5-Year Wedding Anniversary

I meant for this post to go on our actual anniversary but we both actually forgot it (gasp!).  I guess this is what happens when you're preoccupied with work and kids :)  Hubby and I met in college so have been together for 10 years and married for 5 years.  I'm still trying to figure out what we should do to celebrate our anniversary...any ideas?

Here are some wedding pics (you can kind of see my face LOL).

Immediately following the ceremony

The dress...

The shoes...

The ring...

And the height difference...LOL

Ah memories, thanks for letting me reminisce with you!  :)

J. Crew Factory: Preggy Fitting Room Reviews

Headed to the outlet mall bright and early this morning in hopes of catching some good deals for the family  and getting more cutesy things for Baby Girl.  J. Crew Factory was having an amazing sale -  50% off all clearance prices (anything that ended in $0.97)!

First up is an olive green military jacket:

J. Crew Factory Olive Military Jacket, Sz 0, $25 (orig. $98)

J. Crew has a tendency to run a bit big so despite the fact that I'm 5.5 months pregnant, I can still zip up this size 0 jacket.  The good thing (aside from the amazing price) is that the bottom has ribbing for a little bit of stretch so I think it will still fit nicely post pregnancy.

Verdict: Buy

J. Crew Factory Amethyst Purple Open Cardigan, XS, $20 (orig. $64.50)

I LOVE this color!  I know it looks gray in this photo (hazard of iPhone pics) but it's actually a gorgeous amethyst purple like the top and necklace in my header above.  The arms fit well but the body will be a little loose post pregnancy.  Not that big of a deal since I will likely belt it and the color is so pretty.

Verdict: Buy

J. Crew Factory Gray Knit Cardigan with Studded Stripes, S, $17.50 (orig. $89.50)

I have a bunch of gray cardigans already but I was really drawn to the studded stripes detail.  This wound up being too loose.  Once again, not a good sign if it barely has to stretch to accommodate a pregnant belly.  

Verdict: No to this one.  I wound up perusing the racks one more time and found an olive version in XS so I bought that one instead.

And here's my shopping outfit - Bohemian Momma:

Dress:  H&M Olive Floral Maxi

Necklace: F21

Vest:  Open Knit Cream-Colored Vest from Dillard's

So if you live near a J. Crew factory store, it's well worth your time!  Anyone else shopping this weekend?  Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

2nd Trimester w/o Maternity Wear (A Girly OOTD)

Over halfway through and I'm still not a fan of maternity wear.  I know I may be in the minority, but I just don't feel like it's necessary (at least not yet) and I'd rather wear my  normal "cute" things than super-matronly ones.

I was feeling super girly today hence the pink tee, watch, and floral shoes :D

Top:  LOFT Sparkle Tee, Sz S (during pregnancy and pre-pregnancy)

Skirt:  Banana Republic, Embroidered Edge Skirt, Sz SP

Shoes:  Anne Klein iFlex Wedges

Necklace:  My "Mommy" Necklace with a pendant of my son's name and birthdate + a key with hubby's initials among other charms

Belly pics at 21.5 weeks wearing a skirt beneath the bump :)

Where do you fall?  Do you prefer maternity clothes when pregnant?

To Sew a DIY Ruffled Maxi Dress

I saw this gorgeous, super-soft melon colored jersey fabric at Hancock Fabrics and knew it would be perfect for a maxi dress.  To make it different from all my other maxis, I decided to add 2 tiers of ruffles to the top.  The good thing about this dress is that it can easily be belted at the waist post-pregnancy and still be wearable afterwards.

 

DIY Melon Ruffled Maxi Dress

Frye Joy Vintage Slides

Close-up of ruffle detail plus detachable matching floral pin:

Which necklace looks better with this color of dress: turquoise or pearls?  I like the contrast of the turquoise but the pearls with the floral pin looks nice too so I'm undecided.

