New Job, New House, New Life.

Hello friends,

It's been much too long since I've updated my blog. I really am sorry for not keeping you in the loop. So much has happened from the end of summer until now. I'll just give you the highlights.

Towards the end of summer I was contacted by a school in MA for a teaching interview. The interview went very well and several days later I was offered the job! (I couldn't believe it!) God really is good.

As you can imagine getting a teaching job so close to the start of school was pretty stressful. I whipped myself into full planning mode and tried to get everything ready before the kids started showing up.

The school I work at is Northbridge Middle School. I teach general music 5th-8th grade and I also instruct a choir after school. I LOVE MY JOB! Teaching is every bit as wonderful as I had hoped it would be. It is a ton of work, and there have been MANY challenges, but I find that at the end of the day I always feel happy. Happy to have a job, happy to have the power to impact the lives of young people, and just happy.

Now, I'm not trying to paint a one-sided picture here, like I said there have been many challenges. Without getting into too much detail I'll just mention several challenges. Classroom management, creating and implementing lesson plans, developing a curriculum, figuring out where to get resources, etc. are all things that have caused lots of stress and hard work. But as I said above, even with all the stress and headaches at the end of the day it seems worth it.

I feel like I've been doing a good job so far with teaching. I'm learning so much everyday. I've gotten some very nice feedback from administration- including teacher of the month! (I know, I was shocked too!) It feels so nice to have a supportive and helpful administration!

My classroom is coming together nicely. I'll post some more pictures very soon.

When the school year began I was living with my parents near Springfield, MA and driving a little over an hour to work every morning. This was not the most pleasant as you can imagine. I started looking for apartments a bit closer and found one that I loved in Worcester. (only 15-20 minutes away).

I moved into the apartment at the start of October and I am loving it. The apartment is finally starting to look like a real home- and I'm anxiously awaiting getting all my pictures hung up and finishing up a few final touches. I really enjoy the space and for the most part living by myself (with Maggie) has been great. I do however find it quite lonely. Especially since I'm brand new to the area and haven't really made friends yet.

I'll be sure to share more apartment pictures soon.

In addition to school I am still running Everyday Hello. I've taken somewhat of a break from it since I've been really focused on lessons, but today finally found the time to finish getting Christmas cards together and posted online. Check them out on my website or buy them at Etsy.

I'll try not to let as much time pass until the next time I post, but I can't promise anything. Hope you all are having a full happy fall. God Bless!

ALL CAPS!!!

Most of you probably don't know this but I don't really like it when people type in all caps. It makes me feel like I am either being yelled at or I am talking to a 13 year old girl who just got kissed by a super star (aka over-the-top-melodramatic-excitement). The other day I found out that my friend Derek and I got an apartment down in state college for student teaching- I was so excited that I found myself typing in all caps- (gasp)- I could hardly believe it myself, but it proved how excited I was to get this apartment and start planning and moving in! I AM SO EXCITED!

I am very excited as well to post pictures and updates on my blog as I accomplish some home projects. Since I haven't seen it in person all I have is Derek's description and a few photos he took when walking through. Since the pictures aren't great quality and aren't of the house when we are living in it I am only going to show you 3 to give you a taste of what we have to work with. Also I wanted to share some images and ideas I have for 3 of the spaces in the house; the kitchen, living area, and my bedroom! Enjoy!

Young at Heart

Today the weather was so beautiful and it felt like summer all day long. I wore a lovely sundress and sandals and decided to spend some quality time outside! I ran into my friend Jess who had just gotten her sidewalk chalk out, and decided to join her. (We had a bubble blowing party earlier...) We ended up making a huge design on the sidewalk- just for fun! (I think it's a good idea to stay young and keep a little bit of your child side alive!)

Jess and I feeling super accomplished after finishing most of this. Thanks to those who helped out for a bit it really helped! 

Life is too serious, stay young at heart everyone!

good ideas for a good day!

Happy First Day Back To School-Mansfield!

I have always loved first days. Of school, of a new year, of a new job, of anything. They offer this feeling of excitement and hope. I believe that I usually make a bigger deal of my first day of school in the fall, but I felt bad leaving my winter first day- out in the cold (pun intended). Here is a post of wonderful winter ideas to celebrate a new beginning for us all. 

Idea 1:

restyle that scarf!

Check out this video posted at Ruche for 3 easy but new ways to style your scarf!

Or watch the video below! 

Idea 2:

 don't be friends with Jack Frost!

 Ice Proofing the Car Windows 

What you need:

Spray Bottle

2/3 Vinegar

1/3 water

Just spray on windows and ice will melt away!

Idea 3:

recycle the sweaters that you won't wear!

Learn how to turn a cozy sweater into even cozier mittens!

 Idea 4:

Keep your feet nice and dry!

Learn How and Why 

you should waterproof those shoes this winter!

 Idea 5:

Reorganize your space! 

  Take another tip from Ruche 

and reorganize, and clean your closet! 

Did mine yesterday- (pictures to come)

That is all of the good ideas I could muster up this morning, but there are so many more out there. Take today to think of a few ways to improve your lifestyle for this new beginning!

 

Back to School

Welcome back to school everyone! 

Fall is my absolute favorite season, and part of that is because of the back to school hype. As a child one of my favorite pastimes was back-to-school shopping with my mom. Now, in my last year of undergrad I still participate in the back-to-school shopping, but find myself buying housewares and textbooks! I still do buy a few notebooks or folders for old times sake- this year I even bought ones with cute designs. 

In honor of my favorite time of year I wanted to share the joy with some wonderful fall/back to school ideas! 

#1 challenge of my year- eating. Healthy- cheap- yummy- food seems to not exist! But I found an article this morning with 40 healthy school lunch ideas! 

(Sure they are meant for children- but I certainly am still a child at heart!)

Although food and meal planning is important nothing is quite as nice as some back to school shopping for my favorite items! 

My biggest-most thought out-researched buy is always my planner. Generally I go to at least 5 stores before I find anything that could be deemed as suitable. This year I started in the place I ended last year- Barnes and Noble. :) My planner is great- one week in and I am totally loving the nifty layout and convenient stickers that came with it!

Once the planner is purchased it is always a good idea to beef up your desk and office supplies! I would look around online for some inspiring ideas- and then find it cheaper or make it yourself!

Now with every change of the season I like to redo/reorganize/ and rethink my space, life, wardrobe, etc. 

Storage space is always an issue and I have just recently reorganized a lot of my room! 

1 nifty idea I came up with** I had a hanging shoe rack that clips to a bar of a closet- holds about 11 pairs or so, it took up too much space that I needed to hang dresses/coats etc. The width of the cloth rack I found fit exactly under the side of my bed between the poles of the bed frame... TADA! lift up the bed skirt and you have 11 pairs of organized shoes... already at foot level! 

I found an article on book storage under the stairs and thought the idea was wonderful! Check it out and be inspired!

After reorganize- why not be inspired with some fall fashions/essentials? Check out Ruche <3 one of my favorite online stores! They even have a cute Chalkboard Basics section!

Reorganize/Redo/Rethink! 

Rethinking your lifestyle is a good thing to do every now and then! I found a cool site with tons of green back to school ideas- everything from practical/material changes to theoretical changes! They even have a whole section of ideas for college students and professors- and if you happen to be a teacher there is a section for that too!

Last but not least I think with every season you should strive to create, to try something new, and do something you love. For me my fall goals are to create a piece of art, sew myself a skirt, and learn how to play the Ukulele!

 

A great idea for some new art work with a back to school feel...

 Find out how easy this project is here!

Happy fall everyone I hope I have inspired some of you and at least made you smile!