Five on Friday

Favorite Maternity Basics by carolinabelle84 on Polyvore

So today's five on Friday is going to be a bit different.  I wanted to share my favorite maternity basics.  I really didn't want to have an extensive maternity wardrobe because it's a hefty investment for a few months of wear.  My biggest suggestion is don't buy everything at once, the pants that are a comfy fit at 5 months might not be so comfy at month 8.  The second suggestion is limit your color palette.  Sure it's fun to have a wardrobe full of variety but it's way easier to have a few pops of color that can mix and match instead of having to make individual outfits.  Being pregnant in the Winter is great because I can use scarves and chunky jewelry for color.  Here are my top picks, straight from my closet:

Maternity Basic Tank XS-Liz Lange for Target
target.com

Gap Women Full Panel Modern Boot Pants
gap.com

Indigo Blue Premium Secret Fit Belly(r) Destructed Skinny Leg...
motherhood.com

Maternity Knit Legging L-Liz Lange for Target
target.com

Ivory Pintuck Maternity Blouse
$76 - seraphine.com



You need a pair of well fitting jeans.  I have two pairs of demi panel jeans (one boyfriend and one skinny leg) from Gap Maternity and they are awesome.  However, demi panel isn't as comfortable since my third trimester so for longevity I suggest these Indigo Blue from Motherhood.  The price is great, the fit is very comfortable for advanced pregnancy, and they are stylish.

I can not stress this enough.  Liz Lange tank tops from Target!  I plan to wear them even when I'm not pregnant, by far the best tank I've ever bought.  They don't ride up, and they completely cover my bra.  I love them so much I have five of them and wear one every single day.  I like to wear my belly support band over my tank and under my blouse for extra comfort.

Liz Lange leggings - I have the basic and the ponte knit, both are worth their weight in gold.  For a small price I have some nice opaque leggings that go with everything.  They also allow me to wear my leg warmers and boots for extra warmth on chilly days.  I'm tempted to wear these when I'm not pregnant too, they don't have a panel and are nice quality - no one would be able to tell they were maternity and they don't create the dreaded muffin top.

The most beautiful tops I have are from Seraphine from A Pea in the Pod.  I didn't pay full price though, Destination Maternity has sales often and I have been lucky to grab some at reduced cost.  I have several in different colors and they add some variety and "pretty" to my closet.  I think they are perfect for work and can easily be dressed up for evening.

Gap Maternity Modern Slacks are the best pants for work.  They wash really well and are perfect for wearing long hours at the office.  Not all pants have a comfortable belly panel that doesn't budge throughout the day and these maintain their shape and don't stretch as the day goes on.

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Five on Friday: Polyvore Edition

Totally cheating for this week's Five on Friday and sharing five of my chilly day favorites...

Chilly Day Favorites by carolinabelle84 featuring a polka dot cashmere sweater

I don't own any of the above items but I hope I will collect them over the next few months.  Since the weather has been cloudy, rainy, and cool the past couple of weeks I've taken stock of my winter goods.  It's slim pickins' right now.  

Join the fun, make some friends . . .

My JCrew Factory purchases

Parking was a nightmare on Saturday but it was worth it to hit up this sale.

A purple and green oxford for R.

This isn't my exact blouse - I bought it in midnight blue with ivory dots so flip the colors in this picture.

I own this in a few different colors but not fuchsia, I wore this to dinner with patterned tights and my black boots to celebrate R's sister's birthday. 

 I don't wear a lot of blue, this shade is very flattering though.  I actually purchased it to wear with a dress I plan to wear to my bridal luncheon.

Great everyday sweater, it'll look great with denim and slacks for work.

This silk white blouse is a great closet staple.  It doesn't photograph well but I wore it with the pink skirt to dinner.  This is a very classic and feminine blouse that I can literally wear with anything in my closet.

Shopping around Christmas is such a pain - no parking and long lines to pay but I love the energy of the crowd and the winter sales! I don't think we'll head out at all next weekend, I have a feeling it will be too crazy even for me.

