36 weeks Pregnancy:


It's official. In 4 weeks this baby will come out. I am super excited, scared, thrilled, confused, and however you might feel. I am still clueless on the whole experience, more clueless on being a parent. We have not really discussed parenting style beside the fact that Shawn thinks he will be the cool dad and I will be the pain in the butt parent.

According to Baby Center at 36 weeks of pregnancy the baby is still packing weight (5 pounds so far), and is about 18 inches long.  At this stage the baby should drop, which means that your belly will drop too, but I have not noticed yet. Mine is super high and no indication of any lighting.
It is also common at this stage of pregnancy to feel less fetal movement as your baby has less room to swing and develops sleep pattern (Baby Zone). I must say I have to wake her up sometimes to make sure I get the kick count. Also because I freak out if I don't feel her moving. She had been very active during the past weeks and suddenly she is done with the dancing. I wonder if this is a reflection of her personality and who she will be.

At 36 week pregnant my belly is big and I can hardly walk. My legs are too fat so I have to walk like a duck yo prevent my legs from rubbing against each other. YES, that is what happens.

In this period you are also NESTING, a need to get your house ready for the arrival of the baby. I did not believe in the phenomenon but it is true. I have neglected my house in the past months and just felt that I needed to clean and get it ready in case my water broke. So, we spent the weekend literally cleaning every corner of the bedroom, and bathroom. Shawn finished the baby room and I folded all the baby clothes. My bag is packed for the hospital (see here for tips on what to pack) and I even got my nails done. I just don't want to worried about the house when I come back from the hospital. I want to enjoy that time.

I am a little concerned about the whole baby thing. I mean, I never changed a diaper in my life and the only time I held a baby she started crying. So, I am truly clueless on the whole baby experience. There is though this great book a friend gave us called Baby 411. It is very simple and kind of funny, but it gets down to the key things you need to know from breast-feeding to tracking the baby poop each day and week.


what to wear if you have a muffin top

You have been there, staring at your muffin top, trying to hide it by sucking in or using your hands to pull the skin on the back. You took plenty of aerobic and kick boxing classes to get rid off of that extra meat on your side and yet you are not ready to wear that little bikini and show off your hips. Let's be honest there are some women and men who just store fat on their waistline. They can be as skinny as Heidi Klum and yet they will always have some fat spilling on their side of their waistline. I am one of them. I store fat on my hips, pregnant or not, all my extra ice-cream and fries go right there. So today I want to provide some tricks on how to hide the muffin top. Please share your tips by commenting at the end of this post if you have more.

#1. Forget about wearing low rise tight jeans or actually any low rise pants or skirts. We are in luck because high rise pants are in and will stay in for Fall as well. Plus, they are more elegant and professional. Look for jeans or pants that are higher in the back than in the front. They give you support and hug your hips in the right place. You don't have to go really high waisted. The rule goes: if your side fat comes out your jeans than don't buy them.

FRAME DENIM

Le High Flare high-rise jeans $210

BUY ON NET-A-PORTER 

  


















#2. Same for skirts: pick skirts that follow your natural waistline. They can be of any shapes and length, just remember to get your size. The type of skirt below is very forgiving for any shapes. You don't have to spend $800 on a skirt. Any stores from H&M to Zara to Banana's Republic has these types of cuts. 

LELA ROSE

Embroidered honeycomb-mesh skirt $795

BUY ON NET-A-PORTER 




















#3. Spandex - The variety of spandex in clothing these days is incredible. You can find tank tops, shorts, long body suits and slips. Spanx is probably best well-known for its variety of items that shape and hide imperfections. They are currently running a 10% discount when you sign up for the mailing list. You can find cheaper brands at Ross, TJmaxx or Marshalls. Sometimes, you can even find Spanx at these stores for half the original price. They go very quickly. 


Spanx
BUY ON SPANX















#4. Choose the right top. How many times have you seen women wearing very tight cotton tank tops paired with skinny jeans and you just saw every inches of their fat spilling from too small of a bras or waistline? Make sure your tops are floaty. Baby doll tops are ideal (make sure the length covers your waistline). 

FULL TILT Floral Print Lace Inset Womens Babydoll
$11
BUY ON TILLY'S















#5. A well fitted dress in the waistline that has a floaty skirt (1950s clothing style). These are easy to find in any stores, and of any fabrics. You can use belts to hide even more your muffin top. 



