Dress, cardi, trench coat, boots, Marc Jacobs Hillier Hobo bag

 

dress: A|Wear (very old)

white knitted cardi

boots: Forever 21

trench coat: Ted Baker & Longchamp style bag as baby diaper bag (two bags system)

bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs Classic Q Hillier Hobo bag

necklace: French Connection 

This dress was on its way out several times when I tried to make rooms for the wardrobe in the past. I didn't have the heart to give it away to charity shops every time, mostly because it is in the right length for my liking!! And several years on, probably three or four old now, it's amazing that I still find it fit for the work environment. 

(Although this is a proof that I am back to the pre-pregnancy size, it is still depressing that I didn't manage to lose any weights all these years! - I am one or one and a half size bigger than when I live in Taiwan.)

It is a cotton, jersey style dress, probably A-line. The length is a better fit than many dresses I owned and tried on in the past (ie French Connection, Topshop, Warehouse, Dorothy Perkins). I think once you find a piece that cannot go wrong, you tend to keep it or go back to it every now and then - I hope that I can find more this type of dresses....  

AA xxx

Knitted top, chino trousers, Rebecca Minkoff bag

bag: Rebecca Minkoff & CiPU mini city diaper bag

Today, I am wearing the same outfit as yesterday.

Maybe it's a girl thing, I think girls' clothes don't need to be washed after each wear - oh gosh, I hope this confession doesn't make me a weirdo... In fact, my clothes get washed more often now than in the past as Baby D likes to snuggle on me too much and as a result, I often find God-knows-what sticky/smelly stuff on me. Anyway, my point is that this is why I am wearing the same outfit today, so they can go into the wash bin.

When I came downstairs from the shower, this is what I saw - two boys had a morning nap together!

AA xxx

A commuting mum in autumn

top: Dorothy Perkins pink knitted top (old)

trousers: Next chino trouser 

shoes: Hush Puppies

trench coat: Ted Baker (bought on ebay)

bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs Hillier Hobo bag (bought on ebay)

necklace: sunburst style

Had to commute to work this morning with my husband - we drove to Ilkley, the nearby train station and got on the same train to work, my workplace and the nursery is one stop before his. 

I always enjoy the 'occasional' commute on the train to/from work as I enjoy people/style watching. Where we live, or I should say, the town nearby, is a posh place, and you get to see many well-polished women at all ages coming and going in decent, stylish and classic look (so probably not as fashionable as in big cities). And that is the style I like and I want to be like or associated with - classic and stylish.

As I was travelling with my husband, I had the chance to be left alone people watching, rather than chasing the baby!  This has set me in a good, refresh mood (plus the fact, today is Friday!) - A little bit of ME time for a working mum makes all the differences !   

AA xxx

Working weekend holiday in the Lakes

top: Dorethy Perkins white knitted top & stripes long sleeves cotton top (bought in Taiwan)

blue jeggings: George at ASDA

shoes: Dune (2013 f/w)

bag: CiPU B-bag

My husband organizes a student development weekend away training in the Lakes District, and we decide to come along and stay in a nearby B&B while he stays with the group in a hostel. 

As I am on my own with the pram (and the baby) some of the time, it's more mobile to wear diaper bag on my back. And a warm, good walking boots and rain coat is a must. 

First picture was taken at home before we set off to the Lakes District.  Second picture was taken when Baby D is having a short nap in B&B after breakfast on Sun.

We came to do the tree-top tracking in Ambleside two years ago with a different student group and it was really good fun. We came again this time, and discovered it is also great for little human too! We will probably come here a lot in near future.

AA xxx

blouse, jeggings, flat, trench coat, Marc Jacobs Hillier Hobo bag, CiPUmini city

same outfit, but wearing Hush Puppies flat today.

Another day of taking baby D home on train and bus after a long working day and having a two-bags system, and unfortunately I will have to commute home with baby D on our own in the next two weeks!

