28 & 29// 365

saturday 

sunday

Just popping in for a quick hello before I head out the door again! Today has been quite hectic already trying to get ready for our trip with Tyler's parents tomorrow. And I'm a bit picky about how I leave the house while we're gone so of course that means I've added about ten million things to my to do list. Argh!! 

And let's not even talk about having to leave my animals. Mew. :( 

Im really really really looking forward to some much needed, low stress time away. And I know Tyler is really excited to spend a week with his parents. We've never done this before, since they both run the family business one of them has to be there if the other is gone. We are quite lucky to have this special time with them since it probably won't happen again for a while! 

Side note:: I pinned this outfit from Madewell's spring line and then lo and behold I find in the back of my closet an identical navy polka dot skirt. Win! Proof again to why holding on to things is ALWAYS the answer. Haha. :) 

pinning pretties

one//two//three//four//five//six

I know this is kind of a random mix of wonderfulness, but I just love them all. Especially those Bandit Girls. Me thinks that'll be the perfect gift for my sister's birthday.....we are often partners in crime. Or something like that. 

And that polka dot skirt....swoooon! 

27//365

today.....

I'm thankful.....for my fuzzy slippers that keep my feet warm even when I make a mad dash outside to let the doggies in. 

I'm lucky..... there was enough food in the refrigerator so I didn't have to go out at all. 

We have.... a bookstore date with my parents. How cute is that?? We'll find out. :) 

I'm thankful.... for these super duper sharp scissors that cut my fabric perfectly every time (thank you momma).

I'm sad..... because I realized I left my container of whoopie pies at my sister's dorm Wednesday night. Ohhhh the sadness. 

I pinned..... more than enough baby things on pinterest to probably annoy every single person that follows me. Sorry, baby fever....it's a problem! :) 

Last night....we watched The Daybreakers. Hmmm. I love me some Ethan Hawke but even I couldn't make myself like that one. 

This weekend.....will be fun. Because it's the weekend, if for no other reason. 

Annnnnd maybe because the countdown for our winter vacation is now t-minus three days. Eeep! 

Happy Friday!!! 

xoxo, R. 

*happiness*

here

Lately, this is at the top of my list. 

a little date.

Sometimes you just really need a good hamburger, the perfect greasy fries and a soda. I don't think we'd had Five Guys since last summer. Let me tell you....it was good. 

It's the little things. :) 

xoxo, R. 

24, 25, 26//365

Yeah yeah yeah, so let's play a little catch up. My personal free time this week has been consumed with getting ready to go out of town for a week and doctors appointments and laundry and sister dates and the mountain of books that keep calling me back to the couch. That last one....it's sneaky. Before I know it, I'm on the couch under a blanket and an hour has gone by. What? 

tuesday 

wednesday 

thursday

tuesday:: we made dinner together and i pretended this bread was homemade and not out of a can. 

wednesday:: i realized that my new *old* R necklace is actually pretty cool. i kinda love it. 

thursday:: i'm listening to Eisley and knocking things off the "to do" list. one of those things was this post. 

double check. :) 

easy peasy whoopie pies

Now tell me, WHO doesn't love a good whoopie pie??? Or at least the word whoopie?! It's so fun! Especially when you add a little "iiiiiieee" at the end! Haha. I know. I'm a goof. But seriously...whoopiiiieeee! :)
My momma got both my sister and I a Babycakes for Christmas (Me:whoopie pies Her:cupcakes). I was a bit skeptical at first but the thing was so darn cute and there were only six directions total so I figured I could handle it.

Minus a bit of sizzling and popping while it heated up (not to mention a screw flying across the room) this little machine was quite easy to use! I was impressed! You can even use a regular cake mix. I see red velvet whoopie pies for Valentine's Day in my future.....drool.

And the whoopie pies.....oh yum. Kim asked me on instagram Sunday how I got my frosting to not melt all over the place into a gooey mess. I really don't know. My mom purchased a premixed icing bag with a tip from Betty Crocker that was SO much easier to use than making our own frosting and trying to pipe it out of an actual piping bag. Also, I piped one circle of frosting around the edge and that's it. I didn't fill the center....so maybe that was the trick? Because we all know I didn't wait for them to cool completely. Disregarded direction number six, yes I did.  Im pretty sure I made one right after they were finished.

Whoopieeee! :)

pieces and parts

I'm reading The Happiness Project and stumbled upon on this post yesterday regarding assigning yourself a  symbol for you, for your life and for your own happiness project. 

Obviously my symbol is a bird. My sister would call it a sparrow, but to me a bird is a bird. I don't differentiate because the specifics aren't what attract me to it. The symbolism of a bird means so much more and is something I've come across in many different forms; through literature, poetry, art and in my own life. 

I suppose the actual symbol itself would look like the tattoo on my wrist...I already drew it onto the first page of the journal I've started keeping while I read. Either way, I'm excited to begin this book and project for myself this year! It's probably the only "new years resolution" (i hate that phrase) I consciously thought about. In it's simplest form, it's a way for me to be more active in my life every day in a positive and more meaningful way. 

Have you guys read this book? What are your thoughts? So far I'm enjoying it....

P.S. My top is from Forever21, just in case you were curious....I'm kind of in love with it. 

23//365

I found this happy little mug yesterday at the thrift with my friend Rachel. I snapped a photo yesterday when I got home and then promptly forgot to do my POTD post. Whoops! 

So there you go. Yesterday's cute little find. There were other fun things too....a few sheets, a cardigan and a vintage button down. Annnnd an old school copy of Nancy Drew and The Clue of the Leaning Chimney. Which I won't lie, I'm probably going to read again since I doubt I remember what happened from way back in third grade....

xoxo, R. 

21//365 & 22//365

saturday

sunday

How was your weekend?!! We had a very nice, relaxing weekend *partially due to a snowstorm that rolled in Friday evening and kept us at home* gotta love excuses to stay in and read! Saturday night I had some much needed girl time with a friend while Tyler hung out with her husband and did "guy stuff" (aka played video games). We found the BEST discount bookstore too! I LOVE BOOKS! I was so excited to find a few that I'd been wanting to read for only four dollars! 

Saturday, while putting away some things in my "office",  I found this black and white photo of Tyler and I. It's actually one of my favorite photos of us, ever. I immediately clipped it to one of my clipboards so I can see it when Im working on my computer. Tyler proposed the weekend after I graduated from college and we couldn't have been any happier than at that moment, enjoying my graduation party and newly engaged....excited to move on with our lives together! Like I said, it's a favorite photo. :) 

Sunday we had a lunch date together and then spent the afternoon with my family! My mom and I made whoopie pies (more on that later) and my dad made us dinner. All that was missing was the little sister. I need to figure out some kind of teleportation device so we can beam her in from school and then send her back in a timely manner. Man I miss that girl! 

Happy Monday! 

a few thoughts.

1//2//3//4

found::pinks and grays

here//here//here//here//here//here

I think I'm in the market for a pair of pretty pink skinny jeans. Not bright pink. Definitely not red (no way can I pull those off, no matter how hard I may try). The red pants bandwagon is just going to have to pass me on by. But pink. Pink I can do.  

20//365

I went sledding today with my kiddos and contemplated taking a photo of that....but it was just so darn cold I couldn't think of anything other than the length of time it takes for your toes to get frostbite because mine were almost there I swear! 

Instead, I have a picture of a little something called The Binomial Cube. If you aren't familiar with the Montessori teaching method, you won't have a clue as to what this is. You can read more about it here. It's actually a pretty cool little puzzle! 

Last night I was thinking randomly about the teacher I taught with for the six years I worked at a local Montessori school. I hadn't talked with her for over two years and every once in a while something reminds me of her and I wonder how she's been, what she's up to, etc. We spent a lot of time together in that little classroom. 

Anyhow, I randomly thought of her last night and guess what? I woke up this morning to an email from her. IS THAT NOT CRAZY?  How random is that? Or maybe it's not random. I don't know. Anyway, it was really really nice to hear from her. I love the internet for that. 

