a colorful classroom.

as most of you know, i started teaching at a new school this year...and boy do i love it!  like most first-year charter schools, we are in portables this year.  i have a wonderful portable for my music room!  it has so much space and i have grown to love my portable.  a few weeks ago, we got the exciting news that construction was going to start on our new school building!  it has been so fun to see the progress day by day!  the new school building will be directly behind the portables we are in now.  that being said, i have been searching for new things to buy for my music room.  it is a lot of fun to decorate a music room!  the challenge is always this: how to keep it fun and kid-friendly, and still add my own style to the room.  

here are a few things that i am loving right now...i hope to buy a few of these to help make my classroom fun and hip!  

colorful binder clips! via here.

DOMUS bookends! via here.

Gameboy erasers! via here.

Minimal Wooden Desk Organizer! via here.

Poppin tape dispenser!  via here.

Voice One Loudspeaker! via here.

Black and White Polka Dotted Washi Tape!  via here.

i am sure i will continue to find wonderful things that my classroom "needs."  i will post more as i find them!  thank you for listening!  i am on spring break as of yesterday so i am off to have a bit o' fun!  cheers to you and yours!

sidenote 1:  starting today, Treefort Music Fest begins!!!  Boise is putting on a new, emerging artist festival for the next 4 days!  Good job, Boise.  so excited.

sidenote 2:  Hunger Games midnight premiere!  YESSSSSS.

dots...

...and things i wear with them!

DOTTED PURSES

v-neck:  my husband's...Urban 

jean skirt:  J-Crew

necklace:  vintage - my mom's

      dotted purse: by Elise Vaughn of The Brass Razoo.

DOTS ON DOTS

jeans:  Urban (bell bottoms)

dotted dress: gift

grey shirt:  The Brass Razoo

dotted oversized cardi:  via here.  love this store!

FLORAL AND DOTS

dotted shirt:  Urban

floral dress:  Urban

BLACK AND WHITE DOTS  

dotted shirt:  Forever 21

sunnies:  Urban

jewelry:  Forever 21 and vintage 

DOTTED HAIR BOWS

bow: Target. 

they have thee cutest bows right now!

DOTTED TIGHTS

tights:  Target 

(I would suggest welovecolors - they have the best tights)

shoes:  Urban

Love Interruption.

In late January, Jack White dropped Love Interruption. It is a single off his forthcoming solo album, Blunderbuss. I cannot wait to get my hands on this record in its entirety! Sidetracking for a moment...I have this amazingly talented friend named Anna Gilbert (you should download her recs)...and she has this amazingly talented friend named Ruby Amanfu (of Sam and Ruby). Back to the single - boy, was I delighted to see that Ruby was the female vocalist on this new Jack White single. She has a phenomenal voice! Go grab this single, and if you get a chance, watch the video for Love Interruption as well. <3

Cheers!

**also, if you have not seen It Might Get Loud (featuring The Edge, Jimmy Page, and Jack White), you should - you really should.

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DAY 26:  top left - color.  I suppose I'm known to wear a lot of it.  I just LOVE lots of color...in my house, in my clothes, in my hair (I wish...this summer).  

Dress - c/o Forever 21

Tights - c/o welovecolors.com (the best)

Pearls - inherited from m'mum.  A girl can't have enough pearls!

DAY 27:  top right - lunch.  Pirates Booty.  I know, I know - how boring am I?  You see, I'm not a big lunch eater.  I don't even look forward to lunch.  I mostly just snack my way through it.  This day, it was Pirates Booty - one of my favorite gluten free snacks!  

DAY 28:  bottom left - light.  This is a picture of my grandma's backyard!  Isn't it amazing?  What is even more amazing is that this picture only shows about half of it.  I have had SO many fond memories in that yard.  

DAY 29:  bottom right - inside your fridge.  Can you tell this was the day before grocery day?!  That fridge looks pretty barren to me!  Note that what you can see are pickles, pepperoncinis, pickled asparagus, and jalapenos.  We have a constant supply of those.  

DAY 30: nature.  I took this picture last summer while hiking at our cabin.  I am sure I have said this before a few times on my blog but I'll say it again - I LOVE OUR CABIN.  It is one of my favorite places on the planet!

DAY 31:  you, again.  On the first day of #janphotoaday, the prompt was to take a picture of "you."  As you can tell, on the last day we were also supposed to take a picture of "you" (meaning, me).  Do not be intimidated by my cape, I can assure you, I am no superhero.  

Well, here comes the give-credit-where-credit-is-due-and-pretty-much-my-whole-outfit-is-from-Urban part.

Cape: c/o Urban

Grey leggings: c/o Gap (ya! take that, Urban. you don't own me)

Boots: c/o Urban (gosh I love these boots)

Polka dot hair bow: c/o Target

Good thing I had my cape on! Pretty sure I was wearing an Urban cardigan and shirt. Awesome. What can I say, I love that place.  

Well, that's it for #janphotoaday!  I've enjoyed seeing people's pictures on Instagram this month!  If you don't have this app yet, get it!  Hours of fun!  I'm off to a concert - cheers and a merry Wednesday night to you and yours!  

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DAY 22: top left - your shoes. This is a picture of a few of the shoes lining my side of the closet. I love shoes...you can probably tell by the picture.  

