MUSIC MONDAY: Jade, Sapphire, & d'Rachael's "Unconditional Love"

After watching A Beautiful Body Project 2013, (check it out, check out out!) I felt it was necessary to look up the photographer Jade Beall and the uplifting song that played during the video. 

As an expectant mum, there are so many dramatic body changes that took place recently and I am so grateful to have started my body love journey way back. I'm not saying the darkening of my neck and underarms and the addition of stretch marks never bothered me, but knowing your self-worth paves the way for everything. It also makes me focus more on the growing miracle inside me and how I can best take care of her. It's such a wonderful feeling!

Anyway, I truly enjoyed how familial love is overflowing as the singers performed this song. It makes me wish we'll become a musical family, too. Haha! 

I dedicate this song to fellow mothers-to-be; may this song remind you that motherhood will NOT ruin your beautiful body. Our bodies are more than artifacts to look at, it's a living proof of strength, among others. Pregnancy prepares us for the biggest manifestation of our physical strength and for our most challenging yet rewarding journey on earth. I am yet to experience this in full, but I already understand the overflowing joy that awaits me and my husband. 

Someday, we will take pride in how our bodies expanded to carry our little child/ren and we will express that the stretch marks will be worth it. Someday, the breast pains will stop and we'll feel grateful how our milk and determination were instrumental for our child's wellness. But for the meantime, let's give ourselves unconditional self-love and pass it on to the beautiful soul living inside us, waiting for that destined day s/he'll meet her mother.

WORLD PREMIERE: That Blue Ruffled Dress

We're lucky to discover that there's an ongoing sale for plus size clothes (if it were mall-wide, I wasn't sure) in SM SouthMall last week. The first maternity-dress-for-now-corporate-dress-later that caught my eye? It's the plain red dress with ruffled design at the lower half from Jus Ur Size. Upon seeing me giving it a I'm-not-sure-if-I-should get-you look, my mum was quick to give her nod of approval when she saw the price tag: P450 only (originally P800+). 

It's a lovely dress, all right, but I doubt it'll look good on me and my close-to-flat rear. When I tried it on, I could sense the agreement about the dearth of curves over THERE from my mum's and husband's eyes. Kebs na!

Knowing that my baby bump will get bigger in the next 1-2 months, I asked the staff for a bigger size. But 3L looked quite lengthy at below my knees, so I ended up asking for 2L. Good thing it's made of stretchable fabric so I'm sure my little warrior won't express her disapproval with karate chops when I'm wearing it. 

And the final concern before I gave in: the color. This dress is available in red, purple and blue and, if you notice, I've worn too many reds and purples in this lifetime. You guessed it right. I reached for the blue one and waited for my mum and ninang to finish their style hunt (more on that later).

 

Pang-cover girl ba ang peg? 

(Sa Working Mom ata dapat hihi)

With this dress, I found the courage the join Metro Magazine's #selfie challenge! Oha!

Outfit of the Day:

Blue dress from Jus My Size

Blue flats from Solemate, SM Department Store

Photos by Adrian Gonzales.

***

Going back to my cliffhanger earlier, I take pride on the fact that I was the one who found the best dress for Mama! Among the many dresses she tried on, this particular dress brought a sparkle in her eyes. For me, it felt like I've returned the favor for buying me this and that illusion dress. Such an awesome feeling!

Mama said she'll wear this to the ballroom dancing event she'll attend this month. Cool!

WORLD PREMIERE: That Pink-And-Yellow Illusion Dress

So you've seen the 1 of 2 maternity-dresses-for-now-corporate-dresses-later in my prior entry. The other one is equally chic and fun, but never did I imagine I'll wear it when I exchange I do's! Maybe it's the superstition about black dresses on wedding day that made me initially want to avoid it, but me and my baby bump can't fit in this peplum dress anymore.  So I gave in and opted for this pink-and-yellow illusion dress. I'll just make sure to wear something all-white for our Church wedding, yes?

Sneak peek!

This dress had me at that little cut in the chest area. It's seductive without even showing my cleavage at all! Can't wait to wear it to the office! 

Mama actually wanted me to wear my dark blue flats for this dress. But I argued it's better to wear something neutral instead. It felt too Technicolor kasi. How about you, what pair of shoes would you wear for this lovely dress?

Outfit of the Day:

Dress from Divisoria

Snakeskin clutch bag from Suiteblanco

Earrings and bracelet from Mama

White lacey flats from Solemate, SM Department Store

Photos by Waldo Pan.

WORLD PREMIERE: That Black-And-White Illusion Dress + Baby Bump

I've said this once and I'll say it again - my mum had been greatly influential with my fashion sense. Most of the time, I'm snatching stuff from her closet or she'd style me, like what happened here. 

When we found out that I'm already carrying a 6-month-old baby girl around end of March (yeah, this story probably deserves a separate entry!), it was my mother who immediately acted on this fashion emergency. Actually, I've wanted to squeeze in a visit in ukay ukay shops in my hectic schedule, but my friend Yvie dissuaded me due to exposure to dirt and bacteria. So Mama spearheaded the spring cleaning and - voila! - I have instant maternity dresses and bestidas straight from her baul. But that didn't stop her; she still went to Divisoria to scour for more maternity-dresses-for-now-corporate-dresses-later.

I must admit I was impressed with her 2 purchases! Although this black-and-white illusion dress pretty much reminded me of this who-wore-it-better meme, I took delight in its effortlessly fabulous feel! My friends even told me, "Donyang-donya ang peg!" upon seeing me.

Speaking of donyang-donya, I left my usual dangling earrings at home and grabbed my mother's regal-looking clip-on earrings. And believe it or not, I traded my usually huuuuge shoulder bag with something black and light from mum. In short, that overused white lacey flats is the only thing in this ensemble that I own haha! I was thinking sandals like this would look great on this dress, but I've been reaaaaally lazy to shop for myself. Someday, after childbirth, I'd like to pair it with pumps like this! But for now, I'm a slave for comfort. (Lagi naman, diba? Haha!)

 

Lovin' the earrings, hatin' the dark neck! 

Of course, this calls for a close-up shot of the earrings. But forgive me for the exposure of my unsightly neck and nape. That, I hope, will disappear after I give birth to my little body image warrior.

Outfit of the Day:

  Illusion dress from Divisoria

Earrings, bracelet and bag from Mama

White flats from Solemate, SM Department Store

Photos by Carl Tendenilla.