hooking my way to the top...if only the doctor wasn't involved

remember how a few weeks ago i said i was teaching myself to crochet??

LOOKIT WHAT I MAAAAADDDDEEEEEEEE.

see, clearly i am too awesome at crocheting to bother with cleaning my mirror.

i may or may not be slowly turning into a grandma....because i LOVE me some crochet. but scarves are all i can make. so i may have to start handing them out at the grocery store, or wearing4 at the time to justify my habit.

on a totally unrelated note....you know what's awesome 4 days before christmas??

GETTING A PHONE CALL FROM THE LADY DOCTOR.

oh yes...the infamous "abnormal pap results" right here. according to the rude lady named jennifer on the phone who could not answer my questions...my tests came back HPV positive. so that's awesome. OR NOT.

i'm hoping that it's either a false positive, or a flare-up because of stress...cuz apparently that can happen. like you're just walking around all HPV-d up, and never know....but then you have a week where your great-aunt dies, then your best friend's baby dies, then you get into a screaming fight with your sister...then 36 hours later you're at the doctor and then two weeks later some bitch named jennifer calls you and tells you it "doesn't automatically mean you'll get cancer". THANKS TWAT, I KNOW THAT. although, if you're gonna go down the dangerous path known as google...there are a LOT scarier things to google than HPV. when i was in college, i was convinced i had meningitis. i did not.

so now i get to go BACK to the land of stirrups and open-front gowns...IN THREE WEEKS. so....i'm guessing my lady parts aren't gonna fall off right away, since they are apparently in NO hurry to see me. stupid jennifer.

and for the record....this has NEVER happened before, and i have been doing the dirty with one dude exclusively for 5 years. so your guess is as good as mine as to what the eff is going on. i'm REALLY trying not to freak the eff out...cuz you know, that's a super fun thing to happen RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

anyone else ever dealt with the dreaded abnormal?

how does "ridiculous" sound as a middle name?

sometimes when life throws you a WHOLE lot of grownup stuff in a short period...you go a little wacky. you spend most of your time either reading a book....or sitting on the couch with a friend, downing bottles of wine and just bitching about everything.

so that's where i've been lately...but i've also noticed several random things i can't get out of my head.

#1. these pajamas.

so what if they're for dudes?? so what if they're covered in robots and probably have a wang-hole in the front, which i have no use for. I WANT THEM, AND I WANT THEM NOW. or for christmas. but soon.

#2. hi, my name is hayley, and now, in the 12th month of 2011, after seeing a bazillion bloggers and a bazillions pins...i believe i have finally mastered the "sweater over a button-down" look. too bad i only have 3 button-downs....and BADLY need to do laundry.

#3. how long would you get it will take a 29 year old man to stop giggling like a child every time i talk about our dutch oven? CUZ IT AIN'T STOPPED YET. boys and their fart jokes....apparently it never gets old.

#4. i get irrationally annoyed every time i see a "cake pop maker" sold at the store.

THIS JUST COOKS BALLS OF CAKE. which are not the same as cake pops. they have no moist delicious mixed with frosting insides. they are just BALLS. OF. CAKE. if i wanted a cake pop and got a ball of cake...i'd be PISSED.

anyone else on the random train lately? or is it just me and my robot-pj-wearing, anti-ball-of-cake self?

making like some bread, cuz i'll be toasty

sometimes, it's really awesome to have a really great husband. cuz he buys you presents that are sort of for you....but really for him, to keep you from whining. it's a win-win!!

cuz the hubs? the hubs likes cigars. and the hubs REALLY likes cigars when we're driving places for more than 10 minutes. which is fine....except in winter.

because i end up feeling like THIS is his mustang, versus the regular kind with metal and plastic and whatever the heck else cars are made of.

so....the ever-so-thoughtful-and-a-little-selfish man in my life got me this.

what is this little piece of lumberjacky goodness you ask? oh you know...

