Working girl!

I feel like that's all I do right now!  Quarter grades are impending, and students are taking their exams... they're about to be relieved of their workload and I'm about to be inundated (hence the short post).  Such is life as a teacher~wouldn't change it for anything.  Alas, I think I would rather be relaxing about now.  Maybe doing this?

 

I want to ride my bicycle, read books, and collect flowers!  That sounds like a picture perfect day to me!  Yesterday, Eric and I rode our bikes to our favorite pub, and sat on the patio with our dog, and ate a white pizza.  Perfection.  I hope you enjoyed your Wednesday evening as much as we did!  And I hope your day today is smooth sailing... Happy Thursday, Friends!

I live in a barn

Not really, but the newest trend of using rolling barn doors in uber-chic homes kind of makes me wish that I did! I swear I've seen barn doors EVERYWHERE in the past year.  At first it felt a little too "industrial loft" for me (Shows how great my taste is.  NOT!).  But, as I saw more and more of them incorporated into traditional spaces, I became a full on believer in all the barn door has to offer!  Its a great way to dress up an otherwise plain wall, it adds visual interest to a room, and is an amazing space saver.  But numero uno reason to love them?  They're absolutely adorable.  Check out the few I've compiled below...

via Barbara Bestor
How GREAT is this red door??  This baby is feng shui, and super cute to boot!  I love the occasional pop of red; it's like this door is the ruby red pair of heels you add to an otherwise "blah" outfit to make it fantastic.  Well done, Barbara Bestor, well done!

 

For less of a contrast, but no less chic, paint the door to match the walls.  This adds the illusion of extra space (perfect for tiny entryways!).

via Max Levy
I want to draw a bath, and sit in this tub with the rolling barn door closed for a few hours.  Ahhhhh, solitutde!

via Apartment Therapy
Is the "barnyard" look a little too intense for you?  Don't worry, you can have a rolling door too!  Just replace the barn door with a french door and you've got it made in the shade.  I LOVE that this allows you to see between rooms.  Another great idea for making a small space feel bigger.  Although, I might not use a french door as a bathroom door like below...  ;)

via Design Sponge
The reclaimed wood here is amazing.  And it's rich colors contrast so perfectly with the stark white walls.  Someone I know needs to install a rolling barn door in their guest bath so I can try it out and see how I like the idea!

via Design Sponge
Traditional barn door meets white washed paint, meets Navajo rug, meets antler chandelier.  Anyone else feel like they NEVER would have put any of this together in like 1000 years?  I sure feel that way, but the design behind this was brilliant!

via House Beautiful
I love the way these don't come all the way to the floor.  While they might not be the most practical, they are certainly effective room dividers (and they're super cute!).

via House Beautiful
Another white-on-white door.  But the fixtures make it pop without paint.  Wonder what's behind it...  Wouldn't it be AMAZING to have barn doors on your CLOSET?!  I hope there's a closet behind this door. =)
 

via Southern Living
Yellow on Grey is AMAZING.  And a yellow barn door is right up there with a red barn door in my book.  Wouldn't this look good in a white and navy room too?? 

via Sunset Magazine
A barn door enclosing a closet desk?!  I'm in LOVE!  I think I died of cute!  And space saving!  Wow, love it.  I always knew you were great, Sunset Mag!

via Sunset Magazine
Need a little more "mod" with your traditional barn door?  Take it away, Sunset Magazine - these two rolling panels hide a washer dryer unit and something else (pantry?).  They look polished without looking uber-traditional.  A nice score for any modern pad.

How do you feel about barn doors?  Are you jumping on the trend or do you feel like you'd rather not remind yourself of a place that normally houses livestock?  Either way, I hope you're having an absolutely wonderful Wednesday.  Happy hump day!

90 Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies and one kitchen, to go, please...

