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Currently Loving- May 2017

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

I can’t believe that May is almost over! But if that means anything, it means that summer vacation has officially begun.

So, obviously, summer is one of my favorite things about May. Teachers work hard during the nine months we are in school, and when May 25th rolled around for me, I sure was happy to welcome some “me time”.

I’ve got some projects already on the agenda for summer. First is to make and hang my curtains for the living room. I played around with them the other day just to see how I felt about them. I think I’m gonna like it!

That’s right! Some leopard print curtains are possibly making their grand entrance to the living room. I won’t know how I’ll like them until I get them up there, but I think that if I don’t like them in the living room, they just might work perfectly in the bedroom.

Then- I’m still working on how I want them to hang (inside the window as a make-shift roman shade or outside the window as a valence), but I’m hoping to get the kitchen curtains done too! I talked about it a bit here in my kitchen post a bit, and here’s the fabric I’ll be using.

I also hope to fix this painting. I still think it needs something.

Another thing I’m planning to do is finish the, oh, FIVE books I’ve started reading at once. I’m shaking my head at myself as I type. I usually knock out a lot of books in the summer. Last summer was pretty awesome in the book department with some of my favorites being The Nightingale, Me Before You, and Baby Proof. Here’s hoping I finish the five I’m currently reading plus a few more!

A few products I’ve been into lately are dry shampoo and self tanner. Now, it’s not that I’ve just recently in my life discovered these things, it’s just that I would like to share that I’ve found some pretty good options at a great price point.

Dry Shampoo from Dove

I have used both of these and like both of them a lot. I have very oily skin and an oily scalp, so growing up, I had to wash my hair every single day. Had I known about dry shampoo in college……I don’t even want to talk about it. My life would have been so much easier. I usually wash my hair one morning and style it, then I spray in the dry shampoo before I go to bed (when my hair tends to get the oiliest). The next day I only need a few more spritzes when I’m styling my hair. I can usually go two to three days without washing my hair when using the dry shampoo. This stuff is only around $5-$6 at Walmart, so it definitely doesn’t break the bank.

Jergens Self Tanner

I’m as pasty white and pale as they come. I just am. I’ve always been told to just embrace it, but it’s one of those things that annoys me about myself, so I use sunless tanner. Now most people know Jergens for their self tanning lotion. And when they first came out with the lotion, it was a gradual building thing, so you had to use it several days to build up a color. But this mousse stuff is great!

While I was living in Louisiana I was introduced to my still-favorite self tanner by St. Tropez.

I had never used a mousse before, and the formula is SO GOOD. But at $42 a bottle and a $7 mitt to apply it, I always felt guilty about spending so much money on it. I use it a lot in the summer, so I went through it kind of quickly. Then one night it was on QVC and THAT I did not feel bad about! 🙂 But that has been used up, of course, so I was on the look out for something a little easier on the pocketbook. That’s when I found this post by Cassie from Hi Sugarplum. I decided at around $13 a bottle (most mousses aren’t much cheaper than that), I knew I wanted to try it. Then one day I was walking down the clearance aisle at Walmart and found these for $2!

It makes the application so much easier and also keeps your palms from staining. I am very happy with the Jergens mousse, even though the St. Tropez is still my favorite. I don’t feel orange unless I really over apply the tanner (three coats in three days- I don’t recommend that). And it lasts! I last tanned on Monday, and I still have a nice glow today (Sunday).

Some Netflix shows I’ve binge watched this month have been:

13 Reasons Why– Holy heavy stuff! I knew there was a lot of controversy around this show, but someone I worked with told me it was actually really good. I decided to give it a try as I put my students’ scrapbooks together, and I couldn’t stop watching. It’s based off of the book by the same title, but I had never been interested in reading the book. It was a very well-acted show. It was a show full of heavy, intense, graphic content. When it was over, I couldn’t stop talking about it to Paul. Critics said that it glorified suicide. I absolutely did not get that vibe. I did, however, immediately say that I’m not sure I would want my teenager to watch it. Certainly not without my viewing it before they did and maybe even only watching it together. It had several teachable moments, but it was very, very heavy. I keep saying that word. I can’t think of a better one to describe it, though. It was hard to get caught up in it and only think about high school and that age-range. But in all honesty, adults and young children have suicidal thoughts that go unnoticed or ignored. I think if I had to come away with something so heavy in concept and content, I would say that it taught me to be more aware. More aware of the people around me-friends or not. You never know what people are going through, but mostly because you never ask and they don’t tell. Ask. Be a friend. Help them if they need it. Being there for someone can mean so much to someone. Even if it’s a text at the end of the day to see how they’re doing. Just care and be kind to people.

Anne with an E– Okay, let’s lighten things up, shall we? Anne with an E is based on Anne of Green Gables. I did not read this book or the series when I was younger, but as an adult I’ve heard so many people say how wonderful the books were and how great Anne is. I read that this series is a grittier version of the book and previous series and movie. I have never seen those either, so this is my first encounter with Anne Shirley. And she is absolutely delightful! I love the way they talk, and I love how strong she is. It is very women-positive and girl power. Just because you’re a girl doesn’t mean you can’t do anything you want to do. It’s a wonderful story, and I hope they continue with more seasons.

Girlboss– This show got horrible reviews, but I thought the character of Sophia seemed spunky, and she started an internet business, so I was interested. It’s inspired by the book, #Girlboss, and the life of it’s author, Sophie Amoruso. I bought the book at a thrift store not too long ago, but haven’t read it yet. So, the series seemed like a fun way to get introduced to the Girlboss world. It was just that-fun. It wasn’t fantastic, but I enjoyed it. She’s a tough chick that doesn’t take any crap from anybody and works her tail off to achieve her goals. That was my takeaway from the show- work hard and it’ll pay off.

