Hi all! I’m back with the first of three posts from our honeymoon-redo trip to Seattle. If you’re not sure why we (or I, mostly) felt the need to take a honeymoon-redo vacation, feel free to read this post about our honeymoon last summer; I think that you’ll see why I wanted a redo of that epic trip!

We arrived in Seattle on a Thursday morning, and it was COLD! The weather was mid-50s and cloudy, and Jordan and I felt certain that we were experiencing iconic Seattle weather. We joked that we left the heat of our home state of South Dakota (where the temperatures had been climbing well above 80 degrees for the past two weeks) for the cold temperatures of Seattle, which, frankly, made us giggle.

We walked to the Seattle Lightrail for what seemed like forever, purchased our tram tickets, and then watched as Seattle proper was slowly revealed to us as we rode from stop to stop to our hotel. There were mountain’s, y’all – and for me, who has never seen mountains before, this girl was PSYCHED. Mountains, and houses painted in colors that made me wish I could move to Seattle right now so my house would have personality (South Dakota is beige-land, I swear). Mountains and houses full of personality and people that would satisfy my Dad’s penchant for people watching for DAYS.

We exited the Lightrail in downtown Seattle and headed the few blocks to our hotel. As we walked, I shrieked in delight as I saw Barney’s New York, Tiffany, a THREE STORY Forever 21, and a Starbucks on every block. I couldn’t help but feel so blessed to be experiencing a new place full of shops that I only read about in the New York Times or heard mentioned on “Sex and the City.”

Our hotel (the Grand Hyatt Seattle) was DREAMY. Cushy king bed, a bathroom that reminded me of a spa, and a view of the city that we loved to stare at. Plus, our room had black-out shades that were operated by a light switch, which was perfect for us. Since we arrived (jet-lagged) around 10AM Seattle time, after checking in to our hotel and grabbing some lunch at a nearby Gordon Biersch Brewery (YUMMY fish tacos – Jordan had a delicious burger), we hit that light switch and napped for a few hours in total darkness. It was HEAVEN.

We explored downtown for the rest of the day, and were mesmerized by the tall, tall buildings, the dog-friendly nature of the city (there were dogs on the escalators in the mall, people!), and the view of the Puget Sound (I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I lived near water like that; I’m guessing that I would find it rather difficult to be unhappy, that’s for sure!).

The next day, we met up with our friends Jared and Amanda and their baby son, Miles. Jared and Amanda had moved out to the Seattle/Tacoma area about a year ago for Amanda’s job as a physical therapist. Shortly after moving, they discovered that they were expecting – and let me just say, Miles is one of the cutest little boys I’ve ever seen! His cheeks are super kissable and his smiles warmed my heart – I loved to cuddle Miles!

That day, we explored the Pike Place Market with Jared and Amanda and Miles. I had heard that the Pike Place Market was a must-see for any first-time visitors to Seattle, and it was absolutely true – the market just never ends, and is full of fresh food (oh my gosh, we had a fresh peach that was TO DIE FOR – best peach of my life), handmade goods, and secondhand book stores. We had so much fun exploring all that the Market had to offer. We also were able to board a pirate ship (really!) that had stopped in Seattle from Russia – it was super cool! We took a walk around the Olympic Sculpture Park, which was fun as well. That night, we all ate an amazing seafood dinner together at a delicious restaurant on the Waterfront (the name of the restaurant isn’t coming to me right now, but I’ll be sure to update this post if I think of it!).

For more pictures of our vacation, click here. If you’re interested in my husband Jordan’s take on our vacation, click here to read his post about our vacation that he wrote on his own blog!

Up next: our experience at the Seattle Sounders (MLS soccer team) and the Seattle Mariners games!

How’s that for an alliterative title? :) Today I wanted to share with you five of my favorite shops on Etsy, my most favorite online marketplace ever!

- DarlingLovesDapper on Etsy

This shop is full of handmade goodies from one of my most favorite bloggers, Stephanie from Love & Lace. She designed an amazing DIY, vintage-inspired wedding, she’s a crafty gal whose home has so much character, and now she’s bringing her crafty skills to the masses! Pictured above is her Speakeasy Headband – adore!

- DigThisChick on Etsy

Another one of my favorite bloggers, Nici of Dig This Chick, has an amazing shop full of handmade clothing for your littles. Nici’s an amazing sewing goddess, and I can’t wait to have my own little children to dress in her goodies! Pictured above is her Indie Love Hoodie – adorable.

- MerriweatherCouncil on Etsy

I can’t wait to fill my house with these cute goodies from Merriweather Council! Embroidery hoops are all over the blogosphere right now, and I think they are so charming; I want to hang a few on my bedroom walls! Pictured above is an abstract work that is perfect for any room that needs a little extra charm in your abode!

- WeChooseJoy on Etsy

Onesie with an appliqué tie (pictured above). Need I say more? ADORABLE. This shop is a must-visit if you have a little man in your life! They make t-shirts with ties, too!

- 1canoe2 on Etsy

I am in love with 1canoe2. I seriously can’t stand how refreshing and creative the work of this shop is. I ordered some cute, cute letterpressed coasters (pictured above) from 1canoe2 for my dear cousin Kristen for Christmas last year, and they came out so perfect – she loved them!

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What are your favorite Etsy shops? Please share with me in the comments!

NOTES: I wasn’t paid or perk’d to feature any of these shops or Etsy as a whole; I’m just a fan of these shops! All pictures came directly from the shops themselves.

Happy Thursday, all! Today I wanted to share with you all my (working) draft of my teaching philosophy. I composed the majority of this draft in December 2010, but I’ve made a few updates since. I was told by my supervisor that teaching philosophies are living, breathing documents that change and grow with your teaching, and I’ve definitely found that to be true. If you’re an aspiring teacher (like me!), I hope that this document will serve as inspiration for your own philosophy. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments! So, here goes:

My central goal as an instructor of composition and introductory literature is to foster in each student writer an appreciation for writing within an academic discourse, as well as to equip each student with the ability to communicate clearly and convincingly through the written word, a skill that is transferable across the academic disciplines and spans the gamut of career fields. I also ask students to both think and write critically about how literature gives us an opportunity to learn about other cultures through story, as story often reflects the customs, values, morals and beliefs of a given culture.

I begin each semester by working to empower my students to realize that their lives are bursting with stories waiting to be written, and that these stories can be effectively told to illustrate an impact to a larger culture. It is for this reason that I begin each semester with a personal narrative exercise, whether or not this activity transforms into a full-length essay. For Cade*, a former student who wrote about gaining skills in auto-body work through many a night spent as a child huddled with his father under the hood of a car, he gained confidence in his writing by recalling a vivid memory in his past and demonstrating the larger cultural importance of familial bonding and the acquisition of life skills, like changing a tire.

From this basis of understanding, I then move to introduce my students to the “hows and whys” of writing within the academic discourse. I find that the academic discourse parallels that of the business world, in the respect that clear, argumentative writing, composed with a solid foundation of evidence and support, represents an effective approach to correspondence and to achieving both smaller- and larger-scale goals in the world of business. I encouraged Matteo*, a former student who plans to enter the medical field, to treat a research-based argument essay as an exercise in educating himself about various facets of the medical field. Matteo composed an essay that effectively argued for reform in the world of medical malpractice insurance, an examination that is transferable into his career field of interest.

Finally, I choose literature representing multiple perspectives and agendas in hopes to improve cultural awareness and promote understanding among the diverse cultures and subject positions represented in my classes. In teaching at a research university located in a state with a robust American Indian population, the inclusion of multicultural perspectives is all the more important. I challenge students to examine literature for its ability to transcend country, nation, and culture, offering messages or themes that speak not merely to what it means to be Nigerian, Chinese, or American Indian, but what it means to be human. Furthermore, I emphasize to students each semester the importance of respecting their peers and of learning from the contributions of others to discussions, a task that is all the more important when reading texts that encompass and illustrate ethnic, sexual, ability and economic difference. Respect for the origin of ideas and knowledge is also non-negotiable in my classroom. I hold student writing accountable to the standards of the university in terms of emphasizing to the students the supreme importance of academic integrity in writing.

I utilize a variety of methods in teaching my courses, spanning from group work to instructor presentations and interactive lectures. I also have utilized technology in the form of a blog aimed to engage students in thinking about the literary works that we are reading in class, and to provide inspiration for the major essays that students write each semester. I assess student writing through a variety of approaches, yet my feedback primarily stems from the detailed grading rubrics that I provide to my students. In order for students to continue to progress toward competency in writing within an academic discourse, I also feel that individual conferences, scheduled at least three times per semester, help students to understand not simply the fact that they are making progress, but when and how they are improving as writers. Furthermore, in these conferences, I work to simultaneously inform students of strategies that they can utilize to ensure that their writing continues to improve.

I am still developing my pedagogy, adjusting to new challenges, investigating new ways to incorporate technology, and responding to the concerns of students. As a first-generation college student myself, I understand the challenges that many students face in adapting to college life, and in learning to write within the academic discourse. It is in emphasizing the transferable nature of academic writing to the multitude of academic disciplines and career fields that I find that my students are able to feel empowered and competent in writing with vigor and respect in diverse contexts.

