Spring Break!? + Hurricane Cocktails!

My school's spring break starts at 3:05 this afternoon! Well, it starts a little earlier for me and my nugget since we'll be flying to the tropical island of...Delaware. Don't worry, I've got my sunscreen packed.

For some reason, our spring break is always weirdly early, but I'll take it! February is a loooong month for a teacher, despite it actually having fewer days, so ending it with a break is a happy thing.

My kids are finishing a project today, so Gatsby and I are just waiting patiently for our flight!

Sexy backdrop brought to you by my classroom

I'm so excited to see family that I don't get to see that often! I get to see my brother play lacrosse (Go Blue Hens!) and get to spend a few days with my aunts! We've already planned an Oscars party and a Mardi Gras party is in the works...yeah, I'm not too upset about not seeing any beaches during my "spring" (winter) break.

For those of you not being affected by the polar vortex (which is totally an awesome band name...), or for those of you who are over being affected by the polar vortex...here is a hurricane cocktail for your enjoyment! Laissez les bon temps rouler!

xoxo,
E

Commitment

Have you ever noticed that February is where New Year's resolutions go to die? I saw one of those e-card that said something along the lines of "I've been dieting all morning. Am I skinny yet?!" It made me laugh out loud because it's so true! Those endorphins are a powerful drug, man, but one day does not a skinny girl make.

I saw this quote about commitment the other day, and it really resonated.

  

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How true is that? I have been trying to live a more all-around healthy lifestyle for about a year now, but I keep falling on and off the commitment wagon because, let's face it, eating mac and cheese is a lot more tempting than going to a spin class. Here's to staying committed even when it's not fun or easy!

xoxo,

E

Breakfast for Snoozers

Not sure about you, but my main objective on a weekday morning is to get from the warmth and comfort of my bed to my car on the way to school as fast as possible. I know people who get up, linger over making breakfast, work out, shower, do their hair (?!), and only then get in the car to go to work. This has never made sense to me. Why spend all that time doing stuff in the morning when I could be sleeping?!

 

Heard that.

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I know it's completely inappropriate and that every online article recommends against it, but, I confess, I am a hardcore snoozer. Like 45 minutes of snoozing every morning. It's bad.

Since my goal is to get out of the house before my dog can realize I'm abandoning him for the day and start crying, I need a quick breakfast fix.

While I do tend to go with my trusty friend, Chobani, I also have a new love in my life...her name is Starbucks blueberry oatmeal, and she is beautiful.

Hello, Gorgeous.

Seriously, have y'all tried this? Am I super late to the party about how amazing Starbucks breakfast is? Steel cut oats, blueberries, seeds/nuts, agave syrup...and you didn't hear it from me, but if you ask for a packet of brown sugar, they won't say no. Just sayin'.

Any other recommendations for tasty, healthy, quick breakfast options?

xoxo,

E

Food Blog Must-Reads

One of the things that made (makes) me hesitant to enter the blog world is the blog rock stars that already currently exist. I know that in reality these people are just normal people, just like me, living and cooking and creating in their own apartments. But when you read their blogs and see their pictures with their adorable decorative tea towels and pretty tableware, it's hard to believe that they're working with the same stuff I have access to.

I've decided to take a different perspective with these blog rock stars...they'll be my inspiration to live creatively, artfully, deliciously.

Here are some of the food blogs, along with photos of their most recent recipe posts, that inspire me to make more than box mac and cheese for dinner. If you don't already read them, do it now.

Smitten Kitchen

 (I have her cookbook and read it like it was a novel. Beautiful, homemade food that makes you want to spend all day in your kitchen creating.)

Dinner: A Love Story

(This couple focuses on getting families to eat dinner together--realistic and tasty recipes.)

Joy the Baker

(She focuses on baked goods, but everything she makes looks amazing!)

Thug Kitchen

(As you can tell from the captions, not exactly for the kiddos, but great vegetarian/vegan stuff)

Now go make something tasty for someone you love!

xoxo,

E 

Remember that time I had a blog?

Yeah, me either. Here I am, almost a year after my last post, blowing the dust off A Few Little Happies, and ready to hop back into the bloggy universe! Well, sort of.

For a while I felt like I lost touch with why I carved out this little corner of the Internet for myself. Surely it wasn't just to make lists of things I want, right? Well, maybe sometimes, but definitely not all the time, which is what I felt it was turning into.

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I originally wanted to create this blog to have a space that I could explore and that could make me smile. After all, there are a lot of things in life that seem to only be put there to make you not smile (I'm looking at you, Tuesday Faculty Meetings).

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The other reason I want to recommit to this blog is because of my dad. (Hey dad!) He is constantly telling me that I need to be writing, and while I have my doubts as to whether I really have much to say, he's told me that writers keep track of their thoughts...in writing. Since this is 2014 and we're living in the future (wait...where's my flying car?!) and all, journals make more sense in blog-form. One of my February resolutions (it's a thing) is to pursue things that make me happy just for their own sake, so this is the place where I'll catalog them!

So there ya go...I'm back baby! I'll be redirecting my efforts to make this a space for things that make me happy...and that I think will make you happy, too.

Number one through ten on the list of things that make me happy are my precious nugget, Gatsby, so I'll leave you with a picture of him looking spring break ready in his Hawaiian shirt!

I mean really...if cute was a crime, this would be a felony.

xoxo,

E