Memorial Day Weekend

Finally! Summer, where have you been all my life?? Now that your here at long last, I don't know how I ever made it without you!! Fantasizing about all the fun I'd be having when you did finally show your pretty face, I suppose. Well, at any rate, now that it's here, summer 2010 looks like it's gonna be a good one! 

Spent most of the morning and afternoon of Friday and Saturday cleaning my moms house. I have this nasty cold thing (of course, now that summers here I come down with the crud I had thought I was gonna miss out on), so by the end of all the scrubbing and dusting and general ickyness, I felt pretty beat and came home to crash. There was a roommate Mrs. Doubfire and Home Alone screening though, which made me feel like a little kid again. If we had watched Homeward Bound it woulda been pretty much my whole childhood in one sitting. 

Sunday was spent at the Horizon Pool Party, where our friends band, The Be Sharps (haha, music humor) were playing their first gig as the house band. Hm, a gorgeous sunny day spent by the pool listening to some awesome music played by some of my favorite people? So amazing. Though I did get a lil' crispy laying out in the sun =/. 

Ashley and Preston enjoying some tasty beverages.

Beth rockin' out. She's got some killer pipes.

The band called it quits around fourish, at which point we headed back to our house to BBQ up some delicious Samburgers (our roommate Sam makes the most amazing bleu cheese burgers.) I whipped up some sweet potato fries and everyone chowed down. We ended the night with a screening of Goosebumps: A Night in Terror Tower, haha, sooo terribly awesome. I can't believe I used to love that show as a kid, it's so low budget and nerdy. I went to bed sun-drenched, well fed and happy.

Woke up this morning to the first birds waking up (5:15AM) and a splitting headache. Climbed in the shower, made myself an omlette and was in the car headed for the West Shore by 9AM with Garth, Katrina, Brian and Lea for a day of hiking in honor of our little Hurricanes birthday. Let me tell you, those kids are in much better shape than me and nearly left me in a panting heap at the bottom of one of the hills they dragged me up, but it was a totally fun and laughter filled day. It was overcast and we got sprinkled on by the rain a few times, but it was still warm and the cloud cover kept the sun from murdering us, plus, it looked really cool over the lake. 

All and all, an amazing weekend to kickstart the summer. Good friends, good food, beautiful surroundings, great music...so far this summer is off to a great start. Can't wait for all the good times ahead!

The Field Below

shirt : Ross//denim leggings : Ross//flats : Urban Outfitters//headband : Savvy//sunnies : thrifted

Guh! Sorry for the lack of posting, the weather here has been uninspiring to say the least. Thats right, more snow! And rain, and wind and generally un-summer-like weather has abounded for the last two weeks or so, leaving me feeling less than inclined to dress cute and romp about in the ickyness. And it's only supposed to continue, with rain predicted for the rest of the week. Eeww!!

I'm extremely bitter about all this, but still trying to put my best foot forward. These pics are from sometime last week, when the sun was making a valiant effort to prove that it was, in fact, mid May, not November. Most of the photos in this series are of me battling my hair as it tries to devour my face. Flattering. These are the few that came out all right. This outfit is all sorts of comfy, and yes, that is a Canadian Tuxedo I'm sporting (denim-on-denim), but, here's my argument for anyone who thinks this is some sort of crime against fashion:

1. Neither of these items is actually denim. The "jeans" are acually denim leggings (aka: Jeggings, but I refuse to call them that), and the shirt is Chambray.

2. I think it looks cute and I'm the one wearing it, so there.

And that's it.  Rather convincing if I do say so myself.

This is all in the meadow behind my school. I literally wandered out back in between classes and snapped a few pictures, trying to look casual as people walking their dogs moseyed by. I actually used to live just on the other side of this meadow and spent most of my summer chilling by the river that runs through it. Such a pretty area, and pretty much right in the middle of town.

In other news: today I spent the majority of the day helping my mom move. Mainly by cleaning. It's extraordinary how disgusting those little nooks and crannies get after a while. I felt pretty grungy afterwards so I rewarded myself with a long hot shower and a trip to the thrift store that nearly sent me into a fit. So much cute stuff! Clearly everyones been cleaning out their closets and doing some spring cleaning, because the racks were stuffed with cute shirts and dresses. I was about to have a conniption over one dress in particular because I didn't have the cash to buy it right then and there. I'm going back tomorrow--cash in hand--so I can pretty much clean them out. Hooray for yard sale cash!

Fingers crossed the sun comes out soon!

With love,

L.

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I really like the layout and ease-of-use that Bloglovin' has. It's clean, well organized and much easier to use than some of the other readers out there.

with love,

L.

A New Lease on Life

The reason I call this a "fake it till I make it" blog is because, as with most things in life, I have no idea what I'm doing...

"Well then," You might rightfully be asking, "What are you doing here?"

I suppose the answer to that is rather lengthy, so, if you've enough patience, I'm going to try to put down some sort of mission statement for this blog and for the ways this blog is going to document and influence my life.

I want this blog to document my life. Particularly this period in my life because I feel as though I am on the edge of something great and unknown. It's scary, but it's also really really exciting. I finally feel as though my life is my own and I'm beginning to understand the steps I have to take to make it into the life I've always wanted. I am 21 years old and a bit of a late bloomer. Until recently I always felt so uncertain of myself and what I wanted. I didn't know who I was, what I wanted my life to look like, or even how to begin shaping it. As my mother puts it, I've been "floating," drifting along, waiting for the tide to take me where I belonged.

But "No more," I say! In the last few months my life has changed in a lot of big and small ways. I finally feel as though I am coming into my own, really beginning to understand my self and what I want. I am realizing that the only person responsible or capable of making me happy is me. I have take control and stop drifting. It's time to steer my own boat.

I want this blog to document all of it. This process of discovering myself. I want it to follow me as I grow and change, as I accomplish all my goals and dreams. I want it to encourage me by showing me where I have been and remind me every day where it is I am going. The ultimate scrapbook/journal/confessional/inspiration board hybrid. 

So, in the spirit of all I intend this blog to be, I'm posting a list of goals. Hopefully, publishing this on such a public forum will force me into being accountable to myself (I have a tendency to make grand plans, and then lose focus shortly after). 

1. Move back to San Francisco. 

On May 16th, 2009 I packed all my hopes and dreams up and moved back to South Lake Tahoe, CA for love. Very sweet and poetic and all that, but, unfortunately for both parties, things didn't work out. In all honesty, I probably needed this time to get my act together. Like I said, I'm a late bloomer, and coming home, as well as the end of my "First Love" have really forced me to grow up in so many ways. It showed me both what I wanted and didn't want; for my life as well as in a partner. It made me realize how badly I wanted to get out of this town and how much I really wanted to get back to SF. It made me appreciate that I have to be able to depend on myself before I can expect to depend on anyone else. 

2. Finish school.

I have never been a school person. It's not that I'm not smart, I just lack discipline, have poor time management skills, and am generally ADD as hell. I dropped out of college after one semester, and have since then only taken a smattering of classes at the community college here in SLT, most of which I did not pass/complete. But, the life I want for myself does not involve me working at a restaurant for the rest of my life (no offense to the amazing people who have made careers out of being a server, I've worked with a great deal of you and respect you all immensly, it's just not for me). A college degree is the only way I'm ever going to get the kind of job, house, lifestyle, etc I've always fantasized about. So school and finishing my education needs to become priority number one.

3. Develop my hobbies.

That sounds kind of strange, but, like I said, I'm ADD as hell and lack self discipline/control. I tend to pick something up, waste money, time, and energy on it, and then lose interest in it as soon as it starts to get hard. It's not that I stop wanting to do those things, I'm just lazy and unwilling to put in the time and effort to really excel at them. Not any more! I recently bought a Canon EOS Rebel and photography (in spite of my never actually owning a camera of my own before) has always been something I was fascinated by. I'm mid-way through my first photography class and, while I do get discouraged, I'm sticking with it. I'm not giving up on that, I'm not giving up on this blog, and I'm not giving up on myself.

4. Get and stay organized.

I am so scatter brained it's disgusting. My most commonly used phrase is "Hey, guys, have you seen my phone?" This general lack of self awareness and organization has resulted in god knows how many lost jackets, retainers, cell phones, books, papers, etc. Pretty much anything that isn't strapped to me is at risk of getting left, forgotten, dropped, or stolen due to my own negligence. First of all, I can't afford that sh*t no more. Second of all, it doesn't just effect my personal posessions, but also my job and schooling. If I can't remember my own schedule, how the hell am I supposed to be in class/at work on time? If I can't find some way of getting and staying organized and on top of things, I'm never gonna be able to manage my life. 

5. Be more positive.
I honestly feel as though there is a direct correlation between the amount of nasty, negative thoughts and words you have and the amount of nasty, negative things that happen in your life. It's important to me to put out as much good, positive energy as I can into the world, so that I might be able to get some of it back.