Okay, one last favorite.

I am a long-time lover of HGTV and especially Fixer Upper, but when this one came on the map, I knew I wanted to give it a go. I’ll be honest and say I thought it was going to be a worse version of Chip and Jo, because how does it get better than those two? But, y’all, I am so glad I did! I think these two are such a sweet couple, and dang is he a talented wood worker. I need a piece of furniture built by Ben and a painting by Erin ASAP! I don’t think I share exactly the same style as Erin when it comes to interior design, but that’s what makes the world go ’round, right? She has a great eye and sees things I could never see. She talked about a green roof with green trim on one house they did a few episodes ago, and I thought, ew! And then the reveal happened, and it was one of my favorites. That’s talent, y’all. I know most people are watching this already, but I just wanted to give it a shout out. If you’re not, check out HGTV on Tuesday nights at 9:00. And DVR those old episodes to see what else they’ve done. You won’t be disappointed!

Oh wait! I know I said that was the last one, but just one more! Paul turned 30 this month!!! He didn’t really want too much by way of birthday parties or huge celebrations or anything, but I couldn’t let his birthday happen without making his feel a bit special, so I woke up extra early and blew up 30 balloons to cover the living room floor. I hung streamers on the bedroom door frame so that when he opened the door when he woke up, he’d get a surprise. I baked him brownies for breakfast, and I put a 30 pack of beer in the fridge with more balloons. He sent me this Snap Chat after he woke up.

Happy 30th again, babe! I love you, and you were totally worth the almost passing out from blowing up 30 balloons. 🙂

Thanks for sticking around with me and this long post. I’ve had lots of favorite things about the month of May. Here’s hoping you had a marvelous May and that June is even better!

Painting DIY Fail

I have been getting really tired with my blank walls. And with summer break a mere five days away, I’ve been planning some ways to spruce up my home.

I always start with Pinterest when I’m looking for inspiration for home decor, and this time was no different. I have been wanting to put something on the walls in the dining area of the apartment.

I searched for something that would “go” if I decided to do a piece on each wall. Something that would match but wouldn’t be too matchy matchy. I didn’t have much luck searching for something like that, but I did find one piece I like.

I tend to gravitate toward abstract art, so while searching Pinterest I found this one.

Well it just so happens that I already own two square canvases that I got when Paul and I got married. They were one of those mass-produced canvases that came from Bed Bath and Beyond. Well, when we were living in our house in Louisiana, I decided I didn’t like them anymore, and I decided to paint over them. I decided to not use them as a set so I painted different things on each one. I was a little obsessed with the dalmatian print that I was seeing all over Pinterest. I saw it as art, bedding, and lots of fabrics. I still see things upholstered in that print all the time. It’s quite beautiful and maybe even better in blue and also in pink. 🙂 So, this was one. And the other one……….

Yeah….so….if you’ll let me, I’ll tell you the story behind this. When Paul and I got married, his brother, Ben, wrote us a song. Composed the music and wrote the lyrics-the whole 9. I love it, and it is so special and personal and the coolest thing to have your very own song! But y’all, this was a terrible idea to think that I could free hand anything pretty onto something that would hang on wall, especially not the lyrics to our song. I should never have done it, and it’s definitely the one that got used for this current paint fail. Maybe it’s the canvas. Not the girl who has ZERO experience in painting. Ha!

I mentioned here that I was working on a painting project that I had hoped to share with you before Mother’s Day. But, of course, other things got in the way and the canvas sat half-way painted on this table for (shamefully) weeks. Once I set my mind to it, though, I finished it. Here’s the end result.

Womp womp.

Before I rip it to shreds I’ll say this: I like the way the blue turned out. I like the way it’s darker in some places than others. (Is that what artists call dimension? Or depth? Or just that I need to add another coat?) But I feel like it needs something. Paul said I need to put a word in it, but we see how that turned out in the picture of the song lyrics. Nope.

Another thing I liked about the one I found on Pinterest was the gold frame. I decided instead of a frame I would just paint the sides of the canvas gold. I really like this part, but I wish you could see the gold more head on.

Another thing I’m not sure that I like is the amount of blue in this space. Blue is definitely one of my favorite colors. Probably my most favorite color if I had to choose, but perhaps there really can be too much of a good thing.

I’m living with it for now to see if it grows on me or if I’m inspired by what I’d like to add to it.

I guess it’s not a total fail. It is a completed project, after all. I’m not sure what I’ll add to the other wall of this little nook. I originally wanted to do two similar abstracts, but now I’m not so sure.

If you’re like me and like to try your hand at new things, I hope this is encouraging in some weird way. Even if you mess up a little or fail miserably, don’t give up! I may not be satisfied with what I’ve turned out, but I did it, and I can fix it. And let’s face it, if I can’t fix it, there are always local artists or Etsy shops or my current favorite store, At Home, that can come to the rescue.

So, of course, I want to know what you think. What should I add? Is it fine as it is? Let me know in the comments. Have a great week, everyone!

Thursday Thoughts- End of School Thoughts

It’s the end of the school year for us teachers and students. I can feel the excitement and the energy absolutely radiating off of the kids. This meme I posted to my Instagram this time last year:

Yep, still true.

Happy Thursday, folks!

Happy Mother’s Day

Mothers are extraordinary beings. I’ve never quite figured it out. Probably because I’m not one. I know that I want to be a mother one day, but the very idea of it has been known to send a shock of panic through me.

I used to just think about there being a baby that I had to care for, but then one day I started thinking about the fact that those little babies grow up, drive cars, date people, and eventually leave you to go to college. I had a major aversion to motherhood the day I had those thoughts. How could someone subject themselves to that kind of panic and lack of control over something else? How could someone afford another car payment and college tuition and then maybe even a wedding? How could someone give up a part of their heart like that? These women are crazy!

But if you think about it a little bit, they actually aren’t crazy. They are kind, giving, selfless, patient, believing, trusting, sacrificing, teaching, and loving. Mothers are superstars. Mothers are amazing. Mothers are inspiring.

I have a mother who loved me, trusted me (even when I betrayed that trust), disciplined me, taught me, gave up things (so many things) for me, was patient with me, prayed for me, and believed in me. She still does all of these things.

I have a mother-in-law who loves me, trusts me, teaches me, gives up things for me, prays for me, believes in me, heck, she’s probably even disciplined me!

I’m one of the lucky ones. Not everyone gets a good mother. Not everyone gets a mother at all. I’ve got two really great ones in my life. I’ve had more. So many mother figures in my life in the form of friends’ mothers, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and coworkers. Each one has shaped me into the person that I am today. Each has influenced me, whether good or bad, and for that I’m grateful.

Dads can be mothers too. Sometimes life deals you that hand, and to those dads pulling double duty, Happy Mother’s Day to you, too.

There are even mothers out there who haven’t had their babies yet, but they know that they are mothers deep down. The ones that maybe are struggling to get their family to take shape. The ones who are waiting for that phone call or email that says to come get your baby. The ones who are just waiting for the right time because they know now isn’t it.

I’m amazed all the time at mothers. The things they can handle. The things they can get through. The things they can do. The way they cook. They way they clean. The way they can multitask. The way everything always seems to get done. But most importantly, while doing all of those things (and more), it’s the way they love that gets me the most.

Mothers are extraordinary beings.

Happy Mother’s Day to all.

Porch- Before

It’s that time of year where I’m in the end-of-the-year teacher mode which, unfortunately, comes with other things that take precedence over projects for the house.

Case in point: I’ve started a painting project that is taking an unnecessarily long amount of time, but I’m hoping to put my nose to the grinder (or is it grindstone?) and get it done this week after school. Fingers crossed that that actually happens and that I’m sharing it with you next week!

I’ve also been scheming a design plan for my back porch. I’ve purchased two things already to be used for the “after”, but I haven’t quite gotten to putting any of it to use yet.

I’m showing you the before of the porch today. It’s a mess, and I’m almost embarrassed to show you just how bad it is, but I’m pretty real here on the blog, so here it is…pollen-caked table, dead ferns, and all. This bar cart was something my parents had on their back porch that wasn’t getting much use, so I happily took it off their hands. I had it inside at our house in Louisiana, but it lives outside here and clearly doesn’t do anything useful. That’ll be changing soon. We’ve had this table set for nearly seven years, so it needs some love and sprucing up.

Bernie just can’t help herself. She’s always getting in the shot.

Isn’t it a mess? Oh my goodness! *Insert face palm emoji.* You can see that it’s an area of our home that’s been pretty neglected. We spend a decent amount of time out here supervising the dogs so that they don’t run away when they have to do their business, but I’d like to spend even more time out here now that the weather is pretty warm. And once things look pretty, well why wouldn’t I be out here more? 🙂

So here’s a sneak peak at what started the design wheels turning in my head.

Isn’t it great? I am having quite the moment with pineapples; I totally jumped in head first on that trend. I also love pink, and let’s be honest, that is one pink doormat, but I knew I had to have it when I saw it and saw that it was on sale for $10!

I have a lot to do (and clean), but I really want to be able to enjoy this space this summer. So that’s where I’ll be for the rest of the month-cleaning up, organizing, planting, rearranging, etc. Can’t wait to share the “after” with y’all.

Currently Loving- April 2017

April has been a fun month. For starters, it’s my birthday month. I am not really a huge birthday celebrator. I tend to play the “birthday card” when it’s convenient for me. (Can we have pizza for dinner? Will you bring me a glass of wine? – Basically when I need something and feel too lazy to do it myself, I ask Paul to do it.) 🙂 But I never want a big party, and I don’t care what people give me. I don’t need presents. Like my dad has always said, it’s just another day. I still have to get up and go to work more often than not and go about my daily business. However, I am very blessed and have people in my life who love me and made me feel very special. I turned 31 and had a fabulous birthday weekend spent with family, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. All I wanted was cheese dip, tacos, and fruit pizza. And I’ll be danged if I didn’t get it!

School celebration for our joint birthday party

I even got peanut M&Ms from one student and a pair of earrings from another. How sweet were they? I even got two birthday dinners. (Tacos were lunch.) My family cooked for us on Saturday night a scrumptious dinner and that awesome fruit pizza. Then on Sunday, I got steak, a baked potato, and a chocolate pie. I felt very spoiled and very full. It truly was a great weekend. Thank you to my wonderful families and to my husband for always making me feel special not just on my birthday but everyday.

Switching gears to products- A few things I’m loving lately in the realm of beauty products is a new company I’ve discovered called Beauty Counter. Beauty Counter is a safer beauty company that doesn’t use harsh chemicals that are found in virtually all of our cosmetics and skin care. I am slowly (very slowly) but surely making the switch to these safer products, and so far, I’m in love. I purchased the Charcoal Bar for washing my face. I use it both in the morning when I wake up and at night. Some nights, if I’m extra lazy, I use it to remove my makeup and cleanse my face. But most nights I use coconut oil to remove my makeup and then wash with the Charcoal Bar.

