Hello Weenie

Did I tell you we got a dog?

She is a tiny lil 5 pounder named Gertrude (Trudy for short).

Naturally, we like to put her in humiliating outfits for our own pleasure. Halloween is the perfect excuse to do so.

She was the belle of the ball at our halloween party on Saturday. I dressed as the Mad Woman in the Attic. You get exactly one million points if you have any idea what that is, which my uncultured friends were unable to do. Which is totally not their fault and they should in fact be praised for being friends with a giant nerd like me.

(Thank you to friend, Witt, for taking this delightfully creepy photo of me in madwoman action)

I also ran across this old throwback from 2010. I'm Annie Hall. Not sure if it was Halloween or just for fun as I would wear this on a normal day. (Side note: One of the biggest regrets of my life is misplacing those sunglasses).

Do you dress up your pets?
What's your favorite dress up moment?

a pop of color

When weather's wet grey
pops of color here and there
brighten up the day.

If you want to start a novice herb garden, grow mint! You can harvest leaves right away for tea, and it will put up with almost any abuse. Forget to water it, leave it in the rain, you name it. Mint don't care. 

You can also add it to juices! Yum! I added some juice pulp to my latest muffin batch, and forgot I had added mint. It actually turned out delicious! Random surprising bites of mint in the muffins really start mornings off right. 

Also, feather hair extensions and pink umbrellas are pretty important too. Make sure you have some on hand. 

What's your favorite method to stave off depression when weather is damp and gray? 

Loosey Juicy

My favorite juice to make is what I call "Leftover Juice."  Basically, it's that half a sweet potato, aging lettuces, last oranges in the bag I'm sick of eating, whatever is left over from the week. Throw it all in the juicer (be sure to peel potatoes first!) with a few apples and BAM! Delicious, healthy, refreshing juice that you can pat yourself on the back for.

My top juicing tips:

Juice anything once! Experiment :)

Juice with wild abandon; everything tastes great with apples.

Lemon and ginger are your friends. Lemon helps your body absorb green enzymes and ginger just makes everything nice and kicky. 

Juice veggies and fruits separately and save the pulps! Try to find ways to eat it because it's full of healthy fiber. I'll share some of my favorite ways later.

Kale, sweet potato, apples, basil, lemon

If you don't have a juicer, I highly recommend one. Mine was a hand-me-down from my dad because he never used it, but you can obtain inexpensive ones for as low as $30 on websites like Amazon.com. Happy juicing!

Follow me on Instagram (zombielace1) to keep current with my adventures in juicing.

Teacher thoughts.... Resolutions!

One of my favorite parts about teaching is the brain exercise you get when simplifying big concepts. I like to give my 8 year olds things in threes. I think getting to the bare bones of big ideas helps ME absorb them better, too!

When introducing the idea of resolutions, I boiled it down to three possible parts: a personal goal, a friends/family goal, and a school/work goal. I loved reading the resolutions my students made, which included things from "Help my friends with problems more" to "eat more pizza". Kids come up with so many amazing/surprising/delightfully funny insights, I often think about our conversations long after the school bell has rung (even though my school doesn't technically have a school bell).

Things we decided about resolutions: Resolution. A promise you make to yourself. Resolutions should be realistic. They are for YOU so they should make you feel good and improve your life. Never give yourself a resolution to please someone else, or that might make you feel guilty or negatively about yourself.

Why is it so easy to give kids this advice and so hard to follow it as adults? Here's a resolution. In 2013, let's be at least as kind to ourselves as we are to the children we're nurturing.

Drop Crotch December Dreams and Caribbean Cruise Scams

Nothing like drop crotch parachute pants for leaping into 75 degree weather! I am oh so blessed to spend another December in Jupiter. 

Besides romping around in my breezy pants (which I scored from the Bedouins when I was in Israel), the last few days have consisted of bike rides, pony-gawking, and lavender sunsets with dusk moons peeking over the Atlantic. 

