30 Day Squat Challenge

I've blogged previously about my adventure into T25 with my friends from work.  Today I'm adding to my fitness challenge with a 30 Day Squat Challenge.  When I started to tell my boyfriend about my T25 workouts, he started to question my form and technique, especially since I was complaining about killer hip pain.  After showing me how to do things right, he encouraged me to try a 30 Day Challenge with squats!  (Don't get me wrong, I was a little nervous, but with his encouragement, I think I can do it!)

Here's what I'm following:

I'd love to do this challenge with you!  Comment below if you're interested in following along with me through this challenge.  I think the hard work will pay off. You can do it! Spring is just around the corner!!!!!

High Five for Friday: I'll never forget the moment that happened this afternoon

Amanda and I particpate in the link party, High Five for Friday, from Lauren Elizabeth's blog. Head on over to Lauren Elizabeth for more "High Five for Friday." We're taking part in this fun reflection each week and hopefully you will too!

Five Things that brought an immediate smile to my face and warmed my soul instantly:

1. My week started off with an awesome lunch date with my mom and sister. A tradition of ours is to have frozen yogurt at Bloomingdale's. We've been doing this since I was a very little girl. Most of the time it's just the three of us, but sometimes my grandmother, aunts, and cousins tag along, too. Just the girls. It's so much fun! There's nothing like spending time with your mom and sister, right? My sister is tapping back into her photography hobby, so she snapped a few photos with her new camera to document our tradition.

2. Receiving emails from our wedding photographer. The wedding is over, but the little things that I've been working on afterwards fill the void of it ending. It also builds excitement for how I'll relive it over and over and over again.

3. My best friend, Frances, sent me a video of her son, Giovanni, making a volcano I bought him for his birthday. He just turned four and I knew he'd enjoy every minute of this.  My favorite part of the video was listening to his laughs and giggles, and I always adore the conversation that they both have with each other. I watched the video more than a few times. This was the best part of my week until #5 came along.

4. Receiving a note from my husband this morning. After my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, he reassured me that today was a new day, that everything would be ok, and to smile.

5. My week ended in the best and most unexpected way possible. I stayed after school until well after 5 o'clock to get a lot crossed off my to-do list. I was so happy to declare the school week over as I walked outside to my car. I sat on my cold leather seats, waiting for the engine to warm up in the frigid cold and I noticed that I had missed a call on my cellphone from my dad... and there was a voice mail. My dad had left a message saying that he was on his way home and "our song" had come on, the song we danced to at my wedding, Just The Way You Look Tonight. He even held the phone to the speaker for me to listen.

Oh, 
my 
heart
 just 
melted.

Tears sprung to my eyes. And all at once, it was the hug through the phone, the voice of comfort, the song that says it all, the lyrics that I know so well, and the everything that I needed to hear to end my crazy week. The bad parts of my week washed away instantly. I'll never forget the moment that happened this afternoon. It absolutely touched and warmed my soul. Thank you, Dad. I love you so very much!

High Five for Friday: A full week of happy!

Dawn and I participate in the High Five for Friday link party with The Lauren Elizabeth Blog every Friday.  Click the link to check out Lauren Elizabeth's five favorite things from this week!

What a week it's been!  This week has been filled with lots of fun and exciting things, and I can't wait to share them with you!!

1.  5 Full Days of School! For the first time since the end of November, we had a full, five day week of school!  Don't get me wrong, I love snow days and days off, but I actually taught for an entire week!  My lessons made sense to the kids, and they were able to get back into a great routine.  I was truly proud of their hard work this week.  We even reconfigured our classroom seating arrangement, and things seem to be working out!  

2. Redkin Chem Shot: Today I had my once-every-five-weeks visit with my hair stylist.  I love Desiree!  She's a good friend, and has been working wonders with my hair.  Recently, she introduced me to the Redkin "Chem Shot."  If you haven't tried it, ask your hair stylist if your salon has it.  If they do, I highly recommend it!  I'm completely hooked and get one every time I go get my hair done.

3. Third Grade Common Core Research Project: One month ago I assigned a gigantic research project to all of my third grade students. They had to choose a civil rights leader and complete a research folder on them.  They came out amazing!  The one thing that impressed me the most: all 24 of them were turned in on time!!!  This is a big shout out to my class. If you somehow landed on this page...I'm so proud of you!

