Great Girls Clothes

A friend of mine has two daughters who are as fashion obsessed as I am. Her answer - Mini Boden. I took a look and they have the most adorable girls clothes (the baby selection is minimal, but for older kids, phenomenal!) I found a ton of things I love, and with Boden once you shop there, they send you coupon deals that are hard to beat.

Look at this adorable dress -

It looks like 2 pieces, but it's really one.   And this chunky cardigan comes in fun colors and it's a great shape -

There is a jersey peacoat that comes in such fun colors, and the shape is so perfect I want one for myself!

Cute long sleeve tops -

And great jeans that aren't too "skinny-ish" but will still satisfy your little fashionista -

Mini Boden is a fabulous one stop shopping source, I really recommend it for back to school kids clothes!

Another Non-Maternity Maternity Dress

In my quest to find summer dresses, I looked at some other non-maternity options that would work. I really like the idea of a maxi dress,it's so long anyway that even if the front comes up a bit, it won't be very noticeable.

This lovely bright blue style is on sale at Revolve (free shipping and free returns in case it doesn't fit) -

LA Made Khalia Maxi in Indigo

you can always throw a cardigan or hoodie over it for a little warmth, and/or a camisole underneath it for a little more coverage should you need it.

A Non-Maternity Dress perfect for the Bump

So as I said I would, I went to Old Navy yesterday looking for some warm-weather options, of course just as the heat wave here broke. But, we are going to the East Coast next week so I know I will need it then...I was really disappointed with the in-store maternity section (best to order online where they have everything) but I thought there must be a few things in the non-maternity section I could wear, at least for the next few weeks, which at Old Navy prices is acceptable. And, with the bonus of knowing that if it holds up, I will be able to wear it after I have the baby, since everything I buy will be a size or two bigger than my normal one.

Lo and behold, I tried on this dress and loved it -

It's a very lightweight chambray (which, as a plus, is very in right now!) so it's almost sheer. I tried it on with one of those fabulous camisoles I posted about back in the very beginning of the blog, and it was great. Without the camisole it was a little bare on top, not great when your bust is much bigger than it used to be! I got it a size or two above what I normally would have worn, and the elastic empire waist sits perfectly between my bust and my belly, I'm not too big yet so the front doesn't look oddly short either, that's important to check for if you are trying out non-maternity clothes with a bump (if you are farther along, you might need to go up even one MORE size to prevent too much of that). The ruffle is really nice - it frames the face and draws attention where you want it. Too often maternity clothes seem to be designed so that we only see the bump, or whatever else may have grown in the meantime, and it can be hard to just feel pretty in something. This really is a great dress for that. Even better, with the 30% off through Sunday, it's about $20. You can't beat that for a cute summer dress.

Have a great weekend!

30% off clothes for baby and mom

This may not be very PC to admit, but when we found out we were having a boy, I could not help thinking about the cute little dresses I wouldn't be buying. But, turns out, boys clothes are adorable as well. How can they not be when they are so small anyway?!? Scroll below for a couple of my new favorites.

The Gap Corp Give and Get sale starts today and goes through Sunday, so if have a Gap, Banana Republic or Old Navy card, you can use it to get the discount on adorable things like this 2-in-1 bodysuit -

How cute is that??? With the fake 2 layers...I love it!

And they have little oxford shirts for babies too, they come as small as 6 months -

Can you imagine that on a tiny little guy??? I LOVE it!

If you have a new baby, you might want to use the discount on a few things that fit YOU for right now, since odds are you aren't totally back into all your pre-pregnancy clothes. And if you are expecting, use the discount on maternity clothes. That's what I will be doing...I was not prepared for this heatwave we are experiencing and in desperate need of tank tops, I'll probably get a few things for the Fall as well (leggings, hoodie...)

Happy Shopping!

A Maternity Jumpsuit? Really?

I saw this on The Cut yesterday - Princess Mary of Denmark, who is pregnant with twins out in a strapless maternity jumpsuit -

Hmmm. She doesn't look very far along, so maybe she doesn't have to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes yet, but a jumpsuit just doesn't seem like a good idea ever, let alone in maternity-wear. I know Heidi Klum is trying to bring back overalls, but that just sounds ridiculous to me. Overalls haven't been OK for anyone other than a carpenter or plumber for YEARS (unless you are under 10 years old, then it's just cute) but this jumpsuit idea, while perhaps more stylish, still doesn't sound like anything I would try. The strapless part would also pose a problem when your cups runneth over during pregnancy.

There is this version from Isabella Oliver that at least has straps -

So if you feel the need to try out this trend, at least you can have straps on it so you can wear a proper bra! I'm still not sold on it, not even close.

Thoughts?

My New Computer! And a Maternity Tee Shirt

I got a new computer on Thursday evening, I am now officially a Mac user. Crazy. But it means I've spent the weekend obsessively playing with it, setting up the mail program and figuring out a few things. Everything except coming up with new posts. Woops.  Although my choice to move to Mac is relevent - I wanted it for photos and videos for when the baby comes. I still need to move over a lot of things from my old computer before it totally dies, including my ridiculously huge list of bookmarks so I can remember all the things I wanted to post about.

