Chinatown

On of my absolute favorite stops in NYC is Chinatown. I don't know. I love how crowded it is there. I love the colorful stands and street vendors. I love getting a good bargain. I love the awesome food. I feel like i'm in another country when i'm there. I almost feel like i'm back in Singapore again - probably because I haven't been to China yet. lol.

It was fun walking around holding Wil's hand. I think its because we don't get to go out often without the baby. My parents watched Gabe that day so we were able to do the couple thing :) We walked around, did some shopping, got some bubble tea, ate at a hole in the wall restaurant and ate Hot Taho while sitting in a mini park in Chinatown - my kind of date :)

(i'm wearing jcrew shirt, target leggings, louis vuitton tote, michael kors gold watch, jcrew rhinestone bracelet, david yurman pearl earrings, Zara belt, ray ban sunglasses)

Atlanta Aquarium

Last week we took our friends from MN to the Atlanta Aquarium. I didn't realize this but its the largest aquarium in the world!

It was awesome! i can't wait til Gabe is big enough to appreciate it. Its very interactive there, they had a large pool where you can pet hammerhead sharks and sting rays. There was also a mini pool were you can touch starfish, sea urchins and anemone. For now, Wil was the little kid. He enjoyed everything :)

My favorite part was the beluga whale section. They are just so graceful as they swim around their tank. They had soothing music in their section so Gabe slept like a baby in his stroller there. When he woke up, i let him look at the tank and his eyes just looked like they were in awe. It was the cutest site. I can't wait for Gabe to see the world.

Wil just HAD to buy Gabe a mini beluga whale :) So he always has it by his side in his carrier :)

I'm wearing:

H&M-cotton racerback summer dress

Target-white tank

Michael Kors - gold menswear watch

fashion ring from my sister from Turks and Caicos

Gabe's wearing:

I heart MPLS onesie from Parc Boutique in NE Minneapolis, MN (http://www.parcboutique.com/)

Maternity Bras

Maternity bras are so crucial to our comfort postpartum. Regular bras are important as is for our posture, for the way our girls look under our tops, and for our own self confidence - whether we use push up bras to enhance what little we have, or to cover our babies up so they don't come popping out. These same reasons hold true with maternity bras - and then some.

I had no idea what kind of bra to get so i figured a safe place to buy them for a good deal would be from the Maidenform Outlet in Jersey Gardens, NJ. I bought 2 bras -a white and a beige colored one. Boy are they ghastly. They're cotton and oh so boring. Now, I'm a lacey bra kind of girl so these bras were not my cup of tea. But i knew i would need them so i bought them. I think i spent about $30 on each of them. Trust me, i would've rather put that money towards a nice Victoria's Secret bra....

Recently, I saw that Target had maternity bras as well - for $12 each so I bought 2 more - a black one and a beige one. These had a feeble attempt at looking feminine with a lace trim on the back strap- but they were still pretty grandma-ish.

Now for those of you entering mommyhood, don't waste your money - go straight for the target bras. The bras i bought from Maidenform were garbage. I've had them for 2 months and the underwire is already popping out from the fabric. The seams are coming loose as well. For a brand and a store that's made specific for intimate apparel, I'm so disappointed.

Go with the tried and true, Target.

Posing in Posen

The big thing of the week is Zac Posen's line being offered at Target. For some reason, I never really like the designs when high end designers collaborate with stores such as Target, Walmart, Kohls, etc. I always go there with the hopes of finding something -especially since they're more budget friendly than their original labels (which i'm a big fan of) but i never find anything worth taking my wallet out for. This includes Zac Posen's pieces at Target. They're cute, but honestly, i feel like i can find these same types of pieces are stores like Forever21 or Charlotte Russe.

Actually, i take that back, the only line that i did appreciate was Lauren Conrad's designs for Kohls. That line i thought was still true to her style and didn't "look" like it was from Kohls. Everything from the sillouettes, fabrics, and patterns.

