Nom or Vom?

It had to be, didn't it? 

This week's Nom or Vom has certainly caused a stir recently, and has got everyone in a bit of a tizzy. 

She has been described as the Angelina Jolie of this generation, (personally, I still think that Angelina Jolie is the Angelina Jolie of this generation) and both men and women have been crushing HARD on this week's Nom or Vom. 

Ladies and Gents, I bring you, Ruby Rose. 

Ladies and Gents, 

Ruby Rose? 

Nom or Vom? 

Let me know.

Big Fashionista x x 

Motorway Madness

Every couple of weeks I have to do a 6 hour round journey on the motorway, luckily I am not the driver but I get to "enjoy" the trip from the front passenger seat and trust me, it is enough to put me off learning how to drive and driving on the motorway, COMPLETELY.


My first thought, whenever we get on the motorway is, WHY IS EVERYONE SO ANGRY. I can pretty much guarantee that every time we make the journey, there will be someone who either cuts us up BADLY, pulls across the lanes without looking, (Even I know it goes, mirror, signal, manoeuvre) or creates road rage incidents that leave me shaking with fear.

By the way, the driver of the car I am in, is a good driver. He's not too fast, not too slow, doesn't hog the overtaking lane, (KNOWS it is an overtaking lane) and moves across to the middle lane when cars are coming onto the motorway, a polite, considerate driver. Other cars? Not so much.

And after doing this journey for nearly two years, I have come to the conclusion that the main culprit of the "road rage" incident is the Audi.

I would honestly say that at least 7 times out of 10, any incident will involve an Audi, driven by a middle age man, this is MY experience. Now I am not saying that ALL Audi drivers are reckless idiots who feel so inferior in their life that they feel that the only time they get to wield power over others is when they are behind the wheel, but it seems that a lot of them are.

They have to go fast. Are you doing the speed limit? NOPE, IT IS NOT ENOUGH, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY, I AM COMING THROUGH WITH MY AUDI. WATCH MY REAR LIGHTS AS I ZOOM AWAY FROM YOU.


I just don't get it, WHY ARE YOU SO ANGRY, drivers? Why do you not want to get to your destination in one piece? Why do you not want ME to get to my destination in one piece?

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the long drive and "people watching" as we go down the Motorway. I have seen some STRANGE things while being on the motorway, (Why are there lots of bottles of apple juice discarded at the side of the road, anyway?) but i'm always slightly worried about angry drivers.

Does anyone else drive regularly on the motorway? Do you find that you experience "angry drivers"? Audis or otherwise? You may find that it's another type of car that you find always gives you grief, I would love to hear your stories.


And Audi drivers, I would love to hear from you too, I KNOW there are some good ones out there, what do you think about the reputation of the Audi driver?



Let me know.


Big Fashionista x x x

Nom or Vom?

We all like someone who can make us laugh, attraction isn't just about what we see with our eyes, but what makes us laugh too. This weeks Nom or Vom, is a comedian, the down-to-earth type. Maybe not conventionally good-looking but has a certain something, 

I'm definitely interested in how you feel about this weeks, Nom or Vom.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, LEE MACK. 

So what do we think?

Lee Mack? Nom or Vom? 

Let me know.

Big Fashionista x x 

Why is my body not my own? WHO MAKES THE DECISIONS ABOUT MY BODY?

Currently, I feel as if my body is not mine.

In fact, I do not even feel as if I am a person in my own right. What I am is, a breeder, an incubator, a vessel. I am put on the earth to HAVE MANS BABIES.

What makes me feel this way?

I have just come home from my doctor appointment, where quite reasonably, I have asked to be sterilised. I am 39 years old, I have three wonderful children, the youngest of which is nine. I have created a family and now, after many years of hormones in my body, periods that can stop me in my tracks and various methods of birth control, I don't want to do this any more.

The doctor listened while I explained all of the reasons above and more, she nodded and made noises in all the right places and then asked what my partner thought about it all. Was he happy with finishing our family now? I explained that he was not the father of my three children and he had no children of his own and her face dropped.

This lead to me then being offered many, many, many alternatives to sterilisation, the pill, the coil, to go away and discuss it with my partner, because she was concerned that HE didn't have children and HE may change his mind. She pressed me on whether he wanted children, (he doesn't) How old was he, How would I feel if, after I had the operation, he changed his mind and wanted children. She went back to offering me the coil, even after I quite firmly stated that I did not want any more children, as if it was my DUTY to wait patiently in case my partner changed his mind in the future.

