A new tattoo...

And another tattoo to add to the collection....
In the exact words of my mother (and future mother in law... and boss): "another? Before the wedding?!" Yes. Before the wedding! This one just couldn't wait.

If you follow me on Instagram/Twitter, you probably know the story, but I got this tattoo in honor of my best friend, Breigh, who has a rare kidney disease and two brain tumors (actually, now only one tumor, since she just had brain surgery!).
A while back, Breigh asked her closest friends and family what their thoughts were on getting bird themed tattoos with her. I absolutely loved the idea. She chose a specific Bible verse to go with the bird, but as soon as I found out about what everyone was doing, I thought it important to not only get a verse that represents Breigh, but one that represents me as well. So I chose Galatians 6:17...
"I don't want to be bothered by these things anymore, I have far more important things to do - the serious living of this faith. I bear on my body the scars from my service to Jesus." (MSG)

I have loved this verse for a very, very long time (it was the one that really showed me a purpose in all that I go through)... and so I thought this one was the most appropriate. I really love how some translations of this verse say, "I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Christ Jesus." My favorite!
Anyway, I got this as a reminder to myself that no matter what I go through, it is all for the purpose of furthering God's Kingdom. Jesus has yet to leave my side, and He never will. So in light of all of Breigh's illnesses and my struggle with depression and anxiety over the past 7 years, I'll always have this reminder that whatever we go through - it is all for the glory of God. He is the creator, the healer and the ultimate best friend.

Thanks for letting me share!

Christmas at my mama's house

Oh, Christmas.
I'm so happy to be at my parents for Christmas this year! This is my second Christmas living away from my hometown, so each year, I get more and more sentimental about spending the holidays with my family. I don't take this time for granted anymore, that's for sure!

This morning I woke up to the amazing smells of my papa making homemade biscuits and gravy for breakfast (complete with bacon wrapped sausage! Holy yum!) and mom got to unwrap her gift from Santa (a Keurig!) so that we could all have coffee to drink with our breakfast. My grandma + aunt and uncle came over for breakfast as well - it was a good start to the Christmas festivities!
Tonight is for dinner with the family (and my mama's wassail! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it), a candlelight service at church, and hanging out with the family. We have the tradition where we each get to open up one gift on Christmas Eve, and it is almost always new pajamas. A few years back, mom made the mistake of not getting me pajamas... and I'm pretty sure I cried! I felt so silly for getting upset, but she now makes sure that I have new pajamas each year! Love you so much, Mom!

I hope you all are having a good holiday and are getting to spend time with your families! I'll just be here hanging out at the house watching Christmas movies and working on an embroidery piece! I never officially learned how to embroider, so I'm just making it up as I go.. but it's fun!
Enjoy the holiday and have a very merry Christmas!

I think we are going to have a white Christmas here in the Ozarks!
<3

Catching up.

One month away from this blog. Not that this is much of a blog, really. But this space of mine, I've been away for far too long.
I won't lie and say that I didn't enjoy the time away. I wish I could commit to being completely unplugged, but for the most part, I was unplugged from the blogging world. I didn't blog here for a month, I stayed away from a lot of blogs with the exception of a few of my friend's. I have enjoyed this time immensely.

So what have I been up to?

I celebrated two wonderful years with Blake. We had dinner + cupcakes then saw Perks of Being a Wallflower (one of my favorite books from high school, I bought it for Blake a few months back and I'm hoping the movie gave him the push to read it.)
My best friend had brain surgery last Thursday. The surgery was to remove a tumor, and considering what all she just went through, her recovery is going well and she seems to be doing remarkably well for just having surgery done on her head! She can't sit/stand for too long before throwing up, but she's getting better every day!
Blake took me to see Wicked in St. Louis over the weekend. It was my third time seeing it (and Blake's second), and I'm pretty sure it was my favorite performance, and by far my favorite cast that I've seen. It was just... wonderful. I don't like to use the word 'magic,' BUT this was seriously magic. But what else would you expect from an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz? ;)
I had a fever + migraine while working a 55 hour work week. Not complaining though, because I love my job, and am so willing to do anything for those kiddos. Thankfully, the worst day of it all was on my day off.

I sort of have a niece! I am so, so happy to have Miss Tess Eliza in the family now. It's pretty exciting to be called "Aunt Haley," even though I won't be a real aunt until next September. I am incredibly happy. She's beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. 

