tids + bits

+ as further proof that I am old, I am loving Friday nights with no plans.  This means I can put on a fresh pot of coffee (flavored, because hubby's not home yet) and do the ole laundry/cleaning/cooking/bill-paying/coupon-clipping wife thing.  Sometimes I just love that.
+speaking of cooking, tried my hand at twice-baked potatoes.  The first baking took place in the microwave, the 2nd in the oven (which can reach 275 if you cheer for it).  They weren't too bad, really!  And can we just generally agree that asparagus is the best.vegetable.ever?
+grow, babies, grow!  love my little plantlings...how cool to think that I can do all the work of planting, cultivating, watering, etc, but only God can make them grow!
+one of the many neat little things hubby does is clean-outs for estates and things like that.  I personally love when he does these types of jobs because he brings me home fun treasures :)  The man knows me better than anyone else, which is why he brings me boxes of costume jewelry to dig through (seriously, boxes) and boxes of colored antique bottles.  Now the question is, how many chains can I twist together stylishly without looking like Mr. T?  Anyone found any fun pinterest projects for repurposing clip-on earrings?  I have a bajillion...I counted.  
Linking up here today! 

Feed the Obsession

We love this song, yes?Yes, I'm that person who starts seeing the "holy moley--this song is on repeat like ALL the time on my ipod!" stuff on good 'ole facebook and waits a good 2 or 3 weeks before she actually checks out the latest and greatest and becomes slightly obsessed herself.  I am THAT trendy.
But let's talk about this version right here.  Anyone else watch the Sing Off last year?  Loved this group, love what they stand for...and while I'd expect nothing less, love their take on this song as well.  Check it.

Happy Friday!

Spring Feet

One of my favorite things about having an early spring this year is that I get to dig out my sandals early...anyone else obsessed with flat sandals?  I've totally ditched my flip flops since flat sandals have come back in style...comfy and much better support for my feet while working, walking, and driving.  I have a few neutral colored pairs and a few colorful ones...I just can't seem to resist looking at more!  Here's some fun picks available right now...

These are a little higher on the ankle than I typically like for wearing with crop pants, but I love the leathery look and classic tassel.  24.94 from Old Navy 

LOVE the colors and texture on these beaded sandals from Gap for 39.95

This distressed leather look is so versatile...would love to pair these with bright-colored skinnies!  F21 for only 14.80!

Mmmm...snakeskin.  Love the shredded back as well.  Such a fun way to do neutral!  24.99 at TargetCan't decide if I like these or the leopard print better.

And these are my favorite.  What a great way to embrace the neon trend without looking like a highlighter.  These are from Loft at only 29.50! 
Reality check...I am most likely NEVER going to spend more than $10 on a pair of shoes (I'm just that cheap), especially with sandals because I never know how comfortable they will really be to wear a lot and how durable they'll be.  But you can be sure I'll be watching the racks at Goodwill for similar styles and scooping them right up!
Would you wear any of these styles?  Which is your fave?

Monday Thoughts

I like weekends.

I like the chance to drink 2 cups of coffee without them getting cold, to do things around my house, run errands, and plan/make dinner all before it gets dark.  Don't get me wrong--I love my job, but I really feel alive on the weekends. 

I'm starting to think that's a problem.

Do you ever feel like you're just living for the "next thing" in your life?  For the next weekend, the next day off work, the next summer vacation, the next season of your life?  For a thriving garden, chickens that lay many many eggs, a sparkling pool, a remodeled and decorated house, for babies and stay-at-home mommage?  Oh wait, that's just me?

What about now?

This is the time in my life where God has me married to the man of my dreams with no children, enjoying exploring life together in our fixer-upper home, working toward my grad degree, and working really hard in general. 

I'd love to think that someday I'll look back on this time in my life and see something like this:
*open and honest relationships with those around me
*putting all my energy into loving my husband
*eating right and putting a priority on keeping my body healthy
*learning new skills and trying things that scare me
*being a woman of prayer

Somehow I don't imagine I'll ever look back and say, gee, that was awesome...all that time I spent watching tv, that online presence I got so excited about, those sweet colored denim skinnies I scored for $1.50 that didn't even need altering because I ate so much holiday candy, that coffee addiction, and wow, all that sleep I got.

So where do I start? 

