bybmg: January 2016

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I'm super excited for February to start! It's my birthday and blogiversary month! I have FIVE giveaways planned for this month - one each Monday, so make sure you check back to see what's up!

This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure statement.

Back again for another Wednesday of What I Wore. This week is full of my favorites! Buffalo plaid, stripes, floral, and mustard!


Thursday:

Skinnies: Old Navy
Bracelets: old
Top: Old Navy
Necklace: Rocksbox 
(use code BECKYBFF100 for your first month free)
Flats: Target




Today I'm coming to you with two great books that are both being released today! I received both in exchange for my review, but the opinions are all my own.

{Breaking Busy: How to Find Peace and Purpose in a World of Crazy}

This book's title gives a great description of its contents. Alli Worthington writes about the theory behind how to be less busy. Each chapter focuses on a topic and ends with some action steps you can take in your life. I think some big takeaways for me from this book were:

One of my goals this month was to create something. Valentines decor had been on my mind, so I thought about what I could make that wouldn't cost a ton. I'd eyed some fun tassel banners in the Target dollar spot. I didn't grab them, but decided to make some myself. I think they were $3 at the dollar spot, but a) I wanted to make something and b) the materials for this could make at least half a dozen banners.

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One of my goals for this month was a date night at home with Russ. We made friend ravioli and homemade meatballs last Friday night after the kiddos went to bed. It was so fun and nice to reconnect.

This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure statement.

I'm trying out some style challenges on Instagram lately. It's been fun, but sometimes I feel like I'm just pulling things from my closet to fit the style challenge and not necessarily wearing things I love. Next week, I've already got my outfits planned out, so it will be back to more of what I love. It's fun to have a balance of trying new things and going with the oldies. It's been super cold here lately, so I haven't felt much love toward skirts and dresses. Onward to the outfits!


Wednesday:

Cardigan: Gap
Top: LuLaRoe
Necklace: Kendra Scott via Rockbox  (use code BeckyBFF100 for your first month free)
Skinnies: Gap via ThredUP (use this link to get $20 off your first purchase)
Flats: Express c/o Brandzaffiar

This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure statement.


One of the two Pantone colors of the year is rose quartz. I'd say it's a blush-ish tone. It's always hard when a color of the year comes out because sometimes you love the trend, but don't have the bucks to spend knowing next year there will just be a new color.



A few ways you can add the color into your wardrobe without breaking the bank are to add a scarf, a simple top, or some budget-friendly jewelry.  I've looked around and found a couple pieces I wouldn't mind purchasing and I've linked them below.




Becky at bybmg
Courtney at Sweet Turtle Soup
Elizabeth at Chasin Mason
Rachel at Garay Treasures
Stephanie at Wife Mommy Me
Whitney at Polka-Dotty Place

First, let's start off with a collage of what I didn't buy. 


If I was planning a girlie birthday party, the dollar spot would have been the perfect place. Tassel banner, poofs, a cute plate, a chalkboard easel. I realize some of those would work for a boy, but anywho, super cute. Didn't buy. I also looked at some three-ring binders. I originally had printed out a pretty calendar from Pinterest to use for blog planning. Thinking more into it, carrying it around in a three-ring binder just isn't feasible for me. I need something small and compact.
First off, shout out to my brother! Today's his birthday!  Happy Birthday, Matt!

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Wesley and I attempted to make donuts in my new pan I got from Christmas, though they were the appropriate shape, they were not quite right. They fell apart pretty easily, so back to the drawing board. Do you have any good baked donut recipes? I also got a pouring shield for my Kitchen Aid mixer for Christmas. No more flour flying everywhere when I turn on the mixer!




When Henry was six weeks old, Russ and I did what many new parents do, and hauled him in to get some professional pictures taken. We spent absolutely way too much money for the quality of photos that we got, and we decided we'd instead buy our own DSLR for future kiddo photos. Now, we still get family photos done every year, but besides that, we wanted to do our own. Russ has done a fifty billion times better job at using the camera than I have, but this year, I'm taking a stab at it.

I'm joining in with some fabulous ladies to be a part of the Picture Perfect Project. Each month I'll be sharing a few photos I've taken with the DSLR. We have a Canon EOS Rebel T3i. We have 17 - 55mm lens. Russ tells me it's called a "walk around lens and it's 2.8 aperture all the way through. Just passing along that info for you camera junkies. I am really just learning how to use it. I can white balance. I can change the aperture (though I didn't when I took these photos). I can attempt to use the rule of thirds (sometimes).

I decided with this challenge to focus on documenting of each of our boys in their element. It might look messy, but I just want these photos to capture the every day life we have. I don't really plan to edit the photos in any way except for possibly cropping them a little. This month I have three pictures of each boy.


This post contains referral links. See my disclosure for details.

How's your week going? We've had some terribly cold weather. I really can't complain because November and December were so mild. It's just kind of a shock to the system when the cold crashes in! I didn't share what I wore last week because of our monthly How I Style It link up. I won't go through all the past two week's outfits, but I'll hit a few highlights. You can follow me on Instagram to see what I wear (almost) every day. Also, I apologize for the lack of linking to items I'm wearing. Time got away from me this week!


To Work:

Tee: Target
Vest: Old Navy
Skirt: LuLaRoe
Tights: Target
Bangles: Lia Sophia and Funktional Wearables
Boots: Clarks

This post contains referral links. See my disclosure for details.



I admit that I am not the best at keeping up a cleaning schedule, but I'm hoping to change that this year. Before, cleaning happened... when I thought about it... In all honesty, I would LOVE to have a cleaning person come to our home bi-weekly, but it's just not in the budget right now. So, this year, I'm scheduling it in. It's not going to be a deep clean every day, just some basics to keep us tidy. What's a cleaning schedule look like for you?

Something that does motivate me to clean is having cleaning products that I love. Cleaning products that work. That's where ePantry has come in. I've been an ePantry user for over a year, and have never been disappointed with their products or service. I talked about a few of their products I love a while back.



I'm thrilled to be guest posting today over at Rachel's blog, Garay Treasures! I'm sharing a fun blush and burgundy look!
Happy Friday! I hope you had a great week. The week back after a holiday can be tough!

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Going back to work this week has been a little shock to the system. Each morning, I drink a cup of iced coffee. I picked up this mug from Charming Charlie with a gift card I got for Christmas, and it's been the perfect little pick-me-up this week!

This post contains affiliate links as well as items I received for review. Read my disclosure page for more details.



My most worn pairs of footwear have to be my ankle wedge booties. They are so versatile and I go back to them time and time again. I have three pairs, and today I'm showcasing my black ones I purchased from Amazon last year.




Having goals to finish out the year was really great. It motivated me to get some things done and focus.

Today I wanted to recap how those went and introduce my January goals.

So, first, a recap of goals I set in October:




I'm going to be trying a few new things this year on the blog, and one is sharing a fun post on the first Monday of the month. It's all about the previous month in numbers. Some randoms that are just for fun - enjoy! 

Since I took last Friday off, here are some highlights from the last two weeks. We've been having fun around here!

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We enjoyed some family time the weekend before Christmas making gingerbread houses. I found a kit with four little ones, so it was perfect for us (Calvin was napping).

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