a peachtree city life

Simple Pleasures

2012-01-29T12:12:00.001-05:00

2 out of 3 of the old roomies from college. Josie (in blue) is getting married this year!

Crazy-Person Time: Mompetition with Myself

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

Basically all I can keep up with these days is school, homework, and baby. My mantle has been bare since Christmas came down (the shame!), our back room is filled with random stuff that needs sorting, and Tony has been completely taking care of the house these days (without complaint, I might add)... Blogging is sooo lacking and I hate it. But I wanted to write up something quickly that's been floating through my mind lately - and guess what? - it has to do with babies. :)

Mompetition. I think that's the word at least. I did some googling with mixed results. But basically it's that thing I've heard about from friends and bloggers alike where moms feel the need to compete with each other or have their babies compete in some imaginary race to milestones or greatness or whatnot. I don't know.

But basically I'm engaged in this competition all by myself. Like a total crazy pregnant person. I'm not sure if it even counts when your baby is still a tiny lemon-sized inside-baby. But I'm calling it that, regardless.

Bear with my crazy. I'm competing with moms who have no idea they are competing... and winning... in my head.

So I said it from the beginning - I've always looked so forward to being pregnant and sporting a big old belly. I've never been thin, and besides the seasonal "oh man I should lose some weight but I'm lazy" thoughts in my head, I've never been one to be overly concerned with body image. But I feel like I'm huge already - and I find myself comparing my bulging belly to any and every expectant mother I can find out there. It seems like everyone is pregnant, in blogland and real life (which is fun!), but that means there's a lot to compare to.

I'm plagued (again, like a crazy person) by fears that I'm getting too big too fast (even though I've only gained a few pounds) or that my belly is bigger than it should be this far along. Crazy, I know. I've got to sound so ridiculous and maddening, to those who are trying to have a baby or those who are worrying that they aren't showing enough. But it's how I've been feeling. I feel self-conscious around those who I fear are judging me. I know that every body handles pregnancy differently, but I feel the need to tack on a few extra weeks each time someone asks how far along I am... It doesn't help that I keep hearing, "Are you sure there aren't two in there??"

It has nothing to do with not loving my body - it's all about the mompetition - feeling like I'm somehow not doing it right, even this early in the game. My jeans were insanely tight at about 8 weeks - some people are practically giving birth wearing their regular clothes. I seriously saw this picture - of a SUPERMODEL at five months - and felt bad about myself! When else would I EVER feel the need to compare myself to a SUPERMODEL???

So lame, I know! Promise, the whining is almost over!

So, the thing is - at home - I love my big pregnant belly. I'm constantly pointing to it or making Tony feel how solid it is. Why can't I get over the crazy and realize that I should embrace this, regardless of what others might be thinking - even though the likelihood is, they are thinking nothing but positive??

This is absolutely not a plea for compliments or anything of the sort. Just wanted to put my feelings out there. Maybe those of you who have been knocked up had crazy feelings like this too?? :) Now that I've put it out there, I'm determined not to feel ashamed of my maternity leggings - regardless of how far along I am. Thanks for bearing with me.

Simple Pleasures

2012-01-21T16:33:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's just been pictures of our dogs around here lately, but they've pretty much been all I've had as subject for my new camera.

Wait for it........

Wait for it......................

Caught!

Words

2012-01-16T08:03:00.000-05:00

Since it's Martin Luther King Day (and I get a very early-on day off from school!) I felt obliged to post this. I'm student teaching in a social studies class, so we watched part of a video on his life last week. We talk a lot about MLK here in Georgia, and rightfully so. I've seen this speech a hundred times, as I'm sure you have as well, but it had been a while. My pregnant self was tearing up in the back of the room. His words are so powerful and since they have become so popularized, it's easy to brush them off and forget to look at what he is truly saying. It's too easy to confine his message to the past and not apply it to today.

In reading something for my Georgia History class, I came across this quote from Abraham Lincoln from the beginnings of the Civil War that I've also heard before, but hit me in a new way this time: "In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free..."

Lots of inspiring words to live by.

Simple Pleasures

2012-01-14T09:47:00.002-05:00

Ok, I know not everyone is into seeing the insides of people's bodies... but I don't have any other pictures to use for this week's SP, so here you go:

11 Weeks

I know it's not the clearest thing ever... but see that little hand sticking up?? And that big head? My kid's already a genius. Of course.

The coolest part was when she first started the ultrasound, Baby S was in the middle of doing what must have been a flip, almost standing up before settling back down like this. Pretty amazing to see. That, and a fast-beating heart going to town in there.

Grow baby grow!

Thank You!!

2012-01-14T09:39:00.002-05:00

Thanks so much - everyone - for the amazing comments you left on my last post. I truly appreciated each and every one of them! I always get overly crazy excited when I find out someone is pregnant, so it means a lot that others do the same!

And sorry to let that crazy face of mine linger on the top of my blog for a week... I started student teaching this week, so that was a big adjustment! This semester it's full time, everyday, in addition to my own classes I take twice a week. It's certainly manageable, but makes for a long day and a very sore back! I'm in a wonderful school in a 6th grade social studies classroom, so the semester should be quite rewarding!

I'll be spending this long weekend in sweats working on homework. Hope you are able to enjoy it!

There's a Baby in There!

2012-01-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

I couldn't help it. Had to take a nerdy photo to help tell you all that we are having a baby!!

Hooray!!

I'm due July 27th :)

True Confession: Back in 2008 when I started this blog, I seriously did it so that I would have an established blog all ready to go once I had a baby. No joke. I had this brilliant epiphany at work one day after seeing a friend-of-a-friend's blog who had pictures of herself pregnant and then with her baby. I thought, Wow! great idea! So that's what a blog thing is for! I want to start one now so I won't have to do that once I'm pregnant.

Lucky for me (and you) I realized there is much more to a blog than that, and so many other things you can talk about! The willy-nillyness of this little blog has probably reflected my total lack of direction and focus from the start, which lucky for me means I just talk about my life most of the time. Baby S will be a part of my life for ... well, ever... so I will probably talk a lot about that. Sorry. Warned you. However, we have a lot of projects coming up to get ready for this, so I will certainly share alllll about that as well. Probably overshare. But that's what I do.

Anyway, we are excited! My due date is actually finals week for summer semester.... which, not ideal, but I'm taking online classes so I hope it will be ok. Also, wow. They are not joking about ~~morning~~ all day sickness. I have been pretty much incapacitated for the past 6 weeks, but hoping it's coming to an end soon. I literally had to stop using Pinterest for a while because the sight of the food made me sick. Tony has starved because I won't let him cook basically anything. Ick. Good thing it's all worth it. And thank goodness for Canada Dry and saltines.

And probably due to my complete disregard for proper nutrition over the last month (inadvertently, sorry Baby... use that monster vitamin well) I feel like my stomach got huge early (despite the fact that I've lost weight...). I totally get that it's not baby and more so the inability to suck in what was already there, but I'm running with it. I've been waiting to replace fat bump with baby bump :) Plus, my generous sister and sister-in-law gave me a bunch of cute clothes that I just want to wear. So there. :)

Yay baby!

Simple Pleasures

2012-01-08T14:54:00.001-05:00

Oh Canon, how I love thee.

I've only mastered complete auto focus at this point, but look how amazing these are! Before I could never catch Roxy with her eyes open due to a long shutter. Now - dog nose perfection. Sandy looks pretty good too.

DIY Toddler Photo Book

2012-01-03T08:52:00.000-05:00

Christmas is still up at our house. The tree's gone, but everything else is literally piled and sitting on our hearth, ready to be packed away. I decided it's a better use of my time to write this than to pack it up. Wise, I think.

I wanted to share just onemore Christmas craft with you guys, made by me. Seeing as how I've done very little the past few months in the way of craftiness, I had to make sure I put this one out there. And I think it's a fun gift idea for others who have nieces or nephews!

My niece Lyla loves to look at picture frames around my mom's house, carrying them around and pointing out the people. Selfishly, I want her to look at my picture often to make sure she doesn't forget about me between visits. So I wanted to make her something a little more portable and toddler-friendly.

Forgive the photos. It was literally Christmas Eve and gifts needed to be wrapped!

