dress/belt/skirt: thrifted // tights: forever 21 // heels: target
I bought this skirt a while ago in an effort to add more basics to my wardrobe (don't know how I figured a bright purple velvet pencil skirt was a basic, but whatevs), and haven't yet worn it on the blog yet! (At least, not that I can remember.) Who woulda thunk it was hard to style it, am I right or am I right? But since I have less than half of my (already fairly small) closet home for the summer, I'm sure you'll be seeing this skirt a lot. I think part of the reason I've been having trouble with it is because I tend to shy away from pencil skirts. I much rather prefer ones that flare away, such as this one, but since looking at these pictures, I'm starting to like it a bit more and am already thinking up other ways to style it.
Well the snow's all gone! No matter how hard I try not to talk about the weather, I swear it's in my blood. And I'm so happy the snow is gone! The moose are out, the sun is shining, and the world is once more at peace. You think I'm kidding when I say I'm excited about this warm weather, but I was jumping up and down and soaking the fresh air in. Aaaah Alaskan summer is marvelous.
I just got back from frolfing with friends and general hanging out, and if this is what the rest of the summer is going to be like, then sign me up. It's weird because in high school I felt like I had hardly any friends, but now that I'm done and actually hanging out with people because I want to and because they want to, I don't feel like I'm forced to socialize. I don't feel like I have to try to make a good impression to get people to like me, like I used to feel when going to a new school. I've been thinking a lot about when I first moved to Alaska, and the last thing I want is for this summer to be like the first summer I was here. This summer, I don't feel forced to try to make friends, and now it's just an effort of making the friendships that I do have here stronger. College has a lot to do with feeling comfortable, I am sure. It's helped me know who I am and who I want to be, and it's helped me not be so self conscious all the time and to just have fun and not be so down about not hanging out with people all the time, and to cherish the times I am around people that I care about. I know I've emailed some of you guys about this, and am planning on doing a more in depth post about confidence, but for now I'll just say that I am really thankful for all my friends and I'm thankful I don't have to try to impress them.
Really, today was an awesome day.
I hope you have a marvelous day!
shirt: target // cardigan: thrifted // dress: c/o sugarlips // boots: forever 21
Well I am back in Alaska! When I heard that there was still snow on the ground, I definitely was not excited to come home. After leaving Oregon's gorgeous weather, I didn't want to wake up to snowfall. Weeeell this is how it looked on Saturday (that was my outfit, but most of the photos turned out blurry because my camera kept focusing on the snowflakes instead of me), and while part of me always loves the snow and how beautiful and peaceful it is, I don't particularly like it in May. Yesterday and today have been better though. I can only hope the snow will be gone soon! It's weird though, when it's 45 degrees in Oregon, I'm so cold, but when it's 45 degrees in Anchorage, it feels nice. I don't know if it's because the air is drier, or because the sun is reflecting off the snow into my skin, but there's just something about it that is very different from the lower forty eight. Matt said the same thing. He was up this weekend just to visit, but he flew back to his school this afternoon to finish out the next three weeks.
Also today, I started my new (aka first) job! (Well, unpaid internship, but who cares about technicalities.) I'm working for a really awesome photographer alongside one of my photographer friends, and today was our first day in the studio. I'm incredibly excited for this opportunity to learn about the business of photography, study under him, and make invaluable contacts with his clients. I even get my own desk space which I get to personalize however I like ... so cheesy, but I've always wanted a work desk like those generic ones on tv shows. I'm also really excited for this job because it gives me something to do all day. I don't have many friends in Alaska, so my summers are for the most part really boring--sitting around the house, browsing the internet all day, sleeping a lot, it gets old after a while--but this will be a nice change. I love the idea of working all day doing something that I love to do, and then coming home and relaxing, or working on my own projects. Working at the studio really inspires me to work harder with my own business, and I'm already thinking up ideas to expand Lauren Parker Photography!
I hope you have a wonderful day!
dress: ebay // shoes: thrifted
I just got back from my university's art student awards! It was an unbelievable night with some awesome entertainment and recognition. I haven't laughed so hard in a while. I had been nominated to submit a portfolio to the first photography awards, the Triple "S" Award, in which the work had to represent the "achievement in the creative advancement of image making as an art form", and made within the school year. You can see the pieces that I submitted here. After the nominees submitted their portfolios, my photography teacher sent them out to successful photographers in the business, who then looked at each of the portfolios. They each gave three points to the portfolio that they felt deserved first place, two points for second, and one for third. Not only did the winner receive the most points total, but the winner also received the most "threes".