I think I start with getting off my duff and washing the dishes instead of hoping hubby is so inclined to wash a few when he gets home.  I think I start with opening my Bible instead of grabbing the remote.  And I think I start with saying no to my hormones and grabbing a high-protein snack with a low glycemic index.  And I start by grabbing my yoga pants...no, not to take a nap on the couch, but to actually DO yoga.

 Where does the Lord have you right now?  What do you hope to look back and see for this season of your life?

tids + bits

+last weekend I had possibly the best thrifting luck I've had in a while...fun j crew pencil skirt in a sweet orange and white pattern and target nude pumps that are actually kinda comfy....been hunting for those for a while now! +loving that I'm getting much better at throwing random ingredients in foil with a tolerable amount of seasoning, throwing it on the grill, and ending up with a delicious dinner that I dominated eating pretty much by myself (oops). +my earring goodies from INpink...I'm liking them in the pictures, but just not sure how to style them...let's be honest, I pretty much wear my large pearl studs EVERY DAY, so stepping outside the box is tricky for me.   +I'm trying to get over my lipstick phobia.  It's obviously the trendy thing for bloggers these days, and maybe just ladies in general.  But I struggle...I've always been a lip gloss/chapstick girl.  I WANT to embrace the lipstick trend, but it's difficult!  I get so nervous looking at all those colors in the drugstore.  Some of them look so pretty, but will they look that nice on my lips?  SHOULD they?  So I'm starting small with some fun colors from Revlon's new lip butter line, sugar frosting and peach parfait.  I got the courage from this girl.  Love the two I picked up with uber coupons.  Maybe I will muster up the strength to try a brighter color next?  Can't go TOO wrong with bright colors for summer, right?
+three cheers for hubby making me a cozy fire while it was raining and yucky outside and I was trying to finish my research paper in between coughing fits that make me gag.  That crackle and pop sounds really makes me happy :)  linking up here.


  

I SCREAM

This post may or may not be inspired by the fact that my throat hurts like a mother today.  Let's not talk about my less-than-polite phraseology...let's just cut to the chase.  And today, the chase is ice cream.
It's all I want to eat.  No, it does not contain enough protein to make this a good decision.  But my throat, coupled with the fact that it's 85 degrees right now on April 16 in Pennsylvania, makes it not quite as dumb of a decision as it would be on another given day.
When I was little and we'd go out for ice cream, I was not exactly adventurous.  I ALWAYS ordered chocolate, with no toppings of any kind.  The idea of ordering vanilla seemed ridiculous since it's so plain and it's the cheapest to buy in stores.  We had mint chocolate chip on the very specialist of occasions.  Strawberry was just icky to me because it didn't have the rich fruity taste I loved about actual strawberries (I was weird...I hated milk shakes for the first 24 years of my life for the same reason).  Only in the last 4 or 5 years have I opened my mind to the wonderous world of ice cream flavors and topping combos.  Perhaps it's the hormones?  Hello, Dairy Queen, and welcome to my mouth, brownie batter blizzard.  We have a fantastic creamery near us that always has intriguing combos and a billion topping choices.  It's kinda my favorite.  And froyo?  YES, just yes.
So today, in honor of this craving and in the spirit of learning to be adventurous, here are 3 new combos I'm dying to try...

Balsamic StrawberrySounds like an amazing spinach salad without the spinach, right?  What could be better?

Candied Bacon
oooooooh yes.  Of course, candied bacon is a huge thing right now in all kinds of dessert combinations, but ice cream?  I love actual candied bacon, so I think I could be down with this.

Cereal MilkAnd now apparently this is a trendy thing, too...that super-sweet, frothy milk in the bottom of your bowl all congealed with lucky charm marshmallows is the base for this ice cream.  I kinda hate cereal milk, but I might enjoy it as dessert?
What do you think?  Would you try any of these?  HAVE YOU tried them?  Do tell us!What flavor are you craving today?

sick day buddy

Not much to say here.
We are sick and laying low.We've thwarted an ant invasion in the kitchen, taken a strong decongestant which has made us loopy, dizzy, and slightly paranoid.We've taken little naps by the pool complete with straaaaaange dreams.



And we made this quick and easy recipe for lunch a la my friend Jess... Spinach linguineSaute 2-3 cloves minced garlic with anywhere from 1/2 to 1 whole stick of butter.
Add in 2 packages thawed creamed spinach, 3/4 cup sour cream, and 1 cup Parmesan cheese.
(I eyeball these amounts, and throw in a few handfuls of fresh spinach if I have it).Boil some linguine al dente, drain, toss, and serve up with some garlic bread.

