Blog Reborn :-)

It's been forever. I'm sorry I took such a long vacation but I'm back and with plenty of news to share.

1.  If you haven't already guessed it from the change in heading on the blog, I'll gladly share that the Coach and I are expecting our first baby. Caroline Violet Faust is due early March 2014. We are unprepared, stressed, in denial and most of all happy as can be about this new addition to our family.


2. We moved. Only about 15 minutes from Tampa Palms (where I grew up.) We now call this little yellow house our home.

3. The Armwood Hawks made the playoffs. That means, it's still football season around here and even though we are both out of school this week for Fall Break and Thanksgiving, the Coach was at practice from 8:30 to 1:00 and now he's glued to the computer trying to get all of her Grad School assignments completed. The man never stops working, thinking, planning and praying. I wouldn't trade him for the world. 

I hope you'll all stay tuned in, in the days to come as I work to catch you up on Baby buys and Christmas and my most recent cleaning lists. 

Love & Peace!

4th of July!

It's tomorrow! Lots of fireworks and grilled meats and watermelon!!

The Walton's are coming in and I can only imagine how darling Rosemary is going to look and how excited Grant is going to be hop in the swimming pool!

 

What are your plans?

 

 

 



The World's Best Cleaning List

When I'm home during the summers I always start out my vacation by thinking...I'm going to be super productive but I'm going to set realistic goals. And then I remember that a.) my husband is a teacher too and that means he is here every single day until 3:30 when he goes to Football practice and b.) that I like my cats, sleeping, the food network and going to the pool much too much to actually work all day.

Well then I found this little gem:

I am obsessed! I love the blog it came from and I love the list!! I'll be honest, sometimes I do a little less than what is listed on each day and sometimes I do a little more. Because we don't have kiddos yet, I don't really need to do one load of laundry every day so some times I replace that with cleaning the litter box instead.  This list helps me to feel productive and happy. And best of all- the house is clean and I can enjoy the remainder of my day at the pool, watching food network or sleeping :-) Don't judge me.

Love & Peace.

Follow the yellow brick road....

Here are a few ways you can follow me when I'm not on the blog:

 

My Pinterest:

http://pinterest.com/lizevansfaust/boards/

 

 

My new Tumblr:
http://tampaprepster.tumblr.com/

 

 

My Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/lizevans

 

 

Add me, follow me, re-pin and re-blog to your hearts content.

 

Thanks for all the sweet emails, I'll try to get back on the blogging!

 

Love & Peace! 

Hello World!

Well as they say, I am a "Bad Blogger." I'm sorry friends, sometimes life just gets in the way.

 

In recent news, School is out for Summer and we are loving it! I'd like to think that this is the biggest reason I haven't been blogging- time flies when you're having fun!

 

The Coach and I just celebrated our FIRST wedding anniversary on Sunday. In some ways it feels like it flew past us and in other ways it feels like a completely natural progression of time.  We celebrated by heading to Clearwater beach for dinner at our favorite restaurant The Beachcomber.

When we go there I think about getting something different and then I always order the New Bedford Sea Scallops, broiled with a wedge salad and whipped potatoes. It's delicious- why fix what isn't broken?!?!

 The champagne was yummy too. I surprised the Coach by booking a night a our favorite little Inn on the beach in Clearwater and while it was nice not to have to drive back to Tampa it was pretty sad that the weather was ugly. Central Florida is getting pounded buy a couple of days of yucky gray skies and serious rain. SO we enjoy a light breakfast the next morning and headed home to sleep the rest of the day away at home with the Kitties.

 

 

Also exciting is that the Coach and I went to New Orleans about 2 weeks ago. One of my oldest friends and his wife live outside the city and we wanted to go visit them this summer. They showed us everything the city had to offer in 4 days. I'm sure there is still so much more to see but we were overly satisfied by the quality time with our friends and the rich culture that is New Orleans. If we are friends on FB then you have already seen these photos but here are a few for the blog followers alone...



Enjoying a treat at Café Du Monte



 

This was my favorite stop of the whole trip. It's a bar/restaurant called The Chimes in Covington just near their home.

