Brown bear what do you see?

 Very brown outfit today!  The mercury is going above freezing today so I felt like digging out a skirt.  I originally put a longer skirt on with this sweater and didn't really like it, so I went for a shorter one here.  It's a rather layered outfit too, guess I'm getting more practice for next week's Layer Up challenge!

So I look very much like my mother.  If you've met her or are one of my friends who knows her, you're probably going, yes Beth and the Pope is Catholic.  In other words, this is not new information, but I'm struck sometimes by just how much I look like her in some pictures.  Some days I just really see it more than others.  I don't have a comparison picture ready to share but I'll put one up sometime so you all can see what I mean.  I honestly don't mind looking so much like her.  She's aged well so far and doesn't look old enough to have a 30 year old daughter, so that makes me feel confident that I will age well too!

I've been back to using my Olivia and Joy bag again.  I have really been liking a bag that can be worn cross-body if I can do so this winter.  And a longer strapped bag has been easier to wear with a bulky coat too.  Funny story about this bag - we were sitting watching TV the other night and the Pants Monkey was going upstairs to get one of my cupcakes.  I had Big Pippin curled up on my lap and she was super comfy.  We have a joke about not being able to do things because we have "COL" or "cat on lap" disorder.  I wanted my cell phone and didn't want to disrupt Pippin so I asked the Pants Monkey to bring it back with him.  I said it was in the zipper pocket of my bag.  He's gone for a little bit and soon yells down "Which zipper pocket, this bag has like hundreds of them!"  I had to explain that actually, most of the zippers are not actual pockets, they're just for decoration.  He finally found it after that.  And of course, Pippin jumped up off my lap as soon as he was back!

We're almost to the end of the week friends!  Hoping today is less eventful than yesterday.  If you follow my Twitter feed you might have seen a tweet from me about having to call in the theft of a plant from my office building.  I'm not kidding.  You can't make this stuff up.  Oh the life of an admin.  You know you're jealous.

Outfit rundown:
Brown t-shirt - Mossimo, Target
Sweater - TJ Maxx (gift from sister in law)
Skirt - Old Navy (old)
Tights - Target
Boots - Target (old)
Bracelet - Stella and Dot
Necklace - Bead for Life
Bag - Olivia and Joy via TJ Maxx

Perfectly Pink

 I can't get enough of this pink sweater from Maurices.  Bought just over a month ago and it's already a frequent flyer, I've worn it three times I think.  I have had a lot of fun finding different ways to style it.  I took a leap of faith today - I don't usually mix browns and blacks, but I decided today is the day!  While it's not a huge mix, the little buckles on the sweater are brown and my pants are black and pink striped.  Gasp!  Hey, it's baby steps sometimes right?

I really tried to make the pink the main highlight of this outfit.  Right down to my pink socks.  In fact, I took the picture below here just so you could see my pink socks.

When I was young, my parents remodeled our house and put a second story on where they put nicer bedrooms for us.  And when the remodeling was complete, they let me choose how I wanted to decorate my room.  I was around 9 years old or so.  And I chose pink.  Oh did I ever choose pink.  I was such a girly girl back then.  By the time I was into my teens I regretted that decision for a bit and ended up resisting pink for a very long time in my adulthood, but I'm back to a place where I can embrace it again.

My house has a very old fashioned pink tiled bathroom.  Have you ever seen the website "Save the Pink Bathrooms"?  My bathroom should be on that site.  The Pants Monkey does not like our pink bathroom that much, and at first I didn't either, but I'm growing to love it as I am developing a love for all things vintage - my bathroom is retro and awesome!  Pink is good!  

Outfit rundown:

T-shirt - Grane, Herbergers

Sweater and necklace - Maurices

Pants - Ann Taylor, thrifted via Clothes Mentor

Shoes - SO, Kohls

Socks - unknown

Hobby ADD

I imagine by now most of you know about the craze of Pinterest - man is that place addictive! I see all these cool crafty things that people make and I'm like "I want to do that!"  It is a fun site, I really enjoy it, but it does not help me with my hobby ADD.  Yep, you heard me, I have hobby ADD.  See, I get really interested in something and decided I'm going to start doing it in my spare time but then something else catches my eye as something I want to try and before you know it, I'm bouncing from hobby to hobby.  Honestly, blogging has been the one hobby I've consistently stuck with, all the others I've tried, not so much.

I have recently started baking homemade cupcakes as my newest "hobby" (thanks once again to ideas I kept seeing on Pinterest).  So far I've made chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and then vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting.  I even bought decorating tips over the weekend to make the icing look prettier on top!  It's been fun trying out these recipes and I have ideas for more elaborate flavors now that I have the basics down, but I think I'll take a baking break this coming weekend so I don't get burned out on this hobby - and so the Pants Monkey and I don't each gain 20 pounds!

