3 things I'm happy to have as an "adult"

I wanted to do an updated "About Me" post, but one is already on the blog (that should probably be updated) and I wanted this one to be a little different. I think we can all agree entering into adulthood is weird. You're kind of lost, then you think you're on your feet, but then really "adult" things come up like signing up for your 401k or buying life insurance and it stops you right in your tracks. So, I wanted to think of things I love about being an "adult" and being out on my own. Honestly thinking of retirement or why I need life insurance kind of scares me right now, anyway. Let's keep it light.

1. Independence (and dependence) - When I graduated from college and got my job, I knew the next step was moving out. I graduated a semester early, so I lived with my parents from December - July while I was job hunting and submitting teaching applications like crazy. When I landed my job, I began apartment hunting. There was one thing I knew I wanted in an apartment: for it to be my own. I didn't want to share a space, except with my dog. I wanted to take on this next step in my life by myself and by myself I mean with the frequent occasional call to my mom to make sure I was doing it all right (cue the dependence). I wanted to call the shots with decorating, what the temperature was at, where the pots and pans go, how the fridge was organized (or completely unorganized), you get it. I wanted to take on this chapter full force and by walking around with no pants on in my own living room without judgement if needed. You can ask my daddy, he constantly tells me (in the most loving way) they "raised me too independent." I want to be in charge- but is that surprising if you know me? I'm thankful for the way I was raised to know how to take care of myself, but still call my parents when all else fails.
2. Thriftiness - I can't tell you how many times someone has asked me, "Did you get that from Goodwill?" Nine times out of ten, the answer is a hard yes. I've nicknamed myself a thrifting queen. I have decorated the majority of my little shoebox apartment with thrift store finds (a.k.a. the millions of baskets on the walls) and my closet probably seems like hand-me-down central to some people, but I love it and I love it about me. Don't get it twisted though- I still like my brands, I just buy them on sale. Most importantly, I'm aware of my spending and saving and I was taught you don't live above your means.
3. Humor - This! This is important. Probably the biggest trait I am so grateful for and proud of. For goodness sake, whether it means anything or not, I received the Cherish Cat Award in high school because I always had a smile on my face. I love laughing- it's probably my favorite thing ever. I can confidently say that I get my sense of humor from my dad (mom would confidently agree). I think it is so important to be able to laugh at yourself and if you dish it you need to be able to take it (I'm working on that last one). Biggest piece of advice I wish I could tell my younger self: laugh off the small stuff, there is a reason you can't change it.

Whether I want to think about the "bigger" stuff right now or not, thriftiness will help me build up that 401k, right?

Current Favorites: January

Hello all! 2019 is off to a great start in my shoebox apartment. If you missed the Instagram post today, check out the little bit of eye-pleasing purging I did today. I hope your 2019 is off to a running start too!

I'm here because I have a slew of January favorites and I'm dying to share with y'all! I've shared them with my mom enough, ya know? Now I need someone else to love them as much as me. Ha!

Okay, on to the good stuff! Everything is linked in its title.

Home //

Better Homes & Gardens 3 Piece Duvet Set 

I stinking LOVE this thing. As y'all know, I have a dog named Messi and she is in fact a hot mess. Previously, I had a white comforter that was ruched, but it wasn't textured enough to hide the dog hair (TMI?) in between washes. This one is amazing and the quality is very Anthro-like for a quarter of the price. I have a full bed and I purchased the King sized duvet. I like for my bedding to touch the floor. This one definitely pulls double-duty because I used it for a couple of days without the duvet insert and it was like a quilt- perfect for lighter bedding during the summer months!

Vase & Palm Leaves 

                             

                 

I scooped these up a couple of weekends ago at Hobby Lobby. These leaves come on a stem and I put 3 in this cute vase! Their new home is above my kitchen cabinets. I said goodbye to the cotton stems and welcomed a more tropical vibe in. This vase is on major sale right now, too!

Beauty //

Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer

As far as I'm concerned, I am late to the party with this stuff! It's awesome and it smells like a beachy oasis. I have it in shade 'Bronzer' and a little goes a loooooong way. Best part- it's on sale half price through Amazon right now and free shipping! Scoop it up and thank me later.

Maui Moisture Curl Quench Shampoo & Conditioner

Now I am by no means a hair guru, but over the last two years I have intentionally tried to take better care of my hair. I've tried tons of shampoos and conditioners for curly hair, but most have made my hair feel greasy (which is unusual for me), heavy, oily, or crunchy. My hair is thick and kinky and it curls in ringlets, waves, and crimps all at the same time. I use sulfate-free products by preference and wash my hair two times (ish) a week. I started using this shampoo and conditioner a couple of weeks ago and LOVE it! It smells amazing, makes my hair feel soft, and controls the frizz like crazy. It's buy one, get one 50% off right now at Walgreens too!

