SUMMER! (and maternity loot)

It is 70 degrees today (20+ celsius) and feels like summer! The crocuses and daffodils are blooming, kids are having a great time on their scooters and living is easy :-) 

I did manage to buy about 20 pieces of maternity wear yesterday..of which 3 pieces have to go back after more careful home inspection. I only bought the black tunic top from Heidi Klum's Loved collection. I was not impressed with the fit or quality of the other items. The tunic is really cool though and I can start wearing it right away, and probably will wear it through to the end.. 

Here is the loot that I am keeping:
2 pairs of work pants (black and pinstripe)

2 pair of leggings (black and jeans)

1 skinny jeans (black)

2 "funky" tops (red and black; and black, green and turqoise)

1 long black t-shirt

1 long black jersey tunic

1 empire waist black top

1 "sexy" silk ruffle top (black, of course)

1 long dark blue jersey tunic

1 "pantyhose" leggings (black)

1 black jersey dress

1 black pantyhose

1 extra large denim shirt

1 pair of yoga pants

Maternity Fashions

I have been waiting for the cheap chic designer craze to make its way into Maternity wear. Hello to Stella MacCartney or Phoebe Philo, both mothers of small children - don't you pleeeeeaaase have an inspiration to design stylish maternity wear???  (Stella has done a really cure children's wear collection for Gap, more about that later.)

Anyhoo, I checked out the latest, i.e. Heidi Klum's collection for Motherhood Maternity, called Loved by Heidi Klum. The following pieces I will try to find - wish me luck on my hunting trip tomorrow - I am beginning to burst out my clothes and need something to wear. And I don't want to spend a ton since I am NEVER going to wear these clothes after this pregnancy. (Truth be told I never wanted to wear any of the clothes of my previous two pregnancies again, and threw them all out the minute I could fit back into my pre-pregnancy clothes.)

Here are my favorites from Heidi:

Live Couch for the Living Room

On Saturday, braving the storm that felled trees and caused more than 100 000 people to be without electricity, we drove back to the Maurice Villency store that is closing. They had received a gorgeous sectional, in the perfect cognac color for our living room with a vaulted ceiling with cognac color beams.

The picture shows the sofa in dark red, which is also very beautiful, but for our house the cognac color was just perfect. The leather of this couch is like butter, so soft and luxurious.

Suburban Thoughts

Now that I am becoming a suburbanite for the first time in my life, I am thinking about how life will change. One of the big changes for me is that I will have to start driving. I have always (37 years!) lived in a city area where driving has not been necessary. Of course we have a family car, but my husband has been the designated driver. That will change when we move to the burbs. I do have a driver's license since I was 18, but if I am completely honest, I really don't know how to drive since I never had to.. I am actually a little worried about this whole thing. Once we move, there will be no soft landing. I will have to start driving immediately, or otherwise I won't get to work, or the groceries, or the gym, or pretty much anywhere where I need to go. Will I be one of those annoying bad drivers who get stuck in the middle of the parking lot and don't know which way to turn the wheel? Or the idiot who cannot change the lane smoothly and misses the exit, or worse, causes a dangerous situation or a close call? Or cannot pass a slow-moving vehicle and creates a traffic jam? Thinking about driving makes me nervous...and no, it's not like riding a bike! It's much more dangerous and expensive!

BITCHOLOGY

When I stand up for Myself and my beliefs,
They call me a Bitch.
When I stand up for Those I love,
They call me a Bitch.

When I speak my mind, think my own thoughts
Or do things my own way, they call me a Bitch.

Being a bitch means I won't Compromise what's in my heart.
It means I live my life MY way.
It means I won't allow anyone to step on me.

When I refuse to tolerate injustice and speak against it, I am defined as a Bitch.

The same thing happens when I take time for myself instead of being everyone's maid,
or when I act a little selfish.
It means I have the courage and strength to allow myself to be who I truly am and won't become anyone else's idea of what they think I 'should' be...

I am outspoken, opinionated and determined.
I want what I want and there is nothing wrong with that!
So try to stomp on me, just try to douse my inner flame, try to squash every ounce of beauty I hold within me.

You won't succeed.
And if that makes me a bitch, so be it.
I embrace the title and am proud to bear it.

We finally did it!

Bought a house that is... We are house-owners now. For the first time ever! Goodbye City, Goodbye rentals. Welcome money pit. Welcome space. Welcome unlimited potential to create the kind of home we have always dreamed of. Welcome home.

The New Minimalism

Since I am a big fan of simplicity and clean lines, I LOVED the new minimalism that was seen at Celine by Phobe Philo and at Stella McCartney. I can't wait to dress like this next fall!

Also, tomorrow is the BIG DAY of closing on the new house! Life will change quite a bit...once we move into the green, leafy suburbs sometime this summer. I wonder if I should change the name of this blog to suburban fashionista?

International Women's Day Today

Happy Womens' Day to all my sisters out there! Women possess amazing strength and are there for each other. Check out what you can to do help women survivors of war:

http://www.womenforwomen.org/

Here it is...

The handy man special that will be our DREAM HOME!

DIY Project

I saw this coffee table in ABC Carpet and Home, and think that it is really cool and has a great organic and earthy look while being modern. In other words I loved it. It would also be the perfect shape for our family room which is fairly narrow. In the end though I decided that this table was not worth the price tag, especially because the table in the picture was the only one left, and it was very abused and had a lot of scratches. So I decided that this will by my DIY project once we move. I will get a cheap wood bench or table such as this, saw off pieces of rods and attach them to the ends just as they did here...

The Family Room Couch

Here is the couch that we purchased for our Family room. We found this in a sale at ABC Carpet and Home. The leather looks shiny in this picture, but it is not, it is a very nice quality leather, and sooo comfortable to sit on. We chose leather because it is so easy to keep clean with children. We also liked the size which is very generous without being very bulky.