California Dreamin'

Suuuuuuuper excited to finish my term paper, take my first final exam, and head to California for a whole week :) 

     

Off to sunny San Diego to see Jess, Mike & Harper!

Then a lil' road trip up to LA to have dinner with Kates & Nick 

and onto Santa Barbara we shall go to do a lil' wine tasting :)

    

Come Friday, I hop the Pacific Coast train North to Paso Robles 

for Shera & Kris's wedding festivities at Halter Ranch!

Yes, please, thank you

  

So excited to end the trip with one last train ride to 

Santa Ynez Valley to visit Cailen, Sean & Oliver :)

***

Hope you have a wonderful rest of September. 

Zippidy Do Da will be back in October!

        

Observation Hours

This year I have the pleasure to log 60 observation hours in elementary classrooms (K-3). Today I spent the day truly in awe of my cousin Kirsten (aka: Miss Goetz) and how she effectively teaches twenty-eight 3rd grade students.  

It's incredibly inspiring to watch great educators in action :)

#shinyobjectseverywhere

My only issue with grad school is that I have SERIOUS (undiagnosed) A.D.D.   I'll be in the midst of reading a 20 page article and see a word that I haven't read in a while so I'll grab a thesaurus to check what other words it's friends with. From there, I "might" possibly slip into a solid 20 minute Google vortex in which I try to find images to capture what that word means to me.  This is why the internet is my very best frenemie. 

I should be on page 18 right now...

The word that set me off today is "favor" (noun) versus "favour" (verb). It made me think of a scene in The Great Gatsby that I absolutely love. 

It's the part when Gatsby wants Nick to invite Daisy over for tea, so he operates in the only way he knows -- to propose something in return. Gatsby offers Nick a hand in some shady business deal but Nick realizes what he's doing and cuts him off...

   

"It's a favor, Jay.  I'm happy to do it."

I ADORE THIS LINE & HOW IT'S DELIVERED.

While searching to see if the video clip exists, 
I pulled these little lovelies as well :)
  

And now, back to reading...

 

New Favorite Blog

Be sure to check out

Wait, but Why?

GREAT stuff!

  

My Two Cents

There's something about crisp Fall weather and the first September rain that makes me want to restock my home with yummy smelling candles and curl up with a book (or ten). 

Here are my favorite scents this season.  They're also all under $50 in case you ever need a gift giving idea :)  Enjoy!
  

***

Sake by Fresh

Frasier Fir by Thymes

White Tea & Ginger by Vintage

Leaf by Calvin Klein

Frolics Naked by Small Gunns

ANTHROPOLOGIE scrumptiousness 

Saijo Persimmon by Voluspa

Pear & Coriander Leaf by Mairead

Avocado & Mint by Illume

  ***

Fun Fact: 

When you're candle has burnt all the way to it's end, put the whole thing in the freezer overnight and the wax will all pop out. From there, you can re-use the jar as: a pencil holder, a flower vase, a coin collection keeper, a cotton ball container, a whiskey glass... you get the jist -- the possibilities are endless!

      

LOVE

Happy Sunday Funday, Chicagoans!

{insert grilled meat and cold beer here}

DAAA BEARS

Wknd Highlights :)

Reasonable Mention

If you're in need of a good cry, or maybe just to put your problems in perspective, I definitely recommend seeing Short Term 12.  It's certainly not a movie to help you escape reality for a couple hours, but it will leave you feeling grateful for what you have, where you've been, and where your life is capable of going. 

Continued Birthday Awesomeness

  

"The Grass Is Greener Where You Water It"

Weather permitting, I take Stella on our weekly walk to the Merrick Park Rose Garden to take-in the beauty of this hidden little Evanston gem.

   

And 15 years from now, Stella will be a sassy teen and when we pass Merrick Park I will tell her again how we used to take her there when she was a little baby and she will say, "I know Aunt Stace -- you say that like every.single.time we pass this place. You've told this story a THOUSAND times!"

  

Because she will be rightfully annoyed.
And I will have told her at least a thousand times because I will forever look back at this fortunate year when the stars aligned and I got to be her nanny while in graduate school. And how for one whole lucky year we literally and physically got to stop and smell the roses :)

      

I know it's so special because this is the only time in life that Stella will be the "only" child. Before you know it there will be siblings and cousins and best friends -- and soccer games and ballet recitals and gymnastics meets and T-ball tournaments -- and birthday parties and baptisms and unexpected ouchies to tend to -- and time nor attention nor patience will ever again be on our side like it is now. There will just be too much life to be lived!

     

And oh-soo-too-soon my little niece/bestie/pal will learn to crawl and walk and talk and she'll be far too busy to sit still to stare at some silly perennial plants!  Parks with playgrounds will be paramount.  And then before ya know it she'll be able to say "no" when we ask her if she even wants to go to the park so we'll do whatever else she wants instead (likely story).  And by that time I'll have done a deep-dive into my next professional career creating far less options for outings as such :(   Sigh 

      

So yeah, I will certainly look back fondly and repeat myself (per usual) when that time comes. But for now, I will continue to sit alongside Centennial Fountain to count the penny-wishes within and tell Stella imaginary stories of what each one is secretly yearning to make come true. 

And we will stay an extra few minutes to sit in the shade together and I will consciously enjoy every mili-second of nannyhood with this little Gerber daisy 

who has so graciously allowed me this opportunity in life 

to stop and smell the roses :)

    

I heart you Stella Grace!

     

On watching the news on Syria on 9/11...

    

On a brighter note...

The Missing "Peace"

Everyone has "that" room in their house/apartment/humble abode that's their favorite. It's the place that makes you feel at home and that all is right in the world. 

For me, it is my living room.

For almost three years now, I have "nested" 

this 12x12 square of comfort but for some reason 

there's always been a sense that something's missing.

I've scoured antique shops, boutiques, craft fairs, 
bazaars, furniture stores, art galleries...the list goes on. 
But I haven't been able to find that one special piece that 
puts it all together.  And then it came to me...
a floating book! 

I immediately went onto Etsy knowing this had to exist 
and WAA-LAA!!!  Sure enough, it does :) 

I purposely picked The Theory of Evolution because, after the best summer of my life teaching little ones that we too are mammals, I somehow felt even more connected to Earth and all living beings. 

It's such a little piece, but it makes me SO happy

and that is all I have to say about that :)

A Gazillion Thanks!

Ever so grateful for my friends and fam for making this bday, 
and every one prior, so very very special :)

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

  

How Do I Get Me One of These Disclaimers?

While walking down the Magnificent Mile I laughed when I saw this storefront window sign in front of one of those superfluously swank department stores:

I was all like, "Can I borrow that line?"

Pint Sized Gesture

Every year I try to donate blood on/around my bday. It's important to do and I'm blessed with good health to be able to do it... WIN-WIN!

I also very much love that it's one day a year that I do not feel guilty whatsoever about not exercising because you're not allowed to do so after giving.  Soooo, I went right ahead to make a morning appointment, and enjoyed countless Keebler cookies and Ocean Spray cranberry cocktail after. Again, win-win :)

To find a donation center and drive near you, 

you can go to the American Red Cross website 

or call for more information.