Shore Life Weekly Update

Happy Monday! It’s officially been one week since my summer break has started. After completing my first full year of teaching, I completely understand why teachers need the summers off. The school year is non stop, and it’s not until you literally stop that you look back and realize this. I think back to some of my weeks, and I’m still not quite sure how I managed. This past week has taught me how much sleep I deprived myself of, how much I missed working out regularly, and that I’m ready to get back to my creative outlet (blogging).

I started the first week of summer in what felt like a full on sprint. You would think I’d ease into things and give myself a break, but nope I did merely the opposite. On Monday, the week began by going for a run just a couple short miles around my neighborhood. I then dropped Brody off at the groomer and cleaned my room. I spent the afternoon nannying for the family I’ve been with for the past five summers. Monday night was filled with a cycle class, wedding prep for my best friend’s wedding, and some ice cream to celebrate my grandma’s 87th birthday.

Tuesday morning I ran a few errands, and then headed over to finalize some things for Friday’s wedding. Think-repurposing pallets, table cards, table numbers, photo frames, fairy lights, emergency runs to Target, and a lot of Pinterest inspiration. The afternoon was spent picking the boys up from camp and babysitting them. At night. I was able to make it to my summer league field hockey game and get in a good sweat sesh.

Wednesday was the last day before we left for the wedding weekend. I woke up that morning and made a list of  everything that needed to get done, and it was one of those rare times where I actually felt more anxious from creating the list...normally writing lists brings me a sense of calming. Some how before two I managed to finish my work of the week for my grad class, clean the bathroom, finish up some laundry, attend cycle class at the gym, schedule a spray tan, pack for the weekend, finish some last minute crafting, and draft my maid of honor speech. The afternoon was spent with my best friend and our moms doing a little pre wedding self care with manicures and pedicures. I left the nail bar and headed out to get my first spray tan, my dress for the wedding was backless, and thanks to spending my weekends in May coaching I had some awful tan lines. I was apprehensive since I had never gotten a spray tan before, but the experience was much better and the results were definitely worth it. Wednesday night was spent having a few drinks with my best friend and then finializing  a few things for the weekend.

Thursday morning I woke up, packed, the car, and Todd and I were on our way up to the wedding. There’s just something about a long car ride with the windows down, some good music, and good company that brings joy. Life has been so hectic, so our ride up was the perfect time to catch up on life and do a little wedding planning of our own. Once we got to the hotel, things got pretty crazy pretty quickly between unpacking the cars, meetings with the wedding coordinators, completing last minute crafting, solving a room issue, and primping for the rehearsal.

Thursday night’s rehearsal and Friday’s wedding festivities were filled with so much love and all the feels. It couldn’t be more apparent how much my best friend and her now husband truly love each other. Despite a little rain, everything turned out absolutely beautiful. I still feel so blessed to have been able to play such a large role in their special day.

Saturday morning we packed up, said our goodbyes to everyone, and began our trip home. While all I wanted to do was to spend the day cuddled up in bed binge watching something on Netflix, that was far from an option for Todd and me. We unpacked, changed, got some espresso, and were quickly headed back out to celebrate another friends’ milestone, their engagement and going away party. It was great to catch up with my sorority sisters and friends from college, and celebrate two people who mean so much to us. Another set of friends moving across the country to chase their dreams pretty much sums up life right now. I love that I’m at the point where the people I care about are fianlly able to go out there and do the things they have been talking about doing for years. Sure it’s  sad to watch the people leave, but it’s also exciting because that’s another place to travel and explore!

Sadly, I did a horrible job taking pictures last week. I'm hoping to be better next week though!

Lately...

Reading: The end of the school year had me reading final papers and grading tests, but yesterday I did finally finish Nine Women, One DressI by Jane L. Rosen. Confession- I've read this book off and on since the end of spring break. It was a great read, I just did not make enough time to read. With that being said, I'm searching for great books to read this summer. Feel free to send your recommendations my way!

Drinking: I've been drinking tons of water, but every now and then I like to mix it up a bit. Last week I discovered Starbucks' Strawberry Iced Green Tea. It is light, refreshing, and low in calories.

