and they were all yellow

in the spring of 2011, we got one of a bazillion random phone calls from my mom that happen to this day.

this one was asking if we wanted some bulbs. cue the WTF.

turns out, one of her neighbors was digging up a bunch of daffodil bulbs and gave a ton to mom...who wanted to pass them on.

so we brought some home, we googled. and we planted.

and then nothing happened.

and then spring 2012 rolled around, and our little bulbs started sprouting and growing nice long green leaves....AND NOTHING ELSE.

i figured we did something wrong (we're a bit of a black thumb family around these parts), and didn't think much about it when the leaves started coming up again a few weeks ago.

so imagine my surprise when i left home friday morning with a the start of a little something on one plant, and came home to this.

the fact that it happened on the day we buried my uncle?

i most definitely believe in signs, and this sunny little blossom made my heart so full. knowing my aunt and uncle are together again. and they're doing just fine now =)

i've got more yellow on tap for tomorrow....

 any guesses what it could be??

The A to Z of HFD

  bff + pug + champ = best way to start a new year. in case you was wonderin'.

 

age - 29 and a little more than half...i'm hanging on to that half for dear life...at least until april. then i'll start accepting my impending triple decade status.

bed size - full....no shit.  one of these days the hubs and i will upgrade and get something designed for 2 grown-ass humans....until he realizes that's just more covers for me to steal.

chore you hate - um. all of them? but for realsies, i REFUSE to empty out the little trap in the bottom of the sink. GAG.

dogs - heck yes...that little nugget of love you see above who goes by the name Bojangles, plus his brother Keno (who is not a pug. he's some kind of weird corgi/australian cattle dog mix. with PTSD from his prison gang days).

essential start to your day - coffee usually....unless it's balls hot. 

favorite color - pink....right now, retina-searing neon pink. and her cousin highlighter yellow.

gold or silver -all of the golds.  really into their cousin rose lately....she's PURTY.

height - 5 feet 10 inches...aka tall enough that ankle pants are crops, and regular pants are ankle pants.

instruments you play - i can play a little piano (i think? it's been a hot minute), and i spent one horrible year in 6th grade playing clarinet....damn devil horn, i hated that thing.

job title - trophy wife.  kept woman. president, CEO and sweatshop worker for the glittered owl.

kids -not yet!

live - in the dirrty south. 

married - For 3+ years, to the dude who knows me best.  and who always takes out the trash.

nicknames - my mom calls me bug or hayley bug.  and most of my friends have called me hales at one point or another.

overnight hospital stays - not yet ::knock on wood::

pet peeve - things spelled with Ks that are supposed to be spelled with Cs.  stupid drivers.  ignorance in any form.  you-neek baby names. 

righty or lefty - southpaw FO' LIFE.  except i can't use left-handed scissors, and i always open soda cans with my right hand.

siblings - one sister....not sure i could handle any more!

time you wake up - usually by 10 am....i'm such a brat.

university attended - University of Georgia, GO DAWGS!

vegetables you dislike - okra. bell peppers. squash. lima beans. collard greens.  but i LOVE black-eyed peas, so they're not gonna take my southern card away

what makes you run late - OTHER PEOPLE. i'm such a punctuality freak.

x-rays you’ve had - my teeth, and i had a cat scan of my head when i was in HS and had a wicked sinus infection

yummy food - right now, can't stop thinking about this asian peanut dish i made for dinner last night...SO GOOD. 

zoo animal favorite - giraffes!

wearing words on my wrist

i love fancy things. i love looking at pricy shoes, i ogle handbags that are over $1000, i'm a total sucker for the giant diamonds i always find in martha stewart weddings.

but loving them, and OWNING them are 2 different things.

i mean...target is my favorite store. and i STILL hardly ever buy things there that aren't on sale, or from the clearance racks.

so when i saw this bracelet while browsing the internet, i immediately loved it.

but $72?? FOR THAT??

lulu frost, i say this with the nicest of intentions....you out your damn mind.

but the idea wouldn't get out of my head...so did what any girl would do...

i hit michaels.

less than $5, some googling and about 20 minutes later, i had this.

technically, i took this picture backwards, for all of you fluent in morse code.

 i decided to make mine say "faith"...since it's my middle name and all.  and more important to me than luck =)

i love the mixed metal. i love that i'll be wearing this ALL the time with my arm stacks.  i love that it looks super cute by itself too.


i also MIGHT be addicted to these now...i want to find some colored beads like the original and make one with my wedding date!

anyone else knocked out an awesome DIY project lately?

sometimes, it pays to have a handy husband

i'll admit it....for all the crap i give him about being the only wife we know who's always gotta help out with construction projects and serious manual labor...the man can complete a project.

sometimes, in just a day.

saturday morning, we woke up to this in our kitchen....same as EVERY SINGLE DAY since we moved in 4 1/2 years ago.

i loathe that vent hood with every fiber of my being. mostly because, despite how much i think it sucks...it doesn't actually suck at all. as in....it makes noise. and allows my house to fill with smoke.  way to go vent hood....way to go.

give him and hour and a big crowbar thingie....and the hubs turned that, into this.

yeah....it's basically a hole.  with another weird hole in it. sometimes...it's fun living in an old house.

