a few things that I’m loving right now

1) The  X Factor

This show is like American Idol on steroids. The singers on X Factor are incredible, and I love that there is no age limit!  One of the standouts (and Austin’s favorite) is in the “over 30” category, and I seriously think that he might win.  His first audition was INSANE!  Also, the judges on X Factor are awesome.  No offense to Randy Jackson, but LA Reid is ten times better as the token black judge.  Finally, the Simon-Paula combo simply cannot be beaten—end of story.


2) Justin Beiber’s upcoming Christmas album, “Under the Mistletoe”

If it’s wrong for a 22 and a half-year old to love the latest teen heartthrob, then I don’t want to be right.  Honestly, how could you possibly resist this little cutie belting out some Christmas tunes?!  Just listen to the first single off the album and try and tell me this doesn’t make you want to trim your tree and bust out the fruitcake.  

3) The Pact by Jodi Picoult

I mentioned last week that I’ve gotten really into reading lately, and I feel that I would be doing you all a disservice if I neglected to recommend this book.  I have heard that Mrs. Picoult can be a little hit or miss with her books, but she definitely knocked one out of the park on this one.  The Pact is one of the most interesting and intense love stories I have ever read, and I am not exaggerating when I say that I seriously could not put this down.  If you haven’t already read this, please drop whatever you’re currently doing and start turning some pages.  I promise you won’t be sorry.

4) Pinterest.com

Are you guys pinning yet???  I discovered Pinterest this past weekend, and I just can’t stop!  If you’ve never heard of this site…it’s basically a place where you can create “boards” to categorize all of your favorite stuff (recipes, fashion, decorating ideas, quotes, teaching ideas, wedding plans, etc etc).  You can post things that you’ve found on your own, or look at your friend’s boards and re-pin their ideas!  I’m in love.  If you’re not currently pinning and you’d like to be, let me know and I’ll email you an invite!

5) Blondies

For the softball snack this week I decided to take a crack at making blondies.  I had never heard of these little treats until I started reading eatliverun.com this summer (aka my favorite blog ever), and I finally decided to make them this week.  Here’s the recipe I used…they are delicious!

6) Dunkin’ Donuts K-cups

I have never been a big fan of coffee.  However, Austin and I have both given up drinking soda in an attempt to be healthier, and with my new, um, busier/earlier schedule I needed a caffeine replacement pronto.  Enter coffee.  Dunkin’ Donuts coffee to be exact.  I brew up a cup of this in the morning, add in some chocolate syrup and milk, and I’m good to go.  America really does run on Duncan…

7) Wearing jeans to work

I never really understood why my mom and all her teacher friends used to get all jazzed up about being able to wear jeans to school.  Well, now I get it.  This week I get to wear jeans for three days (pink out for breast cancer, rangers spirit, and jean Fridays), and I could not be happier!  It’s hard to explain why the simple act of denim is so exciting, but I guess it’s just a teacher thing J