Classy Crafts Club and Shop til You Drop

Tomorrow night, Thursday December 6th, is the grand opening of Just Imagine That Place with a Shop til You Drop to get all of your holiday shopping done! It is located in Cohassett, MA and it is from 5-9 p.m. There will be several vendors selling bath salts, dishcloths, scarves, jewelry and plenty of gifts for stocking stuffers, teachers and that special someone on your list!

And then Friday, December 7th is the first meeting of the Classy Crafts Club which is being held at Just Imagine That Place. The club will meet once a month for ladies who like ot socialize and get their craft on! If you ar interested in joining us, we will be meeting from 7-9 p.m. and you can email me for more info or find us on Facebook! The cost is $25 and it includes all supplies. This month we are making coffee cozies, fingerless gloves and leg warmers from recycled wool sweaters.

Hope to see you there!

edie's cheese tortellini soup and a craft group

I have been sick for at least three weeks now. so what is a {sick} girl to do? make edie's homemade cheese tortellini soup! you can find the recipe over at edie's blog lifeingrace. it is seriously delicious!

do you ever have  million ideas swimming around in your head and you just wish you could organize them so they do not rattle around? well, for years I have been following so many wonderful and creative blogs and have even tried some of the awesome DIY craft projects. but I am always wanting more. sometimes you just need that face to face interaction that you can't get if you are like me and live so far away from other bloggers.

well, that is about to change. the art teacher at my school and I are going to start a ladies craft night that will meet once a month. we will be offering classes at a new studio that is opening soon! we are very excited! if you live in Massachusetts, let me know. we would love for you to join us!

Holiday Hospitality

I have been closely following edie's 31 days to Hospitality over at life in grace.  I have always loved entertaining, however I have noticed that life with two preschoolers can be very hectic and hospitality does not top the priority list.

Yet I have a preschooler who always wants to have playdates. of course this is not always poissible since I am a teacher.

so I have decided I am going to host a holiday party for her and her friends from preschool. I have been searching pinterest for ideas, so I apologize posting pictures of Christmas before Halloween but as we all know, the holidays are here before we know it!

if you have not already done so, please stop by my sweet friend Paige Knudsen's blog and check out her blog and her giveaway!

alex and ani and 5 Words to Live By

apparently blogger has made some changes in the past few weeks and I am unable to post a picture of myself that I wanted to.

first of all, I just want to say "Bienvenidos a mis nuevos amigos"

September has been a big month for my personal life and my faith.

I became a Eucharistic Minister on Wednesday and spent Friday at a retreat to further my ministry as a missionary. I am BLESSED to be able to share my faith each day with my students and continue my journey as a missionary and as an educator.

one thing I left with on Friday afternoon was this. what 5 words do you live by that define you? this is what came to mind for me: Love God and love One another.

for me, LOVE truly defines how I should act each day.  from this, everything else happens.

I have posted a few pics of a few alex and ani bracelets. I have the Mother Mary medal and I have JOY. love these and what they represent. they are a physical reminder to me.

Commitments and Changes

Today I pulled out and dusted off my clean eating cookbooks. I will turn 40 in November and in January I made the commitment to change my eating habits and lose weight I had gained during both of my pregnancies. I lost 17 pounds. I am halfway there. However, the scale has been creeping back up in the wrong direction lately. Sooo, it was time to reaffirm that commitment I made in January. I have been re-reading my Marilu Henner and Tosca Reno cookbooks,making a HEALTHY grocery list and changing my ATTITUDE about eating. I am a pretty healthy eater overall, however I have a weakness for frozen yogurt and carbs. Not that there is anything wrong with carbs, it is just that I eat the unhealthy ones more than I should. So tomorrow I am putting on my running shoes and running my first 5K with my friend in a 9/11 memorial road race.

