We’ve had another perfectly pretty week here on PLB, starting with some puppy love in a shoot from Californian photographer Megan Small. Mia of Julia & Mia fame had her moment at her pretty-as-a-picture vintage tea party christening and we indulged our love of all things beauty with the most genius idea – Glossybox. We shared our pick of the pregnant Oscars looks and showed how to recreate them for your next big night out. Finally, one of our favourite brands, aden + anais is giving away a fabulous Serenity Star to one of you lucky lot in our most recent competition – you’ve only got until Tuesday 5th March to enter.
Something For The Weekend
Did you see Mary & Martha last night? What an amazing film – it had the whole household in floods of tears throughout. Malaria is just one of the many problems that Comic Relief money helps to tackle, and Red Nose Day this year falls on Friday 15th March as Comic Relief celebrates its 25th anniversary. There are tonnes of ways for you to get involved and raise some money for this fantastic cause. You can even bag yourself a bit of designer clobber as Stella McCartney has designed a collection of fair trade, organic cotton t-shirts to help Comic Relief change lives in the UK and Africa which are available to buy from TK Maxx stores and online. There are even mini ones for the newest additions to your family!
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So, who stayed up on Sunday night to watch the Oscars?! It’s the one night of the year that is guaranteed to be a fashion frenzy with stars and their stylists spending months making sure their red carpet look is perfection. When the star in question is pregnant, the task is all the more difficult – with an ever-changing shape and hormonal skin, beautifying a bump on such an epic scale is no mean feat! We’ve picked three of the most stylish looks from the red carpet and shown how to achieve them yourself from our favourite maternity brands.
The Magic of Marchesa
Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman, who is eight months pregnant, was the epitome of chic and dressed her bump with the most gorgeous, soft ivory chiffon number, accessorised with a beaded lace shrug. You can recreate the look with this silk strapless dress and bolero (which would look fab with a pair of skinny jeans and a vest too!)
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Luxurious Lace
Channing Tatum couldn’t keep his hands off his beautiful pregnant wife Jenna – and who can blame him! He was bursting with pride as they walked the red carpet together, and she looked divine in this black floor-length lace number by Rachel Roy. Tiffany Rose’s flutter dress in black lace will flatter your bump and is sheer sophistication.
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Is She, Isn’t She?!
There was speculation on Oscars night as to whether Jennifer Aniston is expecting – if she is, it’s certainly early days as she hasn’t a hint of a bump, but we love this red Valentino gown so had to include it in our round-up! You can get the look from PLB favourite Isabella Oliver – their Florence maternity dress will make you the perfect lady in red.
As every mum can testify, trying to find the time to brush your hair in the morning can be a strain let alone venturing to the shops to sample the latest beauty must-haves. So when we recently experienced first-hand the beauty box phenomenon that is Glossybox we were instant fans – what could possibly be better than an affordable subscription service delivering high-end deluxe beauty samples direct to your door each month?
From make-up to skincare, body care, fragrance and hair care, subscribers receive a prettily packaged pink box of the most coveted brands and latest up and coming discoveries to sample in the comfort of their own home. Every month promises a new box of indulgent goodies so all you need to do is set aside an hour or two of peace and quiet for a heavenly soak in the bath, DIY facial or mini manicure.
Signing up is simple and more importantly, it’s fantastic value at just 27 (+P&P) for a three-month subscription, 50 (+P&P) for six months and 100 (+P&P) for 12 months. And at that price, it would be make the perfect gift for an expecting mummy or friend in much need of some pampering too.
For more information and a sneak peek inside the boxes from the last few months visit www.glossybox.co.uk
A little while back at the end of last year we were asked by the lovely Julia from Julia & Mia Photography if we could lend a helping hand with the final touches for her daughter Mia’s christening party. With a love of all things pretty and party-related, naturally we said yes! The christening was held in Julia’s parish church hall in Gidea Park and Julia was keen for the styling to reflect her love of traditional English tea parties, with an abundance of crockery, floral prints, polka dots and of course tea and cakes. It was a fun-filled day and as the pictures captured by Julia and her photographer pal Eliza Claire show, the gorgeous Mia clearly enjoyed her moment in the spotlight among her family and friends.
