A Sister's Wedding

My sister was married this past weekend.  The week before, K and I spent a full week at the beach in preparation.  It was so lovely.  Lovely to sit around and hold hands and reminisce about our own wedding preparations and hair-pulling adventures.  I thought I was ready to go.  Recharged and refueled.

And then this weekend, I attended the wedding of my little sister.  It was a flurry of excitement and preparation.  And there was still hair-pulling.  And it didn't hit me until quite after that my sister is a married woman.  I started to remember when we were little, and she hated school.  And we had "auctions" with my brother, where we found discarded notebooks and old pencils to sell to one another for pennies.  I thought about sharing a room and talking late into the night...and then getting in trouble.  I thought about K being around when my sister was only a freshman in high school and talking about love and dating.  And in a way, I don't think that an older sister is ever ready for her little sister's wedding.

More Love Letters

I love writing letters.  I love receiving letters.  And sometimes, I'm not all too great about getting them out there.  Sometimes I let the little things keep me from sitting at my desk with my words, with my colored pens, with all my stationery, and with all my washi tape.  I'm trying to be better.  I don't want it to be one more thing I put on my "to do" list.  Like many of the wonderful things I've found whilst lost on the internet (HONY, for example), I found this:

More Love Letters

I challenge you to explore the blog and its purpose.  I challenge you to send a letter to a stranger.  Because the world could definitely use more love letters.

August Favorites

The autumn months are creeping in.  And it's still all hot and humid and sweaty here.  But August was still pretty good to me, overall.  Back to the madness of the school year, I suppose.  Round two!

AE Joggers | I wear these with my "But first, coffee" shirt, and I really can't think of any other outfit that I would rather be in.

Sam Edelman Fringe Boots | Because fall is coming.  Eventually.

Nike Orive | While the kids get all sweaty and gross in their socks and shoes all day, my feet are breathing.

Urban Decay Sheer Lipsticks | I bought the color "Ladyflower" on our anniversary because we went to Sephora after dinner, and my husband said he liked the color.  That's good enough.

Maeby and Winston | Maeby and Winston finally get to be together after so much sickness.  And of course, they got along fantastically.  Winston cries when he can't find Maeby. And yes, he definitely loves her more than she loves him.

Some Days

There are those days when I just don't feel well.  When the stress and anxiety of a due assignment for grad school, mixed in with the responsibilities of my job, mixed in with the obligations of coaching, just don't sit right.  Then, with strep throat and the stomach flu making their way around the school, I wake up feeling like my head is swimming.  I'm hoping and praying that I'm not sick, because who has the time?  Some days, I snap at kids for little things, feeling overwhelmed by events out of my control and theirs.  Some days, four minutes into class, a student says, "I hope your day gets better."  And that's always just the worst.  Because really, it's only been four minutes.

July Favorites

Signaling the end of summer, July came and went.  I began to stock up on school supplies, I became bolder in my lip color, and Husband and I adopted another kitten.

Scotch Laminator | Because now I laminate EVERYTHING so that I don't need to keep buying/printing decorations and schedules for the classroom.

Sephora Matte Lipstain | The pink/purples are drawing me in this season.  And they stay for a very long time.

Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop | I wouldn't be a good make-up junkie without purchasing this gorgeous highlighter.

Igloo Duo Tote | One half is insulated for food.  The other half is material to carry.  This is the best multipurpose bag that I could own, AND it is adorable.

Winston | The newest addition to our family.  He's absolutely the sweetest, and he loves to cuddle.  And yes, there will be a bowtie, for what is a Winston without a bow tie?

Back to School

It's planners, markers, pens, paper, sticky notes, highlighters, washi tape, coffee, novels, poetry, and paper clips.  It's the pit in the stomach that comes with not knowing who signed up for your class.  It's the thought of another year up to your eyeballs in grading and lesson planning.  It's the nervousness of a first day back from summer vacation.  It's taking aside many days during summer vacation to get work done.  It's back to school time.

May/June Favorites

A whirlwind of a summer.  Weddings and moving and kittens and neighbors and track and cross country and prepping for school.  My days are blurring together, and only recently have I realized just how far along my summer has gone and just how quickly it will come to a close.

May and June were all-around lovely, but even so, there were a few things that stuck out most.

Our home | We love it.  Really.

Gulf Shores, AL | We have gone so much this year, it's unbelievable.  I'm trying to convince the Husband that we should invest in a beach house...

The Dream Team | We were reunited, and I finally met our newest little member.

Bookshelves |  They're from Target, but I love them.  They're big and look fancy.

Hydrangeas | I'm a plant killer, so I'm pleasantly surprised to see these blooming so beautifully.

Maeby | She's honestly the cutest little companion ever.  Her name is from a character from Arrested Development because she literally does the opposite of everything we say.

Maeby | But really...so cute.

Pittsburgh, PA | I went to celebrate one of my best friend's wedding to the love of her life, and it everything about it was gorgeous.  Including the bachelorette party in Pittsburgh.