Weekend Wrap || Perfect Floral Pants

How is Monday already? This weekend was full and great, but I could use one more day. Chris and I always joke that we are going to move to a country where the hours worked per week are like 25. America should adopt that lifestyle. 

Friday night we hung out with some friends for a birthday party. We played darts and went out for Mexican food. By 10:30pm I made us leave because I could barley keep my eyes open. The struggle is real. 

Saturday we had big plans to be out and about running errands. Instead we stayed around the house and relaxed, did chores, and I doodled on our chalkboard. (Inspiration here)

Saturday night we had friends over for game night. We played cards and snacked on chips and dip. We have really started to try and be "young" while we have no kids. To us, being young includes hanging out with friends, saying 'yes' more when asked to go places, and not complaining when we stay out later than 9:00pm. It is safe to assume we are still struggling with the last one. 

Sunday morning was beautiful. We woke up and had coffee outside before starting our day.

Sunday afternoon I headed to Target for flowers and groceries. I walked away with these pants. I could not pass them up! They are so comfy and will be perfect to dress up on our cruise and when we go to Mexico later this year. I'm already imagining how many ways I can style them!

And lastly, did you see my rare Saturday post? I am on the hunt for the perfect swimsuit and I've finally narrowed it down!

Happy Monday!

Put Down Your Phone

One big thing for Chris and I is that when we are together, we are not on our phones. We never have them out at dinner and make sure they are put away when we are on a date.

Now, when Chris is gone, that's another story. I feel like lately I am on my phone way too much. Maybe I am on it the same amount, but I am just now realizing it, or maybe I've upped my phone in hand game, but either way, I feel like I need to put it down. Between the snow days and Spring Break, being inside has caused me to spend hours scrolling through twitter on the hunt for my next article to read.

What am I reading, you ask? Usually reading articles that I find on Fox News. Chris and I read the news on our phones all the time. It sucks us in!

Going in to this weekend I wanted to really be aware of the time I spent on my phone. I am really proud to report that I feel much better about being able to just put it down. Being on my phone is not a problem until I'm alone.

Friday night we went and saw American Sniper. I don't think I breathed the entire movie. It was so good and I have an even greater amount of respect for all the soldiers out there. In the movie I obviously didn't have my phone out and the only thing I had it out for the rest of the night was to research stuff about the movie. Chris knows that after I watch movies I always dig deeper into set locations, etc. I have no idea why I do this, but I love finding those facts out.

I've also been working on not being on my phone for about an hour before I go to bed. The bright screen keeps me awake and I always have trouble falling asleep. Last week I tried not using my phone for the hour before bed and when I laid my head on that pillow, I crashed!

Saturday we were lazy most of the day. Chris was supposed to go fishing, but it rained so it got pushed back to Sunday. After lounging on the couch most of the day we made it to the gym. It felt good to get our blood pumping and keep on track with our workouts.

Saturday night I went out to Benihana with some of my co-workers. These ladies have become some of my closest friends and I love them dearly. It is so nice to spend time with them outside the classroom. Once again, I didn't have my phone out most of the night, so no pictures!

Sunday Chris got up at 3:00am to go fishing. I slept in and then did stuff around the house all day...after I got some kolaches and donut holes, that is. (I promise I am still doing Whole 30 during the week!) Chris kept sending me pictures of what he was doing so I sent him a picture of my kolache and the dishwasher. Exciting, I tell ya.

Sunday evening Chris and I threw the baseball for awhile and he mowed the lawn. I made ribs in the crock-pot and we just piddled around the house. Every time I thought to just take a break and get on my phone, I found something else to do (see: laundry).

It was a great, phone sorta-free, weekend! Just what I need right before the big state test hits!

Happy Monday!

A Taco and Christmas Lights Tour

This weekend we celebrated one of my best friend's at her bachelorette party. We went on a tacos and margarita tour/chocolate and Christmas lights tour of Dallas. Best bacelorette party idea ever!

We loaded up the shuttle bus around 5:00pm Friday and made our way to our first stop, Desperados, for their famous deep fried taco. Y'all...if you're ever in Dallas, you need to go there! It was the best taco I have ever had. Everything about it was perfect! We drank their famous margaritas, ate their delicious chips and salsa, and laughed until our stomach's hurt.

