Thursday, December 16, 2010

The Cut


Ta-dah! Just some before and after shots.

I kept talking and talking about it for the better part of a month, and I finally cut my bangs the other day. I only waited because of the characters I kept getting for my acting class. I dyed it in between assignments and scenes, but it wasn't too drastic of a change. I didn't want to cut my bangs before any performances just in case. It probably would've been okay with my last ensemble scene, but I decided to wait it out. And I'm really glad I did. Now I have fresh bangs for Christmas! I'll probably have to trim them before January, but I'm so happy with them! It's exactly what I needed to finish off this semester.

I only have a presentation tomorrow morning after I send off some final reflections tonight and then I'm done and can be on my way back home! The warmer climate is calling my name!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

a home for the holidays



I was going through my photos tonight and found these that I never posted from Thanksgiving.

Last year, I went home for the holiday, but this year it was just too unrealistic. So I went home with one of my best friends from up here. She has the sweetest family and I felt right at home immediately. They were such a blessing! It was also really interesting to see how another family celebrated and what they're traditions were.




The week of Thanksgiving, Spokane was hit pretty hard by a big snow storm, so roads were icy and we were hesitant to drive to the West Side. So we ended up getting train tickets since snow doesn't deter the trains very much, if at all. It sounded like a great idea. But we ended up getting barely any sleep because our train kept getting delayed and delayed and delayed. We ended up spending almost four hours at the train station waiting to leave. It was quite the adventure just getting out of the city! Once we were finally on our way (in buses since they eventually just cancelled the train and had to find us alternative transportation...), the Pass was perfectly fine and we arrived sometime around 7:30 or 8:00.

Thanksgiving itself was very laid back and nice. My friends family was adorable and I was actually confused for her older brother's fiancee in the beginning because her aunt and uncle hadn't seen what she looked like really. We ate a lot and put together a puzzle, had a Thanksgiving quiz, and ended the night with some songs of thanksgiving from some hymn books, finishing off with the Hallelujah Chorus (which I know pretty much backwards and forwards because of choir in high school for four years). I also called all my family and was able to talk to everyone all at once, which was hectic and fun and was the only time that I was really homesick that weekend.

The next day we went to a Christmas tree farm and chopped down our very own tree. It was a brand new experience that was pretty amazing. We spent the rest of the day working on homework. But then the following day my friend and I went into town and looked around different antique shops and sang Christmas songs with the radio like lunatics. And that afternoon I was privy to their Christmas decoration extravaganza. Their whole family gets together and decorates the house and puts up the tree and then stand there when they're done with the lights off and 'ooh' and 'ahh'. I felt like just another one of the family hanging ornaments and putting up nativity scenes and goofing off while The Chipmunks Christmas album blares in the background. And then later that night we went to an engagement party for her older brother and his fiancee.

After church we drove back to school on Sunday and it was back to the daily grind of school work and classes. But it was definitely a nice break and made me quite thankful for all that God has given me and made me look forward to going home and being with my own family for Christmas. (Which is in only a few days now that I'm mostly done with finals and am flying back down to California on Saturday!)

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

as Finals loom on the horizon

This week is passing so slowly. I can't believe it's still only Tuesday (well, soon to be Wednesday...). I have so much to do, but I'm feeling so lazy and ready to be home. I only have a week and a half left though! After this hectic week full of papers and quizzes and performances, I have finals week. But I'm getting to that point where I just want to say "screw it!" and catch the next flight home.

This is what I want to wear for the next week and a half. Easy, comfy, warm, perfect. Something to roll out of bed in the morning and throw on before rushing to class and then being able to lounge around studying and staring at a computer screen for a few hours afterwards in bed. Tights and an oversized sweater and scarf with big lace-up boots, yes please! That top is so simply perfect too. I want it all NOW! Too bad I'm pretty much broke after all the Christmas and Secret Santa shopping I've been doing this week...

Speaking of, my mum sends me Final Survival Kits and I just got one in the mail today (along with my older brother's Christmas presents). It included lots of chocolate and dinosaur egg oatmeal (best thing ever!) and a purple Snuggie. I've been wearing it all evening while I've written papers and hung out with Laura. It seriously made my week with how cheesy and perfect it is. Also how awesome is my mum for sending it to me??
everything from Modcloth:

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Christmas Time is Here

I had my mum send me some pictures from when I was little today for a project in one of my classes. And not to toot my own horn or anything, but DANG! I was an adorable little kid! (The same can technically be said for my brothers and sister as well because we all pretty much looked like each other the first few years of our existences... I'm not conceited.) We don't have very many pictures up from when I was this little so seeing a whole bunch was a little weird. I was so blond! It's incredible!

