Cengage

Over on his blog, Paul Krugman calls attention to the Cengage bankruptcy.  I am not sure why he thinks this event is noteworthy.  He seems to do so because Cengage is the publisher of my favorite textbook. I suppose it is schadenfreude on Paul's part.

If you are interested in the topic, I suggest you read this article.  The short story is that this is a Chapter 11 bankruptcy (a reorganization), not a Chapter 7 bankruptcy (a liquidation).  These are very different things. In this case, the equity holders are being wiped out, and the debt holders are the new equity holders.  Otherwise, not much is happening.  As the article states:

The transaction is expected to be largely a non-event for others doing business with Cengage. The company has permission from the lenders to keep using cash flow from operations to fund the business, and expects to keep paying vendors, authors’ royalties, and employees on schedule. (Since Cengage has substantial cash balances—a vendor Frequently Asked Questions document estimates the company’s liquidity at approximately $280 million—and expects to generate positive cash flow, it does not need debtor-in-possession financing.) The company plans to keep delivering orders in full, is not planning to renegotiate any customer contracts except as they expire as usual, and is continuing to launch new products.

So if you are a user of my favorite textbook, rest assured that it is business as usual.

Fourth of July Favorites!

Guilty confession: I am not a huge fourth-of-July fanatic. I cringe a little as I say that because I know that, as an American, I should be more exuberant about this patriotic holiday. It is my best friend's favorite occasion, so I usually look forward to her fireworks show; beyond that, things don't get too crazy around here. I do, however, enjoy collecting cookout food and decor ideas... just in case I ever do feel particularly festive. Here are a few of my favorites in honor of the holiday! Check the links below for references to all images. :)

1. Red, White, and Blueberry Trifle at Skinny Taste
2. DIY July 4th Decor at Home and Garden Design Ideas
3. July 4th Cake Pops at My Juice Cup
4. July 4th Clothing Style at Obaz
5. 4th of July Lantern Table at Home and Garden Design Ideas

Also, don't forget to enter our giveaway this week, if you have not yet done so! Check out Sunday's post and enter to win a full collection of classroom organization labels! Winners will be announced tomorrow! Thanks, again, to all new followers; I am trying to keep up with return-blog visits, and I love "meeting" all of you! Don't forget to share the giveaway with your friends as well!  :)

Ikea Hemnes vanity and more

Hello and happy almost Fourth to ya! Do you have any fun plans for the holiday weekend? One thing is a priority for us – Despicable Me 2. We have been waiting YEARS for this and are all so excited. It’s a little ridiculous.

So a couple weeks ago I showed you the finished powder room:

Thank you for all the lovely comments, yet again! And I went back and answered your questions in the comments but I just realized some of them didn’t go through, so I’m going back again today. Or you can ask any questions here too.

I promised a more detailed post on the vanity area and that’s what we have today. I’m thrilled with EVERY part of this room but especially all these pieces. They were all brand new and I love every one.

First up, the vanity – I searched for months for the right one! I knew I wanted something with storage, most importantly. We’ve had a pedestal sink in there all this time and I was ready for something more substantial. It’s a big powder room – it can take it.

I searched both Lowe’s and Home Depot and couldn’t find what I wanted for under $300 (for both the sink and vanity). I found plenty I loved…but most of those were around $400. I had been eyeing the Hemnes vanity from IKEA but didn’t want to make the drive unless I was sure:

 

It’s 31 inches wide and has a ton of storage space. And the vanity and the sink combined were $290. Originally I had planned to find an old dresser and transform it with a sink, but I couldn't find what I wanted. So I met two girlfriends at IKEA and we made a fun day of it – a great excuse to travel for the vanity. ;)

I gotta say, I’m thrilled with it:

The sink is lovely and pretty – but really shallow. Not sure I’d love using it for washing my face in a master bathroom. But I don’t mind it at all for a powder room.

