Life Lately

Oh hello blog world! It's nice to see you again!

I have been the worst at updating this blog lately, but I am following my new years resolution of only blogging when I feel like it! I am trying to truly be present in my life instead of spending more time documenting it. So here's what I've been up to lately.

My friends Katie and Devan got married! It was a very fun wedding with lots of wonderful people. I helped set up for the wedding as well the day before and it was great to be able to help out. Katie and Devan had old time photos set up which was a fun twist on the photo booth at weddings bandwagon.

I got to meet Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots! He high-fived me as well which was pretty awesome. My friend Julie from work brought me to the camp her son was attending which was a great experience!

I participated in a local paint night! It was so much fun and our paintings actually came out super nice. I was impressed with my ability to actually paint because I am not an artist at all! I highly recommend trying a paint night at least once if you have them in your area!

 I also got to see my adorable cousins participate in their annual dance recital! Cailean participates in a boys hip hop class and Annabel is part of a dance company. They are both growing up so quickly!

I've also been spending quite a bit of time outdoors too, taking walks along the water in local areas. I also went kayaking on Memorial Day with my dad which was super fun and relaxing. I have been trying to get outside as much as possible on the weekends, it's so difficult to be stuck at a desk all day!

What have you been up to lately?!

Weekend Recap: Recital Nights, The Heat, Memorial Service and Flowers Galore

Well, needless to say it was an extremely busy weekend around here. I kept myself hydrated and alert with multiple iced coffees from Dunkin Donuts and am thrilled that I made it out of the weekend alive!

As I already mentioned last week on the blog, I had a busy recital weekend around here. Thursday was dress rehearsal which unfortunately made me extremely nervous for the upcoming shows. Things don't always go exactly as planned and that was definitely an issue that day! I learned my lesson about starting 6 and 7 year olds in the audience and hoping they would find their spots on the stage.

Fortunately, Friday's show and Saturday's show went off without a hitch and were amazing! I was so proud of my kids and enjoyed watching them put on an amazing show! =)

All dressed up for Friday nights show!

Of course after each show I had to blow off a little steam. On Friday night, I went to dinner at the 99 Restaurant with Doreen, her husband, both of her daughters and their boyfriends. It was a fun dinner and we were able to talk about the show and have some tropical, fun drinks! I had a buffalo chicken wrap and it was okay, I really wanted the chicken, broccoli mac and cheese but I know how many calories it is and wanted to opt for a less dense option.

I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow on Friday night and woke up very early on Saturday morning for a less joyous reason, my great grandma's funeral. Even when someone lives for an amazing 100 years it is still difficult to attend their memorial service. My great uncle was very upset, seeing that he took care of her full time up until she moved into a nursing home at the age of 99. He also happened to mention that they had to cut me out of the picture of her they placed in the obituary. Guess that's something to check off my bucket list, being in the obituary section. When I mentioned as much to my mom, she told me that they also cut me out of the picture of my grandma when she passed away, so I have been in the obituary section not once but twice and I am still kicking! I honestly wonder if anyone else can say that.... =)

After a quick service and reception at the church, my mom and I took off to have some lunch together at a local restaurant called The Cooked Goose. It is one of the cutest places in the area (Taylor Swift has eaten here multiple times...but no sighting on Saturday) and I absolutely love their grilled cheese. Yes, I am a cheap date and easy to please.

I had to head off to recital soon after arriving home, and as I mentioned earlier, it was great! I was so proud of my kids and they were so sweet saying goodbye to me- I will miss every one of them this summer!

Me and one of my students on Saturday night =)

One of my favorite things about recital is all the flowers- the girls I am taking to Disney World next week blessed me with a beautiful bouquet of lilies, a graduating senior gave me a rose, my mom brought a bouquet of roses, and a student gave me carnations. It was an amazing night =)

After the show, my co-worker Doreen and I headed to the movies to have a relaxing time. Complete with popcorn and soda, we totally vegged out watched the movie The Heat, starring Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock. It was completely hysterical and I think I laughed through the entire duration!

I particularly enjoyed that there were many Rhode Island mentions throughout the movie. Melissa McCarthy wore a Pawtucket Red Sox shirt many times throughout the movie, and there was also a sign for Providence. Despite being set in Boston, it seemed that Rhode Island was mentioned quite a bit! I don't think people who don't live in Rhode Island would pick up on the subtle hints, but I do wonder if the director of the movie was from RI and that is why we are hinted at so many times! Whatever the reason, I love it! Home state pride all the way!

I honestly cannot say enough good things about this movie, but you definitely need to go see it- especially if you need a good laugh. Melissa McCarthy truly makes the movie- you can't NOT laugh at her craziness. Sandra Bullock is just as wonderful as ever- she is an amazing actress which I don't think anyone could deny!

This is getting a little lengthy....so I think I'll pick this up tomorrow because Sunday was a big day and deserves its own post.... I'll give you one little hint before I go- wedding dresses.

Have a great day everybody!

Prepping For This Busy Weekend.....

Man, I am so ready for this weekend to be over already!

I spent last night working at the dance studio for three extra hours then I normally work prepping for the dress rehearsal and recital. Then I took home a HUGE stack of papers that I worked on for at least another hour. There are still quite a few things that I need to work on today before the dress rehearsal but hopefully everything will go off without a hitch. I will be there tonight, Friday and Saturday...