BUY ON OLIVER BONAS




















RESOURCES from other sites on what to wear if you have muffin top:
YouBeauty.Com - Clothes that Hide Muffin Top
Tiffany Hendra - 7 Tricks to hide the muffin top



$32.07

The Sweatshirt: a comfortable baggy clothing item used to do heavy work, work out, stay warm in the house and appear with no style.

Historically sweatshirts were used by workers
According to the Rolling Stones hoodies were first introduced around 1934 for labor and for athletes to protect them from extreme conditions and weather. You can read more about the full history in this article.

Sweathshirts with hoodies were used by gangs in urban cities as a way to hide one's identity from authority as in the case of graffiti artists or street gangs. This is the moment also of the emergence of hip pop which helped transforming the sweatshirt into a personalized stylish clothing item. Read more about it on this article on Common Thread.

For women the sweatshirts started its debut in the 1980's but it is not until 2000s with Victoria's Secret that we saw a proliferation of cute and sexy hoodies for girls.

Sweatshirts or felpe in Italian have been very popular in the last years paired with fancy heels and skirts or embellished with swarosky and pearls like seen for J.Crew or high end designers.

Alexander Wang have a long collection of sweatshirt for men, ranging from vintage style to a more modern urban hedge. J.Crew is so adorable with its little embellishment on a simple hoodie.


Ideas for Weddings in Urban Environment


Urban Wedding Style


Urban Wedding Style by fashion4realpeople featuring Ethan Allen and http://lover.ly/

Need inspiration for your wedding or your friends' wedding? Check out Lover.ly, a fun community to share and get inspirations.




Baby Shower Idea: Simple and Pink Baby Shower

This is my second baby shower. You can read about the first baby shower in Cincinnati here. The second one that just happened in Tallahassee was actually hosted at my house. My colleague organized it and I helped just because I was excited after seeing how nice the first shower was. 

My friend's boyfriend designed the baby shower invitations. We did two colors: one pink and one lavender. Below a picture of the pink one. I deleted my personal information. We put them in white envelopes with inside a glitter back of the envelope. I say we, put really Lydia, my friend did the work. I just designed on colors, glitter, and design. 

Baby Shower Girl Invitation


For the menu we kept it simple, because we both work, it was at my  house and did not want to be overwhelmed with possibly dishes to clean and overall I just wanted to chill with few people. 
The baby shower pink menu included: mini zucchini quiches, small chicken bites wrapped in bacon, Italian crostini with toasted bread, goat cheese, tapenade, bruschetta, and olive oil. We also had mini mac and cheese inside cup cakes cups. For dessert my boss actually brought these awesome mini cupcakes from a local cup cake shop called Lucy and Leo's. I am not even a cup cake fan, but for some reasons when the cup cakes are mini I like them. For drinks, we had Bloody Mary with bacon, olives, celery, and all kind of good stuff. We also had white sangria and water with cucumbers. If you want the recipes please comment below on this post.

Mini Quiche with zucchini and sweet onions

 Bacon and Chicken Bites

Mini Mac and Cheese: Mac and Cheese in Cup Cakes 


 Bloody Mary with Bacon 

Baby Shower Gift Idea: Succulent Plants in Glass Vase


 The succulents plants were made by Lydia. She literally painted them blue, green, and pink, added the plant, the ribbon, and card. They were so creative and cute. Such a great idea for a baby shower and to thank people.
Lydia and I at the baby shower 


That is what 8 months of not getting your hair done looks like :)


33 Weeks Pregnancy


CRAVING: bagel 
MOOD: confused
ENERGY LEVEL:tired
PAIN: back pain, swollen, dizziness
NOTE: drooling, can't really walk or stand or do acrobatic moves. Got stuck in the love seat chair. Hate bras.

wearing a Max Studio dress
At 33 weeks of pregnancy not much has changed. By now I should have gained around 25-28 pounds. I have my visit today but I don't think I want to know how much I gained. They say now I will still gain one pound a week but it will go to the baby. They also say that your baby can hear you. I think she knows her name already because when I say it and I ask her to move she does that. Maybe I want to believe that.... She also likes taking hot shower, because when the water hits the belly she moves. It could also be that she hates it. ehehhe

I just can't believe I still have so long to go. My belly is just getting gigantic. I just don't know how bigger it can get.

FASHION: I was lucky and found this dress at Marshalls. It's by Max Studio and it was just a regular dress size Small, which is great because I can use it once I am done with pregnancy.