Fall-ish Fun

I haven't done a lot of house-related posts lately. To be real honest, my whole life has been teaching lately and I haven't done a lot of house shopping or decorating. But, I went shopping with my mom yesterday and found some cute things. And, I brought them home and set them out. Then, I decided it was the perfect time to fall-ify my house.

The shopping frenzy actually started this week when I made an ETSY purchase I had been debating about for a while. I wanted some new pillows for my couch.

Swoon. I love them.

And, when I saw that the seller was offering free shipping, I was sold. I ordered two. They'll be here this week. I'll keep you posted :)

I also bought these two redish-orange pillows at Pier 1. The den has just felt so blah to me. It needed color badly. Especially in the fall/winter. I know what you're thinking... that's a ton of pillows. But I have two chairs at the other end of the room that each hold a pillow.

I think I'm going to put either the new ETSY pillows or the two Pier 1 pillows in those chairs to give the other side of the room some color, too. I love the blue. But,  I think I like them better WITH another bright color.

I hung this fall wreath on the wrought-iron gate in the kitchen.

I still need to get pictures for some of my frames, ha.

I changed the quote on my chalkboard and added a fall-ish swag to the top.

I added a sign over the oven.

Then I stuck a pumpkin on top of a candle holder and added a plant that was on sale at Potterybarn to the table in the den.

My mom said I should post more "close-up" pictures on my blog. So, here you go.

And, I added some cute pumpkins to the remote-caddy on the coffee table.

I also bought this new chair that you can read about here.

All in all, a successful shopping trip. I still need to find something "fall-ish" to hang on my door. But, I refuse to pay $35 for a wreath and I don't like fake leaves... so, looks like I may need to make something. 

Well, I'm off to watch the Titans... thanks for reading!

Musical Chairs

When I moved into my new place, my mom found me a cute little black chair to go with my desk in my room. It was a great $8 find at Goodwill. Only, the not so great part? It broke. Right after I moved in. I've honest-to-goodness been sitting on a three-legged chair at my computer for the last two months. It was TIME to take the plunge and get a new chair.

My mom and I went to a couple of antique/thrift stores to find a chair. But, you know what? I wasn't in the mood. I wanted something that was going to be sturdy. And hold up for a long time. And, most of all? I wanted it to be cute. So, we took our search to Pier 1: the loveliest store on earth.

I decided to purchase a chair and a slipcover. I thought the green and white fabric would look awesome in my bedroom. Here's what I bought:

You know how I feel about pleats.

And, check out the back...

To. Die. For.

So, here's the problem.

When I got this sweet little chair home, I just set it in the front room as I was doing some cleaning. And, the more I walked around the chair in the room, I kind of started to like it in there. Gasp.

Am I crazy?

I know the fabrics are a little busy together. But, I think the fact that the chair is just green and white really helps to tone it down. I guess I'm saying... it's a little funky, but I'm okay with a little funky :)

Then I moved it to the other side of the table and I liked it there too!

That one little chair just makes that room feel complete.

I honestly don't even HATE it here. Although, it wouldn't be my first choice.

So, then I took it into the kitchen. Just to see...

and I like it there too!

What am I going to do???

I took it upstairs and, of course, it looks great at my desk. I knew it would.

It even looks great beside my bed.

Ya'll. I'm stumped. What do I do with this chair?

Carry it around with me from room to room?

Put it in the front room and then get a new, cheap chair for my desk?

Leave it at my desk and find something new for the front room?

I guess, either way, I scored a great new chair :)

 

Jump, Jump!

I just wanted to share a little activity I worked on this week with my kiddos. It's the first "crafty" thing we've been able to do this year. And, if you know me, you know I love me some "crafty" stuff !

 Since we are now required to get 15 Science and Social Studies grades (previously, we had to get zero), we've had to get a little creative. We've been working on using the words first, next and last to tell a story. And, our reading theme this week was how living things grow and change. So, we decided to use frogs to talk about the life cycle. We opened up our trusty old science books and got investigating. Boy, those kids LOVE to look through text books. Ha. They would have been happy to just stop there. But, oh no. We persevered.

We made this fun little chart to help us understand the life cycle.

Once they got pretty good at retelling the life cycle verbally, we got busy writing it. If I was a good blogger, I would have gotten some close-up pictures of what they wrote. But, I totally forgot. I'll try to be better.

I found this PRECIOUS frog on Pinterest and I thought it would be perfect for our writing.

Who doesn't love a good hand print activity?

Check out our sweet little frogs...

In the interest of full disclosure, I added the tongues. On my own. I thought they needed something fun. And, I might have glued on a few of the eyes because the kids ran out of time. But, honestly, I think they did such a good job!

Well, that's all I've got for tonight. I hope you have a "hoppy" weekend.

(Sorry, I had to.)

Never Forget

I can't stop thinking about September 11, 2001.

I remember that day like it was yesterday.

I was a Junior in high school. It was first period and I was in study hall. Just a normal day. Everybody was sitting around and for some reason, although we had asked her every single day the entire year, our teacher agreed to turn on "Let's Make a Deal" so we could watch it. Of course, when we turned on the TV, we saw the coverage of the 1st tower billowing in smoke. We honestly thought it was a clip for a movie.

