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Currently Loving- October 2017

CURRENTLY LOVING- OCTOBER 2017

Hi everyone! October is coming to a close and it’s officially holiday season! Hooray! It really is the most wonderful time of the year.

I have to take a minute to talk about that front stoop up there. Isn’t it dreamy? As much as I love the Christmas season and decor, this fall decor is giving me all the feels. It’s from one of my favorite bloggers, Alaina Kaczmarski of The Elizabeth Street Post. I’ll talk more about her later in this post.

But we’re not here to talk about the holidays, we’re here to talk about October. I’d like to share some of the things that came across my path that I loved during this gorgeous month.

Some Cooler Weather

Time for more of those outfits, amiright? About midway through the month it got a little chilly, left for a bit, then on the 28th there was that glorious cold front that came through. It was rainy and cold, and I stayed in and watched Hallmark Christmas movies all day while I worked on Beautycounter business and wrote several blog posts. It was one of those perfect fall days. Only thing that would have made it better was an unnecessary fire in a fireplace I don’t have. Ha! 🙂

I’m a Beautycounter Consultant

That brings me to my second favorite thing about October- Beautycounter. I’ve shared with you some of the products that I’d been using from them before, but this was the month that I signed on to become a consultant. I have a full post on why I joined that I’d love for you to read here. Here are some of my favorite products that I’ve been using from the very beginning of my journey with this wonderful company.

These were the original products that I started with from the brand, and I’ve not turned back. I love them so much, and they’re a safer option for your skin care routine. For more of my favorites read the original post here. You can also check out my right sidebar and choose the Safer Beauty tab to learn more. You can also visit my website with Beautycounter directly right here.

Tip Time

I was listening to Young House Love has a Podcast a while back, and Sherry was saying that one way they keep paper clutter out of their house was to take pictures on your phone of the pages that you like in a magazine and then upload them to a secret Pinterest board so that you don’t have a million magazines lying around your house. And I was like, duh!!! Why didn’t I think of that?! Thanks, Sherry! I just wanted to share that with y’all because it really is that easy! I got rid of SO MANY magazines because I did this and was able to pass the magazines along to friends and the local hospital waiting rooms.

Lighting

As always, I’m trying to find ways to improve my home and make it more “me”. Well, I’ve recently discovered the wonder of the world of lighting. Light fixtures are some of the most brilliant works of art out there. Although, I’m more of a traditionalist when it comes to lighting, there are some really fun and funky options that could totally make your space. Here’s a few that I really love.

Antique Whitewashed Wood Bead Chandelier- World Market

I’ve saved the best for last. The is a photo of one of my very favorite bloggers that lives in one of my very favorite homes I’ve ever seen. Her style is impeccable, and I find myself wanting to copy her decor every time I see a new photo of her home. Look at this chandelier. Look at her whole apartment! It’s seriously one of the most beautiful homes. Remember the front stoop at the top of this post? Same blogger. Her style…ah! I love it! Check out her full home tour here. Trust me, you want to! And then you’ll be mad at me because you’ll immediately want to change everything about your home because her home is perfection.

Music

Every morning when I have my quiet time I listen to instrumental praise music. That’s the name of the Pandora station I listen to, actually. It has introduced me to so many new artists that I wouldn’t have known because I typically don’t listen to instrumental music. But in the mornings with Jesus, it’s nice. This song stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard it, and it still does even though I’ve heard it probably 30 times. I posted about it on my Instagram a while back, but I’m going to share it again here. Have a listen, won’t you?

One more, and DON’T judge ok? I am a big fan of Leslie Odom Jr. He plays Aaron Burr in Hamilton and is starring in the upcoming Murder on the Orient Express. The man has a beautiful voice, and it’s very unique. Last year he came out with a Christmas album, but I didn’t get it for whatever reason. Well, this year he announced he’s re-releasing a deluxe edition of the album. And, well, I caved. And I’m so glad I did! It’s SO GOOD! It was worth the $10 on itunes and will be great to play when I put up the tree. I’m more of a Rat Pack Christmas kind of girl than a Mariah Carey Christmas kind of girl anyway, so Leslie Odom Jr. fits right in with what I like.

Countdown to Christmas

The only other thing I’m loving during October is the Hallmark Channel. The harvest movies were fantastic, of course, and October was the kick-off for Countdown to Christmas. Like I said, it’s the most wonderful time of the year!

I hope everyone has had a lovely October, and I wish you a very Happy November!

XO,

Elizabeth

Leaving my Beauty Mark

Hello my friends. It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged. I guess I’ve been in a creativity rut. Also, work is keeping me pretty busy, so projects have been put on the backburner. I don’t remember there being this much paperwork in Louisiana public schools. Maybe it was because I didn’t really have papers to grade. Who knows? However, school work is taking up a lot of my time, so weekday projects are pretty much non-existent, and when the weekends roll around, we have plans a lot of the time. These sound a lot like excuses, but the truth is, this blog is one of my favorite things I do because it’s just for me. I love this outlet to share things that I love (whether anyone reads it or not), and it just makes me feel good to write. So when I have to put it to the side, I miss it terribly.

So, yes, I blog for me. And I’m so happy that you come back time and time again to read it. But I’ve recently come across something that I’m not only doing for me; I’m doing it for you as well.

