Suprising Fit

Hi Loves! Happy new week.
 I'm sure most of you are aware of the 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target collection. The launch day has come and gone and if you'll still like to pick up something from the collection, there are a handful of pieces still available online. While most people rushed to the store early morning on the launch day to grab their favorites pieces, I simply rolled over in bed, picked up ipad and went to work. I'm am online shopper with 95% of my shopping done online, so there was no reason for me to get out of bed so early with my belly trying to buy clothes I can't even try on. Yap, I bought pieces in my regular size with the intention of wearing them after the bump. When the package arrived, I did a burst test. As long as the size fits my burst, it was good. Obviously, it wasn't going to fit my growing belly. To my surprise, when I tried on this dress, I started pulling down and surprisingly it fit everywhere. It was the perfect size and stretchy fabric for my pregnant body. Which leads me to believe it's going to be a loose fit after the bump. So, either the size is way off on this dress or the fabric is just very accommodating. Anyways, since I wasn't expecting anything to fit and this dress miraculously did, I decided to wear it to work the next day.
That worked out very well because the dress tied into my animal print themed surprise baby shower at work that day. Added a blazer to give it a work and polished look and my trusted work flats.

Dress: 3.1 Phillip Lim x Target, Blazer: H&M, Shoes: VS

Maternity Pictures

 

Hi lovelies. I posted a sneak peak of our maternity shoot couple of weeks ago, not to keep you waiting any longer, here are a few of my favorite shots. Actually, I love all the pictures, it was so hard to pick a few to share with you guys. The belly really makes every picture look so much better once it gets big, I think :) We did a studio session also which is mostly all bare belly pictures and I absolutely love them as well. I won' t be posting any of those on here though :) This dress is one of my early  pregnancy purchase. When it finally arrived and I tried it one, I loved the way it looked and the style so I decided to keep if for my maternity pictures, keeping my figures crossed that it still fit months from then. Thankfully, it did and the color is just a perfect compliment.

Dress: Asos Maternity, Shoes: VS, Necklace: Asos

Making It Work

  Hello there. Hope you had a great weekend.Mine was alright, it was as if I swallowed one of those tired pills again. This feeling just comes sporadically. Apart from sitting for hours getting my hair braided, not much happened. I really have to get creative and filter through with my wardrobe now as I refuse to buy any maternity pants or anything new in a bigger size. I mean, I'm almost at the end so if I've made it this long, I can make it work the rest of the few weeks with my current wardrobe. These pictures are a few weeks old so it doesn't do my current belly any justice at all. Will hopefully catch up on the current pictures soon.
This is just a casual no fuss outfit. Pair a couple of basics together and you'll end with this look which is what you'll spot me wearing majority of the time these days in different variations.

 

 Top: F21, Necklace: F21, Pants: Zara, Shoes: VS, Bag: Marshalls

Maxi Dress

Hello Lovelies! 

These pictures are quite old now, considering how much bigger little one has grown. These were taken about a month ago. Going into this pregnancy I thought I would definitely wear quite a few maxi dresses and couldn't wait to wear them during summer season. But, the reality has been the opposite. For some reason, I didn't gravitate towards them as much as I thought I would considering the fact that I think baby bump and a maxi dress are the perfect combination. I even still have one or two I bought hoping to wear during the bump that I'm yet to wear.  I'd like to think I still have some  time to pull off more maxi looks as the weather is rapidly changing and well, my baby bump days are numbered. I wore this outfit on a relaxing weekend to spend time with the sisters and some cousins. There was also a lot of  driving involved so this was perfectly comfortable for that.

Dress: F21, Jacket: Amanda Bynes, Necklace: F21, Sandals: Marshalls

Pregnacy Journal: The Symptoms

 Hi All. It's been a while since my last pregnancy journal. This is going to be a short entry, mainly because like I’ve mentioned so many times before I’ve been blessed during the entire course of this pregnancy. Even though I've never been pregnant before, I believe this pregnancy has been very easy and smooth so far. Not that I was expecting it to be otherwise because I'm sure God didn't not intend for me to be miserable during my pregnancy. The first and foremost thing anyone will tell you about pregnancy is that every pregnancy is different and no two experiences are the same. Although you might have some things in common with the next person and learn and share from someone else’s experience, I’ve learnt not to really compare my pregnancy to another.

I knew I was pregnant even before I got my BFP (Big Fat Positive) on the home pregnancy test but I just had to wait to be sure and have physical proof before telling hubby. I knew this mostly because I think I'm pretty in-tune with my body and I'm knew with all the symptoms and changes I was seeing, something must be going on. To keep the blog light and avoid sharing TMI I'll spare you some details but the ones that are appropriate to share, I will. If you search for early signs of pregnancy on the internet, you'll get a long list but more half of them I never experienced. The two main symptoms that gave it away for me so early were extreme tiredness and cramping. Just a few days after getting the BFP came the bloating, being easily irritable and some cravings (but nothing out of the ordinary).

 I cannot tell you how many times I almost (probably did at some point) fell asleep driving to and from work. In that moment I call either hubby or one of my sisters to chat just to keep me awake till I get home; that was how tired I was. Once I arrived home, it was straight to bed. Forget food or anything else and no amount of sleep was enough. I still felt tired the moment I woke up.  It got so bad I was falling asleep in places I really shouldn't apart from behind the wheels of course. Thank God for His mercies. This continued almost through my first trimester but eventually got better. 

