Goodies!

I went out of town this past weekend to do some Christmas shopping and to visit some friends and family. I've really been in the mood to get out of town since my life seems to be super lame these days. I must say, I had a GREAT weekend. I got a lot of Christmas shopping done, had a really fun time visiting my family and friends, and even found a new teacher store!

My friend I visited is also a teacher. In fact, you can see pics of her classroom here from when I was up to help her and visit back in August. Anyway, she'd mentioned the store US Toy to me before, but we'd never made it over there 'til now. Mardel is usually the teacher store we hit up when I'm in town (partially due to the fact that it is closer to her house.) Anyway, US Toy ended up being great! We didn't spent a lot of time there, which is fine since I'm still on my school spending diet, but I did pick up two goodies there. Their website doesn't really carry much as far as educational items, but they do have a lot of toys and offer free everyday shipping. I was really impressed with their selection of teacher books and picked up a great reading comprehension book. I also got a set of two comprehension spinners that I've intended to get forever, but always seem to be out of stock where ever I look! Plus, I signed up for their teacher reward program and got 10% off my purchase. I definitely plan on heading back there next summer after round 2 of our reading training and my brain is full of fresh, new ideas!

I feel like all I talk about on here is shopping on what's supposed to be my teacher blog, but it is one of the things that I'm really good at and that I do really enjoy. LOL I'd eventually like to get into posting things that I make and even venturing into TpT, but I'm not there yet. Maybe that'll be one of my (many) projects for Christmas break and summer break.!

I also had to make a trip to J.Crew to return my Cyber Monday purchase that I mentioned last week. Don't you hate it when you order something in the same size as another item you have and it fits completely different? And then they're sold out in the store? Yeah, me too!

I swapped it for this top, which I'd been eyeing online. I'm not a full price shopper, so I was happy that they let me apply the teacher discount to the price difference. Still a little splurge for me, but this is definitely an item I love and not just like!

I also picked up a "shocking pink" (we're talking neon, people, the picture makes it look tame) cardigan at the J.Crew Factory store. That color is definitely different and I liked that it was on a super sale (way cheaper than it is online right now). I wore it to school today and joked that I'm going to wear it during state assessments so that when the students look at me they will remember to highlight. Oh wait, I guess it's not joking since I'm actually serious! LOL Does anyone else get crazy thoughts like that while shopping, or is it just me?

The final "goodie" for this post was actually a pleasant surprise to me. I did a major after Christmas shopping spree last year with my gift cards and bought TONS of decorations at Target and even Wal-Mart for 50 and 75% off. As I unpacked my decorations I found a bag full of gift items that I purchased for my students! I bought goodie bags, cards, mini puzzles, and pencils, plus I always buy extra boxes of crayons during back to school time so I already have those on hand, too! What a nice surprise, huh? I'm totally stocking up again this year because buying 20 small gifts for kids can really get pricey if you're not careful. Now I just need to grab some candy and I'm ready to assemble my student gifts! I'm sure I'll have a post in the near future with more about our Christmas projects and gifts! :)

Well, that's all for now. I ramble, but just like shopping, it's something I'm good at!

How was your weekend? Get any good deals?