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Mrs. Beautiful Skin 2016/17 Blogger Mom of 2 Beautiful Angels Wifey Fitness Instructor Happy & Contented

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Where To Buy Matching Mummy And Daughter Outfits?

Are you a Mummy who loves dressing your daughter up in the same outfit as you? I do! This is the first year I played matchy-matchy dress up with my girl since she's already 17 months old, old enough to fit into toddler sized clothing. Didn't get to do any matching dress up last CNY 'cuz she was still a baby and its usually difficult to get matching Mummy-Daughter outfits in infant sizes. It seems like it's becoming a trend to dress up in matching outfits as a family, now I even find some retailers selling matching Daddy's outfits too though usually it's a match with boys only. Let's check out some of the places where I got my matching Mummy-Daughter outfits for CNY this year!

A collage of the matching OOTDs I had with Baby F. this CNY. Nice? Hehe. : P

CNY Matching OOTD #1
This was worn for reunion dinner on the eve of CNY. Our outfits were coordinated but they were not matching-matching outfits. I think denim jumpers/overalls are one of the outfits most parents would have 'cuz its the easiest way to play matching dress up with your kids regardless having a boy or girl - so this is a must have!! I bought mine from Zara (for $50+ if I didn't remember wrongly) and hers from Taobao (for approx. SGD$22). I wanted to get her short denim overalls to match mine but somehow there was a miscomm. between the seller and myself so I ended up with the long one instead. Well, it's also nice just that it's not exactly matching lah. 

A random family photo after dinner.. Hubs abit extra, wearing black - LOLs!
FYI, my girl's sneaks was bought from Taobao too. For about SGD$6??? Cheap & good! ; )

Link to Taobao's website: https://www.taobao.com/

CNY Matching OOTD #2
This was Baby F. and I on the night of the eve of CNY, after the reunion dinner all washed up and in our brand new matching PJs. I never knew or practiced this before I was married, to wear new PJs for the new year until my MIL told me I had to? Of course I am not obliged to do so but I thought it was a nice & fun practice so I started since she was an infant. Well actually my MIL only asked me to get Baby F. new PJs for CNY and leave her a red packet ("Ya Siu Qian") under her pillow when she's asleep, but I kaypo wanna get myself a new set of PJs to play matchy-matchy with her. Hahahaha. Okay anyway got both our PJs from Taobao (again - LOL!), bought mine for SGD$15 and hers for SGD$10. Actually my PJs is a confinement sleepwear which has nursing access to it which I didn't mind getting it b'cuz I thought I could wear it during confinement or mayb after that when I'm still nursing. The pants has an adjustable waistline too, so it's even good for me during pregnancy. Our PJs were not found as a matching pair but I just searched separately and happened to find them in the same design & colour. I tried to find something similar for Daddy but then to no avail. - too bad. :-/

CNY Matching OOTD #3
We worn our first CNY matching OOTD on the first day of CNY. This set was from Modern Maternity, super nice & suitable for the occasion! Mine was a top and Baby F.'s was a dress. I loved how this set makes my skin look fair and also very cheery for CNY. As the brand name speaks, Modern Maternity is actually a retail outlet that sells maternity wear and the styles brought in by them are focused mainly on Kimono prints and florals. They also happen to sell matching dresses for little girls. What I really liked about this set is that its very value-for-money! Why do I say so? Okay for the very first even though my top is free sized, it is stretchable on the back which can probably fit me even if I happen to (very like!) gain more weight. Well of 'cuz lah, this is maternity wear so it can def. fit even though I put on weight and also grow in belly size. But b'cuz the back is very stretchable, I'll also be able to wear this top still even after delivery and not look like a pregnant woman. You know how some maternity tops make Mummies look very pregnant right? This def. doesn't and infact makes my belly look compact, hehe. And the other reason why this is value-for-money is b'cuz the girl's dress can be worn from 1-6 years old (subjective to your daughter's growth also lah)! The dress is actually longer, just that I have sewn it up to the desired length to suit my girl's current height. The pits are also adjustable... super value right?? Haha.. *thumbs up! 

This was one of their outlets I visited at United Square, #B1-72.
They have another outlet at HarbourFront Centre, #02-90.

This was another set of matching Mummy-Daughter outfit, also cute for CNY hor?

