ClosetMaid Stacking Organizers

   This was a quick and easy way to bring organization and color in the room. I was thinking about these stacking organizers with totes inside of them last week. I asked Duane if he could build me some BUT then he got a boat so he has other things on his mind! I started looking into it and stumbled upon ClosetMaid Cubeicles at Target. It was exactly what I was thinking! The totes were on sale at Target and they really hold a lot. There was this size and a smaller size that come in packs of two. I'm not sure if I'll buy more totes or put other things in the other cubby holes.

My textbooks I've kept.

Random school supplies.

The corner of the room. Next to go is the wall decoration.

   One of my big goals for the summer was to go through my notebooks, textbooks, and notes from all of my education classes. I'm proud to say that I'm done! I believe everything is easily accessible now and it was good for me to go back through my classes to see how far I've came.

Mozzarella Tomato Pesto Panini

Tomato and Mozzarella Pesto Panini
   
    I stopped by Starbucks on my way to take my PLT and stopped to try one of their Tomato and Mozzarella Pesto Panini. It was delicious.  It seemed so simple.

Ingredients:
Ciabatta bread
Pesto
Mozzarella cheese
Tomato

I sliced the bread and spread pesto sauce on it. I cooked the tomatoes for a couple of minutes in a pan but I'm sure they would be good fresh too.

I cut way too many tomatoes and cheese so this is bigger than i usually make it. You really only need three tomato slices and one piece of cheese.

I love this and have used it a lot to make paninis. Yum!

The finished project. It would be great for breakfast or lunch.

DIY Dry Erase Calendar

DIY Dry Erase Calendar

   I have been wanting a Calendar for awhile now to help Duane and I organize everything. I saw this idea on Pinterest to make your own Dry Erase Calendar. I loved the idea because I could change it when I needed to, use it all year around, it was bright and fun, and it was easy and cheap!
   I bought the picture frame at Hobby Lobby for 50% off (Don't you just love Hobby Lobby), the ribbon and pins from Hobby Lobby, and the paint chips from Walmart. I already had stickers, glue, and cardstock paper at home from scrapbooking.

My Materials

   The first thing I did was take the cardboard and paper out of the picture frame. I covered the 18X24 paper with my own colorful cardstock to have behind the paint chips.
   I cut each of the paint chips I got in half and arranged them on the paper. (5 rows of 7) I glued these down with rubber cement.
   This where I started to improvise a little bit. I didn't cut straight on the paint chips so it looked a little silly. I had bought ribbon that day for another project but used it inbetween the paint chips creating a thick line between the days. I pinned the ribbon down with pins which added just a little bit of extra color. I also had extra space at the bottom so I used stickers I had to decorate it a little bit.
   Finally, I put together the picture frame and it was done! I could change it for any month of the year by writing on the glass with a dry erase marker. 

The finished project! Love it!

Our Month of August

My kitchen is very bright so it matched perfectly!

August Meal Plans

Planning Monthly Meals

   I have been trying to focus on my weight and eating healthy for about a year now. I have tried a diet that my trainer gave me but it was really expensive and hard to keep up with. Instead of trying a diet, I have been planning out my (healthier) meals and snacks for the week so I'm not stuck and end up eating something I shouldn't. Eating healthy for me has been really easy during the week but during the weekend it's another story BUT we'll tackle one problem at a time. 
   
   I planned breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the month of August. August is kind of a trial month but I really think doing this every month will be beneficial when I start my student teaching. It will be easy to plan healthy snacks and lunches to bring to the school with me. 

   I was thinking I would be doing more frozen dinners and crock pot meals than I ended up doing. I was just too excited to try all the new recipes. In exchange, I was able to prepare a few meals ahead of time and freeze them but most of the meals, I'll have to prepare the day of. I think it'd be amazing to plan a month of healthy meals that can be prepped at once then frozen until the day of.  There are some great websites that I've found on Pinterest that give monthly meal plans AND grocery lists. I may have to take advantage of that one month if I get too busy. 
   
