Haute Table: July 2014

Thursday, July 31, 2014

I Am An International Baccalaureate.

Crack open the bubbly! {Sparkling Apple Cider of course!} I Am An International Baccalaureate. I worked so hard for that title. Was it worth it? I'm not sure. But there was something satisfying in {after having to download Firefox because IB doesn't use Safari} logging on and seeing "Diploma Awarded." I could't stop shaking and I was laughing but not a deep in my stomach, happy laugh. A hysteric, "thank god that's over" laugh. Even though I was admitted into the University of Texas at Austin in January, and I have been out of school for over a month {and I graduated with a high school diploma} it hadn't seemed over until 10:48am, Sunday, July 6th. I am so thrilled to be done with IB, and I would highly suggest you seriously consider what you will put yourself through if you decide to do the program. At UT hardly anyone I know did IB. But maybe I got in {only 7% of UT's student body is out of state} because I did IB, I'll never know. But what I do know is that high school is really over, and I couldn't be more relieved-xoxo darling, Hayden.

Liebster Award

Hello darlings! I am so thrilled to announce that I have been nominated for a Liebster award by not only one, but two people this week. I am so thrilled and I would like to thank Desiree of Desire-Plus-An-E and Zoe from La Vie en Zoe for nominating me, it is such an honor!

1. Post eleven facts about yourself.

2. Answer the eleven questions provided by the person who nominated you, and then create an eleven-question set for the next group of nominees.

3. Choose eleven people to nominate and link them in the post.

4. Let your nominees know they've been tagged - and no tag-backs!

5. Nominate blogs under 200 followers.

1. I am currently obsessed {probably always will be} with the 73 question Vogue episodes.

2. I love pandas...and sheep.

3. I want to buy myself a Louis Vuitton Speedy in a Louis Vuitton store.

4. Cupcakes are not my favorite dessert, I much prefer cookies, normal cake, brownies, and pie.

5. One of my goals in life is to have a Wikipedia page.

6. My parents never let me paint my nails black, I know, so strange.

7. I do not like Disney World, it is crowded, there are tons of strollers, and it is so hot.

8. I don't speak French but my favorite French word is pamplemousse {it means grapefruit}.

9. I collect bottle caps with my dad because we want to make bottle cap art.

10. I think the preppiest brand is Brooks Brothers.

11. I read every issue of Travel + Leisure cover to cover; even if the place doesn't interest me.

Zoe's Questions:

1. What is your biggest fear?
--Failure, in any aspect of my life.

2. What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
--Get involved!

3. What is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
--Told me they read my blog, it is honestly the greatest feeling in the world.

4. What is your order at Starbucks?
--Peppermint Mocha Frapuccino, no whip

5. If you could be a character from any book, who would you be?
--Cammie Morgan, Gallagher Girl Series OR Jordan Baker, The Great Gatsby

6. What is your favorite movie?
--To Catch A Thief

7. If you could have a meal with any famous person - living or dead - who would it be and what would you eat?
--Alice Paul; 1st course: Swiss Chard Tart, 2nd Course: Pesto Chicken, Dessert: Banana Pudding

8. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you go?
--Venice, Italy

9. What is your guilty pleasure TV show?
--Under The Dome

10. If you could have any celebrity's wardrobe, who would it be?
--Kate Middleton {not her biggest fan, but love her clothes}

11. What words do you live by (favorite quote, etc.)?
--"Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History," Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Desiree's Questions:

1. What is one thing on your bucket list? --Attend the Yi Peng Festival in Thailand 2. What is your go-to snack/drink at a coffee shop? --Cafe au lait and something chocolate 3. What is a fashion staple in your wardrobe? --My Jack Rogers Texas Sandals 4. What is your favorite color? --Green 5. Would you rather lose your sight or lose your sense of touch? --Sense of touch 6. What is one of your holy grail makeup/skincare products? --Clinique High Impact Mascara 7. What's your favorite accessory? --My pearls {from H&M} 8. Which store do you shop the most at? --Goodwill Boutique {for Lilly Pulitzer} 9. What landmark or attraction would you recommend a tourist to visit? --The Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, France 10. Condo or townhouse? --Townhouse 11. What's your favorite kind of flower? --Hydrangeas
1. What Sex and the City Character do you identify with the most? 2. What is your go to brunch food? 3. Who is your fashion icon? 4. What are three things in your purse right now? 5. Coffee or Tea? 6. Favorite college sports team? 7. Book from school that shaped you? 8. Favorite board game? 9. Historical figure you'd love to share a cupcake with? 10. What iconic fashion piece would you like in your wardrobe? 11. What is, in your opinion, the weirdest word in the English language?
Bloggers I am nominating: 1. Nancy Graham of Naturally Nancy 2. Devon of Devon MacKenzie 3. Macy Medema of MacyMed 4. Marie Goldstein of The Preppy Mag 5. Rachel of Makeshift Munch 6. Lauren Elizabeth of Petite in Pearls 7. Haley of Haley Valerie 8. Kristin Thompson of Crumbs and Curls 9. Madeleine of Small Town Roots and Cowboy Boots 10. Emma Gotbaum of The Collegiate Ginger 11. Katelyn of A Sprinkle of Kate I look forward to my nominee's answers, if you decide to complete this, please comment below with a link to your post. post signature

