Wednesday, September 21, 2011

this happened.

 Zeee camera is here. 

 There's my room.

The sweatshirt felt a little frumpy.
+ + + + +

Aside from the obvious new addition to my life, I am opening this blog up to sponsorship!
Right now, I'm accepting two types of sponsorship:
1. Button swaps,
and
2. As a sponsor you get to do a guest post, giveaway, or promote your shop or product.

Or both, whatever you decide.
So, if you are interested, please email me at
hejohns [at] gmail [dot] com

Sunday, September 18, 2011

weekending: oakland, ca + others

Like any big city, there are the good parts and the bad parts. Oakland is one of those cities. Sure, it may have terrifyingly high numbers of crime and prostitution, but it also has some gems.
With that being said...I don't like Oakland. 
My grandmother lives in a nice suburb outside of Oakland is remodeling her bathroom. So, when she asked me to come down and take her to pick out toilets, tubs, and showers [Oh, my!] I of course said yes.


The tile store really was amazing and made me wish I had a home of my own and money to decorate it. The appliance shopping however wore us out and we needed lunch. We hopped into Homeroom, a yummy spot that apparently has been featured on the food network. I don't watch the food network, so I wouldn't know.


It's decked out in school room decor. From the cute font, easel, chalkboard wall, number tables, mason jar drinks, and a menu on note paper. It really was as cute as it was delicious. They brew their own rootbeer, which my G-Ma had, and I opted for the organic lemonade and iced tea. A.k.a, an Arnold Palmer. They have wine and domestic beer on tap too. 


We sat underneath the chalkboard wall which featured an awesome mural sketch of California.
Nan ordered the classic mac-n-cheese with bacon and baked bread crumbs. I had the classic with green beans, mushrooms, and broccoli, also baked. It was so good. If you ever find yourself in the Oakland/Berkeley/Piedmont area it is incredibly worth it. Awesome food, people, and atmosphere.

I drove home that evening, since I had to work the next morning, and the normally 1.5 hour drive took 2 hours and 10 minutes thanks to the lovely Bay Area evening traffic. But, at least I had some pretty sunset views of the bay. 
+++
 And, since we're on an Instagram photo kick, here's what the rest of the weekend looked like:

Yummy salad+drinks, playing with Playmobil and in boxes with the little brother, and a pumpkin spice candle that set off the fire alarm in the middle of the night. Joyous.

Do you have Instagram? If so, come find me: seehayfly 
It is love. Just like that tile store, but better.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

crayons+sun

When I saw it on Pinterest, I knew it had to be done.


It started out with a long canvas, some hot glue, and crayons.


Next: the hairdryer.
Which took for-ev-er.
After 10 minutes this is all that I was working with:
One little drip.

So I took it to the next level.
Dryer to crayon contact, and got this:

Which worked out but was making the wax fly all over the canvas and not really pouring out like Pinterest showed me it would.
I gave up and decided to put it in the backyard for a few hours since it's still in the 90's [sometimes 100's] up in hurrr.

Way better. 
Even better when I held it up and let it slide down the canvas.


The final product on my bedroom wall:


Verdict:
LOVE

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

since the beginning...

I have been a true artist.

The octopus is wanting his fish, shark, and scuba diving friends to wait for him.
Almost brings a tear to my eye.
I was 6 or 7 years old.
Think I might need to frame this bad boy.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Sparks, Nevada. And their ribs...

For the past few years, my family has spent Sunday of Labor Day Weekend at the Rib Cook Off in Sparks, Nevada. Right up there next to Reno. If you've never been to the Reno area you can't really imagine what the sweltering heat is like with hundreds of large barbecues roaring in a small vicinity. 
It's hot.

Anyway...meat.

I'm honestly not a huge fan of ribs, but there are stalls, after stalls of ribs and barbecue from around the country, so I had to give some a try. The barbecued corn is delicious.
[see below]
So sexy.

That mound of "Texas Taters" is pretty good too. But I don't like salt. So I hit it up for about 4 chips.
The BBQ chicken though? I'm all over that.

We took a break during the middle of the day to save ourselves from heat stroke. Some of the group went gambling, the other, myself included, found refuge in the air conditioned movie theater and saw 'Our Idiot Brother'. Which, by the way, was insanely cute/funny/enjoyable.

cute family members.