So since it's the Advent season (today was the second Sunday of Advent), meaning Christmas is on its way(!), I thought I'd share some of the ones that just happened to be from Christmas time! The first two are from the annual Christmas Eve party that used to be a HUGE party, but has since turned into just a small family thing over the years. I was exactly two, going on three, and if you will notice in the one with Santa, I'm holding a Beauty and the Beast... something. I think it was a cassette...? I'm not sure.

My older brother is in these as well. Isn't he cute too??


This one is my favorite. For many reasons. One, the sweet Mighty Ducks t-shirt my brother's wearing. Two, I'm being a grumpy-pants. Three, it's Disneyland! And four, there's a Christmas tree in the background. So it's basically the best candid photo EVER! It needs to be in a scrapbook or framed on the wall. It's so great!
All pictures provided by my lovely mum.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

snow day

(From earlier this week when it snowed all day.)

Sunday, November 21, 2010

I have bruises on my knees

I don't think that's happened since I was about eight years old... Oh the things we do for dance classes...

Friday, November 19, 2010

virtual fantasy

This week has been quite draining for me and all I could think of was just getting through it. There are some pretty awesome things happening over the next week, so I've just been keeping my eye on those things. So today, as a sort of treat for it being Friday and me being alive after all my classes for the week, I went virtual fantasy shopping!

I've been trying to keep myself on a fairly tight budget this year, so I haven't really bought new clothes since September (I'm DYING!!! (but not really...)). Every once in a while I'll look through online catalogues (like when I made my Christmas wish list almost a month ago), but for the most part it's a serious lesson in self-restraint for me, so I tend not to look at clothes online very often. Today I couldn't help myself and found myself on Modcloth making collages of outfits I would wear in a heartbeat.

So with all the fun things happening in the next week, I figured I'd share some outfits that I would wear to them if I had the funds and time for everything to get here in a day. (Everything is from Modcloth.)

This weekend, I'm going to see White Christmas with Laura! We're probably going to dress up fairly nicely, so this is what I would wear to that.

Quoth the Raven Dress
Bell Curve Cardigan
Sensational Seams Tights
Ring in the New Year Heel
Grown-Up Dress Up Bracelet
Best-Dressed List Bag
Thanksgiving Break starts on Wednesday! So I only have two days of classes this next week! I'm super excited! But I'm not going home because it's too expensive this year. Instead, I'm heading over to the West Side and spending the break with some friends. It's gonna be a blast! I'm so glad I'm getting off campus and having real food for once. So this is what I'd wear on the drive over (if the weather was nice enough for sandals... A girl can dream!)

Lotus Gleam On Top
Storytelling Cardigan
Deservedly Denim Pants
Weekend Getaway Sandal
Fashion Rule Bag
Refined Rocker Bangle
Cuff Love
So then for Thanksgiving I'd wear this! It's going to be a party! I'm terribly excited to meet my friend's family and spend the holiday with them. I've heard there's probably going to be singing and traditional family-ish Thanksgiving games and the like. I love family traditions, so it'll be a lot of fun!

Share a Scone Dress
Queen of the Chess Club Cardigan
Stepping Into Style-Webs Socks
Autumnal Spices Boot
Soft at Heart Bag
Oh Pear Bracelet
My friend lives in the Seattle area, so we might go to the city for an afternoon or so to hang out. So this is what I'd wear on a day-trip to the city (under my coat of course, because it's pretty much almost winter...).

What's Lined Up? Top
Cornflower Maze Sweater
'Sail-or' Drive Pants
Spot of Tea Necklace
The Master Tan Heel
City-Wide Style Bag

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

all-consuming



Just some things that have consumed my life recently. I've written two papers in the past day and have a performance evaluation to write for the scene I did from The Glass Menagerie on Tuesday (I was Laura). I also just finished reading Sylvia for my acting class tonight as well. I'm doing a scene from that (I'm Sylvia).

I also went to Walgreens with Rose tonight after dinner and ended up buying chocolate (it's a big deal right now considering I didn't have any and it's Christmas-themed) and a new DVD for about $4. I have a thing for film adaptations of books set in the 30s and 40s, especially in England. Or movies about authors/poets, especially the ones where they died tragically, or their lover did, or they were never able to be with their love interest (especially if they were British...), like Becoming Jane or Bright Star.



Also, because I have spent hours hunched over my laptop writing papers since last night, I now have a very sore back. It's hurt all day and I don't think it'll get better unless I get a back massage. I feel like an old woman. As the picture depicts.

