Green with Envy

Does this pic of Will and Kate not make you want to go buy something in that pretty green color ASAP?!  Kate looks good in everything she wears, but I especially love her in this gorgeous Diane Von Furstenburg Maja dress.

House Portrait

Thankfully, I'm finally to the point in my life where I am able to get my family members "good" Christmas gifts.  You know what I'm talking about- In college, a candle for my mom and maybe a set of golfballs for my dad would be as far as my wallet could stretch.  I'm so happy I'm able to finally get gifts I'm excited about giving (and I LOVE giving gifts!)  This year, my two sisters and I chipped in and gave my mom one of my favorite gifts I've ever given!


My mom and I both follow Laura Trevey's blog, Bold Bright Beautiful, and we love love love her water color paintings.  (Click here to browse her Etsy shop.)  I sent Laura a picture of my parent's home they moved into last year and had her paint it.  They have a painting of their old home from a different artist, so I thought it'd be perfect to have one of their new house.  I was so pleased with the end result and my mom was thrilled and surprised!  Laura even blogged about it here.

After our wedding I think it would be so fun to have Laura paint a portrait of my bouquet or even my dress.

Healthy Dressings

Like always, I received so many thoughtful gifts this year from both my family and Rob's!  One creative gift that has already come in handy was from Rob's parents is the Salad Dressing Mixing Bottle.  This thing is so cool- It has 6 different healthy salad dressings on it, with lines on the bottle to show how much of each ingredient to put in.  Last night I had the French Vinaigrette dressing (pictured below) and it did not disappoint.  I loved it!  So, for all those people out there who, like me, are food-detoxing from the holidays, try out this nifty kitchen tool!  I can't wait to try the other five dressings. 
Thanks Jean and Larry! :)

Christmas

Merry Christmas!!!  I hope each and everyone of you had a Christmas season filled with the people you love, God's presence, and joy.  Christmas was extra special for me this year because I spent the entire time with my wonderful fiancée, and between both of our families we attended 5 different Christmas celebrations.  Needless to say, we are exhausted but also filled with happiness!  

Rob spent 3 hours (no joke) playing Legos today and I spent most of my day pushing around a stroller filled with American Girl dolls and their many accessories.  (Ella and I  really liked pretending to take our "babies" to see Santa at the mall, then having them scream because they were so scared of him! ha!)  Rob and I also enjoyed our time with the cutest cowboy boot-wearing toddler when we were with my family.  Having nieces and nephews is the best!  (Well, technically I just have one nephew, Conley, but I already consider Aaron and Ella my niece and nephew too!)

Pizza and bowling with Conley and my fam

Conley in his new cowboy boots from Gramps and Grandma on Christmas Eve…

Cutest cowboy around!

Ella modeling her new dress and necklace from Rob and me.

Ella is the most precious (and girliest) kindergartner I know!

Ecstatic about her new stroller- Santa was good to her!

"Aaron, take some pride in how you put your stickers on the Legos."

 -Rob (Yes, I overheard those exact words come out of his mouth! hahaha)

 Busy working on the Legos police station.  

I don't know who had more fun- Rob or Aaron… :)

Photo Dump!

Randomness from the past month…

Maggie & I before a friend's couples shower

Friends at a charity event 

(black and white pics help me forget how pale I am)

R's family baking day… This is only a small fraction of all the baked goods from that day.  I regretfully have been eating more than my fair share of sweets this holiday season! :)

Ice skating with dear friends who I've know practically my whole life

Rob was a trooper…  I had to give him ice skating lessons! haha

My current color of choice…  OPI's Jade is the New Black.  So festive and different!

December

I am glad that... it's my birthday week, my mom is visiting my classroom on my birthday, I woke up to a beautiful snow this morning, my students are hilarious and keep me on my toes, Rob and I are going to the KU game tonight, my house is loaded with amazing baked goods (thanks to Rob's family), I am 90% done with my Christmas shopping, and my church has had two amazing weeks of services this Advent season.  Whew, how's that for a run-on sentence?!  :)

Can you tell December is my favorite month of the year?!

