By Anika: August 2010

Sending you all big love!

Hi sweethearts!

How are you? Just wanted to say hi :)

I am sick but working, and am sadly too tired to post much these days,

but just know that I am thinking of you and that I will be back soon :)

I need to thank the lovely Louise of Nearly Thirty for featuring me!

I really appreciate it, and feel very humble about it :)

Take care my lovelies!

lots of love and aaaaaaaaaaafreakinshooooooo!

xxx Anika

Labels: inspiration, Louise of Nearly Thirty, spreading the love

Be still my heart: Lace

Images found at http://www.weheartit.com/

I love lace.

Be still my heart!

<3

For more inspiration go to the Inspiration-page.

xxx Anika

Labels: inspiration, lace

Dreamy dresses at the Emmys

Images found at http://www.instyle.com/

Hi sweethearts!

I don`t know about you, but I love award season for one reason only:

the dresses!

Kyra Segdwick and Kristen Wiig (above) were my favourites of the night,

but I love these beautiful frocks as well:

Christina Hendricks

Heather Morris

Kim Kardashian

Toni Colette

Jenna Fischer

Emily Deschanel

Tell me, who was your favourite?

xxx Anika

Labels: inspiration

I`m in leopard shoe-heaven

Hi Sweethearts!

How are you?

I am in shoe-heaven in my new grey leopard wegde booties!

They actually are comfortable to wear, and add that special touch to any outfit LOL

(My brother think they are very Lady Gaga, but you know what?

I think I can pull them off.... that`s my story and I`m sticking to it LOL!)

The outfit:

Dress, my design

Top cut from a dress, Gina Tricot

Jean jacket that I tailored and shortened, Gina Tricot

Scarf, leftover material from a dress that I`m dying to show you, H&M

Booties, Nilson

Bag, H&M

Ring and hairband, Lindex

Various bangles

Earrings, Jade Jagger for Indiska

Umbrella, Neste Stopp

Tell me, what are your autumnal shoe-delights of choice?

xxx Anika

Labels: By Anika, leopard

Spreading the love: Dee of Pearls Lace and Ruffles

Today it is my pleasure to spread the love for the lovely Dee of Pearls Lace and Ruffles!

I love her blog, and her style!

Thank you for taking part Dee!

Enjoy her blog :)

Here we go:

Could you share with us your thoughts on fashion vs fatshion?

To be honest, I don't think there is a huge difference between fashion and fatshion. For the most part I think they are the same thing, the small difference being that fatshion is something that only involves plus sized/larger women.

What is your philosophy with regard to fashion?

I think that women (and men too, of course) should wear whatever makes them happy. Don't follow rules or be afraid to wear what you feel most comfortable in. Most importantly don't over think it, fashion is fun for me, I think it should be fun and exciting for everyone.

How does blogging impact your life?

I am still relatively new to the blogging scene but I have already had such a great response to my blog. I have spoken to so many amazing people who I never would have known if I didn't have my blog. I also love reading other blogs too, they inspire me so much to keep blogging, to keep wearing what I love and just enjoy fashion in general. I get emails now and then from girls saying that I inspire them in some way to know I have helped other girls in some way is the greatest feeling in the world.

Do you have a message for all the fashionloving ladies out there, whatever their size?

Be confident! You can wear the prettiest dress in the world and still look bad if you have no confidence, your confidence is what will make you shine and stand out in a crowd. If you're not confident don't be afraid to fake it! Confidence is the most appealing thing to many people, myself included!

Thanks very much Dee! <3

To read more features and read my motivation for starting this series go to the Spreading the love-page.

Labels: Dee of Pearls, Lace and Ruffles, spreading the love

Let`s be the change, with kind hearts

Hi Sweethearts!

I hereby take the kind-hearted blogger plegde!

This campaign was started by Jo_Annie of Em Jay and me.

This is the plegde:

AS A KIND-HEARTED BLOGGER I PLEDGE TO:

create, inspire, and admire rather than compete with fellow bloggers

be understanding of each other-- in the blogging community, as well as in the world

stay away from internet/blogging bullying

speak my opinion freely, while still being mindful of other's feelings-- be tactful.

make an effort--no matter how big or small the gesture, to spread kindness or joy to others

acknowledge that I will make mistakes, (I am only human) but remember to learn from them

know that at times I will post about the negative stuff in life, and maybe even some complaining (I am only human) but I will always follow up with something happy/positive too.

believe that this world is a good place, filled with good people.

