TGIF

thank GOODNESS it is friday. everyone at work has been testy this week, so this bubbly redhead has been annoyed by the extra 'tude for FIVE DAYS.
i bought myself this little cutie yesterday, from the same company my awesome t-rex necklace came from. LOVE me some gilt fuse, and since they emailed me a $10 credit good for a week...i got it for $11 shipped. rock it out.

hello new OPI collection...that's not due in stores until NEXT WEEK. why, why does ulta have OPI buy 2, get 1 free THIS week?! it's been months since i've purchased new polish...and i want more. MOOOOREEEEEE.

plus, how freaking fab is that green shade?? i love it!! i'm totally on the "anything weird" polish train....i have about 5 shades of blue, from light to dark, and tons more purple. i just thing a cutesy outfit looks way more rockstar with a little funky polish.

i'm also contemplating something like this, from the Idea Room. while i like the heart....i'm thinking of doing a circle, and not red...something i can leave up in the house. i mean...there's got to be SOMEWHERE in casa de dukes i can make this match, right?

i'm also bound and determined to at least try and remember to make a closet purge...whether it happens or not is to be determined.

oh, and last night the hubs decided to look at my "alexa rating" for my blog...apparently, i'm the 9 millionth most popular website on the WHOLE internet.

i won't even lie...i felt real cool.

is it wrong...

to want this for my water/crystal lite for the next few weeks?
so presh. thanks tervis tumbler.

and i appreciate you also working to make it even harder for me to act like a grownup...with your candy colored straws THAT BEND. if that ish was shaped like a squiggle...i would die.

.....i'm well aware this is a slack-ass post....but i was bored. and wanted to do something. with little to no effort =)

friday will rock, promise!

also, go visit the lovely Kristin and give her a bloggy hug!!

loving winter...and summer dresses

we had a little warm-ish snap last week....but i'll confess i'm glad it's back cold. we don't get much in the way of winter down here in GA, and i love sweaters and tights and peacoats and all the fun winter wardrobe staples. so i'm not ready to give them up yet.

but...i am ready to browse some lovely summer styles, thanks to victoria's secret and their crack marketing team that sends me emails and knows how i get bored and like to look.

okay...maybe they don't KNOW that....but it feels like they do.
i love the pattern on this one!! it comes in several solid colors too...and says it has a "built in shelf bra"....but my 36C's don't play that game. i gots to wear a little something something else.

this, and black old navy flops? yes. please.

this is just 80's-tastic enough for me to absolutely love it. with my oh-so-fab wayfarers?? omg, call jon hughes and cast me as a lovable outcast already!

this is most definitly my fave of the bunch!! the pattern = to die for. and the bustier boobies? love it. even though i'm not sure how well the girls would be contained....in my head, it would just make them out-there enough to be sexy....not meghan fox slutty.

granted...my collarbones are cleverly concealed inside my body, instead od trying to lunge their way out of my chest like this girl's....but still. i dig it.

and i think these all run about $50 to $60, which means by the time i actually can wear them, they'll probably be on sale.

are you longing for summer loungewear yet? or relishing in old man winter's runway?

is it feb 7th yet??

cuz i am SO. FREAKING. EXCITED. about the super bowl!! after watching the championships yesterday...i really think it's gonna be a battle of the best teams in the NFL.

oh garrett huntley...you're never gonna have to pay for a drink in NOLA ever again!! i was totally cheering for the saints to beat old man favre...and mr. huntley did it all by himself!!

well...maybe not, but i always feel for the kickers when they make a clutch play...cuz they don't get much love sometimes.

and while i'm all for a team's first trip to the super bowl EVER....i gotta say...

GOOOOO COLTS!! I love this man. peyton, i forgive you for the 4 years you spent at UT, whooping up on other SEC teams. i forgive your brother for spending 4 years at Ole Miss for crying out loud.

you're tall. i'm pretty sure you're the smartest Manning (no offense to archie and eli). and plus...you are HILARIOUS. crack up, laugh till i cry funny. so bring it home again peyton...do it for Indy. do it for tony dungee. do it for ME.

and in case you DOUBT peyton's hilarity....i give you this.

i can't believe it!

guess who's humble little blog turns one today??

