Archives for July 2013

the nannerburns beauty makeover…

Alternate post title: “About the time I had a virtual makeover/wasted 3 hours of my life.”

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Let’s just go ahead and start this post by saying that I have A LOT of time on my hands. Proof of this will be evident to you in just a second. Sometimes having time off is wonderful {I can get stuff done! And read! And blog!} and other times I have to take a step back and ask myself what the heck I’m doing. This morning was one of the latter. The weekend treated us gloriously and this morning I found myself sitting at my computer, not ready to tackle the celebration pictures just yet. There I was, mindlessly scrolling through the twitter when thoughts of a haircut came up. I’ve been thinking lately about changing up my hair. I’ve been thinking about long and short and layers and bangs. I’ve been thinking it might be fun to try something new, even if only for a little while because we all know hair grows back and this sort of thing doesn’t last forever. I think that’s why people DO try new hairstyles, because it is such an easy, fun way to change your look, without making it permanent. I’m saying this when I myself have never gone farther than cutting off a few inches at a time and adding a few layers. I’ve never even dyed my hair. {I know, I’m completely boring.} BUT still, the thought of doing something new is always a possibility.

Anyway.

I’ve heard that there are sites where you can see how you look with different hair, and so, this morning I googled it. And I found one. A really good one.

It’s called Daily Makeover and it’s ridiculously fabulous and time consuming {and free}. Maybe you know it, maybe you have no idea it exists, but I’m here to tell you that it can and will take hours of your life, but also that you will have a blast.

Oh, this website is fun.

You can try out new hairstyles.

And new hair colors.

And play with make-up and jewelry and everything.

And when I do cut my hair, I likely won’t do anything drastic, but it’s kind of cool {and also encouraging/scary} to be able to see what you might look like if you did decide to take the plunge.

So now, without further ado, I present to you…

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Hilarious, right? {OR crazy. I can’t decide.} I used all kinds of celebs to inspire these looks {Emma Stone, Brandy, Taylor Swift, and Halle Berry to name a few}. Some of them are completely ridiculous and some of them are actually decent. I mean, I kind of don’t look all that bad as a blonde. WHO KNEW?

I’m trying to choose which one is my fave. I think #19 is the probably the most realistic, and it’s exciting to see that I actually might look good with side bangs. I also kind of like #2 {so light!} and also #11. #5 is totally T-swift and #21 is Cameron Diaz. And oh, my goodness, isn’t this just fun?

{YES.}

I played around with a little make-up and earrings, too:

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You could literally be on this site for hours. There are HUNDREDS OF HUNDREDS of hairstyles to choose from and the make-up/jewelry part will also take minutes of your life away. Totally a waste of time. But a fun one.

Now YOU need to go and do it. And then obviously show me yours.

ENJOY!

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P.S. Which one do you like best?
Do you think I should get side bangs or are they totally annoying?
Do you like the turquoise? JK. {Unless that’s your jam.}

summer snapshots // currently…

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That top picture is my favorite. It speaks summer to me in this perfect way that doesn’t need any words. The mason jar and the straw add to the love language of bloggers and pinterest fanatics everywhere, and also, the light is just divine.

Le sigh. Iced coffee and summer mornings forever, please.

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So, life lately. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Dare I even say that summer seems to be going slow? Do I jinx it? Because if we’re being honest, it’s the truth. I’m stretching things out over here as wide as I can stretch them. And I don’t know exactly what I’m doing to make it move slower, but whatever it is, it’s working.

Here’s a little more about what I’m up to currently…

D O I N G: A lot of pinning lately. It’s been a daily ritual for me this summer {sometimes more than once a day!} and it just puts me in a happy place. It doesn’t overwhelm me or make me feel inadequate as I’ve heard some people say about it. For me Pinterest is a place to curate, to find the pretty, to collect the good stuff. I don’t often plan on making the recipes I pin, and a lot of the time I wouldn’t be brave enough to wear some of the outfits either, but I love Pinterest for the visuals. I’m a sucker for aesthetics.

