Guess what happens when you don’t blog for a whole month

You beat the record for highest number of page views? That doesn’t sound right, but that’s what happened. The last time I posted was February 27th, and March 27th now holds my record for highest number of page views. Go figure.

I wanted to give you a pretty picture. This one was appropriate because she’s reading and I’ve been doing a lot of that.

Source: ammonition.tumblr.com via Haley on Pinterest

It’s really sad that I haven’t posted in so long. Especially since I have posts ready to go…pictures and everything. I don’t know what my problem is. Aaron told me the other day, “All your readers are out there sitting at their computers, just waiting.” Haha.

Exciting things:

1. I updated my About Me page. I had forgotten about the original one, and it made me cringe when I read it. I’m sure this one will make me do the same after a while. (Do you know what else makes me cringe? Reading old posts and finding awful typos. Seriously? Someone comment and tell me to fix that garbage…I’m looking at you, Nikki.)

2. I finished my CFY, but I still have to send all my paperwork in.

3. Shaytards are having another baby.

4. I found out I can have the Publix deli make me special order buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese if I let them know in advance.

5. I’ve been going running. I’m doing the couch to 5k program because it’s free on my phone and I like following a program. I can run more than that though.

6. I registered for a color run 5k.

That’s all I got Here’s to hoping I get back in the swing of things.

Banana bread brownies and a bright blue door. {OHP}

Striped walls.

Source: houzz.com via Haley on Pinterest

 

Runner on a farmhouse table.

Source: sophiasdecor.blogspot.com via Haley on Pinterest

 

Turquoise door.

Source: diynetwork.com via Haley on Pinterest

 

That looks like my dining room table, only white.

Source: diyhomedesignpins.com via Haley on Pinterest

 

Denim undershirt.

Source: paint-it-beautiful.tumblr.com via Haley on Pinterest

 

Starfish earrings (like Aquamarine).

Source: lilyfairjewelry.com via Haley on Pinterest

 

Pretty.

Source: rstyle.me via Haley on Pinterest

 

Disney shoes.

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Wise words.

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Banana bread brownies.

Source: lifessimplemeasures.blogspot.com via Haley on Pinterest

 

Key lime pie cake.

Source: heidibakes.blogspot.com via Haley on Pinterest

 

How to paint new wood to look distressed.

Source: thehouseofsmiths.com via Haley on Pinterest

 

Really good wall art ideas. This blog is now on my favorites list.

Source: livelovediy.com via Haley on Pinterest

Linking up at the vintage apple for Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday!

Quatrefoil Kitchen

When I first moved into my rental house, I took it upon myself to paint. I used the whole “It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission” reasoning, and just did my thang. Let’s be honest here. I picked a totally beautiful neutral color. The owners should love me. I just upped the value of their rental property for them. (They’ve seen it, and the wife asked for the name of the color because she loved it so much (Sherwin Williams Popular Gray BTW).

For this next painting project I’m about to unveil, I continued in my “devil may care” ways and didn’t ask permission. Is this something you could do in any rental property. Probably not. Is it something that would be easy to paint over when you leave? Totally…although it makes me really sad thinking of how easy it will be to paint roller over my tedious little quatrefoils that I slaved away on.

My kitchen isn’t my favorite room in the house. The floors aren’t the greatest. They cabinets are kind of orange-y colored wood. The appliances speak for themselves. It’s kind of an awkward shape. (It redeems itself with a ton of storage, though). My kitchen needed a little pazazz.

I’m going to take you through this whole process now, from my inspiration to how I figured out how the heck to do this for free. Oh yeah. Did I mention this cost me ZERO dollars. I’d been putting this off for a while and just started in the middle of the night one night. Here’s what I used:

1. A leftover sample of paint that I almost painted my house with, that ended up being a little too dark (Sherwin Williams Perfect Greige).
2. Leftover trim paint. White in a gloss finish.
3. Painters tape. Mine was frog tape because that’s what I had, but any type of masking tape would have worked. I used it to make my stencil.
4. A paintbrush that I’m pretty sure came from a children’s water color set.
5. A mechanical pencil.