I miss my best friends. I miss Breigh, and I have trouble focusing on anything since she's been in the hospital. I miss Colby (even though I just saw him last night). We both are so busy, it's hard to find time for each other. And Claire. Oh, how I miss that sweet girl! I need to write her a good old fashioned letter soon. WAY overdue.
I scheduled a tattoo appointment! I will get it the day after Christmas. I think, out of all of them, this is one I'm really nervous about. Breigh asked her closest friends and family to get tattoos with her, so each of us are getting a bird to represent her (she chose a Bible verse with hers, I can't quite remember it though at the moment). I am not so sure what makes me so nervous, but I am! I think it's because it's going to be bigger than I had originally anticipated, but I know it'll be beautiful and it will be so worth it! I am excited about it. Mother on the other hand... I don't think she's as excited. I think she understands the meaning of it to me, though. So I'm thankful for that.

I hope to be back 'for real' very, very soon.
I say that a lot, but I truly do mean it. I want to keep this a space to look back on. I wanted to document my wedding planning process... and it seems I've not done such a great job on this. I am going to try harder. 2013 resolution, maybe? :)

Short hair.

There was this time in my life when I was really skinny, I bit my nails (and apparently never kept up with how my nails were painted...), and I had short hair.

So basically, this post is about nothing except for the fact that I would do anything to have short hair again. Which, I guess I could cut it... but I don't want to have to stress about growing it out before the wedding. Sigh. I bet you anything I come back from the honeymoon with chin length hair. I'll put a quarter on that bet.

This post was stupid and unnecessary.
Back to regular programming.

that photo is from the summer before I graduated. That was a good summer.. I think. 

A winter reading list that I may or may not actually read.

(the list is hard to see, I know!)

I decided that I would make a list for books to read this winter! I do this every year and I NEVER complete my list. Sometimes, I never even start...
But this year I hope to change that! Here's what I put on my list:

- MWF Seeking BFF : I started this one a few months ago, when I first got my Nook. It was the first book I purchased on it, I believe. I got really into it, maybe halfway through, but then stopped reading it. I don't know why, because it was hilarious and kept me interested.
- Gone Girl : Oh, and... Add another book to my 'currently reading' list... I started Sharp Objects in early October and... surprise, surprise, never finished it. I've heard wonderful things about both Sharp Objects and Gone Girl, so I super hope to finish both of these!
- Jesus for President : I bought this one on my Nook sometime last week. I started reading bits and pieces and so far I have thoroughly enjoyed what little I've read. This is probably the book I will finish first, since the political theme of it all is what is fresh on my mind right now! ;)
- Sex & the City : As an avid fan of the tv show, I MUST read this book!
- Becoming Sister Wives : From what I've heard, this show is just like the "couch confessions" part of the reality show. Oh well. I'm obsessed with learning about polygamy and mormonism, so I read anything I can get my hands on about this subject. I'm excited to read this one, since it is being written from such a personal point of view.
-The Fault In Our Stars : I know nothing about this book, other than it is a "must read." Excited to see what the fuss is all about!

So that's my list... what's on yours?

Some of the links for the books are linked directly to the author's websites, otherwise they are linked straight to Amazon.

Today on After Your Heart...

Something about this specific message at church really hit home with me. And I'm not even a parent! It made me think of all the things I didn't know while dating and more importantly, what I want my future daughter to know when she hits dating age.

I want her to know that she doesn't have to settle. Once upon a time, when I was dating this guy (a bunch of years older than me, I, in my infinite wisdom, just knew I was supposed to marry him. Number one, I was wrong. Number two, I was so, so wrong. 

Read more...

Voting for the first time + Obama has some great graphic designers on his side

Today I got to vote in a presidential election for the very first time. I had no idea that I would ever be so thankful to women I don't even know that fought long and hard nearly 100 years ago for this privilege. I super did not take it lightly, which is why I did my research this year (for the first time ever I cared about politics!). I started realizing that, hey, the president sort of does have a lot to do with how I live my life. My college career could be stopped in its tracks if the 'wrong' person gets into that office. My best friend could be denied marriage to the person he loves. I could have zero control over whether or not I can obtain birth control, even as a married woman (and THAT thought really scares me). So I did my research, I thought long and hard, prayed about it, thought some more, and made a decision today that not only reflected my personal beliefs, but what is right for our country. I am thankful today that I am able to voice my opinion, and vote for the things that I believe in. 