* Names have been changed.

As I daydream with Jordan about our future someday family, I often find myself reflecting on my own upbringing. When I think about my childhood, my favorite memories involve reading Golden Books with my family, rollerblading in the unfinished basement with my brother Brian, and playing Barbies with my cousin. I remember riding bikes with Brian inside the warehouse that my Dad worked in. I remember fighting with my brother about which one of us deserved or was assigned the “better” side of the Christmas tree to hang our ornaments on. I remember traveling ten long hours from Missouri to Sioux Falls every Christmas to spend time with our grandparents and our cousins. I remember crying whenever we had to leave Grandma and Grandpa’s house to head back to Missouri, but always feeling excited to see my friends as soon as we arrived home.

These memories, still potent and redolent with child-like joyful emotion, make me think about how simple memory-making is. As a child, all it took for me to make a lasting memory was an empty basement and some rollerblades, or a warehouse with high shelves and forklifts and trophies and pallets and long, geometric alleyways perfect for bike-riding. And now, as an adult, when I’m examining my life honestly, I’m finding that the same is true – I still delight in the simple opportunity of taking a walk with my husband and our dog to explore a little more of our town. I still feel energized whenever I head home for a weekend.

It’s memories like these that make me motivated to start traditions with my own children someday. I can’t wait to leave cookies for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph with my little ones. like we did as children. I am anxious to see what memories my children make with something simple like an empty basement, a Barbie, or a book. Or, maybe my children’s memories will involve something else entirely, like a river, or a camera, or a dog. But whatever object or occurrence catalyzes the memory-making of my future children, I know one thing for sure: I’ve found throughout my life that in simplicity, memories can be made. For my brother and I, it was never in grand vacations to far away places or in expensive toys that memories are made (though I won’t doubt that memories are in fact made in these instances). We never embarked on any fancy vacations as a family, but what we did do (rent a boat and a tube in Okoboji for a few hours, or go to Sioux Falls at Christmas, or play kickball with our neighbors in our cul de sac) was memorable enough for me. For me, for my childhood, and for my future children, I know that memories can and will be made from anything and nothing at all – even from a seemingly boring warehouse full of shelves.

Hey y’all! Is anyone looking for a good end-of-summer read? I just wanted to drop in today to share two good books that I read this summer.

- The Elephanta Suite by Paul Theroux. I just finished this book over the weekend, and I really enjoyed it. The book isn’t a novel, actually – it’s a collection of three novellas. The novellas follow Americans who travel to India and emphasizes how the characters experience India. I read it to see whether or not it would make an effective contribution to my thesis, which, after reading it, it definitely will. This is a great leisure read, but is also a fruitful read if you’re looking for a thinker novel.

- The Pact by Jodi Picoult. This was one of the only “fun reads” that I was able to fit in this summer, in between taking a poetry class and reading for my thesis, but I’m glad that I read this one. The story is rather shocking; basically, a double-suicide pact between two teenagers (a couple) goes wrong, and there’s some heartbreaking fallout. This is the third Picoult novel that I’ve read, and while it isn’t the best, it still was worth the read (especially if I was reading it next to a beach – I wish!).

Do you have any good reads to share? Please leave the titles in the comments for me!

NOTE: I wasn’t paid or perk’d to feature these books; I’m just a fan of them!

[Image credit: 1, 2]

A full post on our fantastic vacation is coming soon, I promise, but for now…here’s a teaser!

Happy, happy Friday, all! I can’t believe we’re already halfway through August, but here we are, nearly at the end of summer. School starts for me in less than two weeks – back to teaching and learning!

Today, I wanted to share with you a website that I found recently that is full of beautiful pictures and fun inspiration.

Have you ever heard of Kirtsy? It’s a site that just relaunched (beautiful design!) and was founded by some awesome bloggers (most notably Gabrielle of Design Mom, whose site I read daily!). The purpose of the site is to showcase awesome finds around the Internet. Every day, a new slideshow is available on Kirtsy. The slideshow features anything that you can imagine (from the quietness in New York City to my favorite color, yellow). All of the images are selected (or, as Kirtsy likes to call it, “curated”) by one influential blogger each day.

I’m loving the concept of Kirtsy; it’s a bright spot in my day when I visit the site and pour over each day’s slideshow!

NOTE: I wasn’t paid or perk’d to feature Kirtsy; I’m just a fan of the site!

Have a great weekend!

[Image Credit: Whoorl.com]