 

Our sweet friends Alan and Jessica, who are expecting baby Tripp in October!

 

It was National Wear Your Lilly Day while we were on St. Charles Street, so I was sporting "You gotta regatta" and we were enjoying our daiquiris!
 

 Well, There is lots more to share but I'll leave you today with a picture of our new home :-) I know what you're thinking, "new home? didn't you just move to Tampa?"

The short answer is that after a year of prayer and 5 solid months of SEARCHING we found a home that is the perfect fit for us and what we hope to soon be our growing family...

 

Love & Peace.

 

Happy May!!

Just a couple updates on our life...

My dear sweet sister, Amanda, is in labor with her 3rd baby as I write this post!! That's right, Rosemary Grace Walton is preparing to join the world on "may day." With all the heartbreak the Walton's have had this year in losing their sweet baby girl Annabelle Elizabeth and then the loss of Rodney's incredible Mother- I'd say it's time for these dear hearts to have some JOY! Grant can't wait to be a big brother again! I'll let you know when she arrives!

The Coach and I are sickeningly happy. I think it's a disease to be this content all the time. He's preparing for his first season as the tight end coach at Armwood and I am preparing for a move to FIRST GRADE! That's right- I'm going to first grade in the fall and I'm so excited I could just die! I have so loved actually getting to teach kiddos to read this year (as opposed to last year when all I did was teach Reading Mastery, what a joke) that I know I will love taking the kiddos even further next year. It looks like I'll get about a third of my class again so that should be a blast. I love my babies this year. I will say that I am going to miss my Kindergarten team SO much. They have re-built me, they have embraced me and praised me. I have been able to teach the way I know is best and I have been appreciated for it. They are excellent teachers with so much to give, it has been SO refreshing.

No, we aren't pregnant.

We are still loving Florida. No snow, lots of sunshine and 30 minutes to the beach. What's not to love???

My birthday is on Monday so this is officially "Birthday Week!" Monday night was Walkin' Taco's for dinner and slurpees from 7/11 and last night was great gourmet burgers and a Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks. Tonight was the first night of spring practice so the Coach got home really late- dinner was on our own ( I had cereal and a hot dog- healthy, I know)  and as for my special treat, I guess I'll  have to wait and see what the Coach has planned! This weekend should be wonderful. We have a wedding, a date to Cinebistro and a trip to Tiffany's planned and not to mention a visit Orlando to hold my darling baby niece Rosie and hug on my sweet Sis.
 

I hope you're all happy as clams!

Love & Peace!

Sunday Wisdom.

{via}

 

Love & Peace

200th Post :-)

200 Posts! Who knew?

 I don't have the time or energy to make a list of the 200 things I love the most so I thought I'd settle for 20!

 

1. Tampa

This picture is from Valentine's Day weekend...Seriously. It was warm, sunny and we were at the beach. How can you NOT love this city??

This is what our neighborhood looks like at Christmas. No ice, no brown snow. Just a pastel sunset, and some decorations. #Heavenonearth

 

2. My family

I love this picture. Even though everyone is hurting deeply over the loss of our sweet Annabelle, we stood together as a family and my sister was the strongest of us all. I'll never, ever be able to repay the debt I owe her for the incredible service she did for me by standing at my side exactly two weeks after the death of her child. She is the truest representation of a Godly woman.

 

3. Being Married to the Coach

These are our first steps as husband and wife- out of the bubble that was our wedding ceremony and into the real world. So far, so good!

 

4. My "zipzip"

I know this picture is ugly because it's in the garage- but it's rainy today so I didn't pull her into the driveway. Y'all, I love this car. I know it's stupid but she's so cute and she's so zippy (I'm sure my Dad hates that I just wrote that) but it really is a little sports car. This car is such a good model BMW. The 2002, 2003, 2004 & 2005 3-series (mine is a 2003) cars got the best safety ratings of any luxury cars that year. It has a great back seat and pretty grey leather. I'm sure a car seat will fit nicely in there...someday.

