Happy Valentines Day!

I hope you are out doing something lovely!

Lime and Stripes for Spring

Dress, Striped top, Striped Trench, Cami, Shoes, Bag, Belt, Mug

Let me just say that I am IN LOVE with this lime striped trench from LOFT!

What do you think about lime for spring??

HBD Sissy!

Happy 25th Birthday to my beautiful sister Krissy! She is my sounding board, fashion inspiration, roomie, dj, friend and is pretty much the best kind :) 

I am so lucky to spend my days l-i-v-i-n with you!

 

She doesn't like cake, so birthday cupcakes were not an option...instead, she got her favorite sweet treat: m&m cookies! She loves the buttery dough mixed with the crunch from the milk chocolate shell of m&m's. Seriously, these are really the only sweet treat of mine that she will eat!

I do agree that they are pretty decisious...here is the recipe:

m&m cookies (I usually cut this in half)
1c brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
1c room tempurature unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 c flour
2 c m&ms

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Combine sugars, butter and vanilla and beat until creamy. Add in eggs and beat. Mix in baking soda and salt and then add in flour and beat until mixed well. stir in m&ms. I usually throw in any other ingredients that sound good...a few drak chocolate chips, some walnuts...whatever you have.

Drop spoonfulls on to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. I always use a little scooper so my cookie turnout about the same size. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Recipe yeilds 3 - 4 dozen cookies depending on cookie size.

How was your weekend?? Do anything fun? 

Febuary Birchbox

Yesterday my Febuary birchbox arrived and it was full of goodies!

For those of you who who have not heard of Birchbox, it is a monthly subscription service that sends hair, makeup and skin care samples to your mailbox for the low cost of 10 bucks per month! I have been getting it for the past three months and I have got some awesome samples. My favorites so far have been a Zoya nail polish, Stila waterproof eyeliner, Benefit primer and Loreal Professional hair oil. Needless to say, my Birchbox is a highlight for me because I LOVE trying new products that I couldn't otherwise afford! This month did not disappoint.

I tried the Dermalogica microfoliant scrub last night and my skin felt like I had just gotten a spa treatment! The grain was super fine and took off all of the dull, dry skin leaving me fresh and dewy. This morning I prepped my freshly scrubbed skin with the Jouer tinted moisturizer. Typically I like to use a medium coverage foundation, but this product is great for a mellow Saturday :)

Ummm it is highly unlikely that I will be using these eyeliner strips as I have really small eyes and these things are at least an inch and a half long...but they are pretty silly and could be fun for Halloween next year!

It wouldn't be a February box without a nod to Valentines day...a cute pink nail file and a new band to check out!

Well there you have it, my February Birchbox! I hope you are out enjoying this beautiful Saturday!!

  

The little things

In my experience, learning something new comes with ALOT of different emotions. My favorite include excitement, creativity and inspiration...but authentic learning also comes with frustration, mistakes and the all consuming time suck. However, it is all worth it when you figure it out! Check out my new signature!!

ps: look forward to a post with the contents of my February birch box tomorrow!

What I made: Sewing machine cover

Happy Sunday Everyone! Look at what I made today!!!

I saw this sewing project of Martha Stewarts a while ago and today I found the perfect fabric to make it out of! I used the directions as guidelines and made the following modifications.

The directions call for a large dish towel as the source of fabric, instead I bought a yard of fabric and sewed wrong sides together with an 1/4 seam and cut it down to fit the machine. To bind the edges, I used double bias tape and cute slits to allow for the ribbon. If I was making it again, I would either close the seams so they are not visible or use a wider bias tape...there are certainly parts where I didn't get it the tape close enough to the seam! Oh well! I highly doubt the sewing police are going to come by and check my stiching!! This was a simple project and only took a few hours.

How was your weekend? Anyone do anything crafty??

xo, M

What I wore: Monday!

Well I am LOVING blogging, so now I need to get in a rhythm. One major component that I want on this blog is outfit posts. Therefore, I must work on the self portrait pics! Here is one from today, don't mind my room...they will get better!

Top: Target Necklace: Gift from Jennifer...but from Target: Watch: Micheal Kors, Nail polish: Zoya from my January Birchbox!

Oh so Pinteresting!

Source: roosfabulousblog.blogspot.com via Michelle on Pinterest

The newest addition to this blog...pinterest images and outfit boards!

Hair cut!

Do you ever go in for a haircut and come out with something totally different than you expected?

Well that used to happen to me every couple of weeks when I worked in the hair industry. Now that hair is not my main obsession in life, I have gotten into a routine...until Friday! I caught a gust of courage and cut 3 inches off my hair...hello new do! In addition to my new haircut, we had a girls night on Friday...girlfriends+drinks+fireball=fun city!!!

Cuteness overload

Who thinks that one baby is cute??? Me! Who thinks that TWINS are super cute??? Me!! Who thinks that opposite sex twins cause a cuteness overload?!? Me!!!

Tonight I had the chance to go visit with my friend Brie and her three month old twins Payton and Jackson. It was so great to catch up with her and cuddle with the cutest little beans! Here we are feeding them!!

One week, two awesome events!

Last week two awesome things happened...My dad celebrated his 25th anniversary with his company and I was in a flash mob!

On Thursday I got to leave early from work to go to my dads office to support him with my family as he celebrated is 25th anniversary with Hampton Lumber. I was so proud of him as the president of his company spoke of his accomplishments, funny moments and time spent mentoring others. My dad also had a chance to speak to the the group...aka the entire company and I couldn't help but feel inspired. As a young teacher I can only hope to find a school and community that I want to be member of for 25 years. Good job Dad!!

