Wedding Shower

My sister did an AMAZING job with my wedding shower.  She made all of the cookies herself and decorated beautifully!  I cannot wait to return the favor for her one day!  

How cute are the favors?!  They are soap inside of a cupcake liner with a loofah on top!  They are adorable!  We played two games at the shower that made everyone laugh.  The first game was a Scattergories game where we had to list things using the letters MRS.  The second game was how well we know the bride.  There were quite a few funny responses.

All of the guests signed the "G" and wrote a date night idea on a Popsicle stick.  I now have a jar filled with fun date night ideas!

Each balloon had a picture of us on it.  This was one of my favorite things at the shower!

Roxy

Meet our newest little edition- Roxy!  She is a Chiweenie (Chihuahua and Dachshund mix) and literally the cutest dog to ever exist!  I can honestly say that I am obsessed with her and cannot imagine what I will be like when we have human babies!  Ha!

Table Monitors

One classroom management strategy that I found to work great is having a table monitor to distribute and clean up table materials and text books.  It makes transitions much smoother and the kids love the responsibility.  Each Monday they rotate so each child gets to be table monitor several times throughout the year.  I have used SO many different signs including magnets, frames, and stickers but nothing lasted.  I finally found these cheap and durable frames from Ikea and made little signs to slip into the frames.  They are double sided and did I say durable??  They do not break no matter how much the kids mess with them and they wipe clean!  Win- win!

Valentine's Box

We exchange valentine's cards each year and I thought I should make a box that matches the theme of my room!  Here are the steps and materials needed to make this adorable owl Valentine's box.

1. Cut the top off of an a cereal box.

2. Wrap cereal box with wrapping paper.  Go into the top of the box since it shows when it's empty.

3. Cut out scrapbook paper for eyes, wings, feet, nose, and heart.

4. Arrange materials as you would like and glue/ tape them down.  I used double sided sticky squares found in the scrapbook section of most stores.  I also put a small bag of rice at the bottom of the box so it would stand up and be more sturdy.

Overall, it was a big hit and held all of the big Valentine's!

Peek into my Closet- May

Necklace: Etsy

Dress: Meijer

Peek into my Closet- May

Top: Old Navy

Pants: Kohl's

Shoes: Tom's

Peek into my Closet- May

Top: Kohl's

Pants: JCP

Shoes: Famous Footwear

Peek into my Closet- May

Shirt: Target

Pants: JCP

Shoes: Pay Less

Peek into my Closet- May

Dress: JCP

Shoes: Famous Footwear 

Peek into my Closet- April

Top- Kohl's

Skirt- Target 

This is how I handle teaching in a school with no air conditioning!  Staying cool with lots of flowy clothes.  Luckily, we are getting a brand new school next school year!!!

Peek into my Closet- April

Top: H&M

Skirt: Target 

Peek into my Closet- April

Dress: Kohl's

Jacket: H&M

Necklace: Forever 21

Peek into my Closet- April

Dress: Target

Sweater: Old Navy

Shoes: Charlotte Ruse 

Peek into my Closet- April

Sweater: JCP

Dress: Old Navy

Shoes: Famous Footwear 

Peek into my Closet- April

Dress: Charlotte Ruse

Necklace: Forever 21

Leggings: Target

Boots: Target

Jacket: H&M

I love wearing colorful jewelry when I can.  It always brightens up an outfit!  Forever 21 and Old Navy have cute and affordable statement necklaces.  

Peek into my Closet- April

Dress: Old Navy

Tights: Old Navy

Boots: Payless

Necklace: Express 

DIY Wreath

You know how I love making wreaths!  This one is not for me though, it will be a gift! I am making one for my mom for Mother's Day and one for my future Mother in Law.  I wanted to make them each something springy for their front doors.  I think wreaths make a great gift for birthdays, Mother's Day, or Christmas!  I love using the twig wreaths with the clip-on flowers.  It takes no time at all with these easy supplies!

1. Twig wreath

2. Clip-on flowers

3. Initial letter

4. Paint

5. Burlap ribbon

Clip-on flowers

Initial Letter

Burlap ribbon and paint for the initial letter

I clipped on the flowers to the twigs.  Next, I painted the letter lavender to match the flowers.  I tied and hot glued the bow on the top and it was complete!

