2012

Excuse me Miss… your confidence is showing.

| Viciously Sweet

This week I’ve been living in the future. True story. And it’s not like the Jestson’s future. I can see the good things that are heading my way. I mean I just got paid for making doodles for people. I have a client based on something I see as the most fun side project ever!

And when I met up with my good pal Christine this week she told me that I was looking way more confident than usual. And honestly, I think I am. I am not like on a Charlie Sheen “winning” high or anything. I just know that my optimism is going to get me somewhere really great. And in the middle of this icky tunnel I’m in, I see out the other end and that all the little things I can do well are really going to help me in the future, especially when I emerge from the other side. And most importantly all these things/people trying to bring me down are just temporary. In fact I have how I feel about it lusciously illustrated below:

Also I think this is the best time of anytime to share that I’m going to make this doodling thing into a side business made with heart. I want to make shirts, and bags, table cloths, pillows, and birthday party hats. I want to make custom doodles for people. I want to share my joy with as many people as possible. And I’m going to do it. Maybe you’ll pick up a bag or hat or just keep reading and smiling… stay around and watch my dream come true.

♥Lauren

The Pen to my Paper

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Sometimes you just know people who make your everyday so much better just for knowing them. I know this may not be true for everyone*… but it is for me! Christine is one of those people, she is like the biggest champion of my endeavors and the best advice giver of all times… basically the wind beneath my wings you know.

She is in a word….. “fanta-stic”

She is so fantastic that pretty much completes me like we exist in that Tom Cruise movie… Last night for example, while meeting up for our Lady Night I showed up with a hunger in my tummy and only a stack of paper. She showed up with presents for me, and only pens.

Then we combined our weapons like we were a part of Voltron and partied for the rest of the evening.

And also because I watch too many movies… telling me she had a plethora of pens in a parking lot reminded me of this:

* My cool pen story footnote: Someone in particular recently told me they have no one in their life that they feel lucky for knowing. Not one person… in their entire time on this planet. I mean I feel really lucky for (and totally am enamored of) the people who just read this blog and leave me a comment every once in a while. I think almost everyone is worth knowing, and so many people are worth appreciating. But this person’s sad story didn’t bring me down, I stopped listening to this person seriously when they told me they think I’m immature because I am so cheery all the time. They can go suck it in Not-Nice-Ville population: 2. The other person in not niceville is described here, they are perfect to spend an eternity together in Not-Nice-Ville…

♫Lauren

Yardy Harg! It’s Leif Erikson Day!

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Now here’s a widely known fact… I love strange holidays. I like them obscure and delicious (ahem, taco day). And today is my favorite holiday of them all… Leif Erikson Day! And where the silly government likes to celebrate Columbus Day around these parts of the United States (and gets the day off for this). I have learned enough history from my college years, and from Spongebob Squarepants to know that Leif Ericson was the true discoverer of the Americas in which I live. My good friend Leif was like the Dark Knight of America discoverers finding America in the year 1,000 calling it “Newfoundland” (not a good namer was he) and he was like the discoverer we deserved, just not the one we need right now… hence we celebrate Columbus Day.

Also, true story… I have a personal vendetta against Christopher Columbus because I really hated having to color him in a stupid boat every year for 7 years in a row, just because Fall happened. And not one teacher would let me cover him in glitter… NOT ONE! Also don’t get me started on those cornucopias…

And a bonus over the Spanish discoverers to all of you Spanish supporters*, Vikings have better accessories, grog and far less smallpox.

Now that I have you 98.4% viking approved:

 

But can anyone explain why his name is Leif Ericson, but his day is “Leif Erikson Day”? Is that Columbus’ final joke? Dude, that guy is totally evil!

♥Lauren

*I bet I was related to some of his traveling buddies as my family comes from that part of the world…  And everyday I dress like a flamenco dancer…but, eh go VIKINGS!

Sentimentally Me

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Do you ever think about what’s important? Like what means the most to you in the whole big universe? Would they be important to another person from the other side of the world?

Mine are nearly 100% sentimental, I’m a sentimental kind of gal. I always think, “things” shouldn’t be your in your lists of favorites. But as much as I enjoy the sun popping back up after a few grey days and seeing kids play with bubbles, or watching old chunky dogs giggle down a sidewalk… I still can’t help some of my favorite things being tangible objects.

A few examples, my navy sweater from my high school… I still wear it, and every time I wear it I feel sentimentally fantastic (also, a little bit like a nun from the 1950s.) My favorite toy from my childhood, is a stuffed animal of Littlefoot from the “Land Before Time” and he resides on my sleek modern desk chair… and I smile every time I use it and see him sitting there. Also, I smile because I imagine Herman Miller does not design their fancy chairs to shelter my childhood memories…

I still have loads of letters written from my high school friends and even a few spectacular ones from middle school… full of stories about the cutest boys we went to school with, teachers who were a little to attentive to our teenage existences, and one of the funnest word games you could ever fathom.

And if I were to come home and find them gone, I would be beyond devastated like on par with people stealing my car and my computer, or stealing the crown jewels from the Queen. I’m that serious about my silly junk, okay. But the thing about these objects (and unlike the crown jewels) is that and when someone else would have them in their possession, they would have none of the feeling. They would see a thick navy sweater from a Catholic girls school, a dinosaur toy with a really worn neck, and a pile of useless paper.

Not that I’m equating my worth to a sweater, dinosaur and pile of paper… but going through my belongings I understand that most people outside of my brain just wouldn’t understand why a notebook of drawings is more important than a pair of fancy earrings…

And that brings me to this… my first attempt of making wordy art. The quote is from “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium” and it is Mr. Magorium explaining his records to his new straight lace accountant. Also I think it sums up 82% of the paper discovered in my house… as everything has a doodle on it:

 

Have a nice weekend, and enjoy something really, really simple… and don’t be embarrassed about it. I’ll be working on a few projects and pretending to be fancy, personally.

