Next Baby Stuff

Helloooo
This is just going to be a quick photo post of the qute baby stuff next does. I think I might be obsessed...keep me away from there :)

They say you need atleast 3 sweaters/cardigans. Sorted :D

Hello Dino.

Dungarees and onesies...I'm so glad I'm having a boy

Some cute basics

Maybe if we move to the countryside, Our baby would be the most stylish young farmer ever :D

Day 3 in Estonia

I got here on Monday and it's now Wednesday, and I must be honest up until now I really haven't done anything. On the first day I arrived back home, where my dad had bbq'd some meats and made a salad and even bought a cake to celebrate my return (I last came 7 months ago in September) so I ate and pretty much fell asleep right away. Woke up on Tuesday around 8am :S this is not normal for me :D and the weather was so nice, I had my morning coffee outside, changed into my bikini and stayed outside until 2.30pm...and then had a 2 hour nap :D So I really haven't done much.
Today on the other hand I spent the day with my brother(age 7) and my older sister (27).

This is how I have to start every morning :S 

This is how my hair will look if I've gone to bed after washing them and not drying them at all.
And as you can see I've got quite a few blemishes and uneven skintone.

End Result

So I started by curling my hair properly. I do this with my straighteners.

For my make up I use a big buffing brush to apply the foundation. It's quite sunny today, so I just added a bit of bronzer on top of the foundation, and mascara. Not much else needed.

I do find that just that bit of coverage makes such a big difference :) (I am a master of making stupid faces...I'm aware of that :D)

Old town in Tartu. I love the cafe culture in Estonia, there is none or little chains, which means every little food/drink place has it's own style.

We went to Cafe Truffe. I really like this restaurant, over the years It's become bigger and bigger to cater the needs, but the menu stays pretty much the same, because it just works.

I had the French meat salad. The dressing on this is so amazing, it's mustard and soy, and obviously makes the salad instantly not healthy, but it's so worth it :D My sister had the chicken ceasar and my brother fries and sausages :D

They also do amazing coffees, but since it was nice and sunny outside, me and my sister both went for the strawberry, watermelon and basil smoothies. So nice and refreshing...and they are made with real fruit rather than purees.

At Toompea Castle. 

Coat and bag: New Look

Sweater: stole it out of my moms closet :D 

Shoes and leggings: H&M

Sunglasses: New Look as well I think.

I did buy some new sunglasses as well. I haven't seen this shop anywhere in England, and there is so many cool clothes and accessories I just know I'm going back there very soon.

€15 and they came with the case, which comes in handy when you have a habit of overstocking your handbag like me :D 

Holiday pack and prep

I'm going back home to Estonia for 2 weeks. And I must say I can not wait. The journey is going to be long, as I have to head out from Birmingham at 4.30am and then it's 2 hours to the airport, the flight to Tallinn is 3 hours and then to get to my hometown it's another 2 and a half hour drive.
So when I say long I really do mean long.
I really struggle packing every time though, I have ended up taking way too many things and then I just wear a few things, and now that I'm pregnant and shouldn't really be dragging heavy suitcases around I decided to only go with hand luggage so I wouldn't bring too many unnecessary things, and then come back with full luggage, to carry the gifts...if I need to.
So I usually think of all the outfits I will need and then lay them on the floor ( I had room for that in my old flat) so this time I put all my outfit choices on the bed and made sure that I can mix and match most of the things.
The weather is looking to be really good, so i opted for cardigans and dresses. Like I've mentioned before, I couldn't wait for a chance to not wear jeans anymore :D I'm still wearing them for travelling and I'm sure I'll end up wearing them on a few occasions, but I've opted for more loose dresses and shorts, as I'm planning to spend most of my days in the garden tanning my tum and my bum :)

I've gone for light pinks and reds and white and black colors.

I'm bringing my Estee Lauder doublewear foundation, mascara, bronzer, blush,Bourjois purple lipstick, contouring set, Revlon setting powder, my eye brow set and sleek and Bbeautiful  eye shadow palettes and my go-to brushes.


It's 7.40 am and I'm in the airport. Got myself a big hazelnut latte ( not decaffe, as I think I might actually need the caffeine today) an almond crossaint and a free hour of internet. I also managed to nab a table all to myself, which was really lucky as all the other 100 tables are taken as well. So off to a good start.

