That dress, again

Remember how the "that" Issa dress worn by Kate Middleton brought me back to reality at the beginning of my pregnancy? The Huffington Post announced what we all should have known would happen: the dress now comes in maternity styles, courtesy of Blossom Mother and Child. A must!

On my mind

Hello everyone! Did you stay warm last week?

Most of the Northern emishpere has been gripped by freezing temperatures and up here in Canada we were no exception (indeed a burst pipe due to the freezing cold and the ensuing frenzy to prevent our basement to get flooded yesterday are the reasons why this post comes one day late).

Snow in Paris provided an unexpected stage for Couture Week, and who could 

have been more fashionable than the Russians? Ulyana Sergeenko fur-trimmed black 

coat was to die for (via Vogue France). More enchanting snowy pictures in this post.

Couture Week inspired cartoon characters reimagined in haute couture:

remember Jem and the Holograms? (via Flavorwire)

Then there was that inauguration -- or should we called it Jason 

Wu's confirmation? (via Fashionologie)

Let's not forget Alt Summit: it was one of my resolutions from last year to attend, 

but the baby got in the way so I am taking a rain check until next year (photo via Jasmine Star).

A couple of more non-baby related things have been on my mind this week. 

This tote by Atelier Nunu, even though it is impossibly out of my price range 

(via T Magazine), the store that sells it (too bad it does not have a webshop yet)...

... and business cards of famous people (via Flavorwire), because I am working on re-doing my own!

On my mind

Hello everyone! I'll be honest, there is not much space in my mind lately except for getting myself and the house ready for the baby... here are the other highlights!

Motherhood as a residency (Photo: What do we do all day). Makes perfect sense when I 

think about it: the endless hours, lack of sleep, multitasking (via Koseli).

A tough-chic look I am totally drawn to (especially the silver shoe accent) via All Things Stylish.

More beautiful shots by Yvonne Koné. I. Love. Them. All.

Sharon Montrose's pink Flamingo, a reminder to find balance with your emotions and 

to contemplate the types of relationships in your life. Would make a perfect Valentine's 

Day gift (I hope hubby is reading this).

New Year's resolutions. Better late than never.

Color-coordinating your hat and your handbag (via Jak and Jil). Ultra classy.

This apartment -- the kitchen! the linving room! the palette! (via Erica), which has prompted 

an insane obsession for vintage Heames chairs and Bein Ourain rugs.

Paris, because of the picture above (remember when I was in the exact same spot at the 

Orangerie last year?) and this video. 

At the top of my ultimate wishlist (via Garance).

Itching for post-pregnancy clothing

Hello everyone! Did you ever get the itch for post-pregnancy clothing while you were expecting?

These days it keeps happening to me. Last week, I was wondering around Outremont and I fell in love with a nude and yellow neon dress from Nanette Lepore's SS12 collection, which was marked 70 percent off. (I ended up not buying it just because the price tag, once the taxes were included, was still steep for a dress from last season). Zara's prices were more forgiving, and yesterday I came home with this grey blazer with leather sleeves, which I know will become a staple in my closet. Today, Bedo's even lower prices sent me home with this burgundy leather skirt -- the perfect shade and cut, which I had been looking for since two years ago.

Now I just need to figure out how to shed the baby weight quickly and fit into these clothes...

New Year, new you?

Hello everyone! Have you made your New Year's resolutions?

I know, it is almost the end of January... but this year I thought about it more, and had a harder time with them, than last year. You may remember that I have a project approach to my resolutions, and probably because of this reason I have a retrospective, rather than prospective, interest in them. I like to go back, and figure out how they have evolved throughout the year, and why I was able or not to go through with them. Because they are projects I wished to accomplish, it does not matter if I was not able to make it. To remind myself of my objectives provides new and fresh interest to pursue them again during another year, or shelf them for a while. My project of renovating our office space and basement, for instance, has radically changed when I found out I was pregnant at the beginning of last summer. I am in the process of converting our office space into the baby's room (more on this in a few weeks...), and our basement into a multifunctional guest room / office space / play room. I have also not yet learnt how to take better pictures, but I have found more and more sources of inspiration and identified the aestethic I like.

What makes it difficult to come up with this year's resolutions is my fast-approaching due date. My immediate future is filled with projects and things to accomplish before the baby arrives and my post-delivery future is...well, as unpredictable as any birth can be!

Pre-baby, I should complain less. In six weeks time, we will be having a much wanted second child, so I should be over the moon, right? But, let's admit it, I don't do pregnancy well. With my first one, it was the six-months-long morning sickness that put me down. With this pregnancy, it has been the extreme fatigue at first, and now the discomfort associated with a substantial weight gain (thank you, new clothes, for lifting up my mood a bit this week).

I should also work more on my research now that I have still the time, and wrap up a number of projects that have been in limbo since last year.

