Introducing a New Fashion Series

August 16, 2016August 16, 2016 The Ameri Brit MomLeave a comment

Some of you have noticed that I’ve been rather mute in the social media world this week. School has started and my daughter began preschool. I’m currently working on finding a groove that works for me in order to keep up with my school work, family time, and writing. Thank you for your patience this week. I truly appreciate it.

To make up for my lack of content this week I want you to know that behind the scenes I’ve been orchestrating a new project. This is something I really wanted to do last spring, but waited to commit until recently challenged by my superintendent to document the good, bad, and ugly about teaching.

Starting this past Monday I will have 180 days in this school year and I plan to document a little bit from each of those days. Some days all I will do is snap a picture of my ensemble for the day. Other days you may get a little peak into my life as a teacher as well as my wardrobe. I will not overload your newsfeeds with these photos and blurbs. A daily dose of The Ameri Brit Mom (Teacher’s Edition) would be a bit much. Instead, I plan to wait until Wednesdays to publish my musings from the past week.

As much as I love clothes I don’t have a huge budget. I like to make wise purchases and love a good bargain. A goal of this series is to empower women (and men) to stretch their wardrobes to get the most from affordable pieces.

In the photo above I am wearing an Irma Top from LulaRoe and coral jeggings from Walmart. The whole look was under $50.

I’ve been in love with fashion for many years. For me, it’s way more than looking presentable at work or social functions. It’s about confidence.When you put effort into the process of getting ready each day you set yourself up for a productive and positive day. Slopping a last minute outfit together ten minutes before leaving the house leads to a day of feeling rushed and slows down your momentum.

As a teacher I need every ounce of enthusiasm I can muster each day. As much as I love the job it had its tiring points. Teacher to-do lists are seemingly unending. Exhaustion comes with the territory, but is far outweighed by the meaningful connections made with students every day in the classroom. Instead of rolling out of bed and heading to school looking like a hot mess, I’m committing to starting my day with positive vibes.

Next Wednesday you will see my first week of Dressing and Educating. I hope you are looking forward to it as much as I am.

The Ameri Brit Mom

Five Minute Friday: Morning

February 26, 2016 The Ameri Brit Mom3 Comments

This week the topic for the Five Minute Friday link-up post is Morning. What is a link-up? Essentially a link-up is when you join other bloggers and write on a similar topic. You share your blog posts with one another and begin conversations via a host site. You can head over to Kate Motaung’s page to check out other entries from inspired bloggers. Here’s my five minutes of uninterrupted, unedited writing on this week’s topic:

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*This is a short fictional piece, but very much based on my morning coffee routines.*

“Can I help you?” A tall and skinny barista asked with a plastered smile across her face. No one is ever that happy at seven A.M. I thought to myself. I’m not always as cynical as the time between waking and receiving my morning coffee.

“Yes, I’ll take a large pour over.” I said without making eye contact with the woman taking my order. The rustling in my purse to find my wallet kept me from feeling that awkward obligation to force a smile in return to the barista’s.

“Any cream or sugar?” The barista asked as she punched a code into the register.

“No.” I scoffed a bit in my response I must admit. After all, it was seven A.M. which is the time before cream and sugar should reasonably be consumed.

“That will be $3.95.” The barista explained as if I hadn’t already known the cost of my usual drink. We exchanged my small plastic card and upon it’s return to my hand the girl whose name, Lysa, I had just noticed from her name tag pointed to the end of the counter where I would soon unite with my coffee.

I scooted my way toward the pick up station. There were others in line ahead of me so I took my phone from my purse and began to surf social media. I was careful not to invite others to speak to me as my small talk abilities didn’t really kick in until after my first cup of the day. After finger flicking through the latest gossip on my phone for a few minutes my ears were met with the sound of Lysa, the barista, calling out my name.

“Brittany, your pour over is ready.”

I threw my phone back into the front pocket of my bag and reached my hand across the counter. The warmth of the paper cup brought the morning’s first flicker of life to my body. The smell of the coffee was wafting through the small hole in the lid of the cup. As the smell entangled my nostrils I felt my negativity melting away. I took a small sip careful not to burn my lips or mouth. And after the ammunition of one perfectly crafted drink of coffee I mustered up the energy to speak.

“Thank you.” I spoke as I turned to leave the small shop. You can’t beat a good cup of coffee in the morning to get your day started off right.

Awards

Second Month…Second Award.

March 19, 2015March 19, 2015 The Ameri Brit Mom1 Comment

Over the past two months I have been sharing pieces of my story and my journey as a busy mom with readers from all over the globe. What I started as a therapy for myself has opened doors to relationships in various parts of the world. I was shocked when the first stranger began to follow my blog and my site stats have blossomed beyond belief. Here I am not even through my second month as a part of the blogging community and I am receiving my second award nomination from a fellow reader and blogger.

I am so pleased with the adventure I have begun here in the blogging world. I also am excited over the next few weeks to reveal some new and exciting ideas with those who follow me. So before I begin addressing the award itself and the requirements for nominees I first would like to thank those of you who have made it a habit to keep up with my musings and life through subscribing to my blog, liking my posts, and leaving me comments. There have been days that I’ve felt discouraged, but then received a message from a follower that has helped give me a sense of purpose in this writing realm. So…Thank You!

So here’s the deal:

“The One Lovely Blog Award nominations are chosen by fellow bloggers for those newer or up-and-coming bloggers. The goal is to help give recognition and to also help the new blogger reach more viewers. It also recognizes blogs that are considered to be “lovely” by the fellow-blogger who chose them. This award acknowledges bloggers who share their story or thoughts in a beautiful manner to connect with their viewers and followers.”

I was nominated by Danielle at Way Off Script for this particular award. Danielle and I have exchanged many comments over the past weeks. She is an encouraging follower of my blog and an inspiration as she is raising twin toddlers. Thanks, Danielle.

Those who receive this award must first post seven fun facts about themselves so here are mine:

1. I am married to a British Basketball Free-styler. His globe-trotter like hobby has allowed us many opportunities to travel as a family. He has done professional shows all over the US and England and has a few really cool gigs coming up. Stay tuned to where his talents are taking our family.

2. I am a high school English and World History teacher at a rural school in Ohio. I have my dream job and I love it (most days)

3. I graduated high school early and so I was a fully employed teacher at the age of 20! (That was crazy because I had some students that were only 3 years younger than me at the time)

4. I ran competitively in high school. I qualified for the Ohio state cross country meet two out of four years in high school. I’ve also run two half marathons since high school and would love to complete a full marathon at some point in the future.

5. I love reading young adult fiction and my favorite sub-genre is Science Fiction/dystopian literature.

6. One day I would like to write a novel. This has been a goal of mine for many years and the publishing of this blog is my first step in that direction.

7. I am a coffee addict. I had a casual relationship with coffee until I had my daughter. Now, I’m close to the Lorelei Gilmore status as far as coffee addictions go.

My second task is to nominate up to fifteen other blogs for this award. I don’t know about fifteen since I am still a new blogger, but here are a few of my favorites:

Navy Striped Peonies

The Persistent Platypus

Desperate Housewife

Honey Hive Home

Welcome to My World

During my time as a blogger I have found inspiration and hope in these blogs. These are all women who write about an array of topics ranging from crafting and fashion to raising toddlers and having victory over mental illnesses. Please take some time show some love to these blogs.

One thing I have grown to love about the blogging community is the positivity and kindness that seems to be contagious. When I choose blogs to follow I look for writers who are genuine and promote a positive message thus making my daily readings inspirational and applicable to my own life. I love being a part of a community of people with a story to tell and the creativity and drive to do so.