Some sad news this week, my great grandma who was 100 years old passed away early Tuesday morning. She was a great woman and it is very sad to see her go. Although we kind of expected it since she was so old, it is still a sad time. Her services will be on Saturday, adding to the stress of the weekend....

You might remember when I went to her 100th birthday party back in October...

Then finally on Sunday I am going off wedding dress shopping with Rachel, the bridesmaids, her mom and future mother in law. It will be quite the event, and I will be babysitting later that night after the dress shopping. It will be a crazy weekend for sure!


What are you guys up to this weekend?

I will be back tomorrow with my weekly couponing wrap-up, and then I'll see you again on Monday with my weekend recap!

Weekend Recap!

Hey everyone! How was your weekend? It was pretty busy around these parts!

On Saturday, we had picture day at the dance studio where I work which was an extremely stressful and long day. Every single dance student comes to take pictures in each of their costumes. I teach about 50% of the dance classes so there was a ton for me to do all day between adding costume pieces to students, tying ribbons in tap shoes, and fixing hair and picture poses. I was so happy once the day was over!

In honor of picture day, I thought I would share the picture I have from my very first picture day!

From the Good Ship Lollipop!

Anyways, after I got home from that long day it was time to do a major cleaning. My parents had an open house, so I needed to make sure my areas of the house were nice and clean. I followed my cleaning checklist to make sure I got everything done that I needed to, and then it was time for bed!

Sunday consisted of a hair appointment in the morning and then a recital in the afternoon. My cousin Cailean took part in a boys hip hop class and yesterday was their annual recital. It is always interesting to go to another school's recital and see how different they are.

After the recital, my mom and I headed to Panera where I actually tried something new! I usually get the You Pick 2 with ceaser salad and broccoli cheddar soup. I decided to try the tortellini alfredo and it was DELICIOUS. I also was able to get a soup with it and picked broccoli cheddar (obviously).
I think I will pick that the next time I go! =)

Also, my eyes have been SO itchy lately, it must be allergy season again! I know it's the area I live in, I'm sure it might not be allergy season where you are, but if it is- I hope you are surviving! =)

Have a great day everybody!

Organizing My Life!

Have I mentioned that June is my busiest month of the year?

I'm not sure if I mentioned this previously, but I am dance teacher and gymnastics coach at a local studio and so June is the month where we have all of our end of the year shows- basically everything I work on from September- June is compiled into June, making me VERY stressed!

Basically my life gets extremely crazy in June, combining all my work commitments in with little errands I  have to complete for work, throw in friends birthdays, family time, and other important dates like fathers day and I'm done for! I thought I would briefly share two items that save my life during this busy time of the year, and if I'm being honest- all year long!

The first item that I love to death is VERY VERY simple, my to-do list.

I swear by using a to-do list and am constantly rewriting things and adding to my to-do lists all day long. After I snapped this picture I added eight more items to this list and I'm sure I will have more to write on there within the hour.

Sometimes I make smaller to-do lists organizing them by category- so I might have a work to do list, home to do list, errands to do list, etc...but since June is crazy as it is, I just compiled everything onto one list. 

I am toying with the idea of having a to-do notebook that I keep with me in my purse, but we will see how crazy I get.

The second item that saves my life on a daily basis is my planner...

I love this Lilly Pulitzer planner, it is perfect for me.

Here is what the monthly calendar looks like:

And a weekly look:

In this planner I write down everything that is time sensitive. I write down my work schedule, birthdays, special dates, appointments, plans I have with friends and family, etc...

For example you can see above, that my work schedule for this week is written, but I also have on Sunday that I have a recital to attend, and an appointment to get my haircut. This helps me keep track of where I need to be and when.

As the week goes on, I also like to write other information in, for example I have written my workout for Monday and the fact that I took Tuesday off from working out. I also have written in today that I have to go to Michaels craft store and need to run errands. I also plan on checking items off my to do list today so since I have a little more time this Wednesday I can get some items on my to-do list done.

I tend to get a little more in-depth on my weekly pages. The monthly calendar I only include specific appointments and timed information because I don't like to crowd that page more than it already is.

I also have been playing with the idea of highlighting items, that is what I always did in the past, but I may go out and buy colored pens so I can designate a color to each item I write in my planner so it will color-coordinated but not take up as much room as highlighting. It would also look more uniform.

I am aware I am a little OCD and crazy about the way I organize my to-do list and planner. You might also think I'm completely nuts for wanting a to-do list notebook to carry around with me, but that's okay! =)

How do you organize your time, planner, calendar, etc?! Let me know!

Saturday Recap

Happy Monday everyone! This weekend was insane and flew past without even one minute to blog!

On Saturday I worked for a few hours and then had to rush straight into town to buy flowers for one of my students! I only had an hour between finishing work and getting to her recital so I really had to rush my lunch.

I bought a turkey grinder from Stop and Shop (my grocery store of choice), a water, and a candy bar!

I had just survived a tough week at work and decided that a candy bar would be the perfect treat! =)

I then headed off to the show where my student did an AMAZING job!

Later in the evening I headed off to my co-worker Doreen's house and had a great time hanging out with her. Then our other co-worker Steph arrived with her boyfriend who was visiting from North Carolina! We enjoyed chatting with one another and having a couple of drinks! I stayed there until almost midnight and then came home to get a full nights rest for the next day!