new patio furniture

"Let's dance to joy division, and celebrate the irony. Everything is going wrong, but we're so happy." - Let's Dance to Joy Division by The Wombats



Momma surprised me when I came home with new patio furniture that she found at Sears of all places. It's quite lovely actually, and she got four pieces (loveseat, two chairs, and coffee table) for $700 when at any other place it could be worth a couple thousand. She put on some really cool electric candles that are battery operated but look really real and I was convinced at first that they were actual candles. Add a stack of great books, iced tea, and mom's killer summer orzo pasta salad, and I'm good to go. It's a great place to contemplate the easy yet awkward break up with the boyfriend and to wonder why I am sitting outside in the heat when I could be in the air conditioned comfort of my home or out with my friends, who are pissing me off to the extreme. Won't get into details... but I'm sick of people forgetting about me during the summer.
Anywho, I did go out to the county fair with some friends. Oh, did I mention that the birds nest on the table is real and was found by the gardeners in the backyard? Super cool... I can't believe birds made it. It's quite sturdy.



Catherine and I on the Zipper. Scariest. Thing. Ever.



From the swings!



Lovely view from the giganto ferris wheel!



Hang glider ride with my spiffy faux wayfarers that I got 3 for $20 =)

you're invited to a picnik

"Some say love it is a hunger, an endless aching need. I say love it is a flower, and you it's only seed." - The Rose by Bette Midler

My best friend Heidi recently mentioned this photo editing site called Picnik that she had been using to edit her facebook photos. I got kinda interested, cause my photoshop is being a bitch and isn't working so well for me. I am so grateful she mentioned it, cause now I'm addicted! (Oh, great. Just one more site I have to be on each day!) It has all the main features photoshop has to edit photos (except for cutting and pasting and such) and also some really cool camera/film effects and frames. On their home page, they have an article about their first "Featured Picniker." Katie McDonough, 19, of Canada, is this week's spectacle. She blew me away with her editing. Find the article here.

Some of my photography and editing with picnik:



Kim and me on a boat in New York City.



My friend Erik in Monterey two weeks ago.



When I visited my summer camp in January.



Taken in Central Park in February.



My friend Kevin on a hike along the coast last week.



My best friend Heidi in Grass Valley last weekend (yes, her hair is hot pink)



Olivia, Kim, and Heidi in Monterey two weeks ago.



Kim and me in Palo Alto last week.



Andy and me in Monterey two weeks ago.



Taken on the hike along the coast.



John Lennon's memorial in Central Park.



My friend Ian at the Wave Organ in the Marina last week.

• care to share some of your picnik creations with me?

playlist of the week

1) You Are Goodbye by Holly Conlan
2) Breaking Bad Habits by Amy Kuney
3) Not As We by Alanis Morissette
3) How to Die at Peace by Balance Problems
4) Blue Motel Room by Joni Mitchell
5) Toxic by Yael Naim
6) The Call by Regina Spektor
7) Between the Lines by Sara Bareilles
8) The Song of Purple Summer by Spring Awakening Original Broadway Cast
9) The Well by A Fine Frenzy
10) Dream by Priscilla Ahn

•note: you are goodbye can be redeemed for free on itunes this week only!
• above picture: a fine frenzy

i needed a pick me up

"Another aeroplane, another other sunny place. I’m lucky, I know, but I wanna go home."
- Home by Michael Buble

It's just the first week of summer and all I've done is take walks with my dog, go out to the gym, watch more episodes of LOST, and work on leadership projects for my trip coming up. Yes, I did go out on Thursday and Friday night and spent all day Friday and Saturday with my buddies, but let's face it - my summer is quite boring currently. I needed a pick me up. I was going through posts on my old blog, Teen Fashion Bible, which I hadn't visited for almost a year. I found this one video I posted absolutely hilarious. It put a smile on my face - it should do the same to you.

if only i looked this good at school...

"And it don't matter what you do, cause everything looks good on you."
- Supermodel by Taylor Dane



Basically I can't wait till Gossip Girl airs again next season. Mot because of the plot (which is super lame, dude - did you watch the season finale?) or the actors, but because of the clothes. It's a guilty pleasure of mine to watch shows about rich teenagers with the most amazing closets. That and looking at super pricy real estate.

• While I wait for Gossip Girl, I'm keeping myself occupied with the fourth season of LOST. Since April, I've watched the first three seasons on DVD or on abc.com (which is officially my best friend!) Are you a LOST fanatic like I am?

i polyvore... do you polyvore?

