MY BLOG TURNS THREE // HAILEY GRACE HAS MOVED

Three years ago, in my college dorm, I took the leap and began my own blog. I didn't know then how much blogging would end up meaning to me. 

It has become a passion, a inspiration, a motivation and a dream. I cannot wait to see what the next chapter holds. Before I share the most exciting news with you, I will preface this with, do not be afraid to take the next step. Whatever it is that you are standing on the edge of, debating - walk over the line and do what you love. 

Today is a celebration, a new chapter and a new look...

HAILEY-GRACE.COM

You'll now see this blog, on my new website! Check it out and contact me to join my email list to never miss a post! See you there! 

xoxo

HaileyGrace 

HAPPY MARCH!

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the weather forecast predicts snow on Friday -- it's truly spring in Maryland.

Jokes aside, I think I speak for many of us when I say I am excited to be out of the winter blues. I love winter, its coziness, chilled air and snow storms...but only when I can stay curled up with a hot cup of tea and my friends from One Tree Hill (if you haven't seen the show, stop what you are doing and start watching!) Once school and work enters the scene, I am ready for the cold weather to go. 

Check out the professional photos from this shoot I styled with Joy Michelle Photography!

This spring is an exciting one for me, as I both graduate and move house! 

 Our new home under construction!!

I am undoubtedly excited about moving and ready for the DIY projects I can craft, rooms I can design and blogs/videos I can create. 

Enter graduation. 

Now this is where the bittersweet emotions come in. 

When asked daily if i'm excited to graduate from college or what my post-grad plans are, I typically respond with two answers:

                     1. It's terrifying & exciting.

                     2. I am ready to be out of school, but not ready to be out of school.

I'm not alone in this feeling either, most of my friends and classmates feel the same way. So why is this? Why are we both nervous and excited to begin our lives?

My guess, because it's not the beginning of our lives, but the next step.

We are often told that the "big bad real world" is a place to be scared of and told to "enjoy college while you can, working sucks." Call me optimistic, but I would like to think the next 60 + years of my life have not plateaued at the experiences I've had in college. I love my university and I love the experiences that come along with it, but I believe there is still much more to come.

So, while the scary thought of graduation, a career, bills and a "big kid" life terrify me, I aim to focus on the fact that these thoughts also excite me. 

If you are graduating soon or are coming up on a new life experience, remember the excitement over the fear and watch as the opportunities unfold. 

xoxo
HaileyGrace

A Day in DC

For being a mere 30 minutes away from Washington DC, I do not visit nearly enough. Last month, I made the trip with my sister who was visiting from California and my mom. We went to the Smithsonian first, which I never get tired of. Between the dinosaur exhibit and the marine life center, I could explore the museum all day!!

A beautiful chemical element called Bismuth was in the gems & crystals shop 

 and I couldn't help but admire it! I mean honestly...it's rainbow and geometric!!

The highlight of the trip was definitely finding a delicious Gelato & coffee shop. It was my first time at Pitango Gelato & I wanted to come back as soon as we left. I chose green tea and coconut gelato and they tasted great together. I was pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the coffee, it was one of the best cappuccinos I have had! The shop is small with a few seats looking out on the beautiful streets of DC. I would highly recommend checking this place out, it's peaceful & the treats are delicious.

We ended the day with a beautiful sunset at the Washington Monument & went to pick up my brother-in-law at the airport! 

What is your favorite spot in DC?

xoxo
HaileyGrace

Happy December

Happy December! Christmas is only a bit away and I am so ready. The lights, movies, music, food, drinks, scarves and outfits...oh man, I'm excited. 

Here is a simple outfit idea I love. It combines casual, cozy & girly into one hunter-green focused look.

What is your favorite part of Christmas?

xoxo
HaileyGrace

Marc Jacobs "Lolita" Palette

This is a classic eyeshadow palette that received a lot of hype a few months ago in the blogger community. While I have owned it for a while, I have recently started to use it as my go-to palette for a simple eye shadow look. 

The packaging of this is amazing & screams elegance. The shadows also do not disappoint, with neutral shades in both shimmer and matte, this palette is great for a quick eye shadow look. While I do wish the shadows were a bit more pigmented, layered over a cream eyeshadow base like the Maybelline color tattoo, they work wonderfully. 

Here are a few close ups of this beauty: 

 

xoxo

HaileyGrace

Copper-obsessed Bandwagon [Home Decor]

The first step is admittance. I undoubtedly have a copper, gold & white marble obsession. The good news is that I'm clearly not alone judging from the home decor section of many stores currently. I am eagerly awaiting a chance to peruse the Target home section, but over the past few months I have collected a few copper gems I look forward to decorating with in the near future.

Without further ado:

Geometric Candle Holder: Target 

Decorative Jar: Target 

Tealight Candle Holder: Gift 

Tin Candle: Lou Lou 

Wire Basket: Gift (Home Goods) 

xoxo

HaileyGrace

Halloween Makeup: Vampire [Inspired by The Vampire Diaries]

Happy Halloween Week! 

I went to a Halloween party this weekend and decided to be a unique and original costume -- a vampire. *sarcasm* This look is inspired by my recent obsession with watching The Vampire Diaries (I'm on season 5 and in love.) 

I decided to do a purple and red smoky eye, a bold cat-eye eyeliner and veins coming from my eyes. The trick to add dimension to the veins is to draw them on lightly with red or purple eyeliner, coat with a layer of your foundation and repeat until you are happy with how they look. In addition to The Vampire Diaries, I drew my color scheme from the ipsy bag "alter ego" vampire tutorial by Christen Dominique. I topped the eye look off with dramatic lashes.

For my base I mixed a light coverage foundation with white face paint to get a pale skin tone and contoured heavily with gray eye shadow. I then used translucent powder to lock this makeup in place. I finished the look with a nude lipstick and gloss and just a hint of "blood" from red & black face paint.

