Christmas Cards

I am so excited! Katie gave me my Christmas cards today! They turned out super cute and she even packaged them up with a beautiful bow. I love the pictures she took of us. She does such a great job with her photography. I can't wait to get my prints too. I have plans for the landing at the top of our stairs. She got my cards printed on this really pretty linen paper. I love them! I'm planning on sending these cards to family and close friends.

I'm also going to order some cards from Shutterfly. These cards I will use for extended friends and family. Last year I ordered our cards on Shutterfly and loved them. They were very nice quality and really turned out just how we wanted for our first ever Christmas card. The thing I love about Shutterfly's cards are they are so affordable! Another great thing about their website is it is so easy to use. You just upload photos and put them in the different card templates to see which one you like the best. The best part is how many choices you get with Shutterfly. You should follow the links below and head on over to their website to start planning your cards today - get in the holiday spirit! Christmas is just around the corner!

Check out their Christmas and Holiday cards. And for future information, you can even get super cute birthday invitations there!

The best thing is they are giving away 50 free cards if you blog about how spectacular their cards are!

Bloggers get 50 free cards. Sign up today!

Gift Wrap, Cards and General Christmas Fun

Today I discovered the Christmas station has started playing holiday music. This made me very happy. I discovered this while driving around doing my holiday shopping. My side of the family does our Christmas gift exchange at our Thanksgiving gathering. I have all but one of my presents finished for my family. I was just in the holiday spirit today. I almost even put our tree up (but stopped myself because it is just a little too early). I stopped by Bath and Body and bought a Evergreen scented candle. When I got home I dug into my Christmas wrapping box and started wrapping those presents I bought today. I was just in the spirit. I can't wait. I love the holidays. Samson loves laying under our Christmas tree.

Katie told me my Christmas cards came in on Friday afternoon. I'm so pumped to see how they turned out. My friend Megan's sister, Kristen, blogged about how cute Shutterfly's Christmas cards are this year. So even if you don't live by Katie and can't have her take your family photo, check these cards out. I got my cards from there last year and really liked them. I loved the photos Katie took of our little family about a month ago and I'm excited to see them. I may order a set from Shutterfly too - to send to extended friends and family and friends from college. Last year I saved one of our cards and I plan on saving our card each year and displaying them in a cool way each Christmas. I may snag something like this from Pottery Barn to display at the holidays. How fun will it be to look back every year at the cards from the previous year?

And on a Tiger football update - 11-0 feels pretty good going into the Iron Bowl. War Eagle!

Katie's Bachelorette Party!

It was a super fun night! Here are a few pics of the decorations...

I made this garden flag for the entryway. I think it turned out pretty cute!

The invitation framed...always a must for a party.

I spray painted pumpkins black and added fun tulle ribbon for decorations...a perfect thing for a fall bachelorette party!

The door hanging I made...

I bought some pink flowers and put them in wine bottles for the table decor and tied a tulle ribbon around them.

A shot of the mini black pumpkins with hot pink ribbon. The day is almost here Katie!

I've been crafting...

So this Saturday we are having the beginning of a bachelorette party at my house...so this was a much needed excuse for crafting (especially since I have not done much of it lately). So, the past few days I've been working on a few cutesy projects for the party. I can't share pictures yet, because the bride to be checks my blog sometimes...so check back after the weekend and I'll share some fun things.

Happy Mid October everyone!

Katie's Shower

Today was my friend Katie's first shower for her wedding. It was a fun day and I got to eat a lot of good food, including homemade carrot cake...it was TASTY. She has a huge family and TONS of Aunts, I mean literally, I don't know if I even remember any of their names. Every time I turned a corner someone was introducing themselves as Katie's Aunt. It was crazy, but so funny! Anyway, she got tons of great presents and it brought me back to Will and I's wedding. What a fun time of your life that is. It's so fun getting new stuff! Katie with all the cool stuff you got today, I'm expecting at least a happy hour soon...happy wedding time Katie and enjoy it, it will be here before you know it!

This Post is for Logan

This post is for my little nephew Logan. He will be two on Saturday and I can't be there for his special b-day party. Logan will be getting a Bo Jackson Auburn jersey from his Aunt Megan and Uncle Will this birthday...he lives in Rocky Top country and needs to share a little Auburn spirit around there. My plan for Thanksgiving: teach Logan WAR EAGLE.

Happy Birthday big boy!

I want to decorate for Halloween!!

