just happiness

well, no complaints here

we enjoyed an amazing weekend with great friends

we swam, we ate frozen pizzas, and had many toasts celebrating my recent

news of being hired back

we had one of the best breakfasts known to man

found out it is hard to answer the phone while eating buffalo wings

watched a movie on the side of the garage

it was like our very own drive-in screen

and saw shooting stars & even an asteroid

we slept outside under the stars which is something I clearly need to do more often

tomorrow I get to see my classroom for the first time

I'm a tad nervous - you never know what you are going to walk in to

hopefully, I will be greeted with cleared out cabinets & maybe even my favorite part of teaching

in a district where most of the schools were built in the 50's & 60's - 

a pretty awesome vintage desk!

don't worry - I'll keep you posted!

favorite find

Here is another one of my treasures from our trip to Long Beach

this adorable purse was practically drowning in a box of misfit bags

thankfully the husband eyed it for me & swooped it up

it came home for $10

Not a bad price since it has never been used

I believe that the purse dates back to the 60's

and I love that it originally sold for $7.95

so yeah, not bad for ten bucks!

not to mention that it is yellow & awesome

it won't be a daily user but I'll keep it for special days out

enjoy the weekend!

friday funday

I'm going to enjoy my last "free weekend"

before I know exactly what I'm getting myself into

I'll try not to worry about the state that my classroom may be in

or how it will be to meet & greet with a new staff once again

or how hard it will be to remember student's names when I only see them for an hour a day

instead, I'll be thankful we will still be able to pay the bills come fall

so today - lunching with great friends

maybe a movie later with the husband

swimming/movies outside/enjoying my time

how to be a good teacher...

Well, I guess there are lot's of ways to become an amazing educator, and a few ways to not. Some of it is time, and a part of it talent, and the final piece to success is those you surround yourself with.  Teaching partners can be the best and worst thing that can happen to teacher, especially a shiny new one.  I attribute so many of my successes in the classroom to the amazing people who helped me find the way.  Curriculum will only take you so far, but having guides who model their enthusiasm, their drive, and their organized or quirky way of doing things, that is where the learning truly happens.

Looking on to a new school year, one that I know will have many new challenges, many of which I don't even know what they could be yet, I take time to thank those people who helped me be a strong enough teacher to survive my first five years.  With a burn out rate of approximately 50% in the first five for teachers, I feel pretty lucky to make it through in one piece.  And, more importantly, want to still take whatever they throw at me.

So today I share a picture from my days of teaching sixth grade.  I had the pleasure to learn so much from the three people I sit with in this picture!  Here are just a few of the things that I learned from some pretty amazing teachers.

My kindergarten partners taught me to call five year olds "friends", but never to underestimate their ability to learn.  I loved making a little lightbulb motion over my head whenever my kids had a "lightbulb" moment.  Five is a pretty fun age because you can literally "smell them learning" as a former partner always said.

My 6th grade partner taught me so much on behavior management and how to run a classroom in an orderly and respectful manner.  He taught me that dedication will always turn out results, even to students who may have been given up on in the past.

My 5th grade partner taught me so much about compassion and the ability to start new after the unthinkable occurs.  She taught me that "letting go"  and giving kids more freedom is okay, and allowed me to grow as a teacher in ways I will never be able to express in words.

So now I leave you with this.  We have all heard the saying "those who can, do - those who can't, teach".

Well, I like this version better...
Those who can, do.  Those who can do more, teach.  
Apparently I can even buy a shirt with that saying.

Hmmm...seems like something a middle school teacher would wear!

wait, I still get to be a teacher?

Well, I am so relieved to be able to say, that yes, I will get to be a teacher yet again.  I must admit this summer I have felt a bit lost.  And no, being laid off isn't new for me, but for some reason not knowing this summer really shook me.  You may be wondering why choose to include an image of my phone in this post, well, because it did exactly what I asked it to do yesterday, it rang, and WAY earlier than I thought!  And here is where things get funny, or I'm psychic, or maybe a bit of both - yes, I was hired in middle school!  Now here in California (and maybe other states, but I'll state the facts I know to be true) most elementary school teachers have a multiple subject credential that allows them to teach anything from Kindergarten through 8th grade.  Now, without some type of supplement to their credential, they have to teach multiple subjects in middle school based off of their qualifications.  Well after about three years of teaching I realized that I had actually taken enough history classes in college to have this supplement, I just had to fill out some paper work and pay the state $50!  And hey, guess what, it paid off.  

So yes, I will now be an 8th grade history teacher.  Yes, I am a tad nervous seeing as how the day will be SO different from anything I have ever taught.  The only thing I am really sad about is knowing that I will not be spending the whole day with the same 34 kids.  I love getting to know my students so well because let's face it, I spend more waking hours with them then they sometimes spend with their families!  Instead my students will span somewhere in the 100's.  So, what is a girl to do?  Well, spread some awesome learning onto a whole big group of students of course! 

Our schools open back up to staff on Monday, so you better believe I will be there bright and early asking for my keys.  I'll have three weeks to figure out what in the world I will be doing, oh, and set up a classroom in there too, but hey, that's for beginners!  

Thanks for all the fingers crossed - I'm pretty sure they helped get that phone to ring a tad earlier than planned!  Now all my positive energy will go to my friends who I teach with who haven't had their call yet.  My supplement bumped me up in the rehire list so there are still too many amazing teachers left waiting.  I hope their calls come early next week so everyone can get ready for the first day!

eighty cents!