The next few days involve participating in what I have now researched to become suspicious of as a cruise scam, with Caribbean Cruises (follow the link to read an article about whether it's legit or not). It was supposedly "free"... which in hindsight should have been a red flag as it is... and has been a predictable headache ever since. But what's done is done, so all I can really do now is enjoy this bizarre situation to the fullest! I shall do full recon and let you all know exactly how terrible (or wonderful??) it is. Sending warmth your way XOXO

Images of Fall

We were blessed with an extra long Fall this year, with mild temperatures well into mid-December. For me, it was a season of blazing color, bows, cardigans, and private school esque outfits. I took some photos with my "real" camera for a change, something I would like to do more of.

Raven Cliff Saturdays

ATLiens, if you want a fresh way to experience Fall, I recommend taking the 2 hour drive from Atlanta to Raven Cliffs Falls. It's a lovely, easy trail ending in some impressive waterfalls. The last bit of the hike you have to scramble up these tree roots to get to a a cliff that causes your stomach to pay a visit to your throat when you peer over the edge.

I loved this weekend because it gave me an excuse to wear my cute polkadot backpack I bought in China and my vintage Outdoorables by Daniel Green. (I'll tell you a secret... I changed into ugly unstylish tennis shoes for the actual hike). I also threw on a bow, because, well, I just can't help myself sometimes.

I can't seem to stop photographing mushrooms. Below are just two favorites of the dozens I found. Did you know the "mushroom" we see is actually just the fruit? The real mushroom is underground, unseen to us. Being a 2nd grade teacher is fun because you learn things like this. Fact: Hanging out with 8 year olds all week makes you smarter.

Lastly, is there anything more lovely than the sight of your own dear city sparkling across the interstate as you make your way home?

hot toddie season

Hot Toddie Season, dare I say you approach too slowly?

My annual injury has occurred, this time in the United States (rather than in China... or France...)!

I'm quite alright.
My first set of stitches, so I feel like I've finally reached adulthood in a way.

I'm still mushroom hunting with my students.

And I wore this jersey H&M Suzhou dress with my grandmother's Liz Clairborn cardigan. On my sore little feet, flats that have been spiced up with some vintage shoe accents. Like so:

If you were wondering, yes, my cane is leopard print.

Now to snuggle up with hot toddies and a warm critter and let the healing continue. 

It's been awhile

A lot has happened.

I went to Israel.  

And New York. 

Then I came back. 

Maybe I'll tell you guys a little about it sometime?

The weather has begun to nod its head towards something resembling Fall.

My hair has gotten quite long, reminding me why I chopped it all off three years ago.

The seasonal shift brought with it the blessed Dragon Con, allowing me to dress like a random wood nymph for a night.

I've kept my eye on Atlanta's street art.

(I still love rabbits). 

And school has begun, allowing me to dive back into the magic of mushroom hunting and exploring big juicy caterpillars on the playground, dressed like so. 

I dress "teacher" so often, it's not even Ironic anymore.
Wearing
Denim dress from thrift store
Striped shirt borrowed (stolen?) from gentleman lover
Minnetonka moccasins
Sunnies from cool shop in NYC.

I've been busy, but I miss blogging. I will try not to be such a stranger in this little corner of the internet.

Thank you for reading. 

festive, or how another sunhat came into my life

The school I work at was silver for the local neighborhood festival and parade that took place. I took the theme seriously from tiptop to toenail. 

It's magical to wake up one morning and walk out your front door to find your quiet sunny neighborhood transformed into a bustling market. When not participating in school fun and painting the faces of adorable youngsters, I wandered around the booths. My favorites were one selling raw crystals and gems for about a dollar apiece, and another boasting "packable" sun hats located directly outside my yard. 

On the first day, the packable hat lady wouldn't bargain with me, but I was not discouraged. I lay patiently in wait, my floppy be-ribboned prey in sight. As she was packing up on Sunday, I ran across my yard and asked for a last minute end-of-festival deal; One more wide-brimmed sunhat became mine. 

Hope you wake up to a little magic in your front yard!

Silver nails with a sparkle accent.

The cutest Power Ranger.

Lovely packable hats.

Crystals

Gems

Gourd face.

New hat <3