Etsy Favorites: Pregnancy Announcements

First and foremost, no I'm not pregnant.  But I started this series on my wedding blog of items from my favorite Etsy sellers and since my Etsy shopping is certainly not limited to wedding items, I thought I would start the same series over here!  I absolutely love Etsy (obviously, since I have my own shop!) because the products you can find are so creative, plus I love supporting small businesses!  We are starting out the series with some of my favorite fun ways to announce a pregnancy.  You may note a common theme (I'm not an alcoholic, I swear).  The best part is that if you click on the picture, you will be taken directly to the listing for that product, so it's like one stop shopping (and who doesn't love a little shopping)!

I think the first one is my favorite, what about you?  Which one do you like the best?

Wedding Wednesday: Fall Wedding Inspiration

Hello everyone!  Okay, for just a minute, close your eyes and pretend it's Wednesday.  Also pretend I''m not a total lame-o who forgot to post this yesterday!

I'm so excited to be sharing some wedding inspiration today from one of my favorite seasons: fall!  I personally would never have thought to have a fall wedding because the hubs and I are both teachers and therefore on vacation all summer, but I have been to a couple of fall weddings and they always turn out so beautiful (and mostly sweat free, which is a plus!).  Fall weddings can draw from some really gorgeous color palettes and there are some really fun details you can include.  These are some of my favorite fall wedding inspiration photos!  (Click pic for original source, all pics via Pinterest.)

And now here are some fall wedding inspiration images all together in a PCW board!  Enjoy!

And now it's Thursday again!  Sorry for the delay, make sure you come back tomorrow for a truly awesome and hilarious post!

Easy and Delicious 20 Minute Chicken

Happy Monday y'all (at least, as happy as Monday can be)!  I'm not going to lie, going back to work these past two weeks has kicked my butt!  I'm tired, grumpy, and definitely not eating very well.  I'm trying to eat less fast/frozen food and do more cooking, but dinner times can be hard with all of our afterschool stuff we have going on (the downfall of having a drama teacher and band director marriage).  Luckily, I have recipes like this one that make dinner feel a little bit less like a chore!  Here are the steps!


1.  Gather ingredients.  You need chicken breasts, salsa, and shredded cheese.  Tortillas make a nice complement, but they are optional. That's it!

2.  Preheat your over to 400 degrees.  Place defrosted chicken breasts in a glass pan and cover with the salsa.  Be generous with your salsa distribution!

3.  Bake for about 18 minutes.  Then place shredded cheese on top of the chicken and salsa.

4.  Bake for an additional 3-5 minutes, until cheese is melted and the chicken is thoroughly cooked (use a meat thermometer if you have one!).  And that's it!  The chicken is good by itself, or you can cut it up and wrap it in some tortillas, whichever you prefer!

The salsa makes the chicken super moist and flavorful, and of course, you can never go wrong with a dish topped with melted cheese!  After twenty minutes, you have a tasty home-cooked meal!  Bon appetit!

Rose Bowl Flea Market

Hey kids and happy Tuesday!  About a week ago now I went to one of my favorite shopping zones: the Rose Bowl Flea Market.  I am lucky enough to be about fifteen minutes away from Pasadena, but I do not hit the Flea Market nearly often enough, mainly because I like to sleep in.  So on my last Sunday of summer vacation, I decided to bring my mom along and check out the goods!  These are some highlights from our trip!


I never get sick of walking into the Rose Bowl.  I'll be seeing a lot more of you in a couple weeks when football starts!

Teal and turquoise are THE colors of the moment (see my turquoise buffet here!)...

I absolutely loved the dainty jewels available in the arts and crafts section...

And this booth had a ton of bad ass signage.  I was tempted to buy more than a couple pieces of art from Junk Art Gypsyz (also available online here)...

I loved this antique children's chair, probably because it reminds me of old school desks...

Lusted big time after this lighting fixture...

And could definitely get on board with a tequila bottle lighting fixture!

And this was just too...something...to not capture on camera.  I did say teal was THE color, didn't I?

I'm definitely looking forward to going back to the Rose Bowl soon when it is not quite so hot out.  I'm even thinking of getting a booth for the November flea market, which should be fun!

Teacher Gifts Straight from the Source!

Well, it's that time of year again...time to get back to the real world and go back to school.  I know, I know, it's really hard to sympathize with teachers who complain about going back to work after two  months of vacation, but trust me, it sucks!  So why not sweeten up your teacher's first week back with a happy back to school present?  Trust me, teachers like gifts.  We mainly like three kinds of gifts: food, school supplies, and gift cards.  I made this personalized cup for two of my teacher buddies for their first days.  Inside are pretty pens, post its, and some binder clips.  Simple, but useful and cute.

Here are some other teacher gifts sure to guarantee an A!  (Click pic for original source, all pics via Pinterest.)

Teacher gifts can be cute and still useful.  Trust me, we would much rather have a bunch of whiteboard markers than a monogram made from crayons.  Show your teachers some love today!

Wedding Wednesday: Ring a Ding Ding!

Hello loveys and happy Wedding Wednesday!  I thought I would brighten up your week with some major bling!  Obviously I already have my wedding and engagement rings, but that certainly doesn't stop me from looking at some pretty awesome sparklers every once in a while.  These are some of my fave gems of the moment!  (Click pic for original source, all pics via Pinterest.)

And if that weren't enough blinginess for you, here they are all together!

I'll take one of each please!  Which one is your fave?

DIY: Cork Coasters

I so love getting to kick off the week with a craft!  We have another super easy project today and I am super psyched about it because it incorporates my new accent colors for my living room (more on my redo coming soon!).  I originally found this craft on Pinterest (duh) and it led me to this tutorial from Martha Stewart.  And really, can you go wrong with Martha Stewart?  Here's what we are making today!

And here's how to make this fun craft!

1.  Gather supplies.  You need cork coasters (found mine at Ikea), painter's tape, paint, sponge brushes and vinyl letters.

2.  Figure out and place your design.  I did my initial on one coaster and spelled out the word "sip" on another (I wanted to do "cheers" but I'm running out of letters!).  With the other two I just did random stripes.  I wasn't too particular on spacing, just kind of went for it!

3.  Then paint over your designs with the craft paint.  With the letters in particular, make sure they are fully stuck down and paint over them carefully.  Make sure your tape is nice and smooth before painting!

4.  I always wait until the paint is dry to remove tape and letters and make sure you go slowly!  When you're done removing your designs, you should have coasters like this!

Cute and easy, right?  I got so many ideas when I was working on these.  Think of all the different designs you could do, holidays, drink outlines, the sky is the limit!  I will be going back to Ikea and stocking up on these coasters, that's for sure!