Candy Strike!!

Guys and Dolls It has been far too long. I've been caught up in the grown up seriousness for far too long. It's not been all bad there's new hair dos makeup and tattoos, oh my.

I have taken a break from the mundane to tell you about the most fabulous company Candy Strike and its founder Ms. Elizabeth Denneau.

Image from candystrike.com

Elizabeth designs unique clothing for women of all sizes her ranges go from a small to a 4x (26/28). She doesn't have a separate "plus" range because she believes strongly in fabulous clothing for all women.  Being a plus size lady herself she also understands that making plus items does not simply mean making them bigger, which is a refreshing change. All of Candy Strikes garments are hand made in Tucson, Arizona, by Elizabeth and her small team. 

The latest collection launched by the Candy Strike Team is the Teenage Jezebel Collection. 

 This collection is inspired by the John Water's movies Hairspray and Cry Baby. Elizabeth's movie inspired artwork is bestowed upon fabulous dresses and t-shirts. These statement pieces will absolutely help you stand out from the mundane crowd. I could gush on and on about the fabulous fabric and edgy designs or even how I idolise Tracy Turnblad but I will let the clothes do all the talking. 

Geek fact: this dress was recently sported by the Lovely Tess Munster at the Body Love conference 

As well as these awesome dresses the T-Shirts are to die for!

If all this is a little too sugary sweet for you never fear. Candy Strike has many other kick ass items for your consideration. Here are a few of my fabulous favourites. 

Everything You See Here Can Be Found

Here

http://www.candy-strike.com/

Happy Shopping!!

xoxo

P.S. Don't forget to share your fashion finds (or anything else you fancy) with us on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Lashes.Lace.and.Ink

Super Simple Spelt Bread- Veggie and Vegan Friendly

Good Morning Lovelies,

I love Spelt bread!! It is healthy, filling slices of deliciousness! I made one loaf to trial at a coffee morning and I have been inundated with orders since. So I have decided to share the recipe with all of you. :) The recipe isn't vegan but I have added in the alternatives for the lovely Vegans. I use all organic ingredients in my bread but you can use the ingredients that best suit your budget.

Ingredients: 
485g of Wholegrain Spelt Flour
30g of Sesame Seeds
30g of Poppy Seeds
30g of Sunflower Seeds
5g of Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon of Blackstrap Molasses
505ml of Milk (Rice Milk or Water is the Vegan alternative)

Instructions: 

Heat your oven to 180 degrees
Grab all of your dry ingredients and mix them all together in a big bowl.
Pour in the Milk (or alternative) and stir until all the dry mix isn't dry anymore.
Spoon in the Molasses and stir through. Give it a good stir so you don't end up with molasses blobs in your bread.
Pour the mix into a silicone bread tin and put it in the oven.
After its been in the oven about 10mins get a knife and draw a line down the center of the bread.
Leave to bake for about 45mins.
Remove from tin immediately and leave to cool on a wire rack

Additional Notes 
I use a silicone mold because I like to take the bread out after 45 mins and turn it upside down in the tin to ensure the bottom is baked the same colour as the top.
Stick a knife into the middle of your loaf when you think it is baked. If it comes out clean your bread is done if not put it back in the oven for another 15 mins repeat until the knife comes out clean.
You can use any seed combinations you like for your bread. Be inventive - make sure you share your combinations :)
If you like a softer crust on your bread wait until the bread is cold and wrap it in cling film.
This bread is suitable for home freezing.

Happy Baking 

XOXO 

Grabble

Have you Grabbled yet?

I have just discovered the awesome Grabble a site which allows you to virtually window shop through the collections of some of your favourite retailers. When you"grab" your items Grabble takes note and will notify you when your items go on sale- that is if you don't snatch them up immediately!

Want another excuse to sign up? Grabble is offering a £10 voucher to all new members!!

I've put together a Vampire inspired Valentines collection here come check it out. :)

All of these beauties can be found from ASOS on Grabble
  

XOXO

Ch-ch-ch-changes!!

Hey Kittens!!

It's been quite a bit since I've written to you. I haven't abandoned you honestly. I've been super busy wooing companies in a bid to expand my blog, upping my culinary and crafting skills as well as taking part in an incredible makeup course. All of which I look forward to telling you all about.

First things first. I have a new do!
For the longest time I have been sporting a brown do with a blue fringe.

Alas brown hair does not make me happy. I went to a hairdresser last September in a bid to get a shorter edgier cut. Sadly the staff were exceptionally rude and left me with a cut so bad I don't even have pictures of the atrocity. As it does the hair eventually grew back but I was in no hurry to have it cut again. I had been scarred by my last trip to the coven and yet I hated what was on my head. It was too long, too boring, just not me. I could make all the effort I liked with my makeup and clothing but I still had this unruly brown mess on my head. 

I'm not gonna lie I kept this up until the beginning of this month. After a heart to heart with my lovely mommy about how miserable my hair was making me, she recommended that I have a chat with her hairdresser. Feeling brave I strolled around the corner from the coffee shop we were in and straight into the salon. I interviewed my poor stylist over and over until I was happy she would be able to give me hair I would be happy with. 