Style //

Timberland Women's Courmayeur Valley Chelsea Boots

Best Christmas present ever. These are pricey, but so worth it! I have worn them every day since I unwrapped them and now want them in every color they come in! Unfortunately, they are only available in black on the Timberland site, but I found them on Amazon and Zappos, too! If you were thinking about a pair of Timbs, I highly recommend these.

No Boundaries Backpack

I've had this mini backpack since the beginning of October and have carried it through Fall and into Winter. The size and color are great and it's very roomy for all of your on-the-go essentials! I bought one, then my mom was scooping hers up the next day too! It's on sale for $13 right now.

Crush on You Lace Bralette

The *ULTIMATE* dupe, y'all! I saved the best for last and I am too excited about it. I have been looking and looking and looking and looking (you get it) for a dupe for the Adella Free People bralette and I have finally found it. I am too cheap to pay $40 for bralette, so I have been on the hunt for something comparable for months! I follow quite a few bloggers on Instagram and they were sharing their favorite bralettes and this one came up! It is $22 and comes in quite a few colors. I cannot wait for it to arrive and I will tell you my review on it. Based on what others have to say, it is going to be a good one!

I would love to know if you've tried any of these! See you back here for another future favorites post.

Apt. Update: Living Room Shelf

Hey friends!! Just popping in with a little apartment update. Every so often I get the urge to do something big in my apartment. I like the change things up A LOT. I get it from my mom and nana- the women don't stop moving things around in their homes.

I have been tinkering with the idea of a large living room shelf for a few months now. The wall above my TV was so blank and bland. I didn't want another gallery wall, since there's already one in my living room. 

I decided to make a shelf on a whim, literally the whimsiest whim I've ever had. My friend Danner was with me and she was a real trooper. I think I took her into Hobby Lobby 4 times in one day? We were in Home Depot for a good bit too. She helped me hold the shelf up while I screwed it into the wall and made sure everything was level. Thanks, Danner!! Shout out to my bestie Sammy too, she was with me the next day when I took everything back to the stores I didn't use. Let me tell you, real friends go to Home Depot with you.

The shelf was really easy to make! I used one 1in. x 8in. x 6ft piece of common pine board and two iron brackets. Each bracket is 1 foot in from the outer edge. I dry-brushed white acrylic craft paint onto the board to make it coordinate with the other white decor I have throughout the apartment. Each bracket needed 3 screws.

All in all, the shelf took about 30 minutes to put on the wall. The brackets had to be put on the wall first, which was the trickiest part. The top part of the bracket was a tad bit shorter than the thickness of the board, so the brackets couldn't be screwed onto the board first. The most time consuming thing was decorating! Bless my friend Holdren for putting up with me while she sat on my couch and I decorated. It takes a village, ha!

My goal is to use the shelf like a makeshift mantle. I want to switch up the decorations around holidays and seasons. I'm still not done making it Fall-approved, yet.

10 Things My First Year of Teaching Taught Me

By now, we have established that I am not good at consistently blogging. I really do love it, but I am just not good at posting frequently. HOWEVER- I post almost daily on my Instagram, so follow along on Insta to keep in touch! Don't worry, the blog isn't going anywhere. :)

Now, back to the post:

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Hey y'all!!

I am 25 days away from my last day of school as a first year teacher. THIS. IS. BANANAS. *cue Gwen Stafani* This has truly been the fastest school year of my life without a doubt. I was scrolling through my phone the other day and I was looking at pictures from the first day of school- my kiddos have grown SO much!

I have been keeping little notes all year of things I have learned and now I'm excited to share!