I thought that in honor of election season finally ending, I would post some of my favorite (perfectly Instagram sized) graphics from Obama's campaign (I was going to post some from Romney/Ryan as well... but, I can't lie... their graphic designers just didn't get the job done this go around. Maybe next time!).

 Enjoy your Tuesday!
And make sure to vote, if you can slash haven't already!

It's Christmastime

Last night, Blake and I made a last minute decision to go to Silver Dollar City in Branson for the evening! It was opening day of their Christmas season, so that meant that everything would be all lit up, the frozen lemonades would be replaced with hot chocolate and wassail (my favorite!). The last time Blake and I went for Christmas was two years ago, before we had even started dating!

The entire ride to Branson I was complaining about how radio stations were already playing Christmas music, how Branson was already decorated with Christmas trees and twinkly lights. It's November 4th, you guys! Halloween JUST ended!

But then I stepped into the Winter wonderland known as the Old Time Christmas at Silver Dollar City.
And I was in the Christmas spirit in the blink of an eye.

The lights, the trees, the Christmas story being told on the train, hot wassail paired with a warm funnel cake... yes, I do believe Christmas is my favorite.

And if SDC wasn't enough for me to get into the Christmas spirit... I had to run to Starbucks today to get a red cup. ;)

I was going to share my Christmas playlist... but Grooveshark is being a stupid head. I'll be sure to share it soon!

Plan Wedding Menu: Done.

I have been dreaming about my wedding for years and years. And since Pinterest came along, wedding stuff is pretty much the only stuff I ever pin.

Well, that and baby stuff.
But that's not something we need to discuss for like 5 more years.

For the past few weeks, and really, since I picked out my dress, not that much planning has happened. Which it's totally cool because we have a long ways to go before it's really considered crunch time. So I've had a cooling off period and I have allowed myself to not really worry about the wedding planning.
Today my dad texted me and asked what I wanted for the dinner menu (which, we are eating before the ceremony, but I think I've mentioned that before). I know I want BBQ and I want my dad's competition BBQ team to do the food, but other than that... I had zero idea of what I wanted, and what would be 'appropriate' BBQ for a wedding.

My dad's suggestion? Tri-tip, veggies, grilled potatoes and salad.


...Umm. Yes. 

As if I wasn't already excited for this wedding, this just makes it even better.

Blake is coming back from St. Louis today! I haven't seen him since Thursday (I think?) and I'm super excited to just hang out and do nothing with him today. A few nights ago we watched the Pixar documentary and I found out that he hasn't seen Cars, The Incredibles or Monsters, Inc. Seriously, Blake? I think I know what we are doing this afternoon...

That one time I went to a Justin Bieber concert...

Last night, my dreams came true and I was in the same room as Justin Bieber.
We were sitting veeeeery high up, but it was fun none the less.
He had angel wings (literally) and he came out without a shirt on at the end. I'm telling you, dreams came true! He performed some great songs (not all of my favorites, but that's a-okay), he danced the heck out of each song, and he proved that he is completely talented.
But I left feeling less than impressed.

When I saw Never Say Never, I was seriously fawning over him going, "omg, this is magic slash he is so inspirations slash I respect this kid," and after the concert, my reaction was more like, "I just don't know slash he's so beautiful slash he knows it, so that makes him cocky."
I'm just not so sure. Breigh and I both left feeling like we were less of fans than we were going into it.

BUT I had a fantastic time... I danced and sang along. Carly Rae Jepson was phenom. Even though I'm pretty sure I hate her music. And HOLY CRAP Cody Simpson has beautiful hair (I would know because we were standing outside waiting and his car pulled up and he rolled down his window and I saw his hair up close and personal. It was amazing. I don't even know who he is, really).

So there's that.

Tonight is so mellow. I'm choosing to watch 500 Days of Summer and make some dinner and just hang out (Blake is out of town, so I'm on my own tonight. Holla! ;) ) on the couch. I *need* to clean my room... but hey. That can wait until tomorrow. :)

Have a wonderful evening!

Busy.