First I chose a vibrant and more importantly cruelty free colour- Fudge Paintbox in Rasperry Beret

Which after a little bleach and a lot of waiting looked like this:

Finally with a whole lot of snipping this was the fabulously vibrant result!! Hair that I adore and at no cost to any animals or my self worth!! The beauty of a great haircut. 

No more hair mares for me :) 

XOXO 

Self Care Sunday

 

I love Sundays! Sundays are my lazy days. I do a little bit of housework and then I keep the rest of the day for myself. 

My tips for a feel good Sunday include. 

1- A full fridge, you really don't want to have to leave the house for any reason. 

2- When it is as miserable outside as it is today make yourself as cozy as possible. For me that's slippers, a fire and lotsa candles. 

3- Do the things that make you happy. - Read, Write, Be Creative, contact friends, watch tv do whatever it is you need to do to make yourself feel better. 

It's all too easy to get caught up in caring for others, looking after the needs of others and neglecting ourselves. I love nothing more than taking the time to be selfish. I know that if I don't take that time I become restless and miserable. There are a couple of things I like to do to make myself feel better. 

The first is a cup of herbal tea. Tea is my go to soother. 

For some background music I love Annie Macs Musical Hot Water Bottle.  My tattooist played this for me during one session and I have been hooked ever since.You will need spotify but it is free :)

https://play.spotify.com/user/bbc_playlister/playlist/10Fh1Rrz5bcWSxmdE0cT2x

I like to read positive uplifting blogs. If I reach a stage when even reading is a chore then I love nothing more than watching Amanda De Cadenet's the Conversation. 

The Conversation is a TV series but is also a website full of fabulous, feel good stuff that explores what it means to be female. 

http://www.theconversation.tv

Happy Self Care Sunday 

xoxox

Fe-line.co.uk

Image from: http://fe-line.co.uk/

When I'm not here sharing my witticisms with all of you wonderful people I get up to many, many things. One of the fabulous things I have been privileged to do is become a contributing blogger for fe-line.co.uk.

"Fe-line is a blog and event organisation company aiming to bring ambitious and courageous women together. It is put together by Jo Fe-line, a fantastic team of female contributors and the cat.  Music, fashion and inspiration are our passions and we are aiming to reach all of the women out there who like to do things a little differently. 

The values that underpin Fe-line are bringing people together (physically or virtually), sharing stories, championing and supporting independent business and having fun with it. There are so many people out there with a fantastic stories to tell, that can inspire others and this often leads to new independent businesses being created. So it all fits nicely together." Lovingly regifted to you from the about section of fe-line.co.uk 

I have been especially lucky to be chosen to contribute to such a dynamic blog, full of inspirational women. The wonderful lady who runs the blog, Jo took a chance on both my writing and myself when my blog was a mere two posts old. Working with her on her blog has been especially encouraging to me and I am ever thankful for the wonderful opportunity she has bestowed on me.   Pretty please take a chance and check it the blog  here.

I went to see a Horror movie & got a lil body positivity

Hello lovelies! 

Today after work I made a date with a mate to go  and see the latest installment in the paranormal activity series. Please do not judge!! I love my horror movies and am on an unending journey to find one that'll scare the bejeasus outta me. While I enjoyed the movie,  mostly,  it was not the one to cost me a nights sleep.

However I did get something quite unexpected. For the first time in my life I got to see a real naked plus size chick in a movie. As well as that the nudity wasn't included for comdeic value.

Not for one second am I saying that the scene entirely promoted body positivity,  the young men who see the nudity make a joke or two and move on. But let's stay positive here there was a naked big girl on screen and it wasn't a joke, it wasn't to provoke disguist, it was just a part of the film. Isn't that such a positive step forward.  I'm sure nobody else took any notice but I was utterly thrilled to see it.

Why you ask? Because the sooner we get a wider representation of unairbrushed bodies in our media the sooner we can all develop a realistic beauty standards.  Imagine a world where you got a wider representation of the human body, wouldn't that be groovy!

Maybe Im missing out are there more movies out there that positively show a larger woman's body?.

XOXO

Priscilla

Sharing the Love!!

Image from: http://swishprintables.com/share-the-love/

After recently reviewing the brilliant small business Pin Me Up Ireland, it dawned on me that there could be heaps of small businesses looking for a little bit of PR.
If you or someone you know runs a small business, a not so small business or are a charity /organisation who promote something positive please get in touch.

I am happy to consider reviews, marketing and other promotion opportunities. I'm a mixed bag of tricks so don't be shy about approaching me to discuss your venture, however wild weird or wonderful.

Most of what I review and discuss on my blog are businesses and items that I have discovered and fallen in love with. However if you have a product or service you feel readers should know about or would benefit from I will happily discuss reviewing it for my blog.

I would be so excited to review or learn about businesses that are fat friendly, particularly clothing companies as voluptuous fashion can sometimes be a challenge.

You can drop me a line in the comments box,
send me a message on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lashes.Lace.and.Ink
or mail me: lashes.laceandink@gmail.com

Can't Wait to Hear From You

P

xoxo