Back to Zac. If i were to pick a piece from his collection, I would choose the following skirt:

Zac Posen for Target

Brocade skirt-multicolor floral print

$49.99

This would be a great style after baby arrives and after my little tummy is gone. lol

Tight fit

Clothes (and subsequently confidence) are getting harder and harder to choose from these days so i'm relying on my accessories and jewelry to make my outfits.

Here are some recent pics (not too happy with them) but want to be honest.

34 weeks pregnant

About to eat some yummy spring rolls at Pho 96 on Buford Highway, Atlanta

wearing:

old navy brown billowy cotton tank

black leggings from target

Steve madden white/gold slippers (not shown)

blush 3/4 sleeve grandfather sweater from Zara

dogwood gold statement necklace from J Crew

Gold menswear-like watch from Michael Kors

OPI nail polish in Mediterranean Nights

35 weeks pregnant

standing outside my townhome, with my beautiful flower bushes in the background

wearing:

h&m stripe dolman top

gap maternity jeans in dark rinse wash

steve madden white/gold slippers (not shown)

gold menswear-like Michael Kors watch

new Spring 2010 statement necklace from Designs by K Cayetano

OPI nail polish in Tropical Punch

Although nothing can probably bring a girl's spirits up about the way she looks/feels in her 3rd trimester, here are some things i like to do to pick me up:

- i try to get regular mani's and pedi's. And if i really want to save, i just get the pedi since there's no way i can reach my tootsie's and i give my nails a nice fresh coat of nailpolish once a week
- i always accessorize since these are the only constant pieces in my wardrobe. I usually wear a statement necklace to dress up my otherwise blah outfit. I usually wear my Michael Kors menswear inspired watch b/c i think its such an eye catching piece. I usually use my Louis Vuitton bag since it fits everything and really says it all
- i always put make up on - even though there are days when i'm not in the mood to put any on
- i treat myself to something i love every once in awhile such as a a decaf iced coffee, a slice of tiramasu, a pecan bar...
- i relax and read a cool book about someone who inspires me
- if i can't get my hands on a book, i read some posts from my favorite blogs

Baby Shower

Last weekend my mom, sisters, and friends in NJ threw me an amazing baby shower at the house. I was hoping to have some pictures to post which is why it took me so long to write this, but so far i don't have any. I just have a few that I wanted to share.

It was so nice seeing everyone and catching up with people. I do have to say, I hate being the celebrant b/c i feel like don't have enough time to hang out with everyone and i always worry whether people are having fun. But it was a great turnout.

My dad unfortunately was in the philippines but i know he was just as excited. Baby showers are his forte :) His thing are baby bottle favors with candy inside - of course that's what he prepared for the party -they came out great! He got personalized ribbons made. It was kind of funny they said, "Karen's baby" and i kept thinking, it definitely takes two to make a baby - but i know, the shower was for me.

My sister really wanted to display the favors nicely so we got this awesome 3 tiered silverset from HomeGoods (i looove this store.) The display was fab!!

While we were at HomeGoods, i found the best thing ever!!!!!! The world's roundest pig - i was so excited to get this for Wil - not for baby, for Wil - i just knew he would love it. In fact, he hand carried him on the plane back to Atl. Luckily the flight was empty so "baboy" (wil's name for him) had his own seat :)

Sorry, i look gross, i was so sweaty that day from doing errands with my sis. But i was wearing:

Banana republic creme long sweater

Zara miliary green tunic with emroidery on shoulders

Target Maternity skinny jeans that my mom bought for me at 8 weeks-they were a bit tight at this point....

Steve Madden gold ballet slippers (not pictured)

Louis Vuitton Bag

My mom did such a great job cooking and getting everything ready. I tried to help as much as I could, but i got tired so easily!!!

Eddie even helped make cupcakes, well he helped a lot more than that. Let's just say, he doesn't like being the Wil proxy. He gets stuck doing all the dirty work. lol. Wil was stuck in Atl for work.

My friends, Arch, Cheryl, and Joanne coordinated the games which were a hit.

My favorite part of the shower that was new to me, was included in the invites, was a little insert that read something like this:

A card is nice, its sentiment is sweet,

But a book will keep baby on his feet.