"All I want to do is find a way back into love."
- Way Back Into Love from Music and Lyrics

I can't believe I didn't find out about Polyvore until now! I've only been on it for a day and I'm addicted. The website, which offers a truly unique online experience, lets its us clothes whores spend hours upon hours searching through one million products online from major retailers, and collage together clothing looks and interior decoration ideas. Polyvore launched over a year ago in February 2007. According to Polyvore, their mission is "...To make online shopping fun:Polyvore captures the aspirational quality that excites consumers and converts browsers into buyers. From re-creating celebrity fashion, to mixing and matching items based on colors and styles, the Polyvore platform is setting a new standard for shopping online."

Here are a few of my first creations on this marvel of a site:


my first ever set!

for the fourth of july...

this was inspired by pirates of the caribbean.

visiting london this summer?

i love dressing up and looking pretty for picnics on big open fields with my friends.

this would be good for a party or a rave... or something involving being crazy.

Do YOU Polyvore?

• add me (click the button!)

tuesday's favorites

"You were a child, crawling on your knees toward it, making momma so proud."
- Kids by MGMT

My favorite things of this week so far!


New Vans --> VELCRO =D

July's NYLON featuring ScarJo! --> I always look forward to NYLON's music issue!

Beautiful Boy by David Sheff --> Extremely well written about his son's addiction to meth

New crazy argyle Jansport --> For my road trip next week!

Floyd Collins Original Cast Recording --> The bluegrass, country, and folk influenced sound is like no other I've ever heard on a Broadway soundtrack

this is why i want to go to japan

"Got a package full of wishes, a time machine, a magic wand."
- World by Five for Fighting
My family is planning on a trip to Japan in the next year or two with my dad's Japanese barber of 20 years as our tour guide. I am really anxious to go because I just happen to be obsessed with Japanese culture and style.

I had a kimono when I was younger that my dad's barber got for me in Japan. I should dig it up out of the basement sometime... Possible accessory?

Nice glasses... but what the hell is hanging around your neck?

Hello - can I be your best friend?

I just want to go so I can take a picture with little asian kids and their peace signs.

That's a lot of hairclips, sister...

• all pictures: credits to NYLON magazine online (www.nylonmag.com)

playlist of the week

1) Ooh La by The Kooks
2) Summer of '98 by The Secret Handshake
3) Let's Dance to Joy Division by The Wombats
4) The Curse of Curves by Cute is What We Aim For
5) Black Horse and the Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall
6) Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell
7) Ironic by Alanis Morissette
8) Way Back Into Love by Music and Lyrics Soundtrack
9) Gotta Have You by The Weepies
1) Kids by MGMT

• above picture: The Kooks

i hate these introductory posts

"I want to make a ray of sunshine and never leave home."
- Gotta Have You by The Weepies

"Hi. I'm Lauren. Nice to meet you too."
I've written plenty of blogs before - I was the face behind Teen Fashion Bible, which went under during my anti-fashion phase after I came back from the wilderness of Colorado after a month of backpacking. But I'm back, because I really enjoyed having something to do when I was bored. A girl can only go on Facebook and redo her Myspace profile so many times in a day... (not like I'm complaining...)
Here are a few basic things about me that you might want to know before anything else.
1) Right now I am listening to Way Back Into Love from the Music and Lyrics Soundtrack on iTunes while my younger brother practices his trombone five feet away from me.
2) I am lying on my dad's office's pull out bed/couch thing because my room has been infested with little box elder beetles, which are harmless, yet I happen to have a great fear of insects. Bah.
3) Summer started for me on June 12th, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. At this time I preceded to jump out of my english classroom and yell, "Whoopaa!" Everyone in the hall stopped in their tracks and stared at me.
4) In the past month I've bought almost 100 songs on iTunes. Yes, I'm a song whore.
5) I am a musical theater geek, and finished up a nine show run of Les Miserables. I played Cosette and it was fantastic. I have to say my costumes were the best in the show because I never had to wear rags!
6) As you probably concurred from my last post, I am a high soprano. I was recently able to hit a high D sharp, which made me extremely happy.
7) I bite my nails, so I will never write any posts on here about cute names and colors of nail polish, because I simply just don't paint my nails. They are too short and ugly.
8) My hand is falling asleep and it is tingly. Eep.
9) My friend Catherine and I are attending the Jonas Brothers concert on July 17th and I am actually looking forward to it.
10) This summer, I will be gone for approximately five weeks. Wahoo!
Updates soon - I'll be working on a header for BYT soon!

• photo credits go to my friendsie sarah. modeling done by moi =)