Cottage & Family [Search results for Back to School] 

I am sitting at the airport waiting to head back home to HOT Texas ~ It has been really nice being in California but it is time to go home ~

I love to go to Paso Robles and wander around the shops there ~ One of the places we went was "We Olive" where you can taste everything and it is yummy !

This is my sister and mom trying something good I am sure ~

This is some of the olive oils and balsamic vinegars to taste ~

Another shop I love to go to is "The Cottage" ~ Sandi has wonderful antiques and home decor in her shop ~

I want to start carrying lavender items on my website so we stopped at a lavender farm ~ I always seem to drag my mom and my sister to a lavender farm when I am in California ~ You should smell my suitcase right now full of this ~

We went for walks every evening and it was stinking cold so I had to borrow warmth since it was hard to even imagine packing for cold ~

My mom and dad live on a mountain that overlooks 3 cities ~ It is absolutely a gorgeous view ~ I could sit on their deck for hours and wander around their gardens full of beautiful flowers ~

There are always deer roaming around which is so much fun to me to see ~

This is LAX today ~ Oh my gosh I think everyone is cramming the last trip in before school starts ~ It is a total zoo !

Well it is getting time to board my next flight on my journey home ~

We have been doing tons of gardening, hanging out by the pool and running around since my mom and dad have been here ~
This is a picture of our 2 girls and my mom in our backyard ~

Today we went to Dallas Baptist University where one of my daughters goes to school to show grandma and grandpa ~ I just adore this school, it is gorgeous and pretty much all around amazing !

The picture above is outside one of the student centers ~

This is a picture in front of her townhouse on campus that she will live in next school year ~

The school has gazebos everywhere and this is a bridge that crosses one of the ponds on campus ~ The picture is from left to right : me, my husband Dana, our daughter Kristin, our daughter Stephanie, my dad and my mom ~

This is a picture with my daughter Stephanie's boyfriend Noah ~ I think they are on a slant because Noah looks really really tall and my husband looks really short, he is short but not that short :o)

Well I am off to watch a movie ~
Today I worked on a project for the Make Mine Pink Show and Tell Monday make sure and check back soon ~

This is my latest project--- now currently residing in my dining room, by hopefully making its way back to school! For the past year I have been planning to do a large scale Chihuly projects. Last year I collected hundreds and hundreds of soda and water bottles (so many that my art room began resembling a recycling center or landfill). Initially I was planning on using them to create swirls to fasten together to make a Chihuly inspired chandelier. But recently I saw a awesome project on Mr E's art blog for a funky Chihuly chandelier and I knew this was just what my hundreds of bottles were destined for! I followed his wonderful instructions, and threw in a few swirly cut up bottles in a well for a little extra funk. My chandelier (which was created by 1st and 2nd grade students), has a framework of a tomato cage wrapped in chicken wire. The tissue paper wrapped bottles are fastened onto the frame with strong wire.

It is time for a Back to School Sale !! I cannot believe it is that time of year already ~

To receive 10% off your entire order just click on the picture and then go to any website category to start shopping ~

The sale is until August 13th at midnight ~

This summer has started off for me pretty well. The very beginning of the summer was a little stressful--- 90 teachers in my school district were unsure if we would be hired back. Luckily, everyone was hired back and I can get back to planning for the upcoming school year! I have started to plot out my plans for next year and collect new ideas from all the wonderful art blogs on the web. I am also collecting some fun ideas for one of my friends who will be teaching preschool ABA for the first time. If you have any good simple ideas for preschool students with a variety of special needs, pass them my way.

I just started reading Transformational Teaching: Waldorf Inspired Methods in the Public School by Dr. Mary Goral. I will let you know what I discover!