a healthy debate {bikinis on vacation}

I once had a church leader tell me that it was ok to wear bikinis when you were with your husband somewhere, but never at any other time.

When hearing that, the only thing I could think of was...

Does modesty take a vacation?

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we are given modesty guidelines. We are guided not to wear any sort of bare midriff. I don't have a problem with people that wear bare midriffs...heck, I even think that bathing suit is darling...but, knowing our guidelines, should we bend the rules because we are vacation?

What do you think?

i love them

I have been wanting take pictures of my best friend and her baby Navy, for a while now...
So on Saturday, we got together and took some fun shots!
It was so much fun!
I even recruited Ted to be my helper, and it was so wonderful having him with us.
He would hold all the props and hold Navy when we were shooting pictures of Lindsay and Dano.
Here most of the pictures, the rest can be viewed on my photo blog in the next couple days, along with the photos I took of Mauri, last weekend! :)


1. The Happy Family {Lindsay, Dano & Baby Navy}

2. Lindsay, looking super foxy.

3. One of my favorites of Lindsay and Dano

4. Megan, Lindsay, Darcel and Navy.
I loved taking mother/daughter/sister/grandaughter shots. They are some of my favorite girls!

5. Look! My Ikea frame, put to good use!

6. So cute...Navy showing off her flower headband :)

7. Loving on Navers

8. Classic-Lauren-tries-to-get-artsy.

9. Presh.

10. Another one of my favorites...

11. Saucy! And Lindsay was so embarrassed!

12. Girls...you must frame this one!

13. Tender! I want to hug that baby!

14. This one is so cute.

15. They are cute. Love them.

16. Lindsay Loo is such a good mama...

17. I love the vintage look to this one...
We were totally in the ghetto for this picture.

18. Spotlight on Navy.
I love the digital macro setting.

19. Pretty, pretty!

20. Ok....so precious, huh?!

21. Love.

Which one is your favorite?

peefection

Have you ever had a peefection?

Otherwise known as..."Urinary Tract Infection"?

No? Mayhap I should school you in the ways of the peefection.

 

So, I am sitting on the sofa, watching me some good old "Gossip Girl" when I am like, "Zing! I have to pee something fierce!"...so I make a hop-skip-and-a-jump on over to the bano, all the while, unzipping my pants, as to achieve a speedy pee recovery. I had never experienced such an urge to pee before, in such a short time. It was at this moment, that I decided to ask forgiveness for always making fun of the old ladies in the Depends commercials: "I had the urge to urinate, and then I realized I already had pee on the floor". Umm...hi. I never believed that, until my recent travesty.

 

Anyhow, so I am sitting there, waiting for the explosion of pee to come, because surely it had to be an explosion...duh.

 

And nothing came...

 

And the painful urge remained.

 

I thought my body was playing a trick on me. I actually heard my brain laughing at me. It was humiliating, and awful.

 

And then...acid started to trickle out and I was like, "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaa?" And then I started to sing "Jump! Shout! Let it all out! This is something I could live without! C'mon! I'm talking to pee, C'mon!" My friends. It was the worst experience of my life. I am pretty sure Ted was scared for his life when he heard me yelling, "Get out pee! Come out fast! Aaaaaaghhhhhhhhhhhhh! What the crap!?!"

 

And then the tears came.

 

And Ted was like, "Why are you crying over pee?"

 

And I am like, "Have you ever peed fire? Because I don't think you have. All I know is this is you and your 'special hugs' fault."

 

So Ted leaves me.

 

It's true. Except he came back...with something in a grocery bag. But I was too busy to care, because I was laying on my death bed...writing out my will. I bet you want to know who I am leaving my Pocket Edward to, huh? Well...not you.

 

Anyway, so he hands me a cup and instructs me to drink. Being a good wife, I drink. My friends....Ted had offered me poison! I yell, "What is this?! Are you feeding me my fire pee to drink!?"

 

"No. It's cranberry juice."

 

 

The End.

 

PS...cranberry juice gets rid of peefections...apparently.

a healthy debate {sex education}

There are few things Ted and I disagree on...

However, we do disagree on a few things:

 

 

1. Laundry Baskets vs. Hampers {I call them hampers...I think. We have disagreed on the proper name for so long, I can't remember which one I originally called it.}

2. Serranos being the best mexi-food vs. Filibertos being the best mexi-food {ahem...Serranos, please}

and finally...