I don't know if you all know this, but I am OBSESSED with flash mobs! I think they are so silly and I even asked to have one for my birthday last year....that dream didn't come through in July, but it did last week!

Here's the back story: Over the holidays the principle of my school agreed to do the Dougie in an assembly if we raised $4000. Well, you guessed it, we did! He practiced over the holidays and when we got back, the leadership team asked us teachers if we wanted to join and put on a flash mob. It was AWESOME!! I practiced and everything :) So here it is!!

I know right...75 person flash mob, no big deal. In case you were wondering, "dance in a flash mob" has been checked off of my bucket list!

Look for a weekend recap later this week...it includes pictures from my CAMERA, a trip to the beach, complete with a bloody mary bar, winning friends and love at the casino, a pudding cake fight,  lots of thriller dance moves and the worlds most fun game "personal pictionary"!

xo,
M

Weekend Recap: Domestic Diva

I am please to announce that I had a great first week back from work. I was nervous that after having two weeks off the kids might be a little rusty, but they came back more settled in my classroom and ready to learn! Although work was great this week and ended on a high note, I was EXAUSTED by Friday. So I decided I needed a mellow weekend to rejuvenate and rest up now that my 5:15am wake up call is back in full effect...as opposed to the nonexistent wake up calls from break!

 

On Friday night I finally decided to pick up the last book I got from the Borders going out of business sale back in August. I am still kicking myself for waiting 3 months after the sale to start The Hunger Games (loved it!) and I knew I would feel the same about The Help. I know, I know, it's an awesome book...everybody loves it. I just haven't felt like reading it yet...until Friday! I am loving it so far and I appreciate how the author flips perspective between characters every few chapters to tell the story. I almost caved today and rented the movie, but I resisted and will get it when the book is finished.

Saturday was going to be a productive day of working out and running errands. WAS being the key word...Krissy and I went on an IKEA adventure and came home 3 hours later with a car stuffed full of building projects. Seriously, the car was completely full...Krissy had to sit in the back seat so that the long boxes could lay the complete length of the car! Our construction projects, complete with IKEA language (you know...no words, bad pictures), included a bed frame for Krissy, a shelving unit for the laundry area and new coffee table. I recently updated my bedding, so I also got a few new mirrors and lamps. Never the less, Saturday night was spent being creative, using plenty of geometry (how many ways can we ensure an angle is right and the sides are parallel??) and creating a HUGE mess!

Today I continued on the domestic diva path....hey, why not?!? After hitting the gym, Krissy and I went to the store. I had heard that whole chickens were on sale and I was up for the challenge. Google told me that you can put a whole chicken in the crock pot with only spices and nonstick spray and in 7 hours I will have an amazing meal. Bring it Google! The only down side to this meal was that I had to stick my hand in the chicken to take out the liver and other gross parts...YUCK! It will be worth it though when I have a whole chicken for less than $5 with no added preservatives, artificial flavoring and salt!! You might be wondering, what did she do while the chicken was in the crock pot?? Don't you worry! In addition to adding the finishing touches to my room, I made my first sewing project! I got some fabric a week ago with my mom and today I made an apron with it.

Isn't it cute! I knew I could figure it out without a pattern so I went on etsy and looked at some examples. Originally I had envisioned a reversible apron, but that was a little above my ablitiy level...you gotta start somewhere! I'm super excited that my first project is done so I can start to improve my sewing skills on my next project. Any ideas?

As you can see, I had a super domestic weekend! What did you do this weekend?

Winter Break Recap

One of the perks of being a teacher is that we get two weeks off for the holidays! Last year we were moving during so my break was spent packing, moving and unpacking...this year over break I:

Got my first "real Christmas tree"
Caught up with old friends
Got my booty kicked at yoga
Took long chilly walks with Krissy and Mimi
Fell off my workout routine :(
Tried a few new recipes - snicker doodles, chocolate cake from scratch, almondy deliciousness cookies and peppermint bark
Learned how to make Norwegian Kringle from my Grandma
Saw We Bought a Zoo and The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo
Got a sewing machine, threaded it AND bought fabric (now all I need is a easy first project)
Watched WAY too many holiday movies
Discovered Parks and Rec...OMG

Basically I lived the dream ever chance I got!

I go back tomorrow and I'm happy to report that I am excited to get back to my routines and see the kids! Now if only Mimi and Isaac could grade this stack of tests for me...

I can upload pictures!! Oh yeah, and pics from last night :)

Alright!! I found an app that lets me upload multiple pictures on a post...get ready people!! I am EXCITED!!!! Yes there are four explanation points...I am that stoked.

Here are a few of our pics from Sauce Box last night. Good times with some great people!

What I Wore: NYE

shirt: Old Navy, necklace: Sister, watch: Micheal Kors

Remember me??

Hello blog... I have NOT done a very good job of working on you! Well, as I always say "New Year, New You!"

Well I won't fill you in on the end of 2011, we can just start fresh. I stopped setting new years resolutions a few years ago (they just make me feel bad when I quit them) and this year is no different...however, I am setting an intention. I will use it to guide my life and help to keep me inspired and on track!

For 2012 my intention is "Do the right thing." This (hopefully) will apply to food, exercise, relationship and personal choices as well as help me to live this year withpurpose. So wish me luck! 2012 is going to be a great year!