When I bought the bar, I heard wonderful things about this Charcoal Mask. Now, it’s not like the scary charcoal masks you’ve seen all over Facebook that pull the blackheads out of your face and make you cry in the removal process, but it is a cleansing, detoxifying, smoothing mask that leaves my face (every single time) feeling smoother and softer than I’ve ever felt it. I have extremely oily skin, and I believe these two products were some of the best ones for my skin type in this company’s line of skin care.

There are so many products I’d like to try. They can be pricey, but they have nice incentives and a little goes a long way with all of their products. My consultant said she was on month 3 or something of the one bar of soap. That’s a long time for daily use of a bar of soap. I’ve had mine for about a month and have so much left. Also, I haven’t even put a dent in the mask. It’s going to last a while for sure.

I ordered their sunscreen this week during their special they were running for the best sellers. (I think it ended, but it’s worth popping over to see if it’s still going on.) Did y’all know about all the harmful chemicals in sunscreen? Whoa!

Beauty Counter Protective Allover Sunscreen

Because I ordered during the sale, I am receiving a full sized mascara with the purchase of my sunscreen. I can’t wait to use it!

If you are reading this and want to place an order, my consultant is a friend from Louisiana, and she is wonderful! She would love to help you. Her website is found here. She can also be found on Facebook. Feel free to message her for more details and info. Or if you want to know more from me about how my products are working out, let me know and I’ll hook you up with Kelly.

April, well actually March, brought on a serious battle with my allergies. I haven’t lived in Alabama for 8 years, so I’ve gotten used to the changing of seasons in Louisiana. Y’all, when I tell you I couldn’t breathe for two months, I’m not kidding. I take a daily allergy pill and have for several years now, but nothing, and I mean nothing, was stopping this! I even did the Netty Pot. (Perhaps the most unpleasant thing I’ve ever endured.) I’ve been known to be a little stubborn, so I finally went to see Dr. Slagley. He fixed me right up with a shot (miracle working stuff right there) and all the other meds I needed to get well. And within two days I could breathe through my nose again. I have thanked God so much for that since I’ve been able to do it. I will never take it for granted again. Thank you, Dr. Slagley. I’m sure I was the 1,000th patient of yours that came in with these same symptoms, but I’m well now.

Say hello to the countdown to summer. I’m so stoked! One of the perks of being a teacher is definitely having summers off. That doesn’t mean we don’t work hard during the school year. We totally earn our break. I do love the kids and will miss them, but this teacher loves her summers.

It was my first year being able to attend Putting on the Ritz, and I’m so happy I was able to. Putting on the Ritz is a local production featuring all local talent from top to bottom, on stage and behind the scenes, directors, costume designers, choreographers, everything. The talent here is just wonderful. There are so many talented children too. One little red head, in particular was stealing the show with his stellar dance moves. This year’s theme was An Evening of Pure Imagination and had a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory theme for many of the numbers. Other acts were tributes to those gone on before us like David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, and Merle Haggard to name a few, The Beatles, there was a fun Vogue number, and even a performance by the youth featuring the song from Trolls, “I Will Get Back Up Again” (I love that song 🙂 ). Maybe my favorite one was Tom Jones. Those sparkly pants and wig! So fun! Mr. Tommy did an amazing job, and I laughed a lot.

My father-in-law was in a quintet with some very talented musicians doing the tribute and sang Merle Haggard’s, “Mama Tried” wonderfully.

There were two other performers that truly blew me away with their talent and that’s Joseph Longmire and LaTonya Johnson. Holy cow, y’all! I hope they are in the Putting on the Ritz for many years to come. He has such a smooth voice, and the boy can dance! And LaTonya is a powerhouse. She sang “You Don’t Own Me” and that’s the dang truth. Don’t nobody own her! She proved that when she belted at the end of the song. I was so into their performances that I didn’t get any video or pictures of them, but trust me, they are fabulous.

All of the people involved in getting this thing put together deserve so much praise. I mean, this was so fun to see local people come out to just have a good time and enjoy other local people putting their talent out there at our very own Ritz Theater. If you have never been, next year is a must. My first year was great!

Easter was this month. I always enjoy Easter. I was able to go to church with my parents. Paul is always working on Easter, it seems. When will golf courses learn to close on Easter Sundays? If you can close for Jesus’ birth, you can close for Jesus’ resurrection. Anyway…….I quite enjoyed the day with my parents and the day before we had our Easter celebration with Paul’s family. We dyed eggs and hid them for the children and ate a very yummy dinner. I’m so enjoying being able to spend this time with family. I’ve missed it these past 8 years. It’s so good to be home.

Our community has suffered a tremendous loss therefore making April one of the worst months of many people’s lives. But one of my other April favorites is the way our town, community, schools, churches, etc have come together to rally around a family and a group of teenagers that lost a friend and loved one much too soon. I’m not sure how I would have reacted if I had been in their shoes at such a young and impressionable age, but I know that there has been such an outpouring of love from them to each other and for them from the community. It’s still very early in the stages of grief for these young people and for this family, but I know that because they are such a close bunch, they will get through this. And they’ll get through it together. Their bond will forever be strong and deep-rooted. I hope they carry that with them for the rest of their lives and look back on the happy memories of their friend. I know the pain is indescribable, but I’m thankful for the people of this community who come together to take care of their own. It’s truly inspiring and a testament to how special this person was. Though I didn’t know him or his family personally, I’ll be praying for them and his friends, and I ask that if you’re reading this, you’ll say a prayer for them too.

On a happy note, spring is a time for new things. April brought lots of new things to my life. Every month seems new to me in this old/new town of mine. I look forward to what May has to bring, and I wish you a happy May as well.