I am not an incubator that can be put in standby mode.

I calmly told her that we had discussed this. I do not want any more children, my partner does not want any children of his own and I would like to move forward with a referral for sterilisation.

At which point I was again asked, "but what if he changes his mind?"

BANGS HEAD ON TABLE.

Why is it that I cannot go to a doctor's surgery and make a decision about MY OWN BODY like this without the consideration of my partners POSSIBLE needs being put above my own.

And this is all for a referral, this isn't even talking to the gynaecologist, who may ask these questions again. "What if he changes his mind?"

I'm surprised the doctor didn't send me home with a note for my partner to sign, giving his permission.


Surely, MY BODY, MY CHOICE.


Why is this even happening? Am I alone in being asked these questions? OR is this the standard behaviour of a Doctor with sterilisation?

I'm confused, angry and at this moment, I do not feel as if I have control or own my own body or am able to make the decisions about it.


I would love your opinions on this.

Thick Hair, the struggle is real.

Yesterday, I decided, was the day that me and my thick untameable hair was going to get along well. It was freshly washed, not dry, I have been feeding it Vita Coco Coconut oil for a while and I THOUGHT that we had an understanding.

So I thought that I would be okay to introduce some product into our relationship.

Salt spray, I thought I would start to ease my hair in gently,

"Create a care-free, ocean fresh look, with full tousled texture, windswept waves or piecey perfection" said the bottle.

"Oh," said my hair "Ronald Macdonald? Is that the look you are going for? Got it"

and just like that, my hair had once again sucked up a product and spat it back in my face like a toddler trying apple puree for the very first time.

I DO NOT SEE AN OCEAN FRESH LOOK HERE!

The problem with having thick hair is that, not only does it have a life of its own, it has a mind of it's own too.


"Hi, Hair. I am going to apply this oil to you, it should make you sleek and tame the frizz"


Hair looks at bottle. bottle looks at hair.


Cue, GREASE EXPLOSION.


"IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED?" sneers hair.


I can't even look at at a hair brush without my hair going on strike, and by strike I mean. If you strike a match within 50ft of me, you will singe my hair. THAT IS HOW LARGE IT WILL BE.


You know you see the hair tutorials that will give you a "Beautiful up-do in just three easy steps"?
With thick hair, you can add seven more steps minimum, two of them will involve crying, two will involve looking for more hair grips than you actually have hair, and at least one more will involve swearing at the creator of the aforementioned tutorial for having such beautiful sleek hair.

When you have thick hair that has a mind of it's own, you also need to be aware that on the days that you have managed to wrestle your hair into submission and get it looking reasonably sleek, if there is even a drop of moisture in the air, in fact, even if someone turns on a tap near you. YOUR HAIR WILL REVERT TO IT'S NATURAL STATE AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO WITH IT.  It is over, kiss goodbye to sleekness.

If it rains, and you get caught in the rain, you may get five minutes where your hair is damp and it looks GOOD, you can get rain ringlets, the halo that usually surrounds your hair will be flattened and you cannot stop staring at your hair that is weighted down with rain. And then it dries.

You are your hair's bitch now. YOU LOSE.


Carry hair bobbles.


Don't get me wrong, I like having thick hair. I am so mean to my hair that I am shocked it still hangs around, however. Just once I would like beach waves. Ronald MacDonald is so 1990's isn't it?



Who else suffers from thick hair with a brain of it's own?


Let me know how you manage to tame it, or have you learnt to just go with the flow too?



Big Fashionista x x x

Stop Telling Me The Do's And Don'ts Of Blogging.

I love blogs, I really do. I only buy magazines now for either the free gift, or when I am in it. Harsh, but true. I read reviews online, I get fashion advice online, I get skin care information and ideas for decorating my home from blogs. Blogs are where it is at.


HOWEVER,

There seems to be an alarming theme at the moment, where bloggers are telling other bloggers what to do. Apparently this is the DO's and DON'T's of blogging.

Now I don't know about anyone else, but if you tell me what not to do, I tend to get the urge to do it anyway, just to spite people.

Apparently, you should not swear in blog posts.

Well that can fuck off.

I should also "stay positive" as no-one wants to read sob-stories.  This is also total bollocks, Blogs are an individual thing, if you want to write about sad things, YOU CAN. Write about what the hell you want. IF someone doesn't want to read it, that is their prerogative, it should not stop ANYONE from sharing their thoughts or stories.

