I can’t believe it’s time for back to school!  It’s so bittersweet.  I’ve been working a lot in my classroom, and our start is just days away.  So I wanted to share several things that are great from a teacher and parent perspective with you guys!!

#1
Pottery Barn Kids Booksacks

We love PBK booksacks around here!  I ordered them two years ago for my big kids.  We got the matching lunchboxes, themos, and waterbottles.  I am happy to report they are in great condition, and my son is using his for a third year in a row!  They really are a high-quality product.  So while they are a bit higher in price than some booksacks, they do hold up forever!  My youngest daughter starts kindergarten this year, and we got her this cute mermaid one!

For my big kids, I ordered the large one (non-rolling), and I ordered the small one (not pre-k) for my kindergartener.  They are great sizes!

#2
Lunch Calendar Printable

This printable has a ton of ideas for those back to school lunches!  It’s great to plan out your week before grocery shopping too!

#3
Crayola Super Tips Markers

My students and my kids love these markers!  It’s such a great variety of colors and perfect for all those school assignments.  The thin tip is great for maps too!

#4
Papermate Flair Felt Tip Pens

As a teacher, I LOVE these pens for grading and everything else!  My students also used them when taking notes.  They loved keeping things colorful!

#5
Binder Hole Punch

A binder hole punch is great for staying organized.  Please encourage your kiddos to file everything in it’s proper place in their binder!!  Stay on top of that with them!!  It is the KEY to being a successful student.  I cannot tell you how many times kids will spend 10 minutes looking for their paper in all sorts of places while they are missing valuable instruction time.  If you see random papers stuffed in their booksack, have them file them where they go at home each night after homework.  THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!
#SORRY #ORGANIZATIONATSCHOOLISMYTHING

#6
Homework Caddy

Several years ago, I set up a caddy similar to one of these.  It has glue, markers, erasers, pencils, and pens it.  The kids grab what they need when doing their homework.  It makes it nice and organized 🙂

#7
50+ Back to School Breakfast Ideas

#8
Ham & Cheese Macaroni Muffin Cups

These are great for freezing and reheating on a school day!!  I just reheat them in the microwave and pop them in their thermos!

#9
Sight Words Practice

This is a great book for kids entering kindergarten!  I’ve been doing this book with my daughter this summer.  It will really help reinforce some of those early reading skills!

#10
Programmable Crock Pot on Sale!!

Every busy family needs a crock pot for back to school!  It’s hard to come home a cook each night with all that homework and after school stuff!  This one is on major sale!!
Check out these recipes perfect for your slow cooker!

Well that wraps up our Friday Favorites this week!  See you this weekend for our Weekly Family Meal Plan!

You can find our MAIN DISH RECIPES HERE.

You can find ALL RECIPES HERE.

For more ideas, follow me on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM, AND TWITTER.

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The post Friday Favorites Back-to-School Edition appeared first on Diary of A Recipe Collector.

#1
What Alice Forgot?

This favorite is definitely first up on my list!  Oh my goodness!  I loved the whole idea of this book.  It really made me think.  It’s about a woman who hits her head at the gym and forgets the last 10 years of her life along with all the good and bad that happened.  Little bits and pieces are revealed throughout the book, and I couldn’t wait to read it every spare moment I had!

#2
Scuba Camp

I can honestly say this camp is the best money I spend all year long!  My kids are completely engaged from 8 am to 3 pm…just like at school.  And they come home worn out!  They are in small groups that rotate all day long from scuba lessons to dissecting sea creatures to arts and crafts and even games.  They have so much fun all week, and they already can’t wait to do it again next year.

#3
L’oreal Instant Age Rewind Concealer

I bought this stuff last week, and I really love it.  I put it on after using this color corrector.  I feel like it gives me a brightened up look, which I’m definitely going to need since we go back to school soon!

#4

My oldest is so into hair.  She’s only 10, and she is great at it!  She curled my hair with her curling wand the other night.  She even helps me with my youngest daughter on school mornings!  She can do the cutest dutch braids!  I’m so glad because I can’t braid to save my life!

#5
Martinique Perfume by Tommy Bahama

I love this perfume!  It’s a great light summery scent, but I wear it all year long.  If you are looking for a new perfume, this one is a must try!

Well that wraps up our Friday Favorites this week!  See you this weekend for our Weekly Family Meal Plan!

You can find our MAIN DISH RECIPES HERE.

You can find ALL RECIPES HERE.

For more ideas, follow me on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM, AND TWITTER.

Get FREE recipes delivered to you by email:  SIGN UP HERE!

The post Friday Favorites #4 appeared first on Diary of A Recipe Collector.

#1
One True Loves

This book!  Oh it was so good!  I read it very quickly.  It’s a great summer beach read for sure!  This was my first read by this author, and I just loved it.  I felt like I was there in the story!   So if you are looking for a good read this summer, I highly recommend this one!  I’d love to know if you’ve read it too!
I have a few other books on my list to read next.  I really want to read this one and this one after reading:
THIS ONE!! 

I could not put this one down when I read it!  Everyone I know who has read it has loved it!  It’s definitely a great summer read!

