Gift Guide: Items I Use and Reuse

Here are some of my favorite gifts that I have received and reuse all the time that would make


Slippers

These became a must have during the pandemic and I look forward to mine every time my feet get cold. They fit true to size.

Weekender bag

This is the perfect bag for so many reasons but mainly for all the compartments.

The XL is the perfect weekender and fits in the overhead bin in a plane.

Not to mention the accessories that coordinate with the bag are 👌

Theragun

I got this last year for my birthday and have continually used it more than I thought. Helps me with tight muscles and other aches and pains. This handheld version is good for travel but the full size is better for getting your back and shoulders (especially if you live alone).

souper cubes

I should say, when I got these for Christmas, I was unsure how I’d use them. They are constantly in use! I use them for single servings and the food easily pops out. They are dishwasher safe, oven safe and BPA free. They stack well in the freezer which is a nice additional feature

Skincare Regimen

I asked for this last year unknowing that I would use the whole line. It was a better deal to buy the whole line than just a few products. Let’s just say, my skin has never felt better.

Yoga mat

My SIL bought me a nice yoga mat several years ago and it’s worth every penny. It lasts a long time and elevates your practice. Namaste 🧘‍♀️

The perfect hat

Buy someone the softest, best fitting hat that is sustainably made and from a female owned brand.


Updated Fall Staples

Is Fall the best season? Yes, yes it is. Pumpkins, football, the best seasonal beer, cooler temperatures, leaves changing colors, sweater weather and soup season, I can keep going… What’s exciting about fall clothing is adding textures and layers.

First start with leather: maybe because it’s warm, smooth and sexy, either way, Leather (or faux leather) always makes an appearance in the fall and can be worn through the spring. If you’re new to leather, chose classic silhouettes or simpler pieces. You’ll feel bold enough in the leather, trust me!

Striped sweaters are usually very popular in the summer months but are making a moment this fall. This is a great trend for fall because you can easily carry this into the spring and summer next year. The trend is oversized but here are a few of my favorite looks.

Jackets make a strong comeback in the fall for obvious reasons, and this includes blazers. Blazers are seen as oversized and double breasted.

Shoes to add into your closet this fall are: loafers, birkenstock Boston’s (which I slept on) and/or neutral tennis shoes

31 Looks for Fall

Fall Look 1

Grey Half-Zip size XXL, runs large

Jeans size 20

Shoes

Hat

Fall Look 2

Blouse size XXL

Skirt is sold out, linked similar 1 | 2 | 3

Wide-Width Heels are old, linked similar: 1 | 2 | 3

Blazer is old, but linked similar: 1 | 2 | 3

Fall Look 3

Band Shirt is sold out, linked similar 1 | 2

Trousers in XXL short

Wide width tennis shoes are old, linked similar 1 | 2

Fall Look 4

Blouse in XXL

Jeans in size 20, hemmed

Wide-Width Heels are old, linked similar: 1 | 2 | 3

Fall Look 5

Crop Top in 2x

Slip Skirt & Slip Dress

Booties

Not pictured: Long Cardigan

Fall Look 6

Cropped Cardigan in 2x

Skirt is sold out, linked similar 1 | 2 | 3

Wide-Width Booties

Fall Look 7

Cardigan in 2x

Trousers in XXL short

Wide-Width Heels are old, linked similar: 1 | 2 | 3

Fall Look 8

Leather Jacket is old, linked similar: 1 | 2

Dress is sold, linked similar: 1 | 2

Wide Calf Boots

Hat is old, linked similar: 1 | 2

Fall Look 9

Denim Jacket in size 2x

Dress is old, linked similar

Wide Calf Boots

Fall Look 10

Hat is old, linked similar: 1 | 2

Leather Jacket is old, linked similar: 1 | 2

Dress is sold out, linked similar: 1 | 2 | 3 wearing size XXL, could have sized down

