Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Filling Each Others Buckets

It's Wednesday gang! It also happens to be my sissy/ besties birthday! I can't believe my baby sis is 16!!! It is going to be a fun day!
I hope you have great plans for your day to make it awesome! I hope you are starting to read this post at the beginning of your day because I have a couple questions I want you to ask yourself as your day goes on. 1. Why haven't I been filling peoples buckets? And 2. How can I fill other's buckets today?
Y'all are probably thinking I have lost my mind (which is very possible), because you have no clue what I am talking about. Let me explain.

As a college student who plans to study Elementary Education and become a teacher, I love watching other educators online and reading their blogs for inspiration. One of my FAVS is Mrs. May at One Fab Teacher. She made a video about something her students do in the classroom, fill each others buckets. Before I continue on with this post, click HERE to watch the video I am talking about.

Is that not just the sweetest? These first grade students notice when one of their classmates is feeling sad or down and they make an effort to give them encouragement. Did you notice how the students said it made them feel to encourage someone else? It felt GOOD. By helping someone else, they felt great. 

So I have a question. Why is it, after we leave elementary school, we stop finding pleasure in helping and encouraging others? Why is it we start tearing each other down and causing pain in someone else instead of filling their bucket.

It isn't always the fact that we are tearing others down or purposely causing them pain, but rather we don't care. We are so caught up in our own lives and trying to make ourselves happy, that we forget to fill each others buckets. But are we happy? Being selfish and only worrying about ourselves, will never make us happy. However, giving a compliment or being encouraging to someone else, even with something simple like "You are so smart" or "You are so kind" like those students showed us, could make someone else SO happy.... and wouldn't THAT bring you pure joy?

I am going to try and be a bucket filler, rather than a bucket hoarder and only build myself up. Will you join me??

I want to hear your thoughts on kindness and how you plan to fill someones bucket below. LOVE Y'ALL! Talk to you soon.

xoxo
Monday, May 29, 2017

Blue Dress and Pom Pom Necklace | Happy Memorial Day!

Dress (similar herehere & here) // Necklace (similar here & here) // Shoes

Happy Memorial Day everyone! I hope you are spending today with loved ones remembering those who are so brave to fight for our freedom and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. The first half of my day was spent at a ceremony put on by the place my grandparents live honoring veterans. It was so awesome and my rockin' granddad got his own brick with his name on it! I am so blessed to have two fantastic veteran granddad's in my family!

How perfect is this outfit for Memorial Day? It is blue and has pops of red in the necklace and shoes so it is perfect for the holiday, but also cute for any regular day. Y'all know I am obsessed with pom poms these days so this necklace was right up my alley. I linked several similar ones below the last picture (however you can also find a ton on Etsy too), along with details for the rest of the outfit. What are your plans for the day/week? I am enjoying my summer so far and have a busy couple of weeks planned with swimming and movies with friends, and teaching Vacation Bible School at my church in two weeks! I am very excited for all that is to come this summer.

I hope y'all have a great holiday. If any of you have served in the armed forces or have lost someone who did, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Today you're in my prayers.

xoxo
Friday, May 26, 2017

Spontaneous Miscellaneous- Graduation Edition

Happy Friday everyone! This week has been absolutely FANTASTIC! At the beginning of this week I graduated from high school and have been surrounded by family and lots of love this whole week! 
Today I am sharing with you all my recent favorite things from this past week, and today I have a TON! Let me first start with all things graduation! :)


My Party!
I had told my family that since we had done several trips to Disney for my graduation right around the same time as my sister's sweet 16, that I didn't want a big graduation party. I sent graduation announcements to many people but wasn't planning on having any big party. Well we had family in town, and my mom mentioned having a small cook out. Well. She went above and beyond to throw me the sweetest family party. It was decorated SO CUTE and the games and activities she had planned such as "How Well Do You Know The Graduate" and a "Mad Lib Commencement Speech" made the whole night spectacular. My dad grilled out hamburgers and my mom filled a hot pink ice bucket with my FAVORITE popcicles from like 3rd grade. We blasted some music and swam in the pool and had the best time. I love moments like this with my family!! I was so happy this day!

Graduation Gifts!
My family was BOMB with these gifts. My aunt KIMMIE gave me this beautiful purse which gives me aalllll the heart eyes! SO PRETTY!
My grandparents gave me the cutest pink pot for my hope chest along with a graduation cap charm for my Pandora bracelet! LOVE LOVE!
My sister got me an adorable mug with a quote on it about being a teacher and I thought it was so sweet! I can't wait to use it every day once I am a teacher.
Now my parents.. Y'all. This is too good. They got me a Dr. Seuss tote bag full of kid books to get my classroom library started. I almost CRIED! Y'all may know I am a total book worm, and reading to kids is my favorite thing ever, so getting some of my favorite childhood books was such a great inspiration to get through college so I can read Fancy Nancy to some cute kiddos one day :)
Not to mention I about died when I pulled out the two children's book's that Laura Bush had written. LB IS MY GURL!! 
These gifts were all so special to me and made me oh so happy!! I have one fab family.. they just get me!