On to our next stop in the Trinity Groves area of Dallas. It was time for some chocolate at Kate Weiser. These chocolates looked too good to eat!

The Kate Weiser herself came out to greet us and let us sample her delicious chocolates. She is the one in the bottom left. I had some sort of banana bonbon and it was amazing! I bought a couple macaroons for myself and the bride since neither of us had ever had one. Verdict: so good! 

After chocolate, we made our way to Velvet Taco. Their margarita was better than their taco, but I still ate it all. I just couldn't stop thinking about the fried taco we had. 

Last up on the tour was the Christmas lights. We went to the Highland Park area of Dallas and were driven by some of the biggest homes in the area. We made one stop at a house that it costs over $25,000 to put up their lights each year! We drove by Jerry Jones' house (the owner of the Cowboys) and past Highland Paark Village. At this point, it was after my normal 8:30pm bedtime and I was getting so sleepy!

We made our way back to my friend's apartment where they dropped us off. It was time for her to open her gifts, but all of us old ladies got too comfy on the couch and just about fell asleep. 

After presents we made the executive decision that it was too early to go to sleep for a bachelorette party, so out on the town we went. We ended up at a bar and since most of us are a) married, b) have kids, c) worked all day, or d) a combination, so we left the majority of the drinking to a few of the girls while the rest of us made sure everyone got home safely. We did manage to get all of our drinks free and I have confirmed that the next time I'm in a bar like that will be for someone else's bachelorette party.

Saturday morning all the girls left and I took the bride to be out to brunch. I just adore her and our time together and can't wait for her big day!!

When I got home Chris had flowers waiting for me. He said, "I have to try and woo you back after drunk guys have been hitting on y'all all night!" I was dying laughing!   

And I should mention the AWESOME bridesmaid's gifts we got. Freaking Nike tennis shoes! The bride and all her bridesmaids played softball (one played soccer) in college, so we all have a love for tennis shoes. She asked us for our favorite tennis shoe colors and mine were the only ones without any bright color on them. What can I say, I like my shoes simple!! Aren't they so cool?! She designed them herself on Nike.com.

Sunday was full day of gift wrapping, laundry, grocery shopping, blog writing, cleaning, and cafe dining. We accomplished and it feels good. My family comes in for Christmas next Sunday, and this is a really busy week, so I am glad to get a lot of house work out of the way!

How was your weekend?!

Linking up with Leann and Kimberlee!

Weekend Getaway

Another wonderful weekend in the books. I love having summers off, but something is so sweet about a fall weekend out of town with your husband. 

Friday after work we raced home and loaded up for a trip down to The Woodlands. Our friend, Chris's old roommate, lives down there and he offered up a place for us to stay for a night before we headed to a wedding Saturday.

Something about being around old friends makes you miss college really bad. My last year in Tyler was spent with these two guys and being together again made us miss those college years!

When we arrived, Grant and Chris did started in with guy stuff while I just laid around and eventually fell asleep, letting them carry on way later than I wanted to be awake.

Grant lives right by all the happening stuff in The Woodlands, so while the guys went to golf on Saturday morning, I decided explored a little and then got breakfast to go and headed back to Grant's apartment. I ate and then took a long nap. It was glorious.

Speaking of eating. After many recommendations, I decided to start weaning off of my Whole 30 diet due to not wanting to be sick and miserable while in New York next week. I had beans Friday night in some chili I ate. They did nothing to me, so I decided to move on to the dairy portion of the weaning process. See photo above.

There will be more on that tomorrow, but I will let you know I haven't felt this full in three weeks! I am one stuffed, happy girl!!

Saturday night we left Grant's and headed just about 15 minutes away to check into our hotel then head to the wedding. The wedding was so gorgeous. It was outside at the groom's parents house and they had the prettiest twinkle lights wrapped around all the trees and a huge white tent set up. It was decorated Pinterest worthy and the couple was just as happy as could be!

Sunday we met back up with Grant and had breakfast before heading back to Dallas. It was so good to get away from the house for a couple days. It is hard to relax at home because I feel like I always need to be doing something.

This week is going to be crazy as we will be preparing for our big trip!!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Linking up with Leann and Kimberlee!

I'm not a juicer, not at all.

