Saturday Snapshot: Through the Wildflowers

You all know by now that I'm a huge fan of macro close up shots, but I'm trying to get better at landscapes too :)

Life Lately

I feel like I keep saying it, but time is flying by!  I have been super busy lately getting my classroom ready, doing teacher trainings, packing the house up, and doing projects to get us ready for our move.  I wish there were more hours in a day!

Check out all my school supplies!  I'm so happy to have all these pencils to give to students :)

No matter how busy I am, though, it seems that I always find time to get out in nature.  Nature and dessert.  Lots of dessert.

Do you have something that you always make time for?

Teacher Feature: My Classroom

The first week of school is upon us!  I'm so excited to be in the classroom :)  I wanted to share with you a few of the things that make this space really my own.

I have a cute little coat closet that I added a strip of washi tape to for some fun polka dots.

I teach English, but I love incorporating art.  This hangs above our art supplies (recognize the push pins?)

This box was a gift from my sister-in-law.  It has hanging file folders that I'll keep past assignments in!

Some cute desktop items- I love the blue dish because one of my students made it!  I'm using it to hold paper clips.

I'm maybe most excited about my growing class library... lots of great books to choose from!

Are you heading back to school this year?  What memories do you have about your favorite classes?

Saturday Snapshot: Sun Drenched

Moving Out: One Last Project

For the last several years, I have posted home improvement projects that John and I have done to our house.  We've changed the doors, doorbell, counters, and carpet.  We've done all kinds of projects that helped make the house feel more updated and more like our home.  Well, this is the last one.  In a little bit, John and I will be moving out and into our new home!  It's a little bittersweet, but I'm very much looking forward to giving you all a tour of our new place :)

The last project we did at the house turned out to be one of the most exhausting, and we did not expect for it to be.  There is a small bathroom in the basement and it had some pretty ugly wallpaper.  The loon is Minnesota's state bird, but I'm not sure I need to shower with them...  Well, the wallpaper was NOT going to let go without a fight.  We used fabric softener, water, steam, and scrapers to finally peel all of it away.  It took well over 12 hours, and (as a side note) if you use the fabric softener method yourself, be prepared for it to wreck your nails!  It wasn't cute.  But it was worth it.  We painted it the same smokey blue that is in the upstairs bathroom.  I love how it looks with the basement tile!

Before... it's certainly not the worst bathroom ever, but it could be better.

FINALLY all the wallpaper is removed

After; I really like this color!

So, with the worst/most difficult project to date, I am prepared to say goodbye to this house and hello to our new one :)

Oven "Fried" Zucchini

Here is another Granny recipe for you!  These are SO easy to make and absolutely delicious.  Try adding some parmesan for a little twist...

You will need:

• 1/2 cup corn meal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup egg substitute (I used one egg instead)
• 1 tablespoon water
• 3 medium zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thickness
• Cooking spray

Mix the corn meal, salt, and pepper.  In a separate bowl, combine the egg and water and beat well.  Dip each zucchini slice into the egg, then into the corn meal.

Place the zucchini onto a baking sheet, lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake at 450 degrees for 30-40 minutes until the zucchini is golden brown.  Enjoy!

Saturday Snapshot: Glass Sculptures

 This week, I made a visit to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  I love visiting this place- it is full of sprawling gardens, and things are constantly changing.  One newer addition was glass sculptures on the grounds.  They were so neat and the arboretum did a great job incorporating them into the surroundings.