This And That

One of my favorite things about living is this area is that there's always something to do, whether it's a...

show at MotorCo in Durham:

Seeing KishiBashi for the 3rd time, love that guy

night in with some crafting fools:

cooking class at the Savory Spice Shop:

craft market of local artists:

my new print from Near Modern Disaster in Durham

book signing at a cute bookstore:

With Theron Humphrey and Maddie from Maddie on Things

25

Two months ago, I turned 25. And I freaked out a little, especially when my sister texted to say "Happy Birthday! You're starting to look old like the rest of us." You can always count on sisters to be honest. Here are a few pictures ( several are compliments of my friend, the lovely Callie) of the rad Quarter Life Crisisparty we had to celebrate:

This picture is super flattering...NOT.

I can't believe I can round up to 30 now! 

Over the weekend...a few days late.

Erika and Lauren at SparkCon

Pumpkins!

Pumpkins for everyone!

With Amy, waiting for BFF to take the stage

Uggh, you guys. This weekend was so good that I found myself sad on Sunday night while trying to  think of the next weekend that would have so much fun crammed in. 

Weekend Highlights:

*fashionSPARK Fashion Show on Thursday night

* Dinner at Lilly's followed by some extreme crafting on Friday night (more on that later...)

*visiting SparkCon in downtown Raleigh after enjoying some coffee at Morning Times

*the abundance of apples and pumpkins at the farmer's market

*Ben Folds Five on Sunday night to celebrate Amy's birthday 

It's beginning to feel a lot like fall around here and I love it!

Over the Weekend: Hopscotch

A Tin Djinn

Megafaun's back there somewhere

Shelby won a PBR pin, The Love Language performs

Shelby, me, and Sarah dreaming of beards

This weekend was awesome! I spent a majority of it outside at a free day concerts put on by Hopscotch. I was able to see The Love Language, A Tin Djinn (my guitar teacher's band), Megafaun, and a lot of other bands around downtown Raleigh. This was the first year I've been able to go and am already looking forward to next year! There was no shortage of hipsters drinking PBR all weekend long. Rumor has it Bon Iver even stopped by to watch a few shows but I didn't catch sight of him in the sea of handsome, bearded men.

Hope your week is off to a good start!

Daytime fun.

What a fun week so far! The top 4 pictures were taken at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. I'd never been before but took the girl I babysit and we had an awesome time. The bottom 4 pictures were taken at my very first Durham Bulls game. I can't believe it took me almost seven years  to see the Bulls play but I'll definitely be going back soon.

Feliz Weekend

{Photo of the hair I desperately want}

Hope you have a good weekend! I'm housesitting, babysitting, and crafting till my fingers bleed. I'm also thinking about dying my hair a shade of purple but it's likely my fear and sensibility will overpower that urge. 

On Playing the Guitar

How I feel when I start practicing the guitar:

 How I feel 30 minutes later when I'm still terrible:

Last night was my third lesson and event though I love learning how to play, it's a very slow process. 

I wanna be Made.

As part of my campaign to get famous, I began taking guitar lessons this week. When I met my teacher (that's his business card above),  it felt like meeting my Made coach. But I guess it's not too far off, right? I do want to be made into a guitar extraordinaire.

Happy

Today marks the official end to my first year of teaching and I couldn't be happier. There are a lot of things I loved about teaching and some things I wasn't quite so crazy about. More than anything, I just can't believe I survived a year of waking up before the sun and tricking angsty middle schoolers into reading. Go me! Go America!

A Tale of Two Alleys

The Alley

Jill and her ball.

I hadn't been bowling in years and somehow ended up going twice in the past couple of weeks at two alleys that couldn't have been more different. The Alley (top 2 photos)was a hipster dreamland of vintage patterns and PBR. We even had to keep track of our own scores! It was a learning experience for me. 


The second alley, or "bowling boutique" as its website says, was incredibly swanky. Sparians (bottom 2 photos) had huge leather couches to wait on between turns, a waiter who brought drinks, and huge TVs everywhere. Unfortunately those luxuries didn't help my game and I ended up bowling a 57.  

Happy four day week! Woo!

Over the Weekend: May 18-20

Kelly and Amy enjoying Smitty's ice cream

Art!

With all the college kids (and my roommates) out of town/gone for the summer, it's been awfully quiet around Raleigh. But on Saturday, things got a bit exciting thanks to Artsplosure. It's a festival downtown that gives local artists of all mediums a chance to showcase their talent. There were awesome sculptures on display, multiple stages set up in the center of it all, and some of the wackiest creations for sale by their owner.


Other than that, my weekend was spent catching up on sleep. Only three more weeks until the end of school! 

Things to Do...in Raleigh

{Source}

I've been living in Raleigh for almost a year now and still feel like I haven't really experienced it or seen a lot of the cool things the area has to offer. Since very recently deciding to stay here for another year (!),  I put together a little list of things to do and see here in Raleigh:


1. Visit museums!
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, The North Carolina Museum of Art, and The NC Museum of History all offer free admission. I've never been to any of these, which is funny considering how much I enjoy going to them when on vacation. (Emma, seriously, we need to have a museum day soon.)


