Halloween History

In honor of Halloween, and throwback Thursday, I decided to post some photos of costumes over the years. This year I am not dressing up. I don’t know if this is because Halloween falls on a weird day, if it is because I am 26, or if it is because I was literally not invited to a single Halloween party… What the!? I need new/ better/ more friends.

I hope you enjoy this trip down (my personal) memory lane!

We begin in 2007. Why 2007? It is because this was the first year I retired my cut-off denim skirt. You’re welcome for sparing you the photos from 2005 and 2006!

Legends of the Hidden Temple

Libby and I stayed up until 2am making these shirts with stencils and fabric paint. Then we left the house at 4am to go to the REI garage sale. I think I would die if I tried to do something like that now. Ahhhh to be 20 again! (Unrelated side note: once I slept on the street to be in line for the REI garage sale. Now I would pay someone the amount of a full priced ski jacket, without getting an item in return, to not have to sleep on the street. How the times have changed!) Special note about this photo, It was taken mid-evening when we came back from the fraternities to use our own bathroom… Always thinking! Also, Brooke’s helmet is backwards. Haha!

Ninjas! 

This was such a comfortable costume. I was wearing black scrubs that I ended up wearing as pajamas for the rest of the school year. Not only was this comfortable, but our weapons were multi use! Did you need a garnish with that drink? Let me help you.

SWAT team 

This was just lazy. We put tape on our clothes to say SWAT. And Chelsii took those masks from her work. I will say, this was probably one of our more popular costumes. People LOVED the swat team. I think it is because we saved a floundering party though, clearly there is nothing remarkable about this costume.

Ballerinas

This was a fun one! Nothing to really say here.

Ke$ha and Nicki Minaj

Mar and I had a blast putting these costumes together. We put a pillow in her pants and trimmed her wig bangs! Haha!

Jazzercise

This was again, SO COMFORTABLE! Tennis shoes and stretchy pants? Yep! We danced our hearts out and our feet didn't even hurt the next day. Our evening in these costumes was at an Elton John cover band night. Feather boas and Olivia Newton John references galore!

I hope you all have an amazing Halloween! I will be at my parents house having chili and passing out candy. I think Halloween chili may be our most consistent family tradition. 

The Pumpkin Patch Post

It is clear that going to the pumpkin patch is a required activity. This is especially true in the NW. My feeds have been full of pumpkin couples, pumpkin babies, pumpkin toddlers, pumpkin sorority sisters, and my favorite, pumpkin spice lattes! PSYCH! I don’t care about your latte. I will admit that they are deloish though.

I have made 2 observations during this pumpkin season:
1. Pumpkin patch pictures are CUTE!
2. Everyone looks better in a pumpkin patch. Which is weird, because apparently orange is a tough color to wear. Whoever said orange is the new pink is seriously disturbed. –Elle Woods.

Now I will force you to look at my pumpkin patch pictures. They turned out cute, even though fog frizzes hair.  Pumpkin magic. Enjoy!

Brian likes to do weird stuff like gaze into the distance. I don't quite have the hang of it... considering I look like I'm about to cry, or vomit, or both. Usually I cry when I vomit. Overshare? Whatever. 

There are so many pictures of me looking at him! It isn't what you think though, I am usually just asking him to "please smile normal."

I know that first one looks fake, but I swear to you, it was real laughing! Pumpkins are hilarious! 

Didn't you know!? 

And I leave you with the most important photo of the day. Mini horses. Not only is my roommate obsessed with mini horses, but I assume these guys would have been friends with Li'l Sebastian... RIP.  

The Perfect Medicine

So I was sick last week. Just a stupid cold, but still! I hate being sick. Although, It's not as though anyone enjoys illness. I'm pretty sure I had a fever at one point, or at least I think I did. I don’t have a thermometer or anything. I am not a mom and I am not a doctor’s office… so I feel like that explains why I don’t have a thermometer. I do have a meat thermometer. Would that have worked? I mean, humans are technically meat right?

I figured out I had a fever when Marina walked into the house wearing running shorts and I was on the couch in my puffy down coat with the hood up. The aches and chills could have tipped me off, but it took that special visual for it to sink in.

