tooty frooty

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!

relief print

I spent eight years living in Moore, Oklahoma. The devastation of the May 20 tornado has left me completely humbled, and even though I can't be there to help my friends and the family of Moore, I'm doing what I can where I am. With that in mind, I'm selling this print I created specifically for the people of Moore. You can purchase an 8x10 matte finish print of this photo (which isn't pixely despite this low res web version), which shows the actual tornado, used from a friend's photo with permission. Dated and signed by me. $25 USD. 100% of the proceeds go to relief efforts in Moore.



May 20 Tornado Relief Fine Art Print
$25 USD

Please share this post to spread the word!

pray for moore

shirt/shorts/tights: forever 21 // boots: target





I don't know. I don't really feel right posting this now, but I have to write something and have people be aware of what's going on. (Please just ignore my smiling face in these pictures because they are not an accurate representation of how I'm feeling right now.) In light of my hometown in Oklahoma being destroyed, something like blogging about my outfits seems worthless. My heart absolutely breaks for my friends and everyone affected. I can't even believe it. I can't believe all the footage. I can't believe the pictures that my friends are posting, pictures with playground swings destroyed ... swings just blocks from my house that I used to swing on ... the theater that I watched so many movies in ... homes that I drove by, stores that I shopped at, parks I used to play at ... I can't even believe it. We still don't know if our old house is okay or if the renters are alive. I'm in a state of shock and I don't even know how I'm supposed to continue on with daily life.

I was there for the May 3 tornado of 1999 and it (and all tornadoes I've been through) are really the scariest things ever. I used to have awful nightmares about tornadoes. Part of me loves the beauty of them and the exhilaration when chasing after them, pretending to be storm chasers. But the devastation, all the loss ... gosh, I don't even know what to say.

I wish more than anything that I could be there and help.

pray for moore.

Please please pray for the city of Moore, Oklahoma. I'm sure you've heard the news by now. They were hit with an F4 tornado a mile wide and at least 50 people are dead so far. Moore was my home. My first house that I spent my preschool through first grade years is completely destroyed, and the house that I spent five years in is either okay but has damage, or is destroyed. We can't get ahold of the tenants that live there now, and whether or not it's okay is by a few blocks. We're just not sure right now. Some friends and family are okay, some we don't know about. It's so weird watching the news and seeing the helicopters fly over places I used to drive by or hang out at. It's now all a pile of debris. There's nothing left.

It's one thing when a natural disaster happens somewhere else in the world, but it's another thing when it happens where so much of your life took place. I just want to cry or jump on a plane and go help. I want to do that more than anything and I wish I was there. The news has been on constantly at our house and my facebook has been exploding with concerns, photos, videos, people trying to contact their friends and family ... it's terrifying. Please pray.

summer dreaming

dress/belt: thrifted // scarf: from Matt // leggings: forever 21 // boots: gift




It was just beginning to feel like summer when I spent all night frolfing, driving around, and hanging out with people, but now it doesn't even feel remotely like that. Especially since we got another snowstorm. Well, we officially broke the record for longest winter ever recorded, so Alaska has no more excuses. The weather report says it's supposed to be up to 65 degrees by Friday, so I can only hope.

What I'm really hoping for is it to be warm when Matt gets home (only one week left!), because with him here I really think it will actually feel like summer. Our whole group of friends will finally be complete, so I'm hoping for much frolfing, video game playing, and general schenanigans. And with Matt, laying out in the grass, taking fun day trips to places while singing at the top of our lungs, going to the arcade and hitting the jackpot on the thunder game, or even just having dinner and family game night at my house ... man, summer please come soon!




But for now, it's back to work. I'm officially selling my photos via arcangel images, which I'm very excited about. I signed a three year contract a couple weeks ago and had my first batch of images accepted. I'm still working on keywording everything (which is a lot more time consuming than it seems) and verifying my model releases, but hopefully that will be done in the next few weeks. Until then, if you happen to be a book publisher or magazine editor, you should buy one of my photos!





Have a great Monday everyone!

my week in instagram #44, 45, 46

laying outside with friends // sunny days in Oregon // the dorm room being overrun with boxes // triple "s" award // my roommate pretending to be me // last darkroom print of the semester // first dutch bros // my favorite stretch of road // graffiti to commemorate our first year // finally back in Alaska // back of camera preview for a magazine // filing old Iditarod film slides // getting ready for spring // superman kitty // baby sled dog puppy // watching my boss take photos of Martin Buser and fans

Since getting out of college I kind of fell behind on my weekly instagram posts, so here are some of the highlights of the past few weeks. You can always follow my adventures @impulsings but since being back in Alaska they've been kind of slow thanks to poor reception. Good ol' cell phone coverage.

Have a great day everyone!

Alaskan Summertime

Welcome to a beautiful summer day in Alaska, where locals are coming out of their caves to bask in the great weather. Shorts are coming out, sunscreen is being slathered on, and everyone is excited to get their tan on. This summer we are breaking records in Anchorage, with the longest winter ever recorded. If that doesn't sing Alaskan summer like tunes on the beach, then I don't know what will. So grab a Coca-cola, roll up your beach towel, and head on up to Alaska, land of the midnight sun!

(Just a fun little photo. Yes, my toes were cold. But I figured since we are literally breaking records over here, I should take advantage of it. But now Alaska has no more excuses to dump snow on us. Cease the nonsense!)

film friday: mademoiselle maurice - origami street art

Mademoiselle Maurice - Origami Street Art from ufunk parseError on Vimeo.

