and other such nonsense

This vacation hasn't been lackluster, it's been downright stinky. I decided to stop trying to get anything done & just sit back with some One Tree Hill {Thank you, Netflix} and a manicure. As I was removing the amazing orange polish that I found {Jesse's Girl Beauty Guru from Rite Aid}, I saw that it had left my nails with a yucky yellowish-orange tinge. Blech. While I was thinking, this is super yucky I knocked over the bottle of nail polish remover that I was using. My jeans caught most of the liquid, but my living room carpet wasn't spared either. I just washed those jeans, too. On the bright side, it did give me an excuse to wear some "lived-in" jeans instead. 

Anyway, I did want to tell you that someone {okay, okay, it's me} got the Striking Gold dress for Christmas. That's right, I can't be seen glimmering down the street Twilight-style in this amazing ModCloth dress.

via my pinterest

There was also an awkward exchange between 3-year-old Kyleigh and me about who belonged to this exquisite piece of art.

via amazon & formerly of my Wishlist fame.

Did you get everything on your wishlists? What are you still aching for? I've decided the lovebug is going to be bringing me one of these fancy treats for Valentine's Day.

Happy List- Christmas Edition

I can't wait for Monday to bring you another Happy List. This one is the holiday version. 5 things about Christmas that make me deliriously happy!

1. Hood Golden Eggnog

This stuff is so delicious. I'm glad it's only available once a year because it's so addictive. I'll admit it- I drink it straight out of its cardboard carton.

2. An excuse to wear sequins... to work. ;

Oh my gosh! I usually reserve my shimmer for the weekends, but Christmas & New Year's are the perfect excuse to wear them.

3. Wrapping paper

Design Sponge via pinterest

It shouldn't be a secret that I'm on the hunt for pretty wrapping paper & tissue paper all year long. I especially love when Christmas wrapping goes down to 75% off.

4. Baby, It's Cold Outside.

Bing Crosby & Doris Day
I don't even know if you need more details than that. I just love it.

5. Gingerbread houses

Mine never turn out anything like this, but I would like to have a gingerbread house party.

***

I am so excited that Christmas is on Sunday. Having been born with an overwhelming desire to shower the ones I love with gifts & zero patience to wait for anything makes the week before Christmas extremely difficult for me. I've already given 3 presents early. I just can't help myself! The look of happiness on the faces of my favorites makes me giddy. Tomorrow, I will head to my sister & her husband's house {and Baby Kieran's home, too} for my family celebration. Whatever winter holiday you celebrate, I hope you all have a wonderful one and an amazing weekend!

your mouth makes your butt look fat

I've been having my students set a goal for themselves that they can work on throughout the school year and see results by June 2012. It can be anything from reading x number of books to raising hands more often in class. Never one to give the kiddos an assignment I wouldn't do myself, I've been giving a lot of thought to my own resolutions.  Should it be...
To make sure I make a delicious dinner with organic vegetables every night?
To spend at least 2 hours at the gym attempting to gain muscle in these spaghetti arms?
To never ever go to bed without washing my face no matter how tired I am?

They're all decent enough resolutions. But, let's face it, I'm only going to do any of those for about 6 months and then go back to my old ways. Big Macs are just so scrumptious, I don't like going out to the gym in the cold because it takes me forever to get warm, and sometimes I am too tired to walk up the stairs let alone wash my face. Well then what could I possibly do that would have enough of an impact on me that I would want- no, yearn to do all year?

Well, frienditos the answer is simple. I'm going to stop putting up with people's backhanded compliments. I don't know if you've ever had someone tell you something like,
"I hate that color and that shirt, but it works on you."
Or, "I'm surprised someone your age understands that."
Let's never forget,
"You do ____ pretty well for a girl."

Ob. Nox. Ious.

I don't know if it's because I've been getting more of these than usual or if I really put that much thought into my resolution, but they stink and I just don't like them. Generally I just blow them off, but you know what? I never retaliate. I could and perhaps I should, but I don't. Unless you pee glitter and poop out pineapple you aren't the bee's knees. Am I right or am I right?

2012, I'm ready for you. Let's do this thing.

Happy List Monday

via Pinterest

It's Monday and none of us are prepared. The alarms went off this morning and I probably heard 10 in my neighborhood being sworn at and swiftly shut down for doing their stinking jobs. But fear not and be grumpy no more! Get yourself happy with your very own happy list. That's right! It's back and better than ever.

+16     Once Upon a Time- I just can't get enough of this show. I want to be a fairy tale character!
+16.5  The fabulous people who read my blog. You are awesome.
+17     Handwritten letters in the mail- even if they are in the form of a Christmas card, not a letter.
+18     teensy weensy, itty-bitty, kissable, nibble-able baby fingers.
+19     The winter holiday season particularly because of the excuse to wear sequins to work.
+20     Turbo-speed internet.