You Might Be a Teacher If...

Came across this and it gave me a good chuckle…  

My commentary is in blue. :)

How Do You Know You're a Teacher?

by Jeff Foxworthy

1. You get a secret thrill out of laminating things. 
2. You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line. (so true)
3. You walk into a store and hear the words, “It’s Ms./Mr. ____________ and know you have been spotted. (...or they act freaked out and shocked that you go anywhere besides school.)
4. You have 25 people who  accidentally call you Mom/Dad at one time or another. (I think this is cute though.) 
5. You can eat a multi-course meal in under 25 minutes. 
6. You’ve trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day, lunch and planning period.
7. You start saving other people’s trash, because most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.
8. You believe the Teacher’s Lounge should be equipped with a margarita machine.
9. You want to slap the next person who says, “Must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off”. (Grrr, seriously!)
10. You believe chocolate is a food group.
11. You can tell if it’s a full moon without ever looking outside. (YES!)
12. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, “Boy, the kids are sure mellow today.”
13. You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.  (...or you think in your head "I feel bad for that kid's teacher!)
14. You believe in aerial spraying of Ritalin. 
15. You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form. (caffeine addict right here)
16. You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.
17. You can’t pass the school supply aisle without getting at least 5 items!
18. You ask your friends to use their words and explain if the left hand turn he made was a “good choice” or “bad choice.” (Rob's famous line: "Lindsey, stop talking to me like your fourth graders!")
19. You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.
20. You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer.
21. You understand, instantaneously, why a child behaves in a certain way after meeting his/her parents.

While I'm on the teacher topic today- Check out where Elfis, our classroom elf, was hiding today…

Blessings

image via

There is so much I am thankful for this year.  While I have so many blessings to count, the most important ones are all the wonderful people in my life- my family, Rob, Rob's family, my friends, and my students.  

I hope you also have many blessings to count this year.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

Engagement Photos

We had such a good time in my hometown this weekend.  Like always, we over indulged in all my mom's wonderful food, specifically homemade chicken noodles and cookies!  It was good to have a relaxing weekend of nothing to do (except of course taking our engagement photos!)  Our photographer is beyond amazing and already has our pics from Friday to us- how awesome is that?  Here are my favorites…

Oh Happy Day

Despite the fact that's it's a Tuesday (might be my least favorite day of the week) and it's drizzling and cold outside, I still have a few great reasons to smile today…

• Last night Rob and I become members of a local Presbyterian church.  I grew up non-denominational Christian and Rob grew up Catholic, and we've been going to this church for over a year.  Neither of us get too caught up about denominations- we enjoy the messages, the mission, and the people, so this church seems like a good fit for us.  It was especially fun to do this as a couple and we are so excited to take the pre-marital classes there this spring!

• I picked up the new Southern Weddings Magazine on the way to the gym last night.   (Sometimes when I'm really unmotivated to work out, I have to bribe myself with a new magazine.  Anyone else do this?!)  This is such a good wedding mag and I love their blog too!

• One more warm and fuzzy left to go in The Warm and Fuzzy Jar in my classroom.  Let me explain…  Part of the positive behavior management system in my classroom is The Warm and Fuzzy Jar.  Whenever, as a whole, they exhibit positive behavior that gives me "the warm and fuzzies" they get a fuzzy in the jar, which is just a little fuzzy craft ball.  When the jar is full, they earn a class party- Needless to say, with the jar nearly full, they have been trying so hard to be really good.  (WOOHOO!)  I have a feeling I might hold off on giving them the last fuzzy until the end of the week- This is excellent bribery, ha! :)

• Last, but not least, our engagement photos are on Friday!!!  Rob and I are both taking the day off work to head to my hometown for our pictures, and then spending the weekend with my parents!

