mini get to know me!

There’s been lots of new faces around here lately, so I figured it was time I do a little “get to know me” post! First of all, welcome to my little corner of the internet! I’m so glad you’re here!!

a little background on my education...

I graduated from Kansas State University in May of 2019 with my undergraduate degree in Social Work. My social work degree has been a fantastic foundation for my career as a school counselor. Ultimately what led me to working in a school was my social work practicum in a 5A middle school. Call me crazy, but I fell in love. I spent time with both the school social worker & the school counselor, & found that my personality meshed with the school counselor side of things better. For example, I am a total type A person & LOVE organization so enrollment & scheduling is right up my alley. I also really enjoyed getting to work with ALL students whereas social workers are only allowed to work with students who have counseling services on their IEPs. During my practicum in my final semester of undergrad was when I decided to get my masters in School Counseling from Fort Hays State University. I graduated with my masters in May of 2021 & am just finishing my fourth year as a middle school counselor in a rural Kansas district. In the spring of 2023, I got my sweet Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Piper, & we started our journey to get her certified as a therapy dog! She gets to come to school with me every day & (as I’m sure you can imagine) all of the students just adore her. We have one class left & will take it as soon as she’s healed from her bilateral patellar fixation surgery.

a little background on the blog...

When I was in middle school & high school, I worked at a local boutique called SassyBags. This is where I found my love for clothing & accessories & started to find my own style. SassyBags was owned by a close friend & mentor of mine & one of the greatest things I learned from her was how to express your faith through your style — whether that be by wearing a cross necklace or a cute tee that has a Bible verse on it, etc. (More on my faith below).

The summer that I left K-State was when I decided to start this blog. While working at the school for my social work practicum, I would get lots of questions & compliments from coworkers about my outfits, accessories, & style in general. I decided to start sharing about it online & it became a creative outlet for me. Looking back, I’ve definitely always had a love for stuff like this & finally found a way to share it with others. I never dreamed that it would take off like it has & that I would get to meet so many wonderful people through the internet! My mom & sisters both help out tremendously with the blog & will be sharing more about themselves later, but for now you can check out what they’re doing under the “about us” tab on the main page.

a little bit about me...

This next part is going to be a hodge podge of things that are important to me, my hobbies & pet peeves, random facts about me, common questions I get, etc.!

I am a sinner saved by grace! My personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important thing in my life! I nurture this relationship by going to church, reading the Bible & doing bible studies. At the end of 2023, I finished up reading the entire Bible. Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading & Understanding the Entire Bible was such a great resource that helped me better understand what I was reading & how it applies to my life! It was amazing to me how much was familiar & how much I didn’t know I was missing. Having a better understanding of the Bible & being in the word every day has brought so much peace into my life! If you’ve been feeling the pull to read your Bible more, I highly recommend Bible recap to help you on your journey. Leading up to Easter, I did From Death to Life: 40 Days of Dying to Self & Living for Christ. It was such a good way to prepare my heart for Easter! Next, I am going to do The Lord’s Prayer study. You can’t go wrong with any study from The Daily Grace Co. They are all so good & relevant + they have other great resources & gift ideas!

Some pet peeves of mine include chewing loudly + with your mouth open, know-it-alls (oops maybe because I am one???), people who let their dog come up to Piper without asking (we can be friends, but let’s talk about it first!), people who cut me off while driving.

Something people would be surprised to know about is me is that I’m adopted by my dad. It’s definitely not a secret & I’ve shared a little bit about it on the blog every year on “Allidoption Day” (the anniversary of the day I was adopted). Part of the reason I think people would be surprised is because my dad & I actually look quite a bit alike — we have the same skin tone (the sun loves us & we don’t sunburn easily) & we are the only two in our family that have brown eyes. Tell me that isn’t a God thing! My mom & I have talked about writing a post that tells our story a bit more in depth because it really is beautiful & God has had His hand in all of it. So keep a look out for that in the future!

I do have a brother (though I don’t talk about him as much on the blog). He is the only male that I allow to follow the blog — the rest get blocked!

My sisters & I got matching tattoos last summer. They are pretty meaningful to us since biologically we are only “half sisters”, but it has never felt that way.

In the last couple of years I’ve rediscovered my love of reading. I joined my mom’s book club last summer which consists of a bunch of my old teachers + my mom’s friends. They have welcomed me with open arms & have made me feel so included! It has been so much more that “just a book club” for me. To be able to openly talk about different beliefs on the deep books we read has been such a gift! They have taught me a lot about life & have shown me what a respectful community of supportive women (who may not believe in the same things) is supposed to look & feel like. Plus there’s always yummy food & good drinks at the hosting house lol. You can add me as a friend on Goodreads to stay up to date with what I’m currently reading!

I bought a house in the summer of 2022 & homeownership has been such a whirlwind! I got super lucky with my house as it was gutted & remodeled a couple of years before I bought it. I’ve only had to do minor repairs & additions. I put up a beautiful privacy fence last spring so that Piper & I can enjoy the backyard in peace. My house is right behind main street & the local park is nearby. I love my students but got kind of tired of hearing “hey Miss Rice!!!” yelled from the park, or being told Monday morning that they saw me drinking a beer lol.

I really love listening to podcasts, specifically true crime & talking about them with my sister, Bethany. In another life we both probably would’ve been FBI agents & you can’t tell us any different. (Crime Junkie is my fav).

I am a huge K-State fan! I still get goosebumps when I hear the alma mater. Last fall, we got season tickets for football & started tailgating every game. It was a blast & has quickly become my favorite part of fall!

I am a major homebody, but I do love traveling & exploring different places as long as I’m with people I love!

If I could never drink water again & only drink McDonald’s diet dr pepper, I would.

I really hate cooking, but am a major foodie. See how there’s an issue here?

I have always loved going for walks & that activity got ten times better when I got my little walking buddy, Piper!

My favorite season is winter followed by fall, then spring, then summer.

I worked really hard to pay of my car a few years early & then I hit two deer at the same time & totaled it. I’m working to pay off my new one + working on my student loans. My goal is to be debt free, but we all know that’s easier said than done.