Thoughts on Thursday

Linking up with Nat and Annie today!

My thoughts on...

..my profession. At dinner last night I sat next to two women talking about their journeys to becoming teachers. They are career changers, probably 25-28 years in age, and seemed relatively excited about becoming teachers. I have so many thoughts on this. There is so much of me that wants to say, "run! save yourselves! stay in that cubicle! you'll appreciate it on a Friday after too many wines!" but then there is so much of me that feels overwhelming joy and compassion for these two. This job isn't easy and I do not believe for one second that the first year is the hardest. There are hard years and there are harder years but sometimes, every now and then, you get a glimpse of why you do this. For instance, tomorrow is our faculty basketball game verse the local high school and my students could not be more excited to see me play (I suck buuuuut most of them don't know that) and have told me how pumped they are to cheer for me! 

This would something to add to the list of reasons NOT to be a teacher. 

...barre. Before my wedding in 2011, I went religiously to a barre/pilates class at this super fancy gym I totally couldn't afford but justified because duh, I was getting married. Then, I discovered Pop Physique and was hooked on that for awhile. After that, G and I decided that a gym membership was going to be our Christmas gift to each other this year and lo and behold, about two weeks ago our gym added a barre class to the group fitness classes. I went on Tuesday and it reminded me so much of Pop Physique and I loved it. Going again tomorrow and Sunday and can't wait! I was and still am a Bikram junkie but sometimes it is so fun to workout for only an hour and to some pop music! 

...Louisville, KY. G and I are spending our anniversary in Louisville, KY this year. I have done some research and so far I have Garage Bar, Hammerheads, The Four Sisters, Blue Dog Bakery & Cafe, and Mussel&Burger Bar as restaurants to hit. We're also looking into going to the Lousville Mega Cavern. I'd love to hear suggestions from locals or those who have traveled to Louisville on where to go and what to do! 

Happy Thursday!! 

Florence, Italy {1}

Feeling very wanderlusty lately so I figured I'd continue with the Italy recaps today!

We arrived in Florence around 11:30, checked into our hotel, and hit the ground running! We stayed at the San Gallo Palace, which was about a 15-20 minute walk to the center of Florence. Like I've said in previous posts, we are willing to walk a bit to the action if it'll save us some money. The only pre-requisites are that the hotel is clean and safe. San Gallo Palace checks both of those boxes. 

  As we headed out to the sites, we were a bit taken aback by all the cars and noise after spending 3 days in Venice with no cars and minimal noise! 

Fun Fact: we walked past a Subway and it smells the exact same way it does in the States. So if you get a hankering for Subway in Europe, you can rest assured that it will taste like home, ha!

The first thing we did on our walk into the city was pick up our Firenze Cards. I did pretty extensive research on the pros and cons of the Firenze Card, and ultimately it was the right decision for us. The card is on the pricey side (72 euros) but the lines for Firenze Card holders at the museums were significantly shorter than that of general admission. Just like Venice, Florence is hot and very, very busy in the summer so this card was a lifesaver for my heat intolerant husband. Here's how the card works: the card is activated at the first museum you visit and then you have 72 hours to use the card. After 72 hours, the card expires (we were in Florence for 3 days so this was perfect). There was one museum we tried to go into that didn't accept the Firenze Card and we could've still gone in had we paid admission but we opted out of that since we spent so much on the card. Side note: FC cardholders do still have to go get tickets at a separate ticket counter in order to climb to the top of the duomo, to climb the Campanile, and to enter the Baptistry of St. John. 

We hit up the Galleria dell' Accademia to see the statue of David. I'll admit I was surprised at how big it was. I guess it's because in pictures it really doesn't look all that big. Like in the picture below. 

