Friday...YAY!!

It's Friday, YA'LL!!  Whoop!!  Whoop!!

All in all, not a terribly long week!!  I'm glad I had those three days last week at work to ease into to the New Year with the students.  This week they were back to their old tricks!!  HA!!  I'm trying my best to keep up with my Friday Fives and embracing my word of the year...POSITIVITY by finding the good in each day!!  Here's a bit of what I loved this week!


{ONE}
I was so happy to find the #52TeacherSnaps Challenge with @mrsedgarsclass on Instagram. I was a bit behind, but can easily catch up since it just a pic a week!  Instagram is my favorite social media platform these days.  I'm finding Facebook is getting way to political for me and since I've never really been all that into twitter...I've let it go!!  Insta is a much more positive community (for me!) and I love connecting with teachers on there and getting great ideas!

{TWO}
Another thing I'm loving this week....I'm not longer spending 13 hours a day at school.  I've officially gave up two WHOLE days of After Care!! #happydance!  To celebrate I went for margaritas with a friend!  Because I can do that now!!  Margarita Mondays...I'm gonna make it a thing!! But maybe kidding because I'm not making as much money now!  LOL

{THREE}
I'm going to try my best to document all the books I read this year on the blog!  I am on book two of 2019.  The first, It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover was recommended to be by Christy.  I loved it.  I stared it at the end of December and finished it late last week.  So It counts for this year.  I am currently reading The Address by Fiona Davis and enjyoing it very much!!  I am close to finishing it!  I have so many books on my TBR list, thanks to this weeks TBB Asks.  Check out all the links {here}to add to your list too!  And head {here} to read my post!!

{FOUR}
This past weekend a cool new brewery opened up in my town, so naturally I had to go check it out.  You guys it was so cool.  Everything is exposed see you can see them brewing and the vibe was just really chill.  And best part of all...it only takes three minutes to walk there!  HA!!  To be open one day and already have eleven beers on the board is pretty awesome!  Will be returning for sure!! Future Regular!!!

{FIVE}
Last but not least, I'm over at The Blended Blog today!  I'm so grateful that I can contribute to our community.  I just love those girls so much.  We have fun, we empower one another and we have dance parties and drink wine together?  Is there anything better??  I think not  We have some fun stuff planned for the blog, so head on over there and give us a follow so you don't miss a thing!

Linking up with Erika and Tif today, too!!

Holiday Looks!

Wednesday!  Woo Hoo!!  This week has seemed like the longest, huh?  Or maybe that's just me!!  Ugh!

It's been forever and a day since I've posted anything fashion related to the blog, but today I'm giving it another shot!!
As I sit down to write this post, I'm realizing Holiday Looks probably means Christmas.  But Me being Me is going to save all those for the December Prompts!  So today I'm showing showing my love for Small Business and sharing my Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving looks that show off tops I purchased at a local boutique.

This Saturday I was on the couch sick with a sore throat and cold, so I unfortunately I didn't shop Small Business Saturday like I usually do.  Then my mom reminded me of something, I very rarely leave my town so...I Shop Small all the Time!!  I gathered she was right, so I felt a bit better!

I love this little shop in town called Say More Boutique, and when they recently had a Sip and Shop Sale event at the store, I attended.

If you read my post yesterday you may remember that I don't really shop without a purpose.  If I get something, I have a specific place or event I'm going to wear it too. I went shopping that night wanting to find something to wear for both my Friendsgiving celebration and Thanksgiving day with my family.   I succeeded!

I shopped and shopped...and shopped some more!  I may have shopped way more than I thought I was going to, but the store has such cute stuff and who doesn't like snacks and drinks while you shop!?!?  I've gotten pretty friendly with the owner too, so I like supporting her and women in business doing great things in my town!  You can shop her boutique online too, here!

This first look I wore for the Friendsgiving that I hosted here at my house!  Loved the colors of this easy, breezy top and thought it was really a different spin on the animal print top. While it's not really heavy or wintery at all, it worked because with the turkey baking for hours in my small house, I was still comfy.  And to be honest, I'm thinking this could really be an "every season" kinda top!

Animal Print Ruffle Sleeve Smocked Top

I really like that the animal print is subtle!

Stella and Dot Fringe Necklace

Here I paired the top with the Express Faux Leather Leggings!