JUST A FREAKING ELECTRIC BLANKET THAT PLUGS INTO THE CIGARETTE LIGHTER OF THE CAR!!!!!!!

i am gonna be like the opposite of gucci mane, because i will NOT be icy....i will be toasty warm. chilling under my blanket while messing up directions somewhere because i cannot read a map, and controlling the music because the hubs listens to some WEIRD. STUFF.

now to figure out where we're gonna drive first!

a weekend ful of ups and downs

did i get on a rollercoaster sometime friday and not know it?? because OH MY GOSH, this whole weekend has been super emotional.

the good news? my little sis has FINALLY wised up and dumped her doucheface of a boyfriend. i've had to fake polite with this kid for FOUR YEARS. gag.

the bad news? said douchface decided to go full-on juvenile doucheface and rant and rave on facebook after my sister maturely decided she didn't want the same things as he did, and decided to end it. she didn't cheat, she didn't DO anything but follow what her heart said. so gems like

"Well, i guess now all i gotta do is sell this stupid house and im completely done with this effin town.."

and

"Ill be so thankful when shes out of my house, and out of my life."

and 

" Its all a big game and you win some you lose some and people come and go. This one, however is not going fast enough."

MAKES ME WANT TO KICK SOME ASS.  


but at least she's free from him, and she's finally seen that she's better off without him. but the next few weeks with her living back at home with my parents might be a wee bit interesting.  plus you know...the hubs us REALLY enjoying making long-term plans to maim and/or murder the dude.


and then comes the tragedy that just breaks my heart. 

one of my very best friends lost her son today, at 23 weeks along. it makes me so mad, so sad, so sick.  it makes me question my belief that everything happens for a reason, because why do bad things happens to wonderful people?? this is just the latest in the long line of stuff that just doesn't make sense to me.

feeling helpless sucks, and i know there's nothing i can say or do to make anything better. so if you're the praying type, or the good thoughts type, or whatever...if you could say one for my friend, i'd really appreciate it.


i PROMISE i'll be back with more fun-type things tomorrow. but for me, will you hug your loved ones if they're near, or hold them a little closer in your heart if they aren't....Rest in peace sweet J.T.H. your "aunt" hayley will always love you. say hi to everyone up there...you'll be in good hands.

will you still love me with claw hands?

have you ever had one of those days when you're browsing around pinterest, and something catches your eye and you're all "i can TOTALLY do that".

yeah....it happened to me. with these.

from here

and here

and here

see, all these fancy pants crocheted scarves and cowls had me saying to myself "hales, you can most definitely make this happen....plus, it will be totally cheaper than spending $20 on the one you like from target".

yeahhhhh.......this is how it's going so far.

that's a solid 3 hours of work yesterday. cuz i had to watch the youtube videos teaching me how. and then start over when i chained wrong. and then watch another video. and then realize i missed a stitch making the first row of single crochet and had to unravel it. and then i think there was another youtube video...and a decent amount of swearing.

at this rate...i will be wearing this bad boy in august. 

of 2015.

drowning in a sea of karo syrup

sorry kids...no major lists of things i'm thankful for (even though it's a BIG list!) because right now...all i can think about is corn syrup. and pecans (which for the record, are apparently the culinary equivalent of like...gold dubloons. $8 for 12 ounces?! shut it DOWN).

cuz my dad has been asking me SINCE AUGUST about making a pie for thanksgiving. so...this afternoon, i'm undertaking his request.

this pie is up first.

then these bars, because i am totally a glutton for punishment, and can't make JUST pie....and don't want to disappoint my dad with just bars, and no pie.

and to round out the fat girl trifecta, i'm making this PB "cheese" ball.

so in about an hour...the christmas tunes will be cranked up, my apron strings will be tied...and i'll set to the task of dirtying up every single bowl we have in our kitchen.


happy thanksgiving loves!!

anthro has nothing on my local boutique....called the dollar tree

you know how sometimes you see something, and you think to yourself "I MUST OWN THIS RIGHT FREAKING NOW"??

like...the way i feel about butterfingers in the checkout line, times about a thousand. (or times three, cuz i REALLY love butterfingers)

yeah...i most definitely felt like that when i saw this necklace on pinterest via anthropologie.

and then i checked out the price tag.

AND THIS NECKLACE IS FIVE. HUNDRED. DOLLARS.

there is only one phrase to sum up my feelings about this....bitches. be. crazy.

cuz yeah...i ain't dropping five hundred bucks on some old glasses strung together. if those old glasses came with a french bulldog puppy and weekly dates with ludacris, plus a makeout sesh with joshua jackson...MAYBE.

so of course...i take it upon myself to make it happen. (the necklace part, not the luda-dates and pacey lovin')

lucky me, there's totally a dollar store basically in my back yard (actually, it's right up the street....cuz a backyard dollar store might be AWKWARD.)

so i grabbed 6 pairs of reading glasses and got to work. lesson learned....THESE BAD BOYS ARE HARD TO TAKE APART!!! the red ones and the patterned ones got chucked because their stupid arms wouldn't come off.

