Currently in January

It's time for my favorite link-up of the month - Currently with Jenna from Dearest Love and Anne of In Residence.  Each month they pick a few prompts for bloggers to share what they're currently up to - so here is where I currently am!
-- Currently I am --
Planning - Very little right now!  I wish I could say I was planning a warm weather getaway or something of that nature, but sadly, not this year.  After the hectic month of celebrating birthdays and holidays and dealing with sickness in December, it's kind of nice to not be really planning anything! That said, I guess I am looking at some fun activities for Nate and I and Ollie to do the rest of the winter, so if anything, I'm planning for those.  Next up I think will be another trip to our Science Museum for Oliver and possibly an outdoor winter beer festival for Nate and I (Beer Dabbler for you locals - anyone ever been?)
Hoping - That we all stay relatively healthy for the rest of the winter, that the weather warms up just a hair so we can maybe take Oliver sledding, and beyond that for happiness and peace for all my friends and family in 2015.  Cheesy?  Maybe, but I'm that kind of gal.
Baking - Haven't been doing much of that since before Christmas and didn't get to do as much as I wanted thanks to our illnesses.  I did get a batch of ginger snaps made though which made me happy. This is the time of year I tend to like to bake cupcakes, it ends up being a fun project for a Sunday afternoon in the winter, so I might have to do that this weekend.  I have been wanting to make Butterfinger cupcakes, so maybe I'll make these:

Link to recipe on my Pinterest

Wearing - Warm clothes!  It's pretty much below zero outside, so warm layers are pretty much just necessary today.  I'm also almost a walking ad for Old Navy.  

Flannel and vest - Old Navy, Pants - Simply Vera (Kohls)

Shoes - from cousin 

Resolving - I talked last week about my mantra for the year of letting things go.  I'm really not making resolutions other than that, though I have decided this is the year I also try to live more without fear and to say yes more - funny in a way because I have a hard time saying no - but I guess I mean in that I'm going to say yes to new experiences and yes to taking chances.  And I want to try super hard to live in the moment.  
So there you go!  What are you currently doing?  Make sure to check out Anne and Jenna's blogs as well or to link up your own post!

My new mantra

My word for 2014 was "simplify."  And I think I accomplished that in many ways - and I could have done better at times, but I think I did pretty well overall.
For 2015, I am not making goals or resolutions.  That's not really my thing.  I'm also not really choosing a word so much as I'm choosing a phrase.  I know we're all sooooo sick of the Frozen craze, but I can't help it - my mantra is going to be "Let It Go."  And now you all have that song stuck in your heads and I'm so very sorry.
I realize that song is about Elsa discovering her power and choosing to let it out - but there are various lyrics in that song that I feel sort of apply to my life at the moment.  
"Let it go, let it go, can't hold it in anymore.  Let it go, let it go,  turn away and slam the door."  
I've alluded to something on the blog a few times this year about a relationship I've been struggling with this year.  I wouldn't say that this person is all to blame for what took place between us, I take some responsibility too - but in the end,  I've been hurt, I've been sad for what we've lost and it's really been difficult to get over it.  Just when I think I'm there something happens and I'm back where I was.  And I'm tired of it.  I just want to let it go and move on.  
"I don't care, what they're going to say, let the storm rage on, the cold never bothered me anyway" (metaphorically anyway - real cold sure does, lol)
And that brings me back to what I said on my birthday - the biggest gift I gave myself this year was self acceptance.  And that means I need to stop worrying about what others think of me.  I am happy with myself, I am happy with where I am and that should be all that matters.  I have a husband and a son who love me. I have supportive family and friends and that is where I need to focus my energy.  I don't need to waste time on people who just want to bring me down.  
"And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast, I'm never going back, the past is in the past."
I realize it sounds like this one issue I dealt with was all consuming this year.  It wasn't.  You saw in my year in review yesterday that I had a great year overall.  I want to just look back on the good moments and put the yucky ones behind me.  The past is in the past. We're moving on.
"Let it go, let it go, and I'll rise with the break of dawn.  Let it go, let it go.  That perfect girl is gone.  Here I stand, in the light of day.  Let the storm rage on.  The cold never bothered me anyway."
I'm rising above it.  I'm letting it go.  I also know I'm not perfect.  I am also a woman - thank you hormones - there may still be moments that I might get drug back down, but I'm going to try to repeat my mantra - let it go.  Let the storm rage on.  I won't let the cold bother me this time.
I wish you all a wonderful and peace filled New Year and I wish everyone only good things in 2015! I know I am excited for things to come! I have said it a lot these last couple of weeks, but thank you again for coming here, sharing in my world, reading my crazy rambles and thoughts.  I appreciate every single one of you!

