Inspiration Monday - Spring has sprung

I haven't done an Inspiration Monday with two birds in awhile, but liked this look they picked from Cara Delevigne (and who is she? #oldlady) this week.

I've been looking for an excuse to finally wear this boho style fringe vest I bought way back this fall, so I think this finally gave me the excuse to do it!  And ankle pants because Spring has come to Minnesota and I sure hope it's here to stay!  And I'd love to wear my hat all day, but sadly I will have to take it off for work.  The hair growing is going all right, but it's nice to just hide under a hat too!

Shirt - Gap (thrifted on Instagram), Vest - thrifted (b. resale)

Pants - Old Navy, Shoes - from friend

Hat - Target 

I'd love to say more, but it's been a hectic day already with a checkup for Oliver (he's healthy) and catching up at work, so this is all I've got today.  Friday was hectic too with a water heater inspection at our house and a half day of work that day too!  So I'm a little behind on my blogging groove, but should be back to regular programming tomorrow!  In the meantime, be sure to check out two birds for other Inspiration Monday looks!

Slow and Steady

I try to keep variety here on the blog but you get another outfit post today because 1. my outfit today is cute, at least I think so. 2. I was pretty much just home with Oliver all day watching Sesame Street and Curious George and 3. I'm back at work once again!  It's a marathon, not a sprint, in terms of Ollie's recovery from this virus, so we're going one day at a time.  Today he seemed OK enough for me to go in.  It's also the only day I'm working this week so then I can be back home snuggling him the rest of the week for the holidays.

I actually enjoyed my day with Oliver yesterday in spite of his sickness.  He perked up some after a good nap and was in the mood to play some.  I introduced him to Sesame Street for the first time and he seems to love my beloved Muppets as much as I do.  I even don't mind that he likes Elmo - Elmo seems less annoying to me than he once was.  He also loves Murray the monster as well.  So we just hung out, he slept some, cuddled with me some (which I never mind at all!) and we just took it moment by moment and by the end of the day I could see some improvement again.  Now we just need to help him get his appetite back and I think we'll be on the road to recovery.

It is so hard to have your child be sick when they're this little and can't talk to you.  I will admit hitting a breaking point multiple times in frustration, but also helplessness too.  But, again, I survived and I'll be better equipped to deal with it the next go round, but I'm hoping he won't be quite this sick again until maybe he is talking more and can tell mommy what doesn't feel good!

Vest - via swap, Dress - Old Navy

Leggings and boots - Target, Purse - Coach Outlet

I'm not going to jinx anything and say that I think Oliver is on the mend (though fingers crossed).  For now we're just going to keep going one day at a time.  Slow and steady wins the race and I'm sure pretty soon my crazy active boy will be back and making me chase after him again any day now.  I look forward to it!

Thrift Style Thursday - Hats

Ok so first off - thank you from the bottom of my heart on the love and support on yesterday's post. You all are just the best!  As my favorite fish from Finding Nemo says "just keep swimming" am I right?  Anyway, now on to one of the best days of the week - Thrift Style Thursday!

So the theme this week is Fall Hats - I kind of cheated a little, this hat I'm featuring today was not thrifted, but it was made for me as a gift, so I feel that still makes it relatively thrifty!  My sister-in-law is an extremely talented crocheter (is that the right word for someone who crochets?) and knitter. A couple of years ago she decided to do a mystery pattern - you signed up, received the yarn and instructions but you didn't know what you were making until it was finished.  It ended up being this hat and when it was done she realized it would be perfect for me - it's a color I love and the style is something I like as well, so it became my birthday gift that year!

It's definitely warm and I like wearing it when I go walking outside in the Fall and Winter - especially if it's darker out, you'll definitely see me coming in this hat!  She's made me a couple of other hats before too, but this one is definitely my favorite!  She has also made me scarves too and I'm kind of excited about my birthday present for this year - I already know what it is because I commissioned her for it, it's kind of a snood, I can't wait to show it off when I get it, I understand it's already done too!

It's definitely cold enough outside for hats and scarves and mittens all of a sudden.  After our snowstorm this week we were plunged into winter.  And it's not going to get warmer anytime soon.  I think I was right when I said earlier this week that last weekend was possibly the last time we'll get to go disc golf!

 Hat - handmade by sister-in-law, Dress - H&M

Vest - swap, Tights and boots - Old Navy

Tired child - courtesy of teething

 (he is wearing a thrifted Gymboree shirt and pants)

I don't always keep my hats on after coming inside in the winter, sometimes they are more for the function of keeping me warm than for the fashion, but I got into wearing them more last winter after Oliver was born.  Some days it was easier than dealing with my hair!  How about you - are your hats more functional or fashionable or both? Be sure to check out some of the other Thrift Style Thursday gals at their blogs below! Alligator Toe Little Did You Know Lipstick and Yarn Thrift Style Thursday Facebook group

Thrift Style Thursday/Throwback Thursday - School days

This week's Thrift Style Thursday theme is Back to School.  I did a back to school inspired outfit on Tuesday of this week already, but decided to have a little fun with today.  I decided to put together an outfit inspired by my school looks from wayyyyy back.  Oh yes my friends.  We're going to take a little walk back in time at baby Bethie as she grows up.  I'm doing it up 80's and 90's style today. Hold on to your hats!