 


My new monogram sticker in the back window. Clearly this car belongs to Elizabeth Evans Faust :-)

 

5. Jeremiah and Sophia, the worlds most low maintenance cats.

Rough life they have.

 

6. ANYthing Personalized

7. Lilly Pulitzer

8. Naps

9. Pandora

 

10. My School/My job

I mean check out that view?

 

11. SWEETS!!!!!!!!

 

12. Summer

 

 

13. Things that haven't changed.

Beef and Noodles at Grandma Craig's house. Grandpa Craig used the cut noodles, then it was my Dad and now it's The Coach.

 

14. The Kentucky Derby

This was my 21st birthday. I was born on May 6th so I was definitely a "Derby Baby." My Dad took my sister, my best friend Staci and me to the Derby that year and I look forward to going back ON my 30th birthday with my Husband :-)

 

15. Peppermint Tea

16. Birthdays

17. Southern Living's Wedding Magazine

18. Pink things

19. Pinterest

 

 

 

20. Rosemary Grace Walton

That would be my sister, Amanda in this picture with me and that bump on her belly is Rosemary Grace Walton- "Baby Rosie" is due to enter the world on May 1st. And we couldn't be more thrilled. We all miss Annabelle so much and we are glad that Grant will have a baby sister again. On our refrigerators we have lavender and white rose shaped magnets- they reminds us to pray for Amanda and Rosie whenever we see them and so I ask you, my blog family to do the same. When you are out shopping and see rose covered stationary or you're at the grocery and walk by the florist or perhaps when you see a rose pin the next time you're at the mall, please take just a second to lift up my sister, this baby girl and our family up in prayer. The support is more appreciated than you could ever know!

 

I hope you all have/had a wonderful Palm Sunday. I leave you, friends, with a few pictures of our morning here in the Sunshine state...which is uncharacteristically cloudy today.

 

Love & Peace.

 

"Bacado" Omlet at First Watch. So Delish.

 

Sunday morning Coach :-)

 

Recycled Lilly P. Don't judge.

 

I have a creamer problem....2 cups of coffee, 6 cups of creamer. So bad.

 

Evacuate the Cell Phone

So, I really love my job. And I really love my husband which means I'm doing very little interesting cooking or crafting or shopping lately because all I do is hang out in my Classroom, come home and make an easy dinner and then cuddle up with my husband or maybe go out for a bike ride.

So all I have are just a few non-facebook snapshots of what the Coach and I have been up to lately.

Lots of dinners on the lanai in the pretty winter weather in Tampa :-)

My Bridesmaid, Emily, had her baby in November and she and baby Leeland were kind enough to pick the Coach and I up from the airport last week.

Married life is bliss!

Jeremiah is still glad to back in the FL warmth.

My nephew Grant is getting really big. He turned 3 in October.

Sums up my marriage.

Sums up our Saturday mornings...exciting,  I know.

We made a trip back :-) Just for the day...it was enough, ha.

Love & Peace!

Move along lists

Moving can be very complicated. When I moved from Nashville to Bowling Green a few years ago I spent a huge amount of time organizing plastic storage bins and typing up lists of content. I even color coded the external lables to match the rooms in our tiny little apartment (later known as The Shoebox) where the containers need to be placed. Orange for the Kitchen, Green for the Den, Yellow for our bedroom and pink for the living room. I wrote K, D, BR and LR on the boxes too.  I was uncharacteristically organized and I would say "prepared" for the move...my Dad, brother-in-law and father-in-law might not all agree but I felt like I did pretty well.

 

There were some things I didn't anticipate. Those were the little things that you need starting the very first moment you move into your place. The Coach and I were incredibly blessed to have my Dad in town when we moved into our Kentucky apartment and he SO graciously took us to Walmart for $200 worth of things I hadn't even thought about. Moving is relatively expensive and I know now that we've moved to Tampa that it gets even more expensive when you move from an apartment to a house! 

 

So often when we move, we eat our way through the freezers and we intentionally get to the last of disposable items so that we don't have to move them BUT then we get to our new places and need those things right away! So I have compiled a of list of things that you might need in those first few days, just to help you avoid forgetting about the little things (and their often big costs!)

