Peeling

*Image & polish via Anthropologie

When I was about 10 peel-off nail polish was all the rage. I even got in trouble for using it to paint my little brother's toenails while he was asleep one night. Big sisters are not always nice. Looks like peel-off technology is back and appropriately available in orange. Would you be interested in a removable manicure?

Flats

*Image & shoes via Anthropologie

When Sunday morning rolls around and the skies are gray I sometimes browse the internet for eye candy. Corso Como makes especially comfortable shoes (I wore a pair at my wedding) and not only do they donate a portion of the purchase proceeds to charity, they also use environmentally friendly practices and pay their workers fair wages. It doesn't hurt that they make snappy shoes to boot. I wouldn't mind owning another pair of shoes that can be worn all day, danced in all night, and still feel like pillows in the morning. No complaints.

Task

*Image & notepad via Crane & Co.

Something like this would really help me narrow down my priorities, or shorten my lists. I'm a list maker and sometimes due to my detailed nature those lists get long. It feels good to cross things off of my lists - but too many things bog me down. I can do four things. I can do four things well. (Bonus, these sticky notes come in packs of 3 and are on sale...)

Lit

*Image via Apartment Therapy

Coming home to such a bright sunny living room would make my day. I love the yellow couch and the beautiful hardwoods. A room full of light is something my dream home requires. Seeing how we never really had winter (just one cold week) in San Antonio, spring has been here for quite some time. I can't wait for more nice bright days.

Energy

*Image by magicaldp

Last night I crashed early, super early. For some reason, I have not been waking up rested for almost a week. I felt tired, crashed yesterday and finally woke up feeling like I had really slept. It was so glorious. I'm getting recharged, just in time for the weekend.

Full

*Necklace by Melanie Favreau via the SCOOP

This is how your brain feels after a day of school, meetings, parent-teacher conferences and returning to a classroom that has been trashed by out of control students who threw crayons all over the place (with a sub in charge). My 7th period students are not in for a good day today. My brain is full.

Iron

*Image by heyoka

I busted out the iron because I have a meeting and there will be parents on campus picking up report cards today. I better look good, especially considering that I am one of the younger-looking teachers on campus. I like that I'm still looking young despite the fact that I will turn 30 this year. I'll take what I can get. I'll get my wrinkles from smiling.

Succulent

*Image via Pia Jane Bijkerk

When we moved I had to leave all of my plants behind. Most of them found good homes and are being well cared for by friends and family. Sadly, I only have three plants in the house right now. I haven't found a nice local nursery yet but have spotted one I'd like to stop at. I'm missing the green in my life. I also wouldn't mind putting together a fun terrarium. I will add this to my project/to do list.

Stamped

*Image by Madame Foufou

Yesterday I stamped and crafted some Valentines that only need a few finishing touches before I get ready to put them in the mail. Today has been only slightly productive. I began my morning with some water polo and finished it off with some blueberry pancakes and bacon. Not a bad morning at all. There is still a large hole in the wall in my office (from a leaky roof & mold issues). Knowing that workers are coming this week to patch it up makes me reluctant to get in and clean, especially if they are just going to make a mess. I really want to spread out on the desk. For now, I might just grab a book or cuddle the bulldog, or both.

Hello

*Handkerchief by Bird and Banner via Oh So Beautiful Paper

I wouldn't want to put such a pretty handkerchief to use. It would be fun, however, to use it for teary moments like weddings or special occasions that make you gush. (I would feel guilty really using this hankie). Today I'm playing with paper at the neighbor's. My goal is to make some valentines for all my loved ones states and states away. This will be a good time to go through my stash and find something inspiring. I am a huge fan of Valentines and the 14th happens to be my one year blog anniversary. I'm still plotting and scheming.

Type

*Ad by Kate Spade via mavieenrose3

My typewriter is sojourning with a friend right now. Trevor furrowed his brow when I wanted to put it on the moving truck. It is a pretty awesome typewriter. Old, turquoise and with its own traveling case/cover any girl would love such a pretty thing. I even made it unique by accident. I was looking for a new ribbon and the only one I found that fit was for a cash register and is purple. Tell me that doesn't rock. Yeah, I know.

Shorts

*Image via J.Crew

A year ago I would have looked at the J. Crew spring catalog and scoffed at the models in shorts. Shorts? Spring? Nothing I knew anything about. Today it might reach a high of 80 degrees here in San Antonio. Now I get it. That is a good 20-40 degrees warmer than my friends and family. Come visit now, so you can host me when it's sweltering.