Thursday Thoughts- Let’s Go to the Movies

Happy Thursday and welcome back to Thursday Thoughts.

2017 is shaping up to be a good year for movies. I have found some great trailers for some of the upcoming movies and wanted to share the ones I’m most excited about.

First up- The Zookeeper’s Wife. I love a period piece. And Jessica Chastain is such a wonderful actress. I’m looking forward to seeing this movie. It tells the true story of Antonina Zabinska, a Polish zookeeper’s wife, who hides Jewish people from German soldiers in her zoo during WWII.

Next up- The Circle. I think this movie seems intriguing. I stated in an earlier post that I loved movies. All kinds. I know this one in cult-ish, but the cast looks pretty stellar. From the trailer I gather that this is a story of a girl, May, that gets a job at The Circle. Everyone that works there tends to know everything about her and her family, the good and the bad. It seems the people closest to her (family and friends) wonder if her involvement with The Circle is a good thing.

The Shack. I had every intention of reading this book during the month of April and seeing the movie before it left theaters here, but I was lent another book that I really wanted to read too, so I put The Shack on the back burner. I’m excited to pick it up, though, and I intend to before I see the movie. This story is about a man who endures a very difficult and traumatic event in his life and is visited by God. I’m told this book is life-changing and quite beautiful. I’ve talked to people who saw the movie, and I’ve heard nothing but good reviews. I’ll probably grab this one from Redbox, but I’m excited to see it nonetheless.

The Case for Christ. I am a big fan of the movies that the company, Pure Flix, puts out. God’s Not Dead was one of them. I am a Christian and believe in the Bible and the gospel of Jesus Christ, so these movies are always wonderfully thought provoking and inspiring. They are so full of truth, and I always walk away feeling like I have been blessed. God definitely has his hand in these films. I’m feeling like this is true for The Case for Christ as well since I learned that two of the songs on the soundtrack are from the band, The Church Vessel, of The Church in St. Amant. This is the church I attended in Louisiana, and their album, Rekindle, is amazing. It is perfect worship music, and it’s great music to play during your quiet time if you’d really like to take it to another level. The songs are powerful and annointed. I think it is amazing that they will be performed on a platform for so many people to experience. Those people will be blessed, no doubt about it. The movie looks quite interesting.

Wonder Woman. There’s no doubt in my mind that the only reason I want to see this is because it is a woman superhero. I can take or leave all of the other comic book, superhero movies. I haven’t seen any of them, I don’t think. Maybe bits and pieces here and there, but I’m not one that has to go to the theater to see them all. But when I saw the trailer for this one, I thought, I’d like to see this one in the theater. How beautiful does her home land look? And hello, Chris Pine! He’s so dang cute. Paul and I saw the trailer for it when we went to see Beauty and the Beast. When I turned to him and nodded my head and widened my eyes with approval and excitement, he met my expression with a furrowed brow, a shake of the head, and a, “nah, I don’t think so”. (Insert eye roll.) Looks like I’ll be going solo for this one.

The Book of Henry. This movie looks a little dark and scary, but I am very drawn to it. It stars Maddie Ziegler. If there are any other Dance Mom fans out there, you’ll know who I’m talking about. I will say I haven’t watched it in many seasons, but I did watch it for 3 or so seasons. Crazy ladies! No doubt that Maddie is a talented dancer, and I believe we’ll get to see her dance in this one. This movie is about a boy, Henry, who lives with his mom and brother and seems to be gifted in some way. He learns that Maddie’s character, his next door neighbor, is being hurt by her stepfather and decides to do something about it. Looks intense.

Gifted. I have seen this movie advertised lately, and it looks so good! Chris Evans’ character is caring for his niece and people are trying to take her away. She is a very gifted child, but he wants to keep her childhood “normal”. It looks inspiring and uplifting. I’m looking forward to this one.

Ferdinand. I am so excited for this movie. It is one of my very favorite children’s books. There will be more elements added to the story to make it long enough to be a movie, but I love this story overall. I’m so glad that children will get to experience it. In my 9 years of teaching, there hasn’t been one class when the majority of the students had no clue who Ferdinand was and had never heard this beautiful story. It’s a lovely tale of not having to be what everyone thinks you should be. It’s okay to just be you even if you’re the biggest, baddest bull in Spain and all you like to do is just sit and smell the flowers.

Tulip Fever. This was a book I was actually interested in reading. I just haven’t gotten around to that because it’s number 1,927,462,938 on my to-be-read list. However, I’ll watch this one before reading the book. It looks so scandalous. And again, I love a period piece.

Same Kind of Different as Me. This looks like a feel good movie. I really like Greg Kinnear, and this one doesn’t look like it’s going to disappoint. Just the trailer reminds me to look beyond the surface. The title eludes to the notion that people are so complex and deep. It’s good to pay attention to that.

And finally……Pitch Perfect 3!! I was perhaps the last person to jump on board the original Pitch Perfect bandwagon. (Not sure why…but I was.) I watched Pitch Perfect 2 in theaters with my neighbor in Louisiana, Megan, and we laughed our heads off and, remember Megan, we were the only ones in the theater. See…

Anyway, I always watch the movies when they’re on TV. I even have the Pitch Perfect station on my Pandora. I can’t wait for this new one. There’s no trailer yet, but there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll be in for lots of laughs and some great tunes.

I’m definitely looking forward to being able to see these movies this year. Are there any others coming out that you’re excited about that you didn’t see here? I kind of want to see The Boss Baby. That one looks pretty funny. How can you not love Alec Baldwin?

I hope that everyone has had a great week. Here’s to tomorrow being Friday and to a great weekend!