Since I really wasn't the one cooking or hosting for Thanksgiving, I went bold with this top.  It's huge sleeves were super fun and I loved the high neck of it.  I have a lot of mock neck tops these days.  The Fall color was perfect too. I thought this whole look was very Thanksgiving worthy actually!!  (Even though our temps were in the low 20's and I could've been wearing a winter parka!!)  We just did not get enough of a Fall in my opinion, so I'll squeak out every last bit of it, even if it's in my outfits...lol

The ruffle sleeves are big! But I really liked that they're different...and pretty damn fabulous!!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  And looks forward to the upcoming craziness that December brings!!  There's hope for me yet, posting on Wednesdays thanks to my bestie and blog photog, Mel!

Link up with The Blended Blog every Wednesday in December too, with these fun and festive prompts!! 

Now head on over to TBB to check out Vanessa's  holiday looks! Link up your own post too! 

 No Blog? No Problem!  Share your OOTD and your Holiday Looks with us using #theblendedblogstyle!

Resolutions?!? Not so much...

Happy Monday!  Happy to be home today!!   Linking up with the ladies of TBB today to share resolutions...or not!

In my last post of the year I mentioned that I'm not really one to make resolutions.  I've tried and tried in the past, but by week two I always falter.  So this year instead of resolutions I'm tackling a goal.

2018 marks five years in my little house!  It's been a fun five years. So I'm making 2018 the year of the HOUSE.  I've spent to much money on fashion and clothes.  I need to get my priorities in order.   So it's the house...

 When I moved in five years ago, the place was brand spanking new.  Now five years later it's showing signs of wear.  It's in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint.  I've been wanting to do it forever so that's one of my big goals.  By the end of the year, I'd love the whole place to be painted.  And now that I've painted an accent wall in the living room, I'm even that more excited about it!!  So sooner rather than later, it'll get done.

The next two goals go hand in hand and the house!  I need a new bed.  I have not been sleeping well, and I thought changing up my mattress pad would help but it hasn't. So I need to invest in a bed. And I know it's another big expense, but it's deserved. My sister and I calculated that the bed I have now is from 1994...lol!! So clearly it's happening!!

After I get the new bed I can finally set up my old bed in my guest room and figure that whole debacle out!  Like it been FIVE YEARS!!  And then maybe after five years I can have some guests!!

Really these are a few goals under the whole umbrella of the house!  I'm confident, just saying it's one BIG goal that I have all year to complete, I know I can accomplish them!!

Fingers Crossed!!  Have a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by today!!

Surprise! It's Christmas in July

It's always so much fun when the ladies of The Blended Blog do gift exchanges!!  This summer Whitney spearheaded our Christmas in July exchange.  We always use Elfster for our picks and it's a lot of fun anticipating who I'll get each time.  Today we're sharing the gifts we received from our Secret Santa!  I was super excited when I received my gift from Sheila who blogs over at Making the Most of Everyday!  She's one of the few TBB ladies I have yet to meet in person, but with her gift, it's clear she knows me regardless!!

Sheila sent my a fun summer cover-up, fabulous sun hat and some sunscreen so I stay safe.  I laughed when I opened the package because just a few days before I commented on how much I always loved seeing Sheila in her sun hat, and wished I had one too!! Now I do!  Sheila said she was waiting on pins and needles for me to get my package because she had already sent me the hat before I commented in her blog!

There's even a hood and POCKETS!!  Love it!!  

I've worn this cover up at least a half dozen times already!  

Thanks so much Sheila for helping me do this summer thing...and doing it fashionably at that!!  

Head on over to Shaunacey's blog now to see what I sent her!  Fingers Crossed she liked it!!

Summertime Fun with TBB: Favorite Summertime Food

Good Monday Morning All!

I hope this weekend found you all relaxing and enjoying these summer days!  I had a fun weekend myself filled with friends, family, and barbecues.  A typical summer weekend for many I suppose!
Which leads me to today's post!


I'm joining the gals of The Blended Blog for our Summertime Fun Series today, that focuses on our favorite summer foods! If you're hopping on over from Shelly's blog, thank you so much and welcome!!

If I'm being honest, I COULD devote a whole post to Ralph's Italian Ice, that's only available here in the summer!  But I won't do that!  HA! (Do you have Ralph's??)

Ralph's Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cream Ice will always have a little piece of my heart!

Actually, my favorite summer food is a good ol' home cooked cheeseburger....
1- because it's not something I ever make/have myself  (I don't own a grill!)
2- I only seem to eat them in the summer at BBQ's...but ironically, not at every one, so for me they are a rarity!
3- Nothing beats the perfect burger! Medium rare...hot and juicy with lots of melty cheese!!

