shirt/tights/boots: forever 21 // dress/vest: thrifted
Sssh, just pretend you don't remember that I wore this dress in my last outfit post. That's totally beside the point here. Instead, take a peek at this awesome vest I got at the thrift store! In my pity party about not having enough clothes to wear (which I realize is crap now, because there are so many better things I can spend my money on and clothes are not that big of a deal to me), I pulled out some old bags of clothes from the back of my closet. This vest was in one of the bags, put there because I was going to sell it on my online store that never happened after I decided that I didn't like it as much as I did when I bought it. So I decided to give the thing another go around and I love it! Now I'm glad I held onto it for so long, because it's a really sturdy vest and pretty neutral that will go with a lot of things. Who knows, I may never be able to stop wearing it.
It's funny though, I always buy things that I end up never wearing until years later. Maybe my purchasing instinct is just ahead of my time, and I'm buying things that I subconsciously know I will like in the future. ... Though, I hope that's not always the case, otherwise you'll be seeing me in weird red patterned shirts and grandma (not cool grandma, but weird grandma) skirts. Oh what was I thinking when I bought those things?
Has that ever happened to you? Where you bought something but then never wore it? It's obnoxious, haha.
I hope you have a great day, and don't forget to enter my firmoo giveaway!
You can follow all of my camping adventures on instagram by following the tag #hardcoreparkours2013
"The Russian River is a 13-mile-long (21 km) river on the Kenai Peninsula in the U.S. state of Alaska. It flows northward from Upper Russian Lake in the Kenai Mountains through Lower Russian Lake, draining into the Kenai River at the town of Cooper Landing. The native Denaina people called this river Chunuk'tnu.
Like the Kenai, the Russian River is famous for its fishing, especially for salmon. There are two runs of sockeye salmon each year, in mid-June and mid-July, and a run of silver salmon in August." (from Wikipedia)
Last weekend my family went camping at the Russian River. Regardless of potential creepers, I want to share the specific places we go camping this year for you all who are curious about Alaska. The Russian River is definitely one of the prettiest campgrounds we've been to (but then again, they're all really pretty). Surprisingly there weren't many people on this memorial day weekend, which was just fine for us. When the salmon come in though, the area is swarming with people and animals looking to catch a fish. Salmon is a major market here in Alaska, so there are always commercial and noncommercial fishermen around. My parents love to fish, and always after their excursions the house smells of smoking salmon about to be canned or cooked. Mmm, love me some Salmon! The Russian river is one of the major rivers where people fish.
One of my most favorite things about camping in general has got to be the food. There's just something about cooking eggs, bacon, and bread over a fire and turning it into a sandwich that makes the taste unlike any other. And of course camping isn't complete without hamburgers, hotdogs, and smores.
This weekend in particular, the weather was so nice and warm. Of course the temperatures dropped down to about 30 degrees at night, and it's in moments like that that I'm glad I have my dad's military sleeping bag. That thing keeps me toasty. The Russian River is pretty inland, so the temperatures are more mild than campgrounds near the ocean. There are mountains on both sides so there's minimal wind, which is always nice. All around Alaska there are tons of hiking spots, so on the full day that we were there, we hiked to the falls, which I will share a photo of tomorrow in the "creative pictures" part of this camping weekend.
My dad, my mom, myself, William, Nicholas, Moriah.
Speaking of camping, that's where I am right now! (Thank goodness for scheduled posts, haha). I'm guessing every weekend will end up being a camping weekend on the blog, so hopefully you guys enjoyed it!
Have a fantastic day. :)
I love this project so much because of its humanity. It shows the essence of being human and it almost makes me cry because it shows how life is so quirky and crazy and beautiful and it reminds me of my own life and how much I've grown and changed, but at the same time, how much I've remained the same.
I also love it because of the stories behind the photos. I've said it time and time again, but my favorite part of photography is the people that I get to meet. It's so exciting that she is able to go to people's homes and learn the stories behind the photographs and get peeks into their lives. I hope at some point in my life I will be able to do the same thing--just travel around taking pictures and staying in strangers' homes and learning about everything.
You can check out the series here. (some photos NSFW)
Have a great weekend!
Ever wondered how I manage my crazy hair? Well look no further than this blog post, because that is precisely what I'm going to share with you today. I've done many different routines with my hair, from straightening it exclusively, to putting way too much sculpting cream in when it was short. My current routine is so easy and stress free, and I can guarantee its success (on me) every time so I'm never worried about how it will turn out. As always, your hair will be slightly different than mine, so results will vary. It's taken me nineteen years to figure out my hair, so don't worry if how I do it doesn't work out for you. Everyone's hair is different and you'll fine tune every tutorial online to fit your preferences and style.
My own hair is very thick, and pretty curly. I have little ringlets some places and awkward straight pieces other places, so my hair pretty much does what it wants in its complete natural state.
This routine has also been done on my friend who has super straight hair, and it turned out pretty nice. Again, just play around with this until you find a method that suits your hair.