Laura Bush Letter
Speaking of Laura Bush... My sweet grandmother sent her a letter a few weeks ago saying how much I love her, want to be a teacher like her, and that I am graduating high school soon, and y'all.... LAURA BUSH SENT ME A LETTER. Like on her personal stationary in a hand written envelope and it was so beautifully written!!! My favorite things she said were "Your formal education is only the beginning of a lifetime of learning." and "President Bush joins me in sending best wishes" DIRECT QUOTE! THE PRESIDENT JOINS HER IN SENDING BEST WISHES TO ME PEOPLE!!!!! Yeah I about died.

Donut Float
I purchased this pool float because I thought everyone needed a hot pink donut floating around in their pool and I was totally right. It matched my graduation party decor too! :)

Typhoon Lagoon!
I will have a full recap and video up from this Disney Water Park soon but on Monday my family went to celebrate my graduation some more and we had the time of our lives. My sister finally got on a water roller-coaster there and actually LOVED it. We rode that same ride about 10 times in a row and died laughing every time. I just wish I had it on video. My family was EXHAUSTED afterwards though. I mean, floating in the lazy river is tough work :) I just love where I live.. but y'all already knew that.

My Target Shoes
These were featured in a blog post Monday and I already can't stop wearing them. They are a definite FAVORITE!

"Dear John" and "The Longest Ride"
(I mean how does one compare these two???)

I was on a total Nicholas Sparks kick this past week and watched both Dear John and The Longest Ride this week. I know I talked about The Longest Ride already (LOVE IT!) I don't care what anyone says, I love Nicholas Sparks movies. They are cheesy yes, but always have a good twist at the end. I preferred the Longest Ride just because I liked the characters better (don't take it personally Channing Tatum.. I still love you) but I will say Dear John had me weeping like a baby. Anyone else?

Bachelorette!!
Y'all know it started this week!!! I am so beyond pumped. One, because I love Rachel and think she is such a classy and smart woman, maybe the best Bachelorette in a long time, and Two, because Sheaffer's blog recaps are back and funnier than ever!! Read her episode 1 recap here. She is a HOOT! #teamwaahboom

Anyone out of breath from reading yet? My fingers are about to fall off! I hope you enjoyed all of my favorites from this week! I hope you have a fantastic weekend :) Talk to you next week!

xoxo
Wednesday, May 24, 2017

5 Reasons Why I Want to be a Teacher

Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope you are having a good hump day. Today I am sharing an interesting post which I will try to keep from being to lengthy. I have mentioned several times before that I have always wanted to be a teacher. Now don't get me wrong, I have explored many other careers and have found many interesting and considered doing them one day too, but I always found my way back to teaching elementary school one day. When I was in about the fourth grade I became obsessed with the idea of being a teacher. I asked Santa for school supplies that Christmas, and he transformed my room into a classroom. Every day for a straight year, I swear, I would make my sister play school with me after we got home from school (it's no wonder my sister is so smart.. haha). I would teach her about all kinds of things and never let her be the teacher! :) As I grew up I just always said that was what I wanted to be. Things changed once I reached high school, as I struggled with the idea of being a teacher because I hated school so much. After all, aren't teachers supposed to love school? However, I realized during this point of hating school that good teachers are so important. All the teachers I had in high school (except for one) made me loose my passion for learning and ultimately made me want to give up. After I talked to several elementary teachers though, and kept volunteering in classrooms, I realized that I wanted to make a difference and be the kind of teacher that makes kids love learning, like my fourth grade teacher. 

These are the reasons I want to be a teacher:

1. I Love Kids
This is an obvious one. You have to like kids to be a teacher. I have always found myself gravitated to little kids (maybe because part of me still is one). I have more patience with kids than anyone else and it takes a lot for them to get on my nerves. I think kids grow up to fast and I love the idea of encouraging them to just be a kid and use their imagination.

2. I Love to Teach
After volunteering with kids throughout high school, I realized how rewarding it can be to see progress in a child over time. I can't imagine the feeling of seeing a student's progress every day over a year. Not to mention, I love being in charge, and having a classroom where I am the boss sounds pretty good :)

3. You Create Every Other Career
Having a possible impact in a child's future sounds scary and awesome at the same time! I want my future students to know they can be ANYTHING if they put their mind to it!

