Tag: Fall

2021: Third Quarter Goals Recap

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I’m having a really hard time believing that it’s officially fourth quarter. Fall used to be my favorite season but now it marks the beginning of our “busy season” and I always want to rush to the new year. This year I want to really stop and enjoy myself instead of rushing through the rest of the year.

Before I set my goals for fourth quarter, here’s a quick recap of my Q3 goals.

  1. Be kind to myself. When I’m going through something hard I tend to be really hard on myself too. I’ve noticed this especially when it comes job. I’m never good enough or doing enough. I’ve been trying really hard to be kind to myself and give myself grace. I feel like I did okay at this but I want to still focus on doing better at it.
  2. Setup health appointments. This has been such a fun goal that I set for myself. I’ve been poked and prodded so much this last quarter with even more to come. But I feel good knowing that I’m taking steps in the right direction for my health.
  3. Spend time with friends and family. I didn’t do great at this to be perfectly honest. I did spend some time with family but I’ve realized that I don’t really have any friends to spend time with and that’s been weird to figure out. I do have friends but we don’t live close so it’s hard to spend time together. I have been trying to check in with them more at least!
  4. Celebrate 10 years with Brett. We had a nice long weekend in a nearby beach town to celebrate our anniversary. It’s still hard to not see Brett the majority of the week due to our work schedules but I’m hopeful that will change soon!
  5. Read 3 books. I read several books and it was so nice! I go through phases of not reading much and then phases of reading constantly. There’s something so relaxing to me to be able to spend a few minutes each day reading a book and getting my mind off of the real world. Have you read any good books lately? I need some recommendations for Q4!

I’m currently working on my goals for Q4 and should have them posted soon. I keep looking back at my old posts and I’m really glad that I’ve captured so many of these quarterly goals. It’s easy to sit back and think that I haven’t really accomplished anything over the past few years but these posts remind me of just how far I have come.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

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Five on Friday #23

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We made it to Friday! I am so excited that this week is almost over. How was your week?

As always, here are five random things for Friday:

  1. Taylor Swift’s new album Folklore came out last Friday and it’s SO good! She is incredibly talented and I’m in awe of her once again. She created this surprise album during quarantine and it’s amazing! I highly recommend listening to is ASAP. Do you like Taylor Swift? How do you feel about Folklore?
  2. Today is the last day of my class! It’s been a long week and I will be super happy when this is behind me. This is a three year program so I still have two more years of class ahead of me. If you didn’t know, I’m working towards a finance certification.
  3. Now that my class is over I am really looking forward to August! On August 19th Brett and I will celebrate our third wedding anniversary and our ninth anniversary together. We are hoping to do a mini Michigan roadtrip to celebrate! We were actually planning a Europe trip this year but obviously that won’t be happening.
  4. I’ve wanted Air Pods for awhile but I’ve never been able to justify the price so they have just been sitting on my wishlist. The class that I’m taking sent a care package to all of the students since it had to be moved to virtual instead of in-person. The care package had a set of wireless earbuds in it and I’m obsessed with them! Do you have Air Pods? Should I invest in a pair?
  5. The Fall 2020 FabFitFun box spoilers have been released and I’m not that impressed. I have to decide if I want to re-new my membership after this box and I really do think that it’s a great value. Even though I’m not super impressed with the contents of the Fall box I’m pretty sure I will be renewing my membership as an early birthday gift to myself. I love having something to open every quarter! Do you subscribe to  FabFitFun?

Tomorrow I am taking the exam for my class. The exam shouldn’t be terrible since I’m only in my first year so I’m only being tested on the material from this class. Year three is when I’ll sit for the certification exam which will test on all three years worth of material. Wish me luck!

Do you have any plans for this weekend?

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Fall 2019 Bucket List

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Happy Fall Ya’ll!

Fall makes me love Michigan even more than I usually do. Michigan was made for fall and I like to take advantage of all the fun fall activities. Here a few of the things I’m hoping to do this fall season!

  1. Carve pumpkins
  2. Go to a Detroit Lions game
  3. Buy new fall staples for my wardrobe
  4. Decorate for Halloween
  5. Bake apple crisp
  6. Pass out Halloween candy
  7. Enjoy Fall Fest at work
  8. Drink hot apple cider
  9. Watch Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown
  10. Cozy up with a good book
  11. Eat fresh apple and pumpkin donuts
  12. Buy mums for our front porch
  13. Go on a weekend trip
  14. Take Oscar for a scenic fall walk
  15. Host a bonfire with our friends

What’s on your fall bucket list?

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Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash

August According to my iPhone

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August is one of my favorite months! This August felt particularly busy but in a good way! Last summer I was overwhelmed and felt drained because of how busy our summer was. This year I feel good and I know that I’ve been able to enjoy my summer for the first time in years.

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My sister, Dani, was in Michigan for July and some of August. She moved to New Hampshire a couple of weeks ago and I miss her already! Her dog, Callie, had a great few weeks with Oscar and Bruno. Their friendships are so sweet!

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My sister-in-law and her husband took newborn pictures of their twin girls at our house. This is a behind the scenes look at one of the photo setups. Ava is in the dark pink and Elizabeth is in the light pink. I’m obsessed with them!