BUT the four i could manage to mangle turned out really cute all hooked together with jump rings!

and here's me wearing it in front of my dirty bathroom mirror. i rocked it friday with a white sweater with skinny black stripes...and let me say, EVERYONE loved it. or at least....everyone noticed it. i got a few "ohhhh, i thought you had on 4 pairs of glasses...cool necklace".

so basically....everyone should make one so i'm not the only kid rocking reading glasses as jewelry and getting comments from strangers.

cuz for $4, why not?

who needs benjamins...i've got MISTER WASHINGTON

we ALLLLLL know i love me some jewelry. high end, low end, whatever end...if it's sparkly, i want it.

like these beauties...i LOVE these druzy earrings. they're like diamonds...but cheaper. plus, they totally remind me of my rock collecting childhood days...which i may or may not be considering raiding for some jewelry supplies. cuz you know...rocks are cool.

BUT they're still over a hundred bucks. and while that's an awesome christmas gift...it's not such a great on-a-random-tuesday gift.

so what did i do??

YUP....i diy-ed.

these fancy little thingies (ear bobs? earring blanks? disks of wonder?) were just calling to me at the hobby lobby.

following this tutorial, i rounded up my mod podge, my trusty martha stewart glitter, and i got to mixing. then i got to waiting (and yes....they are resting between an anthro catalog, and a catalog for GTO parts...DON'T. ASK.).

and the finished product?

i LOVE them. they're black and sparkly, with a hint of green...they remind me of asphalt.

i've got a few tweaks to make next time (and TRUST there will be a next time)...but for LESS THAN TWO DOLLARS....i'd say i did pretty well =)  and the best part...i now TOTALLY have a reason to get that neon MS glitter i've been eyeballing...cuz neon pink fake rocks? kill.me.now.for.awesome.

plus, there may or may not be two square blanks filled with glittered glue just begging to be made into bracelets this afternoon!!

anyone else jump on the druzy, or fake version of it, train?

my crafting partner may give me diabetes

happy monday friends!

i've got some super fun DIY projects in the works this week, and i cannot wait to share them with you...but right now, i've only got one companion while i craft away...

so if you don't hear from me for a few days...it's because i've been crushed under the weight of this GIGANTIC tub of candy (that we only paid $14 for ).

any idea how many tootsie rolls a person has to eat before their blood becomes chocolate?? i may or may not intend to find out...

what happens when husbands are given internet access

i am aware i'm lucky that i married a handy man. not by profession....but he is a man who is handy. living 1/4 of a mile from home depot doesn't hurt things either.

so last week when we were discussing having peeps over saturday for football...i  thought busting out the fire pit would be fun. apparently....our  2 year old DIY firepit that took us 15 minutes to make, and consisted of a hole and a circle of bricks was NOT cutting it anymore.

and so...he gets online and finds directions for making a sweet new one.

first we had to dig a hole.

then we had to put down sand, then pavers and more sand.

then we built the walls the next day with cement blocks. for $75 and 3 hours...not too shabby right??

plus, now the dogs can hang out outside with us when we roast marshmallows, because they can't get in the fire. and trust me when i say....bojangles ALWAYS tries to get in the fire.

anyone else have a boy in their life who gets crazy ideas and has to do them IMMEDIATELY??

also, congrats amy, leah and jessica...i'll be emailing you your shutterfly codes shortly!!

the time i almost had a stroke at target

for at least 2 months....i have been lusting after a pair of boots. a pair of gorgeous black riding boots that were a fraction of the price of the frye's i've also been lusting after, but would rather not pay $300 for right now (maybe one day though....maybe one day) on target.com.

a few weeks ago they had a buy one, get one 40% off...but i didn't bite the bullet.

