You can be nominated for a blog award?? Sweet!

I'm thrilled Brianna nominated me for a Liebster Award! It's such a fun idea for bloggers, especially new ones--going on three weeks for me :) to meet other awesome bloggers. If I nominated you, congrats and please read on!

The Rules:

1. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.
2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, and then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.
3. Choose 11 new bloggers(with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post.
4. Go back to their page and tell them about the award.
5. No tag backs

Random Facts:

I am left handed and have a magnet that says, "Lefties Have Rights Too!"  on my refrigerator.
I have a cat named Leo and he has a leash.
I love West Virginia because it's home to me.
The first time my husband spoke to me, he was wearing red, skin-tight corduroy pants.
I drink coffee every morning - must have yummy creamer (currently loving pumpkin spice).
One of my favorite things to do is to go on a bicycle ride with my husband.
I won third place at a state track meet in high school in the 800 meter run.
I only floss once every two weeks, if that.
My favorite TV show is Modern Family.
I hit the snooze button at least four times each morning.
My favorite thing about teaching is having candid, hilarious conversations with 8 year olds.



 Answers:
1. What is your favorite time of year? Summer, hello?, I'm a teacher :)
2. Favorite non-house pet animal? giraffe, always has been since I can remember, love their black tongues
3. Have any habits you just can't break? biting my nails, they are pretty long right now though!
4. What's your fav winter activity? Christmas shopping
5. If you could drop everything right now and go anywhere, where would it be? Italy countryside with my husband
6. How often do you check your Facebook, really? that's hard 4 or 5 times a day? It's too easy to look with the app on my phone!
7. Favorite category to search on Pinterest? home decor
8. How many states have you visited? i think about 25
9. What is your favorite spot in your house? the living room, probably on the couch
10. What time is bed time for you? 10:30
11. Favorite piece in your wardrobe? my wedding dress ;)

Questions for my nominees:
1. Where do you call home?
2. What's your favorite T.V. show?
3. If you could choose any line of work (without worrying about money), what would you choose?
4. Wine or beer?
5. Favorite childhood memory?
6. What's your favorite vacation spot?
7. What would you do with a million dollars?
8. Who was your favorite teacher, why?
9. What is your least favorite chore?
10. Who is your celebrity crush?
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry?


Nominees:
Anne @ the boutique belle
Hailey @ love, laughter, and lipstick
paper sidewalks
Anna Lizbeth @my life and other lovely things
Rachel @ on a Sunday afternoon
Caitlin @catholic cookie jar

Holiday "Printables" - chalkboard-style

 So, I've decided that Monday will be the day of the week devoted to sharing an art project/craft/creative idea and today's is my new entryway "printable". If you're on Pinterest (and who isn't??!), you've probably seen the cute holiday printables...how cute are they??

I HAD to have something like a printable in my life, so here's what I did. A few weeks ago, I bought an adorable chalkboard (World Market) and key hook (Etsy) for my entryway and have been creative with the colors, words, and picture on the chalkboard to match the season. I had "Happy Fall" up for a really long time as you can see below.

Key/purse/scarf/whateveritfits hook!!!

Today, I erased Happy Fall (kinda sad actually) and replaced it with a Thanksgiving theme.

I feel like this addition to the entryway has made all the difference. I can't wait to think of one for Christmas :). If you have a chalkboard display, do you have any other simple and fun ideas?? I'd love to hear! 



Feeling Fine Friday week recap

Simple and Fun week re-cap :)

1. Chicken tortilla soup has become a new staple in our household especially with the colder weather. Check out the delicous recipe to enjoy the goodness.

2. I voted! And didn't have to wait in line!

3. The poster on the wall above my desk at school that I live by.

4. My kitty showing off his fetching skills. He's really more like a dog in so many ways! He started this trick with foil balls and we graduated to toy balls this week!

5. Snapped this beautiful shot of the sun on an afternoon walk. I wish the gorgeous fall leaves would stick around for a long, long time!

I'm linking up with Lauren From My Grey Desk Blog this lovely Friday

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How was your week...Does your cat do any cool tricks or do you have any good recipes to share??

Favorite things

Today, I'm linking up with Newlywed Moments and Katherine's Korner for Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop.



