I Love My City: Aunt Martha's

If I had to pick one favorite spot in Springfield, it would most definitely be Aunt Martha's Pancake House. It's just one of those classic spots that you can easily overlook and hardly even notice when driving down the road, but Aunt Martha super knows her breakfast foods!

If I can make a suggestion - get two eggs, hash browns, bacon and 3 small pancakes. It sounds like a lot of food (and it really is), but it is SO good, and your plate will be empty in no time at all!

I took my youngest brother, Tucker, to Aunt Martha's for breakfast during our Brother + Sister Weekend. It was his very first time eating there, and he loved it! I can't wait to take him back!

In case you didn't know, Aunt Martha's is a favorite of Elsie Larson's too! She blogged about it here. 

Happy Saturday!
xo Haley

Bedroom Challenge.

Colby recently blogged a challenge to show your bedroom in it's natural state... and although, it is *so* embarrassing to show you these photos, I was determined to show you my room, disaster zone or not. :) 

 *to justify the boxes - that's all trash and junk i'm getting rid of from just my closet! Scary! Also, dead flowers. Also scary.*

After looking at these photos, my closet very well may be the most clean thing about my bedroom right now! Scary, scary! I made a to do list yesterday that I would clean out my closet (almost finished!), clean out my car (didn't do it at all), and clean my room (nope, didn't do that either). My reward for finishing my to do list was to go see Hunger Games with my brother and his fiancee at the new IMAX theater in town..... I still "rewarded" myself for not finishing my to do list. Ha!

Also, I need to vacuum.

xo Haley

ps you can view my actual room tour here and here. it's much cleaner in these photos ;)
pps I'll be back soon with a new "I love my city" post! It's one of my favorite spots. :)

Guess what I did...

I'll share more when it doesn't hurt so bad. :) 

xo Haley

Brother + Sister Weekend

This past weekend, my youngest brother, Tucker, came to stay for the weekend with me! It was a nice little treat for him, since he doesn't get to spend a lot of time with his big sis, let alone, get to come to downtown Springfield all that often.
On Friday, Blake and I took Tucker, Philip & Vern (Blake's nephews) to 1984, a super cool classic arcade. Tucker had been a few times, and loved every second of it! Saturday morning, Blake picked us up and took us to breakfast at our favorite spot, Aunt Martha's Pancake House. Tucker had never eaten there before, and was amazed by the pancakes! "Wow. These are the best pancakes I've ever had. Wow." It was so cute!
Later that afternoon, we went to Ozark to eat at Lambert's, this famous restaurant where they throw rolls at you. Tucker had never eaten there, and didn't believe me. He was very surprised when a roll came at him pretty hard. ;)
We saw Hunger Games Friday night, and then got up and went to church in the morning. It was a pretty perfect weekend. I love my little bro!

How was your weekend? :)

xo Haley

Currently....

*I had an insanely casual Sunday. Outfit post coming soon, soon, soon!*

Obsessing Over: The Hunger Games. For cereal. I am racing to finish the book so I can go on to Catching Fire (eeeek!) and I seriously want an HG tattoo. I'm not even joking. I have the perfect idea (and yes - it is the famous quote "May the odds be ever in your favor." What else would it be?!)

Thinking About: All the homework I have to do tomorrow. Spring Break was great - now back to the reality of insanely difficult Hospitality & Service Management classes, an 8 week Sociology course, & business math. My life is crrrazy right now. 

Anticipating: making my first real trip to the post office tomorrow. I have a very special package to be sent out to Miss Carly (which I have a few more things to gather up for it, first. Excited!) but then it'll be on its way... is it weird that I'm excited to be able to go take this to the post office? From what I hear it's like the cousin of the DMV. 

Listening To: Well, at the moment, Secret Life is playing in the background while the kiddos nap, but other than that, my playlist this weekend has most definitely been the Hunger Games soundtrack. It's so perfect!

Wishing For: a reason to spend $110 on a swimsuit. I'm trying to bargain with myself, and come up with a valid excuse to add a 6th swimsuit to my summer wardrobe. Everything in this etsy is so beautiful. I need, I need. 

I'll be back tomorrow with a recap of my weekend. It ended up being an impromptu Brother + Sister weekend. It was so much fun! We ate lots of food, played old school arcade games at 1984, and saw Hunger Games! It was a blast. Can't wait to share! 

xo Haley

*I've done a "Currently.." post before, but after seeing Lydia's today, I think I'll make this a usual thing. PS... SUUUUPER did not know Lydia is 22 (happy birthday, mama!) She's only a little over a year older than me! CRAZINESS! ;)  

Like Crazy.

So Blake and I rented Like Crazy a few nights ago, and hello, tearjerker. I have to say - I didn't cry at all, probably because I just wasn't in the mood to cry, but it's seriously a sad movie. A sad-happy movie. Whatever. I liked it. It brought back a lot of those feelings. Those weirdo, so in 'love' you can hardly stand it, kind of feelings.

