winter uniform.

similar styles / sweater / jeans / boots  / hat /

it's hard to believe these pictures were taken at the end of december & we had 40 degree weather accompanied by no snow. writing this now, the wind chill is below zero & there's plenty of white stuff to go around. sometimes, it's not easy looking cute without freezing your tail off this time of year. there's nothing wrong with keeping your sweaters on replay. i love this fair isle hat & sweater combo. not having to do your hair? helloooo, sign me up. stay warm, lovelies. 

xoxo. lauren. 

buffalo check.

similar styles: / flannel / striped shirt / leggings / ankle booties /

buffalo check is one of my favorite patterns that gets us through fall & winter.  it's probably the midwest  in me that considers it a tribute to paul bunyan. except cuter. flannels are a straight up gift from above during this balmy season. i love the boyfriend style that fits a tad bigger & more relaxed (a must after the holiday season). also, don't be afraid of a little pattern mixing! i love the striped tee that peeks out of this one. keeping my looks simple & relaxed as well because classes start back up in a day! eeeeek! 

xoxo. lauren. 

all black erry'thing.

/cape: similar / long sleeve / leggings  / ankle booties: similar/ 

okay, okay, okay, i'll admit it. i'm very late to the neutral game. however, black has been the name of my game lately & i don't intend on quitting anytime soon. i love the simplicity of this look. a cape is a closet staple this season. i've worn mine to class, work, & to the grocery store. i paired mine with some ankle booties to dress it up, but you could also pair yours with your favorite riding boots! & the best part? the cape will be on repeat this week keeping me warm against the subzero temperatures only the midwest can offer.

xoxo. lauren.

two thousand fifteen goals.

2014 was the year of the horse according to the chinese zodiac calendar & i'm certainly not going to argue with them. it moved swiftly & i'll admit at times i had a hard time keeping up. many areas of my life changed & this year hit me with just as many lessons. i'm grateful for every second of it.

i've decided i need to put my focus on these areas this year:

plan to plan.

i've never had a problem getting my list of to-do's done. in great timing, though? not so much. my goal is to up my planning skills in the upcoming year. i won't have that much free time to spare in between work & school. the spare time i do have, i want to be spent doing the things i enjoy. (friends, blogging, etc.) i need to put myself on a stricter schedule & hold myself accountable for the deadlines i am given or that i give myself.

look ahead.

i have written about struggling with enjoying the moment & living in the present before. this year i want to make a conscious effort about putting my energy in the present & not wasting it worrying about the past. it's hard to forget about the should'ves, could'ves, would'ves that cloud our minds on a daily basis.  i need to understand that everything that happens in my life will ultimaetly lead me to the place i need to be. i have to remember that the ships of the past have sailed & the only thing i can do is wave goodbye from the dock.

take care.

taking care of your physical & emotional self takes a lot of work. sometimes this can take a backseat with the hustle & bustle of life. i want to make healthier decisions for myself. i want to make dates with the gym a permanent part of my weekly schedule. i want to learn how to cook actual meals for myself & really focus on getting in my fruits & veggies. my car recently got some sort of the flu, (i don't speak car) & i realized i'm not financially prepared for these kinds of unexpected moments. i want to better budget my money & ask myself, do i want it, need it, or gotta have it. i also want to grow in my faith & have that be the number one force that drives my life.

be present. 

i've noticed i get caught up in the world on the internet way too often & i miss the one that is right in front of me. social media has taken an embarrassing priority in my life & i'm not pleased about it. i want to say yes more to social hangouts with friends. i want to silence my phone & truly enjoy the moments i share with people who mean the most to me.

2014 left us as quickly as it came. it had some really great moments with some really bad moments in-between. i think that's what we can expect from every year, though. i love the clean slate that a new year can bring. i'm excited to see where this year will take me.

xoxo. lauren.

seasons of life.

with another season of my young adult life under my belt, i can't help but notice how many (needed) lessons god has thrown my way this semester. i just arrived home in wisconsin for a couple days for the holidays, & i've had some time to reflect on the whirlwind of a couple months that just took place.

so far, so good on the apartment front. i've managed to not set the place or myself on fire. i still don't know how to cook, therefore i'm quite hungry most of the time. my meals consist of frozen smart one dinners & a fair share of mediocre sandwiches. i'm so bad of a cook that i mixed the seasoning & water in a separate bowl when i made tacos for the first time…. yeah, i'm still embarrassed as i type that out three months later. i don't think i can consider myself an adult until i can turn a frozen chicken breast into an edible one. every time i head to the grocery store i think to myself, "yeah, this is the week i'm gong to start cooking." i buy an excessive amount of ingredients for just myself & the meals i think i'm going to make. my success rate of completing these meals is at 0%. sadly, my roommates are getting used to my moldy food taking up space in our fridge. "who's nasty cheese is this..?! it's been here for weeks." "it's probably lauren's." yes, there's a 100% chance it is. this is a reminder of the excess i carry around in my life. less will always be more.