Lula Kate

I have always been a sucker for companies with great ads (i.e. Kate Spade and J.Crew.)  As far as bridal brands go, there is one designer that takes the cake on amazing ads: Lula Kate.  Long before I got engaged, I have been a huge fan of their bridesmaid dresses!  When Rob and I were in Charleston this past spring we walked by their flagship store on King Street and I could not stop drooling just looking at the window display.  Here a few snapshots I took of the store.  Remember, these pics had to be quick and discreet.  Rob and I weren't engaged yet and I didn't want to creep the guy out. ;)

Now here are a few of their colorful/adorable/southern ads that I just can't get enough of.

Lucky for me Bella Bridesmaid in KC carries this brand and I have visited a couple of times with a few of my bridesmaids to check them out and there is a high chance my girls will be wearing a Lula Kate. YAY!

4 Little Things

• I don't know about you, but I really enjoy seasonal baking.  There is nothing I love more than satisfying my sweet tooth (any my students) with cute holiday treats.  Can I call it baking if I didn't use an oven?

• Have you heard the good news?  My FAVORITE, Michael Buble, has a new Christmas album out.  I need to buy this ASAP!

• The Lauren Conrad bun.  I am usually lacking in creative ways to do my hair, but I was excited when I recently figured out how to do the Lauren Conrad bun (that's at least what I refer to it as.)  It does not look nearly as full and cool as hers, but I still like it…  So quick and easy!

• Trader Joe's Fat Free Spicy Black Bean Dip is the best bean dip ever.  I can't put into words how good this stuff is.  I have eaten way too much of this over the past few days…  Do yourself a favor and go try it!

Birthday Boy

Happy 26th birthday to my wonderful fiancé!  Can't wait to marry this guy in less than 9 months!!!  I love you, Robby!

BB's Words of Wisdom

Bobbi Brown is famously known for her expertise in enhancing natural beauty with her makeup, BUT she also has some great simple words to live by…

image via

Halloween Spirit

This past week was our school's spirit week.  Students (and teachers) had to bring any amount of money to dress up each day.  The profits went to United Way and I need to brag on my class a bit…  Based on the preliminary count, our class raised the most money out of the whole school.  I was so inspired by how generous my students were, many donating from their own stash of cash!  By far, one of my favorite dress-up days was twin day.  This is the other 4th grade teacher, Libby, and me.  (I wasn't aware, but apparently Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia are twins!)  Confession: I didn't hate wearing my hair like that. ;) ha!

Dressing up for twin day and for all the spirit days kind of got me in the Halloween spirit…  I'm totally in the mood to decorate and carve some pumpkins.  I'm also super excited about my costume I'll wear to school on Halloween- to be revealed later!  It also helps that my roommate, Casey, LOVES seasonal decorating.  Here are a few Pinterest pins I snagged from Casey that I think are just perfect!

Fall Essentials

POPS OF RED.  Everywhere I look lately I am bombarded with the color RED… and I love it!  My two favorite red fall essentials are my red blazer and of course, red lips!  Mac's Russian Red Lip Glass is my fave red gloss that I have had since last year and I'm also loving J.Crew's Poppy King lipstick.  It's a great coral red and can be as light or as dark as you want it to be, depending on how you apply it.

(KU game days are not complete without red lips!)

PENNY LOAFERS.  I am on the hunt for the perfect pair.  I have an old pair that needs a replacement ASAP.  I have been eyeing these Nine West Succeed loafers.  How perfect would they look with cropped wool pants?!

J.CREW MATCHSTICK JEANS.  Both of my sisters and I love these jeans and we are all built completely different.  The Matchstick fit is a straight leg, but not a skinny leg- it is the perfect in between in my opinion.  Both the regular J.Crew and the outlets carry this fit.

What are your fall essentials this year???

Furry Friends

I have never considered myself an animal person, but every time I see pictures of mini goldendoodles my heart just melts.  In a few years, I think Rob and I might need to get one of these cutie pie furry friends….