Organization.

In order to fully procrastinate (and deter my mind from what is going to be an utterly busy next week due to said procrastination), I'm thinking about planners and organization!  Since becoming a teacher, I've struggled with figuring out a way to plan my life.  Now I LOVE me some planners and lists.  I put stickers by exciting things in my planner to give me something to smile about.  When I was a social worker, I had this big, ole hour-by-hour planner where I wrote everything.  For some reason, this didn't work for me when I started teaching.  I didn't have as many appointments and didn't need an hour-by-hour deal.  I've been back and forth between my iPhone calender and my desk calendar at work.  I'm still pretty confident I need/want the desk calendar to have school meetings at my fingertips.  I really want something though that is chic and I can carry everywhere.  I want to have all my to-do lists, grocery lists, craft lists (even if it's a bunch of post-its on one page) in one place with my calendar.  Then I can transfer important stuff to the "family" Google calendar.  It still seems like a lot of places to have appointments...but you gotta do what works for you. 

Point being...I've been searching for a good chic planner.  Problem being...I really think I need/want a school year planner.  My life now revolves around the August-June school year.  Meetings at school are scheduled through the year.  In August, I want to be able to write all my scheduled school meetings for the 2011-2012 year (in pencil, duh).  I'm still scouring Etsy.

[Totally wasn't looking for a lesson planner, but I WANT this one for next year!  It is absolutely amazing on the inside!]

[That's woven ribbon and it's a 2-year planner.  You can choose your own colors too.  I'm afraid the calendar boxes are too small for me though]

[I like the fact that this etsy seller allows you to pick the inside layout.  There are some awesome options.  This one is a contender...I'm just not a fan of the spiral binding]

[Ooo!  And there's even an owl!]

 

Ok...enough procrastinating.  I'm off to read one of my books for literature circles.

Ta da!

Now this is why BlogPress is wonderful and I finally broke down and bought it...awful day today and I don't want to touch or look at my computer. Yet now I can still update you on THE HAIRCUT! Ah! It's about time!

Now please don't judge a few things: 1) my paleness, 2) my ridiculously poor ability to take self photos on my phone, and 3) everything else awful about these pics. I took them just to show you all the massive difference!

Before...


Ewwww! I cringe at everything about this picture!!

And after:



Terrible pic but you get the jist...brighter and shorter!

It makes me feel and look like a happier, new person! I really didn't want it as short as it is, but I agree that it probably needed all that gone to eliminate dead ends. Y'all! Talk about embarrassed walking into the salon with that mess! I promise I typically take much better care of my hair.

Now it was REAL hard trying to even figure out where to start at a salon in Raleigh. I debated a salon in Durham or Chapel Hill, but ultimately went with a Raleigh salon for convenience and necessity to get the shit chopped off! I wouldn't go back...it was good but it just wasn't "my" salon and stylist. The stylist also ripped an earring out of my ear...awkward. No bleeding involved, but we were frantically looking for an earring on the floor. After that, there was no question that I'll be hitting up my old Athens stylist this summer for a touch-up and trim.

Nonetheless, I hope my renewed view of myself boosts me a little for the new few months. Goodness knows I'm going to need it...I can't handle many more work days like today.

-BlogPress post

Enjoying the weather and beer.

We're spending a wonderful, warm Saturday enjoying the sun and visiting local NC breweries.
Beautiful weather, beautiful brewery. I hope this weather sticks! Hope you're all enjoying fab weekends!







-BlogPress post

Certainly not the healthiest meal...but this was a nice way to wind down after a long day/week. The weather here in NC was a nice 70+ degrees! Can you believe? After late meetings at school, and stopping by Target on the way home (BONUS: scored some nice new sheets originally $80, marked down to $20! Holla! I never find deals like that!!), it was wonderful to sit outside with the doggies. I enjoyed my beer and pizza until it started getting chilly. I came in to do more work.


-BlogPress post

When celebs go a little too far...

I was looking back through old posts (isn't it funny how much we still continue to grow and change as we get older...what a difference a year can make).  I came across some professing my love for Lady Gaga.  Early 2010 I had a major Gaga obsession.  In 2009, I even ventured to a Gaga concert with KD.  I figured this post would be appropriate with the new release of Gaga's single, Born This Way.  My obsession with Gaga has died down.  I was less than impressed with Born This Way (although it is super catchy and I've had it stuck in my head all day...an iTunes purchase may be in my future).  I've always been enamored by even Gaga's craziest looks:

I think we all might agree that these are going a little too far and I can't quite understand them...

