

When my attention wavered, when I started loosing focus and my op shopping was affected I knew it was time for lunch.

We had lunch at The Unicorn which was an enlightening experience, like a trip back in time. Old record tunes, the atmosphere had a real retro/vintage/hipster vibe even down to the waitresses. One had a shoelace as her belt! I was captivated by the view I had of the old historic buildings, I could definately picture Sturt St. during the 1920's nightclub scene with flappers and men in pinstripe pants with braces.... Oh and lunch was awesome too! My cajun chicken, apple and walnut salad was very hot but I managed to eat the majority and loved every hot, delicious mouthful I could eat!

After Lunch we went back to let me finish checking out the Salvos Op Shop in the Mall properly. I knew Mum and Sis were pretty over it and tired, I had spent my budget (roughly) and I figured that the majority of other op shops would be closed by now so we decided to go out to Wendouree Shopping centre on the way home for a drink. 

I had very chocolatey iced chocolate and huge piece of lemon slice. I was soo full. Satisfied but oh so full. 

My Sister drove home whilst I attempted to answer phone, Instagram and Facebook birthday messages but in true Narcoleptic form and like a baby with a full tummy, I fell asleep!

 

It was such a great day! Spending time with the people I love, doing what I love. Who could ask for a better birthday!!! Thanks my Beautifuls! 

Spin the Pin - February 2016

I feel like I've been MIA from Instagram lately. I hate that.

I try to partake in a weekly fashion challenge of some sort but I've just had a really bad run with unfortunate things happening one after the other lately. Dental problems, breaking my curtains, getting over stressed to point of a mental break down, my only bra breaking, having a bad cold/cough/ear infection > meaning I haven't been able to see much of my new born nephew and having to decline my first ever offer to model for a well known plus size brand for a fashion parade (and get paid for it) because of my stupid dental problems!!! .... I feel like I could go on forever. I know they are shitty little things but it all gets me down...

Sooo I'm getting out of my rut and doing a challenge. And if there's any other challenges you think I should have done or should be doing then let me know and feel free to hold me to it! I know I've missed a couple of weeks of #NZStyleCurvettes challenges and I hate it! It's annoying me like OCD so I think I will have to go back and play catch up!

To the point... My Spin the Pin challenge for this month!

If you don't know what the Spin the Pin challenge is yet then learn about it here.

For this months Spin, I have taken full inspiration from the green fringed skirt in the Pin (above). The khaki green coloured skirt with thick fringing reminded me alot of a vest my sister and I bought not too long ago. 

I've always tried to get my younger sister (by 7 years) into opshopping. It's only just now, after years of trying, that I seem to  be getting some success with her. Recently we went op shopping together and found this sheer khaki green coloured vest with fringing, and we all know how "in" fringing is atm. We both liked it so much we decided we could share it.

So for my spin I wore our vest with jeans and these awesome wedged boots I got (for $2) from that same op shop trip. In hindsight I should not have worn jeans because it was soooo hot!

The vest is a bit frustrating the way it sits. I don't think we will keep it. The bottom of the sheer material, where the fringing is sewn on, has been gathered and makes the vest sit really weird, even so on my sis who is quite a lot smaller than me.

I feel like I should give this vest another chance before I send it off to an opshop again since I've only really worn it this once. What would you wear it with?

Outfit Details:

• Khaki green fringe vest || Nuqust || Opshopped for $1

• Jeans || City Chic || $50

• Tan tee || S2S || Opshopped for $2

• Long gold vintage necklace ||Opshopped 

• Beige wedged booties || Kö Fashion || Opshopped for $2

Check out the other babes that have linked up to do this months Spin the Pin too here.

NZ Style Curvettes - Maxi

Be it a maxi dress or a maxi skirt, they always tend to be too long for me... But I have found ways around it. 

I won this cool maxi dress by Embody Denim just last December on Instagram (Read more about that here) but it was too long... easily fixed.

If your maxi is too long you can knot it like I have with this maxi below. You can knot it to the side, at the front, up high, or down low.

If it's a maxi skirt you can pull it up higher so it's not dragging on the ground and no one will know because you will have a top over it! Pull it right up to your boobs, or even over your boobs and no one will know!

Another way I like to style my maxi dresses, or just any dress really is to use it as a skirt, and even sometimes as a top, depending on the dress. For example: the double take photo below shows the same dress being used as a skirt and a top, and it can also be worn as a straight dress. See my Double Take post here.

Since I have pics of me wearing my Embody Denim maxi dress straight at Christmas time last year (the very first pic in this post) I decided to be a bit different this time and wear it as a skirt!

I even used the maxi dress' belt tie as a headscarf to tie the two separate parts of the outfit together!

Outfit Details:

• Maxi dress || Embody Denim || Retails at $249 but I won it!! 

• Headscarf/Headwrap || Belttie from Embody Denim Maxi dress || Free

• Black peplum || Lily n Lou || $12 from Best'N'Less.

• Black sandals || Target || $15

• Bohemien Bardot ring || Samantha Wills || Bought off eBay for $35

• Black bag || Spencer and Rutherford || Opshopped for just $20

• Reversible black & silver necklace || Taking Shape 14+ || I paid $13.30 on sale but it retails at $34.95

• Denim jacket || Autograph || Opshopped for $4.10

Do you have any nifty hacks you use when wearing your maxi?