1. Take all of the pictures! I have more than 2,000 pictures on my phone and almost half of them are of my kiddos. When they lose a tooth- take a picture. When it's Valentine's Day and they bring in treat bags for their classmates- take a picture. When they draw you a picture and ask you to send it to their mama- take a picture. When they want to show you a new dance they have learned- take a picture. You will thank yourself and their parents will thank you when they don't completely miss out on these moments! You have to think, you are with their kids 8-9 hours out of the day, 5 days a week. That's a lot of time!
2. Tell them you love them. It doesn't matter what age or grade you teach, tell them you love them. Even if they are driving you crazy or you have yelled and yelled, tell them you love them. Before you take them to the bus or send them to the car rider line, tell them. It breaks your heart to think about it, but you might be the only one that day or even week they hear it from. It's so important. 
3. Save ALL of the master copies. You will thank yourself next year when you're not searching the internet for activities to do or constantly asking other teachers what they are doing. Of course, each year you'll want to do something a little different and you want to be on the same page as your co-teachers, but having something to do to get your week started is so helpful. Save them!
4. If you don't know, ASK! There were so many things I had to learn how to do at the beginning of the year and there was absolutely no way I could've figured them out on my own efficiently. Attendance, mClass and Progress Monitoring, setting up my retirement and insurance, how to use the copier, how to clock-in, how to get a substitute, the fire drill and lock-down drill procedures, and where my class sits in the cafeteria are just some of the things I needed to ask about. The list goes on and there is NOTHING wrong with asking for help or guidance.
5. Make a substitute plan outline and save it. You keep the same schedule and times all year, so you never have to rewrite when your lunch or recess time is, when dismissal is, etc. Just plug in your new activities you have left for the sub and make sure your bus/car rider list is updated. It will save you so much time.
6. Don't believe that "don't smile until Christmas" junk. Think about it- would you feel comfortable at school or be excited to learn if someone was constantly showing you no emotion? I can't hide anything I'm feeling ever, it's a blessing and a curse. I smile with my kids, I laugh with them, we have dance party breaks all the time, I give them time to share about themselves, and they are comfortable in my class. That being said, they know when it's time to be serious and work hard and they absolutely know when I'm upset with them. It's unrealistic to expect 6 and 7 year olds to sit on their bottoms all day and work- take small breaks and have fun!
7. Appreciate the feedback. As a beginning teacher in NC, you are observed 4 times throughout the school year. Do your best and don't stumble over the small stuff. Your principal and assistant principal have been in your shoes before and they know there will be hiccups and things may not go as planned. Take it all in stride and focus on how to do better the next day. Just remember, your kiddos still learned something and it's never a total failure like you think it is. Take and appreciate all of the feedback you can get!
8. Keep in contact with your parents/guardians. I use an app called Remind, weekly behavior sheets, and our grade level sends home a newsletter each week, but there are many different ways to communicate with your parents/guardians. Most importantly, don't just talk with them when something has gone wrong. Share with them the good things their child is doing too! Send them a quick message about a little success or that photo you took of their child holding the tooth they just lost with the excitement on their little face!
9. Appreciate every staff member for what they do. The cafeteria staff, the custodians, and the office staff help keep the school running. It is so important to tell them thank you for what they do and make sure you tell your students the same thing. 
10. Plan fun things for your kids. We do a different Bingo for each holiday in class, I had a classroom reindeer before Christmas break (like an Elf on the Shelf) that did funny things around the room, we did a spring egg hunt before Spring break, a Valentine's exchange, and we are currently in the middle of a 23 Days of Celebrating You event! For the 23 Days event, each day (23 for the number of students I have) a student brings in something they love (similar to show-and-tell) to share with the class. This was something I found on Pinterest and tweaked it a little and a student shares for about 5 minutes before snack time. We are using it to close out the school year as a celebration of all our classmates!

These are just a few gems I have written down throughout the year. I can say that I have had the best first year. I have learned so much to take into my second year and I know what I need to improve on and change for next year as well. College prepared me for my teaching career, but your first class really teaches you how to be a teacher. 

A Look at the Bathroom

Hey y'all!

Back again with another apartment update. I am finally in a semi-satisfied state with my bathroom and I wanted to share! There's good news too...most of it was picked up today and is still available if you absolutely have-to-have it like I did! Also, I'm apologizing in advance because there is NO cute way to photograph a toilet.

(click to enlarge)

So, all of the round baskets on the wall are from Goodwill or Habitat. My monogram is from Etsy, I believe. It's about 5 or 6 years old. The precious white shower curtain is from Burkes! I went all over looking for an affordable, white shower curtain and I picked this one up about 2 months ago for $15. My parents made me the mason jar holder. It is beyond useful and it keeps everything off the counter! They had the wood laying around and the mason jars were mine from college. Love!

On to the newbies. The round navy, mandala-looking wall pieces are actually placemats!! Yes, placemats! They are woven with raised beading and absolutely gorgeous. Best of all, I picked them up TODAY from Steinmart! Best best of all...both for $7! YAAAAAS. 

Hobby Lobby came to the rescue today with the shelving. Y'all know I love some Hobby Lobby and some 50% off goodness. These were scooped up for $24! Run, don't walk to your nearest Lobbs if you're in the market for shelves! The little table top clock is from Walmart and it was a whole $8. Go, go, go!