I love ADVICE from bloggers, I have been blogging for over five years now and I do not know enough about blogging to even dream of telling anyone else how to blog. What works for me (or DOESN'T work for me) might not work for someone else. WHY would I even dream of telling other people what to do?

If you want to impart your pearls of wisdom, there are enough blogger chats out there, (Dear God there are enough blogger chats out there at the moment) where you can share your knowledge and offer advice about "blogging for yourself," but that is what it should be, advice. Don't dress it up as the RULES of blogging, because there are no rules of blogging. Blogging IS for everyone and anyone who has an email address and can sign up for blogger or Wordpress can be a blogger.

Dear wannabe Blog Gurus/Mavens/Wizards/Experts, Please don't tell me what to do, or what not to do with my blog,


Stick your "rules"


Thanks,



Big Fashionista x x x

Win with #GalaBingoLotto

Are you a Bingo fan? On Twitter? Well I have some news for you.

On Thursday 11th June, to celebrate the launch of their brand new Bingo Lotto app, Gala are giving away £500 worth of prizes, in just one day!

From 9am until 4pm, Gala will be hosting a party on Twitter. 

There will be bingo lottery draws every hour on @GalaBingo and you can take part for free by tweeting six of your favourite numbers between 1 and 20, making sure to include the hashtag #GalaBingoLotto. You can enter three times for each draw. 

The draws will be streamed via Periscope on Twitter and Gala will be using a retro-style bingo cage, so you can watch as the numbers are announced live to see if you are a lucky winner! Following the same system as the app, there will be four prizes of various shopping vouchers available in each game by matching:

• 3 numbers (prize worth £5)
• 4 numbers (prize worth £10)
• 5 numbers (prize worth £20)
• 6 numbers (prize worth £50)

Schedule and Prizes.

Game opens for entries to first draw: 10am

Draw 1: 11am

£85 ASOS vouchers

Draw 2: 12pm

£85 Amazon vouchers

Draw 3: 1pm

£85 Love2Shop vouchers

Draw 4: 2pm

£85 Debenhams vouchers

Draw 5: 3pm

£85 Vue Cinema vouchers

Last entries close: 3:55pm

Final Draw 6: 4pm

£85 iTunes vouchers

Please note, all entrants must be 18 and over. Join @GalaBingoLotto from 9am on the 11th June and good luck!!

The T&Cs for this competition can be found on the Gala Website  as well as more details about the Bingo App and latest Gala Bingo news

Good Luck. 

Big Fashionista x x x x

*Sponsored Post

Caitlyn Jenner, I owe you an apology

I owe Caitlyn Jenner an apology. In fact, I probably owe all women an apology for this one.

When the Caitlyn Jenner Vanity Fair cover was released, I was so so so happy for her. I believe that we ALL have the right to be who we want to be, and who we need to be, and to see Caitlyn on the cover of Vanity Fair, WOW. Surely this is a wonderful moment for Caitlyn, her time to shine and be happy. I know that I have nothing but admiration for her for believing in herself and her right to be who she truly is.

But this is why I feel I owe her an apology.

My first words on the matter were, "Congratulations, Caitlyn, you look beautiful"

And in that one sentence, I treated Caitlyn how every woman has at one time in their lives been treated, how I have been treated too. I brought it back to how she LOOKED.

And that is unfair, and for this, I apologise.

It shouldn't be about how Caitlyn Jenner looks, it should be about how she feels and how she is loved by people around her. I made it about how she looked, as did a lot of people out there and quite frankly, I am ashamed of myself for that.

Caitlyn Jenner is a beautiful woman, but I am sure she is much, much, MORE than that too. For years we have been judged on our looks, while our other skills are overlooked and it makes us MAD, and yet myself, and others, have done the same thing to another woman, without thinking it through.




I am going to try this one again,



Congratulations, Caitlyn Jenner. You look happy.


Big Fashionista x x x

Nom or Vom

Another week, another Nom or Vom. The person who suggested this guy, said that he would probably divide my readers quite equally into either Nom or Vom. 

I think, more of you will say he's a Nom, what's not to love? Funny, clever, with a real twinkle in his eye. I would put this guy firmly in the Nom category.

How about you?

Ladies and Gents,

I bring you, Richard Osman.

What do we think?

Nom or Vom? 

Let me know. 

