Flying By Fast Summer: Friday Favorites!

Hello there!  Summer is the season that passes the quickest, and with good reason - there is so much to accomplish.  I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything to highlight this week's Friday Favorites!

                           Friday Favorites!

Sand Castles

At Revere Beach (the first public beach in America), there is an annual sand sculpture competition.  We went on last week after the crowds were gone:

Mapping Boston!

Here's a flashback to a summer course I took: Mapping Boston In the American Revolution course.  (Click here to get teaching materials you can use in your own classroom!)  My lesson centered around mapping the Boston Tea Party - the route from the Old South Meeting House to Griffin's Wharf:

This is an enlarged section of the Bonner Map of Boston (click here to see the whole map).  The Old South Meeting House is at the corner of Cornhill and Milk Streets.  Griffin's Wharf got cut out in this picture.  The lesson plan would involve mapping the route the Sons of Liberty took.

If you want to see the location of the Old State House, it's on the upper end of King Street.

As a follow-up activity, I'd love to recreate colonial Boston.  Here's the display from the Old South Meeting House:

Click here to see a Boston Tea Party diorama on TPT.

Books About Boston

When we were at Old South Meeting House, I visited the gift shop to get book ideas:

My favorite book was the Freedom Trail Pop-Up Book, but I just checked on Amazon, and it costs $29.99.  Maybe I'll save that purchase for when/if I get a gift card. 

Animal Atlas

I read about this great book in another blog, and I had to buy it for myself:

The Animal Planet Animal Atlas is amazing and colorful.  It's full of fascinating facts and close-up pictures of so many animals.  I picked the pictures of the moose and the puffin because I want to see those animals in real life - maybe some day!  Click here to check it out on Amazon!

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

Last, but not least, I went bought some items at Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale:

This cap isn't part of the sale, but it's so cute I bought it for my daughter.  But, if she doesn't want it, I am happy to have it!

I got this black Wit and Wisdom pants for the cooler weather.

Lastly, I bought this cozy cardigan.  Years ago, I bought a "grandpa" sweater from Nordstrom.  I wear it all the time because it's so cozy so I'm hoping this sweater is equally comfortable.

Did you buy anything fun lately?  

As always, thank you for visiting today!  Remember to check out the other great blogs at:

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Currently ~ Superb September!

     Hello there!  It's already another month which means that it is time to link up with Anne in Residence for:

 Beginning

Well, it is that time again:  Back To School.  I have been preparing my classroom.  The desks need to be 3 feet apart, and we will all wear masks.  I am happy that the kids get to come to school.  It is so important to have that interaction.

Ending

My summer vacation is ending.  I'm always amazed at how fast the summer flies by.  Labor Day weekend is the time to close the pool.

 Loving

I really love deep cleaning and organizing my house and now my classroom.  It makes such a difference to be in a neat place where everything belongs in a certain place.  Of course, I need to figure out how to maintain the clean and neat house and classroom.  If you have discovered the secret, please let me know!

Picking

I picked out my first day of school outfit!  I still need to have a brand new and special outfit for the first day of school.  I got the skirt at the Nordstrom sale over the summer!

Posting

I really wanted to post to my blog every week.  I did try.  Link-up parties really motivate me to write and share my news.  I'm writing a blog post about how I clean and organize my classroom.  I am holding off on posting because I want to include how to maintain a sense of order.  When I am teaching, I tend to throw everything on my desk ~ which is not a good habit, but I want to be present to teach and help my students.  

Tomorrow is my last day of vacation.  My classroom is in pretty good shape so I'm hoping to enjoy this Labor Day Weekend!

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Currently August is upon us!

Hello there!  Can you believe that August is upon us?  Time sure flies when you're having summer!  It is time to link up with Anne in Residence for:

Admiring

We went to Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island last week, and I really admired the beauty of the place:  the ocean, the bluffs, the scenery in general...The Abrams Animal Farm was right across the way from our hotel, and I went there every day to check out the alpacas which were my favorites!

The owners of the farm shave the alpacas and make yarn.  You can even buy socks and others items made from the yarn!

Anticipating

As soon as August arrives, I start thinking about Back to School and what I have to do to prepare.  There is uncertainty because of the the new variant, but I am really hoping to have the rug back in my classroom.  I have heard that students need to sit 3 feet apart so I'm not sure if they'll be able to sit on the rug yet, but I remain hopeful!

A flashback to a visit from a therapy dog on our classroom rug!

Enjoying

I am enjoying the sunny and mostly dry weather.  In Massachusetts, we had one of the rainiest and coolest July's on record, but it seems like the weather is improving, finally!  Now that it's August, the weather seems to be settling into temperatures in the 80's, low humidity and less rain (hopefully, now that we are not having a drought anymore)!

Spending

Of course, I spent some money at the Nordstrom sale.  I bought two winter coats (although I'll only keep one at the most).  My at least 10 year old red Lands End winter coat is no longer waterproof so I need to replace it.

Links:  Bernardo coat; North Face coat; skirt; blush pink shirt

Did you buy anything at the Nordstrom sale?

Saving

Last but not least, I am saving book recommendations.  Anne recommended the book, The Soulmate Equation, and now that book is on reserve for me at my library.

Read more at Amazon:  Nobody will tell you....,  People We Meet on Vacation, The Soulmate Equation.

I just finished this book and really enjoyed it:  The Henna Artist which is a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Selection.  This book takes place in India and centers around a woman who is trying to make an independent life and living as a henna artist.

If you have any book suggestions for me, please leave them in the comments!

I hope you are enjoying the summer and staying healthy!  Thank you for checking in today!

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Friday Loves = Nordstrom + Organizing "Stuff"!

Hello there!   I 'm delighted to link up today with The Blended Blog for Friday Loves 
and Anna Nuttall's Bloggers Link-Up!

Hello Nordstrom Sale!

I'm jumping on the Nordstrom Annual Sale bandwagon!  I bought four items!  Of course, they're all in transit so I can't tell you if they fit or if I even like them in real life!

Click here to check out these pants and here for this adorable hat!

 I've wanted a sweater blazer for a long time, and I'm hoping this one fits well!  Also, I do love Kate Spade and plaid so I have high hopes for this scarf!

 Hello Organizing!

 At the annual fundraiser for my local public library, I bid on two hours of organizing with a professional organizer, Simplify with Eileen.  I have bid on this prize for years, and finally, I won the prize!  When she came for the initial consultation, I ended up with homework:  organizing my necklaces.  I needed to purchase mini Command Hooks and hand up my necklaces.  Check out the finished product:

 Hello Purging!

To further help in my organizing effort, I am now reading this book:

 I'm not in love with the title, but I've already made strong connections.  The author - who is between 80 and 100 years old - speaks about cleaning out someone's "stuff" after they've died.  I did this job for my mother and my father, and I would prefer to clean out my own "stuff" ~ not that I'm planning on dying; I'm just planning on purging my unnecessary "stuff!"

Almost Time to Say Good-Bye to my Boot

I'm in the home stretch with my orthopedic boot.  On Thursday, I'll be getting an x-ray which should show that my foot is all heeled!

Hello Jellyfish~!

Check out this behind-the-scenes picture from the New England Aquarium. 

These jellyfish are being groomed to be part of an exhibit or food for other fish.




I really enjoy hearing from you.  Please let me know in the comments if you bought anything at Nordstrom or if you have a must-read book to recommend!

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