Amrita Singh STEALS Thanks to Kileen

As part of my morning routine, I like to check out y'all's blogs on my phone to help me wake up.  But man alive, nothing made me pop out of bed faster than Kileen's announcement that there was a killer Amrita Singh sale @ Enviius.com (Either go through Kileen's site or click here for my referral link).  I have been seriously envious (haha, get it?  OK, I think I'm witty again - must be the sale high) over all the beautiful AS pieces other ladies have scored from the sample sale in April and was sad that I missed it all.  

Here's what I ordered (all prices in CAD):

Shelter Island Earrings, $20 (orig. $120) each

Water Mill Necklace, $23 (orig. $300)

Newlight Ring, $13 (orig. $120) each

Shipping was $16.99 and as I stated earlier, all prices are in Canadian.  I'm not sure what the current CAD to USD exchange rate is, but if you have a Capital One card, you don't have to pay the foreign transaction fee.

Happy shopping!  Hope everyone has a marvelous weekend!!

Blogger Community Inspired DIY Necklaces :)

I've been on a necklace kick this past week and they're not all pearl necklaces this time :)  Actually, these have been blogger inspired!

From all the gorgeous turquoise pieces I've been seeing (Cee, Kileen, Annie, and Jean to name a few), this is a chunky turquoise stone with bronze chain looping.

Turquoise Statement Necklace with Bronze Chains

This one is Kelly of Alterations Needed inspired.  I saw her wearing a similar necklace and wanted one too!

 

Freshwater Pearls on Silver Chain

And this one?  This was inspired by Annie's Pearls and Lace outfit, although unfortunately I didn't adequately photograph the lace details:

Lace Ribbon Woven w/ Ivory Satin and Gold Pearls

Finally, these were inspired by all the flower pins being sported (see Cee, Elle, Annie, and Kileen):

Pearls and Petals

Thanks ladies - you inspire me on a daily basis!!

Much love,

SPG

(Balenciaga) Wallet to Bag: Easy DIY Tutorial

I love the idea of a clutch bag (and love seeing others rock it) but I also like keeping my hands free.  This is an easy way to have it all - just add a chain to your existing wallet for a light-weight and super cute mini-bag!  This can be used to turn your wallet into a wristlet, shoulder bag, or cross-body bag.

For this particular tutorial, I am using my Balenciaga Money Wallet in Electric Blue.  I think it's a shame that this beautiful color has to stay hidden within my purse so really wanted a way to showcase it :)

Side note: no wallet was harmed in the making of this tutorial so don't worry about any irreparable damage - this is a reversible process.

See tutorial after the jump:

Sewing a Polka Dot Dress a la Michael Kors

Yay - Blogger is back!  I never knew I was so Blogger dependent until I realized I couldn't comment or post anything!

Today's sewing project marks my first foray into Designer patterns via Vogue.   Specifically, this one is from Michael Kors, pattern V1179.  I cut out a Size 6 which is supposed to equate to a 30.5" bust, 23" waist, and 32.5" hip.  Very obviously, I am no longer this size but based upon the description that this is a "very loose-fitting, pullover dress" added to the fact that the fabric is a knit, I figured it would be OK and it was!  :)

I'm rather curious how this will look post pregnancy and am wondering if this would look nice with a belt.  I might have to play dress-up with my dress form later on!

In other news, found out that I have gestational diabetes again so am on a restricted diet.  The good thing is that my belly will continue to get big but the rest of me won't :P

Dress:  DIY Polka Dots

Bag:  "Charlotte" worn as shoulder bag rather than cross-body (I love the versatility of her chain strap!)

Shoes:  indigo by Clarks, Finch (buy here - SUPER COMFY)

And We're Having a...

GIRL!!!

So I have to admit that I've been collecting Baby Girl items for an eternity (even before I was pregnant with my son).  And though I very badly wanted a girl, I was expecting another boy this time around because this pregnancy is SO similar to my 1st.  I gasped and started crying as soon as the ultrasound tech told me the news.  I cannot wait to start buying little headbands, bows, and outfits!!  Plus, now we can sew matching Mommy - Daughter ensembles (she won't even know to be embarrassed by that until way later LOL)!

Baby girl items I've already amassed - some CK dresses, a RL dress, and Burberry tights (cause Momma loves Burberry).