Wide Calf Boots

Fall Look 11

T-shirt wearing 2x

Sweater pants (matching top) wearing 2x

Wide Width Sneakers bought the extra wide width

Fall Look 12

Crop Top in 2x

Long Cardigan is old, linked similar

Trousers in XXL short

Wide-width sneakers

Fall Look 13

Grey Half-Zip size XL

Skirt is old, linked similar

Tennis Shoes

Fall Look 14

Shacket is old, linked similar

Tunic Shirt, size XL

Leggings, size 2X petite

Wide-Width Booties

Fall Look 15

Turtleneck Sweater, linked similar

Trousers in XXL short

Wide-width sneakers

Fall Look 16

T-shirt is old, linked similar

Trousers in XXL short

Wide-width sneakers

Fall Look 17

Crop Top in 2x

Camo Pants are old, linked similar

Wide Width Heels

Fall Look 18

Leather Jacket is old, linked similar: 1 | 2

Maxi Dress in XXL

Wide-Width Lug Boots

Fall Look 19

Sweater in XXL

Trousers in XXL short

Wide-width sneakers

Fall Look 20

Wicking Shirt, in 2X

Athleisure Pants, sold out, linked similar: 1 | 2

Tennis Shoes

Fall Look 21

Shirt

Faux Leather Skirt, sold out, linked simliar

Wide-Width Heels are old, linked similar: 1 | 2 | 3

Fall Look 22

Sweater in XXL

Athleisure Pants, sold out, linked similar: 1 | 2

Wide-Width Heels are old, linked similar: 1 | 2 | 3

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2022

Two years in a row, I’m alittle underwhelmed with the plus size collection in the Anniversary Sale. But I love Nordstrom’s customer service, their free shipping and several brands available so I chose to support this sale.

Shopping a sale of this size can be overwhelming. It’s great to have a list (like mine!) of items or activities you need to shop for. Activities can include: weddings, vacations, work events/trips that may be coming up within the year. This is also a great time to start your Christmas shopping!

With the different shopping periods of this sale, the company should be replenishing items for each start of the shopping periods so it’s best to create a wishlist on the Nordstrom website so you can be alerted when your sold out wishlist items come back in stock.

MEDIUM IMPACT Bra

I have several of these and love them!

My everyday bras are not on sale 🤷‍♀️

Shop

My Favorite Plus Size Jeans

When Loft decided to cancel their plus line, I was left without knowing where to find good jeans. Who can relate? Here are some of my favorite jeans that fit my body well.

Lane Bryant

Seven7s - Straight cut

Got them hemmed to be ankle length

shop



A & F

Ultra High Rise Ankle Straight Jean

*comes in several inseams, “short” are true ankle pants on me

Shop



Good American

Good Classic

Perfect if you don’t want to get ride of your skinny jeans, but still follow trends

SHOP





The Print of the Summer

Blue and white are a staple summer color combo -

but in one print and make it floral, yes, please! I’ve seen this print all over.

I linked some of my favorites for easy shopping!

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11

plus size female in a blue and white floral dress

Work Wear Staples

Whenever I started a new job, I took a week or so to observe the culture of the office. I took in what the VPs were wearing and what my peers were wearing. Each work environment or office culture that I have worked in has been completely different and has spanned from business professional to casual. With the pandemic changing the world and each industry or office culture doing it’s own thing, I’ve listed a few of my best practices that I follow regardless how casual or professional the industry or office is.

Here are a few of the best practices that I follow for workwear:

  • Fits well - you’re spending 8+ hours in this outfit, you don’t want to tug at it all day

  • Is it appropriate? (Can you do your work (and all of your “other duties assigned”)

  • Skin barring tops are typically looked down upon (untastefully low cut, middriff barring)

  • No rips / frayed clothing or shoes

The last two best practices may be optional in startups or very casual work environments but I have never worked in those environments so I can’t speak to that.

Just for a little perspective, when I worked in a business professional environment, going into the office 5 days a week with a jeans day on Fridays - I had at least: one grey, black and white blazers, skirts and pants (trousers and ankle pants). I kept these staples because workwear is expensive but versatile. To spice things up and add in trends, I filtered in fun seasonal tops, sweaters and jewelry that added color and style.

WORKWEAR TIP: Invest in alterations. If certain staple items are hard for you to find that fit well, take it to a tailor or seamstress. You will get better use out of your purchases and feel more comfortable in your clothing when it fits well. Basically all workwear staples are hard items for me to find off the rack: work pants, skirts, blazers and dresses. I often pay extra in alterations to make these items fit correctly which means spending more on that one item.