Why yes, I did score these today for eighty cents!  They are pretty much in perfect condition and I just couldn't resist. I have been on the canister hunt for quite some time but just never could commit to a set.

Now, I'm not sure if I will keep them or eventually set up a lil' etsy shop of my own.

But for now I'll admire their bright & cheeriness.

On another note - we are nearing the end of July which means the end of summer is quickly approaching.  Now yes, that will mean that my daily thrifting will be cut out of my new routine, but I must say I am eager to get back into the classroom.  However, no, I'm still not hired back.  And yes, the daily "not hired" nightmares have begun!  Well, they actually started in June, but they are becoming more realistic and plausible as the months come and go.  Almost every night I am dreaming that I show up at one of the many schools that I have taught at on the first day of school and go around asking if anyone on campus has work for me.  No thank you.  So, if my district could just call me and put all this madness to an end, I would greatly appreciate it.  

But until then, I will avoid any teacher stores, back to school aisles, and educational supplies. They just make me frustrated that I have all the time in the world, and can't possible be do one stitch of planning or prepping!  

So, I'll thrift until that magical phone call comes.  Fingers crossed it comes next week - and yes, I am being pretty optimistic that I'll hear that early.  First day of school - August 22nd, please let me be ready!

I've been doing a lot of blogging on the two collectives I contribute to - check 'em out!

Pyrex Collective II & The Thrift Collective

and if you visited from one of these blogs - thanks for stopping by!

local lovin' - Long Beach Antique Mall II (travel edition)

Let's just say that the husband and I LOVED Long Beach's Retro Row.  We loved it so much we actually went there two days in a row!

So, for this local lovin' I am going to feature the spot we just couldn't get enough of!  The Long Beach Antique Mall has just opened a second location across the street and it was a dream come true.

We've only been home two days and we are already talking about our next trip to this place!

The Details:

Located - 3100 East Pacific Coast Hwy

Long Beach, CA 90804

Contact - (562) 494-2526

Hours - 10-5 daily

See what they have HERE!

we're home!

well, we have made it home from our six hour drive back from southern california

here is a quick glimpse at our trip according to instagram

you can look forward to more vacation posts -

I can hardly wait to share our finds

I loved our vacation

but I'm pretty glad to be back to our humble abode!

oh, and if you are an instagram-er yourself, feel free to follow me @ lyndsaylew

I would love to see your shots as well!

pyrex vacation find...finally

The husband & I finally had some vacation success today while visiting Long Beach & all their vintage awesomeness!  We had the best luck at the Long Beach Antique Mall II - a new location just added across the street from the original Long Beach Antique Mall.  We typically have a hard time finding a lot of mid-century lovin' in the Sacramento area other than our beloved Midway Antiques & the new Scout Living.  However, Long Beach is not having any shortages in this area & we were in love!  I was pretty good, but I did have to snag this little promotional casserole dish from Pyrex.  I am currently seeking some advice about this piece on the Pyrex Collective II, my research has turned up very little info.  Could that mean I stumbled on something really good?  Well, maybe.  Even if not, it was a reasonable price, & it matches my favorite dishes in the whole wide world!  I can't wait to use this casserole along side our china.  I think a dinner party is in store soon!

venice part II

well yesterday we took a stroll down the infamous venice beach

I must say my favorite part was the street art

we also enjoyed a nice lunch where we had a great spot for people watching

one of my favorite things to do

tomorrow we hit Long Beach's Fourth Street

seriously, from my research, my hopes are pretty high for this spot

so far thrifting & antiquing has been a bust

hopefully I will have some treasures to share!

thanks to The Thrift Collective for your city guide!  Check 'em out

hopefully I will be able to contribute soon to this collective!

goodnite from manhattan beach

not so sunny skate day

before I forget, I can take no credit for the shots in this post

instead, they are the handiwork of my husband

and while I'm confessing, it is actually his DSLR that I have been shooting on lately

it has been a recent goal to not just blog photos taken from my iPhone!

and even though it wasn't a very bright beach day

I did get to experience venice beach

and all that it entails!

more snapshots from our day tomorrow
and I promise - I actually snapped a few!

just because this was pretty amazing

this is what I now refer to as the wall of awesome

why yes, those are harry potter posters from all seven movies

and multiple countries!

and no, I don't know that child, he is simply in the shot for scale purposes!

and yes, I did just see harry potter for the second time

first trip to santa barbara

Surprisingly true, I have never been to this oh so popular destination.  We enjoyed a quick lunch stop here & an antique visit, but no real finds today.  I realized how lucky I am to live in California.  I have so many beautiful places to visit, I am quite jaded.  I enjoyed our lunch date but couldn't imagine coming all the way from Europe.  By the way, we were the only American tourists while eating!

solvang snapshots

 So what I learned about Solvang:

They are pretty much closed on Monday's

They have more bakeries than any one person could ever visit

It is filled with European tourists

They have giant tins of M&M's in the hotel room

They get dates wrong on menus 

They have been around for one-hundred years

And they have about a thousand cool things to take a picture of

We enjoyed our stay but we were reminded

that apparently we only visit places where the average tourist age is 50+

Not complaining, simply stating a fact

On to Santa Barbara, then Manhattan Beach