My Favorite (Spring) Things

While I’m a summer girl through and through, I have to admit spring has its merits.  There’s nothing like that first whiff of fresh cut grass and the feeling of FINALLY being warmer when you step outside than you are inside.  As a child, I was terrified of thunderstorms but I’m even learning to like those.  Plus, my birthday is in March AND March means spring break.  All in all, I’d say spring is a close second to summer.

As the days get longer and school winds down, I find myself occasionally thinking of something other than lesson plans and classroom décor.  In honor of the new spring in my step, I’d like to share a list of my current favorite (spring) things:

Prince Design

My college BFF, Heather Prince, has truly found her niche with her quickly growing business Prince Design.  She does an awesome job with personalized, unique gifts (for yourself or for someone else).  One day last week one of my students complimented me on my monogrammed necklace and said, “I like your necklace but something always has your initials on it.  It’s funny.”  Then, she giggled.  Maybe I have a problem? 

Jillian Michael’s Beginner Shred

Anyone who knows me knows I’m no fitness guru and I never will be.  However, as we’ve established, summer IS coming and even I consider the implications at times. I’ve been using this DVD to work out for several weeks and it’s great: just the right length, just the right level of difficulty, and just enough soreness the next day to make you think it helped. 

The Longest Ride

I’m not much of a moviegoer, but a friend invited me to go see this one last weekend and it was fabulous.  I’ve slowed down on my Nicholas Sparks reading the last few years, but I ordered this book an hour after returning home from the theater.  A tagline of the movie is: “Love requires sacrifice.  But it’s worth it.” And this movie is worth your two hours too!  (It didn't hurt that it was filmed locally...how cool!) 

Netflix (enough said?)

This is a leftover addiction from all those February snow days, but I’ve gotten hooked on a couple of shows worth mentioning: one old and one new.  My sister has always been a huge Gilmore Girls fan and I’ve always enjoyed the few episodes I’ve caught on syndication.  So a couple of months ago I committed to watching the entire show beginning to end and I haven’t regretted one second.  The surprise fun has been that Brent seems to enjoy it just as much as me—apparently he finds me just as endearing (and infuriating) as Luke finds Lorelai.  The other show that we’ve BOTH gotten hooked on is Revenge.  We can’t seem to watch it in increments of less than three episodes so we’ve had to relegate our watching to the weekends, but it’s definitely worth a watch if you haven’t tried it!

    

My Mophie phone case

Spring means longer days which also had come to mean my well-loved Iphone dying well before sundown.  That is, until I broke down an orderd a Mophie phone case.  Mine is the purple (of course) juice pack helium and it has more than doubled my battery life!  I was a little hesitant to part with my Otterbox but I’ve dropped my phone multiple times with this new case with no problems. 

R&B-influenced Country Music

As a lifelong country music fan, I’ve been resistant to country music artists who tried to rap in the past.  But lately I’ve been drawn to a couple of new artists who have put a little twist on country music.  My most played CDs recently are Sam Hunt’s Montevallo and Chase Rice’s Ignite the Night.  If you aren’t familiar, check out a couple of my favorite tracks here:

Wining and Dining on the Patio

At our house, spring means dinner responsibilities shift from me and the crock pot to Brent and the grill.  I’ve made things a little easier on us both recently by ordering from Omaha Steaks.  They’re pricier than grocery store meats but cheaper than ordering steak in a restaurant and just as good.  Some of our favorites so far include the filet mignon, potatoes au gratin and caramel apple tartlets.  We’ve also got a new favorite wine with steak: anything Malbec from Argentina.

There’s plenty to love about spring in and of itself, but these things are making mine even brighter!  And don’t forget the best part of all: next comes summer!