(I'm linking up with Serenity Now today.)

first gif ever

I have this lovely lady to thank for my newest addiction...gif-making. 

tids + bits

 

 +hoard much?  apparently my cvs couponing habit has created a monster of its own in the form of shampoos, lotions, deodorant, you name it.  We are in the middle of our first bathroom gut and remodel, so it's time to consolidate and organize.

+so happy to get my inpink goodies in the mail that I won from a sweet giveaway on thedaybook.  I got 2 pairs of earrings...not quite sure how to style them...I'll show ya later and you all can be my personal stylists.

+Cleo is so blue because her she knocked her prized golf ball down the basement stairs and now she can't roll it around on the kitchen floor anymore :(

+I like to garden on my living room floor.  Yay for my little seed babies growing so well!  Started 50 more and tried my hand at dividing some of the clumped ones.  Hope they take!

+blue/mint on the nails this week for Easter, along with the signature teacher look of purple marker on my fingers.  I love my job.

+been sporting the bun quite a bit lately since my hair is long enough now.  We watched the King of Queens episode a few weeks ago where Carrie is into wearing her hair in a bun and Doug totally hates it and thinks it destroys her hottness completely.  Husband laughed through the whole episode and now I'm kinda self conscious.  I love the bun...chic, sophisticated, and so "in" right now.  But to everyone else, do I look like a deranged librarian?  Is it wrong if I'm ok with that?

 

I'm linking up with Alycia...click the button below!

Ready?

Umm...writing 11 interesting questions isn't as easy as it sounds.

1.     How do you take your coffee?  And if you’re not a fan (shame on you), what is your beverage of choice?

2.     If only one tv show could play on all the channels of your tv for an entire day, what would you most hope it would be and why?  (That’s assuming that you have the entire day to do nothing but watch tv.)

3.     Tell about a time you felt really proud of yourself.

4.     If you could emulate one characteristic of a family member, what (and whose) would it be and why? 

5.     What’s the best recipe you’ve tasted or tried recently?

6.     If you were participating in the Miss America pageant, what would your talent be?

7.     Which character are you most like from Goldilocks and the Three Bears?  And yes, tell us why :)

8.     What’s one thing that caught you by surprise about blogging?

9.     If you were forced to skip one part of your beauty routine in the morning, which would you choose?

10.  What is the #1 most played song on your itunes/ipod/grooveshark lately?

11.  What is your top love language?  See here for more info.

The rules:

> Post these rules

> Answer the 11 questions that the tagger posted for you

> Create 11 questions of your own to ask the people that you're about to tag

> Tag people and link them with your post (and let them know they've been tagged!)

 

Ready, girlies?  I'm tagging Nicole,  Piril Maria,  Sandy, and Anna.

My Turn.

So Alivia tagged me...

1. What is your favorite part of the day?
Well that depends greatly on what day it is.  If it's a weekday, perhaps 3:00pm, when all students are safely tucked on the bus and I have a brilliant half an hour to figure out what the heck just happened today.

If it's a Saturday, definitely the moment I wake up and realize the alarm didn't go off because I didn't set it because it doesn't matter what time I get up~and then I smell the bacon...because my husband is phenomenal and my life is awesome.

2. Do you have a guilty pleasure band or artist?

I think I may always love Duran Duran from the bottom of my heart...and I love cooking to Celine Dion classics...(and singing into my spatula).  I'm pretty sure that counts.

3. What is your favorite thing about where you live?

In 5 minutes, I can be surrounded by manure-saturated farm fields.  In half an hour, I can be climbing a mountain.  Also, in 45 minutes, I can be in the heart of Philadelphia.  Also, in an hour and 45 minutes, I can be on the beach.  Love that I'm so close to all my favorite things.

4  What is your biggest pet peeve?

Socks with sandals.  Leaving like 7 seconds on the microwave without clearing it for the next person.  People who steal stuff out of our front yard while we're at work.  Not sure I could choose between the three.

5. Do you have a favorite celebrity? A least favorite?

Umm...Michael Kors?  Currently I'm dying over Sue Heck from the Middle.  She just kills me.  Not sure if this really counts as a celebrity?  I also love that Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman, now has her own tv show on the food network.  Again, I'm not really into celebrities.

