And On Weeknights...

We cook!

J and I are big foodies but, when living in a city like ours, it's hard not to be! As much as we love to go out to eat, it can get pretty pricey so we came up with an agreement. 

We are trying to save money for a down payment on a house together and budgeting is going really well for us so far. We decided that we/I would cook Monday-Friday and then Saturday would be our date night out and Sundays are "family dinner night" with my parents. It works for us and I LOVE to cook-J can throw down in the kitchen as well! I also decided to start mean planning and taking my lunch to work everyday so I am not spending money on crap food at the place around the corner. 

A few food related budget tips that have really worked for us is to: 

#1 plan plan plan! Being a teacher, you should be used to having a ton of sticky notes with random thoughts and countless lists of things posted everywhere so, add one more! 

I am not a couponer. I've tried and it just doesn't work for me however, the grocery store we shop at puts a weekly ad out every Thursday and I do take advantage of those deals! I typically spend part of my Thursday break making a grocery list. I also plan our menu for the upcoming week. I am lucky because other than seafood, anything is fair game for J. 

#2 Set a MONTHLY budget for groceries and don't go over it!! 

J and I split everything equally. Rent, utilities, vet bills, groceries, etc. We each budget $175 per month for groceries. I know that $350 may seem high for a two person grocery budget but it is what works for is and what we don't use each month we treat ourselves to fro-yo dates or some kind of special treat. We usually make a grocery trip once a week and follow our list closely. Since we have started budgeting, we haven't gone over the $350! 

#3 Use what you have and get creative

There are several sites online that will allow you to type in the ingredients you have on hand and then will spit out a recipe. My favorite is: http://www.supercook.com

You can typically substitute items for ones you don't have. 

Even with being a teacher and working long hours, I always find time to cook wether it is throwing something in the crock pot before I run out the door at 730 am or starting dinner right when I get home at 6pm. 

Here are a few of the top "go to" recipes we use! (All of these are family recipes) 

1.

Ground Turkey with roasted veggies, brown rice and feta cheese. This is one of my favorite bulk meals. I will cook enough for five days and bring one container a day to work for lunch. 

2. 

Pan seared pork chops with an apple glaze, butternut squash and mixed green veggies. 

3. 

Sweet and tangy chicken cutlets with mashed rutabaga and balanced green beans. 

4. 

(J's favorite) Stuffed yellow peppers 

What are some of your go to recipes?? 

Five for Friday!

Oh my goodness! A Five for Friday ON A FRIDAY! This will be the first in two or three weeks! 

I am going to jump right into it! 

So, first, I just have to talk about this weather! Last Saturday, I left the house wearing a scarf..and jeans...If you have read my blog for a while, you will know that I live oceanside in Sarasota, Florida..y'all it was legitimately chilly last Saturday! Granted, it warmed up around noon but still! I also finally jumped on the pumpkin bandwagon and made my first pumpkin K-cup this morning. 

As beautiful as I think Florida is, I miss the changes in the seasons, hearing the leaves crunch beneath my boots, being able to comfortably wear a jacket all day...*sigh*

I will never get over how adorable my little furbabes are-especially when they are sporting their daddy's favorite football team! 

Sunday was perfect. We leisurely woke up, J had to run into work quickly and I finished up lesson plans. Then we ran a few quick errands, got suited up in our patriots apparel, made some yummy eats-which were not photographed due to me being wayyy to hungry, and watched the Pats kill the Raiders! 

I feel like I talk about this...a lot but, I am very passionate about exposing the children in my class to mess/sensory play. I have learned to ignore the nasty comments from certain staff members in my center such as "Why would you want to clean all that up?" "ugh you let them make that big of a mess?" "uh..they are going to get dirty"... BECAUSE IT IS FUN!!

We covered the table with cool whip and food coloring on wednesday.- I used to use shaving cream when I had 3 1/2s-4s but I am nervous that at 2, it might get in their mouths so, I bought a big tub of cool whip, threw on some aprons and let them go crazy! 