Although this is not the best photograph of a burger, it will have to do!!  It satisfies my three criteria...

A close second in terms of my favorite food is my sister's black bean salad.  It's too, screams summer to me!  Fresh, yummy and just fabulous!!  Tomorrow I'll be sharing the recipe for Tasty Tuesday, so come on back for that!

What your favorite summer food?  I'd love to hear all about it in the comments below! And head on back to The Blended Blog to link up your summer fun posts with us here!

The Magnolia Story: A Review

Today I'm linking up with The Blended Blog's Virtual Book Club to share a review of one of our May picks, The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines.  As a fan of the HGTV show Fixer Upper, I was excited to read this book.  And was even more excited to find out that one of our book clubbers, Valerie, picked it!  Especially since I actually read it!

I had been seeing this book around the blogs for awhile and finally requested it at my library.  When it came in, I read the first chapter right off the bat and was instantly drawn into the story of Chip and Joanna.  Joanna's primarily the one telling the stories of their life together and all of Chips antics!
It was recommended to me that I also pick up the audio version of this since the two stars tell the story themselves.  I did and think for me, this added to the fun of the story.

Without giving too much away, I will say that it's the story of the couple's humble beginnings and their rise to fame, how they overcome the obstacles they faced, leaning on each other and their strong faith in God.

The book is billed and categorized under the Christian/Faith window, which I didn't really realize when I got it but was able to recognize as I read.  Because of what I read in the story, I examined my own faith.  Chip and Joanna were constantly hitting snags in their plans but getting big breaks.  Was this luck, as I thought, or the work of God, as they believed? It got me to thinking and praying on things in my own life.

Reviews of this were mixed in the club's Slack discussions but I will say that because I was a fan of the show, I liked this story that much more. Are you a big Fixer Upper fan?  Have you read the book? I want to hear your thoughts!  Let me know in the comments below.

What did you read in May?  Head to The Blended Blog and link up your book reviews with us HERE!  And it's never to late to join the fun that is the TBB Book Club.  Register here and read with us this summer!

Looking for more good reads?  Check out my reviews of past book club picks here!

It's a Bestie Blog Takeover

Happy Thursday Morning Ya'll!
Today you are in for a super special treat!  My bestie, Mel is taking over!  You might remember meeting her here!  Mel's an awesome supporter of my blog and an avid reader, so when I mentioned The Blended Blog's Virtual Book Club to her she hopped on board.

Each month, club members are chosen to pick what's going to be read.  In April, Melanie was asked to share a book.  She thought her most favorite book, The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah was one that the book clubbers would enjoy.  And since it was her pick, I thought it'd be fun to have Mel takeover the blog today to share her review of the book with you!

Here's Mel!

I'm over at The Blended Blog today!

Good Morning all!

I'm over at The Blended Blog today for our Tasty Tuesday linkup!   Salmon's the star of the show today!  Check it out here!

And don't forget to link up your favorite foodie post with us!!

Hope your Tuesday's a tasty one!!

April Showers....

Happy Monday!  Today I'm blog hoppin' with my pals from The Blended Blog for our new Spring Series. If you've landed here from Leslie's blog, thanks for stopping by today to get a peek into my world!


 The first prompt, April Showers can be a post about anything we like.  Today I thought I'd share my favorite rainy day activities.  And since it feels like it's been raining forever, this is just the perfect prompt for these days!  Now if I HAVE TO go out on rainy days I don't mind rocking my leggings and super cute rain boots...

but rainy days are just better when they are spent indoors!

Rainy days and no plans mean...pjs all day!!  If rainy days land on a Saturday or Sunday...this is a must!  And these are my top three favorite things to do...solitary life style!  And for a girl that doesn't drive I love using rainy days as an excuse to stay home and stay in.

Binge watch my favorite shows!
Isn't this just the best??  I love binging on episodes of my favorite shows or clearing out the DVR on rainy days!  I've watched full seasons of shows on rainy days. I am not ashamed to admit I spent a day re-watching the entire Sex and the City series one rainy weekend not too long ago!

Shop online!
I shop online all the time!  But I feel like rainy days give me the perfect excuse to to shop and purchase some of my favorite things online....and not feel guilty about it.  I mean...what else is there to do on rainy days!??!

This may have been the result of  a weekend of rainy day online shopping last Spring!!  

