Dress – Vince Camuto (also obsessed with this blue/white dress) | Sandals – Steve Madden (also love these and these) | Bag – Cult Gaia (also available here) | Sunglasses – Stella McCartney (similar here and just got these for under $70 and love them!!!) | Bracelet – Alexis Bittar

 

First of all I want to say thank you to everyone that has sent me emails, messages and left comments regarding my pregnancy announcement. Stan and I are over the moon excited and I look forward to sharing updates here and there as my pregnancy progresses. I don’t think I will do more than a few periodic posts because I still like to keep my content focused on beauty, fashion and lifestyle – especially for those that may not find any baby stuff relevant or interesting. I can completely understand and respect that. LOL
I mentioned in this post that I find midi dresses to be hit or miss with me because of my height (5’4″) and I really have to search to uncover those few that don’t overwhelm my frame. I was on the fence about this ultra-feminine cut initially but once I put it together with a few different strappy sandals, I loved the whole silhouette. And a bonus with this dress is that the straps are wide enough to wear a proper bra! Yay!
In addition to all the pregnancy talk and fashion chit chat in this post, I thought I would round up my recent reading list from the past few weeks as well. I found only a few books that I loved, and the rest were total duds for me. At first I figured I would only share the favorites but then decided to quickly mention the ones that I really didn’t like in case you were curious. Some of my dislikes were major bestsellers so don’t let my bad experiences completely deter you from reading them. Let’s first start with the books I enjoyed:
1. The Nightingale – This was by far my favorite book of the bunch. It takes place in France during WWII, and while I am not typically a fan of period pieces the story of these two sisters and their trials and tribulations during the war was captivating. It’s quite an emotional book so make sure you have tissues nearby. In fact, there was one part of the book that literally made me gasp out loud and immediately burst into tears. However, I couldn’t put it down and loved it until the very last page.
2. Watching Edie – This one took me a bit to get into, but it turned into quite a thriller by the end. An old friend from Edie’s past shows up on her doorstep just went Edie is in desperate need of help managing life with a newborn. But this friend and Edie have a long history together and an incident from their past comes back to haunt them in the present day.
3. The Silent Wife – This is a mystery but nothing that will keep you on the edge of your seat. However, I became really invested in the lives of this husband and wife and loved how the story is told from the perspective of each of them. It makes you want to keep reading because each chapter seems unfinished when you only hear it from one side. It’s not until the following chapter that you understand each situation which may not be enjoyable for every reader but I loved this style!
4. Into the Water – Holy cow is there a ton of hype surrounding this book! It’s from the same author as The Girl on the Train but to be honest, I don’t find it quite as good. I did enjoy it and it kept me entertained until the end but it is definitely not a favorite. The story takes place in a small town and opens with the disappearance and drowning of a local woman and teenager. Prior to the two of them, the was a long history of other women losing their lives in this same river and so the stage is set for a mystery to unfold. It will keep your attention but sadly I don’t think it deserves all the hype.
Now for the list of dislikes: The Handmaid’s Tale, The Book Thief and All Is Not Forgotten. Though I read each one until the end, I found all 3 to be extremely tedious to get through.

 

You can find my past book review posts here and here.