wake. work. rinse. repeat.*

good morning, bloggers.

I had big plans to end this blogging break with a show + tell of all the marvelous pieces I got at Saver's several weeks ago. I'm super excited about them all -- particularly my new globe, but that post will have to wait. Because all those marvelous items are in banana boxes and pear boxes.

That's right. We're moving!

I should mention that we signed the year-long lease on Thursday night and are expecting to get the keys to our new house on Saturday morning.

That gives us only six full nights to pack up our entire apartment.

So, please excuse me while I fill my next week with school in the morning, work in the afternoon, and newspapers + boxes in the evening.  rinse. repeat.

*Just curious if you know, who once titled her beloved blog this exact phrase? :)

12 on the 12th // september.

love of books by a life through the lens

01. Lots of interesting books to read right now, in addition to my textbooks -- hard to pick just one. So I don't. :)
02. Nothing better than spending the entire weekend with Chad. I love that boy.
03. Football season is back -- wahoo! Now we just need those cooler temps. to go with it.
04. Mitch Hedberg on Youtube. Chad + I spent 20 minutes on Saturday night watching his stand-up. I am saved by the buoyancy of citrus.
05. BKFST might have the most delicious eye-candy I have ever seen. I have saved so many recipes to my files.
06. One thing that I can't wait for during Christmas: She + Him announced a Christmas album.
07. Saw Crazy, Stupid Love on Friday night. Loved it. It's lives up to the hype.
08. My hair is at this awkward stage where I don't know whether to wear it up or down since I don't like either. I do like this one though.
09. Baking bread is one of my favorite things about having our own kitchen.
10. Still thinking about 9/11. Everyone reflected differently -- blog posts. facebook updates. tweets. Bible passages. Staying quiet + reading all those personal stories worked well for me. As a 13 yr. old when it happened, I didn't understand the magnitude of the events that day until much later.
11. This print is so true. So true. Hard to not panic + freak out from school, so I wrote it down in my planner to glance at during the day.
12. A little tired of listening to the same ol' tracks -- any music recommendations for my daily 22 minute drive to school?

the state fair.

Not our state's state fair. The Minnesota State Fair. You know, the second-largest one in the country. Chad + I have never been to the state fair before, so two Sundays ago, we went with my sisters, brother-in-law, and baby Z. I have never had a state fair experience quite like this, and I don't think I ever will. We said farewell to summer the best way: eating + laughing with our families. It was pure, late summer magic.

eggs. deviled.

When I think of deviled eggs, my mind wanders to backyard barbecues, football games, and potlucks. Pretty much any meal that requires a 'dish to pass'. I, personally have never made deviled eggs in my life, so the ladies meeting at my church seemed like a perfect opportunity to try it out. It also gave me perfect opportunity to debut my Fiestaware deviled egg platter + my thrifted Pyrex bowl. (Check out how grown-up I'm being: going to a ladies meeting -- that I used to avoid like the plague, and bringing something? So out of character for me!) :)

The original recipe for these deviled eggs is created by Tasty Kitchen member Calamity Anne.

get these ingredients together: 

*8 Large hard-cooked eggs 
*2 tablespoons, ¾ teaspoons mayonnaise 
*2-¼ teaspoons dijon mustard 
*1 to 2 dashes hot sauce 
*salt and pepper, to taste 
*paprika for sprinkling

then do these steps:  

*Remove shells from eggs and slice each egg in half lengthwise. Remove yolks and place in a bowl. Arrange whites on a serving plate.
*In a bowl, mash yolks with mayonnaise, mustard, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into whites. I used a ziploc bag with a corner cut out of the bottom to do a sort-of piping, but if you have something else, you can use that.
*Sprinkle paprika over the eggs.

P.S. Did any of your grandmothers call them angel eggs? Maybe that was just in our church...you know, since we don't like talking about the devil. :)

my jumbled thoughts.

re: the first day of school...

01. I frantically called Chad during one of my breaks completely panicked about the 3 syllabi (syllabuses?) that I had just gone through during the morning and he lovingly reminded me that this is my last real year of school (the next one is student teaching!) which freaked me out even more.
02. I spent 20 minutes sprinkled throughout class breaks on pinterest which sort of relaxed me. I didn't realize that looking at pretty images could calm me so much. (I also figured out how badly I want the cool fall temperatures to come so that I can make maple blondies and baked macaroni + cheese.
03. Sometimes at the end of the day, you just need to spend an extra five minutes in the shower. It's a rule.
04. Sometimes you also need to spend a three hour lunch with your best friend talking about everything from old boyfriends to future goals. Perfect.

Happy Almost-the-Weekend to you! :) Lord knows I'll enjoy mine!

labor day, i loved you.

i loved that I have no idea why you exist.
i loved that you make my first week of school a four day week instead of a five.
i loved that I didn't have to work  + that you gave the daycare an extra "stay-at-home" day.
i loved that you made it possible for me to spend the whole day with my family at the park.

Yep, labor day. i loved you.

productivity + preparedness

There is nothing like having the weekend to yourself to make you feel super productive -- to make you feel like you made the most out of every day. That is exactly what I needed; just two days to myself to get the house ready for autumn and myself ready for school.

This time of year, this transition into hectic school days from lazy and carefree summer days always throws me off and makes me a little spastic. But the organizing and getting my house (almost) completely under control helps me feel more ready to face the school year head on -- my school supplies waiting in my backpack by the door, and my planner waiting for my scribbles. 

While my living room and dining nook underwent a total face-lift on Saturday night, I'll wait for its own separate post to show you pictures. Instead, I'll leave you with my sunny sunflowers that I picked up from the farmer's market on Saturday morning. Hopefully they brighten up your morning. :)

my +none friday and saturday.

print credit: emrick123 // for the laundry room

Chad woke me up at five a.m. this morning with some kisses and a hug. I returned the kisses and hugs with a "drive safe and i love you". He's traveling up to (I actually have no idea what direction it is) a river with his cousin and canoeing 66 miles in two days. Yeah, that's my ambitious husband for you. 

I on the other hand, will be having one of those weekends. A weekend all to myself that I welcome with loving and open arms -- it's a precious gift that I don't want to scare away. (past all-alone weekend posts are here and here.)

bread baking. shirt ironing. paper organizing. farmer's market. garage sales. thrift sales. corn husking + freezing. mad men. exercising. toenail painting. bubble bath. vacuuming. flower arranging. reading. bathtub scrubbing. blog reading. blog writing. cardigan washing. hair curling. crafting. movie watching.

cheers to the long weekend. whatever you're doing and whoever you're with. :)

p.s. While I was putting the credit for the above print in, I was reminded of the post about crediting that my pal, Bethany wrote today.