a week of remixing // in rainbows

sweater: borrowed // dress/shoes: target // coat/leggings: forever 21 // scarf: asos // photos from William




Today was a nice lazy Sunday, eating pizza, running around in the snow, sleeping with kitty cats, catching up on the latest Community episodes (aka best tv show ever). I like happy lazy days, unlike ones where I'm questioning everything I'm doing in life (we all have those days). Those tend to happen a lot for me, but thankfully today I was content to just let the day pass.




Tonight Matt (my boyfriend/best friend) and I got to have a skype date. First we played Age of Empires, where we purged the land of our enemies and became king and queen of the world, and then we just talked and talked for hours. I love being able to talk to him about anything. I'm usually not one to talk on the phone or videochat because I just get so nervous, but I'm always really excited to be able to talk with him (I guess that means he's a keeper!). I hope many more of our nights are like this night, with video games and talking and just enjoying each other's company. It's really wonderful and refreshing.




Hope you have a really wonderful day.

my week in instagram #40

wild sweet orange // "Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst." -- Henri Cartier-Bresson (sent to me via email from my photography teacher) // testing out filters on my film photos // hail in oregon // the my beautiful backyard project // journaling about my 365 gallery show // driving to the airport // sitting in the airplane // arriving in Alaska

Hope your week was great! You can follow my adventures on instagram @impulsings

a week of remixing // home sweet home

dress: borrowed // yellow dress/skirt: forever 21 // tights/ring: thrifted // shoes: target // photos by William



Well look who's back in Alaska! It's spring break for Lauren, and I'm excited for a bit of rest and relaxation, though I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of adventuring this week. I managed to come home with only a carry on (part of my packing skills ... still can't believe how many clothes I fit into my little bag/how many clothes I wore on the plane, haha. My own mother couldn't even believe I packed everything into one carry on.), so this week will be a "week of remixing"! These are all the clothes I brought for the week and will consequently be remixing, so it will be interesting to see all the combinations that are possible. (Though I might not wear the pants since I brought them mostly to wear underneath my snowsuit ... can't really go sledding or hiking in a dress!)




It's really nice to be back amongst the snow and mountains, especially since it hardly ever snowed while I was back for my winter break. Spring has redeemed the good ol' last frontier by bringing a bunch of constant snowfall this first day back. We were scheduled to have a blizzard warning, but the visibility has been pretty good and there's practically no wind. It's the perfect winter day, snuggling up with kitty cats and eating freshly baked cookies.




And no, it wasn't too cold taking these photos, though I certainly don't suggest walking around in short sleeves at this time of year. It's nice when you're ten steps away from the front door so you can run in whenever your fingers start to get numb. Plus the first day of taking outfit pictures in the snow after being away from it is probably the best day, since I was really excited for pretty snowfall photos. A big thanks to my brother William for taking these for me, since my tripod recently broke and I won't be able to purchase a new one until Monday.



Other things I did today? Thrifted a little bit--I got that little ring for a dollar as well as a scarf I'm going to use as a prop for a photo. Then my mom and I went to the mall to grab some lunch. Other than that I haven't done very much, just a lot of relaxing and planning for the week. I will be working on an art project this week that involves me driving to some of my favorite places in Alaska, so like I said before, there will be a lot of adventuring and I'm so excited for it!




Have a great day!

film friday: empire state of pen

Empire State of Pen from BigAnimal on Vimeo.

Here's a cool, quick video for you to watch on your break today. I love the music and of course the art, I just want to jump right into the drawing and live there. It's so insane to think that people are capable of doing something like this. I don't think I would have the patience.


In other news, I finished all my classes and I'm about to start packing to fly home tonight. It's officially spring break!

My Beautiful Backyard Project

Hey all, today I'm launching something that I have been wanting to do for quite some time, and I would encourage you to join in!

This is the My Beautiful Backyard project, and it is a community art project inspired by the landscape and people in our homes. Whether it be through painting, drawing, writing, photography, sculpture, etc. the beauty of our backyard is seen through what we create.

This is an effort to step outside and appreciate what is in our own backyard.

You can submit your own artwork here and celebrate the beauty of your own backyard!

the final stretch

dress/shoes: forever 21 // sweater: walmart (?) // shirt: borrowed




Here we are, the final stretch before spring break! I have one more test today and one more paper to write, and then I'm home free! Unless you count my spring break assignments, but I'm going to list those as fun things considering they are art related. I'm ready for a week of relaxation and adventures and seeing my family again. The only things left to do are laundry and packing. I'm going to try to just take a carry-on, and remix clothes for the week, but considering me being me and always overpacking, we shall see how successful this endeavor actually is.





Have a wonderful Thursday everyone!

diy twig bracelet

Today I'm bringing you a super fun diy that is really easy to do and costs virtually no money. It's the diy twig bracelet, and it's an awesome way to combine the great outdoors with more modern, metallic feelings.