4. You Can Wear Cute Outfits
This may be the most shallow reason of all, but it's a valid point as a fashion lover :) As a teacher you have a wide variety of styles you can wear. You don't have to wear a uniform, but you also don't have to wear high heels and pencil skirts all day. You can dress cute and comfy almost every day! I follow @msleslieann01 on Instagram for cute teacher outfits all the time!

5. Your Classroom is a Safe Place for Students
Growing up, I have had several friends tell me that my house was a safe place. My mom and dad created a home that was peaceful and safe. I always knew I would be accepted at my home and everyone knew they would be too. I understand though that a good majority of kids don't feel that way about their homes. I would be so honored to create a classroom that could be a child's safe place, regardless of what is going on at home. 

So there you have it. Five reasons I want to be a teacher! I know it will be hard, tiring, and I will often feel under appreciated. I hope however that even during the toughest of times being a teacher, that my love for my students through God will show through each and every day.

To my future self reading this post years later wondering why I ever wanted to do this crazy job, you got this girl!! You're making a difference!! Go get a mani pedi :)


Have a great rest of your week! What are the 5 reasons you decided to do what you do? Let me know!

xoxo
Monday, May 22, 2017

Casual Outfit with Striped Slides

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you are all having a great start to the week! Today might just be the BEST MONDAY EVER! I will get to that. but first, let me show you my new favorite outfit EVER!

I am all about understated jewelry.. haha ;)

Y'all... this outfit!!! This is my new summer uniform, I love it so much. These summer sweaters from Gap are my absolute favorite because they look nicer, but are super comfortable. As someone who is extremely hot nature, living in Florida, I also appreciate that it doesn't show sweat ever! However, the total star of the show are these shoes that I found at Target! Okay first of all, who knew Target has SO MANY cute shoes? If you saw my Instagram Story this past Thursday, you know I was torn with so many choices! These however are so summery and easy to slide on with any outfit. They would look so cute with denim too and a bright pedicure!

My Monday has been THE BEST Y'ALL! I graduated yesterday and spent the day celebrating today at Typhoon Lagoon, one of Disney's two water parks, with my family. My sister and I calculated that we walked over 35 flights of stairs today because we rode our favorite raft ride so many times!! There weren't many people there at all and we had a blast floating in the lazy river and riding crazy rides! We also met STITCH!! I can't wait to tell you all about my graduation party on Friday when I recap my favorites from the week! My sweet momma did SUCH a good job!

I hope you have a magical week!! Talk to you on Wednesday!

xoxo
Saturday, May 20, 2017

Spontaneous Miscellaneous

Happy Friday! I have so much to look forward to. Graduation is this weekend and my family is in town to party and I am SO excited. 

Today I am sharing my favorite things from the week. I don't feel like I have too many new things to share but we will see what I come up with.

Designated Survivor
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The season finale was Wednesday night and I am DYING for it to come back on. I just love this show!!! You can catch up and watch all the episodes here.

Hart of Dixie
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I finished this adorable show on Netflix and it is so CUTE! It was a little cheesy but I loved the southern accents and style that it had. Not to mention, who couldn't love WAYDE???

The Longest Ride
Y'all... I LOVED this movie. I finally rented it on Amazon and watched it late one night when I couldn't sleep and it was the CUTEST. I love a good Nicolas Sparks movie but this one is one of my favs. There are a few steamy scenes, but overall a great story. I meeeeaannnn... how beautiful is he??
Image result for the longest ride

Now that we have shows and movies out of the way, let's talk shoes!

Y;all I love these shoes!!! I bought them yesterday at Target and I am obsessed! You need them too :)

I also love the shoes I featured in this post on Wednesday!


Hope y'all enjoy your weekend! I will talk to you again on Monday :)

xoxo
Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Tassel Pom Pom Shoes and Striped Dress

Dress (similar here & here) // Shoes //

Happy Wednesday y'all! I hope you are having a great week. I have a funny story regarding this outfit. So I actually wore this on Mothers Day and my family decided to have a picnic at the beach a little before the sun set. This is something we have done several times before so I thought I would bring my camera to take pictures of this outfit for my blog while at the beach. Let me tell you, it was such a fail. First of all, who wears a dress (without a swimsuit underneath) to the beach?? Second of all, it was so windy I was miserable. I couldn't hardly function from using one hand to keep a towel wrapped around me in attempt to keep from flashing the rest of the beach. Not to mention the photos were a total BUST! In the moment I was totally stressed because there was sand blowing in my face as I was trying to eat with one hand, and using the other to keep my dress down. However now that I think of it, it was quite funny! I tend to have a problem with overdressing I have noticed! Oh well! We decided that this outfit was better showcased in these pictures for y'all :)

How cute is this outfit though? Usually you buy an outfit and buy the shoes to match but that was not the case with this outfit (I clearly have a shoe problem). I bought the shoes and am IN LOVE with them. They are so crazy and fun which I love. After they arrived I established that I needed, what do you know, a blue and white striped dress to go with it, because I obviously have nothing in my closet that is blue and white striped ;)
I found this dress at Kohl's and the embroidery made it match perfectly and created such a fun look.

