Let's Celebrate Blogtober!

I'm taking on a challenge. Several of my favorite bloggers have been doing a Blog Everyday in...[insert month here]. I did part of the Blog Everyday in May challenge -- unsuccessfully, I might add. I'm a bit reluctant to take on such a challenge because, let's be honest, I'm not sure if I will be able to complete it. Blogging everyday -- including weekends -- for an entire month?? Seems a bit of a steep challenge. But, I'm rising to the occasion! 

The reason I've decided to take on the challenge is that I've been feeling a bit blah lately. I miss creating things -- art, poems, heck, even research papers for class (do not tell my college professors). I will be taking different topics from fellow bloggers who have completed the challenge. I'll be following prompts (most taken from Story of My Life and others are of my own creation) or I'll just write about wherever the creative winds blow. 

Feel free to join, in your own way, whether in the comments or in your own personal journal. I'd love to share this monthly journey with you. Aren't we lucky to live in a world where there are Octobers?

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October 1: Describe where or what you come from. The people, the places, and/or the factors that make up who you are.

October 2: If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do? (bonus points for fun photos from Pinterest, but don't forget to cite the source!)

October 3: Pass on some useful advice or information you learned and always remembered. 

October 4: A story about a time you were very afraid.

October 5: Take this short personality test and respond to your results. (at the end, find the detailed profile of your personality account - click "click to view" under "You" and "self awareness and personal growth." You can even google your type and find more info on it!)

October 6: Describe a distinct moment when your life took a turn.

October 7: Share links to your favorite online shops, preferably with a few photos of your favorite items in each shop.

October 8: Discuss ways that blogging or social media has changed you.

October 9: A self portrait

October 10: Write a public love letter to someone in your life. (It doesn't necessarily need to be romantic.)

October 11: A memory you would love to relive.

October 12: Only photos

October 13: Creative writing day: write a (very short) fictional story that starts with this sentence: "To say I was dreading the dinner party would be the understatement of the century."

The story does not necessarily need to have a conclusion - you can leave your readers wishing for more!

October 14: React to this term: comfort. 

October 15: A "life lately" post. What you're up to, how you're feeling, how you're doing on your goals, etc. Bonus points for great photos!

October 16: Review a book, place, or product.

October 17: Write about a time you screwed up - a mistake you made. 

October 18: Go to a coffee shop. Order a favorite drink. Write about what makes you happy and what makes you sad. Or write about anything you'd like! Bonus points for including a photo from the coffee shop. *if you can't make it to a coffee shop, at least leave your usual space and write someplace new.

October 19: An anonymous letter to your Facebook friends. Be as snarky as you'd like. (but don't include people's real names.) 

October 20: Share a photo of something old. Maybe something that has personal history for you, that was passed down to you, and that has special meaning to you. Tell us about it and why it's special.

October 21: Something that makes you uncomfortable.

October 22: Write a sequel, in the form of a poem, to your favorite book or movie.

October 23: An ode to your favorite article of clothing.

October 24: Write down your most recent dream.

October 25: A haiku.

October 26: List all the fears you have when you woke up this morning.

October 27: Free Day.

October 28: Things you've learned that school won't teach you.

October 29: October Favorites

October 30: Favorite Halloween memory.

October 31: Favorite posts of Blogtober. 

Yours xx

Fashion Friday: September 27, 2013

You've all had this feeling. It is straight up euphoric hearing your favorite song. Not even your favorite song, it's that song you jam to in the car alone/with friends. I listened to 90s Radio on a road trip for work -- jam session commenced. In celebration of Friday, I ask you: what is your ultimate jam song?? 

Plus, how happy is she?? 

Yours xx

What Haley Wore IFB #114: Soldier Chic

See that beautiful soldier up there? That's my grandmother. She was in the Army Nurse Corps. This picture has been in my house growing up and when I read the challenge from IFB about Soldier Chic and being Army inspired I had to participate. See, I've never thought about working the camo... however, I do love my boots (picture below) and a tailored Army-inspired jacket with patches. It's not the fatigues that inspire -- it is what it represents. 