And here is how it turned out: 

What are you being for Halloween?

xoxo

HaileyGrace

National Coffee Day [video]

Today is National Coffee Day and I deemed it the appropriate time to speak openly about my love for coffee and where it began: 

Anyone who knows me personally or even those who see me daily, coffee cup in hand, knows that I am an absolute coffee fanatic. I fell properly in love with coffee almost seven years ago now when I decided to go coffee cupping with my brother-in-law and sister (before I liked black coffee) at Ceremony Roasters on West Street in Annapolis. At the time, I pretended like I liked the taste of black coffee and knew what I was talking about when describing the flavors and scents. Despite this first experience, I returned and before I knew it, I loved all things coffee! 

I am the only one who drinks coffee in my household, so a single-cup pour over is the way to go! While I normally drink my coffee black, I have a major appreciation for the beauty of coffee when you first add a splash of cream. Seeing as it is only National Coffee Day once a year, I decided to capture this: 

                              

What is your favorite type of coffee or favorite coffee shop in your state?

xoxo
HaileyGrace

Back to School [OOTD]

It's that time of year again: classes, studying, late nights & a ton of coffee (though that's every day)

Back to school

Despite the fact that summer is over & I'm beginning my final year of college (which is simultaneously exciting and terrifying) I love any excuse to find new Fall outfits! This one is a cute look that is casual but still dressed up with a statement boot. 

            

                                                                                       Shirt: TJ Max

                                                                             Cardigan & Boots: Kohls 

                                                                                       Jeans: H&M

What is your favorite thing to wear on the first day of school?

xoxo
HaileyGrace

California Love [Carlsbad, Whale Watching, Tourmaline]

Last month I took a trip to a state I have always wanted to visit. I ventured to California to visit my sister, brother-in-law and dad. I have to say, my sister was right, I absolutely loved it. I am an undeniable beach bum and embody the quote "she heard the waves and knew she was home." 

I am going to split my Cali posts into three separate blogs because I have too many lovely stories to tell and pictures to show. 

On the first day we ventured to Carlsbad beach, the first of eight that we went to. I had my first dip in the Pacific Ocean, tried delicious coconut coffee from Carlsbad Coffee House and pretended I was in my dream location inside of the classic London telephone booth. 

Day two was one of my favorites. It was the day my best friend Maureen and I had all to ourselves. Naturally, we started the day with an independent coffee shop recommended to us by my sister and her husband. The shop was called Kettle Coffee & Tea and had an incredible atmosphere. It had cold brew coffee on display while educating guests about the coffee itself. They had outdoor seating and plenty of window seats inside, but my favorite elements were the couches and library in the back of the shop. With local art and music from budding artists in town on display, Kettle Coffee & Tea was a great spot! 

We then traveled to one of the most exciting parts of our entire trip, San Diego Whale Watch. While I am an avid shark lover, Maureen loves whales and I must say that now I have a new appreciation for them. We traveled on a three hour boat journey to search for the whales. The day was a major success as we saw a 90 foot Blue Whale that was larger than our boat and saw a mega-pod of dolphins that swam directly next to our boat. (I could have touched them if the boat were lower) 

After whale watching, we traveled to Mission Beach for lunch, drinks and the wave house. We finished the day with a trip to Tourmaline Surf Park at North Pacific Beach. This spot may have been my favorite, despite the fact that I slept on the beach most of the time we were there (it was only a couple of hours.) 

You can see why this was one of my favorite beaches.

Stay posted for part two of my trip to California! Much love. 

xoxo

HaileyGrace

Essential Oils & Aromatherapy

Anxiety is a mental health issue that effects many people across the world; I am one of them. While I wont go into the details of my specific anxiety, I want to share one thing that has helped me greatly.

Essential Oils & Aromatherapy. 

These are a few of my absolute favorite products: 

doTERRA:

doTERRA is a line of pure, essential oils that have an incredible list of health benefits. The two blends I have  help specifically with stress, tension, headaches and anxiety. 

My favorite is the Serenity Blend, which contains lavender, chamomile and sandalwood and puts my mind at ease when stressed. 

Bath & Body Works:

The aromatherapy line from Bath and Body Works is awesome! The best part is its affordability! The products range from $5 to $16.50.  I particularly like "Sleep" their lavender & chamomile pillow mist. Previously I took more than an hour to fall asleep, but with this spray I now  take a half an hour. 

I also (sincerely) love the stress relief anti-bacterial hand gel. I often use this before applying my makeup and find it helps me relax as I get ready for my day. 

Hope this helps any of you who face stress, anxiety or insomnia. 

Much love. 

xoxo
HaileyGrace

Spring Colors & Sweet Poetry

Not only is E.E. Cummings one of my favorite poets, but this print from Twisted Sister (a local boutique) simply makes my heart happy. 

With it officially being Spring [as of yesterday], I spruced up my lip color with a lip gloss from Revlon and jazzed up my nail polish with a gorgeous lilac color from Loreal in "royalty reinvented." The ring in the picture is from Henri Bendel :)

What beauty changes do you make when the sun starts shining and Spring is declared?

Much Love!

xoxo
HaileyGrace

Stationery Saturday 2

"Whatever happened to the #1 pencil?"

Anyone who lives near a Target, knows that it is truly a shopping vortex that sucks you in & shows you all the things you (in reality) don't need... but suddenly need. Is that just me? One of my favorite things to purchase at Target (or anywhere really) is stationery. I adore cute cards, notebooks, file folders, etc. Everything below is from Target.

So here is the second installment in Stationery Saturday:

P.S - A notebook with a cheesy pun on the front = a major plus in my book!

Much Love!

xoxo

HaileyGrace