Snow Day!

{view out my window}

One great thing about student teaching? My school district canceled school today because of snow! As crazy as this sounds I am so excited to be able to catch up on grading, get my lecture ready for tomorrow and hopefully start planning for next week so this weekend will be less busy. And I'll hopefully get to bed at a decent time - sleeping 5 hours or less every night is rough!


Listening to: "Poison" Beyonce
Thought of the Day: "Don't be afraid to see what you see." - Ronald Reagan

Pink Sugar

My friend Vance hosted a Superbowl party yesterday. My contribution? Heart sugar cookies with pink sprinkles. Am I getting too predictable? It works great considering I spent most of the game playing cards. Who cares about football anyway?

...oh wait... probably the majority of America.

{Yum.}

Don't worry, I made homemade soft pretzels too from a delicious recipe by Alton Brown.

Listening to: "Friends, Lovers, or Nothing" John Mayer
Thought of the Day:"All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed." - Sean O'Casey

Perfect Pink

I love Valentine's Day. Well, maybe not the day itself, but the pinks and reds, the dresses, the hearts, seeing the word "LOVE" everywhere... it just makes me feel like there is love in the air. And what better way to kick off the season of love than with a gorgeous bridesmaid dress? J.Crew has sold this dress for the past couple seasons and I have been infatuated since the first time I saw it. It looks figure flattering and seems like one that you would actually wear again after the wedding. It's usually shown with a gold skinny belt which makes it even better. But I don't think I could ever ask my bridesmaids to buy a $225 dress...

{J.Crew cotton cady Erica dress, $225}

Listening to: "Brick by Brick" Katy Perry
Thought of the Day: "What you are in love with seizes the imagination, will affect your everything. It will decide what gets you out of bed in the mornings, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, what you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything." - Pedro Arrupe

Sexy History

Tomorrow marks the end of my first week of complete teaching - lectures, activities, grading, everything! I'm not going to lie, I'm very happy that tomorrow's Friday. It's been a long, yet super fast week. But I am extremely blessed to have an amazing cooperating teacher. He's been very friendly, supportive, and encouraging, always knowing the right questions to ask and advice to give. Yesterday I was discouraged about my ability to lecture (I stink at public speaking!) and not being able to be engaging and culturally relevant to the students. This morning when I got to school, my teacher handed my a Borders bag and in it there were two books. In order to start my collection of stories and references that will help me to, as my teacher says, "make history sexy", Badass: A Relentless Onslaught of the Toughest Warlords, Vikings, Samurai, Pirates, Gunfighters, and Military Commanders to Ever Live and Uncle John's Bathroom Reader: Plunges into History. They sound extremely weird, but so far I have learned so many random facts! I would highly recommend these for anyone who doesn't like history - but watch out; if you didn't guess it from the title, Badass is a bit crude, but amazing. Yay for new books and amazing mentors!

{Ben Thompson's Badass}

{Uncle John's Bathroom Reader}

Listening to: "How Do I Breathe" Mario

Thought of the Day: "Fall seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb

Foodie Valentines

More adorable Valentines...

{All $4 from persimmonsgal's Etsy shop.}

Listening to: "Favorite Girl" Justin Bieber

Thought of the Day: "In your hands you hold the seeds of fialure or the potential for greatness. Your hands are capable, but they must be used for the right things to reap the rewards you are capable of attaining. The choice is yours." - Zig Ziglar

Happy Friday!

An escape to a Californian beach sounds fabulous right now. After an amazing retreat from reality last weekend, this week was rough. Too little sleep due to new responsibilities with student teaching, gloomy weather everyday, early mornings (waking up at 5:30 is rough!), and getting back into the routine of meetings, working out and school, has left me exhausted and burnt out... and it's only week 2!
This afternoon, I have a phone interview for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps - wish me luck! I hope this weekend I am able to catch up on sleep, lesson plans, and friends. Have a wonderful Friday!

Elegance

I'm not usually a fan of Jessica Stam, but isn't she lovely in this Feb. 2010 Elle China photograph?

I'm smitten with the combination of pearls and black lace.

Listening to: "Shed a Little Light" James Taylor
Thought of the Day: "This is my wish for you: comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, hugs when spirits sag, sunsets to warm your heart, friendships to brighten your being, beauty for your eyes to see, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, patience to accept the truth, courage to know yourself, love to complete your life." - Anonymous

{via A Glamorous Little Side Project via Elle China}