Maternity Style: 5 Tips for Dressing Your Baby Bump {First Trimester Edition}

‘They’ say it’s pretty easy to hide your pregnancy during the first trimester but if you’re anything like me, you might’ve been super bloated with difficulty buttoning your pants. I’m not ashamed. It is what it is. If you are looking for some ideas as to what to wear during your first trimester, here are a few options and things to keep in mind.

1. Consider the season that you’re first trimester is in. You’ll have a much easier time hiding any growth, whether it be baby or bloat, in the cooler months since you’ll be able to wear scarves, jackets, and other loose fitting yet figure flattering items.

2. This particular suggestion may work for some of you which is why I’m mentioning this, but it didn’t work for me. Those belly bands. Girl, no. Even if my pant couldn’t buckle, I simply cannot wear this belly band and leave my zipper unzipped for the world to see. The one I got was from Target and It didn’t do a great job of holding everything up and together. I’ve tried both sizes and even the smallest wasn’t small enough to do the job. Another option is the hair tie through the button look trick, as seen below.

As Seen On Pinterest

3. Wear loose but flattering tops. If you’re going through your first trimester in the warmer months, throw on a maxi dress (those will come in handy later on). If you’re going through your first trimester in the cooler months, throw on a tunic and some leggings.

4. This tip is sort of a continuation from #3. Leggings. In the cool months, leggings will be your BFF. It doesn’t hug to tightly and it has stretch to accommodate your growing parts. In the cooler months, you can easily throw on some leggings + a tunic, leggings + a dress, leggings + and an oversized sweater; do you get the picture?

5. Maxi dresses. Mid-length dresses. Dresses. These can pretty much work year round. In the warmer months, throw on a maxi dress and you’re good to go. In the cooler months, throw on your maxi dress with…..leggings. Yep, you got it! You can wear dresses with boots and leggings. Add your jacket and a scarf and not only will you be warm and cozy, but you’ll be comfortable to.

For many women, the first trimester can come with much tiredness, nausea, and other really fun stuff so be gentle with yourself and make the process of getting dressed simple. Trust me, it’ll be a lot more fun when you’re really showing!

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4 Ways to Care For Color-Treated Natural Hair

I think many natural women freak out at the sound of the words ‘hair color’ or ‘bleach.’ I completely understand the reservation behind it. You may be afraid that your hair will fall out; it’s too permanent; you are afraid of the unknowns of applying lightener to your hair.

Here are 5 ways to care for your color-treated natural hair.

1. Go to a professional for your color. If you want to avoid a potential color disaster, you may want to consider going to a professional in the first place. They have specific training on what is necessary for a healthy color processing session. As professionals, they have licensed access to products that the general public doesn’t have access to.

2.Use products that are specifically formulated for color-treated hair. These products will not only keep your hair in the healthiest possible condition, but they will allow for the longevity of your color.

3. Wash your hair in cooler temperature water and finish with a cool water rinse. This will also help with the longevity of your color as well as helping to close the hair cuticle.

4. Deep condition. It’s no secret that color-treated hair may be prone to dryness. To help keep a lot of the dryness at bay, use deep conditioners and hair masks to further infuse your hair with moisture.

Don’t be afraid of color! If you need a little sumthin sumthin to add a little pizazz, you can always consider coloring a small fragment of your hair instead of committing to the color on your entire head.

Happy Coloring!

Modani Furniture

Our home is a reflection of who we are, as is our personal style. If I think about what I typically like to wear, I can definitely say that my home has many similarities to my closet.

Recently, I’ve been introduced to a furniture store called Modani that sells furniture at both physical locations and online. They have a large archive of furniture and home decor for every room in your house.

I picked some items from their store and made my own personal mood board.

I tend to be very fickle when it comes to designing my home, which is why I always choose neutrals for my big pieces. If you’re in the market for a new focal piece, check out their variety of modern sofas.

I choose large neutral pieces so that when the mood doth strike me, I can inexpensively change throw pillows, drapes, or other accent pieces that can completely refresh my room without breaking the bank.

I also really love bursts of color, hence my pillow choices and the beautiful sunny bookcase. Mixing patterns is another part of my M.O. Sometimes my pattern mixing isn’t overt, sometimes I like to break up shapes with different shapes, like adding a round mirror to break up the angles in the rest of the pieces. With my clothing choices, I tend to be very subtle in my pattern mixing.  At home, I love being surrounded by color, patterns, texture, and shiny things (my husband may like shiny things a little more than I do).

To find something special for your home, check out Modani Furniture at Modani.com.

Mannequin Mondays

Here’s the deal, I need to do whatever I have to do in order to motivate myself; which is why I’ve decided to do this series that I’m calling ‘Mannequin Mondays.’ The purpose of this is to inspire myself as I am completing the last 1/3 of my cosmetology program. Sooooo, I’ll be posting photos of styles that I create on mannequins. Got it? If hair isn’t your thing, cool. I get it. If it is, please share styles, articles, videos, etc., of hair things that are inspirational to you.

Here’s a throwback style that I did. I was inspired by the GlamSquad’s Kristina Maccaro on Instagram. I loved how you couldn’t tell where their style began or where it ended so I created my own version.

This was her version:

http://instagram.com/p/uddyZsFK5W/?modal=true

This was my version:

View this post on Instagram

Origami Updo inspired by @glamsquadnyc #updo #hairstylist #cosmetologyschool

A post shared by Satoya Foster (@satoyafoster) on Oct 27, 2014 at 4:11pm PDT

If you happen to be on Instagram anytime soon, why don’t you go on ahead and follow me @satoyafoster, GlamSquad (@glamsquad), and Kristina Maccaro (@kristinamaccaro). Let them know I sent you!