My Crazy Life

How is everyone doing? I don’t know about you all, but I am SO ready for fall weather!! It has been so hot, humid, and just plain yuck here. I am ready for boots, scarves, cute hats, plaid jackets, colorful leaves, and pumpkin EVERYTHING!

But with fall comes the start of my crazy life… and I seriously mean crazy!! So this is what I am up to:

I am teaching 19 dance classes a week for Dancexcel. Yes, 19. I am so excited to meet all of my classes, and spread my love of dance to all my students.

Then I added another dance project called Reach Out and Dance. This is a program based on another called Rosie’s Theater Kids… Rosie as in Rosie O’Donnell. I get to go into public schools and teach school kids dance in place of their normal gym time. It is a really great project because I feel like it is giving back through my talents and it exposes kids to dance who don’t pay for classes at a studio.

AND earlier this month I auditioned for and was cast in a local production of Beauty and the Beast through a company called Mighty Goliath Productions. I am so excited because I am always on the production team end of musicals and it has been a very long time since I have been actually IN one! And even better, my co-worker/bride to my bridesmaid/partner in crime Miranda is also in it with me. She has never done a musical so this is a new experience for her, making it even more fun for me!

(We just ended our teaching night so forgive the sweatiness!)

Then aside from my crazy career, I also have not one for two homeschool co-ops- FLOW and Nature Rangers. And of course, playdates/field trips/reading/ meal planning/ cleaning/ zoo-keeping/ and life. Lol, and I didn’t even mention Klint and all of his schedule! 

What does your crazy life look like? Lay it on me!

Things I am loving…

Hi everyone! Here are some things that I am seriously loving this week!

I am in love with @bodyposipanda!!! She is so full of positivity and color, self-love and body positivity education. She is brave, brilliant, and truly inspirational. I have been having a hard time lately loving my body and I need people like this in my life to pull me out of this hate cycle.

Galaxy lollipops… seriously guys, these are amazing looking!!!

I am interested in learning how to use nail stamps and these are so pretty and perfect for me. You can find these stamping plates here but definitely check out all the other designs that this website has to offer. BONUS: They have the very coveted Nail Chrome powder that people are losing their minds over!

I have been looking for some new workouts to do and I am really loving this series of dance fitness videos by RefitRevolution!

Once again Anthropologie makes me contemplate on how I can afford basically everything in their store! This candle smells divine!

One of my favorite songs from Hamilton is “Schuyler Sisters” and the girls sing along with me. I think that this is an awesome sweatshirt for someone who loves Hamilton!

I am pretty obsessed with this oil slick hair… it may be the next thing I do to change up my look!

Ok, that is it for today! I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Today I am…

What I Do When I Am Child-Free

My three girls went to NY for the weekend to have some quality time with my family. I met my mom in PA on Friday and am picking them up on Sunday afternoon. This has never happened while I was off of work, probably because I am only off of work once a year basically. When my mom asked to have the girls for the weekend my mind raced with the endless possibilities as to what I would do not only child-free but also off of work. Shopping, binge watching Gilmore Girls, lounging with a margarita, gardening… what to do??

Well this is what I did:

1. I came home and promptly realized that Amelia and Moira’s room is a complete disaster area. Seriously, these two girls are dirt collecting, stuffed animal hoarding, clothes piling little fiends wrapped up in cuteness. So not only did I clean their room but I rearranged it so that the beds and the dresser have new homes.
2. Well because I cleaned up the hoarders, I mean my darling daughters’, room I had piles of laundry to do so I started some, cleaned up around the washer and dryer, wiped down the table where the cats eat, threw out some empty containers.. ya know, lol, just went down to do laundry!
3. I cooked myself a yummy dinner of dill tilapia and broccoli, while that was cooking I did the dishes, cleaned the counters, and tidied up the kitchen.
4. I finally realized that it was late and no more cleaning was required. So I binge watched some Gilmore Girls and painted my nails, then went to bed.
5. Saturday morning I woke up bright and early to lots and lots of dog puke. Apparently Spooky had an upset stomach… enough said. Big dogs equal lots and lots of puke.
6. I headed to Target (yay!!!) for some more cleaning supplies and to browse at my leisure while being kid-free. It was glorious. Made even more glorious by the iced coconut milk mocha macchiato.
7. Came home and gave the dogs water… which ended up with more puke… ugh!
8. Klint and I then headed out to run some errands and eat lunch at one of my favorite places- Slymans… how did I not know how awesome corned beef is until recently? I managed to convince Klint to take me to Michaels and Anthropologie too while we were out so major win!
9. We came home, Klint had to go to bed for work, and I decided to cook Spooky some chicken broth and rice. (My tried and true solution to dog puke)
10. My final act of the night was cleaning out my awesome blue Ikea cart and organizing it. It was a mishmash of nail polish, Posh products, craft supplies… topped with cat hair.

Here are some pics of my adventures… not the puke because that would be gross!

Tomorrow is my last morning child-free…. who knows what I will do?!

Raspberry Hand Pies

Mmmmmm pies…. seriously, is there anything better than a fantastic pie? Today the girls and I went raspberry picking at a local farm that we go to every summer and picked two large quarts of yummy red tart berries. I knew right away that I wanted to try my hand at making hand pies and am so happy with how they came out. Here is my recipe for Raspberry Hand Pies!!

Ingredients (Makes approx. 5 pies):

• 2 Pillsbury Pie Crusts (or any pre-made pie crust that is in a roll, not already in a pan)
• 3 cups of raspberries
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water

To make the glaze:

• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp milk

Let’s get baking!!!

Begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper and set aside.

Next, in a medium bowl, combine strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla and set aside.

Working with half of your prepared pie dough at a time, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Using a 6-inch cookie cutter (or round bowl or plate with a 6-inch diameter), begin cutting out your rounds. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough. Form any excess dough back into a ball, roll out and cut again. Repeat this until you’ve used as much dough as possible. I got about 5 pies cut but you can use a 4inch circle cutter and get more than that.

With all of the rounds cut, in a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water. Lightly brush this around the edges of each pie dough round. Then, place about 2 – 3 tablespoons of the strawberry filling onto one-half of each round. Fold the opposite side of the dough round over to enclose forming a half circle. Using a fork, gently press the edges together to seal; then pierce the top of each pie to allow any steam to escape. Brush the tops of each hand pie with the egg wash.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes until the pies are golden brown. Transfer the pies to a wire rack to cool before adding the glaze.

Enjoy!!!