Project of the Day- Repurposed Coffee Can

I am not a coffee drinker, but my boyfriend has been saying how we have to get cafe bustelo. Finally, we splurged. He uses the Keurig Machine, but this product didn't come in K cups. He will have to scoop it in the "brew your own" K cup every time he wants it (which is often). We put the coffee in an old walnut container on the counter top within arm's reach, but I didn't enjoy the decor of the walnut can.

Solution: I redesigned the can to be more visually pleasant for the counter top by using scrapbook supplies.

I just used tan paper and measured it to fit the can. I taped a seam along the back. I then added the swirly border down the center and added sticky letters to spell out "coffee." Let's see how long it will be until my boyfriend touches the can with wet hands and ruins the whole thing. He's good like that.

By the way, I think I am on my way to being a coffee addict. I am so ashamed. I had one cup last night, and have been craving it all day at work. I'm in trouble.

How many cups of coffee do you drink a day? How do you store your coffee?

OOTD- Royal & Teal Peplum

Dress- Forever 21- $27?

Watch- Francesca's- $18

Shoes- Target from years ago

I bought this sleeveless peplum style dress back in February. I knew it needed to come home with me despite the snow piles that were still outside. The fit was perfect: not too tight, not too loose. There is no slit in the back which is lovely for teaching in. And, finally, in my humble opinion, the contrast of the colors are just beautiful.

I wore a sweater wrap to add some sleeves to the look even though it would have looked better without the sweater.

Fun fact: The peplum was big enough where I didn't need to wear Spanx! What are your thoughts on this peplum trend?

OOTD- Royal Ruffles and Marc Jacobs

Top- Royal Blue Ruffle top- Forever 21- Bought YEARS ago
Skirt- Marc Jacob's Black Pencil Skirt- Gift from family this past Christmas
Shoes- Beige wedges- Bought 2-3 years ago
Watch- Francesca's $18

I am still rocking black in the end of April. I would have adored if this skirt magically transformed with the seasons into an ivory, coral or mint crochet pencil skirt...

I tried to liven the skirt up with a pop of royal blue and the white watch. And as usual, I kept the shoes neutral to not emphasize the black.

Do you ever stop wearing black?

OOTD- Peplum and Studs

Dress- Black Peplum-Target $24.99?

Watch- Fossil/Tortoise and Gold- Macy's $150

Shoes- Tan Kenneth Cole Reaction Gold Studded Wedges- Marshall's $25

Undergarment Support- Spanx- Target $15?

Reflections:

Hair is inspired by my Pinterest Hair Board. http://pinterest.com/karoostyle/hair/ Hair style was a little messy, but easy to do and could get better as I perfect it.

This was the first time wearing these shoes and they were pretty painless. There was a little rubbing in the back on the left side. On the plus side, the rubber on the bottoms allowed me to grip the hallway (and lunch room) floor and added extra comfort.

If I had to do this outfit over, I would wear a pair of gold stud earrings and/or add a thin tan belt.

Teachers Pay Teachers

I have been recently getting many resources from teacherspayteachers.com. This is a great resource because some resources are free and many are very affordable.  The best part is the funds go to other teachers and not some big corporation!

I figured I have a few tricks up my sleeve and decided to upload a couple of products on there to see if I can make some money too.  Here is my link: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Christina-Carew

I promise you're going to feel like a small child on Christmas morning on this site.

OOTD- Coral and White

Top- Free (friend gave it to me)

Pants- White skinny pants slightly cropped - from Gap 2 years ago $60?

Shoes- Tom look a likes from Marshall's for only $10 on clearance

I wore this to work and the hardest part of wearing this outfit was keeping the white clean. Since they're old pants, I didn't think about it much and fared well.

Would you wear white bottoms to work?

Free Book Source

In my local area, I am lucky enough to have a reading/book/tutoring organization that allows students, teachers, parents, (anyone really) to take donated books for free. http://newhavenreads.org/ There are limited guidelines such as a child can only take 5 books per day. A teacher, however, can take whatever he/she needs.

I sent the organization an email and requested a few certain kinds of books that would get used most often in my classes. I requested the following:

• Twilight: Breaking Dawn
• Rick Riordan Books
• Nicholas Sparks Books
• Stephen King Novels
• Any Greek Mythology
• Big Nate books (for my younger brother)
• Graphic Novels for Classic Literature

I sent my request in at around 1:00 and immediately heard back from Theresa. I didn't anticipate being in the area until later on in the week, but within a couple of hours I was headed over in that direction anyway and called to see if by any chance I could swing by. She said absolutely and that she already grabbed what she could and put together my box.

When I arrived, my box was ready with a lot of my specific requests. I was very impressed because 1. The service is free and 2. It was ready in a matter of a couple hours. Theresa also told me to feel free to take whatever else I could use. I snagged a few more popular selections and am sooo pleased. I plan on signing up to tutor there in the summer because a program like this should be nurtured.

Here are my books: