fill in the blank friday.

  whaddup dudes.

i'm playing along with this cool chick and some other with my first ever fill in the blank friday!

i'm pretty excited.

you can play along too if you want.

1.   This weekend I'm doing the usual. So basically going out with friends. Maybe going with D+W to an Art Museum on Saturday.   

2.  My last vacation was in the beginning of April when I went on my solo vacay to Scotland.

3.  My next vacation will be I think Tahoe in July...I leave Germany in sixteen days, sadness. But I love Tahoe so I'm a happy gal.

4.  My favorite way to relax is different each time, depending on my mood. Sometimes I want to take a bike ride, walk, or hike. Other times I just want to curl up with a movie or good book.

5.  When vacationing one should always have a camera :).

6.  When vacationing one should never work. I made the mistake of bringing progress reports with me to Palm Desert last year and it was stressful.

7.  The best part about a vacation is seeing new places, relaxing, and making memories.

Hope you guys enjoyed that!

Here's a little video of the boo thang and myself on a bike ride. 

Yes, I blast music when I ride. Yes, I almost fell. Biking one handed with a camera and trying to avoid running into a child can be a bit tough.

     

Happy Weekending!

xo, hay

postcards + tomatoes

a few things.

one: 

loved all the responses from the last post about the tomatoes. am i right?! taste is totally different when tomatoes are raw, compared to when thrown in sauce, or soup. 

two: 

the weather last night included rain, hail, thunder, and lightening.

but today it looked like this,

three:

a while back i mentioned something about being snail mail pals.

i've done it with a few blog friends and it is so fun. i love snail mail, and getting it from family and friends at home is great, but it's super exciting getting it from blogworld friends.

so, with that being said, i only have 19 (!) days left in germany so if any of you would like a german post card, let me know and we can trade!

email me at : hejohns (at) gmail (dot) com

it's fun + worth it...promise.

especially if you are abroad too...

...or not :]

  

happy monday friends,

hay

abc + 123

i stole this from megan and wanted to play along.

plus i had some iphone pics to share...

A. Age:  twenty one

B. Bed size: queen

C. Chore you hate:  dusting + vacuuming...the dust is deadly. 

D. Dogs: no thank you. but i guess golden retrievers are the best...

E. Essential start to your day:  coffee, coffee, coffee

F. Favorite color:  navy blue or dark purple

G. Gold or silver:  silver jewelery. but gold is cool for anything else.

H. Height:  5'8"

I. Instruments you play: sing star?

J. Job title:  au pair

K. Kids:  definitely someday.

L. Live:  at the moment, germany. in 20 days...california.

M. Mom’s name:  elizabeth

N. Nicknames: hj, hay, hay bay, hay bay bay, hayles, hail, hailstorm, chip, lou, etc...

O. Overnight hospital stays:  nope. but i was put under for a wisdom tooth.

P. Pet peeve: bad grammar, incompetence, loud mouth noises, personifying fetuses...the list goes on.

Q. Quote from a movie/show: off the top of my head..."Whereas I'm spending my summer composing Pip Pip Hooray, the broadway musical about Pippa Middleton."-Kurt [Glee]

R. Righty or Lefty:  righty

S. Siblings: three little broski's

T. Time you wake up:  weekdays, 6:30. weekends, after 12:00...

U. Underwear:  it's nice...i like it.

V. Vegetables you dislike: honestly...none, maybe tomatoes...but i still eat them and i love tomato soup and tomato sauce. i'm weird. my faves though are mushrooms, artichokes, asparagus, and broccoli.

W. What makes you run late:  oversleeping.

X. X-rays you’ve had: a lot. ankle, teeth, fingers, back.

Y. Yummy food you make: my favorite thing to make is veggie stir fry or veggie soup. i love them veggies.

Z. Zoo animal favorite: giraffes 

cutie for life!

a day in the life.

here's a little looksy into life at the moment.

just some local happenings, why being an au pair rocks, etc.

 hipstamatic makes the bus ride from kindergarten to home look so cool.

don't i look so awesome in my mirror pic?

pshhh, you know i do. messy hair and a hoodies are so fetch.

being an au pair rocks becasue you get to play with kid toys and no one judges you.

well, they might if you were just playing by yourself...regardless, i've gotten really good at lego architecture.

cajus tried to slam his hand down on this one, and it barely budged...rock on.

in these blurry iphone photos you can see two things:

1. alcohol so colorful even i would be afraid to drink it. look at the blue...

and,

2. buy a backpack and get two beers in the pockets for only 7 euros! what a steal!