Read!
As a teacher-librarian, how could I not say reading is one of my favorite things to do.  There is NOTHING better than sitting on my couch with a hot chocolate,  all cozy under a blanket, spending hours reading a great book while the spring rain falls outside!  It's pretty much what I did this past Saturday!!

What are some of your favorite things to do on rainy days??  Let me know in the comments below!  And don't forget to hop on over to Sarah's blog at Foxy's Domestic Side to see what April fun she has in store for you!!  Check it out here!!  

Link up your April posts with us too!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Big Little Lies: A Review

I'm taking a little break from my Throwback Thursday posts today to participate in The Blended Blog's Book Review Blog Hop!

YES, you read that right!  I actually read a book!

Earlier this year I joined The Blended Blog's Virtual Book Club.  A bunch of fun ladies who read, chat, and discuss books via the Slack app!  It has been a lot of fun.  And I am loving that it keeps me accountable!  Not only did I read my own book club selection, but I started another one!

So many great books were chosen by the ladies of the Blended Blog in last month as we kicked off this new virtual adventure!!  If you are visiting from Deena's blog, sincere thanks for hopping on over today to visit.

My book club pick for February was Big Little Lies by Lane Moriarty.  I am a fan of hers.  I read The Husband's Secret and What Alice Forgot, both great novels!  So I was excited to read this one as well.

I'll be completely honest here, I picked this book because I've had it for almost 2 years and never read it. In fact, I think it was one of the Reads on my Summer 2015 Reading List that I blogged about here. It might have even made a return appearance in Summer 2016's list, still to go unread!

I chose this book, in part, too because I knew the Book Club would keep me reading it and since I had seen that this book was being made into a series for HBO I knew I wanted to finish it before the premiere date of February 19th.  {Of course a TV show would finally get me reading!!}

Well, that was a success because I finished it..on the 18th!

Big Little Lies centers around the friendship of three woman who all have first grade students attending the same elementary school in a ritzy beach side town in Australia.

A fun element of the story is that it's told backwards.  As it begins we know that a murder has occurred at the school's Trivia Night and is now being investigated.  As the murder mystery unfolds, the lives of each of the women are explored.  Could one of them perhaps be the murderer?

Of the three main characters,  Madeline, Celeste and Jane, I didn't really have a favorite.  But I can tell you this....I loved them each at some points in the story and found myself absolutely hating them during others.  But I suppose, this is what authors do to help us really connect with the characters. And connect I did.  I even found that I compared myself to each of the characters at different points. Finding myself in each of them.

I even found myself yelling at the book..."How could she do that?", "or "what the heck lady?...fight!" #solitarylifeprobs

I think as I'm writing this, it's getting more difficult because I want to talk so much about the book, but don't want to give anything away!! So...

On to what you really came for.  My honest review of the book!

It took me a few chapters to get into it, but as soon as I did, I kind of couldn't put it down.  I really did love it.  It's a murder mystery, story of friendship...fierce lady friendships...and family, all rolled into one!!  And I guess I can tell you that there's a pretty big twist in the story, that I really didn't see coming, so I enjoyed that element of surprise!

  It's no lie...I highly recommend reading Big Little Lies.
Watching the show on HBO-jury's still out.  But we all know the book is ALWAYS better than the movie/show!!  :)

Have you read Big Little Lies?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!!


Now that you've made it through our hop, head on back to The blended Blog and link up your own book reviews with us here!!

Nuggets for the New Year: Keeping the Keepsakes!

Excited today to be linking up for The Blended Blog's next installment of Nuggets for the New Year!  Last time I joined in on the Planning fun, and although I didn't post about Budgeting or Decluttering, I learned a whole heck of a lot... LOL

But today's link up focuses on Keeping the Keepsakes, and at first thought, I din't think I had much to share.  I don't consider myself a very sentimental person and love throwing things away.  But a second glance around my house, made me realize, I have lots of Keepsakes I've saved over the years and have many things that are precious to me that I intend on keeping forever and ever!


The first few you've seen in my Christmas posts.  This nativity was my Nana's and was part of the original Hummel collections way bay in the 1950's.  After my Nana passed away, my Aunt sent it to me I was the only granddaughter who was not married and had not had her own Hummel nativity started.  HA!  But I was so happy my Nana wanted to gift it to me.  Being sent from far away, then moved numerous times before I actually had a place of my own, I opened it to find, some animal pieces were damaged and broken beyond repair.  But the most most important, Holy Family, Wise Men, and Angels stayed intact.  I am 100% God had a hand in that.  It's a pretty large set and the pieces I were left with fit perfectly where I have them.  Every time I look at the Nativity, I think of my Nana!  Each of her grand daughters also have a number of my Nana's Hummels as well.