Afterwards we walked around through the crowds/masses of people. 
Looking through the shop tents and flea market set-up.
Drinking margaritas.
Standard things, really.



We left the joint full. Extremely full.
Homegirl was car sick the entire 2 hour drive home.
Totally worth it though for my corn, chocolate covered strawberries, and margarita...so healthy?
Until next year, rib lovers. 




Thursday, September 8, 2011

cocktails, crafts, and cupcakes!

A few weeks ago, on my birthday actually, I opted to have some girlfriends over for a cocktails and crafts night, with a side of cupcakes.
I got the idea from Becky, over at Rub Some Dirt On It who has ongoing cocktail and craft afternoons with her friends and their children. Even though I'm missing the whole "children" part of that activity, I knew it could still be fun since I'm crafty and so are my friends.

I kept working on my scrapbook from this last year in Germany, while the others had projects of their own.
Here are some of my favorite pages:
 my little mister who I miss dearly.

 the front page.
I have a ton of scrapbooking supplies. Honestly, enough to fill an entire craft room.
Unfortunately though, I don't have room for a craft room and probably wont until I own my own home but, it's okay...it'll be worth it...

tons of tokens from Germany, and lots of embellishments to go with it.
I'm a serious craft nerd. Like, fo' realz.


We wined and dined on fancy cupcakes, Trader Joe's yummy appetizers, Cupcake label Chardonnay [new favorite], Mike's hard PINK lemonade [so very girly; love], and it wouldn't be a complete Hayley event without margaritas.
+++
I can definitely see this becoming a tradition, not just for birthdays, for regular girls' nights' in. For my first go around, it was a success but next time I would love to go all out with decoration and take more photos of everyone and their projects with my camera instead of iphone.
Nevertheless, I love cocktails + crafts nights.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

we are here because of the stars.

I've seen this quote floating around the internet + it has stayed with me for a few days.
I'm not a religious person.
Spiritual?
Maybe.
But I do believe in science.

I prettied it up for me, and for anyone else who may happen to love it.
Do know, that I am not trying to offend, nor will I be posting about religion or beliefs on this blog. 
There's about a 98% chance I wont mention anything on that topic. But I did want to share.
I've seen a few things on Pinterest lately that have bothered me. 
Things mocking Atheism or Agnosticism.
I don't mock your beliefs, don't mock mine.
That's how I feel it should be. 
[Que end of soapbox rant]

So to whatever God, Goddess, Deity, Ocean, or Star you believe in...have a fantastically blessed day :]
xo, Hay

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

i heart sf


A few weeks ago, my friend Kendall and I took a quick trip down to the Bay to visit my Grandmother + spend some time in the City. 
I love going down to San Francisco, minus the traffic, because of the beautiful weather, the art and culture, and the views. We only spent time alongside the Embarcadero, and North Beach, having lunch in Little Italy. 
+++
I love traveling around my home state, California, and finding new adventures.
What are the highlights of your home land?

why i'm terrified of having my own place...

one word: home goods.
walking through this slice of interior decor heaven scares me for the future of my bank account.
i think i could easily drop two grand in this joint.
you hear that, Home Goods?
if you're looking to give someone a giant gift card...i'm right here.

+++
what stores could you go crazy in?
any online shops?

Saturday, September 3, 2011

insta-month?

I honestly feel like I never use my camera now that I have become officially obsessed with my iphone camera apps. But, I love them.
1. swim sessions with the fam; ikea + anthro catalogues = love; new glasses.
2. mike's hard pink lemonade + gossip mags = girls' night; day trip to SF; rockin' our Getty Owl bracelets.
3. goofy little brothers; bringing out my inner architect with toy blocks; morning coffee near the pool.
4. birthday cupcakes for yours truly; birthday gift from German fam [Italian coffee maker]; birthday pedicure.
5. spilled coffee from said coffee maker; football season is upon us; my mini construction man.

+++
This month marked 8 weeks of me being home from Deutschland.
This month marked 22 years of me being alive on Earth.
This month marked 1 semester of school wasted due to my procrastination.
Lots of realizations, thinking, planning, dreaming, and mini mental breakdowns. Which fortunately all led to the conclusion that I will be moving north to Portland in January.
Dream. Come. True.
Lets just hope it works out!

Au revoir, August...you're always so good to me.
xo, Hay