It's been raining a lot lately too. The forecast keeps saying that it's going to snow, but it only snowed briefly really early in the morning on Sunday, and it didn't really count. It's been too warm for snow. But everything's been soggy and just cold enough to be slightly unpleasant.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Lauren Lately

It's been a while... And quite a bit has happened in the past week and a half. Okay, not a lot, but some things. For instance, my room mate acquired a boyfriend! And I died my hair. I am now back to being a brunette! It's only a few shades darker and a little richer than my original hair color and I absolutely love it! I'm going to cut myself some new bangs later this week as well (I would have cut them this weekend but my scene was pushed back to Tuesday for my acting class...).

It's getting to that point in the term where everything picks up speed and everyone gets even busier. I have two essays due on Wednesday and various other things weighing on my mind and schedule. I woke up this morning thinking that I had something really important to do today, but there wasn't anything. So instead I went downtown with some friends and hung out for a few hours. It feels so late because the sun sets earlier and earlier and we got back around 6:30 but it felt like 11:00. It's a little strange to think that I still have time to do things (like homework or watching movies).

I'm also getting super anxious because this winter is supposed to be pretty... wintery... (for Eastern Washington). Last year it was pretty mild, but it's supposed to snow tomorrow and I'm not very happy about it. Maybe it's because I'm from California and I associate November with autumn and not snow. I had a lot of wintery clothes on my Christmas list this year and I hope I get all of them because I'm going to need them this winter. I almost need them now (not just because I'm frustrated with my wardrobe right now and not being able to buy newer/warmer clothes with this very tight budget I've tried to set for myself this year...) but I just have to wait and hope that what happened last year does not happen this year as well in terms of clothes on my wish list. So pardon me while I wallow in my poor college student angst.

I got to pet a puppy today! (Okay, so it was a full grown dog, but I got to pet it and be happy for a few moments before I had to chase after my friends.) We went to this awesome store/coffee and tea shop this afternoon because it was really cold and I have been craving hot drinks and mellow cafe and bookstore atmospheres recently. It is seriously one of my favorite places downtown now! They have a little tea niche with jars of wonderful-smelling loose leaf tea and tea pots and other accoutrement that my room mate and I practically swooned over. I got a hot cider and on the way out, there was a girl with two dogs near the front. One of them was a little antsy and tugging on the leash in my direction. I was going to just walk out but then just stopped and asked if I could pet them. And she said yes! So I did, and I was incredibly happy before I realized that everyone was already out the door and heading back to the car.

Tomorrow, I'm going to a Greek Orthodox service for a class with my lovely friend Laura (I'm pretty sure...) and we have to purchase tickets sometime tonight for White Christmas (also for a class, but I love the show anyway so it all works out) when it comes to the civic center. AND! I register for spring courses on Monday night. I'm going to be quite busy this week... So for now, I'm going to pop in a DVD and chill for a few hours, probably with pretzels and a new jar of Nutella. Happy Day!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

strange days


Well, Fall Break has come and gone. Now it's back to classes as regularly scheduled and homework assignments. Hooray.


The past few weeks have been a little strange for me. My stomach can normally handle anything that I eat. And I'm used to the terrible quality of the food in the cafeteria at school. So nothing has really changed in what has been served at meals, but there's not as many semi-decent/edible options recently (especially during Fall Break...) and I've been feeling sick after every meal. Going to Jack in the Box would actually be better than what I've been eating at school the past few weeks, and most of the time it sounds much better and might actually settle my stomach. It's a bit of a problem right now. Today at lunch wasn't as bad, but I'm tired of eating a turkey sandwich every day at lunch because there's nothing else that won't make me sick. Hopefully it gets better...

The weather's been getting "fall-ish" for Eastern Washington recently. It's been cold, overcast and grey, and kinda rainy/windy. It's making me want to just lie in bed and nap all day and wear dark colors and huge knit sweaters over leggings or big flannel button ups that I stole from my boyfriend (if I had a boyfriend...). I need to go shopping so badly...
cardigan, t-shirt, & necklace: Forever 21
skirt: Urban Outfitters
leggings: Target
boots: thrift store

Thursday, October 28, 2010





Some photos from a hall activity I went on last weekend to a pumpkin patch to buy pumpkins (which I didn't do) and eat pumpkin doughnuts and and drink hot apple cider (which I definitely did do).

good days, bad days


I thought I was getting sick a few days ago. Which was not okay because I have awesome plans for this weekend that do not involve nursing a cold...

This week has been pretty chill, though. I had not one, but TWO, classes canceled yesterday and went to this really great literary reading on campus last night. And to top it all off, after my dance class got out early today around 1:30, I am now officially on Fall Break time! So no classes tomorrow and no classes on Tuesday!