Just as were starting to watch, we saw the second plane hit live on television. We all started to realize it wasn't an accident. It was being done on purpose.

Throughout the day, we went from class to class. Most of the teachers had the television on and we just sat and watched and talked with our teachers about what was happening.

The most lasting impression I have of that day is that I kept thinking: "It's so sunny and beautiful today. How can these people be going through so much anguish today when it's so nice outside. It's just a Tuesday."

But, it wasn't just a Tuesday.

It changed us forever.

Every single time I see a low-flying plane, I think of 9/11.

Every single time I get on an airplane, I think of 9/11.

Every single time I go through security at the airport, I think of 9/11.

Every single time I hear the word terrorism, I think of 9/11.

Today, I'm praying for the families of the 3,000 people who died on that horrible day. And, I'm praying for our country that such a devastating thing will never happen again. And, I am so, so thankful to be an American.

Never forget.

What I've Been Up To...

I keep meaning to blog. But, life just gets in the way sometimes. So, here's a little catch-up. I know you're so excited.

Some of my co-workers and I set up a new blog as a showcase for all the great things that are going on at our school. Right now, we've just been posting pics of our classrooms. My word... they are so adorable! You should totally check it out. It's called The Cole Train.

And, in first grade, we spent the whole week working on labeling and writing about animals. We focused on how they move and what they can do. We made a couple of cute anchor charts (that I totally forgot to take pictures of) and the kids got some opportunities to do their own writing.  I just wanted to show you some of these cutie-pie things they made. Plus, I want to be able to look back on this in May and see how far they've come.  So, here's some fabulous first grade fun... enjoy!

Check out that rhino's "bade" (body)!

I'm impressed by the giraffe drawing. I don't think I could draw a giraffe that well!

I just love how they draw... so funny!

That bottom one says " A cats ear is flappy." :)

And, as a farewell, I will leave you with a few great fall ideas I've found on Pinterest this week.

Adorable tulle wreath!

Cute pumpkin topiaries.

I'm going to have to make these sweet little witch hats for my kiddos.

Love this fall-inspired trail mix idea!

Pumpkin oreos... yum!

Genious idea. Put stickers on a pumpkin then spraypaint it black. So doing it!

And, this is just the cutest thing ever.

All sources can be found on my Pinterest page.

Well, I'm off to enjoy this beautiful weekend. Thanks for reading!

Labor Day Weekend

Man, oh man. What a crazy last couple of weeks! I just finished my third week of school and it's been quite an adventure... to say the least. But, those kiddos are finally starting to feel like they're "mine" and we are getting more and more into a routine every day.

All that to say... I couldn't have been more excited to get a three day weekend! Labor Day always comes at just the right time. We always head to my grandma's for Labor Day to spend time with family. This year was extra-special because my little bro Matt JUST got home from Burlington, NC where he was playing baseball. He hasn't been home since January so we were so excited to spend some time with him! Here are some pictures from our weekend...

We played lots and lots of card games. Because, really? What else is there to do there?

 

I'm not trying to brag. But, I totally won a hand of Uno and possibly the funniest game of Apples to Apples ever played. Let's just say we found a new appreciation for the "write your own" cards in Apples to Apples. Ha!

 

On Saturday, we went to the parade. We saw lots of family that we don't get to see that often. I can't believe Mattie is a big ole' first grader now! We get one of these pictures every year :)

Aunt Connie and Steven watching the LOUD firetrucks.

 

Blakely came with us, too. She's been twice now... so she's officially a regular!

Willie Nelson look-alike riding on a float = always fun.

 

Mattie showed me her candy stash. The best part of the parade, in my humble opinion.

 

It was H-O-T!

 

Me and my mom at the parade.

 

It was good to see y'all, Amanda!

 

Dorks.

(Just kidding. I made them stand like that so I could make fun of them.)

 

Saturday night, my mom walked over to my Great Aunt and Uncle's house to visit with them. When she came back in the house, she told us that she saw a little animal out in the yard. So, of course, we all went running and screaming out the front door like idiots to find it. And, it was this sweet little bunny! How cute is that! Steven caught it, which totally reminds me of when we were little kids and he used to chase us with bullfrogs that he caught in the yard. Ha! We obviously let the little thing go because NO WAY would my grandmother even let us bring it in the garage.

 

But, how sweet is that little face?

 

My grandma got "stranded" at church this morning. (Not really. She's just a little dramatic.)

 

Even though she was standing by the car, she couldn't find my aunt and thought she had left without her. So, she called us and told us she was stranded at church and to come get her. We had already left. And, by the way, she lives less than a mile from the church. We kept saying... "If the car is there, then Aunt Connie is still in the church!" But, Matt and Blakely went to "rescue" her anyway :)

Speaking of my Aunt Connie, she brought us some beautiful hydrangeas from her yard. Thanks so much... I love them!

 

And, on a totally different note, check out the new pillow my mom picked out for me when she went to Burlington! It's the perfect color for my room!

 

That's basically the only house addition I've added since school starts. Ha. But, it does make my bed feel more complete.

I have to say, we had a great weekend!