6.  If you could travel to any place from a story, book, movie, etc. where would you go and why?

 My first thought was Narnia, but then I realize that for most of the story it's winter there, and I HATE BEING COLD.  So no, not Narnia.  My second thought is that I want to be in the fun little fantasy world where the kitty lives in The Shy Little Kitten golden book.  It was my favorite book when I was little and I drove my dad crazy asking him to read it to me repeatedly every night.  He hated it because the kitten is rebellious and wanders off when her father tells her not to.  And it's kinda boring.  Ha!

7. What are 5 things you like about yourself?

I like that I'm learning to be more adventurous and spontaneous...in my cooking, my personal style, and my relationships.

I like that I can sit down at the piano and "wing" a new piece of music.

I like that I'm becoming more open with my friends and family and getting past myself.

I like that I'm able to be patient with my students and help them value themselves for who they are.

I like that my hair is getting longer and I've so far resisted the urge to chop it off.

8. If you could acquire one skill instantly, which would it be?
The skill of gardening, and all the little skills that come along with it.  Fingers crossed that my plants last longer than a few weeks this year!
9. What song would you choose if you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life? This kinda changes on a daily basis, but today, I'd say this new gem from the Civil Wars...have you seen this yet?  wow.

 
10. When do you feel most safe?Cuddled up in bed with my hubby and my kitty-cat.  Sigh.
11. How would describe yourself in only five words?Cheesy.Thrifty.Teacher.Passionate.Learner.    Tomorrow I'll stop by with some questions of my own, the rules, and some tags for the fearless bloggers who are next! muahaha!!   

New Life

Happy Easter!  He is Risen!

twin tiger lillies

I love that lillies (my favorite flower) are a symbol of new life on this beautiful spring holiday.  They remind me of the new life budding around my yard as the seasons change, the new life in the Resurrection, and the new life I'm created for in Christ Jesus!  I am not my own!  I am bought with a price!
Sure, I love Reese's eggs and Cadbury creme as much as the next hormonal girl, and I sure do love a chic pastel ensemble, and hello Easter brunch at church!  (I just cannot get enough of breakfast food)  But I love that this holiday really makes us stop to think about things that matter more.  Today is the day to decide where you stand.  You might not get tomorrow.

Possibly the Best Day Ever

Yikes...guess I'm a little behind on blogging this week.  Too much fun!!  First let me catch you up on Tuesday, quite possibly the best day ever, rivaled only by Wednesday, but we'll get to that later.
So Tuesday morning began with "teacher craft day".  So several of the ladies I eat lunch with in the teachers' lounge are chronic crafters...legit scrapbookers, knitters, and people who do things with those fancy cricut paper machine things.  They very kindly invited me to "teacher craft day" and naturally, I accepted without even thinking...umm...what am I going to do?  
Don't get me wrong--I love the IDEA of being crafty.  My mom is crafty, for sure.  I occasionally partake in crafty projects.  But I, myself, am not a chronic crafter.  I try not to do things in my spare time that require extreme amounts of patience when I could just as easily watch my mom do them.  So...I spent quite a bit of time on pinterest trying to find something I could do. I didn't look far before I found this brilliant idea from Anna, as I previously mentioned.  Here are my attempts, still waiting for earring backs to be attached because I can't get the lid off the epoxy-ha!  Waiting for the husbot to have a free moment to help me with that.

 

And since that really is a quick project, I decided to try wrapping a wine bottle with yarn.  Surely you've seen these fun things on pinterest...

yarn+bottles

 So since I couldn't find a beer bottle at the time, and the only yarn I have in the house is hunter green...

I will definitely be trying this again with beer bottles and some funner colors...I really want to do a mustard yellow and a fun pink...maybe a blue or a mint?
And then...oh then.  My good friend and I embarked on our long-awaited Goodwill tour...attempting to hit as many thrift stores as we could in the "better" parts of town.  In theory, we would find gobs and gobs of designer clothes for $4.50 and NOT get lost.  In reality, we found some neat things, called our husbands for directions, and were only slightly flabbergasted at the idea of "community dressing rooms"--what??  Check out my goodies!

Holla!  Fun turquoisy skinny jeans that fit perfectly!

coral-y cropped jcrew pants

fun flowy white tank with neat little tie thing
And I also grabbed a cute little cast-iron wine rack so I could do this for my classroom...

marker organizer

And because good days like this can only get better...we came back to my house and our husbands and some more friends joined us for pizza, peanut butter chocolate truffle cake! (for a little buddy's 6th birthday), and mmmm....margaritas.With this stuff.

That's what I call a Tuesday.