AND THEN THEY DISAPPEARED OFF THE SITE!!! i was crushed, they were only online so i thought hope was lost.

then they returned...and still i didn't bite the bullet. i was just trying to be a good girl, and not drop the cash just yet.

yesterday....the universe totally rewarded my patience.

because as i'm browsing the shoe aisles, wasting time...i spy on a shelf a tiny glint of silver...like a pirate's treasure or something.

you see that button? oh yes....MY BOOTS WERE AT THE STORE!!!


aaaaaaand instead of being $70....they were marked down to $35, presumably to get rid of them since they're only online unless someone returns them to the store.

my heart started racing a little....would they be my size? would i love them on my little chicken legs as much as i love them on the website?

YES ON ALL COUNTS!!!

i was clutching those bad boys in my greedy little hands like a crackhead taking one last hit before heading to rehab.  like a toddler pageant queen clutches her giant crown. you get the idea...i wanted them a lot.

aaaaaaand then....i may or may not have scoured the shelves, found them in brown and tan, and then pranced my little self to the checkout as fast as my soon-to-be-booted-up-in-style legs could take me!!

so a big shout out to whoever decided to buy a bunch of boots online and hate them...cuz this girl is all the better for it!

can you send christmas cards with wedding stamps?

the first year the hubs and i lived in our house...i was on christmas cards like white on rice. we had fancy engagement pictures, we had a nice permanent address, AND getting addresses together to send cards was like super-secret-recon for wedding prep.

then we actually got married. and i was a total slacker, and was barely getting over writing thank-you notes. then last year....i was just lame.

but now....now i am DETERMINED to get back on the card train. come hell or high water, i WILL be sending out christmas cards. and thanks to the awesome people at shutterfly...they will not have to be old-school construction paper creations made by yours truly.

cuz see...they have ALLLL sorts of christmas cards to be personalized...if only i could talk the hubs into letting me pick out an outfit for him, and have someone take his photo.

i LOVE this one, the simplicity of the black and white, and the pictures in the tree shape...so different, and so fun!

of course, there's ALWAYS the option of leaving ourselves out of the card....and featuring the four-legged members of our household. BUT do they frown upon tranquilizing your dogs to force them to pose and be on a holiday card? cuz our boys...they are wiiiiillllldddd!!

and there's always the option of managing one good photo, and then having fancy red and green words over our pretty little heads.

the best part of shutterfly's photo card promotion? four words for you...

FREE. STUFF. FOR. YOU.

oh yes, i've got three codes for 25 free cards just waiting for 3 of you =) i'll pick 3 comments on friday, and you'll get into the holiday spirit with me WITHOUT having to spend money! (plus, christmas is LESS THAN TWO MONTHS AWAY, and that blows my mind....a lot). it's a little like i'm santa....but mostly just a girl in a red sweater and black boots. white fur trim is NOT really my thing =)

a-maize-ing anniversary trip....aka traipsing through the wilderness

the hubs and i have been married for 2 years....but we've been together almost 6. so, we're not super big on the "let's do something fancy for this occasion"....because, for one, our anniversary was on a monday and nate has been a busy little worker bee lately.

and so, we decided to do a little day trip on friday to get out of town, and just spend some time together. our first stop friday afternoon was the mall of georgia, the biggest in the state. then, being a dutiful wife...i totally googled the nearest fry's because if there's one thing that will make my dude happy...it's a giant store full of electronics. (i got a super cute new camera case out of the deal, so all was not lost!)

but all the shopping and walking was just killing time before the main event. the thing i've been talking up FOR WEEKS. the thing that made me all giddy like a kid...

i mean, look at those eyes! do those look like the eyeballs of a person who is a normal amount of excited?? not at ALL.

those are the crazy eyes of a girl who's sitting on a bale of hay, being pulled by a big tractor....TO THE CORN MAZE!!!!

i not only demanded to be taken to the corn maze...i demanded to be taken to the corn maze AT NIGHT. because daytime corn mazes are for parents, and losers. nighttime is the jam.

look how much fun nate is having trying to violate the corn maze rules! veering off the corn maze path....what a renegade.

and of course...this is me, with our bag of s'mores goodies, afraid we're going to have to bust into our stash because we're gonna have to camp in the corn maze until dawn.

because let me tell you....that maze was HARD!! and it's reaaaaaaalllllly dark in an 8 acre corn field on hog mountain road. HOG. MOUNTAIN. that's how you know it was legit.

i swear to you there were times i thought we were NEVER going to get out. ever.  once we were all done....we realized we'd only been doing the 2 mazes for about an hour and 15 minutes.