The installation was fairly easy – my Dad had never worked with an IKEA plumbing and overall he thought it went pretty smooth. All of the plumbing is installed in a way so that the drawers can close, at least they’re supposed to. ;)

When all was said and done (and installed exactly how it was supposed to be), the top drawer wouldn’t close because of one of the pipes. So I had to jigsaw out a little notch in the back of the drawer:

Not a big deal. A little annoying, but it just took a few minutes. You don’t really notice it when you open the drawer so no biggie. The GREAT thing about these drawers (other than the cutie stripes) is that they are soft close. Glorious!

I replaced the IKEA hardware with some knobs from Hobby Lobby:

For a hot second I was going to try and paint the vanity, just because I was worried there wouldn't be enough color in there. I’m SO glad I didn’t and just added a pop of color with the knobs. (You can see more about those here.)

The only major problem we had with the sink was that it only has one hole for the faucet installation – you don’t really think of that until you get to the store and realize all but about two of the bathroom faucets are for multiple holes. (Meaning there are more holes already installed in the sink.) I really wanted to reuse the faucet we had on the pedestal but we couldn’t because of that.

Soooo, after a moment of panic, thinking I would have to drive the four hour round trip to IKEA to get a faucet that worked because Lowe’s guy kept telling us they didn’t sell one hole bathroom faucets…I finally spotted one:

It was GORGEOUS. And EXPENSIVE. It was about $90 I think? Ouch, I think I actually winced. But it was between that and one other one they had, both were expensive.

I do love it though, really. I mean, REALLY love it. It’s a Moen (single hole) faucet:

I chose not to use the plate at the bottom – I just liked the simpler look without it.

I especially love that the faucet ended up matching the finish on the new light fixtures exactly:

I mentioned that I had the one light we had in here changed into two lights, and we did use an electrician. I just had the guy who did everything for the basement do it, he’s great and inexpensive and was done in 30 minutes.

If you know much about electrical stuff I guess it’s not that hard, but I’m not ready to take that leap quite yet. ;)

I did find the light fixture online, although this one is in shiny chrome:

There called the Archie Collection and I LOVE love love the vintage vibe of the glass and the pretty arch of the arm.

They are one of my very favorite parts of the room!:

So the last piece of the puzzle was the mirror, and I think I spent as much time looking for that as I did the vanity! For years I knew I wanted an oval mirror here, like we had before – but something simpler and classic. And more than anything I wanted those super cute mirror brackets on each side so that the mirror would tilt.

Like this:

I actually saw on a blog forever ago that you can actually just buy the brackets/pivots separately at Home Depot and use them to hang a regular mirror. Well I searched everywhere for them and they just aren’t there anymore. Bummer dude.

So then I found a mirror at HD that already had them and the price was about $60 – not too bad really. But it was way too small for the room (about 18 inches tall I think) and the pivot things were actually a pain in the patoot. They didn’t allow you to tighten anything, so the mirror was permanently angled down. It wasn’t going to work. (I’m sure a more expensive one would have a way to keep the mirror at a certain angle.)

Sooooo…I took it back to HD and ended up with a pretty, basic oval mirror they had for $40:

I ended up with this one because it’s the only oval mirror that had a cleat on the back – so you don’t see any of the hanging hardware. The one I found at Lowe’s had to use the little mirror brackets to hang it.

I hung it on the actual board and batten trim:

And I think it’s just perfect in there! The size is much better (21 inches tall) and it just works so well in the room – love how it all came together!

OH! And some of you asked where the “S” hook for the towel came from:

I actually got that hook at Anthropologie (one of probably three things I’ve ever purchased from there) about a year ago. I saw it and knew it would be perfect in this room, before I even knew for sure what I was going to do in there. ;)

Looks like they still sell them! You can find them here.

So there you go! All the deets on the vanity area – I hope that helps with any questions you had. Overall I’m thrilled with everything, but again I took forever to find it all so I better be! Geesh.