I'm wearing a sweater from h&m, it has leather detail on the shoulder and I really like it as it's nice and soft.
The jeans are New Look Maternity and the shoes are the latest favorite of mine, espadrilles from h&m, the scarf is also from there.
I've done an accessory post on the bag already. I try not to wear any other jewellery while flying since you have to take it all off anyway when you go through the security check, so I'm only wearing my watch. I wore some socks on the bus, because I always get cold and also sometimes they make you take your shoes off at the security check and I'm really not up to walking barefoot in public unless it's on the beach. I  looked really funny, because they really didn't match my shoes, but it was a good decision wearing them.

I'll go do some tax free browsing in a bit and maybe start my next baby shop post. But probably won't post until tomorrow evening, so keep yourself updated by subscribing :)

25 weeks

I can not believe I only have about 15 weeks left. Time really does fly. I can't even tell where this time has gone. I know I have been working a lot lately, which is good as I have been able to save up a bit of money for the time when I have to survive on only maternity pay. I say that, it's not like I pay for any bills or rent, as D is covering all that, but I will surely miss the tips :D Then again I think once the little baby boy comes I really won't be missing the money but will be cherishing the moments I can spend with him, and not having to go to work right away.

Before I took the photos I could just feel him moving position, so my belly is really poking out :D because i think his head is where my belly button is. I can really feel the kicks at the back of my stomach, and they are hitting very close to my bladder :D
I'm wearing my h&m leopard print espadrilles (I don't usually wear shoes inside, but I had just come back from town and kind of forgot to leave them on)
The jeans are my only pair paternity ones from New Look and the sweater is also from New Look from years ago. I realise I'm wearing a lot of my older clothes now, for some reason, which explains the New Look outfits, as I don't tend to shop there that often any more.
And the one accessory I wear everyday is the DKNY gold/silver watch D got me for Christmas last year :) I really do feel lost when I'm not wearing a watch.

How far along : 25 weeks

Gender : Boy

Total weight gain : 12 and a half pounds. Maybe even 13. I'm not actually very fussed anymore, as I've realised I'm gaining it all for a good cause and if I'm still on track of the healthy weight gain at my 25 weeks, then I have nothing to worrie about :)

Cravings : Chocolate...I know I said I really wanted some cravings, but this is really not what I meant. On the other hand everything citrus is fine by me as well. But the chocolate craving is much more stronger :D 

Stretch marks : No stretch marks as of yet. I'm scared because I didn't show for so long I might just balloon in the next couple of weeks, which means my skin will have no time to get use to it...and I will get those dreaded stretchmarks :S

 Movement : I'm really looking forward to my before bed mommy/son bonding session now. It's basically me lying in bed and him kicking away, but It's the small things that matter.

Thoughts : I finally went to town today and bought 3 of the cutest sleepsuits for him and a pair of socks (pictures below). The reason being is that I'm going to Estonia for two weeks, where my sister has organised me a baby shower, so I can expect my first presents. I am still on the stand that I don't want to spend a lot of money at first, but I do think that the first thing he will own would be from me :) 

I got the things from next and their things are so cute, I might actually have to keep myself away, because even today when I went to get just 1 set I almost ended up buying 3. Will power saved me this time though :) :D 

The sleepsuits were in a pack of 3 and were only 16 pounds for the whole lot. They are in the first size which means they should be ok for newborns (for3,5 kg/7 pounds), but me and D both think they look too big :D maybe for normal people they would look tiny. And the socks were £3, 1 pair has I love Mommy on it and the other pair I love Daddy. Now we just need to find a place to store all the things for him. Thinking about a chest of drawers, but we already have his/hers in the bedroom and not a lot room left. So might have to store the drawers in the second bedroom/Ds office and have the daily things we will use a lot on top of the shelf above his cot (which we haven't bought yet obviously)

I would also really like to agree on a name now, so I can start thinking of him by his name, but we just can't seem to come up with any, that both of us agree on and like. 

Any suggestions?? 

Date Night

Me and D try to go out atleast once every month. It's usually around payday, but since I'm flying to Estonia on Monday, we had to do it a week early.
We decided to try out the steakhouse near our flat in St Paul's Square that one of our foodie friend recommended. And the steak was really nice. D said the chips and vegetable sides were too salty but It's either my pregnancy tastebuds or him, I really didn't think so.
My phone stopped working completely, when I was trying to take the photos, so D took some for me, didn't get one of the starters though.(you can just see the change in the quality :D, my phone is soooo bad). I had baked camambert with blueberries and cranberries and he had chicken liver pate/brulee. Since I'm not suppose to eat liver I didn't taste his so I don't know if it was any good.

I had a 6oz Fillet steak cooked medium to well. I know I should be having mine well done, but I just couldn't get myself to have such a great iece of meat ruined by overcooking it. D had a 12 oz sirloin I think, but I can't remember even though it was just a few hours ago. On the side we had some house chips and vegetables(courgettes, peas and green peas) and just water to drink.

