today i...

dude. i get that the barefoot contessa is like legit, and super awesome at cooking, but DUDE.
DUUUUDE. she is so boring. i have tried so many times to watch her show, but always find myself switching the channel to watch THE cook on television: "Live with Emeril".




with that being said, i was a barefoot contessa, today...
you know...with my little toesies that have been so neglected.
CAN-NOT wait to have them french tipped this weekend for my birthday.

anyway, i woke up at 8AM and started to make dinner. yes...dinner.
i diced up half of a large sweet onion.
1 red bell pepper
8 cloves of garlic
1 large eggplant


i drizzled the veggies with olive oil, and seasoned with basil/salt/pepper



i then roasted the veggies for 5 hours in the oven at 250 degrees.
the SLOW roasting is the key.



mmm...soooo delicious...



i then scooped up the roasted veggies and plopped them into the blender, along with half a jar of our favorite tomato sauce.

i blended it all together, and added a little more sauce because it got a little thick.

i then cooked up a little ground turkey, stirred in the sauce, and then slow cooked the sauce some more in the crock pot for 3 hours. let me just tell you...it was the best sauce ever.


after dinner i FINALLY framed my "keep calm" poster.
i figured it was time, considering i got it for my birthday LAST YEAR.

happiness.

ted and i are really sad and worried right now.
you see, his older sister sarah, who i am really close to, is in the hospital.
a couple years ago she had a tumor removed from her brain, and unfortunately it has grown back at a very rapid rate.
tomorrow she will be going in for surgery, and we pray that it will go smoothly.
sarah is such a lovely, wonderful mother to 3 beautiful boys.
she has always been so kind to me, and i have a special connection to her.
please pray for sarah, and her boys.



when i feel down, or sad, i go on dates with myself.
after a photo shoot today, i decided to take some time to be alone with my thoughts.
and while i was at it, i snapped a few photos of the beautiful, arizona sky...

i am happy because i am surrounded by beauty, everywhere.
i am an architecture junky. i love to look at it, and marvel at it, and swoon over it.
i am happy that i am in a design program that stretches the part of my brain that likes to be stretched creatively. as opposed to...scientifically or mathematically.



i am happy because i am fortunate to live close to my parents.
here i am sitting at my laptop just tearing up at the thought of them.
they are such great examples of love. it is encompassing.
i don't think there were ever greater parents on this earth.
i enjoy working at the same office as my dad.
i enjoy my daily jogs with my mom. she makes me feel special.



i am happy because i have been given trials throughout my life.
i feel like i can relate to other's pain and frustrations better, now that i have felt them.
i feel like i have gained a stronger testimony through the challenges i have faced.
i am happy, because i can appreciate the happier times better.
life is good, and God is good.

i am happy that ted has a job.
despite the loneliness i have felt because of his late hours this week, we are blessed.
and it makes me that much happier when he comes home.


what are you happy about?

last call for february sponsors!

february is my favorite month in the year.
it is the home of my favorite day of the year...my birthday!
anyone that knows me, knows i love my birthday more than the average person.
seriously...you think i am kidding? i am not. srsly.
so...with that being said, there will be lots of fun happening here at Busy Bee Lauren!


therefore...


february is the perfect time to be a sponsor!
i accept shop owners (etsy, bigcartel, whatev!), photographers, blog designers, artists...
my readers love pretty, inspiring and unique things to purchase...
so, if you are wanting some great exposure, just shoot me an email.
sunday, january 31st is the last day to sign up for february.

xo!

we brought it upon ourselves...

tedward and i laughed a whole lot last night.


it all began with us laughing out of sheer fear of nancy pelosi.
it doesn't matter what emotion that she is feeling, she always has the same face!
and that face resembles Eyzma's from "emperor's new groove".
we laughed and laughed.


and then we laughed some more, after out fear again, when we got our job at church.
we will be teaching the 5 year olds for 2 hours.
and we are told it's the biggest group.
and "they take a while to settle down".
hmm. we pulled out our version of "the good stuff" aka, golden spoon, and ate ourselves tipsy.
and laughed and laughed.