Link to Modern Maternity's FB page: https://www.facebook.com/ModernMaternitySG/
 

CNY Matching OOTD #4
For the 3rd day of CNY, Baby F. & I wore our OOTDs in coordinates again - this time round my top from MEV (Mother's En Vogue) and her entire set from Gingersnaps. I had to get our matching OOTDs from different retailers bcuz usually the brands selling matching Mummy-Daughter wear are for Moms who aren't expecting. Gingersnaps did sell some matching Mummy-Daughter wear but definitely not suitable for expecting Moms at all b'cuz their dresses are mostly empire-waisted (too tight for my belly now) and tops are cropped... not suitable : ( Anyways I managed to find her matching outfit to mine from MEV, which was a top from their Xtended series. Clothing from the Xtended series line are actually maternity-and-nursing wear which is suitable from the time of pregnancy till delivery as nursing wear allowing Moms to better stretch their bucks for the clothes.

This was one afternoon when I visited MEV's outlet at Great World City.

MEV sells not only maternity and nursing wear, but also a small range of baby & kids clothing. I really love the material of their clothing as they're all soft to touch and made from good cotton. Def looking forward to getting more clothing from MEV for my pregnancy and also nursing after that!

Link to MEV's FB page: https://www.facebook.com/mothersenvogue/

CNY Matching OOTD #5
This last set of matching OOTD Baby F. & I wore was from Camouflage Kids. You can find matching Mummy-Daughter, matching Daddy-Son outfits, and now even the complete matching family OOTD here. So far out of all the retailers I've been to, seems like Camouflage Kids has the best range of matching outfits with affordable prices. Their past season clothing usually go on 50% sale and can get really cheap, so do pop by every now and then to check out their sale segment! 

This was probably my first and last time I could fit the top 'cuz my belly is growing fast & furious, will have to keep it for after delivery liao.. Maybe I can play matching OOTD with Mei Mei next year? Who knows? Hahaha...

Link to Camouflage Kids' FB page: https://www.facebook.com/Camouflagekids/

I hope you liked my review for the day and do feel free to leave comments in the comment box below if you have any question/s regarding the topic and I'll try my best to answer them if it's not already stated in my blog above. And that's all for today, bye~! ; )

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Thank you for reading my blog, until next time.. : )

Thursday, February 02, 2017

Baby Product Review_Breastmilk, Cord, and Hair Keepsakes From Precious Lifetime Memories

I remembered as a new Mom, I wanted to do everything other Mummies did for their babies or anything new Moms would do. Before I delivered Baby F., I heard about how some Moms would keep their baby's dried umbilical cord & hair (from first hair cut) to make into traditional keepsakes like ink stamps and paint brushes (see here for examples). As much as I wanted to keep my daughter's dried umbilical cord and hair, I wasn't particularly keen on such traditional keepsakes 'cuz I didn't see how I could use/display such keepsakes so I kept them in plastic ziplock bags anyways. It was only until shortly after I gave birth, there was this new trend in making these precious keepsakes into jewelry - I love!! < 3

At the beginning of this new trend, there were like maybe one or two vendors who were making such jewelry keepsakes locally, and at that time I chose Precious Lifetime Memories to help me turn my baby's dried umbilical cord, hair, (and yes) breast milk into charms which I could wear as jewelry. I really really loved this innovation b'cuz we Moms get to keep our baby's keepsakes in the form of pretty jewelry and wear it whenever to keep them close to our hearts. As a breastfeeding Mom (used to), I also liked how this keepsake can bring me memories of the special bond I shared with my baby during the months of breastfeeding. At least it's something I feel that is closer to my heart and pretty to look at rather than the traditional type of keepsakes. See how I wore my keepsakes in this photo, pretty right? And you'd never know what they are and it can be interesting to talk and share with friends or new Moms about.