Thursday Thoughts- What I’ve Read Lately

Welcome back to Thursday Thoughts! I decided to not post on Sunday since it was Easter. It’s a pretty important day, and I just didn’t feel right about “promoting myself” on such a sacred day. I hope that y’all were able to spend some time with family and with Jesus.

**Note** I started this post with the intention of telling you about several of the books I’ve read lately. This book was first on my list, and I couldn’t stop writing about it. It meant a lot to me and for whatever reason, the words just poured out. Perhaps someone out there needs to know that this book exists. I don’t know. All I do know is that I felt compelled to only share about this particular book. I hope that your week has been better than mine. (Perhaps that’s why I was only able to get words out about this book.) It’s been a tough week for some reason. Anywho, I hope you enjoy today’s post and hope that your Friday is delightful!

Lately I’ve been reading a lot. I have been reading every morning during my quiet time/devotion, and I’ve been listening to audio books like they are about to disappear off of the planet. Since I’ve been reading so much, I thought I’d share in case any of you are looking for something new.

Discerning the Voice of God– Priscilla Shirer

I borrowed this book from my dear friend, Christy. She snapped a picture of a page from the book and sent it to me one day. I told her I hadn’t read that book before, but I do love me some Priscilla (Fevernt and War Room, anybody? That movie was amazing!), so she was kind enough to lend it to me.

Honestly, I didn’t think I needed this book. I felt like I had been hearing from God just fine without a book to tell me how to do it. Wouldn’t you know that as soon as I opened the book, all sorts of “bad” was after me. I kid you not! I read this book during my morning devotion time, which is in the very early, dark hours of the morning. It’s just me and Jesus, and I prefer it that way. But reading this book was an invitation for the devil to make me so stinking tired the moment I cracked open my Bible. There were mornings that I would start reading my Bible and accompanying devotion, and I would nod off to sleep, like instantly! There were days I didn’t even get to Discerning the Voice of God.

But those mornings that I did….y’all… God is so good. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed from moving back to Alabama, it is that my relationship with God has changed. And not necessarily for the good. I left a great church that I really, really liked. I was starting to get involved and had my routine of how my weeks would play out with church now involved in my schedule. So moving here threw everything out of whack. My quiet times weren’t spent in the prayer closet I had made for myself because now I don’t have a closet I can walk into. I don’t even have a spare corner in this apartment. Needless to say, this book couldn’t have come at a better time. God knew I needed it because I couldn’t hear from him like I used to. Because I was falling asleep while he was trying to talk to me! 🙂

I am so thankful for people like Priscilla Shirer (and countless others) who have shared so much in book form about their relationship with God and how to follow him. There’s no better tool than the Bible to help you on that journey, but I know that the Bible seems old fashioned and confusing to some people, so it helps to have a “guide”.

I guess my point in writing this post is to share that God is great. He meets you right where you are and right when you need Him most. We knew moving back to Alabama was for a reason. And unfortunately it’s been a reason that hasn’t necessarily been pleasant. We’ve lost four family members in the short time that we’ve been here. But God knew that our families needed us. God knew that we wouldn’t have been able to attend all of the funerals and family gatherings if we were still in Louisiana. So, maybe not all of the time we’ve been back has been good, but it’s been because of God. I knew He was speaking to us when people told us about possible job openings here in Alabama. I knew that it was God speaking when we were told we could move into this apartment. And I knew it was God speaking when Christy sent me that picture of this book. He spoke to her too to offer it to me, and she listened. I’m so glad she did!

If you need to hear from God, please get this book. It won’t be the answer to your problems, but it will teach you ways to have your ear inclined to Him. To listen with the ears of your heart and not just the ears on your head. It’s chock full of scripture and powerful stories, personal and biblical, that are explained to even the most elementary of Bible students. A warning, though: be prepared to have all kinds of things get in your way. It’ll probably seem like every time you sit down to read a chapter that something will happen to get you to not read. Deal with the situation and go right back to reading. God doesn’t put stuff like this in people’s lives unless they are intended for a good purpose. And the devil don’t like that! But push through and do it anyway; you will be blessed.

Thursday Thoughts- Movies

Welcome back to Thursday Thoughts!

Today I’ll be sharing my 10 favorite movies. If you’re not a movie lover, we can’t be friends. I’m kidding! Paul is not a movie lover at all, and I still keep him around. 🙂 For real though, I love movies. I love cartoons, dramas, comedies, romantic comedies, musicals, thrillers, old movies, new movies, kid movies, black and white movies…pretty much all movies except for horror movies. I’m too chicken to watch those. I used to, but like I mentioned about The Grudge in this post, I’m just not cut out for all that. Not to mention, who wants that bad juju in their house? Not me. Let’s get to it, shall we?

The Family Stone– I can’t say enough how much I love this movie. I absolutely love a story about a dysfunctional family. And the cast in this movie is just phenomenal. Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Rachel McAdams, Claire Danes, and Luke Wilson just to name a few. The eldest son, Everett (Dermot Mulroney), is bringing home his girlfriend, Meredith (SJP), for Christmas. His sister, Amy (Rachel McAdams), has already met her and hates her, so naturally, she’s already told everyone how awful she is. It turns out to be am awkward introduction to the family and an even more awkward few days as Christmas approaches. I kind of love the awkwardness about it, though. It surely makes for a very entertaining story. The house that the Stone family lives in is just gorgeous. Diane Keaton said in an interview that she hated the cluttered mess of the house and how lived-in it was, but it was such a great feature to the movie. It was totally believable that all of those kids grew up in that home and were coming back to a place of comfort and familiarity for a few days. It was superb acting for sure, and you should definitely check it out if you’ve never seen it. And here’s another fun fact, the music is AMAZING. In the scene when Diane Keaton’s character looks out the window while it’s snowing, there is orchestral music playing. That bit of music was playing as I walked down the aisle. So, yeah, it’s safe to say that I have a real love for many things about this movie. Go watch it!

