My first trip to Melbourne was in 2008. Jo, the friend I went with back then, now lives out there, which may indicate just how much we loved it.

So it’s not surprise that only three years later, I hopped on a Qantas A380 for another trip. This time, the real reason for the trip was the wedding of one of my boyfriend’s oldest friends. But it was also the perfect chance to see Jo again and catch up with the gorgeous Kim (aka the current ed of Catwalk Queen) who I’d not seen since she made a whistlestop trip to the UK for Kat’s wedding last year.

So here we are, reunited at Palmz, the tiki-themed rooftop bar at the Carlton, which I would definitely recommend to anyone on a night out in the Melbourne CBD.

As you can see from our coats, Melbourne in May isn’t that warm. In fact, it’s been the coldest, wettest May they’ve had in about a decade apparently, so while all you Brits were enjoying a mild, beautiful month in your sundresses and flipflops, I was on the other side of the world wrapped up in opaque tights and scarves. Need more proof? Here I am at the zoo, insanely excited to be visiting yet another butterfly house. I LOVE butterfly houses.

However, the cold weather did nothing to dampen our spirits, even when we headed to the Dandenong Ranges (forest-covered hills just outside of Melbourne, littered with log cabins, tree lodges and holiday cottages and tiny towns full of sweet shops and posh restaurants) for the wedding, only to be greeted with thick, muggy fog (soon to be joined by endless driving rain).

By this point, we’d been joined by friends from London, and the groomsmen and the WAGs (as I insisted on calling myself and the wives) shared the main house at Lochiel, a four bedroom property boasting an outdoor hot tub that sadly, due to the weather, we didn’t get chance to test out. Even though we drew the short straw and got the small room with twin beds, it was comfy and peaceful, and it was lovely to spend a few days out of the city in great company.

The wedding was held on Friday 13th, so it’ll come as no surprise that things didn’t exactly run smoothly. But despite various setbacks, from missing suits to missing guests, it all came together in the end. Spirits were high, the ceremony was lovely, the bride and groom looked happy and the speeches went down without too much getting lost in translation.

Um, the less said about the limo crashing (gently) into a tree at the end of the night the better.

After the wedding, our friends went up to Cairns but we returned to Melbourne. The city centre is fairly small and easy to get around, and you can probably do most of the really touristy things within a few days. We visited all the usual places; the museums, the botanical gardens (above), the zoo, the aquarium, the casino, and they’re all pretty fantastic. But for me half the fun is the unplanned stuff, just walking round and exploring the different areas, eating, drinking and shopping your way around the city.

We were really lucky having friends out there that we got some great local recommendations. We never ate a bad meal, we visited some great new areas I’d not been to before (like Fitzroy and St Kilda) and Kim clued me in on a great new boutique hotel chain that I have to share with you.

The joy of a new hotel is that off season you can get amazing rates as they try to fill rooms. Thanks to a bit of luck and a lot of research, we ended up being able to spend some of our time staying at the Blackman hotel, which (lack of free wifi aside) I simply couldn’t fault.

The hotel is part of the Art Series hotel chain, all themed around Aussie artists, so attention to detail and aesthetics was beautiful. I was sold the moment I saw the upholstered Louis Ghost chairs, but we also had Charles Blackman prints throughout, a shelf of coffee table books (all on art, natch) and all kinds of lovely design touches. The bed was the comfiest I’ve ever slept in, the shower was seriously powerful, and there was even a kitchenette so eating in was an option on cheap days.

Oh, and the view from the balcony helped too…

I also have to give a nod (though I didn’t take any pictures) to the Cube Serviced Apartments, which had affordable, clean and well kitted out rooms in a great location for a really, really good price. After the Blackman I was expecting to be brought smack down to earth with something very bland and basic, but the cube really exceeded my expectations. If you ever head to Melbourne on a budget but want something a step up from hostels, definitely keep this place in mind.

Federation Square, Melbourne’s answer to Leicester Square

Needless to say, my second trip didn’t dampen my enthusiam for Melbourne, and I’m already mentally planning another trip in 4 or 5 years time. Despite the weather, the ridiculous exchange rate that meant a glass of wine was £7, and the inexplicable onset of air sickness on the return journey (seriously?!) I had a fantastic time and would go back tomorrow if I could.

Though the weight loss has pretty much ruled my life offline over the last few months, I’ve tried not to talk about it too much online. I’m aware that there’s something seemingly hypocritical about a woman who runs a website aimed at women with a curvier body shape going on a diet.

That was something I thought about long and hard when I pulled up the Weight Watchers homepage and signed my life away earlier in the year. Was I going to alienate the readership I’ve built up over the last year or so if I was suddenly wearing the occasional size 12?

I sincerely hope not. And if I do, maybe I will gain more readers elsewhere. Or maybe I should cut my losses and go back to talking about Oscar dresses. ‘Size doesn’t matter’ should work both ways, and I believe in the most part that it does.

The brilliant bloggers in the plus size / curvy world have taught me a lot over the last year about body acceptance. A year or so ago, almost everything I wrote was about being ‘flattering’ or ’slimming’ or hiding flaws. I lived for the idea that things would be better and easier if I was slim, because that’s what I’d been told in the past. I wanted to make the most of my figure, but mostly by concentrating on the flaws, not looking at the good bits. My body confidence was lower than I would ever admit to.

But these women taught me that you shouldn’t look at your body as a series of ‘problems’. If you constantly dress to conceal stuff, it’s a case of CLOTHES: UR DOING IT RONG. If you want to look good, you need to do one of two things; get over it and accept you are the size you are (and that’s ok) or get to a body shape you are happy with. And I’ve never been quiet about the fact that where I am now – with a BMI of 24 – is where I feel most comfortable.

Even on launching BGB I was adamant about one thing – it wasn’t an excuse to get lazy, or to deliberately put on weight to prove a point. It was a website about something I am passionate about; finding clothes that fit well on all kinds of body types, promoting confidence and diversity, celebrating curves, and accepting that women come in all shapes and sizes, and they have the right to choose what that shape and size is (if they’re lucky enough to be able to choose). I like to think my readers and friends are smart enough to understand that though I felt personally that I’d gone past my ‘happy’ weight, I wasn’t suggesting they should all join me on my crusade. One size does not fit all, and unlike some, I don’t feel like every single overweight person on this earth is living in denial.

I believe we’re all made to be different sizes. Our bodies have ways of showing us we’re not looking after ourselves, and my body was telling me I was getting lazy. I didn’t put on weight because that’s just the shape I was supposed to be. I put on weight because I ate too much and I exercised too little, and I wanted to change that.

Now I’ve done something about it, I’m still curvy. I still wear a size 14 in most clothes. This wasn’t about getting super-slim. This was about losing the weight I’d slowly gained over time that meant half the clothes in my wardrobe were either incredibly tight or impossible to zip up. It was about getting back into good habits, making my diet healthier, stopping myself from eating huge portions of meat and carbs that made me sluggish and lethargic, getting out of the habit of having a couple of glasses of wine every night, and cutting convenience food out almost entirely.

I made a decision at the beginning that I wasn’t going to set myself a ridiculous goal, which is why I’m stopping now I’m back into my favourite old clothes. I don’t want to become someone who continues to be a diet bore long after coming off the diet. I’ve annoyed enough people already. My happy weight is where I am now. It’s manageable, it’s healthy, but I still have my boobs and my hips. Would I love it if someone waved a magic wand and made me model-slim for the day? Of course, it’d be lovely to see what I looked like, but that’s about all.

Life is too short not to eat cake sometimes.