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We went to a baseball game with some of our friends for our city’s local baseball team. The tickets, drinks, and food were all free! We had a great time and I enjoyed it even though I know practically nothing about baseball.

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We had a 4:01 work party a couple of weeks ago with drinks, snacks, and games. It’s nice to just relax for a bit after a crazy work week.

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My dad texted me one day that he had made me a flag. It was a super random text and I was like “okay, thanks” and had no idea what to expect. I went over to my parent’s house and he showed me this flag that he made out of an old pallet. He must have been bored but I love anything my dad makes me! He hung it on our fence and I think it’s really cute!

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We went to Chicago for the Air and Water show with one of our friends. The weather was terrible! At one point we had to leave and find shelter because it was rainy and stormy. But Brett was happy because he got to see the Royal Air Force Red Arrows. After the air show we met a couple other friends who live in Chicago for pizza and drinks before heading home.

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Brett and Oscar taking an afternoon nap! Love them ❤

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I had dinner with my grandparents twice in one week and it was so nice! I appreciate every second I get with them.

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On August 19th we celebrated 2 years of marriage and 8 total years together by having a day date to the beach. It was so nice!

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I’m working on re-organizing and decorating our upstairs guest room. Oscar and Lucy love being able to play on the stairs! Usually the door to the upstairs is closed so they aren’t able to go up and explore.

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Last weekend we had our local balloon festival! I had a great time with Brett and friends doing fall things at a farm and seeing all of the hot air balloons. I definitely recommend going to a balloon festival if you have the chance!

I’m looking forward to this three day weekend that starts in a few hours! Brett and I have big plans and I’m looking forward to sharing them next week.

Also, I usually don’t show many pictures of myself on here because of body image issues and such. But I’m trying to get better about showing my face more! Do you have a hard time posting pictures of yourself on the internet? Sometimes I feel like the only one who has this problem!

How was your August? Do you have any big plans for Labor Day weekend?

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Weekend Recap: Hot Air Balloon Festival

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This past weekend was super busy for our family. Brett is involved with all of our local airshows and balloon festivals. He is a third generation aviation fanatic so the love of all things aviation runs deep.

Our local balloon festival was Friday-Sunday and Brett and I work on the media team doing Facebook and Instagram. The location of the festival is at a farm which is very close to where I grew up.The farm has apple orchards, pumpkin patches, a corn maze, farm animals, homemade donuts and cider, and every other fall activity imaginable. I went there every year growing up so it makes it even more special to be involved as an adult.

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Friday after work we headed to the farm for the first balloon flight and balloon glow. This was a balloon competition so each flight the pilots had bags to throw from their balloons to try to reach a target.

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We decided to sleep in on Saturday morning and do chores before heading to the farm. There was a car show from 11-2 so my dad, Brett, and our friend headed there. My mom and I stayed at my parent’s house and did some work. My parents are officially empty nesters so we are working on turning the two extra bedrooms into guest rooms. We also want to paint the whole upstairs and turn the basement into a family room area.

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Saturday night we headed to the farm for the balloon flight and glow. We met up with some friends and had cider and donuts. It felt like fall which made me excited for the months ahead!

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The Sunday morning flight was cancelled due to weather so we stayed home and did the rest of our chores and went grocery shopping. We took Oscar to my parent’s in the afternoon for a little play date and then my parent’s and a couple of our friends came over for dinner.

We had a great weekend! It felt like the beginning of fall in Michigan. I’m sad that summer is practically over but I’m ready for all the fall things!

How was your weekend?

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Five on Friday #13

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Welcome to Friday, friends! 🙂

This week was okay. I had Monday off to go to South Haven with Brett so I only had to work four days. A four day work week seems so much more enjoyable than five days. How was your week?

  1. Our local balloon festival is this weekend so Brett will be busy with that. I will be joining him for most of it but I’m also hoping to squeeze in some time to get chores done and spend time with family.
  2. Brett and I went to dinner on Tuesday night with my grandparents and parents. My parents are celebrating 27 years of marriage this month! I cherish all the time I can get with my grandma and grandpa.
  3. I’ve been in a reading rut lately. I’ve started a couple of books but nothing has stuck which is super disappointing. Have you read any good books lately?
  4. I’m starting to get sad that summer is almost over. I’m happiest when the sun is shining and I can spend all the time I want outside. I love fall but it’s too close to winter. I am pretty excited to switch up my home decor and drink some hot apple cider though! Are you ready for fall?
  5. I was doing really good with my health and wellness journey but I’ve fallen off the wagon a bit these last couple of weeks. I’m determined to re-group this upcoming week and get back on track! I’m planning on doing some serious meal prep on Sunday to get me ready for the week.

What are your plans for this weekend?

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Photo by Matthew T Rader on Unsplash

Five On Friday #4

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Five Things on Friday

Happy Friday, friends!

Once again, I thought I’d share five things that have been on my mind this week. It has been an exhausting week between an aggressive headache and lots of responsibilities at work. Let’s just say that I am very excited for this weekend and my vacation next weekend. This is my first real vacation this year besides air shows and weddings so I’m super excited to relax a bit!