Lately I've been all over the place. Working, reading, planning, traveling, working some more. I've been working on this little blog as of late... I have a lot of different directions I could go with it, but none really "fit" yet. We shall see how things progress. I love making lists, so I' have been listing all the different topics I could cover. Yet again, none feel right. I just don't know.
I saw Band of Horses Tuesday night (with my parents!). My dad and I had seen Band of Horses twice before, once in Kansas City and another time in Tulsa, OK (with Kings of Leon... not exactly my favorite, but I'll take it). This time, my momma joined us! I don't think she was prepared at all, but I think she enjoyed herself. :)

After all the running around I've been doing, I am dedicating next week to relaxing. I'm going to chill out, read some books, and just hang around in my jammies. Sounds like a good plan to me! ;)

A question of faith.

Disclaimer: These are just things I needed to vent/get off of my chest tonight. My heart has been very heavy with convictions to verbalize what I believe. I totally don't mind if you skip over this post. And I know not everyone will agree with me. This post is also all over the place. I apologize in advance.

God has been challenging me lately. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. It gets tiresome, but I know that my faith will come out stronger because of all of this. All of the people who doubt me, who claim that I don't know what I'm talking about... they only fuel my fire. I know what I'm doing. I know what I'm saying.
The words that come out of my mouth are thought out before I say them (or in this case, type). I carefully consider how I choose to present myself. I don't want to be written off as a stupid girl, pretentious and uppity. And the very last thing I would ever want someone to think of me is unfaithful to my beliefs.

Lately, it seems that my faith has been called into question. And it hurts. I've never wanted (nor have I given) anyone to have a reason to think that I don't believe the teachings of God.
But I feel that this is God pushing me harder to achieve my goals. To follow through with my plans of being a leader in a church someday (and it seems that the church will have to be in somewhere other than Missouri). God has called me to do great things. He's called me to lead. He's given me a platform on which I can relate to other women so easily. I've been through so much and it is God's promise to me that it was not for nothing.
I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. A personal relationship. It's mine, not yours. It's not yours to question or to tout that I am not a believer of what the Bible says. I have read the Bible. I believe every word of it.

I also believe in the separation of church and state.
I believe that a woman has the right to choose.
I believe that Jesus would befriend the homosexual before He would ever befriend the devout Christian who looks down on someone for their sexual orientation.
I believe that women are equal to men, and that the only person a women should ever have to answer to is Jesus Christ.
*you may have my parents to thank for these beliefs that have been instilled in me (thanks mom and dad!). but over the past few years, I've grown to realize that these are important factors in my belief in God. these things have made me love Jesus even more. 

I believe in a lot of things that "normal" Christians don't. And you know what? Who cares what the normal Christians think?
Because I know my relationship with God is a solid one. That my hope and my future lies within His promises. Not the promises of a church, nor the promises of a politician.
I hope that I am never considered a "normal Christian." When you become normal, you become complacent in your faith, with no room to grow. We all need to be radical Christians. Not just in the way we view the world, social issues, etc. but in how we speak to others. How we respond to those who think differently.
You may think differently than I, but I will never question your faith. I guarantee it.
This generation of believers are radical and they are on fire for God and I am so proud to be part of this movement of believers.

A really obvious filler post.

Lately, I've had nothing brilliant to say (do I ever?) so I've tried not to blog when I have nothing to say. I don't want to feel the need to blog all the time. But here I am, nothing important to say, but still wanting to blog.
It's okay if you don't even read this post. :)

This week I am...
*working nearly 40 hours (#welcometotherealworld). I love my job so much though, so it doesn't even matter that I'm working 38 hours over the course of 3 days. Totally worth it for these kiddos.
*Seeing Paranormal Activity 4 at 'midnight.' Since when is 9 pm constitute as a midnight release? What is wrong with theaters? Even Breaking Dawn is the same... it's premiering at 10 pm. Takes all of the fun out of midnight premiers!
*Hopefully going to my favorite haunted corn maze in Cabool this weekend. I go every year, I think this is the 4th (?) year now!
*working on a photo book of the pictures Colby took of Blake and I (which he has a funny post on the out takes over on his blog!)

Next week I am...
*On Tuesday I am going to see Band of Horses (for the 3rd time in 2 years) in Tulsa with my mom and dad. This is mom's first BOH concert. She's in for a treat!
*Friday (the 26th) is the Justin Bieber concert I've been looking forward to since May! I am SO happy, I could cry. True belieber, right?!