i like to consider myself half & half on the introverted/extroverted scale. i love my social life, but i love my alone time a tad bit more. so, much to my surprise i've throughly enjoyed sharing my living space with my roommates. we've made it through half of our time together with minimal drama (you can't put five girls in a four bedroom apartment & expect it to be sunshine & roses). coming home after a long day to woman you feel comfortable telling anything to, is something that i've come to love & i'm sure will miss once our time comes to an end. we've shared some hilarious moments & some not so laughable ones, but i'm so glad i have them along my side as we go through some of the same seasons in our lives. i'm confident in saying that they are the reason i love my time at college so much. it's so heartwarming to know that my friends who were strangers a year ago, have turned into my second family.

somehow i finished my third semester of college. "the best years" of my life are going by at lightening speed. i'm at peace with this though, because that means that exams are almost a thing of the past & soon i'll be kicking ass at my dream job. i didn't finish as strong as i would've liked, but i'm using that as fuel for second semester's fire. falling behind & procrastinating are things i'm very good at. luckily, i've always been able to finish what i need to even if it's at 11:58, a minute before the dropbox closes at 11:59. i'm not going to start advocating procrastination because it adds way more stress to my life than there needs to be, but so far it hasn't completely failed me. my goal for next semester is to be way more organized & to put the complimentary school planner to good use. i want my sunday nights to be filled with church & netflix. starting your week off with hours of homework is just way too depressing. why i continue to torture myself with it is something i'll never understand.

as you can see, i've taken an embarrassing leave of absence from this blog. i let school, work, & life become top three in my life & the free time i did have was spent doing absolutely nothing. i've missed writing & connecting with ya'll. i'm hoping to use winter break as a chance to recharge & get re-inspired in my little corner of the internet. stay tuned for lots of catch up posts!

i hope this finds you curled up on the couch at your own home, enjoying the holiday season & cherishing your loved ones. i'm off to do the same. 

xoxo. lauren.

instagram ketchup.

here's what my life has looked like lately on instagram. it's prettier with a filter.

xoxo. lauren.

learning process.

^^ god rocks, ya'll. passed this on my way home from class & noticed it when i needed it the most. ^^

i haven't been here as much as i've liked & i've been itching to get a writing session out. bare with me, here. school has been in session for about a month now, & over the three month long summer break i seemed to have forgotten how it works. i've come to the realization that i took not having a job & naps on the futon for granted last year. (i've only napped twice, so far. what?!?) nothing is more of a slap in the face than being on your own. i need to work five days a week in order to afford my life, & the other two days are now filled with appointments & new found grown up duties. also came to another realization that this is how it's going to be for the rest of my life.

i'm currently struggling with how to "do" my new chapter. balance is key, they say. & i myself don't know how to balance. there aren't enough hours in the day to do school, work, & life in general. learning how to prioritize what i have to do to get it all done is my new challenge & so far i've failed. i'll be a little dramatic & say i feel like i'm drowning. i'm up to my knees in homework & when i come home from work all i really want to do is sleep & watch sherlock (my current obsession). i think my key to having a balance is going to be sacrifice. i'm not going to get to watch sherlock every night & i'm not going to get to go to every activity my friends partake in like i want to. my new reality is that i have no choice but to do homework after work & the world isn't going to end when i miss out on things. i've got to start holding myself accountable & kick my to-do list's ass every. single. day.

i've been making a conscious effort to attend church every sunday morning, & i've been amazed at the result. i feel so much more grounded & centered after i leave. it's the kick i need to set my week off on the right note. i've learned that on the other side of all the curveballs life is throwing at me, god is always going to be there. my faith is the one thing i can't afford to loose.

one wise soul i used to know said this about how to tackle life's valleys and peaks. using this as my new battle plan & life mantra: 

"the way i go about any type of challenge, no matter how big or small: i break it down into
small parts that i can manage without being overwhelmed. it’s a continually evolving process, since every challenge is different, and i have to adapt to unexpected changes. i’m lucky that i enjoy observing details and fixing things (it’s the “enginerd” in me). after all, life is a continual progression of challenges, so if you can find pleasure in actively overcoming each one, you’ll have an unending supply of opportunities to experience the satisfaction of a job well-done." 

i'm not always going to have it together, life is a process. leaning that, that's okay though.
xoxo. lauren.