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A Must Read for Earth Day + Free Bookmarks!

If you are concerned about the planet, if you garden, if you work in or own a big business, if you like science memoirs, you must read Braiding Sweetgrass. I adored this book. Granted, I am a double major in English and Biology, so science texts with reflections on humanity and our place in the universe are *chef’s kiss* perfection for my soul. This is a collection of essays that weave…

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My Kid's Reading Journal, Or How I'm Channeling My Dad and Bribing My Kid to Read More

I have a love/hate relationship with reading journals for kids. As a kid, I hated them. For the most part. My dad made it extra homework for us because he’s one of those immigrant parents who thought American schools didn’t assign enough work. He made us keep a daily journal: 5 sentences to describe our day, and 5 sentences to summarize at least one thing we read that day. He’d check every now…

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Read This Before The Next Eclipse!

This essay changed my mind about eclipses Consider this my assigned reading to you for this weekend! Helen Macdonald wrote the essay “How to Stay Sane During a Solar Eclipse” in anticipation of the 2017 eclipse. I remember distinctly and aggressively NOT caring then. My entire school made an event out of it, making solar glasses and having the entire student body go outside to watch it. I…

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The Somewhat Counter-intuitive Reading Habit That Helped Me Read More

I am a slow reader. Well, slow compared to the hardcore Bookstagrammers and Booktokers out there. I don’t think I’ll ever reach 50+ books a year, at least not at my current stage of parenthood. But I have consistently surpassed my personal goal of 25 books/year for a few years now, and to me, that’s still a lot. Continue reading The Somewhat Counter-intuitive Reading Habit That Helped Me…

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My 2024 Reading Journal Project

Reading journals are in my blood. From being forced to keep a journal as a kid, to becoming an English teacher and learning that processing our reading through book clubs and logs helps us remember our reading more, I love keeping track of my reading. I successfully kept a journal for about 6 years, but I fell out of practice in 2020 because… well, 2020. I yearn for the Instagram-worthy…

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DIY Pop Culture Advent Calendar: One of My Favorite Holiday Projects EVER!

I have to give all the credit to my friend Kelly for this one. My friends come up with such fun projects for me to do, and this one was AMAZING. If you’re painting your own advent calendar this year, or just looking for ideas for pop culture Christmas paintings, scroll down to see images from my three advent calendars and tips from me! Happy crafting! Way back in 2020–The Year That Shall…

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Holiday Freebies: Printable Lord of the Rings Handlettered Quotes

What better way to celebrate the fall and winter holidays than with quotes about food and togetherness from JRR Tolkien? I wanted to try my hand at downloadable freebies, so here’s a set of handlettered pieces that I made in 2022! These are 8.5x11in downloadable PDFs. They are for your personal use, and not intended for resale in anyway. I hope you enjoy nerding out your classroom, office, or…

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Transcendentalist Day

The change of seasons from summer to fall always makes me think of one of my absolute favorite lessons for American Studies. Full disclosure: This is a lesson idea I took from our AmStud district lead. But it’s such a good one that I have to share! I love taking an inquiry-based approach to learning. One of my favorite strategies is launching with an experience that students can apply to an…

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Taking Engineering Lessons Home: A SCRUM Task Board for Household Chores

After teaching during COVID, all my task management strategies fell apart. My mental load was overflowing. When my second child was born in 2022, I couldn’t afford to let things continue to get out of hand. It felt like nothing was getting done in the house, the piles of laundry never stopped, and I could never catch up. Mind you, I still feel like that. But this helped. Continue reading…

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A Multifaceted, Multicultural Identity: Visual Texts About the Experiences of Children of Immigrants

Children of immigrants, particularly first generation and second generation, have a unique struggle with identity. Continue reading Untitled

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How to Spot Trending Colors and Make Your Own Color Palette

I turned into the fall decor aisle at Michael’s (in August, while it was over 100F for days here in Texas, but let’s not dwell on that), and I was floored. The colors were breathtaking. Continue reading Untitled

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Haaaaaave You Tried Printable Art?

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Rad Bookish Designs for 80s and 90s Kids

Being a child in the 80s and 90s was an experience. Lisa Frank binders. Running home to watch your favorite shows because DVR and streaming didn’t exist. Commercials. Playing with friends without the internet tempting you away from playing make-believe. That’s what I wanted to channel with this line of designs. They are a mix of Fresh Prince + Saved by the Bell + Lisa Frank, and they are the…

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13 Bookish Stickers for Your Water Bottle!

The best Etsy tip I’ve applied recently: don’t go on vacation mode! I usually put my shop in vacation mode after my last Christmas shipment, but this year, I decided to stay online. It motivated me to create new sticker designs and grow my shop! Plus, it’s been fun to keep connecting with people after the holidays have ended. Here are my newest stickers, including links to their Etsy…

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8 Unique Gifts for Your Favorite English Teacher

Looking for a fun way to tell your Lit teacher that they’re “Lit” for Teacher Appreciation Week or a great end of year gift? Check out these affordable and quirky pieces! Born to Read, Read or Die Sticker This one’s definitely for the “cool” teacher! I created this biker-inspired design as a nod to how “bad” teachers have been labeled lately. It’s a slightly subversive nod to those “scary”…

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Calligraphy Workshop: Online Resources

Calligraphy Workshop: Online Resources

I’m hosting an introduction to calligraphy workshop today! Here are the resources I’ll be sharing with my class:

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2019 in Books: Record-Breaking, Life-Changing, and a Whole Lot of Fun

2019 in Books: Record-Breaking, Life-Changing, and a Whole Lot of Fun

35 books.

I shattered my goal of 25. And I had a hella good time.

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