Thursday, January 9, 2014

What I Wore: a Teacher's Closet #2

This week has been such a great week already! I have absolutely loved being back out in the classroom. Even picking outfits to wear has been fun...as long as I do it the night before. I have set a few aside so I don't stress the morning of trying to find what to wear! 




Shirt | Old Navy
Pants | JC Penney
Boots | Dillard's
Earrings | Walmart ($2.88)






Wednesday, January 8, 2014

What I Wore: a Teacher's Closet #1

What is one of the hardest things about growing up? Dressing well. Yes, these past three and a half years of college have made me lazy. Let me say that one more time:  laaaaaazy. I have gotten away with wearing leggings and sorority shirts to class the past 3 years, and now it's time to dress up and be an elementary school teacher. 

The past couple of days I've tried putting myself together even if I wasn't going out to do anything. You know, prepare myself for the brutal wakening of 8 a.m. arrival times and wearing something other than sweats, or even jeans for that matter. 

So in order to help myself during those early mornings, I am starting an "online closet" where I can access previously worn outfits and choose from them on those days I'm in a hurry or just can't decide what to wear!

I thought it would be appropriate to do a Transformation Tuesday from my experience as a 3rd grader to my first experience teaching it!

I decided that for my first day of school I would curl my hair. Pretty much resembling all my other first days of elementary school.

Fun sequin tank top I originally bought for New Year's Eve? Pair it with a fun colored cardi and voila! Instateacher.

I thought that the single strip of sequins wasn't too flashy for the first day. What 3rd grader wouldn't love this outfit anyways?

My reaction to the first day:  a success. I can't wait to see how the rest of the semester goes!

Tank Top | American Eagle
Sweater | Old Navy
Black Cropped Pants |  Old Navy
Boots | Trade Home {similar}



Monday, January 6, 2014

DIY Chairs

When I moved out of my sorority, I learned that they were selling their [nearly] 50 year old dining room chairs. They were selling them for $5 each since they were updating the dining room this past summer, and I thought they'd go great in any future apartment or home I may own, but they needed some work. They're old chairs, but they're in good condition, and I thought that someday if I had a daughter, she could use one in her room, or they could be used as spare seats if we had guests over. Below are the pictures and steps I took to spray paint the chairs, and bring them back to life.

So if you are looking to spice up some old furniture, here are 5 quick steps to doing so! I used spray paint I found at the Home Depot, and I chose the glossy finish instead of the matte. It took about 1 can of spray paint for each chair, so buy 2 or 3 just to be safe. 

Step 1:  First begin by sanding down all of the chair except the wicker seat. It doesn't need to be perfect, but roughing up the wood so the spray paint sticks is crucial. It's probably best to place the chairs on top of old towels or pieces of cardboard [in my case a couple empty pizza boxes] so you don't get too much spray paint on the concrete or grass. 


Step 2:  Next we taped off the corners of the chair seat as close to the wooden legs as possible using painters tape. It took about 3 pieces of tape on each corner to make sure none of the wicker was exposed. Be careful not to get any tape on the leg or you will have an unpainted spot!



Step 3:  We continued taping around the edges of the top of the seat until they were covered. We then flipped the chairs over and did the same thing [corners and edges] on the bottom. You can see the sanding job we did a little better in this picture, too! 



Step 4:  Once the edges and corners were covered, we took cardboard boxes [naturally the only cardboard boxes you will find at a college guy's house are beer boxes] and taped the edges of those down to make sure the top was fully covered. We did this for the bottom of the chairs, too. 



Step 5:  We then spray painted the chairs from top to bottom. After letting the paint sit to dry for approximately one hour, we flipped the chair upside down and sprayed the underside and inside edges we missed. 




After about 24 hours, we removed the tape and boxes off of the seating to reveal the finished product as seen above. Even my guy friend that helped me was anxious to see the finished product!


I love the contrast of the older wicker seat against the bright, glossy finish of the the chair legs and backing of the chair. I am very happy with how this project turned out.









Friday, January 3, 2014

Hello, Goodbye.

It seems like just yesterday I was graduating from high school...hell, it feels like I should still be IN high school. Instead I am 4 months and 13 days away from graduating college. Holy. Cow. cue anxiety attack. Where has the time gone?! Well, let me tell you. 

Since it's Friday, I think it'd be appropriate to have a Flashback Friday. Here we go!


For me, college has been...


48 new sisters, all of whom I love and have made me the person I am today. 






Over the course of 4 years, 25 roommates...

Freshman Year...


Alyssa and me - Ford Hall, Room 244



Sophomore Year Fall 2011...



Smoker - Maureen, Liz, Sarah, Lindsey, and me

Sophomore Year Spring 2012...

Gas Chamber (Room 10) - Me, Valerie, and Kirsten

Junior Year Fall 2012...

Room 3 - Me, Julie, and Emily

Junior Year Spring 2013...

Annex - Me, Kirsten, Ellen, Chelsea, Julie H, Julie P, 
Jess, Abby, Adrienne, Allie, Kaitlin, and Sam

Senior Year 2013-2014~ Lion's Den...

Me, Ashley, and Kirsten

Me, Kirsten, Erin, and Valerie

3 formal recruitments...




Countless shots...




2 Homecoming wins...



1 crazy trip to Vegas with 25 women...


4 memorable summers, 129 credit hours, and 4 trips out of state (South Carolina, Hawaii, Las Vegas, and Oklahoma). 

"So long as the memory of certain beloved friends lives in my heart, 
I shall say that life is good."