Enter Beautycounter

I learned about this company from a random Facebook message from my Beautycounter mentor, Kelly. She reached out to me, probably expecting a negative result since I didn’t live near her anymore. But for whatever reason, I took interest. I started looking into the company and learned that these products are made with safer ingredients than what I’ve been using on my skin for about 31 years. I knew pretty instantly after exploring the Beautycounter website that I wanted to try something. I decided to go with the Charcoal Bar and the Charcoal Mask. I loved them and haven’t looked back yet.

Why Beautycounter?

I’m not one to do something drastic without doing my research, so… I did my research and a lot of it. I started following Beautycounter and its founder, Gregg Renfrew, on social media. I read the tab on the Beautycounter website called Our Story. It’s chock full of information about how Beautycounter got started and why they’re doing what they’re doing. I looked up videos on talks that Gregg did, found some reviews on the products on Youtube. There was surprisingly a wealth of info out there about this relatively new company.

S0, why Beautycounter? I am 31 years old. I have some healthy habits in my life, but I also have plenty of unhealthy ones to counteract them. As I’ve become a 30-something I’ve really started to learn who I am and what I want out of my life. And with that reckoning came a desire for change. It’s a process, as anything is, but I am working on myself to develop a more healthy lifestyle. I know I need to exercise more, eat more veggies, use safer cleaning products, and get my yearly checkups so that I am keeping track of my overall health. Well, Beautycounter seemed like a great addition to a healthier lifestyle. Look, I’m a girly girl. I love makeup and beauty products. And, y’all, this is a fun lifestyle change! I actually feel good about the things that I put on my body every day, and I look forward to acquiring even more safer skincare and beauty products.

Safer Beauty

One of the reasons Beautycounter is so safe is because of The Never List. The Never List is a list of ingredients that are often used in beauty and personal care products but are never used in products at Beautycounter. Follow the link above to see the list.

In the United States, we only have roughly 30 restricted or banned cosmetic ingredients. If we look to our friends in the European Union we will find over 1,400 banned ingredients. The last time congress did any major regulating to the cosmetics industry was in 1938. Almost 80 years ago guys. 80.

This is one of my favorite things about Beautycounter, they are trying to change this. They are in D.C. actually lobbying to get congress to pay attention and make these changes. I am not a mother yet, but I want to be. And I want my future children to have safe personal care products to use. Sure, I want them for myself too, but to know that if I have a daughter, she could have all safe skin care and makeup is a big why for me.

So, I joined the mission to get safer products into the hands of everyone. Mine and yours. I’m still learning about all of the products, but I’m loving every minute of it. I’d love to share with you in person about this amazing company and the potentially life-saving mission of this company. Cancer caused by environmental elements is a real thing. I believe they are trying to make things safer for us so that our risk of cancer due to some of our lifestyle choices is at a lesser risk than it is now. I believe in these products and in the mission of this company.

Like I said, I’d love to tell you more. There’s all sorts of ways we can do that. I can have you over to play in some of the products. I can host you and few of your friends at my house. You can host friends at your house and I’ll bring all of my goodies for you to try. You can learn more about this stand-out company and how you, too, can switch to safer beauty.

Okay, here are a few of my favorite products. Like I said before, I started with the charcoal bar.

My Favorite Products

My skin is very oily and acne-prone, and I have big pores, so anything with charcoal has always been recommended to me. I couldn’t get just one thing so I decided to try the Charcoal Mask as well.

I ordered these two products way back in March and I’m still using the same tube of the mask and am just now finishing up my second charcoal bar. These products last so long because a little goes a long way.

I ended up diving into the cosmetics side of the brand with the Tint Skin Foundation. It is extremely high-performing and long-wearing.

This makeup is very comparable to a high end brand of makeup that I was wearing before. It was honestly a no-brainer for me to repurchase this makeup after I fell in love with it and knew that it was so much safer.

Here’s a few more products that I love and use daily.

This concealer is everything. It hides all imperfections and is in this wonderful pen, which I didn’t like at first, but now I think it’s genius! This sunscreen is a face stick. I have such fair skin, and though I knew I needed sunscreen on my face everyday, I hated how thick and goopy it made my skin feel. And then I had to put makeup on top of it. I just wasn’t feeling it. This is amazing. I know I’m getting great sun protection, and I’m not getting the sticky feeling I normally get from other sunscreens I’ve used. Bonus- it smells a little like Tootsie Rolls. 🙂 Double bonus- It’s a safe sunscreen!This is the volumizing mascara. I honestly wasn’t so sure about this because I had found my holy grail mascara a long time ago. And anytime I strayed from it to try the next best thing, I always came crawling back. But then I tried Beautycounter. And I literally threw the other stuff away. This performed better than the other mascara and it’s safer for me.
Last, and not really last but last on this list, is the Lip Conditioner Peppermint Balm. It’s cooling, hydrating, and feels great. Also, you know, with lip products, we are constantly licking our lips, drinking our coffee and eating and transferring our lipstick all in the process. Turns out, we actually consume our lip products. Yes, like eat them. Of course we’re unaware that we’re doing this, but we are, and a lot of the ingredients in our lipsticks are toxic. So, I feel better knowing that my lip products that I wear from Beautycounter are safer for me to actually wear and sometimes consume. I sure hope you’ve stuck around until now. Please feel free to message me, leave a comment here on this post, join my Facebook group, and visit my website to learn even more and to shop with me. You can also check out the right sidebar right here on my blog. It’s a page labeled Safer Beauty, and you’ll always find a direct link to my website there without having to search for this post.

