cardigan: thrifted | lace top: thrifted | skirt: thrifted | belt: thrifted | wedges: ASOS | earrings: Forever 21
I knew it was coming, but somehow I was still squeezing into my more fitted dresses up until about a week ago. Suddenly the baby bumpy really popped out, and my “waist” started inching north. Which means that all my dresses, tailored to fit my (pre-pregnancy) waist pretty closely, suddenly will not zip. Period. Not to mention drinking the amount of water I do daily, occasional bouts of bloating and whatnot make wearing anything that doesn’t stretch a bit uncomfortable. For the first time in my life, I really (really!) love elastic waists and knits.
I’ve been trying to thrift every week lately in hopes of amassing some sort of pile of maternity-friendly clothes, or at least ones I can alter. Most actual maternity clothes leave me a bit cold style-wise, and I’m not falling all over myself to start sewing quite yet (since I know the bump is going to get really big soon, and some other areas have rounded out a bit; I’m waiting a few weeks). So obviously the old “make do and mend” is coming into play! I have been pretty pleased with the few things I’ve found and redone a bit to work within my wardrobe. I’m having a bit of a style crisis at the moment though: one day I want to dress very girlie, vintage inspired. The next I’m itching to wear long, hippie skirts and bohemian jewelry. This outfit is some weird in-between stage. Is this what all these hormones are doing to me? lol.
So all this to introduce you to the first of my maternity outfit series. I’m hoping to document an outfit a week, up until the little Blueberry makes his/her arrival. This is my week 13 outfit, and one I cobbled together with a new-to-me thrifted skirt and pieces I already had. I have a black and white polka dot skirt (this one is navy blue), but can a girl ever really have too many polka dots in her life? I think not! I find it really comical how different the bump already looks in just a little over a week (the announcement photos we taken the day I officially hit 12 weeks)! I feel so big at this point, and yet I know it’s only the start! hehe. Dressing this is going to be a challenge, but one I’m up for! That and posing for outfit photos… I suddenly don’t know how to position my “new” figure anymore! lol.
And because what outfit post would be complete without a Maverick photobomb? The perspective is throwing his size off a little bit, but he is pretty big at this point! (Like around 70lbs big… I have a horse for a dog.)
Silly dog not turning around to face the camera. 
September 17, 2012 ·
55 lovely thoughts
posted in baby diary,outfits + wardrobe
· tags: 2012 outfit, baby diary, maternity style, outfit
Some lovely links for y’all this week! (And a few pretty pictures too.) This week (like most lately!) seems to have been a bit on the crazy side with lots of unexpected popping up. But the upside has been that the weather is slowly but surely cooling off! I am so, so excited and admit I may have jumped the gun on autumn already and had my first pumpkin spice latte and bought a teeny bag of candy corn (my autumnal treat–but I’m making this one last!). Longtime readers know I adore this time of year (I missed it the three years we were in Florida), and although this year looks like it might have some less-than-exciting things going on in the autumn, I’m still trying to enjoy the little moments.
- 15 things home sewers can learn from industrial sewing!
- How to make your own retro-style necktie.
- Autumn means apples! This year I won’t be making my usual homemade applesauce (boo!), but I might make some apple chips.
- Psst! Have you heard that Gertie is hosting another coat sew along?
- I haven’t been doing a lot of vintage hairdo’s lately, but Brittany has a great idea for a super cheap hair rat.
Can we also chat about the new sewing patterns over at
Colette Patterns (pictured above)?! I got a teeny, tiny peek at them as they were being developed, and wow–was I sad that I won’t be making those trousers any time soon! lol. The
Anise jacket really spoke to me though, and I think I could easily get away with making and wearing unbuttoned while the weather is still mild. I don’t really have any proper, short jackets anyway (besides blazers), so this might be wise to add to my fall sewing wishlist. I really want a cream or white jacket, but knowing my propensity to spill things on myself (and thinking post-baby), I think that probably isn’t the wisest choice. I already have a navy blue coat, red, of course black, and houndstooth. Perhaps I need a green jacket? Or maybe mustard yellow…
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post! It’s the first in my maternity style series. I am nearly 14 weeks right now (well, they keep moving my due date around, so the latest is that I’m nearly 14 weeks… lol. Either this baby is just growing fast–which would not surprise me since I was a big ‘un when I was born–or the ultrasound is lying. haha!), and let me tell you: I have had to pack so many clothes away this week! My wardrobe suddenly shrunk a lot… Goodbye, pretty vintage clothes (and waist)!
September 16, 2012 ·
24 lovely thoughts
posted in links
·
Have you ever had one of those premonition dreams? I had one recently that I went thrifting and found a bounty of vintage patterns. While the reality didn’t play out quite to that extent (there were no 1940s patterns…), I did have more luck than I think I have for the past two months and found some cuties that came home with me! Best yet it was over Labor Day weekend here in the US, which meant they were half off what the thrift store had them marked at (a paltry $0.25).