There's still some blank spaces I'm looking to fill, but this is it for now! I'm sure I will grab the next baskets I see when I'm out thrift shopping. There's always room for baskets, y'all!!

What Apartment Life has Taught Me

Hey y'all!

I've been working on this post for 3 weeks, AKA the same amount of time I've lived in my new apartment. I love doing these type of posts to pass on a little knowledge for anyone who is about to take this step as well on their own!

1. Stick with your gut.
My biggest piece of advice y'all! I toured and looked at a few apartments and I had a checklist of what I wanted. My #1 thing was to be able to see all of the walls in my apartment. I know what you're thinking, she's nuts. However, I know how I am as a person and how easily I get freaked out (literally, I don't watch any kind of scary movie and try to avoid all scary commercials at all costs), so I knew it was more of a need than a want.

2. Make it comfortable. 
Most apartments are temporary or gateways to home ownership, but make it feel like "home" while you're there. I know I'm going to be here for a while, plus I have never been one to keep a wall empty, so I immediately started decorating upon move-in.

3. Get you a Messi.
By now, if you're an avid blog reader of mine, you know that Messi is my adorable 3 year old pup. I knew I wanted a dog before I moved out on my own and she really does give me that extra peace-of-mind, plus she's the best kind of company! 

4. Get used to poo bags.
With number 3 being said, it's only natural for me to put in this one. Get used to picking up dog poop. *Insert eye roll emoji here* It's gross and I'm not saying I'll ever be comfortable or "okay" with it, but it has to be done, if you're a considerate human being that lives in an apartment complex.

5. Don't obsess over every little thing.
Y'all, this is where I need a taste of my own medicine. I have been obsessing lately over every light and drop of water, the AC, the washer and dryer, basically all of the energy. Don't make it complicated. You're going to have to pay the power and water bill anyway. I haven't my first water or electric bill yet, so I don't know what to expect. I think that's why I'm stressed out the most. Once you get your first couple of bills, you'll get on a routine. At least that's what I keep telling myself, fingers crossed for my sanity!

6. Get rid of ALL of your moving boxes ASAP.
Today is the day, y'all!! I'm FINALLY getting rid of all of my empty cardboard boxes and it. is. the. best. feeling. I finally feel "moved in" and like I live here. 3 weeks in and it's getting checked off the list. Really though, it's one of those things that lift a weight off of you for whatever reason.

7. Set a routine.
I have a cleaning day and a laundry day, I try to do dishes everyday (LOL) and I try to vacuum as much as possible (again, LOL). Just set a routine that works for you. Again, a clean apartment is one of those things that lifts a weight off of your shoulders.

8. You're adulting!
Don't forget to enjoy this time. This is my first real step into adulthood and I sit on my couch every morning so excited that this is "my" place and "my" couch and I'm drinking coffee out of "my" coffee cup. You see where I'm going with this. 

I think of news things to add to this post everyday, so I'm going to try to keep it updated as much as possible. All-in-all, you're doing it baby! You've got this.

Little Corner

Hey y'all!!

Back again with some apartment updates. I'm steadily getting things on the walls and this little place is feeling more and more like home. I've come across some super cute things I want to share with y'all at some really great prices! Here's a peek at my fav corner of the living room.

           

Y'all might recognize some of these things from previous posts. My Instagram has a little more behind-the-scenes as well! Mom and dad gave me the slip-covered club chair, which perfectly went with the color theme I was going for. Both throw pillows came from previous dorm rooms ('hello' pillow still available at Hobby Lobby) and the striped throw is from Goodwill. My rustic diploma frame is from Hobby Lobby and the beige triangle wall decals are from Etsy ($8!!!). The wicker footstool was picked up at a yardsale for $5. Such a good find. The tobacco stick blanket ladder is from a local thrift store for $18.

My absolute fav thing about this corner is the macrame wall hanging. Y'all are going to die when I tell you the price...$5!!! It's still available too! I have been looking and looking for one of these for less than $20. TJ Maxx has them for $17 and I was debating and debating with myself on whether to scoop one up or not. Bestie Sammy came to the rescue last week when she told me about these $5 macrames and I ran to the computer and ordered immediately! I couldn't believe it. I was skeptical too, but it. is. so. well. made. It's thick and sturdy, plus the best neutral color!

I live for the natural light in this apartment. It's crazy bright all the time and I'm in love. It picks up all of the tans and neutrals I have going on in this space so well!