Yours xx

The Seasonal Kool-Aid

It is that time of year. The year where I will be throwing on a sweater, draping my neck in a scarf and I no longer ask for iced things at my coffee shop of choice. Today is the first day of FALL!

In the time of pumpkin spiced things (they've got Pumpkin flavored M&Ms now!), I am one happy camper. I'm more likely to spend my time outside in the fall than in the summer. When I read this article by Alexandra Petri I laughed out loud. She describes the pumpkin spice latte absolutely perfectly -- "The pumpkin spice latte tastes like the man of your dreams coming up to you on the sidewalk and saying he thinks the Oxford comma should be standard."

You need to read this article: In praise/defense/what have you of the Pumpkin Spice Latte

You could say I've been drinking the Kool Aid but, hey, I'm excited about chilly nights, foggy mornings, sweater weather, colored leaves, rainy days, bonfires, and halloween. 

Yours xx

Fashion Friday: 30 Facts about ME!

Fashion Friday on a Saturday? Why not!? I think the last time I did one of these Facts about Me challenges I was in junior high but some of my favorite bloggers have been doing them lately so I thought I'd give it a go.

1. I can recite every line from Legally Blonde.

2. I've worn the same ring that I purchased in London as a junior in college every day since I bought it.

3. I own all the seasons of Gilmore Girls on DVD.

4. I quote Gilmore Girls so much that I don't actually know when I'm doing it anymore.

5. The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite novels of all time.

6. Harry Potter is my favorite book series.

7. I have been tweeting my life since the fall of my freshman year of college which adds up to about 10,000 tweets.

8. I hate wearing socks.

9. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie. Naturally, Belle is my favorite princess.

10. I'm one of the worst spellers I know.

11. I still use my fingers to do basic addition and subtraction.

12. I love the smell of a bonfire. In addition, I want to live in a place that is 60 degrees year round. So basically, fall...all the time.

13. My first car was a white Daewoo Nubira.. yeah, that's a thing.

14. Remember number 1? I lied to get into theater to see it. The clerk at the theater asked if I was 13 and I said I was 12. (Badass, Haley!)

15. I'm absolutely obsessed with my iPhone.

16. I cried at the series finale of Friends.

17. I was meeting my best friend's parents for the first time and Extreme Makeover Home Edition was on TV. We were watching the show for 15 minutes and I started crying. I cry at every single episode. No matter what.

18. I have a reoccurring dream that I own a Golden Retriever named Neville.

19. I will sing/rap to the radio regardless of who else is in the vehicle.

20. Each night before bed I drink a cup of Sleepytime Herbal tea.

21. I don't like pickles.

22. I'd like to travel to a new place each week and write about my experiences.

23. I don't like candy canes.

24. I once pulled a pan out of a 400 degree oven bare handed and got 3rd degree burns. It was awful. I now pay very close attention when I cook/bake.

25. In first grade, in response to the "What do you want to be when you grow up?" question, I said a nun because I loved my kindergarten teacher Sister Barbara.

26. If that seemed odd, this one will make sense...I went to parochial elementary, middle and high school.

27. I really don't like ladders or the dark.

28. I firmly believe that a person can never have too much stationary.

29. I own about 65 different scarves. Yeah.. that's a lot, I know. It's a problem.

30. I think you're the prettiest person in the room.

Yours xx

Bookless Library: A Literary Nerd's Nightmare or Tech Kid's Dream?

Are the days of curling up with a 1st edition novel in the comfy chair in your childhood library gone?

Yesterday the first bookless public library opened in Texas...literary nerds everywhere cried. Just as any company, business or person almost doesn't exist unless they exist online or in an app, libraries are having to adapted to necessities. I can download any book that I want to into my phone in less time than it takes for me to write this post, but does it make it right??