My October Favorites

Bringing back my monthly favorites :-)  

So I found out that no matter how you dress up cooked apples, R does not like them.  It's so upsetting because I wanted to make an apple pie but I'm not going to go through the trouble if he's not going to help me eat it....but I have no problems buying a pie for myself.  The above photo is by Paula Deen from foodnetwork.com but my $4.99 pie looked just as tempting.

 Pumpkin carving with R.  I love that my witch hat looked so spooky on his pumpkin.  We bought a strobe light from Michaels that flickered like a real flame inside the pumpkin.

 Essie Wicked.  One coat is dark cranberry but 2 or more coats it can start to look very black.

Me modeling my "wicked" polish and my wedding band (smiles).  I've only tried it on once since R had it sized so I could make sure it fit correctly and I just happened to be wearing my favorite fall polish at the time.

 Yum.

 Lilly's favorite new snack!  I noticed she had a lot of dander the past couple of months. I thought her food wasn't providing enough essential oils for her coat.  I tried these and her fur has never been so soft and I've made an effort to brush her more often (she has short hair so I only ever had to brush her to remove loose fur).

 Murad face cleanser.  I'm using the AHA BHA exfoliating cleanser in the mornings and the refreshing cleanser at night.  The products are pricey but the generous size lasts quite a while and my skin has been smooth and blemish free.

 More apple pie goodness.  I love these Larabars...they make great afternoon snacks.  This one is the only flavor I care for.

 Pumpkin spice latte...deliciousness in a cup and the perfect pre-tailgate beverage.

I have this necklace in yellow and I love it!  I couldn't find a picture online of my exact necklace but I've been wearing it every chance I get.

 Champion C9 quarter zip, long sleeve top from Target.  This is a great workout shirt - it's long so it doesn't ride up, it has a pocket in the back, vents under the arms and on the back, and thumb holes.  I also love wearing it just to hang out because it's so cozy...I'm actually wearing it as I'm typing my fall favorites!

This is such an "out there" item for me.  I purchased the Mossimo colored denim "jeggings" from Target on a whim.  They are sized for juniors but I loved the teal color, and even though I had to size up, I think they fit well.  I didn't want to spend a lot of money on colored denim because I wanted to test it out first, and I really like these.  I usually wear them with a white shirt and colored scarf or with my yellow statement necklace.

Recent Purchases

I received an email this morning from Sephora that there was a new 500 beauty point perk for a Laura Mercier kit.  I needed to replenish my Two faced shadow insurance and my Nars Laguna Bronzer so I went ahead and purchased them so I could add this great perk to my cart.  I've not tried that many LM products so it's a good opportunity to get several samples.  As a special surprise for me, not only did I qualify for free shipping but I also had $19 in store credit where I returned something back in the spring and totally forgot about it.

On Sunday R and I visited the Winterville Watermelon festival.  We were bored and wanted something "different" to do....and I wanted a funnel cake.  I found a booth where a local craftsman had several woodworks for sale.  We walked away with this bird house for $15.  I can't believe it, if we had purchased this at a pottery or garden store we wouldn't have bought it for less than $40.  I can't wait to see it hanging in our back yard. 

 

I've been wanting a Hobo wallet/clutch for a while but with all the wedding expenses I couldn't justify spending $130 on one.  I was looking at a local department store and found a Hobo in a discontinued pattern in the clearance section marked down to $77.  I asked if I could use the 20% off coupon from the Sunday circular on redline clearance and they allowed it!  I walked away with this bag for less than half of the original pricetag.  I love the pattern!

 Kate Spade sent an email last week welcoming me to a secret sale / 2 day event.  It coincided with the big Lilly Pulitzer end of season sale so I had a big decision to make.  I couldn't give up a great deal on a handbag though.  A few months ago I purchased a fun Kate Spade bag in coral and I've carried it most of the summer.  I'll continue to carry it into the fall since bright colors are in but I'm sure closer to winter I'll need a more neutral option.  This Southport Avenue Aurelia in Hazel is beautiful and thanks to the sale I received it 65% off.

