Friday Favorites: It's Fair Break!

Hello, Friday that almost seems like Saturday!
It's the start of Fair Break at our school, so we have a day full of meetings and then get two days off!

Yes, we get off for the county fair because we have SO many kids who show there!

It's three days for them, but a lot of them will take off the whole week!

This week has been a busy one, so I'm so excited for more time at home and a fun getaway in the books!

As always, I'm linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea. 

We're sharing our favorites from the week.

Grab their graphic and linkup with your favorites from the week, too.

Fall Decor

I was finally able to get my fall decor out last weekend!

I'm a couple weeks late, but it's better late than never!
I'm hoping to get a fall decor post up next week, but here's a sneak peek in the meantime!

No Power

I woke up Tuesday morning and felt a little off.
My alarm goes off at 4 am, so it's typically dark but not as dark as it was on Tuesday.
At first I double checked my phone because I thought maybe I woke up and it really wasn't time to get up.
Sometimes I will wake up at 12 or 1 and think it's time to get up.
Does anyone else do that?!
I then realized that it was pitch black in our house, and I could hear our neighbor's generator.
We didn't have any electricity, so I went around turning on all of our battery operated candles.

I opened the blinds to look out and see if I could see anything else...nope..nothing!

I was living my inner Amish life!
Luckily, I washed and dried my hair the night before, so I only needed to curl it.
My parents have a whole house generator, but I didn't want to scare them at the wee morning hours!
I decided to leave a bit earlier than normal and just curl my hair at school.
In the meantime, my dad woke up, realized they didn't have power either and texted me that I could come do my hair.
I opted for the middle school girls bathroom!!

All done by 6 am and ready to get back to my classroom and plan away!

Spice Cake

My mom had a big birthday over the weekend!

I made her her favorite type of cake-spice.

This was a new recipe, and I was a bit skeptical of it, but it turned out fantastic. 

So light and yummy!

Spice cake with a caramel icing coming to the blog next week!

I'm really ready for a relaxing yet fun weekend.
We have a fun getaway planned.
I'm hoping we have an enjoyable time in the city and can make it back home in time to enjoy the start of next week from the comfort of my own little home!
Enjoy!

Freezer Meal: Baked Ziti

I'm back with another make ahead freezer meal. 

It's the perfect pasta dinner for when you're having a busy evening. 

Items Needed:

1 Box Ziti or Penne

1 Pound Cooked Ground Beef

1-24 oz. Jar of Pasta Sauce

1-8 oz. Cream Cheese

8 oz. Shredded Cheddar Cheese (I saved this to put on before you bake)

Fry ground beef.

Drain grease and add in cream cheese.

Then, add sauce.

Cook pasta according to directions on the box.

Set out pans. 

I choose to use three smaller rectangular pans since it's just Alex and I. 

You could choose to use one big pan or two medium sized ones. 

Separate out the pasta evenly.

Add the sauce mix on top.

Put the lids on. 

Add label and cooking instructions. 

Freeze.

When you're ready to cook, thaw, top with cheddar cheese and bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes.

I have to give credit to Passion for Savings for adding this recipe to Pinterest. 

Friday Favorites: A Mix of Everything!

Hey there, Friday!
This week has been go-go-go!
I've had parent teacher conferences, a conference to attend, a substitute to plan for and hot, humid weather to contend with.
I'm so glad that Friday has finally come!
This is my favorite blog day because it's a Friday Favorites kind of day!


As always, I'm linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea. 

We're sharing our favorites from the week.

Grab their graphic and linkup with your favorites from the week, too.

Bread Baked by My Husband

I had a travel meeting the other night after my regular day at school. 

I love this travel community that I'm a part of because they wait and have the meetings after school when I can attend!

It took me about two hours to make it to where this one was held. 

There were lots of back roads, a huge moving truck parked on a narrow country road that I had to wait behind for 10 minutes and rainy weather. 

I got home pretty late and was surprised that my husband baked me banana bread!

Back Porch Sittin'

We got some new comfy chairs on our back porch.
I love sitting back there but haven't found a ton of time with school back in session. 

On this night I grabbed a few magazines and rocked for a few minutes!

The next morning I didn't have to be ready until an hour later than normal because we had a conference that day. 

I enjoyed my morning by doing two loads of laundry, lighting a candle and not feeling rushed!

Lilly Pulitzer Sale

I was so excited to come home and find a pretty package on my kitchen table!

Part of my Lilly order came!

Coincidentally enough I was wearing a Lilly top that I bought from the sale in-store!

Document Camera Fixin'

My old document camera stopped working last winter. 

The tech guys were kind enough to get me a new one. 

I'm so thankful that they took care of me so quickly, but this one doesn't have a light on it. 

That really improves how well you can see the Smartboard. 

My students have been having a hard time seeing the board. 

I related this to my team, and how funny are they that I had to slip out of lunch to a meeting for not even ten minutes. 

When I went back to my room after lunch there was a light taped to my document camera! 

For the Love of Antonio

We are quite the Steelers family!

I went to open my phone the other day and realized I had four different articles about Antonio Brown pulled up on my phone!

These were all articles that my dad sent me in one day!

In order to be loyal fans we have to stay up on the facts...or gossip!

