Mama & Daughter

Black & White is Best

Black and white and simple and flat encapsulate this month perfectly.

See you in 2015, January.

2014

2013 kind of hung me out to dry. Especially the last few months. But I'm also grateful for 2013. I know the kind of person I want to be—that's not to say I'm always perfect at executing those ideals, but I know what I'm working towards. 

2014, I'm expecting big things from you. I'm trying to dream bigger and work harder. I'm trying to treat my body more kindly (hello, gym...) and get more sleep. I'm trying to be better at time management so I can be better at fun. But most importantly I'm trying to be more gentle with myself. And others. Things are rarely as black and white as I sometimes convince myself they are.

The night my sisters and I flew back to NJ for Christmas break, we were at Liz's apartment eating dinner—I started laughing so hard at my own joke that I choked on my burrito. Clearly I am the epitome of grace. But my point is, be gentle with yourself. Give yourself a little credit. You are awesome. In this case, you are funny. And it's okay to think so, even if your sisters didn't at the moment (haha). You are amazing. No, not you in a year, or you in 10, or you when you get that job offer, or you when you graduate. You are awesome today. It doesn't matter what your snarky professor tells you, or what your leaders (bless their hearts) say. What you say and think is the important thing. You are amazing! That's not to say that there isn't room for improvement—obviously there always is. But, where you are, right now, at this exact moment, is pretty amazing. That's what I would tell 2013 Lauren. And I'd give her a hug too. 

Anyway, in 2014 I'm going to try and make a difference, hence I Was Here. Also Beyoncé. That is all.

P.S. I just thought of The Help. I guess what I'm trying to say is, "You is smart, you is kind, you is important." Also, you is funny.

Michael Bublé: Incredibly Talented & Unexpectedly Hilarious

 

"COFFEE FOR EVERYONE after the show!!! ...I was this close. I almost got you!"

"[To the string section] How many of you are Mormon? [About 1/2 raise their hands] Oh my gosh, wait. [To the audience of 10,000] How many of YOU are Mormon? ...I feel so left out."

"Most of you are proof that you don't need alcohol to have fun after all!"

"[Translating a Spanish sign to English] I love your fat baby that loves cake... Oh! I love you like your fat baby loves cake! That makes more sense."

"[After he went on a tangent and had 10,000 people sing the 83 year-old Phyllis 'Happy Birthday'] ...So I'm not really sure how that transitions into songwriting because I didn't write 'Happy Birthday'. Whatever. It's a crap song anyway."

My only regret is not getting any video footage of "All You Need Is Love."

My favorite part of the show (besides Cry Me A River & All You Need Is Love) was at 7:53 in the video when he sings through the evolution of the song Everything. All I can say is, can he release the first draft too? I love it!!

Also, for the encore, he came back out in a sequined tuxedo jacket. It was awesome. He actually sang quite a few more numbers which I'm convinced were not necessarily on the set list. He brought 5 kids on stage to sit next to him and sing "You've Got a Friend in Me" and no one would dance with him. The little girl sitting next to him wouldn't even look at him—it was probably the highlight of his night when he got her to give him a high five when he finished the song. "I finally won you over!"

I was simply blown. away. at the end of the show. I was literally in the back row of the farthest end of the stadium. He 'shhhed' everyone until there was silence and got rid of his mic, in-ear monitors, everything. AND THEN HE SANG WITHOUT ANY SPEAKERS. I'm convinced he's not human. I could hear him perfectly in the back row.

If you can go to a Bublé show, do it! It's the best performance I've ever been to.

loving you was R E D

Click "read more" at the bottom left of this post to read more & see all the photos!!

To Watch: The Pixar Story

If you have a free hour or two in the next few days, I have a suggestion for you! And if you don't I hope you find the time someday. ;)

We watched the documentary The Pixar Story a few days ago in my computer art class, and it was so inspiring. I've always loved Pixar... When I was younger, I saw a video of their studios, where everyone got to decorate their offices as they wished and traveled from point A to point B on scooters. That's when they won me over for sure! But in all seriousness, it's really fascinating --- they articulate over and over again that they run things that way in order to promote "unexpected collaborations" between their artists. That belief and priority is at the core of the operation, if you will.

Anyway, it's just truly fascinating and inspiring. And it makes me want to read Steve Jobs' biography. Seriously. When he believed in a project, like Pixar, it's amazing to learn how many millions he invested, loss after loss, because he had vision and could see a much bigger picture.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. People are truly amazing.

class

i've been reading more about some of my favorite women instead of doing summer work. no regrets.

love them. those images right there are why i want to study photography. i want to create that.

{images were found in "Audrey 100" and Time Magazine's 

"Remembering Grace" and edited via Instagram}

PS: read this! you will want to be a better person.

the best part of all

i just finished "enchantment", donald spoto's extensive biography on audrey hepburn.

my favorite part is that during her carreer she always hated publicity, limelight, and especially interviews. but, when she started her selfless work for UNICEF, she relentlessly travelled to the suffering countries, risking her own life, and then upon returning, was tirelessly interviewed more than 15 times a day on average.

she wrote to dear friends that being interviewed never got easier, but that the difference was that now it was serving a purpose so much bigger than her. of course, my paraphrasing is much less eloquent than her  own words.


you should go read her speech to congress on behalf of suffering children. it's beyond words.




the child in her arms died a few moments after the photo was taken. {source}

what a remarkable woman. but just remember, the best part of all were the last few decades of her life, after the glitz and glamour, when she showed the world what really mattered.

on beauty

stop and take a moment. do you recognize beauty? {image via}

panorama

how cool is my sister? pretty cool. she goes for the gusto.

i really liked her blog post on capturing europe through panorama. don't worry, she has about 3276598498 more where these came from.

It should take you exactly four seconds to cross from here to that door. I'll give you two.

i love audrey hepburn. as if it wasn't already obvious. it wasn't a dilemma figuring out who to dress up as this year for halloween.

my wonderful mother sewed me a 60s mod style little black dress, complete with pearl buttons and all!

unfortunately, a painfully shocking number of people my age had never seen "breakfast at tiffany's" and on top of that an even more shocking number had never heard of audrey hepburn! that hurt me personally.

i've also decided that i've taken enough flack from my friends about being a cat lady, because holly golightly is about the most glamourous cat lady there is! oh and take note that scout got to "dress up" and be "cat". yeah, we're a pretty cool team.

i also found it ridiculous that i was getting flack from some people about being a character "no one" (in my book, uncultured people) knew about from people who didn't dress up at all!

teenagers. whatever, it's their loss. 

source for audrey photos.

classy

xoxo