I can't wait until October 1st...so I can put up all the Halloween decorations! I put two little wooden pumpkins up on our mantel last night as a little teaser....

I Love My Life

I love my life. I love my job. I love my teammates (yeah third grade team). I love my friends. I love my husband. I love Samson. I could go on and on and on...

...I've been thinking about that a lot lately. I'm so lucky. I have a beautiful house and my own little family that lives here (hi Will and Sam). I've just started my fourth year of teaching third grade in an amazing school district. I love this time of year because I can sense my favorite season right around the corner, fall will be here before we know it (and I can't wait). Fall is Will and my favorite season. We like to decorate our house spooky, well at least I like to decorate it and Will just likes to enjoy it decorated. We love going to pick pumpkins at the pumpkin patch. Will always manages to carve his to look scarier than mine. We already previewed our options for Sam's Halloween costume at Petsmart. Last year he was a jack-o-lantern. This year I want him to be an unemployed person (complete with doggie robe and newspaper squeak toy). I think Will thinks that is a weird costume because he wants Samson to get the shark costume. How generic! Really, I just want an excuse to buy my Westie a robe to wear around the house. He would just be so cute in it! Anyway, this post is all over the place. The bottom line is - I'm just happy right now. I'm on top of things (as much as a teacher can be at any one time) at work and at home and bottom line is, I'm just in a great mood.

On a house update....we hung curtains this weekend in our living room. We chose basic white with cast iron rods. It looks pretty and really adds decoration to the room!

Well, I guess thats all from my life...

Back to School!

School starts Tuesday! I've been working feverishly in my classroom to get all the things ready for my new kids! I'm excited to meet them tomorrow at Meet the Teacher Night! They all come up to school and bring their school supplies to stock in their desks. It's so fun to get those first impression of them. Some of them are really excited and some are nervous, it's cute either way. Here is a shot of my classroom.
This summer I spent some time leveling my books by reading level. So each reading level has a color coded label on the book binding.

They are organized in color coded baskets by Chapter Books or Picture Books.

Here is the wreath I made for my classroom door. I used to have a cute crayon wreath, but it had faded so it was time to update!

Today is My Birthday

Today is my birthday and I'm excited. I slept in, woke up and the sun is shining. There is blue sky as far as I can see and I'm headed to the pool in an hour. I'm going to sit in the pool in read my book for hours. Then I might go shopping. We're going out to dinner and I'm hoping to end the day with a sweet treat, maybe an ice cream cake?!? Today is a good day.

Solar Lights and Lamination

Yesterday Will and I picked up some cute little solar lights at Lowe's. I came home and quickly assembled them and we "installed" them in the landscaping beds in our front yard. As it got dark, I got excited that the solar lights would come on soon! Around 9:00, I peeked outside. They were super cute and added a lot to the front yard (and they look cute in the day too). I think it's fun how the little things can make me so happy sometimes...who would have thought solar lights would be one?! Another little thing that I used to love was cutting out lamination. I remember when I was a student teacher and that was one of my favorite things to do. Now, I HATE cutting out lamination. It's super boring and it makes a huge mess. This time of year I always have an overabundance of lamination. I find it stuck to my clothes, my shoes, just about everywhere. Sitting on my kitchen table is a huge bag of lamination to be cut...yuck.

It's About That Time

This time of the year is always one with a lot of mixed emotion for me. I'm a teacher, so naturally I L O V E summer. But as the last few weeks of summer wind down, I always seem to be cramming in those last few days of summer sun and relaxation at the pool - and - I start to get that itch. I want to be in my classroom. I want to organize, reorganize, create and plan for the new school year. I'm getting excited. I love teaching, sure there are days I don't want to go to work (even teachers are human), but generally I love my job. Kids make me laugh and smile on a daily basis. I check my class list twice a day to see if I have any new additions and I look forward to the day I get to meet my kids. It's hard to stay away from my classroom this time of year...even as a teacher, back to school shopping is still fun. I love stocking the room with new pencils, crayons, and glue. I love hanging new bulletin boards and adding new touches to my room. But, as much as I want to be there, I'm forcing myself not to go in everyday next week. This week I found my way into my little space 4 out of the 5 days. I just couldn't help it. Every year there is something new I want to do or something I want to do even better. This year (my *years* go from August to July not January to December) is going to be a great one, I can feel it. I have this great excitement for this year. It's going to be not only an amazing year at work, but in life too. My best friend is having a baby. I get to be in another best friend's wedding on New Years Eve (how fun is a New Years Eve wedding?). Will and I will have been married 2 years this March and I love him more now than ever. I just have a great feeling about this school year and I very excited for what it holds!