We shared an Eaton Mess for dessert and had some coffee. I always like a nice cup after my meal, but since we usually go to italian restaurants I can't have one there, because for the Italians coffee is just a morning drink and I don't like people judging me :D So I enjoyed a nice black decaffe with the dessert this time.

So i pretty much changed into my dressing gown the minute I got home and forgot to take an outfit photo. It was nothing special anyway. I wore all black. Had my lips matte purple and my nails as well. I kept the rest of the accessories quite simple. The black and gold neclace is from New Look.

I don't remember where I picked up the ring stack from. This is just one set though which you can assemble the way you feel like it. And the nail varnish is Ciante paint pot color Dangerous Affair 013.

I'll do an outfit post tomorrow on top of my 25 week update, as I am meeting a friend for dinner. Checking out the new caribbean bar/restaurant called Turtle Bay

Here's to more date nights
xoxo

The Accessories Edit

On my days off it can go either way. I wake up and I'm ready to do everything...or I wake up and I just want to go back to sleep. Today I woke up and just felt I should do something with my day. So I took a shower (I usually just have 1 shower a day and it's usually before bed)got myself ready and actually went to town.
The Sun was out, so I made plans to meet up with Miss Em Es for some lunch and before she could meet me I had a nice skinny hazelnut latte in Victoria Square in town, where everyone likes to chill out by the fountain when the weather is nice.
For lunch we went to a mexican/south American restaurant called Bodega. And I was so hungry I completely forgot to take a photo. But we shared some quesadillas and nachos and I also felt like ordering some stuffed jalapenos, which were super hot :D So I just cut mine up in tiny pieces and added them on my nachos.
After I came home to make my famous potato salad. It is really not healthy, as there is so much sour cream and majo involved, but it's so worth it. I just boil the potatoes and eggs. cut them up in tiny pieces and add gherkins and cucumber and some boiled sausage. And then the mayo and sour cream.

But this is the accessorie post so, I'll show the things I decided to add to my outfit today :) I decided to go for the blues and greens today, with some added browns as well

This bag is one of my favorite. My mom got it for me...she got herself the same one and I liked it so much, we went and got the second one for me. It's from New Look and they still stock it in this blue color and also brown. It's just the kind of bag that fits everything in it and some more. And was only about 19 pounds. The sunglasses are also from New Look and were about 4 pounds. I am actually obsessed with sunglasses.

I also have just a few pairs of normal brown/black color ones for everyday use. I just can't be asked to go through my bags to find them. I keep a pair in all of my bags in hopes for the sun :D

Anyway, back to todays outfit, this is the armcandy I was rocking. I must say it was pretty uncomfortable as the bangles kept getting stuck to my sleeves, so I had to take them off at the end of the day :D but they were pretty while they lasted. The first bracelet with big green stones is from Accessories and was a present with the pair of earrings I also wore (picture below) and the rest are from Forever21 They are just mix and match from different sets I've picked up and were not more than 10 pounds for a set knowing F21 prices. And the watch was a present :)

The earrings I mentioned above. They are really simple and don't stand out much excpecially because I wore my hair down, but I had so much going on with the watch I wanted to keep the rest quite simple.

And to end the game I wore some leopard print espadrilles I picked up from h&m yesterday. I actually loved this whole outfit a lot, apart from the sleeves. I have had the light green sweater for years now and because it's quite bulky and heavy the sleeves  have stretched quite a bit  and they kind of hang over my fngers, which can get a bit annoying at times. I also brought my beige mac coat, but I didn't even need it  because the Sun was so warm :)

So here's to more sunny days
xoxo

And a Little Dinner Date

 After my shopping trip I met up with a friend in town to go get some well needed food. Like I said, it was a crazy busy weekend, so I was ready to just about eat everything so off to Mailbox we went, where we decided on Zizi's. I really like it, but again it was Italian, as it tends to be when I eat out.

Frito Misto (It was really salty, so we didn't really eat much of it, but it had potential with calamari, prawns, whitebait and some veggies deepfried in batter 

Look at me tuck in to that massive pizza. It was so delicious, with salami, pepperoni and mushrooms and what else. A bit spicy but not too much to ruin the taste. It really was the size of the table though so I only managed to eat about half of it. Still a pretty good effort though. My friend Robyn had a chicken skewer with some potatoes, but she said it was quite bland so I gave her some of my pizza...I mean I had a lot of pizza to give :D

For desert we decided to have a little walk and go to Brindley Place where we ended up ordering two Merangue Messes in All Bar One. I managed to almost finish mine and had a nice cup of coffee as well. 

