Spring Break Essentials

We are continuing our Spring Break theme on HT today! Here are my essentials to making this break your best one yet-xoxo darling, Hayden.

{From Left to Right: Beach Hair Spray, Earrings, Sunscreen, Jacks, Beach Towel, Pom Pom Clutch, Sunglasses, Cactus Pool Game, Pink Straw Bag, Pom Pom Sneakers, Clutch, Black Bathing Suit, Pink Dress, Pink Bathing Suit, Hat, Navy Cover-Up}

Quotes of the Week

Saturday Inspiration

Whoo! This week of tests is over! I am thrilled! 

Now onto some more fun weekend plans, I am volunteering this afternoon and tomorrow I am going to our baseball game & hosting an Oscars watch party. It should be fun! Next week should be pretty good, not as stressful as last week. I am trying to get on top/ahead of all of my school work so I don't have to worry about it over spring break. Speaking of which, have y'all been enjoying the spring break posts {here & here}? The next one is going up Tuesday and it is all about the essential items you need to make your break perfect. Make sure to check it out! -xoxo darling, Hayden

Articles I'm Reading

1. I actually might use this // A Step-By-Step Guide to Spring-Cleaning Your Apartment // MyDomaine
2. Love this hat on Kate // Classic Blue & White // A Lonestar State of Southern
3. I have never heard of these but I am kind of into them // Mott 50 Swim Leggings // Nordstrom
4. Love this look, wondering if I should try it... // Tied With A Bow // Gla Meets Glam
5. Oh my // Designer Oscar de la Renta to be Featured on Postage Stamps // Town & Country
6. Too cute // RFID Large Pouch // Fossil

Sanibel Beachin'

And a little snap from me in the donut on the water:

Location: Sanibel Inn, Sanibel, Florida

Week Re-Cap

 I was Commie of the Week for Comm Council.

This week was lots of late nights, coffee & Tiff's Treats.

My parents and I went to Live Oak Brewing on Friday.

The beer garden is beautifuL! 

The Victoria County courthouse.

Fannin Battleground Bandstand

Mission Espiritu Santo

Breakfast in Victoria, Texas.

Goliad County courthouse

An afternoon at Goliad Brewing Company.

{via}

 The USS Lexington in Corpus Christi

 Corpus Christi Bay

Fulton Mansion State Historic Site

 A Sunday evening at St. Elmo Brewery

Loved having my parents visit for a belated birthday celebration {via}.

Spring Break Beach Tote

Spring break is heading toward us like a freight train so it's time to get ready! Today I am talking about what I keep in my beach tote because I love to be prepared, it's a lot of stuff. 

#1: The tote bag is important. I recently discovered ones where the bottoms unzip so you can dump out the sand...it blew my mind. 

I like to use the traditional Lands End or LL Bean tote with my monogram and a few pockets for the smaller things. But there are tons of options out there. You can see some of my favorite trendy ones in my Spring Break Essentials Guide that will be up soon.

#2: Sunscreen, this is literally the most important thing in the bag {for me at least}. I always make sure I have a full bottle of SPF 50 ready to go. Pro Tip: Put your sunscreen on before you put any clothes on so that you get everything covered! 

#3: Water Bottles, I like to have multiple of these as well because you never know when you'll be thirsty/when you need water. I am currently loving the one's Gray did for Swell.

#4: iPhone, this is the obvious, perfect for taking beach photos and checking the weather. 

#5: Cover-Up, I don't like walking through hotels in just my bathing suit {maybe this makes me weird} so I like to always bring a cover-up along with me. Plus if you decide to grab lunch without going back to your room you have something to slip on.

#6: Selfie Stick, this makes me sound horrible but if you are traveling alone or just with one other person it is so hard to get photos. That's where the selfie stick comes into play. It's so nice to be able to attach your phone and snap a ton of photos. 

#7: Magazines, I am a super big magazine reader but during the semester it is so hard for me to keep up. So I like to gather them all up in one collective {sometimes huge} pile and read them while sitting by the ocean.

