Mo Livin' Large

Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.

Just for the record, Oscar Wilde deserves the credit for my post's title today.  :)

As promised, dear readers, I am continuing my Wish List Plus post, which I originally started on December 3rd. I went researching more Plus Size websites, and decided that today's post will be dedicated to decadence. Mostly because every shop I browsed through is a bit... well, pricey.

Bedhead Pajamas: This site is dedicated to pajamas and robes for everyone. Their size chart is very generous, I've got to say, and their pajamas look absolutely divine. But at a starting price of $118, they're priced WAY out of most curvy girls' league. They top out at $234 a pair, and you need to allow for an extra 4 to 6 weeks for delivery. In short, they're only suitable to buy for your best friend's birthday and Christmas all rolled into one present or for your mom's Mother's Day present assuming her birthday is in November and your credit card has had significant recovery time.

Neiman Marcus: One of the quintesential American luxury department stores known the world over (and not just for their cookies!). While I won't buy anything full priced, some of their clearance prices are, in fact, quite reasonable when you take into consideration some of the brands include Johnny Was, Eileen Fisher, and Caroline Rose.

Saks Fifth Avenue: If I mentioned Neiman, it's only fair to mention Saks. I've never been a fan, as I find their prices overly ridiculous, even when they do hold sales or have clearance items. But they do offer Anna Scholz, Marina Rinaldi, and Tahari among others.

Bloomingdale's: I actually tried shopping at Bloomie's quite a bit when I was living in Chicago. I say tried because usually when I found something I liked in the store, they never had it in my size. I don't consider Bloomingdale's to be a major contender along with Neiman's and Saks, yet it's a notch or two above Macy's (IMO). But they offer the best of both worlds by mixing in the aforementioned Johnny Was and Tahari alongside with Jones New York and Ralph Lauren. They also move stock much faster than both Saks and Neiman's, so it's worth it to spend six weeks waiting for price changes.

Lee Lee's Valise: The first site I've mentioned that's dedicated to nothing but plus sizes. I like Lee Lee's offerings, I do, but when your cheapest skirt is $98 and your Sale items seem non-existent.... you've put yourself in the luxury purchase category.

Evans: Again, this website is dedicated to nothing but plus sizes. They have something for everyone here, but here's the catch for us Americans. The catch is that this is a UK site, and therefore, you're spending $16 USD for every10 pounds (I can't cut and paste a pound symbol, sorry) in UK currency.

Talbots: I'm a fan of Talbots, but then again, I've always been something of a preppy/classic dresser. Their quality is consistently some of the best, as evidenced by the navy blue suit I bought six years ago that has withstood the test of time (I do change the blouse and the shoes though). In fact, it still remains my number one choice for interviews. Their prices start high, not going to lie, but like Bloomingdale's, their merchandise moves fast and you'll most likely see drops starting about three weeks after it's first put on the site.

So there you go curvy fashionistas! Another edition of Wish List Plus.  :) More to come next month.

 

 

I'm Shrinking!

Last week was a tough week, not going to lie. Between having the stomach flu and a few things going incredibly wrong at work, it was "just one of those weeks." Which is why my blogging has been nil, zero, nada. The bad news: this week seems to be picking up where last week left off at work. The good news though....

I, incredibly enough, am down to 250.2 pounds. This means I have a total weight loss of 7.2 pounds!

The irony to this statement is that I have absolutely no idea how I did it. My Weight Watchers membership is not getting used nearly as much as it should be, nor am I exercising (exercise is one of the most evil words in the English language IMO). I am, however, trying to be as conscious as I can of what I'm eating and drinking as much water (or water-based beverages such as tea) as possible.

Bringing my lunch to work has fallen to the wayside a bit but when I do make the effort, it's usually a frozen entree of the Smart Ones or Lean Cuisine variety. I fill it out with a piece of fruit, a serving of vegetables, and a light string cheese stick.

Lately however I've been eating lunch out quite a bit. Thankfully, this usually involves Subway and if television has taught us anything, it's that at Subway, you can eat fresh! The extra 2 Points it costs me to add cheese to my sandwich is worth it to me (for the time being), and I'm starting to transition myself from "Italian" (read as white) and Monterrey Cheddar to wheat. I also forgo the chips and get soup, which if you've not tried either of Subway's soups (Chicken Noodle or Creamy Broccoli and Cheese), I wholeheartedly give them two thumbs up. We also do Potbelly's quite a bit (Mushroom Skinny with extra 'shrooms) and Jimmy John's (Thursday's dinner) was an Italian Night Club Unwich (all the sandwich fixings wrapped up burrito-style in a romaine lettuce leaf).

Believe me, these are major break throughs for me (did I spell that correctly? Should it be threws?). Especially considering that Wendy's is just two blocks from Subway with their Double Baconator burger. Yes, double. Bacon. Burger.