I am obsessed with Lana Del Rey's new song "Ride." I just love her. She's totally cray, but she makes beautiful music videos. Also, The Silent Comedy has a great song being used for the promo of History Channel's miniseries The Men Who Built America... I swear, after their song used for the Hatfields & McCoys miniseries, they are THE band for History Channel's miniseries.

This has been enough rambling for now. Have a good day!

I had been wanting to do special photo book type gifts for my parents for Christmas with engagement pictures, but mine and Blake's engagement photos aren't until April... so I called up my bff Colby and had him take some quick almost-engagement photos. These are just the previews he sent me, I'm excited to see the rest!

And I'm super excited about our engagement session coming up in April - we have some fun and cute ideas! 

 Thanks, Colby! We had so much fun!
If you ever need a local photographer, Colby is your guy. 

Because things aren't always so easy.

*this has nothing to do with my post. Like at all. 

So right after I post my blog on following God's call into ministry... I get the news that classes super don't mesh with my work schedule.
Satan really has his ways of messing plans up, doesn't he?

I allowed myself to be stressed for a little while yesterday. I kept thinking, "what am I going to do? Am I going to have to quit my job? Where will I work? What the heck am I thinking?" My thoughts were one big jumbled mess with stressed out phone calls to my parents (which weren't too helpful because neither had advice for me).

I totally had one of those "church camp highs" after writing that blog post the other day. I felt super inspired and I couldn't wait to go back to school. I was excited. Since when am I ever excited about school?! And now I'm back to square one.
I talked with Blake about this for a while yesterday. I'm okay with waiting until my work schedule allows me to go to school more often (the schedule for JRLC is 8:30-3 Monday through Thursday). I'm totally fine with that plan... sure, it puts me back a few semesters, but I'm okay with that. I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not a traditional college student (and I think my parents have come to terms with it as well).
And as much as I am okay with this, and I know that both my parents and Blake understand the situation I'm facing, it troubles me that some people will see the surface of the situation and automatically judge me for not being in school, and what's more - getting married before I'm even out of college. This has been a touchy subject for me. I don't care what people that I'm not close to think of me, because I know that they don't always know the full story/situation... but I also don't have the thickest of skin, and it does hurt when people make false assumptions.
I wish I didn't have to make the choice between working and going to school. I wish that it was easy enough to do both. But with this school choice that I've made... it's not that easy. I have to choose one or the other.

So. While I'm not starting school in January, I'm aiming for next fall.
It sounds so far away. But it'll be here before I know it. Prayers, thoughts, and encouragement are greatly appreciated. This is something that I'm struggling with a lot right now... I just wish life was a bit simpler sometimes.

Wedding Talk.

One of the biggest things we (we being me + my mom. ha!) struggled with was the wedding venue. I had my heart set on an old mill in Blake's hometown, but our date was non-negotiable, and Fair Grove always holds their annual fall festival that specific weekend we requested. So, my number one location was out of the question from the get-go. 

We went through just about a million different venues and narrowed it down to a few, Miss Gimore's Carriage House being a top contender (although the website is rather deceiving). The very first venue we saw was Miss Gilmores. It also happens to be the only venue we ever visited. Mistake? Maybe. But once we saw it in person, I wasn't going to let go of my new number one choice!

This was in June. About a month ago, my dad finally decided to commit to the venue, and we went and signed the contract and paid a deposit! So last weekend, my mom and I took another little trip out to the venue, armed with pumpkin spice lattes and a camera. We had so much fun snapping photos (so I'll have 'visuals' for decor planning) and talking about all the different options for where the food go, how we'll decorate the tables and the fireplace, where we can dance. All of that. Wedding planning is fun, you guys. Anywho... I just wanted to share a few photos of the location of mine and Blake's wedding. :) 

Isn't the pink chandelier insane?! There are little charming details everywhere you turn. Vintage pieces are quite abundant in this venue, and is a reason why we chose it. Not only did it go with my desired 'look' for the wedding, but it reduces our decor need greatly! I'm so excited about not having to worry about filling up a space with things just to make everything look complete. At Miss Gilmore's it's basically already done for me! Things are getting very real, very fast.