I’m taking the rest of the week off for the July Fourth holiday, have a lovely weekend and God Bless the USA! :)

On the Menu: Kale Chips!

I know what you're thinking: What-kind-of-chips?!? Yeah, I'm serious. K-A-L-E chips. KALE chips. Kale. Chips.

Now. Are we past that?

I can't personally take credit for this idea. The recipe is mine, but the idea was passed along from a friend of mine. She told me she had recently made kale chips. I looked at her skeptically (Probably that same look you have as you read this...) But my skepticism went only so far; She usually has some pretty great ideas.

She admitted that this idea of kale chips sounds wrong; I agreed. We got past it. Hopefully, you can do the same. I followed her advice and tried making my own version of kale chips. The end result was pretty great.

So.. here we go...

Ingredients:

Kale

Olive Oil (approximately 1 tbsp)

Garlic (2 cloves, minced)

Garlic Salt

Ground Oregano

Sea Salt

I'm sure you're a bit quizzical about this ingredients list, mainly because it's so weak on quantities. There's a great reason for that; I can't really tell you how much you need. I can say, when it comes to the seasoning, a little goes a long way. However, as far as the specific amounts, you get to completely play with these ingredients and season to taste! 

I don't know if your grandmother was like mine, but my mamaw seldom really followed a printed recipe. She cooked to taste, and she really had a feel for how much of what was needed here and there. That's kinda how you have prepare this recipe. Cook to taste. Enjoy the freedom.

If freedom scares you in cooking, I will share my (approximate) quantities: I grabbed a couple of handfuls of kale, and I used approximately 1/8 tsp of both garlic salt and oregano. I used only a dash of sea salt. 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spray cooking sheet with Pam (or other nonstick cooking spray). Set aside.

Toss kale in a bowl with olive oil.

Add seasoning.

Spread kale evenly onto cooking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

The other really great part about this recipe is that it really is completely adaptable to your tastes. I used primarily garlic seasonings because garlic brings out the natural flavor in kale. My friend used garlic as well, but she combined it with paprika and sea salt. I would have used paprika as well, but I just didn't have any in my cabinet. (Running out of paprika? Shameful, I know.) So you can basically do anything you like with these! Have fun! The recipe is simple and adaptable. The end result is tasty and a much healthier option than those processed, bagged potato chips that beckon you in your munchie moments. 

As a final note, should you have any lingering doubt, even my husband (after laughing at me and my kale "chips") admitted that these were, indeed, good enough to eat. What more proof could you need?!?

P.S. Have you entered this week's giveaway? If not, check out Sunday's post now! Only two days left!!! :)

How do you get organized?

First of all, I want to remind you to enter our giveaway, if you have not yet done so! Check out Sunday's post and enter to win a full collection of classroom organization labels! The giveaway extends throughout the week, and winners will be announced on Friday, July 5th. I am trying to return visits to blogs of new followers, and it has been so much fun to see the plethora of creative, resourceful, and fun blogs out there! Keep them coming, and I will try to keep up! Don't forget to share the giveaway with your friends as well!  :)


Next, I want to share a mild accomplishment: I have recently completed a task that I have been putting off for a long time. By "long time," I mean a good, solid six months or so of procrastination. Earlier in the school year, I spent quite some time debating on the best way to organize classroom materials. As I'm sure you other teachers can understand, I experienced mixed feelings toward the wave of Common Core change in our school. I love finding new ideas and activities to use, but oh my goodness, how do I mingle those awesome, new resources with the still-usable materials in my classroom?!? When I finally decided on a sufficient method for organizing those millions of extra resources, center ideas, samples, and other activities that we teachers accumulate, I spent several months thinking "I will tackle that project during the summer." I bought the plastic file boxes and the hanging folders I intended to use. They sat there, waiting, for months, while I was certain I would be able to find a good burst of motivation during the summer.

Enter: summer.