The good news is that I am extra awesome and healthy now! I also spent the weekend in Black Butte with a few of my lovely friends.

A bloody, coffee and cards, the perfect medicine!

Do you have a sense of self?

What kind of question is that!? Makes you think, right? Ummm... yeah, I developed it while eating string cheese and watching E! News. Okay, I’ll take it seriously.

I think some super important self-development time in my life just happened over the past 4 years.

I was single, I was working, and all of a sudden I had the responsibility for taking ownership of who I am. It wasn't college life, or circumstances, or family, or a relationship. It was me. Alone. Finding out who I am as an individual. I was deciding to find a church, I was deciding how to live, and I had to stop depending on others and my community to define me. I went to church alone, started volunteering, started dating (kinda/ not really.. I didn't date. That is a lie).

The past 4 years have been a challenge, but they have been fun. They have shaped me into who I am now. I know that this will continue in different ways, but for now, I feel really good about how God has used this season of my life. I seriously cannot even imagine being in the relationship I’m in now without having had that time to develop a sense of self. If Brian and I kept dating right after college, I would probably still be that same co-dependent girl. I would let my circumstances and surroundings define my relationships and faith. Herd mentality, you know? Having the opportunity to discover who I am, as an individual, was seriously the best gift ever.

I think a sense of self and self-confidence go hand in hand as well. We all have our insecure moments… especially around meanies or intimidating people, but in general, self-confidence is necessary in order to be a functional human being whom others want to be around. Go on! Discover who you want to be! Many years ago, Destiny’s Child told us to be independent women.  I may not be quite on the level Beyonce and co. were singing about… as all of my immediate family members live in the same city as me. But I’m trying Bey! Give me a freaking break!

I know this GIF is from the Survivor vid. But it is WAY better than the ones from Independent Women. Get off my back.

I hope that answer was serious enough for you! If you want to get to know me for reals, you can come over and we can read tabloids, watch ABC family and eat some cake and/or ice cream. Preferably both.

Apparently I take questions, so if you have any others, let me know! They could be thought provoking things like, “Who is your favorite character on Pretty Little Liars?” Or as serious as, “If you could perform one spell from Harry Potter, what would it be?” See! I am super deep. You can thank the past 4 years for that.

Let’s talk about weddings.

At one point, Brian came to town and we did the wedding thang again. (I am losing track of time and weddings at this point) Basically we are professional wedding goers. Just part of the deal when you are in your 20s! But a wedding sure makes for a fun (free) date. Dinner, drinks, dancing? Yes please! Plus the romance is built in. Guys have it super easy in the summer. No effort necessary. Just put on a nice shirt and show up, and then they get credit for the date. Not too shabby! I don’t have any specific opinions about this, I just wanted to point it out. Other activities that have recently happened in my life include: blading on the Eastbank and drinking pretty coffee.

At a wedding! What else!?

A perfect photo bomb by Tyler! 

The group! Photo by Jess

I am currently in Sunriver (cheating on Black Butte). And I went to another wedding last weekend. I’ll probably post about both of these things in due time! Later gators!

Libby in L.A. (and some celeb stalking)

Libby moved to L.A. She is going to USC to expand her mind in grad school and be her genius self!

One time we had a par-tay to say goodbye:

Just getting in some last minute gossip. FYI: This is a picture of a Polaroid! Martha brought a Polaroid camera for some photo fun. 

Then Lib started texting us from her new home. She is taking Hollywood VERY seriously. Celeb sightings will probably take precedence over studying. Actually, I bet she will sit at Kate Summerville (multiple locations) so much (aka missing class) just to see if she can spot Lauren Conrad! Obviously LC will remember her, they already met once before. Although, she probably remembers me better, she DID compliment my outfit after all.

Here is some of the gold we have received thus far:

This is obviously Mario Lopez being his smoking hot AC Slater self. Just taping Extra at The Grove!...so people like Libby can creep on him.

I'm sorry you just wasted your time reading this waste of a post! TGIF.