I can’t wait to introduce you to these truly wonderful products that you’re sure to love.

XO,

Elizabeth

Currently Loving- September 2017

CURRENTLY LOVING- SEPTEMBER 2017

Hi friends! Anyone else feel like September just kind of blurred by? I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that October is, like, tomorrow. But it is, so I’m here to share some of my favorite things about September. I do, however, love October. It’s officially time for slightly cooler nights, lots of actual pumpkins (not just pumpkin spice), and things start changing colors…those beautiful colors. I digress…In no particular order here are some of my September favorites:

Walmart Finds

I’ve told y’all about the website Bauble Bar before and how much I love their jewelry. I just don’t really love their price tag. It’s not outrageous or anything, but I love a deal. That website inspired me to make these earrings instead of paying nearly $40 for them.

Well, a while back I found these for $32. And these for $34.

Cute, right? Well, I follow this Instagram account called WhoaWaitWalmart. And they posted this picture.And in case you can’t read that price, it says $4.00!! AND just this week they put on their Instastories that they are all marked down to $2.00! Bummer for those of us who live in Greenville because they didn’t get any of this cuteness, but I did find them in Montgomery at the Walmart on Chantilly. Here’s what I got. Don’t these look almost identical to the Bauble Bar ones? I paid the full $4, but still! I’m pretty bad at math, but that’s an eighth of the price right? I’m counting it as a win.

I’ll never quit black and white stripes. And how fun for Halloween?I convinced myself I just needed one more pair so I could have game day earrings.

Now that they’re $2.00, I want to go back and get all the others I wanted. Anybody know how to grow a money tree? Because if you go back and look at that picture of all the earrings, how could you say no to any of them? So much goodness!

Ginger Hair

In case you don’t know this about me, I go through an annual period where I want to dye my hair red. I’ve done it once, and I didn’t realize how much upkeep it is to be a ginger. It faded so quickly, and I got nervous and let it grow out to a weird color before I dyed it blonde again. Well, it usually happens around fall. (Must be all those awesome Pinterest photos.) But I always chicken out. I get too nervous that I’ll look ridiculous or that I won’t be able to keep it up. Also, I want one of the more expensive processes to be done, so where’s that money tree again? Anyway, here’s what I want to do this time. Come follow me on Pinterest for more pointless red hair inspirtation. 🙂 Isn’t it so gorgeous? Initially, I think it isn’t that drastic of a change, and yet as I’m writing this post I’m totally thinking, I could NEVER! But it’s SOOOOO pretty! I don’t know what my obsession is. I just love it. One day I’m going to do it and never look back. 🙂 Also, anyone watching Making the Team with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders? I have loved this show since it started. Kelli is cutthroat, and I love her! This beauty right up there is Stephanie. In this season, her hair is so gorgeous. Every time they show her, I say out loud how much I love her hair color. Maybe I’ll do it over Thanksgiving break so I have a week to get used to it. (Who am I kidding? I’ll be saying this again next September.)

Beachin’

Paul and I went to the beach recently with my parents and brother. It was a quick trip but much needed and definitely enjoyed. We were in Gulf Shores, and though we’ve been there countless times, we found new restaurants and had a great time. If you’re going soon, you should visit Fisher’s Dockside and pretty much order anything. It doesn’t disappoint.

Fashion Week

Fashion week has been happening all over the world recently, and I pulled together a few of my favorite looks from some great designers.

Oscar de la Renta

Carolina Herrera

See that silver dress above? Well, it looks stunning on the red carpet, but Sarah Paulson wore it to the Emmys earlier this month, and I really didn’t like it. Perhaps it’s the styling differences, but I loved it in the show. Here it is at the Emmys. Alberta Ferretti

Now for some fashion funnies

I’m not knocking fashion as an art, but I’d never wear those glasses nor the purple swim cap dress. And it sort of looks like the 80’s are back at Gucci. Hmm…Fun to look at, and laugh at, at least.

Broadway Under the Stars

If you’ve never gotten the chance to go to Broadway Under the Stars at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, you are missing out on life! The Montgomery Symphony Orchestra comes to play music from Broadway shows past and present. They played Hamilton, y’all! It was the most perfect weather, and we had a wonderful spot complete with three little girls in front of us who ballet danced to nearly the whole thing. Next year, you must go! It’s outside on the grounds, hence “under the stars”. And the moon was full and enormous. It was practically magical.

And I just love this building and always have to take its picture.

Also, we carried a picnic dinner from Jason’s Deli. I got the Caprese Panini, and all I can say is, how have I never eaten here before? Holy crap it’s good! And bonus, if you dine in, you get a complimentary ice cream cone for dessert. #winning

Sean on the Porch

If you’ve never heard of Sean of the South, then click his name and go read his latest post. You won’t be able to stop at just one. He’s a magician with words. It’s unbelievable how good he is at telling stories. He’s a good ol’ southern boy who loves his wife, mama, and dog. He writes feel good stories, sad stories, love stories, and everything else in between. He recently came to Greenville to speak and play some guitar out at Nanny’s Fine Dining. It was a true pleasure to hear him tell stories in person. He’s just as good at that as he is at putting them on paper. Promise me you’ll go check him out. Just go ahead and sign up for them to come to your email every morning, ok?