New York City Trip...Day Two

Ah, our second day of our teacher trip to New York...it was another busy one. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't really on our side. It hadn't rained for like 14 days in New York, and it was sprinkling from the moment we stepped out of our hotel. Our first stop was Ellis Island. This is the view I got from the ferry headed toward the island. What an amazing place. You should really read the history of how this island changed and grew as more and more immigrants came to our country. It is amazing. I learned so much and I can't wait to share with my kids!

I have to tell you, I look really great in all the pictures from day two...that is what rain, humidity and lack of sleep do for you. This is me outside Ellis Island's main entrance (to the main building). Of course the metal and glass awning was added when they opened the museum.

As you enter the museum there are suitcases and trunks that immigrants carried as they came into our country. Imagine trying to put all the important things in your life in one trunk...how did they do it?

This is a shot of the Great Hall...this is where all of the inspections were done. It is a beautiful place...and that chandelier, it's an antique from Tiffany's.

While we were doing our workshop and tour in Ellis Island, it decided to STORM, I mean bad storm. So my friend Angie and I invested in 8 dollar ponchos. Yeah they were really cool - they had a huge Ellis Island emblem on the back...tourist...who me? It was worth the 8 bucks...trust me.

After we left Ellis Island, we got on the ferry to go to Liberty Island. She is amazing! She really is beautiful.

We were not allowed to go up in the torch while we were there. It was closed for some reason.

Isn't she so pretty? It is amazing to imagine what the immigrants felt as they pulled up to our country and saw her in the distance. It was so cool!

This is a view from the ferry heading back to Manhattan...this is the skyline where the Twin Towers once stood.

Here is Ground Zero. It was weird seeing it. It wasn't what I thought it would be...I'm not sure why. As I stood their I imagined what it would have been like on that day...I remember watching the TV footage in my fourth hour class in highschool and then again in sixth hour and what seemed like all night when I got home from school that day. It was one of those things that was so sad, but you couldn't help but watch. I can't even imagine what New York was like that day. They are in the process of building the memorial. We were there the day the discovered the ship from the 1400's during the excavation. Cool!

After Ground Zero, we rode the subway one last time and headed to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. After that we walked around Central Park and Uptown.

I didn't see anybody famous on my trip, but it was still cool. I'm really excited to share all the cool things I learned about immigration and immigrants with my kiddos this year. This was the ultimate field trip.

New York City Trip...Day One

A few weeks ago I got to go to New York City on a grant trip with about 35 other teachers in Rockwood, Parkway and Union School Districts. It was pretty cool to see all the sites of New York, but it is definitely not a place I would want to live. I'll keep my .20 acre of land in my little box subdivision. It was a jam packed two days, starting early early in the morning and going late into the evening.

When we first arrived in New York we stopped at Katz's Deli for lunch. Luckily, most of my meals were paid for by the grant - I couldn't believe my lunch there would have cost $15.90 before tax! How do these New Yorkers do it?
Our first big stop was the Tenement House. We got to see an old tenement house during the thriving years of the garment district. It was amazing how some people lived. I just couldn't believe it. So many people living in such a small, dangerous place. Many tenements didn't even have water or restrooms. After we saw the tenement house, we went on a walking tour of the Lower East Side and China Town. It was interesting to see that part of New York!

From there I got to ride the subway for the first time. We got off in Midtown and walked to see where the Today show was filmed.

Then I got to see Times Square!

We saw many other sites as we walked the streets, including the Radio City Music Hall. I love the Rockette's and they have always been a favorite of mine during the Macy's Day Parade. So I decided to snap a shot.

We ended the first day with a visit to Havana, a Cuban restaurant and then we went up in the Empire State Building. I wish my camera would have gotten a better shot at the top!

Oh, and I forgot to add, while in the Lower East Side we saw Zarin Fabrics - for all you Real Housewives of New York City fans!

Fourth of July

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Logan from the Fourth of July. He is just so precious! He loved playing in my neighbors baby pool. He LOVES water!