Fall Noonday Collection

{All images are from Simple Thoughts. The nights are getting cooler and darker faster and it is back to school. And tomorrow, Tuesday September 3rd, is the launch of the Fall Noonday collection. For those of you who do not know, my beautiful friend Paige Knudsen who blogs over at Simple Thoughts is a consultant for Noonday. Noonday's history is pretty amazing. It is a fair trade company focused on helping artists struggling and living in third world countries be able to make a better life for themselves and their families. And please check out Paige's blog, Paige is an incredible woman with an incredible family. She touches the hearts of many through her blog, her photos and her words.

Read Well, Live Well::A classical online book club - life{in}grace

Read Well, Live Well::A classical online book club - life{in}grace:

September has arrived and it is back to school time, change of season and of course, book club time. I am so excited to start this online book club focusing on the classics with Edie from Life in Grace and several hundred other bloggers. I am off to do my homework of reading the first 12 chapters for our discussion on Friday, September 14th!

30 Day Challenge

Images are from: money4thisnot4that.com, gogingham.com and money4mother.com Tomorrow is September 1st and for anyone like me who is a teacher or a parent with kids going back to school, this really is the start of a NEW YEAR. Soooo, with the start of a NEW YEAR comes NEW HABITS. New SPENDING habits. I am starting a 30 day No Spending Challenge. 30 days with no EXTRA purchases. No trips to the consignment shop for myself or the girls. No trips to Goodwill. I am limiting myself to the following: 1. Groceries 2. Gas 3. Bills (do I have to?) 4. A small gift for a birthday party we are going to in a few weeks. I am simply going to take it day to day. This is a must because even though I have gone back to teaching, BOTH of my girls are in school this year so expenses have increased. I am wondering if anyone else is doing a similar challenge?

Shabbychic Decor and Words from a 4yr old

Big Sis has gotten a few Shabby chic items added to her room this summer. I found the hot pink table at a thrift shop and I love the glass knob on it. So of course, I had to find matching knobs at Target and changed all of the knobs on her drawers! Next, I found matching Shabbychic lamps at another antique store for Big Sis and Little Sis' rooms! I love them! And Lil Sis is growing up fast! She is getting a big girl bed so I found this sweet Shabbychic quilt and sham for her new bed! I wanted to share with you a song Big Sis just made up and sang to me: I love God! I love God! I love God! He never changes His mind! I love God! I love God! I love God! He is true! Makes me so proud!

Dreamy Whites Giveaway

All images are from Dreamy White's blog I am super excited about this giveaway ladies! Maria from Dreamy Whites is offering a $300 gift certificate to her online shop! I have been following Maria' blog from the beginning. I literally drool over photography. Her home is beautiful and the items she sells in her shop are gorgeous. I have actually had my eyes on her Petite Christmas stockings since last year thinking they would make a really cute Advent Calendar for my girls! The deadline for the giveaway is August 25th. I have really been all about nesting this summer and making my home a sanctuary for me and my family. Because of this I have really been studying blogs and Pinterest for ideas and scouring local thrift shops to find items at a frugal price!

A Life Lesson

A while back I decided to visit the sponsors on Lemonade Makin' mama's blog. One of these sponsors is Gifts for the Heart International. This organization is dedicated to providing joy to needy children worldwide through one simple act~the simple gift of a stuffed animal. This simple gesture really made me stop and REFLECT on my own life. My own little sheltered world. Now don't get me wrong, as my blog indicates I am FRUGAL partly becaus I enjoy the thrill of the hunt and partly because of my financial situation. Yet my girls and I pray every night thanking God for our food, our shelter and our family. Many of my girls toys come from thrift and consignment shops, yet they still have more than their basic needs. In fact, Big Sis has an addiction to stuffed animals. Which of course Lil Sis wants too. Which leads me to want to DONATE an entire bag full of their stuffed animals. But the important part is the LESSON of COMPASSION that this momma will be teaching her girls.