DAY 23: top right - something old. We inherited these amazing chairs from Derek's great aunt. They are part of a beautiful dining set built in the 1940's!

DAY 24: bottom left - guilty pleasure. I'm not sure if hummus counts as a "guilty" pleasure, but it should count based on how much I eat it! I love Sabra's roasted red pepper! I usually eat it with Nuthins (a favorite gluten free cracker).

DAY 25: bottom right - something you made. Why, chocolate chip cookies, of course! I made them at 10:30 p.m. - which is ridiculous. I just love to bake, no matter the time of day.  Also, my grandma's recipe is the best I have ever found - hands down...if you want it, e-mail me at katiedhenbest@gmail.com!  

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DAY 18: top left - something you bought. I bought this vintage dotted blouse from tea and tulips. A favorite blogger of mine owns the shop. I have gotten such cute things from there!

DAY 19: top right - sweet. That adorable little girl is my niece. She is my 7-year-old bff. I didn't know I could love a child, that wasn't my own, as much as I love her. She is playing basketball this year. She encompasses the word 'sweet.'

DAY 20: bottom left - someone you love. THIS GUY. DUH. He is the cheese to my macaroni.

DAY 21: bottom right - reflection. I took this literally. If you look closely, you can see the reflection of my striped shirt in the fireplace. Sometimes I sit in front of this electric fireplace to warm up before I get in bed. I hate having cold feet, literally. :)

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DAY 14: top left - something I'm reading. The Painted Veil by W Somerset Maugham. I just started this book. My friend, Sarah Macintosh, lent it to me this summer and I am finally getting around to reading it. I always have at least 5 books on my waiting list sitting next to the other 3 I am currently reading. I love books.

DAY 15: top right - happiness. DISNEYLAND, DUH. Ok, for me at least, Disneyland = happiness. Derek and I have successfully made a trip to D-land every year for the past four years...we love it. Two summers ago we went to DisneyWORLD, which was also happiness. A whole world of Disney?! C'MON.

DAY 16: bottom left - morning. So, I have this really wonderful friend named Amy. We try and meet once a week for coffee at Flying M, or happy hour at a favorite local restaurant. On this particular morning, we met at the Flying M Coffee Garage (one of my favorite places). These are the crazy weird shadows of my legs and feet as I was standing in line to get my delicious gluten free banana muffin.

DAY 17: bottom right - water. I drink water out of canning jars. My mom has been doing it for as long as I can remember. She's always giving me her extra canning jars. Maybe it's a nostalgic thing, but it's my favorite way to drink water.

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DAY 10: top left - childhood. This is a picture of my cousin Trista and I. Apparently we loved to wear matching dresses. We are still great friends!

DAY 11: top right - where I sleep. I suppose it's also where my dashing husband sleeps :). I love our colorful quilt, c/o Urban. The pillow was handmade by grams...I miss her but I love having reminders of her around my house.

DAY 12: bottom left - close up. I got these earrings from a dear friend a few years back. They are still one of my favorites to wear!

DAY 13: bottom right - in your bag. The past year, I've been carrying small over the shoulder purses, or clutches. I don't know about you, but when I get a new purse, I wear it for a few months straight. My newest one is from Urban. I swear these are the only things in it. Checkbook. Wallet (yes, that is a cigarette case, but I have been using it as a wallet for probably 6 years now). NNU pen. BAGGU bag to carry my lipsticks - c/o Urban. I promise I don't buy everything from Urban.

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DAY 6 - top left: something that makes you smile. my husband's best friend and drummer sent me this picture while they were on tour in Texas a few months back. those are m'man's boots...but where is m'man? for some reason, i think this picture is so funny.

DAY 7 - top right: favorite. well, i have a lot of "favorites" in life - but i chose one of my favorite gals on this planet. she is a dear friend and cousin of mine. i can't imagine life without her beautiful face in it.

DAY 8 - bottom (not a picture of mine - HAHAHAHAHAHA): your sky. how beautiful is the Treasure Valley sky?! gorgeous.


DAY 9 - all that is pictured below: a daily routine. i have many daily routines...i'm sure we all do...but one is my job. my wonderful job. have i mentioned i love my job? don't answer that. pictured are a few things i get to do every day: teach music concepts, teach songs, play piano, listen to records. the life of a music teacher.

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Happy New Year!!! Since it is a new year, I have decided to start using capital letters (sometimes). I also decided to do a photo challenge on Instagram - WOW, right?! But seriously, I love Instagram and this photo challenge has been so fun thus far! I love seeing pictures other people are posting. If you don't have this app...............well, get an iPhone and then GET IT. It's the best.




Here are 4 pictures from the first 5 days of #janphotoaday:



DAY 1 - Top left: a picture of you. (that's me).

DAY 2 - Not pictured: breakfast. It was a LUNA bar and really, that isn't exciting...not even a little bit.

DAY 3 - Top right: something you adore. my '73 Fender Rhodes that was GIVEN to me by a wonderful couple! I still cannot believe she is mine.

DAY 4 - Bottom left: "our" letterbox. I put "our" in quotes because we are renting...so it really isn't ours...you know?

DAY 5 - Bottom right: something you wore. I wore this amazing 1920's inspired wedding dress on my big day. I think we all know it was an easy decision between a picture of real life us or the clay cake topper version.