#8: Books/Newspapers, when I'm done with the magazines I go to books or if my hotel has the newspaper I read that. I read two newspapers a day so I really love it when the hotel gives you a free paper. Book-wise I love murder mysteries so that's my go to beach read.

#9: Snacks, when I visit the beach it is typically a long period of time before I eat another meal so it is imperative that I bring snacks. Hannah and I like Chex Mix and cookies for our snacks.

#10: Sunglasses, I would die without them and you probably would too...it is the beach after all! 

 

 

Quotes of the Week

Saturday Inspiration

Happy Saturday! I am off on some adventures with my family this weekend {check it out by following me on Instagram {@hautetable} and snapchat {hayden213}-xoxo darling, Hayden.

Articles I'm Reading

1. So accurate // Why Being Alone Doesn't Have to Mean Being Lonely // The Everygirl
2. Love Julia's guide to scarves // 8 Ways to Wear a Scarf // Gal Meets Glam
3. I want to try this so bad // Lancome Custom Make Up // Lancome
4. Obsessed // New Balance for J. Crew Performance Capri Leggings in Stripe // J. Crew
5. This is so true!!! // This Font Quiz Will Reveal Your Secret Desires // BuzzFeed 
6. So I am partially obsessed with these bags becuase the designer is a girl with the name Hayden // Belgian Bags // Hayden Lasher

Birthday

21 was one for the books y'all. I spent the whole weekend "treating myself" because I slept for about 11 hours a night, took myself to the spa, and ate a ton of amazing food. On Monday, Hannah and I had breakfast {I wasn't carded}, lunch {still wasn't carded} and then Libby and I had dinner {I was carded!}. Everyone was so kind & thank you for the birthday wishes! Hope y'all enjoy this photo over-loaded post-xoxo darling, Hayden.

{via}

My first mimosa!

And my first beer...

And my first margarita...

There are more photos of the amazing cake Hannah made me at the end of the post.

This girl made the best birthday weekend for me! 

These lovelies came to my birthday dinner on Saturday night. 

Hannah knows me so well. I love, love, love rice krispie 

treats so she made me a whole cake out of them! 

Week Re-Cap

I'm sitting down to write this on Monday {my birthday} because my week will be insane after this and I won't have time.
But I had one of the best weeks ever because how can you not when you're turning twenty-fun?
The best friend came into town and I am so thankful for her because I had the most amazing weekend and I wouldn't have been able to do it without her.
We had pizza and saw a movie, went hiking, had a birthday dinner, did a spa day, celebrated Galentine's Day, watched the Grammy's and took a shot at midnight on Monday.
This week is super hectic and my parents are flying in tomorrow {yay!}.
How are y'all doing? -xoxo darling, Hayden

My present to myself, something I don't normally do, 

was a spa day with the best friend. We went to Viva Day Spa 

and treating myself was amazing. Honeslty, if you have never 

had a spa day, I know it's expensive but it is so worth it! 

Our head-tilt still scares me...

We look so relaxed in this photo and that was exactly how we felt. 

Saturday afternoon hiking at Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge.

This was taken right before I almost fell...

Dinner Saturday night at L'Oca Doro {more photos to come soon}.

Their s'mores dish is delicious.

Sunday morning donuts.

The fam bam at Galentine's Day.

Galentine's Day waffles.

Trying Thai-Kun Panang Curry...

Hannah convinced me to watch Friends with her...

The cutest birthday box from my parents.

 Loved Epicerie's lunch! 

 Their grilled cheese is amazing. 

Kellie's Bakery is so cute inside! 

The Food Diaries: sketch

A very over-due review of sketch London but what better day to review the pink restaurant than on Valentine's Day?! 

When I was planning my trip to London I was on BuzzFeed {what a surprise} and I came across an article that talked about the best bathrooms in London. If you know me I have a strange obsession with public bathroom design so I immediately was intrigued. There was this one, in a restaurant called Sketch, that had pod bathrooms. I knew I had to visit.

But I didn't want to take just anyone and I knew it had to be a special occasion. So why not one of the last nights Hannah would be in London? I promptly made a reservation the first week in June for the second to last week in July {because the place fills up FAST}.