New Jeanne Oliver e-course

After spending a long weekend visiting our friends' beautiful new home in Connecticut, my husband and I came home and have been trying to figure out what home improvement projects we can do that won't break the budget. But it certainly can be OVERWHELMING with so many ideas on blogs, in magazines and on pinterest. So I was excited when I saw that Jeanne Oliver is teaming up with a group of amazing ladies to offer an online home decor e-course which starts on October 22nd. And the best part? Between you and me is offeing not ONE but TWO free spots in the class if you visit her blog before Saturday, August 4th.

between you and me giveaway

I am slowly getting back into a routine after being on vacation for almost two weeks. The White Mountains in New Hampshire is one of our favorite places to visit. And a weekend with friends in Connecticut. And what better way to celebrate summer than with a Christmas in July giveaway from between you and me. I absolutely love these signs. Just looking at them brightens my mood! Please be sure to visit her blog to enter to win!

Freshlysewn

My aunt has an Etsy shop, freshlysewn. Her work is truly amazing. I spent the afternoon with her last Sunday and of course spent most of my time shopping in her closet! If you have something in mind, but do not see it in her shop, she does a lot of Special Orders. I prefer to have my pillow covers custom made only because I never can find anything that I like or the pillows are just too expensive. Right now I am in the process of changing the pillows and curtains in my living room. I have put in a Custom Order with her and I will post them when they are done! My favorite part of the summer is taking our family vacation to New Hampshre. I hope you are having a great summer!

LMM Giveaway and A few of my favorite things

when life gets busy with family, friends and work, blogging takes a backseat. yet there are a few bloggers that I can't do without no matter how busy life gets. one of those lovely ladies is Sasha(a.k.a Lemonade Makin Mama) LMM is funny, honest and oh so sweet. and this week she is having a great giveaway. go on over and check it out: www.lemonademakinmama.com Here are a few of my favorite things: 1.Marylou's coffee (Cinnamon Hazelnut or Raspberry Chessecake) 2.My favorite consignment shop 3. Vermont Soap

So long Schedules

School is almost done for both me and my girls and it is time for some summer fun! it is hard to believe that the first year of preschool is about to end next week. another year of dancing is over. and my first year teaching at my new school will soon be over. i am ready for our yearly summer trip to the mountains. morning playdates with friends. air conditioned libraries when it is too hot to be outside. fresh blueberries from the The Blueberry Farm at the end of the road. grilling out with friends and family. longer days. lazy days. so much to be grateful for and to look forward to!

Scripture

All images on etsy. I am back from my blog break. I know we all feel the same way. Sometimes we feel like we are at a loss or words. Or we just feel like we are changing. Or growing. I know that personally I have had to shift some priorities. One of these has been to close my Etsy shop. I still love checking out so many vintage shops on Etsy, but I do not have the time to keep up with mine. I am starting to think of a few other adventures I might want to persue. Not that being a mom of two little girls and teaching is not enough! My school year is also coming to a close. And we need to come up with our Scripture quote for next year. There are so many bible verses that I love. It will be hard to come up with just one. I found some beautiful scripture art on Etsy. What is your favorite scripture? XOXO

Pearls and Grace

Pearls and Grace

Pearls and Grace`Part II

I am trying to provide a link back to the original post to share with all of you!



http://www.pearlsandgrace.blogspot.com

Pearls and Grace

http://pearlsandgrace.blogspot.com/


A few months ago I learned about The Pearl Event.

To be able to meet Sibi, who is truly beautiful on the inside and out!
And that Paige Knudsen was going to be there too!
Live! In person!
I was so excited I was literally giddy like a school girl.

So many bloggers inspire me for so many reasons that I couldn''t possibly fit into one blog post.

One of these bloggers has touched my heart in so many ways.
Paige from Simple Thoughts.
I see a lot of myself in her.
The only difference is that she is not afraid.
Not afraid to blog about. speak about it. pray about it. do something about it.

After staying home for two years with my two girls, I returned to teaching this year in a Christian school.
Yet I know God has other plans for me.
I have been praying over this for quite some time.

I think going to the Pearl Event would be LIFE CHANGING for me.
I truly do.
Yet, financially I just can't do it.
I have left messages on Sibi's Facebook page to please take good notes.
I have done the same with Paige.

I hope if you are going you will share what you learn from each of these amazing ladies!