two and a half years // August 19th

circa January 2011, a month before we started dating

There is this boy.

He puts life and light into my world.
His very presence turns my bad day around.
His ridiculous characters are endearing.
His conversations are enlightening.
His smile is comforting.

There is no such thing as a lazy day with him,
because even if we just sit and talk,
every moment with him is a grand adventure.

He pushes me to be better, go farther, and do better.
He inspires me daily to become a better person, a more daring person, a more confident person.
He teaches me about love and about overcoming.
He teaches me about friendship and trust and companionship.

He shows me the world through a different lens,
and he encourages me to defend my own with everything I have.

He is my best friend, my partner in crime, and the love of my life.
I love you, Matt.

midnight sun

dress: amazon // shirt: mom's closet // denim shirt: ebay // tights/socks: forever 21 // shoes: target





These might be my favorite outfit photos to date. There's just something about the light and the dress contrasting the dark background and the framing of the tree that I really love. Summer is just about over here in Alaska though, it's been rainy for the past few days and it's starting to be a bit chilly outside. I think the thing I don't like about change is the moment right before it, when suddenly you're unsure of whether you really want it to happen or not. Fall is forever my favorite season because I love layering and being cozy under warm coats and mittens, and up until, well, today, I was excited for fall. But now, I'm thinking, "Can't this warm weather just last a liiiittle bit longer?" Of course once fall actually comes around, I'll be excited for it, but it's that moment before that's the hardest. Regardless though, it's still summer in Oregon, so I'll be able to experience some warmth for at least another month whenever I move back!





Well, it's the start of my last full week in Alaska. Tomorrow is my last day of my internship, and then I have a week of "summer vacation". It's funny though, in the past three weeks, I've gotten three client projects, so I'll actually be busy with my own photography businessy stuff. I'm certainly not complaining about the time crunch though! I absolutely love taking pictures for people and I'm excited to be busy with client work.




Also, I've always wanted to wear two bows in my hair like this, but never did it because I was afraid people would think it looked ridiculous. But then I remembered, "I don't care what other people think!" and put them in my hair and loved every moment of it.
Wear what you want, people! Be confident!



Hope you have a great week!

p.s. Modcloth is having their huge end of summer sale right now. Be sure to check it out!

apartment wishlist // the living room

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It's on to the living room for this week's apartment wishlist! I have a feeling we will be spending the most amount of time in the living room, so it's important that it looks very cute and welcoming. In rainy Oregon, it will be important that we all have a place to hang our coats when we first come in, so this coat hanger from UO would be perfect. My friends and I are planning a huge IKEA run when we all get back together (my wallet is begging for mercy already), and I've been eyeing this bookshelf for a while. I already have a ton of books that I've acquired in Oregon, and I would love to properly display them. Speaking of making the living room more welcoming, this "apartment sweet apartment" doormat is literally perfect. Someone please buy this for me because it's so cute! this and that pillow look like they are a match made in heaven. I don't know what color couch we will have, so these bright, fun pillows may or may not go with a nasty college couch. Perhaps I should also search for a couch cover? And since we probably won't be able to paint the walls either, these butterfly wall decals are every college person's dreams. Also this photo hanger. We love printing out photos from our adventures together, and it would be so fun to have them all hanging in the common area. (I wonder how easy it would be to diy this?) And going off the colorful theme in the pillows, this rug practically has my name written all over it. In a perfect world, we would have a nice white couch, which would make this rug pop even more. Oooh I can picture it now ... Our freshman year of college, we all had white boards on our doors, so we could write each other notes. This noteboard from Modcloth would certainly keep that tradition alive! As for this road rug? Do I even have to explain myself. I want this because of reasons. Also it reminds me of when I used to play hotwheels with my little brothers, and I bet everyone would get a kick out of us having on of these. But back in the world of adults, we'll probably need a coffee table such as this one. So that our cars will have a real mountain to jump off of, obviously.

Hope you have a wonderful week!

film friday (on saturday): the great pacific

The Great Pacific from Lauren Parker on Vimeo.

Here's a new video I made for this installment of film friday (on saturday)! A couple weekends ago I went backpacking, and this is the motion result of it. I have yet to edit and process the photos I took on this trip, but they are at the bottom of my to-do list as I actually have a bit of client work to do first (finally!). But for now, enjoy this little video. (Also, I must apologize for the dust spots ... they're really annoying me too. I need to get my sensor cleaned, but I'll have to wait until I get back to Oregon (and have money to spare) so that I can do it.

This is what I wrote when I first got back from the trip:

"I wish I could just be back on that perfect beach, away from the internet and competition and comparison and complicated life, away from all the people who live perfect lives, doing things I wish I could do and having things I wish I could have and being people I wish I could be, because on that beach, it was just me, my camera bag covered with sea spray, my wet, wind tangled hair in my face, and the entire Pacific ocean on my doorstep. I didn't have to worry about being the best or being the most outgoing or competitive, or having the most exciting life, all I had to worry about was shooting my film at correct exposure and finding the perfect seashell or the perfect swell of wave to capture on camera.

Sometimes I hate Alaska because of its seclusion from the world. I can't always go to cool photo or blogger meetups or see fireworks on the fourth of July or have perfect cell phone reception. There's always the option of running into bears while I take pictures, shipping costs just as much as products do, and some people do not understand how I can love eating fish so much (people actually don't like to eat fish? That's very odd to me).

But they say that Northwest is best, and Alaska is the most Northwest of them all. Despite what anyone else says, Alaska is literally the. most. beautiful. place. on. this. planet. Hands down. I don't care who you are. Alaska is as close to perfection as you will ever get. I can spend my entire life here and I won't even begin to make substantial thumb tack marks on the map. All I want in life is to explore this world, to explore every nook and cranny and meet all the people that walk upon it and suffer through the weather and hardships ... and then I want a beautiful home nestled in the mountains to return to, where I can lay down in a warm bed next to a man who loves me and will hoist the masts with me. But I think I'll start with my beautiful backyard of the most northwest of them all, because even in my hometown (as in, the place I'm currently living, since I never lived in my actual hometown for more than a few months) there are still places to be explored.

But man, take me back to that beach."

This is just one of many adventures.

I hope you have a marvelous weekend.