Great British Drugstore Haul

It was my first day off today, during the Easter Holidays, so I decided I'll go spend my hard earned tips. And I really did spend them :D Mostly in Boots and Superdrug.

This is the whole lot, plus Loreal Telescopic mascara I forgot in my bag when I took the picture.

I don't remember which company this is, It just says B on it :D but I bought this lipstick moisturiser stick because the color was named Tulip. It's actually really nice on, and not too bright. And all the product were 50% off, which made it about 4 pounds. 4 Pounds well spent. 

Beauty UK Posh palette eye shadows. I picked this one up, because it has more sparkle to it than the Sleek Palette

Another Beauty UK eye shadow collection. Browns and greens again. This was super cheap at 3.99 which is the only reason I bought it really :D

Revlon Colorstay Pressed Powder. It has a mirror inside, which is good so I can just add a bit at work on the go, to get rid of the shine 

Sleek Eye shadow palette in ''Oh So Special'' nr 658 The colors are so nice and natural. I don't usually use a lot of colors on my eyes anyway, I tend to stick to greens and purples and browns.

Eyebrow kit by Collection. It comes with a clear brow mascara, which sets the powder on.

Sleek Corrector & Concealer Palette (04) I actually tried it out right away, and it is really good and matches my skin. Don't think I will be using the powder with it as I did just get a Revlon one for setting my make up. The round box is again by the company B (smth) the name on the back is B.Sculpted Contour Kit. And I tried it out, but I didn't realise the contouring part of the palette is powder and it just doesn't work for me. The highlighter part on the other hand is nice and creamy and really easy to just tap on with fingers. both of them were under 10 pounds.

And a little something for myself. I actually just bought 3 pairs of underwear and new pj's. I can't wear long pj pants because i think they are really uncofortable to sleep in, the keep getting tangled and twisted, so the new set is with shorts, which are appropriate for summer weather as well. I got a size bigger (M) because I really want to be able to wear them for atleast a few months, until they stretch no further :D 

Any new products you think I should try or just can't live without. Leave a comment below :)

24 Weeks

So this week has been pretty crazy. It's Easter holiday now and half term for the kids started at the beginning of this week, which meant everyone was spending money, which meant I was very busy at work. I did have two days off though, out of which one was so nice and sunny I actually got a little bit of a tan.

All in all, this week was so mad but it went so quickly, I hardly noticed. I think I've only done two posts in between my bump updates, which is a poor effort, and I am sorry :D I shall try and be better this coming week. Nothing to do about it now though so here is my 24 week update :) Hope you enjoy the toilet photos again, as we still don't have a full size mirror in the bedroom or any other room in that matter.

The jeans are from zara, they are not maternity but they are boyfriend style, so loose enough to be comfortable, I wear them to work even though they are not that presentable looking :D You can get away with a lot when you're pregnant. The t shirt is just a plain white one from h&m :)

How far along : 24 weeks

Gender : Boy still :D why do I even put that on here, there isn't much chance this is going to change, I saw the bits myself on the ultrasound scan.

Total weight gain : So I got my courage together and weighed myself in the morning, and it turns out, it's not too bad, It showed a total of 10 pound weight gain up to this point. Which is a healthy weight gain according to this. It's on the lower end, which kind of makes sense, as I've done little or no changes to my diet routine and still stayed fairly active due to my work. 

Cravings : Donuts. I keep thinking about donuts the ones with all the sugary stuff on them. But I've managed to keep myself at bay by eating a sugary cookie. This week it's the Cadbury Milk chocolate crunchies, they come at a whopping 65 calories each, but they are so sweet, one just about does it for me to take off the sugar craving. And Fanta, which I think is just a rediscovery, because I used to like it a lot anyway and then kind of forgot it existed

Stretch marks : No marks, I've gained a whole 2 cup sizes though, time to go bra shopping me thinks. 

 Movement : The kicks are getting seriously stronger :) It's all very exciting

Thoughts : My feet hurt. We still haven't bought a single item for his arrival, but there is a baby show in one of the arenas in town in may, and I got a voucher code for 40% off code for the tickets ( quote ''DM'' on here , )so I'll go there and see what happens, I might just spend all my savings and go all baby mad all of a sudden. 