but out in the dark? when you don't know where you're going?? that seems like A LOT longer!

anyone else love some harvesty activities? or had a corn maze make you feel dumb?

little less sandra, little more martha

i'll admit it...i'm a cookbook hoarder. i like looking at them, i like having them hanging out on my shelf in my kitchen...BUT i don't cook out of them often. at least not on a regular weekday basis.

but i DO have another secret weapon in the kitchen...the same secret weapon i use to make outfits, and find new jewelry to craft.

of course...i mean pinterest.

this week, i've made THREE new dishes from recipes i've pinned....and they have all been awesome.

kinda makes me a little less like crazy sandra lee (except i do LOOOOVE me some cocktail time...just not of the crazy sandra variety. the regular people kind...not the this-is-loaded-with-all-sorts-of-booze-imaginable-plus-a-nasty-ingredient kind) and little more martha stewart (minus the whole convicted felon thing).

first up, sunday night's super easy dinner of spaghetti with artichoke hearts and tomatoes.  this was super light, but still felt a little rich...AND the leftovers were awesome.

monday night the hubs grilled up some ribeyes, and i baked some potatoes for our anniversary....i was LITERALLY in a red meat coma all night. but it was totally worth it.

tuesday and wednesday meant double-duty for arguably my most favorite kitchen tool....the crockpot. is there anything better than dumping a bunch of stuff in to cook in the morning, and having dinner ready when you get home?? NOPE.

tuesday was crockpot ravioli casserole...which i totally did not take a picture of. probably because i was starved at dinner and went at that bowl of pasta like a crazy person. not the most original of dishes...but it was good.

then last night....OMG last night. randomly, we went from summer to winter in 24 hours here in the peach state...so i figured a nice bowl of soup would be delish. and delish it was.....holy. cow. this was totally a paula deen approved recipe for crockpot creamy chicken and rice soup...BUT i think you could have it as a brothy soup by stopping before the whole "mixing the rue and adding it" step....cuz you don't have to have the creaminess from the half and half and whole stick of butter....but DAMN if it wasn't ridiculously amazing.

AND i'm totally gonna pull a good daughter move and drop the leftovers off at mama's work for her and the dad to enjoy tonight for dinner....gotta keep my spot as favorite daughter, ya know??

if you wanna check out the other recipes i've been pinning away, you can follow my food board here....but he warned, there are NOT a lot of salads to be had =)

happy thursday ya'll!

It's hard to slow it down when it feels so right

 dear nate,

two years ago today...we finally made it official. we became husband and wife.

and every day since then, i've not ONCE thought that saying yes to you wasn't the best decision i've ever made. EVER.

it seems like yesterday...and it seems like a lifetime ago. i feel like i can hardly remember a time WITHOUT you in it. so how is it possible only 24 months have passed since our wedding?

you're my partner, my other half....the one person who always gets me, always makes me laugh, always makes me smile, always makes me feel safe.

i love that i can be myself all the time around you...goofy and stupid, quiet and reserved, loud and obnoxious. sometimes...all of that in one afternoon.

i love that being with you is like having the best roomate ever...cuz you take out the trash and clean the gross dishes. and usually, you only expect a good meal at night, and some good lovin' thrown in for good measure ;)

every adventure life brings us...i know we'll face together. i can't wait to see that handsome face of yours looking down on your first-born child....BUT let's wait a bit for that, whatdya say? some days i can't believe i'm anywhere near old enough to consider being someone's mama...but i know, when that day actually comes...you're gonna be the best dad EVER. you'll teach our son to be a good man, or you'll teach our daughter what a good man is (and probably threaten every male that comes within 10 feet of her until she's 30...maybe longer).

there aren't even really adequate words to describe what you being in my life means, how much better and more whole my life is with you in it.

i said it then, and i will mean every single word, every single day, for the rest of my life.

I promise to care for you and trust you, to cherish you and respect you, to forgive you and be forgiven by you. I will love you in good times and in bad, when we are together and when we are apart.  Your pain will be mine, And your joy mine as well. I promise to be ever faithful, today and for all our tomorrows.

love,
the mrs.

just get me a girdle and call me betty

so technically...i've only ever seen ONE episode of mad man.

on a delta plane. flying to miami 2 years ago.