Sweet Summertime

Well, it is officially SUMMER! I have been off school for about a week and a half. Today was my first day not having to work at all. I have been busy doing summer workshops and tutoring. I really wanted to spend my very first full day "off" at the pool, but the weather was gloomy and rainy all day. So, I spent 5, yes 5, hours IRONING today. I HATE ironing, so it is no surprise that I let huge piles of ironing pile up. I was ironing winter clothes, so that shows how long it has been since I ironed. My closet is like jam packed full right now because everything is cleaned and restocked.

Samson has enjoyed the last few weeks. Will has been lucky enough to get to be home three straight weeks this month. I was really excited since they were my first three weeks of summer.
We got a new shelf for our family room - I would show you what it looks like in our room, but we have not found much to decorate it yet. We still have to find things to decorate the three wall shelves we got earlier in the year.
We build our three mini retaining walls over Memorial Day weekend. Will and his dad worked for two and a half days. We used ANCHOR Stone, the Flores design in the pecan color. This is not a picture of ours, I can't quite seem to take a good one. We bought our stone at a place right down the street from our neighborhood, so it was easy to transport everything and make quick runs if we needed more of something. It looks pretty and now I want to do it in the backyard, but I don't think we really have a place for it back there. I still would like to get our slab in the backyard poured this summer too.


I am headed to Nashville on Thursday to visit my sisters and see Logan. I am really excited because I have not seen him since he has been a strong walker. I won't be back until Sunday and I worry about leaving my boys alone (Will and Samson). I know they will do fine, but I will miss them.


Mandy, Ryan and Logan are coming in for the Fourth of July again this year. I want to buy one of these cute lemonade pitchers.
Will spotted one at Home Goods the other day when we were searching for picture frames, but it was flimsy so we didn't get that one. I may have to just get this super cute one from Pottery Barn. Will wants to serve his favorite drink, margaritas, out of it.

We are really close to buying this desk at Target to go in our guest room/office. But we can't decide if we want black or brown in that room.

One last note, two of our best friends have some big news to share...but it is not mine to share for them....so hop on over to their blog HERE. Needless to say, we couldn't be happier for them and we are excited to watch this next part of their lives unfold! Congrats Kerns and Chris! : )

Have you seen this blog?

OH MY GOSH. Have you seen this blog? There are so many recipes that I want to try on this site...I mean WOW. I'm totally excited. Seriously, check it out....

Goodbye Red Runner

I have to say goodbye to my 1999, red Grand Am this week because I got a new car Saturday!! I LOVE it. I drove it all around today to get used to it. Will and I purchased a 2010 GMC Terrain on Saturday. It is black paint with black interior. Although it is sad to get rid of the red runner, I won't miss having a window duck taped shut, cracked dashboard, broken speakers and air conditioning and stained cloth interior. I love new car smell...

New York, New York...here I come!

The last two years I have been participating in a grant through the federal government offered by my school district. One of the culminating things I get to do is take a trip to New York City. This trip is supposed to give me a better understanding of the history of immigration in America to help me be a better social studies teacher - but - let's face it - it is a FREE trip to NEW YORK and I've NEVER been - so - not only is it going to help me as a teacher, it is going to be F - U - N. I wasn't that excited about it until tonight. We got all the details at our meeting and I found out I get to room with a great teacher friend of mine, Angie!

We are staying at the Affinia Manhattan Hotel. I'm excited to get to go to the Tenement House and do the Immigrant Soles walking tour. I get to take the SUBWAY! Is it weird I am excited about that? We are visiting Battery Park, Ellis Island and Liberty Island. Hopefully we will have time to go to Central Park, Rockefeller Center and The Empire State Building. We get to eat at this yummy Cuban restaurant called Havana Central. We are also eating at the Hard Rock Cafe on Broadway. I'm just so excited...when is July again? I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and I'm sure I'll have tons of stories.

Its been awhile...

It has been awhile since I have done a post. I've been kind of busy enjoying this beautiful weather! In the last few weeks Sam had his first birthday. He is officially supposed to be potty trained now...so far so good.

Sam loves opening presents...

...and enjoying his special gourmet dog treats.

I made a new cushion for our front porch bench out of outdoor fabric.

My sister and nephew visited. Logan and Sam made friends fast.

I didn't get many pictures with Logan, but I thought this one was cute with his Aunt Megan.

I have a few crafty things up my sleeve, but have been too busy getting outside to work hard on any of them! I'll be better about blogging again soon - I PROMISE! 6 more weeks of school after all, but who is counting (surely not the teachers!!!)...