♥Lauren

My Cupcake Caper

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I realized my joy is getting braggy. And I’m not going to unpack the brag bags… because that is annoying. And my Inner Pam Beesly told me “Take it down a notch, the world knows about your joy.”

So I took a cue at not to make myself a real life Mary Sue, and to look at my sketchbook and pull a drawing from my archives that I already should have shared. (Hehe, I have archives!) A few months ago I was not feeling the joy, and much like the friendship of Turk and J.D. from “Scrubs” my Lady Turk counterpart (Nancy) told me to drag my booty to her house to experience the “WORLD’S GIRLIEST WEEKEND”. And we did, we watched teen movies until we passed out, we ate fancy hamburgers, we made crafts, we packed goodie bags for children, we went as lady dates to a wedding…

And

then

we

tried

to

make…

red velvet cupcakes…

from scratch.

Being our first go of making red velvet cupcakes from scratch we pulled out the recipes, and not wanting to risk making a horrible huge batch Nancy decided to cut the recipe… in 4s. And most impressively she had all the math all figured out, but that wasn’t the difficult part. The most difficult thing  was attempting to mix .375 teaspoons of baking soda with a 1/2 an egg. But we were in it. We were committed. Everything was going on the good side of moderately strange until I had to add the red dye to the mixer…and like most things that were happening to me at that time, the mixer decided to stage a mutiny, and it exploded in my face, and hands and all actually over my person.

My face was red… with more than embarrassment.

However the cupcakes were then baked and finished… and were fabulous except for 2 small flaws…

1. They were burgundy and pink, like a weird steak.

2. They were crunchy on the top.

We covered that stuff up with frosting like crazy! So we may not be opening that cupcake shop like the “2 Broke Girls” afterall:

♥ Lauren

You are worth every penny!

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Today was a very interesting day. I fell back into an old pattern. A pattern that made everyone feel at ease… except me.

This is because I have changed. And I want better. Now for a moment, in the moment when things were how they used to be my inner young Pam Beesly was thrilled. (My inner Pam Beesly is also thrilled with candy on a desk so we try not to listen to her.) However, the more confident New Lauren/Pam Beesly that I have become stepped in and said. “NO”.

 I say this because my friends have been telling me forever that I am better than my nonsense. And it took years to realize that I actually am. I am better! And all the nonsense in your everyday life… you are better than it too. If you don’t believe me ask this guy right here:

♥ Lauren

Friday I’m a chicken… in love

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I don’t care if Monday’s blue…

Today I am so happy, I have to make a post. But I’m not exactly in the best position to be scanning doodles because I am making a set of drawings for work… it’s so hard to be an adult on a FRIDAY!

So to get to the meaty part of the post. I will say this doodle was inspired by several things… talking about drawing a Rooster in love with my wonderful sister-in-law, Season. And also by the department stores telling me that I should already be Christmassing (what is up with that?)

Any who, lets get to the first wintery chicken of 2012:

And a special request… if anyone out there does encounter snow.. can you make me a snow chicken?

Oh, and have a nice weekend… I’m going to!

♫Lauren

The Eternal Sunshine of My Spotless Mind

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Some people are happy people. I have a confession… I am one of those happy people.

I know many of you are gasping, because your like… can that really be true? Does that mean all her giggles aren’t lies? Does that mean her sketchbook is really full of kittens and an occasional unicorn? Do you really not sit around all serious like a … professional?

The answer my dear readers is… YES!

And above all, I hope you have gleaned that I’m a huge dork, and unapologetic for it. I realize that most people who had a job that didn’t pay them much, and living with your parents after living without them for 5 years would not be as chipper as me. But sometimes we have to just appreciate it, we may not have all we want but what we have is good. And I’m not talking about settling for what we have (we all know how I feel about settling.)

But sometimes we can wear really pretty shoes, listen to some tunes that totally rock our world (Shout out to the Cure) and just appreciate a nice fall day. And that is what I choose to do today. For some reason I feel that today life is extra beautiful. Maybe it’s because I watched my favorite movie this week, maybe it’s because I’m an “adult” cherishing my new Hello Kitty wallet, maybe it’s because tonight I’m eating chicken. Mostly, it’s because I am in love with how I feel, when I feel optimistic about my future. I hope you find something beautiful today that makes you realize how wonderful the world is:

And if you need a little boost to give you some more happy read this article. Every time I do, I find something instantly to be happy about. Friends, smiling, music and sex… you really cannot go wrong reading it. It will make you want to take the boat of happiness the world sends you and sail about with joy in your heart!

♥ Lauren

 

My inner Jenna Rink

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I have some art to work on after work so I’m going to make sure I have a Lauren-y movie to watch tonight and it’s all about “13 going on 30” tonight. No matter how many times I see it, I always get sucked in to all the fun and joys of Jenna Rink dealing with being a grown up.

I always find myself relating to Jenna. I somehow feel like the rest of me grew up and left my brain somewhere else. I mean I just learned today that Shepard’s pie is a meat pie, and not a pie made by a Shepard (and I’m envisioning one of the guys who hangs out with baby Jesus here.) And that is really just the tip of the iceberg of things I don’t get, that everyone already knows.

And that dream house…

Oh, I still want it. I don’t know if it’s because I’m working on being a licensed architect and I love movie houses… or just because I want some of that wishing dust, and to have a slumber party with my girlfriends where we sing Pat Benatar songs until we pass out.

Anyways I have some art to make and some Mark Ruffalo to watch. So just remember:

♥Lauren