MEEEEEEE!!!

i started this blog on the encouragement of my girls from The Knot (or as the hubs affectionately calls them, my knot minions), as a way to share coupons and good deals i found.

it's become SO much more than that, and i feel so lucky every single day that ya'll read my ramblings, and give me support when i need it.

i have "met" so many strong women from blogging....women who inspire me, and make me want to do better in this world, and women who make me laugh and women who i truly truly believe make the planet, and my life, better because they're in it.

if you're reading this...i'm talking about YOU. you girls are incredible, and amazing, and i really feel like my days aren't complete without checking in with ya'll, and your lives. and when something kickass happens to me, or when i find a kickass outfit, i always want to share it with you.

so here's to another year of blogging....hope you stick around with me =)

It finally happened.

And in a BIG way. I've been at my current job for 4 1/2 years...with about 6 months left.

And today, I ROYALLY screwed up. On a normal day...it wouldn't have mattered, and no one would have really known I spent the day goofing off.

But because we have terrible equipment, and certain decisious were made...I made a MAJOR no-no.

Nothing bad enough to put my job in danger...but bad enough to make me feel like total crap. Like the whole mess-up was my fault. Even if that's only about 60% true.

I was the girl who never had detention in high school. I don't do "trouble" well, and I am totally beating myself up about it.

So if you've got some spare happy thoughts, send em my way could ya?

confession

i have spent $100 in TWO DAYS on cricut catridges on ebay. $100. the madness has to stop. but i figure...if ONE retails for $70....the getting 4 for $100 is a pretty good deal right??

and speaking of good deals...i got bored at work and decided to browse the vastly-inferior-to-the-store website for new york and company.
remember the clear chain necklace i so struggled to describe?? this is it!! isn't it adorable and nautical-y and won't it be adorable ALL. SUMMER. LONG.

even if i have already broken it out with a bright yellow sweater last week...cuz it was taunting me.

and then the website showed me this. it's not like i don't have THREE ruffled neckline dresses already...but those are scoopneck ruffles. and this is a v-neck. plus...it's only $16...so i could get it in black, and maybe blue (even though i already have a few blue ones) or red...or maybe grey.

or all of them, and then my husband will disown me for spending all our cash. dogs can be taught to forage for food, right?

monday morning ramblings

does 2 posts make something a trend? cuz you lovelies might be getting a lot of random monday posts....cuz sometimes, the start of the week does not provide much inspiration.

it was a dreary and rainy weekend here at home...so i spent a lot of time inside.
first...i made this. with my beloved cricut...and the mounds of paper i buy from hobby lobby when it's on sale...with no immediate plans for it.

i hung the 3 frames to the left of our front door....i figure i can change out the prints inside based on the holiday!


then, my life was going along just fine....until i bent down to pick a box off the floor.

and then my spine felt like i was being electrocuted. and no, i didn't pick it up wrong...i didn't even get that far! i'm falling apart at 26. so tragic.

my lower back STILL aches a little....but at least i can walk right. and wear heels. it was touch and go there for a bit.



i hope you all know this paragon of class. her name is jenni....but we all know and love her as j-woww.

MTVso kindly aired HOURS of jersey shore in a row this weekend, so i caught up. you know when they're in "AC" and mike is being an ass...so ms. woww clocks him one when he gets back to the hotel?

i kid you not....last night at walmart, the hubs and i were goofing off, and i said something smart. and the next words out of his mouth::

"watch out, or you'll get j-wowwed".

he used it. in a sentence. and made it a verb.

gah i love that man.

feel free to incorporate "j-wowwed" into your vocab. i know i will be.

strutting my stuff

....with peacock accessories. get it? strut? peacock?