A League of Their Own– Who doesn’t love this movie? “There’s no crying in baseball!” Don’t we all know that part? This is a movie I can pretty much quote from start to finish. I watched it so many times as a kid. I could sing “It Had to be You” just like Marla did when she was drunk at the bar. I can still sing “We’re the members of the All-American League. We come from cities near and far. We’ve got Canadians, Irish ones, and Swedes. We’re all for one. We’re one for all. We’re all American.” I could go on, but I won’t. Gena Davis and Tom Hanks are obviously the stars of the movie, but the whole cast was just incredible. Despite how things have progressed for Rosie O’Donnell, and despite what your current opinion of her may be, I still would want to go up to her and ask to go have a “steak dinnah” with her just so we could talk about her experience filming that movie. I may have never giggled so hard on a film before than when Jimmy Dougan goes into the bathroom before their first game and pees for forever in front of all the girls. I remember being embarrassed to watch that with my mom and dad because I didn’t want to laugh too hard and them think badly of me. But it was so dang funny!

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes– It’s no secret to people who know me that I’m a Marilyn Monroe fan. I used to be quite obsessed and had two posters of her hanging in my bedroom, a purse with her pictures on it, a book chronicling her life in pictures (I probably still have this), and several of her movies. She was so beautiful and sexy and blonde, and I just wanted to be her. The movie is a musical, which is maybe my favorite genre of film, and I don’t care what people say about her not having a good voice. I loved it. “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” is an iconic song and has never been covered as well as she sang it in my opinion. She is known for being irresponsible and some might have said a pain to work with, but the end result was always amazing. She was a great talent gone too soon.

Funny Girl– Another musical to add to the list. Barbra Streisand. Need I say more? The woman is other-worldly talented. Fanny Brice is a wonderfully complicated, quirky, strong, funny girl. She goes after what she wants and holds on for dear life until she gets it. And she sings one of the greatest love songs of all time, “My Man”. I cry and cry every single time. It’s a long one with an actual intermission in the film but please do yourself a favor and watch it.

Elf– Okay, I love me some Christmas movies. But who doesn’t love this? This is such a funny movie with so many great quotes. Every year during the Christmas season two of my friends from Louisiana, Tina and Rochelle, and I get our group text going when one of us is currently watching Elf and we all proceed to text quotes back and forth to each other. We are grown women, but we always laugh about this movie, and quite frankly, I hope we never stop doing that.

When Harry Met Sally– I just love this movie. I think that Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan were so great together. I know Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks are another great pairing, but this movie was my favorite of the Meg Ryan trio (When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail). I love that Harry and Sally are practically enemies when they meet and drive to NYC and then come together as friends later in their lives. It’s was a unique take on how two people fell in love. One of the greats.

The Way We Were– More Barbra. Katie and Hubbell, the song, the fashion, her hair, heck his hair, Robert Redford. Watch it. That is all. (Seriously, y’all…look at these pictures. They are two of the most beautiful people ever. So many heart eyes for their gorgeousness, their work, and this movie.)

“Your girl is lovely, Hubbell.” Google Images

Singing in the Rain– I love this movie so much. I think Gene Kelly was one of the most handsome men there ever was. And what a talent? He could sing and dance and act-total triple threat. Also, the late Debbie Reynolds was perfect as Cathy. I thought she was so pretty and “Good Morning” is one of my favorite numbers from the movie. (The girl can dance!) I always play the clips of “Make ‘Em Laugh”, “Good Morning”, and “Singing in the Rain” for my students every year as a get-to-know-me exercise. At the beginning of the year we are learning a lot about each other and I let them know that I like movies, especially musicals, through this movie. “Make ‘Em Laugh” is always their favorite. 🙂

The Harry Potter Franchise– I know this is technically more than one movie, but I am a fan of the whole franchise, so I had to include them. Paul and I watched the movies when we first got married (up through The Deathly Hallows Part 1). We were able to go see The Deathly Hallows Part 2 in theaters, and I was so excited to be an actual HP fan going to the movies to see it. I don’t know why I never jumped on the bandwagon when I was a kid and the books were coming out, but I just didn’t. After watching all the movies I decided to get all the books and spent a year or so reading all of them. To say I loved them is an understatement. I think that I really enjoy the fact that you become so invested in the characters and the story line when you’re reading the books or watching the movies for that matter. And once you get into it, everything and everyone becomes familiar. The movies were so well made and the actors were just expertly cast. I don’t have to tell you this. If you’re a Potter fan, you already know.

The Holiday– Nancy Meyers is a fabulous film maker and has a fun Instagram account with behind-the-scenes looks from the movies she is currently filming. I believe she’s just wrapped one called Home Again that stars Reese Witherspoon. Can’t wait to see more about that one. And let’s not forget Something’s Got to Give and It’s Complicated. Both hilarious! This movie was just fun for me. I love a good romantic comedy, and Cameron Diaz and Jack Black in the same movie? Comedy gold. Let’s not forget how gorgeous Jude Law is and how stupidly talented Kate Winslet is. Everything she does is phenomenal to me, and she didn’t win that Oscar for nothing. I enjoyed the interesting concept of switching houses with someone half way around the world. I would have definitely reacted the same way Iris did when she got to Amanda’s house in L.A. It was incredible. However, I totally loved the English cottage. It’s pretty adorable. The soundtrack is fantastic too. I considered a song from this movie to be played at my wedding as well. And I may have (more than once) taken a picture of Cameron Diaz from that movie into the salon to get her haircut. Most people have seen this, but if you’ve been living under a rock for the last, oh 10 years, watch it when it comes on TBS or Freeform at Christmas.