4. Awesome: Last Friday night I had the pleasure of meeting my boyfriend's family, including his two nephews. They're 3 and 6 and...they stole my heart!  We had the best time playing games and laughing together.  The little one kept singing the theme song to the Lego Movie all weekend.  Now every time someone sings it, I think of him! :)

5. Origami Owl Launch Party: I had an awesome Origami Owl party at my apartment on Saturday night.  I can't thank my friends enough who came out to support this new adventure in my life!  We had the best time designing jewelry, drinking wine and laughing hysterically.  I hope this is the beginning of something very exciting.  Some girls were even interested in hosting their own party!!!  I also collected some orders from coworkers who couldn't make the party at my place.  It's so exciting to see people so happy to buy something that I love!

Throwback Thursday: Memory Lane

I decided to take a photo from my past for a Throwback Thursday reflection.  This is a photograph of a street in my grandparent's old neighborhood in Sag Harbor, New York.  Sag Harbor is out in the Hamptons of Long Island, where I would take adventures with my family in the summer to go visit Grandma and Grandpa.  

This picture sparks so many different memories from my childhood.  I remember taking walks through the neighborhood which would lead us to the private community bay.  We would walk by all of Grandma's friend's houses, and we'd wave hello, and sometimes stop to chat.  After what seemed like a long walk (which was probably only a few blocks), we'd arrive to this beach: 

As I was growing up, I didn't realize how lucky I was.  I guess when you're little you don't realize that everyone else's grandma doesn't live by one of the most beautiful beach locations.  

After we'd take a walk by the bay, sometimes splashing my feet in the water, or walking the dog (or carrying her) through the sand, we'd head back down "memory lane" back to Grandma's house.  

I think back to other times and visits there, and I hold them close to my heart.  The funny thing with these Throwback Thursday photos is that they take us back to this place that we used to know.  I'd sure hope that my Grandma's house would look just the way it did the last time I saw it, with the two of them, Grandma and Grandpa, standing out in front of the house waving as we drove away.  The sad thing is, I know it doesn't.  Once my grandparents moved back to Westchester, the new owner didn't take care of the house like my Grandpa did. 

Looking back on these pictures reminds me that time doesn't stand still.  Time flies and you have to cherish each moment, because before you know it, life is different.  Babies grow up, people move on, change their mind, move away...and pass on.  Live in the moment, and treasure every chance you get to love the ones your with.  Take some photos while you're at it, and take a walk down Memory Lane when you get a chance. 

Happy (almost) Friday! xoxo

Turning my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day into a night filled with inspiration

A picture of a sticky-note from the Love, Teach blog. She was talking about standardized testing in this post.

Today was one of those days. We've all been there, we've all had them, we all know what they're like, and today it all came tumbling down.

School has been especially difficult and I'm trying to hold it all together.

After a really hard day, I turned to one of my favorite blogs, "Love, Teach" to read about her crazy middle school teacher stories. I laughed a lot and my feelings of anger and frustration turned into inspiration; she inspired me to end my week with something powerful. My students have been checked out lately and my attitude hasn't been the greatest either, which in turn creates one big mess. So, I turned my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day into a night filled with inspiration, in hopes for a better day tomorrow.

Love, Teach created five lessons for her "Student Appreciation Week" two years ago. She created lessons to center around a different theme each day. The themes were based on being:
Loved
Worthy
Powerful
Uniquely Special
Capable of Greatness

For each theme/day, she had a piece of artwork, a quote, a quick-write related to the artwork and quote, an informational text/video with response questions, a poem, related videos or film clips, a children's story, a song, and reflection activity. WOAH! She filled my inspiration bucket immediately and had lessons for me to take on right away tomorrow.


 After teaching those five lessons, she shared some of her student's work:

Just in case you needed to restore your faith in humanity, I thought I'd share some of my students' reflections on this week with you.

See more of this here. If you're a teacher and interested in hearing more about these lessons, click here. Scroll down to the bottom and she has links to each lesson, with all materials (videos, images, poems, suggested books) included. It's absolutely amazing. I'm starting tomorrow and will let you know how it goes.

Visit her blog! 

Amanda and I are taking part in another link party tonight... THE Pin It Party Pinterest Linkup. We found this link party through the Creative Geekery blog and are excited to take part in this each Thursday. 