Boyfriend Blunders

Over dinner and drinks the other day, a few of my friends shared some hilarious “excuse me!?” moments that happened in their relationships. Today I will be sharing three direct quotes from loving boyfriends.

This is what we looked like as we told these stories! You can decide who they were...

“You’re the prettiest girl in the city.” 

I see where this was trying to be a compliment… but JUST the city!? Her response was, “The city of Salem!?” She is not even living in the largest city in the state right now. Doesn't he know that the world was an option? Come on bro!

“That skirt makes you look fatter than you are.” 

I also understand how this was an “almost compliment.” I just urge all humans to refrain from using the word fat when talking about or to a woman. Girls know how to be honest with their friends by saying things like, “It’s not super flattering” or “It isn't my favorite.” Take a cue from us, and just drop the word fat altogether.

A follow up to that “compliment?” was this:

“If you keep eating that, you really will get fat.” 

Okay, this one is just too much! He is saying that she ISN'T fat. So that is a positive. But really, if she wants to indulge, just let her do it! Sometimes ladies just really need to eat entire box of Annie’s mac and cheese! Only me? Damn. At least it’s organic. But again, let’s just leave the word “fat” out of the equation.

So there you have it folks! Some recent flubs from the male species. I hope they have learned their lesson. Maybe read this post to any men in your life, so they can learn from the mistakes of others.

I could be Kathie Lee.

Thankfully, I have read a million posts about how hard it is to blog in the summer. It is so tough! So thank you for the posts. It re-assures me that I am not a crazy lazy person.

On to today’s post, that happens to be about the Today Show.

I love Kathie Lee and Hoda and I am unashamed. I think they are hilarious! I started watching them in college after my early classes. Because really, what are you going to do at that weird time of the morning? Duh, watch 4th hour of Today and then watch Regis and Kelly. I loved that these shows would throw a teensy bit of real news in with their amazingly hilarious host chat. Otherwise, they would mainly discuss news that I find pertinent, celeb gossip and scandals, before moving on to awesome segments about new shows, movies and books. Or seasonal segments about beauty, fashion or food.

Basically, I feel like I could do this job. And I think I could do it well. I am aware that I would be in the Kathie Lee role, the overly honest, semi-inappropriate for network TV, lots of laughter and crazy facial expressions, host role. Don’t worry guys, I already have a Hoda. Marina is subtly ethnic, has knowledge of the real issues, loves music and secretly loves the nonsense!

I MEAN!! HELLOOOOOOO!!!!

Plus, we both love wine. Ahhh wine.

If you don’t watch them now, as I assume you don’t because of work, you wouldn't know that they are doing a “find our college counterparts” search. I am devastated that this search is happening at a time that I am no longer eligible. RUDE! This contest would be in the bag! I still watch their host chat and selected segments online when I can. Yes, that is how much I love them.

Dear KLG and Hoda,

Let me be part of this contest? Or at least agree to grab a drink with me!? I will fly all the way to NYC for it!
                                                                                                   Love, Laura

This is when they lost it doing a story about gas.

See ya later!! 

Antone Shenanigans

I spent an amazing weekend at the Antone Ranch! I don’t know how to describe how crazy wonderful this place is! It is a 40,000 acre ranch in central Oregon. Last year I described it as a cross between Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Hey Dude, Wildhorse Canyon and Disneyland. We barrel around the curvy rocky roads in jeeps, ride horses, shoot guns, boat, eat, play, pray and camp. And by camp, I mean glamp. That is glam camping. There are beds in the tents… so the word camping is quite misleading.

A line-up of our weekend transportation! You know we took those bad boys through creeks! 

Sunrise

So country! 

Everyone likes boats and sunshine! Not to discount the wakeboarding and tubing!!

Sunset from the fire tower

No filter! 

I am majorly sore and tired from such an awesome weekend! I’m sure you all feel super bad for me. I hope your weekends were equally amazing!

Summer is here!!!

My weekend was AMAZING! Summer has finally arrived in Portland. I’m talking highs of 85ish to 92ish. So it is nice and bearable. Not 117! Like my friend Hanna is dealing with in AZ. Oh Oregon summer, how I love thee.