And the Guess Baby's Gender GIVEAWAY winner is CEE!  Congrats!!

I had 32 comments and 20 of them guessed GIRL.  You all must be psychic :D

And finally, (sheesh this is a jam-packed post) here's a photo of me on Mother's Day with my little guy and little gal :)

Note the cut off legs - this is a hubby photography trademark LOL.

Dress: DIY Cowl Neck 

Cardigan:  J. Crew Merino Chiffon-Placket Cardigan, Gold, XS

Necklace:  H&M Turquoise Statement Necklace

Bag:  Prada Nylon Messenger

H&M New Arrivals Head to Toe

Ventured to H&M to check out their swim collection even though I KNEW I would not be buying anything at this point in the pregnancy.  I was just curious, y'know?  :)  I ended up forgetting about the swimwear when I spied a striped jersey dress with rope detailing.  Heading deeper in the store, I also found a beautiful cognac tassel belt and turquoise necklace (I've been lusting after a turquoise necklace ever since seeing Cee's here).  All at fabulously inexpensive prices so I snagged them all and posted in hopes this will help someone else.

H&M Yellow Striped Nautical Dress, Sm, $9.95 (w/ pic of tag above)

H&M Cognac Tassel Belt, One Sz, $12.95

H&M Turquoise Statement Necklace, $12.95

 

Here's a better view of the necklace and rope/grommet detail of the dress as well as what a preggy looks like in it.  :)  The only thing that seems odd about the dress is the length.  It's not really long enough to be a maxi but is way longer than knee/above the knee dresses.  I'll probably either wear it with flats or hem it after the pregnancy.

If you haven't entered my super easy giveaway (ending on Monday, May 9th), click here:

All you have to do is leave a comment (and be a follower) on what your guess is for Baby's gender!

Guess Baby's Gender GIVEAWAY

Monday, May 9th is the big ultrasound day and providing that baby cooperates, we will be able to find out his / her gender! We are soooo excited and absolutely can't wait!  So that everyone can share in the excitement, I'm holding a small little giveaway for a handcrafted Pearl Ribbon Necklace (see examples here).

All you have to do to enter: 

1. Be a public Follower of my blog (click "Follow" in my sidebar) 
2. Leave a comment with your baby gender guess below.  

A winner will be randomly chosen via Random.org from those who guess correctly.

I'll plan to post the winner on Monday evening (unless we don't know yet).  All the winner has to do is email me and we'll work out pearl and ribbon colors from what I have in my little arsenal of supplies.  Easy enough, right?  :)

 

Paisley Dress DIY

I found this gorgeous coral, red, and olive paisley sheer fabric at Joann's and decided to do a high-necked dress with it.  I was thinking halter at first but then decided against it - too much exposed skin (would like to wear this to work)!  Once again, the hem is a bit longer to help me transition throughout the pregnancy.  Can you believe I'm almost halfway through the pregnancy?!?  Another Preggy Chronicles post soon :)

Dress: DIY High Necked Paisley Dress (lined)

Belt:  LOFT Double Wrap Belt, XS with an extra hole punched

Necklace:  Long Strand of Freshwater Pearls (buy here eBay $10.99)

Shoes:  Frye Joy Vintage Slide (buy here)

Bag:  Piano Tote

A closer look at the paisley print.  I also love how this belt matches the bag vachetta so well :)

May Flowers OOTD

Quickie OOTD post today.

April showers bring May flowers...or so they say.  The first day of May here just brought more showers, but that's OK.  I'll bring my own flowers :)

I probably dressed up too much today as we really only went to Smashburger (to satisfy my craving for super yummy fried pickles) and then bead shopping but I felt very feminine in this outfit.

 

Dress:  LOFT Outlet Flutter Collar Dress, Fuchsia, XS

Coat:  DIY Carrie Bradshaw Inspired Floral Coat 

Necklaces:  DIY Freshwater Pearls on Chain (buy here at my Etsy store)  + Strand of Freshwater Pearls

Purse:  Piano Tote

Shoes:  Gucci d'Orsay Pumps, Camel