Since I missed school on Friday, and since my kids were absolutely fabulous for their subs while I was gone...  I made reward cookies.  Ok, ok, all those pure-hearted teachers out there, I hear you.  Yes, I realize I am teaching them that they should expect rewards for good behavior and reinforcing that extrinsic motivation is all that matters, but... one word: COOKIE.  Mmmmmmm!  Sometimes we do somethings for the people we love just because we care and we're thankful.  This is one of those times.  As hard and crazy as my job can be, I wouldn't have one if it weren't for my kiddos, and I'm truly thankful for their attitude over the last week.  So there, they're "thank you" cookies, not "bribe" cookies =).

These cookies come from a recipe that my Grandma Horn passed down to my mom, who gave it to me (the BEST KIND!!).  My Grandma was quite the baker in her day... she always had a cake out on the counter (how, oh HOW was she so SKINNY?!), and her recipes have become something of a legend.  My Grandma Copenhaver is an amazing cook too; she's got a few recipes in lined to go up on here!

These are considered a "drop" cookie, if I'm not mistaken...  Meaning, they are shaped with two spoons and dropped onto the cookie sheet.  Also, they're easy to over-bake.  Lots of drop cookies are easy to over-bake (in my humble opinion), and they taste like dirt of you do... so there's your fair warning =)

Evelyn's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
 Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter (use the REAL STUFF)
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla (again, use the REAL stuff)
2 to 2 & 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp water
3 cups quick oats
12 oz. milk chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Cream butter and shortening.
2. Add sugar, eggs, water, and vanilla, to butter and shortening, and beat well.
3. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into the creamed mixture and blend.
4. Slowly add oats and then chocolate chips until combined.
5. Refrigerate 45 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
7. Drop cookies onto greased cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes until just barely golden brown.
8. EAT all of them as fast as you can so you don't have to share. =)

Is there anything better than a counter full of cookies?!  (And wine... we're always well-stocked!)

And I LOVE my newly remodeled kitchen (you'll see real pics soon, I swear!), buuuut... I wouldn't mind cooking the lovely little gems in this kitchen:























Don't you think that would be nice?  Me too =)

Hopefully this doesn't make you drool too much this morning!  Happy Tuesday, friends!

Back with blog love for A Thoughtful Place!

So, this is my first full year teaching in my current school, and I love it. I love my kiddos, I love my subject (math rocks!), and I love my colleagues. However, the school is a 35 minute drive from home (without traffic), and I don't know what it is about the 35ish mile distance from me, but I feel like it must be a different country with *drumroll* different germs?? I have been sick SO OFTEN this year! And while I've yet to miss any days from sickness (cue the triumphant music), on Thursday I thought I was going to die. I didn't take my temp in the morning b/c... well, I didn't want to know. I managed to make it through the day (I honestly remember very little), and after arriving home, I took my temp to see it was 102 (and it continued climbing for a few hours)!! I knew I needed some rest and some Tylenol, and on Friday, I missed my first day. I felt INCREDIBLY guilty the entire day (my school does not hire substitutes as we are a small network of charter schools with an equally small budget), knowing my colleagues were having to cover for me. I tried to remind myself that I regularly volunteer to cover for others, but I don't know, I love to guilt myself, what can I say??

This is also the second year I've been sick in the days leading up to Eric's birthday (BAD timing), so I feel double awful. Thursday was also the first weekday since December that I haven't posted a blog entry (TRIPLE sadness!). And since Eric was too smart and took the car to work (he normally rides his bike and he KNEW I'd sneak back to work to put in at least an afternoon's worth of teaching), I was forced to stay home and do what was good for me... rest.

And what was I going to do with all that time??? CLEAN was my first thought... but Eric would kill me if he knew I didn't rest. Grocery SHOP was my second thought... but Eric has the car. WORK on my quarter grades (fast approaching!) on which I did spend a significant amount of time. And lastly, peruse GORGEOUS BLOGS for inspiration! Which was what occupied most of my morning (with intermittent sleeping and temperature monitoring in between). While oogling some of my favorite blogs, I came across a new one that I am TOTALLY in love with!