It's almost fall and we will almost be hitting 90 degrees today!
We are supposed to get a major cool down over the weekend.
We have a wedding to attend, and I hope to finally get my fall decorations out!
Enjoy!

Pineapple Fluff: Only 4 Ingredients Needed!

If you're in need of a super easy dessert, try pineapple fluff!

I swear I posted this before, and just last week I jumped on the blog to look for the recipe and couldn't find it. 

The other night I was waiting for Alex to come home from work.

We were going to grill out, and I had the chicken, corn and asparagus all ready, but I wanted a dessert. 

I didn't have a lot of time, and I didn't want to bake, so I grabbed my desserts binder and found this super easy one. 

You only need 4 ingredients!

Items You Need:

1- 8 oz. Cool Whip (Thawed)

1 20-oz. Can Crushed Pineapple (Drained)

1 Can Eagle Brand Milk

1/3 C. Lemon Juice

Basically after you drain the pineapple, you mix everything together and enjoy. 

Just make sure the lemon juice is added last. 

It's quick. simple. and delicious!

Enjoy!

Pineapple and Eagle Brand milk.

Adding the Cool Whip. 

Friday Favorites: Inspiring Bloggers

Hello Friday!
I'm jumping back in today on something that I thought I might give up.
I have been absent on this little online space for quite a while.
It's funny to me that last summer I was posting nearly every day, and then this summer I was totally non-existent.

I added a side business to my regular full-time job, and even though I had the summer off, I just didn't get to blogging.
Sometimes things have to fall off of your plate, and I really enjoyed getting the chance to regroup and get my priorities straight.
I don't have intentions to blog everyday, and sometimes it might only be once a week, but I get such great ideas from this community that I'm not packing it up yet.

So...with that said, I'm excited for my favorite day of the week...FRIDAY!!
This day takes on a whole new meaning at the beginning of a school year!


I'm linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea. 

We're sharing our favorites from the week.

Grab their graphic and linkup with your favorites from the week, too!

Today I've decided to share my top five bloggers. 

A couple years ago, well probably quite a few years ago I started finding these blogs and it was the inspiration of these ladies that made me want to start my own!

At the time I was a brand-new teacher, commuting to work, coaching two sports and working on additional coursework and Master's. 

I barely had time to breathe, but somehow it's during those busiest times that I'm the most productive. 

I can vividly remember waking up early, sometimes 3-4 am to grade extra papers, and if I got lucky in the winter we would have a delay or snow day. 

With those extra hours I started creating a blog. 

I designed it all myself, so I'm definitely not ready to give up the original look. 

It's not fancy by any means, but I worked so hard to make it, and it took such courage to actually post something on it. 

This space will probably only ever be a little space for me to document my day-to-day life but I'm totally A-Okay with that. 

I'm so thankful that these ladies paved the path for me to believe in myself enough to jump in.

So here we have my top five bloggers in no-particular order...

Mix and Match Mama-Shay 

Visit Shay's blog here.

Shay's blog was probably the first one that I ever found. 

She is wonder woman!

I never seem to comprehend how she can do so many things and be good at all of them. 

She's a great role model, and I love her passion for the Lord. 

Her blog is one of my first stop for so many things...like recipes, travel, decorating and fashion!

I always love seeing what's in her closet, so I chose one of her latest great suggestions to feature below!

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Hi Sugarplum-Cassie 

Visit Cassie's blog here. 

I love how down to earth Cassie is. 

I swear that anytime I have ever messaged her to compliment an outfit or ask a question that she has responded as sweet as ever!

I just love that she has great style and does it with such grace and humility. 

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Sheaffer Told Me To-Sheaffer

Visit Sheaffer's blog here. 

Sheaffer is your go-to gal for fashion!

I seriously don't even know how she find such good stuff at such great prices. 

She is on my go-to list for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale and during the holiday season. 

I know I can trust Sheaffer's advice and love how detailed she is with her descriptions of clothing. 

You will notice that Sheaffer is wearing the same top as Shay was above, just in a different color. 

Thanks to these ladies I have two of these sweaters in my drawer waiting for fall to arrive!

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Momfessionals-Andrea

You can visit Andrea's blog here. 

I love this picture below because it describes Andrea to me. 

She is the best mom. 

She is so so so creative and always has the best ideas for holidays, fun at home, fun with your kids or ideas for the classroom. 

The fact that she's a middle school teacher is only icing on the cake. 

I love how real she is and her great do-it yourself projects!

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A Little Bit of Everything-Erika

You can visit Erika's blog here. 

Erika always makes me laugh.  

I chose the picture below because I love her style. 

She looks good in everything.

I love that she manages four kids with her husband being away so often for work and football.

Just the other day she took all of her kids to a football game by herself and it ended up storming. 

I don't have any kids and the idea of that scares me!

I love that Erika used to be a teacher and seems so sweet and caring towards kids!

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So there you have it. 

The ladies that inspired ME!

So many great ladies with such different yet similar blogs. 

I could only hope that one day I could talk to each and every one of them and thank them for their inspiration!

These ladies led me to so many other great blogs that I visit daily, weekly, monthly!

What a neat world we live in, where you can live in one spot and feel like you know someone on the opposite side of the country!

Have a fantastic FRIDAY!

Hope to see you all soon!

-Enjoy-