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Week Re-Cap

I cannot believe it is already hump day and my time in the Fort is getting shorter by the minute {cue breathing exercises!}. This past week was crazy, but incredibly fun. I had a wonderful time in Colorado/Wyoming {keep an eye out for those photos in the coming weeks}, and now I will be enjoying lots of meals with friends before I leave for Camp Texas. And I think we're making banana pudding which makes me incredibly happy! What are you up to? -xoxo darling, Hayden

We stopped at Rene's before our flight; their carrot cake is to die for.

I got state number 37! Thanks Wyoming!

Coming back into Colorado, we'd never taken a picture with the Colorado sign.

Thanks to the Broadmoor I am now obsessed with San Pellegrino Limonata

Breakfast on the West Terrace @the Broadmoor

Some amazing yard art in Colorado Springs.

Breakfast @ The Original Pancake House {Feat. The Wall Street Journal}

Father/Daughter Selfie before our flight home.

Plane ride home featuring a Winston Churchill article in the WSJ.

I've only had the window seat about 5 times in my life, and this was a good one. post signature

Netflix: Obsessed {Part 5}

Welcome to part 5 of my Netflix journey! Can you tell I am, slightly, obsessed with Colin Firth movies?-xoxo darling, Hayden. Mansfield Park

This was a good adaptation of Jane Austen's novel. However, it lagged in places and you know the ending from the beginning. But I liked Frances O'Connor and her witty sense of humor. It is a good film to watch on a lazy Sunday morning when you have nothing else going on, and you're a little desperate. Pineapples:

Gambit

Gambit was an interesting movie for me. Some parts of it I was rolling around on my couch for, others parts I was looking at my phone because I was bored. Honestly, the movie takes a little too much time to get started. But it does have a surprising twist at the end. So if you get bored and have only a few options left, go for this. Pineapples:

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Texas Sheet Cake

Once you decide to go to UT you should bake a Texas Sheet Cake…right? Well it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. And let me tell you, this is some of the best chocolate cake I have ever had. Baking a sheet cake {a whole cake for that matter} was a little different for me. And adding a cup of straight Coca Cola was also a little weird, but the result? Delicioso-xoxo darling, Hayden.

P.S.

A recipe similar to the one we used is here. We did not add nuts to our icing.

What's In My Wallet

{Starbucks gift card, Starbucks gold card, Pinkcard, Goodwill Preferred card, FMHS ID, FMHS Yearbook ID, Euro} post signature

Monday, July 28, 2014

What's In My Bag

{Case, Sunglasses, Croakie, Wallet (similar), Headphones (similar), Notebook, Pen, Pencil, Book} post signature

Quotes of the Week

Happy Monday! I am finally rested from my trip to Colorado, we got in at midnight on Sunday. The photos from the trip will be coming in the next few weeks. Aside from that I am looking forward to lots of lunches, dinners, and coffee outings with my friends before I head off to Austin...it's a little over two weeks away! In the meantime, here are some quotes for your Monday morning-xoxo darling, Hayden.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Obsessed

As y'all know I am a huge fan of IMDB, Netflix, and You Tube. One of my all time favorite channels is Emma Approved by Pemberley Digital. It makes me so happy! The series is based on Emma by Jane Austen and the videos are set in modern day. Emma runs a matchmaking/do good/party planning firm where Knightley is her finance officer and Harriet is her assistant. The rest of Austen's characters make appearances from time to time as well. The series is not yet complete but it gives me something to look forward to once/twice a week {especially if I get behind!}. Check out the first episode below and let me know if you get hooked too!-xoxo darling, Hayden

New Desktop

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Obsessed

I get obsessed with things easily...Netflix, sweaters, basically anything. But for about two years I have been obsessed with watching newly released trailers on IMDB. I will watch them whenever I have time & they are super convenient because I have the app. I don't even want to see half of the movies but I will watch the trailers {except horror trailers, I don't do those}. I'm not sure exactly when or why the obsession started, but it is ever present. Because of the obsession I find out about movies I would have never known about. For example, I recently watched the trailer below, fell in love, and then found out they might not even release it in the U.S. {this is a quick shout out to Netflix, PLEASE GET THIS FILM!} If you don't already have the IMDB app, I would highly suggest it. Not only can you prove your family wrong when answering questions about who was in what movie, or what a certain movie was called, but you can also have a distraction from whatever you're avoiding. Plus, it is a sort of intelligent way of distracting yourself because you can watch foreign movie trailers, documentary trailers, etc. Is anyone else just as obsessed as I am? -xoxo darling, Hayden