the real doozy was when i asked ted to rub my feet.
you see, i was laying in bed, and ted was walking by the foot of the bed.
i slyly pushed my feet out of the end of the comforter and wiggled my feeties at him.
no words were said. he knew his duty, and he knew he needed to perform the task pronto.
as i relaxed and closed my eyes, preparing myself for the gloriousness of a foot rub....
he ATTACKED! and by ATTACKED i mean he assaulted me with foot tickles.
um. no.
rule number one of living with lauren is NO NO TICKLES! i haaaate tickles.
so when he held my ankles down with his iron grip, and tickled my feet into submission, i knew something had to be done and i knew it needed to be done fast.
i said a quick mental prayer for Hulk-strength to take over my body, and hello...it worked!
my ankles broke free and i started to feverishly kick. i kicked as hard as i could.
anything to get those grubby little tedward hands out of the reach of my feet!
he then exclaims, "WATCH OUT! I DON'T WANT YOU TO KICK ME 'THUUUR'. YOU MIGHT CAUSE US TO HAVE DEFORMED KIIIIIIIIDS!"
i then calmly said, "hmm. i am pretty sure we secured our fate of deformed kids when we started making fun of certain babies."
his response? "touche."


and then we laughed for a good 10 minutes more.

congrats to...

you won the necklace! email me and i can get you set up with Lisa :)

"it's been a hard day's night...

...and i've been workin' like a dog."

if you asked me how many photo shoots i still need to edit, i would tell you, 11.
and if you asked if i have been getting any sleep, i would say, "no".

the good news is, after hours of teaching, ted has finally mastered my style of editing!
i now will be the photographer, and he will be the master editor! (sigh of relief)

by the way, this is the perfect pick me up when you've been workin' like a dog, and NOT sleepin' like a log...

mmm...yogurt, frozen blueberries and pecans.


get in mah bellay!

PS...a winner for the Lisa Leonard necklace will be drawn tonight. you still have time to enter!

PPS, or is it PSS?...meh, anyway...I'm kicking off the BBL Birthday celebration by offering FREE shipping in the Busy Bee Headband Shoppe! Take advantage of the awesomeness!

five guys...

so my brother, ty got this sweet new job and he had his first day on monday!
ted and i decided to join ty and sierra in celebrating his new job, by going out to din din.
ty got to pick wherever he wanted to go...and he chose "Five Guys".
now, i am not a big hamburger fan, nor am i into eating meat lately...
but, it was ty's celebration, so i was all down for it.

i really liked the bulletin boards that had Five Guys testimonies everywhere.
some of the drawings reminded me of Napoleon Dynamite, when he draws that legit Liger.
actually, i am pretty sure that is a Liger...or a maybe a dog. whichever.



the fries were rather tasty.
i didn't eat too many, but the ones that i had were deliciouspice.
mmm....empty carbs.





you can get whatever toppings you want on your burger.
ty told me the hot sauce was amazing, so i got that instead of ketchup.
shut the front door, because it was AMAZING.
i also got lettuce, tomato, and grilled mushrooms.
want to know what sucks? they forgot my mushrooms. lamespice.





ted ordered grilled 'shrooms as well, and they forgot to put them on too. what the crap?
ted also got jalapeno. i think his mouth was on fire. but that's cool.


all in all...the burger was really tasty. and ted loved his too.
however, i felt like i was sweating grease when i was working out this morning.
ew. i know. ew.
I will stick with portabello burgers! yumspice.

a giveaway winner!

