Ode to a Dress

These days, I often thank my former self for buying so many skirts and dresses with flowy skirts!  This is a magical dress that fits no matter what size I am.  It's a "dry clean only" dress, but the first time I took it into the cleaners, they wanted to charge me $1 per pleat, to iron it.  And I was like, "um, this dress only cost $18. I'm not going to spend $100 to get it cleaned!" and I've been washing it on delicate and line drying it ever since.  And I don't even iron it, because I'm a rebel.  And I'm pretty sure it looks exactly like it did the first time I wore it on vacation back in 2013.  And now I want to go to the beach.  Babies love cruises, right??  (I'm joking - I think having a baby in a stateroom would be pretty awful!).

Oh, and if you are wondering why I was dressed up, it's because one of my friends got married!  YAY!

Dress: Limited
Belt: Madden
Shoes:Target

Maternity Finale

Well, this is my last maternity outfit!  John and I went out for dinner the night before baby arrived and this is what I wore.

These pictures seem like they are from a million years ago.  I don't even remember my belly being so huge!  So much has happened since May 8th!  My world has been turned upside down in the best possible way.

We are slowly but surely figuring out how to take care of our little guy.  I think we are doing alright.  And he is just awesome.  Seriously, there are not words to describe how much I love him.  It's ridiculous.  

And since I happen to be wearing a skirt in these pictures, I get to link up with Bri for Third Thursday Threads - bare legs!  

Shirt: Loft maternity

Cardigan: Old Navy
Belt: Madden

Skirt: Loft

Shoes: Target

Black and Tan Dress Remix

I think it's time for a little remix collage action featuring one of my oft-worn maternity dresses.  I added this dress as an afterthought to my order of this navy lace dress (worn here) and this blue printed dress (worn here).  They were both too short, and awkwardly proportioned on the top, so I only wore them a couple times.  But this other dress, that I was unsure about even ordering has turned into my favorite of the three.
*I'm getting slightly out of order on posts again.  These are from April 2nd.  So, a few weeks ago!

I'm sure I wore this more than 5 times, but here are the different ways I wore it and actually thought to take pictures.

1/2/3/4/5

I'm not sure, but I think this dress might work pretty well as a non-maternity item, as long as I don't feel weird wearing maternity clothes when I'm no longer pregnant.  I mean, no one would know unless I had a blog where I told everyone these things.

Jacket: JCF (remix item)
Dress: Younker's maternity
Necklace: Old Navy
Belt: Madden
Shoes; Payless

So Cliché

I'm pretty much a walking cliché right now.  You'll find me waddling around with swollen ankles, probably eating ice cream.  So why not be even more basic and stand by this sign?   Seriously though, I'm pretty grateful for the close parking right now!  More stores need to get on that (I'm looking at you, Target).  

Anyway, halfway through April and I'm still hanging on with the Top 10 Remix Challenge.  We will see how long I can last.  Go check out Sarah's blog to see how everyone else is doing! 

Cardigan: Gap outlet

Necklace:F21

Dress:Old Navy Maternity (top 10 remix item)

Belt: Madden

Shoes: Target

Neglected Dress and Cantaloupe Baby

Oh hey, a neglected dress!  It's been quite awhile since this one made an appearance.  I think it was lost in the ironing pile for a few months.  It needed to be rescued!  

And it's been a few weeks since I compared my child to produce, so I know you are all dying  for an update.  I have 2 apps, one says cantaloupe, the other says jicama.  Since I know what a cantaloupe is, we're sticking with that option.  

Whenever I think of cantaloupe, my mind immediately goes to an episode of Saved by the Bell, when Screech is going to get married, and Mr. Belding says "Screech, you can't elope!" and Screech replies "Who are you calling a cantaloupe!?"  Just think about how many important things I have forgotten, and yet that stays.  

And in the interest of being honest, here's a side view.  It's crazy how from the front view, I don't think I look pregnant at all in this outfit, but then I turn to the side and BAM! - giant cantaloupe baby!  

Cardigan: H&M
Dress: Old Navy
Belt: Madden
Tights; H&M Maternity
Boots: Madden

Engineer Party

I recently went with John to an engineering awards banquet.  Most of the awards were given for projects, so the people who were accepting the awards did not bring dates.  John was accepting an individual award (so proud of him!), so he was one of about 3 engineers who did get to bring a date.  And just for the record, there aren't very many female engineers.  All this means I was one of the only women and only non-engineers at the event.  There were a few awkward moments, but overall, it was a pretty nice evening.  A lot of the winning designs were actually kind of interesting (even to me!), but I didn't understand all the jokes that the presenter made.