Loving: This sounds so silly, but I have been loving my spray tan.  I had never gotten one before, but I was impressed with how well it turned out.  My tan lines were almost all covered up. If you're in Eastern Pennsylvania and looking for a good place, let me know!

XOXO

Walk in my Week: First Month of Adulting

Happy Friday! 

Yesterday I shared a little reflection about how my first month after graduating college has been, also known as my first month of adulting.  I've gotten requests for more posts like these, so I thought I'd give you all a glimpse into what my average week has looked like this past month. Below is an outline of what I do on each day every week. Each day more items are added to these core lists depending on what is going on in a given week.  Throughout each day I usually watch at least one episode of Grey's Anatomy, read some of my favorite blogs, read for thirty minutes, draft a blog post, and take care of the dogs.

Morning Routine

Each morning is pretty much the same. If I don't have anywhere to bed, then I'll sleep until eight most days. I wake up and read The Skimm to find out the highlights of what's going on in the world.  I take Brody out and feed him breakfast.  I drink a cup of hot water with lemon as I make breakfast or eat my pre-workout granola bar. I then head upstairs to make my bed and get dressed for my workout. 

Lunchtime

Around noon I usually feed the puppies their lunch.  I make my own lunch and then take the puppies out.  After taking care of the puppies, I sit down to eat my own lunch. As I eat lunch, I usually watch Netflix or read some blogs. 

Afternoons/evenings

These tend to vary depending on the day. Some days I meet my mom at the gym when she's done work, some nights I coach, sometimes I run errands, work on the blog, etc.  Once my parents are home, my mom and/or I cook dinner then we eat together.  Most nights, after dinner, my mom and I watch a silly reality TV show together on Bravo. I'm working on reading for a little while before I go to bed, but most nights I end up falling asleep after reading a few pages. 

I have a feeling this schedule won't be lasting for too much longer. 

XOXO

Walk In My Week

Welcome to the weekend!

I don't know about you, but I was more than ecstatic yesterday afternoon to begin a new weekend. You may or may not have noticed that I've taken a two week break from blogging.  Life has taken me on a bit of an emotional roller coaster ride lately, and I need to take some time to take care of myself along the ride.  This weekend I'm hitting the reset button and getting back on track with everything. 

Last weekend we had to say goodbye to our family's fur baby.  The death of Riley has honestly felt as if we have lost one of our actual family members. He was twelve years old and the best dog we ever had. I got him for my tenth birthday after doing lots of research.  He was my sidekick and came almost everywhere with me (even our family vacation to Vermont). This week has been the first time in my life that my family hasn't had a dog. It has been quite strange and sad. My heart still hurts, and I my eyes still fill up with tears each time I remember he's gone.  No dog will ever be able to replace Riley, but I think our family is definitely in need of pup to make our house feel like a home again. 

On top of grieving the loss of my dog, I've also been sick for the past three weeks. I've had a cough, sore throat, congestion, and fatigue.  Tea with honey and lemon has been a life saver for me. I think I'm at the tail end of it all now, so I'm finally getting back to being my normal self. I'm looking forward to being healthy again and making an appearance at the gym this week after my month long hiatus. 

Student Teaching Updates

Week three of student teaching is complete. This week we had our first full week of school-five whole days. At the time, the week felt like it was moving in slow motion. However, looking back it went so quickly. I now know all of my students names and am getting more familiar with their learning preferences. I've had the opportunity to do lots of co-teaching and am beginning to do more planning. 

Food Favorites

I definitely haven't been cooking or doing as much meal prepping as I should be.  With all the chaos, I have been appreciating living at home and having my parents' help.  This week my mom and I made a yummy dinner together- zucchini noodles and quinoa with marinara. It was a simple meal, but it tasted so good! If you're looking for an easy healthy dinner recipe, then let me know! I'll have to add it to my Kitchen Adventures series soon. 

Current Obsession

Pumpkin spice.  Fall is my favorite season and along with this season comes pumpkin spice and everything nice.  This week pumpkin spice lattes gave me the extra boost of energy I need to keep me going.  I'm looking forward to trying this brie and pumpkin recipe soon. 

Weekend Reads

So enough with my ramblings. Here are a few things to get you through the weekend:

+Feeling Sick? Try this little concoction to help you sleep.

+Anyone else wishing it was chilly enough to break out the fall essentials?