"lauren lives in a dream world..." blah blah blah.
i see that sentence from the naysayers every once and a while, and it really bugs.
here is the deal. yes, sometimes life sucks.
sometimes we don't have very much money, and then a random bill comes in the mail.
sometimes we get flat tires, that cost an arm and a leg.
sometimes ted get's a ticket for not registering his truck, and then happens to not have his proof of insurance with him when the cop pulls him over.
sometimes i have a ginormous growth in my boob and the doctors won't take the time to figure out what it is.
sometimes we really don't like living in our crazy apartment.
sometimes life just stinks, but we do what everyone else does...keep trucking along.
we count our blessings.
we do fun things together.
we are grateful for each other, our family and our friends.
we are grateful for our jobs.
we are grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
we are grateful that we can continue our education.
we are thankful for life experiences that bring us closer as a couple.
we are CREATING happiness, instead of dwelling on the life-crap.

with that being said, it's time to announce a winner for the lovestitched rose earrings!
some have asked how i choose a winner. i use a random generator...so here goes:

Congrats, Jenny!
email me, and they will get sent out to their new home :)

polaroid day + another BBL giveaway!

ted and i own two polaroid cameras.
both were purchased at our favorite goodwill.
sometimes we like to take our polas with us out on "polaroid dates"
the dates include us taking way too many pictures, and then when we get home we tack them to the photo wall. love it.
sunday afternoons are perfect for pola dates. we get to be creative together.
once i scan the polas, i will put them up here...in the mean time, here are the images from our wonderful little canon powershot.

me wearing the "allison". it's my favorite of the headbands. it goes with so many outfits, and can be worn two different ways. now that i have bangs, it looks best this way...

tedward, adjusting the settings on the "spectra" polaroid. the spectra is cool because it takes a square shaped film, as opposed to the regular rectangular one.

this is my pola camera...her name is "phoebe".


now, for ANOTHER giveaway!
i was so excited when i received my necklace from Lisa Leonard, and then when you all saw the pictures of it on the blog a few days ago, you were all wanting one too!

the good news is, one of you will be able to win one!
when you win, you will be able to personalize this style of necklace, with whatever you want!
i mean, if you want it to say "ted and lauren"...that's cool too. aint no thing.

i love the details on this charming necklace.
1. it's personalized.
2. the pretty pearl.
3. the "xo" on the back.


make sure to check out more of Lisa's designs at her shop! she is so very talented.

all you have to do is comment by this Wednesday at 7:00 PM, AZ time.

good luck!

meet gizmo! and a BBL giveaway...

so the whole meat thing wasn't workin' out for me.
no matter how many egg whites, beans and nuts i was eating, i wasn't getting enough protein.
so, i added back in some chicken. chicken=yum.
a couple nights ago i decided to make a healthy version of chicken salad...

cubed chicken ( i cooked 4 boneless skinless tenders)
large spoonful of light sour cream
large spoonful of fat free, plain yogurt
a touch of mayo made with olive oil
squirt of spicy mustard
juice of half a lemon
lots of seasonings. just an assortment of your favs, to taste
handful of dehydrated cranberries
diced green bell pepper
handful of raw half walnuts
quartered cherry tomatoes
diced avocado

mix all together, and chill in the freezer for 20 minutes, or for at least an hour in fridge.
serve on 9 grain toast. die of deliciousness.




want to meet our little baby?




that's our dear little Gizmo.
he is 3 months old, and so so so cute and sweet.
he likes fresh green beans, and tasty mango.
he likes to play with his little bouncy ball, and sit on the top perch.
he likes at least 12 hours of sleep, and to be covered with a quilted blankie.
he is really quiet, and is still adjusting to BBL home life, but he is a happy birdie.
we love him!


in other news...i love the way my sofa contrasts with the aqua colored paint on the walls, and how you can see the gray wall of the hallway peeking through. paint makes me happy...





want to know what else makes me happy?
BBL giveaways!
The lovely Brittany from Love Stitched was sweet enough to send me these beautiful earrings so that I could give them away to one of you lovely ladies! I love the gorgeous blue roses. Aren't they so charming? I think they have a lovely vintage feel to them..