I love the pinafore dress pattern to death! I have a 1940s version of this style, but there is something I find so charming about the longer 1970s take on the look. Maybe it’s the romantic, prairie-influenced style that was an inspiration during this time? I’d love to make the center version–in approximately the same fabric! lol. The other two caught my eye as well; the tie front blouse has been high on my list since Sunni made a version last year. Lucky me I finally found the exact pattern she used! Going to have to wait a bit until I make any of these though; the baby bump is expanding at a fast rate in leaps and bounds weekly–goodbye waist! hehe.
How could I resist some darling children’s patterns? I have had such a weak spot for these types for years, and now that I have my own little one on the way, it seems aprops to be a little prepared. (Right? At least that’s how I’m justifying it. Just watch me have a boy though–the majority of my patterns are for little girls!) The dress and pinafore reminds me of one I had as a little girl (I think my mom made it for me) that I adored because it was “old fashioned”. (This preoccupation with fashions of the past started early!)
And, I may have picked up a few patterns for possible giveaways in the near future… Though I still need to check them for completeness.
Have you had any vintage finds of note lately? I’m hoping that as the autumn draws closer, the thrifting situation (which has been more than a bit ho-hum this summer!) will improve… Fingers crossed, because I have a rather long “thrifting wish list” right now…
September 14, 2012 ·
29 lovely thoughts
posted in thrifting + vintage
· tags: thrifting + vintage
Thank you everyone so, so much for all the warm congratulations to SH and I on Monday’s post! I cannot begin to say how these brightened my day–I think I looked like a Cheshire Cat for the last couple days. I can’t wait to share more of this journey with you–and beyond pregnancy too. I think having a small one around here is going to inspire me in so many ways I haven’t even thought of before. (Not to mention all the cute things I can make it! And planning birthday parties… I’m really, really excited about those! hehe.) I’d also like to say congratulations to all the mamas-to-be who posted as well!
I could have sworn I posted these previously; and perhaps I did back in the hazy, early days of the blog (or even a couple years ago). So if a couple of these images are repeats, please forgive me–but I think they’re worth posting again!
Every so often I become completely smitten with the 1920s–particularly the early 20s (which has more of a romantic, soft air than the latter half of the decade). It’s the details I think that get me. So many inventive pocket shapes, trims, fantastic fabric colors, soft ruffles… I start to fill the pages of my inspiration notebook with little sketches of these details that I glean from all over. I hope you’ll enjoy these inspirations. I’m not entirely sure of the year they date from (I purchased them as loose pages), but I’m guessing somewhere between 1919 and 1924. Be inspired!
September 12, 2012 ·
36 lovely thoughts
posted in vintage inspiration
· tags: 1920s, vintage inspiration
So the time has finally arrived for me to share with you why I’ve been so absent on this little blog of late. I have, I think, embarked on what is perhaps my biggest, most involved project to date. Can you guess what it is?
SH and I are expecting! It has been really hard for me to keep this under wraps because I have been so overjoyed and this is something SH and I have hoped for and are so delighted with the turn of events in our lives that this baby is bringing. The Blueberry (as we nicknamed it; those equations of the baby’s size with fruit as it grows have been amusing to say the least) is supposed to make it’s arrival in March and we couldn’t be more excited and feel more blessed. I’m working my way through week 12 at present, and am thankfully starting to ditch some of the more unpleasant first trimester symptoms that dogged me from week 5 (mostly nausea and overwhelming fatigue). I knew it was time to come back to blogging last week when I couldn’t stop noting down post ideas–my brain felt like it had woken up from a nearly 2 month nap! lol. It was a bit tough to just stop blogging like I did; I felt rather guilty (along with all the other things I had to miss out on this summer…
), but I think it was what I needed to get through this first third of the pregnancy: simplify and relax (and try to feel better when I could
).
I still keep pinching myself that this is happening; it seems like every week brings something new and unexpected! My brain seems to be in full baby mode right now (a rather surprising thing for me; heretofore I never thought I was really a “baby person”. lol.), and I’ve been planning out my maternity sewing, collecting classic children’s books at thrift stores (I have a good size stack already!), and scheming over nursery decor (and how we’re going to make everything fit). Lest you think this will totally take over the blog, never worry: while it will find a home in my blogging, there is lots of non-baby content I have planned out. So never fear if babies aren’t quite your thing.
Thank you to everyone who hung in there with me this past month while I disappeared from the blog world and took an impromptu sabbatical. Hopefully it won’t happen again (and I’ll have time to get some guest posters lined up) until the baby is due!
I know I have a few blogging things to catch up on (like the grading series), and in good time I hope to.
P.S. SH is really happy about the baby, lest you think he doesn’t look it in the photos! He’s just not much of a smiling guy, plus he’s exhausted from work lately. But he was sweet enough to indulge in my request to get some announcement photos, despite his tiredness. Such a sweetheart!
| All photos taken by me (and my trusty camera remote). |
September 10, 2012 ·
288 lovely thoughts
posted in baby diary
· tags: baby diary, life
