Fashion, OOTD, spiffykermsbaby

Bump Day Style | Spiffykerms Baby

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For months I feel like I haven’t been myself and I’ve been hiding something from you. Which I have! The baby! So forgive me for my absence in blogging and social media. I hated pretending as though nothing was going on, when in reality I’ve been secretly growing this little one. Just imagine: two heartbeats in my body right now. Nuts. Still pretty mind blowing. It took us a while to announce to friends and family, because we wanted to make sure everything was moving along smoothly with no bumps in the road. SO MANY ultrasounds. Which is great because we got to see the baby a lot more than usual. Thankfully this baby is healthy and growing well!

It’s still pretty hard to believe it’s true. Even I can’t believe it some days. Look at the genuine reaction of me reacting to Lauren saying I totally have a belly. I had to look for myself! LOL.

Holding-the-belly situation isn’t something that comes natural to me. I felt foolish holding it, hence my laughter. None the less, cute maternity clothes I’m wearin’ right? This Pink Colorblock Striped Pocket Front Maternity Top is the first maternity piece I got! I normally don’t go for this sort of colour-way, especially with a hot pink, but I obviously picked it out to review — and I’m really liking it. It’s kind of a tom-boy style rugby shirt with a feminine edge. 

I meant to post this on Wednesday, and because of Wednesday I was hoping you’d all got it the pun — but ya know sort of a play on Wednesday being hump day, now I’ve labeled it as Bump Day. I’m not sure I’ll be doing weekly bump shots because I don’t head out with friends primarily for shooting photos. But we’ll see! Perhaps I can keep them up with some sort of self-timer magic here at home. These pictures are about a week old when I was 17 weeks 4 days pregnant.

Sidenote. Like Nadine mentioned:  Someone told me that I’m “starting to look pregnant in the face”. DO NOT SAY THIS TO A PREGNANT WOMAN EVER. She will not take it well. 

Me again. It’s already happened over here lol. It’s not a nice feeling! Perhaps they are? Perhaps I am? Maybe we ALREADY KNOW.

Or! When people say “Oh I thought you looked a bit bigger in the belly lately in your Instagram pictures“, when in reality all my photos before my announcement were from before I was pregnant as I thought people might find out and see the lil’ bump. So, am I just a chunker in the belly area? Why do people come right out and say these things? Anywayyyy….

Generally I feel more confident at this time in my life wearing more flowy tops than skin-tight. I guess because I’m still at the point where strangers might think I’m either fat or pregnant and perhaps not ask me about the latter. Ya know? I’m pretty stoked to be reviewing some baby items and products in the next few weeks. I’ve reached out to a few places and exciting to introduce you to some independent instagram shops and the like.

Hope you don’t mind, but I have some pre-written pregnancy posts that I haven’t pushed live (yet) because I wanted to do my announcement first. Those posts will be coming up very soon!

Wearing:
Pink Colorblock Striped Pocket Front Maternity Top  //
Zara Body Curve Jeggings  //
Target slip-ons (similar) //
Prada clutch (yay outlet find!) //
RayBan sunnies //
Decaf latte //

Disclaimer: Huge thanks to my pal Megan for hooking me up with PinkBlush to be an ambassador with them too! As a PinkBlush Ambassador I get 2 points for 2 pieces of clothing to review. Each time I post = 1 point. I did not receive monetary compensation for posting about the brand. 

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Fashion, OOTD, spiffykermsbaby

My ticket to cozy

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Finally it’s no longer 42ºc outside anymore which means I can bust out the long sleeved tops again. The last few weeks I’ve sort of been dying — an exaggeration yes. But as a Canadian I’m not use to these sort of temp’s, especially in September! While summer is definitely my favourite time of the year, I wasn’t getting used to that oven-like climate, crossing my fingers our a/c wouldn’t break on us. That thing was goin’ full tilt pretty much daily there for a while.

It’s been a while since I had a car to review, and I still have one for a few more days (it’s the Mazda CX-9). Most of the miles were put on it this past weekend when I headed down to the California coastline to do some pregnancy announcement photos. The majority of this week it’ll be parked at a hotel! Since, this week (it’s pretty exciting actually), I’m having somewhat of a staycation here in San Jose with Team San Jose on a FAM trip with them! Getting spoiled all week long, which I’ll write about soon. Follow along on my Instagram stories for more action.

Old-school readers remember the days of me uploading my outfits of the work week every.single.Friday for years on end. I totally miss doing them, and I probably say this in every outfit of the day blog post, but it’s true! Since I no longer have a full-time job, I pretty much dress exactly the same, and never plan out my outfits in advance, hense the same look different day. I live in jeans, tee’s and slip on sneakers. Guess you can call it my Spiffykerms Style. Each Sunday I took an hour or so to go through my closet, pick out 5 outfits + the coordinating undergarments and accessories, and put together outfits for the upcoming week. Primarily, because it saved me tons of time in the a.m. and I also wasn’t wearing my favourite (item) over and over again.

