Curvy Girl Thin: British Plus Size Awards*

Being nominated for Best New Blog at the British Plus Size Awards was a complete honour for me! I never thought people would ever read my blog - let alone nominate me for an award.

I started blogging as a hobby just over a year ago but it quickly became more than that. It became a a way of expressing my own feelings, of finding a way of expressing my voice. Blogging became a way to celebrate women of all shapes and sizes and I was accepted into one of the most amazingly supportive communities out there.

I may not have won the award, but growing in confidence and being welcome into this group of cheerleaders is enough for me!

Kat, me, Lottie

I was also lucky enough to party the night away with fellow nominees Lottie L'amour and Kat of The World Through Kat's Eyes who are both pictured in beautiful Scarlett & Jo dresses.

Hayley of Curves & Curls won the award on the night - she is a mega babe in every sense of the word and has supported me through some really tough times lately. She has an amazing blog where she regularly shows of her vintage style and wild hair to perfection. Unfortunately, I failed to get a picture with her (blame the excessive consumption of champagne), but I stole these beautiful photos off her blog - isn't she just gorgeous?

Hayley

My own dress for the night was very kindly provided by Phase 8 and was the wondrously stunning Avalia dress from the Collection 8 range. The dress in size 18 fitted me so perfectly that it could have been made only for me. With a sumptuous soft pink satin slip overlaid with black lace and gem encrusted details, I felt every bit the red carpet starlet in this dress!

Looking good and feeling confident in yourself is always a great feeling, but this was my first night out after a horrible few months of complications with my health which was some of the most devastatingly emotional times I have been through. I was nervous about being seen, nervous about holding my head high and nervous that I was going to get dizzy and fall over.

Tamara and I

Luckily I had an emotional crutch in the form of my best friend, Tamara, who holds my hand through anything and always makes me feel better about myself. I also had my physical crutch which stops me falling over, the downside in that is that people also ask questions, that I'm not quite ready for, about why I need a crutch!

One thing I will say is that everyone was very supportive, despite my vagueness when questioned, and as the night went on my confidence soared! I even managed a little dance, although I'm sure Lottie's claims of my twerking are sorely over exaggerated!

In addition to being lent this beautiful Phase Eight dress, I was also lucky enough to be sponsored for my shoes and undies! I love my heels, and refuse to let a dead leg prevent me from wearing the most visually dramatic shoes possible. These sparkly gold beauties were kindly given to me my New Look and are so very comfy and, with the addition of a heel guard on my smaller right foot, the size 6 fitted like a dream!

Tutti Rouge kindly sent me the most beautiful lingerie set to wear on the night and I promise that a full review will follow. Unfortunately, the bra simply didn't work with the dress which has a fairly low back so I was unable to wear it on the night but I would still like to say a huge thank you to the Tutti team who were incredibly generous in sponsoring my pants!

My handbag glittery gold handbag was also from New Look and my rather spectacular earrings were a last minute purchase from Next seconds before catching the train into London. Silly me always forgets about the jewellery!

Lucia, me, Debz

I'm going to leave with you an indulgence of photos from the night but do keep scrolling if you want all the outfit information as links are at the end!