The Summer Olympics

I am so excited that the Olympics have started. I absolutely love to watch them as much as possible. We'll be watching a lot of sports around here for the next couple weeks.

I watched the Opening Ceremony Friday night and I highly enjoyed them even with NBC's inane commentary.

This was my favorite part -

Bond AND Corgis?!

I can't resist the corgis!

Are you watching the Olympics? What's your favorite sport to watch?

Sunday Social

I'm linking up with Neely and Ashley for this week's Social Sunday.

What is your dream job?

I have several: 2nd grade teacher, social media manager for a small company, running my own children's bookstore or any number of jobs at Walt Disney World.

I also wouldn't mind just being the Doctor's companion for awhile.

If you had just won the lottery and didn't need to work for money, what would you do with your time?

Travel! I love to travel, but we just don't have the budget for big trips. There are so many places I want to go, I'd have a hard time decided where to go first.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Oh gosh, I had so many jobs I wanted to do...
Grocery store cashier
Teacher
Producer/Director
Teacher again
Museum curator
Social Studies teacher
Elementary teacher

What piece of career advice would you give to someone just starting out in you field?

Um, don't? At least, not in this state! If you really want to be a teacher, be willing to move to where the jobs are. I know that if I moved back to Florida, I could probably get a job again, but we want to stay here to start our family.

Biggest pet peeves either in life or blogging or at work

Teachers that leave vague plans or expect me to figure them out from their notes in their plan book, teachers that don't have behavior plans, people that stop and block walkways, pregnant women that complain about being pregnant (Those of us that can't get pregnant wish we could have their problems.)...I could go on, but I think I'll stop there.

Biggest fears

Bees, something bad happening to any of my family members, being home alone overnight

A Day at the County Fair

As I've said many times, my favorite part of summer is the county fair. So of course, I was excited to spend a day out there earlier this week. And I even snapped a few photos to share along the way.

It seems to be a given that whatever the weather has been like that summer up to the fair, you can count on the weather being the opposite during the fair. Sure enough, it hasn't rained all summer and we're in a severe drought, but the fair started and it's rained several times now. I made plans to go out to the fair with my mom on Tuesday while M was at work and wouldn't you know, it rained pretty heavily that morning.

Luckily, it was over by the time we wanted to head out and it didn't affect our plans for the day. Although it did get quite humid and that made things a little sweaty.

Our first stop once we arrived was the Rabbit barn. The Rabbit barn is my favorite animal barn because they're the cutest animals at the fair and the quietest. The Poultry barn next door was quite noisy!

I had a hard time not sticking my fingers into the cages to pet these fuzzy rabbits, but I managed to resist. Every year, I go through here and it always makes me want to get a rabbit.

We next decided that we needed lunch and walked along the food row trying to decide what wonderful fair food to eat first. We ended up going with our favorite local BBQ chicken place. I don't get to eat it very often and I was literally drooling when I smelled that chicken.

We then headed to the commercial buildings where various local businesses have booths. We didn't find anything interesting there, so we next headed to the Young McDonald's Farm. This is a small barn where a few mom and baby animals are displayed and kids (and adults) can pet them. I love seeing the adorable babies and this year I couldn't resist petting the baby miniature donkey.

Behind the barn is a display of various historic tractors, including this pink one!

We next headed to the 4-H exhibit building. Since I was involved in 4-H for 9 years, I love to look at all the projects. I wish I had taken a picture of this year's Grand Champion cake because it was gorgeous! I really hope the young lady that made it is going into cake decorating because she has real talent.

Once we had wandered around and seen all that we wanted to see, it was time to head for the grandstand. Our fair always has some great entertainment and seating in the grandstands is free with admission to the fair. However, that means you better be willing to spend some time sitting there saving your seat for a few hours before the show.

This year, we had Josh Turner. I love Josh Turner! So 4 hours before the concert was scheduled to start, my mom and I found some seats in the grandstands and settled in to wait. M and my mother-in-law were coming later, so we did get a chance to leave the grandstands and stretch our legs when they arrived. We even snagged some homemade ice cream from the Dairy Bar. Yum!

The concert was great and we all really enjoyed it. Afterwards, we grabbed elephant ears before heading home.

It was a great day at the fair and I can't wait until next year!

Doctor Who's Day - Favorite Writer

Doctor Who's Day is a day late this week because I spent most of yesterday at the county fair. I'll post about that tomorrow.