Motivation? Eh. Not so much.

There are just so many other things to do...

Enter: landscaping, reading, cleaning, organizing, getting settled into our still-newlywed home, experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, traveling, spending much-needed time with family and friends... you get the idea.

Still, I finally made myself get it all together, and I'm pleased with the effort, in spite of the procrastination. I created a file system, based upon skill objectives for our first grade pacing guide. I separated the skills among Language Arts and Mathematics and labelled the file boxes accordingly. Then, I created a tab for each skill (I combined some skills when appropriate) and organized them into each content area strand. Then, I filed all resources into their appropriate folder! Does that make sense? Maybe a few pictures will help...

Eventually, I will need to expand files within the skills to be more specific. There are a few strands that are rather bulky and could use a bit of organization-within-the-organization (Who's thinking of Monica from Friends right about now?). Still, I think I'm off to a good start so far. Woo hoo!

What do you think? How do you organize your materials? 

Building a Lego house

Hey all! Can you believe it’s July? This is one of my favorite weeks of the year! It’s even better than years past because our temps are unseasonably cool and we’ve had tons of rain – two things I like very much. Last year we had drought conditions and couldn’t set off fireworks, so we’ve already made up for that this year. ;)

Oh by the way, I wrote this whole post and then realized it’s the first Monday of the month so I should be doing the Before and After Party today. I totally forgot. We’ll do it next Monday, hope that works!

This weekend I finished up a DIY in the basement that I’ve been planning for a while. Since we had the built in cubbies installed I’ve been hoping to get this done, just to take advantage of some odd wall space down there.

I have never built true floating shelves – I have built shelves (here in the dining room built ins, here in the pantry, here in the basement bathroom) but all of those had supports on the sides for me to attach supports to.

True floating shelves with no side support are another thing – but I think I did pretty OK at it for a first try!

I didn’t follow any specific tutorial, just used what I’ve seen here and there and winged it myself. This is a relatively simple project if you work with tools. And sometimes I make relatively easy projects total pains in the butt, so yeah. This was one of those. :)

I started out with some 1x2’s from the hardware store – I cut them down to the length I wanted the shelves to be and then cut supports (same exact length) and glued them on with wood glue:

Then when I thought I had let them dry well enough, I flipped them over to secure them even more with screws. That’s when I realized I didn’t let them dry enough and every. single. support. fell off.

Sometimes I look like I know what I’m doing. This was not one of those times. I’m sure my neighbors were all, awww, look at her, trying to DIY! So cute!

ANYWAY…I always go way overkill with nails/screws/glue and this was no different – I used two (long) screws in each support:

Before I put the front of this support on, I installed them on the wall. This way I could get the screws into the wall straight on (if the front support was on I’d have to work around it, make sense)?:

After both supports were up I went to grab the wood I had bought to make the actual shelves I was going to build to slip over them. And I realized I had totally made the supports the wrong size. DOH!

So…back to the store I went. I ended up getting a big sheet of stain grade particle board cut down instead, which in the long run ended up being better anyway (a lot more light weight and less bulky):

That photo is why I have an SUV. That photo is also why I don’t have a nice SUV. ;)

So instead of making a shelf that slips on over the support, I ended up just securing all the wood to it instead. Which is fine, I just won’t be able to take these down…like, ever. Good thing I like them.

Here’s the process as I started covering the supports with the wood:

I hope that makes sense! The trim on the right is just the start of what I wrapped around the whole shelf to make it look finished off.

Here they are all done – I taped off the walls with FrogTape so I could get them stained with little mess:

So sometimes I recommend you paint before you do a project because I think sometimes it would make the project easier. I NEVER do this and many of you ask why. It’s mostly because of projects like this – they are rarely perfection. So I fudge with stuff, have to recut many times, sometimes make additional trips to the store – and if I had painted the wood I originally wanted to use for this I wouldn’t have been able to return it.