Can.not.understand.  I'm sure she has some seemingly legit reasons for this craziness.  I still think she is an icon, has a fabulous talent, and is beautiful.  She rocks out some bad ass magazine covers.

[Spread in Elle January 2010 was stunning]

 

Score: February +4

February point #1:  I told you about how we finally closed on our house!

February point #2:  We enjoyed a lazy Sunday complete with grilled steaks (goodbye no-meat January), mashed taters, and wine.

[I wish my food photos could look as good as some of yours...just trust that the steak was AMAZING and cooked perfectly]

February point #3:  Valentine's!  I mentioned the Stout Fest at one of our fav bars.  Yep...it was wonderful.  Wonderful beer, wonderful food, wonderful guy.  Oh and since we like to be non-traditional, I did receive 3 hilarious e-cards for V-day which may or may not have involved our pasted faces on characters and animated dancing strip teases.  Seriously...had me laughing to tears .  That's love folks :)

 [Seriously...simple but one of my fav meals ever. HUGE side salad with the best balsamic vinegar dressing, grilled cheddar, avocado, and tomato sandwich, and homemade pickles that are to die for.  Oh and that's a little stout in the back!]

 [Oh you know he liked it.  He got the 3 course Prix fixe menu which included some kick ass steak carpaccio]

[I know this doesn't look appealing but picture a banana split with Terrapin Moo Hoo (Chocolate Milk Stout) ice cream, tempura fried bananas, a raspberry sauce, and chocolate shavings...obviously that's why the bowl is almost clean!]

February point #4:  Remember that teaching test I've been anxiously talking about?  Well I found out Tuesday that I passed!!   Talk about ecstatic!  Scores are posted online, and I thought I was going to have a panic attack when opening the site.  Then when I saw the passing score, I couldn't stop shaking.  Needless to say, a very thrilling event!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this leads to new teaching opportunities in the future :)

Here's to hoping February keeps racking up the life points!

Help! I need somebody!

Since I constantly have the travel bug, D and I got back on the subject of our spring break trip. We may be getting/have the opportunity to get some cheap flights. This is where I need your help! Any advice on beautiful, relaxing west coast destinations? We'd love to use our cheap flights for west coast because 1) I've never been (D will have his first trip in late March) and 2) more bang for our buck. West coast flights cost a pretty penny from across country. San Fran is HUGE on my list, but any advice is welcomed!! We're still considering road tripping, and I'll probably get D to do a cost analysis (since I still really want to go overseas for holidays 2011).

Give me those opinions! Thanks!

Toast to celebrations.

On February 4, this little baby officially became ours.

Now I can really get going on all those design/decor/renovation ideas (who am I kidding...I'll be lucky if anything new is done in 2 years time).  What a load of stress off our shoulders.  I will say that it really didn't make me feel any more grown up to be a "homeowner" and actually stressed me a tad more now that our savings has been cleaned out. 

Nonetheless, we celebrated with a night of beer and food in downtown Raleigh (which we can officially call our home). 

[A little Wake N Bake to celebrate...yes please!]

 [Oh yeah...he has good reason to be excited]

 [It may not seem like a lot...but this beer will go very far...]

[Four year vertical tasting...years 06-10 of our fav beer]

So we did the vertical tasting.  It was unanimous that 2007 was the best.  It also got D and I reminiscing on our years together and figuring out what our best/favorite year was.  It ended up being a nice night, and I felt just fine the next morning :) Score 1 for us in February!

Bypass the cliche Valentines post.

 [Valentines donuts earned by my "good" class of students]

I'm a little fashion-challenged, so I won't be posting a Valentine's outfit post.  D and I will be celebrating with a Terrapin event downtown.  I'm going to be anxiously awaiting the time to pass so the sooner I can check the score of my teaching test that may or may not determine my future.  I would like to take more pictures to document the night of the stout-fest though.  I'm definitely not very good at photo-documenting but I hope to improve.  D and I decided to forgo V-day gifts with our upcoming anniversary (and the recent house closure).  I think we'll have a fabulous Valentines :)

Enjoy the day of red and pink :)

Easy like sunday morning.

My favorite Sundays start like this...





We've had a wonderful Sunday that started with our French press, stuffed French toast, sausage AND bacon. We ended our day with steaks on the grill, mashed potatoes, broccoli and wine. These are my favorite weekend days :) With my glass half FULL approach...how could my week go wrong when it begins this way? Let's hope it sticks!

Closet Craving :: Springtime fare

I know we are ALL dying for some warm weather.  One thing I started falling in love with (and gaining the confidence to wear more) is hats.  I fell in love with this one from Anthropologie:

[Dapper Daisy Fedora, $98]

Why is it $98?!  I adore this hat!  I could pair it with so many things!  I just don't think I can dish out $98 on a hat.