   It took a lot of organizing but I accomplished it. I planned breakfast and lunches for myself and three dinners a week for Duane and I. We do dinner with my Dad on Thursdays and dinner with my family on Sundays. Plus I do dinner with my girlfriends on Tuesdays. That only left Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. I planned for twelve dinners (3 a week) and twenty lunches. I alternate between cereal, eggs and turkey sausage, scrambled eggs, breakfast burritos, and english muffin sandwiches for breakfast throughout the week.

   
   I started by looking at recipes I had pinned from Pinterest, meals I know Duane and I really like, and looking at my favorite website for healthier recipes; http://www.skinnytaste.com/. I have tried a lot of recipes from Skinny Taste and they're amazing. Great ideas and easy to follow. After making a list of the meals and snacks I was planning on having, I penciled them into a calendar. A lot of the lunches, especially when I'm at school, will be left overs which is perfect. I planned more of the slow cooker meals and bigger portion meals at the end of the month of August for when I start school. 

Skinny Sour Cream Enchiladas from SkinnyMom

    After I had a layout, I broke them into a weekly meal plans. I found this cute, free organizer online from ihttp://issasarza.com/. Finally, I printed a monthly plan to keep. I quickly googled free monthly planners and was able to put my own picture in it. I thought this could be kind of fun to remember something special from the month before and keep your spirits up to stay on track! I keep all of the recipes and plans in a binder in the kitchen. I'll keep every week's plan on the fridge. I'm excited to see how everything goes. 

My Project and DIY Drawers with Scrapbook Paper

My Project

    Duane and I moved into a new house in May which I absolutely love. No more apartment! It's an older house but has a lot of nice features to it and I have loved decorating it. It's really nice because Duane let me have the extra room for extra space. I put my desk, dresser, and vanity in there. It also gave us the opportunity to have two separate closets = heaven! The first thing I tried to do to make this room a little bit brighter and more organized is rearrange it. (Note: Notice my scarf hanger, I love the look of this)

Before

Before

After, thought my desk being next to the window would be better.

I'm lucky to have this room.

   Lately, I've been trying to make the room a little brighter and more organized because I'm going to be needing to use it at the end of this month! No matter how many lamps I have brought into the room, it still seems dark. So I've tried to brighten up the colors and try my hand at some DIY crafts.

DIY Plastic Drawers and Scrapbook Paper 
   
   I found this idea from Simply Living. It revamps the plain plastic containers easily.

Materials:
Containers
Scrapbook paper
Mod  Podge

Cut the scrapbook paper the same height as the drawer and cover it with Mod Podge.

It gets kind of messy but cover the other side with Mod Podge and make the paper the same shape as the drawer.

Finished project.

Since I stacked both of them on top of each other, I put a sticker on it to remind me what it is.

I like it!

A Little About Me

   I am from Manhattan, Kansas and I love it here. I am very close to my family and do a Sunday dinner with my aunts, cousins, and immediate family every week. This is why food is so important to me. My Mom and Grandma are the BEST cooks. I have to try a little bit harder to get successful results. Besides my family, the most important people in my life to me are my girlfriends and my boyfriend, Duane. They give the guidance and support I need and I love each and every one of them to the moon and back!
   I am going to graduate from Kansas State University in Elementary Education in December. (Not to mention, I walk on my birthday!) I do my Student Teaching this Fall. I'm really looking forward to it. My cooperating teacher is amazing! It'll be a lot of fun and I know she'll guide and support me through this experience. Then it's on to real life! I have an Educational Blog also but this is going to be a little different...

   I have absolutely fallen in love with Pinterest! Recently I have been trying out a lot of the ideas instead of just pinning all the awesome stuff and then forgetting about it. I have started to organize more, cook more, create crafts more, and just enjoy myself so much more! This is a place to organize what I've tried and my thoughts on it. 

                                 
                                                "I get by with a little help from my friends"

Duane and I before our friend's wedding.

My two nephews, Carter and Miles. Carter is turning 3 in August and Miles was born June 28th, 2012.

My parents, younger brother, and I.