Currently.

My BFF Colby recently blogged this fun little post, and I thought that I would join in the fun since I'm currently lacking major inspiration and desire to blog. Sad face.

Obsessing Over the new reading corner in my bedroom. I bought my first piece of furniture a few days ago, and I'm in love! I had a bit of buyer's remorse (like I always do), but I got over it quite quickly when I saw how well it fit into my bedroom! My next goal is to actually achieve one total look for bedroom. Yikes. I promise to share it soon!

Thinking About what I'm going to eat for dinner (probably Ramen noodles...) and how I have to be up at 5:30 to get to work by 7 tomorrow! Yucky. I've also been up in the middle of the night a lot lately trying to think of people that my boss could hire this coming winter as a new nanny! I don't know why, but I'm stressing over it!

Anticipating getting my scholarship money back so I can finally get a new Macbook Pro. I need it. Badly. I also need wifi in my apartment. NEED. Also, anticipating the DVD release of The Swell Season documentary. Somehow... I totally missed that one. Not sure how!

Listening To The Civil Wars, at the moment. I've also been listening to a ton of Lana Del Rey. I bought both The Civil War's Barton Hollow and Lana Del Rey's Born to Die on vinyl last week, and they're so good.

Eating nothing at the moment, but I just finished a tasty Chick Fil-A lunch! I'm addicted. And to think that once I used to hate it... silly me!

Wishing for lots of things right now. But most notably: wishing I'd hear from Janel about baby Amelia! She's coming today!!

I hope you all have a good day, and I promise to be back soon... as soon as inspiration hits :)

xo Haley

Bringing Amelia Home.

In the past few years, God has blessed me in so many ways with the amazing friendship of Janel. She's been such a big sister to me, and she'll never know how grateful I've been for all of the texts and emails full of advice. :)

Janel and her husband Adam are adopting a little girl soon (in like, a week!), and as overjoyed as they are and Auntie Haley ;) ... Adoption costs money, and with a little over a week to go, $25,000 is a lot to come up with!
If you follow Janel's blog, then you are probably aware of all of the awesome opportunities available to give to this amazing family. But just in case you don't, here are some different ways!

* Quilt squares for Amelia
* An online yard sale full of original Elsie paintings
* Option to donate any amount of your choice
* Janel's Etsy shop is open for business! Her shop is full of cute prints all in the theme of helping her adopt, and her past online classes!

Be sure to stop by Janel's blog and wish her luck and maybe even help Janel & Adam bring sweet baby Amelia home. :)

Love you Janel! Your sweet family is in my prayers. ♥
xo Haley

Today.

This weekend I...

*spent my Friday night with my best friend at our high school's basketball game. We did not win.
*dyed my hair a tad darker.
*had some serious life talks with Breigh. Those are my favorites.
*Watched (or rather listened, since I couldn't actually see them) the Midwest Indies at Boca Mocha on Saturday.
*found my new favorite outfit to wear.
*Had breakfast for lunch with Blake's parents after church (those little dates are the best. I love them a lot!)

Today I'm...
*working! I currently only work 2 days a week, and I miss my kiddos so much when I'm not working!
*working on school things.. I have my first math test this week... no bueno. Wish me luck!
*going to take a nap. I can't seem to sleep between the hours of 2 and 4 am.

This week I will...
*Start (or rather, finish) reading Breaking Dawn. I need to know what happens before the last movie comes out!
*Blog more. Hopefully.
*Do an outfit post, or two.
*Force Blake on a date to see This Means War (those darn chick flicks, he loves them!)

xo Haley

p.s. stop by Janel's blog and a) wish her luck! 9 days until the baby is here!! b) donate to bring Amelia home!!

Blog friends make the best friends.

Meeting Claire was one of the best spontaneous decisions ever! She is seriously the greatest girl, and definitely has God at the center of her life, which is so admirable. I'm so, so happy we made the leap and finally met!
In case you didn't know, Claire and I write a Christian blog for young women called After Your Heart, and we had never met before! We live about 4.5 hours away from each other, so on a weekend her church was hosting a girls event, I hopped in my car and drove on down to good old Arkansas!
Claire, you are the best! I'm so glad we finally met, and I have been totally blessed by your friendship. I'm very, very lucky that I can call you one of my best. Love you lots! ♥
xo Haley

An Update.

You'll have to excuse my lack of makeup. I've been up since 4 am. 

I disappeared from my little old blog for 8 straight days! Along with feeling terribly guilty, I am also conflicted with feelings of relief. Sometimes you just need an actual break, you know? Very rarely in this past week have I even logged onto blogger, and I only checked on my "daily reads" every now and then. It felt nice. 

To explain my absence... 

Last Monday, I got incredibly sick [sorry for this next visual...]. Like, I was throwing up pink vomit. I'd had strawberries with my breakfast. Never again, friends. Never. Again. 

So I spent all day Monday in bed. As a testament to how bad I felt, I watched Sex and the City 2 three times in a row because I was too tired/nauseaus to get out of my bed to change out dvd's. If you've seen Sex and the City 2, you know that means I was REALLY sick. 