Speaking of favorite things, I really miss Oprah's yearly Favorite Things episode- it always aired around this time of year and put me in the Christmas spirit. Oh well ,there's always youtube :). Here's a short list of my favorite things:

1. Domino: The Book of Decorating. Reason: I just got this amazing decorating resource book in the mail last week and I cannot wait to have my own home to decorate, room by room!




2. Kitchen towels from World Market especially the kavita print! Reason: I love finding interesting and fun prints to brighten up my kitchen.

3. It's a Ten leave-in hair product. Reason: It's a lifesaver for a girl with tangly hair like me! I use it daily!

4. Le Creuset grill pan. Reason: It works just like a grill, but indoors--great for apartment dwellers :)

5. Le Creuset Dutch Oven. I know it's kinda like #4, but they are that good! Reason: My husband and I like to cook and we've gotten a lot of use out of it already. It's something we decided to splurge on with Bed Bath and Beyond wedding gift cards. I bet we'll still be using this puppy 40 years from now :).

Have a great Thursday! If you're here from the Hop feel free to follow or grab a button. I'm a newbie and would appreciate any fellow-blogger love :)

Election day pumpkin waffles

I love making breakfast, but never have time during the work week-- I usually just grab a cereal bar and go. So, I decided to celebrate Election Day with pumpkin waffles. (Pumpkin EVERYTHING might be my favorite thing about fall). This was so simple that I had to share. I used Maple Grove Farms Belgian Waffle mix and followed the steps on the box for a regular waffle maker. There were two separate instructions, one for a Belgian waffle maker and one for a regular waffle maker. Then, I added three tablespoons of organic pumpkin and about a 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to the waffle batter.

Anderson's maple syrup, waffle mix, Trader Joes organic pumpkin, homemade whipped cream

Even though the waffles didn't all look perfect, they tasted like perfection!

**I have to say  the Anderson's maple syrup and the homemade whipped cream had a lot to do with the scrumpiousness of this breakfast! Mmmm!

 **Whipped cream recipe-1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream, 2 generous teaspoons of confectioners' sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Whip for about 10 minutes and magically it becomes a light, sweet topping! Soo delicious and fun!

Happy Election Day- now it's time to go vote!

DIY painting for a fraction of the cost

We got a great, new bedding set for a wedding gift and immediately the wheels were turning on how to decorate the wall above the bed. In the past I've done my own paintings for my bedroom, and they've pretty much been the pattern of the comforter. I wanted something different this time.

One day, I stumbled across a painting at Bed Bath and Beyond that would match my bedding perfectly. It reminded me of a painting I had seen in a Instagram photo from The Small Things Blog . The painting was $100 and that might not sound like a lot, but I really love painting and wanted to save my BBB gift cards for something I couldn't create on my own :).

First, I took a picture of the painting in BBB to use as a guide. I was in no way trying to duplicate it exactly, but I wanted it to be the basis for my painting.

I used these materials to begin: a white 16x20 canvas, a paint brush, Basic acrylic paints and a palette.

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Unfortunately, I did not take pictures as I was painting, I just kind of let myself be creative starting with the blue background. I mixed the paints until I got different shades of blue that went with the bedspread without being too "matchy, matchy".  I let the background dry completely for a day before starting the blossoms. The next day, I started the branches and then used whites and yellows and browns for the flowers. And this is what I got!

I spent about $12 total for this project because I had the paint and other supplies and only had to buy a canvas. I had a fun time painting because it is super relaxing. I'm sure you can find many different paintings and do a similar project  as long as  it's a fairly simple concept. I want to eventually take a painting class because the only training I have is high school art class. That being said, I liked the end result! So, from my sleepy cat Leo and me- Happy Painting :)

High Five for Friday

High five for Friday!

1. Last Sunday I saw the musical, Wicked, at the Hippodrome in Baltimore...AMAZING show!

2. My kitty, Leo, feeling suprisingly relaxed during Super Storm Sandy that hit on Monday. I got off of work for two days due to the storm! Luckily we were not affected, but  I'm feeling really badly for those who were negatively affected.

3. Minnie costume for the Halloween parade and party at school.

4. Halloween card from my mom and the adorable candy dish she got us.

5. My husband made HOMEMADE whipped cream and it was soooo good. He claims it was easy and an arm workout to boot!