Basically the only reason this book worked was because I happened to have photos of both my (ie - Lyla's mom's) side and her dad's side of her family because we all took a trip together for my sister's wedding. Otherwise, it would have been a little one-sided and biased towards my family!

I made this for Lyla because I knew how much she likes pictures, but I definitely want to make one for the other niece in my life! I just might have to swipe some Facebook pictures to capture the other side of her family!!

I tried to include Lyla in everyone's photo when possible.

There were 10 whole pages in total, with 16 photo pages.

I didn't take any in-progress shots, because, well, I didn't. But it's easy.

You need:

Scrapbook paper (12x12) - I cut mine down to about 7x7
Photos
Hole punch
Ribbon or ring
Printer
A paper cutter helps a ton!
Tape
Access to store that does lamination
Imagination (ha!)

I did it front and back to save on lamination costs and added a colorful non-photo front and back cover. I found that it was better to just tape the two sides together with little tape circles than to glue it. That way, there is no rippling, and the lamination glues everything flat together anyway.

The lamination was the most expensive part - about $1.50 a sheet - but it's super durable and hopefully will outlast a toddler's wrath for a little while at least. So far she really liked looking through it and pointing everyone out. Once she can read the words will help too. Oh, and I included a few pictures of just her in there by herself - big hit! Narcissistic toddlers...

So there you have it. My burst of creativity for the month.

New Year, New and Improved List

2012-01-01T12:50:00.000-05:00

Well, one year down, another to go!

2011 was a pretty great year for me - I got to quit the job I wasn't meant for and follow my dream by going back to school to become a teacher. Comparing my life ~~last~~ last-last! year (2009) to what it was like ~~this~~ last year (2010) is amazing. I had time to spend with Tony, friends, and family, as opposed to always being at work or commuting. I got to put my brain to use again (hooray!) and spend some time in the daylight - on weekdays no less! All in all, I had a great year, and something tells me 2012 will be even better!

I did want to address my resolutions I made for 2010, i.e. my List. I was so excited to make that list, and I had fun working to cross some things off. However, I kinda knew it was a lofty goal to hit all 50. I didn't even come close - only got 16 1/2! For some, I would give myself partial credit, but I didn't feel right about crossing it off altogether (for instance, be a better friend - how can you quantify that and check it off??).

So I didn't come close - but so what? In January 2011 I had no idea what life would end up looking like. Basically my life changed so much and my time was used in such a different way (hellllo homework!) that I couldn't have anticipated what was realistic. That, and we tightened our finances even more to make the one-income thing work, so a few projects I hoped for are still in limbo.

With all that said, I want to keep the list going through this next year, and maybe beyond. I've adapted it below based on a year's perspective. I've replaced the ones I checked off with new ones, and got rid of the downright unreachable ones. Who knows how much more I will achieve this year, but it's good to have a goal in mind, right? :)

The [New & Improved] List:

{Purple = New or adapted items} {Gray = carryover}

Do something that really scares me
Be confident!
Eat a healthy diet
Learn to garden - herbs in containers at least!
Tell Tony what he means to me, often
Read 50 books
Sight see during fall leaf time
Get professional photos of Tony and I
Learn how to make 3 new recipes that are edible
Refinish a large piece of furniture from the thrift store
Make my wedding scrapbook
Eat more fresh fruit
Become a regular walker
Give up Diet Coke altogether
Tell people more often how much they mean to me
Hand make 3 cards/gifts
Revamp my blog's look
Do something totally life-changing [again? why not!]
Stop gossip and negative talk
Go on a bigish vacation
Go on a little vacation
Organize our garage, for real this time
Try a new smoothie recipe
Build something from wood
Be a better friend
Start a new tradition
Take a vitamin every day
Volunteer more
Buy/Build as needed so our closets can finally be organized.
Read one article about the teaching world once a month
Put up crown molding in our house (with Tony's help!)
Add in arm workouts
Plant fall bulbs for a spring surprise
Stop procrastinating with school work
Throw a party
Make it to the lake at least once (or more!)
Figure out how to backup my blog's history
Go on a long bike ride
Visit Atlanta landmarks I've missed
Do a home safety check
Go one month without fried foods - at all - no cheating
Cancel our cable
Floss more
Eat outside in balmy weather
Reduce my sugar intake
Redo two rooms in our house
Find a daily/weekly cleaning routine I can stick with
Improve our landscaping
Paint the furniture in our guest room
Love life, every day!

I'd love to hear what your goals are, if you haven't already blogged about it! Anyone else do the list method and actually make better progress than I did??

Simple Pleasures

2011-12-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

My girlfriends from ~~high schoo~~l ~~middle school~~ late elementary school :)

A Crafty Christmas

2011-12-30T09:52:00.002-05:00

I wanted to take a break from my regularly-scheduled lack of blogging to brag a bit on my crafty family.

There were lots of homemade gifts at Christmas this year, and I just had to share. My sisters and I have had a $10 limit for gifts for each other for the past few years, seeing as how none of us are exactly wealthy. It works great and forces you to get creative. This year, they both outdid themselves.

My sister Courtney made us these adorable necklaces (as seen on Pinterest). She said they were pretty easy, so if you are interested in trying, you should! The three stones represent the three of us sisters :) Adorable!!

Next, my sister Caitlin made all of us our own set of coasters. She's not even on Pinterest! Mine are a lovely green pattern and were made with paper, tiles, and a heavy coat of polyurethane. They were packaged up so nicely and came with a glass jar of a friendship tea she made herself. So crafty!

And although not a gift to me, I had to share this. My mom (with some elbow-grease help from my dad!) built my niece this amazing little kitchen out of an old entertainment center! Can you believe it?

Tony testing it out...

So much better than some I've seen out there. It's a fun color and totally functional, down to the oven rack that slides in and out. (Don't tell her the faucet doesn't really work...) Lyla loves it - she kept running in to the room yelling "KITCH-en!"

And last but not least (and not crafty at all) - my new best friend :)

Honestly, I haven't even assembled it yet because it's a little intimidating, and I haven't had the time to devote to it that I want to. But just you wait, decent pictures in my future!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I hope to drag myself out of my slump soon and get back to commenting on your wonderful posts (I have been reading, swears!) and maybe, just maybe, writing a few posts of my own. :)

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday!

Christmas Decor

2011-12-23T07:53:00.001-05:00

Well, I did manage to put some decorations up on the inside of our house, even if the outside suffered. I figure all this Grinchyness this year just means it's going to be Christmas spirit explosion next year. :)

I love using real branches on the mantle, even if it does give it a less than polished look. That, and these were free, fake garland is somehow very expensive.

The theme this year was: Open the box, put stuff up.

We put our tree in a new location, which I really liked.

I did this same kind of thing last year on our kitchen table. Yet this year there's the added bonus of that beautiful candle stick, courtesy of my mom for my birthday!

I was excited about this thrift store find: A white tree!! It was only $8, and it's only about 2 feet tall, which is perfect for our bedroom. The blue balls were $1.25 total too!

Really, you should look at decor from years past... it was much better then :)
2009
2010

Cookies!

2011-12-21T09:35:00.001-05:00

Oh hey, remember me???

Yeah... sorry. Well, I'm feeling totally Grinch-ish this year, finding it impossible to get in the holiday spirit. But I couldn't leave December without infusing this blog with some Christmas cheer.

Luckily, Kacy, her mom, and her aunt had the great idea to make Christmas cookies (and other goodies) and I was able to get in on that festive action. And I got to eat a bunch. Victory.

Ladies working hard!

Parks was helping in his own way. Marlee was sleeping. :)

So domestic.

hahahaha

First batch - later ones were much prettier. I was too busy eating them to photo them.

Parks wants a taste!

Simple Pleasures

2011-12-17T11:35:00.001-05:00

A bit blurry, but both babies are looking! Hooray! Two of my favorite little ones and their mama :)

Dare to ... Deck the Halls!

2011-12-11T20:54:00.001-05:00

It's another week of Kim's Dare to DIY party, and this week it's about making something new for your holiday decor. In years past I have skimped on this one and just shown what my house looks like all decorated up.