So dear friends, that's how my first two weeks has gone. I'm very excited! I also want to share that my first weight loss goal is to lose 5% of my overall weight, which would be to lose 13 lbs. for a (mini) goal weight of 244 lbs. This week's goal is to drink more water (or water-based) beverages as I've been severely dehydrating myself by only consuming about 40 oz. of liquids per day lately.

Next week's goal: to start exercising. Ugh.

Oh! I also wanted to share this article I found on Yahoo! yesterday. Apparently, I'm not the only person who is using blogging for weight loss!  :)  Oooooo..... what a title for a book!  ;) 8 Amazing Blogger Weight Loss Transformations

I want candy! Daily Candy that is....

Once upon a time, I lived in the major metropolitan city of Chicago. One day, the beautiful Mo tripped across something leading her to a wonderful daily email from a website called Daily Candy. These daily emails were devoted to helping Chicago aficionados find the new, unusual, and best things in Chicago. My how I miss those emails.

I digress. Daily Candy also had an email for everyone, everywhere called The Weekend Guide (here's a sample of one for Chicago). I enjoy the format so much that I'm going to create my own little version of The Weekend Guide. So without further ado....

 

EAT

Extra-Crusty Baked Rigatoni with Beef Ragu

What: Despite its lengthy name, this is an easy Italian dish that’s a cross between lasagna and baked spaghetti. It’s almost guaranteed to become a favorite comfort food, is perfect for company, and is even better as leftovers. Bump the meat up to 2 lbs. instead of 1 ½ and to save extra calories substitute evaporated skim milk for the cream.

When: Sunday night

Why: Because it’s too good and too easy to pass up.

 

 

VIEW

Easy A  

What: A modern non-John Hughes John Hughes film featuring the adorable Emma Stone as olive Penderghast, a girl who loses her virginity and becomes the school’s own Hester Prynne by way of the school’s gossip mill.

When: Sunday night (ideally while you’re enjoying your Extra-Crusty Baked Rigatoni with Beef Ragu

Why: Witty enough to hold your interest, strong enough to fill part of the gap left by the death of John Hughes, and an awesome soundtrack.

 

LISTEN

Melody Gardot’s “My One and Only Thrill”   

What: A wonderful compilation of her own songs with a few old standards (“If The Stars Were Mine” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”) thrown in for good measure. While her style is definitely reminiscent of Ella and Eartha Kitt, her voice is more a mixture of Diana Krall and Sarah McLachlan.

When: Friday night as you’re unwinding after work or Sunday morning as you’re getting ready for Brunch with your friends.

Why: Your can’t help but feel uplifted and cheery listening to Melody’s melodies.

 

 

SMELL

Body Shop’s “The Mother of All Sales” 

Bath and Body Works’ “Hello, Yellow” sale

What: Two of the best bath and body product stores annual sales. I recommend the Spiced Vanilla items at Body Shop, and Brown Sugar & Fig is always a popular (but discontinued!) scent at Bath & Body Works.

When: Saturday morning before or after you do your Facebook viewing

Why: Get an entire year’s worth of bath and body goods for the cost of what you’d spend in one visit.

 

JUST BECAUSE

Talbots' Red Hanger Sale

What: Talbots has put just about all of their winter items on sale starting at 40% off. Be sure to check out their Sale and Outlet tabs for even better deals. They have misses, petites, tall, women’s, and women’s petites sizes along with shoes, jewelry and other accessories. BE WARNED THOUGH. Everything in the Sale and Outlet tab are Final Sale.

When: NOW! Seriously, for Friday only they have free S&H on any purchase.

Why: Because dress pants for work at $24 a pair is just too good to pass up!

 

 

Happy New Me! (or Year of the Mo as I like to say!)

Being the daughter of a teacher and a student myself for 17 years, my new year always seemed to start in September rather than January. With my dad retiring after 40 years, and myself being done with school for the better party of 15 years now, January has once again rightfully established itself as New Year.

As is the resolution of many people, my first and primary goal is to lose weight. It's been a VERY long time coming, but I am truly dedicated for what I'm guessing is the first time ever to this endeavor. This has much more to do with the stiffness and aches and pains I'm waking up with these days than any real "fitness Epiphany," but better late than never as they say.

So without further ado, I've decided to put the Weight Watchers membership I've been paying for for the past few (seven) months to use and get on with it. I've also vowed to make this journey public. I need to be held accountable for my actions, and so you, lucky people that you are, get to be the ones I confess my sins to (for the record, I haven't confessed since 1989 when I made my confirmation which is probably why I haven't been struck by lightning yet). 

After a rather daunting shopping expedition to every woman's favorite store (Target) last night, I returned home armed to the teeth for this latest adventure. Smart Ones' were on sale 5 for $9 (and for those of you Southeastern Michigan locals, Hollywood Market has Lean Cuisines on sale 5 for $10), Kashi bars were on sale, and scales were on sale. Like I said, armed to the teeth.... Anyhow, I stood on my brand new scale last night and weighed in at (a whopping) 257.4 pounds.

Challenge accepted.