Making Maxi's work

I invested in alot of maxi's for dressing the bump. I got a bit excited because I always felt that maxi's didnt suit me, and now this was my chance to pull that look off.  Unfortunately I have now realised that I am just not that comfortable style wise in maxi's, and I feel a bit frumpy as well. But I have so many that I need to start working out how to embrace this look!  Plus its really easy just to throw a maxi on ;-).  Nicole Ritchie pulls of the maxi quite well:

And of course Jessica Alba loves the maxi look as well:

I love the white shirt over the dress that turns it into a maxi and also the open long sleeve shirt over the outfit as well

Ice clothing have maxis similar to the ones on each end of this photo.  I have the stripey one, which I am hoping to also be able to wear at work with a jacket over it.

The purchases start piling up!

Now I am reaching the 32 week point, I am dressing to make myself feel better.  Which means that I am indulging in my wardrobe - it makes me feel alot better to know that I look good or am wearing something pretty.  I am definetly now in the uncomfortable phase so this is just a small ray of sunshine to get me through the day :-).  On the plus they are all bargain buys!

This dress in Pink!  I already have it in the blue like the pic, and it fits over the bump so nicely and is a great work dress.  The pink was marked down from $24.95 to $9.95 so I decided to pick it up as well since its perfect for work and I still have about 30 days of work left.  SES have been a surprising gold mine for decent work maternity clothing.

ASOS ASOS ASOS.  I heart Asos :-).  I bought some cute bikinis from Cotton On, picturing that I was going to flaunt my basketball bump around.  Well my belly button popped out and then I got some pigmentation and now it just looks very different to what I thought a cute baby bump would look (damn you celebrities for this false expectation lol).  So I ordered this tankini from ASOS it had to be ordered as two pieces and together it was $25 - HOW CHEAP.  The quality of it is realy good and the cups are padded as well so no spotlight action ;-).  Its very cute and I am relieved I purchased it.

Because my work dresses are a little bit shorter then normal with baby bump pushing up the front of them, I decided to get these 3 quarter leggings.  These seem light weight as well so will be wearable when its hot hot hot in a month.  $11

This was SO cute and $17.  I couldnt resist it and was betting on it being really baggy in the waist so I could fit the bump in.  It totally fits the bump in and is as cute as pictured it to be :-).  Its pretty much only beach/very casual wear.

Look of the Day and more ASOS

Today's Look of the Day was a work one.  It is a bit chilly still (about to come into a warm snap):

 SES dress - $24.95,Novo shoes - cant remember the price, these are about 6 years old though and in great condition, Veronica Maine cardigan $$ but worth it for the quality, mimco scarf and purple stockings!

Baby bump is pushing my dresses up to be a little bit shorter than usual... these stockings were a bit sheer, I will definetly have to wear thicker stockings and leggings under the shorter work dresses now :-).

ASOS ASOS ASOS

As posted previously, I am going to stay at work longer, alot longer another 6 weeks at least.  This means I need a few more work pieces as the bump is getting way to big to manage with the work wardrobe I have now.  Luckily ASOS are having a sale (though I am starting to wonder when it is when that they dont have a sale lol), and picked up the following pieces - the delivery came in less than a week!  The white jeans were $10, I wanted a pair of work pants but there were none on sale and I figure at this point I can get away with wearing my pair of  loose normal work pants with a belly belt and using these jeans and my Jeans West jeans as work pants.  They didnt have my size, but I am actually glad about that now as they are not skinny jeans but a little bit looser - which means that being white they wont be so clingy!  They are the cool pull up jeans just like Jeans West as well.

This dress was $28.  It is a light jersey material and is a beautiful blue colour just like the photo.  Its not as baggy as in the photo, but I am glad about that as I was worried about how baggy it was going to be.  Its not tight but being jersey material it has a bit of a cling to it - I feel comfortable in it though.

Blogger down! Look of the day resumes and ASOS

You can read the long story on my other blog, the short story is my laptop died :-(.  But I am back (not sorted out my laptop yet but have temp loan of one).  While I was away from Blogger land, I could however still access ASOS on my Iphone and work computer ;-).  I also decided to stay at work longer, an extra 6 weeks longer - bringing me a week out from babys due date.  This meant I really needed to invest in some work clothes because the only maternity clothes I had invested in where casual clothes!  Baby bump is booming, so squeezing into existing work clothes is no longer a real option.  I bought a few work things, I didnt want to go overboard  and I plan to mix and match with a few things I can still wear with a bump belt - will review when they arrive :-)

This dress was $18.  I wasnt really sure about it, I just added it to my bag to think about it, when I was taking another look and thinking well $18 is a bargain - it came up as out of stock!  Because it was in my bag I could still buy it, so buy it I did.