Meet Courtney's blog, A Thoughtful Place. I spent most of Friday morning blog stalking her (i.e. reading every post she's done since she began her blog last September), and I am SO stealing many of her ideas for our home!! She seems to have a total handle on the whole "mommy thing" which makes my head swim just thinking about it! And she features pictures of design transformations in her home in almost every post (a personal and yet unfulfilled goal of mine!). She is brilliant, and has such a sense of "real life" in her posting. She knows most everyone can't afford to spend $3000 on a closet overhaul, so she puts her genius to work and redesigns her closet for less than $300!! I admit, I'm crushing on her genius, and her dedication to beautifying her family's space.

Visit her blog here. Do it now, you won't be sorry!

See one of my favorite posts here.

And here are just a few of the amazing pics of HER HOME she's featured on her blog (these aren't me, people, they're all Courtney!!).

These are the stripes she painted on her bedroom wall, using the same paint color in a different finish. Subtle, and perfect for a bedroom. Read about it here.

This was her set-up for her mantle during holiday time. I wish beyond wishing I had a fireplace and a chic mantle to go with it! Read about this and some more of her holiday decorations here.

She MADE this chevron table runner from a paint drop-cloth and metallic spray paint. I WILL be making this SOON, and in many colors (OMG, navy, here I come!!). Read the uber-easy tutorial here.

She had her kitchen remodeled and used the beveled-edge subway tile that I am absolutely head-over-heels IN LOVE with. I'm also beyond jealous of that pass through window she has just to the left of her sink. Read about the kitchen transformation here.

She also completed this inspiring DIY striped drape project that I must copy, if I can figure out how to make it work for my GIANT window without finding an over-sized, and inevitably $$$ fabric (my window is almost 90" long... perhaps 2 panels of stripes on each side? Would it be stripe overload?). Read her tutorial here.

I am completely inspired by how many projects she is able to complete and how gorgeous they all turn out! I think I've been hesitant to post my own before and after pics because of the age of our home, and it's difficulties (we bought for the neighborhood, and the house just happened to be here). I can't make my house look nearly as chic as others homes without MAJOR remodeling (read: knocking down walls, and ripping off siding, etc.). Is this how everyone feels, I wonder?? That being said, I've already completed 1 giant remodel and 2 mini-remodels around out home since we've been here. So I promise, as soon as my kitchen, family and living rooms are clean, I'll post the before and after pics of all three rooms. They've undergone quite the transformation since this was a house where 6 college boys lived!

Thanks for the inspiration, Courtney! It's time to start cleaning so I can post the pictures... Happy Monday, everyone!

P. S. Did a little re-design on the blog this weekend (just like my home, I can't leave it alone!).  Hope you like it!

Flu...

We were supposed to celebrate Eric's birthday with friends tonight... But my body decided to get the flu instead. My temp topped out at 103 yesterday, and while I've been running at a nice healthy 98 since 10PM last night, I feel live I've been hit by one of these:

That's right, a bus. And not one of those wimpy little school buses either, a big-momma, double-decker BUS. It's been nice to get some rest today (I've only left my bed a total of 4 times, and I've slept most of the day... but I missed this, so I HAD to blog).

But I wish I could make myself well enough to go tonight; I will miss being with our dear friends at one of our favorite places here: Four Peaks Brewery. They have the most fantabulous (<- not a word, but it should be) hand crafted beer, and the food is to die for. Case in point?

Holy YUM. Yes, it's roughly 2.4 gabazillion (<-also not a word but should be) calories, and usually takes me 3.79 years of running to work off, but it so TOTALLY worth it. And I'll own up to this right here and now. I don't split that plate. I eat it. All of it. In one sitting. (and then I get heartburn) But seriously worth it. Granted, I NEVER (almost) eat like this otherwise, I do not want to die young... but once in a while indulgence is soooo gooood. And I'd planned on it tonight, but alas, I'd rather not pass along my oh-so-fun sickness to others. So my sweet hubby and I shall have to celebrate a little at home. Maybe take out? Watch a movie? I'd want to watch this one:


But Eric will probably want to watch something like this:

I guess I'll let the birthday boy choose =) And now I must sleep again, because even this weenie excuse for a post has me exhausted. I hope your Friday has been wonderful... go out and celebrate for me! Happy Friday, friends!

