D-Day

Well hello!

So, today is 28th February and I am officially 40 weeks pregnant and today is my due date.

I cannot believe this day has come around at last. It was mine and Darren's 2 year wedding anniversary yesterday, and I was thoroughly spoilt by Darren. I received a beautiful bunch of Jane Packer flowers (colour co-ordinated with the flowers we had for our wedding), a Kindle Fire and was taken to one of my favourite restaurants in Crouch End.

my beautiful anniversary flowers

So, although it is the due date, there is no sign of Titch just yet. Realistically it could be another 2 weeks, but I don't think we'll be waiting that long. I can't believe 40 weeks are now complete and any day, we are going to become parents! Eek! I definitely don't feel old enough or mature enough to be a mama, but I am so excited to finally meet Titch and Darren and I can start our little family.

Sorry this is a bit of a random post and nothing to do with my usual content, but I just wanted to mark the D-Day occasion!

To make it a little more fashiony, here is what I wore for our special anniversary dinner last night. I've managed to go 40 weeks without buying maternity clothes (apart from one dress) and last night I wore a gorgeous one sleeve dress from COS, which I bought a couple of years ago, and actually looks really nice with my big bump. I teamed it with my new Claire Belle necklace (see post below) and my River Island ankle boots.

What do you think of my 40 week preggo look? x

Beatrix Potter Collection For Baby Gap

This is kind of a weird post for me to do, as I have never done a post on baby related products. I kind of thought that when I became pregnant that I would not post about maternity fashion or baby clothes, as Belle of the Ball is an outlet for me to talk about my love of fashion and beauty, and I didn't want to make it a pregnancy related blog.

HOWEVER, occasionally, I have thought it would be appropriate to discuss preggo fashion and maternity collections, so I have done the odd one or two. Thus far I haven't done a baby fashion post, but I have just become obsessed with a collection and I had to tell you guys about it, as it is so cute.

I am a huge fan of Beatrix Potter - I've been in love with her books and characters ever since I was a baby girl myself - particular favourites being Mrs. Tiggwinkle (that cute hedgehog in an apron and cap), Jemima Puddleduck and of course Peter Rabbit. I've spotted lots of adorable Beatrix Potter goodies to put in Titch's room, so when I was informed that Baby Gap were doing a Beatrix Potter limited edition collection, I started jumping around in excitement.

My lovely friend Jo quickly got me this adorable grey knitted baby-grow, complete with a little Peter Rabbit face on the front, before I had even seen the full collection.

Thank you Jo

Yesterday, Darren and I went to meet some friends in Hampstead and I was determined to go to the Baby Gap on the high street and see the full collection...and maybe buy one or two bits (with two weeks to go, I think I'm entitled to finally start buying some clothes for Titch!).

Me (and Titch) at 38 weeks

We went into the shop and spotted the collection immediately. Laid out with gorgeous cut outs of Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Jemima Puddleduck and more, the collection was split into baby girl's, baby boy's and unisex newborn pieces. Darren was so taken aback by the baby boy stuff, that he wished they did it in grown up sizes. From sweet baby-grows with character faces, to rabbit motifs on dresses and adorable pieces of knitwear to packs of bodysuits and knitted Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddleduck hats.

I really love this collection, and whether we have a girl or boy, I will definitely be investing in a few more pieces (or a lot more!). In the meantime, we picked up this cute sleepsuit and the Peter Rabbit knitted hat, as we thought it would work for a girl or boy.

Titch's new bits :)

Here are a few pics of the collection and the layout - what do you think? Enjoy x

Project Take 10 - Wildfox Couture

Two posts in one day...I did say I was back :)

This post is something a little different and special.

I was contacted by Wildfox Couture to take part in an exclusive project called Project Take 10 - a social styling project. Basically, fashion brands, in this case, Wildfox Couture, choose 10 fashion bloggers and send them a piece from their range to style as they see fit. The bloggers then take photos of themselves in their outfit and the general public can vote for their favourite. Fun right?

Of course I was a little shy, being almost 9 months pregnant presented the slight problem of posing in a piece that non-preggy gorgeous girls would be wearing, and trying to make it look good, and not an advert for maternity fashion. But, I do like a challenge.

The piece we were sent was this gorgeous sequin heart jumper - pretty perfect, considering the voting closes on Valentine's Day....ahhhhhhh. I immediately fell in love with this jumper. So perfect for snuggling up in with this freezing weather, and the pretty sequin heart is adorable for Valentine's Day.

I decided to go for a cute geek chic look, as I love pairing a slouchy (well, it would be slouchy if it weren't for my big bump) with a cute skirt and geeky accessories. The skirt is from H&M last year, and is made up of about 5 layers, the faux pearl collar necklace is also from H&M, the frilly socks are from American Apparel, my glasses are from my uncle's optician in Camden and my shoes are c/o Steve Madden. Considering the price point for the jumper is £185, it makes sense to keep the rest of the look high street chic ;-) My lipstick is MAC Up the Amp and my nails are Essie Cute As A Button.

So here is my styled jumper. If you like it and would like to vote for me (take pity on the preggo) then visit this link: http://selfserviceuk.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/wildfox-take-10/ and vote away. As I said before, voting closes on Valentine's Day, so there is plenty of time.

Make sure you check out the rest of the gorgeous bloggers taking part in the challenge too by clicking the link.

Thanks for checking it out and enjoy! x

Maternity Review #2 - ASOS

I thought I would do another round up of maternity fashion, as I got quite a good response to my Topshop maternity post.

We had our 20 week scan for Titch on Monday, and apart from a little complication with Titch's heart (which should hopefully be treatable once he or she is here - if it is needed) everything looked good! He or she is currently dancing away to XFM so another maternity fashion round-up is definitely needed.

Before I get started, here is a pic of Titch now:

So the brand I have chosen to do a round-up of is ASOS. As an ASOS fan, I've always been impressed with their collections, and the sheer size of them - although sometimes I find they have too much choice and I get a bit bored with perusing over 20+ pages of options. At least they have given their maternity range a similar lay out, with simply oodles of choice. This does make a nice change, as, from what I've seen on the high street so far, even if a brand has a collection, the choice is normally quite limited.

At the moment, ASOS have over 250 styles to choose from, ranging from bottoms, tops, dresses, coats, underwear, knitwear, you name it! They've also got a good mix of casual and dressy items and have obviously taken into account the top trends for the season, as well as including some great basic pieces, such as breton tops, jeans and jackets.

What's really nice is ASOS is obviously dedicated to providing quality ranges and the maternity range is no exception. I could quite happily order a dozen pieces and would want to continue to wear them after the baby, as they are so lovely. The styles are also realistic - they are fashion forward but not difficult to wear or style. For example, a sequin and lace skater dress with an empire line will look stunning with a big bump and certainly on-trend, but the relaxed empire line is designed for comfort. Perfect!

I've put a selection of some of my favourite pieces below. What do you think of ASOS's maternity range? Do you think it lives up to their regular collections? Enjoy x

Skater dress with hi low hem £25

Sequin and chiffon skater dress £40

Boyfriend jeans £35

Printed slouch trousers £35

Tiger face tee £16

Faux fur coat with hood £60

Knitted dress with lace collar £35

Breton stripe top £20

Skater dress in dark floral £25

Spot skater dress with belt £25

Skinny jeans with elastic waistband £28

Skater dress with lace top £35

Breton stripe dress £28