Look of the Day resumes:

Ally jumper I got on sale for $16, sportsgirl knicker boxer shorts - these are non maternity are being held up by my belly belt.  I did have black heels on but the heel fell off one of them!  Lucky I had spare flats in my work drawer that saved the day.  Purple scarf and stockings cause its still chill chill chilly.

Baby Bump!!

ASOS delivery, Irony and decisions that may not be final!

I got my ASOS delivery yay!

I took a big leap of faith with these ASOS floral peg pants.  These are not my kind of look at all, but apart from my jeans I dont have any maternity pants.  I am so glad I did though as they are awesome!  So lightweight for Summer and soooo comfortable. And they will still be wearable after baby, so not limited to maternity wear.  I was tempted to go back and order a black pair but they area little more expensive and also sold out in my size now - I guess lots of baby bump ladies love peg pants :-).





I have another ASOS delivery due (hopefully tommorrow) that has a belly belt in it as I misplaced mine about 7 weeks ago, I havent really needed it so umm and ahhed about getting another one and eventually thought whats $10 bucks I will grab one of ASOS (and a pony belt as well cause a gal always needs one of those ;-)).  So Irony is when you wait 7 weeks to order something after searching for it over and over again in your house, finally decide yes you must of left it away on holiday's so it is lost and you do need to order another one.  And then the day before you get it delivered you find it.  Seriously!!  I am packing up our house for a move and have found it scrunched up in a drawer that I dont even use, I have no idea why I would of put it in there. Dont tell my Hubby as he told me to look harder :-s.

  So after deciding after many posts not to go with a car capsule and pram travel system, I saw these photos of Jessica Alba and their car capsule system.  I dont think its enough to change my decision again, but it looks alot easier then I was picturing in my head.  Though I did note in the other pics the baby was asleep when they took her out of the car and then once they looked the capsule into the pram she was awake lol. 

Maxis Maxis Maxis and Look of the day!

Because I have never indulged in anything Maxi (I always felt that it was a look to enjoy in pregnancy), now I am embracing the look to show off my bump.  Dropdeadgorgeousdaily recently blogged about the top 19 Maxis for this season, here are a few of my favourites: http://dropdeadgorgeousdaily.com/2011/09/gallery-19-best-maxis-to-hide-a-big-lunch-in/?pid=3467#anchor this is a bit out of my price range but I love the look!  http://dropdeadgorgeousdaily.com/2011/09/gallery-19-best-maxis-to-hide-a-big-lunch-in/?pid=3484#anchor.

 I found this maxi skirt at Supre, there is an assortment of colours and they are $30.  I have spent my budget bucket this fortnight, so hopefully they go on sale after that!  They also had maxi dresses exactly the same, but I was thinking of going and trying on this skirt and seeing if can be a maxi dress as well ;-).  I can highly recommend SES for cheap cheap maxi dresses, perfectly for end weeks of pregnancy and first weeks of baby.

Look of the day

 Today it was meant to be a little bit warmer, so it was officially no coat day!  And another person came up and said oh I didnt know you were having a baby congratulations :-) Only 28 weeks baking done already, but finally people are noticing baby bump.
Jacket - Ally $50, Scarf - Myers $15.  SES pullover cardigan $7.95, Cue shirt (cant remember $$ is an oldie but a goodie),  Cue Skirt (cant remember $$ is an oldie but a goodie).  Glassons stockings (bought from Christchurch while on holiday in NZ last year) $5, boots are Zu and originally cost me $199 but now six years later I have the broken heel replaced twice - $100!  Necklace $20 from a boutique and ring $2 from Diva :-).

Look of the day and Pram search started

Today it is a miserable day (again), so all my summer maternity dresses still linger unworn in my wardrobe.

 Dotti heart jumper with Cotton On long sleeve black top underneath.  I paid full price ($50) for this jumper which I never do at Dotti as everything always goes on sale there eventually, but I loved it so much.  It did eventually go on sale for ten bucks cheaper but I figured I had got quite a few wears out of it by then to justify the buy!  Cotton On top $10.
Jeans West blue maternity jeans and my favourite Adidas shoes (wearing thick bond socks to prevent chill!). I posted about my Adidas on my other blog.