Peek into my Closet- March

Sweater: Old Navy

Jeans: JCP

Shoes: Payless

Necklace: Forever 21

Peek into my Closet- March

Jacket: Kohl's

Dress: JCP

Tights: Target

Boots: Target

Necklace: Forever 21

When is it Time to Donate?

I never know when I should get rid of clothes and when I do have those moments when I need to clean out my closet, I have a hard time letting go.  I found this trick on Pinterest and so far it has been working.  

1. Turn all of your hangers in your closet backyard so the hook is facing away from you.

2. When you wear something and you hang it back up, turn that hanger toward you.

3. Repeat

After a month or two, you will begin seeing what clothes you never wear because the hangers will still be backward.  This trick has helped me so much!  I always think I will need that shirt or those pants for something when in reality I haven't worn them in three years. I went about six months doing this and here is the result!

I always take my clothes into a resale store to see if I am able to make any money off of them.  This time I made $43.00 and was able to donate the rest to Goodwill.  

It was so nice getting a "fresh start" and knowing that now I have only the clothes that I actually wear in my closet.  Needless to say, I have more room and space now and it feels great! :)

How do you know when to donate?

Peek into my Closet- March

Top: Old Navy

Jeans: Kohl's

Scarf: Etsy

Boots: Target

DIY Spring Wreath

I absolutely love making wreaths!  Using the plain twig wreaths makes it a cinch because all you need to do is find the right items to hot glue on!

I began with some inspiration on Pinterest and headed to the craft store.  

Here is a plain twig wreath which are usually around $4.99.

I found these bright flowers, the white initial, and the accent flowers.

I hot glued each item down and I had my final product in less than 15 minutes!

Who's ready for spring?!

Peek into my Closet- March

I always like to try to make my summer clothes wearable in the winter to expand my wardrobe.  Layering with a cardigan and leggings makes those summer dresses warm and cozy in the freezing temps!

Dress: Old Navy

Sweater: Old Navy

Leggings: Target

Flats: Payless

Peek into my Closet- March

Top: Kohl's

Pants: Kohl's

Boots: Pay Less

Peek into my Closet- March

Dress: Kohl's

Leggings: Target

Shoes: Kohl's

Peek into my Closet- February

Top: Kohl's

Pants: The Gap

Peek into my Closet- February

Top: H&M

Pants: Kohl's

Shoes: Tom's

DIY Wedding Favors

I decided to go with wedding favors that I can do myself and save some money!  I found the idea on Pinterest of filling a little box with Hugs and Kisses from the Mr. and Mrs.! 

Supplies:

Small white boxes- JoAnn Fabrics

Ribbon- JoAnn Fabrics 

Hershey's Hugs

Hershey's Kisses (I bought these in bulk and saved money)

Tags (I made these and printed them on card-stock) 

Here was our assembly line- we made 200!

Finished product!  So cute!! 

Here are all 200 boxes!

Peek into my Closet- February

Sweater: Kohl's

Mint Jeans: Target

Shoes: Pay Less

Peek into my Closet- January

Scarf: Target

Shirt:Kohl's

Black Jeans: Kohl's

Gifts from my Maid of Honor!

My lovely Maid of Honor (AKA sister) made me some fun gifts to help begin the process!

This is a ring holder for those moments when I must take it off.

This one is for my fiance and includes protein bars of all types to help him handle the chaos!

If you are ever a bridesmaid these are fun and unique handmade gifts that any bride would love!

Peek into my Closet- January

Shirt: The Gap

Jeans: Kohl's

Boots: Pay Less

Scarf: JCP

Will You Be My Bridesmaid?

I wanted to do something fun to ask my bridesmaids if they would be in my wedding.  I found this cute and inexpensive idea for a postcard on Zazzle!

http://www.zazzle.com/will_you_be_my_bridesmaid_postcard-239420688224201588

Front

The back has pictures of me with each girl and the question! 

Peek into my Closet- January

White Long sleeved shirt: Kohl's 

Black Jeans: Kohl's

Boots: Target

Gray Sweater: Body Central

I'm Getting Married!!!!!

It's official... I'm engaged!  Sorry teacher friends, but this blog may now incorporate wedding planning thoughts and ideas!

Sorry Friends... I'm officially back!

I apologize for having to temporarily shut down the blog.  I am back though and I hope you keep checking in!! :)