Christmas Market - Montreux, Switzerland

One of the best parts of Europe is the Christmas markets. Everything is just so Christmas-y and happy! I went to the market in Montreux with Rosalie last week. It was freezing, but so fun. We made candles, drank hot tea, tried some chocolate, and admired all the pretty booths. And I rode my first ferris wheel! I always imagined myself riding one at a fair somewhere in the States. But this was so much better. You can't beat a ferris wheel at Christmas overlooking Lake Geneva.

 

Doing 23 the Right Way

In three short days, I will be turning 23!! It's pretty exciting to think I will turn 23 in Europe. But you know what's even better? The fact that I will be turning 23 in Italy. I don't know what it is exactly, but I just love that country.

We are leaving this afternoon to head to Italy. We will be in Benevento, my host dad's hometown for a few days. Then we are driving to Rome for my birthday. I'm so excited to visit this city that I've heard so much about. My Italian host family from last year has been telling me to go for a long time. And my Italian friend here is actually from Rome. So obviously he thinks I should go. I'm more than happy to oblige.

While I'm gone, here are some unedited pictures of the first snow!

I took the little one outside to play. The snow was almost all gone, but we had a lot of fun making snow balls. She also wanted to carry her "peeg" around in her jacket. So cute.

Valentine's Day...a little late

These weeks are just flying by!

I am still LOVING my student teaching. My little first graders are so precious.

And my teacher? I can't say enough wonderful things about her.

So so blessed to be where I am.

Here's a little recap of February:

Valentine's Day is thee absolute best as a teacher.

You get loaded down with chocolates and cards and flowers.

Such a good way to put a smile on my face!

And I can't even begin to tell you the amount of sugar we had in the room.

#yummm

~part of my load~

How cute are these?!

I found the cutest Valentine's Day book at Target for $3.

It's the same type of rhyme as "Twas the Night Before Christmas".

The kids loved it.

We did some really fun activities that day as well.

You have to have Candy Hearts on Valentine's Day:

And we measured mustaches. I found this on Teachers Pay Teachers for free!

They had so much fun with this.

On a different note, I got a few new things that I'm currently obsessed with.

{I'm going to show you pictures but just know that this is weird for me.

I don't think I've ever shared selfies...not really my thing. Also excuse the blurriness. 

That's what happens when you use an iPod instead of a real camera.}

For starters, I got a pleather peplum shirt.

If that isn't awesome I don't know what is.

I also scored this dress from Old Navy for only $10!

Love it when I find cheap teacher clothes.

{yes...I refer to some clothes as teacher clothes}

I'll be back later to share the most fun activity I've ever done in school.

We're still in the process of putting up our work so I'll wait until I have good pictures.

Trust me you won't want to miss it.

It involves aliens.

Happy Sunday!

One Word

Can you believe it's 2013? It feels like just yesterday it was 1999

and people were worried the world was going to end.

Hmmm...sounds a lot like this year now that I think about it.

Anyways.

I've been following Nicole for a while now.

She is so sweet and I've enjoyed getting to know her a little through blogging.

At the beginning of 2012, she posted about choosing one word as a theme for the entire year.

I loved this idea but I didn't really do anything with it.

However, I've been feeling like the Lord has given me a word for 2013.

There's something to be said for working all year on one specific thing.

To look back over how far you've come

and what all you've learned.

Over the past couple of weeks

I've been noticing something I need to work on in my life.

I waste a lot of time.

Not on bad things.

Just on pointless things

like twitter or watching t.v.

Things that I enjoy but aren't a priority.

At this point in my life,

I have been given the gift of free time.

Now that does not mean I sit around for hours with nothing to do.

I'm actually quite busy with school and work.

But I don't have a family to take care of

or any other pressing matters many people face.

So for 2013, my goal is to be:

Intentional with my time, 

my attention,

my relationship with the Lord,

how I love others,

how I serve.

This year will bring about a lot of changes for me.

Graduating college,

getting a real job,

potentially moving away from home.

Those things are huge.

At the end of the year,

I want to look back with no regrets.

With no wasted time.

Hopefully a year from now

I'll be able to say I was successful.

I'd love to know if you do something similar.

What are your 2013 resolutions?

Fall is Here!

It's fall, y'all!

I love saying that. 

Makes me sound so Southern.

It was a chilly 55-60ish degrees today in Georgia.

That's cold for us!

I pulled out the boots because they make me oh so happy.

*hopefully summer doesn't decide to make a reappearance*

My day got even better when I remembered it was a government holiday.

Because I work for the Forest Service, I didn't have to go in to work!

Party for me!

Except I really sat at home writing lesson plans all afternoon.

