pretty weather = pretty pictures

We all know that I am the world's best friend, due to all the love I show Colby's photography.

Saturday was the most perfect day for photos. The weather was extremely gorgeous, very rare for January, but then again, I live in Missouri, and the weather here is more bipolar than my grandmother. So Colby, his new camera, and I took advantage of the lovely weather and took some photos. In a cemetery. But you can't tell in these photos. :)

We had a lot, a lot of fun.

Later that night I went out on a double date with Blake and his parents, and we saw Country Strong. Tammie and I really wanted to see it. :)

Right now, I'm listening to the live broadcast of the Best Coast & Wavves concert in D.C. and working on a painting for my beautiful friend Janel's fundraising efforts so she and her sweet husband can adopt their little baby girl soon. I'm so extremely grateful to be able to say that I was a part of helping them out, even if what I'm doing is so small, and insignificant in the whole scheme of things. Janel is a fantastic friend, and one of my best. :)

I'm also quite ready for the snowpocalypse. I have two full 2-liters of Coke, not really sure how long that'll last me, but I should be good for at least tomorrow. Hahaha. Good night! :)

xo hay

last night.

this is what we did all night:

we watched The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (and bits and pieces of To Catch a Predator every now and then. it was a good night.

this boyfriend of mine is pretty much perfect, i'd say.

:)

xo. haley

lately.

I decided this blog was in need of something more than just photo booth pictures (and for that, I am very sorry-ish). So.. a mini photo dump of sorts is in order, I suppose.

I've been running around like crazy lately, or so it seems. As I mentioned the other day, I made the last minute decision to drive to St. Louis and spend the weekend at my aunt's. I got to see little Max, and Miss Cassie (whom I miss very, very much). She gave me the tour of her theatre at school, and her dorm. And also surprised me with some very vital info concerning her career. My girl is signing a contract with her agency and moving to LA in the fall. She's growing up so fast.. :)

Monday was bestfriend-Breighann's 19th birthday, so Blake and I went to her surprise birthday party.

(Blake also brought me Starbucks & a new record when I got home from STL. Awesome boyfriend I have)

Tuesday, I had school and Blake and I saw Burlesque, and he complained very little, if at all, actually. Like I said, I have a really awesome boyfriend.

I added some Red Velvet love to my car...
I was a bit goofy at work, all by myself yesterday afternoon, after spending a chunk of time working on our new V-Day display..
Its still got some work to do... Momma is making a Love-themed banner to go across the front of the case. I'm so excited!

Aunt Leslie bought me new shoes and I heart them a lot.
And my boyfriend is really adorable.

I don't have anything else important to say. Not that any of this was important and life changing to you anyway :)

xo Haley

new hair + baby kisses

I dyed my hair yesterday!

Its the darkest I've ever had it... but, its not as black as this picture makes it out to be. I do love it, but its taking some getting used to. Every time I dye my hair, I dye it darker than my natural color, but it usually has a red tint to it. This time, I went with a nearly-black color. I was so scared during the 25 minute wait to wash it out. But I think I like it. :)
During work yesterday, I made a last minute decision to go to St. Louis, so when I got home, I charged my phone, packed up some clothes and left. I drove the 3.5 hour drive all by myself (for my very first time, too!), and because of the way the weather has been, I couldn't go the way I usually go, so I had to drive a way that I'm not really used to. It was interesting to say the least. But it was all worth it when I got to my aunt's house and was greeted by the cutest little baby kiss from Mr. Max. He's my favorite little boy. :)
Leslie and I are "working" on our Macs & watching Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. We're getting really into it. I think we're going to get manicures later in the afternoon, so I'm really looking forward to some legit girl time with my aunt. I've missed her a lot. :)

Have a wonderful Sunday ♥

-Haley

biffy*night

i love this girl a lot.

she just got her gall bladder removed. go breigh!

:)

xo. haley

snow days + meatless burgers + betsey johnson

OMG.

I just got a comment from Miss Liz about the Burlesque costume I'm in awe over, and she told me Betsey Johnson has a swimsuit much like the risque costume I want, want, want. And now I need, need, need this swimsuit! Holy cute, I need it. Thank you, Liz, this just made my day SO much better. :)

Anyways, I've been struggling with this whole vegetarianism thing a bit lately - not because I have an overwhelming desire to eat meat, but because I'm constantly reminded that my family doesn't exactly support my decision to go through with it. Butttt... I peaked in the freezer the other night and noticed a special something my momma picked up for me while she was grocery shopping..

Vegan burgers! Isn't she the sweetest? They are kinda gray looking...and rather lifeless, but they taste alright, and its a good substitute when I'm craving something with a meaty texture. Not bad at all!