3. Teaching our kids about sex vs. Letting them learn in sex ed.

 

 

 

Dude. Do you remember sex ed?

It was the worst.

Thankfully, I was taught everything by my precious mom PRIOR to hearing it from the awkward school nurse.

Ted was taught at school....everything.

Ted thinks that is the only way to go.

Lauren thinks the "sex talk" should be learned in the home, at the appropriate age...followed swiftly by a trip to get ice cream, because let's face it....kids never wanted to know that's where they came from.

And that's how it will be done in casa de busy bee :)

 

 

So, what do you think?

Should kids learn about sex at home, from a parent or guardian?

Should they learn from the school nurse?

Should it be taught at all, at school?

 

 

Spill it...

 

what's lauren happy about? {weekend edition}

i'm happy about...



1. That so many humans participated in Busy Bee Lauren's FIRST debate!
So here are my thoughts on leggings at church...
I have only worn them once. I wore them with a long, modest dress. They just added a bit of contrast to the ensemble....and they really tied in the shoes I was wearing. Also, a big part of the reason I wore them, was because it is super cold in our church building, and...hi, I hadn't shaved in foreverz, so goosebumps would have revealed the "secret garden" on my legs.
So all in all...I could care less if people wear them or not.
If you are coming to church, you rule.
People that judge others by giving the stink eye are lamespice.
(here is the outfit)

2. The sweet deal I got at Goodfreakinwill.
Dude. So many weird people shop at Goodwill. I think I am going to start going EVERY Saturday just to hear the crazy stuff people say. Oh wait...I do go every Saturday. And I am weird. Sa-weet. I hope people are blogging about the crazy blond girl who shops at Goodwill.
Anywho-izzle....I found this cute top for fiddy-cents. Don't hate. Just love it with me.
PS...the fedora rocks. I had 3 MEN and one woman tell me so, yesterday. I got warm fuzzies inside my heart. Almost made me want to do a jig in the middle of the HobLob. {Hobby Lobby}

3. I finally hung my Chinese lanterns and poof-balls.
I bought these sweet chinese lanterns at Target a few weeks back...but I didn't want to hang them alone. I needed a bit of color. So I made me some Martha Stewart Poof Balls...I'm pretty sure they are called that. Anyway...I am in love.

4. I had another photo shoot, and they pictures turned out so amazing...
I literally gasped when I edited this one. This picture is so stunning. I can't wait to finish the rest. They were so so so cute and fun to work with. Loved it!

5. This sicknast, hideous piece of putrescence that I found at Goodwill, for a bone.
OK, so I saw this ugly thing hiding behind a bunch of other stinky crap, and I had a design intervention. Now, I get these design interventions alot...but this one came on strong. My spidey sense tingled, and the sky opened up and I swear I heard a few charobs singing "prrrrrrraise GOODWILL!...oh...and COSTA VIDA TOOOO!". So I picked it up and took it to the cash register. And in line I heard some people go, "I canNOT believe she is buying that." Well the laughs on them, because I knew why I was buying it......

Check it, ya'll!
I removed the decaying velvet. I sanded down the exposed glue. And then I hand painted the entire thing. Took foreverz, but it has easily become my favorite project I have ever done.

the end.

PS....EVERYONE go enter Tori's super cool giveaway! It's for a free HEADER! Go here!

gum.

I love

ted...but he is crazy.

let me tell you a little story...

So...I will admit it...
I'm pretty much a lazy butt when it comes to filling up water bottles.
I used to not have an excuse for this behavior, so I would just bat my eyelashes, and feed ted some food, and he would forgive me for my misdeeds.
Lately, there has been whisperings that when you refill waterbottles, you will get cancer. I think that is a crock of poop, but hey! PERFECT excuse for not re-filling them bottles. "But The Tedward! If I refill the bottles, I will contract cancer and die..and it will be your fault!"
So anyway...that is the premise for the story.
Lauren doesn't fill water bottles.
She just drinks the water.