This year I probably won't be showing that because I only half-heatedly decorated. Oh well. It will be there next year :)

However, I did craft something, mostly out of need. I have yet to find a good solution to displaying Christmas cards. I love the cards we get in the mail, but never found a good spot (besides using them after the season for this little card tree!). So this year I made a $0 card displayer thingy. Not my finest work... but it will do (that's the theme this season....)

I took an old piece of molding from our garage and gave it some holes.

Then I stuck down some sticker letters I had on hand. Not my favorite font, but it worked in a pinch.

Next I painted it with the only Christmasy paint I had (notice a trend?). It's a shiny gold... not ideal.... but I had it and didn't have to put on real (non-stretchy) pants to go out to Hobby Lobby to get a different color.

After a few coats had dried, I just peeled up the stickers. I Mod Podged it so it wouldn't peel up, and tied on a ribbon (leftover from a birthday gift).

I had a pathetic excuse for faux garland in my Christmas box (undoubtedly an impulse discount buy), so I cut this up and glued it to the wood. I painted (poorly) some leftover clothes pins I had, and voila - card holder thingy.

It's ready to go -- just waiting for more cards!

Go check out the other (undoubtedly better than mine) projects at Newlywoodwards!

Simple Pleasures

2011-12-10T17:28:00.001-05:00

A house a few streets down from us that goes crazy with the lights. They have the whole lot covered, and you tune in your radio to hear the music they are synced (sunk?) to :) A holiday tradition.

Dare to ... Give Homemade Gifts!

2011-12-05T12:18:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone! This week at Kim's Dare to DIY is all about making homemade gifts (the best kind!). With school being so crazy and whatnot, it's been a big fail this year on the homemade gift front. Just ain't happenin'.

However, last year I did "make" a pretty good gift for my mom, so in the interest of sharing something this week, I figured I'd blog about that.

My mom had a cabinet filled with boxes of all of our family photographs (and the negatives - ha!). The last time she had even attempted to organize them was probably when I was a baby. Thus there were years and years of jumbled photos all shoved into boxes. Not convenient for browsing, and probably not the best way to preserve them.

I really don't blame her for not tackling the problem. It was daunting. However, early in 2010, I decided I was going to organize them all into albums for her for Christmas. Starting early spring, I would sneak small portions of the stack home with me when we would go visit. By late summer, I had them all at my house. She never noticed, of course! :)

My first task was to dump them all out and get them in stacks. Then I organized them the best I could, since chronological order was not happening. I sorted into kid pics of my sisters and I, pics of my parents from pre-kid days, misc. photos of their past houses and projects, pics of vacations, and pics from our teenage years and up. That. was. challenging. It took me many, many weekends to sift through them all.

Claire, Courtney, Caitlin. Thank goodness we got a little better looking with age... I was going for the shriveled look.

Handmedown dress up clothes = awesome.

Remember back in the hard-copy photo days, you would get doubles of your roll of film? Well, that just meant I had to separate doubles and put those aside. I even kept all of the negatives and boxed them up for her, just in case!

My parents' prom picture!! White suit!

Next I went through all of the school photos that were still in the white envelopes from the school picture company, and attempted to make a master list of which photo was which school year. There were some gaps, but it was nice to have that record, and still be able to throw away the envelopes.

Two great things about this picture:
1. I was the world's biggest nerd, but clearly an early-adopter in the computer gaming world.
2. My mom's glamour shot on the desk.

Yes, I still look this good in a bathing suit.

I did a horrible job documenting this process, but here are a few pics of the early stages. Sandy helped.

The best part was I was able to scan a lot of the good ones of my sisters and I, so I forever have those images backed up (scattered throughout for your viewing pleasure).

Sorry mom.

Inappropriate.

I had begun to buy black photo albums as I found them at Ross or Target throughout the year. In total, there were 11 albums. I stuck with all black for consistency, but the albums themselves were different. I hauled them all up to Tennessee at Christmas in big rubber totes.

My goal was to make my mom cry. Mission accomplished.

Here they sit in my parents' living room, ready to be looked through and enjoyed, instead of hidden away in a box. :)

Cats.

Simple Pleasures

2011-12-03T07:48:00.001-05:00

My Grammy and I :)

Dare to ... Eat Cookies!

2011-11-27T12:33:00.001-05:00

It's another week of Kim's Dare to DIY! This week is cookies - my favorite.

Back when I used to have a job, I would constantly be schmoozed by vendors wanting our business. Unfortunately for my waistline, this often came in the form of food. Last Christmas, someone sent a box of Momofuku cookies from NY. Instead of being regular old cookies like everyone else sent, these were ah-mayyy-zing. (spoiled then? yes) Let me tell you - hands down - best. cookies. ever. I totally hid them under my desk and did NOT share with the coworkers. I let them have the candy canes.

Since it's cost prohibitive to order myself some, I decided to try to make a knockoff version of their Cornflake Cookies, using this recipe found online. They turned out pretty well! Certainly not as delish as the real version, but definitely yummy. And they are very pretty - large and lacy - so I think they would be perfect to give away as a Christmas gift, perhaps tied in clear cellophane with fancy ribbons.

Again, here's the recipe from The Cookbook Chronicles if you want to try these yourself! My only recommendation would be to DEFINITELY let the dough sit in the refrigerator for a while before shaping into balls - otherwise it's too messy. And certainly leave yourself plenty of room for them to spread - 6 max on a regular cookie sheet.

Copycat Momofuku Cornflake Marshmallow cookies

makes 20 cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature

1 ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp kosher salt (plus more for sprinkling)

3/4 cup oatmeal

1 1/4 cup lightly crushed cornflakes (= about 1 1/2 cup cornflakes before crushing)

2/3 cup mini chocolate chips*

about 3/4 cup mini marshmallows

*the chocolate chips in the original Momofuku Milk bar cookie are minis, though substitute with regular-sized chips if you prefer

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and beat until combined.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and beat on low speed, just so the dry ingredients become incorporated. With a wooden spoon, mix in the oatmeal, crushed cornflakes, and chocolate chips.

(If you have time and would like the cookies to spread a little less, refrigerate the dough for two hours.)

On a parchment-lined baking sheet, scoop up and roll the dough into golf ball-sized spheres. (Six will fit comfortably on one pan–give them room to spread!) Lightly press down 4 mini marshmallows in the center of each ball of dough. Sprinkle tops with a touch more salt. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bake for 9-10 minutes. The cookies will still look soft in the middle when you take them out of the oven. Allow them to cool directly on the tray for a few minutes before moving them onto a platter.

And go check out all of the other delicious treats at Newlywoodwards!

Simple Pleasures

2011-11-26T17:31:00.001-05:00

Parks and Marlee (our Bffs' babies) snug as bugs in rugs.

Dare to ... Entertain!

2011-11-20T15:59:00.001-05:00

It's Week 2 of Kim's Dare to DIY!!

I'm so excited that I will actually be "entertaining" this year! Holidays are often a bit of a stress, since my family is in Tennessee, and Tony's are here in Georgia. There are always schedules to align and travelling to do. Always worth it, of course, but still. However, this year, my parents and Grammy are coming down to stay for Thanksgiving! So we will have both sets of parents (and Gram!) here with us. I love playing hostess, probably because I never do it.

Anyway, it's a stretch to fit this many people in our little house, but it shall be done. I wanted to decorate in a natural, neutral kind of way. This is the table I came up with this year for $0.

The DIY'ness of this table comes into play with the placemats and the leaves. I didn't have any appropriate placemats for my fall table, so I took a large piece of burlap I had lying around and cut it into squares. I fringed the ends by pulling out the threads. Easy peasy.

For the leaves, I copied an idea I saw on Pinterest, by Mod Podging real leaves. I simply plucked them, Podged them, and then stuck them under the glass plates I had. The leaves turn out really shiny and waxy, making them durable enough for this. I wish I had thought to do this sooner, before all of the really brightly-colored leaves were gone...

The still-living-non-rotting pumpkins were a donation from my mother-in-law, and I just grabbed some grosgrain ribbon to tie up the napkins I had. The little cups are for eggnog, of course. It's a Thanksgiving tradition in my family - no one is allowed to sample eggnog of any sort until we have it on Thanksgiving. To me, nothing signifies the start of the holiday season better than this!

Not bad for free!

Visit Newlywoodwards and see all of this week's submissions :)

Dare to... Be Thankful!

