Chalkboard Update.

You might have seen these two pictures on my Woman Cave post. They're of the side of the kitchen where I was not happy with the chalkboard paint. At all.

I felt like it looked like I just threw up some coffee words all over the soffit!  So, the beauty of chalkboard paint is that I can just erase it and start again!  Such a goooooood thing!  So here is the updated look of that side.

Sooooo much better. More organized. Flows well.

And who doesn't love this drink?

With a splash of teacher... :)

Whew.  I feel better looking at that.  No more resentment toward my soffit :)

Totes galore!

Seeing as this blog is named "The Teacher Tote," I thought I should share some of my favorite totes.  Yep, plural.  How can a teacher have just one?!  It's kind of like shoes and purses to most girls.  Shoot...I love purses and shoes, too! Well, it's a staple for any teacher.  And any professional woman, really.  Who wants a briefcase?  So here are some of my faves.

The Usual Suspects...get it?  It's a lineup.  Bahahaha.

Also, that's a good movie.

A must-have tote is a tote adorning some sort of teacher quote.

I mean really, does it get better than this?

 The prized red Wilson Leather & the newest addition from My Thirty-One.

Ah. The sweetest tote. Quilted by my mom. So much love.

AND she made a pencil bag.  Well actually three, only one pictured!

So much room.  Multiple notebooks, folders, and children's books.

So deep that there's never any spillage.

Also deep inside pockets so pencils don't get lost into the abyss.

The first teacher tote I owned.  Purchased from Wilson's Leather on major sale!

Is Wilson's Leather even around anymore?

And it's red. I'm such a red girl, for real.

Nice front pockets.

Ah, this can hold multiple textbooks.

And there is lots of room to spare.

The newbie. I might really be loving Thirty-One.

Three front pockets, two back pockets.

Good inside space.

From my tote to yours, Happy Friday!

The Woman Cave.

We've all heard of "Man Caves"...haven't we?  Ya know, the dark, smelly place where men go to play video games, eat snacks that leave crumbs in the cracks of the futon, and stay in the same clothes for days on end?  Ya, those gross me out.  But I've decided to take on the name for my place in the house where I feel happy.  It's my red & chalkboard kitchen.  Which are actually two of my favorite things in themselves.  Yep my kitchen is my woman cave.  Though it's the place of dirty dishes, messes, and a typically smelly garbage can (boo.), it's my perfect part of Mike & I's first home.  But rather than let me drone on, I will share pictures!

This is what I get to look at whilst I do dishes...love.

I got these wooden letter blocks at Meijer during Christmas for $14.99...sold.

I stole this decorating idea from Chelsea Jones...my decor inspirer.  

The mugs were collected from various places such as Target for $1 to Christmas mugs 

from Bergners for $5.

These were pretty glasses from my Mom from Bergners.

This is the perfect red clock for our kitchen from Target.

You might've noticed the chalk in the background.  

It says Strunga.  

There is more to the story.

It started by saying "Cafe Strunga."  Which I loved.

Other than the big space next to cafe.

So I added "La." 

La Cafe Strunga.

My woman cave.

Decor only.

 I love holiday drinks.  So I included them on the chalkboard.

I didn't properly explain - the soffit is covered in chalkboard paint.

 This side faces the dining room.  I kind of spit up words on it.

It's going to be erased and be redone.

Blah.

My Fiestaware. Which is now an addiction.  I want more. More colors...weeee!

Oversized mugs...for more coffee! Yay!

My crock which allows more drawer space in my woman cave.

I put ribbon on it that I snatched from a gift from the wonderful Chelsea Jones.

I mean, it's double-sided! How cute is that! From Hobby Lobby.

Here's where the red for my kitchen ALL started.

I got my beautiful Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer 2 years ago.

Black Friday at Bergners - $170.

That's the cheapest I have ever seen an Artisan.

I can't imagine baking any other way!

More red. A cute Kitchen Aid teapot and a Fiesta spoon rest.

Here's another idea I took from Chelsea. This is a William-Sonoma peppermint bark tin container.

So adorable.  I put it over my stove.

This was a birthday gift this year from my parents.

It's a magnetic board available at Hallmark.

There are TONS of embellishments for it.

Here is "faith."

"mr&mrs."

Cupcake and flower!

The entire board.  Which I hung in my black and red kitchen.

The boards come in different sizes and colors.

There are also large words that can sit on a table and be embellished.

Mine also came with a "happy birthday" magnet which I put by a birthday card on the fridge.

You don't have to have the magnetic board to get the cute embellishments!

And that ends the viewing of my woman cave...for now.  I'm sure I will revisit the beautiful location again and again in future blog posts.

Happy Thursday!

Welcome to the tote.

I'm going to be very honest.  As a super-nerdy-about-teaching kind of girl, I wanted to name my blog something teacher-y.  My first awesome thought was "The Red Pen"...ya know...like a grading pen?  And that name was taken by a guy who had posted ONE blog and that was in 2004.  Then I thought..."The Red Cardigan."  Red is my favorite color.  I love cardigans.  I wear cardigans at school.  Perfect, right?  Nope.  A girl who writes poems and has neon colors already has that name locked down.  So my next thought was what this has become.  The Teacher Tote.  This has it's own story.

In high school, I became not-your-typical-high-school-student.  I was reading Rafe Esquith books (if you're a teacher--these come HIGHLY recommended from me).  And I was harshly judging student teachers.  I had a few in particular that I turned my nose up at.  There were four that came to my Sociology class from the U of I to observe our teacher.  They all brought their big, bulky book bags and looked severely sleep deprived.  One girl had her hair back in a sloppy ponytail, a thrown-on wrinkly sweater, and to top it off--white tennis shoes with black dress pants.  I vowed from that moment on to never carry a bulky bookbag and always look put-together.  Even as a college student, every school you enter is a possible job opportunity or a potential reference.  So...I carry a tote.  A teacher tote.  Thus, the name of this blog.

However, this will be where I share awesome recipes I've tried & loved, show my attempts to decorate a house, and my desperate attempt to "garden."  Also, where I find some good steals on some good stuff.  So sit back and enjoy the ride :)