The Curvy Blogger

After I hosted that amazing contest on my blog, I noticed a reoccurring theme of hard working women who do not take time for themselves. I wish EVERYONE who entered the contest could have won, you were all so deserving of it.

One popular thing I keep hearing over and over again is “When I lose ten pounds I will _______”. Ladies, that is the worst mentality to have. Why? Because you shouldn’t make an ultimatum for yourself, it’s unfair and you deserve to treat yourself better.

No matter what your size is, no matter what you want to change about yourself, you should always make time for you. No exceptions.

If you really love a dress but hold yourself back because you want to lose weight first. DON’T. Why deny yourself from feeling beautiful and splurging on a new dress? YOU DESERVE IT. 

You always deserve to feel beautiful, no matter if you want to gain weight, loose weight, or want to get toned. Never hide the body that you have with sweatpants and tees, you deserve to shine, no matter who you are.

My goal for you (and me) this week is to do something nice for yourself. Whether it be shopping, pampering, cooking a delicious meal for yourself, or anything along those lines. If you partake, I would love to hear what you did in the comments below. :)

Some days I have to go looking for inspiration, which is precisely what I did today. This outfit was inspired by Karla of Karla’s Closet,  I have been in this funk lately and working a lot so I haven’t really been inspired. Though I really wanted to do an outfit photo, so I decided to go to one of my biggest inspirations on the web.

sweater: JMS cropped top: lush jewelry/skirt: thrifted bag: gifted boots: Matiko

Who inspires you?

Happy Tuesday everyone! Last week I decided to stop by the Wood Street Gallery in downtown Pittsburgh with a few friends of mine, and they snapped a few photos of me while we were playing in the lights.

by Kelsie Taylor Photography

by Veronica Varos Photography

This exhibit was absolutely amazing, we could literally stay and stare at it all day. Which we did for about an hour! I hope you enjoy the images, and check this place out if you live near by, it is free!!

<3

Sometimes (all the time) it is nice to get out and do fun things with friends. I had an awesome day with some lovely ladies. We went to the Wood Street Gallery and got some delicious lunch.

Luckily my I am friends with super talented photographers, Veronica Varos took these pics of me!

maxi dress: Asos Curve vest+scarf+bag: thrifted

<3 Happy Wednesday!

Happy Monday, I have some good news for you local ladies. Bakery Square has reached out to me to host a little “Love Yourself” promotion! 

Love is in the air at Bakery Square! It’s time to spoil yourself with a personal style session by me! ;) 

The Winner Receives:

$200 to Anthropologie (to be spent in a style session with Mandy)
$200 to Free People (to be spent in a style session with Mandy)
$50 to Massage Heights (for a little pampering)

How to Qualify:

Comment below telling me how this little shopping spree/styling session will help you love yourself even more.

Take Note:

Bakery Square is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania so when you post your comment make sure you are close to Pittsburgh, or can easily travel here because that is where I will be styling you. :)

I will use an random generator to choose the winner, on Friday, February 15th at 8pm!

GOOD LUCK! 

This contest is now closed the winner is Erica Kuntz!

I had the pleasure of meeting two amazing ladies last week, and I cannot even tell you how awesome the afternoon was. Have you ever had an instant connection with people? Like after 5 minutes of talking you literally feel insanely comfortable and feel like you can goof off without being judged? That is what happened with these two. 

Also, it was probably the coldest day of the year, but they wanted to test out the “hurding method” with their cameras and I was lucky enough to be chosen to model for them. :)

Here are some of the results, starting with Kelsie Taylor’s work:

And now to Veronica Varos:

I literally had the BEST time shooting with these ladies. I hope you all enjoy the photos! <3 Happy Monday

I have been MIA on my blog and it sucks, I know. But I wanted you all to know what I have been up to.