2014 Recap

I'm ready to start looking ahead to 2015 and will have some thoughts and reflections on that soon, but first, can't finish out the year without looking back a little bit.  I thought I'd look back on the year and link to some of my favorite posts I've written.

January - I was home on maternity leave still and enjoying my days cuddling my then one month old Oliver.  I attempted my first re-brand attempt on the blog (changing from The Fashionable Adventures of Bethie the Boo to The Melodic Stylings of Bethie the Boo and realized that was still too long of a name!) as part of my word of the year: Simplify.  I wrote some posts about breastfeeding as that was something I was doing A LOT at that time! We attended Winterfest as one of our first date nights out as parents.

February - I went back to work and it was hard.  The month passed by in a bit of a blur honestly.  We discovered Oliver had a non-life threatening condition with a scary sounding name called laryngomalacia (immature larynx).  We somehow survived that first month and got into a groove though and every day things got easier.  Nate spoiled me with a delightful Valentine's Day at home.  We finished out the month with Oliver's baptism.

March - We really found our groove in our weekly schedule.  Oliver decided to start exhibiting teething symptoms early.  I ended up buying my parents car when my beloved CRV decided to bite the dust.  The weather finally started to thaw and we bought a great outdoor stroller for Oliver and started taking him on walks when we could and discovered he loves to be outside.  We took him to the zoo for the first time as well.

April - Winter hung on for just a bit longer, but finally headed out for good by Easter weekend.  We celebrated Oliver's first Easter.  I somehow managed to complete a 5k with my sister-in-law after not running for over a year.  We attended a benefit at a brewery held by some good friends who are the ambassador family for the March of Dimes.  I shared some reflections on how I felt a year prior when I learned I was expecting Oliver.  We enjoyed finally getting to eat outside at some outdoor patios and went on plenty of walks.

May - Spring was definitely here to stay.  I finally got to visit Target Field when I received free Twins tickets from my work.  I celebrated my first Mother's Day (well first Mother's Day with Oliver on this side) and was spoiled greatly by my sweet husband.  We celebrated eight wonderful years of marriage.  I hooked up with the Thrift Style Thursday gals and had a lot of fun with the various themes for the rest of the year. (PS - Thrift Style Thursday is returning very soon, can't wait!)

June - Oliver turned six months old and we took his very first vacation to St. Louis, MO to visit Nate's grandmother and other relatives there.  We had a great time!  I survived single parenthood for several days when we returned while Nate went on a business trip.  I set out on a "No Shop Summer" in an attempt to try to save money to maybe go part time at work - sadly that didn't work out but it was still a good exercise for me and one I plan to repeat soon.  I attended my ten year college reunion and had a blast spending the day with three of my sorority sisters.  We went to my cousin's wedding and it was a ton of fun.  Finally, I re-branded the blog again and was much happier with the result. 

July - We celebrated Oliver's first 4th of July with a picnic with my parents and also with some friends.  We took advantage of being outside pretty much every opportunity we could.  We went away for a weekend to a cabin with our music group. We left Oliver for an overnight with his grandparents and trekked up to Duluth for the All Pints North beer festival.

August - More summer fun.  Nate brewed some beer to start getting ahead for our annual Oktoberfest.  We had a visit from our St. Louis relatives and enjoyed showing them around our city, including a taproom crawl.  We went to the MN State Fair for Ollie's first visit there.

