What I Wore...

...to run errands and drop by L'Occitane for Happy Hands Day 

silk top from Madewell, jeans from Cheap Monday, Louboutin Simple 85

...to run errands and pick up Berry from school

dress from APC Madras, APC belt, Repetto BB

...to go to war. Joke! Actually I just remembered I had these old pants and tried to style them to make them look more "now". Jenna Lyons was the inspiration

burnout tee from Nation Ltd., camouflage pants bought 8 years ago at Suan Lum Night Market in BKK, Louboutin Simple 85

...to bring the little ones to Blow-up Babies for a photo session

button down from +J Uniqlo, trousers from J. Crew, oxfords from Bimba y Lola

...to go on a massage date with Dear Hubby

shirt from Old Navy, shorts from H&M, Marni flatforms

...to bring Berry to school. She specifically requested that I wear a dress, so tadaaa!

dress from AllSaints, Isabel Marant sandals

18 Weeks

These days I can eat so  much better now. No more puking at all, yey! I still have to rein in the urge to stuff myself because I get heartburn, sigh. Which is kind of good though because I don't eat more than I should. In a way, heartburn is a blessing because when I had it with Berry, I only gained 25 lbs the entire pregnancy. Which was easy to shed off.

I can also feel the Little One moving around in my tummy! I started feeling movements around 16 weeks, but this time it's more evident. I so know when the baby is awake! We are so excited! Berry calls our baby, "my baby". She even talks to the baby, saying she will share her toys! Awww, I think she'll be a good and caring atchi/older sister!

Here's how my belly looks at 18 weeks:

Tunic top from H&M, American Apparel leggings, Simple 85 pumps from Christian Louboutin

(In heels, I know. I was sitting the whole time anyway, and didn't need to walk extensively, so why the heck not, hee)

J. Crew tunic top, Old Navy leggings, ballet flats from French Sole 

The latter outfit is more pregnancy friendly of course. I think as my belly grows, I'll be living in leggings, tunic tops and flats more and more.

Berry the Horse Whisperer in her LBD

Dress: Old Navy, shoes: Tip Toey Joey

We had a dinner date with Dada's high school friends at Pasta Brava last Saturday, so Dada and Mommy said I could dress a bit fancy for dinner. I wore this little black dress that my Aunt Krissa bought for me. I decided to pair it with these gold mary janes from Tip Toey Joey that Ninang Aileen gifted me last Christmas (yes, Berry ran to our shoe closet and chose the gold mary janes, she styled herself! - Tin).

Here are a few shots Dada took before we headed out to dinner:

Hello birds! Hi there, airplane!

You want me to arch my back? Like this?

I want to sit on the chair now...

Now I am bored, I'll run off to my Horsey now...

Hi Harvey the Horsey! I am going off to dinner, I will miss you!

Don't be sad ok? Next time, maybe you can join us!

Aha!

chambray shirt: Old Navy, belt: J.Crew, jeans: J Brand, boots: Jeffrey Campbell (Pixie)

Well, ok I managed to sneak in a solo outfit shot while trying on clothes at Myth, but the lighting was dark. Heehee. Hay, I wonder when I can a get a good shot to share with you dearies!

Sperry Como

Sigh, I haven't been able to regale you with my Singapore finds because I don't have a camera. My point and shoot died before we left the US and then I remembered, "Oh! I can take pictures with a BlackBerry!" Duh. So after quite a hiatus, here's an outfit shot.

Shirt: +J Uniqlo, Shorts: Old Navy, Belt: J.Crew, Shoes: Sperry Top-siders

Plus some of my Singapore finds:

The Palais - in fuchsia, patent black and mohawked/fur-trimmed at YSL ION Orchard:

Seeing spots at Prada ION Orchard:

Incidentally, I'm seeing a lot of spots lately. Every where from Kate Spade bags to Christian Louboutin flats and heels. Totally hot, just don't overload on the spots!

Oh, hot shoe of the season (from Valentino) according to The Sartorialist. The flat blush version of this was seen on Alexa Chung, as photographed by Ingrid. On Pedder in Ngee Ann City:

Hada Labo, a cult beauty product from Japan. Forget SK-II and La Mer. Well, I still use La Mer sunblock, but this is a winner! So cheap and available in Watson's lang. Will do a review soon.

Happy Lemon, kinda like Quickly:

If I had a better camera, I'd be super inspired. But. Oh wellz. Hey, what's the best point & shoot you've used so far? I want to hear your thoughts.

Glimpses of an Outfit

Sigh, I never manage to get decent outfit shots these days. I'm always on a rush to go out or do something else. Thought it would be fun though to share bits and pieces of a total outfit, and you can just imagine how everything looked all together, heehee!

Me: Chambray button down shirt from Old Navy, Balenciaga sunnies
Berry: seersucker dress from Ralph Lauren, Saltwater sandals

Black oxfords (London) from Anthology

Tulip "sweatskirt" from American Apparel

Linear Stud Rocker bag from Rebecca Minkoff

Berry: dress from Zara, Baby Gap flipflops

Oh, and must share these photos of Berry! If you're wondering about her outfit change above, you'll see why she had to wear outfit #2 after seeing this series of photos:

By the time she was done playing in the makeshift pond, she was soaked! My friend Pilar, mom of the birthday girl Sophia, was impressed at how Berry had 2 outfit changes in one afternoon, hahaha!

