Want to be friends? Check "yes" or "no"...

Hey friends...it's Monday.

Time for "Monday Made It" with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics.

I've been stalkin' nonchalantly scrollin' through

Instagram and every other Social Media outlet

known to mankind

to find out what I was missin' in Vegas.

I almost hopped in the car and drove

8 hours to stalk meet you in person.

My first made it is somethin' that I shared 

in a post last week. 

Read HERE.

Did you read it?

Do NOT 

go any further with this post unless

you clicked up there where it says HERE.

Not jokin'...

Now you need to load the app!

I already have a set of the paper blocks at home, but 

I wanted to make these for you guys to see.

I am seriously in love 

with this...like whoa!

I really hope you read about the blocks here or 

that picture above will make absolutely no sense.

If you're new here, you might not know that I teach

Talented and Gifted.

Can you hear me screamin'....

I LOVE NERDS?!

For real...talk nerdy to me.

I one thousand percent celebrate nerdiness.

The nerdier, the better.

In my classroom,

I make a super big deal out of nerdy 

bein' the new cool.

It's a fact...nerds ROCK

and I'm proud to be a 

"Nerd Herd Leader".

In honor of all of my nerds near and far...

I've made a cute little sign that I printed

and popped in a 5 X 7 frame.

Shh...don't tell Mommy Rose that I'm diggin'

the frame (that I bought for her one Christmas)

and already have it hidden in my suitcase to 

take back to Florida.

I've already got a spot picked out for this on my desk.

Are you a Nerd Herd leader too?

Go scoop this up for FREE by clickin' here.

I also finished somethin' for my TpT store.  

If you use behavior beads in the classroom, this is for you!

Under the Sea Behavior Beads-Special Edition.

I have them up as a FREEBIE until midnight Monday.

Be sure to scoop them up and please leave some love.

 Last, but certainly not least...Miss Nelson

(Run! Miss Nelson's Got the Camera!)

 and I made a vacation linky.

We both love to travel, but always

end up goin' to the same places...borin' creatures of habit.

We need some fresh ideas and spots to go.

We'd love to have you join in with us.

This doesn't have to be teacher related 

unless you want to link up

about your Vegas vacation.

It can even be a throwback post.

It's totally up to you.

This will be open for a month!

Read about this here.

I can't wait to read all the Monday Made Its and catch

up on all the rockin' Periscope videos.

I watched at least 40 broadcasts while writin' this post!

My username is: @butterflialisun

if you want to be friends.

Check "yes" or "no".

Kiddin'!

Happy Monday, friends!

Destination Vacation...let's talk! Vacations linky party!

Where do you LOVE to vacation?
Miss Nelson from Run! Miss Nelson's Got the Camera
and I would like to know if you 

are willin' to give up your secret spot?
Here...I'll go first...

I am fortunate enough to live in The Sunshine State.
I reside in Panama City Beach near the
white sandy beaches of the Emerald Coast of Florida.

Yep...I get to wear my flip flops to school!

PCB's water is blue-green, clear and beautiful.
That is the only reason you will catch me in the water...because
I can see the bottom.
(I'm petrified of sharks)

PCB is a peaceful place to live and vacation.
It's also a gorgeous backdrop for life's most
special moments.

Photo credit: Caroline Brantley Photography

PCB
Must See: The beach, St. Andrews State Park, Pier Park
Must Eat: Pineapple Willy's, Liza's Kitchen, Firefly,
Pink Pelican Ice Cream

Guess what though...

sometimes a girl wants to get away.

My first choice is always

Monterey County, California.

Why?

My parentals live here.

(I'm actually on vacation here right now)

I didn't grow up here, but

I was lucky enough to vacation here as 

a teenager and young adult before my

parents moved here permanently. 

You won't hear any complaints from me.
I get the BEST of both worlds.

Two homes... 

on beautiful coasts...on the opposite

ends of the country.

Want to see what my vacations in 

The Golden State 

look like?

I decided to do a throwback to my summer 

last summer (2014) 

on vacation in California.

Now a few photos from this California visit (2015)...

Whether it's drivin' down the coast through 

San Fransisco to San Jose...

Santa Cruz to Marina...

Seaside to Carmel...

Carmel to Big Sur...

there is always a stunnin' sight to see.

More importantly...I get to spend time

with my loved ones.

Priceless!