Brittany makes other beautiful earrings! I own a pair of her cute rose stud earrings, and they are so pretty. Ted loves them too :) Everyone go check out her wonderful etsy shop!

all you have to do to enter is comment by this Monday at 7:00 PM Arizona time.

xo!

fringe.

i have been wanting bangs for a while, so my mama (who is an excellent hairstylist) decided to be awesome and cut me some today.
she told me the cooler, and prettier name for bangs, is "fringe".
i am going to adopt that...because really, "bangs"? it's a that's-what-she-said joke just waiting to happen.

and here's the finished product! i heart them. thanks mama face!
oh...and sorry for the crappy image.
my phone is my back-up camera when i am in a hurry or too lazy to pull out a legit camera.


hope you all are having a happy weekend!

hair "how to"

i curl my hair a lot.

it is my hair-do of choice, so basically my curling iron and i are BFF.
well, this year i started going over to my mom's house in the mornings to work out, so after the workout i get ready for school there, and then head on off to do my bidness. naturally that means i have one set of makeup there, and one at home. the same thing goes for toothbrushes, straighteners, etc. one thing i don't have a duplicate of is a curling iron. so, at my mom's is the curling iron, and at home i am left without one.


being a human, i adapt to my unfortunate surroundings.
i had always heard that you could use your straightener to curl your hair, as long as the iron plates weren't wider than an inch...or somethin' like that. i also heard that it was nearly impossible to do if you didn't have short hair. i have also heard that zac efron is the hottest thing ever. basically what i am saying is, i hear a lot of things.


on one desperate day, i decided to be a big girl and test it out...and i ended up LOVING it.
it creates loose waves, that when tousled, looks pretty awesomespice.
here's how i did it...

i clamp a two inch section at the root, and then rotate the iron AWAY from my face, very slowly. with each rotation give yourself a little slack, as to let your hair easily slide through, between the plates. make sure not to clamp for too long in one section, or you will get a crease in your hair. it's all about "smooth sailing". yes...i just made that up. also, i like to leave about a little less than an inch of "ends" poking out, so that it doesn't look too finished. but, that's just me.


tousle, and spray!


the end.

missing dress.

and i am fairly certain that my favorite vintage dress was stolen from the laundry room at our apartment. i think this, because a few weeks after we moved in, a woman had her clothes stolen. i warned ted that i didn't want my clothes washed there for that very reason, but ted...being a sweet, forgetful fellow, washed them anyway. that is the last time i have seen my dress, and i have been sad.

in the mean time i have been spying on the neighbors to see if they are using my dress to cover their body, or to dust their furniture with, or heaven forbid...swat the bums of their really loud kids. who knows. i will keep you updated on the missing-but-probably-stolen-polka-dot-dress.

















have a happy day!


ps. school sucks. kthanxbye!
no, really. it does.
kbye.

reasons why today was awesome.

today was the happiest day of the year, thus far.


we woke up to a beautiful overcast day. overcast days are my favorite days.
it was chilly, and the wind was blowing, and it was so lovely.

ted and i worked out together, until we were panting and our muscles ached.
after, we got ready for the day and went shopping for a new addition to our family.
we went to the cutest little specialty bird store, and i was able to pick out my very own baby cockatiel for an early birthday present. i named him "gizmo" and he is soooo precious. we are excited to bring him home on thursday afternoon. his new cage and toys we bought him are sitting, waiting patiently for him in his own little space of "casa de busy bee". SQUEE!

to the pet store i wore my favorite purple tights, along with my fake Uggs, and my recently thrifted green skirt. this outfit was super comfy to wear, and ted said it was "cute".

i made us a healthy, balanced brunch.
it included a whole wheat pita loaf, broken into quarters, then toasted with a roma tomato slice and a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese. while toasting it in the oven, i scrambled up some eggs. once they were all done, i pulled out the toasting pitas, and added a bit of sliced avocado. wash it down with a glass of skim milk, and dude...best brunch ever.

my lovely best friend, Lindsay, and her darling baby Navy modeled my new headbands for the Busy Bee Shoppe! I am really excited about these headbands. A lot of time and creativity went into them, and I hope you all like them.

a few of you have wondered where i get my names for the headbands. they are all named after special women in my life. so, if you think it is named after you, it probably is. these women have helped me become a better, more creative, and stronger person. i love them all.

this time in the shoppe, i am offering baby headbands.
there will be many more styles to come, including the ever popular "sophie" headband.

hope you all had a lovely MLK day!
and, have fun shopping in the BBL shoppe!
xo