But I'll leave you with this great Michael Stars maternity shine tee that is on sale -

There are actually a fair number of maternity pieces on that site, including some tees and dresses on sale!

Fun with Paper

I love stationary and stationary stores. There are so many cute things, and when you have a baby you have an actual reason to buy some of them. How exciting! There are shower invitations, thank you notes, fun photo albums, stamps and stickers would be great fun too although maybe going a little overboard for many.

There are a couple of ways to do a birth announcement or birth announcement/thank you. You can go with a personalized one with a photo on the front, there are a lot of online places you can do that, or probably also at any store that prints photos. Your other option is to get a lot of small sized photos of your baby printed, and put those into regular thank you cards. When you do it the second way, you can prepare by stocking up on thank you notes before the baby is born, and even address and stamp the envelopes in those days while you anxiously await the arrival of the little one. Then, when you are ready, just get the pictures printed, stick them in and drop all the prepared envelopes into the mail. And look at all these adorable thank you note options -

There are many more where those came from!

Cute Plaid Shirts

The plaid shirt or tunic is at all the maternity stores for fall. If you like the style you can find it in a large range of price points and type of fabrics. They all look great with leggings or jeans alone, or with jeans and a blazer for fall and winter.

This one from Old Navy is gauzy and thin- 

This one from Destination Maternity - 

compare to Pea in the Pod shirt -

 

Shirts and Blouses at A Pea in the Pod Collection

Amazing Maternity Trousers

The first maternity clothes I had to buy were bottoms, from a comment that came through the other day I'd say I'm not the only one. That first thickening of the waist at the end of the first trimester is mostly only noticeable to you, but it's a big change when some pants won't close, or are really uncomfortable. So...what do we do? I was able to wear pants and skirts that had been a bit big on me beforehand, that worked for a few weeks, but then those were too tight in the tummy (but nowhere else, it's so weird!) and  it just seemed to make sense to start buying maternity clothes. I knew I needed a couple pairs of jeans, a pair of nice black pants and another pair of trousers, and they needed to work throughout the rest of the pregnancy. I found these fabulous gray trousers at Overstock of all places - 

They sit below the belly, with an adjustable elastic band in that waist (it adjusts with buttons on the inside). I love these pants. they do slide down a bit, but they will get a little more snug as I get further along. The pant legs are amazing, they are slimming and with low heels on make me look tall. It can be hard to watch yourself grow, and deal with a closet full of clothes and ACTUALLY nothing to wear, I'd say order these immediately! 

Themed Sleep Sack

Our baby isn't due until December, and I'm terribly superstitious so we haven't bought a single thing for him yet, but we have been seriously tempted by one thing -

DwellStudio Sleep Sack, Transportation

A transportation themed sleep sack! Greg is a transportation planner, so how could this not be on our list of musts, I mean we do need to have a sleep sack anyway, right? We can add it to the list of other transportation themed things I've bought over the years - cookie cutter, pancake molds,  a train cake pan, we even got a train shaped sandwich cutter for our wedding. That last one might be a little ridiculous, but the sleep sack will actually be quite useful because infants can't sleep with blankets in their crib.

A Fitted Hoodie

One thing I've been putting off getting is a hoodie that will actually cover my belly. I imagine that happens a lot, when we suddenly need what feels like a whole new wardrobe, things like a hoodie can be a low priority. Right now, when I am home, I end up wearing loungewear that shows some belly which can be a little embarrassing when I forget and go out to greet the mail or ups deliver person. I would also love a sweatshirt I could wear out to run errands or go to the gym AND look cute. I think I found it in this inexpensive Old Navy hoodie - 

And in an adorable shade of pink no less. What fun! It also comes in a great bright green, and the more standard grey and black.

A Great Smelling Toxin Free Tummy Rub

I've been nervous about using beauty products, wanting only natural toxin-free products just in case something could hurt the baby. That means, in typical Elena fashion, I just haven't bought anything and was desperate for lotion. A friend was kind enough to send me a really nice smelling, totally natural toxin-free cream to rub on my growing belly.

I LOVE this stuff. It smells AMAZING (sorry if that's a lot of capitalization, but this cream deserves all of it). I also love that I feel great about using it, that I don't have to worry about the ingredients. The line makes all kinds of great things, I was thinking of getting this for myself next -

What kinds of products have you been looking for?

A first layer for a first post

Welcome to my new blog! I still have my "regular" one going, Shopping Made Simple, but as my own fashion needs have changed I thought I might share what I find. I'm about 21 weeks along at the moment, and just in the past couple of weeks have had to move to almost only maternity clothes (thank goodness for flowy tops that are so popular these days), certainly pants and skirts anyway. The first problem I found, was that tanks and camisoles were getting too short. Or perhaps I should say my belly has been getting a little too big for my normal tanks and camisoles to cover it all!

Lucky for me I found these Old Navy camisoles early on -

They are a great thick stretchy fabric that would smooth anyone out under all kinds of tops, or act as a great layer under sweaters as Fall approaches...they come in black as shown above, as well as white and nude. I got my first one in nude and have worn it so much I want to get the other two colors. It's really long, and has a lot of room to grow in the belly - perfect!