Monterey/Carmel

Must see:  Monterey Bay Aquarium,  

Big Sur, 17 Mile Drive

Must Eat: Hog's Breath Inn, Mission Ranch, Sandbar & Grill

I had to throw in another favorite spot...

if you know how much I love to nap, this one

will crack you up.

This is me @ 7 years old...takin' a nap

on the rocks in 

Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor.

See the ocean waves above my head?  

I obviously liked to live on the "edge" back then.

Good thing the quality of photographs has drastically improved

in the past 30 years.

Are you ready to give up your secret spot yet?

Link up and let us know where you like

the road to lead you.

This linky will be open until August 10th...one month.

#destinationvacation

Happy Friday, friends!

An InLinkz Link-up

Thursday travels and a giveaway...

I started typin' this while I was up in the sky.

How cool is technology?!

I had to do somethin' to keep my mind busy 

since I have left my parents after spendin' 

a glorious month with them.

I'm sad.

Guess what is makin' me happy though...

My sweet friend Cassie Lea

(yes, we have the same middle name)

is havin' a 100 follower giveaway

over at her blog, Funky in Fourth!

I LOVE this girl...A LOT.

So...I bet you want to know what's goin' on with this giveaway.

You can check out the flyers below.

She's got some really awesome prizes that I REALLY want, 

so you better get over to her blog and beat me to them. 

I promise if I win I won't rub it in anyone's face...

well, maybe I might have my toes crossed while

making this promise to you.

XO

Be sure to head to Funky in Fourth to enter to win.

Happy Thursday, friends!
I'm home safely.

I'll be sleepin' all day...so I'll catch up to you this weekend...

at some point.

Saturday Snapshots....my vacation continues...

Hello, Saturday.

I've had another busy week this week and have taken lots 

of snapshots so I could link up with my 

bestie Miss Nelson from Run! Miss Nelson's Got the Camera!

for Saturday Snapshots.

Want to see the beginnin' of my vacation?

Read here (Days 1-5), here (Days 6-9) and here (Day 10-15).

Day 16 Cali...we drove over to Pismo Beach.

We stayed in the same exact hotel that I used to stay in when 

I was younger.

Seriously...this is the view from the room.

Sea Crest OceanFront Hotel in Pismo Beach.

Day 17 Cali...these are the stairs that I posted on Instagram.

What goes down...must go up...

or somethin' like that.

UGH...we had take a break...clearly I am out of shape

because I was out of breath goin' back up there.

Check out these cool lil' caves.  

Day 17 Cali continued...we had such a relaxin' day sittin' around

outside...by the pool durin' the day and by the fire pits at night.

They had about four different fire pits around the property.

Of course I had to test them all out to figure out

which was my favorite.

Day 17 Cali continued...Overall, Day 17 was my amazingness 

(Did you like that I used your word, Chelsea?)

Day 17 was also the day that I got to meet Kelly in real-life.

Read here to find out more about our fun time!

Day 18 Cali...we stuck around the hotel all day and then 

headed to F.McLintock's.

I remember fond memories from my childhood

of this restaurant.

One of the things I remember most was the waiter pourin' water

from high up over the table...into your glass.

This brave child let the waiter pour water into his glass...

blindfolded.   

My steak was YUM!

Day 19 Cali...Drove home from Pismo, hit 600 followers on Bloglovin'(WooHOO),

ate a healthy lunch and found some popcorn stickers at Dollar Tree...score!

Day 20 Cali...didn't really leave the house.  

Did find a random bottle of grapes hangin' out in the hallway.

Day 21 Cali...Nitty's memorial day.

Check out the Flipagram at the bottom for a slide show of the memorial.

A great big thank you to George and Pris for hostin' the dinner

at their house. It was a beautiful event and lots of people

that adored Nitty were able to make it.
We handed out dish cloths that she had crocheted.

Everyone loved them.

Day 22 Cali...a day filled with laziness and not leavin' the house.

I did celebrate my One Year Blogiversary and stayed in my 

pajamas until 7 p.m.

Read here to find out about that.

Day 23 Cali...had lunch at Tehama with mom and Pris.

There were deer all over the course yesterday...just hangin' out.

Check out the little baby with her mama.

Happy 4th of July.

Day 23 Cali continued...had dinner with the 'rents and their sweet friends.

We ate at Corkscrew Cafe in Carmel Valley.

We started outside in the cute garden seatin' area, but it was too chilly.

The food was delicious and the company was even better!