Well, I suppose you've already guessed it ... I got the award! I couldn't even believe it when my name was called, and I still can hardly believe it happened. It's very uplifting to have my work be recognized as an art form, especially since I have been struggling with this recently, and especially from people who are successful photographers. My teacher gave me their comments on my work, and I was so thankful and over the moon from their kind words. I just wanted to send a special thank you to everyone who has been so supportive of me and my work and my journey, whether you left an encouraging word, modeled for me, allowed me to shoot your senior or wedding photos, or even bought my work. You are the best and I will forever be thankful for you. Thank you!
Now I will be able to look at this award and remember that my work is something special, and I will remember everyone who supports me and it will give me strength to push on.
Have a fantastic day everyone!
shirt: borrowed // striped shirt/boots: forever 21
I wasn't planning on taking photos of this outfit, as I don't really find my lazy day outfits interesting enough to put on here, but I felt really pretty wearing it and my nails matched what I was wearing (love it when that happens) and the sun was shining, so I thought, "Heck, why not?" So I took a walk and shot beside a busy street, pretending to look at my camera whenever people walked past. I'm slowly but surely getting more comfortable shooting myself in front of people. It's weird how my mind works though, if I was in a crazy outfit doing crazy things for a "creative" photo, I wouldn't be so nervous shooting in a busy location. But posing normally? Perhaps it's the shock factor of those crazy photos that I hold on to (anything for the sake of art, am I right?), but then for outfit photos, I'm just taking pictures of my outfit .. how conceited! Which is also an absurd thought because I don't think I'm conceited, nor do I think any of the people behind the blogs I follow are conceited. In fact, if I saw someone taking pictures of themselves, I would think they were the coolest person ever! I don't know where I'm going with this, but let's just say that I think all you people with blogs are the coolest ever. Rock on!
Tuesday I sold my second piece of art ever! My photography teacher bought my piece from the Student Art Show, and yesterday I traded the framed piece for an envelope full of cash. It almost paid for my expenses for taking his class, haha. But in all seriousness, it's a fantastic feeling to have people so interested in your art that they want to have it hanging in their home. (Especially someone as cool as my photography teacher.)
Well, I best be off. My English teacher decided to have us read 90 pages for class tomorrow, and I'm nearly finished.
Update: I read it! So much reading ... my brain ...!
Have a great Wednesday!
shirt/cardigan: thrifted // hat/pants: forever 21 // boots: target
Today in chapel, the speaker spoke about living a simplistic life, and it really struck a beautiful chord with me. While he was in college, he figured he could live off of $300 a month, which equates to working a part time job, and then he would have more time to be able to do the things he wanted to do. In such a consumptive world as this one, it's hard to feel the need to be satisfied with what we have, especially in America. On our college's "overheard" page, someone posted this: "There are two types of money: no money and not enough money." While there is some incorrectness in that statement, it does pay heed to the thought that when you are pursuing money, you will never have enough of it. Compared to the rest of the world, we are some of the richest people, so complaining about not having enough money or stuff really is invalid. I would love for my life to be simplistic, where I don't have to worry about buying a lot of things because I don't need a lot of things. And it's really really true. I don't need a lot of things. I think especially we personal style bloggers think we need to constantly purchase new clothes to style or we will eventually run out of outfits or lose readers or whatever, but do we really need that many clothes? The fact is we don't. There's a lot of things I don't really have to buy, and maybe if I didn't buy those things, I would have more money to spend on doing the things that I really love to do. I am perfectly content living simplistically and not buying that extra hot chocolate or ahem, bags of macaroni and cheese packages. And then when I do have extra money to spare to buy those things, it will feel like a luxury and I won't take it for granted.
Perhaps this is also just a part of getting older. I've started taking care of myself better, trying to maintain a balanced diet, flossing my teeth every night (I know I know, I should have been doing it sooner), washing my face in the mornings. Matt and I are even talking about doing P90X over the summer to get into shape. I guess I'm finally becoming more responsible with my own body. Maybe that's what living away from your parents does, it makes you have to care for yourself instead of them doing it for you. In just a few years I'll be living in my own place with a real job, and that's a scary thought. But then again, I also thought college was going to be so scary, but we know I got into it pretty nicely. Millions of other people have become adults, so I guess I can do it to. There's nothing to worry about.
Have a great day you guys! Also thank you so much for your kind words on this post. I have yet to reply because I've been wanting to soak everything in, but I am so thankful that you guys are in my life and that we can talk about this stuff together. You are the best!