Friday nights from here on out (or at least until the end of the school year!) will be full of a whole lot of snoozing. You can count on me being in bed by 8:00pm every Friday for the whole school year. As a teacher, your exhaustion builds day by day and by Friday you can hardly keep your eyes open. Mentally, you are drained. It's a good thing because I love my job and my cherubs, but that doesn't take away from the fact that I am pooped by Friday night.
Saturday Chris and I woke up early (because we went to bed so early) and headed to the Chestnut Square Farmer's Market. I had been wanting to go for weeks now, but would either forget about it, or we would be busy. I love fresh fruits and veggies, so I was happy to be able to stock up.
While we were there we came across a vendor selling fresh pressed juices. I know juicing is all the rage right now, but I have always said I'd rather eat my vegetables on my plate rather than in a drink. Andddd after trying over a half dozen of their fresh pressed juices, I can firmly stand behind that statement 100%. Disgusting. You name a combo, we tried it, and they were all gross. I mean I literally had to choke the samples down and some I just had to throw away. I was determined to like one combination they sold, but nope, nada, nothing. All I tasted was dirt and grass, and Chris agreed.
From the juices we moseyed on over to a baked goods vendor and managed to purchase two loaves of pumpkin bread. That's more our style. It was delicious! Make a fresh pressed juice taste like pumpkin bread and you'd sell me on it!

After we made our round and gathered our fresh produce we headed back home for a pretty lazy afternoon. I met up with Caitlin at Starbucks to talk about The Lovely Lookbook, but other than that we just relaxed.

Later Saturday night my best friend Alisa and Chris's best friend Jake came over to watch football and hangout. Alisa didn't intend on staying the night, but we both fell asleep on the couch and I didn't want to wake her up when I finally moved into the bedroom.
Sunday I woke up early and headed to the grocery store. Chris wanted to cook for everyone, so when I got back we made cinnamon rolls, eggs, bacon, and hash browns for Jake and Alisa. Back to the couch Alisa and I went after breakfast and that is where we remained until mid afternoon.
She left to head back into Dallas while I did some laundry, worked on some things for school, cleaned up a little, and relaxed.
It was just the weekend I needed after a long week at school trying to still get into the swing of things!
Happy Monday!

Linking up with Leeann & Kimberlee!

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Life via my Iphone photos: a photo dump post

Last Tuesday we went to TopGolf with Chris's parents and my Dad (he was in town for work). We hadn't been in quite awhile and were quickly reminded that we need to go back more often!
We are all super competitive which makes it even more fun. Chris has been begging me to go play real golf with him, but I just get so bored. I ended up hitting the back net twice (I must have had a lot of luck with me that day....) and was a driving machine, so now Chris is really hounding me to play with him. Maybe when it isn't 100 degrees outside and if we only play 9...I get really bored after the first 9 holes!


I saw this on Pinterest and I just love it. I am going to tell it to my kiddos all year long. The joy that is yet to come is so, so sweet!

I also saw this on Pinterest and Chris audibly "awwww"ed. It was precious.

 

Saturday lounging on the couch with the fam. I have about 10 pictures like this on my phone, so it must have been a commercial break.

We have jalapenos people! Chris bought a jalapeno plant a couple months back and we had no expectations as to whether or not it would live. If we were betting people, we would have bet it would have died the day after we got it. We looked at it last weekend and what do ya know?! Four, yes FOUR little peppers are almost ready to be picked!

Happy Tuesday!

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Staining cabinets, late nights, and multiple naps.

Friday started off with a date to the gym. I successfully went to the gym five days last week (M, T, Th, F, Sat.!). Yes, I could hardly move each day, but I pushed through and now I think I have my gym groove back. 

After the gym I headed straight to the only logical place, Home Depot. Why? Well, I have officially began staining those awful oak cabinets we have. I should finish the guest bathroom tonight, so I hope to have a 'how-to' post up this week. The results are amazing!

Starbucks before dinner, naturally.

Friday night we went to a dinner for our friends who are temporarily back in the USA after being in India for the last year and a half. They are here for three months, then head back for another year and a half. It was so good to catch up with them and all our other friends and family. Let me also add in that this was night #1 of the weekend of Chris and Sarah staying up past midnight.
Saturday, oh Saturday. The alarm went off at eight and off to the gym we went. I went to some class where you come close to death (not really...but it felt like it) and Chris just pumped iron like men do, right? Between Friday and Saturday's classes, I did over 100 push-ups, so my triceps were shot the rest of the day...as was everything else.
We left the gym and headed home to do some things around the house. I added another coat of stain to the cabinets, while Chris mowed (for the first time) our giant corner lot! 
And here it comes, nap #1 of the weekend. I told y'all we stayed up past midnight Friday night which, for us, hasn't happened in months! A shower and a quick two hour nap and we were good to go.