Here is my original inspiration for this diy project.

Source: 4.bp.blogspot.com via Haley on Pinterest

and this…

 

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So my first thought was, “I will stencil my wall using my Martha Stewart quatrefoil stencil that I already have.” This one right here:

 

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Um. No. Maybe I didn’t get the memo, but stenciling like this is the most frustrating thing ever. I couldn’t do a single shape without it bleeding through! Plus you can only do one set at a time because you have to wait for each set to dry so you can layer over it to match up the pattern correctly. Like I’m going to spend all my time doing that AND THEN go back over to touch up everything. No. I’m not.

Then I stumbled upon this:

 

Source: etsy.com via Haley on Pinterest

 

That is a vinyl quatrefoil backsplash, thank you very much. I was seriously considering this option, but it was going to cost me a whole lot of money because my kitchen is so loooong. I measured and calculated. Then I figured in me screwing up applying the vinyl, and the cost was just too much.

I kept seeing this pattern everywhere though, so I knew I had to find some way to make it work.

 

Source: thehouseofsmithsdesigns.com via Haley on Pinterest

Using some pinterest resources I decided I was going to make my own stencil, trace it on the wall in a pattern, and then paint over the lines.

I found the stencil that is the exact same shape as the vinyl backsplash here (fo free!):

 

Source: imperfectlybeautifulms.blogspot.com via Haley on Pinterest

I got real ghetto here, y’all. I just opened the file on my computer, and…(I hope Aaron doesn’t read this…he would be cringing)…I just used a pencil to lightly trace over the pattern onto paper. It was like those old light-up desks you used to trace on as a kid. Just like that. Except on a macbook screen. I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t advocate this. Just print it out, guys. I only did it because I was so motivated to get started that night and my printer was upstairs and out of ink.

This next pinterest find inspired me to use painter’s tape to make my stencil.

 

Source: allthingsthrifty.com via Haley on Pinterest

Totally different from mine, but credit for inspiration where credit is due. All I did was cut out my clover shape, lay strips of tape over it, and trim it to shape of the paper. Then I flipped my clover over to the other side, laid striped of tape over it, and trimmed again. I just kept flipping and trimming until it got to a thickness I thought would hold up well to stenciling around the edges fifty billion times.

The painter’s tape stencil ended up working fabulously. It was very bendable, so I could fold it around corners and edges so easily. It was kind of miraculous.

This next pin led me to a blog that gave me the technique I used to stencil and paint.

 

Source: pincookie.com via Haley on Pinterest

The biggest take-away messsages I got from that blog are:
1. Don’t try to make it perfect.
2. Trace around the shape. Paint right over the line.
3. It won’t look perfect close up, but it will look fabulous from far away.
4. It’s very tedious and time consuming.
5. I probably should have made my shape a little bigger.

So I got started stenciling and painting.

I was so impressed with myself after the first section. Then I thought,”Hey wait. I’m going to blog about this! I need before pictures.”

Warning! It is very hard to stencil right-handed in a corner with a wall on your right side. You wish you had a picture of me in all the crazy positions I was stenciling in. At one point my foot was on top of the refrigerator.

Look at that fancy wallpaper/tile backsplash! (Not the ugly appliances).

Do you want to see it up close?

I mean really close?

See totally not perfect, but you can’t even tell from far away.

I am in love with it and I would totally do it again. It’s a lot of tedious work, but the result was so worth it. I’m so excited to finish decorating my kitchen. Now all I need is some curtains, right?

Monday Monday

I just spent a good little while writing a really long blog post showing off my kitchen backsplash. I posted it for a second, but then I decided to wait and schedule it for tomorrow. It’s so good…I need to keep you waiting.

In all actuality I wanted to do another little short post today that would no longer be relevant tomorrow. My fancy kitchen, however, will still be relevant tomorrow.