I am so excited for this weekend because my momma and I are going to spend lots of time together! We are going up to Tampa tomorrow to go shopping and have lunch then, on Sunday we are going to see Cirque Du Soleil's Varekai in Naples! 

But first....

Helloooo Handsome! I will be leaving work early today as I have a date with this gorgeous man! 

As the summer wraps up, there are two more "can't miss" concerts. Luke Bryan performs tonight-completely sold out-it will be CRAZY. 

And, my second love, Jason Aldean will be here in October! 

Go on over to Doodle Bugs Teaching and link up with Kacey for Five for Friday! 

Fashion in a Preschool

Hello readers! 

Thinking back to when I was younger (13-14) I always dressed "ahead" of my age. I was never a ripped jeans and tube top kind of girl-I'm not saying I don't own a few pairs of ripped jeans that I may or may not rock here and there- but I just preferred dressing up! Still, at 23, I make a point to always go for jeans over sweatpants to run errands. 

One of my favorite parts of being a teacher is being able to dress "teacher-y". I promised myself that I would never be like my high school science teach who rotated the same moo-moo like shirt in 4 colors! I always strive to put together a cute, affordable, and PRACTICAL outfit! 

In August, I finally gave in and signed up for stitch fix and I fell in love! If you haven't heard if this monthly box yet, 1. Get out from under your rock 2. Click here! Anyways, I am obsessed with SF and I have kept a LOT of the pieces I've been sent! 

For this post, I just wanted to show you five of my "go to" toddler/teacher friendly outfits and I have put together. (Excuse the mirror pictures, J was working when I wanted to write this and my four legged babies are not good picture takers!) 

Outfit 1: 

Coral Blazer: Kohls 

Black&White Striped Top: Old Navy

White Shorts: New York& Co. 

Black Ballet Flats (not pictured): Target

Outfit 2:

Navy Blue Rope Print Top: New York& Co

Magenta Tank: Forever 21

White Shorts: New York& Co 

Sandals: Southen Fried Chics 

Outfit 3: 

Chambray Shirt: New York&Co. 

Gray Tank: Old Navy

Maxi Skirt: Stitch Fix 

Sandals (not pictured): Old Navy 

Outfit 4: 

Sun Dress with Coral Sash:Mint Julep Boutique 

Sandals (not pictured): Southern Fried Chics 

Outfit 5:

Red Kimono Top:Forever 21

Khaki Tank: Forever 21

Boot Cut Jeans: American Eagle

Brown Belt:Body Central

Shoes (not pictured): Khaki Sperrys

What are some of your favorite outfits?

Five for Fraterday!

Y'all, I am getting horrible about posting this link up on Friday and I don't like it! I hope all of you ladies and gentlemen had a wonderful week! I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday! 

At my center, the whole month of September is the Community Helpers unit. We break it up into four weeks/categories. This past week was Doctors, Dentist, and Nurses. 

Meet the future doctors of America...

three smiling

five looking at the camera

six precious little babies

i'll take it! 

With football season in full effect, our little family is all geared up! 

yes, both of our puppies have jerseys...and collars...and food/water bowls... judge us! 

I am planning a yummy blog post for a early October complete with 5 tasty tailgating/ football party snacks and treats! 

So, on Thursday, I was startled by an overdramatic parent running into my room screaming that I had a "HUGE NAIL AND FLAT TIRE"... I (after grabbing another teacher to supervise my class) ran outside to check and took pictures for J...for those of you that don't know, 1. I know nothing about cars 2. I have an irrational fear of breaking down. He told me to relax and that I would be fine to drive home. He said to call if anything happened and he would be right there. 

Needless to say, my tire wasn't flat..at all. There was a nail but it didn't puncture completely through. 

Such a good little egg he is! 

See that charming fellow on the right? That is O. He is 18 and has recently committed himself to at least six years in the United States Air Force. He is J's brother and has become like a brother to me in throughout the course of J's and my relationship. On September 9th, he was sworn into the Air Force and left for basic training in San Antonio, Texas. I could not be more proud of him. It is a little scary to think that we won't see of talk to him until November 6th. It is scary that we don't know how the world is going and what he could face but, we are all thankful. We are thankful that men and women like him put their lives on the line each day for our safety and protection. We are proud that he has chosen to serve his country. 