 --------------------------------

this is what my life looks like at the moment:

1. clear, warm skies at 8:00 in the evening

2. crafts...love crafts

3. a little boy zooming through the house on his little bike

4. me showing off my new satchel from h&m. i am obsessed. it's the perfect size. that green belt is new too. from h&m...they should sponsor my life...just sayin' homie.

5. kendall will be in osnabruck in FOUR days. and yes i wrote up a tentative plan on what we'll be doing...aren't i the greatest (sarcasm) but seriously, it's for planning our mini trip to amsterdam, can't wait!

6. hilarious sticker books with the little.

7. trying so hard not to laugh...

8. holy mother of all that is adorable, will you LOOK at the cuteness!

+++

peace out, internetters 

xoxo,

hay.

blog vacation...

hi, blog friends.

i've been a bit m.i.a.

lo siento.

i've been a bit preoccupied though, planning my trip to scotland!

i honestly can't say write that without using exclamation points...it is that exciting.

so i leave friday.

i'll be gone for four days, and then i will have loads of amazing photos.

i can only image.

edinburgh + st. andrews are beautiful places.

and since i don't like posts without photos...

...here's a cute one from the last weekend.

+++

see you next week.

someone is hiding in the laundry...

oh, hello!

this little shenanigan prompted our massive game of hide-n-go seek, a.k.a finding new places to hide

---------------------------------------

like, under the couch:

gotcha!

-----------------------------------------------------

then it was my turn to hide...yay?

counting...

 me, hiding on a chair, behind his bedroom door...

 oh no...

 i've been found!

...and i'm being attacked with a toy, yeah!

i love when that happens...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

xoxo

die Sonne scheint...

sun, sun, glorious sun.

oh, how i have missed you.

the last two days have been bright, and warm.

i'm not one to waste a good sun shining day, so the little man and i agreed on a picnic at the park.

we made sandwiches, cut up some fruit and veggies, filled up our water bottles, and threw in a bag of chips. along with a blanket, books for me, and sand toys for him.

then we headed out on the bikes.

we sat and ate lunch for thirty minutes.

just sitting and relaxing.

hanging out.

impressive for a three year old.

then stayed for another hour and 20 minutes.

it was glorious.

twins?

i hope your spring has sprung as well. 

but if you are reading this from california...sorry about the rain and hail.

ciao, bella.

spring?

hello?

are you still there, reading this blog that i have been neglecting for some time now...or so it feels?

well, i have good reason.

it's starting to get springy over here.

not the weather, no. the weather is still cold, rainy even, which is to be assumed for northern germany i'd think.

at least that's what i assumed and i'm correct.

spring has sprung in the sense that it is freaking busy.

so busy!

does this happen to anyone else?

it's like we are hibernating all winter, settling into a sullen, yet cozy routine.

needs for warmth and comfort take over and any type of activity requiring work, stress, or critical thinking and planning takes a back seat and then, boom. it's march and you have a thousand things on your plate.

well, i do, anyway.

time is flying.

according to my friend, kendall i will be home in 93 days.

umm, what?!

that is way too soon. i feel like i just got here :(

that also means that my friends allie and justin will be getting married in 93 days.

woah there.

and i, being a crazy person, have decided that if i am not dead from flying for 11 hours directly to LAX then switching planes to sacramento, arriving around 5:55pm...i will attempt to make it to the reception, which starts at 6:00pm. not making any promises but i really would like to go. so i will have a change of clothes in my carry on, along with make up in case i'm feeling festive/overachiever-like.

gameday 2006-powder puff with allie and our twenty sevens

-------------------------------------

i also have some really exciting plans coming up in the near future...

SCOTLAND!

yes, you heard correctly.

i will be flying to scotland on april 8th and satying for 4 nights.

two in edinburgh, two in st. andrews.

oh.em.eff.gee

my excitment is unbearable. it was dad's idea (thanks dad!) and it will be my first solo holiday.

only my second time flying alone, first was here to germany.

(go big or go home, right?)

then, following that little extended weekend jig, i still have two weeks free.

whatever is a girl to do?

i'm think little trips to hamburg and cologne

maybe an over-nighter in copenhagen or brussels. 

my little artist heart dreams of going to paris for a weekend alone with my lover, The Louvre, but that is easier said than done, financially speaking.

it's been four years, lover, and i miss you.

(i don't miss looking like shit after a sleepless red eye train from berlin to paris...oh the memories)

------------------------------------------------------------------

at the end of the month the whole family is going to berlin.

oh, berlin, you have my heart.

and i can't wait to see you, it has been too long.

i also miss that "tan".