So, get this...
Earlier this week, I was straight up about to die from deydration.
Pretty much, if I took the energy to walk to the cupboard, and pour myself a glass of water, I would have very literally died. If I hadn't died from the dehydration, I would have died from the impact of my head hitting the hard floor when I passed out from sheer exhaustion.
Luckily, I saw a water bottle on the ledge, with about two gulps-worth of precious water in it.
Knowing it was Ted's water, but not caring, I greedily grabbed the bottle and gulped the water down. Why did the water taste like toothpaste?
Oh don't you worry...Ted had spit out his gum into the water bottle.
And don't you worry...the gum had slurped its way into my mouth.
Umm...hi. That is the sick-to-the-nast.
I pretty much yelled "Ughhhhh!" and dry heaved, I was so sicked out.
But I got over it.




FAST FORWARD to this evening.




"Ted, I don't know what to blog about"...
"How about Malt-O-Meal cereals?"...
"Ted, that is lamespice. I am thirsty. Get me water"...
{gets me water}
I take a huge drink.
Hmm...strange....tastes like toothpa...WAIT A MINUTE.
{looks at bottle}
"TED! Why is the gum still in here?!"
{yells.dry heaves.yells SICKNAST.}
"Haha. Oh. At least you have something to blog about."


the end.

style icons {featuring: Miss Ashley}

I know a girl by the name of Ashley. She is stunningly beautiful, super sweet, and her fashion sense is fantastic. I have always been in awe of her. Her outfits are always so unique, and she truly shines in them. I have always looked up to Ashley in so many ways, so it only made sense to feature her on my blog. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Ashley is so beautiful, and so darling. Without further ado, I introduce to you, Miss Ashley.

Q.I get a lot of my fashion inspiration from watching the show "Gossip Girl" and from following blogs like "What I Wore". Where do you get your fashion inspiration?

A. I don’t really watch TV and I try to stay away from the magazine isle, but I probably get most of my inspiration from decades/eras or what mood I’m in. I think of my outfits more like costumes that reflect the part or character I’m portraying that day. I don’t have much inhibition when it comes to fashion. I just like to have fun with it and if people like it, then cool. If they think, “What the heck was she thinking?!” (Which my mom often does) then that’s fine too. I would probably be bored if I wasn’t raising a few eyebrows. But really, what I’ve realized is that if you do it with confidence and don’t second-guess your choices, most people will appreciate what you’re doing even if they wouldn’t necessarily do it themselves.

Q. Who do you think had the best style in old Hollywood, and why...

A.Certainly this is much too difficult! I adore Elizabeth Taylor in Father of the Bride, Jackie-O was charming, Grace Kelly in Rear Window was a class act, Marilyn Monroe (when she wore clothes) was always glamorous, and I would kill for Audrey Hepburn’s wardrobe in Funny Face or Roman Holiday or Carol Channing’s in Thoroughly Modern Millie! I mostly like them because they’re style was the epitome of femininity. I feel like sometimes women get skewed in the wrong direction with equal rights, and being on the same level with men. Having equal rights doesn’t mean we have to look like men too! I’m happy that women possess different qualities than men and that our bodies are different and beautiful, so I’m not afraid to
portray that.

Q.Who do you think has the best style in Hollywood these days and why...

A. Man, I wish I had an opinion on this. I’m so bad with names of anyone right now. I just don’t have that much respect for many of the starlets, so I don’t pay them much attention. I really love Zoey Deschanel editorially, but in magazine shoots someone is styling you, so I don’t really know enough about her to say I love her style, I assume, though, that we have similar tastes because you probably wouldn’t let someone dress you in something you
hated, right?

Q. Where is your favorite place to shop?

A. Well…I get my stuff from all over the place. From thrift/antique shops to the sale racks of Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie, so can’t really say I have a favorite, but I’m pretty sure the catalogue from Anthro couldn’t be anymore beautiful to look at, right? Sadly, most of their clothes don’t fit me right. Forever 21 is always a good place to pick up fun necklaces and sunglasses for cheap, so I’m a fan.

Q. A lot of women love shoes. I am an "accessory girl". I would rather have a ton of accessories than a ton of shoes. Are you a shoe girl, or an accessory girl?

A. Oh! I do love a great pair of shoes, but I really only need 2 or 3 beauties and I can figure out ways to make them work with anything. Right now my shoe of choice are these fabulous rainbow huaraches that I wear constantly, those, or a sassy pair of heels and I’m content. My favorite accessories are definitely waist cinchers, funky, mismatched earrings, and when it’s not too hot, scarves.