We headed over to Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (the duomo in Florence) next. We had decided early on that we were going to climb to the top but because I am so scared of heights, I wanted to wait until the next day. We got in line at the FC entrance and waited to be let in to check out ground floor church area. However, when we got inside we were immediately directed up a flight of stairs. We'd barely gone up two stairs when I realized that we were headed to the top. I panicked slightly. I was so unprepared! I wasn't mentally ready to climb to the top! But, I had no choice so to the top we went. I was terrified but the views are so, so worth it in the end!

That night, we dined at Golden View restaurant. Golden View is an American restaurant (there's one in Greenwich, CT). I wanted to go there because it overlooks the Ponte Vecchio. I

 had also read on pretty respected travel blog that the food was really good but I certainly wouldn't recommend going to this place for the food. The view maybe, but not the food. I had the four cheese ravioli with truffle cream sauce which was good but not outstanding. G had Florentine steak that was woefully overcooked. The tiramisu was very good and the highlight of our meal.

Now, here is where the Golden View does deliver-- after dinner we wanted to get a drink but it seems that bars like those in the States don't exist in Florence? However, as we were walking out we noticed a bar with two stools on the other side of the restaurant so we decided to check it out. Well, we ended up having a blast with the bartender Simone who was funny, knowledgeable, and engaging. We loved him! I would definitely recommend checking out the bar at Golden View! 

After that, it was back to the hotel to rest up for day 2 in Firenze! 

Snow Day Lounge Favorites

I'm basking in the joy that is a snow day! Unfortunately, it is so cold in my old rowhome that Macy and I are camped out in bed because it is too cold everywhere else in this house. I ventured out yesterday to try to find a space heater to no avail. Apparently, everyone else in Baltimore had the same idea as me. So here we are blogging from bed.

Snow days consists mainly of coffee, tv marathons, reading, blogging, and most importantly: comfy clothes! Old Navy was running a huge sale yesterday so I stopped in and ended up picking up all of these pieces below at insanely good prices! One of the perks of teaching P.E. is that  lounge wear can always double as work wear!

Snow Day Lounge Favorites by prissyt 

Clockwise from the top left:
1. Women's Skinny Sweatpants. I've been wanting a pair of jogger sweatpants for quite sometime now and these are great. I'll be honest, I picked up on this trend from my students, ha! Although, they've now taken it too far and are rocking these Emoji joggers and it is truly hysterical.
2. Women's Cocoon Open-Front Cardigan. This cardigan is one of those pieces I always hesitate purchasing and then end wearing it all the time.
3. Women's Vintage Style V-Neck Tee. I'm a sucker for a good tee shirt. I actually only tried this on because I wanted to see what the cardigan looked like with something underneath but ended up loving it and at $5, I couldn't pass it up!
4. Men's Heathered Henley. I often buy clothing items, especially tee shirts and oxfords, in a men's small for a slouchier look. After Hello Fashion posted this shirt with white jeans and the blue scarf above-- tell me she doesn't look the perfect casual cool-- I decided I needed to add these pieces to my comfy clothes arsenal.
5. Women's Lightweight Infinity Scarf. If I absolutely must leave the house, I throw on a scarf for a pulled together look without too much hassle (i.e. when I get back to my bed all I have to do is take off my shoes and scarf and I'm back in chill mode).

Today only, Old Navy has 30% off with the code PRESIDENT!  

Five on Friday: Winter Wellness

Hello, Friday. It sure is good to see you again! This week has been insane and I am happy it is nearing it's end! Today, I am sharing what I do in the mornings to keep me sane during weeks like the one I've just had! To be fair, these are things I try to do, they don't always happen but when they do, it sets me up to have a really productive day. 

1. Get up early. Most days, I set my alarm for 5am and for awhile, I was actually getting up at 5am close to 75% of the time. Lately, it's more like 60% of the time but I am hopeful that it will go back up when things return to a (new) normal at work. Getting up at 5 allows me to take my time getting ready, drink my tea out of a real mug, and let the dog have some extra time out of the crate. I can also make lunches and eat breakfast without feeling rushed. Not being rushed in the morning makes my whole day so much better. 