BONUS: I’m a huge Adam Sandler fan. So just about any of his movies are ones that I’m almost always going to sit and watch. I did it today when Blended was on tv. There’s another great movie pairing: Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler. I didn’t so much care for You Don’t Mess with the Zohan and never saw Little Nicky or Anger Management. But I feel like those weren’t his best anyway. Give me Billy Madison, The Wedding Singer, Big Daddy, Grown Ups, or Just Go With It any day. He’s hilarious. I even loved him in Spanglish.

I hope you’ve seen some of these movies already or maybe now you’ll add a few to your To-Be-Watched list. These aren’t all the movies I’ve enjoyed. I quite enjoyed the new Beauty and the Beast, and I really love Annie, and I kind of like The Blind Side (okay, not kind of…I REALLY like that one). And let’s not forget The Help and The Sound of Music and Trolls and Sweet Home Alabama and Mrs. Doubtfire. I could go on and on and on. Like the quote above by Laura Dern, I love movies. They have this ability to take you away to a completely different world (The Hunger Games) and inspire you (War Room) and make you sad (Steel Magnolias) or happy (The Little Rascals) or want to sing (Pitch Perfect 1 and 2) and some even make you feel alive (Life is Beautiful). Again, I love movies. I hope you do too.

I hope Friday treats you well (extra well if you get the day off) and that you have a great weekend! Happy Easter!

Crafty Earring DIY

I follow quite a bit of fashion and beauty bloggers and YouTubers, and lately, I’ve been seeing these earrings pop up in a few places.

I instantly fell in love with them, sourced them out, and went to place my order. I found they were at one of my favorite jewelry websites, Baublebar, but they had to be pre-ordered and they were $38. In the grand scheme of things $38 isn’t really that much money, but if you follow me on Instagram, you know that I love myself a good Walmart clearance deal. I’ve also linked several more budget friendly jewelry retailers in a previous post. See, I’ve always been told I have champagne taste on a beer budget. And right now my budget is not willing to pay for much more than Natural Light. So, to me $38 made me initially go, “Aw man.” As I did the back and forth of “do I really need these?”, “but they are so cute”, “no one is going to have these”, “but they are nearly $40-especially after taxes and shipping”, “they are definitely an indulgence”, etc…I realized that they were made of thread. And then I thought, I’m kind of crafty. I used to cross stitch when I was a kid, so I know my way around a needle and thread. I can absolutely MAKE these! Luckily, I had a similarly shaped pair of earrings (that I got on clearance at Walmart), but I hadn’t been wearing them lately, so I decided they were getting up-cycled.

My Granny has recently passed away, and she was a bit of a “collector”-of lots of things. One of these things being thread. *Thank you, Granny!* My mom also has a rather large collection because she likes to sew and used to do her fair share of cross stitching too. I asked to peruse her collection, but she brought over two large containers from my Granny that just so happened to have the perfect colors and plenty of each one.

I started out with the black and white pattern around the earrings.

I got a little carried away and cut the thread early on after I had tied knots, but I underestimated how much I had to handle the earrings, and they promptly fell apart. So, back to square one. Live and learn, right?

I decided to leave long strands to tighten again if needed. Once I had it completely wrapped, I made sure the knots were tight, cut the excess string, and Superglued the ends down to the back. I tried to make it as nice looking as possible, but since the backs don’t really show, I wasn’t too worried about it.

You know when you set out to do a task, especially a DIY, and you think that it’ll take like an hour, maybe two? Yeah, I thought this too, but it took me all dang day and then the next afternoon to complete these things. So, when I got one completely done in black and white, I was super excited.

My Aunt Rena told me that it was fairly simple to make a tassel. I followed her instructions of wrapping the thread around something (my two fingers), cutting the bottom to open up the loop, pulling up the top a bit and wrapping a sting of the same color around to make the tassel. It really was simple. But then as I looked back at the original earrings, I saw how many I had to make. Holy cow!

I made them according to the picture but ended up not needing them all. I made up my pattern of tassels and laid them out to see if I liked it. I did. Then I had to decide how to attach the tassels to the base. This is when I went to bed. My brain had had enough.

When I got back to work, I thought I might need some jewelry wire, but turns out I could thread the tassels together using white or black thread (I chose white). I then wrapped the extra around the part of the earring that was already wrapped in white and Superglued it to make it secure.

I also added a little Superglue along the bottom of the base so that the tops of the tassels would lay flush to it.

I think they turned out cute. I have enjoyed wearing them, and though they don’t look exactly like the originals, I think they are pretty darn close. I also love the fact that I didn’t have to pay a dime (except maybe $2.00 for the actual earrings when I originally bought them).

If you’re still reading by now, I want to say that I wrote this post to show that just because you may have expensive taste without the budget to go along with it, you don’t have to go without. Sure, these earrings might not be of the same quality as Baublebar, but with a little imagination and creativity I was able to recreate something that I might never have bought for myself because it seemed a little indulgent. Also, I know that I appreciate them more because I put the time and effort in to making them with my own hands.

I challenge you to get crafty this month. It’s spring! It’s time to do something fun. Make a pretty wreath for your door, sew some cloth napkins or place mats, arrange a pretty spring bouquet for your table, or perhaps you want to make some earrings. 🙂 Happy Crafting, everyone!