September was pretty good to me. I’ve clearly had a busy one. How was your September? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Have a great weekend, y’all!

Elizabeth

Fall Recipe- Pumpkin Oatmeal

PUMPKIN OATMEAL

I’m still on a fall food kick, and I’ve found another yummy one. Pumpkin Oatmeal, y’all! I am a fan of oatmeal in bursts. Sometimes I get really into it, and I’ll stay into it for a few weeks or so, but then I don’t want it for about six months.

I was in one of those six month stretches when I came across this recipe on Pinterest. (Seriously, what did we do before Pinterest?) I’m a sucker for just about anything with pumpkin, so I decided to give it a go.

The Recipe

As is my pattern, I cannot take credit for this recipe, so I’d like to link to the original post where I found it. Click here to go to Damn Delicious. Yep, that’s the name of her site. Ha! Well, the oatmeal was just that, so her content lives up to her site name.

I cooked the oatmeal (Old Fashioned Oats) in almond milk, and once it was done (ten-ish minutes), I added canned pumpkin, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Something about cinnamon screams fall and simply warms my heart.

Your kitchen will begin to smell like some serious fall goodness, and you’ll want to eat the entire pot even though it makes about four servings.

Let’s Eat!

Chungah, the author of Damn Delicious, serves hers with pecans on top. (YUM!) But I didn’t have any pecans, and it didn’t make that much of a difference to me to have them, so I omitted them this time.

But you should for sure drizzle on a little maple syrup before serving the oatmeal for just a hint of sweetness. So tasty!

Then pour yourself a coffee with your favorite pumpkin spice creamer and you’ve got yourself a bona fide fall breakfast.

It keeps well in the fridge and warms up pretty well in the microwave. I recommend pouring a bit more almond milk over it before microwaving since it can dry out the longer it sits in the fridge.

Don’t forget to head over to Damn Delicious to get this DELICOUS recipe. I hope you get a chance to make it and enjoy it as much as I do.

Happy Wednesday, friends! See you soon with some September favorites. (There’s quite a few!) 🙂 Have a great rest of the week.

XO,

Elizabeth

Emmy Awards Fashion Favorites 2017

EMMY AWARDS FASHION FAVORITES

Happy Fashion Friday, friends!

I know the Emmy Awards were last Sunday, but I keep seeing these wonderful pictures of the beautiful gowns that were strutted down the red carpet, and I have to share my favorites. Here they are in order of my most favorite to my least favorite.

Millie Bobby Brown in Calvin Klein by Appointment

She is my best dressed, hands down. I thought she looked stunning. Gorgeous, classic, and conservative (she’s only 13). Her simple hair and minimal makeup were the perfect styling, and I even loved the shoe pairing. Two thumbs way up!

Nicole Kidman in Calvin Klein by Appointment

The tea length dress was very popular on the red carpet last Sunday, and though I didn’t love all of those dresses, this one was beautiful. I love the bit of sparkle. I love the deep V, but loved even more that it wasn’t all cleavage. The color looks amazing against her fair skin, and the pink shoe is a fun way to add a little something extra. She rarely gets it wrong on the red carpet and this was no exception.

Thandie Newton in Jason Wu

She always looks so beautiful on a red carpet. But she usually does something very fashion-y. This look is so gorgeous. I think this color is perfect on her. I love her hair and makeup, too. She knocked it out of the park with this look.

Felicity Huffman in Tony Ward

Now that’s a red carpet moment! I just love everything about this. The color, her hair, and let’s not overlook the fact that her body is killer and the dress makes her look 8 feet tall. So beautiful.

Mandy Moore in Carolina Herrera

Okay, so I know people said she looked a bit like an Oreo, and I’ll give them something because the still shot of this dress is NOTHING compared to when she walked. It was a beautiful, flowing bit of nothing that resembled an Oreo. She looks fabulous. And that pink lip…Perfection!

Anna Chlumsky in Sachin and Babi

This dress looks like liquid silver poured over her body (well, the bottom half). I love how it’s mirror-like and totally picking up the red from the carpet. I really like the ombre to gold around the shoulders. Just a beautiful dress. It was even better on television. I would have rather seen her hair not so slicked back, but she looks incredible.

Claire Foy in Oscar de la Renta

And so continues my obsession with the designs of Mr. de la Renta. I know he’s been gone a few years, but the clothes with his name sewn into them NEVER disappoint me. (It’s one of my favorite Instagram feeds.) 🙂 I loved that it was a jumpsuit, and that half-cape-train-thing is very chic. It was just something unexpected that I really liked.

Ellie Kemper in Jenny Packham

I love the top half of this dress. The navy color and the beading is bananas, but why couldn’t they line it all the way to the ground? That would have probably put her at number two. I love the color of the dress with her hair color. And she’s just flat out beautiful! Though, I would have liked it to be a tad different, it’s still one of my favorite looks.