Today was my first day back at work after an unanticipated 4 day long weekend. Nothing glamorous. I was sick. All my little motivational quotes I pin on my “wise words” pinterest board would have been proud of me today. Sometimes when I’m at work I have to give myself little motivational talks. Things like this:

Source: jennifermfitness.com via Haley on Pinterest

Source: 79ideas.org via Haley on Pinterest

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Source: ohhappyday.com via Haley on Pinterest

Source: prepfection.tumblr.com via Haley on Pinterest

I actually committed to being at work instead of looking at the clock and wishing the day away. I’ve been in a funk lately. The good news is that I’ll be finished with my clinical fellowship soon. I’ll still have the same job, but I’ll get some new letters on my name. Instead of Haleybee M.S. CFY-SLP, I’ll be Haleybee M.S. CCC-SLP. It’s a big deal.

You should help me choose the picture for my badge at work:

Option A or B?

Those were taken the day I got my QVC “Today’s Special Value” impulse purchase in the mail, so of course I had just played makeup. It’s a rare day that I do my hair, so it needed to be documented. It just so happened that I needed to upload a badge picture to my work onboarding site, and I had a spare boyfriend laying around the house to take my picture.

One drawback of having a tall boyfriend is that the 10 pictures I took before these 2 good ones were all looking down at the top of my head. Or my head was leaned way back. Just for the record, the “looking down on you” angle makes a person’s head look huge. (Or maybe I just have a big head).

Random thoughts for the evening:

I’ve been DVRing The Bachelor so I can fast forward through commercials. I heart Sean. I’m totally going to write a post where talk about how Sean and I are actually meant to be together. (BTW Aaron, I’m talking about the alternate universe where you are meant to be with Emma Watson, so we’re square).

It’s been raining all day. We’re currently under a tornado warning.

I have a goal to finish my dang book by the end of February. I’ve got three days to finish The Casual Vacancy. It’s picked up a little bit, but I’m still trudging.

I also have a lot of crafty projects coming to a close. Lot’s to blog about.

True Stories & the Job Interview from Hades

The other day I was talking with the boyfriend, and we were sharing some of our “I can’t believe that actually happened” memories. It made me realize that I’ve experienced a lot of crazy things that I sometimes forget about because they are so out of the ordinary for me. I decided I need to start a list to keep it all straight.

1. I’ve toured a concentration camp in Austria.

2. I’ve met and listened to a Holocaust survivor speak. (And when he was describing the Aryan race – in German, mind you, with a translator – he may have pointed straight at me…the blonde haired blue-eyed girl sitting in the second row. Probably the most uncomfortable/awkward situation in my life).

3. I’ve been standing in a parking lot within 100 feet of a person pulling a gun on someone else in a fit of road rage.

4. I’ve gotten stuck right in the middle of a high speed car chase after a bank robbery.

5. I’ve shot an AK-47

6. I’ve had to talk to and take directions from a 911 operator when a neighbor who I’ve never spoken to before had a seizure and her little girl came up to me with 911 on the phone.

That’s all I’ve got for now.

…

So Aaron and I are at that point in our relationship where we don’t really have NEW stories anymore. All those stories up there he has either heard, or he was next to me when they happened.

So imagine my surprise when he was telling me about an interview he was going to. I was all “Well the good news is that it can’t be as bad as my horror story of a job interview,” and he was all “Huh?” Come on Aaron. You know what I’m talking about. I’ve told everyone and their mom this story. I’m pretty sure I acted it out as a skit in front of a group of people at Bible study one night.

The thing is, I hadn’t thought about this crazy interview in forever. It was such a strange surreal experience that I kind of forget sometimes that it actually happened to me. THIS INTERVIEW GOES ON THAT LIST UP THERE.

No. 7 I’ve had the job interview from Hades.

It all started when I decided I needed to get a part-time job while I was in college. I went to the mall and put in applications at a bunch of stores. One of those stores happened to be STRASBURG CHILDREN’S BOUTIQUE at Bel Air Mall in Mobile Alabama. That’s right. I’m calling them out. Just like the Well’s Fargo Lady. 

