Baby's First Birthday Party: Blue Printed Maxi Dress

A couple of weeks ago, baby T turned 1! I shared some photos on instagram but a few people have been asking for a blog post, so along with what I wore I'm sharing some pictures and answering a few questions people had.

What I wore:

Necklace: House of Harlow sunburst necklace in silver and grey

Dress: Jeanswest 'Chantelle' crochet detail blue printed maxi dress
Bracelets: the usual plus silver charm bracelet and House of Harlow sunburst wrap bracelet in cobalt

Why I wore it:

This is what I wore for baby T's first birthday party. The same formula I wore when we were guests at other first birthday parties - maxi dresses are perfect for so many occasions! I quickly took this photo about 5 minutes before the guests arrived, after everything was set up and the last of the food was in the oven cooking. As we had the party at home, I stayed home all day, setting up before the party, having the party and then cleaning up afterwards. So I just wore some cosy blue socks! No shoes, no bag. I did try do some eye makeup for the occasion following a tip I'd picked up at a Clinique counter a few weeks before.

There wasn't really a 'theme' for the birthday party, everyone kept asking if there was one. Blue is a theme right?! We had everything blue, including the cupcakes! I did spend some time considering buying a blue wig to wear too, but DH told me that was going a bit too far!

A photo posted by Mica (@awayfromblue) on Jun 6, 2015 at 11:24pm PDT

Most of our decorations were pictures of baby. As well as buying up every kind of blue birthday decoration at the local dollar store (also Kmart has a huge range!), every wall and door had some kind of photo theme going on. Some of the photos, like the wall of Cooper and baby T photos, we've left up after the party as they make us smile. Others we had printed out to give away to the guests with the photo holders in party bags alongside some lollies at the end of the day.

A photo posted by Mica (@awayfromblue) on Jun 4, 2015 at 2:48am PDT

We had made plenty of floor space for everyone to sit down and play with baby, but that floor space was quickly filled up with all the gifts people generously brought. We asked people to fill in a 'birthday wishes' card so there was no pressure with gifts. It's hard not to go all out with gifts for a first birthday though!

It took more effort than I expected to plan and host a first birthday party, but it was worth it in the end. We just had finger food (pies, sausage rolls, sandwiches, fruit kebabs, cupcakes) so that all the prep was done up front. Once the food was served people could help themselves and I could concentrate on enjoying the day with friends and family and sharing stories about baby's first year. I'd filled out the baby books we got as baby shower gifts, so people were flicking through them during the party when they were letting others cuddle baby. We did the cake smash photos at the end of the day too.

A photo posted by Mica (@awayfromblue) on May 16, 2015 at 5:52pm PDT

It was wonderful spending the day surrounded by family and friends celebrating baby T's first birthday. He got lots of gifts and we had a lot of fun, but the absolute highlight of the day for me was when I had run upstairs to grab something after our first lot of guests arrived, and another group of people arrived. I looked down and saw baby's confused but happy face as the room filled up with even more people he knows and loves. The look on his face just made my entire day. Although he's a little too young to understand the concept of birthday parties, he has spent his first year getting to know and love his friends and family and he enjoyed having them all come together just to fuss over him. It's moments and days like these that are the best part of being a mum.

A photo posted by Mica (@awayfromblue) on Jun 13, 2015 at 1:15am PDT

Last worn: blue printed maxi dress.

Other ways to wear: blue printed maxi dress in summer.

Linking up with Passion for Fashion, Casual Friday, Friday Favourites, Fashion Friday, The Ultimate Rabbit Hole, Modest Monday today.

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Casual SAHM Winter Style: Skinny Jeans and Layers

It's feeling like quite a cold winter here in Brisbane so I've been wearing my skinny jeans often. Probably wearing them more than my maxi skirts! A nice easy option for life with baby, and easy to layer up with scarves.

What I wore:

Jacket: Asos Black by Markus Lupfer printed leather jacket

Scarf: Alexander McQueen pink pashmina in skull and floral print
Jumper: Supre knit loose fit jumper in bahamas
Jeans: Jeanswest Bindi skinny 7/8 jeans in indigo luxe
Shoes: Asos Cleo leather boots in black
Bag: Louis Vuitton Damier Ebene 30 speedy bandouliere

Why I wore it:

Wore this to run a crazy amount of errands! As it was a really cold morning and I had to be up early, I added the leather jacket to keep me cosy. Thought the scarf added more nice colour with the peach knit. I had lunch with DH, and it was easy to take the layers off in the afternoon as it heated up.