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I have loved books and stories since I was a little kid. I remember on Wednesday nights we, my mother and brother, would head to the library. I would fill up my backpack with new reads. I spent several summers in elementary school participating in different library summer events. One of my favorite relationships I had in high school with a teacher were with my Librarian and my English teacher; as a graduation gift, my Librarian gave me the book "The Guernsay Literary and Potato Peel Society" with the inscription: "I hope you never lose you love of books." Let me tell you, I didn't. I'm pro-book and yet, I'm pro-technology.

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I think the idea of an all tech library is so very cool. The place as 10,000 free e-books and physically houses 600 e-readers and 48 computer stations, its own app with the ownership 14 day countdown!! via No more late fees! The constant instant access that we as a society have become accustom to has now spread into our literary love of novels, and magazine. Plus the children focused tailored areas will still allow children to fall in love with books, just as I did.

"I have always imagined that Paradise will be some kind of library." via

Books are changing, yes. But they are still books. The stories, tales, adventures and all the things I fell in love with. and continue to every time I opened a new one, still exists. Someday I will probably tell my children "I remember when I was a kid, books were bound pages that we would dog ear to bookmark, write in and highlight with a pen/pencil." I'll show them my coffee stained favorites and encourage them to read and explore as much as I did...just with their iPads.

 Is that sad? Or exciting? Hash it out in the comments.

The BiblioTech Website -- Check it out! Pretty cool, I suppose. :D (The Changing Face of Public Libraries Infographic)

Yours xx

Fashion Friday: The Universe Speaks

Every morning for the past couple of months I have been getting ...A Note from the Universe.

A Note from the Universe is from TUT, or Totally Unique Thoughts. This community "believes that everyone's special, that every life is meaningful, and that we're all here to learn that dreams do come true. We also believe that "thoughts become things," and that imagination is the gift that can bring love, health abundance, and happiness into our lives." via

Each day I get reminded at 3:51am, that life is anything you can imagine it to be. Yep, I receive automated emails of inspiration, encouragement and, at times, hilarity along with millions of other people. It makes me feel a part of something more and my "thoughts become things" so I consciously choose the good ones.

Here are a few of my recent favorites:

Yours xx

Disclaimer: Everything mentioned above was purchased with my own money, pictures were taken with my camera (unless otherwise noted/credited) and all opinions are mine and in no way represent anyone or anything other than me, myself and I. This is NOT a sponsored blog post. You're beautiful.

How I Spent my Summer Vacation...

Greetings from the worst blogger in the world.

Maybe I'm not the worst blogger but I did take an unannounced summer blogging break. So I present my summer in images...

The places that built me. 

I celebrated a 21st birthday as a 22 year old. This is my bestie and myself throwing some T-Swift shade.  

All my favorites things

I finally got a leaning black mirror! 

Josiah's Coffeehouse.. probably my new favorite place.

Another one of my favorite places... 

With my favorite people!

Pumpkin Spice Latte is back. I am happy.

I was welcome'd home by my favorite door.

 During my "summer," which was taken from July until now.. I moved to a new city, began a new job/career, and it is hard to explain the ways I've changed but it is alarming. They don't joke about how odd it feels to not go back to school the August after college graduation. They don't warn you about the side effects especially walking down the aisles of school supplies that you no longer need. I actually checked my college email and got the "does not recognize your username and password" error message. Odd moments for sure.

via Pinterest

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Me when trying to meet new people... (via Tumblr)

Life on the road.

My biggest fan.

Oxfords and Starbucks. Oh, and shopping. Still me. New address.

The greatest odd moment is not having homework, no papers to write, no novels to read, no tests to study for...it is very very awesome. Learning now occurs on my watch and the subject manner is of my choosing. I can watch as many episodes of Netflix as I want and not feel guilty. I can read novels just to avoid doing my assigned reading. And the best part, is that the ideas and plans I've talked about living out I finally can attempt. Life is no longer in neutral; it is in drive. So buckle up, kids. We are going on an adventure.

Yours xx

Disclaimer: Everything mentioned above was purchased with my own money, pictures were taken with my camera (unless otherwise noted/credited) and all opinions are mine and in no way represent anyone or anything other than me, myself and I. This is NOT a sponsored blog post. You're beautiful.