+A dip recipe to much on during this weekend's football games. 

+Movie suggestion: Bridget Jones' Baby

+A comparison of the iPhone 6 vs iPhone 7

+A few jams: My Way, This Girl, In the Name of Love, & Closer

+Apparently you can now purchase Lilly Pulitzer wallpaper

XOXO

 

Walk In My Week

Happy Friday everyone! 

The four day weekend has finally arrived for me. This week was my first official week of student teaching, and let me tell you it was definitely an action packed week.  This week I'm just going to give you a brief synopsis rather than a window into each day's activities. 

Student Teaching Updates

I now understand why teachers begin school a week before their students do. The preparation week is definitely an essential for transitioning teachers from summer into the beginning of the school year. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday I spent 9+ hours each day in the district that I will be spending the next few months in.  I attended several professional development workshops, grade level meetings, content meetings, and spent most of my time getting the classroom set up. I'm only one week in, but I've already learned so much.  This week my biggest take away was from my building principal. He said that teachers should never work harder than their students. By this he meant that students should be doing the cognitive labor of learning rather than teachers just giving them the answers. This is something that I intend to keep in mind as I become a teacher. 

Food Favorites

I made three dinners this week. I'm all about meals that are quick to make and healthy. This week's menu included Chicken Cesar Salad, Tortellini, and Baked Tilapia.  If you like fish, then I highly recommend this tilapia recipe!

Current Obsession

This JCrew bag. I've been wanting a good bag to use for teaching (transporting my teaching essentials back and forth each day). I had liked the transport tote and had been waiting for it to go on sale, but when the new Jcrew catalog came out I quickly changed my mind. I instantly fell in love with this bag. It was designed to be an everyday bag to get the working woman through an entire day (barre class all the way through lunch and the working day).  I was on the fence whether or not to get it, but I was quickly swayed to add the bag to my online cart. A few weeks ago JCrew had a big sale that included a discount and free shipping that I just couldn't pass up.  Monday afternoon I came home to the JCrew box on my door step, and I have used the bag every day since. Let me tell you it definitely did not disappoint! Check out the all day tote to see what I'm obsessing over. 

Other Ramblings + Looking Ahead

+This week I've truly appreciated being able to move back home and live with my parents. I came home Sunday afternoon to my laundry folded and a fresh bunch of sunflowers on my desk. It's the little things that just make me smile and realize how lucky I am. 

+Tuesday will be first day of student teaching with the students there. I'm excited to see how the week goes!

+Super excited that Nick was chosen to be the next Bachelor! I'm hoping his season will be better than the most recent seasons of The Bachelorette and Bachelor In Paradise.

+I'm looking forward to enjoying the last little bit of summer this weekend. I'm hoping to plan out my blog content for the month of September, so if you have suggestions I'd love to hear them!

Have a fabulous weekend!

XOXO

A Walk in My Week + More

Good morning, happy Friday!

I neglected to prep for the post I had planned to share with you today, but I thought it would be fun to share a little walk through my recap and some other updates. This post will be a little different than my typical A Walk in my Week posts (here and here), so I hope you enjoy it!

Monday

Monday honestly feels like so long ago.  I spent the day with the Language Arts teachers at the school where I'll be student teaching at. I had the opportunity to join them in doing curriculum planning for the year.  I did a little blogging in the afternoon and was able to get in a yoga session before dinner with my family. 

Tuesday

I spent the morning relaxing and mentally preparing for my exam. I took my PRAXIS exam, explored a nearby town with my brother where we got Chipotle, enjoyed a little nap, and played in my field hockey summer league. After my game, I enjoyed a little fire with s'mores on our patio.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning I took some time to work on the blog and get some stuff done around the house (laundry, cleaning, etc.). In the afternoon, I went to work for several hours. 

Thursday

I took another PRAXIS exam, tried out a new recipe with my friend (blog post to come soon), and played in my summer league for field hockey. 

Friday

Today is Friday and I have to tell you I'm just not feeling the usual hype over Fridays. I picked up an extra shift at work (yay for extra money!), so this weekend I'll be working three nine hour shifts. Lots of time at work. I"m not complaining because I do enjoy where I work, but it's just a little tougher to be excited about the weekend when it's filled with work. 