Day 23 Cali continued...They served the table with warm

bread, creamy goat cheese (no...I didn't eat that, Jivey), and 

roasted garlic to spread on the bread.

Mom and I split a yummy Pear salad with melted Gorgonzola cheese

and had a Meyer's Lemon pizza with prosciutto, arugula,

mozzarella and Parmesan.

This was place had the coolest atmosphere. 

I couldn't stop snappin' shots.

Day 23 Cali continued...went to Patria in Salinas to make 

reservations for dinner tonight and to check on some grapes.

The most important part of my week was this...turn your volume up.

Happy Saturday, friends!

Tried it Tuesday...Two for Tuesday

Did you know that out of all the linkys, I have been most loyal to 

Tried it Tuesday?

Do you think it's because I have some major love for Holly at 

Fourth Grade Flipper?

I think so!

Tried it Awesomeness #1: Updated Blog Design

So...what do you think about the new blog design?

I am in LOVE!

Erika at Honey Bunch Blog Design is a SAINT...I'm serious!

She is SO patient and truly takes her time creatin'

EXACTLY what you want.

I truly don't know how she does it, but I couldn't be

more ecstatic with what she has created.

I really wanted to try somethin' new and brighter for my space. 

She completely captured my personality while

still keeping some of my elements from my original

blog design, which I love.

If you are considerin' tryin' an update, head over to 

Erika and tell her Alison sent you!

You will love her!

Tried it Awesomeness #2: Hog's Breath Inn-Carmel, California

This wasn't a new experience for me.

In fact...I've eaten at Hog's Breath a TON!

The atmosphere cannot be beat.  

It's quaint and invitin'.  

You feel like you are in a little hidden world and want to stay

there forever...enjoyin' the surroundin's, the drinks, the food...

the whole shebang!

It is owned by our dear friends, Kaiser and Claudia.

They also own many restaurants that 

you should check out if you are in CA.

Kaiser Grille-Palm Springs

Chop House-Palm Springs

Jackalope Ranch-Indio

Grind Brgr Bar-Palm Springs

Kaiser Grille-Palm Desert

Here's what I had....Dirty Harry

(yes...after Clint Eastwood)

DIRTY HARRY

cut of prime sirloin, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus,

mushrooms, whole grain mustard sauce 

It was sooooooo DEE-LICIOUS!

I'm so glad I tried this!

Y'all...I would've licked the plate if I wasn't 

with all these snazzy people!

My parents seriously have the best friends in the world.

They are so fun to be with!

Aren't they cute?

I also picked up another Hog's Breath Inn long-sleeved t-shirt.

It's a tradition for me.  

Tried it Awesomeness #3: Homemade Hummus

Who is absolutely crackin' up at all this time 

I have been spendin' in the kitchen?

Maybe it's because my mama has every appliance,

spice, ingredient, etc. known to mankind in her pantry?

Maybe it's because she has enough counter space for 

me to spread out?

Maybe it's because it's summer and I'm tryin' to expand 

my horizons?

Who knows, but eventually it will stop...right?

Please say, "Yes!"

I have made hummus before with the help of Jerm...okay...

quit yellin' at your computer...I'll tell the truth...

Jerm actually made it and I watched.

I thought I would be brave and try it on my own because I was cravin' it.

How hard could it be right?

I can open cans and dump in beans and garlic.  

I can sprinkle spices and drizzle olive oil, but 

I cannot...I repeat...CANNOT work a 

food processor without gettin' stuff EVERYWHERE.

There was probably more hummus on me than in the bowl.

You know what though?

I don't care.

It was GOOD!

I'm just gonna go ahead and link up again with Christy from

Teaching Tales Along the Yellow Brick Road for 

Eating, Drinking, Linking...Oh My! because well...

this post was dedicated to food again and I know Christy

will be proud I made food because she is awesome like that!

I'm also linkin' up with The Teaching Tribune for Two for Tuesday

where the idea is to put two products on sale for 50% off for Tuesday.

#1: Rockin' Behavior Beads

This is my most wishlisted item and very popular!

They are on sale for $2.

#2: Red, White, and Blue...my teachers says I have to mulitply by more than TWO!

This is my newest item and it's super cute. 

If you missed it yesterday on Monday Made It, you can 

grab this on sale for $1.13.

 

Also, my sweet friend Mandy from The 4th Grade Journey 

has a giveaway goin' on.  

Head over and check it out!

Happy Tuesday, friends!