ABM and Picmonkey

{Day 23}

Favorite Instagram Editing Apps/Editing Tools For Your Blog

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By far my favorite editing app is A Beautiful Mess. I believe it is $1.99 but to me its worth the money. You can also buy little extensions for $.99 each. I love using it to make quick little pictures for the blog and to had fun elements to some of the pictures I take. Plus the add looks really cute on your home screen.

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I also use Picmonkey a lot to make more intense and complicated edits to my pictures. When I first started blog I only used picmonkey because its free and easy to use. In the Past I have made most of my blog elements (header, background, etc.) with pic monkey.  I would recommend it to everyone!

xoxo,
Lauren

Peeving Me Out!

{Day 22}

Pet Peeve

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I really don't have many pet peeves. I'm not a hard person to please

Slow walkers 

I'm a fast walker to begin with so when someone is walking extra slow I get extremely annoyed. Plus I have zero patience so I get even more annoyed when I have to wait to go around them.

People who slam their dorm room dorms 

This mostly applies to when I am sleeping and its like 9 in the morning. Both of our neighbors slam their doors and wake me up almost every single weekend morning.

Chewing with your mouth open

It is extremely gross to me and my brother does it all the time. I am constantly telling him to shut his mouth at dinner.

Common grammar errors

These include the they're vs their vs there and to vs too vs two. I also hate when people don't use proper capitalization.

When Pandora just skips a song in the middle of it playing 

I didn't even think about this one until I was almost done writing this post and Pandora just skipped the song I was in the middle of listening to. 

xoxo,

Lauren

Dreaming of Disney

{Day 21}

Dream Vacation

I am going to be such a child here and say my dream vacation is Disney World. I went back in 2007 but I was so young that I don't remember much. Plus I want to see the new things they have especially Tangled. I would go just to see Tangled really.

Some of the attractions on my list that I want to see the most include Cinderella's Castle, Jungle Cruise, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Space Mountain, and Stitch's Great Escape. Now I've seen most of these but who says you can't see them more than once!

Cinderella's Castle

Jungle Cruise

Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor

Space Mountain

Stitch's Great Escape 

I really want to dress up all cute like the characters too. Have you seen the Disney bound outfits on pinterest or tumblr?! They are the cutest things ever! It would be so fun having people guess what I am and to be able to dress up.

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Someone please take me to Disney!!!

xoxo,
Lauren

Fears

{Day 20}

Your Biggest Fear

I'm one of those people who has completely irrational fears that are actually kind of fun. They will bring people a nice laugh honestly.

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Food Poisoning

Who wants food poisoning?! No one and that's why I'm so afraid afraid of getting it. I've never had food poisoning but it still scares me so much. When it comes to for I won't eat something if it looks weird or if it has an expired date. It drives my mom crazy because there really isn't anything wrong with the food I just don't want to get sick.

Being Forgotten

I have no idea why this is such a big fear of mine but I'm always afraid that my friends will forget me. I'm afraid that they will do something or go somewhere and not tell me. If we have plans I'm always afraid that they will cancel them for no reason. I become that annoying friend and keep asking if they are coming and are they ready.

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Shopping Carts

Now this is the one fear that makes everyone laugh. I am so afraid of getting run over by a shopping cart it causes anxiety. This is a fear I developed from experience. My little sister ran my foot over once and it resulted in it gushing blood. I was scarred for life.

xoxo,
Lauren

What Makes Me Happy

{Day 19}

What Makes You Happy

Chocolate Milk
Finding New Songs
Anything Tangled
Home Cooked Meals
Taking A Good Selfie
Snow Days
Heart to Hearts With My Best Friend
Dance Parties In The Dorm Room
Looking At Old Pictures
Seeing Someone or Something From My High School
Spontaneous Adventures
Being Proud of Myself
Finding A New Favorite Show
Netflix Marathons
Getting a Package From My Online Order
Working In The Two Year Old Room At Work
Roses
Being Told My Little Cousins Missed Me
Candid Pictures 

xoxo,

Lauren 

Shhhhh!

{Day 18}

Share A Secret About You

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Well if I tell you guys one of my secrets than its not a secret anymore. But since I'm so nice I'll tell you one secret that not many people know about me. Now before I tell this secret I want everyone to know that I hardly ever talk about it. I can count on one hand how many people know this secret and it took me almost 3 years before I even opened my mouth and told people. As of right now my best friend knows and one girl who I am no longer friends with knows. It is taking a lot of courage for me to tell you guys.