Q. What is your favorite piece of clothing?

A. I have this green slouch cardigan that is the same color of my eyes that is probably my favorite staple piece. I wear it all the time. Summer makes me sad, because I’m a BIG fan of cardigans. I also love dresses, skirts, and waist cincher belts! What can I say? I enjoy
being a girl.

Q. How would you describe your style?

A. Eccentric. Like I said, I don’t really have a distinct style. It’s all just a costume to me. I have a lot of sides to my personality that come out with different people (is this a sign of schizophrenia…?) and this quality is quite apparent in my style choices. It’s always changing. Sometimes I wish I could just make a choice on what I want my style to be, so that I could justify spending a little more on my clothes, but I can’t, so I just continue to be a cheapskate-- filling my closet with a plethora of fashions. I find myself most drawn to a sort of bohemian/hippie/1970s and classic/feminine/1950s, so if I had to choose, I suppose it would be between those two.

Q. This is totally unrelated to fashion, but what do you hope to do as a career?

A. Um, I’ve thought about this a lot and whom I would really like to work for is Captain Planet, but ever since the flat-top mullet made its collapse back in 1991 I haven’t had much luck in getting in touch with him or the other Planeteers, so I feel a bit lost when it comes to my future plans. Maybe run a vintage clothing store, be a costume coordinator, or perhaps a fashion photographer. I like to be in control of things…

I hope you all were as inspired by Ashley, as I am. She truly is amazing.
Thank you, Ashley!
xoxo

what's lauren happy about?

1. This awesome yellow belt.
I scored it at Goodwill a few weeks ago for 50 cents.
It pretty much looks stellar with everything.
Loooooove it.

2. These cute drink labels I made.
I planned a Twilight themed dating lesson for mutual one night.
It was pretty fun.
Don't worry...there was a straight up Edward Cullen poster taped up.

Edward in the church = awesome.

{You can find the template here!}

3. Ted forgot how to use utensils, so Pocket Edward helped him.
I think the waiters at The Cheesecake Factory were jealous...
You know, since Ted and Edward were having "a moment".
Presh.

4. "Spot" was on Star Trek!
Umm...hi. I am in love with Spot from Newsies.
I think I love him more in the Star Trek get-up.
Am I right, or am I right?

5. The Tedward and I went to Payson on Memorial Day.
And it was quite memorable.
How cute.
But seriously.
We went on a walk...and discovered this lake-thing.
(BTW...I made that headband :) )

Check out the sleeping ducks right behind us. So cute!

6. Handmade headbands, by me!
I spent a Saturday morning, a few weeks ago, sewing headbands.
Pretty much have a butt-load by now.
I think this is my favy fav one.

7. Pocket Edward's eyebrows getting "touched up"...
BFF Lindsay noticed a little "rub-off" on his wee eyebrows.
Luckily she had a furniture touch up pen haha.
He looks so fresh, and nice.
"fresh"....Sick. haha!

8. Crafting with two of my favorite girls.
We made some headbands for baby Navy.
She is pretty much blingin' it up with her cute flower headbands.

9. Finding this crap at Goodwill for a total of 9 bones!
First off, I was embarrassed to buy the "footprints" poem thingy. Umm...hi. Soooo cheese-ball.
Secondly, someone totally gave away their child's silhouette to Goodwill. So sad.
"Welp.....Big Gulps huh? See ya later!"

10. I went a little spray paint crazy and repainted a ton of crap.
I looooooove this formally white candle stick, as a rosy pink.
Soooo cute.

11. Ted bought me this beauty at a boutique in Payson.
Totally overpriced.
And I had buyer's remorse.
But I quickly got over that!
Check it...

12. Some newly painted stuff...
The red column thingy, was sicknast when I bought it at Goodwill.
But after painting it red, it looked super NOT sicknast.
Then...that blue blingy thing was found at a thrift store in Payson for dirt cheap.
It was originally white, but I thought the aqua "Lar-ified" it.

13. All of these frames are from the thrift store
And I spray painted them (obviously)
And I made an arrangement in the bathroom.
Pretty much my favorite part of my home, now.

14. I was sick of the gold color on this mirror.
So I Lar-ified it as well.
I am in love.

15. My favorite thing I made on Saturday...
I bought a ton of high quality silk flowers (because I am a silk flower snob)
And some white feathers.
And a blingin' candle holder.
And voila! A summer flower arrangement!

the end.