Birthday Girl

So on Saturday I said goodbye to being 23 and said hello to being 24! Birthdays and the reminder that I'm getting older tends to stress me out a little because I always feel like I haven't achieved anything. And I guess I haven't achieved any of the big life things I want to do...I'm still in the same retail job, I'm still living at home and I haven't learned how to drive yet but when I really think about my 23rd year in this world, there's lots of little things I've done that I'm really proud of myself for doing. At the start of last year, I started therapy for the second time for my anxiety and depression and unlike the first time I actually managed to show up to every appointment and talk about things and think about my behaviors and it honestly helped so much. A year on I can say my mental health is the best it's ever been. My confidence has grown in leaps and bounds, my relationship with my body is better than ever and I am just so happy and in love and for the first time ever I'm feeling really optimistic about the future. I guess for me birthdays can be a little bitter sweet but they serve as a reminder that I'm still here, that I made it another year and that I need to keep growing and working towards being the best person I can be.



The best thing about birthdays other than cake is obviously the presents and one of the presents I got this year was this beautiful dress from my boyfriend. The dress is from River Islands new plus size range and I've been eyeing it up for a long time but I couldn't afford the £85 price tag. Fortunately it's half price over on river island at the moment which makes it a little bit more affordable and you can pick it up here.

I honestly am in awe of this dress, it is so beautiful. River Island are getting their plus size collection so right, this dress is really on trend with the floral embroidery and the two piece design. My favourite thing about this piece is the colours, they are so rich and vibrant and I am just a huge fan of anything teal. I paired this dress with some light coloured strappy heels for a more day time occasion look but add some black tights and heels and you have the perfect evening look. I am wearing a UK size 24, I always size up when a dress has a zip as I have quite broad shoulders and a bigger size tends to fit better.

River Island is one of my new favourite places to shop and you can find more amazing pieces over on their website and don't forget to check out their sale section for some bargains!

That's it from me, I hope that this next year holds lots of new adventures for me and that 24 is a lucky number. Thank you for reading and I hope to have something new for you to read very soon x