2011-11-13T07:38:00.001-05:00

Hooray!! It's Week 1 of Kim's Dare to DIY party! This week, it's all about being thankful. I've always liked the various methods of showing what you're thankful for each day, whether it be via a Facebook status or a jar of collected paper.

So I went with a frame. I sit at our office desk for many hours out of the day doing homework, so what better place to remind myself of the good things in life than here? I see it daily and can change what I'm thankful for, reminding myself to appreciate the little (or big!) things each and every day.

It was easy, but I'll tell you how I did it anyway. I simply spray painted an old frame I had lying around. Then I wrote out the words on a PowerPoint slide (in one of my favorite fonts, Opifico), and printed it on scrapbook paper. I then taped it to the flimsy mat that came with the frame, jazzing it up with ribbon. Finally, a dry erase marker lets me change it everyday at ease!

My goal was to do something for $0.00, and mission completed. It's simple, but it's definitely encouraged me to focus on the positive this month so far, so it's worth it. This baby will be around each year.

Of course, I'm linking this up to Kim's Dare to DIY party. Go check out what everyone has done - and join too if you want!

Simple Pleasures

2011-11-12T17:02:00.001-05:00

Fall around our house -- quickly leaving us for dreary winter.

And since I'm a day late in posting this, a bonus video of Roxy in our backyard. I was trying to capture her daily 3 loops around the perimeter of our fence, but she stopped cooperating the moment I turned the camera on. Spoiler Alert: she pees at the end...

Recent Happiness

2011-11-11T15:42:00.001-05:00

Fall's been pretty awesome, no?

I finally connected my phone to the computer to download the pictures I've taken recently on-tha-go. Here's a little collage of recent happiness.

Happy Weekend!

Rethinking Tuesday

2011-11-08T06:50:00.003-05:00

Tuesdays are by far the worst day of the week for me this semester. I get up at 5, go to the middle school from 8-1, then head to campus for my own classes from 4:30-9:30pm, then drive an hour home. I know, poor pitiful me. Toughest life ever. Oh I'm just blessed enough to be able to follow my dreams and go back to school and have only one measly day that's rough...

So, usually I'm so negative the whole day, knowing how long it is and how tired I am by the end of it. But today I'm feeling the need to be positive, so I'm going to try my darnedest to make it through to the end of the day without feelings of bitterness or anger or frustration. I'm going to cut the negative talk and complaining. Less eye rolling and more optimism.

Today I'm going to adopt my dad's favorite mantra from my childhood:

"Good attitude -- good day. Bad attitude -- bad day."

It's as simple as that. Who's with me??

Simple Pleasures

2011-11-06T13:29:00.002-05:00

Puppy "fights"

[let's pretend i posted this yesterday, shall we??]

Do You Dare??

2011-11-04T08:53:00.004-04:00

It's one of my favorite times of the year in blogland!! So much inspiration and warm fuzzies going around. I'm so sentimental about holidays, so the more the better!!

It's also time for Kim at Newlywoodward's Dare to DIY party. I just watched others participate two years ago, and last year I knew I had to give it a try! It was fun!! It made me get off my butt and do stuff.

Here's the schedule (of course, more info on Kim's blog - go check it out!) with links to what I posted about last year.

Nov 14: Give Thanks Thankful Blocks

Nov 21: Entertain My Thanksgiving Table Setting

Nov 28: Cookies My Baking Attempt

Dec 5: Homemade gifts Christmas Crafts

Dec 12: Deck the Halls Holiday Cheer

Dec 19: Traditions Our Fam Traditions

Really the best part is getting to share with everyone else who is participating - looking at what they made, getting to know someone new. I think some of my favorite blog reads were discovered over the past few years through this.

Join up!

All About Me

2011-11-03T16:00:00.001-04:00

Do I ever write posts with substance anymore? No. Sadly.

I might detail to you the months/days/hours/minutes I have left of grad school, but that would sound whiny Instead, I will simply ~~nonchalantly~~ allude to them. Onward...

So, thanks to the encouragement of our friends Kacy and Mikey, we joined them in a 'small group' they were a part of through their church. It's basically a group of couples all in the same-ish life stage (we have 5 couples in our group) who meet once a week at someone's house and talk about stuff. :) Well, that's the simple definition.

But anyway, as part of the whole getting-to-know-you process, each person gets a chance to tell their story. So, literally, the story of their life, from start to present.

I don't know about you, but I have never had the occasion to actually sit down and tell someone all about myself - my entire life - in one sitting. Of course, it's not every little thing about yourself, since you can only go over the highlights in a roughly one-hour session, but still. It took me quite a while to actually write up my 'outline' (I did an outline so I wouldn't freeze when it came time to talk!).

Where do you start? What do you include? What's fluff and what has actually helped shape who you are? I was nervous to do it at first, but it was quite an enlightening exercise.

It's funny how when you condense your life down to the moments that really matter, patterns emerge, connections can be made, and you can actually learn a little something about yourself that you somehow never realized before.

I found myself typing out past events that seemed fairly trivial. I added the highs and lows of different times in my life. And then I read back through it all in order and realized how frequently I could connect my actions and attitudes later in life to my emotional reactions to events that happened in the past. Undoubtedly, other factors came into play as well, as years and forgetfulness intervened between events. Yet I could still draw connections, fragile though they may be, throughout the story.

I told (most) of my story to the group last night (before we ran out of time), and it is such a weird yet somehow extremely satisfying sensation to talk unabashedly about yourself for an hour straight. The best part? Everyone wants to hear you talk about yourself.

We all come from so many different places, both physically and emotionally, spiritually and experientially. Yet just as I was able to draw those tentative webs of connection within my own life, so too are we able to all find bits and pieces of connection within each others'.

Connecting to yourself and to others -- powerful stuff.

Simple Pleasures

2011-10-29T08:24:00.000-04:00

The saddest dog in the world, apparently...

Pumpkin Bread!

2011-10-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

I've posted my favorite banana bread recipe here before, but I can now also attest that with a little tweaking, it makes for a great pumpkin bread as well! Pumpkin bread recipes are all over the place, but I knew the McCalls recipe I had to be tried and true, so I just changed it up a bit - I used a half can of pumpkin instead of the bananas here. I also added in a tablespoon each of nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla extract to make it more suitable for the pumpkin flavor. It turned out wonderfully (which, I was aftraid it wouldn't!).

I'm becoming quite the baker :) Now, if only I could learn to enjoy baking chicken or steaming veggies, then I'd be in better shape....

~~Banana Nut (or Chocolate!)~~ Pumpkin Bread·

· 2 ½ cups sifted all purpose flour

· 3 teaspoons baking powder

· ½ teaspoon salt

· 1 cup sugar

· ¼ cup soft butter

· 1 egg beaten

· ~~1 cup mashed ripe bananas (3 small bananas)~~ 1/2 can of pumpkin puree

· ~~2 tablespoons grated orange peel~~ 1 tablespoon each of nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla extract

· ½ cup milk

· 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (or chocolate chips!) - if you want

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.

2. Sift flour with baking powder and salt; set aside

3. In a medium bowl, with electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, and egg until smooth

4. Add pumpkin, spices, and milk, mixing well. Add flour mixture, beating just until smooth. Stir in nuts or chocolate chips if using.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan; bake about 1 hour, or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

6. Let cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack. To serve, cut into thin slices

[[adapted from an old McCall's recipe]

Simple Pleasures

2011-10-22T08:39:00.002-04:00

My first high school football game in a looong time (and checking #35 off my List!)

It was absolutely freezing (it got down into the 30s here in GA!) and we weren't totally prepared. Cold stone risers do not make for a pleasant sitting experience. But it was a lot of fun anyway! It felt like it was finally fall as we shivered and drank hot chocolate. Tony also got to hear my endless reminiscing about my high school experience. :)

Sketti Skwash!

2011-10-20T07:00:00.000-04:00

Or, spaghetti squash, if you must.

We decided to venture into the world of autumnal vegetables this week. The good ol' spaghetti squash. Giant. Strange. Delicious.