Next on my wedding to do list...
+ plan out invitations (get a final guest list together! ugh, this has been stressful!)
+ start gathering old bottles and vintage books and little tiny owls for the tables
+ start thinking about flowers... I've been putting this one off, simply because I couldn't care less about flowers. I hate flowers.
+ for real this time find bridesmaid dresses that everyone can agree on. I have a difficult bunch of ladies. ;) And find something for Colby! Can't forget about my wonderful Brides...man? :)
+ plan a menu with my papa. My dad's BBQ team is doing the food for my wedding... I can't wait for my new family to taste some of my dad's state championship BBQ! What an introduction to a new family, right? ;)

Happy almost Wednesday! It's 11:54, and I need to go to sleep. Blake and I are taking some pre-engagement photos with Colby tomorrow so we can have photos to give to close family & friends for Christmas as mini save the dates. So exciting!

God does big things.

This morning's church service was pretty great... even though I sat doubled over in painful cramps (darn you, Aunt Flo. Hashtag TMI). I go to High Street Baptist in Springfield and it is extremely world missions oriented. We sponsor a lot of missionaries throughout the world, which is awesome. Every year we have a Missions Conference that lasts a few days, and ends in the "World Famous Pie Auction," where $55,000 was raised in one night this year (how awesome is that, right?!).

Anyways. Back to church. This morning, our youth pastor and his wife came forward to announce that next Spring they will start the process to become missionaries in Amsterdam. It's so awesome that they are dedicating themselves to such a worthy cause.

It got me thinking: What am I dedicating my life to? What have I been called to do? 

I haven't been called to world missions. I haven't been called to travel and tell the news of Jesus Christ. And sometimes, it's frustrating. When I was in high school, I prayed over and over that I would be called into the mission field. I wanted nothing more than to do God's work in another country. But that's not where God needs me. 

He needs me right here in Springfield, MO. 

I've told this story many times before, so I'll keep it short. Throughout junior high, and bits of high school, I struggled with cutting and self harm (like a lot of girls that age, which is extremely alarming). I  don't know at what point it was that I realized I needed help, but things got bad enough where I knew I was about to hit rock bottom if I didn't seek out help for my depression. Ever since then, I have struggled with the urge to cut. I haven't acted on it in nearly five years, but every so often, the urge is still there. It never truly goes away. 

When I "got over" cutting, I went on to date many guys through my high school years. I'm so regretful of these years, but I am so thankful that God saved me from any further hurt that I might have experienced had I not fallen in love with Him. 

I'm not proud of this, and I don't tell my story to get attention for what I did in the past. I tell my story because I have been called to help women. I tell my story because I have been given a platform that is real and relatable. I am thankful for this call in my life, no matter what I went through to get to this point. 

I have been called into ministry (even though being raised Baptist, it isn't quite acceptable for women to be in leadership positions in church. I'm calling bull crap on this). In January I will start attending the James River Leadership College and major in women's ministry, in Ozark MO, right outside of Springfield.

I had been struggling for some time (years, even) trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I went from career path to career path, trying to figure out what I could "deal with" as a lifelong career, and nothing truly satisfied. It wasn't until I started praying about the situation and left it all up to God that I realized what I wanted to do, and where I needed to be. 

And who knows, maybe I will end up somewhere other than Springfield someday. Maybe I will feel the call to mission work. But for now, I find my place to be here in Springfield, serving the women here in my hometown. 

I'm thankful for my life. I'm thankful for the circumstances, no matter how hard they were, that have brought me to this point in my life. I'm thankful for the journey I'm about to embark on. I'm thankful that I am able to spend my life and my career serving a God that could save me from myself, and that gave me hope when I needed it most. 

I love Pinterest today.

Pinterest has been so good to me today.

Usually I don't spend a whole day browsing Pinterest. Usually I can't find anything I like on Pinterest (although my 300+ pins would tell you otherwise).

But today... I spent all day, off and on in my free time, on the Pinterest app on my phone. Holy cow, I hit the jackpot on Pinterest wedding DIYs today. I even felt so inspired to make a list of things I want to try, and a list of things to go buy first thing tomorrow in order to carry out my mega craft day tomorrow.

Here are few things I've been itching to do...