Because it is so cold I also had to put a red coat from Jay Jays on ($29.95) and a grey Cotton On scarf ($10).

And a pretty headband for my hair, just because I heart headbands.  This was actually an expensive headband considering its from Tempt - $9.95.







I stopped in at the Handmade markets this morning and bought some cutesy/glamour singlets from Erin Louise which I will post about on my Everyday Girl Blog.  Then I parted ways with my girlfriend and took hubby pram hunting.  We only went to one store (I am still finding baby things overwhelming - there is to much choice and to many decisions to be made).  But we found as pram we really like straight away Phil and Ted's Smart Stroller: http://www.babiesdirect.com.au/_products/Prams+++Strollers/Strollers/PHIL+++TEDS+SMART+++PEANUT+PACKAGE-138-77218-.aspx?utm_source=%3Fgoogle_shopping&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Shopping. Compact, lightweight and small is our criteria.  I will need to get on all the baby forums to research reviews about this pram - Stay tuned :-).

the search for the belly belt and the adventures on the way (plus I start the pram quest)

While searching for a replacement for my missing belly belt, I managed to pick maternity leggings and new work dress but no belly belt!  I bought my previous belly belt from Target for $12 – this is a bargain, online and in store belly belts are around $20-$30.  However when I went back to Target to pick up another belly belt they have drastically reduced their maternity wear range and no longer stock Catriona Rowntree’s maternity line anymore either.  They had no belly belts anymore either L, but they did have 20% off their maternity range so I picked up a pair of maternity leggings for $16:

These are so soft and comfortable; I like the feeling of having the belly bit pulled up securing the leggings!  All my leggings were seriously falling down every 5 minutes so it is worth $16 to have this comfort!

On my expedition to find the belly belt, I wandered into SES, even though I wasn’t going to buy ANYTHING from there.  But I found this awesome work dress, it is a reasonable length (sometimes SES work dresses can be a bit short), it is a beautiful colour and it actually moulds around the baby bump really well – it could easily be maternity wear.  The dress is actually really good quality for SES as well for example the dress is lined which is very rare.  It definitely looks a lot more expensive then the $14.95 I paid for it (marked down from $24.95).  Cant wait to wear this, keep an eye out for my looks of the day!

Belly Belt.  So after searching so hard I gave up and purchased from ASOS for $10 (and also added in another purchase see other blog for post).

The quest for the perfect pram begins!  I have decided its time to actually get serious and start researching, I will begin with the checklist from BubHub to figure out what I am looking for and then begin my search – stay tuned: http://www.bubhub.com.au/info/articles/pregnancy/checklist_for_buying_a_pram_or_stroller.shtml.

ASOS Overload

Yesterday I received my ASOS order with below dress and two other goodies, I have one more order due for delivery tomorrow and then that’s the end of my ASOS adventure for now!  I definitely have been able to get some awesome maternity bargains so have been happy, but I really don’t need anymore clothes at the moment, since I am yet to wear any but a pair of shorts!  Other things that I have started thinking about now as time gets closer (not close enough yet!), is breastfeeding – none of the ASOS tops or dresses are breastfeeding friendly.  This dress looks exactly how it appears in the picture, I am not sure why but I had a different idea of it in my head so when I tried it on I was a bit disappointed.  But after matching it with my wardrobe accessories, I realised that its perfect especially for late pregnancy.  I will be able to dress it up and also wear it casually.  The material is beautiful and soft as well.  It was $47 reduced to $23.

Celebrity Maternity Fashion

I am on a maternity clothes ban, due to accumulating a considerable haul of maternity clothes, yet still wearing my norma clothes! (except for jeans - yay for maternity jeans).  So to ease my shopping demon, I am shopping online for rocking Celebrities pregnancy fashion, starting with Nicole Ritchie and after two pregnancies there are heaps of choices, Nicole is one stylish expectant mumma:

I like that this is Spring/Summery, although I am not sure I can pull this off as well as Nicole as she seems so tiny! This looks like a long clingy top, I have some short tank dresses that I could match with leggings to get this look.

I love this look because its exactly a style that I have already put together, Kimono and a little black dress :-).  Cotton on have some nice cheap Kimono's at the moment and I got a little black dress from ASOS (see previous post)

This is a great look for Hot Summer and late pregnancy. I have a singlet exactly like this that I bought then never wore cause it was to 'floaty', now I will have something for it float around lol.  I have a denim maternity shorts from ASOS that hopefully will still fit me late into the pregnancy.