Using this pinned recipe as inspiration, Tony whipped us up a nice seasonal meal. Basically he cooked it as the recipe indicates, heating it up in a skillet with oil, garlic, a little butter, and some parsley. But not one to stick with recipes (he's quite creative in the kitchen, have I mentioned that??), he had to add some stuff. He'd smoked a few chicken breasts the day before (you could just grill some, or bake some, or whatevs) and added that in, along with green peppers and a spoonful of pesto sauce. Heat it all up and mix away.

What's best about the SS, is that you can pretend it's pasta. Just crunchy, al dente-ish pasta. But guess what? YOU'RE EATING VEGETABLES OMG! Best of both worlds.

So if someone's into seasonal squashes, simmer up a spaghetti squash sometime. [squash alliteration]

What to Paint??

2011-10-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hello lovely ladies of blogland, I need your advice!

My mom gave us this little dresser. I'm not sure if she painted it or it came that way, but it's quite cute with it's green and black stripes and natural wood top. The only problem is it's currently living in our bedroom, and it's far from meshing with our decor. We're glad to have the extra drawer space (since our closet is tiny!), but it needs to do a better job of fitting in. It needs a good paint job.

The question is, how??

Here's our room, with the outcast.

Our other dresser is crisp white, and we have blues and browns predominately in the room. In a perfect world, I'd redo this room entirely, but that's not an option. So instead, how can I make this dresser work?

Should I

paint it solid white to match the other dresser?
paint it a complementary cream?
paint it an accent color? like navy or plum? or something else?
paint it white, but re-stain the top a dark brown, and make it two-tone?

Any opinions? Your help is greatly appreciated!

Updated Home Tour

2011-10-18T07:00:00.000-04:00

I realized many of my pictures on the Our Home part of the blog were a little outdated. So I switched some up - check it out. It's a nice mix of time periods - Halloween and Christmas 2010! Ha. Try to see which rooms show snow on the ground outside, and which show falling leaves.

I also added pics of our office, which until now, I've tried to avoid showing. But in the spirit of keeping it real, I'm opening up. I spend hours upon hours in this room, studying away. Tony actually calls it my "study nest" because I usually have piles of books and papers strewn around me at the desk with little pathways carved out. I cleaned up a bit for these pictures, but I resisted the urge to hide all of the piles of papers on the desk. That's life, people.

It's a hodgepodge of old furniture and mismatched decor!

It ain't pretty, but it makes for a fine chair to read in by the window.

A History of Georgia, anyone??

I need a better bookshelf. For reals.

This room needs so much work, but since it's just the office, it's unlikely to see some major changes for a while. Until then, I will relish our little room with the most natural light of the whole house. I will even appreciate my pathetic, rickety bookshelf overflowing with textbooks.

If you need me, I'll be in the study nest.

Fall - On the Inside

2011-10-17T11:47:00.002-04:00

Well, it sure doesn't feel like fall around here, but that's no surprise. Each year I am frustrated anew by the lack of cool, cozy temps. With only a few exceptions, we go from HOT to COLD before I've even realized what's happening.

Nonetheless, our house is ready for fall. I have a pumpkin fetish, true story.

The fun frame wreath my sister made for me last year.

See that fun sign?

My DIY dollar store wreath from last year has held up well

I owe this inspiration 110% to Emily of Imperfect. She posted this two years ago, and I was in love. I finally got around to copying her this year. It's simply a leftover piece of baseboard, paint, stickers, and mod podge. And it's oh so true.

Now, if only the weather would get the hint. Claire wants to wear a sweatshirt, is that too much to ask??

Simple Pleasures

2011-10-15T10:44:00.001-04:00

Spooky and Sparkly :)

My rehabbed skull from last year - yay disco skeleton!

Fall = Homework. And Elmo.

2011-10-14T08:21:00.002-04:00

Whew. The past few weeks have been exhausting. There are some days when I really have to tell myself that I'm getting my masters in just four semesters and that's a pretty sweet deal. Even if that means crazy-busy semesters, it's only four of them.

I believe it's hitting me hardest now because fall is, by far, my favorite time of year. I'm extremely sentimental about things, especially traditions, and the picturesque weather we see in fall makes my heart ache for seasonal experiences and memories to be made all over again. And sadly, we're missing all of the things we usually do since I'm always loaded down with homework. Perhaps I should revise my thinking and have "spend hours inside on beautiful days doing homework" be a new tradition? At least it won't be happening next fall.

So all that to say, I'm a busy whiner.

However, I was able to work in some time to go make a surprise visit to Knoxville to see the family for my mom's birthday. It was a spur-of-the-moment idea and I'm so glad we went. The weather was lovely and some quality family time was spent.

You all know it's impossible for me to visit my family and not take a million pictures. Here are the highlights.

She is currently obsessed with Elmo. She shouts "ELMO!" anytime she sees him. Every. time.

ZOMGBALLOONS!

What's great is that when we are out, Courtney lets me hold Lyla and pretend she's my baby. I kinda like it. Girl is cute.

Simple Pleasures

2011-10-09T15:50:00.002-04:00

Tony, getting his gourd on.

Simple Pleasures

2011-10-01T15:46:00.004-04:00

Delicious pumpkin brownies. Might need to make them again.

Recipe via this site

I Love Weekends

2011-09-30T10:29:00.001-04:00

Happy Friday Everyone!

Hope it's a beautiful one there, just like it is here. It's supposed to finally dip below 88 this weekend, so I'm excited.

My blog's been super boring lately, huh? When you spend all of your free time at a desk in the library, there just isn't much to share. I was super good this week and got a lot of my work done so I could actually enjoy some hours of the weekend. School, blah!

I hope to break out the fall decor this weekend and get crafty, so maybe I will have something to share this week.

In the meantime, I'd like to give a shoutout to my most cherished tool for student teaching:

via

Simple Pleasures

2011-09-24T15:40:00.001-04:00

Something I look forward to each year - fried curly potatoes at our local craft fair.

Next up to look forward to (in October) - county fair corn dogs!

Warm Fuzzies

2011-09-22T19:30:00.001-04:00

I'm elbow deep in some educational research reading right now, but felt like I should pop in to say hello to my loyal thousands. :)

Warm fuzzies for the day: Today was my last day at the elementary school for student teaching. When I was leaving, they all swarmed around me for a 25 person hug. A long one. Like, couldn't get them off of me long.

Glad they liked me :)

It's off to a middle school on Monday. 8th grade. Wish me luck.

Photos & Fruit

2011-09-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

I recently accomplished not one, but TWO things on my 2011 List. It's quite the accomplishment. Mostly because I've done so poorly on my little list this year. These two mark only 10 crossed off out of 50. Life gets in the way, ya know? I've still got 3 1/2 months to redeem myself...

One off the list is highly important, the other is totally fluff. But I'm sharing them both anyway.

First, # 34. "Back up my photos somewhere"

I've been panicking recently, worried our computer will crash and I will lose everything. I surely do not want to rely on poor quality Facebook pics of my most treasured moments. That, and despite antivirus software, windows covered in Chinese characters keep popping up when I'm online... not a good sign.

So we caved and purchased a gigantic external hard drive. Ok, in actuality it's really tiny, but it holds 500 GB, so I'm happy. No more lamenting over the space my photos are taking up on our computer. Everything will be safely backed up.

It's funny that I still remember the first memory card I got for my first digital camera. It was only 256 megabites, and cost about $40. Ha! How times have changed.

The great thing about the hard drive we got (a Seagate), is that it comes with software that automatically backs things up as they change or get added, keeping you from having to remember to transfer files. My kind of lazy-person safeguard.

Time will tell how it holds up, but so far, so good.

Second, #23. "Try a new piece of random fruit from the farmer's market"

I'm not very adventurous in the fruit department. I think I'm the only person on the planet who doesn't like real oranges. It's always the texture, not the flavor, that bothers me.

The farmers market we sometimes go to is the Your Dekalb Farmers Market up towards Atlanta. It's an everyday, permanent kind of market, serving the very diverse population that makes up Atlanta. So they have tons of veggies and fruits I have never heard of in my life. Many spiny, fuzzy, multicolored oddities.

For fear of eating something that would somehow kill me from an unknown allergy, I took it easy when selecting the fruit I would eat for the list.

I went with a dinosaur pluot. I figured it got bonus points for having "dinosaur" in it's name. That, and I spent waaay too long figuring out how to pronounce "plout." (it's ploo-OTT, btw). Maybe these are common fruits elsewhere, but I had never seen them. So it was deemed adventurous enough for the list. It's a plum and an apricot mixed together.