So…sometimes it’s easier to paint/stain before – I just work better doing it all after all is done. That usually ends up being quicker for me.

I used the beautiful Kona (Rustoleum) stain I’ve used elsewhere in the basement – love it!! When that was dry I did a coat of semi gloss polyurethane and called it done. Then I loaded them up with the little Lego sets that have been all over the countertop for months:

I’ve been planning these shelves forever now – their purpose is two-fold. Obviously as a place to display all the little Lego sets our boy makes, but to keep them up off the countertop as well. I just want to use the storage space as best we can.

The basement is such a fun space for us and my goal all along has been to make the art down there be very personal to our family. So the Lego sets, although not styled to perfection, are just us. :)

Here you can see how the trim looks and how the bottom piece of particle board hides the supports inside:

I just started grabbing the Lego sets and putting them on the shelves – there’s not much hope that this is ever going to look “perfect” but I kind of LOVE it:

Although the Bub did say later that it’s a “little messy” so he’s going to rearrange it. Gah. (He did NOT get this from me.)

Of course these are all sets he plays with, so he needs help getting them from the top shelf, but he can reach the bottom shelf easily. They are both fairly low because of the bulkhead in that spot.

I had to include a pic of us on a roller coaster in Legoland -- we had it made into a Lego set:

It’s hard to see but it makes me laugh out loud every time I look at it. You can’t even see the Bub because he’s ducking down, totally freaking out. My husband has his eyes tightly shut, probably praying for his life. And I’m in the front laughing my butt off – it’s pretty obvious who loves roller coasters in this family.

Now this little spot is dedicated to what the kiddo loves – I’ve mentioned a few times that he’s a Lego freak and we encourage it (within reason). I like that this part of the room really speaks to what he loves:

Like I mentioned, this was my first try at the true floating shelves – and I think they turned out pretty well! Just don’t look too close. :) The bottom one is secured to the wall on one side so it’s super secure. The top one is definitely staying put but I wouldn’t do any pull ups on it. Good thing I can’t do a pull up.

Have you tried this DIY project? Did you do them any differently? Do you have a Lego house that you try to organize too?

It's Monday! What are you reading? 07-01-13

Happy Monday, everyone! (It's easier to say that with sincerity during the summer, isn't it?!?) I am so excited about the turnout for yesterday's giveaway! I have enjoyed "meeting" new bloggers and reading  your comments. Also, I am very grateful to Marie at The Hands-On Teacher for featuring me in her "Someone New Sunday" post. What an honor!

If you didn't get a chance to visit and enter the giveaway yesterday, no worries! Check out yesterday's post now! The giveaway extends throughout the week, and winners will be announced on Friday, July 5th. Please share with your friends as well!

Okay, now, back to Monday... What are you reading?

This Monday reading-list blog link-up is available through Teach Mentor Texts. This event was originally hosted by Book Journey, but I also love the idea of establishing a link-up with a kidlit focus. So once again, I am linking up with Teach Mentor Texts and sharing my recent "must reads," but I will also link up with Book Journey  since some of my texts fall outside the kidlit genre.

Just Finished: The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel) by Michael Scott 

I hate to disappoint readers out there who are excited about this book, but this one just did not capture my interest. I originally had high hopes for The Alchemyst; when I purchased it, the salesperson raved about it, as well as the next two books in the series. However, I just did not share her enthusiasm. It is action-packed, but I felt like I was thrown into the whirlwind of action without first developing my bearings with the plot. The author interweaves a plethora of historical references within the context of the story, which I thought was impressive. Still, in spite of this bit of depth, the story development seemed weak to me. I just couldn't get into it. Maybe this one is better left for younger readers; it did not hold my interest. That's just my opinion, for what little it's worth. If you think you would enjoy it, please don't let my experience keep you from reading it yourself!

Currently Reading: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

To Read: The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley

What are you reading? 

Oh, and don't forget to enter this week's giveaway! :)