So what are the other hobbies I've dabbled in?  Let's see: Decoupage, scrapbooking, learning guitar, learning piano, jewelry making, crochet, knitting.  But I either lost patience with some of them, didn't have the time for some of them or simply lost interest in them.  The Pants Monkey and I have a shared hobby of homebrewing beer - it was really his hobby first, but I've gotten to where I enjoy helping him with it and I've even come up with a recipe of my own!

Getting back to Pinterest, it's really a very dangerous site for a person like me, but I just can't help being addicted to it!  I've added a "follow me on Pinterest" button to the side of my blog - feel free to stalk me and my boards and if you do, I'll follow/stalk you back.  Because even if I do have self proclaimed hobby ADD, I still like finding new ideas and fun new things to try!  If you are someone who hasn't received an invite to Pinterest yet (I think it's still invite only) let me know in the comments and I'll be happy to send you one.

So, are you like me and bounce around from activity to activity?  Or do you stick with one singular thing?  I have to say, I don't really mind being this way so much, because I like experiencing and trying new things and life is never boring!

Outfit rundown:
Thermal shirt - Mossimo, Target
Sweater - Aeropostale (old)
Pants - Nine West thrifted via Clothes Mentor
Necklaces - jerseymaids via Etsy (gift from friend), Stella and Dot
Shoes - Mudd, Kohls

Inspiration Monday - A little touch of class

Our inspiration for today's Inspiration Monday is Eva Longoria in a nice mostly black ensemble.  I wasn't going to do this week's and then I figured out a look I could do kind of late in the day yesterday.  I had to break up the black more than she did, so I added more gray.  

Also dressed it up a bit more for work, so it feels a little classy to me almost!  Her look is a bit more laid back.  It's giving me a chance to wear a jacket that has been sitting in my basement getting no love for quite some time actually and now that I'm wearing it I'm not sure why I haven't been wearing it for so long!

I'm so glad I had my outfit figured out last night, the weather this morning is horrid and I needed the extra time this morning to clean off my car and drive to work.  The ice was so thick on my car that it took nearly 20 minutes to clean it off.  Man are my arms sore now!  Darn our tiny one car garage.  Neither of us park in it to be fair (and there is a chance it is also just too full of junk for anyone to park in it...) but on days like today I'm like, let's knock the whole thing down and build a giant heated garage.  Who needs a savings account?

Anyway, I made it to work in one piece, but the driving wasn't great either.  Snow + Ice = yuck.  Thank goodness I have a short commute, but I still pulled in a little later than I should have.  Darn it!

I baked cupcakes again over the weekend, but I'm hearing on the radio that it's National Pie Day.  I wish I had known that, I could have made pie instead!  Beyond that the weekend wasn't terribly exciting.  Next weekend will be fun though, there is a MN Fashion Blogger meet up on Saturday and I'm really excited to go and meet some of the other local bloggers out there (a little nervous too, but mostly excited).  Then in the evening the Pants Monkey and I are going to a Glass Blowing/Beer Tasting class - it is his belated Christmas gift.  Next weekend is going to rock!

But for now, back to Monday I go.  For other Inspiration Monday outfits, visit Two Birds.

Outfit rundown:
Black t-shirt - Maurices
Jacket - Mossimo, Target (old)
Skirt - LOFT thrifted via Clothes Mentor
Leggings - Mossimo, Target
Boots - Target
Necklace - Stella and Dot
Purse - Coach vintage via Rewind NE Mpls

Graceful I am not

Well we've made it to another Friday!  I used to work with a guy who'd say every week "is it Friday again?" in a joking tone of disbelief.  We'd laugh.  Anyway, seems Friday came rather quickly this week and I'm not complaining one bit!

It's still bitter cold here today.  Add to that a little light dusting of snow and we've got ourselves actual winter!  Anyway, due to the chill I went for a rather layered look today.  Good practice for Megan Mae and Keely's Layering challenge coming up at the end of the month.  Check out Megan's blog for details if you want to join in.  

I am pleased with how this outfit came together.  I was originally going to wear leggings with this little knit skirt, but with how cold it is outside, jeans are a warmer option .  I'll take any excuse to wear these gray boots too!  Although I have a funny story about them.  Remember when I wore them the day of the Pants Monkey's office party?  Well the thing is, these are a size too big for me.  I just had to have them though, I had a gift card the day I was buying them and I figured, even if they are smidge too big, they'll fit better over jeans and stuff like that.  So on that particular Friday I was walking some mail down to the first floor at work from the third floor.  I take the stairs as much as I can for the exercise during the day.  All of a sudden, my foot slipped inside the boot and I lost my footing and started stumbling down the stairs.  I did some impressive acrobatics to stay upright and somehow did after sliding down several stairs.  The worst part, there was a guy behind me and is like "are you all right?"  I'm like, oh yes, just a bruised ego thanks.  The things we do for fashion.  And exercise apparently.

I think I'll be a little more careful today.  Maybe even take the elevator.  Ha.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Outfit rundown:

Flower thermal - Decree, JCPenney

Black cami - Old Navy

Red sweater - Decree, JCPenney

Knit skirt - Grane, JCPenney

Jeans - Old Navy

Boots - Target

Necklace - Thrifted

Bracelet - Charming Charlie

Nostalgia

 No skirts today - it is brutal cold out today!  This is what the winter of my youth was like.  We had many days that were so cold between actual air temp and wind chill that they wouldn't let us go outside for recess. And I had to walk up hill and down in the cold, snowy......ok, I'm getting carried away now. But yeah, we don't necessarily get as many days like this anymore whether it's global warming or pure luck, so when we do, they are tough to take!  Brr!

I pulled out my heaviest parka for only the second time this year. It's this big down filled coat I bought at the Gap many years ago, and the only time it gets worn is when it's super cold like this, or I have to shovel snow or I'm sitting outside of Target with my friend on a cold November morning waiting for a CD.  It's a serious warm jacket and I'm glad I have it.  It serves it's purpose and has for many years now!

But anyway, before I risk turning this into nothing but a weather blog, let's change the subject.  I read a list this morning a friend posted on Facebook of the Top 25 Foods You'll Never Eat Again - things that have pretty much been discontinued and were nothing more than a passing fad.  A couple of things on the list stood out to me - Crispy M&M's and Surge pop.  I loved Crispy M&M's!  They had this like Rice Krispie type thing on the inside of the chocolate and they were so good.  I used to sneak them into the movies.  I was sad to seem them go.  Surge on the other hand - man I could not stand that stuff.  But it was huge when I was in high school and it was ever present at any of our all night lock-ins because it was basically Coca Cola's answer to Mountain Dew.  And I'm pretty sure I would choke it down to impress the boys or something.  Blech! Anyway, here's the link to the list http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/25-foods-youll-never-eat-again  It's an interesting read that I think most 80's and early 90's kids will appreciate. 

Apparently I'm just in a nostalgic mood today, all this reminiscing!  Although it does make me curious, are there any discontinued food items that you miss?  

Oh right, this is a fashion blog - ha!  Um, my outfit was chosen more or less on it's ability to keep me warm today.  Hope you're all staying warm too if it's cold where you are!

Outfit rundown:

Sweater - Old Navy

T-shirt - Old Navy

Pants - Anthropologie thrifted via Clothes Mentor

Bracelet and Necklace - Bead for Life

Shoes - Mudd, Kohls

At last...colorful legs!

You guys it is FIVE degrees above ZERO this morning (Fahrenheit that is) but I don't care - I suffered the cold to show off that I finally got colored tights!  How long have I been lamenting about this?  Many of you suggested Target and that they had colored tights for $5.00 - which they did, but they were pretty picked over when I went.  I wanted yellow or blue but they were out, so I settled for these rust colored ones here.  I'll check another Target to see if I can find the other colors I want!

So cardinal sin of blogging - I know I keep making changes to the appearances of the blog.  I apologize for that, I'm trying to make it slightly cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing.  Not sure if I've made it better or worse, but anyway, stick with me I think I'm nearly done.  If you have feedback - even constructive criticism I'll take it!

We're already halfway through the week.  I like that I have to say.  I'm not going to complain!  Coldest air of the season coming in this week though, if you think five above zero is bad, tomorrow I hear we're going below zero for the first time all winter.  That's pretty rare, it has usually happened by now!  This winter is anything but ordinary!

In other news, I've had my iPhone almost two months now and I'm having so much fun with apps.  I got an iTunes gift card from my sister-in-law for Christmas so I could download more apps.  Yesterday I made the happy discovery that Words with Friends was on sale.  I've been playing Scrabble already because of a couple of friends who play that version, but I've been wanting to try Words with Friends too because I know other friends who play it.  I don't know if any of you play, but I'll play with anyone who wants to - my username is muppetmusic22 on both Scrabble and Words with Friends.  I need the practice, I told my sister-in-law yesterday I need to go back to school!  My word choices are pretty pathetic!  I can only improve!

Have a great day!

Outfit rundown:

T-shirt - Old Navy

Sweater - St. John's Bay, JCPenney

Skirt - East 5th Avenue, JCPenney

Tights - Target

Belt - unknown

Bracelet, Necklace, Earrings - Stella and Dot

Shoes - Mudd, Kohls