First time this CiPU baby blue stripes diaper bag made its appearance on the blog. This is the smallest diaper bag I own, and from the CiPU city line. This bag has been 'stolen' by my husband for his everyday work bag (he alternates between this stripy bag and the CiPU pink stripy bag) until very recently I bought him his own manly work bag.  As Baby D would have a light tea in the nursery at 4ish before I pick him up, I don't need to carry a lot in my diaper bag, only a spare nappy, changing mat, Baby D's water jug, wet wipe, some snack and a coat.

AA xxx

family day out in Yorkshire Dales

top: pink knitted short sleeves top - not shown in the picture

blue jeggings: F&F @ASDA (July 2014)

trench coat: Uniqlo 

shoes: Hush Puppies 

scarf: ASOS owl print (Aug 2014)

bag: CiPU B-bag in pink/black stripes

Had a fab day out in the Forbidden Corner in Yorkshire Dales today.  So much fun that we decided to have this trip every September from now on, until Baby D is bored by it!! 

my real mum style is fixed to the formula of 'jeggings + trench coat + flat/boots" at the moment.  

AA xxx

animal prints, jeggings, Marc Jacobs diaper bag, real mum style

top: animal print long sleeves shirt

blue jeggings

blazer: F&F

shoes: Hush Puppies

bag: Marc Jacobs Pretty Nylon Eliz-A-Baby diaper bag (see my review) & Marc Jacobs Petcy Turnlock crossbody bag in indigo colour

[three things]

1. as you can see, I have decided to keep my Marc Jacobs diaper bag! feel good about carrying it, especially it goes well with my any outfit. 

2. I tend to have a smaller cross body bag inside my diaper bag. so if husband and I decide to do separate things when we are out and about and meet at certain time later, which we often do, I could just go with the little bag. I bought Marc Jacob turnlock bag for exactly this purpose, and it has been working out well. 

3. I need a pair of skinny jeans. 

AA xxx

Balenciaga City travels with the pram, animal print and blue chino

How do you travel home from work when you have to pick up your little one from the nursery? I mean, what bags arrangement/solutions do you come up with? 

Today is the second day of the week that I have to travel with the baby, a pram and two bags. The commute time is around 1.5 hours: 30 mins on the train, 10 mins on bus and waiting time before/after train and bus. (Baby D's nursery is near my office). 

And because it's a long journey home, I'd like to have some essentials with me just in case, so nibbles, toys, nappy, water etc all go in..

Depending on the weather (forecast) and how my day plays out, I come up with these solutions: I alter between Balenciaga city and Salad bag for work; CiPU bag and Longchamp bag (small size) for baby. 

About this Salad bag, although it has been used a lot recently (not always in the #OOTD pictures), I don't like it as much as any of my Balenciaga collections (city, part-time and work). The reason it gets plenty of use is because it is my only cross body bag I own, plus the fact that I don't like it that much so it can be dumped on the floor, if must, without me frowning. So, it becomes the default IT bag for a raining day, either with or without traveling with the pram. I will want to find a replacement, which is smaller and lighter though - I am torn between a Marc Jacob bag or from a high street shop.

Are you in a similar situation? Do you pick up children from work and then travel home by public transport? What is your bags solution??

top: Oasis animal print

trousers: Next chino in blue colour

cardi: Linea waterfall cardi

shoes: Hush Puppies
bag: Balenciaga city in violet colour; Salad bag; CiPU diaper bag. 

Last worn: animal print top, chino trousers, Balenciaga city, CiPU bag

AA xxx

Review: Marc by Marc Jacobs ‘Pretty Nylon Eliz-A-Baby’ diaper bag

(source)

Although this bag never made its appearance on my blog, this is definitely my favourite diaper/baby changing bag among my collection of 6 (yes, I own/owned 6 diaper bag although I only have one baby)!

I did a lot of research on diaper bags as I was determined to be an elegant new mum(what a dream!!)  I am in love with this bag from the very first sight when I saw it on internet.  Guess what, I am still in love with it, but I am also letting it go.

As a bag lover, I treasure my collection like another baby (babies, in this case). When I was out and about with it, it was never left/put on the floor in a shop.  On a raining day, it is protected under the rain cover along with the baby and the pram while I was wet through. I treasured it too much to a degree that it is an inconvenience for me!  This is when I decided to put it in the wardrobe for the time being until the day I may feel differently about carrying it around. Six/seven months on, I still love it so much, and/but I never took it out from the wardrobe! – I think I am insane.

