Raindrops on roses & whiskers on kittens

♫Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings 
These are a few of my favorite things ♫

I've been wanting to make this post for awhile. To share some things that have been game-changers, life-savers, and/or added some awesome sauce to my life. Since it's #thankyounovember and the holiday season is upon us, I thought what better time than now?!

I was in the shower thinking through the things I want to share (I do my best thinking in the shower. Quiet. No kids. You understand...) when I realized that I can't categorize these things into "things for work", "things for home", etc., despite my need to feel like I should categorize them. The reality is I appreciate these things as a teacher AND as a mom AND as a woman in her mid-30's. So, there are no categories. If you wish to categorize them, feel free. But I'm going to leave them as is. 

IMPORTANT: My top 3 are also plugs for the people who make and/or sell them. They have not asked me to do this. In fact, they don't even know I'm doing it. But I am thankful for them, and think they are well worth mentioning. :)

With that said, let's dive in!

LuLaRoe

Have you tried LuLaRoe? I'm sure by now you've heard of them. Right? LuLaRoe is known best for their "buttery-soft" leggings, but all their clothes are awesome. I rock my 'roe everyday. The clothes are so comfortable, but I can easily dress them up and look professional for work, date night, whatever! My favorite styles are the Carly dress, Irma shirt and the Perfect-T. I usually pair these items with the leggings, but not always. They have such fun prints too! My favorite prints are my cassette tape Carly and my guitar leggings. There are many consultants out there, and if you are a huge LLR fan you probably follow many of them on Facebook. 

***UPDATE***

After years of LuLaRoe slowly taking over my closet, I decided to dive in and become a LuLaRoe Retailer! It was one of the best decisions I've made. I love helping women (and men!) find clothes that make them feel great. Check out my shop HERE. 

#PlanMyWholeLife Planner

Elizabeth Caldwell of Organized Chaos is my music teacher superhero! I have mentioned her a couple of times already, but I'm just so thankful for her and the resources she provides. She came up with the most amazing planner and it really has added joy to my life! Check it out:

Since originally purchasing this planner, I decided that the "Dated 5" version better suits my needs. Thankfully, you can purchase the dated pages separately. AND the best part is there are FREE UPDATES each year! Woohoo!

You can find all the options available to you HERE. 

God With Us Advent Set 

Christmas is coming, which means advent is about to start! Advent has become my favorite time of year, and I really I have to thank my friend Katie for that! She was the one who introduced me to the Jesse Tree. She is quite the crafty mama (we used to have mom craft days when our oldest babies were just infants) and she created these beautiful felt ornaments. Then she had the genius idea to turn them into different types of ornaments (wooden, color your own, stickers). She also wrote a beautiful family devotional to go with them. Every year I can't wait to pull the book and ornaments out of our Christmas box. 

This year I get to share our advent tradition with my oldest son's class as they learn about heritage and family traditions. If you are looking for a meaningful (but easily doable!) advent activity please check out her Etsy shop HERE. 

Usborne Books & More

This is a new favorite of mine, but I just had to share! Over the years my boys have received a handful of Usborne books. They quickly became favorites and I wondered why I didn't see more of them. Then my friend had an Usborne FaceBOOK (hehe...get it?) party. That's when I realized that most of their products are only available through consultants. Once I realized that I could be a consultant, share my love of their books with others AND get a sweet discount for under $100- I was sold! 

All 3 of my boys have been loving their new books. I've also purchased a few for my classroom. I'm probably most excited about "Not Your Everyday Illustrated Thesaurus". It's a beautifully illustrated and well organized thesaurus that I know my students will love using as we work on songwriting. In fact I love it so much, I plan to buy one for home. :) If you want to check out the wonderful world of Usborne Books & More check out my store HERE.

(And yes, # 4 was a shameless plug for my small book business, but unlike the first 3, I knew I was posting this!)

I also am thankful for...

washi tape, coffee, Pandora, holiday mugs from Starbucks, Hobby Lobby, pecan pie from Whole Foods, washi tape, coffee, my Luna ukulele, the Dollar Spot @ Target, adult coloring books, Sharpies in every color, washi tape, coffee

♫ ♥ Ashley