This was the day I first received my blue box from PLM, I was super excited 'cuz I waited about 5 months plus for this to come. Plus before that I took some time to really decide on the final design of charms I wanted to go with, took me so long 'cuz everything was too pretty I had a hard time to confirm my order - LOL. Please don't be alarmed about the waiting time for your keepsake jewelry, the usual lead time is about 2 to 6 months from the time your cord/hair/milk is collected. Especially so if you are making breast milk charms/jewelry b'cuz preserving the breast milk alone takes 2 to 6 weeks, followed by another 2 to 20 weeks for molding and casting to be completed (click here for full FAQ from PLM). It's alot of hard work by the maker so I was very understanding on this part. That was why I was so excited to receive my keepsake jewelry after the long wait! : D

My orders were delivered to my place via registered mail, they came packed neatly and securely in a blue box with everything bubble wrapped inside and out. I liked how everything was wrapped securely with bubble wrap individually so that way my keepsakes get to me in pristine condition.

I was also given a Care Card, Warranty, and some name cards to (probably?) pass to friends and/or family who'd be keen in such services as well.

In the Care Card there were clear instructions on how to care for the keepsake jewelry/mementos like the Dos and Don'ts and some explanation on what could shorten the lifespan of the keepsakes so better off avoiding, etc.  

And the interesting thing was i didn't know that there would be warranty given until I saw the back of the Care Card.
Basically the warranty is given for the breast milk gems for discoloration and will last for a year.

And this was the surprise I unwrapped to get... super love!!! Yays! Can you tell which is made of what elements??

My entire collection, European Beads (charms) on bangle and a Dangling Charm/ Pendant on necklace, which also can be transferred onto the bangle to wear as a bracelet.

So basically the European Beads (from left to right) are made of breast milk (first four charms), hair for the 5th one and umbilical cord for the last one. Could you tell? : P

The Dangling Charm/ Pendant is made of Breast Milk with colored foil, and "Baobei" is the nickname I call Baby F. : )

Eventually I transferred the entire collection onto my brand new Pandora necklace which I got from my Honeymoon trip to Europe last year, which I specifically bought this necklace for. I just love how the entire set looks like, could look at this forever and not get bored.. Haaaa..... Every charm is named with a special meaning to it; with Baby F.'s English and Mandarin name, D.O.B. and nickname, it's truly a keepsake I can wear for a long time. I even intend to give it to her when she's grownup and share this little story and memento with her. So nice right?

Definitely taking care of these babies as well as I can!

I personally like wearing my keepsakes as a necklace but you can always wear them as a bracelet using your own Pandora bracelet or bangle from PLM. I prefer to wear them as a necklace 'cuz I like chunky & outstanding necklaces to jazz up my outfit and kinda stopped wearing too much beads on my wrist these days. I've kept my entire classic Pandora Charm Bracelet collection and now only wear a few charms from the Essence Collection. And if you think wearing so much as a necklace is difficult to match outfits, you are so wrong! In fact this set of keepsake necklace is one of my top picks to match with almost any outfits these days. Super love!! Thanks Annabel (crafter from PLM) for crafting such beautiful keepsake jewelry, the wait was definitely well worth!! : D

All I can say is that I'm totally in love with my keepsake jewelry and would definitely be making more after my second delivery, and with PLM b'cuz so far service has been great and quality of the products were proven good so far. Annabel has also been very patient to liaise with me on the designs back and forth before they were confirmed and she's honestly a friendly and understanding person. Thumbs up!

By the way, PLM will be at the SuperMom Baby Fair at Marina Bay Sands on 17-19 February 2017 @ booth J11. There will be up to 50% sales during this 3-day fair so if you intend to turn your precious keepsakes into pretty jewelry or mementos, do visit them to get great discounts! For other promotions, do check out PLM's Facebook page for more details. From what I know PLM holds different promos from time to time, so do check out their page for more deets. ; )

If you'd like to find out more about Precious Lifetime Memoriesyou may check them out on their...

Last but not least.... Give-Away Time!! : D
1 lucky winner will get to own a Customised Keepsake Jewelry by PLM.
Go to my Facebook/Instagram page for more details on how to join the contest.
Giveaway closes 28th February 2017, so hurry up!


I hope you liked my review for the day and do feel free to leave comments in the comment box below if you have any question/s regarding the topic and I'll try my best to answer them if it's not already stated in my blog above. And that's all for today, bye~! ; )

P.S. If you'd like to see my future posts, follow me on Facebook and Instagram...
FB: www.facebook.com/vannytelly/
IG: www.instagram.com/vannytelly/

Thank you for reading my blog, until next time.. : )