Well it’s sorta officially my first post about wearing maternity clothes. Although this top is in the cute maternity clothes section, it could easily be worn by someone who isn’t pregnant since it’s a flowy top easily paired with leggings. I mean look how stretch it is!

Ah, my ticket to cozy! It isn’t skin-tight with just a bigger-belly area like some maternity clothes. I’m not confident yet to wear tighter clothes, because quite frankly it feels kinda funny to be pregnant. My belly is growing and I honestly just feel fat looking at the belly enlarge lol. Perhaps later on when it’s actually prominent I’ll bust out some slim fitting tanks. Also? I was dreading strangers coming over to me and potentially touching my stomach. However it actually happened this week with a “stranger” I’ve known for a little under a day. It was weird, awkward and I was not comfortable with it. I mean, I’m not caressing my stomach like some pregnant women do, I’m just hanging’ around with the crowd like everyone else acting like I’ve always done. But my stomach was touched. It’s such a weird feeling especially when I don’t feel pregnant and I’m only reminded if i do that pose like you see in the photos above lol. ASK FIRST, then I’ll say no! HAHAHA. I’ve considered touching their bellies back, but…..

Wearing:
PinkBlush Black Long Sleeve Bamboo Maternity Top (available in 8 colours)
Zara jeans
Shoes (a friend gave me!!!)
Banana Republic Clutch (11 years old!)

Disclaimer: Huge thanks to my pal Megan for hooking me up with PinkBlush to be an ambassador with them too! As a PinkBlush Ambassador I get 2 points for 2 pieces of clothing to review. Each time I post = 1 point. I did not receive monetary compensation for posting about the brand. 

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Beauty, Daily, Fashion, OOTD

Packing for Portland in May

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I’m on my way to Portland, Oregon for a press event and thought I’d compile a post of what I’m bringing for the three day trip.

While I don’t over pack, I’m also not the lightest packer. For instance, I’m totally bringing four pairs of shoes for this three day trip. I mean, there’s room in the carry-on and I have outfits for each one — so whynat? The part of my suitcase where I try and keep it minimal is my makeup and toiletries bag. I just hate packing it all back up to go home. I guess this isn’t ideal for those that travel regularly, but since I don’t travel all that often and I’m in need of a new toothbrush when I get back, is that I’m going to chuck my travel-sized toothpaste and full-sized toothbrush in the garb after the trip and before I head back home.

DO LAUNDRY + CHECK WEATHER|

I think it goes without saying, check the weather forecast before you start piling clothes into your suitcase. Then, I do laundry for whatever clothes I need to bring, and start packing days before the trip because I’m super organized like that.

CLEAR PACKING CUBES|

Everything. I mean everything goes in a bag. From chargers and cables to my clothing. It all goes in packing cubes or these plastic cosmetic bags I purchased from eBay. The outfits are a bit of a struggle for me as I try and be strategic about the clothing I bring, being versatile. I want to bring enough to see me through all scenarios but I also don’t want to lug around a heavy carry-on full of anything and everything I want to wear. I have no qualms about piecing outfits together and settling on that, days before I wear them.

DO THE SPILL CHECK|

The last thing you want to happen when you open up your suitcase upon arrival, is seeing all your liquids over your clothes. Luckily I learned at a young age thanks to my tetris-queen-packin’-Mom, is to seal up any and all caps with saran wrap. Everything adds up in weight, and since I tend to use travel-sized items on the regular anyway, packing other items like sunscreen into smaller containers makes sense.

CARRY-ON SUITCASE + PERSONAL ITEM|

My carry-on suitcase is from Delsey and I’ve been using for the past 2 years. We have two (husband has the brown version) and I have to say it’s a really prime piece of luggage. I get stopped more often than not, asking who makes it. My personal item on this trip is my backpack doubling as my purse which I don’t usually bring, but I need to bring a few extra things this trip, and I need them close by instead of tucked away in an overhead bin.

I bring as limited identification and cards as I can. The essentials I’m bringing is my passport, drivers license, a credit card and some cash. My fancy wallet stays safe at home, and I use a small card case so it takes up little room.

AIRPLANE OUTFIT|

I select an airplane uniform for myself, to help conserve valuable carry-on space, therefore I wear the same outfits on both flights. For instance I’m wearing most of my heaviest items and packing the lightest (for more room). Layering your clothing is always a good way to go. Here’s an example of what I’d wear on an airplane:

Thread & Supply rain coat (it is Portland, after-all)
Parka Sweater
Kara Jean (indigo)
H&M slip on sneakers
Suede backpack

I always make sure I bring a pair of socks with me because 99% of the time I don’t wear them; and I know darn tootin’ well I’m going to have to remove my shoes when I go through security and I do not want my bare feet touching the grimy floors. Call me Canadian, yes, but I’m always freezing here in California regardless of where I’m from. I even wore these jeans when it was 28°C outside, and I didn’t get overheated like I would in a regular jean. Perhaps because I went up a size and wanted them to be a little looser fitting.

What are some of your must-have’s while traveling? 

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