For years to come baby will read

Longing for stories will never be a need.

A shelf full of wisdom for all to give

For baby to keep as long as he shall live.

Filling the shelf should not be hard

If you would please sign a book instead of a card.

My sister came up with this and it was such an appropriate idea. I loved it. In fact, i've been reading baby books from these every night. I'll have to post a pic of the bookcase once its all set up :) Hopefully i'll be getting more pics of this shower and even the mn showers. As soon as I get them, i'll post them up.

Ikea Date

This week, Wil and I went on an Ikea lunch date :) I'm a cheap date. lol. We of course had the swedish meatballs lunch and finished it off with $1 icecream cones - what beats that?

We decided to get baby's dresser from here. There are a lot of dresser sets that come with cribs - but we decided the dresser was where we could cut some costs. Yes, longevity is not as good, but for now, it will do. I think by getting an ikea dresser we saved about $200. We decided on this 3 drawer dresser, the Hemnes. It was $149 last year and we got it for $129 - not bad. We got it in the black/brown color to match baby's crib.

This is the crib, we finally decided on for baby. Wil's parents were nice enough for order this for us!!!It should be coming in next week. I think that's when it'll really hit me, when i see baby's crib all set up. Then it'll really feel like a nursey.

We got the StorkCraft Monique crib in black. I usually look for the color espresso but some reason in this line, the espresso looked so light!

That was a beautiful day to head to Ikea. We went to the the one at Atlantic Station so we got to see more of Atlanta as we made our way there. Here are some of the things we spotted:

Atlanta's version of the Arc de Triumph! I'm sure there's a name - but not sure what its called.

A new meaning to the word "Drive through."Beautiful skyline of the City of AtlantaIt was a hot day, but luckily my feet weren't as swollen so i didn't feel the need to cover them up in jeans or a maxi dress. Here I am at 33 weeks wearing:

HM peach cotton top with flutter sleeves with tonal embroidery

Target maternity khaki shorts (not really my cup of tea- but you really need shorts here in Atlanta)

Louis Vuitton Bag

Banana Republic resin/gold accent/crystlal bangle in white

Steve Madden, white and gold sandals (not pictured)

We'll be heading to Home Depot/Lowe's to look at paint chips/border ideas for baby's room. I think the baby blue walls with brown furniture will look sooo adorable. Stay tuned for that!

Shoes-day

ok - so Tuesdays are officially Shoes-days in my world. Its the day i allow myself to window shop - or should i say, internet shop for one of my loves - shoes. Shoes have always been tough for me, b/c i have small feet to say the least. i'm a size 5 or 5 1/2. I love fabulous shoes, but heels are a big deal for me. As beautiful as they look, if they're too high, i can't wear them. i'm just not one of those people who can walk around all day in heels. Some people can do errands in them, some people can walk around the mall in them. I can wear them on date night when i know the most walking i'll be doing is from the car to the dinner table at the restaurant, or when i'm at work when i'll be sitting behind a desk all day.

Here are my findings for the week. It seems that laser cut styles are all the rage this season, the symmetrical details are very eye catching. I found a budget friendly one in a soft neutral pink color from the one and only Target!

$99 - can't beat that for these fab open toe booties. can't you just picture wearing these with a classic khaki colored trench coat from www.lightinthebox.com?

and of course, I'd have to accessorize with one of my classics - the Cassandra pearl necklace from my jewelry line www.designsbykcayetano.com

But let's be realistic here, swollen feet, extra weight in our midriff, feeling tired easily, these cute booties may have to wait until postpartum time so for now, here are pics of flats i've been eyeing for awhile that i can realistically wear everyday for the time being. can't go wrong with Tory Burch Reva flats:

I like statement shoes since i love to invest in shoes moreso than my clothes. with clothes i feel like i can get reasonably priced basics/classics that are on trend all the time and dress them up with fab shoes. So I chose the cheetah print shoes with the gold logo and the fuschia leather with the gold logo. LOOOOVE.