Soon To Be Mrs. Tucker

So pretty much everyone knows already, but I had to make it "blog official." I'm engaged!
We went to downtown St. Charles (a historic town, just right outside of downtown St. Louis - the streets are made out of brick and all the shops are in old houses. It's the cutest!) - we just went to look around and maybe eat, but Blake had intentions of proposing there! It was so adorable, he was so nervous!

The ring was my great grandma's, from around the 1940's, I think. My grandma kept it in the original box with the wedding band in a little glass case with all of her mom's teacups, and so I've walked past it many, many times in my life. I've had my eye on it for quite some time! Finally, on Easter, I worked up the courage to ask her if I could try it on - and it fit perfectly! I think Blake knew that I loved it A LOT, so he took my grandma out for dinner and asked her if we could have it! And yes - he asked my dad for permission (!) and he even asked my best friend, Breigh (!!!).

We are so excited! We don't have any dates in mind just yet, but we have a timeframe we'd like to go with. My mom just asked for at least a year's notice so she can look hot at my wedding. ;)

Thank you for all the kind words when we broke the news yesterday! You all are seriously the. best.
We love you!
xo Haley


Oh, and PS - yesterday was just an exciting day all around! Right after we got engaged, we met little Amelia (and I finally met Janel's husband, Adam, after all these years of knowing her!), then we ate at Hooters (real classy! But Blake had never been there, so of course we had to go). We also went to a Florence + the Machine concert at the Peabody Opera House (gorgeous, gorgeous venue), and .... We MET her. No joke. More on that later. :)

Currently...

Obsessing Over nothing at the moment, really. At least nothing that I can really think of! Maybe smoothies. I really love smoothies, like all the time.

Working On a painting for my future sis. She's the cutest. :)

Thinking About what I'm going to have for dinner. I'd really really like Olive Garden. But I'm going to have a mcchicken from McDonalds. Such is life.

Anticipating Friday. Like I mentioned last week, I'm getting my hair dyed for the first time in ages. And then later, we're going to St. Louis! We're seeing Florence + the Machine on Sunday, and then maybe even meeting Little Amelia!

Listening To The Office. Fun fact about me: I watch The Office every. single. night. I'm serious! This is how it goes... I tell Blake I want to watch a movie, so we go through all of my movies, and sometimes even Anna & Isaac's movies. Then I decide that I don't want to watch any of my movies. So we look at what movies are at RedBox. Then I decide that I just want to watch The Office. This happens every night. Seriously. I think I've seen every episode at least 4 or 5 times each. It's a bad addiction.

Wishing For Summer to get here real fast! I'm so excited about this summer, I can't stand it!

I never went outside today, but my boss said that it got to be 91 degrees out today! How nuts is that?! I'm excited for summer, but I'm super not ready for the heat. In other news: School is getting close to ending for the semester and I have a *large* speech due next Thursday, and I haven't even started writing it. Or even researching it! UGH. I hate school.

What are you up to? :)
xo Haley

I Love My City: High Street Baptist Church

This week I am featuring my church, High Street Baptist! Sorry for the Instagrams - I can never quite remember to take my camera to church. :) 

(the last photo is from a few Sundays ago, when we skyped with missionaries our church supports! It was pretty much the coolest!)

I have been attending HighStreet Baptist regularly for about a year now, but I started visiting every now and then close to two years ago, when Blake and I started dating (he's been going there since...forever). When I moved to Springfield, it was the obvious choice for a my new church home. I can't tell you how much I love this church. There are so many different ways to get involved, and everyone is so welcoming. My parents have visited a time or two, and they love it. I'm pretty sure they'd come to HSBC too, if it wasn't for the 30 minute drive!

After a few times visiting HSBC, I began to notice that High Street is very missions oriented. (My very first service I attended was a Sending Service to send missionaries to the Netherlands!) I love this about High Street - it makes me very proud to be able to help support our church members that have been called into mission work.

The video is a promo to my favorite series that we've had at church. If you follow the link, it'll lead you to a place on the church website to listen to the messages!


Thanks for reading about my church. :)
xo Haley

*PS! I just realized this yesterday, but our Worship Team's song "God of Victory" is now on Spotify! So if you have an account, look it up! You can also buy it on iTunes :) 

Currently.