I shower at nights so that my hair has enough time to air dry and because I like going to bed clean. Right after I get out of the shower, I brush through my hair. In the shower I use shampoo and conditioner, and recently I've been putting in my little sister's leave in conditioner (ssh, don't tell her!), which makes brushing out my hair a lot more manageable. After I brush my hair, I let it air dry for about 15 minutes before I move onto the next step.
After the (roughly) 15 minutes are up, I part my hair into two sections right down the middle. I part the top with my brush, and the back with my fingers. This by all means doesn't have to be perfect. Then I set aside one section by securing it with a hair tie.
Then I french braid my hair. I'm not very good at making it look pretty, but thankfully it doesn't have to be. Once I'm done french braiding the first section, I move on to the other.
The final step for the night is to straighten my bangs. I do this partly because I usually won't have to do it in the morning or if there are any annoying fringe hairs from when I straighten it, I can press it down with a bobby pin, sleep on it, and in the morning it turns out normal. I also do it partly because my weird natural dry fringe is really annoying.
In the morning, I undo the normal braided part of my hair by simply unweaving the sections. The part that's french braided, I shake out with my fingers. I do this because my hair is usually still a little damp in the morning and I don't want to lose the wave that the braid gave.
I don't actually have a middle part, but force my hair to part in the middle for this routine so that when I put it back at its natural part, I have added volume on top of my head. I shake the hair in the back with my fingers and then toss my hair over my head to shake the middle part away and make my hair not look so separated. Then I flip back over and adjust my part as needed.
And of course the routine is not complete without a bow! I usually wear a bow on the first day after washing my hair because it is extra poofy and needs to be pulled back a little bit.
And that's all! I generally wash my hair twice a week in three day increments, sometimes four if I'm feeling extra lazy, but by that time my hair is really oily.
If you have any questions about my routine, questions in general, or suggestions for future posts, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Have a great day!
dress/skirt: thrifted // sandals: payless
One bad thing about having cats is this: everything is covered in cat hair. My cats are attracted to any piece of dark clothing. I kid you not, they will see a pile of clothes and lay down on the one black article of clothing. I've come to the point where I'm no longer super embarrassed about having my clothes covered in cat hair, despite multiple attempts at lint rolling. (I didn't think about lint rolling this dress before taking pictures with it though, so I'm out of excuses.) But regardless, I apologize for the cat hair in these photos!
Nearly every night, I've been watching tons of Modern Family. That show is so funny and makes me so excited for the (very far) future. In one episode, Phil (one of the dads) has a Phil-osophy book where he writes things that he's learned from his life. If there's one thing I've learned that's worthy of writing in a book, it's that your actions have consequences (and don't worry, I'm not actually suffering any consequences from any actions, this is just what I've seen and learned). Even if something seems fun or cool at the time, it could potentially ruin your life and all the plans you have. I'm writing this so I can remember to try to make as few mistakes as possible (because if there's anything else I've learned, it's that everybody makes mistakes ... everybody has those days). But back to Modern Family. I'm almost done with the fourth season and I'm dreading it. Why must I wait for the next season? I just want the show to last forever ... Do you guys have any suggestions for a good tv show to watch? Some of my favorites are New Girl, Community, Sherlock, and Doctor Who. Ah, so many good shows, so little time.
I hope you all have a really really fantastic day today! And be sure to enter my firmoo giveaway!
View my glasses here.
Hey everyone! A few weeks ago Firmoo contacted me to host a super fun giveaway on Introvert's Introduction! Through their first pair free program, I was able to get a pair, and I was so happy with my glasses. I don't need to wear glasses, but I love how they are becoming more of a fashion accessory. The pair I got are super sturdy, which is great for me because I live a fairly active life and need a pair to hold up to me running around everywhere. Not only do they provide prescription and nonprescription glasses, but they do the same for sunglasses as well!
Here's a little bit about Firmoo:
We're the World's Most Popular Online Eyeglasses Store with 580K+ fans on Facebook. Our mission is to offer varieties of unbelievable cheap yet fashionable prescription & Plano eyewear to the consuming public. All of our eyewear is directly from affiliate factory, so our price is 85%~90% lower than that in the traditional brick-and-mortar stores.
sunglasses page | turn your glasses into sunglasses | how to place an order | shipping and tracking
Details:
Prizes are: 7 prizes in total if 50+ contestants; 6 prizes if 50- contestants.
1. If there are 50- competitors: 6 winners will win $20 sunglasses E-voucher each. The vouchers only can be used on these Firmoo sunglasses.
2. If there are 50+ competitors:
For the grand prize winner (1 person): a pair of fashionable sunglasses, shipping included.
For the second prize winners (6 persons): same with the prizes when there are less than 50 competitors participated.
How to enter:
(Mandatory) Visit Firmoo and comment on the post below writing which pair of eyewear you'd love to win.
(Optional) Like Firmoo on facebook.
(Optional) Follow Firmoo on twitter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Fine Print: giveaway begins June 4, 2013 at 12:00AM Alaska time and ends on June 18, 2013 at 12:00AM Alaska time. Winners are selected through a random number generator. Good luck!
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!