September - We started really getting into Disc Golfing after discovering how much we enjoyed it while Nate's relatives were visiting.  We went and did apple picking.  We visited a couple of wineries. And we wrapped up the month with the third beer festival from our beer pack - the Autumn Brew Review.

October - We went to a friend's beautiful (though chilly) outdoor wedding.  Nate and I had a chance to do a distillery tasting.  We celebrated a super fun Oktoberfest with our friends.  Oliver had his first really bad cold with fever but thankfully it was short lived.  I had a disastrous job interview (I didn't say much about it at the time) but have realized I'm better off where I currently am.  I drown my sorrows of that disaster in some shopping with the lovely ladies of two birds.  I also had a chance to meet the fabulous Ally when she visited from New York.  We celebrated Oliver's first Halloween with a fun family theme of costumes.

November - We managed to disc golf one more time before the weather turned - and holy did it turn fast.  It snowed and got very cold very quickly.  It was sad to suddenly give up our walking outside with Oliver every night!  We found other ways to entertain ourselves - we visited the Science Museum and the Children's Museum.  We celebrated mine and Nate's birthdays and also Thanksgiving.  Ollie got his first haircut from daddy.  I wrote some posts that were difficult to share but I felt a great deal of support on - about Oliver's sleep habits and also about our one and done status on having children.

December - And that brings us to this last month.  It was a big one in that we celebrated Oliver's first birthday - both with a day off as a family and then with a big birthday party. We found out Oliver has a milk allergy. We celebrated his second Christmas.  But in the midst of all that of course we were hit with the big sickness too, so it feels like the month just flew by.  I'm so happy we're ending the month in better health!

Overall it was a great year.  We found our way as parents.  We managed to do a lot of fun things - both as a family and as a couple.  We've curved out a pretty nice little life as a family of three and I feel very blessed, happy and full of love.  That being said, I am looking forward to what 2015 has in store for us as well.  I'll have more reflections on looking ahead tomorrow!  Until then, cheers to 2014 and thanks for being here with me this year!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from this little monkey!  Hope you're all not sick of pictures of him yet!  He loves watching the ceiling fan in our bedroom - this was from yesterday.  He was a good boy last night and even let mommy and daddy stay out until midnight at a friend's house.  We may be regretting that decision a bit today, but he was being so good - slept right up until we toasted the New Year!  I have to say he was good when we got home too, went down right after his feeding, but we're still dragging today.  Doesn't help that the Pants Monkey has a bit of a cold too.

I am looking to the future here as many do at the beginning of a year and I am thinking there may be some small changes coming to the blog here.  I have ideas and I just need to get my mind in order to work them out.  Small project for the remainder of my maternity leave I guess.  I promise that you will still find the same loveable Bethie the Boo as always and I do intend to keep sharing OOTD (at least when I actually get dressed) but I want to bring other content in as well.  So I guess for now - stay tuned!  Until then I wish you all a wonderful and blessed start to 2014!

Onward to 2013

And my first post for 2013 is an outfit from...2012. But only by a couple of days! Last Friday I was supposed to meet some friends for coffee.  It ended up snowing in the morning though and snarled traffic quite a bit, so we postponed our plans.  I started out having a pajama day instead but then decided to at least get dressed a little bit before Mr. Monkey got home from work.  And what is just as comfy as pajamas?  Leggings!

I had seen this idea on Pinterest awhile back and decided, what better day to try it out than a day where no one really has to see me?  I did like how it turned out though, so I wouldn't have minded going out in public in the long run!

Sweater - Mossimo, Target

Denim shirt - Talbots, thrifted

Scarf - ModCloth

Leggings - DSW

Boots - Old Navy

This time off has flown by way too quickly.  I have enjoyed every moment of the holidays.  I'm being lazy today, but I think I may slowly start to take down my Christmas decorations.  It's always so depressing, but at the same time, it's nice to have things be kind of back to normal.

At least I have fun things to wear to work, that gives me something to look forward to!  I have so many fun new clothing things I have purposely saved for wearing to work.  It's a motivating tool, what can I say?  And at least it's a short first week back!  Our upcoming weekend is pretty much free and clear of stuff too, so that will be nice.  We'll ease our way into 2013!