Good Friends are Like Stars

My friend circle is pretty interesting, but it's so beautiful at the same time.  I chose the quote above for today's post, because my friends are scattered all over the place, like one beautiful constellation. Many of my friends aren't all from the same circle of friends, but they are the most incredible group of people I could have ever asked for.  

It's kind of funny how I may not speak to some of my friends for weeks, and then all of a sudden I'll get a text or an email from someone saying, "Hey...what's up?  how are things going?"  Usually, they text me just when I need it, and we can pick up right where we left off.

I always said that I'd rather have a few good, genuine friends than a gigantic group of friends who are "just friends."  With me, it's quality more than quantity.  My friends know what's going on in my life, and I know what is going on with theirs.  We're genuinely interested in one another's lives, and just want to see each other happy.

Dawn and I always talk about how genuine friendship is so hard to come by, but when you find it, you treasure it.  She and I sometimes get so caught up with life that we can go weeks without seeing one another. Then when we finally do get together, it's like there's been no time since we last saw one another.  

This post is dedicated to all my friends who I keep near and dear to my heart.  Whether I've known you one month or since I'm very little,  thank you for just being you.  I couldn't imagine my life without you!

Wedding Wednesdays: A Must-See Proposal VIDEO!

When Amanda and I started this blog, I really felt like I wanted to stay away from blogging about "wedding stuff" for so many reasons. However, it's hard not to blog about it sometimes, simply because I am a newlywed and I just finished the wedding planning process.

I still feel like I'm making decisions for the wedding and it's over. There are a lot of decisions to make afterwards...the album process is a journey in itself! Anyway, I'm the type of girl that loves weddings, loves marriage proposals, and loves love. So, I figured I would start a blog series called "Wedding Wednesdays." We'll see how reachable it is to followers and along the way I'll notice if this was the right move for me. I'm still having somewhat of a hard time that the wedding is over, so I don't know if this will help or hurt that feeling even more.

My first post is about a favorite proposal video. There are so many great videos that have been shared on the internet, but this one just pulls at my heartstrings. This video was posted on Michael Justin Films blog a few years ago. Michael is a local photographer and videographer in our area and is absolutely amazing. Follow the link above to his website and you'll be blown away. I promise! I fell in love with his work then and I still check his website to watch the beautiful stories he captures. If you're searching for a photographer or videographer, add him to your list!

This was an early video that he shared (he filmed segments but did not edit it). Here is the caption he added on his website:

Today is a special day for us. For the last 5 months, we have been working closely with our good friend John on an idea for his proposal film. He came to us with an elaborate script and a shot list and wanted help telling his story. Over the last 5 months, we met with John, traveled with him around NYC, even to western NJ, and helped him turn his idea into a reality. What you are about to witness is nothing short of amazing — not because we helped film it, but because you’re about to see why we love what we do and why we believe memories like this should be documented. John and his [now] fiancée are a couple you can’t help but love because they’re so in love with each other. Sit back and enjoy this special memory.

Enjoy! :-)

Have you heard about #100happydays or #favepartofday?

Have you heard about #100happydays or #favepartofday? I've noticed many people using these on Instagram and Twitter. Read about them here and challenge yourself to take part in these daily rituals.

100 Happy Days is a website that challenges all cynics out there to see if you can stay happy for 100 days. It's a simple concept, but an important one - pay attention to all that you're grateful for. The website asks you to sign up by providing basic details and then you're ready to take on the challenge! Capture an image of one thing that made you happy each day -- it can be anything from eating your favorite food for dinner to meeting an old friend for coffee or to simply coming home from work after a long day. Capture anything that makes you smile each day!

The website explains:

"We live in times when super-busy schedules have become something to boast about. While the speed of life increases, there is less and less time to enjoy the moment that you are in. The ability to appreciate the moment, the environment, and yourself in it, is the base for the bridge towards long term happiness of any human being. 71% of people tried to complete this challenge, but failed quoting lack of time as the main reason. These people simply did not have time to be happy. Do you?"

#favepartofday is a hashtag that I often see on Twitter. It's very simple... at the end of each day, tweet about the favorite part of your day. Keep it short and sweet. It might be a sentence long, or just a few words. This doesn't require a picture at all.

I noticed this growing trend through Trista Sutter, former ABC Bachelorette and author of Happily Ever After: The Life-Changing Power of a Grateful Heart.