My sophomore year of high school was the worst year of my life. I suffered with depression that I told no one about. Not a single person knew. Now I wasn't actually diagnosed with depression by a doctor but I believe that is what I had for a year. All I did was sleep and when I wasn't sleeping that's all I wanted to do. School was extremely hard for me. I was so unhappy going.

I can remember the first day of my sophomore year. My friend and I were walking to the bus and I just started crying that's how bad I didn't want to go. I had little to no friends and every single hour spent in school was hell. There were times in class where I was fighting tears because something had happened or someone had said something to me.

The worst part was I thought about taking my life on multiple occasions. One time in particular is so ethiced into my brain that I feel like it happened yesterday. I am so grateful that I never went ahead with my thoughts. I am so proud of myself for fighting through that time and for being here today.

There are times where I feel myself start to slip back into that person again but I fight it. I refuse to go back to that time. It gets hard but I never give up.

Now you know my deepest darkest secret. You now more than most people in my life! 

xoxo,

Lauren 

Running From My Feelings

{Day 17}

I'm An Expert At...

Running from my feelings. I tend to act like I don't have feelings and tell people that I have no feelings for people, guys in particular, when deep down I really do. I will end up ending what little relationship I have with someone because I get scared. I'm afraid of getting hurt again so I run and I run far. I move on so I don't have to deal with the feelings. 

I am numb inside because I don't want to accept those feelings. I have done this multiple times with multiple people because like I said I am an expert at running from my feelings. Feelings are scary guys! 

xoxo,

Lauren

Fall Fashion

{Day 16} 

Fall Fashion

I took to pinterest to compile my favorite fall outfits I have found. Partly because it hasn't been cold enough here for me to dress for fall yet and partly because I never take pictures of my outfits. 

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xoxo,

Lauren 

Dancing Through The Storm

{Day 15} 

Favorite Quote and Why

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Everyone has bad days, weeks, months, even years but its how we deal with them that matters. Yeah we can lay down and be miserable but that's not going to make it better. We need to get up and live. We need to learn how to find the good in everything even if it is the little things that brighten our day. We need to dance in the rain and smile. I love this quote so much. I have a little wood block with this quote on my desk at school and it gives me a little motivation. The storm will pass just give it time. 

xoxo,

Lauren

Picket Line For The Win

{Day 14}

Funniest Memory From Childhood

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The very first thing I thought of when I read this prompt was the time my cousins and I had a picket line in their living room because our parents wouldn't let us do something. I have a feeling that something involved going in the pool or playing outside. Anyway we got mad and went to protest. The signs we used were so funny because they were napkins with writing on them and they were taped to hockey sticks and brooms. The way my aunt and uncle's house is set up made for a perfect picket line. There were two entries into the dinning room/kitchen so we walked in a circle chanting over little rant while the parents sat in the next room over. Everyone got a good laugh out of it. 

xoxo,

Lauren 

Favorite Fall Recipe

{Day 13}

Favorite Fall Recipe

Let's be honest here and say that I hardly cook. I'm a college student for god's sakes! College students only know how to use the microwave (except for me that is). Since I don't cook and my family doesn't really have season-only recipes I thought I would do my own spin on this prompt.

I'm going to tell you about a recipe I would like to try not one of my favorites. I took to pinterest for this one and came across this relish looking dessert. It's called a carmel apple cheesecake bar. First of all who doesn't love carmel and cheesecakes?! Putting them together is even great.

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You can find all of the directions here and try it out for yourself. Hopefully I can make this in the near future and see for myself if it taste as good as it looks.

xoxo,
Lauren

Little Things Are Better Than Big Things

{Day 12}

Best Advice You've Been Given

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This prompt took me such a long time to complete. I'm given advice all the time but I hardly ever take it. I find joy in doing what people tell me not to do and that goes with taking advice. With all that said there is one piece of advice I follow every single day and have for the past 6 years.

Enjoy the little things in life and do little things to better someone's day. 

When I started freshman year of high school I was introduced to St. Therese. She show that it is the little things that matter in life and not the big things. It's her Little Way. I find the most joy in the little things in life. They had up to one big happy life.

So throughout my day I see the little things that make me happy like having peas with dinner or seeing your best friend in passing on the way to class. And I try to do little things for people like holding the door or saying hi to someone who passes.

xoxo,
Lauren

If I Were President

{Day 11}

If You Were President

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Surprisingly I never wanted to be the president growing up. Politics never interest me at all. And really I've never thought about what I would do differently but I do have some fun ideas. Thank god I'm not president!

