Friday Fun!

Yesterday, I was subbing for a reading intervention teacher and honestly, every time I sub for an intervention teacher I am so bored!! They have so much down time! She had planning time at the end of the day for an hour and fifty minutes!!! She had things for me to do and I did them, but I still had so much time left. She has planning time with many teachers on Fridays too, which were supposed to be 50 minutes each and oh my goodness they lasted 5!! Let's just say, it was a very relaxing Friday at work. Haha!

Last night, Wally was helping out with a Pheasants Forever Banquet. He is a part of the organization. Now, I think I've told you all before, but he is a big hunter. He has hunted with his family since he was 4 years old, so this is pretty important to him. I wasn't so sure about it (I'm clearly not a hunting fan), but I surprisingly had a great time! I had a hard time figuring out what people wear to an event like that, but I think I chose the perfect outfit. Everyone was in jeans and nice shirts or tops. Yay!! I wish I would have gotten a picture with Wally (he looked so handsome), but he was so busy that I only got to eat with him and chat with him for a few minutes here and there. I was so proud to call him my man, seeing him running around helping everywhere he was needed. He's the best! This is what I ended up wearing and I guess everyone kept telling Wally how cute his girlfriend was. Haha! He kept telling me I looked beautiful too (brownie points for him)!!

As you can see it was so bright and sunny! I'm squinting and trying so hard not to close my eyes! :)

Pale Pink Layered Necklace from Forever 21 (Birthday present) and only comes in Fuchsia now for $6.80! 

Khaki Blazer from Forever 21 (last year) similar to this for $32.80!

Lace Collared Blouse from TJ Maxx (this year) similar to this for $27.99 with extra 20% off!!

Big Star BKE Jeans from The Buckle (last year) similar to these for $69.97.

Chestnut Boots from Charlotte Russe (old) similar to these super cute ones for $17.25!!!

Here is a picture of the first time I went hunting with Wally, which was this past Fall! I was freezing my buns off!! Still not a big fan of waking up super early and sitting alone in the quiet, dark, freezing cold woods (So scary!!). I made the best of it though and there were some positives about it. I loved watching the sunrise and listening for sounds of animals! I tried making camo look cute! haha!

Dreaming of the Beach!

Spring Break is next week for all of the kiddo's around here, so I'm constantly hearing about teachers going to Florida and students going to Disney World or on a cruise!! I am BEYOND jealous!!! I keep telling them to pack me in their suitcases, so I can come too!!! They laugh at me, but I'm SERIOUS!!! I'm excited for Spring Break, but I'm not going anywhere fun! I would love to escape this freezing cold weather and go on vacation!! I'm already on Spring Break mode because I honestly didn't want to do anything to my hair today and I have been so tired. I'm ready for a break! Anyone else ever have those days of not doing anything to your hair? Haha! Also, you can tell I need a vacation by the nautical, beachy things I wore today! TAKE ME TO THE BEACH! :)

I received my giveaway prize/ birthday present from the beautiful Lindsey and Amanda at Oh Buoy Boston in the mail yesterday!! They are so sweet and I absolutely LOVE my Edgartown Bracelet!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Here is what I wore today and how I wore my new bracelet!!! 

Beachy Necklace was a gift from Wally when he went to the Outer Banks! He's the best!

Chambray Dot Dress from Target (Birthday Present) for $27.99!

Brown Tights from Kohls for $6.99

Breckelle's Riding Boot from Amazon for $31.52!!!

Girl's Week!!

Sunday morning my Step-Dad (Pat) left for a business trip to New Orleans. I have since regretted going with him to enjoy 70-80 degree weather because we have had snow and freezing rain!! We had an unexpected snow/freezing rain day yesterday. It was nice to have a day off though because I got a lot of stuff done and even took a workout class in the evening! The class was called "Booty Beats" and it was so fun and I was disgustingly sweaty afterwards (kind of a good thing I guess). Since Pat left and doesn't get home until Friday it's a girl's week with my mom!! So far we have enjoyed the season premier of "Dancing with the Stars" and have had some yummy girl dinners!! It's always fun to have girl time and my mom is my best friend, so it makes this week even better!! I hope everyone else is having a wonderful week? 4-day week for me and Spring Break is next week!! Yay!!

Black and Silver Bib Necklace from Forever 21 (2 years ago) similar to this for $20.

HOT Pink sweater from Forever 21 (Christmas present) similar to this on SALE for $11.46!!

Belted Gingham Skirt from H&M (few years ago) similar to this for $43.39

Black tights from Kohl's for $6.99!

Black Patent Rhinestone Flats from TJ Maxx (last year) similar to these for $14.99!

Another Wonderful Birthday!

First thing when I woke up on my Birthday, I walked downstairs and Pat (my amazing step-dad) walked through the door with balloons!!! I was so surprised!! It was a wonderful start to my day! He got zebra balloons (I love animal print!!)!

I got on Instagram and found that many of my friends were posting throwbacks of me just for my Birthday! I have some pretty awesome friends!!! Here are some of them.