Anyway, this is what I wore.  It's always hard for me to decide what to wear to engineering type events.  John said he was wearing a suit, but that doesn't translate into what a woman should wear.  Should I also wear a suit?  Or should I wear a cocktail dress?  How fancy or businessy should I be?  And add to that the fact that at 7 months pregnant, I can't fit into most of my skirts and dresses, so my options were limited.  I figured a black dress would be a safe bet.  And I couldn't help but add a fun necklace.  Heels were a mistake, as there was more standing around than I would have expected.

Since we were both dressed up, I even snagged John for a picture.  We clean up pretty nice, huh?

Dress: Old Navy Maternity
Necklace: Lucky B Boutique
Belt: Madden
Tights: Old Navy maternity
Shoes: JCF

Wear a Dress

You know I'm usually up for any kind of style challenge, so of course I'm going to participate with Putting Me Together whenever I can.  This is going to be helpful as I continue to run out of clothes that fit properly.

This week's prompt was to Wear a Dress.  Well, that's easy enough!  I love dresses!  This is actually one of the maternity options I picked up during the Younker's friends and family sale, and is significantly longer than the other 2 dresses that I got.  Much like Monday's post, this was a mostly neutral outfit and I just had to add a colorful necklace for some extra interest.

Dress: Younker's
Cardigan: JCF (similar)
Necklace: Lucky B Boutique
Belt: Steve Madden (similar)
Boots: Steve Madden (exact)

Shrunk

Well, I'm pretty sure this dress is shorter than it used to be.  Probably because I ignore the "Dry Clean Only" care instructions and just wash it on delicate.  I mean, I don't put it in the dryer, so I'm surprised it shrunk, but these things happen.  Which is why I really shouldn't buy anything that says "Dry Clean" or "Hand Wash."  Or even "iron" if I'm being honest.

Do we think this dress would look okay with tights?  I'm worried the eyelets make it seem more summery and tights would look weird.  Maybe I'll have to try it and see.

Necklace: Old Navy (similar)
Cardigan: H&M (similar)
Dress: Daniel Cremieux (similar)
Belt: Steve Madden (similar)
Boots: Steve Madden (exact)

Black and Tan

This outfit is from a day when we had clients in the office, and we were also getting flu shots.  As I was trying to get dressed, I learned that most of my fall-business looks were not conducive to upper arm accessibility.  So I ditched my other plans and decided a sleeveless dress and a cardigan would be the best option.  I almost ended up wearing this exact outfit from June, but then I grabbed my black cardigan, and then I thought a fun necklace would be good to add a little color.  And then I wore different black wedges, because I like to live on the edge.

Dress: Old Navy (maxi, leather, lace)
Necklace: Lucky B Boutique (exact)
Belt: Steve Madden (similar)
Cardigan: Gap (similar)
Shoes: Gap factory (similar, similar)

Dress Week Overflow

Dress Week is officially over, but I've still been wearing dresses most days.  It's just easier than deciding on a top and a bottom to wear each day.  Also, my posts are generally about a week behind the day I actually wear something, and I felt like wearing dresses in real life during blog Dress Week.  So, more dresses it is. Hope you don't mind.  

Remember back in April, when I participated in the Looking Lucky challenge?  Well, I won a gift card!  YAY!  And I finally picked out this necklace, which arrived about 2 days after I ordered it.  I thought it'd be a fun accent for my plane dress.  I even pinned my hair back so the necklace was more visible.  I really need to learn some cute hairstyles for summer.  (90+ degree super humid days don't play nice with my hair!)

Dress: eShakti (navy option)
Necklace: LuckyB Boutique (exact)
Belt: Steve Madden (similar)
Bangles: Charming Charlie
Shoes: Seychelles (similar)

Dress Week - Neglected Neutral

Dress week continues!  **Linkup after the jump.**
This dress was saved from the back of my closet during the inventory.  I haven't worn it in over a year, but I thought it was worth keeping.  I love the fit and fabric, but the color seems awkward for me to style.  But I got 2 compliments from people specifically about the color, so maybe I'm crazy.  I do really love how it looks with my leopard cardigan! 

Cardigan: H&M
Dress: Old Navy
Necklace: F21
Belt: Steve Madden
Shoes: J.Crew Factory