Glitter, Glitter....EVERYWHERE!

Hello friends....It's been a while!  I haven't had much to blog about lately.  Tomorrow I have my first official school meeting, so it is back to work for me full-time on Monday.  Today, I decided I would finish (and start) a final craft project before heading back to work.  Although I like my fluffy red wreath on the front door, it was time for a change.  I knew I wanted to make something wintry and sparkly, and a trip to Michael's gave me some inspiration.  I will forever be finding glitter all over my house because of this wreath.  I tried to contain it to the kitchen table, but it has a way of scattering everywhere!

Have I mentioned how much my husband LOVES glitter?? Just wait until he gets home and sees this.   I think I used a whole container of Clorox wipes on the kitchen table.  And I still see it!

Oh what fun it is to clean up after a crafty project with glitter!  Does anyone have a trick for getting it all?  If so, I may have to pay you to come and do it here. 

To-Da!  The finished product turned out pretty good.  What do you think? 

So, the home decorating projects will be put on hold, and  I'll be back to my 2nd grade projects next week.  What did you craft this week?  Please share in the comments section!  :-)

Oh Happy Day!

Here's something that makes me really excited....I mean REALLY excited!  I love organization.  It makes me happy.  It makes me feel accomplished.  It makes me feel like I can conquer the world....kind of.  It doesn't matter if it is lining up all of the cans in my pantry or pitching all of the magic markers that are all dried out.  This sickness runs in the family, by the way.  So I know that I am not alone....ahem!

While reading some fabulous blogs, I came across one of my new favorite blogs, Life in The Green House.  Jennifer is a lot like me--a former teacher heading back into the classroom, crafty, has a love for cooking and shopping, and is married to great guy.  (She also has the sweetest little girl, named Braylen Kate who is always outfitted in the cutest smocked dresses.)  You should check out her blog too! 

A few months ago, Jennifer posted about her favorite new organizational tool--an Erin Condren Life Planner.  As soon as I saw the link, I knew I had to have one.  When I was finally hired to begin teaching again, I knew it was time.  So, most of you are probably thinking....what is the big deal about a planner??  Well, Erin Condren has developed her own company where you can create all things personalized:  stationary, lesson plan books, photos on canvas, growth charts...and lots more.  You get to choose the design, the color, the paper, and the personalization.  I love all of the designs and had such a hard time choosing mine.  I also ordered my mom an address book from Erin Condren, and she loves it as well.  So, here's a look at my new Weekly Life Planner!

The Fed-Ex Man arrived with a pretty box for me!

Oooooh....can't wait!

Ta-Da!

There are SO many awesome features in the Life Planner.

A Monthly View

A Daily View for tasks....sorted by "time of day" (not actual times).

To-Do Lists at the beginning of each month

Stickers to easily label your calendar-   Examples:  birthdays, parties, no-school, hair appointment, mani/pedi, vacation, massage, bridal/baby shower, and even blank stickers for you to personalize yourself!

A zipper pouch with personalized stickers-   Stickers can be used on gifts, folders, etc.  The pouch can be used to hold small papers, receipts, etc.

A large pocket to "keep it together"-  Store coupons, important papers, etc. in this pocket.

Personalized notepads-  I ordered this as an add-on for a small fee.  They fit perfectly in the pocket above!

So, are you as excited as I am about this?  Now, I am going to sit at my kitchen table with my new Erin Condren Life Planner, get out my pretty-colored Papermate felt-tip pens, and have at it!  Wishing you a happy day filled with stylization and organization! 


**I am not affiliated in any way to ErinCondren.com.  I just love their products and wanted to pass it along to you!

A Look Back...and Ahead

We rang in the New Year with some of our closest friends and family at our house.  Andrea & Matt, Stacey & Richie, and Ang & Joey celebrated with us for New Year's.  Lots of laughs, good food, and bubbly drinks were had by all! 

 Check out all three faces....what in the world was going on here??

 B.F.F.'s :-)

 

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1....

 Happy New Year 2012! 

 You would never know that this girl is 13 weeks preggo...

She still knows how to have a good time...sparkling grape juice and all!

 Of course, we pulled out the Guitar Hero...we had a full band!  

Andrea and I were the groupies!

 Aw....friends!  

 Matt loves Putter...and I think the feeling is mutual.  

The Putter-Man and Lambchop

2011 was a great year for us.  Here's a look back:

• January:  We moved into a small apartment in Raleigh after selling our house in December 2010.  I am SO glad to be out of that place!
• February:  JB took me on a surprise trip to Nashville for my birthday.  He even arranged for me to have a long weekend and take time off of work...with the help of my principal and awesome co-workers.  What a guy!
• March:   I was tracked-out of school, and we made a trip to NJ to begin house-hunting.  While we were home, we made a few trips to NYC to meet up with our friends Chris & Laura and Paul & Lauren.  We're so happy we get to see them more often now.
• April:  We went to Mexico for President's Club...3rd year in a row.  My hubby works so hard---and I love him for that!  I especially loved our hotel during this trip...an infinity pool in our hotel villa=heaven.
• May:   JB traveled almost the whole month of May for work.  I felt like a single wife....living in a small box of an apartment.  We did a lot of house-searching online, and my parents helped by making many trips out with the realtor in New Jersey...narrowing down the list.
• June:  I said a tearful goodbye to all of my friends and coworkers at Durant Elementary...It was the BEST school.  I don't think I will ever find a place where I will love going to work as much as DRES.   
• Late June:  We packed up our apartment, and made the trek back to New Jersey:  2 cars loaded up with stuff and 11+ hours later, we moved into our room at my parents' house.  It's such a nice hotel to visit...the accommodations are incredible.  I spent the rest of the month sitting by the pool.  
• July: We were hard-core house-shoppers.  We were shown over 100 houses in person, and probably hundreds more online. We put an offer on 2 different houses in July.  Neither one of them were meant to be, and I'm so glad that they didn't work out.  Everything happens for a reason.
• August:  We settled on our new house and got the keys on August 8th!  That Friday, the moving trucks arrived from Raleigh with the contents of both of our storage units.  I had forgotten how much stuff we had...it was like Christmas!
• September:  JB had to take a business trip to Raleigh for work, and I got to go along.  It was SO nice to spend a few days with R.B., Melissa, and my two favorite ladies, Elli and Livi.  I miss them everyday!
• October:  We went to Boston to celebrate the wedding of Alli and Tony Rosso, and enjoyed a Melrose high school reunion at the wedding.  JB is still close to many of his friends from high school, and it's so fun to see them all together.
• November:  I hosted my first ever holiday...in our new house!  Thanksgiving dinner was a success, and I loved giving my mom a chance to enjoy it without having to do all of the work.  :-)
• December:  We decorated our very first Christmas tree, and I hosted my first Christmas Cookie Exchange.  We spent a weekend in NYC with Michael, Michelle, Andrea, and Matt---seeing THE tree, watching M&M skate at Rockefellar Center, and enjoying a night out on the town.  We spent lots of time with family in Boston and New Jersey celebrating Christmas.  Finally, we rang in the New Year with great friends and family!

I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be filled with lots of exciting things, and I can't wait!