I still try to make sure that I have a pair of black pants, white pants, a good pair of jeans and layering pieces but since I’m not going into the office 5 days a week nor am I in that professional of a setting I don’t need to have one of everything.

The majority of suiting options for plus have come a LONG way since I started.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Luxury | Blazer + Pants

Professional | Blazer + Pants

Trendy | Blazer + Pants

Tips on Suiting: If you’re wearing a solid colored suit, make sure the colors match. Major eye sore is seeing a black blazer and black pants that don’t match. If that is an issue - bring in prints to avoid the mismatching.

If you have to wear trousers, seasonless dress pants are the way to go! Especially if you live in an area that has 4 seasons.

Luxury | Trousers or Trousers

Professional | Trousers or Trousers

Trendy | Trousers

Affordable | Trousers

Athleisure | Trousers

*The best time to find new workwear pants is the fall

Luxury | Button Down or Blouse

Professional | Button Down or Top

Trendy | Button Down or Top

Affordable | Button Down or Top

Athleisure | Button Down or Top

Luxury | Skirt or Skirt

Professional | Skirt or Skirt

Trendy | Skirt or Skirt

Affordable | Skirt or Skirt

Luxury | Dress or Dress

Professional | Dress or Jumpsuit

Trendy | Dress or Dress

Affordable | Dress or Dress

Athleisure | Dress or Dress

Luxury | Blazer Blazer Sweater

Professional | Blazer Sweater Jacket

Trendy | Blazer Sweater Jacket

Affordable | Blazer Sweater

Athleisure | Jacket Sweater

3 Things I'm Adding to my Fitness Routine

If you made it out of the past two years without any physical ailments, consider yourself lucky! Whether you dealt with an issue that resulted from the 2020 pandemic or worsened because of the pandemic, you’re not alone! I had both of those issues this year and I’m ready to prevent them from happening again!

I spent half of 2021 in physical therapy for two different issues. One of my issues - I got a pinched nerve in my back (from water aerobics), I know, I can’t believe it either. The pain was so restricting that I couldn’t empty the dishwasher. When I asked the doctor after a week or so when the symptoms didn’t subside, she gave me a script to see a physical therapist. The physical therapist mentioned that this probably didn’t happen during water aerobics alone - but from the 2020 pandemic when most stopped getting their routine movement in - as well as from sitting cross-legged on my couch, over-extending my legs, while sitting on the couch, and leaning forward at my desk - and I may have just moved in a way that caused the nerve to pinch.

The second issue was an old ankle injury more than 10 years ago that never fully healed itself - you know when “they” say once you injure your ankle, it never fully recovered? I tore a ligament in my right ankle and it’s never been the same. In 2014, I trained and ran a half marathon (which you can read about here) and because my ankle never healed correctly, my ankle muscles weren’t supporting my foot properly which caused my right middle toe to fall asleep during long runs. This pain didn’t bother me much as it didn’t stop me from completing the race, however, when I went to buy new shoes, I’d ask the sales people about my issue and was told that my shoes “were not wide enough.” I kept buying the widest shoes available. This foot pain worsened considerably during the pandemic and I wasn’t really sure why. I finally was able to see a podiatrist which then lead me to physical therapy.

Here are 3 things I’m adding to my fitness routine so I don’t have to endure another 6 months of physical therapy🤞 :

Stretch, Stretch, Stretch

This one is huge for me. During my half marathon training, I rarely stretched. I was in my 20’s, do you blame me? If I did stretch, I may have done a forward fold to my toes for a few seconds, foam rolled my thighs or when I went to yoga. NEVER paid any attention to my calves. When my physical therapist asked if I had tight calves when I ran, I never made the correlation that my tight calves could be causing my foot pain. The more you know!

