A Class-y Lady's Room Tour

Just before school started my friend, Faye, asked for my help with decorating her newly remodeled 5th grade classroom.

I could not have been more honored or excited!

These were NOT the first photos she sent to me.

These photos were after she had already done a significant amount of work un-packing boxes, organizing and putting things away.

The first photos looked more like this:

So let me give you a little background on my fabulous friend before we move along to the room tour.

I first met Faye 2 years ago at Meet the Teacher when my son was entering 5th grade.

No, I did not upload the wrong photos - this is actually her.
(Photos above courtesy of  Pixel and Grain photography.)

Faye with my son at 5th grade graduation. His bowtie unintentionally coordinated. 

Aside from her super model looks and incredible fashion sense (it's a family thing), Faye is also smart as a whip, funny, unbelievably kind and giving, always classy and so much fun to have wine and cheese with while talking decorating and projects.

Additionally, she's an avid DIYer and an award winning peach cobbler maker.

No joke, people.

But, most importantly, she loves Harry Potter.

Faye's newly DIYed lamp, painted with a Dumbledore quote.

The plan for her new room was to use the items she already had on hand and just sort of give them new life.
(You know I'm all about using what you have.)
And she certainly had LOTS of great decorative objects and teacher stuff from which to choose!

When I arrived,  one of her bulletin boards was already complete, which was great because then I had a starting point.
Faye also had a fantastic idea for another bulletin board that evolved into something sort of Kate Spade-esque.

Pretty much the only thing she lacked was sharp scissors.

The following day I brought my own scissors, along with a few 'donations' to add some final touches and her room was finished just in time for Meet The Teacher.

Welcome, everyone, to Mrs Middleton's 5th grade class!

Remember this???

Here's what it looks like now.

This harlequin adorned bulletin board was the room's starting point.

A sink will be installed in this area.

Fabric was added to the plain white wall above her desk to serve as a bulletin board.
Also, I just noticed she has an interrogation lamp.
Which is entirely necessary in 5th grade.

Peel-able and write-able labels.

How about this wall before???

And now...

The gold ribbon helped cover the rough edges of the cut paper and added a little sparkle.

Faye made that pouf in just a few minutes before I arrived so naturally I had to use it on this gallery wall.

A perfect reading corner.

Dry erase marker on glass in a frame backed with cute paper.

Faye painted the Superhero canvas herself - so cute!

I gave Faye this 'class-y' framed art because she is certainly classy but also loves a good (or bad) pun.

Paint chips in a jar???

Faye's brilliant idea for (free) bookmarks!

The early stages of this wall...

This ribbon garland that I had on hand was perfect here so I was happy to part with it!

Doesn't her Dumbledore lamp look great in this spot?

My 5th grade classroom certainly didn't look like this!

(classroom photos courtesy of Faye's and my cell phone cameras because we are professional like that!)

I love that her room is full of personal homey touches rather than a sea of cardboard cut outs and generic lamination.
It would be tough for me to pry myself out of that reading nook, though!

I'm so grateful to Faye for inviting me to come expend a little creative energy and trusting me with her 'second home.'

She is an absolute testament to her profession and I am fortunate to be able to call her my friend.

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

Dealings

I've been working on a new room tour blog post for a while now.

It's still not quite finished but should be next week.

In the meantime I thought I 'd share an update on other things going on around here.

Mainly it's dealing with this:

You may recall this post about picking this stray guy up off the streets back in early June.

Housebreaking was no easy task but I think we have finally conquered that.

He is sweet and cuddly and is slowly learning how to behave.

But, as they say, there is no such thing as a free puppy.

When we first picked him up and had him checked out, he was treated for mites (scabies) and seemed to recover fairly quickly after 2 injections, a couple weeks apart.

Then, there was a tapeworm debacle.

The one pill treatment after diagnosis was easy.

Taking in a stool sample to get that diagnosis was less than glamorous.

We've also been getting all of his vaccinations up to date, which have to be spaced apart a few weeks each time which means we've had to wait to have him neutered until they are complete.

Unfortunately he's sometimes...amorous so that day will arrive none too soon.

This past weekend we took him in for his final round of boosters.

At that time I mentioned needing new flea treatment because it looked like he was covered in bites.

The tech said they were mites, not bites.

Basically it's mange.

Which is the other type of mites than what he had the first time.

So his fur is falling out in patches and he has bumps all over his pink skin and he's back to looking like a chupacabra again.

We're treating him with oral medication daily for the next month.

The good news is that the mange type of mites are usually immune related and caused from stress.

Since he's no longer in the wild and he's now receiving proper nutrition and soon will not have 'hormonal' issues wreaking havoc, the mites should stay gone once his treatment is complete.

Fingers crossed.

Because the 'do-gooder' in me is wondering what the hell kind of mess I have brought upon myself!?

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

Jam of the Month: Vance Joy

September's Jam of the Month is "Riptide" and comes from Australian singer-song writer, Vance Joy.

Let's take a listen, shall we?

The song is featured on his debut album, Dream Your life Away, due to release this month.

My daughter shared several other great songs of his with me and, I assure you, his music will not disappoint.

She is already a huge fan and has purchased tickets to see him in person next next month at a Dallas venue.

I'm sure that will bring her much... Joy.

Yeah, I know.

That was really bad.

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney