Just Another Manic Monday

We've made it halfway through this week! I'm back in the school teaching from my classroom so my schedule has been a bit off this week. I thought I'd pop in today and share my Monday in pictures! The title is a little misleading since, as you'll see, my day looks quite boring. The crazy school stuff isn't pictured haha. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

I start every morning with my Start Today Journal where I write out 5 things I am grateful for and 10 dreams I'm going to make happen. I try and do this before I even get out of bed in the morning to guarantee I do it.

I wanted to start my week off on a good note, so I pushed myself to go on my daily run before work knowing I'd be exhausted after work. Running in the dark takes some getting used to.

After packing up my bag and lunch, I started working on my Priority Planner to kill time before leaving for work.

I picked up a Wawa coffee on the way to work since teachers get free coffee until September 30th. I had been working from home the past week or so which meant I had to get my little area all set back up in my classroom.

I took some time when I got home from work to fix up my nails with my dip powder.

John and I were both way too exhausted after work to cook so we went and grabbed dinner from our favorite diner up the street. I got my favorite turkey chipotle panini with sweet potato waffle fries.

When we got home, I had to package up a Poshmark sale I had made that morning.

I finished off the long day with a stress relieving bubble bath. I read a bit of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas while I soaked.

Question of the Day: What is your favorite way to relax at night?

Friday Favorites

Happy First Friday of Fall! The weather has actually been very fall-like lately which I hope continues. We have a busy weekend ahead of us! Tomorrow we are going to a winery to celebrate one of my best friend's birthdays with her, her boyfriend, and another couple. On Sunday we are going to my sister's house to celebrate her birthday with family. Lots of birthdays over here! Before I log off for all the festivities, I'm sharing a few things I've been loving this week.

Pumpkin Pie Hummus
Okay okay, I know I've been bombarding you all with pumpkin flavored items for weeks now but unfortunately, expect this until about November, haha. But seriously, my mom got me this pumpkin pie dessert hummus at Aldi last week and it takes everything in me not to eat it by the spoonful! I've been pairing it with pretzels and having it as an afternoon snack all week. I swear, it's like pumpkin pie in hummus form! It's the first dessert hummus I've ever had that I'd believe isn't really hummus and is the actual dessert. I think other brands may make a pumpkin hummus, so if you don't have an Aldi near you, check your local grocery store for other brands that might make it!

Bath & Body Works Stress Relief Soap
First off, I love anything stress relief scented from B&BW so you can always win me over with those products. I replaced the soap in my guest bathroom (the bathroom next to my WFH office) with this hand soap as soon as I started working from home this year because work is just a tad stressful. I love using this throughout the day because it leaves my skin soft, while also leaving the stress relief scent on my hands to help calm me down. Maybe it's just me, but I really believe that the scent relaxes me. I had it in a wallflower in my college dorm and it always made me feel less stressed when it was plugged in. If this scent isn't for you, I highly suggest any of their foam hand soaps as they are just the best in my opinion!

Question of the Day: What is something you're loving this week?

Recipes We've Tried and Love: Fall Edition

 Happy Fall, everyone! Since yesterday marked the first official day of fall, I thought I'd share some more recipes John and I have tried and love. This time, I'm sharing a few that are more fall related! To give you a little update, John and I made a 2020 goal for ourselves to try 24 new recipes. Together we are up to 16 recipes so far. I also track ones I've made by myself and that list is up to 8, so technically I have hit the goal but not with John. With all the recipes on our "to try" list, I know we'll get there. I hope you all have a great Wednesday and enjoy these recipes!

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies
After my first full day of  remote teaching, all I wanted was some chocolate chip cookies- ASAP! I turned to Google to find a recipe that didn't involve any waiting time for the dough and was easy. This one seemed the best so I quickly made the dough and threw some in the oven. The recipe makes a lot of dough... I may have missed where it says it makes 39 cookies.. oops! I ended up making a dozen and then putting the rest of the dough in the fridge for later in the week. These cookies were so delicious when the dough was fresh AND after it had sat in the fridge for a few days. They are super quick to throw together and don' take too long to bake. As much as I absolutely love Joanna Gaines' chocolate chip cookie recipe, this may be my new go-to recipe when it's a cookie emergency! I think I might make them again soon with some pumpkin chips I have to give them a more fall-like flavor.

Pumpkin Scones
I tend to go crazy with pumpkin baked items this time of year, so I was thrilled to find a more healthy version of pumpkin scones so I wouldn't feel as guilty. This was my first time making scones and I was pleasantly surprised with how easy they were to make! My one suggestion with these is to definitely add the glaze! I added some pumpkin pie spice to the glaze to get even more pumpkin flavor so feel free to do that if you love a more pumpkin-y flavor. I love keeping these in the fridge and then popping one in the microwave for breakfast or a snack. Also, it never specifies if the butter should be cold, room temperature or melted, but I've tried both cold and melted butter and melted worked best!

Banana Muffins
I'm not sure if banana muffins are really fall-related but any warm, baked muffin is perfect to have when the weather is cool! I had some super-ripe bananas that I needed to use ASAP and this was the first recipe that caught my eye. I try to bake healthy when I can so then I can splurge on other treats that aren't good "healthy." These were a quick, easy recipe that turned out amazing! They keep well in the fridge and heat up great in the microwave for a quick, yummy snack. I highly suggest any a smidge of butter on it, too :) I added chocolate chips to a few and those were a hit with my husband!