BUT i have a passing knowledge of the whole thing, and the swinging 60's retro vibe they're all rocking...and rocking well.

and while i'm more of a bourbon girl....i might have to break out the vodka martinis...

because this vintage ice bucket now lives at my house. and i am OBSESSED with it.

granted...i probably won't use it for an ice bucket, cuz it's basically just a big glass bowl and it's not very insulated.

but the pattern. and the black and gold. and the AWESOMENESS. it had to come home with me from the thrift store.

so far, my mother hates it...and the hubs hasn't decided whether it's retro-cool....or old-lady-hoarder.

that's why they don't get to come to my one-woman retro party =)

i hope paula deen doesn't take my southern card away

you can learn all sorts of things off the internet....the daily slutiness of your favorite actor. the lyrics to that song you've always been singing wrong.

 and best of all....things to cook. and how to cook them.

now, what i have to tell you about my latest culinary endeavor HAS to stay between us. because i have a certain southern sensibility to maintain...along with being able to drink bourbon like water, and make biscuits from scratch with no sort of measuring whatsoever...i also have a natural affinity for fried things. savory things, sweet things...i dig it all. but last night...last night i did the unthinkable.

you see...i put bacon IN THE OVEN.

not in the frying pan, not full of spattering grease and filling my house with wafting smell of cooked pig for the next 2 or 3 days.

that's the best part actually...NO BACON SMELL!! cuz you know...that smell is awesome when you're waiting to eat the bacon. but once you've had the bacon, and then you wake up the next morning and you still sorta smell bacon...but not really. it's just....weird.

so, i slapped those strips on a pan lined with foil, and popped them in the oven. turned it on to 400, and 15 minutes later i had delicious crispy bacon, no smell...AND no pan to clean. amazing stuff.

and in case you were wondering, the bacon was PERFECT on this crockpot potato soup. easiest meal EVER.

plus, it had bacon, so bonus points there.

just don't tell paula, okay?

i needed maternity pants...for my food baby.

that right there is why the south is ALWAYS last on the healthiest states list.

paula deen had NOTHING on our dinner saturday night.

a family-sized fried shrimp dinner, with fries and hushpuppies...and oh yeah, an order of fried pickles.

we only eat at this local joint about once a year....but that one time, is totally worth the calories and the discomfort from the gut bomb it brings.

because there were literally 2 shrimp, one hushpuppy and probably 4 pickles left.

someone pass me a salad...i may eat only lettuce for the rest of the week.

yeah right =)

happy monday y'all!

surpassing ALL expectations...with a little rattling stick

you know how sometimes, you make plans, and you think about the plans, wonder about the plans, hope the plans turn out as amazing as they are in your head....and then the plans are just regular? just normal old plans...so you're kinda disappointed?

like being invited to a party....and you keep hoping it'll be all kardashian-ed out...and it's just chips and store-bought dip and crappy ice cream?

yeah....my sunday was like that.

EXCEPT THE EXACT FREAKING OPPOSITE!!!

cuz see, i made plans with my mom and my sis....and i thought our plans would be kinda awesome. maybe even quasi-awesome.

i did not anticipate the most awesome thing ever that i've gotten to do in a long time.

so what's got me all atwitter this monday morning? what hasn't gotten out of my head since 4:35 yesterday afternoon?



um, THIS!!!!

i swear to you, that first "NAHHHHHHHH" had chills up my arms, and my sister and i squealing like the kids we were the first time we saw it.

IT'S THE MOTHER FREAKING LION KING. IN 3-D.

when i say it was amazing...i mean it was AH-FREAKING-MAZING.

you don't appreciate how gorgeous this movie is when you're 11.

you don't really "get" the circle of life when you're not even rocking a training bra yet. you don't "get" that it's not just about a lion....it's about family. and love. and life.

but, 17 years later....you totally still know EVERY word to every song. and sing them. and crack up at the hyenas.

and you know....you may or may not want rafiki to be your new best friend....cuz he probably gives really good advice. and he's got that sweet stick with the rattling things on it.

and i hope the hubs doesn't think that since he didn't go with us to the theater, he's out of the pridelands just yet (haaaa, lion king joke. i can't stop). cuz, the blu-ray comes out next week, and it is TOTALLY coming home with me.