Tea

*Print via The Canvas House

I'm still not a daily coffee convert. Too much caffeine makes me jittery. I know that for coffee drinkers the lack of caffeine causes the jitters. I survive my days on hot tea which intrigues my students. They are still asking me what is in my tiny cup (from the top of my thermos). When I saw this print I giggled because I think even I would draw the line at drinking hot tea on the beach. Maybe they are on the coast on a breezy day. Maybe it's still early spring. I still don't think I could drag out the tea pot along with a beach umbrella. The slogan however, fantastic. I'm usually lamenting an empty cup during seventh period.

Pledge

*Image by Javier Pico

I took the pledge the other day and would gladly encourage you to do so too. As an English teacher, I'm thrilled to encourage reading - it's part of my job description. My personal pledge is to read more for pleasure when I'm reading and less for work. Read more about the inception of the pledge here and here. Find a good book, read it, and pass it on. What are you reading?

Bear

*Illustration by Anna Rummey

I stumbled across this blog and found it especially visually appealing. I love the photographs and the written candor. Thinking about crushes on places, Australia is on my list of countries to visit. When I was in college I exchanged a series of letters with a handsome swimmer from Oz. He promised to teach me to surf if I came to visit. Until then, I'll just gaze at photos from afar and will add this to my list of daydreaming topics.

MLK

*Image by Victor Chapa

We've still got work to do. I realized this more than ever this year when I started teaching in Texas. I have never encountered students who in the eighth grade would talk about dropping out of high school. I've worked with struggling students, kids who can't read well, kids who have trouble at home, kids who are poor. This year I'm working on inspiring my students to think of a different future for themselves.

Crush

*Image by Stuck in Customs

I have a crush and it is on Austin. Every time I visit this city I sigh and wish I lived a short 70 miles from San Antonio. Seattle and Austin have much in common and I love how much more water there is. I think I would complain a whole lot less about Texas if this was where we landed. A girl can dream, right? Trevor surprised me by suggesting we get out of town and take a day trip. I'd love to be able to stay.

Lazy

*Image via Apartment Therapy

I wanted to sleep in today, oh so badly. I begrudgingly got up for Saturday school because Trevor was on overnight call. He's usually pretty worthless after a full 24 hour call so I decided to put in some time and earn some more vacation money. Going to work on a Saturday is easier when I have my honeymoon in mind. I do like heading to work a little bit later. I'm sure it will be easy to fall back into Saturday laziness today. No problem.

Grades

*Image via riaskiff

Grades were due today. I get an A for the soup and a C- for the grading. I thought I had everything set and ready to go to plug in grades last night but forgot my all-important grading sheet at school. I woke up early, loaded soup into the car (not as easy as it sounds) and struggled to get as many grades entered into the computer before students rolled into the classroom. I'm slacking big time. I need to put myself in check and stay motivated.

p.s. the soup was great, I'll find out results from voting on Tuesday.

Soup

*Image by Souvlaki for the Soul

Tomorrow there is a soup cooking competition at work. Winner gets an extra 30 minutes of lunch/break. I'd love to cash that in on a Monday. I think I'll pull out one of our favorite recipes, roasted garlic soup. I know I'll probably be competing with chili but it might just be the ticket. Time for cooking.

Large

*Image via Making it Lovely

Our living room needs a large piece of artwork to pull it all together. I've been keeping my eye out for something, but I think that we might end up printing a large photograph. No, I do not want a huge photo of our dog staring at me every day. We have two photo walls that I love but I want a stand-out piece. Right now, our wall is blank and every time I look at it I know something is missing. Where have you found large-scaled art? Any suggestions?

Kitschy

*Image via Ehrman Tapestry

When I saw this pillow and then learned that it was an embroidery kit it reminded me of a good friend and her husband. He is very much into what she coined as the Urban Rustic style. She is great at indulging his decoration whims and does some killer needlepoint. The reason I lit up when I saw this pillow project is because the second wedding anniversary gift is traditionally cotton and this could be a lasting work of art in their home. It will probably take me two years of searching to find something for my tech-savvy husband that is also cotton.

Styled

*Image via Lonny

When I see pictures like this I always wonder a few things. Do these people read their magazines? What if they want to read the bottom magazine? I know that this would not work in my house no matter how you look at it because there is a certain bulldog who would chew up pretty little books and magazines. I'm still thinking about what to do with my extra books. Which ones do I part with?