Question of the Day: What is your favorite fall recipe?

Friday Favorites

TGIF! I've probably said this a million times before but I am feeling the 'thank goodness it's Friday' vibe more than ever! As of now we have an open schedule for the weekend and I'm hoping to keep it that way. Work is keeping me super busy so some down time would be great. The weather has been fantastic around here which means time outside will be a must! I hope you all have a great weekend!

Nuun Instant
Nuun Hydration released this new product a couple weeks ago and I finally got around to trying it! Nuun Instant is added to your drink to help you rapidly re-hydrate, 2-3 times faster than regular water. Unlike typical Nuun Sport, Instant comes as a powder in a small sachet as opposed to the tablets. It dissolves in water super quickly, making the ability to re-hydrate even quicker. They come in 2 flavors, lemon lime and watermelon, which are both delicious! My recommendation is to make sure it's super cold in order to bring out the best flavor. I drank this after a long, hot run and felt great the rest of the day when normally I'd feel dehydrated later in the day. I'm planning to keep this on hand for long run days and also days when I have a bad headache. Oh, and they offer a sample pack so you can try it without committing to a whole box!

Chai Latte Wax Melts
I don't care what anyone says, fall is in the air! This means that I have brought out all the fall scented candles and wax melts. While in Aldi last week searching for the highly coveted 3-wick candles, I found these wax melts instead. I'm a huge chai latte person so I had high hopes for the scent. It's probably the closest to smelling like a chai latte than a real chai latte itself! I've had it in my wax melter I have in my office all week and I don't plan on swapping it out for another scent anytime soon.

Pairs well with wine!

Dr. Teal's Foaming Bath
The beginning of the school year has been wild which means self-care has been a must for me! Last Friday I stopped at Wal-Mart on the way home from work to pick up a new bubble bath. I went right to the Dr. Teal's section because I know that brand is great. The Relax & Relief type jumped right out at me because that is exactly what I needed to do! The eucalyptus and spearmint scent is so relaxing while the pure epsom salt leaves my body feeling relieved from all the stress of the work week. It also bubbles up a good amount! I would highly recommend this foaming bath, along with all the other types of foaming bath and epsom salts that Dr. Teal's has to offer!

Question of the Day: What is something you're loving this week?

Currently

Happy Hump Day! The past week or so has been a whirlwind for me so I thought I'd take a moment to check in with a "currently" post since I've been lacking in the blogging department! School is now in session and it's crazier than ever. Hopefully once I get into the swing of things I can get back into blogging a lot since I have a lot of ideas swimming around in this brain of mine! Anyway, enjoy today's post!

I am currently...

Eating

Salads. They've been the easiest thing for me to make for work and I love how versatile they can be. Lately I've just been getting lettuce and putting whatever sounds good on top.

Wearing

My nice work clothes, finally! We have the option to work from home, but since I co-teach, going into the classroom has been easier. I've been so happy to finally be able to wear some of my cuter clothes and not so much workout clothes (at least not all day).

Reading

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. I am only 1 chapter in so I don't have much to say about this book just yet. I have heard a lot of good things about it, plus it seems like a quick read, so I'm excited to zip through it!

Drinking

Pumpkin spice coffee, both hot and iced! I'm a huge Dunkin' fan so you can find me there most mornings haha.

Watching

Private Practice. It's been on our list to watch since it's Addison's spin-off of Grey's Anatomy and we've finally gotten around to it. It was hard to get into but now that we're a few seasons in, we're hooked!

Listening To
Taylor Swift's Folklore Album. I've had it on repeat in my car since it came out!

Question of the Day: What is something you’re currently eating, wearing, listening to, etc.? Pick one :)

Friday Favorites

How is it already September?! We've had some nice weather here in Jersey so I am definitely getting the fall vibes. Most of the fall vibes come from the fact that I am back in school. Although we are starting remote, I've been in my school the past couple days for in-service days. I'm eager to start with my kiddos next week!

Although it's been a busy week here for me, I still managed to put together my typical Friday post. I hope you have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Lemon Blueberry Granola
I ventured out to Aldi last week in search of some snacks to keep on hand now that school is starting. Somehow I snack more throughout a work day more than ever... I came across this granola and was happily surprised when I saw it didn't contain any nuts (I believe it was processed somewhere that also processes nuts so if you have a super sensitive nut allergy then this might not be for you). The lemon blueberry is delicious and the dried blueberries are the perfect addition. I've been enjoying it all week both plain and mixed in yogurt!

Cerave Eczema Creamy Oil
Someone had told me about this creamy oil months ago but I hesitated to buy it in fear that it would be super oily. Plus it's a little on the pricey side. The word "creamy" really is the best word to describe the oil (I guess that's why they put it in the name haha) because it's more like a very thin lotion rather than an oil. I've been using it every night after my shower and it has done an amazing job of keeping my Eczema flare-ups at bay. It soaks in fairly quickly so you aren't left with a greasy residue. I'd suggest this to anyone with any type of dry skin, not just Eczema.

Marshmallow Fireside Candle
I've had this candle from Bath & Body Works for over a year now but have just recently started to appreciate it. The scent of this candle is a fantastic mix of a smoky campfire and sweet toasted marshmallow. I've had it lit almost every day this week since the not-so-sweltering-hot weather has been giving me fall vibes and it just gives me such a cozy feel. I have the 3-wick candle of this scent and it has lasted me awhile.

Question of the Day: What is something you've been loving this week?