I liked it! Sweet and softish, but not too soft or too sour. Try one!

Simple Pleasures

2011-09-17T08:38:00.003-04:00

Learning early how to drive a golf cart...

Toddlers!!

2011-09-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I talked about my family's visit over Labor Day and our trip to Serenbe. I took more pictures that weekend, although not at Serenbe, so for the sake of honesty I didn't want to put them in that post, but still wanted to share... (whew, run on sentence)

Also, my brother in law's birthday happened recently, and we had the wonderful opportunity to see them and our niece Ava. So consider this a NP (Niece Post). Or PHNP (Photo Heavy Niece Post).

Four generations :)

artsy, ha!

What ya makin' me sit in this rusty chair for?

Seconds before an official meltdown :)

The whole fam (Tony's side)

Little reader

Making a video for her great grandma

I warned her there wasn't much money in it, no need to try to walk off with it :)

Serenbe

2011-09-15T07:19:00.000-04:00

In all of my homework/student teaching/classes madness, I didn't have a chance to share what I did over Labor Day.

Have I mentioned I LOVE having guests? Too infrequently do we have visitors in our home. Sure, we only have a horribly lumpy, maddeningly wobbly full-sized bed and a rock-solid single bed to offer, so I can see why people are hesitant to come. But when they do, I love it. I love playing hostess. Someday we will have a big house and lots of friends and family nearby and I will "entertain" ....

This past long weekend, my mom, Grammy, Courtney, and Lyla came to visit (girls weekend!). I’m always eager to find fun things for us to do, so I decided we should take a visit to Serenbe. Serenbe is a community about thirty minutes from Peachtree City that is as beautiful as its name. People live there, but it’s a fun place for visitors to spend a nearly-fall Saturday morning.

Serenbe has homes, restaurants, shops, and a farm, and the entire community looks like it has sprung right off the pages of Southern Living (I wish I had gotten more photos of these, but it felt a little stalkerish). On Saturday mornings in season they have a farmer’s market, and we found ourselves buying fresh bread and fragrant flowers, handmade jewelry and soup.

Children laughed and played in the grass, residents stopped to chat with friends, and the warm sun peeked through the trees that surrounded the property. It was a delightful way to spend a morning. And you know I took a bazillion pictures of Lyla...

I’m a sucker for the details, and camera in hand, I captured the beautiful architecture, Southern storefront facades, fragrant flowers speckled with butterflies, and even the eclectic streetlamps. We ducked in and out of little boutique shops and caught a whiff of fresh pastries wafting out of the Blue Eyed Daisy Bakeshop.

We drooled over restaurant menus that boasted of dishes made with ingredients grown right there on Serenbe’s farm. I walked the tree-lined sidewalks, taking in decorative details and envious front porches, pushing Lyla in her stroller as she chattered away in the sunshine.

Serenbe invites a laid-back atmosphere, people milling around with no specific purpose in mind. Conversation, beauty, and relaxation were the rules for the day. It was a morning meant to take it easy, and so we did.

If you're near the Atlanta area, I would recommend checking it out some time on a lazy Saturday. It's also beautiful at Christmas.

An Afternoon Walk

2011-09-12T06:28:00.000-04:00

The sun is dappling the path that lies before us, creating amosaic of bright sunlight and dark earth. Despite the oppressive heat, there is a cool breeze that glances off ourwarm skin. One cannot help but betransfixed by the green – so much green - a million shades of nature, allblended together, trees crowded on top of each other, vying for sunlight, vyingfor life. A spider spins lazily, thesunbeams glinting off the silken strands. Birds chirp, singing happy songs, guiding our way. We continue on, our steps relaxed. Squirrels,chipmunks, we see it all. Somethingrustles in the nearby bushes. Perhapsit’s a snake, slithering through the murky, swampy waters that surround ourpath. Perhaps it is somethingbigger.

Fall is right around the corner, but only a few eager treesgive it away. We round a bend in thetrail as a deep splash ricochets off the solid trees and stops us in ourtracks. A small doe, quiet and majestic,stands near, ankle deep in in algae-green water. Her ears perk, her tail flicks. She is silent and watchful. Her baby is not quite as cautious as he slipstentatively from behind her, eager to continue on their course. We remain motionless, the flickering sun throughthe breezy trees the only movement. Hesitantly,she gracefully steps from the water, slowly, cautiously. Her feet touch solid ground and she isflying, darting effortlessly among branches and brush, soon swallowed up by hergreen world, once again invisible. Herbaby follows, a mirror to her grace. They have vanished, the spell broken.

For those brief moments, we shared the same space, the samehesitation. We move on. The sun still sprinkles through the canopy ofleaves. The air still smells of a dampcoolness. It is still hot. We are quiet, reflecting.

Just another day, walking our dogson our favorite cart path through the woods.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know I have mentioned before that we have tons of golfcart paths around town that are perfect for carting or for walking. Nearly every day this summer, Tony and I took long walks with the dogs down these paths, grateful for the shade and cooler temperatures in the woods. It's like our own private nature walk.

This is the view from our driveway:

That is the start of a cartpath - all we have to do is cross our street and we have access to miles and miles of safe and smooth paths. Lucky, huh?

Nothing for Granted

2011-09-11T11:52:00.001-04:00

It is such a beautiful morning here in Georgia. It looks to be the same in New York.

A day like today, with the sun shining through a clear, vivid blue fall sky, makes me realize how important it is to take nothing for granted. Each day, each moment, to appreciate and treasure. Life can be unexpected, but you have to cling to what is important, what really matters, and never let that leave you. On tv, young children are honoring parents they never really knew, parents are mourning the loss of their grown children, widows are praying silently, eyes squeezed shut.

On a morning like today, like others, I am thinking back ten years. I was sitting in my high school history class when word made it up to us from the front office about what was happening. We turned on our classroom tv and watched in dismay as newscasters scrambled and jumbled information was slowly pieced together. We watched live as the second tower was hit.

I remember too that my history teacher turned off the tv then. Not because he couldn't handle it, or because he thought we couldn't. Instead, he told us he had to finish his lesson for the day, since we were already behind in the unit (the lesson was something about the West and the gold rush). To this day, I still can't believe that. We were watching history unfold before us, in a history classroom, yet my teacher was more concerned about covering material than helping teenagers grapple with real history being made and the unanswerable questions we all had.

This day impacted all of us, as Americans. And my particular experience impacted me in a way that I hope to remember always. I don't want to be the teacher who sacrifices teaching something truly meaningful for the sake of a tidy lesson plan. Whatever the future brings us, I want to be that teacher encouraging my students to embrace the world they live in, good and bad. I want them to understand, to participate, to know.

I'm interning in a fifth grade classroom right now, and Friday, we had a school-wide moment of silence for September 11th. Only some of our fifth graders had even been born then. Most everyone in the school, the adults excluded, were not even yet imagined on that day.

Time goes so quickly. We must appreciate each and every day.

Simple Pleasures

2011-09-10T15:22:00.003-04:00

Lantana, one of my favorites (wish this was mine!):

Vlog: A Weirder Word Than Blog

2011-09-08T16:37:00.000-04:00

Hi all! I wanted to get in on all the vlogging action that was going on last week - so here's mine. It's my first self-video, so don't hate.

Things you might notice:

Angles. Never shoot from below. Forgot that when I made this.

[looks like I have pointy vampire teeth... kinda do.....]

I inappropriately yell "hey yall!" in there
I inadvertantly mock those who say 'buggy'
I couldn't find the stop button.

Get your popcorn ready...

Chipboard Letter Canvas

2011-09-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

My sister recently got married, as I'm sure you all recall, and I wanted to share part of the present I got her. Really, I would have loved to give her a ginormous present, but our current situation doesn't quite allow for that. Soooo she got some kitchen stuff :) She reads this blog (and is always leaving sweet comments), so hopefully she didn't think it was a lame gift and is now thinking it's doubly lame because I'm blogging about it....

Can I just say that packaging a gift is my favorite part??? I liked this one mostly because I decided to get a bowl to hold the little stuff instead of just a box. It was a really pretty retro bowl from the thrift store that I thoroughly washed (don't worry, Courtney!).

