tourist trap

dress/tights: forever 21 // cardigan: gift // belt: thrifted // shoes: target // glasses: firmoo





What you do see in this picture: Lauren with straight hair. What? What is this insanity? Believe it or not, I used to straighten my hair all the time. In junior high and high school I would wake up hours before school to stand at the mirror and straighten my curly thick hair. Thank goodness I figured out how to manage my hair and embrace the insanity, because I am much too lazy now to get out of bed any moment more than necessary. Hair is weird though, man. These weird things are growing out of our heads, and we go to great pains to press them down, or push them up, and we let these things grow long or we cut them in a ton of different ways. Hair is weird. It's also weird that I feel much more confident with my curly hair. More confidence + extra sleeping in time? Sign me up!

What you don't see in this picture: Though these pictures are really sunny and summery and beautiful looking, just beyond the edge of the photos is a giant pile of moose poop. It's nasty stuff people. I didn't even notice it until I almost stepped in it. It's everywhere! Summer in Alaska means all the moose come out. Mothers and their babies chill out on the side of the road, totally unfazed by all the car noises. I've literally seen a dozen moose last week. Plus cell phone pictures of moose in our yard that my mom has shown me. Summer in Alaska also means that the tourists come out. I've seen about as many tour buses as I've seen moose. The funniest thing for me though, are the touristy things that you can buy. How does moose poop and touristy products relate to one another? I don't know who the genius was who came up with this gimmick, but I wish I had thought of it: selling moose poop to tourists. Yep. You read that right. You can buy it in all different styles. I've seen them with little googly eyes and top hats on, I've seen them covered in gold, I've even seen them in jewelry form. We're so high class here in Alaska. But seriously, why would someone buy crap?






Uuuh well this blog post turned weird. My name is Lauren, and I blog about crap.

But in all seriousness, I hope you have a great day today! Be sure to check back tomorrow for a firmoo givaway! And yes, you read that right too!

my week in instagram #47

furry friends //

Mindy (on the left) is cozy and fluffy. She is literally the sweetest cat in the world. While watching a movie this week she came and crawled on top of me while I was laying down and fell asleep right by my face like a baby. It was the cutest thing.

The little moose (middle photo) has been frequenting our house, mowing the grass for my dad and ignoring our dog as he runs through the house barking and freaking out. He already is a household celebrity, as my mom has taken more pictures of him with her cell phone than anything else in recent days.

Oscar (on right) is my cat. I've had him for nine years and I'm sure my love for him is the only reason my mom is keeping him around. He's rather crazy (ahem, demonic) and moody, but he always wakes me up in the morning and snuggles in bed with me. Sometimes I would rather keep sleeping, but he's my little miracle cat and I treasure each moment he's with me.

camping trip //

We went camping at the height of the sunny weather (and now it's all gone) and were soaking in the glorious uv rays and campfire carbon. (I still have yet to post actual pictures from this trip ...)

frolfing //

My friends' latest obsession is frolfing, and I am quite alright with that. Going out at nine, ten, eleven o'clock to throw frisbees around and talk is a good thing. It's also an adventure when the disks misfire and end up on the roof. (Also, can we just stop for a second and note that handsome guy in the middle picture? I took that on a fast food run with him and my family.)

walls //

I hung up all of the photos that I or people I know have taken on my wall. The "this is home" painting was a gift from Matt. The painting of the boat in the clouds is mine. Looking at this wall makes me happy.


I hope you all had a marvelous week!

may in review

Here are some of my favorite posts from the month of May! And man, what a long month it's been. I finished my freshman year of college, headed back to Alaska, started my internship, and just a couple days ago was reunited with my boyfriend. In these past few days, I've been preparing for June in terms of blogging. There are several awesome posts in the works! It's going to be a jam packed month and I'm so excited!

What was the most exciting thing you did in May?

may photos

"red seas"



"need to find some sunshine"



"before the morning"



"the ebb and flow to multiply"

These are all the photos I've posted online for the month of May. (You can click on each photo to view it on flickr.) I haven't done as much in actual shooting this month, but I'm really proud of each photo. Slowly but surely I'm learning about quality over quantity.




I also edited these photos taken by Cierra and Katja, respectively. (The one on the left is theirs, the one on the right is my edit.) I'm part of a group on facebook where people post pictures for others to edit, which is a really fun idea and a great time waster.

Right now I'm trying to find a good direction to go with my personal work. Thinking of maybe starting a series, but nothing concrete has flourished just yet. Who knows? Maybe I won't make any photos this month, maybe I'll make twenty. I'm pleased with where I am right now.

january/february // march // april