Here's a few that I saw on Twitter tonight:

I hope you try #favepartofday and #100happydays out! :-) 

DIY Projects: Jewelry Organization

My friend Jill and I were talking about our jewelry collections a few weeks ago.  She was telling me how she stores her jewelry, and I told her about this cool piece my dad had made for each my sister and I last year.  We were discussing different ways to organize jewelry, because there are so many ideas on Pinterest! I decided to share my own jewelry organizer, and then give you other ideas for some DIY Jewelry Organization Solutions!

My dad made this jewelry hanger by creating a wood frame and painting it black.  He then created a crushed velvet tufted backing.  Then he attached 2 rows of 6 gold hooks.  I love this because it displays my necklaces nicely, keeps them neat, and they don't get tangled!  I have several vintage pieces that belonged to my grandmother.  Even if they aren't worn often, just seeing them hanging in my bedroom reminds me of her!

Here are some other ideas:

This idea incorporates the use of curtain rods and shower curtain hooks to organize bracelets and necklaces.  The top piece is an inexpensive piece of moulding from Home Depot or Lowes with hooks or nails attached.  

This idea incorporates an old frame, some old hooks and knobs, and some wire screening.  I love the antique/vintage look of this!  The jewelry adds an element of decoration to an already beautiful piece!

You could find this mug holder at any thrift shop.  Paint it and display your jewelry.  Easy enough!

This goes along with Dawn's post yesterday.  Repurpose an old window frame and turn it into a jewelry holder!

I've seen some posts on Pinterest on how to take labels off wine bottles.  I think I may just save them, paint them, and use this idea for my bracelets!  If I end up doing this, I'll be sure to share it with you!!

I hope I was able to inspire you to get that pile of jewelry out of your drawer, and display it for all to see!

Must Have App: Red Stamp

Have you ever heard of Red Stamp? It's an app that allows you to create personalized greeting cards that you can send free digitally via email or text, as well as paid printing services to actually mail your greeting! 

I love this app to say thank you, I'm thinking of you, or happy birthday. They have designs for almost any holiday, celebration or any other time of the year.

Using the app is super easy. You can import photos, change designs and colors.  The creativity is up to you! Check out Red Stamp in the App Store...it's free!

Home Decor: 10 DIY Projects for Your Old Window Frames!

Ok guys, you know I love photos and you know I love DIY projects. So here's another home decor project that I just love... re-purposing old windows!

My fascination with this began about two years ago. I was looking for fun ways to display photos in my home (again!). Something different, something that would stand out, and something that would display more than a few photos. Pinterest became my best friend and I landed on the old window frame idea. Many of my relatives have used old windows in their house, so this wasn't a new idea to me, but I'd never seen the photo idea. Here was the photo from Pinterest that inspired me:

I purchased an old window frame (you can find them at tag sales/estate sales, antique or thrift shops, but check Etsy and eBay too!). I sanded it down, painted it, and then ran sandpaper over it again to give it a distressed look. I placed photos inside using Scotch photo corners and it was complete. It was an easy DIY project and I must say, anyone that walked into our apartment immediately commented on it and said such sweet things! Missing photo alert...

A few months ago, I bought a China cabinet that has now taken up the space for that frame, so it's in desperate need for a new location in my apartment. I'm not sure if I'll keep it the way it is or re-purpose it again? Here are a few ideas that I'm loving (all ideas are from Pinterest):

1. One big photo - I've seen these big photo ideas in so many places. So cheap. Go to Staples, have them enlarge your photo on engineer printing paper for less than five dollars! I love how this black and white photo pops in this frame. Maybe I'll display one gigantic wedding photo. ;)

2. One photo for each piece of glass - I like the idea of having the photo take up the entire glass measurement.

3. Cork board or Chalkboard Fun - Use as an organizer or inspiration board in your office!

4. Mirror - Looks pretty in this nursery!

5. Jewelry Display - so cute and different! 

6. Holiday decor - I love this Christmas display! Adorable!

7. Using window shutters to display cards - Such a great idea and again, so cute! 

8. Quote display - Beautiful idea! 

9. Hang backpacks/coats and display photos with scrapbook paper! Really fun!

10. Coffee table - MY MOST FAVORITE! I want to try! ;) Click here for tutorial. 

I'll keep you updated with how I re-purpose my frame. Maybe my new office is a good location for it? Which project is your favorite that's mentioned above?