6. Take better care of myself.
I'm not a skinny girl. I'm not fat either, but I could certainly use some toning here and there. Plus, I still eat like I did when I was 15, which is delicious, but really, not that wise. I'm lucky in that my body pretty much stays the same size/weight no matter what I eat, but I'm sure if I simply made better choices in my diet I could probably drop a few of the pounds I've always grumbled about. I refuse to join a gym because I hate how mind-numbingly repetitive they can be, but I am enrolled in Yoga, which I love. I might, if I can afford it, join Crunch when I move back to SF because they have such an amazing variety of classes.


7. Make every decision a decision that is going to lead you in the right direction.
A wise blogger once said "ever choice matters," and thats so very true and simple it's kind of mind blowing. So from here on out all my decisions are important ones, because every choice matters, every choice is going to bring me one step closer to the life I want, the woman I want to be, and the places I want to go.

I'm scared, yes. Change is not easy and for the first time in my life I am accountable only to me. If I fail, give up, or drop out the only person I'm hurting is myself. But I'm also incredibly excited. I have so much to look forward too and so many positive things and opportunities in my future if I just do the things I know I have to do. It's so simple and liberating, I really can't beleive it took me this long to figure it out. Well, I suppose I've always known, I was just too afraid to take responsibility for something as big as my own life before this point. But everyones journey is their own and I may have taken longer than the average bear, but at least I'm here now. Ready, willing and anxious to begin.

So, here it goes! Wish me luck!

With love and hope,
L.

I left my heart...

I cannot wait for the day I can take my own board and cruise down by the bay. Sigh.

In other news, it's snowing. Thats right, it is freakin snowing. In may. FML.

Happy Mothers Day to all those amazing moms, moms to be, grandmas and mother figures! And a particularly happy mothers day to my own mom. A woman who never ceases to amaze and inspire me. To one of the most beautiful people that I am lucky enough to call Mom. I love you!

It's crazy how much she looks like me in this one. My mom used to ride and train horses. She used to compete in rodeos too, barrel racing. How badass is that?

 

 She looks so cute here! She went to college in Chico so she has all these great stories and photos of that time in her life.

Happy Mothers Day, Mom. You're amazing and I love you with all my heart. Thanks for the great genetics!

sweet ophelia

This outfit is nothing special. Jeans, a well-loved cardi, and a pretty tank I've had for ages. Simple, warm (it's still only in the 50s here), and functional. I spent the majority of the day cleaning house, and reading blogs, trying to fix my computer so my music would work (frustrating, to say the least). I did manage to squeeze in a trip to the thrift store and scored some really cool blouses, a pretty new scarf and this snazzy short grey kimono that I'm still working out how to style. 

In other news, I'd like to introduce you all to someone special to me. Her name is Ophelia and she's my baby. She's an Arbor bamboo blunt longboard and she makes me happier than sorbet on a hot day. She's one of the best investments I've ever made and their really is nothing like carving down a hill on one of these. If your thinking about investing in a longboard, I highly recommend Arbor boards (they do their best to be as eco friendly, recycling the wood and plastic used in creating their boards). 

I've only beed riding for about a year, so I'm no hot shot and I sure as hell can't do any tricks, but I cruise around on this thing almost every day and I'm still as obsessed with it as I was the first day I got it. I have had a few spills, but never anything serious enough to deter me. 

Isn't she lovely?

Hope you all have an awesome weekend! I have several birthdays too attend and it finally seems like its warming up! 60 degrees, here we come!

with love,

L.

I left my heart in San Francisco...

Some of the photos I took on our weekend trip to San Francisco for my dear Heathers birthday. It was a blast and definatly sealed my resolve to move there this fall. It was so hard leaving, I wanted to cry.

we did all sorts of cool touristy stuff that I hadn't done in a long time, like going to Pier 39...

we crossed the golden gate bridge and took pictures...

we went to the palace of fine arts and wandered around. So beautiful and so many people out enjoying the gorgeous weather.

We went up to Coit Tower, which, I hate to admit, but I've never been up too. Amazing views.

we had lunch at Hog Island in the Ferry Building. Best $12 grilled cheese I've ever eaten.

and the best thing I brought back from my trip...

BREAD TURTLES!! their so cute, I can barely stand to eat them...barely.

I have about a majillion other photos, but I tried to condense it down to a few that would give an accurate summary of the weekend. Every night us girls went out and partied down on the streets of SF, I hung out with a few old friends I hadn't seen since I left the bay and all in all had an amazing time. I really can't wait to move back and start my own San Fran Fairy Tale. 

Hope everyone else had wonderful weekends. Someday soon I'm going to get a regular posting schedule going...promise.