We met up at the Oxford Circus tube station and walked to sketch. The entrance doesn't seem like a restaurant, there is a doorman and it is so wide it seems like an office building. I was really concerned we weren't in the right place but after a few steps inside the magic starts to happen.
Sketch has three separate restaurants the Gallery, the Lecture Room & Library, and the Parlour & Glade. We opted for the Gallery because of that pink furniture and those pod bathrooms.

Walking into the dining room is like walking into what you would imagine a restaurant classy Barbie owned. The chairs look like fingers from a hand and are really comfortable. The menu is 3-D and everyone in attendance looks fabulous.

I had a non-alcoholic drink and I cannot remember the name of it to save my life. But it was delicious and pink and so cute! I do remember not knowing what to get because their drink menu is extensive but that I wanted it to be pink so I guessed and voila! It was! 

The ceiling has a massive sky light in the center and there are cotton-like-lamps on the edges of the booths. 

I had read online that the "Bread and Butter" was a must get. It is homemade Marguerite white bread with Irish Abernethy salted butter. I had no idea the bread would come in the shape of a flower but oh my goodness isn't it pretty! I was in love. Bread is my favorite food and put it into a shape, you've made my day. Not to mention it was DELICIOUS. This is why I read people's reviews before I go somewhere, they always give the best advice on what to order.

The butter had a face pressed into it that had a line for a mouth, so not mad, sad or happy, just meh. Plus it was served in a "Food" dish that I thought was cute.

Hannah had the "Sketch Fish and Chips" with pollock, matchstick potatoes, coleslaw, greenapple, mushy peas and sketchup. The way it was served was very different. It was chips with a side of fish...but Hannah liked it. Mushy peas are a huge thing in England so if you're not into it, be glad they put it on the side.

I had the pan fried sirloin of Black Angus beef which came with potatoes.The steak was really good and the butter-sauce was the perfect compliment. The only complaint I had was that the steak was a little fatty in places and I hate that. And can we talk about the adorable plates? 

The potatoes were even better than the steak. Honestly. I know that I am a sucker for potatoes but these little guys were to die for. They were so light that they melted in your mouth. 

I could not stop taking photos of the restaurant. It was just so me, so pink, so pure.

For dessert we both had a variety of macarons. I would have to say this was the weakest point of our meal because they weren't super crunchy. But they weren't bad. They were interesting flavors and worth it for the photos. I also might have just been super-duper full at this point.

Ironic but funny sketches (I wonder why?!) cover the walls. This one was a personal favorite of Hannah and I:

Now onto the best part of the whole restaurant {I kid you not}. To get to the bathrooms you walk out the back of the pink dinning room and up the stairs on the right side. When you arrive the pods to your right are the women's pods and the ones on the left are men's. Each pod has its own toilet and there are communal sinks around the outside edges of the room.The ceiling is a mosaic of colorful tiles that add extra light {even at night}. The whole room has a purple-ish hue,

It seems like everyone takes a mirror photo in this iconic bathroom so here are our's. 

Even the lights are cool! 

I have never seen more people casually taking photos inside a bathroom before. It was a magical experience for me because I always get weird looks for it. But here we go, you will be totally normal to take photos of you peeking out of these pods or with the colorful ceiling. This is the place for you to take as many photos as you want. 

Overall I would say, go to sketch. It is the perfect place to go when visiting or to take your friends if you live in London. After you've been once though, I'm not sure you need to go again {maybe for the bread + potatoes}. It is kind of expensive and getting in is difficult. I think the food is a little bit of an afterthought to the atmosphere which is killer. So go once, see how you like it, take a ton of photos and then decide if you want to go back.
They do afternoon tea so if I am in London anytime soon I want to go back for that!

Pineapples:

Twenty-Fun

I'm celebrating my 21st Birthday today - xoxo darling, Hayden

Saturday Inspiration

Thank god it's Saturday. 

Y'all it has been a week. 

Very little sleep, lots of reading, lots of studying, lots of homework, lots of meetings, lots of walking...so much of everything. I am fairly exhausted. 

But it was a good week nonetheless. The lack of sleep & all of the other stuff has been paying off and everything else is going really well.

However, the weekend is finally here and I am super happy to see it. Last night the best friend and I went to the movies and ate way too much. Today we are off on a little adventure and tomorrow we are having a spa day -- something my back is in desperate need of! 

Do you have any fun weekend plans? -xoxo darling, Hayden

Articles I'm Reading

1. Love, love, love this sweater // Avalon Contrast Hem Pearl Button Pullover // Storets 
2. Hannah and I want to go there so bad // Palmetto Bluff // Gal Meets Glam
3. Very interesting read // The Banned Books Your Child Should Read // New York Times
4. I just love these photos of Sarah // Deer Mountain Inn // Classy Girls Wear Pearls 
5. I NEED THIS // BP Brunch Baseball Cap // Nordstrom
6. Can't decide if I'm freaked out by the color or in love with it // Circus Animal Cookie Marshmallows // Studio DIY

My Hair

Ever since I was a little kid people have asked about my hair. "Is it naturally that curly?" "Is that your real hair color?" "What products do you use to make it look like that?" "Do you curl it?" Well, today I'm going to share with you all of my hair secrets...they aren't secrets at all and most of them have been used by women {and probably men too!} for centuries. 

#1

 My hair color is completely natural. When I was really little {1-8} I was actually somewhat  blonde. Then over the years it got darker...there were some bad times in middle school {who doesn't have those} when I straightened it every day and it looked brown but we are past that and now it is an interesting red/blonde/brown mix. I have no clue what you would actually call my hair color so if y'all have any ideas, let me know. 

#2

 My hair is naturally this curly. When I was little it went through straight phases and middle school was poofy {ugh} but then in high school I finally started accepting my hair. I do use a few things to make sure it looks good everyday {even then it doesn't}.  First, I take showers at night because I sleep with my hair wet. This really helps it to be really curly come morning. If I shower in the morning or during the day and sleep on dry hair it gets so much more frizz to it. Second, I started using mousse on my hair to keep the frizz down & make the curls form together a little bit better a while back. I love, love, love Nioxin 3D Styling Bodifying Foam. You can buy it at Ulta for about $17 and you can always use one of those coupons on it! To use it, when I get out of the shower, I lightly towel off my hair {there are still water droplets falling out of it} and I squirt {kind of a lot} of mousse in my hand and apply it to all of my hair. Then I pick my hair up from the bottom and scrunch it up until it looks like it would when it's curly. Then you follow step one and go to bed with your hair wet. 

#3

 I don't brush my hair. I used to, all throughout high school. And it looked pretty good. But then I forgot a brush at Camp Texas and ever since then it's looked even better. However, I will say that I brush it once or twice a month to fix my part because it can be unruly #curlyhairprobs. 

#4

 This may seem unseemly but I only wash my hair when it begins to feel oily or greasy...which is very rare. I have really dry hair {not sure why, it has always been this way}. However, when I do wash my hair I don't condition, mainly because it seems like such a hassle to buy {hahaha}. I wash, typically, with Nexxus or TRESemme Flawless Curls. I honestly think not washing your hair will give you your best hair, but that's just me. I find that when I wash it my hair is super frizzy and flat, but the longer I don't wash it the better the volume and the less frizz there is! 

#5

 In other pointers, I do straighten my hair. However, I don't do it every day, or once every week, or even once a month! I typically straighten it two to three times a year and that makes me happy. I use a  KPak Professional ReconstRx Vapor Iron with Vapor Fuel. It is expensive but it is honestly one of the greatest things I have ever purchased. You put this liquid into the iron and it adds nutrients back to your hair as you straighten. No more gunky stuff has to go in before you straighten because the straightener does it for you. I don't have damaged hair and I can vouch for this product 100%. 
If you have any questions about my hair after this, please let me know! Feel free to comment below or email me anytime! I also don't cut my hair for months at a time...this isn't because I am opposed to cutting my hair. It's because I really trust my hair stylist and I kind of am afraid to hand my hair over to someone else {she's the only person that has cut my hair}. So I get it cut when I am home in the winter and in the summer. I would not suggest this but if you do, it's not the end of the world. Hope this helps/answers any questions you may have-xoxo darling, Hayden.