I got a call back for an interview and was so excited. This was the first real job interview I have ever had. The day of my interview I wore a nice dress and heels and walked into the store. An employee immediately saw me and ushered me into the back.

I take a look around. I am in a teeny tiny dark office with a single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. I had walked into an interrogation room. There are three other people in the room with me. One was an older woman who seemed to be in charge, and then two younger female employees.

(Just like this, but a smaller room with more people standing.)

They ask me to take a seat…and then gesture towards a leather footrest.

(Like this but without the chair).

A LEATHER FOOTREST. Like a foot and a half off the ground! No one else in the room sits.

All three employees then proceeded to stand over me and ask me rapid fire questions about teamwork and interacting with customers. At one point someone held up a baby dress and made me point out details I would describe to a customer to make a sale.

What do you know about embroidery!?…NEEDLEPOINT!!??…SMOCKING!!!???

All I remember after that is walking out into the mall in a fog like this.

I called my mom to run  it all by her and she confirmed my suspicions, that “no, that was not normal…not normal at all.” It’s really crazy to me now that I’ve gone on REAL job interviews for my actual CAREER, and they have been no where near as intimidating as the one at the silly store in the mall. I’m pretty sure I was never asked a single question about speech therapy on any of my job interviews.

Who did those silly dress peddlers think they were, asking me about embroidery and smocking and crap?

The good thing about having that experience is that now all the interviews I go on are cake.

Oh. And in case you were wondering…I did not get the job.

Up-do’s, a Gallery Wall, & Downton Abbey <3 {OHP}

HOLY MOLY! My brain just exploded. I”ve just learned information that made my life so much easier. Well my blogging life on Wednesdays anyway.

So it has been a really long time since I linked up for Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday hosted by The Vintage Apple, so I went to read her blog so I could link up this week. I just happened to notice “OHP FAQ” at the top of the page so I checked it out.

Apparently I have been making my life more difficult than it needed to be. Silly me has been saving all my pins as pictures on my computer, saving the source links in a word document, uploading the pictures to my post, and then copying and pasting the links under the pictures. (I kept the links in a word document so I had the sources in case I ever used the pictures again, since they are saved on my computer.)

The Vintage Apple taught me how I can EMBED my pins directly on my posts. I don’t use blogger, so I did have to play around a bit to figure out how to to it in wordpress. You know how when you are in a new post there are two tabs at the top that say “Visual” and “Text.” I usually write everything in the “Visual” tab. Instead of doing that, switch over to the “Text” tab and embed all the html junk right in there.

Voila. Magic.

(I still can’t get the source lines to center, so I’m just going to have to deal).

Pretty bun styles for bad hair days.

Source: dylanmaureen.blogspot.com via Haley on Pinterest

Watercolor painting.

Source: nancystandlee.blogspot.com via Haley on Pinterest

Gallery wall in stairwell.

Source: glo.msn.com via Haley on Pinterest

I need this tank top.

Source: wanelo.com via Haley on Pinterest

And this shirt too.

Source: wanelo.com via Haley on Pinterest

Loving some Downton Abbey lately.

Source: lovelyweddingday.com via Haley on Pinterest

I must make one of these. Crazy cool diy right here.

Source: freshly-picked.com via Haley on Pinterest

Rustic shelves.

Source: heltenkelthosmig.blogspot.com via Haley on Pinterest

Burlap Drawers

 

 

I noticed something while I was shopping the other day: burlap insets on drawers.

 

 

I’ve never seen this before, so I thought it was strange that I saw it on two different pieces of furniture at two different stores. The first picture is Marshall’s and the second picture is TJMaxx/Homegoods. Ok, so they are basically the same store, but you get what I mean.

I was intrigued. I mean, I love burlap. I may need to try this someday when I re-do a chest of drawers. I especially love the nailhead details in the first picture.