Today was my first snow day as a college student, and I was so excited. Last night, I was not looking forward to school at all. So, I was beyond thrilled when I got the text that classes were cancelled. Now I don't have class until Tuesday. So. Stoked. And tomorrow is a snow day (again) for my little brothers and my momma. So they'll be home, while I'm at work, but thankfully I only work for a few hours, so I can go right back home and put on my pajamas and watch movies with my family. I love them oh so much. :)

xo. Haley.

Burlesque.

I saw Burlesque last night... It was the ultimate cheese-fest. It was so silly, the acting was terrible, and the story was way overdone. But the costumes and the club scenes were absolutely mesmerizing. I have never wanted to be in a movie as bad as Burlesque. Except for maybe Gone with the Wind. But that's for completely different reasons. :)

Burlesque was so full of feathers, and beads, and sequins, and pretty things. I want to wear those outfits! Especially this one:

I wish you could see the rest of it... there are hand prints on the butt, too. Its so hilariously cute. I WANT.

And it was so hilarious watching Colby get excited every time Cher sang a song (which was only twice. Thank goodness). I'm not much of a Cher fan, but my best friend sure is. :)

Anyways... here are my two favorite parts. The first is just adorable, and the second features the costume I want. :)

Go see Burlesque. If only for the reason that its good for a laugh or two. :)

xo Haley

oh, and to make this a legit post....

Here are some sweet Harry Potter cupcakes that I should probably make for my boyfriend sometime. :)

as you know..

I did a bit of product modeling... and I'm sooo excited about the rest of the photos! After seeing this one, I got SUPER excited. Like, seriously. I keep looking at it! Not in a vain/self righteous kind of way, I promise. Its just too awesome! Elsie did a great job working with a TERRIBLE model. :)

And Daddy tagged along, and snuck some behind the scenes pictures.

Have I ever told you that my dad is THE best?! He is. And he way enjoyed Emma's cupcakes, and I love my new dress from Elsie. Such a good night. :)

xo haley

wishful thinking.

School starts Tuesday.

I am less than thrilled.

What I'm wishing for today: Spring weather, Starbucks, a suuuper good paycheck, and to see Mr. Blake very, very soon.

Dad and I are about to head to Springfield to Elsie's so I can do more product modeling for Red Velvet. I'm so stoked. I did a shoot with her over the summer, and if our photos tonight turn out anything like the others did:

I will be very, very happy. :)

Seeee you soon. :)

xo Haley

thinking out loud.

It is no secret that I want to live in New York City sometime in the near future.

But today I was thinking: I am so envious of those who were born and raised in New York. They know the city like the back of their hands, they know how to handle the people (and what's more the attitudes). The atmosphere, the chaos, New York is their home, and it is what they are used to. I envy that. All I know is a small town where I have to drive to the town 30 minutes away to get Starbucks or go see a movie; the way I dress is even too much for this insanely small town that I live in. And then I started thinking about if when I move to New York... I want to have a family eventually. I am going to bring a child into the world that will have the life I always wanted. My child will be the true New Yorker I have always wanted to be. And I'm jealous of this child that is 10+ years away from existence. But I'm okay with this. This is the life I'm choosing for myself, and for my future family. And it is absolutely perfect.

xo. Haley

Colby Kern Photography.

I have been wanting to blog about something all day.. But what? I don't know.

I have had this strange urge a l l day to blog... but I'm have a mad case of blogger's block.

As I sit here and contemplate about what exactly I want to write about, and that at this very moment, I am, in fact, rambling on about nothing... I lost my train of thought. You see? I have nothing to write about.

So here's what I'll do.

A shameless plug for my best friend's photography.

That'll have to do for now.

Colby is a very talented young man. Even in the early days of our friendship, we were captivated by the idea of capturing a moment (albeit, a very posed moment) on film. His love for photography has definitely developed over the past few years, and he continues to get better and better with each photo shoot. I am so, so proud of him.

There's just a bit of his work. I love him.

Check out his blog and his facebook for more :)

xo hay

fashion + blogging

what i wore last night... now i wish i had a legit, full picture of my outfit. it was cuuuute.

lately, i have been obsessed with fashion blogs. i could spend hours upon hours looking through chictopia and lookbook... i have before, and i will tomorrow, most likely. haha.

fashion blogging is weird to me, though. i mean, who just decides one day that they have a good enough sense of fashion to share it with the world? and what's even more astounding to me is that people get popular off of it, too. admittedly, as i said before, i love fashion; i love blogs; so it makes sense to love blogs about fashion. but its just a strange concept to me. i did one post before on an outfit i wore one day (and it was lame), and i must say - it is actually really fun to share your outfit of the day. i enjoyed it quite a bit. i may try to do that more in the future, if you all don't mind.. :) p.s. you can look on my flickr for some of my past favorite outfits of mine.

i do have 3 favorite bloggers that i always keep on the lookout for though:

*lily of llymlrs. i think i like lily the most. her outfits are much like my own; we have very similar styles. and i always find her outfits to be the most wearable, in my own humble opinion, that is. also. i am in love with her hair, just like everyone else that follows her. this is my most favorite outfit of hers. its so simple and girly.