I hope y'all have a great rest of the week. I will talk to you on Friday!

xoxo
Monday, May 15, 2017

Flour-less Brownies w/ Mint Frosting

Hey y'all! Y'all know that I have to eat gluten-free but am an avid baker and chocolate lover, so finding the perfect flour-less brownie is a real task. Today I am sharing my favorite flour-less brownies. Now these brownies don't just take a regular brownies recipe and substitute regular flour for a gluten free flour.. no! These are without flour at all which is honestly better on touchy tummies. HOWEVER, make sure you spray the pans you use first, without flour, they can get sticky if you aren't prepared!


These little devils are sure to be a hit paired with some mint frosting, but if you aren't a fan of the frosting, the brownies are just perfect on their own as well.

Ingredients:
Brownies:
 1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Frosting:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon mint extrat
3 drops of green food coloring

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray your square brownie pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and chocolate chips in 30 second increments, stirring in between. Set aside.
PLace the eggs and sugar in a large bowl and beat on high for about 5 minutes in an electric mixer. The mixture should double in volume. Add vanilla and salt and cocoa powder. Beat on medium speed until just combined. Stir in the melted chocolate and butter mixture.
Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
For the Frosting:
Beat softened butter on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add powdered sugar, cream, and mint extract. Beat for another 3 minutes.
(Add more powdered sugar is the frosting in too thin, and more cream if the frosting in too thick)
Add food coloring and mix well.

Let your brownies cool completely before slicing and frosting each one for you guests! Top with Andes mints if you desire. Enjoy y'all!


Hope you enjoy your Monday! I will talk to you again on Wednesday!

xoxo
Friday, May 12, 2017

Spontaneous Miscellaneous

Happy Friday! I have so much to share with y'all today. I had my last day of highschool today WHOOP! I thought this day would never come, yet now that it has, I can't believe it. Part of me still feels like I am 9, and part of me feels like I should already be half way through college right now. I am so excited for this next chapter of my life.

Today however, I have a lot of exciting favorites to share with you! 

Molly!
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Today I have been watching my grandparents dog Molly and she is just so stinkin' cute. She also has me reallly wanting a dog again!!

VBS
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First off, this past week I met with a grade leader at my church to get the materials for this summers Vacation Bible School. I am so excited to spend a week teaching a class of third graders about the love I have for Jesus. It is going to be fun.. and stressful.... but mostly fun :)

I KNOW A FAMOUS PERSON
Image result for matthew lewis then and now
Okay you Harry Potter fans, you may know Mathew Lewis as the actor who played Nevil Longbottom in all the films. He also played Louisa Clark's runner boyfriend in the movie Me Before You. Well y'all, I know him!! Okay that might be a stretch. We don't exactly get together to sip coffee and talk about our lives, but I do see him about once every week or so at my work. I work in retail, and he apparently lives with his fiance close to my store and comes in every now and then too pick up a few things. His british accent is so cute y'all and he is SO nice! I haven't asked for a selfie, because I don't want to loose my whole favorite cashier status with a hot celebrity, but I assure you, he loves me ;)

Disney Recap Videos
This year my family got a 4 day pass to Disney World and just went to the fourth and final park of our trip this past weekend. I have loved going back through my youtube videos and blog recaps of each time we spent at the parks. I love where I live and love the short drive I have to the most magical place on earth. It doesn't get much better than that.

Kevin Can Wait
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Y'all this show is a HOOT! Kevin James is too funny and the show is a quick 30 minute laugh! Y'all have to watch it. Anyone else love Chale?? So funny!

Nyx Matte Lip Cream
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I get asked at least once a day at work and else where, what lip product I wear. This is it people. I love a good bright lip color and don't think a makeup look is complete without a pop of color on the lips. Regardless though of what color you like, you have to try these. There are a ton of colors, and the consistency is amazing. They are smooth and don't dry out your lips but aren't going to budge. Like the whole day, they are with you girl. I eat, drink, and the color is still on. I LOVE this stuff!

Snapchat
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So, y'all may have noticed from my Instagram that I finally caved and got a Snapchat. I can't exactly see why I would prefer it over Instagram stories quite yet, so don't worry you aren't missing anything there, but the filters are fun when I am bored. Follow me @ jgraceblog if you want to chat :)

That is all my favorite things from the week. What have you been loving this week? Let me know girl!

Talk to you real soon! Enjoy your weekend y'all.

xoxo