First and foremost, there is a list of materials you will need:

1. Twig of considerable length, preferably wet from the rain (It has to go around your wrist at least once and will need to be formed into a circular shape.)
2. Metal tube beads (I got mine at Michael's for about $3. Just make sure the holes are thick enough for the twig to be able to go through.)
3. Box cutter or exacto knife
4. Hot glue gun or super glue (Super glue will work better, but I didn't have any on hand so I used a glue gun.)

step one; measure your wrist.

This is a pretty straightforward step. Make sure you'll be able to get the bracelet on and off easily. You should gently mold the twig into the rounded shape that you desire, as it is easily breakable at this stage.. Then cut the twig at the appropriate length.



step two; whittle ends.

Trim down both ends of the twig so that they fit nice and comfortably in the bead. Each end should take up half the space in the bead, so that when you glue everything together, both sides will be attached securely.



step three; glue together.

Take one whittled end of the twig, put hot glue/super glue on the end, and slide it into the bead. Seal it with a little bit of glue. Allow it to dry, and then do the same thing do the other end.



And there you go! You have a beautiful twig bracelet that all your friends will be jealous of. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Have a great day!

the big mission

"Do you have what it takes to be a world class spy? If you wish to join the ranks of the greatest spies of all time, then come join us for a chance to test your skills. Your mission? Dodge the land mines, jump over the fence, hop on the rocks in the river, jump over the ravine, roll on the ground, go through the lasers, and diffuse the bomb! The fate of the world is in your hands!"

That was our anthem a couple weeks ago as my friends and I made and proceeded to spend the entire night completing an obstacle course. I snapped a few photos of the event in between dubstep Legend of Zelda music and timers and sweat flying everywhere. I am proud to say that I ended up with the fastest time, 15.1 seconds, and rightly so considering I did that course a billion times and was so exhausted by the end. But it was totally worth it.




Basically, our floor is the coolest ever. How can you argue with a spy training center?

wild sweet orange

dress/belt: thrifted // tights: target // boots: forever 21 // earrings: diy




Man, this was such a crazy, fun outfit to wear! I love the loud, obnoxious outfits that I feel confident in, and this was definitely one of them. I can't wait for the summer months when I can turn this dress into a shirt and wear it with shorts, or even just without tights. Here in Oregon we are starting to get a couple really hot days (okay, those days are only like 65 degrees, but to me they're hot), so I'm crossing my fingers that we will get a lot of sun!




It's the last week of school before spring break, and I'm feeling that final stretch of anticipation before a break. It's only Monday and I've already written two papers? What is this nonsense! And I have four more I have to write this week. Oh my goodness. But hopefully I'll actually stay on top of my work for once and get things done before unknown hours of the night. We shall see. Come on spring break, hurry up! I'll be going home for the week, so it will be back to snow and cold and I'm hoping it will be all pretty so I can take just a few more snow pictures before it all melts. A couple days ago my mom posted a picture on facebook with all the snow and I'm praying that it will still be there in a week! Just one more week.





Well now I'm off to write yet another paper. Hope you have a really awesome week!

my week in instagram #39 + weekly roundup

my art history notes, which had a major lack of actual notes // Ansel Adams took mirror selfies too! // when I found out my piece made it into the student art show // a flag of a secret alliance made my by friends // the art room // modeling for watercolor painters // cutting my hair // the end result // getting pretty for the student art show

This week has been a big blur, actually. There have been moments of a lot of excitement, and then moments where I just want to sleep for the rest of my life. But all in all it was pretty good. Let's hope next week is even better!

You can follow more instagram awesomeness @impulsings :)

Weekly roundup (an effort to maintain my new years resolutions):

1. writing: Well I was writing a lot of papers, so I didn't get to it this week.
2. photos: All done for the month of March.
3. diy project: Will be posted this week! Huzzah!
4. outfit photos: Noooo
5. college street style: Noooo
6. book: school why you overtake my life?
7. sketch: Yes! (Haha finally I actually did something on my weekly roundup list.)

Have an awesome week everyone!

film friday: take a seat & make a friend

I'll let this video speak for itself. It's so cool to see first hand how connected we all are and how people form relationships.

colly strings

dress: borrowed // boots: gift // socks: forever 21





First of all, is it really already Thursday? I swear, the time just flies by so quickly. I can't believe in just a week and a half it will be spring break, and then I'll practically be done with my first year of college. No, make it stop! I want time to run just a little bit slower so I can enjoy this college experience even more!




But for now, in the days leading up to spring break, I'm being kept busy with art projects and tests and papers, which is fun. One of my pieces was selected to be in the student art show, which will be opening tonight. I was incredibly excited for that because I didn't even think my stuff would get in, and only half to a third of all the entries made it into the ~80 piece show. It definitely reaffirms that I at least should continue pursuing photography, since recently I've been having a lot of mixed feelings about (which I'll talk about in a later blog post). So that's where I'll be tonight, hanging out with other super creative people and looking at beautiful art. If that's not a better way to spend a Thursday night, then I don't know what is!





Have a great day everyone!