Congrats to the amazing Cassandra for turning 30! Woo-hoo and welcome to the club, my friend. I have to say, I’m loving my 30s. Enjoy this new turn in your life adventure!!! I had the pleasure of meeting Cassandra at this year’s TPT Conference, and more specifically at the Splash Bash pool party that I co-organized with another dear bloggie friend, Ashlyn from The Creative Classroom. Immediately I could tell that Mrs. Third Grade was such a gentle, kind, warm soul, and that has certainly proven to be true. I have to admit I’m envious because these two lovely ladies both live close enough to each other to occasionally hang and geek out over teacher topics...wish I lived closer...but I’m more than THRILLED to have been included in this amazing celebration for Cassandra!
A LITTLE ABOUT ME:
My name is Lindsey Petlak and my blog is It’s Elementary, My Dear! If you’d like to get to more about me personally and professionally, click on over to “Meet Lindsey” and learn a little more about who I am and what I’m passionate about. On TPT I sell curriculum, marketing materials, and art prints / stationery.
Here’s the quick run-down of things I love and lessons I’ve learned as I welcome Cassandra as the newest member of the 30-Somethings club!
FOOD:
I LOVE food...I mean LOVE IT. Eating and cooking make me extremely happy, cookbooks or magazines are some of my favorite reads, and talking about food is something I could do endlessly. Don’t believe me? Check out my Instagram and you’ll notice that food floods the feed! Here’s the PROBLEM: Like all of you, I’m SUPER DUPER BUSY...all of the time….relentlessly. So, I’m trying to focus on how to have the best meals (taste and health) without breaking the bank or taking too much time. Stay tuned, because I’m making big plans to post about meals and menus in the near future!
FAMILY:
My little family means the world to me. We call ourselves the “Three Bears,” “Three Amigos,” and “Three Ps (for Petlak) in a Pod.” My husband and I lovingly adopted our son, Grayson, at birth and it has been the biggest blessing beyond belief. We are forever grateful to be his forever family. So many teachers are going through their own adoption journey, so if you have any questions or stories to tell, feel free to reach out to me! We had the BEST summer, like summer of my DREAMS, and it was really pretty low-key. The important part was that the three of us spent so much time together, relaxing and just having some good old fun, which made summer amazing...but going back to school a slight bummer.
Feeling the same?? Check out my post on the blog and in Scholastic Instructor Magazine for tips on beating the back to school blues.
FUN:
Having fun is a MUST, especially in the field of teaching. Whether it’s with your colleagues, blog-o-sphere teaching buddies, or your own friends and family, you have to take time to lighten up. I take a lot of things seriously, but not myself. I laugh at myself regularly, and try to embrace as much fun as possible. For example, my team LOVES to coordinate goofy group Halloween costumes, I recently dressed up as Axl Rose with colleagues as other members of Guns-n-Roses and performed a lip sync (Check it out here!) for the entire district, including administrators and school board members…..and we WON. Step outside of your comfort zone, try some new things, and have a blast!
FASHION:
Fashion is so much fun! It’s a way I love to play with color, pattern, and express my inner creativity. My favorite part? Trying to put together outfits that look great, and are SUPER INEXPENSIVE! This all started because I noticed I would get compliments on my clothing or accessories and people thought they were from expensive places….HECK NO! I grew up where Wal-Mart was the closest thing to a mall for over an hour, and let me tell you, that makes you get really creative and resourceful really fast.
You’ll see lots of outfit shots on my Instagram feed, and I love linking up with Chandra and Caitlin for What the Teacher Wore Wednesdays (RETURNING SOON, so stay tuned and please link up for FUN!) to share my love of fun fashion finds without breaking the bank. Keep watching on the blog for fab fall fashion at a fraction of the CO$T!
KEEPIN’ IT REAL:
I’m not an expert in anything, really...but I know one thing: I’ve got to keep it real. This lady is all about efficiency, tips, tricks, and techniques to help we teachers make it through the daily craziness that is our life work. Read on below for a few of my “most real” past posts and I hope they are helpful for you!
Thanks so much for this fun guest-post opportunity in celebration of Y-O-U! Happy Monday everyone!
Hugs, Lindsey
No comments