It all started on Saturday. I took a little bridge walk with some of my women. We went down the East bank, over the Morrison, up the waterfront and back over the Hawthorne. A short and sweet walk.  Just long enough to finish our iced coffees and catch up on super important life stuff. Like what level of “Britney breakdown” Amanda Bynes has reached. Life changing topics. She is not yet at the umbrella vs. car, shaved head phase… she is on her way though! (In case you were curious about what we decided)

Then I did this for the rest of the weekend:

Yes, I am re-reading the HP series for like the millionth time. What of it!? HP is amazing and Brian is about to hear Harry Potter references that he doesn’t understand for the rest of the summer. He will hate it. Maybe I should start working on an online dating profile now…  Just to get a jump on the inevitable.

Marina and I also went to see the Bling Ring. It was SO good! Especially if you know stuff about the accused or watched Pretty Wild on E! (I did both). Then we spent the rest of the evening downtown. It was perfect out at 10pm, so we wandered.

I hope your weekends were equally as awesome! Happy short week amigos! (Even though you’re probably mostly amigas)

Printing a retraction: Yoga.

I did yoga last night. Like good yoga. Know what I learned? I have only ever been to bad yoga classes before. Last night I went to Corepower Yoga. My friend Chelsii works there and has been trying to convince me to go forever! Well, ever since I posted that I don’t like yoga because I think it is boring. Because it was! Every single yoga class I had been to was boring. Hot yoga, regular yoga, vinyasa, freaking weird neighborhood studio (with creepy chanting)... all of it. BUT last night the class I went to was awesome! It was warm, not hot like Bikram, it had a good playlist and it was a fast pace. It definitely doesn't take the place of cardio paired with a Britney playlist, but at the end of the class I kind of felt like I could take on an attacker or intruder or something.

So Chelsii, I retract my statement that yoga is boring. I mean, it is still a little bit low key for me, but it is a great workout! Truthfully, I probably won’t be shelling out the big bucks for classes once my free week is over, but I may drop in every now and then!

If you like the idea of yoga and want a real work out, or if the hippy dippy stuff freaks you out, go to Corepower. I wish they were going to give me free stuff for this post… that selfish perspective is SO not yogi of me. Whatevs.

After only one class, I now have fame across PDX for my extraordinary skill in both child's pose and shavasana. 

Namaste.

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Car accidents, ice cream and bathrooms.

I got in a car accident last night. Just a minor one, but still super annoying. My friend Tracy and I were on our way to get ice cream (for her birthday!) when a guy pummeled into my car while we were stopped at a stoplight. Happy birthday Tracy! We quickly re-routed for a cocktail, you know, to medicate our whiplash. THEN we continued to Salt & Straw for our ice cream. You may be thinking, “why would you go to Salt and Straw!? They have such a long line.” To which I say, we got a pint (aka cut the line) and also purchased a waffle cone and a cup of hot fudge. You get what you want, you get to cut everyone, and you get glares. I love getting glared at for stuff like this. Sorry I’m not sorry for being awesome and knowing the rules!

That is not what this post is about though. It is about nice bathrooms. How and why is this post taking a weird turn? Well, I said to Tracy during the consumption of our sweet treat, that Salt and Straw has a cute bathroom. To which she said, “You can tell a lot about a restaurant and how much they value their customers by the quality of their bathroom.”

She is so right! You CAN tell a lot about an establishment that way. Is it well maintained? Is there cute décor? … What is the aroma? A good air freshener can go a long way. Yeah, we just went there.

Bathrooms are a weird thing to share about I guess, but if you are ever really trying to decide how you feel about a certain establishment, just check out the bathroom. Do they have amenities? Some places even provide hairspray and mouthwash. It’s like, “Thanks for looking out for me on this date!” Right!?

Car accidents, ice cream and bathrooms. That’s it for today!

Social media etiquette.