I can't wait to have kids and as Tyler and I get closer to that point, Im finding myself spending more and more time figuring out what parts of the Montessori method I want to use at home until they are ready for an actual Montessori classroom. There are so so so many great methods and tools that you can utilize in the everyday, not just in math or reading. But I want to do those too. Ah! So many things to think about! I can't wait. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to learn first hand more about Montessori, it's such an amazing way to help young children grow and experience the world around them. 

19//365

You get two pictures today because....well she's just the cutest. Especially when she's been rolling in the snowdrifts. I swear, she's like the little kid who asks for "five more minutes" every time there's a snowstorm. 

I lover her. 

do*it*yourself//embellished knee socks

Okay, so I'm just gonna say it. I'm a little obsessed with embellishing things at the moment. I think it has something do with being stuck inside during the winter. By the time spring comes, none of my stuff is going to look the same, I swear. You know what else would rock? A bedazzler!! Im kidding. Maybe. 

Okay. So let's get to it. I realized in the fall I had pinned this image three times. THREE. So I knew I needed to do something about it. And then this lovely lady did this right before the holidays. LOVE. When I sat down to make my own this weekend I got a bit carried away....I couldn't find my lace at first and thought, why not? This is why I keep fabric scraps anyhow! I think these embellished socks are really fun. Especially since it took all of ten minutes to make them. And if I get tired of them, I can just take them apart and add something different! 

The trick to using actual socks and not legwarmers (which don't need to stretch too far over your heel like a sock does) I found, was to sew the embellishment on while the end of the sock was stretched over something large (similar to the size of your calf). I stretched the opening over a large candle and sewed the fabric using eight single stitches spaced evenly around the edge of the sock. 

If that doesn't make sense, then let me know and Ill explain better. It was a bit of trial and error at the beginning. 

I'm still debating adding buttons. I can't decide! But at any rate, I love how these turned out. Especially since I've had these pairs forever and now they feel all new and fun again! Double win! 

happiness

Sometimes I feel like I use the word "happiness" a lot. But there are so many little things in life that I attribute to that feeling. I don't need a big ole fancy house or a ton of shoes in my closet to make me happy, a puppy kiss when I get home or a super yummy ice cream sandwich is just fine. I started this year with a new resolve to focus on these little bits of life that can easily slip by if you're not careful. And also to live my life in a simple and more kind way, which can be accomplished *i think* by letting go of worries that you can't control and negativity that isn't necessary. Not everyone is out to get you or talks about you behind your back. Not everything is the end of the world or worth twelve phone calls to various friends to vent and complain. I'm not saying I've necessarily thought or done all of these things, but I'm observant.... I've seen it happen often around me. I couldn't keep up with it all! I've found in just these few short weeks I've been able to sleep better and face some of the things in my life with more positivity, simply by having a better outlook for each day. It's not always easy, looking at the bright side or finding happiness when the day starts to just pull you under, but bringing myself back to these few principles eventually makes a difference. Life it too short to waste time on things that don't matter in the end and quite frankly I'd rather have smile wrinkles than frowns!! Haha:)  

And there you have it. My ten cents. All rolled up in a little blog post.

::found here::

18//365

Today.....I remembered why sleeping with my hair in a braid is awesome. Fifteen extra minutes of sleep and hair that needs no help. Score. 

Today....I watched two of my favorite Disney movies with my favorite little curly haired kiddo while making lists of future things, another favorite thing to do. 

Today....I realized that I'm super happy those wrinkles up there next to my eyes are smile wrinkles and not angry frown wrinkles which my friend and I always worried about getting between our eyebrows when we taught preschoolers. 

Today....I am thankful I didn't end up driving into a ditch on the way to work, but I feel awful about the girl in front of me who did. 

Today.... I discovered you can reply back to comments via email. Where have I been?!!! This is awesome news. 

Right now.....I'm listening to Goldfrapp's Ooh La La and feel like dancing

Right now.... I'm abouts to go find me a good snack and settle in with our January book club book The Magicians. 