*coury of fancy treehouse. holy gosh, this girl is cute. she has such a whimsical style about her, and she's just the cutest. and she has just about the most adorable blog in the world, too. everything about coury is cute (even her name is cute. gosh). i want to grow up and be like her. minus the blonde hair. that wouldn't look good on me. :) *miss elsie of a beautiful mess. elsie's blog is who i go to when i need a vintage-fashion fix. her daily outfit posts are always full of vintage & thrifted goodness, and she works wonders when mixing prints. i'm super stoked about her new makeover feature, as well as Red Velvet Gets Fancy. she's always been a fantastic source of inspiration, but as of lately, her blog has been filled to the brim with cute clothes and pretty things. looove.

So, I may try my hand at fashion blogging in the near-ish future. Maybe.

But, in the meantime, this sick girl needs to get her rest. I've been on the couch all day and I still feel nasty. Tomorrow will most likely be the same too. I'm hoping its not a snow day for my brothers, because as hard as I used to pray for snow days when I was in school, I very much treasure my precious alone time at home. So cross your fingers that they'll go to school tomorrow!

xo Hay

under the weather.

i don't feel well today.

like, at all. i can't breathe, hear, or talk.

my boss is kinda feeling it too, i think. and we have a catering event tomorrow night. BLAH.

but in the mean time,

its 7 pm, i'm getting into bed, wrapping myself up in huge blankets, watching Donnie Darko and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. and reading The Virgin Suicides (one of the books on my list) and drinking lots and lots of hot chocolate.

Maybe I'll actually fall asleep at a decent time, and won't wake up from bad dreams and coughing fits and I'll get a long, nice night of rest.

But that's doubtful.

Good. Night.

xo Haley.

p.s.

blogging from miss breighann's couch.

we've had quite the interesting afternoon, complete with talks of ex boyfriends, creepers, and lots of sing-alongs. jaz,breigh,and i always have a wonderful time.. :)

p.s. breigh is having surgery on her gall bladder on thursday. pray for her please and thanks. :)

i ate lunch with my little brother,Tucker, today. he was so excited! he couldn't wait to tell all of his 5th grade buddies about his "cool" sister that has a tattoo and doesn't eat meat. "guys.. my sister is a vegetarian that has a tattoo. and she's in college. she's cool."

my brother is too cute.

i have nothing else to say.

just like every other day.

maybe tomorrow will be different. lets hope.

xo hay

I have nothing of great importance to say.

I have found my room to be extra cozy lately. And I'm also thinking I'm not going to take down my tree. Who cares that its past Christmas, and they aren't exactly year-round appropriate? I like it.

Embarrassing: The "Plenty of Fish" website's commercial makes me smile. And I'm pretty sure I cried the first time I saw it. Hahah. Its so adorable!

I have watched many, many weird films in the past few weeks (cough, The Human Centipede, cough). But, I saw Black Swan (finally) tonight.. and I have mixed feelings about it. I liked it. Loved it, actually. But I think if I were to see it a second time, I wouldn't like it as much. The initial shock of it, the extreme anxiety, the uneasy feeling it gave me... I don't think it would carry over into the second time watching it. But of course, I don't know that. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'll like it even more the second time.

Its grandma night though.. and I'm afraid to tell her that I no longer eat meat, so every time she offers to make me something to eat, and it contains meat, I just say "ehh...no, I'm not that hungry.." but in all reality, I AM STARVING. hahaha, I'm so scared to tell her, for some reason.

(Ps it is day 3 of zero meat... and its killing me. I realized the other day that my fast food options are very slim nowadays. And Blake came over yesterday, and ate his beautiful looking Chinese food in front of me. Torture. But.. I can do this!)

We're just chillin out, waiting for the Craigslist Killer movie to start. I'm freaking psyched for this movie! She, on the other hand, is not quite as excited.

Tomorrow I'm surprising the little brother and going to eat lunch with him and his little 5th grade pals. I'd rather not, but if I don't, I won't do anything all day, and I'll feel beyond pathetic and unproductive. Not a cool feeling.

xo Haley