The Maxi Edition

In the past years one of the summer staples has always been The Maxi Dress. It is everywhere in the shops as soon as the first spring/summer pieces come out. Why? Because it's so versatile. This is the dress you can wear all year around (given you live in England, where there is no real winter) depending on what you wear it with. On the colder days, you can add a chunky cardigan or a leather jacket with some flat boots and once it gets warm all you need to make a maxi dress a full outfit is a handbag, sandals and a few accessories.
I must say I am all for the bohemian look, and love looking how people add piles of bracelets and a big floppy hat to their maxi, but in reality, I like to keep it simple on myself. If the print is loud, the accessories are minimum, and usually I just go for a big boho bag and flip flops.
That doesn't matter I can't appreciate other style takes on this staple piece.
Here are my maxi dress picks. They vary from being cheap as chips to your weekly rent money :D

First one is Forever21 and it is only 18.75. I found the other 2 on Asos, and they are actually Asos own and both cost 55 pounds. 

First one is again from Forever21 for 18.75. The lime green dress is one of my favorites and it's only 28 pounds from Oasis. The colorful maxi dress with a deep v neck would be just perfect for a summer wedding party or a bit fancier garden due, but it's also the most expensive of the picks from Forever Unique, buying this will set you back by 220 pounds...I think it's worth it though :D 

And the last picks are just some classics. Asos Kimono Dress in a simple blush color ready for any accessory you choose the poly-blend fabric will keep you cool in the hottest weather and costs only 30 pounds. And something I would defenetly go for is a simple black maxi dress. I am a bit love with brown leather bags and shoes, which will go perfectly with  this. I have a black maxi dress from H&M which I got a few years ago, and it is in constant use in the summer/spring and even autumn months.

What is your summer staple/go-to piece and how do you style it ?

A week with food

So it's time to unload the motherload of food pictures. I have taken quite a few, and I know it's meant to be a week in pictures, but there are some from last week as well. I'm not great at taking pictures of our dinners, because they tend to end up looking like pictures of dog food :D

This a photo of Miss Em Es being slightly embarrassed by the pure size of our lunch. Sometimes you just have to give up and have that massive burger. Ours was a beef burger with chorizo, brie and briouche bun. We didn't manage to finish our chips though. And I'd like to say I didn't have much for dinner, but I'm pretty sure I had a big dinner as well. A cheat day well worth it's nane

This is just pictures of a few of my breakfast. I usually have sandwich and a yogurt or porrige. Sandwiches are made with seeded bread ( I only have 1 slice, rather than trapping the toppings between two slices :D ) and usually there is some ham, cheese and depending on the mood cucumber or tomato. It's very rare when I have a big breakfast, but when I do I usually go for a slice of toast and scrambled eggs. I used 1 whole egg beaten with some mineral water on the one pictured, and added dill, smoked veal sausage and
mushrooms. I make the porrige with quaker oats, and it's usually apple and blueberry flavor packets. They are so easy to make, but I add water rather than the recommended milk, as I like to add a bit of jam. I also add half a banana whenever we have some in the flat, and sprinkle some ground cinnamon.
I do get up a bit earlier every day when I have work, just to make time for breakfast as otherwise I would be so hungry by lunch time, I would make bad decisions and order something greasy and horrible. But the one thing I can't go without even if i sleep in and have to miss food is coffee. I have decaff at home and at work I usually make a nice latte with real coffee beans. Before my pegnancy I would have about 7 cups of coffee a day, but now I tend to have about 3 out of which only one is caffeinated.

I usually have dinner at home rather than go out, as atleast then I know what goes in it and atleast 2 times a week I have to eat dinner at work anyway. But when I do go out to eat we usually pick an italian restaurant. We live by an old church square in the jewellery quarter, where restaurants are mostly italian for some reason, And I find that in Italian restaurants I can go either way depending how naughty I feel. I can have some fish and spinach or vegetables as the picture above or go for some pizza or pasta.
But when we do cook at home, it's usually fishcakes with some salad, normally I would add feta cheese to my salads, but like a mentioned on the bump update, feta cheese doesn't sit well with me these days. Other days it's chicken with some vegetables or in a stir fry. D likes to think he is mixing it up, by sometimes using cus cus for the stirfry but I'd like to think I've kind of had enough stir frys to last me a year :D
Another thing is that I hardly have a starter, but I went for my friends birthday dinner yesterday, and since everyone was having one I decided to go for it as well. I had some melon with parma ham, and since I know the manager of the restaurant I asked him to add a bit of mozzarella as well. So the BIG BALL of mozzarella is what italians think of as little bit :D I couldn't finish it all, plus I wanted to leave room for my seabass and spinach. All in all it was all very delicious and mostly healthy :)

So this is the post about the food I've been having lately. I don't think I will do another post about my breakfast as they really are pretty much the same every day.

Stay healthy and stay active.
Post on my wardrobe essentials to follow soon :)