Good news is I'm finally finished.

Which means I can now relax, catch up on blogs, and maybe watch a little TV.

Oh and the final season of Gossip Girl starts tonight!

Here's hoping it's better than last season.

Have a wonderful night!!

Happy Fourth of July!

via

I'm currently at the beach soaking up the sunshine.

There's a lot of this type of food being served here with my family.

Hope y'all are having a wonderful holiday!

Better Late Than Never

I realize I'm two days late, but I couldn't resist sharing this picture.

(sorry it's blurry) 

This was part of my dad's gift this year.

I am such a daddy's girl. When I was little, I would imitate anything my dad did. This face was one of those things.

Happy late Father's Day to the best dad a girl could ask for. I'm so blessed that God chose me to be your daughter. Thank you for being such a godly influence for our family and for always providing for us. You work so hard and I can never thank you enough.

Just like this, high five, number one.

Love you, Dad!

Road Trippin' It

It's finally Spring Break!!!!

I'm leaving today for Sarasota, Florida. Seven hour drive. No big deal.

My friend is running a half on Sunday. Then we're hanging out on the beach every other day until Wednesday.

Oh. And I'm going to Disney World!!!!!!!

First.Time.Ever.

Shocking, right?!

I'm such a Disney freak. I'm almost embarrassed to say I've never been.

But I'm finally going!!!

Just for a day. But it still counts.

Woohoo!!

{This will be me.}

I'll be back next week with pics!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

{just thought you needed a few more exclamation marks. don't think i put enough}

9 More Days!!!

Only 9 days until Christmas. 9 Days. 9 DAYS!!!!

Can't believe it.

Time for some Friday Favorites: Christmas Edition

Favorite Holiday Drink: Caramel Brulee Latte

DIY Project: Christmas Tree

I turned this tree into an ornament. It was the easiest DIY ever. I just found a small stick outside, tied some ribbons around it, then added a star and a hook at the top. Voila!

School Activity:

"If Santa was stuck in my chimney, I would..."

I bet there would be a lot of funny responses to this prompt.

Ornament Idea: House Keys

Movie: Elf

If you've posted about your Christmas traditions/ideas/favorites, leave a comment with the link below. I'd love to read all about it!

All images courtesy of Pinterest.

Ornament Swap!

I have participated in so many swaps for Christmas this year.

I just love Christmas so much!

It's so much fun spreading the joy to others.

This swap was from The Smitten Mintons and Mackey Madness.

I was paired with Jenny from Strickly Strickland's.

She was so sweet! She sent me not one ornament, but two! 

Annnndd she sent me Vanilla Bean Noel soap...my favorite!

How cute is this little guy?!

I absolutely love the little monkey. And the martini glass was perfect since I just turned 21!

We're going to get our family tree today and I'm so excited to put these ornaments up!
Thanks so much Jenny! So glad I found you through this!

Dunzo

Officially done with my first semester of Education School!

Let the Christmas Break festivities begin!

Also if you are a Harry Potter fan, this video is for you.

I may or may not have cried.

And bought the song on iTunes.

What can I say? I'm a Potter fan for life.

Happy (late) Thanksgiving everyone!! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

This past week was sooooo crazy at my house! Zeb and I didn't end up going home until Tuesday night because we both had to work in Athens. But boy were we met with a welcoming party at home!

My mom decided to start a new tradition and have a Thanksgiving meal for just our family a couple of days before the actual holiday.

Am I complaining? No siree bob. More food for me!

Wyatt wanted to set the table. So cute.

Fried Turkey. The only way to do it.

I'm pretty sure I am leaving a TON of stuff out but that's the gist of it. My favorite part? Chicken casserole with cranberry sauce. Don't knock it 'til you try it.

On Thursday, we went to North Carolina to have Thanksgiving with some of my mom's family. Big surprise: I don't have any pictures. But there was more good food. Also a precious baby. Can't get enough of babies these days.

Friday was spent shopping with Allie.

Annnddd because it's my birthday in two days (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), we had a Burton Birthday Dinner. Nanny always cooks once a month for the birthdays.

I even got to bring leftovers back to school with me! I'm currently eating the last piece of peanut butter cake* while I'm typing this post.

Fried okra. My fave. 

The cousins, plus Allie's boyfriend, and minus Renny Joy (who was just born!)
Also notice we're all stuffing our faces.

Birthday girls

It was definitely nice to spend a week at home with no school. Can't wait for Christmas Break! Only 7 more days!

*Peanut butter cake=caramel pound cake. When I was little, I thought the caramel looked like peanut butter. The name stuck and now everyone calls it that. I'm such an innovator.