It’s been a little while since our 12 days of Christmas promotion and with Mother’s Day just a few weeks away, we thought it was time for another competition to give you the chance to win a lovely prize. So we’ve partnered up with the fabulous aden & anais and have a Serenity Star electronic feeding and sleep system up for grabs for one lucky reader!
aden & anais is most notably known for their stylish collection of multi-functional muslin swaddles, bibs, blankets, washcloths and other modern baby care products – we’re huge fans here and have a quick nosey through our nursery drawers at home is testament to just how much we love the products.
More recently the brand has ventured into the world of electronics to debut the Serenity Star – a feeding and sleep system that includes an electronic feeding diary, nightlight, sound machine, clock and room temperature indicator, all housed together as a stylish and decorative white star. Combining form and function, the design promises to be a chic addition to any nursery and includes a whole host of useful functions enabling you to record and remember feeding times and information at the click of a button. It also doubles up as a soothing nightlight and room temperature indicator as a well as a soothing sound machine to create a peaceful environment for baby. What’s more, it’s compact enough for your suitcase meaning that you can take it away on holiday.
The Serenity Star retails at £64.99. To stand the chance of winning this fab prize, simply visit the aden & anais website and leave us a comment below telling us which product you love the most from the collection. Entries close on Tuesday 5th March.
Happy Monday! Who stayed up and watched the Oscars last night?! We have some red-carpet worthy maternity wear coming up later in the week but for now here’s a cute shoot to start us off – definitely one for all you animal lovers out there.
Photographer Megan Small captured these images of Daschel and his family’s dogs in California. Megan tells us more about Daschel’s Mum Michelle and the shoot itself: ‘My first job out of college was working as an assistant to Michelle and her newly opened San Francisco dog collar business, Bella Bean Couture. She was my first mentor in this new world post college and I admired everything she did to build her business; she took a dream of hers and made it into a popular brand that is now recognized worldwide. It was such an honor to have now found my passion in photography and revisit Michelle and her new family. Daschel is the most amazing little baby and the three of them along with their three pups have such a special bond, it’s admiring to sit back, watch and admire. I’m glad I was able to capture these photos as a reminder to her that she has now accomplished what she ultimately wanted in life, to be happy, successful and be surrounded by a loving family.’
What lovely words from Megan, and what a gorgeous family!
Happy weekend! We hope you’ve enjoyed the week, starting with Melanie’s gorgeous maternity shoot straight from sunny California. Our Pretty Picking this week was slightly left field – girly vitamin supplements from Inner Me and on Wednesday we handed over the reins to lovely Louise from b.loved who shared some ‘Cute as a Button’ party inspiration – just perfect for a baby shower or first birthday party. Playtime was made pretty with our neutral decor inspiration and we finished off the week going dotty over the BRITs.
Something For The Weekend
This weekend sees thousands of pregnant women and children head for the Excel arena in London for The Baby Show. The show is packed full of exhibitors showcasing the latest trends and finds from the world of baby and there are lots of good discounts available for purchases made on the day. If you haven’t pre-booked tickets head over to their website www.thebabyshow.co.uk to get a £4 voucher off your entry fee.
Whatever you’re doing this weekend we hope you have fun, and we’ll see you next week!
 
Earlier this week, The BRIT Awards celebrated the best in British music with a glittering ceremony at the O2 arena. The evening saw star-studded performances from the likes of Robbie Williams, Justin Timberlake and the beautiful Emeli Sande and winners included the fabulous Ben Howard, Mumford & Sons, Coldplay and of course One Direction!
This year the iconic award was designed by artist Damien Hirst who adorned the statue with multicoloured polkadots.
Image from The BRITS
We’ve taken inspiration from Mr Hirst’s BRITs creation and have picked six of our favourite polkadot pieces below:
Clockwise from top left: Kiddimoto bike from Alex and Alexa; spotty swimming costume; retro style gumball hooks; polkadot sleepsuit; knitted cardigan; bib and shoe set
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