Oh Berry! You are such a star!

Sharing My Outfit Day: Scarf Fun

Tried on some clothes, but good news for Dear Hubby! I walked away without buying anything!

Leggings: American Apparel
Shirt: Old Navy
Tunic: Zara
Pompom Scarf: AllSaints
Clog Booties: No.6 5" Buckle Boot

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More of B Rocking Her Sunnies

P.S. Titania Blog Giveaway ongoing! Join --> here!

Sunnies Showdown!

Berry vs. Aunt Nicole

Brand Spanking New Red Heart Shaped Sunglasses vs Vintage Tortoise Square Framed Sunglasses

Berry vs. Mommy

Round Oversized Sunglasses vs Heart Shaped Oversized Sunglasses

And the winner is...

Strike a pose Berry!

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Denim on Denim

Chloe SS 2010 from style.com

Supposedly a great look for spring, but I am still deciding if I like it though. I still can't shake off that rule that denim on denim is a no no...Old school!

shirt: Old Navy, shorts: Current/Elliott, booties: No.6

Just goes to show how old I am! Hahaha!

Breastfeeding Style

(Wearing my favorite breastfeeding/summer dress from Cheap Monday)

Hi! Read your blog, it's really interesting!

Could rather relate to it, as I'm an expat wife living in Manila now. Just wanted to know, how'd you dress fashionably when you've got such a young baby around?

My baby's 7 months old now (almost the same age as Berry!) and I'm stuck in the same few breastfeeding tops and berms all day. :(

Plus, I'm always lugging around a huge backpack full of baby stuff... can't ever use a small chic handbag anymore.

Cheers
Jean

One thing I told myself, back when I was still single, was that I will never allow myself to slide (in Filipino, "Ayoko maging losyang!") when I get married and have babies. I want to look stylish, fresh, and smelling clean always. Well, it turns out, it's not that easy when one does not have yayas and helpers at home. That means, yes there are days when I putter about the house and run after Berry in pajamas the whole day. That's real life.

So, I "got it" when I became a mom myself. Mothering can really be a challenge, style wise (and grooming wise, I haven't been to a salon in months!). I totally see where you're coming from Jean.

But since I never was one to sacrifice style, I vowed I would never be caught outside the house wearing "boring" clothes. I still want to be me, I don't ever want to hide behind mommy clothes just because I am a mommy now. That was my philosophy too when I was pregnant. It just didn't make sense to buy maternity and breastfeeding clothes. (First, because I wanted to save. It wasn't worth spending on clothes I would only get to use for a few months. And second, there are just too many cuter clothes out there that are worth spending on!)

So I figured, the best clothes that were still "me" but practical enough to wear for breastfeeding would be roomy clothes (I wear a lot of A line tanks and oversized tees) and clothes with easy access points - button downs, snap-ons and wrap styles.

As you can see below, I have button down clothes in all its incarnations:

A button down dress from Cheap Monday which I wore every chance I got the whole summer with my K. Jacques...


A button down drop waist tunic from Old Navy which I wear with leggings or tights...


A button down flannel shirt from Uniqlo that I wear with jeans and Bensimon sneakers...

A button down onesie from A.P.C. that I wore with flat sandals in the summer and tights and my Golden Goose boots during fall/winter...

And yes, a hand-me-down button down shirt from Dear Hubby that I wear with leggings. I suggest you check out your husband's closet for shirts that he can pass on to you...

I also found this really cool Union Jack dress from Twenty8Twelve...

...that has snaps all the way around the neckline and down to the sides, that I can easily breezily remove come feeding time.

Finally, a wrap/mock wrap dress (or a top) is very breastfeeding friendly too! This one from H&M is pretty versatile. I can dress it down with sandals or dress it up with pumps if I have to...

And it is so easy to pull down the front come breastfeeding time...

My best accessories for these clothes are a breastfeeding cover and my breastfeeding bras from Bravado Designs (which I discovered, thanks to my friend Belle!). So there. I still get to wear real clothes, clothes that I love, and I don't have to sacrifice my style over breastfeeding at all.

Now when it comes to bags, you may have given up on small, chic, handbags, but you can easily replace those with big, chic handbags! I have friends who stuff a Louis Vuitton Neverfull with all their essentials, plus that of their baby's. When I go on short trips out, I put 2-3 nappies, baby wipes, a changing pad, an extra set of clothes, a bib and some snacks in a Rootote tote. And when I can only really just carry one bag, I put Berry's stuff inside my super lightweight bag (a Goyard Fidji).

I bring out the big diaper bags when we're out the whole day. Because when we are out for 2-3 hours, Berry hardly needs to change clothes and she only needs to change nappies once if at all (thanks to Pampers Baby Dry!). So in essence, it doesn't make sense to bring along so many things if it's just a short trip out to run errands.

In a nutshell, shop your closet for button downs, wraps and snap-ons and retire your breastfeeding tops. You can wear "real" clothes. Always bring a breastfeeding cover and use an easy to unsnap breastfeeding bra. Get yourself a nice lightweight and roomy tote or hobo (Longchamp, Kipling and LeSportsac are affordable alternatives to luxury bags) and try to whittle down the baby stuff to the essentials. That way, you don't have to lug around a huge backpack. Hope this helps you Jean!