quote of the week.

"A man who does not think for himself does not think at all."
-Oscar Wilde

strawberry fields forever.

we've spent the week tending our landlord's garden (& feeding her lazy kitty, Sophie. And hoping that her other cat Jynx comes home from whatever adventure she's on...)
anyway, she said while she was gone to help ourselves to her strawberry bushes. 


sunday morning we both decided we were craving some fresh fruit, & even though it was HAILING outside & freezing cold, we toughed it out & picked a whole bowl. yum!!

indie ogden's benefit show.

the highlight of my weekend was helping host & coordinate a benefit concert for the TEARS foundation. TEARS is a 401k nonprofit that assists families who lose children under age 1. it covers funeral expenses & other costs for those grieving families.

one of my friends in ogden, mikki, lost her baby girl paikea in 2006 when she was 9 days old. this benefit concert meant a lot to her & my other friend kristin, who lost her niece last october.

we had such a great turnout & raised over $500 in addition to everything else we've raised since january. (over 2 grand!) i'm so excited to be a part of something so great. there were several raffle prizes, live music, & even a drink at the bar we had the concert at that is named the "indie ogden."

a special thanks to all who came!

the civil wars.

the civil wars blew luke & i away on thursday. we were expecting a GREAT show, but i don't think we were expecting our minds to be blown away like they were!

opening band milo greene was also spectacular. usually i dread "opening bands," i just want to see the band i paid to see. but these guys from LA were phenomenal, & are coming back to SLC in august.

you can bet luke & i will be there! happy weekend everyone.

THIS WEEK.

luke & i have been looking forward to this week for several months now. as you all know, we are musical junkies & live music is one of our FAVORITE things. it just so happens that one of our favorite bands is coming to SLC in 2 short days!

the civil wars! you may know them from their song they did with taylor swift for the hunger games soundtrack. they are such an incredible duo. not to mention i have a slight crush on john paul white, while luke thinks joy williams is rather attractive..so it will be eye candy for both of us too!

also, later this week, is a live musical event for the blog i write for:

it's going to be a lovely time! 

what a great week for live music! i can't wait!

kaylee turns 5!

yesterday i was able to go to lagoon for the first time in several years to celebrate luke's niece's 5th birthday! i love that angel of a little girl. kaylee never hesitates to compliment those around her. the first thing she said to me when we got to lagoon was, "lauren, i really like your hair today." (little did she know i had slaved away at it for 20 mins, convinced my hair was being THOROUGHLY uncooperative.) that little girl has a way with words & a way to make everyone around her feel loved! she is a perfect girl in every way & i am so glad to have been able to celebrate her birthday with her (& luke's amazing familia). here are some photos, mostly taken by luke's cousin shaela.

kaylee showing us how to prevent getting stung by a bee: FREEZE! it was so funny cuz right after this a guy literally jumped the fence in line cuz the bee was chasing him, & kaylee yelled, "HEY DUDE! DO THIS!" & struck her freeze pose. so funny.

waiting in line for dracula's castle. & not looking very attractive, might i add.

waiting in line for terror ride. me, cousin shaela, & luke's little sis marti.

sad i didn't get any photos with luke's older sister cass.

waiting to ride "jumpin' dragon." it's a little kid ride, but i won't lie, i was a TAD nervous for this one. i don't do too well on round and round rides (as i learned later on samurai), but kaylee held my hand the whole time & said, "don't be scared laur, just pretend to be a cheetah."

luke's best friend tim & his 2-year-old mason were able to join us for a few hours. luke is mason's godfather, & this little boy is one of the most well behaved i've ever met. he hardly made a peep the two hours they were there with us, except to say "choo choo!" for the train, & "look at the circles!" when he saw colossus.

all in all a lovely day.

quote of the week.