1. Every house most be decorated for the holidays no matter what you celebrate. Even if its just lights that counts. 

2. One dog must be in every dorm room to help relive the stress of college. 

3. Chick-fil-a should deliver to your front door. Enough said. 

4. There will no longer be skip limits on Pandora. 

5. Free wifi in every single store and business. And not the cheap, slow kind. 

6. Textbooks would be no more than $50. And tuition will be affordable for every single person. 

7. Women would have equal pay. Women would have equal everything. 

8. Same sex marriage is legal everywhere. 

9. Mothers and fathers would receive longer maternity and paternity leave. 

10. Adoption would cost an extreme amount less than it currently does. 

xoxo,
Lauren

Most Surprising Parts of Blogging

{Day 10}

I Never Thought Blogging Would...

...Be this time consuming
...Be this fun!
...Make me love writing even more than I already did
...Test my limits and sometimes my sanity
...Make me this happy
...Give me a hobby for my free time
...Connect with other people around the world
...Make me want to pick up a minor

Blogging has brought me so much joy and has been a decision I am so glad I made. Let's hope I continue blogging and let's hope it surprises me even more than it already has.

xoxo,
Lauren

Halloween Memories #TBT

{Day 9}

Best or Worst Halloween Memory #TBT

I never had a great love for halloween. Until I came to college that is. Now I love it and I love dressing up and going out with my friends. In some ways college has turned me into a child more than I ever was before but that's a whole another post in it of itself. 

So since I told you I didn't love halloween until I came to college you may be able to guess that my best halloween memory was last halloween with my college friends. Halloween was on a Thursday last halloween but I didn't actually celebrate it until Friday and Saturday night. That's another thing I love about halloween in college, you celebrate it for the whole weekend. 

I loved that my roommate and I were Batman and Robin because that explains us so well. Plus we had the costume ideas planned since September and we look super cute. It was a great night spent with all of my closest friends. The second night, Saturday night, I went out as an army girl but it was kind of just thrown together and not planned at all. I'm not as proud of that costume as I was the first. 

I really think this weekend was my favorite weekend of the whole entire school year. I remember I was so happy and nothing bothered me. It was just fun all around. 

I'll stick with happy memories for this one.

xoxo,

Lauren 

10 Years From Now

{Day 8}

Letter To Yourself In 10 Years

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I love writing letters to the future me! I think it’s the coolest thing to write a letter and than open in some many years later. You get to see how much has changed in your life. This letter is for 10 years down the road. Ten years! That’s a whole lot of time!

In 10 years I will be 29 years old. By that point I hope to be a nurse with a husband, a few kids, a dog or two, and a nice house. I want to have my life completely together by this point. Honestly speaking it scares me to think about my life 10 years from now. I’ll be 29! Out of college with an actual adult life! That would scare any college student!

Anyway I have a little advice for my future self.

Dear 29 year old Lauren,

          Girl its been 10 years since you wrote this letter! Ten years ago when you were a sophomore in college writing this in your 8am statistics class. The fact that you were even thinking about your life in 10 years scared you especially since you were in the middle of your fun and free life. Twenty-nine seemed so old to you! But I have some advice from the younger Lauren. I'm just not sure how good this advice will be. 

Twenty-nine isn't that old really it isn't. Yeah it's older than the college student but at this point in your life you have what you've been dreaming of since you were a little girl. You are a mom and wife and a nurse! You have a house and your life together. Everything you wanted growing up. 

Now I'm just guessing you have everything together because knowing you you have your life together. You work for what you want and this is exactly what you want. With complete confidence I can tell you that you are a nurse. You have worked so hard to become one so I know that you are a nurse. 

And if you don't have your life together that's ok with me. A lot of this is just big general dreams and life throws things at you that you didn't expect. Plus I know commitment scares you so I wouldn't be shocked if you didn't have a husband. Now if you don't have kids I'd be a little shocked. It's just something you've wanted since you were a little girl. Please have at least one kid by now! 

Really the only things I want for you at the rip age of 29 is to be a happy and healthy nurse. Oh and one kid wouldn't hurt either. 

                                                                                  xoxo,

                                                                                                              19 year old Lauren 

I really hope I come back and look at this when I'm 29 years old and see how true all this is. Maybe I should write myself a reminder to check!

xoxo,

Lauren 

Family Beach Trips

{Day 7}

Best/Worst Vacation

I don’t think I’ve ever had a best or worst vacation. All my vacations are usually to the same spot, the beach right by my house. Well, not right by my house but like an hour and a half from where I live. The only time I’ve been on a plane to go on vacation was to Disney World back in 2007. I guess you could say Disney was my best vacation but I don’t remember it much so I can’t really say how much I loved it. What I can say is I want to go back so, so badly but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

Since I don’t really have a best or worst vacation I can tell you about a typical vacation for my family growing up. We would go down to the beach and stay in the same hotel every year. My dad’s side of the family would go down together and get rooms next to each other. As a kid it was the greatest thing to have your family on the other side of the wall for a week. You could run two feet and be in your cousin’s room watching a movie.