Then, it was off to one of my very best friend's bridal shower!!! It was so fun to see all of my friends and celebrate the beautiful Bride-to-Be (Whitney)!! They were so sweet and sang "Happy Birthday" to me and made me blow out a candle on a cupcake. Haha!

After the shower, I went to dinner with my family and Wally! My brother Tommy came home for my Birthday! It was so special! We went to a restaurant called "The Whistle Stop Inn", which used to be a train station and now it's a restaurant. Trains go by almost every 5 minutes, both ways! It's so fun and they have wonderful food!! They of course sang to me again and gave me a small cake to share with everyone. Haha!

When we went home we had my mom's amazing "Strawberry Pie" as my birthday cake! I'm not a big cake fan, unless its Wedding Cake. Haha! I have no idea why it's so good at weddings and not when I bake it! I'm weird. :)

It was a wonderful Birthday!!!! I am truly blessed!! Here is what I wore!! I had to wear my new floral pants!! You can't see the colors very well because it's so bright!

Pearl Embellished Shoulder Sweater from Forever 21 (last year) similar to this for $24.80.

Floral Skinny Jeans from TJ Maxx (NOW) similar to these for $24.80.

Black Pantent Flats from Delias (few years ago) similar to these for $16.80!

It's My Birthday!!!!

Yesterday was my last day of my two week subbing job with the first graders. We celebrated St. Patrick's Day!! We had so much fun graphing with Lucky Charms (and eating them), reading stories about leprechauns, and writing about how we would catch a leprechaun. Also, we did a maze that lead the leprechaun to the pot of gold!! It was an exciting Friday! Plus they all remembered it was my birthday tomorrow from the first time I told them (1st graders have quite the memory). They all were giving me birthday hugs and saying they didn't want me to go. It was very sweet.

The night before when I was planning my St. Patrick's Day (at school) outfit, I decided to wear my early birthday present with my other green attire!! My early birthday present was my very first pair of TOMS!!! I was SO excited!!

This is what I decided to wear!!! I got lots of compliments on looking very St. Patrick's Day-ee? Haha! I loved it!! Baby Bear is ready for St. Patrick's Day too!!

 Green Bib Necklace from Amazon (NOW) for $15.99

White Button Down from Wet Seal (this year) similar to this for $22.50.

Green Cardigan from Eddie Bauer (last year) similar to this for $26.94.

Dark Skinny Jeans fro Forever 21 (NOW) for $19.80!

Matallic Dot Brown TOMS (NOW) for $60.

Aren't my TOMS beautiful? I'm obsessed because not only are they polka dot, but they are sparkly too!! I had my green and I had my gold!! :)

I'm already being spoiled on this Birthday of mine!! I had flowers sent to me all the way from my step-mom, and half brothers from Texas!!! They are too sweet!!! Love them so much!! Look how colorful and cheerful they are? They started my day with a smile!

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone!!!! I know I will!! I'm about to go to my beautiful friend, Whitney's Bridal Shower and I'll get to see all of my lovely friends!! If you didn't already know it's very hard these days to get us all together, so I'm pretty excited! I have missed them like crazy!

Nominated for the Liebster Award!!!

I feel extremely grateful and honored that Caroline at Love, Caroline nominated my little blog for the Liebster Award!!! She is so sweet and has a wonderful blog that I have loved following! Thank you Caroline!!! You are classy and beautiful inside and out!!

11 Facts About Me

1. I absolutely love my job!! Teaching is my passion and I love helping kids believe they can do anything!!!

2. I took dance lessons for 13 years starting when I was 5, until I was 18. I love dancing and still miss it to this day! When I was introduced to Colin, my friend said you will love him because he is a good dancer. They were right and that definitely attracted me to him! Haha! :)

3. I have 4 siblings (brothers) who mean the world to me! I have two half-brothers (Trevor and Mitchell) who are 16 and 19 and live in Texas. I have a brother who is 24 (Tommy) and lives in Ohio about two and half hours away from me and a step-brother (Jay) who is 27 and lives in New York. We are all pretty close and whenever I spend time with them we always end up laughing so hard, we cry! Haha!

4. I still live at home with my parents (my roomies)! Being a substitute teacher, you do not get paid very much. I want to save as much money as I can, so living with them seems to be the best decision for me. I absolutely love my roomies! Haha! My mom would probably love it if I stayed forever, but I told her I don't want to be like that movie "Failure to Launch"!

5. I was voted "Best Dressed" in High School and have had a love for fashion ever since!!

6. My favorite sports team is the Detroit Red Wings (hockey)! I grew up watching my brothers play hockey and watch hockey. My Dad played hockey at Bowling Green State University!! I love watching it and going to games! I'm always on the edge of my seat because it's so intense and exciting!

7. My Birthday is tomorrow! My mom always tells the story about how baby girls that were born always got pink bows on their head, but I got a green one because I was born the day before St. Patrick's Day!