"A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes."
-Gandhi

SLACKWATER.

yesterday i went to slackwater with some of my ogden friends.

i'll be honest here... the majority of people i hang out with in ogden are in their (very) late 20s to late 30s. that seems weird to me. i am one of maybe 2 friends i have up here who is not married, and childless. but to be honest, i much prefer it this way. maybe because girls even in their early 20s are still psychopaths, & i have always been one to enjoy a drama-free friendship. either way, i was just sitting down to write this post & realized that i hang out with people a lot further along in life than me. anyway...
so i went to slackwater with my friend whitney. she's in her mid-30s and has 2 kids, ages 13 & 5. we went sans-children to enjoy the "hops rising re-release party". we met up with our friend stephanie, who was there with her two friends, all of who are in their late 30s. since i can't drink beer (damn gluten, how you are my enemy!) i just listened to them as they sampled the new brew, & apparently it is delicious. everyone except whitney loved it (she's a "baby" when it comes to beer) & we dined on slackwater's amazing chips & salsa & hummus, all while listening to local artist brett turner.
i absolutely love living up here! the friends i've met & the experiences i've had have made ogden a place very, very dear to my heart!

happy weekend!

i hope your weekend was as happy as mine.
i spent most of it with boy, family & relaxing at home.
oh, & working.
if you're ever in the ogden area, come visit me at my new job at CRIDDLE'S CAFE. it's the most delicious breakfast you'll ever have, promise.
happy tuesday to you!

quote of the week.

‎"You can always become the person you would have liked to be."

~Napoleon Hill

32nd Street Trail

One of my favorite hikes in Ogden is a mere 3 minute walk from my front door. (I love living in the east bench!) The 32nd Street Trail is a moderate hike right next to Mt. Ogden Park and Mt. Ogden Golf Course. The trail connects to the 36th Street Trailhead, which has trails leading to Bonneville Shoreline Trail as well as Waterfall Canyon.

The other day, on my day off, I woke up itching to get outside and enjoy the day, and ended up here.

If you're ever in the Ogden area, head up to 32nd and Taylor, for one of the prettier hikes in South Ogden! 

sometimes...

THIS is what i want to do to my bathroom. 

instead of fussing with my uncooperative hair or trying to find eyeshadow to match my outfit.

it all seems kinda ridiculous sometimes, doesn't it?

weekend!

what a busy one it was.
went to logan for my brother's graduation. got to hold my little man preston (i've been having aunt withdrawals...seriously). 
wrote lots. helped luke sign up for classes.
worked.
took naps. went on walks.
went to instacare:( & still don't know what's wrong with luke's back... however, he refuses to go see a specialist despite my constant nagging (what is it with boys & doctors!??!)
celebrated CINCO DE MAYO by going to a birthday party of two of my indie ogden friends:

month one.

it's not so bad eating gluten-free, i've decided.
i eat much healthier than i used to (goodbye fast food), & taken up eating lots of fruit, nuts, beans & yogurt.

however now i'm wondering how long until i will start feeling better. :/

it helps that i'm dating a supreme cook, who has done VERY well about helping me cook gluten-free meals...

although the other day he busted out some oreo's, & i started to cry right as he took a bite.

anyways, i've had SO MUCH support coming from my family/friends about this! i'm constantly getting new websites or recipes to try out, & tips & tricks for eating healthier & cheaper. thanks so much, you guys! it's so good to know i'm not in this alone.

SEATTLE HERE WE COME.

yes, yes it's official! we bought our plane tickets this week to head to SEATTLE in july!!! reasons we're so very excited about this:

1. an item on luke's bucket list is to see his favorite soccer team (chelsea) play. they happen to be playing the seattle sounders july 18, which is basically why we're going.

2. i get to see the first ever starbucks! & since i work for corporate coffee, i'm pretty stoked about that.

3. neither of us have ever been to seattle!!!

4. pike place market. nuff said.

5. a vacation is always nice. 

my summer is going to be AMAZING!

so excited about this!

a few weeks ago, i entered a giveaway on my friend amy's blog for this marilyn monroe awesome wall piece! well, for once, luck was in my favor and I WON! i picked it up from her on sunday and it is now the latest addition to my bedroom. it seems as though my room is almost ready to show off to the public without looking like a frat house. i'm super excited about this!

thanks so much, amy! & for those who haven't read her blog, hop on over & check it out. it's one of my favorites!