I am starting to realize the cold hard truth about clothing companies and how they typically aren’t profitable for a few years. I really didn’t have any idea about that, after reading a few books and talking to a few industry professionals, it’s apparently common knowledge. Whoops! #newbie But in all seriousness I am starting to realize Zaftig cannot be my only job for a while, which leads me to my next paragraph. (read more about Zaftig here)

As most of you know I am a photo nerd. I studied photography in high school and a bit in college, I am finally pursuing it. Photography is a huge passion of mine, so I am really excited about this venture. I always pushed it off to the side because I had a full time job, and I never thought it could be a job! Luckily I met some awesome people who encouraged me and I already booked 5 weddings in 2013! I have had maybe 4 being the main photographer, and probably around 8 second shooting.

Check out my website < keep in mind I still have a few things to update, but I have been working on this for at least 3 weeks now! It should be completely done by the end of this week, I figured you all deserved a sneak peek! <3 Let me know what you think! I really hope to photograph weddings all over the world, not just Pittsburgh (as great as it is here)! :} Getting married?! Shoot me an email! ;)))

<3

Happy New Years Eve everyone!! I wanted to share my resolutions with you all. 

2012 was one of the worst and best years of my life. I discovered a lot about myself, some good things and some bad things. But let’s not concentrate on the past…

2013 will be uncomfortable. Why? Because I want it to be. I do (and don’t do) so many things because of how I feel about it. For example: I hate calling people because it makes me uncomfortable, I would much rather talk in person or via text. But this year I will not let that stand in the way of making that damned phone call.

So, many things have gotten in the way of what I wanted to accomplish this year, and most of them have to do with my comfort zone. The way I dress on a daily basis, my job, laziness, budgeting money, taking care of myself, cleaning my living space, and so many other things. But this year, I will conquer those things. I will not let excuses become a part of who I am.

I will live outside my comfort zone. I will become a better person, friend, girlfriend, and daughter because of this.

<3

What are you looking to improve this year??

Today is the final day! Well really it was yesterday, but my grandma is in town and I didn’t get to taking photos yesterday. 

Here is the last look!

dress: c/o London Times belt: mom’s closet earrings: gifted jacket: thrifted    shoes: target

Can I just say it was FREEZING when I took these! See how much I love you all? ;) Anyways, I am not typically into tight fitting dresses, I never really have been. Mostly because I do not feel comfortable in them, I like loose clothing. 

But I think next year I will start wearing things out of my comfort zone. I will also stop foolishly listening to others advice on what I should and shouldn’t wear! 2013 will by my year of crazy ensembles and not giving a fuck what others think. ;) I hope you are as excited as I am!

Do you have some awesome style resolutions?? If so, you could win a gift card to London Times! Click here to enter and tell them all about your style resolutions!

<3 I hope you are spending time with family and friends this weekend! <3

Don’t worry! I didn’t forget about you all! Though today has been so insane, and it has pretty much been down pouring all day longgggg. :( I really dislike indoor outfit photos and try to avoid them at all costs, but it had to happen twice this week because of the darn weather! :/

Anyways, I have been really inspired by light pink lately. Not sure why, but I found this skirt and faux fur neck piece while thrifting and just today realized how they were made for eachother. It is tough to tell in these photos, but the pinks actually do match up perfectly! :D

top: TJ Maxx, skirt/neck piece: thrifted, shoes: Irregular Choice (via modcloth)

Tomorrow is the last day of this challenge already! :( It has been rough so far, but totally worth it! I hope you guys are enjoying it! <3

It is officially day 3!

This outfit shows a funky way to spice up a sweater dress! Thinking about rocking a cozy sweater dress? What’s not to like? You can be cozy but still chic in one, and here is just one of the many ways to do so. I added a sheer maxi skirt under the dress and belted it with some bold earrings and sparkly boots. :) Another way I have styled this dress is with a skirt over it, which you can see here. 

<3

(pics thanks to my sister) HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATELIN!!! I LOVE U.

sweater: thrifted shoes/earrings/belt: target skirt: cheap monday 

See you tomorrow! <3