Saturday night we went to a wedding at this amazing venue. It was so rustic, yet so gorgeous!! Totally my taste. The weather was perfect and, once again, the Tucker's were our past midnight. Out past midnight, night #2. Rebels I tell ya, rebels.
Sunday we hopped up and headed to a church we hadn't been to yet. We are trying out several churches in our area before making a decision on which one we want to join. Our previous church is just too far for us to drive.
After church we headed to McKinney Trade Days and that's when it hit; the exhaustion. The sun was so bright and I was wearing my glasses (so I didn't have on sunglasses) and I was getting a headache, so basically I was a joy pain in the bass to be around. We decided to buy our favorite salsa and call it a day. We headed to Walmart where I was like a drill sargent instructing Chris where to push the cart and making sure we didn't get off track. In and out we were and before you know it, we were back home and ready for nap #2 of the weekend. 
Another hefty two hour nap for both of us and we still felt like we could sleep more. We don't do late nights, obviously. We haven't napped two days in a row since college!
Because we weren't going to cook (because we were still half asleep) we decided to have a date to Cheddars!
Now I am here, on the couch, in my pjs, at seven o'clock, ready to go to sleep. What a full and blessed weekend we had!

This week is another round of STAAR test for my babies, so please keep them in your prayers! They deserve all the prayers in the world!
How was your weekend? How was your Easter?!
And if you're feeling up to it, you can follow me:
Instagram @SarahTuckerUp Twitter @MrsSarahTucker

Linking up with Leeann & Kimberlee!

Spring Break 2014

People who aren't teachers think that we have the easiest job on the planet. All we do is hangout with kids all day, right?
Kinda. You see now that I am a teacher I realize why teachers get summers off, spring break, and an lengthy winter break. It is because we would be literally crazy if we did not get a break from 20 little humans yelling your name 9,843,973 times a day, 20 little humans leaning on you to fill their brains with information, and the pure exhaustion that comes with keeping 10 year old kiddos entertained for 7+ hours. 
You see, everyone told me that teaching has phases. You start in August and you're all eager. Then Christmas time comes and you are thinking, "What did I get myself into?" You come back from winter break refreshed, and by March you are so stressed about some state exam your kids have to pass that everyday you're on the verge of a mental breakdown. Whoever told me that, you're correct person, you're correct.
Here is goes. I had a breakdown and started crying in front of my kids the Friday before spring break. The stress from the house stuff going on combined with the fact that the kids are slightly extremely hyper the day before spring break, I just got overwhelmed. So, to say this break was needed is an understatement. 
Now, let me catch you up on what adventures I got myself into this week (since I just went off on a tangent!)! Let me also remind you that we cut off our cable three weeks ago, so lounging in from of the TV was not really an option.
Monday: The weather was gorgeous here in Dallas, so I met my friend, Caitlin, for lunch on the Mckinney Square. We chit chatted and I am so excited to be moving closer to here soon!

Most of our nights were filled with walking the dogs while enjoying the beautiful Texas sunset.

Tuesday: On Tuesday I went back to Mckinney to have lunch with Chris. I ran some errands and took advantage of any chance to get out of the house that I could. I returned some stuff to Target and grocery shopped. Redbox is being funded by the Tucker's and I have watched more movies in the last couple weeks than I have in my whole life. No joke. 

Wednesday: My Dad was in town (because he was planning on helping us move, which did not take place), so him and I went to breakfast, I went and got a pedicure, we watched movies together, I finished our tax return, and we were basically lazy bums! 

Thursday: My Dad decided to go to work since we weren't moving, so I went and got my hair chopped a little shorter. My girl is amazing and she knew exactly what I wanted. This will be my last short cut for awhile because I want my hair long for one of my best friend's weddings in January!

Friday: I started off the day with breakfast with my Dad, then he headed out of town and I headed to the grocery store. Seriously, I think I have gone to the grocery store almost everyday this week just to do something and get out of the house. Friday night Chris and I were going over to Jordan and Amber's house for burgers, so I decided to bring over my Texas Caviar Dip, my Yellow Cake Cookies, and brownies.