You can see mine here, here, and perhaps even here.

little guy

Hello friends! Can you believe that Christmas is only a week away? My school doesn't let out for vacation until Friday, so I'm sure it's going to be a wacky week. Since I said last post that I love Christmas, I have to say, even though work-wise December was an extremely hectic month,  I'm so happy to be working as a teacher. Those little kids & their Santa-loving ways just crack me up. My shopping is all done, everything has been delivered, everything has been wrapped. Am I the only one who's checked the weekly cable listings to find out when the best christmas movies are on? A Chipmunk Christmas is on at 8:30 tomorrow night. Sadly, Prancer is a no show on cable networks. Bummer. Let's resume cheerfulness-

I would like you to meet Little Guy:

He is my tiny surprise tree {so unexpected & appreciated} & I love him dearly. So do my kitties Igby & Rugen... particularly his water. I'm filling this tree stand up like it's my full-time job! Little Guy was decorated by 3/5 of my little ones. The 3 that are able to walk, of course. I had to make do with some sparkly ribbon for a topper because it was way too cold to stand outside in my storage unit to find all my decorations. This little owl ornament was made by my sister. She made me a Stitch ornament one year, but I fell down the stairs & broke it. He had clay ears & everything!

Kyleigh was singing the whole time because that's what she does, "Christmas! Christmas! Gotta add one more christmas! Don't break my heart, Christmas." Luckily, no lights were harmed.

Adriana was reattaching all of the ornament hooks that fell off, mediating fights between Kyleigh & Liam when they wanted their ornaments in the same place, and making sure each and every one of the glittery ornaments were used. Much eggnog was had.

Liam was hanging each ornament very carefully on the garland at the bottom of the tree, which caused it to fall off the tree and for him to realize that when they all fell together it created room for more ornaments. See how proud he is?

Now it's time for a tree skirt & all the presents.

In other news, I realized today that I missed the most recent ebew event. Sequins and sparkles?!?! Can it really be true? I think I should make up for this by wearing only sequins & sparkles for the rest of the week.

Christmas Police

I have always loved the idea of Christmas. The music, the tree, the parties, the decorations, the food- it's all just so wonderful. I anticipate buying treasures for the people who matter the most to me & can never wait for them to open them on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. 

That said, it's also important to note that I am completely obsessed with the tree. I stick to all pastel ornaments, or all red/white/silver, or my plan for this year: peacock themed. The thought of rich purple, teal, greens, & golds make me want to swoon. I even went so far as to buy lights especially for this last year, but my plan has been thwarted. This year, I will be spending my first Christmas with little ones. My niece & nephew (Kyleigh & Liam) will be here and so I will have a child-friendly tree. This, of course, means multicolored lights, homemade ornaments, and 2 tiny bellies filling themselves with eggnog while we decorate. 

One thing's for sure, I can't wait to see their little faces when they wake up in the morning and see that Santa Claus has visited them {and also a valid excuse to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas and giggle wildly}.

In other news, while I've been absent from the blogosphere my sister Heather gave birth to a baby boy.  In case you're counting that's 5 tiny children to love. 

Welcome to the world, Kieran!

Pattivember

I know that I've been the worst blogger mother in the world. Whenever I have something to say, I think I need to get on here and share it with you. Unfortunately that happens around 9 am when I have the only 45 minutes of freedom I have for a good portion of my day.

I knew my first year as a classroom teacher would be a lot of work but EEK! I feel like I can't accomplish as much as I want to and my to-do list is forever growing. Does it sound like I'm complaining? I'm not. I am loving it more and more every minute! The organizer in me needs to take a step back sometimes so I don't end up sleeping at work.

In other news, my birthday is Wednesday! I can hardly wait. I know exactly what I need. I'll give you a hint: it's wearable and rhymes with ape.

J.Crew

ModCloth

ebay

it's been a long stretch

Oh my goodness, friends! I can't believe that it's been such a long time since I've blogged. Work has been so hectic and I was out of commission with what I can only call the bubonic plague. I am finally learning to balance career with everyday life. So my loves I will be talking to you very soon. Regular programming will commence!

In the meantime, enjoy this picture of my beautiful niece, Zoey, who was born on October 13th.

Happy List Monday

+11 the idea of an elephant in a suit
+12 spoonfuls of cream cheese
+13 watching  a student go out of his/her way to do something kind for another kiddo
+14 owls
+15 pink & gray

hey teacher

Hello my lovelies! I am just popping in for a quick update. I'm sorry that I've been M.I.A. for the past few days. I just got my first official full-time teaching position in a fourth grade classroom! I interviewed for this job on September 5th, school started on the 6th. It's been a long wait! I had 1 day to get my classroom acceptable for kids to come in and to prepare lessons. In case you were wondering, it is extremely time consuming. I've spent at least 10 hours in the school the past 2 days and I plan to spend plenty more time getting things presentable & marvelous for as long as it takes.