This week's topic is favorite writer. I could just take the easy route and say Steven Moffat, the current head writer. After all, he has written many of my favorite episodes like, "The Pandorica Opens." He also created River Song and has greatly expanded her story since taking over as head writer. Of course, he's also responsible for those Weeping Angels, so points deducted there.

Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

I decided to look at some of the other writers for Doctor Who and was pleased to discover Gareth Roberts who also wrote some episodes that I highly enjoy. Gareth wrote "The Unicorn and the Wasp," which I recently watched for the second time. I think that's my favorite episode from season 4. He also wrote "The Lodger" and "Closing Time," both of which feature one of my favorite guests, Craig, played by James Corden. Gareth's episodes tend to be very funny as well.

Source: 9gag.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Who is your favorite Doctor Who writer?

Social Sunday

I'm linking up for Sunday Social again this week.

Favorite handbag you've ever owned

Prior to my Vera Bradley obsession, I've never really been into purses. I really only started carrying one regularly when I was a senior in high school because my school banned backpacks during class.

So, of course, I'm gong to have to pick a Vera as my favorite and really it has to be a tie between the two styles that I've actually owned more than one of.

This is my first Vera Bradley Hipster in Petal Pink and I also have one in Totally Turq. I love the Hipster for travel. I don't need to carry most of my usual stuff on vacation, so I can go smaller. And I can actually fit quite a bit in my Hipster. I carried it every day of our 10 day Honeymoon and it was perfect. I love that I can wear it crossbody and keep my hands free which is important when you like to take lots of pictures when you travel, like I do.

My other favorite is my daily purse, the Stephanie, shown here in Totally Turq. I'm actually on my third Stephanie currently in Make Me Blush. I love the Stephanie because it holds all my stuff very well. It has plenty of pockets and the shoulder straps are the perfect length. I'm actually quite sad that Vera Bradley retired this style. Hopefully the Whitney will work well for me next year.

Dream handbag you lust over

Considering I've been carrying the Vera Bradley Stephanie for 3 years in a row now, you can probably tell I stick with what I like. There isn't really any dream expensive handbag that I really want. I'm not a Coach girl and while Kate Spade often has cute ones, I didn't see anything I liked in her current collection.

But, I did remember a designer purse that I wouldn't mine owning!

                                                             Source: zannaland.com via Jenn on Pinterest

A Disney Dooney & Bourke Letter Carrier in Pink Sketch. It would be a fun purse to carry at Disney World. Practical? Probably not, but it's still cute!

 Daily essentials in your purse or work bag

What's in your purse(with pictures)

I'm going to cheat and combine these two questions because I pretty much only carry what I deem essential in my purse anyway. Although my mom would probably say otherwise since she thinks my purse is too heavy.

This is everything I carry on a daily basis:

I always have my phone as well, but it didn't make it into the picture. I often also have a book stuffed in there just in case I have to wait somewhere.

And yes, I do carry so many lip glosses, they have their own bag. Although it's not just lip gloss in there:

There's also some hand lotion and some Catholic paraphernalia that I carry just in case I feel the need to attend confession. There are usually some pens and pencils stuffed in there too.

I do have to confess that I actually cleaned out a bunch of receipts from the bottom of my purse before I took those pictures. So thanks Social Sunday for helping me clean out my purse!

Thursday Thoughts

There's not much happening around here, so I just have a few random thoughts for you today.

First of all, even though the chances of him seeing this are pretty much none, I just want to wish this gorgeous hunk of man a Happy Birthday.

Source: 24.media.tumblr.com via Jenn on Pinterest

*sigh* Someday, we really need to meet Benedict. My husband doesn't even mind my little "crush" on you. I'm sure he'd like to meet you too.

In other news, the county fair starts tomorrow and I'm excited. I probably won't get to go until Tuesday, but I just love the fair so much. I need to start deciding what I want to eat while I'm at the fairgrounds. I for sure want ice cream and an elephant ear and perhaps some of those delicious mini doughnuts for the ride home.

The Dark Knight Rises comes out tomorrow! I'm very excited to see it, but I think we won't be going for awhile. I did find a local theater that has $4 matinees, so hopefully we can go soon.

I'm reading The Hobbit now in preparation for December when the movie comes out. So far, it's a good read and I'm enjoying it. I can't wait to see how the movie turns out.