Big Fashionista x x

#FormulaFun Your Chance to Win Tickets to the Belgian Grand Prix

One thing you may not know about me, I am a HUGE, HUGE fan of Formula 1, (Mercedez all the way) luckily, my beloved other half is also a huge fan so we watch every race, we know who is where in the Constructors Championship and we know who we want to win the drivers Championship. (Come on, Lewis)


It was actually my mum that got me watching Formula 1 as a child. I grew up watching the races, rooting for Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, as well as swooning over Jacques Villeneuve when I was a little older but for me, Formula 1 is steeped with memories of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna and the huge rivalry they had, both on track and off.


I was asked to share a memory, with the hashtag #FormulaFun and while my memory isn't actually fun, it is part of Formula 1 history and will never be forgotten. Whether you were Team Senna, or Team Prost, you cannot deny that Suzuka 1990 was a historic moment.

Both Prost and Senna had a rivalry that has probably never been beaten, the previous year at the 1989 Suzuka race, the drivers had collided also, but this time, the collision happened on the first corner, with many, many people suggesting that Senna had deliberately taken out Prost. As a viewer, this whole event was television GOLD. It meant that Senna had won the championship, although there was one more race, Prost wouldn't have enough points to be able to beat Senna. I remember arguing that Senna would not have taken out Prost deliberately, he wanted to do his talking ON the track, (Foolish teenager that I was) The whole event seemed unreal, watching F1 on a regular basis meant that I was used to seeing crashes on TV, (Let's be honest, they made it exciting) but the controversy surrounding this event means that it will never be forgotten.

So, you may wonder why I am talking about my F1 memory when you are just here to find out how you can win tickets to The Belgian Grand Prix, (I'm right, aren't I) Well the lovely people at Avios have created a competition to win tickets and flights to watch the F1, and you get the opportunity to enter every time you fill up.

If you haven't heard of Avios, you can check them out here to sign up.



and then all you have to do, is enter the competition HERE, with your Avios acct number whenever you fill up at Shell.


Simple, right?


Are you a Formula 1 fan? Will you be entering?

Also, if you are a fan, what are your #FormulaFun memories? Share with me your memories of F1. Is it something else that you remember vividly? Let me know.


Big Fashionista x x x

*Written in conjunction with Avios

Wake up Song

I get up at 7am in the morning, it may not seem early to some, but for me, it may as well be the middle of the night, I am NOT a morning person, (or a day time person, when I think about it) luckily the sun is shining today so it has been a tiny bit easier to crawl out of my pit to start my day, but not by much.

What I need is a song. A tune that I can play in the morning, I tried Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars but it was like being woken up by a small child, hyped on sugar and Diet Coke, bouncing on the bed. I didn't wake up any easier, I just got up to make the noise stop. 

I love music, it always puts a smile on my face and makes me start my day right, but I just cannot find the tune that will wake me up and make me bounce out of bed. 

Anyone else have a song that they listen to in the morning that really sets them up for the day? 

Please let me know, or if you have any suggestions for songs, I'd love to hear them. 

Big Fashionista x x x

BGT, Scandal or No problem? Matisse The Dog

I am one of those people that say, No, I'm not going to watch BGT this year and then find myself sucked in completely. 

This year was no different and I must admit, I was routing for Matisse and Jules O'Dwer to win, along with a lot of the audience. 

AND THEY DID.

So imagine my surprise this morning to see that a scandal has broken out over their win when Jules admitted that it wasn't Matisse who walked across the ropes, it was another dog as Matisse is scared of heights.

Does anyone else feel that this is cheating a little? The rope trick was a huge part of their act, and I must admit I had never seen a dog do that before. Social media was alight with everyone commenting how amazing the dog was, (well, some people were threatening to leave the country if "another bloody dog won BGT) but as a viewer, I feel duped. 

I think if the winner had been announced as Jules, for her dog training SKILLS, and bloody hell, she has some serious skills, then I wouldn't have an issue with it at all, but the winner, as voted for by the public, was Jules AND Matisse. Is it fair that part of his act was actually done by someone else? 

If one of the dance acts had brought in a professional to do a somersault that they couldn't do, would that be acceptable? 

I don't think so, so is it ok that this has happened on Britain's Got Talent. 

I would LOVE your thoughts on this story.

Let me know.

Big Fashionista x x x

Shutter Day

I was in London all weekend for my brother's wedding so I didn't manage to get Shutter Day up on the blog on Saturday. It happens to be my favourite post, so instead of missing it out completely, I thought I would put it up today. 

In case you usually miss Shutter Day on a Saturday, these are pictures that I snap on my iPhone during the week before.

Let me know which one is your favourite. 

Big Fashionista x x