Zoe Kravitz in Dior Couture

I know this one isn’t for everyone. But I loved the rainbow skirt on this one. I feel like this one isn’t just a dress for an event. I feel like she was trying to make a fashion statement. Some people have said she maybe looks a little like a bird, but I think it’s so unique and just so dang pretty. I love the rainbow with the black bodice, and I’m kind of liking her darker hair. Pretty.

Jessica Biel in Ralph and Russo

Yes, this is my least favorite. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovely gown. I love that it’s drapey at the top, and I love the train. But can someone please tell me why they covered up this pretty, shiny, sparkly goodness with gauzy badness? It would have been SOOOO much better had it been all silver and ALL sparkly. That being said, I really do like the dress. And you just don’t get much better looking than Jessica Biel.

Well, y’all, that’s it! Hope this brought some pretty to your Friday!

Wait! One more. I love Stranger Things and can’t wait for it to come back this Halloween, and the boys of the show looked very dapper. I love how their own personal style is displayed for each young man.

Have a great weekend!

XO,

Elizabeth

Fall Recipe- Cheesy Potato Soup

FALL RECIPE-CHEESY POTATO SOUP

Have y’all ever been to O’Charley’s? Have you ever ordered the potato soup while there? Did you ever go back to O’Charley’s and order that soup every single time you went? Guilty.

In my fall state of mind over here I went to Pinterest to look for some yummy fall recipes. Okay, let’s be honest, I went there looking for pumpkin recipes because I’m a basic white girl that loves her #psl (psl=pumpkin spice latte for those of you living under a rock) and I ain’t ashamed to admit it! (I’ve tested one recipe already, and I’ll be reporting back next week with that treasure.) Anyway, as one often does on a Pinterest binge, I found myself heading down the soup-hole that is so enormous on that site, and I landed right on THIS ONE. I immediately wanted to try it, so I set out for the grocery store. I didn’t get a good picture of all the ingredients, but I will link the original website that was linked to the pin here at The Chunky Chef and she will give you all the information you need.

It calls for three pounds of red potatoes, so here’s a picture of those yummy potatoes post boil. While the potatoes were boiling, I was chopping green onions, making a roux (Louisiana friends don’t hate on the looks of my roux-I didn’t burn it, so I’m proud!),and cooking the bacon to be crumbled on top. I don’t know about y’all, but I just about don’t cook bacon any other way than in my oven. I don’t like being popped by hot grease nor do I like cleaning it up. So this is my favorite way.I need to say that it’s not a healthy soup. It has half and half, whole milk, Velveeta, and cans of cheddar cheese soup to name a few unhealthy ingredients. But sometimes you just want some comfort food, and when those temperatures dropped a week or so ago, the fall feels were all over me, and I needed some soup dang it.

And of course I served it with more bread because No Carb Left Behind! It’s super delicious. It does call for a lot of garlic, so if you’re garlic-sensitive like my dad, you will need to scale down on the amount you put in. It really makes it taste so good, and I don’t recommend leaving it out entirely, but maybe you could use only half the amount it calls for (2 tsp, I think) and it would still be tasty. The other thing that makes it so good is the little kick you get from adding a touch of hot sauce. It’s the magic ingredient for sure.

One more thing-it makes a very large pot. So share with someone! Paul and I don’t mind leftovers, but it was still too much for the two of us. Needless to say, we shared. I cannot take credit for this recipe, so I won’t list the actual written recipe here on my post, but if you click HERE you’ll go right to it on The Chunky Chef’s blog. Her pictures are way gorgeous, and her tomato soup looks to die for. I don’t even like tomato soup and I want to make it!

I hope you give this one a go. I know the temperatures have gone back up to the low 90s lately but just bump your air down a bit before dinner. 🙂 It’s worth it!

Happy Friday, friends!

XO,

Elizabeth

Currently Loving- August 2017

CURRENTLY LOVING-AUGUST

I feel like I say this every month, but how in the world is August over already?

I wouldn’t necessarily say that this is a bad thing. Because it leads me to my first favorite of August:

Fall

Okay, so I know it’s not fall yet, but August has notoriously been the month where I start really itching to wear scarves, boots, and sweaters. Unfortunately, living in the southern portion of Alabama is just not conducive to those things in August. However, a girl can dream, no?

Let’s start with fall decor. I don’t exactly have a front door to decorate, but Pinterest lets me see what I could do one day when I’m not in an apartment. This front porch is perfection. I’m obsessed.I think I mostly love the buffalo check pillow in the picture below. But the hay, the rustic bench, pumpkins, and lanterns are so charming. Something else I don’t have is a fireplace, but how great is that garland? I also love when there’s something in the fireplace that isn’t ashes from a leftover fire. I love this container of wood. And that “Thankful” sign. Next up for fall is, of course, fall fashion. If you’ve known me for any amount of time, you probably know that I love a scarf. I have too many to count; it’s shameful, really. Anyway, I found a few more I’d like to add to my collection. I actually like both of the entire outfits, but I especially love those scarves.

Next is a poncho (maybe not a poncho-I can’t quite tell if it has arm holes. I think it does, but maybe it’s a blanket scarf or just an oversize cardigan). Again with the buffalo check. I can’t get enough.

TV Show(s)

Any Game of Thrones fans out there? Paul and I just recently binged the series. We were caught up in real time by about episode three of this season (7). And we, like most of you, are wondering how in the heck we are going to wait until the next season! It definitely left us wanting so much more, so I’ll be excited for that one to come back.

