What I'm Loving Right Now (15)

It's been a hot minute since I've done one of these posts!

Here's are a few things that I'm loving right now

This piece of furniture is from Jason's Nana. 

It's a print drawer--it has shallow drawers and it will be perfect for my cross-stitchng supplies and Jason's sewing supplies. 

Mom and I took an afternoon and gave it a little face lift to match the rest of the furniture in the office and I am so, so happy with how it turned out! 

 It looks fantastic in our office and...it fit perfectly in literally, the only spot it could have fit! 

It was meant to be. 

To top it all off--I found the sunflower artwork at our Cups and the sweet little "love never fails" from Hobby Lobby and I love how they look with the piece. Our office is getting so close to being complete!

This isn't the best before & after of these chairs but, while Mom and I were painting the print drawer we also sanded down these chairs and restrained them and it gave them new life. They look so great!

This view too--whew! We added our pergola this summer and it just makes the backyard so much prettier! Bring on the cooler Fall nights so I can enjoy this  backyard even more. 

We started our 7th and 8th years of teaching this year. It has been a fast and furious start for me. This is definitely going to be a year of growth for me as a teacher! 

Another thing I am LOVING are these new sensory items I got for my classroom through DonorsChoose. They have been so amazing and my kids love them. I am going to devote a post solely to these products and how I'm using them in my classroom. 

If you've been following along for any amount of time then you know that I love to cross stitch and most of the time, I do my floral letters. But, within the past year I've had a few people ask about custom pieces. I was nervous at first to stray away from what I'm so comfortable with but, I'm so happy I did! I love these two pieces and they were such meaningful projects for the people who I did them for. 

I have been a member of Magnolia Record Company since December and I absolutely love it. I have grown my record collection and discovered so many artists I wouldn't have known about had it not been for MRC. If you love music, vinyl, and good music, you should definitely consider this monthly record subscription. 

Another thing I'm loving right now is my Master's Program. I started Monday and it's been such good information already! I'm excited to learn and add more to my skill set in the classroom. Here's a quote from one of my textbooks: “We must light the candles we can, even though we know that it doesn’t dispel all the darkness in our student’s lives.” I mean, come on, I can get excited about reading textbooks like that!

Another thing I'm loving..another thing I always love...Game Nights! 

Game nights have become a little more sparse but, when we have them, they are always just what we all needed. 

 I love these people. 

 And lastly...who doesn't love a day off of work?

We had a fun Labor Day--had lunch at my parents and took it easy the rest of the day. 

Happy Labor Day, everyone! 

Garage Closet Makeover

Jason has been working so hard to complete our most recent house update.

This one was all his idea and he did all the handiwork as well and I have to say, it turned out to be quite amazing!

Before:

The closet in the garage was really a decent size. 

There is plenty of space for items, it was all just thrown in there. 

 When we bought the house 4 years ago, the previous owner left that black shelf in there and that was it. I didn't feel like we needed more in there since it was for everything outside but Jason had a different idea (and I'm so glad he did!)

After deciding what he wanted to do. 

Getting all the measurements. 

Planning what all hooks and shelves he wanted and got to work and it took him alllllllll day one Saturday and then we had to wait a week since school started back and this past Saturday & Sunday, he finished up and it is awesome!

Here they are, all painted and fresh:

He added the horizontal piece of wood and each of the hooks. 

 

 Each hook you see along with all four shelves he made. 

 and here's the opposite side. 

Those shelves are STURDY too. Let me tell you. I sat on them and they are solid as can be ;)

 And finally, today, Jason put all the "stuff" in there and just LOOK AT ALL THAT SPACE!

 Everything has a place and I. Love. It. 

What do you all think?

I think he definitely, DEFINITELY hit this one out of the park. 

Now, who knows what type of project he will do now?!

Oh Joy! It's a Boy!

This weekend we showered Melissa in preparation for baby Russell's arrival in less than 6 weeks! 

 Sweet baby book along with a story book that served as the guest  book

 Baby pictures of both Melissa & Ian along with some of the animal prints that will be in Russell's nursery

 Little outfits that Ian wore when he was a baby

 Beautiful (and DELICIOUS) cake--seriously one of the best I've had--thank you Amber!

 These cookies turned out to be perfect and they were so tasty! Thanks to Glitter Antler Cookies. 

 Melissa's bassinet from when she was a baby served as the perfect piece to put her gifts in

 The most creative gift--little onesies & socks that were made to look like cupcakes!

Late in the day I went with Melissa & Ian to take a few maternity pictures and wanted to share just a few of them. 

Come on little Russell, we can't wait to meet you!

What I'm Loving Right Now (9)

It's been a while since I've done one of these!
Here I am, bringing it back.

Can't Stop The Feeling--I LOVE this song. If you don't, well, the only explanation must be that you haven't heard it yet!

Friends--I am officially obsessed with this show.  I know, I'm behind the times--by many, many, many years. But as they say, better late than never. It's such a fun show and I just love them all.

DonorsChoose--I love this site. I have used it for 3 projects now for my classroom and now, I'm working on my 4th. I am working towards getting some theme boxes for my classroom. Follow this link (here) and read more about it! I am excited at the prospect of having all of these boxes and books for my classroom.

Yerba Mate Tea--Jason and I have found our new favorite tea. You can read all about the benefits here. If you're interested, you can get it from Kroger and we've seen it at Rainbow as well.

The crazy beautiful sunset's we've been having--our backyard has the best view of the sunsets. Sorry in advance if I over do it on the sunset pictures, I personally can't get enough!

Sarah's Bachelorette Trip--2 weekends ago I went to the beach and spend the weekend celebrating my friend Sarah and her upcoming wedding! We had the best time--so much sun, laughing, celebrating, and fun was had. Come on October 22nd!

My class this year--I have such a sweet class this year. There's a lot of them (11 to be exact) but they are so much fun. I am looking forward to a really wonderful school year!

Moses--my stud of a nephew puppy. This guy is the cutest, biggest, fluffiest, best little thing there is. Just look for yourself...

Buddha's Brew Kombucha--tried this for the first time today and it was SO GOOD. We found it at Rainbow Grocery. It's the only place I've seen it, but then again, I haven't been looking until today. We tried the "tart cherry with melon"--amazing. 

The fact that I see Lauren Daigle in concert in less than a month--I am so excited about this! Oh, and I am BEYOND THRILLED that she has a CHRISTMAS album coming out!

Tie dying--I love it and it's been a minute since I've done it. I bought a kit a few weekends ago and just went to town on some white shirts. so. much. fun. 

Until next time...