Maintaining my Core Strength

I have been neglecting my core for so long because getting a six pack was completely out of the picture for me! But I learned this year that your “core” is not just your abs. Your core is actually a very large part of your body and everything is connected! There really needs to be a song similar to “head, shoulder, knees and toes” but about the muscle groups - like “your hip muscles are connected to your hamstrings which are connected to your calf muscles then to your Achilles tendon and to the muscles in your feet.” To maintain my core strength, I will continue to practice some form of the following: Pilates, yoga and walking (yes, walking helps strengthen your core muscles!)

Continuing my Mobility journey

Mobility exercises help keep you mobilized (get it??) They also help to keep you from getting injured in everyday life, working out, etc! If I had continued my mobility practice as the lockdowns extended in 2020, I could have prevented my pinched nerve (probably…).

A few of my favorite follows for stretching, mobility and more are:

Dr.Lisa.Dpt // David Carson // Reyna Cohan // Dr Jacob // Kanoa Greene // Size Diverse Pilates

Tips:

As a reminder, I’m not a doctor. If you are experiencing any sort of pain or limitation daily, I would ask your doctor as the pain could be a bigger problem than what you think.

Form is important with lifting, mobility and stretching. My advice to being taught correct form is: schedule a virtual appointment with a trainer, see a trainer or attend a class at your gym. If this intimidates you, make a request that the trainer is body positive, explain that you are plus size and want to learn the movements correctly to help prevent future injuries. The trainer should be able to provide you with proper instruction (if they can’t that is their problem, not yours!)

4 Leggings You Should Have in Your Closet

I have listed out the 4 types and my go-to leggings that I have in my closet. Personally, I like to have a variety of leggings for different uses so they last longer, which is why I spelled it out below! Let me know your favorite leggings in the comments below!

Faux Leather Leggings

Regular, petite, and tall sizing

*compression fit; if you like a roomier feel, size up

Shop Here

Everyday Leggings that Last

If you are looking for leggings to wear on a weekly basis without noticeable wear, these are it! I find that they don’t wick the sweat away as well as your typical work out legging - so I do not suggest to work out in them.

Shop Here

Leggings for Working Out

These are my go to legging for working out. Sweat wicking, high-waisted, doesn’t fall down - all the good stuff!

Shop Here

Cold Weather Leggings

If you want to participate in any cold weather activities, these are your new best friend! And they sell FAST! For cold weather workout tips, check my guide here.

Shop Here

Travel Guide: Oregon Coast

Along with the other Oregon advice, visiting the Oregon coast was highly suggested! Portland is an hour and half-ish of a drive to the coast and makes for another fun day trip or more! We drove from our second airbnb south to Lincoln City and then up route 101 to Cannon Beach (made famous from Goonies). Route 101 isn’t all coast and some of it is farm land which was a surprise to us, but the coastal cities we visited were worth it.

When we moved airbnbs outside of Portland, we needed a car and rented through turo. The pricing ended up more affordable than other car rental companies.

Our Favorite Coastal Cities

Lincoln City was our first view of the Pacific Ocean and pictured above.

Manzanita was also a great pit stop. We had wine and drove along the bluff.

We caught Cannon Beach at low tide and we were able to walk out to the haystacks, saw jellyfish, mussels and starfish.

We met a couple who were visiting but grew up on the coast who suggested Newport and Seaside but we ran out of time. We also ran out of time to hike around Seaside and Cannon Beach, apparently, there are great views of the ocean from those hikes.

Read about our Portland vacation, our Oregon wine country excursion and how I packed for the trip.

Travel Guide: Willamette

Pinot Noir is my favorite wine and the Willamette area is known for it so of course I saved this for our last day. Again, I got several recommendations and shortened the list to two wineries. This pretty much dwindled down to reservation availability and I am so glad it worked out that we went to Domaine Roy & fils. All tastings cost between $30-40 (in the Willamette area) but are typically waived with purchases, which meant I had to take some home - it was a rough decision 😜. After the tasting and the complimentary tour, we ate at Trellis, as suggested by the winery.

Other winery suggestions: Beckham Estate Vineyard / Fairsing / Domaine Serene / Red Market Hill

We moved to a different airbnb for the second half of the trip nestled in wine country, you can read more about it here.

Check out our Portland trip here and then how I packed for this trip, read about it here.