First up, elementary school:

The first picture is third grade, top right is kindergarten and bottom right is second grade.  I absolutely loved school at these ages and couldn't wait for the first day.  I remember going shopping for school clothes and picking out the perfect dress.  We'd put stuff on layaway - lots of stores did that before they had the store credit cards that most places have now.  You'd pick out your stuff, they'd set it aside for you and you'd pay it off little by little and then pick it up.  I know Marshalls used to do this for sure.  Anyway, as I said the other day, I pretty much wore a dress on the first day of school all through elementary school.  I loved skirts and dresses, I was your typical girlie girl!

Next up, the angst years - middle school:

First picture is 7th grade and next picture is 8th grade.  Oh 7th grade Beth.  What are you doing?  Double denim....eek.  Can you blame me for being afraid of doing double denim now?  Lovely vest too.  But ugh, that smile?  These were my AWKWARD years for sure. At least by 8th grade I put together something much more respectable!  I actually took much of my inspiration for my outfit for today from this look, you'll see that shortly.

Finally, we have high school:

Still a bit awkward, but not nearly as bad. We have 11th grade on the left and 10th grade on the right.  I was a band geek as you can see by the flute case.  Rocking some nice 90's floral and baggy jeans there. And we're not going to talk about my hair.  Nope.  Let's just say Nate used to say I had mushroom hair from how it poofed out - and he still married me, that's love folks.  I actually like this picture from 10th grade, if I still had that sweater around I might even wear it now!  

So, I took a few elements from these pictures and created a look for today.  I chose a skirt, simple top, a denim vest, short boots and a barrette in my hair.  Do you think I'd get to sit at the cool kids table rocking a look like this?

Vest - Vintage Lee (Mighty Swell Vintage), Top - NY & Co (from cousin)

Skirt - Xhiliartion (thrifted), Boots - Target

Necklace - Lia Sophia 

I hope you had fun going down memory lane with me!  I actually had a lot of fun looking back and throwing a little something together!  Check out how other Thrift Style Thursday gals styled some back to school looks over on our shiny new Thrift Style Thursday Facebook page - and feel free to join us yourself!  We'd love to have some new members!

Inspiration Tuesday - Back to reality

Well I'm finally back at it after a wonderful staycation over the last few days.  We had a blast spending time with our St. Louis relatives and showing them the best of what Minnesota has to offer!  I have many stories to share about our adventures, but given that it's my first day of reality again (and being back to work) I'm keeping it simple on the blog today and am giving you an outfit post.  I loved this look for two birds Inspiration Monday yesterday from Sophia Bush.  Kind of a fun transition to fall kind of look!

My take is pretty casual, wore this outfit to the Minneapolis Sculpture Gardens yesterday.  I love any excuse to pull out my green utility vest these days, I didn't wear it much when I first bought it, but I'm really getting good use out of it now!

Vest - Old Navy, Tank top - Motherhood Nursing

Jeans - Old Navy, Shoes - Target

Bag - Vintage Coach (Rewind) 

It certainly is hard to be back at work today - especially because now the weather is finally to my liking!  I'm still so thankful I was able to take a few days off though, not just to see that extended family, but to have the extra time with my little Ollie is always appreciated!  As I said, I'll share more about our adventures later this week!  For now, I've got emails calling my name to respond to!  I'll be catching up with all of you as well, I've missed you guys these last few days!

For more Inspiration Monday outfits and fun, visit two birds over here.

Cargo Cutie

I've been meaning to pull out my cargo vest for summer and I just haven't done it yet.  In fact, I have hardly worn this vest at all, which is just a crime!  I remember going on and on about how much I wanted one, so I should be using it more since I actually bought it months ago at this point! I think I've worn it once so far besides this!  I have some other summer style ideas for it, so I will have to start pulling it out more!

It was seriously hot here yesterday and I should have been wearing this, but instead I was silly and wore a maxi dress with a short sleeved sweater on top - it was nice because I didn't have to shave but I ended up so warm by the end of the day, even with being in air conditioning.  Today's outfit is much more comfortable, although it's much more comfortable outside too!

Dress - Gap (thrifted), Vest - Old Navy

Necklace - Charming Charlie, Bracelets - Stella and Dot

Sandals - from cousin

I've also started wearing bracelets again after a bit of a hiatus and let me tell you - Mr. Oliver sure loves them!  They're perfect entertainment for him while he sits on my lap and the best part is, he really can't get them off my wrist, so it keeps him occupied for quite awhile!  Mommy fashion for the win!