anyone else jumped on the lion king train yet?? are you OBSESSED? and have you figured out how to get "hakuna matata" out of your head??

this is NOT a post about the emmys

even though i totally watched them.

it's not even about the return of fall tv, which makes me ridiculously happy (and also a little nervous, because keeping up with the DVR can be a challenge!)

nope...this is about hair.

and how i want rachael taylor's 'do on my noggin. asap.

this is my hair now (well, technically this is my hair about a month ago...but you get the general idea).

doea anyone know how hard styling that kind of bob with the serious swoopy bangs is? cuz...i'm kind of hairstyling stupid. i can manage a round brush to turn the ends under. and a flat iron.

anything else someone is gonna have to show me, and i'm gonna have to pray works on my baby fine mop.

also...i thought this hair might work because it looked like rachael had a normal neck, not a freaky giraffe model one...but now i look at myself, and i feel like i have a weird troll-y no-neck!

this is why i need a hair genie who can fix it without me having to explain what i want...because CLEARLY i cannot decide.

this is NOT how you win my affections

dear library,

i love you. A LOT.

i love being able to browse around your shelves and find new things to read. i like how quiet you are, and that the kids section is on the opposite side of the building so i don't have to deal with children with terrible manners.

i love that i can check things out at a kiosk and not actually have to interact with anyone.

but right now....right now we're in a fight.

because all i want is to finish this mammoth book. it's really good, but it's got a lot going on, so it's not a quick read at all.

plus it's 500+ pages, so a week to read it isn't gonna cut it.

and now you tell me i can't renew it because someone else has requested it?? BUT I'M NOT DONE.

soooo, i've got some bad news.

tomorrow, this little beauty will be coming home with me.

so, like ross and rachel....we're gonna be on a break. because my new toy won't give me books and then snatch them away right in the middle!!

i hope one day we can be friends again library....but time will tell.

love,
a bookworm joining the 21st century.

THIS is what i get up early for

in college, i made the mistake of registering for FRENCH at 8am my freshman year. it was awful. i never too another early class until senior year when i had to.

when i was working, i didn't have to be at the office until 9:30. so again....no super early for this girl.

but for shopping?? for shopping i will lose sleep over. black friday? alarm goes off about 4:45.

so of COURSE it was no different for the missoni for target launch....this bad boy has been in my calendar for MONTHS.

yes....the hubs did look at me like i was a grade-a nutcase for setting my alarm last night to go to target. but it had to be done. plus, how else was i supposed to fight off all the crazies trying to steal my goodies?? NO MA'AM.

this is my new collection of missoni serveware. the left platter is a really nice weight, and SO gorgeous.

the 2 plates and bowl i'm going all semi-homemade on, MINUS the whole being an alcoholic and making tablescapes. they will be a super amazing tiered serving tray sometime soon, once i find appropriate sticks to glue to them (or you know...hit up the dollar store. and spraypaint some glass. whichever works).

i snagged this scarf while these 2 ladies yapped and yapped about how much they LOOOOOOVED everything. listen here yo...if you're gonna yap, move away from the racks. i gots shopping to do.

i'm still slightly on the fence about the scarf...BUT i'm glad i snagged ir because they were all gone by the time i went to check out. i'd rather have it and be able to return it than obsess over it later.

and now, my most favorite item, even though it never even landed on my radar looking at the lookbook ahead of time. i thought i'd be ALL about the shift dresses....BUT they were all a littttttle bit short. and you know, i'm trying to keep the whole flashing my crotch thing to a minimum. if lindsay and britney can cut down...so can i.

(for the record, i ALWAYS wear underwear. and i do not go around flashing my lady parts to people).

i am CRAAAAAAZZZZYYYYY for this cardigan. it's soooooo soft, and for $50...not a bad deal, considering i have nothing like it.

PLUS it will look amazing with my black boots, OR my brown ones.

PLUS it has pockets. i love pockets.

PLUS it looks like if mr. rogers and bill cosby had a fashionable italian lovechild at an american big box store...and i can't NOT have that in my life, ya know??

the clothes were going FAST at my store, and they didn't have the umbrella i wanted. (but i'm thinking maybe it wasn't in yet? that happened with the liberty of london umbrella i got too). and i MIGHT be planning on getting the $7 sticky note set later this week because it was JUSTSOADORABLE.

anyone else lusting after the missoni stuff at target?