We are mostly ready for September to bring our regular shows back that we love so much: NCIS, Bull, Big Bang, and so.many.more. We have a show or two most every night that we watch. We love us some TV.

Podcasts

Do y’all listen to podcasts? I am fairly new to this realm of entertainment, but I have to say, I really like it. I have three that I’m really loving lately. All, of course, are right up my alley from home decor to Broadway.

Young House Love Has a Podcast– If you’ve never heard of Young House Love, they are a married couple who started a blog many years ago, and are so knowledgeable about so many things regarding home decor and renovation. They are renovating a beach house right now and it’s PINK! It’s so stinking cute. I’ve linked to their website in their title, you should check it out. All of it. Their blog is the one that really got me interested in blogging myself.
Sorta Awesome– I’m new to this one (only about 4 episodes in and there are over 100), but I am really enjoying it. They talk about Netflix a lot, so they’re basically my soulmates. They also talk about life in general. I like them. They seem like nice girls. 🙂
Little Known Facts– The is the Broadway one. Ilana Levine interviews all sorts of people from the Broadway community. They sing a good bit and share behind the scenes information. And Ilana’s speaking voice is so calming and almost child-like. She is just wonderful to listen to. She played Lucy in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, if anyone remembers that musical several years ago.

A Vegan

Yes, that’s right, a vegan. I subscribe to several channels on YouTube. And often times, YouTube will suggest videos that you might be interested in. Well, one day I saw this before and after picture of a girl who had lost a lot of weight and the title of the video was something to the effect of “How I lost 70 pounds”. So I clicked on her, and she just sat explaining herself and was so real about everything. Usually there’s a gimmick or a fitness program attached to these types of videos, but this girl just said, nope, nothing did this for me, but me. She began eating a high carb diet. Yep, HIGH carb. Hmm…my skeptic ears perked straight up. But I kept listening. Turns out, she’s a vegan and her YouTube name is High Carb Hannah. She makes the most delicious looking meals-all plant based and vegan-friendly. She is very passionate about the way she lost weight. She said it took her two years, but it was because she was transforming the way she ate. I’m not turning into a vegan by any means, but I do love these plant based meals she shows you how to make on her videos. I’ve got plans for a burrito bowl, and I can’t wait. I’ll share with you when I make it.

She gave me the idea to make these black bean burgers. I found the recipe on Pinterest and gave it a try with my dad a few weeks ago while my mom and Paul were out of town. (High Carb Hannah just posted this week about a black bean, sweet potato burger, and it looks AMAZING!)

Forgive my bad, unedited photos from that night, but this is how it went down. They were seriously amazing, y’all. I want to eat them again but not as a burger. I sort of want an avocado type sandwich with the black bean patty. If anyone wants to know any tips about making these, let me know and I’ll do a quick post about them. And if you’re looking to clean up your diet, check out High Carb Hannah. I like what she’s doing for people by spreading the news that plants are good and good for you!

Now, let’s gear up for some football!! We’ll be yelling War Eagle here in the Norman house. I hope y’all have a safe Labor Day Weekend. Enjoy that extra day off! I know I will.

XO and War Eagle,

Elizabeth

Thursday Thoughts- Deep Thoughts

THURSDAY THOUGHTS

Happy Thursday, y’all!

I am definitely happy it is Friday Eve! Most of us have a long weekend ahead of us and the first college football weekend at that. Both of those things make me very happy about this coming few days.

Now for the Deep Thoughts

So, I got a reality check on Monday as I was getting ready for work, I was just not feeling it. I had a case of the Mondays for sure. I found a picture on Instagram that was of a girl dressed in a really cute fall outfit on a sunny autumn day with a cup of coffee and a book. She was sitting on a park bench reading this book, and I thought, THAT! That’s what I want to be doing today instead of going to work.

It wasn’t this exact picture, but a Google Image search gave me this, and it’s pretty similar.

I was just about to regram the shot when I scrolled down a few more and noticed more tragedy in Texas. And it just hit me that no matter how bad of a case of the Mondays I may have, my Monday is a cake walk compared to the people of Houston.

It’s been a year since Paul and I moved back to Greenville, and it’s also been a year since Louisiana had their flood. I know so many people that were affected by this. People who essentially lost their homes and have had to rebuild or restore, people who had mere inches of land left before water came inside their house, people who got in their boats and went to rescue others who were trapped on their rooftops. I can’t help but think about all of those people in Texas who maybe weren’t prepared for such flooding. I feel like people in Louisiana often expect it, especially after Hurricane Katrina. Maybe expect isn’t the right word…they just know it’s a real possibility that when the weather man says flooding, they mean business. People take precautions with sandbags and evacuations, but I wonder if the people of Texas thought maybe it wouldn’t be that bad.

My heart goes out to them. Paul and I were spared of any flooding last year. It literally just rained in our neighborhood. There was no real water accumulation in the street or any standing water too near our house. We were in the process of trying to sell it too. We were so blessed by God. I’ve seen the devastation flooding leaves behind. I’ve seen pool ladders hanging in trees along the road; I’ve seen furniture from an entire house piled by the road at driveway after driveway for miles. It’s awful.