#2

Macy Paige has been a painting princess here lately!  It’s the sweetest thing ever!  She will sit at the island and paint forever.  My older two children have never been the type to sit at a task like this for too long.  She is definitely the most like me in the house 🙂

#3

Oh the joys of summer!  We are so out of our napping and bed time routines lately.  It’s going to be bad when we go back to school.  We are going to need a week of normal nap/bedtime practice for sure.  This little guy climbed into bed with big sister and passed out!

#4
Rimmel Provocalips

I love this lipstick.  It stays on forever!    Drinking, eating, and the usual things that take a toll on lipstick during the day do not affect this one.  I wear “Wish Upon a Berry” for a nice day time look, and sometimes I’ll wear “I’ll Call You” when I’m in the mood for a darker pink.

#5
Stack the States and Shake the States Apps
      
We love these apps!  My kids started playing them last year on our big 11 day road trip.  They are so educational and perfect for children in 2nd through 5th grade.  It was great entertainment on those long days in the car.

Well that wraps up our Friday Favorites this week!  See you this weekend for our Weekly Family Meal Plan!

You can find our MAIN DISH RECIPES HERE.

You can find ALL RECIPES HERE.

For more ideas, follow me on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM, AND TWITTER.

Get FREE recipes delivered to you by email:  SIGN UP HERE!

The post Friday Favorites #3 appeared first on Diary of A Recipe Collector.

Hey everyone!  I’m excited to get back to posting our Friday Favorites today!  I started doing this a long time ago, and then the whole going back to a full time job thing happened.  I haven’t had a lot of time since then.  But now that things have settled down a little, I am excited to share all the fun and favorite things around here with you!  If you want to check out the last one I did, click here.  So here are some things we’ve been loving lately:

#1
Brow Power Pencil This has been a favorite of mine for over a year now.  It fills in my eyebrows perfectly with a natural look!!  I use Universal Taupe.  I’m not good with the whole eyebrow thing, and I find it to be super easy to use.  Filling in eyebrows makes a huge difference!  It’s one of those little details that gives my make-up a finished look.

#2
Aerolatte Milk FrotherI love my little milk frother!  I got it as a present from my hubby a few years ago.  It helps me get my latte at home.  I just put a little milk in my coffee cup, heat it a few seconds in the microwave, and froth it.  Then I pour my coffee into the frothed milk.  You can even try to be fancy and make designs 🙂

#3
Father’s Day Fun

We got a great pic of my dad and my husband with some of the grandkids!  We had a really relaxing day swimming at my parent’s house and eating hotdogs and hamburgers.  Love days like that!!

#4

Beat the Parents

This game lived up to it’s name.  They did beat us!  They had so much fun too!  We played it the night of our little tropical storm.  Basically the parents get questions the kids know and vice versa.  I was super impressed with my kiddos and their skills!

#5

STS White Denim Shorts

Well that wraps up our Friday Favorites this week!  See you this weekend for our Weekly Family Meal Plan!

You can find more MAIN DISH RECIPES HERE.

You can find ALL RECIPES HERE.

For more ideas, follow me on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, AND PERISCOPE.

Get FREE recipes delivered to you by email:  SIGN UP HERE!

The post Friday Favorites #2 appeared first on Diary of A Recipe Collector.

#1

This week has been a busy one around here as I attempt to move into my new pantry.  Well not literally “move in,” but I’ve been moving all the food in there.  It’s a slow process for me.  Doing anything that requires organization with kids is not easy.  I am extremely indecisive, and I really don’t want to have to redo it if I don’t like how I organized it.   So I am really trying to be practical.  Here’s what I’ve done so far, and I think I like it.  I’ll show you pictures of the whole room with more detail once I finish it.  The other side has cabinets, a desk, and a countertop.

#2

These baskets were my favorite things to use in my pantry.  I found myself wishing I had bought more of them.  I found them here at The Container Store.

#3

I am in love with my new Erin Condren Life Planner.  It took me a while to break down and get one just because I was pretty set in my ways with my old planner.  But then I couldn’t find my old planner anywhere, so I started looking at these Life Planners.  I chose the vertical layout and customized the front with fun family photos.  I really love it!  I have to write down EVERYTHING or it won’t get done.  Tell me I’m not alone!

#4

Ummm…I think Downton Abbey is my favorite show I’ve ever watched in my entire life!  I was a little late to the party considering it’s been on a long time, but trust me I caught up!  I heard so many good things about it.  I ordered the DVD set so I could pass it along to my mom and sister.  But you can watch it on Amazon.  In fact, I watched one episode on there first before ordering the DVD set to make sure I liked it.  It took me a few episodes to get accustomed to the heavy British accents, but now I can understand them just fine 🙂  When I hear the music, I could almost cry because I love the show so much!  I love shows based on history, and this era is so interesting.  I’m so glad I decided to sit down and watch it that day.  Right now Season 6 (the last one) is on Sunday nights.

#5

On Wednesday, we received some happy mail!  We are taking a big family road trip this summer, and my in-laws sent us some Colorado brochures.  They moved there about a year ago.  We can’t wait!  It’s 11 days, 2 adults, 4 kids, and 1 minivan!  Are we crazy?  I just know that I was so interested in seeing the whole country when I was a kid.  I definitely want my own children to be able to experience this!

Hope you guys have a fabulous Friday!  See you tomorrow with the Weekly Family Meal Plan!

The post Friday Favorites #1 appeared first on Diary of A Recipe Collector.