destination wedding:claire hogan & cameron foster

happening sunday february 27, 2011 is my sisters wedding. it will be a private beach wedding in the beautiful grand cayman islands. i couldn't be happier for them. not only are they joining together before God and a special group of people but they are beginning the greatest chapter in their lives....thus far. blake & i cannot be there in presence but our hearts and thoughts are with our loved ones baring witness to their union.

claire & cameron foster established february 27, 2011. cheers to you both, cannot wait to celebrate with you 'all' in march.

first date

blake & i's wedding

engagement: december 23, 2010

meet the fosters...not fockers

forever wild & crazy

Dress Code: Teacher Edition

                                                                  BAD TEACHER

happy hump day! today has been such a wonderful day. i am on new antibiotics and feeling like a million bucks (not filthy b/c money is really filthy). :) ha. i have taken my airbrush tanning (side business) to the best salon in boerne. it's called Rewby Salon & Boutique. super excited to have a space for my work and i get to hang up there after school. it's really been fresh and fun. enough about that...let's get to the meat of this blog.

teachers as fashion icons, role models, wannabe to young for their own good?

the first picture above is of what i wore today. i felt very covered, comfortable, and like myself.

jacket off, have i suddenly turned into a 'the bad teacher' best movie ever (<---click on the link)

i am wearing a long, jersey dress with flowery skulls. i found no problems with it. i love sugar skulls and skulls AS art.

so this blog is a question/post/brutally honest opinion 'intervention'.

what do you think of my wednesday outfit?
dress is by us rags (company made in california)
steve madden compact boots
ridiculously long purple/black thigh high socks
finally i added some glitz withit some grey hoop diamond studded earrings

post photos, opinions and advice.

i am considering a giveaway to the best comment :)

what do you think or envision a teacher wearing

10 QuEStiONs

1. Why do you blog?

It's my creative escape.

2. Name your three best memories.

My Wedding Day 10/30/2010, College, growing up with all my brothers, sisters, and parents under the same roof.

3. Name four of the best fiction books you've ever read. 

The Great Gatsby, Walden, The Valley of the Dolls, A Street Car Named Desire

4. What are the five best movies ever made?

Home Alone, The Nightmare before Christmas, Mean Girls, The Skeleton Key, Girl Interrupted 

5. Name five things you cannot live without.

Family, Husband, Bella Bell, Coffee, and Internet 

6. If you could change your name, what would it be?

Wren Willow. 

7. Name a unique fact about yourself.

I broadcast live over the Internet every weekday morning & my catch phrase is "YOU LOOK GREAT WHEN YOU SMILE" 

8. What do you love best about yourself?

My experience with unfortunate situations. I can use my pain to help others. 

9. If you had a freaky Friday experience, who would you change places with?

Blair Waldorf

10. What is the best thing about being a woman?

Being girly, dressing up, and not being a boy! 



cartwheels and glitter

by: Judith Viorst

 i did it. i forced myself out of bed and back to school. not only was i oozing with fever but my cough was beginning to sound like a ninety year old smoker who was missing her oxygen tank. pouring coffee and creamer into a cup became like a minute to win it challenge. one of the many perks to being a teacher is casual fridays. although by casual it means, NICE jeans and a school related shirt if you plan on wearing a t-shirt. whatever it takes to get me out of my ghostbuster XXL shirt and brown leggings. i find a stunning zeta tau alpha glitter t-shirt. 

not the actual shirt i wore

i felt drunk as i drove to school. i imagined that the flu would be a legitimate excuse for causing serious harm to someone.
however, i made it to school without harming anyone. my day should be getting better...wrong.
1. my classroom is a mess
2. my substitute wrote ALL over my lesson plans and a few confidential papers
3. news team students do not have a script written for today
4. equipment is not working
5. cannot broadcast because of 'technical difficulties'
6. no broadcast=me looking like an ass who can't be responsible


what happened next ruined it all. it began like this... "catherine, you look awful, are you sure you should be here? (didn't wait for answer) i know you have the flu but the only t-shirt you should wear should be a kendall one, not zeta." i am pretty sure smoke was coming out of my ears at this point.