Can I just say that I am so happy I started a blog because I would have never met Amber (or half of you other lovelies out there!). Not only do we enjoy each other's company, but our husband's hit it off better than we ever could have expected! They were seriously two peas in a pod talking about the renovations they are going to make to our houses, the new adventures they are going to start up, and a slew of other "guy" things that they told us ladies. I am so happy they are in our life and can't wait for years of fun to come!

Back on track, we stayed at Amber's house until almost midnight when we were all about to pass out. We are party animals I tell ya! That night Chris tried to stay up as late as he could because he has to work nights a couple times this week, so he was trying to rest during the day. 

Saturday: I met up with my friend who is getting married in January. We had lunch..that lasted four hours...because we were catching up on all aspects of life!

I came back home to spend sometime with Chris before he left for work. After he left I was bored out of my mind. I watched New Girl on Netflix, watched random movies, then finally decided to go to sleep. Bo-ringg.

Now it is Sunday and I am sad that spring break is over. I was able to workout a lot, clean up the house, and sleep in. It was really nice to be able to visit with friends, relax, and spend quality time with my man. I wish we would have been able to move, but fingers crossed (I am not holding my breath) we are closing on Tuesday and moving this weekend!

I'll leave you with some pictures on how our Sunday is looking...

How was your weekend? Did you get spring break?
Linking up with Meg, Leeann & Kimberlee!

Friends Weekend

First off I want to start by saying thank you to the tons of you who commented on my posts last week about my resolution. I have never been called an 'inspiration' so many times and it is truly humbling. These are just some of the humbling emails I received... Seriously- you are such an inspiration lady!! I can identify with each and every single point you made...I bet you must feel so much better these days without all the consumerism! I would love to quit cold turkey but I plan to take baby steps- but steps in the right direction nonetheless! :-)
You are truly amazing!! More and more I am convinced I can actually do this! So inspiring girly!! 
This is beyond inspiring!! I literally have so much respect and learning to live with less can be so rewarding! You go girl :)
Thanks for being such an amazing inspiration! Love your learnings - Words to live by :) 
Thanks for sharing these lessons you learned. I know I have more clothes/accessories than I need and I really need to do something about it. Thanks for being an inspiration to many of us! 
These are such great points! Thanks for being an inspiration :) 
 So humbling! Thanks a million!
Now onto what went on during my last weekend of freedom.
Friday I spent all day visiting friends. Seriously, all day.
I started my day having a coffee date at 9:30am with my friend Jessica. Our lives have been so busy lately that it is so nice to take an hour just to catch up. We live about ten minutes from each other, yet it always seems so hard to get on matching schedules! Alas, it finally happened.
After coffee, I browsed Target for a bit and then headed to the mall to meet up with Amber and her babes for lunch. Once again, busy schedules have prevented us from getting together, so it was such a joy to be able to sit back and chit chat. Oh, and of course it is always fun when I get to love on her babies!

It was eventually time for the twin's nap time, so after Amber and I parted ways I made my way into Dallas to meet up with my two best friends (like best friends since elementary school) for dinner. It still amazes me how after all these years (16+!!) we can be apart for months and nothing ever changes. It is also strange that after us all going to different colleges, we all ended up in Dallas. Kirstin and Alisa live about a mile from each other in downtown Dallas, while I am holdin' down the fort in the 'burbs.

When I got home Friday night my belly was full of delicious food and my heart was full of joy. I literally spent time with my best girlfriends all day and my heart was bursting! 
Saturday was a cleaning house and laundry day. Chris's best friend from college came over and so that kept Chris out of me hair. Saturday night we went to Caitlin and Troy's house for their annual Texas party. Once again, I left with a full belly and a happy heart!
Sunday was a lazy day until we had to get ready to go take pictures. One of my friends (Britney at Tucker Images!) is an amazing, seriously amazing, photographer and she got out in the freezing (literally) cold to take mine and Chris's pictures. We haven't had professional pictures since June of 2012, so I am happy to get some updated pictures!
Now it is Sunday night and I am mentally prepping to go back to work tomorrow. Oh how glorious these last two weeks of no school have been, but I am ready to get back to my kiddos!
Happy Monday!
Linking up with Sami's Shenanigans, Life of Meg, and Leeann & Kimberlee!