This Urban Outfitters fedora is certainly not as cute but could get the job done without breaking my bank.  Or I'm sure H&M has their hat thing going on.  Not to many hats out and about yet (not even at Forever 21), but I'm keeping my eye out for a deal!  Don't even get me started on flowy dresses!

Skinny Jeans & insomnia?

This is not quite true.  I have been eating a ridiculous amount lately (along with eating terrible, terrible foods), so my skinny jeans aren't fitting me quite the way I'd prefer.  I've been waking up with school nightmares/stress all week.  There has not been one day that I slept through the night to wake up solely to my alarm clock.  I think something is wrong when you are literally having nightmares about "the problem student."  Not a good sign.

In some good news, I am super excited about some things this week.  I got a $10 Groupon for $20 worth of merch from Barnes & Noble.  Luckily D and I had ventured out to Cary last weekend and browsed B&N.  I found a couple wonderful books I wanted and just had to purchase the Groupon.  Lucky for me, B&N online is WAY cheaper than the non-reduced in-store prices. 

Seriously, this crochet book was 25 bucks in store...how about $14 online!  I ordered that so I can improve my crocheting skills.  I plan to be a crocheting machine this summer (can you say holiday gifts?!).  I also ordered:

I fell in love with this book when browsing through it in Target.  I believe it was around $20 and was $17 online?  I can't wait to get it.  All in all, I ended up paying a total of around $18 (including tax, but free shipping) for probably $50 worth of  books.  Yay!  I'm anxiously anticipating their arrival. 

I've also got a couple of projects lined up for gifts.  I've been a mad women ordering everything I need for an upcoming attempt at a project for D.  I don't want to reveal too much, but he has a birthday and we have an anniversary coming up.  I did practically nothing for him last year due to the summer of year of no money.  I've got some lofty goals and hope they work out.  I can't wait to reveal everything :)

Last but not least...HAPPY FRIDAY!  It's about freaking time!

Closet Craving :: Toms.

I have been craving a pair of Toms for some time now.  I'm pretty fashionably challenged, especially when it comes to dressing as a teacher.  I've mentioned before that comfy shoes are a necessity for all the standing and walking I do on a normal school day (ps. my "classroom" is a trailer conveniently located on the complete opposite end of the school).  Every time Toms comes out with the perfect pair that I want, they either get sold out or I have no money to spend on frivolous wants (wahhhh...such is the life of a teacher). 

The Toms Cordones are probably some of my favs.  As is typical, they are sold out of most of the cool ones, but the website shows them (like on the top header).

[Pale Pink Cordones, $69]

I can dig the pink for the spring.  Last summer I saw some beige/tan Cordones with leather piping (correct term?).  Of course they are no more.  You can also get the Cordones with laces. 

[Ash Canvas Wedges, $69]

They had some pastel colored wedges last year that I am keeping my fingers crossed for!  I like the braided touch on these.  They also have them in black.

[Gilded Herringbone Classics, $54]

These might actually be my favorites that they have in stock, yet of course my size is sold out.  Ughhh...thus is my life it feels.  

I can just envision myself wearing a pair of Toms out and about spring, summer, winter, or fall!  What better way to cover up my un-pedicured toes in the spring/summer months!

February promised to be kinder.

I can't really say it's been much kinder, but it hasn't shown me a full week yet either.  I can at least say it has been a productive week. 

Productivity #1:  Started the 30 day shred.  I'm only one day in, but enjoyed it.  I hate strength training, and it was nice to just have a video and look silly/sweaty in my own home.  I also love that it's only a 20 minute work out.  While level 1, day 1 was really tough...it felt like it was over really quickly.  I liked that I could just change after I got home from a long, hard day at work and get to it.

[via weheartit]

Productivity #2:  I got a lot of lesson planning done yesterday.  Only teachers would understand, but planning is a bitch.  I have to plan for 3 curriculums daily (most middle school teachers teach one curriculum to four classes daily), which is extremely difficult as a first year teacher with special education requirements (amongst other things) on my plate.  Anyhow.  I'm proud of the small amount of planning I did.  Planning is comparable to working out for me...it sucks to get started (or get there at all) but the feeling after and pay off it totally worth it.

Productivity #3:  Hopefully closing on our house this week. Hallelujah to have that done.

Today was a particularly awful day related to work and if I had money, I'd buy an item of clothing.  I've mostly nixed that habit of stress shopping though.  Luckily I fueled my stress (including a stress-induced headache) with a workout and beer. Bring on spring break!