Welcome to Melb+

It’s a quiet Friday night and I am sitting here cuddled up with some tea while writing my very first blog post. Wait! What?!!! Yes, it’s true! Welcome friends and family to Beautifully Melb+. A fashion, beauty, and lifestyle blog for the curvy girl (but really for anyone with a body because we all have curves and lines). Speaking of curves and lines, you may be wondering why I chose the tag line, “The beauty of curves and lines that don’t define.” Let’s chat about that, but FIRST I have a few people to thank. Thank you, LORD….I would not have chosen this exact journey, but here I am still standing only because I’ve learned that the joy of the Lord is my strength. Thank you to friends and family who have been a source of so much love and encouragement (and technical support). I love you bunches!

If you are here from Team Torrid, allow me to role out a virtual red carpet woven with my deepest gratitude. Thank you so much! It was your virtual casting call that lit this fire! The decision to go after my dreams via this casting call launched me into a space that felt both brave and very vulnerable. A space in which I decided that it was okay to announce to friends and family, “hey I think I’m going to do this thing because I believe in my beauty” even if sometimes the world can’t fathom why or how such confidence exists in my heart. Thus, I decided to start the process of picking out some outfits.

I discovered that not only do I believe in my beauty but I love the idea of helping other women believe in theirs. Why? Because beauty is not a size. Beauty is a series of curves and lines that don’t define. They aren’t WHO I am. I am more than my body. But they DO outline the beauty that I am finally learning to carry. They are the outline of the body that has faithfully taken me through life, doing hard things, carrying a human life, working long hours in a healthcare career where I help the littlest of patients, running my home, slowly learning about health and wellness, and experiencing all this world has to offer.

Your curves and lines matter! They will change over time. Bodies always do. They may shrink and stretch and sag, but they deserve your love and attention all the same. Those curves and lines deserve to be intentionally adorned in a way that makes you feel MOST LIKE YOU! Chic, boho, classic, edgy, vintage, artsy, grungy, minimalist, elegant, biker, or in your birthday suit. You do you boo. My personal style is definitely a blend of classic elegance with a solid dose of edgy. I hope you will stick around so we can share some coffee (or your beverage of choice-I don’t judge) and talk shop. Oh, below you can peep some of the images from my photoshoot. Thank you to the lovely Lauren Watai who snapped the most amazing pics and helped make this little dream of mine a big ole’ reality! I’ll be sure to update everyone if I make it to the semifinalist round of the Team Torrid casting call! In the meantime, you can follow me here, at missmelb_plus on Instagram or on my facebook page Beautifully Melb+. All my love,

-Melb+