Obsessing Over the return of Glee. Just to lay it out there - I'm not a *huge* Glee fan. I used to be, but I'm super not these days. I hated the direction it started going but I kept watching (um, duh). My boss records it on her DVR, so I watch it every Wednesday during nap time (thank you Jesus for inventing nap time). Well, a few months ago, there was a HUGE GIGANTIC cliffhanger of a midseason finale, and I freaked. So... after it's little hiatus (I think it was like eleven weeks or so), Glee has returned, and HELLO, MATTHEW BOMER. Welcome to my life, beautiful gay man. Too bad he went away so quickly. But it's okay... JONATHAN GROFF IS BACK. Sorry for the all caps. I'm just SO EXCITED ABOUT MY GAY MEN.
Although, can I just say that I used like Mercedes so much more in the first season. Now she's just whiney.

Working On scheduling blog posts and such. This weekend is a busy one. I'll be in Marshfield all weekend for my home church's D-Now weekend, but this time I'm going as leader! So excited.

Thinking About how well I'm going to sleep tonight. AND I get my tuition reimbursement tomorrow. I've been waiting months for this.

Anticipating a few things: a) getting my hair dyed at a salon for the first time in like 5 years. I'm so excited. b) school to be over and done with. c) not having to wake up at 5:30 tomorrow morning.

Listening To Glee. It's nap time.

Wishing For a quick and extremely speedy next few weeks... Blake and I are seeing Florence + the Machine in a couple of weeks, and then he's seeing M83 a few days later. And so many other things to be excited for.... you'll understand soon enough. :)

I am a happy, happy girl lately.
The weather is gorgeous (except for last weekend being completely crap and rainy), I have almost all of my schoolwork finished for the week, and I'm getting my tan on pretty soon (my first spray tan experience... the result of a really good Groupon deal that I just couldn't pass up, even though I don't like the idea and concept of spray tanning. No logic in this...).

Happy Wednesday!

xo Haley

I Love My City: The Aviary

Okay, so I know that I told you all that Whisler's was my favorite place to eat in Springfield. But... I take it back. I totally forgot how much I love the Aviary! Seriously, this local creperie is so charming I can't stand it! 

I usually get the Peach Melba every time I go, but this time I went with something a tad different and got The Classic: nutella, bananas, and strawberries. I liked it.. but it's not my favorite! Blake got the Salted Caramel crepe, which I really need to try next time!
In addition to the sweets, they have savory crepes, but I have yet to try one. Soon, I hope!
This is definitely a must if you're in the Springfield area.

xo Haley

I Love My City: Pineapple Whip

 I hate not knowing about small city gems, such as Pineapple Whip. I remember  coming to Springfield once in a while with my mom during the summer and seeing this strange little cart with a girl hula dancing on the top. It was so stinking weird to me! And now - I know what it is. Behold, the best pineapple flavored dessert in all the land.

According to my boss, it doesn't matter if you like pineapples, you HAVE to like pineapple juice to like this stuff (it's the consistency of frozen yogurt). I went last week, and HOLY YUM. I can tell it's going to be a weekly treat from now on!

Pineapple Whip is exclusive to the Springfield area, but I hear that they sold some of their machinery/equipment to Dole to make "Dole Whip" at Disney world, and other places like that! How cool!

When I went, I had just the regular Pineapple Whip, but I think next time, I need to try one of the different flavors!
Who wants to have a Pineapple Whip party with me?! :)

xo Haley

Happy Weekend!

Happy weekend to you all! And for those that celebrate, Happy Easter! I'll be spending my weekend in my hometown with my family and friends that are home from college! I'm excited for the relaxing weekend ahead! How about you?!

So, in case you haven't noticed, I blogged every day this week! (high five, Haley!) I'm hoping to keep this up, it's so much fun! I think I found a blogging system that actually works for me. I've been scheduling posts in advance, so I don't have to actually think about it daily. It really works for me. So here's to hoping I can keep up with this!

In other news - my brother and future sis got their first tattoos today! I saw Titanic 3D at the IMAX on Wednesday with Blake. I had a doctor appointment yesterday. I like my new doctor a lot. I know this sounds bad, but she's kinda flighty... we're on the same wavelength. Haha!
I hope you all have a great weekend, and I'll see you on Monday!

xo Haley

(ps, my hair is getting long, isn't it?! Remember when i did THIS? It's finally getting close to the original length! I'm considering doing the whole ombre thing. Future Sis says no, because it's over done... but I don't know... I'm still really into the idea. It's so summery! What do you think??)