Tomorrow.....I have another fun and easy DIY to share. Get. Excited. 

Happy Wednesday lovelies! 

17//365

Somebunny special bought me these for Christmas because they heard I didn't own any. O.P.I that is. ::gasp, I know:: 

I feel like I'm part of the big girl club now! And I think tomorrow's nail forecast calls for a little turquoise. Hee hee:)  

Love you Megan! 

16//365

While I was eating this yummy ice cream sandwich yesterday a little mouse skittered across my kitchen and into my cat's waiting paws. There were squeals and jumping (from me) congratulations to the cat (from husband) and the thought... all I want to do is eat my ice cream sandwich in peace! Five minutes! That's all! 

And then forty five minutes later it happened again. With a different mouse. 

Obviously, word hadn't gotten out yet that my cat's a hitman for the mouse mob. Or something. I sure hope they've figured it out now....

My house is over one hundred years old. And it's cold outside. I GET IT. 

But I think Mr. Ice Cream Sandwich and I will just have to try again another night. 

feeding the birds

 The week after Christmas I took the kids I tutor (who I ended up watching during the day while they were on break) to the local Nature Realm to feed the birds. I've never done this before so I have to admit I was a little skeptical. I honestly figured with three boys it would end up as some sort of epic birdseed fight before we even got there! Luckily, they proved me wrong. 

Oh my goodness. It was such an amazing experience. The day was gloomy and rainy but these little birdies turned it all around! This little guy on my hand favored my selection of birdseed and kept coming back for more. And then the sun came out and before I knew it there were birdies everywhere!!! And squirrels too! Little moochers.

I told my kids afterwards that they had definitely taught me something new...and also gave me an experience Ill hopefully never forget. One of my favorite memories of 2011, no doubt about it. I can't wait to share this with my own kids someday! 

14//365 & 15//365

saturday

sunday

So I accomplished something amazing this weekend....I stayed off the internet for TWO days. No lie. It was wonderful! Almost to the point where I forgot to sign on and check my emails this morning. Which I try to remember to do everyday but sometimes that doesn't even happen. It was such a nice weekend without the internet! I had a double date Saturday (that I went on alone since Tyler ended up getting sick right before) to church and dinner and the bookstore..... and then did a double date Sunday night (round two) to make up for the previous night. Love it. Such a peaceful, low key weekend....definitely my favorite kind! 

13//365

This is not hanging in my home.....if anything this photo is a reminder that I seriously need to purchase one of these, lest I have to pick up one more apple after it's rolled off our counter because the basket is overflowing with bread and bagels and such. 

It's a battle every morning. 

Who's happy it's Friday?!?! ::hand waving in the air:: Me! Me! 

:) 

whiteout

holy smokes, we've got a lot of snow. 

everything is just so.....white. and gray. 

((thank you captain obvious)) 

I think this little project will add the perfect amount of color to the yard through the winter. Along with a few bird feeders. And houses. I like to look out for the little birdies, it's cold out there! 

:) 

12//365

Quiet mornings on the bed is the coziest time of my day. 

On another note, you know when you have those days where you wake up and leave the house knowing you won't be home until eleven that night? 

Today was one of them, but it was definitely a good thing. 

And on the way home, a windy blustery blizzard started which prompted me to turn off the radio and sit quietly at the stop sign in our little town. Sometimes I have these moments where I'm the only one driving through and it feels like a ghost town. It was eerily quiet and peaceful tonight especially, with all the snow. In that almost Stephen King-like way. But it was so beautiful too. 

Which means tomorrow should make for an interesting drive to work. :( 

found::vintage housewares and a pretty dress

 Last week I found a few cute things at the thrift. Among a stack of books I probably didn't need to add to my ever growing list of books to read and a few other miscellaneous tops. But by far, these few things were my favorites! 

That dress?!? I die. It's so cute! Buttons all down the front and everything. I can't wait to pair it with a belt and my favorite brown boots. 

Also: I believe that thermos up there is the start of a new collection. Oh man. 

Happy Thursday!