My center and I are making a banner for him and thank you cards to all of the men and women in his training squadron for me to present at his basic training graduation in November. 

Speaking as a daughter and a niece of a veteran and now a "sister" to an airman, never take your freedom for granted! 

And on that note, 

Have a great weekend! 

My Life Line

Hi! My name is Sarah and I am OCD and couldn't live without my planner! 

Yes, that's the truth. I have been through tons and tons of planners and my too two favorites are: the Vera Bradley agenda and of course, the Erin Condren Life Planner. 

I purchased my first Erin Condren planner in 2013. Being that it was my first year of teaching, I picked the teacher planner. I like the over all design but I had a few dislikes about it. I didn't like that the days were not pre-numbered. I know that this is trivial to some but it was a big deal to me mostly because it was a time consuming pain in my booty to write them all in. Also, being that I am a preschool teacher, I didn't use several of the pages. 

Half way through that year, my EC teacher planner got thrown in the back of a drawer and my lovely boyfriend bought me the Vera Bradley agenda. This agenda is simple, colorful, sturdy, and practical. 

At the beginning of the summer, I did a little more research and fell in love with the Erin Condren life planner. (So yes, I now have two planners and yes, I do actually use both) anyways, I finally made the commitment on July 12 to buy a life planner and I recieved it on July 28! 

I wanted to wait a few months before posting this because I wanted to see how much I would actually use this. Let me tell you, it's become my lifeline! I tote this around EVERYWHERE! I also picked up some tips via the IG hashtag #teachersobsessedwithplanners and have cute-ified my planner. 

I washi'd the page edges and use washi tape to make important events. I also have specific pen colors for each category. 

I still love and adore my Vera planner and I do keep it up to date-mostly because it was a sweet gift from J- but I am totally an EC girl now! 

Five for Fri-SATURDAY!

Happy Happy Saturday Y'all! I can not express what an amazing week this has been for me. I hope you all have had great weeks as well! 

I am going to jump right into this Five for Friday hosted by Doodle Bugs Teaching!

So, first, I experienced my first NFL game this past Sunday! My boyfriend is a DIEHARD.. I mean D.I.E.H.A.R.D New England sports fan. I will be totally honest with y'all, until I met him, I would wear certain team colors proudly and I would buy all the cute bows but, I didn't know squat about the game itself and before him, I didn't care. This changed because of the amount of passion J has for his teams. J goes out of his way to make a conscious effort to teach me about different plays, players, and parts of the game and I love it. I love the look he gets when I understand what he is saying and I really am beginning to enjoy it as well. 

Anyways, I bought us tickets to see the first Patriots game of the season! The Pats took on the Dolphins in Miami and although we didn't win, we had a blast! 

Second...holy baby fever! So no, we are not even close to thinking about having children but I have a serious case of the baby fever after this weekend. Ladies, I think we can all agree that seeing our men with babies/children is just heart melting. Well, this weekend, we spent a lot of time babysitting-most of the families I babysit for are super close to me and are invite J to come with. He typically does and it is so adorable.- hello photo montage:

 

These five children are all very near and dear to my heart and I am so happy/thankful/overjoyed that J takes an interest in them and their families as they all do for us. 

WHOOP WHOOP for small victories! A huge thank you to Miss Lindsey Johns- the soon to be Mrs. Lindsey Paull over at Thriving in Third for featuring me on her "Featured Teacher Friday"I now have 20 followers on Bloglovin and Blogger! 

Everyone has to start somewhere, right?

 My classroom is full of six little rock stars! This month, we are focusing on community helpers and the past week, we specifically focused on firemen and police officers. I could not be more happy with the children and parents I have this year! 

Because, it isn't a five for friday...saturday without these two. 

Oh! and to throw in a number six... I got my first cold of the year last weekend..yeah, I went to the Patriots/Dolphins game in 111* weather for four hours with a fever, sniffles, and sore throat..oh hi there best girlfriend ever! 

Dayquil, Antibiotics and lots of cough drops!