I'm staying on campus again this year. But, unlike last year, I actually have plans for this year! I'm getting off campus! (Hopefully for a good portion of this weekend!) So I'm really excited. I do have quite a bit to do before Tuesday's classes (including studying for a quiz and reading a whole play for my first coaching session for my partner scene), but the main focus of this weekend will be Fall Fun. I'm so ready for this weekend, you have no idea.

(I feel like these pictures don't really do this dress (or this outfit) justice... But they were the only decent ones in the batch. I'll get decent pictures of this dress someday...)
black cardigan & tights: Forever 21
belt: Alloy
dress: Urban Outfitters
boots: thrifted

Friday, October 22, 2010

a kind of goodbye

This week has been pretty mellow schoolwork-wise. It seems like it went by terribly slow, however. I found myself sitting on my bed after finishing up assignments and feeling very bored and unmotivated to do anything a lot this week. Next week should be busier and less "boring" for me. Ah, we'll see.


This outfit is the last attempt to hang onto nice weather. They days have been getting significantly colder (although the sun hasn't completely left yet, so that's good) and after this weekend, the highs are going to be dropping with every day. So I'll probably really be breaking out the coat and starting to layer more and more. I'm also probably going to start wearing more earthy tones and dark colors, like blacks and blues, more often. So today, I'm wearing color (with a little black to balance it out) and florals as a kind of goodbye to weather I probably won't seen until mid-April.


I'm so thankful it's Friday, though! There's some good things planned for the next few days. Like surprise parties and possible outings to pumpkin patches and Thai restaurants and hall bonding! And lots of homework for Tuesday, but that's more for Sunday. Tonight is also the annual haunted house/Halloween dance party that's actually hosted by my dorm and a neighboring dorm. I don't know if I'm going... People generally dress up for it (there's people dressed up in costumes already today!) and I don't have a costume. And it's $3, which I could afford, but I don't know if I want to spend a lot of money right now... So we'll see. I might just watch movies with other people that might not go (or watch more episodes of Criminal Minds by myself...).

Oh! The past few days I have been dying to watch The Godfather Part 1 & 2 (since about Sunday maybe...?). I watched all three movies a few years ago because we have the boxed set at home. But most of my friends up here aren't really big movie-watchers (at least in the way I am) and they haven't seen any of them before! So I texted my dad the other day about sending them to me and he responded in a timely fashion. Long story short, he's going to send them to me in the next package that my mum puts together (which might take a few weeks...) and then I get to watch them with my friends who haven't seen them and need to because it's an absolute tragedy that they haven't yet.
dress & cardigan from Forever 21
belt & tights from Target
boots (not pictured) thrifted

Monday, October 18, 2010

blooming

Last week my room mate made blooming tea so I could see what it looked like. I was going to have some, but I ended up not having any time to because I had to turn something in and then went to lunch before going to class. But I got some pretty cool pictures of the whole process!




I was so busy this weekend. My dad came for Parents' Weekend and we did so much! We saw the musical put on by the school, went shopping for more printer ink, dance shoes and food, went to visit some friends in Idaho, and saw The Social Network. Everything was just so great and went as planned! It was so good to talk to him and just spend time with him. I'm definitely a "daddy's girl." But I'm totally fine with it. I love my dad!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

raise your head up

The weather's been getting colder so my clothes have been reflecting that and the fact that I've been super tired all the time and a little down. So lots of darker colors and different variations and shades of blue. This outfit came together before Creative Writing because I slept through my 8:00am class and because I haven't worn this skirt since I arrived in Spokane. I forgot that it tends to ride up a lot and felt a little immodest for a good portion of the day... Good thing I was wearing tights! It was quite comfortable though!

It also quickly devolved into the tank top and sweater with short gym shorts after dinner. I had a monologue to memorize and a room mate to entertain with my belting of Disney songs in between recitations. It was quite a successful night.

We also busted out this amazing mask that my room mate's grandmother sent her in a package. It's the creepiest/best thing in the world. I wore it for a while and danced and songs goofy songs for a while last night too after I had my monologue down. And then my friend from down the hall stopped by and did homework with us. We then watched this TERRIBLE movie afterwards. Like, not even in a "this is kind of funny how bad this movie is" kind of terrible. It was just really bad.

So that was my night yesterday.




My Dad Gets Here Tomorrow!!! I'm so freakin' excited! In the meantime, I'm going to go read Emerson and possibly watch a better movie with my room mate to redeem the atrocious one we watched last night...
cardigan, tights, & skirt from Forever 21
tank top & belt from Target
boots thrifted from Plato's Closet