I say all this because no matter how bad my Monday felt, how much coffee I needed and didn’t get to drink, how many times I yawned because I stayed up too late watching Game of Thrones, none of that matters. What matters is that I remember how incredibly blessed I am with the things I do have.

Pray, Y’all

Send out your prayers to the victims of Hurricane Harvey. There’s a lot that’s about to happen in the rebuilding process of the communities and families that were devastated. It’ll be long and hard, but I know that if Louisiana could come together to be #louisianastrong, then Texas can do the same. And I have to say how proud I was to see people on social media posting about the Cajun Navy (regular men and women from the gracious state of Louisiana) going out of their way with their own trucks and boats to help rescue these people from dangerous situations.

I’m not here to tell you to donate your money. By all means, if you have it, do it. I know of some reputable places that you can send your money to if you’re wanting to donate, but I’m asking you to pray. Pray for healing and restoration in the great state of Texas and for it’s people. And thank God for your blessings. Even if it’s been a bad day, I can always find at least one thing to be thankful for. I bet you can too.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

And War Eagle!

Elizabeth

Recipe Worth Sharing- Shrimp Lo Mein

RECIPE WORTH SHARING- SHRIMP LO MEIN

You guys…this recipe! First, let me preface this post by saying I am no food photographer. I have tons to learn in that department, but I need to share this recipe with y’all so bear with my amateur skills behind the camera.

I’ve been seriously slacking in the wife department when it comes to cooking, well pretty much everywhere else too now that school has started. Paul has been doing so much laundry. Bless you, babe! When you’re basically a sloth in the summer in front of Netflix all the time, you forget how to balance your life. Anyway, I am determined to get it back together now that I’m a few weeks in to school.

Yesterday I knew I had to get something to cook for dinner before heading home, so I headed to Pinterest for some inspiration instead of ordering pizza. I was sort of craving Chinese food, noodles, specifically, and shrimp and searched a lo mein recipe. I clicked on this pin from lifemadesweeter.com.

Ingredients

Her lo mein recipe used:

shrimp
red bell pepper
carrots

Very simple and delicious. Paul doesn’t love bell pepper, so I decided to do broccoli instead. But when I got to the store I found myself adding all of these things to my cart to add to my lo mein, so I used:

shrimp
green peas
broccoli
grated carrots
small sweet onion
water chestnuts

In the center is minced garlic and minced ginger which is part of her recipe.

For the sauce, you have to use oyster sauce. That sounded positively disgusting, and I fully expected the smell to be very off-putting, but it wasn’t so bad, and it totally makes the sauce, AND I found it very easily in Super Foods. Woo Hoo! (As much as I appreciate a good Walmart clearance or just a good Walmart find in general, I was so happy to not have to go there on a Friday afternoon.)

So here are the other ingredients I used (all but the veggie oil and noodles are used in the sauce).

I followed her recipe just as she had written it, and I’m not going to post an in-depth description of what I did, since this is not my recipe. Please visit her website to see the full recipe. I just wanted you to see how I tweaked it.

Put it all together and what do you have? Deliciousness!

Okay, I mixed up the sauce while the noodles were boiling. I used thin spaghetti noodles instead of lo mein noodles because I already had those in the cabinet. I didn’t have the Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry, so I omitted it, and I never missed it. Also, Paul and I don’t like cilantro, so I left that out too.

The sauce only take a minute to put together, so while the noodles cooked, I heated a big skillet with some of the veggie oil, dropped in the shrimp and onions and sauted for a few minutes. Then I added all the other ingredients except the sauce. I let them all cook down and get a little soft. The recipe tells you to add the sauce and noodles next, toss, and cook for about two minutes, so I did that.

*I cooked the whole pound of noodles because, well, leftovers. But that means I doubled the amount of sauce that the recipe calls for.* It doesn’t look like it’s going to be enough sauce because my noodles did not get as dark as the one in her pictures, but it was perfect!

The beauty of this recipe is how customizable it is. I think bell pepper would be good in it, chicken instead of shrimp, baby corn, chopped asparagus, pineapple, rice instead of noodles, or even just leave it veggie and not put any meat in it.

The Verdict

It was a big hit! Paul loves Chinese food, but I just don’t love typical Chinese takeout. I like the veggie lo mein and fried rice, but I’m never just dying to go get Chinese food unless, well, honestly unless it’s at Ming’s Garden in Montgomery or P.F. Chang’s. I do enjoy the fried rice and lo mein at China Town here in Greenville, though. And their fried wontons. Yum! I get so sidetracked, I’m sorry. It was so delicious! I took one bite and shook my head because it was so unbelievable. It was exactly what I was craving, and I’m so happy to have leftovers and happy to make this again and switch up some of the ingredients each time.

Here are a few more amateur pictures of our food. 🙂

Please visit lifemadesweeter.com to find this delicious recipe. She has so many other scrumptious looking dishes to make, too. I’ll be going there for more Asian-inspired dinners soon.

Okay, go make this delicious dinner tonight! It was very easy and would be a quick weeknight meal. It would be even quicker if you meal-prepped early and had everything thawed (well, not the shrimp) and cut/grated.

