Friday Four

What I'm Watching: I think the real question is, what am I NOT watching?! We have so much on our DVR right now, it's ridiculous. We haven't watched any of the brand new shows yet, but right now I've been enjoying the return of Switched at Birth, Saturday Night Live, Flipping Out, Up All Night, Parks and Recreation, etc, etc, etc. Have I mentioned how much I love fall premiere tv season? :-)

What I'm Reading: I just finished Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? a couple of days ago. I am amazed that I actually started AND finished a book during school. However, to be fair, this book was not a full narrative, so it was easy to pick up and go after not having read it for a week. Funny book too!

 

What I'm Listening to: Thanks to Jamie, I am currently hooked on Imagine Dragons. They are a mix of The Killers, fun., SafetySuit, and are just plain catchy. Even if you have never heard OF them, chances are that you've heard their music. Two of their songs were played non-stop during the Olympics promoting the NBC show Chicago Fire. They were also covered last week on Glee. If you don't believe me that they are awesome, listen for yourself to two very different songs:

What I Ate: I had McDonald's for dinner last Friday night and then we ate at Fatz after church this week with Jamie's parents for his mom's birthday. (We're trying to save a little more money in this area!)

Some things never change...

Yep, last car in the parking lot on Friday afternoon!

Welcome to Room 210

View from the door to the classroom

Reading Center

Guided Reading/Small Group Area

Calendar

Interactive Word Wall

Word Work Center

Teacher Toolbox (Thank you Pinterest!)

Planning for the week (Thank you Pinterest!)

Writing Center

Well, I have four days of the 2012-2013 school year under my belt, and I must say, they have been quite pleasant :-)  I wanted to share some pictures of my new room, which has already evolved a little bit since I took most of these, but I will hopefully update you a bit throughout the year. Enjoy!

Friday Four - August 17

What I Watched: I finally finished up The Hills this week. I had DVRed them all when they came on MTV last month and had just been watching them here and there. I hadn't seen any of the last season previously, and I can't say I missed much. It was soooo over the top... and kind of hilarious :-)  It's been a good respite from thinking about school.

What I Read: I'm trying to finish Sisterhood Everlasting, especially with school starting in a few days!

What I Listened to: The radio and BOCA 2012

Where I Ate: We ate Zaxby's, Domino's and Cafe Caturra last weekend... definitely ate out more than normal, but it was yummy.

Friday Four - August 10

What I Watched: Besides more Olympics, I finally watched Waiting for Superman this week. I feel like I could write a whole blog post on it, but I'll spare you. It always is wise to remember that documentaries are not always completely objective. I understand the point of the film, but one thing it failed to address is motivation of parents. All of the families they followed WANTED to get their kids out of the situation they were in, and the school they were in. However, a majority of parents who have kids in failing schools don't care enough about school to worry about it. And that's the truth. End of rant.

What I Read: I started Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares.

What I Listened to: This week I worked to Stacie Orrico, Pentatonix, Toby Lightman and Shawn McDonald.

Where I Ate: We hit up Cookout after church this week. Can't say it was the best food of my life, but I didn't have a burger, so maybe that's why... I think I'll just stick with their milkshakes from now on :-) 

Thrifty Thursday - August 9

For the past couple of weeks, I've started building back our stockpile for school coming up. That means cracker packs, and individual applesauces, granola bars and pasta sauce, and soup for quick dinners. Nothing is worse than coming home from a long day of school and having to spend a long time fixing something to eat. With that said, I may be putting "Thrifty Thursday" on hold for a while, or bumping it back to once a month, as school starts back and I become much busier! Here are this week's totals:


PUBLIX

Total Spent: $32.02
Total Saved: $21.82


WALMART
Total Spent: $5.82   

TOTAL SPENDING: $37.84
TOTAL SAVINGS: $21.82

New 'Do

Just got my hair cut today. Pardon the bad quality and my paleness :-)

Jumping July!

July was another busy month for us. We were much more social than normal ;-) HAHA. Just kidding. Kind of.

Jamie's birthday was on the ninth and we went to The Melting Pot with a few friends to celebrate. It was my first time eating there, and I enjoyed it a good bit. Next time I want to go there for just dessert, because it was so delicious. Our friends Tara and Alison cooked us chicken wings later that week since they couldn't make it. We also went to parties for one of Jamie's work friends, and a going away party for a friend from church, as she moves away to get married.

Midway through July we went up to Virginia for my family's reunions. On Saturday, we get together with my grandpa's side of the family, and on Sunday, with my grandma's side. It's always fun to hang out with cousins that we don't get to see often enough. Here we are with my cousin Marshall and his wife Kimmie (she teaches first grade too!):

Our anniversary was on the 24th, and we celebrated the next weekend by going to our favorite Asian restaurant, Antai, and went to see The Dark Knight Rises. We don't go to the movies very often, so it was a rare treat! And VERY worth your time and money, if you haven't seen it yet.

The rest of my month was spent going to trainings and working in my classroom. I hope to have lots of pictures up soon of the finished product!

Friday Four - August 3

What I Watched: The Olympics. Duh :-)  My favorite is women's gymnastics, followed by swimming and track and field. We also went to see The Dark Knight Rises. What an excellent movie. It was totally worth the money!

What I Read: Still working on Pandemonium... almost done!

What I Listened to: This week's classroom soundtrack included Oasis, Pink and Paramore. Good stuff

Where I Ate: We went to Antai for our anniversary dinner and had chicken lettuce wraps, vegetable tempura and sushi. It was soooo yummy. We hit up Moe's after church before we went to the movies.

Thrifty Thursday - August 2

There were some things this week that haven't been on sale for a while, so I took advantage and stocked up on Eggo Nutrigrain waffles (for me) and Nissin Chow Mein (for Jamie). I also got a bottle of John Frieda Root Awakening Shampoo for only $1.49! It is normally $5.49, so I was pretty happy about that. Here's the total for the week:

PUBLIX

Total Spent: $34.21
Total Saved: $27.30

 

Friday Four - July 27

What I Watched: A few days ago I watched the movie Midnight in Paris. I am sorry to say I was disappointed. I had heard so many good things and had high expectations. For me, it didn't meet them. Has anyone else seen this? What did you think?

What I Read: I started the book Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver. It is the first sequel to the book Delirum, which I recommended in my last Bookworm review.

What I Listened to: This week was all about Kelly Clarkson. She was the perfect artist to help keep me motivated through the continuous process of setting up my room. IPod artist shuffle is fabulous!

Where I Ate: We tried a new restaurant after church called Cafe Caturra. I had a turkey and avocado sandwich, which was pretty good. I would go there again, although it's a tiny bit pricey for what you get.

Thrifty Thursday - July 26

This was another week of not buying that much. We just got our new co-op batch in, so we didn't need too much in the way of food. I did do some stocking of chapstick, as we are on our last sticks, and I also got a John Frieda shampoo for $1.50, which was only 27% of its original price!


PUBLIX
Total Spent: $25.99
Total Saved: $15.85

 

The Co-Op: Month 3

Here's some more kitchen inspiration for you this month! Who would have ever thought I'd be writing posts like these?! Not me :-)


Recipe Inspiration: Onion Rings

Onion Rings
Ingredients we used: Vegetable oil, Great Value dry pancake mix, red onion

We followed the recipe exactly, except we used our mini deep fryer instead of a skillet. These are the BEST onion rings I've ever had. The batter stays on and the onion doesn't slide out. Oh my goodness, I want some more right now.



Recipe Inspiration: Blueberry Pie

Blueberry Pie

Ingredients we used: We used the same ingredients listed.

We had a ton of delicious sweet blueberries, so Jamie wanted to make a pie. This was the first blueberry pie I'd ever eaten, and I think it was quite good. We took it over to some friends' house and everyone there thought it was great, so the people have spoken! (And I have to give Jamie all credit for the lattice work :-D)



Recipe Inspiration: Light and Fresh Potato Salad

Light Potato Salad
Ingredients we used: balsamic vinegar, canola oil, salt, ground black pepper, 3 red potatoes, 2 small cucumbers, 3/4 cup grape tomatoes, 2/3 of green pepper, 1/4 cup yellow onion

I originally liked this recipe because it had no mayonnaise or mustard. I didn't have rice vinegar, hence the balsamic, which I think actually made it better. This was really good and I will definitely make it again... especially since they always give us LOTS of potatoes!



Recipe Inspiration: Baked Eggplant Chips

Eggplant Chips
Ingredients we used: No differences from the recipe

I followed the recipe, but as you can see from the picture, they turned out a bit chewy. If I make these again, I will use the recipe from the squash/zucchini chips and see if they are any better.



Recipe Inspiration: Fried Green Tomatoes

Fried Green Tomatoes
Ingredients we used: green tomato, salt, Mrs. Dash Table Blend, cornmeal, vegetable oil

These tasted really good actually, but next time we're going to cut them thinner so they cook a little faster, and also peel them so the cornmeal sticks better. Yum yum!



Recipe Inspiration: Roasted Radishes

Roasted Radishes
Ingredients we used: radishes, lemon, olive oil, thyme, salt & pepper

Sooo...these didn't turn out so great. I couldn't get them very evenly cooked; some parts were soft, but most not soft enough. I managed to get down what you see here, but I threw the other portion out. I hope they don't buy radishes again!!




Recipe Inspiration: Oven Roasted Eggplant

Roasted Eggplant
Ingredients we used: Same as listed... watch the oil and salt though, because it coats very easily

We made this twice, and the second time we peeled the eggplant, which was a great decision. It was much easier to eat without having to chew the skin forever. It made a little bit of a crisp on the outside anyway, so it was perfect. This is definitely my favorite eggplant recipe so far.




Recipe Inspiration: Baked Eggplant Sticks

Baked Eggplant Sticks
Ingredients we used: eggplant, olive oil, salt, pepper, cornmeal, milk, cooking spray

This was another recipe fail. They were way too cornmeal-y. Maybe it was because I changed too many of the ingredients. If you try this, let me know, so I can figure out what to do!

Friday Four - July 20

What I Watched: TNT has a new show that premiered last week called Perception. It's another crime show, but this time the main character is a bit of a schizo, who talks to people who aren't there and whatnot. Part of the reason I'm really enjoying it though is the cast, headed up by Eric McCormack, Rachel Leigh Cook, Kelly Rowan, Arjay Smith AND Levar Burton! If you like any of TNT's other crime dramas, like I do, you will probably like this one too :-)

What I Read: Still trying to finish up A Time to Kill... I have to get all my reading in before school starts!

What I Listened to: Nothing in particular this week, but I've been enjoying the shuffle on my IPod while I'm working on my classroom.

What I Ate: We went out of town this weekend for family reunions, so we had lots of good home cookin'! But we also had Dairy Queen on the way up where I got their delicious Blizzard of the Month, Chocolate Candy Shoppe. It was sooooo good! 

 

Thrifty Thursday: Clothing Edition

I've been wanting to do a clothing entry for a while, but I don't really buy clothes very much anymore. However, I was so very lucky to get some gift cards and money for my birthday and so I took my frugality to stretch those gifts as much as I could. Here is what I came up with:

I shopped at Old Navy, Forever 21 and Loft. I bought twelve shirts, two pairs of shorts, seven pairs of underwear, one pair of capris, one skirt, and nine pairs of earrings. The total amount of money I saved versus the original price of these items was... $153.93.

It really helps to go shopping when they have huge clearances going on, such as an additional 50% off already marked sale items. There's really not too much reason to pay full price for clothes, as they always go on sale at some point (unless it's a really fast selling item).


Where do you all shop for clothes to get the most bang for your buck?

Friday Four - July 6

What I Watched: Well, thanks to 'Retro'Mtv, I have watched the entire series of Laguna Beach and am working on The Hills. And I realized I actually didn't watch much of this the first time it was on, so at least I'm not re-watching, right?
I finally saw A Few Good Men this week in its entirety. I had only seen clips before. What a great movie!!

What I Read: still working on A Time to Kill by John Grisham

What I Listened to: Pentatonix's EP came out this week. It is AWESOME! If you have never listened to a cappella before, this just might be the best introduction you'll ever get. I'm also super proud of them for debuting in the top 15 albums of the Billboard 200! I'm not sure that any a cappella group has ever done that. Here is their first "official" music video for Starships:

 

Where I Ate: Miyo's! I sure do love that place :-)

Junebug

June ended up being a bit of a busy month for us. One thing that takes up a lot of our month, due to the fact that we are Gamecocks, is baseball! We are so proud of our team. How many other teams can say they made it the the College World Series finals three years in a row? Not to mention win two years in a row :-)
Anyway, just wanted to make sure my love was noted!

 

 How about that catch?!

 

We discovered that hydrangeas grow in our backyard! Jamie has apparently never noticed, and the reason it is especially weird is because that was our wedding flower and we had trouble finding some. He cut some for us to enjoy for a while:

I got to see my classroom a couple of weeks ago and discovered that I have a LOT of work to do (volunteers anyone?). But I also was left a gift from the parents I subbed for last year, along with this sweet card. I hope they really mean it, since I will likely have some of their kids this year, haha :-)

We enjoyed our holidays this month. On Father's Day we ate lunch with Jamie's parents and spent time with my grandpa, mom and her side of the family. We celebrated Independence Day a bit early, by hanging out with some friends on Lake Murray and watching the fireworks on June 30th.

Vicki Wilson Photography

We got a good bit of 'friend time' in this month too! I went to visit my old boss from grad school and had lunch at Takosushi with my friend Tara. We went to Reid's house for one of the baseball regional games and also had a dinner and game night with The Privetts and The Hofts. 

We also spent a lot of time house hunting this month, and bought a house on July 1st. In a few months we'll be moving to Irmo!

Thrifty Thursday - July 5

We didn't buy a whole lot this week, so I will get straight to the totals! This was a big Coca Cola week :-)


PUBLIX
Total Spent: $24.85
Total Saved: $11.65

WALMART
Total Spent: $8.22
Total Saved: $3.00

TOTAL SPENDING: $33.07   
TOTAL SAVINGS: $14.65

The Co-Op: Month 2

Here are some new (to us) recipes that we used for our produce this month. In case you forgot, here was what we received:

Recipe Inspiration: Easy Asian Stir-Fry

Veggie Stir Fry
Ingredients we used: 3 carrots, 1 green bell pepper, 1/2 a yellow onion, 3 garlic cloves, 2 cups of broccoli, 1/4 a head of cabbage, canola oil, Kikkoman stirfry sauce, salt & pepper

Other than changing up the ingredients, we followed the recipe as listed. It was very good, but I think I'd add more garlic next time. 



Recipe Inspiration: Baked Zucchini Chips

Squash Chips
Ingredients we used: 1 squash, Pam original cooking spray, McCormick garlic & sea salt grinder

I figured since I had done it with zucchini, I could do it with squash. I followed the directions almost exactly, but I baked them for a total of 2 hours this time, which made them much crispier than with the zucchini. These were good, and I will continue to make these as they are quite easy!



Recipe Inspiration: Crispy Smashed Potatoes 

 Roasted Smashed Potatoes
Ingredients we used: small red potatoes, olive oil, sea salt, black pepper grinder, dried rosemary

I've made these twice, the first time with not so wonderful results. So the second time I made some adjustments. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Instead of boiling the potatoes, bake them in the microwave, 3-4 minutes on each side, depending on the size. Smash them down (I used tongs), drizzle/brush with olive oil and sprinkle the salt, pepper and rosemary. Bake them for five minutes. That's it! These are SO DELICIOUS. The flavor is amazing, and it's my new favorite way to eat a potato!



Recipe Inspiration: Ranch Roasted Potatoes
** No picture for this one

Zesty Italian Potatoes
Ingredients we used: 2 pounds red potatoes, 1 packet Good Seasons Zesty Italian dry dressing mix, olive oil, salt

I followed the directions exactly, but make sure the potatoes are completely covered with oil or cooking spray and make sure the pieces are small enough to be cooked thoroughly.



Recipe Inspiration: Capellini Pomodoro 

Spaghetti Pomodoro
There are no changes to this recipe except the substitution of thin spaghetti for angel hair, and dried basil for fresh basil. It was still good! You might want to add some additional spices to give it a little more kick.      

Friday Four - June 29

What I Watched: I have a whole post about what I've been watching this summer, which you can find HERE if you missed it!

What I Read:  A Time to Kill by John Grisham

What I Listened to: Here are ten songs I'm digging right now (sorry if I've mentioned any of them before!):
                                 "Outta my Head" Daughtry
                                 "This Little Girl" Cady Groves
                                 "Two Way Street" Kimbra
                                 "Cry" Monica
                                 "Free" Haley Reinhart
                                 "Laserlight" Jessie J/David Guetta
                                 "5 O Clock" T-Pain & Lily Allen (warning: little risque!)
                                 "Burn It Down" Linkin Park
                                 "Breath of Life" Florence and the Machine
                                 "Big Hoops" Nelly Furtado

Where I Ate: We had Groucho's after church and then went over to our friends house that night and enjoyed a delicious dinner of veggie paninis, strawberry walnut salad and peaches. Yum!

Summer TV

Summer used to be the wasteland of television... but now so many shows premiere in the summer! Here's a peek into what we (mostly me!) are watching in this hot season:

All the Right Moves

Yes, I watch lots of silly, dramatic television... and I love it! :-)