Travel Guide: Portland

When talking about this trip, I often say we went to Portland, we really got a good taste of the NW region. We kept Portland weird, you can read about it below, went to Oregon’s wine region, Willamette (read about it here), and then of course, highly recommended, went to the coast (read the blog post here). You can see how I packed here.

Planning this trip was almost as exciting as going on it - no one has had a bad experience in Oregon. We lucked out with perfect weather for all 6 days and stayed away from the area with wildfires. Luckily that area was much more inland and south of our plans. We kept track of the wildfires with this website. The state of Oregon was also following similar COVID protocols as Chicago which made me feel pretty confident in traveling there.

We stayed in a very convenient neighborhood that was 15 minutes from the Portland Airport (PDX) and NE of downtown. Our airbnb was in the Alberta Arts District, walking distance to the “strip” that had coffee, great food and breweries. We also loved the house we stayed in; it was clean and well stocked .

We Ate and Drank:

Albert Arts District has several restaurants, breweries and coffee roasters. Our first morning, we enjoyed coffee and breakfast at Proud Mary Coffee and then walked around to the micro-clusters of restaurants and breweries around the neighborhood. Started with gluten free beer at Mutantis, stopped by Tough Luck bar and had the best mussels (and beer) at Breakside Brewery. And of course we got Salt & Straw. It’s as good as everyone says 😊 We had several restaurant recommendations for downtown Portland and by process of elimination by reservation availability, we ate at Canard and Andina and got drinks at Rontoms. We also grabbed donuts from Blue Star, the local favorite. One restaurant that I received several recommendations but closed during the pandemic was BEAST. The owners did reopen with a reimagined concept, but we were unable to check it out. Deschutes Brewery downtown ended up being closed so we went to 10 Barrel Brewery which had awesome food with a great rooftop!

We Saw:

We visited the Japanese Garden’s as well as the International Rose Gardens. And even after Portland’s heatwave (which we missed!), the roses were still very much in bloom and the smell was so incredible! On a clear day, there are great views of Mount Hood from the Rose Gardens and Japanese Gardens. If we knew ahead of time, the Japanese Garden’s is nestled in Washington Park which has more hiking trails within city limits. We explored downtown Portland and perused Powell’s Bookstore - one of the largest bookstores in the US. A great place to for Portland gifts!

We got around Portland by foot, lyft and public transportation with Hop Pass

Day Trip from Portland:

A quick day trip from Portland is hiking to Multnomah Falls. Don’t get intimidated by this hike. You can make it as easy or challenging as you prefer. You can see the fall from the road and it takes about 10 minutes to get to the bridge. If you would prefer a more challenging hike, you can continue to the top of the waterfall.

After hiking to Multnomah Falls, we continued on to the Hood River area. Our main goal was to hit up pFriem Family Brewery so whatever happened in between pretty much was a bonus. We did have the intention of walking the Bridge of the Gods, but found out there wasn’t a sidewalk or area for pedestrians to walk safely. Otherwise, we were interested in walking over to Washington (the state) to see the view of Portland. We were successful in buying fresh smoked salmon under the Bridge of the Gods, so you could say it’s a win-win 🤷‍♀️ Once we got to pFriem Family Brewery, we decided to get beers-to-go and swam in the Hood River Waterfront Park while our table became available.

We had several suggestions that we did not get to: Pittock Mansion Hike & Tour / Vista House

What I Packed for PDX

Packing for Oregon was not easy! I knew I had to pack very practical with this trip as we would be adventuring all over. Portland is a pretty active yet casual city so I figured athleisure was my best bet. We ended up having great weather for the entire trip so my shacket was mostly for the coast and flights. Every time I checked the weather app before packing and while on vacation, the coast was consistently 20 degrees cooler so I needed some layers. Both of our airbnb’s had laundry, if I needed to wash something, I could. Personally, I could have packed less - but I was able to fit everything!

Read about my Oregon experience here: Portland | Oregon Coast | Willamette

Travel.PNG

Day 1 & 7

Flight to Portland and back

Jumpsuit

Shacket

Birkenstocks

hiking.PNG

Day 3

Hiking and Swimming

Sweat Wicking Tank

Leggings

mask bag.PNG

Other Necessary Items

Mask

Bag