I use Facebook wrong and I don’t even care! I use it wrong because I don’t like to spend my time uploading crappy photos one at a time to my “timeline” or whatever. Isn't that what Instagram is for? And no, I don’t have them post in multiple places. Why? Because it is confusing for people! You know, etiquette wise. Seriously, what is the etiquette there? So I liked my friends photo on Insta… do I also go like it on Facebook? Isn't that overkill? Their thought, “whoa, Laura must REALLY like that photo. She liked it 2 places!” I don’t want to be an over eager social media user, but I also want my friends to get more likes! They are probably really into the likes. I didn't realize HOW into “likes” someone could be until I started dating Brian. He will say things like “let’s see how many likes you got.” Uhhh. Really? My snarky response, “I do not derive my self-worth from the likes I get on Instagram.” I say things like this because I don’t get a lot of likes… whatevs.

I just added pictures from the past 4 months-ish to Facebook. I still use it like I did in college. We would add new albums all the time! But now I just add more pictures to an old album because I don’t have enough pictures for one topic. Is it just me? Or have we all started taking WAY less pictures than in college? Each night out in college could have its own album on Facebook. Now… not so much. Just one Insta per friend gathering.

Please enjoy some of the photos that went up. If I am posting pictures on my blog, do I really need to also post them on Facebook in a timely manner? I say no.

February / March

April / May

May / June

So please forgive me for using Facebook wrong. Actually, nevermind. I’m not even sorry. But can someone please tell me what our etiquette is for ‘likes’ on the same picture posted on multiple social media sites? It is annoying. And the fact that I am even asking this makes me feel old.

Only one post this week! I’m off to Seattle for a wedding! Thank the heavens above that it was sunny this past weekend. My white legs probably would have blinded the bride causing her to trip down the aisle. Don’t worry guys, they got a little color. I have full confidence that everyone’s eyes will be just fine. But I’ll probably use some self-tanner just to be safe.

My biggest concern was my tan.

For a long time my summers were spent at the pool. As I sit here at my desk, I reflect. Literally. My skin is so pale it is reflective. I long for the days where I spent my time at the pool! I will obviously be spending my weekend in the sun, but it is just painful to think of those former summer days while I am sitting here at my computer. I didn't have a care in the world. Or if I did, it was about a boy or something else stupid. Come back to me dear summer! I did not appreciate you as I should have.

Summer 2008. Ignore my crazy face. 

4th of July 2008 when we had missed the fireworks. I only added this because Brian is in it! I like him, sue me. 

At the time these photos were taken, the most important things to me (and probably Lauren and Marina) were as follows:
1. Being tan
2. Getting Lauren into Happy Hour (she was still 20)
3. Frozen yogurt

Happy sunny days my friends! Don’t forget your SPF 30!
This post is about college summers when we actively neglected out part time jobs and internships. Still to come? A post about childhood summers!

A very vino weekend!

This weekend I wine tasted and it was fantastic!

One of the major benefits of living where we do, is that we basically have our very own Napa Valley just a hop skip over in Yamhill County. Yes, it is a much chillier and really probably not like Napa Valley, but it is very beautiful none the less. And they have wine! So… yeah. It’s awesome. Know what else is awesome? The fact that I went to college out there! I would say that we all (speaking directly to my fellow wildcats) took for granted that our college was in such a beautiful place. At least I can say that we took advantage of the wineries for a couple years. Turning 21 in wine country was not so shabby!

We started the day with brunch and mimosas, packed the car with snacks and hit the road! We visited Penner Ash, Adelsheim, Bergstrom and Colene Clemens. Our least favorite was Adelsheim. They were crazy pretentious and had pathetic pours. We paid to be in here! You might as well be nice and quit being so stingy with your vino! You have a few grape vines… I don’t think you’re going to run out! All the others were marvelous though. Amazing wines at Penner Ash, snacks and cool stories at Bergstrom and Colene Clemens had a pup and a fire place. Who doesn't love a cute puppy and cozy fireplace!?

Get ready for a ridiculous amount of photos!

Sista friend! 

Marina and my lovely mother! 

Mama Jo was our chauffeur extraordinaire! 

Just a few texts went out... Sorry I'm not sorry Brian! 

Pretty friends and tasty wine. This was the place w/ snacks! We were about it. 

Marina's new friend

I hope your weekends were stellar too!