yeah...it's not that funny, but it's friday, and my brain is...semi-off.
how cute are these earrings?? for less than $6 at forever 21, they'd be SO cute with a black tee. or a dress. or...anything really =)

if a little more abstract is your style, how about these babies, also from forever 21. they come in this gold with a black eye, and also silver with a black eye...i think they're soo cute!! from far away...they'd probably just look like dangly earrings, but close up...way more fun.

and you better bet your butt (did i really say that? clearly...i'm turning into my grandma) that i will be hitting up a store for these babies tonight. see....i googled "peacock scarf" and this was the first shopping option to come up.

i love the blue and purple, AND the tan and blue. is it wrong to get both? because according to the website...they're less than $6 too!!! are you ready for the retail giant taunting me with these beauties??

KMART.

land of joe boxer and walmart rejects. seriously. i can't even believe i'm contemplating not one, BUT TWO trips to kmart in case the store down the street from work doesn't have them...there's also one near my house.

so pray for my sanity at the Big K, and maybe if i find a sufficient amount of these beauties...i'll snag one to give away =)

spending MORE money

if you've read this blog for any amount of time...you probably know about my love for the new york and company. at least half my wardrobe is from there....and when they send me coupons, i'm on it like white on rice.

so yesterday, i go to use my $30 off $75 coupon....that means i should spend $45 right?

yeah...i spent $83. but i saveed $117! so....that makes it okay =)


i got this sweater, but in a bright yellow...for $20. i love the flower detail!

i also got a lightweight longsleeve black cardi, and a flowy dress with a ruffled neckline...i have the dress in 2 other patterns, so the 3rd wasn't really a stretch...it's a blue floral-ish pattern.

then i got 3 pairs of earrings....one dangle pair with small navy blue and white beads....it will look AWESOME with a white tank this summer. and a pair with 2 enamel disks....small grey on top of yellow. i LOVE grey and yellow together...so i'm pumped about those. and an obnoxiously rhinestoned pair...cuz it's me =)


then i got this necklace, which i'm pretty much obsessed with. in january's issue of InStyle, they showed a lucite chunky necklace on a model and i was in love. so this was a must-have...it'll go with EVERYTHING!!

i wish i could find a pic of the other necklace i got...it's so nautical and precious!! it's long, navy blue ribbons from the clasp about halfway down...and gold hardware to attached it...and then clear plastic chunky chainlinks. OMG. it's amazing.

if you want in on this kind of savings, CLICK HERE to print your coupon...the $30 off is good until saturday =)

pimping out...myself

i have been LONGING for a large canvas print from the wedding....basically since before we actually got married, and saw how awesome our pictures are.

i found one idea on etsy...where they'll take the picture you send them, put the words you send them on the print...and then send you the canvas.

but why pay someone else, when i can (or make the husband) do it! right now...shutterfly is having a sale on their canvas prints. and until tomorrow...they've also got 20% off with the code HAPPYNY.

so i can get an obnoxiously large one...for less than $100.

now to decide.
i love this picture...right now, it's my desktop background on my work computer. i love the tone of it.

and then there's this...from our first dance. freezing cold....but beautiful.

so first off...i can't pick which picture. and secondly...i can't decide if i want lyrics from our first dance song...or from our wedding vows.

which would you do? make them BOTH obnoxiously large and find somewhere for them? pick one...and make the other slightly less obnoxiously large?

monday ramblings

first off...i've been getting crazy chapped lips the past month or so. COLDDDDD weather plus dry air does not = luscious smackers like a girl should be rocking.

so i decided to try and fix it...the hubs and i added "chapstick" to our shopping list. i got this.
and i thought "sure, carmex is good, and strawberry is good...must be a good combo."

this makes me feel like i have old lady lips...works good for the chapped, but i think i smell like my grandma. which is fine for her...cuz she's 94. i'm 26.

is it bad that i assume it works better BECAUSE it's kinda nasty?

also....i think i may be going overboard with monograms in my house. and it's only gonna get worse.

i found these precious small silver baroque-y frames at michaels this weekend. for ONE. DOLLAR.