Week Re-Cap

Hey y'all! It has been a pretty good week! The weekend was perfect, my LBs had their annual sisterhood brunch, I got a lot of studying done, had some delicious Indian food & donuts, went to yet another brunch, met my new committee/little, and watched the Super Bowl with Devi & the G-Little. Monday started off strange, I woke up feeling more tired than I felt when I went to sleep {and I got a full 8 hours}! But I had some coffee in the afternoon and it seemed to pick up. Some of the sisters and I stayed out until past 2:30am studying/reading textbooks so yesterday I was running on a lot less sleep but not super tired. I decided to apply to Spoon University this semester & I got in so we had our first meeting yesterday. I'm really excited to see where this takes me! 

This weekend the best friend is coming in to celebrate my birthday and we have so many fun plans! We're seeing Fifty Shades Darker on Friday night at our favorite movie theater, going hiking Saturday morning, have a dinner Saturday night and are doing a full spa day on Sunday followed by a LB Galentine's Party all before I am officially 21 on Monday! 

Now that I have told you way too much about me, what's up with y'all? -xoxo darling, Hayden

 TM has a fridge with complimentary items in it and

 I finally grabbed a classic Coke.

For the first time since freshman year I am Commie of the Week in Comm Council!

Saturday morning was our annual LB brunch at The Driskill! 

 Their toast is my favorite in Austin. 

 Taking brunch very seriously with my G-Little {via}.

One of my sisters had never been to Gourdough's 

so of course we went! 

 Sunday morning Deepthi & I went to The Factory for brunch.

I had the half order of the original chicken and waffles, it was delicious. 

My amazing Media committee! I'm so excited to see what we do this semester! 

The newest member to the #FabFam, Bailey! 

Valentine's Day Gift Guide

Okay ladies, now let's buy some pink & red items. I don't know about you but I love this whole V-Day gift trend that is happening recently {at least in my life}. Instead of just getting flowers or chocolates for you s/o, friend, or yourself now you buy legit gifts. AND I'M INTO IT. 

I'm loving all of the items below especially those pink shoes! What are y'all loving this Valentine's Day? -xoxo darling, Hayden

Shoes // Phone Case // Umbrella // Coat // Notebook // Glasses //  Truffles // Matches // Cover-Up // Book

Quotes of the Week

Saturday Inspiration

This morning I am off to a sisterhood brunch at the Driskill Hotel in downtown Austin {remember when I stayed there?!}. Then in the afternoon I am going to library hop to get some things done for class. Sunday morning I have a breakfast/brunch with a good friend of mine at a new place called The Factory {follow me on Instagram or Snapchat, hap213 for more details}. Then I have an organization retreat and of course, the Superbowl! What are y'all up to? -xoxo darling, Hayden

Articles I'm Reading

1. These are so great // Purse Storage Options // Apartment Therapy
2. Her guide is amazing // Winter Guide to Paris // Gal Meets Glam
3. These are so cute! // Edison Flats // Talbots
4. I am super into cute leggings at the moment and this guide is very helpful // Cute Workout Leggings // College Prepster
5. Such a cute outfit // Blush Rainy Day // Atlantic Pacific
6. I NEED THIS // Sunnylife Pineapple Doormat // Nordstrom

Bandana Downtown

Location: Downtown Fort Myers, Florida

Week Re-Cap

I had a really amazing week full of interesting subjects, lots to do at my internship {a byline!!!} and lots of friends. Over the weekend we had a sisterhood bonding session that I honestly think did wonders for the group and Sunday we cleaned our adopted street. Saturday night Sophie took me to Sway which was ahhhmazing -- would 10/10 recommend! Other than that it has been pretty calm. Hannah is visiting tonight and this weekend I have two brunches as well as Communication Council retreat. What are y'all up to? -xoxo darling, Hayden

Finally tried Lucky Lab Coffee Co...but I wasn't the biggest fan. {via}

A Friday night of Cream Puffs at Cream Whiskers.

Sisterhood Bonding! 

Saturday night dessert at Holla Mode.

Cleaning our Adopt-A-Street.