So, I have decided to put it on eBay for sale because it deserves better!! period.

Then, I am finding myself re-discovering my love toward it and difficult to really say good-bye. I feel I might just quietly take down the listing in the next few days…..

Enough about my passions and let’s do some reasoning, shall we…

The reasons I LOVE IT:

• The weight.  It is light for a diaper bag, although the metal chains/logos on the strip do add extra weights.
• The size. It is a good size for a bottle-fed baby and an always over-prepared mum.  During the first six months of Baby D’s life, I hardly went out, mostly between home and the baby clinic every other two/three weeks. Occasionally, we jumped on a train to visit his dad at work. And because I didn’t know how the day would play out, I normally had two or three feeds with me (so that is two or three sterilised bottles, milk cartons and bibs) as well as two sets of outfits for emergency (Baby D was often sick on milk). And it is amazing how much it can hold!  
• The style. For a diaper bag, it is really elegant, not boring at all. I was planning to use this bag as my gym bag once Baby D no longer needs a bag of this size to hold his stuff.

The reasons I DONT LIKE IT THAT MUCH:

• The strip and the handles. For someone who always wear at least two layers, the handles are just not long enough to carry on shoulders – if you live in a warmer place and always wear short tops, this won’t be a problem. Alternatively, I tried to wear the strip on my shoulder, but it always came loose and so the length of the strip didn’t stay as how I would have wanted it to be.  And when you had it on the back of the pram, same issues again, it just came looser and looser throughout the day. And eventually, it was too far down to reach out in an emergency (like when Baby D was sick on milk when we were on the bus/train).
• It is not water-proof.  Occasionally, water from baby’s mug leaked or when it got rain on, it was wet. Now come to think about this, in fact none of my diaper bags are water-proof! (does this mean I should buy another one??)

Oh no, the process of reasoning is supposed to help me let go, but why I feel it just justifies the reasons to keep it and start wearing it more often….

Wanting to see more pictures of this bag in action?? Veronika's Blushing and Away From Blue 

AA xxx  

   

Blue top, green skirt, airport style

[outfit]

top: bought in a charity shop

skirt: bought in Taiwan

shoes: Hush Puppies flat

bag: CiPU Jumbo CT diaper bag (not in the picture)

[three things]

1. a very sad day - last day of my mother's 1-month stay. #OOTD photos were taken in the airport when Baby D and grandma had their last cuddles. (it is even more sad when you don't know when you will be seeing each other next time, and I had a little cry in the car on the way home.)

2. this green skirt is bought in Taiwan few months ago as a newly discovered style that suits me. but I have totally let myself down since the purchase as I don't know how to put it together!!! 

3. still a hot, humid summer day, we are very lucky this year. As British summer isn't always this nice, I ran out of things to wear that is comfortable, summery, functional and motherly! 

[a special note]
I am following the same format from Dash Dot Dotty. I have been following her blog for a while now, I adore her styles!!!  She is one of the many blogs that influence me to start documenting/sharing my outfit in the blog world. Having three things to write about gives me a structure to focus on, rather than just rumbling about fashion, style (and mostly criticism of myself), and I wonder if this structure would serve me better in the long term. 


last worn: shoes, CiPU bag

AA xxx

Maxi dress, Real Mum Style

dress: Primark

bag: CiPU Jumbo CT Bag (similar)

shoes: Dorothy Perkins

parka: (bought on eBay)

Today is Baby D's first birthday! Happy Birthday my little baby! 

'Real Mum Style' for me is something super functional, and I would normally go for a oversize tee with a pair of jeggings. Since the discovery of maxi dress on Friday, I knew it would be a good choice to wear on Baby D's birthday party. And I wish I had tried on some maxi dress a lot earlier during my maternity leave as they would have been great for a trying-to-look stylish, or decent, staying home mum.

In case you didn't notice, we three are wearing black-white matching style..... 

Anyway, I think I would probably keep this maxi dress for casual wear than for work in the future. 

AA xxx