Hope you all had fun ringing in the New Year and are able to take it easy today like me!

Inspiration Monday - NYE

So it's Inspiration Monday and today my two birdie friends made it easy for us again - just post a New Year's Eve outfit.  While our celebration will be very low key, I still had to add a little bling today and this new sparkly/sequined sweatshirt from Target is just the ticket.  I had a gift card, so this entire outfit is courtesy of that gift card!  Well ok, I had the boots already, but the rest of it, yay for clearance and gift cards!

Sweatshirt and jeans - Mossimo, Target

Boots - Target (last year)

Earrings - S&D

 2012 was a pretty good year all things considered, I'm actually kind of sad to see it go.  I feel like I really got my blogging groove this year and have found my style - though I still don't think I can actually put a "name" to my style.  I have had so much fun getting to know more and more of you and am so excited to say I met a bunch of you in person this year - that was really a highlight for me and I hope just the start of more of that to come!

I am not making resolutions, I find I never stick to them anyway.  I just want to continue to share my life and my daily style and see where each day takes me.  Every day is a new adventure!

And again, I just can't say it enough, thank you so much to all of you who come here and join me for the ride.  You're all an inspiration to me and encourage me to keep going - I hope you'll stick around for the fun in 2013!

Happy New Year!! (and go see other NYE outfits over at the two birds blog!)

FBFF - New Years Resolutions

This week's Fashion Beauty Friend Friday is about New Years resolutions, either personal or for our blogs. I am never one to make and keep personal resolutions, so instead I thought I'd touch a little on my hopes for my little blog in 2012 and reflect a little on 2011 as well.

I'm about six months into this little adventure and it has been a thrilling ride so far.  I never dreamed I'd actually have people that read and comment and even compliment my style!  I just want all of you who are reading to know just how much I appreciate you and how much I have had fun getting to know some of you in the fashion community.

In 2011, I learned a lot about my style and the potential I have with my wardrobe.  I found a love for vintage, such as the sweater you see above, and learning how to mix vintage pieces with current ones for fun new looks (thanks especially to the influence of Nora and Megan from Two Birds).  I have found new ways to wear old pieces in my closet.  And most of all, getting dressed each day, especially for work, is fun again.  I have also improved my photography from some of those beginning posts too, which has made a world of difference in the look of the blog!

I'm still learning and I'm still new to this whole fashion blogging thing.  I do think I am finding my voice.  In 2012, I just hope to continue improving, learning more and getting to know more of you out there both locally and across the globe.  I hope to mix things up a bit too, maybe start doing some reviews and or possibly some interviews.  I have ideas, just need to get pen to paper.  I hope to participate in more Fashion Challenges, like the Neutral Week I did earlier this month from Megan Mae and Keely.  I hope to maybe even come up with my own fashion challenge or possibly host a FBFF of my own at some point!

And I hope to bring even more of "myself" to the blog, while keeping it about fashion and beauty, I want my readers to know me and to like me as well!  I think I'm a pretty fun gal and hopefully I'll be able to give you more of a look at my day to day life!

I sincerely want to thank all of you who have stopped by and left a comment or said hello - it truly has meant a lot to me and made it worth doing this each and every day!  I hope you'll stay for the ride in 2012.

It's my last day off of work which is a bummer, but starting next week I get to wear some of the new dressy clothes I received as gifts or bought at after Christmas sales, so that will be fun, I look forward to that.  Speaking of gifts, the above is a belated birthday gift from a friend, I had to post an up close picture so you could see the cute detail in the coffee cup - it's from the Vintage Pearl if you've heard of it, they have some of the nicest personalized jewelry!

Off to a movie with Mr. Monkey tonight and then we'll have a low key New Years.  That's fine by me.  I hope all of you have a very safe and Happy New Year!  Cheers!

Today's rundown:
Sweater - Two Birds vintage
Jeans - Old Navy
Clogs - Sonoma from Kohls
Necklace - Vintage Pearl, gift from friend
Earrings - Charming Charlie

To read other fashion bloggers thoughts on New Years resolutions or for more info about FBFF - visit Katy at Modly Chic.