2. Eat a fruit filled breakfast. The husband and I have been on a huge fruit smoothie for breakfast kick. We have been loving this smoothie (minus the flax seed and tofu) from The Minimalist Baker but I was recently introduced to ALOHA which is a website dedicated to making health fun, simple, and accessible! In a world where being healthy has become conflicting and complicated, ALOHA is here to make it easy for everyone! They have a plethora of smoothie recipes as well as a ton of other healthy recipes. I am thinking this Blueberry Fig Smoothie might be next on our list to try! 

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3. Stretch. I no joke tell my husband almost every morning that I need to be stretched. I know that thing that Mel Gibson's wife was strapped to in Braveheart was supposed to be torturous and gruesome and what not but if I could climb on and be given like 1 crank, I think it would feel sooooo good. But alas, I don't live in the 13th century so I don't have access to such a device. Sigh. Instead, I try to do some stretching in the morning to help relieve that tensed up feeling. I loosely follow the stretches below but if I don't get up at 5am not all of these are happening so I just do the ones that stretch the body parts that are feeling the most scrunched up. 

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4. Read. I try to squeeze in a few minutes of reading before I head off to work. Again, this only happens if I get up early but it helps me relax before going to deal with a crowd of needy middle schoolers!  I recently finished Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead and it was so, so good. I just love her writing, her characters are so nuanced and real. I highly recommend both Seating Arrangements and Astonish Me. I am currently reading Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton. Loving it! Reading something in the morning makes me incredibly happy so I try to make it a priority. I also make sure to read my two favorite emails in the morning: The Skimm and Notes from the Universe before leaving the house! 

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There you have it! My morning routine that helps me tackle the day. What do you do in the morning to help ensure you'll have a great one?

Linking up with the ladies! 

Five on Friday

Linking up with the ladies to talk about my five favorite things on Friday! The fact that it is Friday is probably my most favorite thing right now but here are my other faves from the past week:

1. Favorite Valentine's Day Dessert: I have to admit that I am one of those people that likes the ole love day. It makes my heart happy to do sappy romantic things with my husband. G and I usually stay in and make a big, fancy dinner on Valentine's Day and I absolutely love this tradition. He makes the dinner and I am in charge of dessert. I think this Chocolate Italian Love Cake from Chew Nibble Nosh is the winner this year. It reminds me a bit of tiramisu, which we ate so much of in Italy, but it also reminds me of a dessert I made the first year we started this V-Day tradition. The best of both worlds! 

VIA

2.Favorite Workout: Of course, after I've eaten delicious dinner and then that cake above I'm going to need to hit the gym. I've been doing some walking intervals on the treadmill but I need to take it up a notch to really torch some calories plus I have a 5k coming up and I'd like to not be last to get to the beer so I am going to incorporate this pyramid interval starting tomorrow hopefully. 

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3. Favorite TV Show: I am really loving Jane the Virgin. It's kind of got a campy vibe going on but it's funny and I think the acting is superb. Gina Rodriquez definitely deserved her Golden Globe win and the rest of the cast is pretty amazing as well. 

4. Favorite Room: I guess this is actually more of an entry way/hallway but I think it is gorgeous! Kate Marker is the designer, check her out if you haven't already, she is incredibly talented. I love the clean crispness of her designs and I think the use of the bold rug is what really sets this room apart for me. 

VIA

5. Favorite Denim: A most horrible thing happened recently, both knees of my favorite pair of jeans became so threadbare they finally ripped. I still planning on wearing them since the ripped look is in and all but I think it is necessary to own a pair of jeans that isn't ripped because well, you can't always wear ripped jeans. The jeans that ripped are from Gap so while I was at the mall last weekend I decided to stop in and see what kind of selection the had. I ended up purchasing two pairs of the new Resolution Denim in True Skinny. I am really happy with them! They fit really nicely, have a bit of higher waist, and I think they make my butt look decent enough! The only issue I have is that I wish the ankle were  a tad tighter but do also like that I can roll them up for a different look. I got them in both a dark and light color, seen below. New jeans are so exciting. 