 When I found out my start date for my new position at work I knew I would need a different planner as my old one had my schedule for only 2 clinics for the upcoming months.  I decided it would be great to have a fun one to also keep my important wedding dates and chores in.  This Lilly Pulitzer agenda goes from August 2012 to December 2013 and has several sections.  There is a full calendar or "quick look" monthly calendar in the middle where I keep all wedding related information.  There is a more extensive "weekly calendar" in the back where I can write all my work related notes and tasks.

 A bauble necklace in pink.  I've wanted one of these for a while so when I was in Raleigh I popped by a favorite boutique and purchased it.  They had so many colors - yellow, mustard, green, blue, mint, pink, purple, burgandy, white....I wasn't sure which one to get.  I wear a lot of black and I knew the pink one would really pop.  I plan on wearing this with my rehearsal dinner dress so I can consider it a wedding expense.  I've already worn this necklace twice this week (once to work and once out with friends) and it looks great with my new Hobo clutch.

I actually bought a few other items that I don't have photos for - a new flowy black top and two jcrew pencil skirts that were marked down from the already clearance price.  Now I'm on a personal spending freeze - I want a pair of booties from DSW (but they don't count because I have a store credit to spend).  I can't purchase anything else that isn't wedding related or a Christmas gift for someone else.  August has been a definite splurge month for me so now it's time to tighten up the wallet.

Preparing for Irene...

In a few hours Hurricane Irene could bring strong winds and rain to the Eastern Carolinas.  Already we've had a lot of rain today.  I went out today to purchase some bottled water and peanut butter "just in case" and a few other items...

The Thundershirt!  Baby has terrible seperation anxiety and a fear of thunder and other loud noises.  I've heard a lot of great things about this item and I can't wait to see if it helps.  She calmed down a few minutes after I put it on her and was able to take a nap through today's rainstorm.  It is suppose to have the same effect on a dog as swaddling a crying infant.  I think she looks great it in!

We can't go through a storm without dog treats!  Baby has been out for a couple days so I bought her these adorable Buddy's All Natural Peanut Butter Flavored Cookies.

These weren't exactly purchased for the storm.  I actually bought these a couple weeks ago because I wanted a good pair of rainboots that could function in muddy conditions and even snow.  After quite a bit of searching I went with an Orginial Hunter Wellington.

Calypso for Target

I purchased two items from the new Calypso line at Target. One was this navy blue off the shoulder dress. I'd love to pair it with a brown belt around the waist and some espilladres. This is the first long dress I've ever purchased. It definitely makes a statement with a hot pink tie dye type effect. It fits well though and it is the perfect length for flops.

Both of these dresses are $39.99.

Challenge Day 17 - Fashion Pieces To Buy

Honestly the only fashion pieces I'm worried about buying this year are dresses, accessories, shoes, etc I need for all the bridal fun surrounding my best friends wedding. Oh yes...I'm her maid of honor so I can't be slack this time. There will be lots of pretty things to buy this year. My main item of importance was a hat worthy of the Kentucky Derby themed engagement party her family is hosting in May. I found it today...haha, my first hat buying experience. I really can't wait to wear it with a summer dress and sip mint juleps while listening to the race!

I wish I had other "fashion pieces" to post, unfortunately I never plan out my purchases like that.

Challenge Day 15 - Photo of my favorite bracelet

I've shared this photo before. This is my favorite bracelet, it's a white gold bangle that has a very pretty rose engraving on the outside. My dad gave it to my mom for their one of their wedding anniversaries. My mom gave it to me a few years ago and I wear it most days of the week.

Challenge Day 13 - Modern Fashion Icons

I already posted some photos of Kate Middleton so these are some additional celebrities whose style I admire.

Audrina Patridge who has really been photographed well since The Hills ended. Jennifer Aniston who is my all time favorite.

Camilla Belle always looks chic in public.

Isla Fisher who doesn't get photographed often but always looks amazing when she does.