Bloating, do I even need to elaborate on that! I believe I was bloated all through my first trimester. I think that contributed to me being easily irritable. Wearing clothes, any kind was so uncomfortable. It was like I didn't want anything touching my body, but eventually that went away also. My cramping was all in the first few months but it wasn't unbearable, just lying down relived it. So for me, there was no morning sickness or anything of sort. 

That pretty much sums up all or most of my symptoms which mainly all occurred in the first trimester. Second trimester I experienced some mild constant headaches which lasted for a couple of weeks. It was more of an annoyance than anything else and Dysgeusia (bad metallic taste in mouth). Apart from that, the second trimester was a bliss. Third trimester has been even more blissful. Apart from occasionally feeling tired and the extra effort and maneuvering required to get out of bed, all is well and good. No back pains, heartburn or anything else significant to note. 

I did have one isolated incident where my face ended up in the toilet bowl once. My sense of smell must have really heightened that day because it was what I was cooking that provoked this and I even went back afterwards to eat that same food. Lol. So there you have it. My symptoms, as generic as it could get in summary.

Happy Friday

Sneak peak of Maternity Photos and bump as of last weekend

Happy Friday loves.

Every time I take a mini hiatus from the blog world I really do miss it and can't wait to return. Even though I've only been out of touch for 3 days now I feel like it's been longer. Now I'm back to catch up on my blog reading list and luckily Instagram has been filling in the gaps here and there. I mentioned I have a 2-day work week this week which means it's been TGIF for me the past 2 days. Lol. The old me would have probably spent this time sleeping, watching TV, eating and sleeping but times have change people :) Can't sleep as much as I used to and TV doesn't even come get turned on until Mr. D. returns from work. I'm not much of a background noise person, I enjoy going about my daily activities in a quiet, peaceful and candle scent infused house. 

So what have I been doing instead these past few days you ask. Lots of baby prep stuff. Unpacking things and putting them in place, buying more things, doing baby laundry and such. I've also been doing a lot of cleaning and reorganizing around the house. My nesting instincts coupled with my clean freak nature has almost made me go overboard. I'm slowly but surely learning to say NO to myself on trying to do everything and asking for help or allowing hubby to help. This is probably my biggest area of struggle. I like/enjoy and want to do everything by myself but I know that's probably not the wisest thing at this point and in the future. Hoping to have mastered the act of division of labor by the time baby arrives. The rest of the time I've spent running errands, reading, relaxing a little, after all that was the idea behind these days off and cooking. Nothing special, haven't been inspired to try anything new or fancy lately. Since I probably won't get this amount of time off before little one arrives again, I think it's time well spent. 

It's been awhile since my last pregnancy Journal entry so I'll try to post an update on my Pregnancy Symptoms this weekend.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Print My Way

Hi Lovelies!!! Happy Monday! 

It's an exciting Monday for me for two reasons. First, I only have a 2-day work week this week...hurray! Secondly, the weekend I had pretty much makes up for this whole week and more. If you follow me on Instagram you'll definitely know what I'm talking about. 

So hubby with the help of some friends definitely caught me off guard with a surprise baby shower. I mean they got me real good. Kudos to my hubby for pulling it off. I can not thank my friends that helped with planning enough.  I was so touched seeing everyone that came out, majority from out of state, from DC, to Boston, to Chicago to Indianapolis and even California. But everyone's presence really meant a lot to me both from far and near.  Like I've mentioned before in a previous post, i am an emotional person so you can guess what my reaction was. Let's just say there was plenty of Kleenex involved. Everyone definitely played their part very well because I was talking to a couple of my friends there just the day before and I had no idea what was coming. I guess that's the essence of a surprise. In short I felt overwhelm with love and I'm happy and grateful to call these group of people our friends and family. I can only imagine how much love this little one is going to receive from all the aunties and uncles. Truly grateful.

This dress had me at hello. I love the fact that the print is so bold as well as the warm colors which is perfect for the upcoming fall season. The midi and sleeve length are just extra bonus for easily making this wearable and transition into fall. On a different day I might have played it safe and paired the dress with a one color tone pair of shoes like black or nude, but I guess I was feeling some bold print love on this day. So I went with my orange python print t-strap heels instead.
In belly news, it's definitely getting bigger everyday and little one is way pass the point of little kicks and moves. It's a rumba party in there now with more pressure and intensity. How exciting! And do I need to mention due date is only single digit weeks away!?!
Wish you all a great week ahead!

Dress: Asos, Bag: Marshalls, Shoes: VS, Necklace: Asos

Work Belly Style

Hi everyone. I'm pretty sure you all enjoyed your long Labor Day weekend for my readers here in the state. I certainly enjoyed mine. It was the weekend leading up to hubby and I 2nd year anniversary so we enjoyed the weekend doing the simple things we both love. Lunch date in the park, beach date, dinner date with some live music and even more dinner dates. It's hard to believe its been two years already but its

 been a great two years and we've definitely come a long way in all aspects. My heart is filled with more love for this man I call husband than the days before and I'm eagerly looking forward to and praying for a brighter future for myself, my husband and our little one.

When dressing for work, I've noticed it can easily turn boring, especially when you make that switch from heels to flats and your main focus is comfort above all else.  I stopped wearing heels to work couple of months ago which means my outfit can easily look causal more often than not. To keep things interesting, I like to add some color and bold accessories. These can easily heighten a casual look. With this look, I paired a basic midi dress with a red blazer, red necklace and one of my go to work flats for a work chic look.

Happy Wednesday and enjoy the rest of the week.

 

Dress: Asos, Blazer: H&M, Necklace: F21, Belt: The Limited, Shoes: VS