Leaving My Wardrobe: Black Leather Boots

This is the last wearing of these boots! I've been a lot more critical with my shoe wardrobe lately. I own these boots in black and in brown. I wear the brown ones much more often, and since I mostly pass over these ones and wear the brown instead it doesn't make sense to keep them in my wardrobe. I've been enjoying ankle boots a lot more lately anyway, I can wear them for more months in the year. I've picked up a new pair of black ankle boots recently that means these tall ones would get even less wear. They've been worn 18 times over the years, which isn't bad, but not as much as the brown ones. Time for them to leave my wardrobe!

Last worn: leather jacket, pink skull scarf, peach knit, Jeanswest skinny jeans, tall black boots, Louis Vuitton speedy bandouliere.

Other ways to wear: leather jacket with a dress, skull scarf in spring, peach knit with printed jeans, skinny jeans in autumn, leather boots with a dress in winter, Louis Vuitton speedy b bag with a maxi dress.

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What I wore:

Jacket: Jeanswest Peggie long sleeve line kimono in purple mulberry marle (on sale with extra 30% off)

Scarf: Sportsgirl animal scarf in violet
Tee: Jeanswest rolled sleeve grey marle tee
Jeans: Jeanswest Super Skinny Jeans in Mid Indigo (on sale with extra 30% off!)
Shoes: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star low in black
Bracelets: the usual
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff metallic silver mini MAC (on sale here!)

Why I wore it:

I love that last picture with Cooper in the background - it looks like he's fallen asleep sitting up! He was just having a good scratch.

In contrast to the outfit above, this was worn on a much more relaxed day. Met up with a friend for a morning coffee at a baby friendly cafe. It was a lovely way to start the day, and our babies had fun together. We had a bit of a walk to warm us up so I even took the scarf off for a while as we sat outside in the sun.

As it's the second time I've worn this cardigan since I purchased it, my purchase review:
I'm trying to wear everything I buy twice in a month after buying it, and that's come so easily with this cardigan! I couldn't resist the great sale price in the last Jeanswest sale, even though I already have a purple cardigan. This is a kimono/cocoon style instead of the drape style of my other one, and a different shade. I felt it was different enough to justify the purchase, and I have been making more of an effort to wear my cardigans lately so I'm hopefully this will get a lot more wear in my wardrobe.
I'm aware it's not a purchase I needed, just something I wanted, so I shouldn't really have bought it...but I'm happy with it and expect to wear it often.


Last worn: purple kimono cardigan, leopard print scarf, basic grey tee, skinny jeans, Converse, Rebecca Minkoff silver mini MAC.

Other ways to wear: purple cardigan in the office, leopard print scarf with maxi dress, grey tee with a maxi skirt, skinny jeans and a grey tee in summer, Converse with a maxi skirt, mini MAC with a maxi skirt in the third trimester.

Linking up with Whatcha Wearing Wednesday, Style Me Weekly, What I Wore, Pleated Poppy, Pumps and Push Ups, Throwback Thursday, Thursday Favourites, Thursday Fashion Files, Fun Fashion Friday, Feature Friday, Flashback Fashion today.

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June Dress Week: Corporate Style - Polka Dots and Floral Print - Monthly Purchases

Sharing my June purchases and the final two outfits for the June Dress Week Style challenge, two work outfits. I enjoyed playing along with Kiki during this challenge, but I do think it was extremely challenging for me wearing so many dresses in winter. It definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone though, which is a nice benefit from a style challenge.

June Purchases:

• thrifted blue Mossman knit jumper (already worn here)
• Zalora Basics maroon stepped t-shirt 
• Jeanswest Peggie long sleeve line kimono in purple mulberry marle (worn below)
• Jeanswest Sadie silk printed shift dress
• Target Dannii Minogue Petites printed faux wrap dress (not in video as it was in the wash sorry!)
• RMK Chester black ankle boots (already worn here)
• Asos airtime leather Chelsea boots in tan
• Walnut Melbourne 'Ava' black lizard ballet flats
• Rebecca Minkoff mini quilted affair bag in fire engine red

With all of these purchases this month it's easy to see why I've decided to do a #noBuyJuly15 challenge! I definitely don't need to be adding any more to my wardrobe. I still have completely unworn items from my May purchases, as well as things I bought and have only worn once! I didn't hit my goals of wearing things twice in a month after buying them...because of this I returned all of the tops from my Jeanswest order. I think I need a bit of space to wear and use what I own instead of buying more in July and compounding the problem.