Other updates and ramblings:

+ I cannot believe the summer is already half way over. The time is flying by and there is still so much I have to get done and things I wanted to do. 

+In exciting news, I have officially passed my PRAXIS exams which will make me dual certified for grades 4-8 math and language arts. The only thing that stands between me and my certification is a semester of student teaching. 

+I'm working on my editorial calendar for August, so if there are any posts you'd like to see please let me know! I love hearing what your input is. 

+My newest read: The Friends We Keep  by Holly Chamberlin

+Current playlist that's on repeat: FUN workout on Spotify

+The tragedy in Nice, France is heartbreaking. It's a great reminder to always be kind to your loved ones and to never take anything for granted.

+There's so much hype over Pokemon Go right now. Confession- I'm just not into it and I don't quite understand why everyone is so #obsessed. Anyways, my mom found this video the other day and I just couldn't resist sharing it with you- Chardonnay Go!

+Remember to take my reader survey this weekend, if you haven't done so already!

I hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend! 

What are your plans for the weekend?

XOXO

A Walk in My Week

Hey y'all! Congratulations you made it through your second full week of 2016.  This week was filled with back to school preparations and soaking up the last little bit of time at home for me. This is my first edition of A Walk in my Week. It is a time for y'all to get a glimpse into my life and see what my week is like.

So let's start with the weekend. Last weekend was a pretty good one for me.  On Saturday I went with my family to visit my cousins. We had dinner and drinks to start off.  I have loved my Aunt's mac and cheese since I was little and thankfully she remembered to make it since it's my favorite! Afterwards, all ten of us gathered around the kitchen table to play some games. Sadly, the female team lost when we played Battle of the Sexes.  

On Sunday, my mom and I woke up early to head to Lancaster for the day.  We began the day's adventure by going to our favorite creperie around. I mentioned this place in one of my first posts back in 2013.  Since then, the restaurant has moved to a bigger location due to it's popularity.  We have yet to go and not have to wait at all.  Last weekend we had a fifteen minute wait, which was enough time to narrow down our possible crepe options to about three each.  We both got tea since it was a dreary rainy day.

Coincidentally, we ended up both getting the lox and cream cheese crepe infused with tarragon.  This was the perfect amount of food to prep us for a day filled with shopping.  After brunch, we walked around downtown Lancaster and shopped at some of the consignment shops.  

We then left downtown and headed to the outlets where we found some great sales.  I went with two objectives: one- not to buy anything striped and two- to find a good pair of jeans. If you haven't noticed I am #obsessed with anything and everything striped, especially navy stripes.  If you didn't see my tweet, I managed to resist the few striped tops I saw.  The other objective was to get jeans because I haven't bought new jeans in at least three years. My favorite jeans are the ones I still wear from high school, but they are getting worn out with their old age.  I managed to find two cute pairs at GAP.  I even branched out of my comfort zone and purchased a pair of boyfriend jeans! 

A view of the beautiful Lancaster County sunset on our way home. 

Tuesday I helped my mom out by making dinner. My younger brother had a basketball game and everyone had a busy schedule, so I made dinner early in the afternoon to accommodate everyone's schedules.  I made meat to create wraps, salads, or sandwiches to everyone's liking. I turned mine into a wrap with lettuce, pickles, thousand island dressing, and a pinch of cheddar cheese. You can find the recipe here.

I also went on a little adventure with my brother and dog earlier in the day.  Fun fact: Riley is obsessed with car rides. I swear he's more human than dog sometimes.  You can find him on instagram (@RileytheyorkieQ).

Wednesday I discovered my new favorite breakfast to make.  Kale and mozzarella omelet, lemon water, half a grape fruit, and chocolate mousse greek yogurt made with whole milk

 

Thursday was filled with lots of exciting things: The Shore Life According to M turned 3, I passed one of my praxis exams, and I found out that I was accepted into a year long student teaching program.


I'd love to hear your feedback on this new Friday post.
I'm off to enjoy my last weekend before spring semester starts. I hope y'all have a fabulous weekend!

Keep up with me throughout the week on social media:

Email: shorelifeofm@gmail.com
Facebook: The shore Life According to M 
Twitter: @mich_quigley
Instagram: Mich_quigley
Pinterest: Shore Life of M 
XOXO