so i got 4. three of them, i left the black on grey damask paper inside, and used my cricut to cut out "H & N" in lime green paper, and glued each letter in one. now they're sitting on my mantle.

is it bad to decorate your home the same as your wedding? cuz that's how we're rolling right now.

also got a black metal H and N, and plan on hanging them with a picture collage in our upstairs "hallway" that's really just the landing with our bedroom, office and closet room.

i CANNOT decide which wedding pics to print out.

and, during my michaels foray....i was once again lured into the $1 section. land of adorable matching stationery. i bought like....20 sets of notecards. i have a giant box full.

and thus...i wanna share the love. anyone interested in getting some snail mail from yours truly?? shoot me an email by CLICKING HERE and letting me know your name and address...and i'll start sending out some mailbox fun soon!! you might even get a little treat too =)

speaking off....check out the button at the top right, and go join the simply love swap! super excited =)

giving you what you want =)

i knew i could count on ya'll for some inspiration....and you don't even have to wait for 3 separate posts to get answers! it's gonna be one big time, humongous post....about me. get ready for a WHOLE lot of hayley =)

michelle wanted to know about my life on a daily basis.

i'm REAL boring. i wake up at 8:15, or 8:30 every morning (depending on if its a shower morning or not...i wash my hair every other day, so those days take longer). then it's pour over my closet, hating it all...and finding an outfit anyways. makeup, accessories, then downstairs for coffee and packing my lunch.

off to work by 9am...then i'm in the newsroom from 9:15-6:15 every day. i produce 2 shows on our abc affiliate...so it's a lot of writing, and craziness.

i get home about 6:30, get attacked by our 2 dogs, who are now competing every day to who can slobber on mom the most. then i usually catch up with the hubs, until we figure out whether we want to cook or get takeout. then we chill on the couch, watching tv and reading or playing around on the internet until 11, when we go upstairs for bed. then it all starts over!

erin asked 5 weird things about me...OR five things i do when i'm home alone. i'll give you both.

WEIRD:
1. i taught myself how to say the alphabet backwards. i can still do it. really fast.
2. i am TERRIFIED of eels. i hate hate hate them...and it's NOT because of "the little mermaid", i;m actually cool with flotsam and jetsam (yes, i know their names...NERD!).
3. i have an unhealthy obsession with note cards. even though i never send mail much.
4. i am super superstitious...i knock on wood all the time, when people put bad things into the universe.
5. i can pick stuff up with my toes. they're long like fingers. my friends make fun of me.

HOME ALONE:
1. i pee with the bathroom door open. just cuz i can.
2. if i have to take a shower....i'll turn on music and get ready dancing around in my jeans and bra.
3. i try on clothes i have...just to see how they still look if i haven't worn them in awhile.
4. sometimes, i'm a terrible mom and don't let the dogs out for awhile when i'm alone...i just like hayley time.
5. i never clean on my own.

and summer wants a little peek inside my favorite things...how very martha =)
FAVORITE:
book: little women, and the little prince.
movie: can't hardly wait, disney's cinderella, and enchanted.
recipe: buttermilk biscuits from my grandmother....even though it's not really a recipe.
restaurant: i don't think i can pick. I LOVE FOOD.
song: not sure i can pick ONE, cuz i love music....but "don't stop believin" in ALL forms will always make me happy....and "when the stars go blue" will always remind me of my husband, and our wedding day...and when we fell in love.
season: winter for the wardrobe, fall for the sports, summer for my birthday.
moment: i loved every moment of my wedding, and my proposal...but i think my very favorite moment is the night a bunch of friends were having a sleepover...and Nate and i went outside...and i was freezing so i hugged him to put my arms inside his coat, my head on his chest. and he whispered "je t'aime." it means "i love you" in french....it was about 2 weeks after we started dating, a month after we met. i got a catch in my chest...because i knew i loved him too. and that my WHOLE life was changing in THAT moment.
color: hot. pink. like obnoxious girly hot pink. it's so....me.
number: i love 9. it's my birthday day.

thanks for the inspiration ladies, hope i didn't disappoint!