7. My favorite holiday is CHRISTMAS!! I love getting gifts for people and making them happy! I love baking Christmas cookies with my family! I love decorating for Christmas!! We started a new tradition this year of doing a Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt after Christmas Eve Church service! It was a blast! Our whole family comes to our house for Christmas, so that makes it even more fun!! Next year we are going to have an Ugly Sweater Christmas at our house! :)

8. My favorite food is chocolate covered strawberries (if you consider that a food)! I'm such a sweet tooth and I honestly drool over chocolate covered strawberries! YUM!

9. I love everything nautical!! I literally call myself SailorAme on Instagram and Twitter! I love being on boats and going to the lake!! In my opinion, the best place in the world is on a boat in the water on a sunny summer day!

10. I'm in love with this handsome man named Colin (A.K.A. Wally)!! We met at a Fourth of July party and instantly hit it off! We have been together for over two and half years now!

11. I'm obsessed with my black lab, 2 year old, Bear!!! He's what I look forward to coming home to every day!!! He's my snuggle bug!! I love him to pieces!!!

Caroline's Questions

1. (Obligatory) Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging because my mom started a blog Live.Love.Lake. and she seemed so excited about doing new posts and thinking of things to post about. She inspired me to start one!! I talked about starting a blog with only her for about a month and she finally talked me into it and taught me how to start my own (she works with computers).

2. Where is your favorite place to go?

My favorite place to go is Hilton Head Island! I went there twice when I was younger and then my family went every summer while I was in college. 

3. What's your most favorite time of year? (i.e. Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall)

Summer! I love swimming, boating, going to the lake, and being tan!!!

5. If you could go to any place in the world, where would you go?

I would go to Paris! I would love to travel around Paris and shop!! Also, I've never been out of the country, so that would be awesome!

6. Where do you like to shop?

Everywhere, but my favorites are Target, Kohl's, Forever 21, and TJ Maxx!!

7. Who is your favorite music artist?

Carrie Underwood! Country all the way! 

8. What do you do for family time with your family?

Mainly, we go out to dinner together! It's our time away from TV and Cell Phones!

9. What make up item could you not live without?

Mascara!!!! I feel that I could go without everything, but if I go without mascara everyone will ask me if I'm tired or tell me I look tired. Haha!

10. How do you like to style your hair? 

Curly! It's very time consuming with thick, long hair, but I just love the way it looks! Classy!

11. What is one of your favorite memories?

Going to University of Cincinnati almost every month during Freshman and Sophomore year of college for all of my high school friend's birthdays!! We would always come home with millions of pictures and memories! I would stay up late Sunday night uploading every picture to Facebook and the comments would make us laugh SO hard for months after!!! It's never a dull moment with those girls!

My Nominees

1. My mom at Live.Love.Lake.

2. Renaaye at Miss Renaaye

3. Lindsey & Amanda at Oh Buoy Boston

4. Inge at This Ever Evolving Life

5. Aimee at Aimee. Not Amy.

6. Amy at Sweet Home Santa Barbara

7. Dhruvi at Stilettos & Sequins

8. Amy at Taking Steps Home

9. Jessy at Four Seasons Style

10. Marcy at Budget Friendly Fashionista

Rules For My Nominees

1. List 11 facts about yourself.
2. Answer the 11 questions given to you.
3. Create 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominate for the award.

4. Choose 11 bloggers with up to 200 followers to nominate.
5. Go to each bloggers page and let them know about the award.
6. Thank the lovely blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog.

My Questions

1. Why did you start blogging?

2. Which childhood memory will you never forget?

3. What is your favorite holiday?

4. What is your go-to outfit?

5. If you could get any fashion item for free, what would it be?

6. What do you like to do in your free time, besides blogging? :)

7.What is the most rewarding thing you've ever done?

8. Describe your closet in one or two word(s).

9. What is the best vacation you've ever been on?

10. Have you ever done something totally spontaneous? If so, what was it?

11. If you could meet anyone, who would it be?

"You Look Cheerful Today!"

As soon as I walked down the hallway this morning, the first teacher I saw said "I love your bright colors! You look so cheerful today!". I just absolutely love compliments! They make your entire day better! Well, it's my birthday week, so it's pretty hard to ruin my good mood! :) Every year in school, when I was younger it was testing week on the week of my birthday. Whether it was the CAT test in 3rd grade, the Proficiency Tests in many grades, or the OGT's, it was always a week of tests and it always landed around my birthday. Boooo! Well, it will never escape me because this week is testing week for these 1st graders. They have a different test every day because Grade Cards go out next week. I feel so bad for these kiddos, so I give them lots of brain breaks and wiggle time in between. I try to look as cheerful and excited as possible for them!!

Neon Geometric Scarf from Forever 21 (NOW) for $8.80.

Cream Key-Hole Sweater from Forever 21 (NOW) for $11.99!!

Black tank from TJ Maxx similar to this one for $2.80!!!

Neon Pants from Forever 21 (last year) similar to these for $15.80 in lots of colors!

Nude Flower Flats from TJ Maxx (last year) similar to these for $29.94.