Although I loved it (like, really, really loved it), I think it tried a little to hard to be relevant with today's younger crowd (with references like Nylon Magazine & shopping at Topshop... it was just a bit too much for me). But over all, I super suggest you see it if you haven't yet. It's pretty much in my favorites category now; I really need to go out and buy it. And, may I just say. I'm totally crushing on Anton Yelchin. Holy cute boy alert!

Have you seen Like Crazy yet?

xo Haley

*goose bumps all over again watching that trailer!*

-images via we heart it

Happy Hunger Games Day!

I know that, technically, everyone was saying yesterday was Hunger Games day, but I'm saying it's today. ;)
I'm so excited to see the movie! I haven't really shown interest/cared at all about the series, until I picked up the book a few days before my surgery. I read the first chapter, right before they put me under anesthesia. After that, I couldn't remember what I'd read, so I started it over a few days ago. I'm hooked! I'm so sad I don't have a lot of time to read, but I'm reading whenever I can.

Tomorrow, I have a hot date with my little brother, Tucker, and I'm taking him to see it, since he's a big fan of the books. I love these special little dates! But, now I'm in a mad race to finish the book before tomorrow night! Did any of you finish the book in a day or two? Give me hope, please!

I'll be back soon with a brand new room tour! But during the wait, here are a few peeks at our living room, via my roommate Anna! (isn't it the best that two bloggers live together?!)

xo Haley

Lana Del Rey is perfect for those rainy days.

Today was so dreary and rainy, but Colby & I had the most fabulous afternoon laughing, eating too many cinnamon melts from McDonalds, listening to music (Madonna's new album leaked! Eee!) and painting. We listened to Lana Del Rey a good majority of the day... 

Funny story. A while back, Colby and I were at MSU redesigning our blogs and just hanging out, and we started talking about Lana Del Rey and discussing how we *hated* her. "Born to Die" had recently been the free download on iTunes, and we had both downloaded it, so we sat and listened to it. We were both like, "ugh, ew, this is so boring and stupid." 

WELL. An hour or two later, we are still in the same room, listening to Born to Die for the millionth time in a row. This time, the reaction was, "well, this isn't so bad...I actually kinda like how dramatic it is..." 

And the rest is history. We now are probably her biggest fans and I think today would tell you flat out - we love Lana Del Rey. Our paintings today were completely dedicated to her. Ha! Imagine that.... 

Colby's finished product is the painting that says "Born to die." Mine are the other 3, and I used lyrics from 3 different songs for each. For Colby's painting and mine that reads "This is what makes us girls," we used a slight variation on Elsie's paint by numbers DIY. The other paintings I did say "It's a love story for the new age" and "Summer's in the air & heaven's in your eyes." Ah, I just love Lana.

Tomorrow is back to work day for me! I haven't seen my kiddos since last Monday. Oh, how I've missed those cute little faces! It's spring break though, so my hours are strange and I get to work 3 days in a row. So that definitely makes up for missing a whole week... sigh.

xo Haley

pea ess. Remember how I said that I can't go long without wanting to change up my room?
Well.... yeah. I spent most of this morning rearranging everything! So expect photos of that soon! ♥

I Love My City.

I thought it would be fun to give you all a little virtual tour of my new city! I say "new," when in all actuality I've lived 20 minutes away from Springfield my entire life, but I've only actually lived in the city for 8 months (that's actually a long time...). I was super inspired by Kara's The City and a Cup of Joe series, and although I'm not going to feature just coffee shops, I thought I'd start with one of my favorite spots, Boca Mocha!                                                       

 Boca Mocha has the best atmosphere of all the little shops in the downtown area. It's just so calm and serene. One of mine and Blake's favorite things to do is just pack up all our stuff and have little study & dinner dates there. (They have the best grilled cheese sandwich!)
A while back, the location used to house my favorite coffee shop, Rendezvous, but out of nowhere it closed, and stayed closed for what seemed like forever. Not too long ago, it reopened with new owners and a completely original menu, and brand new decor (done by Sharon Taylor, that styled Elsie's wedding). If you're in the area you definitely need to stop by and try the Peach Bliss Smoothie!

xo Haley

A Little Reading Corner.

 As promised (so very, very long ago..), I'm here to share my little reading space! It is my most favorite corner of my room (maybe even house!) and you can often find me staring at it quite longingly. ;)
I bought the chair at a local vintage market called Funtiques (if you are ever in the area, do yourself a huge favor and stop by. It's the best!) for $70. I had major buyer's remorse after buying it, but after talking to my boss, she said this was a super good deal, and considering how old it is, and what good condition it's in, I decided that it was an overall good purchase.

Chair - Funtiques// Round pillow - UO// Floral pillow - Funtiques// Chevron throw blanket - Spring Creek Antiques & Tea Room 

So that's about it as of late! My room is ever changing, and I like it that way. I'm constantly browsing Pinterest, and am constantly being inspired to change it up some more. So we'll so how it goes in the next few months. ♥                                           

Have a wonderful Monday! I'm off work for Spring Break/to finish healing up from my wisdom teeth surgery. Which has been going fairly well! I spoke a little too soon the last time I blogged. Days one and two were just fine and dandy, but day three hit me h.a.r.d. I was in pain & had swelling on the right side of my face - which looked mighty strange! But I'm doing much better as of today, although my bottom teeth ache almost constantly and no amount of Ibuprofen will ease that pain. Clueless as to what to do. But oh well, it won't last forever!

xo Haley

Life without your wisdom teeth is mighty easy...