i go into my classroom, rummage through a closet only to find an extra small "kendall knights do whats right" t-shirt. ha-ha. i squeeze into it and literally laugh out loud. wow, that felt good.

now it's time to continue the laughs:
i started with my kindergarten class.
first:
cartwheels for everyone
then i start singing really loudly, off key, and in gibberish
now i tell my class the things i love about thursdays (which includes them)
by then its time to lie down in the middle of the classroom and gaze up at the ceiling.
we then close our eyes and wake up to me thrusting a fist full of glitter into the air

i forget what i was told earlier about my shirt, and who cares that we couldn't 'air' the announcements, and i forget about feeling sick! smile & embrace today. i told myself that everything is always getting better.

just as the saying goes, the world is yours! don't let annoying people bring you down, do what makes you feel better. and don't forget to have fun, just like you did when you were younger.

smile at a stranger, hug them if you feel spontaneous!

don't forget about humanity, be kind to everyone.

sex & the city homage

But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous!

Maybe some women aren't meant to be tamed. Maybe they just need to run free til they find someone just as wild to run with them

hands down the most influential television show of my life. i lived for hbo on sunday nights. when i was younger the show was something i secretively indulged in, for fear my parents would find out. at any age a show with the word sex in the title is a no-no. i remember dreaming of having just a glimmer of carrie in my adult life. i admired her independence, her free will, her support for her friends and most of all her non-judgemental attitude. i loved that she smoked cigarettes and wasn't 'perfect'. she was a real woman. carrie said it best "I will never be the woman with the perfect hair, who can wear white and not spill on it.”

ever thine. ever mine. ever ours.

as i lay here once again in bed with the flu i celebrate this day as an homage to carrie bradshaw and also to my younger sister caroline who is my living carrie bradshaw doll.



miss caroline reed hogan
aka 'modern day carrie bradshaw'



flu=boredom

new guest suite

wedding shrine

french country kitchen

i am beginning to get cabin fever. the shot i got in my bum is really painful so in order to keep my mind off of the aches i decided to begin planning a major renovation to the house.

i wanted to include my creative/chic/fabulous wedding photos to this blog as well.

frame less frames were strung throughout the giant trees all over the nature center

maps were made to show guests where everything was

mr. & mrs. robert blake dryden

custom boots made by 'born again boots' CEO lauren bates

in lieu of a boring guest book i opted for a guest tree...one of my best ideas to date

up-cycled french chair

blake & i consider ourselves lovebirds and this was the 'theme' of our outdoor wedding

as i lay here watching bad t.v. i am sorting through ideas, photos, and using my imagination to plot all of the next changes. blake & i have decided to build a new home unless we find our dream craftsman style bungalow before the frame goes up. being married is magical and i haven't talked about it enough on my blog.i am happy to report blake is now a HUGE fan of my favorite color turquoise and he is such a hard worker when it comes to adding new color to old items. he happily paints and sands items for us to make our house a home. i love him.

what do you like to do when you aren't feeling well?

do you allow your mind to wonder and come up with brilliant ideas?

flu

hello february and hello flu. yes it has happened, i , a school teacher have been contaminated with the flu. no bueno. but happily it has given me freetime to blog. oh how i have missed the blogging world. i created a thirty before i am a thirty page. i have also updated my 365 picture project.

my husband blake has been an excellent nurse, i am impressed. i am also happy to report i have shed ten pounds in one month. wa-hoo. 

                            

sadly i missed valentine's day with my students... :( but before i left yesterday to go to the doctor several of my sweet students generous gave me roses (pink) chocolates, and homemade cards. my adorable husband gave me dozens of colorful roses, a pink hearted puppy dog, and our first 'to my wife' card. plus he is now staying home to take care of me!

did anyone else catch the grammy's? here are some of my favorites:



cee-lo & 'holly holiday' performing 'forget you' were my favorite..... oh & rhianna & eminem 'love the way you lie part 2' = my favorite.

here's to hoping i feel better, happy to report that glee is on tonight