----------------------------------

so where were we?

oh, yes...may means, kendall!

one of my bests is coming all the way over to germany, her first time to europe, to see me!

i cannot wait, we are going to have a blast!

[yes, i did say blast.]

a few days after kendall goes back home, we are all driving down to basel, switzerland.

but, my dearest friend laycee will be hosting me for the weekend in southern germany in her new appartment with her new husband! not like she had and old one, but you know what i mean. and it is still crazy to say, but i love that she has found someone so great, i can't wait to see them.

i'm also hoping to talk her into making a blog. i mean, she is a newlywed in germany...win.

dang, we were cute/sometimes weird.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

so that is it, business over here. 

i have been slacking on photos lately. i have them, i just haven't actually uploaded them to the computer yet. but i have a few to share. some randoms from the last few days:

 hi my name is hayley, and i only wear black.

and i finally found a bar with margaritas!

.................

cool that the photos look funky, whatever.

+++

you can also find me here this week, as a guest blogger.

whadddduup.

 and i promise that i will have some fresh photos here soon, and some more random questions from the thirty day challenge, and also, some edited, pretty photos for the photoblog.

+++

has anyone else ever been to scotland?

done a solo vacay?

have suggestions for other things i should do during my two weeks holiday?

let a girl in on these things!

xoxo

cutie alert...

cuteness overload, no doubt.

------------------------------------------------------

day 11: bucket list

man oh, man. 

there's quite a few things i'd like to do in my lifetime.

and i know i've probably written it down somewhere since i write down everything.

but don't quote me on that.

here's a few off the top of my head:

+take a hot air balloon ride+

+teach high school+

+swoon over live spanish guitar+

+run a successful art & craft-like business+

+learn to knit, and play the guitar+

+buy a mid-century home in need of tlc & spruce the hell out of it+

+photograph coney island+

+get published, in print or online+

+write someone a letter, everyday, for one year+

+become more confident in the kitchen+

and saving the best for last...

+visit every olympic stadium in the whole entire, super, duper big world+

scholarly tot....

oh.em.gee.

it's fricken cold.

like, the kind of cold where the wind chill is so fierce that you kind of want to stop moving and just cry.

but if someone really did that, their tears might freeze, just saying.

no, but really. the sun has been shining, but it is icy cold out there.

the kind that gives you headaches.

needless to say, we have been taking the bus to kindergarten, not walking.

unfortunately.

we came home, into the warmth and got right to painting. his idea.

perfect idea.

his concentration is so great, i love seeing this look on his face.

+++

here he is working on his gun painting.

all boy, all boy.

does anyone else drool over brand new art supplies?

or is that just me?

handsome little man.

-------------------------------------------

while i cleaned up the art mess, this little one went to play in his room.

when it was way to quiet, i went to see what was up...

me: "was machst du?"

what are you doing?

him: "ich mache hausaufgaben in meinem büro."

i'm doing homework in my office.

me: "super! kann ich kommen?"

nice! can i come?

him: "Ja, bitte. aber das ist MEIN büro!"

yes, please. but this is MY office!

 first it was just the learn to read book...

but then there were more.

please take note to the laptops.

not one, but two.

plus his cassette player, and cassette collection.

 there was a mini break for animal fights.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

i was left to do things like this:

[the second one is for kendall...i'm not a weirdo, but together, we are weird]

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

day ten:

songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad

this is hard because i like a ton of music.

emphasis on the ton.

but some of my go to playlists for happy music include:

matt & kim

edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros

the temper trap

the darkness

the beatles

metric

she & him

MGMT

i don't listen to music when i'm sad.

it usually makes it worse.

but listening to ingrid michaelson's cd-be okay will make you sad.

i think it was written after a break up.

same with mumford & sons

as well as florence and the machine.

i love all of it, but it will bring up some memories of break ups.

bored music.

a.k.a

mellow mix

that would include:

grizzly bear

fleet foxes

band of horses

sufjan stevens

death cab for cutie

aqualung

johns mayer

the shins

the xx

music for when i'm hyped.

hmmm maybe a little bit of:

neon trees

the killers

gossip

30 seconds to mars

red hot chili peppers

my chemical romance (new cd is bomb.com!)

and of course the ever so hip katy perry, cee lo green, and bruno mars :)

and when i'm angry, i listen to classical music, spanish guitar, or movie scores.

it seriously helps.

if you're angry, do it.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

peace out, loves.

as i write this i'm nursing a sore throat and fever that showed up out of nowhere like they own the joint, so i'll be asleep in three...two...one.

guten nacht.