The past week has been easier on me, so it was really just a little 24 hour bug, which is a relief! I went to the doctor on Thursday (for other purposes; I'd had this appointment scheduled for nearly a month), only to be prescribed... ahem, happy pills, to get a handle on my anxiety (more on that in a bit), and we've started to figure out that I may very well have Acid Reflux Disease. Great.

About a month ago, I began having chest pains. My heart constantly felt like it was pounding/racing, I was having trouble breathing, and I would get dizzy at the most random times. I finally made a visit to urgent care, where I was put under every test possible (if you follow me on Intstagram, you might've seen these photos).

They tested about 6 different tubes of blood, put an IV in me, ran an EKG, and an ultrasound. I was there for way too long. Finally, after all the tests were normal, they told me that I was having Esophageal Spasms, which contribute to the chest pain - which makes me feel like my heart is hurting, when it's really not my heart at all. They gave me 2 different medicines, which both of them made me drowsy, and one knocked me out completely within 30 minutes of taking it. So those meds didn't exactly work for my schedule... So I scheduled an actual doctor appointment. Which has led to antidepressants for anxiety (which they think is causing my chest pain), and possibly Acid Reflux. 

I have a history with anxiety... it's attributed to a lot of problems in the past, and currently it's attacking my ability to drive when there is even a slight possibility of "winter weather." I hate treating a mental problem (ugh, I hate calling it that) with medicine, but if it's going to help me, then I'm going to continue taking my medicine. Ugh. 

So how have you been? I miss blogging lots. 

xo Haley

Blog Crush: Charade

I can't remember how I even stumbled upon this blog, but I remember hitting the follow button way before I even read a single post. 

Megan's blog is so beautiful... I had been searching and searching for the perfect blog to become obsessed with, and I wanted more than pretty pictures and lifestyle blogs... I wanted something of substance - something I could sit and read and then think about, and even journal about later. Charade is all about empowering yourself: becoming a better you. Not just sitting there and saying, "yes, I think I'd like to change such and such about myself," but really motivating you to actually do something! Her blog really, truly inspires me. It gives me things to think about and has inspired a huge list of things to blog about in the future. I honestly couldn't think of a better blog to recommend to you guys. 

Visit Charade here

Nesting: The Living Room

I'm super excited to share photos of my living room today! It is my absolute favorite part of our home, as it was in our last apartment. So... enjoy! 

The kitchen is also part of the room, which is perfect for those nights when I'm watching a movie and Blake is cooking... we can still talk and watch the movie! It's wonderful.
Since posting my last edition of "Nesting," I've already changed the entire layout of my room! There are few more projects that I want to work on, but after I'm completely satisfied, I'll definitely share it here!

I'm currently watching "Laurie Berkner Band: Party Day" with the little ones (we're having an ultra cool pajama party). If you are a momma & haven't heard of Laurie Berkner... seriously, look into her music DVDs. She's amazing. She makes the best kids music! Every time we watch or listen to Party Day, Chloe (who's 3), pays such close attention to it... nothing can distract her! Perfect for when you're fixing meals or have other things to work on!

Have an awesome Saturday night! See you soon!
xo Haley

Previous Nestings: my bedroom

Attempting To Be Productive.

The weather in Missouri has been absolutely gorgeous, but I'm sure it'll turn on us pretty soon! That's what I get for living in the city known for the most weather variety (that and Brad Pitt).

I wore this outfit on Tuesday, while working on school stuff! I'm trying to make it a point to get up and dressed fairly early on days that I don't have to work. As a nanny, I'm constantly running around with the kids, so I try to keep my outfits as comfortable as possible, so on the days I'm not working, I want to dress cute! Plus, it helps me be more productive (or at least, I think adding things to my wish list on ModCloth is productive...). How do you stay productive when you have no *real* plans for the day?

xo Haley

Outfit details: Sweater, Target// Dress, Francesca's Collections// Jeans & Socks, Hollister Co.// Boots, Journeys//
 (broken) Necklace, Forever 21// Rings, handmade & H&M// Hair bow, Red Velvet// Glasses, Warby Parker
Photos courtesy of my sweet dad :) 

Valentine's Day Cuteness

Happy first day of February! I'm so excited for this month, I have way too many plans for my own good! 

I am not Valentine's Day's biggest fan. At all. I love the idea, but based on past experience with the "holiday," I'm not a fan. Blake is slowly changing my mind. Slowly. I'm getting excited about the idea of decorating for Valentine's Day. I think I might spend the next few days crafting up some cute decorations & V-Day Cards! :) 

Here are a few of my favorite things I've spotted here and there...

 Sweet shoe clips

 The sweetest heart print dress, styled by Elsie

 Cute, cute, cute idea for handmade Valentines

Sweet "read between the lines" Valentines

I am currently watching Sesame Street (fun, I know, right?), and Jimmy Fallon is the celebrity guest... it's only slightly creepy. 

I'll see you tomorrow with a new outfit post (finally!) You can see a few of my past outfits here.

xo Haley