Love all the little beautiful things that people do to make the world a happier place.

no small feat

navy dress/shoes: thrifted // daisy dress: asos (similar) // tights: mom's closet




As an "I survived my first year of college" gift, I treated myself to some bright red lipstick from the boutique walle marte. I actually have a fairly decent lipstick collection (well, I have about five different bottles) but I usually don't wear them as they fade pretty quickly. I'm trying to wear them more often in an effort to not bite my lips anymore, and thankfully this fun red shade is a balm stain and stays on for a long time.



Man, can I just be really honest here? Sometimes I really question if I want to do photography as a full time profession. Now don't go freaking out on me, ya silly gooses. I've been reading so many articles on optimizing your website and self advertising and social media and quotes and invoices and SEO and HTML and let me just say that owning your own business is certainly not for the faint of heart. One moment I'm so excited for what the future holds and all the opportunities and things I'm going to do, and the next moment I just want to give up and not have to stress about marketing myself and my services and talents. But I am really glad that my passions are all connected to each other--writing, photography, blogging--and I can use each thing to build up an online presence to get my work out there. Unlike a real job, I have to be my own boss, my own market researcher, my own advertising company, you get the picture. It's really hard, stressful work. But I love it. There's nothing else I would rather be doing. Plus, I don't think I would do well at having a "real" job. I could never ever be a waitress or a cashier or a barista, no thank you. You guys who do that are really brave, and I could never do what you do!




It's so cool that everyone has different passions and talents. I'm reminded of my blogging friends Annika and Hannah, who are super gifted when it comes to science and are totally going to change the world. My friend Lauren got a job at Aeropostale and that is just the coolest thing to me. Sara is a creative writing grad student and she'll probably end up on the New York Times bestsellers list. My fellow Alaskan blogger Katie works with horses on a daily basis. My little sister went through a horse phase so I kind of know what caring for a horse entails, and that is certainly no small feat. My real life friend Brady just started his own clothing line, which is already gaining a good following and will continue to do so. My boyfriend Matt is even pursuing his passion for film and he's really talented with anything he sets his mind to. My friend Jacob is the single most talented person I know. He's currently building an app for a coffee company and knows literally everything about computers and cars. (I keep going back and adding more and more people to this list, haha.) And there are so many of my other blogger and photographer and IRL friends that I could mention, because we all have something unique about us. We all have unique gifts that we are pursuing and it's such a beautiful thing. What's something that you're super passionate about? I would love to hear it!

three years ago today

May 21, 2010, my sister and I looking out the window in our cabin onto the ocean during the four day ferry ride.

Three years ago today, my family moved thousands of miles from everything we knew to embark on a new adventure. My father retired from the military and got a new job, and after living in the beautiful state of Oklahoma for five years, we packed our belongings and the six of us jumped in our trusty brown van to drive from Moore, Oklahoma all the way to Alaska. After spending two years in the last frontier previously, my parents were excited to finally go back to cool weather, fishing, friends, and snow. But my life was in Oklahoma, my friends, my church, my school (our class was like one big family). I've been through some tough things physically and experiencially, but moving this time around was by far the hardest thing for me. To go from having friends and a life that you are happy with to a place where no one talks to you and you spend months not hanging out with anyone and being completely alone, it puts a strain on your heart. I still feel the effects from it ... a memory, a song, certain people on facebook, old diary entries, old photographs, even packing to leave college brought me to many tears because I know what putting things in a box really means ... it means leaving all the things and people you love, and it strips you of the person you become until you don't even know who you are anymore.

As I look back on who I was before I moved, who I was for the next two years, and who I am now, I am thankful for how far I've come. Though I would never want to experience it again, I'm glad I moved to Alaska. I fully believe that all things happen for a reason, and even in the darkest times in my life, I see how God was working and helping me through it. If I had never moved to Alaska, I would have never met Matt. I would have never started blogging. I would have never been able to explore the most beautiful place on earth. I would have never ended up at the college that I'm at now. And there's probably many other things I wouldn't have been able to do and become that I won't ever know about. Would I do it again? No. But would I wish it never happened? Never. I am so thankful it occurred, because from it my life is now filled with so much love I can hardly contain it.

Three years ago today, my life was dragged out from under me, and now I never take for granted my home, or my family, or the friends that love me for who I am. I remember everything that happened three years ago today. And it still makes me cry. Sometimes I still miss my friends in Oklahoma. I miss that we never talk anymore. I miss that they moved on and found new friends. Sometimes I hate that things have to change, but it's inevitable, and we just have to accept it and make the most of it. Life goes on and we have to cherish everything we have right now.

"May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand."

into the groove of things

shirt/pants: forever 21 // jean shirt: ebay // lace shirt: thrifted // boots: target





Let me just take a moment to say thank you guys for reading this little blog of mine. It makes my day to read all your comments and read your blogs. You all are the best. Also, thank you for sticking with me. Currently I've been feeling frazzled finding a balance between creating good content for Introvert's Introduction while doing my new job. Once I fall into a good groove things will be a bit more structured--film friday will return, as will my week in instagram--plus I have a lot of ideas in my head that I haven't written down yet. All in due time though.





This is a pretty typical Lauren outfit. Button up shirt as a cardigan, a shirt tied in a knot, lace, my favorite boots ... You can't really go wrong with any of those things. I remember when I first bought this polka dot shirt. I had no idea what I was going to do with it, and I actually haven't worn it that much since purchasing it almost a year ago, but hopefully that will change. I was only able to bring about half my wardrobe home (and I've already looked for clothes that I left in Oregon, blarg) so I'm sure I'll remix everything to death.




I hope you have a great day!