Packages

Yes, I confess I'm guilty of purchasing another pair of shoes. I'll let you guess which pair I scored on final sale plus an additional 20% discount. I will be wearing stylish and comfortable shoes to school tomorrow. Of the next two packages I received, one was a surprise. The awesome coaster pictured above is one in a set of four. Functional and cool. I must confess, I have no idea who sent them, because they came from Hong Kong. (I have a few guesses).

Last but not least were my bookshelves. I love the way they look but am lamenting their size. I guess I could put it this way - the shelves are a great size but I have many many books. I'm editing the selection on the shelf and thinking about more options. I do have to say, I love having a bookshelf.

Finally

*Image & art via Jesse Hora

This week has seemed to last an excessively long time. This is probably due to the fact that I was lounging around in scrubs for the past two weeks. I can't celebrate quite yet, because I volunteered to help teach some Saturday school sessions. This week it's all math. The extra funds are going toward our honeymoon. We're still researching good tropical beach venues. Any and all suggestions are welcome. In fact, I'd love some input. There seem to be so many options.

Case

*Image by {scarlet}

As most everyone already knows, I am a bibliophile. Currently, a bibliophile with all of her books in boxes. I had a hard time slimming down my books before the move and would love to page through some of my old favorites. Lucky for me, shelves are on the way. Yes, you heard me correctly - shelves! Usually I'm not the type to get overly excited about shelves but I have searched far and wide for something that was stylish, wouldn't break the bank and would hold enough of my paperbacks. Looks like sewing projects will have to wait this week.

Clothes

*Image by Svenska Stylistgruppen via decor8

One of my best friends just downsized her home but still has the same closet needs. Moving from a house to an apartment is difficult enough, not counting closet space. In any case, having open closets, or clothes on display might not be too bad with pretty hangers. I have a closet full of plain white hangers. I wonder if you could wrap wooden hangers with fabric to achieve this look? These hangers look like they have possibly been wrapped in ribbon or fabric. This would be a fun gift to give your favorite clotheshorse don't you think?

Accents

*Image via decor8 pillows at Furbish

I've been looking for fun boutiques in San Antonio and I have yet to find them. I would love to get my hands on some great fabric to make some new pillow covers for the living room. My thoughtful husband washed a pair of wool covers I made before I got to Texas and inadvertently felted them. They still look great, so I can't complain, but the pillow forms don't fit quite as nicely. I'll add these to my list of quick fixes. My eyes are out. More exploration is in store. Anyone with suggestions? Secret awesome fabric stores? Do tell.

Update

*Image by Trevor Jorgensen

So, having a cute puppy does not guarantee a win in a patio decorating contest. In an adorable dog in Santa hat contest we would be contenders. Unfortunately, only the photos of the dog turned out. You'll have to take me at my word that the patio looked great. I saw the winners and am still happy to have entered - they surely spent more than $6 dollars. I bet this guy wishes he was napping in my lap right about now. (I wouldn't mind having a puppy in my lap right now either...)

Again

*Image by Gary Larson

Today I have much in common with my students. Waking up early after a long vacation is difficult, getting my brain to respond quickly is even harder. I haven't confirmed my suspicions but I am betting that at least half of my students forgot what they had read before the break. Good thing I remember. It will be good to see everyone again. Sleepy or not, I'm glad we're all in the same boat. I just wish I wasn't sleepy. My bulldog wishes he had a lap to snooze in.

Smirk

*Image and tea towel via Mengsel Design

The idea of robots in love makes me smirk a bit. Partly because I like robots in general and partly because this print of robots in love reminds me of some friends. My husband set up photography shop in the living room and was commenting about being a dork. When I told him I always knew he was a dork he seemed a little taken aback - but that is something I love about him. Of course I readily admit to my own dorky-ness (dorkiness?) so that makes us a good pair.

Librarian

*Image via Apartment Therapy

Am I secretly a librarian at heart? I was browsing through this house tour and was jealous of two things: built in bookshelves (of course) and this fantastic library card catalog. Now that most libraries have transferred their card catalogs onto an online database there is no longer a need for these fun cabinets. Of course, we still use the Dewey decimal system, but no longer page through drawers. I don't know what Trevor would think, but I would love something like this.

New

*Image via russell+hazel

A few things I can't believe: that it is already January, that I wore sandals outside today and it was only a little cold, that a new year has started and lastly that I have to go back to work on Monday. I still have a few days free of responsibility to enjoy. I better soak it up.