  1. October 2nd marked one year since Tom Petty passed away. Tom Petty was one of my absolute favorite artists and his death devastated the entire music industry. I celebrated his life all week long by listening to a Tom Petty playlist on repeat.
  2. This weekend we will be attending my cousin’s wedding! I have never been more excited for someone to get married (besides me, of course). They have been dating for 11 years and I’m looking forward to celebrating with them!
  3. Brett and I are getting ready for our long awaited European adventure next week! We are flying stand-by so I’m not exactly sure where we will end up but hopefully it will be Rome! If you want to see more about our trip make sure to follow me on Instagram (@lifeofhayleyblog). I am hoping to post there pretty regularly!
  4. My headaches seem to be immune to any sort of pain medication now. I am on day 10 of constant pain and all I want to do is sleep for the next one hundred years.
  5. I despise jeans but have been loving Old Navy’s jeans lately. I bought three pairs in the last couple of weeks and have been living in them. I prefer jeans that are super stretchy and comfortable and they have a lot of variety.

Also, a huge thank you to my friend Hunida for featuring me in her blog post yesterday! I always love reading her monthly favorite blog posts and was super surprised to see my blog featured! Thanks again!

Well, that’s all of this week! What’s on your mind today?

Thanks for reading!

Lifestyle Blog, Life of Hayley

 

Fall 2018 Bucketlist

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Fall 2018 Bucketlist

Happy first day of fall!

Fall is my second favorite season! It used to be my favorite before I realized just how much I hate winter. Fall means that winter is coming so it has dropped to second place behind summer.

Fall in Michigan is absolutely stunning! Every day is beautiful, crisp, and full of promise. I try to enjoy it as much as I can before the evil snow starts to fall. Fall in Michigan means fresh honeycrisp apples straight from the trees, homemade cider, and lots of drives to see the leaves.

Without further ado, here are the items that I added to my Fall Bucketlist for 2018!

  1. Visit the apple orchard
  2. Watch Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown
  3. Decorate our front porch for fall
  4. Drink hot apple cider
  5. Go on a drive to see the leaves
  6. Pass out Halloween candy at our new house
  7. Have a bonfire with friends
  8. Carve pumpkins
  9. Host a football watching party
  10. Make a double batch of my mom’s chili and cornbread
  11. Take Oscar and Megan on a trail walk
  12. Rake all the leaves
  13. Decorate the whole house for fall and Halloween

I am really excited to enjoy our visit fall season in our new house. I have already started to decorate for fall and have been collecting décor for Halloween.

What’s on your fall bucketlist?

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Help Us Plan Our Trip To Rome!

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Hey friends!

Brett and I are trying to plan a trip to Rome for this upcoming October! Neither of us have been and it is #1 on our bucket list.

I visited Venice for one day in 2011 and fell in love with the Italian culture but did not have enough time to truly explore. I have been wanting to visit Rome since 2003 when the Lizzie McGuire Movie first premiered.

Since we have never been to Rome we are in dire need of suggestions. Where to stay, eat, visit, etc.? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Our current plan is to visit all of the touristy places – Coliseum, Vatican, Trevi Fountain, etc. But we would love to know what else we should see!

Thanks! 🙂

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2017: Fourth Quarter Goals

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Hello! I am here with my goals for the fourth quarter of 2017.

Wow, this year went by so incredibly past! I feel like we should still be in the first quarter… With that being said, 2017 has treated me very good so far. With a recent job role change, getting married, and lots of travel adventures. I am sad that this year will be over soon but cannot wait to see what 2018 has in store!

Here are my goals for the rest of the year!

  1. Put $1,000+ into our savings account. Brett and I know that 2018 will be an expensive year so it’s best to start saving early! Plus, my work gives out holiday bonuses so I am planning on saving/investing my whole bonus.
  2. Clean out my closet. For the first time in my life I have a huge walk-in closet. I have used that space as an excuse to buy more clothes in order to fill the closet. I have a lot of clothes that don’t get a ton of wear and would be better off with someone else.
  3. Start Christmas shopping early! I say this every year and every year I still fail. I have quite a large family and I always do Brett’s shopping too. I need to make a list early and start buying!
  4. Deep clean the apartment. I try to do a super duper deep clean at least once a quarter. This means moving all of the furniture to vacuum, cleaning and wiping out all the cabinets, cleaning out the freezer, etc. The best feeling in the world is having a clean and organized apartment!
  5. Start exercising again. I will confess that I have not been to the gym in almost two months. August was so busy with the wedding and now that it is over I feel like I have zero motivation to work out.
  6. Advance at work. A lot of changes are happening in my department. I feel like there is so much room for me to grow personally and professionally. During this last quarter I want to continue to grow within my role at work.
  7. Make my health a priority. I think I have mentioned before that I have been struggling with constant headaches and migraines for the past few years. I really want to make it a goal to make my health a priority. This means making time to go to the neurologist and taking his advice on diet and nutrition seriously. This will be an ongoing goal leading into 2018.

I am ready to dive head first into the final quarter of the year! Do you have any goals for the rest of 2017? Let me know! 🙂

Thanks for reading!