 

 

 

 

Love & Peace

 

Off Season

The football "off season" is the fastest moving slow paced time you can imagine.
I don't really do any special projects at the house, I don't see many of my friends, I don't do a lot of shopping or crafts. I really just spend as much time as possible with my husband.

The coach and I spend this time going out to dinner, making quick trips to the beach, we watch a lot of movies, we go on bike rides and we spend as much time at home as we want. It's a great thing. But it means I have less time and interest in blogging and for that I am sorry. I feel like now that it's almost February I really probably owe you an update.

In November the coach and I went to St. Augustine for the weekend. And while technically it was still football season, because Armwood was still in the playoffs, I'll consider this weekend away worthy of a post. It was The Coach's 26th birthday and as one of our Pre-baby goals is to take lots of little trips- this weekender was perfect.

At the Fort, trying not to fall off the unfenced edge.

This was one of the stops on our Birthday Pub Crawl. This picture was taken from the 2nd floor of a cool Irish Pub.

A post breakfast walk on the beach.

In December, after surviving the stress of the last few days in public education before a holiday, the Coach and I headed to Kentucky for 10 days....10 days. I was happy to see both the Coach's family and some of my extended family during a quick weekend to Illinois but I will say that it was COLD. And after 6 months of living in Tampa I'll admit that I had completely forgotten how cold it is there and I had certainly forgotten how badly cold weather can suck. When we arrived back in Tampa,I had never been so happy to see 75 degree temperatures in my life.

Man with a baby.

Holding our newest nephew, Grayson Christopher, on Christmas Eve.



Christmas Day!

Upon our return to school in January we decided to take an evening and head to Clearwater for dinner and some coffee...it turned into dinner, coffee, a 5 block walk in a 2 block area and a HUGE fight. Yes people, we do fight. It's rare now-a-days (knock on wood) but it does occur. This particular fight was absurd AND I'll spare you the gory details. Luckily we survived it ;-)


This dress was my Lilly Pulitzer New Year's Day sale. I adore it...and I think I need this giant chair for our backyard, don't you think?
 

 This past weekend was sensational. It was the most incredible weather here in Tampa and I actually got some sun...January-sun-amazing. Saturday morning I went to Orlando with a fellow teacher from my school to present at an arts integration conference. It was a great experience and a wonderful opportunity for me, I was honored to present with such a wonderful educator at such a wonderful conference.


The Keynote was from the Kennedy Center, he was excellent.

We hurried home following our presentation so that the Coach and I could make it to the Gasparilla Parade. It's the highlight of the winter here and we had the most wonderful time smoking cigars and drinking at the home of a family friend who live in a gorgeous condo overlooking Bayshore Blvd. It was the perfect day. We were able to enjoy the Parade without Port-a-Potties and access with air conditioning!

Recycled outfit, I know. Don't judge. Oh and P.S. I cut my hair!

Bayshore Blvd and Tampa Bay :-)

Today was the icing on the cake! After Church we picked up a Chicken Tender Sub from Publix and headed to the floating dock just a block away from my parents home. I was shocked when the Coach told me I'd never taken him there! While I didn't have any specific memories of taking him there I thought surely I must have during one of our visits home but apparently not. This dock was the end of the daily bike rides I took every summer from the time I was 9 years old until I was old enough to climb into my high school boyfriends pick up. Then it became a place for sunbathing, writing, praying, crying and singing along to the sound of an acoustic guitar. It's where I learned to fish and the place I began my first canoe trip. My surprise 17th birthday party was in the shady clearing just up the hill and being back there today felt like being 14 again. We laid on the dock listening to Pandora on the Coach's phone like a boombox and soaked up the sun and fed the minnows. And I remembered why we'd come home to stay.

#withmywholeheartformywholelife

I am so sorry that I've been out of touch. Maybe now that we're caught back up I'll be able to stay on it and keep you posted. I hope your lives are going in the right directions- I always love getting your emails so please keep 'em coming! Oh, and thanks Tracie for the motivation I need to get back to blogging ;-)

Love & Peace.