*So while this link sends you over to an Etsy... my wedding is on a strict, strict budget (student over here!), and so my boss and I are going to tackle the task of making this dress for my flower girl!
*I actually already made this DIY, and I'm putting this on the list to tell you, this little project is fabulous! It was so easy and fast.
*I love this idea for a smores bar, of sorts, but I'd also like to find a way to package them for favors... hmm.
*This crepe paper flowers DIY sounds awesome! These flowers are way too cute for words (and almost realistic in photos!) I'm going to have to try these out.

There about a million more DIYs I want to try... but I'll save that for a later date. ;)

In other news... I'm making a hash brown potato soup tomorrow night for dinner. I'm not a cook (like at all), so I'll be sure to let you know how it goes! This weekend my mom and I are visiting my wedding venue (again), this time to take photos so we will have visual references when dreaming up decor. I'm super excited! And I will definitely share those photos!
Have a wonderful, wonderful evening. I'm off to enjoy a homemade chai latte, watch Fright Night, and make grocery lists! :)

Dress Shopping.

This weekend was the absolute best. One of my besties (and bridesmaids!) roadtripped to Springfield for some good old fashion fall fun. Oh, and some wedding dress shopping. :) 

A few weeks ago, my mom, Blake's mom and I went to a bridal show, and I decided to book an appointment with David's Bridal for the end of September to try on dresses and get a feel for what sort of dress I wanted for my wedding day. I had no real intentions of buying (or even finding a dress), but I went in with an open mind. And I'm SO glad I had an open mind, because I happened to find the dress! It's absolutely perfect, and it's nothing like I had in mind, but the dress of my dreams at the same time. This weekend also marked the one year countdown to the wedding. As of today, we have 362 days to go! It sounds like a lot, but I'm sure it'll be here before we know it. 

*full disclosure... neither of these are the dress I ended up choosing. :)  

This Weekend

This weekend I am

Moving a few more things out of my old apartment (I have to be completely out on Sunday!)
Spending THREE days with Claire!
Trying on wedding dresses.
Going to Fair Grove's fall festival (fried oreos, y'all).
Maybe going to a haunted corn maze, if I can convince Claire...? ;)
Introducing Claire to my other two besties, Breigh and Colby.

I am extremely excited for Claire to be here for the weekend. She came earlier this year, when we looked at our wedding venue. As much as I would love for my other three best friends here to watch my try on wedding gowns for the first time, I'm so excited that Claire is coming all the way from Arkansas for this special occasion.

In other wedding news, I have been nailing out some honeymoon plans. As you probably know, we decided on Disney World. We got a little too excited and started buying all these Mickey Mouse themed t-shirts (I guess I was the one that went overboard. Blake only has one shirt, I bought 2 shirts, a sweater and a dress.... obsessed!). To make it all feel a little bit more 'real,' my boss (who recently had her own Disney trip last weekend), brought back Mickey and Minnie luggage tags for Blake and me. HOLY CRAP I was so excited.

And non-wedding related news: I am starting to love Glee again. The Office is killing me. New Girl is super funny. And I feel like the writers of Parks and Rec are trying to give me heart failure with this whole long distance relationship thing between Leslie and Ben.
Why was that whole update based on TV shows? I need a life. Also, I have cable for the first time in over a year. So that's probably why I'm hooked on TV so much. I even watched Pirates of the Caribbean, j.u.s.t. because it was on TV! Television intervention needed over here.

And all of a sudden it's 10:30 pm, and my computer is about to die.
Also, this was such a boring post. I won't be offended if you don't read it all.

Autumn 2012 Playlist

With every new season, I make new playlists to fit the 'mood' of the season. Creating playlists is a big time waster for me and I absolutely love doing it. The trouble with making my fall playlist is that every year...the songs are always the same. ALWAYS. For some reason, I'm stuck on listening to the same playlist I made my senior year of high school, and kind of-sort of adding in a few new songs each year. Blake makes fun of me for this (who needs new music? Not me!). But I just like to be nostalgic. ;)

Without further ado, my perfect playlist for the cold weather that is fast approaching... 

These are the songs that I listen to probably every day this time of year. (and it's called "fall. for real." because I make so many "fall" playlists that I have to start numbering them after a while.)

Of course, with the Justin Bieber concert fast approaching, I listen to him a lot too... #dork

ps. last night I had trouble falling asleep, so I made my Christmas playlist. YUP. Can't wait to share that one! 