help a sister out

i got NO inspiration for a blog post today....but i really wanna write about something!!

so i'm throwing it out to you....what do YOU wanna hear about? my life? my loves? my unhealthy obsession with television and/or flannel pj sets?

give me somethin!

a bittersweet day for this football fanatic

tonight marks the end of college football. which is tragic for this girl. because I. LOVE. FOOTBALL. mostly just UGA football, and then SEC football, and then NCAA football. pro ball just doesn't do it for me...i always watch the super bowl...but only because it marks the real end of the season.

so while i'm sad tonight marks the end...it also means there will be a brand new BCS national champion.
and i hope it's these guys!! ROLL TIDE!! i'll cheer for any team in the SEC in a national championship or bowl game....unless it's florida. i won't even go into my hatred...but my fellow dawg fans understand.

so, in honor of tonight's showdown in tinseltown....here's a little selection of oh-so-adorable necklaces sporting bama's Big Al.

or just really cute elephant jewelry, for you non-sports girls =)

this one's from shizendesigns's etsy shop. i think the cutout is so different, and the hammered look is so pretty!! i might have to get this, for just $25....the shop also has different cutout shapes too...i saw a duckling that would be PRECIOUS for a new mom.

this sweet and simple charm is from amandadeer's etsy shop. i love how dainty is it...and it would be adorable layered with some other necklaces.

and this flashy, glitter obsessed, pink loving girl HAD to share this fun one from RotsinaCreations on etsy. its a little longer chain, so it would be SO cute with a plain black turtleneck sweater. or a white tee in the summer. or my grey long tank....

can you tell i'm trying to talk myself into it??

channeling my inner prepster

while i love funky color combos and all sorts of kinda out-there accessories...i'm also totally a closet prepster. love pink and green, love headbands, own at least 10 strands of pearls in varying sizes and colors....i dig a lot of things.

so when i saw Preppy Paper Girl had posted about a big lilly pulitzer sale today...i gasped a little in excitement.
i've gotten notecards, circle notes, and several christmas presents from laurie. she's the sweetest lady EVER, and she's totally from my hometown too...so i adore her. a lot. plus, she's got rockin' good deals, and literally EVERY. SINGLE. THING. i've ever gotten from her gets comments from my friends, wanting to know where i got it.

so head over to Preppy Paper Girl for 60% off her lilly stock!!

and while i was in the lilly zone, i checked out Preppy Princess....and saw these.

lilly market bags!! i LOOOVE these!! they're so cute, and i love feeling all eco-conscious (and slightly superior) when i roll up to the store with a green bag. and these are precious!! and for $10...you can't beat it.

check them out HERE, and have a wonderfully blair waldorf kind of day =)

spending my christmas money

every year, my grandma gives me money for christmas....cuz she's 94, and she doesn't like shopping, unless it's for herself! so yesterday, i decided to do a little ebay trolling to see what i could find.

first purchase?
this. it's a cricut cartridge. the hubs got up at 5am on black friday to order me a cricut expression machine for $188, instead of the normal almost-$300. he's a good man that one.

anyways...if you're not a craft nerd like me....a cricut is a die-cutting machine. you load cartridges, and push buttons and it cuts out stuff for you. so above is a sampling of what this one will cut out...i've already got visions of framed initials and fancy etched glasses....and some super fun notecards, if i can find a glue that doesn't suck for it.

and then....purchase #2.

my wayfarers are in the mail!! i got these bad boys for $55. rock star, right? my mind was finally made up this weekend. see...i have a bad of habit of drinking...and then stealing accessories. hats, sunglasses, visors...stuff like that. even if i don't know you...once i get a little tipsy and we start chatting...i'll take your stuff, put it on, take a picture, then give it back.

it's totally weird, i know....but i did it to a friend of mine and his wayfarers, and no lie, about 6 of our friends were all "omg hayley, those look awesome on you, you must get some!". so i did.

and i think the last bit of my money might be on an adorable etsy necklace...to go with the t-rex i'm rocking today =)