The part not shown above was this little canvas. These are all the rage right now, it seems, so I couldn't resist copying. Her new last name starts with an H, so I just got a cheap little canvas (12x12", I think) at Hobby Lobby and a chipboard letter, glued and sprayed. I didn't do a good job of photographing before I wrapped...

What was super annoying was that I really wanted to do C & B --- but I searched that store for literally thirty minutes and could not, for the life of me, find an ampersand. Annoying. I guess those who made the ones on Pinterest shop at classier establishments than HobLob....

It was super easy, cost a few bucks, and now I want one for myself. :)

Simple Pleasures

2011-09-04T08:50:00.001-04:00

Poor LiLi :)

Seven Posts

2011-09-02T05:00:00.000-04:00

Emily over at Imperfect is one of my all-time favorite blog reads. I love her style, attitude, and humor. She makes imperfection look good!

Anyway, she "tagged" me, if you will, to do one of these posts where I link up to 7 of my old blog posts. I've never really done one of these, so I thought I would give it a try.

Here are the details:

What this is about:
To unite bloggers (from all sectors) in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve to see the light of day again.

Rules:
1) Blogger is nominated to take part
2) Blogger publishes his/her 7 links on his/her blog – 1 link for each category.
- Your most beautiful post
– Your most popular post
– Your most controversial post
– Your most helpful post
– A post whose success surprised you
– A post you feel didn’t got the attention it deserved
– The post that you are most proud of

3) Blogger nominates up to 5 more bloggers to take part.
4) These bloggers publish their 7 links and nominate another 5 more bloggers
5) And so it goes on!
6) The site Trip Base be sharing the best posts from participating bloggers on their blog and everyday on Facebook and Twitter at #My7Links

1. My most beautiful post:

This one was a hard one to choose... I have a few posts that felt very genuine and heartfelt when I was writing them - and to me, that's beautiful. You know the feeling, right? When your fingers fly across the keys and creativity pours out? I like those.

I felt like this post about "Love & Apology & Forgiveness" was one of those.

And in case this question was supposed to mean "beautiful" visually, here's a pretty sunrise (from this post):

2. My most popular post:

AHHH!

Well, I've complained on here before that my most popular post in terms of traffic used to be this terrible one entitled "Purple Blanket", where I got the bright idea to paint an "accent wall" Barney purple. Sooo many people ended up coming to that post via Google (who knows what they were really searching for!), and I was pretty embarrassed because I hated that wall and have since painted over it.

ANYWAY, my new most popular post is also about paint, entitled "Cozy Cottage," the name of the paint color that is on our living room walls (that I do like). I guess in retrospect, naming your post after a paint color drives traffic...

3. My most controversial post:

Uh, I'm too timid to write about anything controversial, I think! Or at least I've never had someone respond negatively to a post (in writing, at least!). Fill me in if you were offended by one and I didn't know it!

Perhaps this one is somewhat controversial: my real life ghost story from the LaConcha Hotel in Key West. I get a lot of traffic to this post as well, and I've had strangers email me about having a similar ghost experience there. Pretty freaky - and perhaps controversial for those of you who don't believe in ghosts...

via

4. My most helpful post:

Does a guest post count?? I wrote this for Shannanigans about learning to live on less, and I'm not sure if others found it helpful, but I like to think they did. I got many nice comments, regardless. This is just something I am newly passionate about, and I hope that my words made someone have a brighter day.

5. A post whose success surprised me:

This post about my little DIY project centered around Thanksgiving. Undoubtedly, it's success was linked to Kim of Newlywoodwards's Dare to DIY link party! I was really happy with this project, so I was so happy to hear positive comments on it!

6. A post that I feel didn't get the attention it deserved:

Hmmm... seems to me I'm going to sound arrogant regardless of what I put here. How about this post, titled "Learning Life Lessons," written after I read Tuesdays with Morrie. It did get some attention, but I meant every word I wrote and I still love the sentiment behind this post, so read it again (but only if you want!). My words aren't even all that powerful, but the book is. I truly recommend it - and it spoke so deeply to me when I was in crisis mode trying to decide what to do with my life...

7. The post that I am most proud of:

This post, titled "Life Changing," where I "announced" that I was going back to school to become a teacher. I longed for the day I could write that post, putting my feelings of excitement, pride, anxiety, and utter hopefulness out there - and it was such a freeing feeling to do so. So many took the time to leave kind comments, and your support bolstered me immensely.
___________________________________________________________________

So there you have it! 7 posts resurrected. Who knows if those are the posts I would have selected a week ago, or even next week, but that's where I stand today. And I know, I totally cheated and put 2 in for some of the questions. Oh well.

While we're cheating, here's a bonus post from yore:

Darn Good Chocolate Cake - make it!

So now my task is to choose 5 bloggers to do this same project:

Kacy of Kacy & Mikey
Bethany of Rinse. Repeat.
Lizzie of Lizzie in Progress
Amanda of Project Simple Life
Torrie of A Place to Share

Cursed?

2011-08-30T04:00:00.000-04:00

Our oven caught on fire this weekend. It's only 2 years old (remember this post?).

I'm super pumped about that............................. (sarcasm font)

Before I publicly thank my lucky stars we are not burned to a crisp, let me recap our summer:

I quit working. Zero income from my side.
Our furnace/AC dies - (remember when I said our house was a selfish brat?)
Our water heater dies
My car has random electrical problem that is as-of-yet un-diagnosed (even after many weeks in the shop...). Mounds of charges are expected.

What did we do wrong? That's what I'm asking myself! Are we cursed?

No, not seriously, but COME ON! We were sooooo good, saving up money while I was working to have an emergency stash while I was in school. We've lived on a tight budget for almost two years now. We paid my car off. We have no debt (well, except smallish student loans now). I'm helping little kids have a brighter education.... we're saints, practically.

Ok, so anyway, back to the oven. We had heard a funny pop sound the night before it enflamed, but we assumed it was the cookie sheet we had in the over bending with the heat. There was also a weird smell, but we were cooking so it just smelled odd, not definable. Next morning, Tony went to warm something for breakfast, and there was a huge pop (causing all of the lights in the house to flicker), and smoke started pouring out from behind the electrical control panel. The stove is electric, not gas, and it was clearly an electrical issue, not an in-the-oven issue. Luckily, Tony was standing right there and got it unplugged and out of the house very quickly, and nothing else actually caught on fire. I was waiting in standby mode, ready with a fire extinguisher that I don't quite know how to use!

We were using it just as you are supposed to, and clearly this is a manufacturing default (don't worry, Tony has already been in touch with Whirlpool, for what it's worth...).

But here's the scary thing ---- how often do you turn the oven on to heat up, walking to another room or even getting in the shower or going outside to get the mail. Sure, not the smartest thing to do, but we all assume that if we are in or near the house, it will be ok... If he had done that, the entire kitchen/house would have caught on fire so quickly.

Lesson learned. Lucky stars thanked. Blessings counted.

So, the point of this drama is:
1. Don't leave your oven unattended (at all!)
2. Our possessions are out to get us, and our precious emergency fund is dwindling.
3. Emergency funds are good to have, even if you have to use them.

In the meantime, send some happy thoughts the way of our dryer, fridge, and microwave. They need all the help they can get.

It only has to get better from here, right???

Happy.

2011-08-27T11:36:00.000-04:00

I feel very happy this Saturday morning. We woke up to semi-fall-like temperatures. We went on a morning walk with the dogs, and even now from the window I can see a clear blue sky, free (for the moment) of the humidity haze. I'm dreaming of falling leaves and pumpkin candles and jeans. I'm listening to a song that makes me nod my head back and forth. I'm stuck inside doing homework - but it's ok.

I'm happy today.

I had a really good week. I mentioned that I started my student teaching, which marks my first real experience in a classroom. I went into teaching somewhat blindly, with no real prior knowledge. I was so scared. I had so many fears. What if I got in a classroom and didn't like it?? Not just the teacher or the room, but being a teacher. We've put so much (time, energy, money, sacrifice) into this, into allowing me to change my life completely. What if, after all of that.... I didn't like it? What then?

But today I am happy.