Loving: Stripes

I don't know about you, but I am so excited for spring to arrive (it's going to be 79 degrees here tomorrow, wahoo!!). With the colors and motifs of spring/summer in mind, I've been in LOVE with this West Elm Shower curtain:

And ever since I saw it, I've been trying to work it into my guest bathroom scheme. I've been attracted to stripes in general lately, and loving the warmth and coziness they bring to a space, just the ticket for springtime weather!

These Turkish Tea Towels from Apartment 48 are so perfect for a cottage kitchen!

These bath towels from Ralph Lauren Home would be perfect under and umbrella, poolside! Oh I CAN'T WAIT to SWIM!

And for the poolside snacks? These Cornishware mixing bowls from Pillivuyt!

via Elle Decor
Isn't the little striped rug perfect for a patio? Mmmmmm, I want to barbecue on a porch....

And in case you'd like to bring the party indoors, how about this striped beauty?? I LOVE the green and grey combo!

via Elle Decor
Like a little more va-va-voom in your style? BAM! Check out these curtains - this room spells D.R.A.M.A.

via Elle Decor
And for all the drama lovers out there, How about this striped, gabled ceiling, and the sleigh day bed?? I'll take one best selling book, and 4 spare hours please, and thanks.

via Elle Decor
This rug is divine! Some may say it's too busy, but I think it adds a great base to the slim furnishings and dainty lines in this space. P.S. That industrial bookshelf? Yep, I'm smitten.

via Elle Decor
There is something so wonderful about all white bathrooms, but the ceiling here is JUST the place to add drama. If you have sweet architectural details like this gabled ceiling, draw attention to them!

via Elle Decor
This bathroom has all my favorite things! I mentioned here that I've always wanted a bust in my home, and this striped shower curtain is amazing. I wish I had a big bright window in my bathroom~ but if it were me, I'd fill it in with glass block... I'm just sayin'... ;)

via Elle Decor
Stripes add such visual interest to walls. And the idea that they make a small room feel even tinier is just bogus. Look at this passage way. Doesn't it look bright and cheery to you? I'm considering painting stripes like this down my hallway at home. What do you think?

Add some stripes to your spring, even if it's just a nautical shirt like this one on sale right now at Ann Taylor loft!!

How do you feel about stripes? Love 'em or hate 'em? I hope you're having a wonderful and happy Wednesday, friends!

Gearing up!

Well, my life is about to get cuh-rae-zee! Students are gearing up for mid-terms, and I'm gearing up for all of the quarter evaluations I'll have to complete for them! I wish I had more time do do a more detailed post, but alas, life happens. =) For today, I'll post a few rooms that are inspirational to me, and maybe a little something extra!

via Elle Decor
I've gotten back into cooking more homemade meals lately (hooray!) and wouldn't I just DIE for a butlers pantry like this? The answer is yes. Although, lets be real, I could NOT keep cake and biscotti just lying around like that... Well hello, spare tire!

via Elle Decor
I've ALWAYS wanted a farmhouse sink like this. And that pretty green view? Well lets just say I don't have the privilege of staring at anything half so nice when I'm doing the dishes! Also, I'm loving the choice of having two over-the-sink lights, it's a unique touch.

With all my cooking, I can't help but think about WHERE I'd like to eat these meals, and this dining room sounds perfect to me! I love the idea of having a love seat as a dining bench. And when they make it so cute and irresistible (read: it has a wing back?!), I just can't say no.

via Domino
I'd also settle for(read: jump for joy at the though of) eating outside on this dock, don't you think?? Maybe a canoe ride on the lake after? *sigh*

via Elle Decor
Or maybe here? This could be my back yard some day, right? I love Love LOVE the set of lanterns above the table, and the slatted-wood chairs make the whole thing look vintage, yet livable. Now I just need to live in a place where things actually grow outside. ;)


And finally, as if this post hasn't been silly and random enough... I'm not loving my outfit today. I know, I know, it's a total girl moment. Buuuut, if I could be wearing anything, I think it would be this:
via Polyvore
Can you tell I'm ready for some spring color?? And a little Simon and Garfunkel sound like just the relaxing soundtrack my life needs right about now =) Happy Tuesday, everyone!