What have you been up to this week? Any plans for the weekend?

Doctor Who's Day - Favorite Actress

Today's Doctor Who's Day topis is favorite actress. Knowing that Amy Pond is my favorite companion, is it any surprise that my favorite actress is Karen Gillan?

Source: img832.imageshack.us via Jenn on Pinterest

I love how sassy she is as Amy and the chemistry she has with the Doctor and Rory. I'm especially envious of her gorgeous red hair and her long legs. And her Scottish accent is adorable.

Source: my-ponchoboys.tumblr.com via Valerie on Pinterest

I think it's great that she is good friends with Matt Smith and Arthur Darvill outside of work.They always seem to have fun together. I love to see them hanging out together and the pictures and stories from Comic Con this past weekend were great.

I'm sad that Karen is leaving Doctor Who this upcoming season, but I'm looking forward to seeing her get more work now that her career is taking off.

Who is your favorite Doctor Who actress?

Social Sunday

I know I usually do Pinterest Sunday on Sundays, but it's become boring for me to do every week, especially since they really don't seem to be posts that people actually read. I'm not enjoying that series anymore, so I thought I'd try something different instead.

This week, I'm linking up to Neely and Ashley for Social Sunday.





Best trip you've ever been on?

I'd say it's a tie between our honeymoon and a high school trip to France.

Our honeymoon to Disney World was a blast. 10 days at one of my favorite places in the world with my husband.

We did so many things that I've wanted to do for along time:

Breakfast at Crystal Palace before the Magic Kingdom opened

Penguin Encounter at SeaWorld

Savanna view room at Animal Kingdom Lodge

My other favorite trip was my high school French Club trip to France. We spent two weeks traveling around France and it was a dream come true for me. I saw so many amazing things and fell in love with Paris. I really need to scan those pictures and share some with you! I hope to be able to travel to France again sometime.

Best idea for a girls weekend trip?

I've never really been on a girls trip. The closest I've come to one is my senior year of high school spring break. My friends and I went with one our friend's family to South Carolina. They rented a condo on the beach outside Charleston and we had a blast.

I think it'd be fun to do a girls weekend at the beach in either one of the Carolinas. Or more locally, there are lots of great cottages along Lake Michigan that would be fun to rent and do girl time.

Another idea would be to go up to the Mall of America with some girl friends for a long weekend. I've been a couple times and it's good shopping and the Twin Cities are full of things to do.

Best idea for a couples trip?

Chicago!

M and I love to go to Chicago. We've been twice together. Of course, for us it's easy because we can just take the train over and get a hotel on Priceline. We love to walk around the city and visit the museums.

Best vacation on the cheap

Washington D.C. was a great, cheap trip for us.

We got a great deal on a hotel through Priceline and all the attractions we visited were free. Plus, we had a great time and there's lots more to do if we want to go back again.

Place you most want to visit

The UK, especially London

                                                                    Source: houseofturquoise.com via Jenn on Pinterest

Italy
 The Vatican
France again
Australia
New York City
Disney Land
Hawaii
Cruise to Alaska

Vacation necessities

For me, some comfy shoes, a Vera Bradley Hipster, and my camera.

                                                                        Source: verabradley.com via Jenn on Pinterest

Shutterfly's Long Live Summer Photo Contest

I wanted to let you know about a fun contest today. Shutterfly launched a new photo contest this week on Facebook and it sounds pretty fun! And the grand prize is pretty awesome as well.

The Long Live Summer Facebook Photo contest will run until August 12. Each week has a new theme and all you have to do is upload your favorite photo and caption for that week's theme.You'll even get a gift from Shutterfly just for entering.

Here are the weekly themes:

•       Week 1(7/9): Americana

•       Week 2 (7/16): Great Outdoors

•       Week 3 (7/23): Water Fun

•       Week 4 (7/30): Sports & Activities

•       Week 5 (8/6): Parties & Celebrations

In addition to the Instant Win prize for submitting a photo, you will also be eligible for a variety of other prizes. There will be weekly prizes as well as weekly featured photos that will be selected from the gallery and featured on the Facebook fan page and awarded a $500 gift card on Shutterfly and a copy of the new Lonely Planet travel photography book. And then there's the Grand Prize! A trip for 4 to the Bahamas for 4 nights and a professional photo shoot to capture your vacation memories. That's a great prize!

