My Tech Drawer Makeover: Organizing Cords, Gadgets, and More

January 27, 2025
by Amy
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featured image with post text my tech drawer makeover: organizing cords, gadgets, and more and messy drawer photo

The tech drawer in our house has been in an unfortunate state for quite some time. I believe being organized in 85-90% of my life is enough for sanity, and our tech drawer has been part of the other 10-15%.

I reached the end of my patience with this one, though. Enough was enough – I couldn’t take it any longer! LOL

In this post, I’ll show you some before and after photos and talk through the thought process I went through in finding a better organizational solution for our tech drawer.

It’s 2025 – you likely have one as well, and if you don’t, it might be time to consolidate and create one dedicated space for technology!

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Friday Finds #282

January 24, 2025
by Amy
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Over Christmas break, we took our nephews indoor skydiving. It was so much fun! Believe it or not, I’ve been real-life skydiving before! When I sold Cutco knives in college, they did a skydiving office outing. It was awesome!

Here’s an up-close of me in action during indoor skydiving.

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A Better Option: My Move Out of Evernote and Into Notion

January 3, 2025
by Amy
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We’re three days into 2025, and if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that a lot can change in one year in the world of technology.

One year ago, I was sharing with you on the podcast how I had moved 80% of what I do into Notion but left 10% in Evernote. Mostly, I kept ahold of Evernote for articles and reference items I didn’t access much but didn’t want to let go of. I got tired of Evernote bugging me to upgrade, so several months ago, I finally exported the rest of my content from Evernote and into Notion.

Fast forward 12 months, and now, 90% of my life is organized in Notion. You may wonder, “What about the final 10%?” While we all have this fantasy of being able to do everything in one place, I just don’t think it’s realistic!

In this post, I’ll give you a little visual comparison of the difference between Evernote and Notion (two note-taking and productivity apps), share the process I went through for moving out of Evernote and into Notion, explain more of my reasoning behind the 10% that’s not in notion.

If you’re an Evernote user looking to move into Notion or just looking for a quality app for managing your studio and life, I hope you’ll walk away feeling inspired by what Notion can do for you.

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My 2024 Student Christmas Gifts

December 27, 2024
by Amy
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I know it’s a bit late to give you a student Christmas gift idea for this year, but now you have a head start on 2025! 🙂

This year, I made homemade caramel corn!

Not only was this the first time I’ve ever given caramel corn to my students, but it’s the first time I’ve ever tried making caramel corn, period.

In this post, I will give you a step-by-step tutorial on how to make caramel corn. It was a very economical gift that was enjoyable to make.

I’m thrilled with how they turned out, and students were delighted!

If you’re interested in homemade food ideas for student Christmas gifts, you might also be interested in >>>My Perfect Homemade Student Christmas Gift: Hot Cocoa

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Friday Finds #281

November 21, 2024
by Amy
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It’s funny—I was telling my students this past week, “You know how we don’t really have Thanksgiving music like we have Christmas music?!” (I was giving them a challenge to rewrite the Lyrics to Jingle Bells in homage to Thanksgiving, thanks to Christina Whitlock’s suggestion on this episode.)

I was chuckling inside as I said that, though, because I conjured up a list of some really fun Thanksgiving songs in my custom Thanksgiving playlist.

Songs like “Sweet Potato Pie” by Ray Charles, “Let’s Turkey Trot” by Little Eva, “Carvin’ the Bird” by Charlie Parker, and more. So fun!

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Friday Finds #279

September 27, 2024
by Amy
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I’ve always kept a small handheld vacuum in my studio to be able to sweep little things quickly (especially eraser junk off the music rack!). Our old Shark, though, got re-assigned to our camper since it had a beater blade on it we can use to sweep the rug.

I tried going without one but really missed it, so I finally went on the hunt.

What was I especially interested in?

  • Small and lightweight
  • Easy to clean
  • A stand it could be stored on
  • Minimal attachments – only really useful ones
  • Replacement filter so after I wash one, I can replace it while the other one dries.
  • Under $50

Here’s the one I went with. It charges on USB and has a little brush attachment that’s useful for gently cleaning around a keyboard or the tuning pins of the grand piano. There’s a tiny little brush intended to help you clean the mini filter, but I used it to brush junk from around the tuning pins so I could sweep better. Right now, it’s on sale for 40% off at a nice $29 price point!

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Friday Finds #278

August 30, 2024
by Amy
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I would be remiss if I didn’t start this week’s Friday Finds with the most recent news shocking our community: The End of Finale.

While Finale was a leader in the industry for decades, I can understand the reasoning behind the decision. Several years ago, after doing a monthly subscription with Noteflight for years, I was considering whether I wanted to continue with Noteflight or move to Dorico or Finale. Between the latter two options, I would have chosen Dorico. My needs were minimal, however, so when Noteflight opened an option for a lifetime license, I jumped on board.

Natalie Weber has already written a helpful blog post on making her transition to Dorico.

Last year, it was Tonara, and now Finale. It makes me wonder… what will be the big shocker at the start of the 2025 school year?

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Friday Finds #277

July 19, 2024
by Amy
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58. That’s the number of items I have saved up to share with you in Friday Finds! I hate to be cliche but this summer has been crazy! I keep thinking I’m going to sit down and write one (which usually takes a 75 minute work block), but it just kept getting bumped. *sigh*

On the positive side, I always have lots of great things to share with you, and the more I have saved, the choosier I become. So, you really DO get the best of what I think is worth your time.

I hope you’ve had a great summer thus far – enjoy what’s left!

~Amy

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