What I wore:

Jacket: Jeanswest Cassandra jacquard jacket

Scarf: Alexander McQueen magenta skull scarf in roses print
Dress: Atmos&Here Polly navy polka dot shirt dress
Skirt: Atmos&Here grey marle jersey pencil skirt (same in navy or in black)
Shoes: Wittner 'Bloomy' black heels
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff medium MAB tote in moon navy (on sale!)

Why I wore it:

The style challenge for the day was 'shirt dresses or wrap dresses' so I wanted to wear my newest shirt dress purchase. Wearing a dress as a top isn't a new thing for me (I've done it here and here before) but I actually really hated it this time! I don't know if it was the lack of a belt or just the mix of the materials with the dress, tights and skirt. It didn't stay in place and I kept tugging at it all day. The jersey pencil skirt wasn't very forgiving when the dress bunched up underneath it either.

I like the idea behind this outfit and all the pieces, but not how it all worked together. If I was to try this again I'd wear a different skirt, add a belt and pull the dress down. I think part of the problem was that I tried to let the dress drape a little over the top of the skirt to disguise that I didn't add a belt. See how Kiki had a better outfit for the challenge here.


Last worn: metallic jacket, roses skull scarf, polka dot shirt dress, grey marle pencil skirt, ankle strap heels, Rebecca Minkoff navy MAB tote.

Other ways to wear: metallic blazer with a sequin tank, skull scarf with spring dresses, polka dot shirt dress with Converse, grey marle pencil skirt with Converse in spring, ankle strap heels and bare legs, Rebecca Minkoff MAB tote with printed pieces for work.

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What I wore:

Jacket: Temt black trench coat 

Scarf: Marc by Marc Jacobs print scarf in croc-print
Cardigan: Jeanswest Peggie long sleeve line kimono in purple mulberry marle (new purchase)
Dress: Jeanswest floral wrap dress
Tank: Jeanswest Jenni basic singlet in Royal Lilac purple
Shoes: Asos Aggie leather western ankle boots in black
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff medium MAB tote in moon navy (on sale!)

Why I wore it:

This was what I wore for the 'Floral Friday' challenge. I did think of wearing this wrap dress for the previous day's challenge, but as it was one of the few floral print dresses I own I wanted to save it for this day instead. I've worn it a few times in the blog, during pregnancy and post-baby too. I've never worn it layered up quite so much, even pre blog I kept it as mainly a warm-weather dress. Was good to try something different and wear it in winter. See how Kiki wore the floral Friday theme on her blog.

I really liked this outfit to wear, but I think the photo shows how rushed I was that morning - everything was kind of thrown on and I didn't even have time to try straighten anything out before I took the photo. Taking daily outfit photos will never be more than something I quickly do before I go out each day, I'm not trying to and never will be perfectly posed and styled. I figured a rushed photo was better than nothing, as I was doing the style challenge I felt I had to get a picture. Still pretty pleased I managed get ready and take photos and get to work on time though, I was really running late that morning.

Leaving My Wardrobe: Asos Aggie Black Ankle Boots

This is the last wearing of these ankle boots too. The heel just limits the amount of time I can wear them, and I've already bought a pair of flat ones to replace these as shown in the video. They were comfortable and did well in my wardrobe, I just need things that are a little more suited to life with baby. From the first wear to now, I've worn them 36 times. Not bad for a sale buy 3 years ago!

Last worn: trench coat, croc print scarf, purple tank, floral wrap dress, black ankle boots, Rebecca Minkoff MAB tote (above). First time I've worn the cardigan as it is a new purchase.

Other ways to wear: black trench coat with a different printed wrap dress, printed scarf with striped maxi skirt in third trimester, purple tank with a pencil skirt in summer, floral wrap dress in summer with a baby bump, ankle boots in spring with a floral dress.

Linking up with Let It Shine, Modest Monday, Styled Up, Budgeting Bloggers, Bless Your Heart, Mix It Mondays, Manic Monday, Daily Express, On Trend Tuesday, Confident Twosday, Style Sessions, Reasons To Dress, Wardrobe Wednesday, The Wednesday Pants, What I Wore today.

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