The Christmas stocking and tree skirt my mom made me are keepsakes for sure.  My mom put so much time and energy into stitching every last piece.

My mom has always been a sentimentalist. And she wants her daughters to be as well.  So she has stared gifting us handmade items she created. Usually, we get one as a Christmas gift, but this cork wreath she made was a new home gift!  I love it and will keep it forever.   And it's pretty freaking cool!

When I was about 11/12 I received a really fun gift from my best friend Mel.  It was a Cherished Teddies Figurine.  At the time it was a brand new figurine collection (like Precious Moments) of resin teddy bears.  I opened the box to find the Katie Bear with the tagline, " a friend always knows when you need a hug!" 

 It was pretty perfect for us.   Mel gave it to me with the intention that I'd start collecting them.  And did I ever!!  From that day on I collected Cherished Teddies for YEARS!!  I loved them so much I even joined the CLUB!  And Mel, my mom and everyone else, always had something to buy me.  When I lived at home I had shelves filled with Cherished Teddies.  I think I stopped collecting them because I just ran out of room!  

When I moved out and got a place of my own, they stayed packed away for a while!  But then I figured out how to incorporate them into my decor.  I swap out the seasonal/holiday Cherished Teddies and place them on my TV cabinet now that my TV is on the wall, like this...

They've made a few appearances on the blog and in my Insta feed from time to time!

 I also have a few others on shelves in my guest room.  Research for this post led me to find that Cherished Teddies are still around and that kinda has me wanting to pic up a new one for old time sake.  

Ya know after writing this, I am thinking more and more of the many keepsakes I have....I could write for days!  I have a box full of keepsakes from high school. My scrapbook from when I was 6, photo albums from college and lots of cards and things I've kept over the years from students....I guess I'm rather sentimental after all!  :)

Have a Happy Monday!!

Christmas Home Tour with The Blended Blog!

Happy Monday!

How is it that we are less than two weeks away from Christmas!  That is just crazy!  My presence on the blog has been less and less as the year comes to a close but I am happy to be back today sharing a glimpse of my home at Christmas time with some of my favorite Blended Blog buddies! If you're stopping by from Sheila's blog and you've made it this far in the Hop, I thank you!  :)  I've really enjoyed getting to peek into everyone's homes today!

If you're a regular reader of the blog, you've seen my little home.  I love my home, but no more so than at Christmas!  I can't wait to show you the few new touches I put on this year!  Come on in....

My mom made this snowman last year at Christmas for each of my sister's and I!

This year I got a new tree and I'm so happy with it!  It's a foot and a half taller and really fits in the space well.  My tree is the first thing you see when you walk in the door.

I'm loving the new bow pillow I got at Pier 1, too...there are tons of cute ones!

My tree skirt and matching stocking were made by my mom.  She gave me the tree skirt the first year I had my own tree in my first apartment and then she gave me the matching stocking my first Christmas in my condo.  I know how much time they took her, but I love them and know I'll have them forever!  Just like my mom still has her handmade tree skirt form the year she was married in 1971.

Living in a condo, my place is basically one big great room!  This is the living area...

My mom made me my handmade stocking but this is my original stocking from my first Christmas in 1980.  This Christmas pillow I got on super sale last year from Primitives by Kathy.  Actually a number of my Christmas decorations are from her site, either given to me as gifts or bought on sale at the end of the season!

My nativity is really special to me, too.  It was passed down to me from my grandmother.  It is a Hummel nativity from the 1950's.  I know it might be a little unorthodox, but I believe it fits really well on my wine table!

Now that my TV is on the wall, I use my TV stand as a display place.  I switch this up a little bit every year!  This is this year's Christmas version!

The WANTED sign stays up there year round!  

Here's a close-up!

The kitchen is pretty Christmassy as well.

My corner nook!

My mom claims she worries about my wine consumption, but then she buys me awesome wine tags like that one!  HA!!  I also enjoy running my diffuser this time of year with Christmas Spirit! 

Last but not least is my Christmas card holder, which is just a ribbon hanging from my pantry!  I really like this simple, easy idea.  And it's really a great way to showcase the cards I receive.

I hope you've enjoyed my home at Christmas and loved seeing all of our TBB Homes!!  Wishing you the happiest of holidays...

  Thanks for stopping by today!

If you missed my previous years' tours, you can check out 2015{here} and 2014 {here}!