I should spend more time with my son, now that I can still give him my undivided attention.

I should finish the forty-something posts I have been working on.

I should explore the web and identify new favourites.

Post-baby, I wish I'll be able to lose the baby weight by summer time, and fit into my bikinis while at the beach in Italy (which we should hit for at least a week in July if everything goes as planned). My main style resolution for the remainder of the year, however, is to continue editing my closet regularly, as I have been forced to do during this pregnancy.

With all these "should", one more wish: embrace a new path to self improvement in the spirit of Gabrielle's post...

Ready to hibernate, hopefully

Hello everyone! What have you been up to so far in 2013?

I have not had much time for blogging because I am really busy bee lately. The baby is due in six weeks and I still have so much to do! A series of posts about getting ready for a baby is coming, so stay tuned...

There are other issues related to the baby's arrival that are keeping me occupied though. The weather could be quite cold after the baby's birth, and I will not have access to our only car then because my husband needs to drive my son to school early in the morning. Therefore I have been preparing for the possibility of being stuck inside the house for a few weeks, which feels like an hibernating of sorts.

On this front, at least, I am done. I activated a Nespresso membership -- and realized that it maybe convenient, in spite of the shipping charges, because of how expensive parking downtown is (but then again: coffee home delivery means giving up the pleasure of impulse pistachio macaron purchases and window shopping at Holt Renfrew...). After a day of grooming, my white hair is safely hidden under a new layer of Inoa's color, my nails are manicured, my toes are pedicured, and my brows are trimmed. All future beauty appointments have also been scheduled. My magazine subscriptions are pouring in, and Amazon should shortly deliver a few books I am hoping to catch up with (never give up hope even when a newborn is in the picture). Anything else you think I maybe forgetting?

P.S. Since last Fall, this fearless squirrel has been hanging outside our kitchen window, sometimes even trying to get inside the house. As much tenderness his cute looks inspire (especially for my son), we never encouraged him for fear more animals would come and visit us (we already have a big raccoon problem). Nonetheless, on Christmas Day we gave him a few nuts (it was Christmas, right?), and I took advantage of his stillness to take this picture...

Pregnancy Style Diary, week 34 | Embracing the bump, aka the power of new clothes

Hello everyone! Can you believe I am already 34 weeks?

As my "last" styling rack lost pieces faster than I could put it together, the next seven weeks were looking gloomy. I thus decided to forget about the fact that whatever I buy now I will wear for a short amount of time and I headed back to Apso Bibi (which I had discovered around 26 weeks while I was looking for basics).

I discovered that one of the few advantages of ballooning in mid-winter and six weeks away from your due date is that stores are at the last markdown of the winter sales. In Montreal, this would not be cause of excitement if you were shopping for regular clothing (remember this post?), but as it turns out is great news if you are shopping for maternity clothing. Maternity stores obviously do not have the same turnaround as regular stores, nor brand exceptions. Anything goes.

My outing thus turned into a big shopping spree, which included a new puffer (yes, it was time), dress, and top+skirt separates, all for less than 400$. Had I had any occasion to wear it, I would have also bought More of Me's Addison dress, which I had been lusting over since Pregnant Fashionista featured it last Fall.

Aside from providing me with wearing options for the new few weeks, I would have never thought that the expedition would have been so uplifting for my mood. We can all agree that maternity clothing is not designer, but as I walked out of the store in my new, finally fitting, puffer, while carrying my giant shopping bag full of new clothes I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. If I had any doubt about making this purchase because of the short time remaining of this pregnancy, it would have been worth it just because of this reason.

P.S. Click here for more posts in the "What I wore through my pregnancy" series.

Meet my new makeup friends

Hello everyone! Do you want to know my latest discoveries in the world of easy makeup for tired and overworked fashionable moms?

Meet Vichy's ProEVEN BB cream. It gives the coverage of a foundation, but it is a hydrating cream with SPF 20 so you do not need anything else. As much as I am still in love with Dior's spray foundation, lately I have more often than not reached just for the Vichy cream in the morning.

I felt however that my look was becoming a bit blah, and my eyes a bit too puffy. The turning point was looking at myself in our family picture with Santa: I needed something more going on with my eyes, and a less nude lipstick than the one I have been sporting since my last trip to Holt Renfrew's beauty department (NTS: as tempting as it might be during the holidays, never wear a chunky cream sweater in your late third trimester, ever).

Another trip to the same department made me discover my new makeup best friends: Dior's Diorshow Liner in Plum and Rouge Dior Haute Couleur in Smarcande Brown (434). When applied, the liner gives the same effect of an eyeliner (and I suck at applying liquid eyeliner, so I can guarantee this is foolproof), also because it is waterproof and does not fade during the day. The lipstick gives the same nude effect as my previous one, but it is more of a lipstick, if you know what I mean. Who knew that makeup could lift my spirit so much?

