Thursday, June 13, 2013

world traveler



shirt: mother's closet // denim shirt: ebay (similar) // shorts: asos (similar)





It has been so so hot these past few days. It's nice and cool in the office where I work, so I'm usually wearing tights during the day, but as soon as I get home it's time to strip to the bare minimum amount of clothing. It's on hot days like this that I wish I had more summer clothing in my wardrobe, especially crop tops. I currently have three that I've worn to death, so I thought, "Hey, might as well try to turn all of my tops into crop tops." A recently post junior high Lauren would have been disappointed that I'm now returning to the days of knotting long shirts into shorter ones, but when you're trying not to die from heat, is there really any other choice? Speaking of crop tops, I've had my eye on this one forever now, but I haven't yet been able to justify buying it. Every time I'm tempted, I think, "Now Lauren, you could use that money for so many other things in the future, like that dream wedding, or roadtripping across the United States, or buying new camera equipment, or buying plane tickets to every place in the world," and then I don't click on that buy button.

I recently read this arcticle and consequently posted it to my photography page. One day, one day I shall do this. The plan now is to save up money, and when the time comes, spend an entire summer living out of my (soon to be existent) car or on couches that anyone is willing to let me sleep on, and make art, teach photography, and sell my (also soon to be existent) novel. Doesn't that seriously sound like the greatest thing ever? I've always wanted to take a huge roadtrip across the United States. My family has done a lot of moving so we've driven through a lot of states both in the Northwest, Central, and South United States, but we never got to go to any of the national parks or touristy type of places. I've always wanted to go see the Redwood Forest, or Niagara Falls, or Yellowstone National Park, or the Grand Canyon. But really, I just want to see as much of the world as I can. Travel the world or a crop top? I'll take the travels hands down. Sign me up.





Here's to some wonderful world travels!





Tuesday, June 11, 2013

coca cola girl




shirt: old navy // shorts: thrifted // shoes: target

Just a quick little post featuring my outfit from day two of our latest camping trip. My little sister snapped these photos of me during lunch. It was seriously the nicest weekend in the world to go camping. Last year it was cold and rainy, but this year the sun was shining, there were hardly any mosquitos, there was a freezing lake to cool off in (in five second intervals, but still) ... I even got sunburned! I can't wait to share with you guys more photos from this trip, because I am pretty sure this is now officially my favorite camping spot.

p.s. don't forget to enter my firmoo giveaway!



Monday, June 10, 2013

rhythms of possibility



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!







Saturday, June 8, 2013

camping at the russian river



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. :)