Reviewing Kiyonna's Meadow Dream Maxi Dress

As I have mentioned before, Kiyonna is such a great destination for gorgeous dresses (and tops and skirts) that flatter your curves.  You can check my many previous Kiyonna review posts to see what I mean.  From special occasions to work to vacation, and casual in-between times, they have you covered with dresses and separates in solid hues and beautiful prints.

I've been a member of Kiyonna's Blogger Brigade since 2012, which affords me the opportunity to try different styles from them on a regular basis.  After six years, I am still working with them because I adore their styles and the quality of their products.  Their fit is consistent, their customer service is excellent, and they do have some rather wonderful deals throughout the year.  And I am not just saying that because they gift me items.  I have made purchases of my own on multiple items throughout the years.  Sometimes I want that same top or dress in all the colors, or just know how awesome something is going to be because I love Kiyonna!  I've even purchased pieces as gifts for friends.

All this to say, today I am bringing you another review from their latest dress offerings, the Meadow Dream Maxi Dress.  As per usual when I wear Kiyonna, this dress garnered no less than five compliments in a couple hours time when I wore it to film my latest Afternoon Live segment.

P.S. - You can see this dress in action during my segment in this post.  The video is now live!

KATU Afternoon Live Companion: Plus Size Lingerie

Today on KATU's Afternoon Live, I talked about my favorite lingerie, panties, and bralettes.  Lingerie is something I have become increasingly passionate about.  For the longest time, I didn't think I was supposed to look or feel sexy, and I didn't think I possessed that ability in the slightest.  Of course, there weren't always so many options for plus size women either.

Once I discovered alluring pieces in my size that made me feel hot and sexy, it was life changing! And now I am incredibly passionate about showing you lingerie options.  Because a non-model body in lingerie is hard to come by, I love bringing you my At Home Fitting Room features to review the lingerie and sleepwear on a pear-shaped body with big thighs and tummy rolls. It is helpful to know what items look like on all different bodies.  It helps us choose what we purchase, but also shows us all the different ways we are beautiful.

Today's post is a rundown of the info I went over in my segment, and a round-up of my plus size lingerie posts.

At Home Fitting Room: Tops, Volume 2

I recently shot a lot of pieces for At Home Fitting Room posts.  This is the last of three categories in this round of items.  Today, I am showing you tops from Torrid, Lane Bryant, Catherines, Weebox, ThinkGeek, Her Universe, and more.  I don't always get a timely chance to style items and take photos for the blog.  Even when things are no longer available, I still think showing you what an item looks like and how it fits on a non-model body is still important.

The usual spiel: I shop too much and want to use my experience to help you navigate brands and sizing.  Let's get to it!

At Home Fitting Room: Lingerie, Sleepwear, & Loungewear

I recently shot a lot of pieces for upcoming At Home Fitting Room posts.  You'll be seeing them broken up into three categories to make my life easier.  Today, I am showing you lingerie, sleepwear/loungewear, and panties that I've purchased over the last eight months actually.  I don't always get a timely chance to style items and take photos for the blog.  Even when things are no longer available, I still think showing you what an item looks like and how it fits on a non-model body is still important.

And I particularly enjoy doing these lingerie posts because I think it is incredibly important to see lingerie pieces on different bodies.  I never know how a panty or other item will look on me because I never see them on another body like mine.  It is my priority to bring you as much information as possible, so I truly hope this helps.  You can check out all my lingerie posts here.

The usual spiel: I shop too much and want to use my experience to help you navigate brands and sizing.  Let's get to it!

At Home Fitting Room: Dresses & Bottoms

I recently shot a lot of pieces for upcoming At Home Fitting Room posts.  You'll be seeing them broken up into three categories to make my life easier.  Today, I am showing you dresses, a skirt, jeans, and a couple pairs of shorts that I've purchased over the last eight months actually.  I don't always get a timely chance to style items and take photos for the blog.  Even when things are no longer available, I still think showing you what an item looks like and how it fits on a non-model body is still important.

The usual spiel: I shop too much and want to use my experience to help you navigate brands and sizing.  Let's get to it!

KATU Afternoon Live Companion: Everyday Cosplay

Today, I'm back on KATU Afternoon Live with tips for finding your Everyday Cosplay.  This includes places to shop for geek-centric clothing inspired by your favorite fandoms, and inspiration for putting together character looks from items in your closet.

With Rose City Comic Con coming up in a couple of weeks, I have been thinking about what I am going to wear.  But also, it can be really hard to find plus size options for geekwear, fandoms, and pop culture interests.  Torrid has been keeping my geeky heart afloat for a while now.  Most official fan stores don't have anything above a 2X.  I want you to know your options; and I want to see more plus size geeks reppin' their interests at these cons!

What I Wore on Vacation: Victoria, British Columbia

I'm finally bringing you a little glimpse of our end of May vacation to Victoria, British Columbia. Life has been so busy and hectic that I haven't found too much time to work on vacation photos.  I'm going to attempt to go backwards in filling you in on all the trips I have yet to tell you about - Victoria, the birthday beach trip, New Kids in Seattle, Hawaii, Newport.  I have so many photos to work on and so much to do.  Life gets hectic again starting this weekend, so I will be doing my best to maximize my time.

So first, I'm going to show you what I wore in Victoria.  Since this was partly a road trip, I didn't need to pack as minimally as possible, though I did try to challenge myself on limiting certain items.  I felt I did a good job at taking things I could wear multiple times, though there wasn't a particular color scheme, which is also helpful for packing. Without further ado, I present you with my vacation style once again.

What I Wore: Cherry Red

Some posts are just meant to be short and sweet.  This is one of those posts.  I've been working through some issues, depression, that kind of thing this week. Well, really the last few weeks.  I'm starting to feel more like myself again today.  What have you been up to?

I've been wanting to pair together the top and pants in today's post for a while now and finally found an opportunity to do so!  I wore this look out to a comedy show, where Sean and I saw James Adomian while he was in town for the Portland Queer Comedy Festival.  I love this look and have donned it a few times since.

Reviewing Kiyonna's Glittering Affair Wrap Dress + KATU Afternoon Live: Special Occasion Dresses

Hello!  I hope you are all having a wonderful week.  Today's post is a big one, so I am just going to get into it.  Kiyonna sent me the dress in today's review post, the Glittering Affair Wrap Dress, which inspired my latest KATU topic - special occasion dresses.

I tend to be more of a practical special occasion dress kind of gal.  Don't get me wrong, if I could rock a sequin fit-and-flare, I totally would.  However, dresses like that tend to be out of my budget in terms of being a wedding guest or attending a party.  And as you know, I love to be comfortable while also being cute.  With wedding season in full force, I wanted to make sure folks knew about some great options for wedding guest attire, bridesmaid dresses, or any type of event or party.  Watch my appearance on Afternoon Live below, and read my review for this sparkling Kiyonna dress.

What I Wore: Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful

I have been busy with life lately, running around or running myself exhausted.  I posted over on social media that I'm trying to combat my own personal limitations on what I can do versus what I want to do.  Sometimes that just means giving myself permission to not do as much and not push myself as hard.  And sometimes I am just exhausted and in pain and don't feel like doing much of anything anyway.  It is really important that we all stop being so hard on ourselves, and learn to cut ourselves some slack when things get hectic.

But, on a good day, I wore this awesome summer outfit I am about to share with you.  (What a segue, am I right?!? haha) The top is new to both you and I, with other pieces being common items I don in the summer.  I am also introducing you to my new luxurious Coach bag friend and telling you how I scored it for $50!