I'll have a post with a little classroom tour in case you're interested. Oh, this means 2 things:
1) Outfit posts! I am excited to be able to post more outfits on here. It's something that I listed on my 101 Things. No more days where I am cleaning or crafting and wearing stainable clothing.

2) Getting a full-time teaching position was #1 when I made that list and I only moved it down because I don't want teaching to be the topic for this blog. Sorry that it snuck in, but I like a little change now and then. Plus,

 I'm SOOO excited!



P.S. You should also know that I've been too busy to pinterest! What the what?!?!

P.P.S. I can't believe I missed Happy List Monday! It'll pop up another day instead- just you wait & see ;).

Happy List Monday

You're lucking out here with 5 more items on my happy list. Don't get too spoiled now.


+6 clean sheets
+7 making a meal for the first time & it turns out perfect
+8 rollercoasters
+9 the feel of brand new socks
+10 watching my cats sleep in weird places & weird positions

another awkward & awesome thursday

I haven't done an awkward & awesome in a while, so I figured I would do one today. It also helps that my head is full of random little thoughts that I think you need to know. I've been falling behind on my plan for at least 3 outfit posts a week. Bear with me, it's been rainy & gray and I've been dressing in a fashion that's appropriate for cleaning... so... naked.

Awkward:
- Repeatedly elbowing my pregnant sister in the belly while trying to get out of her way.
- Lock jaw when I'm about to eat a tasty, tasty meal. This, of course, results in me not being able to chew said meal. Sigh.
- When you buy something at a thrift store & the cashier stares at it trying to figure out if it's a child's clothing item or not. I like polka dots, okay!?!?!
- Washing the kitchen floor {or doing anything, really} while listening to your ipod and twirling around to see people awkwardly walking by your window. You didn't like my rendition of the Banger Sisters' Fire? I guess I should stick to singing in the shower only...
- Getting stalked by my cat. You need to follow me everywhere, Igby? Really?

Awesome:
- Manchester FINALLY got a Goodwill and it's just up the road from the mall.
- In 2 weeks, I'm going to meet my little niece Zoey!
- I have top secret information coming to you next week. Top secret awesome information?
- Pinterest. Seriously, I can't get enough of it & I might need rehab.
- Glee. It's back & I'm stoked.
- New recipes for whoopie pies. Whoopie!
- Finally FINALLY getting a crinoline. All of my skirts just got infinitely more fabulous.
- Planning a tea party-themed sprinkle & honey bee themed shower. Can it be my birthday so I can have my own party now?


P.S. I'm tumbling now. Are you?

I've talked about my love for waterfall braids, my potential love for ombre locks, and my desire to go red. Right now I'm rocking a growing out asymmetrical bob with some side swept {and sometimes blunt} bangs. But I cannot wait until my hair is grown out enough for some messy updos. 

{one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven}

{via}

Tell me, what's your go-to style?

Happy List Monday

(Confetti System via Pinterest)

As part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days project, I wanted to make a list of 100 things that make me happy. Now, this seems so simple but I didn't want to include any people that make me happy. Let's face it, they're just too big. I wanted to uncover some of the little things that tickle my fancy. Sometimes after I think of one, I don't want to put it on because it will take up valuable space for something else. I realized after the 40th time erasing what I had typed that this isn't a complete list and it never will be complete {which is just fine}. Isn't it amazing that the things that make us happy evolve over time? People are amazing.

Anyway, every Monday,I am going to be posting a few things from my list until I get to 100. Enjoy!

+1 organization
+2 brand new {Crayola} crayons
+3 forehead kisses
+4 the grainy look of a black & white picture
+5 calligraphy


What's on your happy list?

Weekend Recap:

gotta get down on friday

Shoes: Target/ Tights: Marshall's/  Dress: Forever 21 Love 21 Collection/ Sweater: Urban Behavior/ Necklace, Rings: Forever 21

Happy Friday, friends! I am due for an extremely busy weekend that includes taking care of my amazingly adorable niece & nephew, a Hello Kitty-themed birthday party, and a meeting to go over the planning for Playdate NH an event to introduce board games to youth & families around the city. You know how much I love board games, right? Anywho, today's temperature is 56 degrees. I guess I should be excited that I get to bust out my tights but on the other hand, I feel like a character in Game of Thrones: WINTER IS COMING. I feel that this should always be followed up with loud sobs, kicking, and thrashing my arms around.

P.S. Can we please discuss how excited I am that The Lion King is in theaters right now?! Must. Go.

P.P.S. I really need to get my camera back up & running because posing is very difficult with nothing but a camera phone. Girl's gotta use a tripod & go crazy.