What's in my makeup bag?

After seeing Mandy's beauty stash post the other day, I thought it would be fun to show what I keep in my makeup bag! I own a large, awesome makeup bag from Thirty-One (it was stinking expensive too! Ugh!), but I recently converted to this tiny $1.50 bag from Forever 21. I'm surprised that it holds my stuff! A while back, I used to hoard my makeup like really bad, but lately, I've done some simplifying, and I've got it down to my basics!

 My favorite products that I use: Bare Minerals (it's expensive, but so worth it), ELF lip color, Benefit 'They're Real' mascara

What makeup do you use? I'm always on the lookout for new products. I swear by Bare Minerals, but I love trying new things! Any suggestions?

xo Haley

Summer is near...

Dress + Socks + Necklace - Forever 21// Necklace - Charming Charlie//
Boots - Bullboxer// Sunglasses - Target

Blake and I went out last night to see Kids with Friends at The Moxie, but we got mixed up on the times, so we ended up eating dinner at The Aviary (one of my favorites!) and got some Pineapple Whip (eeek! Summer is h.e.r.e.). I got this dress for Easter, but upon texting a photo of it to my mom for her approval, she said it wasn't very "Eastery," so I got a pastel pink cardigan (puke) to go with it. Easter enough for ya?! 

Other things of concern right now... 

*My tattoo is incredibly itchy right now. I'm just sooo over the healing process. 

*I cut my legs 5 times while shaving them yesterday. I know this is super gross and tmi, but I hate shaving my legs - therefore, I never shave them. It's gross. I know.

*Blake and I are seeing Titanic 3D at the IMAX tonight. SO FREAKING STOKED.

*As mentioned above, Pineapple Whip is open again, and that means summer is near! I'd never had Pineapple Whip until yesterday, and I think it's going to be a once (or twice!) a week treat. So stinking good! It'll be on an I Love My City feature soon... :)

Have a great Wednesday!

xo Haley

I Love My City: Whisler's

This is my favorite place to eat in Springfield, that isn't a chain restaurant. I will admit, I go to Steak & Shake way more often than I got to Whisler's, but it makes eating at Whisler's that much more special, right?!

The burgers are tiny (and greasy!) and perfect! I'm pretty sure they've started making fries and onion rings, too! They also recently added additional seating upstairs, because before that, seating consisted of two tables on the sidewalk outside, and one tall table next to the register! It is seriously a hole in the wall. It's too charming for me! Colby joined me the other day when taking these photos. He'd never eaten there before, and I think he was pleasantly surprised! I'm sure it'll be our new favorite spot to eat during out best friend outings. :) 

xo Haley

ps if you stop by Whisler's, get the Sow & Cow. Best bacon cheeseburger around! So glad I'm not a vegetarian.

Hello, April.

April is for rainy days spent painting and listening to music. Hanging out with my best friends. Going to see movies at The Moxie. April is for planning summer fun with Blake. Meeting Miss Amelia. Finally seeing Florence and the Machine.* April is for not stressing over my final speech of the semester. For making plans for a school transfer. For changing majors.
April is definitely my month for planning. I hope it all goes well.

xo Haley

Best friends take outfit photos for you.

Hanging out with Mr. Colby is always a treat. He's really the greatest friend ever. Case in point - he takes my outfit pictures for me... 

Jeans - Hollister Co// Necklace, bracelet - Forever 21//

Shirt - Target, borrowed from my roomate// Sunglasses - Target

Can you even believe these sunglasses were $2.50?! I have a huge love for sunnies, but I haven't been able to wear contacts in nearly a year! (I have a chronic eye infection -- isn't that disgusting?!) I'm hoping that I'll be able to wear them again soon, especially since it's nearly summer, and I've been taking such good care of my eyes! ;)

In other news, I've dyed my hair (and dyed just about everything else, including my bathroom door. How do you get stains out of wood? Freaking out!) 

Colby and I had lunch at Whisler's the other day, and I'll be blogging about that very soon! Blake and I looked at, ahem, jewelry yesterday. My bedroom is an absolute mess right now. And I feel very overwhelmed by school right now. That's a first for me! My tattoo is healing up, but it is incredibly itchy and peeling like crazy! I'm so ready for it to be done healing. 

Today is going to be 88 degrees! So ridiculous. And exciting. 

Happy April! 

xo Haley