Lana Del Rey x H&M

 I think it's no secret that I have the ultimate lady crush on Lana Del Rey. So when she became the new 'face' of H&M, I kind of had a mini freak out sesh. She's the ultimate classic beauty. She's gorge.
(also, this video gives me the heeby-jeebies, but I can't stop watching!)

Do you love Lana Del Rey? Are you over her? Did you even like her to begin with? 

Best Friend Fun & Lots of Unnecessary Rambling

            

Colby and I recently spent some (very much needed) best friend time together, and spent our day at Silver Dollar City. In case you don't know what SDC is, I'll just tell you - it's the greatest place ever (besides Disney World, but that's on a whole different level!). SDC is an 1800's themed amusement park. The 1800's! I am not joking - it's the coolest place ever. I gave a speech on the park for my public speaking class last semester because I'm that into it. 

Honestly, the whole place is ultra cheesy, but it's good "fall-ish" fun. Colby and I chose the perfect day to go - there were literally NO people there, and the people that were there were all old, so they weren't riding the roller coasters, so the wait times were super short. We had SO much fun. 

Blake got me a season pass a few months back and I've been itching to use it. Now that the weather is cooling off, I can see many more trips to Silver Dollar City in the future! :) 

In other news, I've been spending my days packing for the move. Moving has been really stressful on me lately (isn't it stressful no matter what?) so I'm thankful for my downtime today to just relax, read junk books (50 Shades..what?) and watch junk tv (I've discovered that the Kardashians and I have the same cups from Target. Also, how is Khloe Kardashian's wedding ring THAT big?). 

I'm in the middle of creating a list of things I want to do while Claire is in town this weekend... I'm getting really excited to have her back in Springfield for a few days! We're going wedding dress shopping on Friday... my nerves are out of control!

Packing up.

My current apartment's lease ends at the end of this month. I can't believe it's already time to move! I've been so blessed for my first roommate to be Anna (and her husband Isaac!). But, alas, it's time to bid farewell to my favorite place in the world and move to the south side of town! I'll be moving into my boss's house soon, and I'm so excited to only have to walk upstairs to go to work, as opposed to driving 30 minutes! I'll live there until Blake and I get married (and I already have the perfect apartment in mind for when that time comes!) 

 We've certainly had some great times at this apartment! It's hard to believe that nearly a year has gone by since we moved in (or that I've been living on my own for over a year. Time flies)! I'm super excited to be move, though, and live on a completely different side of town. It will definitely be weird not living close to downtown, or a 5 minute walk to the movie theater or our favorite restaurants. But, as sad as I am that I'll be a 20 minute drive away from all the fun that happens downtown, I'll be less than 10 minutes from Chick-fil-a.
There's always a silver lining.

Instagram Style

  If you followed Elizabeth Haley, you probably knew that I would get in the habit of doing "outfit posts" for a while. I really enjoyed doing that, even though I'm no style expert (at all). Lately, I've ditched the real camera and replaced it with my iphone when it comes to taking photos of my outfits. Instagram usually gets it's fair share of my outfit posts these days, so I may pop in every now and then with some Instagram outfits I've posted. For starters, here's what I've been wearing to work at Red Velvet on Saturdays! (with the exception of the 3rd photo, I wore that on a lazy Sunday afternoon!)

I'm thinking I might get back into doing 'real' outfit photos. Everything about this new blog is still undecided... we'll see how that goes!

Welcome ♥

Welcome to my brand new space, Mushaboom!
I have been wanting to do this for a very long time, but never had the time (nor wanted to put the effort into it, but now seemed like the perfect time to jump in and just do it.
Lately I've been feeling so burnt out on my old blog and stuck in a rut. Mushaboom won't be much different than Elizabeth Haley, but it's just a fresh new space with no links back to old posts, no previous posts from two years ago, etc. I think I just needed to start over.

That said, maybe I should explain how I came to choose the blog's namesake.
Mushaboom, by Feist, is one of my favorite songs e.v.e.r. My junior year in high school, I took a creative writing class and one of the assignments was to play one of our favorite songs; I chose Mushaboom. I've just had strong attachments to this song for years! I think the song represents my life at this moment very well. I'm not very good at explaining things myself, so I'll just let the song do the talking for me. :) Enjoy, and welcome to my new space!