  

 So the wisdom teeth are officially gone. I can finally feel my face again (thank You, Lord!) and the right side of my face feels really heavy for some weird reason. I've only noticed swelling in my lips so far, which has gone down a ton since I last checked. Hopefully that'll be the least of my problems! I've been laying on the same couch for close to 24 hours now... it's getting suuuper boring. I've been watching The City (I love you, Whitney!) and drinking milkshakes and eating all the applesauce I can stand to eat. I can't wait for lunch, I want mashed potatoes really bad right now. Mom just rented Breaking Dawn for me, so I'm super stoked for my potatoes and Twilight fix! :)

So, just in case you might want some (embarrassing) photo updates, my mom is on Instagram! (@scrappin46) This is one of the less embarrassing pictures:

She's been sweet to me lately! Can't wait to watch movies with her for the rest of the day! Plus my younger brothers are in St. Louis for the weekend, so we have the house to ourselves! Mommy time! ♥

Anyways, enough about that.
I must get back to resting (aka, browsing Pinterest all day). See you soon!
xo Haley

ps. I was just informed of a family issue, and while I can't talk about here, I just ask that you keep us (blake's family) in your prayers right now. I know it would mean the world to them (and me). Love you all!

Artist Signal + The Midwest Indies

A few days ago, Artist Signal was launched at SXSW! And while the website is super cool, the launch is even more exciting because Blake's band, The Midwest Indies, are being used as a demo for the website. Isn't that the coolest?! (I think, if I am correct, the creator of the site is friends of the band. I'm pretty sure.)

Artist Signal is a super awesome interactive website where you get a chance to help give a band/artist a jump start to their music career. Every 90 day cycle, there is a voting period where you can look through different bands, listen to their music, and vote for the bands that you like. After the 90 days is up, the top band receives $25,000 to help them out! So we are all super excited that The Midwest Indies are in the running for this awesome opportunity.

You should definitely head over to Artist Signal and check it out. It's seriously the coolest thing. You can log in via Facebook and then you're able to vote once every hour.
 And while you're over there, maybe give a vote to The Midwest Indies? ;)

xo Haley

Life Lately.

 (meet Chloe, one of the girls I nanny! she's 3 and hilarious)

I've worked a bunch. I went on a little weekend getaway to my aunt's in St. Louis while Blake went to see Radiohead. I did a bit too much shopping, but I got super cute pillow shams from UO for $4.99. I started planning my next tattoo. I bought two swimsuits and two workout dvds. I've been busy.

And now I leave my little blog for a few days, because this girl is getting her wisdom teeth out bright and early Wednesday morning. I've been fine with it all, but now I'm starting to get nervous! It'll all be alright, though. I'm currently chilling out with Blake and his momma catching up on The Bachelor and drinking cupcake smoothies!

Have a wonderful week, everyone! See you soon! ♥
xo Haley

** ps - a new website called Artist Signal just launched today. I'll do a blog about it soon, but Blake's band The Midwest Indies are in the running for $25,000 - help them win! You can vote once every hour! Do it, do it! *Vote Here*

Lately.

As you might've noticed.. things have been changing here on the old blog. I got really bored with the way things were, so I switched a few things up, then changed some more, then changed it back, then changed some more. I just can't decide on what I want (worst feeling ever).

So excuse the mess for now, while I keep trying to figure out what I want to do with my little corner of the internet. This might take a few days. Or so. :)

In the mean time - things that have been going on:
*I worked 38 hours in the past couple of days.... I feel like I've been here non.stop.
*I leave for St. Louis on Friday. Blake is going to see Radiohead, I'm going to meet baby Amelia.
*I visited the dentist yesterday (perfect teeth, no cavities), but I walked out with an appointment to get my wisdom teeth out. Next Wednesday. Yikes.
*Blake and I have been on a "break." Not like, a break up break, but a "re-evaluate what we're doing and fix the stuff that's not right" kind of break. It's been for the best, and has made us a lot better as individuals and as a couple.
*I'm getting frustrated over everyone that is like, "research before supporting the anti-Kony movement." SERIOUSLY? Even if Invisible Children fudged a few statistics and facts for the sake of their video, if they can save one child's life, it was done for a good cause. People are ridiculous.
*I'm really, really tired. I need like 10 hours of sleep each night, and I got a little over 5. No bueno.
*One of my teachers (of an online class) got canned! He never gave us any assignments, but when we actually did stuff for class, he never gave any feedback/graded anything. Hahaha. Sucker. I'm glad we have a new teacher now!

Have a wonderful Wednesday. Don't let the crazy wind blow you away if you're in the Midwest. :)

xo Haley