Our days were spent in the pool and on the beach and our nights on the boardwalk. There would be sand in our beds and toes and it was great. I always had a friend to go on rides with me or to just play with me. I loved it and was sad when it ended. When you have 4 families with a total of 11 kids life gets busy and there’s just no way to schedule a vacation at the same time.

I was able to grab a few pictures before I left my house two weeks ago from our vacations. Sadly I forgot to get some pictures from Disney World but than again those were some really horrible pictures for me. Let’s just say I don’t want people to see me at that time.

xoxo,

Lauren

10 Things I'd Tell Baby Blogging Lauren

{Day 6}

10 Things You'd Tell Yourself When You Started Blogging

1. You will hit speed bumps and writers block at completely random times.

I didn't expect to hit so much writer's block and at such random times! Most of the time I'm not blogging is because I have bad writer's block or at the rare times its because I'm busy.

2. Blogging takes time and lots of it!

I didn't know that blogging would take as much time as it does. I need to spend at least an hour on each blog post and that's just the beginning of it. Some days I will spend hours a day working on blog posts so I am ready for the week.

3. You should really get use to taking pictures. 

I hated pictures and hardly ever took them. Actually I hardly ever take them now! But when you're a blogger you really should take pictures because it makes your posts look good. 

4. When you get inspiration write it down! 

I can't even tell you how many times I've gotten this sudden burst of inspiration and thought I would remember it later. Than later comes and I don't causing me to be really sad. Now I write it down no matter where I am or what I am doing. 

5. Communicate with other bloggers

Comment on their blogs, send them emails, follow them on twitter or any social media, answer the comments they leave on your blog, really anything! I am not the best at this but I try my hardest with my busy lifestyle. 

6. Blog for you and no one else.

If you are blogging because you feel like you have to and not because you want to than your posts won't be good. And you will hate blogging. Do it for you and only you!

7. Schedule post ahead of time.

It will take so much stress off of you and the post will turn out better in the end. 

8. Don't stress of you haven't posted in a while.

People get busy and stressed and stressing about your blog is not going to help you at all. It's ok to take a break. 

9. Write about what interest you.

If you aren't interested in what you're writing about than you won't be happy and it won't end up good. Be pleasant about your blog! 

10. Never give up!

I have started and stopped blogging so many times but in the end I never gave up and I am so glad I didn't. It is so worth everything to be blogging. 

xoxo,

Lauren

Fall Bucket List

{Day 5}

My Fall Bucket List

Visit the pumpkin patch

Drink apple cider

Carve a pumpkin 

Make a gratitude jar 

Diy a halloween costume 

Decorate our window 

Bake bread

Go for a walk 

I have probably one of the simplest fall bucket list. I'm not a huge pumpkin person so I don't go crazy for the pumpkin lattes or pumpkin cookies. I'd be happy just going to a pumpkin patch and carving pumpkins.

xoxo,

Lauren

Birthday Lovin

{Day 4}

Favorite Photo You've Posted On Instagram 

Well I don't post on instagram much but I do have a few favorite pictures. I couldn't just pick one because I love them so much! 

A picture from the One Direction concert with my little sister. For some reason I look really red but trust me when I say that is not what I looked like in real life.  

This is a picture of a group of my friends when we went to the beach. I love this picture because it shows how we really are together, crazy and dysfunctional. 

Now let's move on to the most important part of this post, a birthday shout out to my bestest best friend in the world. 

Happy 20th Birthday Batman! I don't know what I would have done if we hadn't become roommates over a year ago. I like to think that I would be lost in this world and I'd probably be in pieces right now. You are always there for me even when you're mad or upset. I can count on you for anything whether its to make my day better, give me advice, or tell me I look good in my outfit. We get along great and it wasn't until I met you that I had someone to call my best friend. I feel the most happy and comfortable around you and that's what best friends are. 

I hope you have an amazing day and it lives up to your expectations. Party it up and don't let anyone stop you. I'll be here to party with you!

Lots of Love, 

Robin

Now here's a over load of pictures because why not! 

P.S. Her name is not batman I just call her that.

xoxo,

Lauren