I loved it. I love it. And it's not just the room or the school or the teacher or the specific kids. I love the feeling. I can really see myself as a teacher. I know there will be good days and bad, and I know I have so very much more to learn and experience. But I know deep down that this is what I was meant to do.

thank goodness.

Simple Pleasures

2011-08-27T11:20:00.000-04:00

My roommates from college, whom I lived with for four years. We finally had a reunion of sorts, and it was such a blast. Love them!

Thursday Thoughts

2011-08-25T16:37:00.000-04:00

Whew! Ready for this brain dump of a post? Yes? Ok!

I started the intern portion of my student teaching this week in a 5th grade class (the part where I'm more of an observer than the actual student teacher). It's going really, really well! I definitely feel like I'm on the right path - this is what I want to do!
I also started back with my own classes. So... lots of reading... no time for blogging

Well, that's it. I feel guilty writing this and not doing my homework.

Just:

School is busy. The end. :)

Recipe 2!

2011-08-22T07:00:00.000-04:00

I'm on a roll now, yall.

I don't even know who I am anymore. I cook, I clean... too bad it's short-lived!

This was technically the second time I have made this recipe, so I figured twice was enough to count one in my corner - recipe #2 for my list!

Pinterest is becoming quite the source for me for recipe inspiration. Today's recipe is Creamed Avocado and Lime Chilled Pasta, found via Pinterest and originally posted on this blog.

It's basically what it sounds - some lime juice, avocado, garlic, cilantro, and yogurt all blended together to form a cool and refreshing sauce for pasta.

It's easy, requires minimal ingredients, and is perfect for a hot summer day (yes, it's still super hot here... I wish it were fall, but sadly that's quite a ways away 'round these here parts).

You simply cook pasta, food process, and mix. Fast and easy, my type of recipe. I think it would be a good lunch option too.

You can follow her recipe, but so you know, I changed a few things a bit.

Mayonnaise is the scourge of the earth, in my opinion. So since the recipe calls for a few tablespoons of the icky stuff, I just substituted Greek yogurt.
I used the juice of two whole limes, since we didn't have the bottled kind.
I added diced red bell peppers (cold) and leftover rotisserie chicken to make it more of a meal, since we had it for dinner.

Enjoy!

Simple Pleasures

2011-08-20T08:38:00.001-04:00

Miss Marlee, who makes the best faces.

Don't worry, I'm not playing favorites. Her brother Parks got a shout out a few weeks ago. :)

I've had the chance to spend a good amount of time with these awesome little ones these past few weeks - and I am so grateful we have them in our lives. They melt my heart.

Head over to Kacy's blog if you want to see more adorableness that is Parks and Marlee.

Crystal Clear: A New Storm Door

2011-08-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

Since Day 1, I have loathed the storm door that came on our house. I think you'd hate it too.

See what I mean? Even the husband and dogs peering out doesn't do much to help it's case.

The white panel at the bottom looked so dated, and the bar cutting across the middle just drew attention to it. Not to mention the top and bottom glass panels didn't sit flush, so I had a tacky piece of tape across them to keep the bugs out. Klassy!

I know some people would opt for no storm door at all. And I would usually agree with them.

However, we have such a lack of natural light in our house, that the light gained by opening the door is a tremendous difference. It's like gaining an extra window. I'm crazy about natural light, but apparently didn't take that into consideration when we purchased this house. It's soooo dark, and that's the #1 thing on my "want" list when we go to buy a new one. I'm one of those people who feels the compulsive need to open blinds in other people's houses during the day. I love ~~lamp~~ sunlight.

Not to mention, our dogs love watching the cars go by. It keeps them amused, which makes me happy.

So the point of all that is this:

Like storm door idea
Hate actual storm door

We needed a new one. The kicker? Those suckers are ex-pen-sive. Well, at least when you're on a budget like ours. $150+ for a decent one. So when we saw a Craigslist ad for a new-in-box one for $75, we couldn't resist.

Brimming with pride about our patience and frugality, we went to open the box, only to discover that the frame had basically broken apart, due to some pretty flimsy plastic L brackets holding it together. We didn't blame the sellers, just the poor quality of the door...

Long story short, we ordered new brackets from the company for $6. Hmmmm... the replacements they sent were METAL.... why they don't just use those from the start, beats me.

It took us 5 hours to put the door up. We had to get creative with the new brackets and shoddy workmanship from the previous door installation, etc. FIVE hours. We didn't kill each other, so that's a plus.

Enough talk - here she is.

The dogs love it! They have an uninhibited view of squirrels, walkers, cars, and golf carts.

And we love it, because it now blends in with our house, instead of sticking out like an eyesore. A much needed upgrade, regardless of how long it took!

I just need to touch up the trim and fill in nail holes and we have a lovely new entrance for cheap (ish).

Next on our curb appeal agenda?

Upgrade light by the door
Add much-needed color to the landscape
Trim and possibly rearrange the bushes that have grown like crazy recently.

Madeleines

2011-08-16T07:12:00.000-04:00

Have you all ever had a madeleine?

They are vanillaey, cakey, cookies that are downright heavenly. My mom made some as favors for Courtney's wedding - and I fell instantly in love.

She swears they are easy to make, and this recipe seems to be fairly simple enough.

You need a special madeleine pan to make them the traditional way:

Via

I might have sneaked a few treat bags home with me - for blogging purposes, of course.

So I'm on the lookout for a madeleine pan at the thrift store or something, since if I actually went out and bought one, I'd be in big trouble (ie: I would make some today and subsequently eat the whole pan).

My mom actually made these a little while ahead of time and froze them - and they were still fantastic!

I'm thinking they would be great Christmas gifts - perhaps dipped halfway in chocolate and covered with sprinkles or decorated somehow - packaged up in a nice little box.

Yum!

Meat Adventures

2011-08-15T08:36:00.003-04:00

I'm sure you've gotten the idea by now that I don't cook. At all. Occasionally I will bake something easy, and I can boil pasta, but that's it. Literally.

Meat scares me. I don't like touching it, I don't really like eating that much of it, I don't know how long to cook it for or at what temperature or if it really is done even though I've prodded and poked it and it looks done but I still don't know....

You get the picture. So in my (now-waning) free time, I decided to cook dinner. Of my own volition. Inspired by this pin.

We had most of the ingredients and I had the time (lots of it!) - so I went for it. Seemed easy enough.

Tony thought it was hilarious, so much so that he actually went to find my camera to take a picture to document that it really happened.

(Yes, I have been dressing up in my time off...)

So the recipe is Jamie Oliver's Crunchy Garlic Chicken. It's basically a lemon, garlic, and cracker coating on chicken - but it's baked. Very little oil used but it still tastes somewhat fried (ie: good). I had to do fancy things like zest and food process things. I had a very hands-on experience with raw chicken.

It was an adventure.

The best part - IT TURNED OUT GREAT! TONY LOVED IT! We had leftover chicken so he requested to have it again the next night - victory!!

With wheat pasta with a light lemon butter

I get it. It's not that challenging of a recipe for you chefs out there. But if you're like me and need an easy start - this one was it.

I did change a few things, based on what we had available:

I used some Wheat Thin chip/cracker things we had on hand, instead of saltines. I imagine it gave it better flavor anyway.
I also used chicken tenderloins, instead of breasts.

If you recall, The List of 2011 goals had me learning 5 new recipes that were edible. I'll chalk this up to #1!

Simple Pleasures

2011-08-13T09:03:00.003-04:00

Popcorn Shrimp!

Beach Week: The Outtakes

2011-08-12T16:05:00.000-04:00

You guys have been troopers through my Wedding and Beach weeks. Last one, promise!

Here are some funny pics that didn't really fit in elsewhere:

Girl loves acting like a big kid

My dad MADE these cornhole boards. Amazing. Cake stands and cornhole, his specialties!

Someone didn't wear sunscreen!

She almost got it!

Grammy playing cornhole! Yes!

Dad providing a nice target for Grammy's throw...

She didn't realize we were throwing pretzels so close to her and the seagulls were hovering!

Senior portrait

Lyla has a thing for putting hair into her ears. Weirdo.

Shannon - the closeup for you!

Pumpin' a keg in a bridesmaid dress - classy!

What can I say? I get excited when Tony takes pictures of me.

Match made in heaven.

Thanks for coming to the beach with me, guys!