More mini love

 

Hello everyone! Remember how last year at least a few brands debuted the handbag "mini" trend?

The trend seems to be staying strong this year, and these are the new additions I am lusting over. Mulberry has included a small version of the Del Rey bag alongside its mini Alexa collection. Balenciaga has crafted a mini version of the Papier A4. Saint Laurent is offering the Mini Cabas Chyc in its 2013 Cruise collection, although it seems to have been discountinued since in favor of the new Duffel, and it is already sold out in most places anyway (you can find it online in yellow at Net-a-Porter, in grey at Luisa Via Roma, and in black at Neiman Marcus).

The price point is still around 1000 USD, although it gets closer to 2000 USD for the Mini Cabas. Because of the price and the utilizability issue, I doubt I would be much more inclined this year than last to make this investment -- but boy, aren't they beautiful objects?

Isn't is easy...

So last night around 10:30 pm, after yet another sleep-disrupting bathroom break, I found myself checking Pinterest and stumbled upon this picture of Hilary Duffy when she was pregnant. And upon more pictures of celebrities from Reese Witherspoon to Vanessa Minnillo happily sporting their baby bump in short sleeves.

That has been my mistake. I should have moved south when I was still allowed on an airplane. And because south of here means the US, I could have then just bought the entire HATCH collection without paying any import duties and lived happily and fashionable through the last two months of my pregnancy, rather than having to struggle with a now ill-fitting puffer coat that does not make sense replacing for just two months. What a mistake.


Photo: US Magazine.

Pregnancy Style Diary, week 33 | The last rack, or so I thought

Hello everyone! When did you stop buying maternity clothing?

This pregnancy has thought me how unpredictable pregnancy-related weight gain can be. In fact, I stopped weighting myself because the thought of how am I going to lose all these extra pounds and fit back into my regular clothes is making me hyperventilate at this point. :(

I took this picture last Sunday, and I thought that it was it -- the last styling rack. I was particularly proud to have added to it my mom's vintage Valentino floral blouse (part of the stock that I have inherited from her but that it has always been too big for me), and the few things I had picked up during my trip to Mama Mia before Christmas. I was mistaken.

As of today, I had to retire quite a few things from this rack. The puffer I have been sporting so far has also become so tight on my belly that cannot be zipped any more. Hence the dilemma: to buy more maternity clothing for my remaining eight weeks, or not to buy? I will keep you posted....

P.S. Click here for more posts in the "What I wore through my pregnancy" series.

Memories from the Christmas break

Hello everyone! Did you have a nice Christmas break?

We had some great family time, playing scrabble and Mario Bros (thank to the new pink Wii remote that Santa brought), watching movies, and drinking hot chocolate, especially in the couple of days following Christmas when we got snowed in. I just wish I could have gone more outside with my husband and my son, enjoying the winter as we normally do. My favorite day was yesterday: the Befana in Italy, the Epiphanie in France and the Three Kings celebration elsewhere. This year we got to eat the real King's cake (remember how last year in Italy we made our own?). It is one of my favorite cakes ever, and it is baked and sold only on this day.

I hate myself for admitting it, but a part of me is relieved that my son went back to school today. If I would follow Kristin's post-holiday analysis, I would tell you exactly what has not worked: two weeks of cooking and cleaning and entertaining a 6-years old without household help. I will never forgive my cleaning lady for going MIA from December 26 until today without warnings or explanations, and replacing her before the baby comes is my top priority...

The best of FFRU 2012

Hello everyone and Happy New Year! FFRU has grown last year, and I have you to thank you for it. I hope you'll continue to find it a useful resource, an enjoyable read, and more!

As you are waking up to 2013 I hope you'll enjoy this little roundup of yours and my favorite posts of 2012.  Maybe you'll discover new favorites as well!

On motherhood and style...
Everyone needs a fashion mom coach.
On repelling men and moms.
How has motherhood changed my style: Jane Potrykus.
How to be stylish in the cold.

Our fashion edits...
The SS12 fashion edit // The mint, the pastel and the neon.
The June Packing Edit.
The FW12 fashion edit // Go big, or go home.

Trends, shopping and inspirations...
SS12 trends // Mini love.
SS12 trends // Beware of the pyjama pants.
The advantages of buying locally.
Are you into canvas bags?
Marni for H&M: croissants and a personal shopper (and the day after).
MMM for H&M: did you go?
The NM + Target collection is (or rather was) here.

Our series...
Crazy fashion (especially this one).
On my mind.
My pregnancy style diary (especially this entry).

Travels and adventures...
Traveling to Paris.
Paris is always a good idea.
The second time was a charm.
Wouldn't you know that in such a small town...
Love the place you live, Milan edition.

On design and decorating...
Furniture and fashion (part 1 and part 2)
Stunning design for a baby nursery.
The globalization of parenting (and a few more thoughts about it).
The Happy Mom attitude.