BUT after a few more hours of doing some kind of wiring shenanigans and some kind of hammering that was really loud...this now lives in my kitchen.

moving on up...TO THE EAST SIDE!!!

or at least the side that features a fancy-ass microwave that not only will keep my house unsmoked on the OH-SO-RARE occasion that i get something a little....warmer than anticipated, let's just say, but that also is basically the fanciest microwave ever.

or at least the fanciest one that is NOT from walmart.  cuz this bad boy HAS A MELT BUTTON. butter, chocolate, cheese...i can do it all. i can also tell it to soften my cream cheese, and cook me a hot dog.

i MIGHT end up his minion when he becomes self-aware and takes over our home...but that's cool. he'll probably bring popcorn for a snack.

he's my very favorite dessert

yesterday, on my 29 and a 1/2 birthday, i got the best half-birthday present a girl could ever ask for.

i got to meet and snuggle and love on my new nephew.

i'm not his aunt in the blood-related sense, but more the his mom is part of the family i've chosen for myself kind of way. and his mom and dad are both only children, so my other bestie and i totally have VIP aunt status.

blog world, meet Griffin James.  better known around these parts as Brownie.

why brownie you ask...did his mom have an unusual affinity for chocolatey desserts when he was pregnant? nope. 

i had a dream.

a really vivid, really realistic dream about a month before any of us even knew that he was a he.  and in that dream, our group of friends were hanging out and his mom and dad sat us down and said "we're having a boy...we're naming him Brownie." 

and that was that.  no one said "um, maybe you should go with non-food names for this son of yours" OR "hey, that's how you somehow end up on maury".

and thus, to his aunt Hales, at least for awhile, maybe forever...he's Brownie.

and i love him to death.

the classiest drunk on the block

now i love wine and good cold beer as much as the next girl...but at my core, in my ooey-gooey center...i'm a bourbon girl.

i'd gladly give up all the chardonnay in the world if it meant my beloved jim beam would never leave me side.

so back many moons ago when target and neimans announced their fancy-ass collaboration, i was eyeballing the altuzarra bar set like a fat kid eyeballs a freshly frosted cake.

when i told the hubs the glasses and shaker were $50 EACH, he wasn't having any of that shit. especially since TECHNICALLY we have plenty of pretty glasses from our wedding a few years back.  plus, apparently he thought they were "heinous", but what does he know...he wore pleated pants before i got my hands on him.

but when the collection went half off, i snatched those glasses up SO. DAMN. FAST. but i didn't get the shaker, cuz again....$50 for barware i don't "need" seemed a little steep, even to this booze-loving babe...especially around christmas.

but last week?? last week when i found out it was all 70% off?!

welcome home lover. you're among friends now.

and metallic owls, but that's neither here nor there now is it.

i've also gotta figure out where to put this thrift store gem on my blinged out buffet. and maybe get a fancy decanter so i can really get my drink on in style.

p.s....they're both still online, so if you're super envious of my retro-fabulousness...snag the glasses and the shaker.

trying to spend my coaching bonus

if you're a football fan like i am...you've probably heard that about a million NFL coaches got the ax last weekend.  and they should probably just all go ahead and offer me a bazillion dollars each to work, because i have proven that i am AWESOME at coaching.

because the hubs and i? TOTALLY WON OUR FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUE.

the woodland honey badgers are the jam y'all.

and since i totally helped coach our team (by "coach", i obviously mean "obsessively check our score each week, and cheer for our players. and sometimes yell at them for sucking and not getting us enough points"), the hubs split his winnings with me!

i ain't stupid enough for argue with getting paid $50 to do something i'd have done all season anyways, with the added bonus that nate didn't whine about watching the games on sundays.

so, i've narrowed it down to 2 choices...but i'm torn

first, there are these earrings, the danielles by kendra scott. they're nice and big, but not too overwhelming...they make a statement without being too fussy. i already have a blue pair i LOVE, and grey is basically my most favorite neutral ever.

BUT i've also been lusting after kendra's skylar earrings since they first came out. ESPECIALLY in this chalcedony color.  i adore the mint green, i adore the arrowhead shape, i adore that they are also tres statement-without-the-fuss.

so, which would you rock in your ear holes??  cuz i love them both equally, and i'm having the HARDEST time choosing!!

looking forward, looking back

i've made a mini-resolution this year to not neglect my little corner of the internet in 2013...so get ready for a whole lot more shenanigans. and crafting.

and probably pictures of my pug.

but first? first i can't think of any better way to celebrate the new year than looking back at all the awesomeness that was 2012.

and of course, google does it better than anyone.