sweet and low

dress/shirt: mom's closet // cardigan: target // belt/shoes: forever 21 // tights: walmart (?)





Today while casually walking around my kitchen, my little sister, who is about to turn twelve, turned and looked at me straight in the eye. Then my mom exclaimed, "She's as tall as you are, Lauren!" And to my utter horror, my mother was right. My little sister who just started the fifth (?) grade is almost as tall as me. My two little brothers have already surpassed me in size, but now the youngest sibling is ganging up on me too! They all started school again this Monday, so the only thing I got going for me is my freedom from homework and waking up early. Whenever they complain about teachers giving busywork or assignments being due the second day of class, I shout up to them, "Suckaaaaaa!" in a really high pitched voice. That's to show my dominance despite being shadowed by their mere presence. But I love my brothers and sister, so I guess it's not that big of a deal.





Thankfully for me, I still have twelve days before school starts. Or maybe it's more unfortunately since I'm pretty excited for this next semester! I'm already scheming up different adventures and projects--school related and unrelated--to partake in, and seeing all of my friends and fellow students again. Sorry I'm talking about it so much, I'm just excited to go back! However, I will miss my (apparently) tall family and my kitty cat. It's hard to believe that I was starting my freshman year just a year ago--it feels like that was ages into the past. College really does change a person, I guess. I'm certainly not the same person I was a year ago, and that is a very good thing. But before I get all nostalgic and reminiscent on you, I should bid you adieu. Because it's late and I need to sleep (posting to you from 1 am, haha).




Have a marvelous day!

my summer internship

Well, today I am heading out on the very last day of my internship, and needless to say I'm a little sad. It's been such a crazy ride and I'm sad to leave all of my co-workers and my boss!

This summer I had the hugely unique opportunity to intern under Jeff Schultz, who has been the Official Iditarod Photographer since 1982. My two big projects were to redo his two websites and file literally thousands of stock and Iditarod film slides. I also got to accompany him on many photoshoots, by helping with setup as well as modeling for test and stock shots. You Alaska people might be seeing me on a billboard soon. ;)

It was really by chance that I got this internship. I emailed him asking if I could do it, knowing he didn't usually accept interns, but then a few email exchanges later and I got the job! It's been such a fantastic time learning from him and my two fellow (awesome) employees, Trent and Haley, who are both also wonderful people and insanely talented photographers. I learned so much that I've already been able to put into practice, whether that be photoshop techniques (thanks Trent! You have saved me hours of work on multiple occasions), lightroom, the ins and outs of owning your own business, and of course, "fake it till you make it."

That saying has saved me so many times. There were a lot of days I had no idea what I was doing, but somehow everything worked out (not without a million google searches). You can see Jeff's new fancy Iditarod Photos website here and his personal photography page here!

I am so so thankful I had this opportunity and I'll be very sad to say goodbye to everyone today, but I'm also excited to take what I learned and apply it to my own photography.

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!