Anyone else like Asian food? Paul and I love sushi, but haven’t gotten around to a sushi date night lately. Any restaurant recommendations for good sushi in the Montgomery area? Leave them in the comments.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

XO, Elizabeth

Classroom Reveal

CLASSROOM REVEAL

In my July Favorites post I told you guys I was changing jobs and heading to public school to teach third grade. Now that school has started and I’ve gotten into the swing of things (kind of), I’d like to share the makeover I gave my classroom.

The Before

I came into the classroom after the Beautiful, wood floors had been waxed maybe one too many times, so my classroom was in a bit of disarray. Please forgive the atrocious state of the room with the ladders and pile of literally everything in the middle of the room. The floors look wet. They are so dark and lacquered within an inch of their beautiful lives. The hallways are a lighter color, but still a lot of varnish there too. It is such a charming building, and I love that it is a place that has educated many, many people. I can’t imagine how many teachers have been in just this one classroom. I love that it’s a building with so much history. I do think Nicole Curtis needs to take a trip down to Alabama and come feature my school on Rehab Addict. She could make this place amazing!The picture below shows how bad the paint was peeling off. It really needed a face lift.
Okay, so I have to say that bright blue is one of my favorite colors. I mean, don’t y’all remember Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment in the Sex and the City movie…perfection. Also, my teenage bedroom was four walls of that same lime green as the cabinet. I love bright colors, but I wasn’t feeling it when I walked into the classroom. So I decided to head to Pinterest to find some inspiration. I saw this image and new right away that I was headed in a farmhouse direction. Of course Chip and Jo would do something as adorable as awnings and window boxes INSIDE the classroom.My search led to many more classrooms with a farmhouse theme. You can check those out on my Classroom Ideas Pinterest Board if you’re a fellow Pinterest nut like I am.

I started to get a vision of what I wanted, and with the help of my parents and my husband, the room was painted and things were on their way! I decided to go with a neutral palette for the room and accent with mostly yellow, but also some green. I used Kilz brand paint in Starched Linen for the walls and Kilz paint again for the built-in cabinet and free standing cubbies but in the color White by Glidden. All the paint came from our local Walmart. I mention the Kilz brand because, Holy Moly, did it cover those bright colors well! The walls only took two coats, but I did give the cubbies and the cabinet three coats. For the black trim, we just used a little quart of Rust-Oleum in Glossy Black for touch-ups.

You can see that the built-in cabinet has been painted many times in it’s day. I can totally understand painting a built-in, but when I opened this thing and saw the luscious wood inside, my heart sank. I can’t believe how gorgeous it is. Why would anyone want to paint that?!?! My dad did say he would try to get the outside back to what it was originally, but there just wasn’t any time. Maybe next summer…right Dad? 🙂

The After

Let’s start at the entrance. Out in the hall we have a Hollywood theme. Back to Pinterest I went for inspiration. I pinned so many ideas on my Bulletin Board Ideas board, so feel free to visit and see them all. My mom wanted to know what I was thinking about doing, and when I showed her the picture of the marquis I liked, she said she had everything and would gladly make it for me. Bless you, Mama! I love how it turned out! And, bonus, none of my students forget where my room is because of it.
Now come on in.

The director’s chair came from Mrs. Ellinor who was at that giant yard sale that goes on for miles. (I can’t remember the official name.) Mom told her to be on the look out for one, and I prayed she’d find it! She must have too, because she did!! Thanks for finding this for me, Mrs. Ellinor, and bringing it back home! It’s so fun and easy to move out of the way when I need them to see the entire board.

The rug is from At Home and makes the room feel a little warmer and welcoming. Mom and Dad scored that one for me one afternoon. I love it. Okay, let’s talk for a second about the SHIPLAP bulletin board paper! I saw it on Pinterest and just assumed I’d never get any. I saw it on Amazon, but I thought it was a bit expensive, so I decided I’d just use regular paper in black, green, or yellow. But a trip to Davie’s in Montgomery made my dreams come true! I love it so much! I’m trying to find a way to make it work in my house. 🙂 The cubbies look so great painted white. I know they’ll get so dirty by the end of school, but I just love how bright and clean they look right now. The sunflowers are those tissue paper pom poms from Dollar Tree flattened down. I made the rest of the flowers from bulletin board paper. My boarder is napkin squares stapled very close to each other. You just buy about 250 cocktail sized napkins, unfold them, and cut each napkin into four individual squares. I suggest watching Netflix while you do it. Haha! 😉 I just wanted something visually interesting, and when I saw this idea from Mrs. Sheila, who retired last year, I knew that I had borrow her idea. I found these precious numbers on a shiplap background on Teachers Pay Teachers. They were so cute, and being that they were shiplap, I had to say yes. And just a quick before and after of the built in cabinet.

Before AfterIt sure is an absolute delight to walk into a space that makes me happy. I want to thank my family again for helping me make this happen. I’m so grateful they are willing to help take on projects that I come up with and indulge my creative side. It was a lot of fun getting it all done, and I couldn’t have done it without them. To my fellow teachers who are in the throws of the first few weeks of school, I raise my coffee mug to you! Lord knows we are tired and need all the caffeine to get us going in the morning and sometimes keep us going in the afternoons. I know they say there’s no tired like end of the year teacher tired, but beginning of the year teacher tired is real and worse. I wish you all a wonderful school year. I’d love to hear how your first week has gone in the comments.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone, and thanks for stopping by today!