<3

As those of you who have been following my blog for a while know, earlier this summer I wrote a post

on the right to label ourselves, based on some negative experiences in the blogger sphere. I needed to take a stand, and I did, by starting my Spreading the love-series, featuring and supporting other bloggers, regardless of their number of followers etc, I always aim to treat everyone the same: with love and respect.

Having taken this plegde that is so directly linked to what I am trying to do here at my blog

(in addition to sharing my love for fashion), I feel that I would like to repost the entry that has become my manifesto as a bloggerista:

Who gets to label me and my worth? I do!

When I joined the blogsphere a while back I wasn`t aware of the whole fatshion-movement, but was very happy to find that there were other people out there claiming their own self worth in a positive way, in terms of selfesteem, bodyimage and fashion.

It didn`t take long for me to become aware of the discussions raging in the sphere though: Who can claim to be a "real" woman? Is loosing weight a sign of self-hatred? Do you have to dress a certain way to be "celebrating your curves"? How big do you have to be to be a fatshionista?How should we all label our selves (curvy/fat/overweight/plus-size)? Here are my two cents.

I have been plus-sized most of my life, and have struggled with it very much, but I while I still have lots of insecurities about my self I have always also had a strong sense of who I am and a fiercly positive approach to life, despite lots of opportunities for bitterness shall we say. I am, and have always been, determined to prove those who bullied me wrong, to prove those who told me that I am more or less worthy because of how I look or feel or think wrong. As my understanding of the dynamics of labeling has grown I also find that where as before I would cling to whatever compliments given me, I have come to understand that positive labeling is also just that, and that labeling in it self -positive or negative- can be very confining and limiting -if I let them be.

Growing up I would get comments like

".. but at least you have a handsome face" (comforting me that my body was under par I suppose)

" you know, Anika, you are kinda fat in a thin way" (really? don`t even know where to start with that one)

Comments like these left me quite bewildered; was I fat or wasn`t I? Where did I fit in, and where did I want to fit in? Was it wrong of me to want to loose weight because my knees started to hurt a little? Was I beautiful with my chubby arms and all? Would I still be me if I lost weight? Would I still be funny without my fat-jokes on my own behalf? Did I make those jokes because I felt I had to or because they actually were funny, or did they expose my sometimes shaky self esteem? Was not being overly confident a good thing or a bad one? Could I live with out labelling?

Of course I can`t, we do seem to categorize the world we perceive, and this does not have to be a bad thing at all, categorizing helps us make sense of the world, but can also prevent us from redefining or developing our understanding of our selves and our surroundings. I love to give compliments and to receive them, but I try to be aware of how I let comments -good or bad- impact me. I am always interested in and supportive of how people define them selves, whether I am talking to one of the teenagers I work with or chatting with a blogger. I don`t for a moment want to try to impose on their right to define who they are for them selves. I simply want to get to know them, respectfully.

Am I to say to a person who looks male to me, but identifies as a woman, that they must be wrong because it doesn`t match my preconcieved notion? No.
Should I assume that every person that strips on the beach struggles with it just because I do? No.
If you define your self as fat, great! If you choose a different label, that`s fine too.
Let`s not exclude those who label them selves differently then we do our selves, let`s not put down those who aren`t included in your criteria for "real women" or what ever.
Let`s not pretend that plus sized women are the only people who have the right to body issues.
Let`s not dismiss those with views that differ from our own as "haters" without considering their point of view.
You also don`t have to agree with me. What I am trying to do is simply share how I view this subject.
Blogging is something that was scary for me too do, but challenging my fears and doubts -redefining what I think I can and can not do is always such a good thing, be it daring to wear colour, taking full figure pics, connecting with other bloggers, exposing my self to comments on my posts or to not getting comments, dealing with my hang-ups, laughing at my own jokes, thinking that I am pretty, opening my self up to my loved ones, learning to let go of the need to be what ever others need me to be, getting up again when I fall.
I am trying to live my life as authentically as possible, embracing and challenging my self, learning from others, and staying curious and humble when meeting new people and learning to know them and their worlds.

In short,