{I have a separate Pinterest account just for my teaching ideas, too, if you’re interested! I’ve got a ton of first grade ideas and will be adding second grade ideas, soon. This way I can stay logged on to this account on my school computer and it keeps things separate + more organized.}

L O V I N G:  Goodreads. I’m keeping track of all my books read over there and it’s super encouraging to see how well I’m moving along on my 2013 reading goal {I am currently at 20 books — out of 25!}. I’ve been doing a mix of fiction and non-fiction, young adult books, a few children’s lit, and also audiobooks. I don’t think I’ve read this much since I used to ride public transportation and so I’m pretty pumped about my progress this year. YAY, BOOKS. Speaking of…

R E A D I N G: Most recently I finished If I Stay {YA, liked} and The Rules of Inheritance {Memoir, LOVED}. Right now I am in the middle of The Art of Fielding and so far, so good. I’ll let you know the final verdict once I’m all finished!

L I S T E N I N G  T O: CUPS from Pitch Perfect. My summer jam. I play this on repeat practically every morning and my neighbor is probably like, “What the heck is the matter with that girl?”, BUT WHATEVER.

W A T C H I N G: Season 3 FNL. Zan and I were going wild with this for awhile, with upward of 5 episodes one night {!}… then we freaked out that it was going to end too fast so we’ve cut back on our numbers to make the glory last longer. BUT. WE. ARE. LOVING. IT. Loving! I feel like I could devote an entire blog post to Dillon, TX. Every character has such goodness, but Tami T {want to be you!} and Tim Riggins {best lines. best hair. be still. MY HEART.} are my absolute favorites. JUST AMAZING.

T H I N K I N G  A B O U T: My new school. Setting up my classroom. 2nd GRADE!

L O O K I N G  F O R W A R D  T O: There is still so much planned for summer. My friend EE’s wedding in Maryland this weekend, my cousin’s wedding in Syracuse next weekend, a week spent at home, Skaneateles! CAPE COD! Excited about it all.

M A K I N G  M E  H A P P Y: Getting mail from my old students. At the end of every school year, I give out an envelope with my address on it and a few pieces of blank paper. Then throughout the summer I get to smile when the mail trickles in. I’ve gotten a bunch of letters and postcards from this year’s 1st graders (and even two from last year’s!}. Such a fun way to keep in touch and encourage and practice authentic writing, too.

Oh! Also I just ordered a new lens for my camera. 50 mm f/1.8, COME TO MEEEEE. Totally stoked !

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What about you? What’s something you’ve been up to lately? I hope your summer is going well and that you’re finding ways to make it move slowly, if that’s the way you like it. If not then keep your fall-wishing to yourself, please and thank you. We’re not even close to being ready for that sort of thing yet over here.

Happy weekend, everyone! XO

for the love

Oh, the lake. You precious body of water, you. I’d like to live by you forever.

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Growing up in Upstate New York, we didn’t really have ready access to the ocean. Not like we do in Boston, anyway. If you wanted to go to the beach, the real live beach, you had to go on vacation for it. We may not have had the sand, the salt water, or the sea, but I liked what we had even better. We had a lake. A fresh water, breezy air, glorious, most beautiful lake.

I believe all people are either ocean people or lake people. You might like both {I do}, but one or the other stands out as your favorite. I am most definitely a lake person, so imagine my happiness when this is where we ended up after Zan’s cousin’s wedding last weekend. Here, at this perfect little lake tucked inside Connecticut…

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I got to spend the whole weekend with Zan’s extended family some of whom I’ve met before, some of who I was meeting for the very first time, all of which I LOVE. We kayaked and swam and swam and swam. We ate hot dogs and drank beer and swam some more. The sun was shining and the temperature was just right and everything about it all just made me smile inside. Still smiling now even. I just loved it.

The wedding was fun {hooray, love!}, but the lake was even better. The highlight of my weekend, for sure.

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Beautiful, isn’t it? Makes me 100 times more excited to be home at my own most favorite lake SO SOON!

Lakes forever. And ever and ever.

A-MEN.

SBQL

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A second post today, WHAT. Lucky yous.

Joining in Jenna’s link-up today because I love it…

 ♥

Song // For You, Tin Sparrow

Book // The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Quote // Life’s Width, Diane Ackerman

Look // Denim on Denim, at Madewell

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Happy Friday, friends.