Again another Kimono look I am loving with casual jeans and black tank top/singlet.  This is the last one I am going to put for now because there is a billion other Nicole Ritchie looks I am lemming that I can put up further down the track.





This website has been awesome in finding celebrity maternity style: http://www.instyle.com/instyle/package/general/photos/0,,20154436,00.html.

More ASOS and dressing the bump purchases

 I am starting to get a bit worried that I may have to dress my child in clothes I have made out of all the maternity clothes I have bought lol.  I actually wore my denim maternity shorts I got from ASOS on the weekend because the weather was so beautiful.  I was relieved that they were so comfortable as when I tried them on originally they were quite tight, but they loosened up straight away and I heart them! I am still waiting for the maxi dress I ordered last week (previous post), but I was procrastinating today and using ASOS as the tool to do it when I saw that some of their sale stock had down.  Luckily all I have in my savings bucket is ten dollars which allowed me to pick up this dress (free delivery).  I am picturing it as not only a dinner/going out dress but also wearing it casually by putting the below Cotton On kimono/shirts over it.  I havent bought the Cotton on tops yet though... I am not loving Cotton On's prices and lack of sales at the moment :-(.

One more for the road

I snuck in some more sneaky ASOS purchases from the sale, including one more maternity dress.  I am refusing to buy any more until I actually wear some of the maternity stuff that I have bought.  The maxi dress was $23.00, I will review on arrival (please please please do not be see-through material!).  I am picturing lots of Maxi's and long necklaces and a big belly :-). 






I think I will need some more shape wear though, the nude breastfeeding strapless camisol and shorts have been so awesome already, I think I will need to get them in black as well.  Queenbee gave me a discount voucher with the last order so maybe I can budget next pay to pick them up, they express delivery the next day as well :-).

Although I havent bought anything for the baby yet, I am starting to linger longer at cute baby clothes.... we wont be finding out if we are having a boy or girl so thats been a pretty good deterrent to buy anything!  Buying neutral stuff has little appeal.

ASOS maternity clothing review number two

Here is the rest of my review of my ASOS maternity wear order:

This was $70 (not in the sale section!) I bought this in prep for the potential Xmas party season just before baby is born and my bump will be HUGE.  This fitted perfectly and is jersey so will have alot of give around the belly.  Love it :-).

This was $13, its very see-through (its cheesecloth).  Very cute for beach/picnics.  Would need to put a slip under it or at least some spanx shorts to make it wearable for anything more formal then the beachy casual environment!

 This dress was $18 and is gorgeous.  I can just see when I have the huge bump this will still be so comfortable and look great. The material is very soft the colour is flattering.










 This top was $13 and I bought one in black as well. They are really soft, I am surprised at how cheap all the clothes are but how good quality they seem to be!

ASOS maternity clothing (otherwise known as the 'Yay presents' post)

Took a risk and ordered some maternity clothes from ASOS (http://www.asos.com/).  I figured it wasnt that much of a risk since they were soo cheap and maternity clothes are not cheap in Australia so I figured I could resell them on in the worse case scenario.  Well best case scenario I ordered three dresses, two shorts, a skirt and two tops for $226 (free shipping), they were delivered in a week and a half and arrived TODAY :-). Here are my shorts and skirt reviews below and I will update the dresses and singlets next post:

This was about $32 and I ordered a uk10 which should be the equivalent of Aus10.  The shorts look like the pic and I love.  I should of gone up to a size 12 to give consideration to the potential weight gain not specifically in just the 'bump' area (lets be honest pregnant ladies, it aint all going to the bump :-D).  They fit nicely but a little snug, if I put on alot of weight during the third trimester, they will probably be to uncomfortable or may not even fit! I wish they were not the side stretchy maternity fit and were like the Jeans West jeans that pull up and are attached to the snug belly band.  But thems the breaks!

Again, these look just like the pic but yet again I should of ordered a 12 to accomodate any potential weight gain.  I didnt have any problems with ordering 10 in the other clothes, but denim is always a little tight -eek.  Are very cute though oh and were about the same price as the denim shorts.

Oh my gosh these are as cute as they are in the pic and soo comfortable, they feel like they will have alot of give and will last the third trimester!  They were Uk10 and I am Australian 10 and were about $21.  Perfect for summer baby belly :-).