So, what are you waiting for? Head over to Shutterfly's Long Live Summer Facebook Photo Contest and enter today! Good Luck!


Disclosure: Shutterfly is providing me with free product to tell you about the contest. All opinions are my own.

Night Owl

You may have noticed my social media activity and blogging don't seem to be happening much during the day lately. I'm still around and active, just not on a "normal" schedule.

As you may know, I'm a teacher. I'm currently working as a substitute teacher while trying to get a full-time position. However, school has been out since the beginning of June and won't start again until August is almost over. I had planned to have a summer job at my former retail job, but despite all my efforts, it just didn't happen. And by the time I figured that out, it was too late for another summer job. All the summer jobs had been filled by May.

As a result, I spend my days at home, trying to be productive around the house and trying to manage a budget on only one income. This means no spending money on anything but bills and groceries right now, so I'm home a lot. And without a set schedule for my days, my body has decided to go with its preferred schedule, that of a night owl.

So yes, I sleep until 3pm sometimes, but I also stay up until 6am. I'm still doing my around the house chores, I just do them at a time my body prefers. I worked overnight for 3 months before we got married and I loved it. I slept much better and could actually get out of bed each night ready for work.

The result of all this is that you may notice that blog posts, tweets, Facebook updates, Instagram uploads, and Pins are happening mostly in the afternoon, evening, and overnight. Think of it as something fun to wake up to! And I get to wake up in the afternoon and discover all the same things from others who are on a more normal schedule.

It's nice to be on my own schedule for once. And while I'm not looking forward to retraining myself to be on a regular schedule next month, I'm sure knowing that it means work and pay will greatly help.

Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Doctor Who's Day - Favorite Actor

Today's Doctor Who's Day topic is favorite actor. This was an easy one.

Source: i162.photobucket.com via Jenn on Pinterest

Ten is my favorite Doctor, so of course, David Tennant is my favorite actor. I loved his version of the Doctor with his quirks and humor with a little sarcasm thrown in. And of course, it didn't hurt that David is so cute.

Source: google.com.au via Jenn on Pinterest

Don't get me wrong, I also like the other Doctor actors as well. Matt Smith is pretty genius as the Doctor and I do adore him. However, David is my Doctor and therefore, my favorite actor. I also enjoy watching him in his other works. Casanova is on Netflix Instant Watch and I'm making M watch it. If you love Ten, I highly recommend you watch Casanova. And someday, I will get to watch all of Viva Blackpool and not just random clips on YouTube.




Who's your favorite Doctor Who actor?

Pinterest Sunday

Time for my weekly Pinterest roundup! Every Sunday, I share with you a few of my top finds from the previous week.

Source: londonjewelers.com via Jenn on Pinterest

I don't really need another ring, especially a diamond band, but this is a gorgeous one. It would make a nice right hand ring.

Source: etsy.com via Jenn on Pinterest

This owl mug is too cute!

Source: eshakti.com via Jenn on Pinterest

And of course I found another dress I'd like to own.



If you're on Pinterest, leave a link in the comments and I'll check out your boards.

Vera Bradley Winter 2012 Retirees

The first set of three new Fall 2012 Vera Bradley patterns will be released in 5 days, which means we will soon be saying goodbye to some patterns and styles.

I didn't post it, but the Fall 2012 retirees were Viva La Vera, Watercolor, Deco Daisy, Plum Petals, and Safari Sunset. They retired five colors, but don't forget we will be getting six new colors this fall.

If you need a reminder of the new fall colors, I posted about them when I went to the Vera Bradley Outlet Sale this year.

With the release of the fall colors, it's time to start thinking about the Winter retirees. After a little detective work, I have discovered that we'll soon be losing the following patterns and styles.

Boysenberry

Happy Snails

Tea Garden

Rosey Posies

Yes! Rosey Posies is retiring already! It was just introduced this year as a new Spring color, but it will disappearing later this year. I take this to mean it did not sell well at all.

The following styles will be retiring in all available colors.

Saddle Up which I believe is being restyled.

Quick Draw

Sophie

Caitlyn

XL Duffel

Contact Case

Snappy Wallet

Tune In

Double Kiss Coin Purse

Loop Keychain

Sad to see a color or style go? Excited about a new color? Leave a comment below and let's discuss!

P.S. I announced the winner of the Tiny Prints party invitations giveaway. Was it you?