2.  Enjoy downtown during First Friday!
I've been to this event once when I was in college but since moving here in July, I've been out of town every first Friday of the month. Hopefully that will change soon! First Friday is a cool way to check out art galleries, restaurants, and the downtown "scene," which leads me to the next item...


3. Experience downtown Raleigh!
I rarely go to downtown Raleigh. At first I was intimidated at the thought of driving through it and finding a parking spot. Then I never knew where to go when I was there. But now I'm ready to get over it and do some investigating! 


4. Take a hike!
My friend Amy and I once went on a little walk at Umstead Park and declared that we'd commit to doing a longer trail. Then it got cold and we never did. With spring time at its maximum potential, I'm thinking we should be hitting the trails soon.


5. Drink!
I recently came to the realization that Raleigh has a lot of really cool breweries in pubs. One of my favorites is the Boylan Bridge Brewpub, which has an awesome view of the Raleigh skyline. Two places I'd like to try: The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium and Natty Greene's Brewing Co.


6. Eat!
My friends and roommates have been dedicated to introducing me to new places in Raleigh but it's so easy to get stuck in the same comfortable (and delicious) places. Gravy, Poole's Diner, and Irregardless Cafe have all been recommended to try.


7. Find a boyfriend!
I kid, I kid...sort of. Anyway, Raleigh is full of perfectly hipster, talented, trendy guys. I will take one, please.




And that is all my Saturday brain can think of right now. Raleigh folks, got any other suggestions?

The 8 Celebrities I Saw in NYC

Last week when I was in NYC, I just kept seeing celebrities beginning with my flight from Raleigh to NYC. That's pretty much all I've ever wanted from a vacation: encounters with fame and fortune. There were 8 and here they are:

1. Jennifer Connelly sat beside me (and breastfed) on the plane to NYC. FYI- she was not actually looking at the camera when this picture was taken.

2. Ed Begley, Jr. was at the same Broadway show I went to see. Elizabeth and I had better seats than him.

3. Jerry O'Connell was one of the actors in "Seminar," a hilarious play Elizabeth and I saw on Broadway. 

4. Justin Long (!!!!!!!) was also in the play and one of the nicest people ever! His hand is on my shoulder. What a dream.

5. Jeff Goldblum and I actually didn't meet but rather made eye contact before he walked the other direction. His loss, right?

6. Zoe Lister Jones (not pictured) was also in "Seminar" and absolutely adorable/humble when she came out to sign autographs after the show.


7. Rudy Boesch  (not pictured) from "Survivor" walked by me on the High Line but I couldn't place who he was until later. Season 1 was the only season of "Survivor" I've ever seen.


8. Andrew WK (not pictured) deejayed at his club, Santos Party House, in Chinatown. He was an excellent DJ but overall, it was a pretty bizarre time. Guess I'm not ready to be a rockstar just yet...


That's it for the celebrities but I also got to check out Carrie Bradshaw's apartment and pretend that I am both rich and trendy!

Long live spring break!

24

Well kids, I'm growing up. Wednesday marked my 24th birthday and thanks to some wonderful and crafty friends, it was perfect. I've been lucky enough to go to a different  birthday celebration pretty much everyday this week, beginning on Monday with a trip to The Raleigh Times for dinner. And props to Kelly for making the most delicious caramel cake ever!

Luckily I decided not to give up desserts for Lent or else the past couple of days would've held a lot of temptations. After deliberating for the past couple of weeks, I've decided to give up listening to music in the car in the mornings and forgoing my afternoon cup of caffeine.  Lent is relatively new to me- I'd never really understood it until college and even then I often resolved to give up caffeine. Giving up the snooze alarm last year was probably the least successful of all my Lent attempts but I'm hoping my grownup willpower kicks in this year!

Hope you have a lovely weekend and thanks to those of you who Facebooked, Twittered, called, texted, instagrammed, emailed, and even Pinterested me  on my birthday! 

Over the Weekend: Feb. 17-19

Fruity Pebbles for dinner, lots of rain (and even some snow), and Kelly's first bridal shower all happened this weekend! Lots of fun and lots of sleep are the perfect way to spend the weekend.

Valentine's Day: Best One Yet

Single ladies + crafts + homemade pizza + a movie + dessert = Valentine's Day perfection

A note from a sub

"Dear Ms. Hayes,

       They don't pay you enough to do this job! :) Wow....I'll pray for you. You definitely need mental health days."

- A funny little note left by the substitute teacher yesterday

First Five Days

For the first week of teaching, I didn't have an official name tag and was stuck getting visitor passes each morning(...at 6:15 am). These are the pictures from my first five days. Can you see the exhaustion setting in as the week progressed?


Today marked the start of my third week and I can't even imagine how weatherbeaten I'd look in pictures if they were still being taken each morning.