VIA

Thoughts on Thursday!

Linking up with Nat and Annie today!

1. Prissy's Ponytails: After a long hiatus my Etsy shop is back up and running! You can check out the shop here! There are some fun new prints and I am still adding more to the shop. If you haven't yet tried fold-over elastic hair ties I suggest you do-- I love them because they fit nicely around my wrist and don't give my hair much (if at all) of a ponytail bump so I can take my hair down after work and not have to re-wash again if I don't want to. A quick spin with a curling brush and it's as good as new! 

2. The Life-Changing Art of Tidying Up: I recently started reading this book about organizing your entire home and it's pretty amazing. I am not very far in but I was already inspired to clean out two closets in my house and get rid of all of the things that don't bring me joy. I ended up with two trash bags filled with stuff and it is a great feeling! Here is the description from Amazon:

Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles?

Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you’ll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever. The KonMari Method, with its revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. In fact, none of Kondo’s clients have lapsed (and she still has a three-month waiting list). 

With detailed guidance for determining which items in your house “spark joy” (and which don’t), this international bestseller featuring Tokyo’s newest lifestyle phenomenon will help you clear your clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home—and the calm, motivated mindset it can inspire.

VIA

Happy Thursday, friends! I had a two-hour delay this morning so my Thursday is off to a pretty good start! 

Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015!

I cannot believe we are almost at the end of January 2015. As usual, time is flying by and it will be June before we know it!

Here are some things I hope to make happen in 2015:

Travel... 2014 was a great year in regards to traveling! I finally made it to Europe which has been on my bucket list forever! We also traveled to NYC, Pawley's Island, SC, Seneca Lake, NY, Atlanta, GA and finished the year off with a trip to Pittsburgh, PA. 2015 will hopefully be filled just as much travel for us with trips tentatively planned for Louisville, KY, Vail, CO and Las Vegas, NV (for me), a trip to the Pacific Northwest, and hoping to fit in a vacation with my family as well! I truly love traveling and hope to focus on it and do lots of it in 2015!

Venice, Italy


Seneca Lake, NY


New York City

Burger at BRGR in Pittsburgh

Read... This is something I love to do but sometimes I find myself opting for my phone instead of books... anyone else do this? Last year, I set my Goodreads (follow me!)goal at 30 books but only read 13. I set my goal at 30 again this year and I really hope I accomplish it. I've already read one book, Astonish Me, and it was so so good! It took me a little time to get into but I ended up loving it. I am currently working my way through Wild, which I have to admit I am not loving as much as apparently everyone else in the world. If you read it, please tell me it gets better! I have so many books on my to-read list! 

VIA 

Watch... I am totally watching Friends from beginning to end on Netflix! I am on episode four of the first season and I am loving re-watching all of these episodes... such a great show! I also want to start Jane the Virgin.. I haven't heard much about it but Gina Rodriguez was so beautiful and inspiring at the Golden Globes that I can't help it!

VIA 

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Relationships... I want to connect more with my friends in more meaningful ways. Every now and then, G and I will FaceTime with our friends in various places across the country and it is always so much fun! I want to do that more and call more and write meaningful emails more. I want to attempt to physically see them and actually follow through with it.  Life is really all about relationships and if I don't invest in them what do I really have?  I want to do more activities around the city with G and I want us to spend more Saturday mornings being active and doing things together.. and less mornings being lazy! G works long hours and is out of town often, I don't work long hours but I do work a physically and mentally demanding job so it is often that we are watching TV while looking at our phones instead of talking and connecting on the weeknights. I want to change that.

I am excited for what this year has in store for us and I hope it brings us just as much joy, laughter, and adventure as the previous years!

I've seen most everyone's posts about 2015 and I am wishing you all the best of luck in making all of your dreams come true in 2015!