I have been the busiest Lauren this side of the Pecos. (That’s an expression…. right?)
And this weekend I even traveled far (not that far) to party with everyone’s (especially Clay Aiken’s) favorite Isabel to celebrate her ever so recent wedding to David!
And it was magical.
There was so much drinks, and dancing, and food, and joy.
I feel really lucky to have been in attendance.
I even made them a logo for their wedding:
David & Isabel… a totally married couple doodle.
The doodle was even put on their photo booth strips!
Can you imagine the sheer joy of making photo booth strips? I mean it’s amazing…
I didn’t even know that it was a goal in my life to make one until I saw the final product.
I made this thing… and also made silly faces!nancy and i are being fun animals
I felt like a proper illustrator.
Thanks Isabel! I wish you and David all the best… in all of life forever and ever.
Thanks for making me feel like a cool artsy person.
And to everyone else I am available for all doodling purposes!
Yes, I just compared myself to some of the most hilarious women of the 21st century… Mostly because I love them. But also because they poke fun at everything, including what they eat.
And well all the people who know me in internet/ or real life… in which I am the same giggly and self-deprecating person… know I am cuckoo for cocoa puffs about chicken.
I like to eat chicken.
I like to draw chicken,
I like to wear chicken inspired jewelry:
I can honestly tell you that I feel like the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg while wearing this necklace… Of course only if the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg wore sensible sweaters.
And tonight is an especially important night for me and chicken because this is the night… when I eat fried chicken.
And I’m going to wear my chicken necklace with exorbitant joy tonight as I feast upon it’s less sparkly bretheren.
Tonight. We dine on Chicken!
Eat something super delicious tonight… with all sorts of glee and at least 7 other joys.
It’s that Time of year again to pull out your viking helmets… in celebration of Leif Erikson day I have decided to repost myself and my love of vikings.
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…
I want to be in Paris… but well the most I can afford right now is a crepe and a beret.
Okay, Paris is always a good idea. Especially if you are a character in a romantic movie with Humphey Bogart… or Harrison Ford. (In today’s world I think you should be able to pick which Sabrina you want to be or for the boys which Linus Larabee you want to be.)
Don’t judge me… but I’d pick this version. I mean… yeah. The clothes alone in that movie would make my life ridiculously fancier.
Anyways, l kind of wish I was there. I mean not with Humprey Bogart in a movie… but in Paris. You know what I mean, internet.
I felt like I got to go on a vacation today because I got to go measure a place outside of my office… which is always thrilling. With Thon who I have never gotten to have a work time field trip with. And we got to have an adventure because we took the wrong freeway and got mildly to moderately lost. The only downside of our field trip was that it was a fabulous adventure in measuring the showers in a locker room… the truly un-glamorous moments of working in the architectural field. Not only did I end up with frizzy hair due to inner bathroom moisture… but I saw quite a bit of naked elderly ladies. More than my daily quota (which for those inquiring minds is 0 naked old ladies.)
And I felt a little more than awkward being around them with a clipboard, a marker, a measuring tape. Some inquired what I was doing… others just gave me strange looks. I didn’t mind answering questions… because I would want to know if I was in their position.
What can you really do?
After all I had a job to do. And I could have given a singing crustacean about their nudity.
Somehow though, being around that many naked people who didn’t give a damn about it felt very European in nature… But the fact that I ate Mexican fast food for lunch shortly thereafter reminded me that I was in fact not in any portion of Europe. Also the fact that I was so far into the desert today I thought I drove to the end of the world… and then a tumbleweed dramatically strolled past my car on my return to civilization. And my contacts were filled with dusty cruds.
Oh California, with your large gaps in civilization, and questioning nude geriatric women… How silly you are.
It gives me fabulous prompts of things to draw. I really got it for hopes that it will make me a better artist… making me draw things I would never think of drawing.
One of the prompts was a fire escape:
It’s a sweet escape.
I got so excited about drawing such a simple thing that it made me realize that sometimes the suburbs are kind of boring to me.
I miss seeing things like fire escapes on buildings.
Windows high up in the air with flowers.
Cats looking down at you.
Street hot dogs.
Happy Thursday every one… I’m going to get a hand cramp from all my doodling :)
Some people have relationships and all sorts of other ships.
I being a bit on the awkward side would like to take this time to announce that I don’t really do well in relationships… mostly because I have only have a makeshift raft of relations:
It stays afloat and everything… but it has no sides… it’s not really going to protect you from the water or sharks or anything. Actually it isn’t really helpful unless you need to be marooned on Gilligan’s Island… or you want to hang out with Tom Sawyer and Jim…
I think those last 2 sentences alone explain why I have a relation-raft.
Also the fact that today I am so excited to be able to stay at home by myself… explains a lot of it too. I mean I’ve just had something to do every night for the last 2 weeks… and tonight screams “Let’s wear sweatpants and watch romantic comedies while you illustrate.”
Any who happy Wednesday!
And how does everybody keep their relationships/rafts/buckets afloat?
I have always found the ladies of yesteryear amazing. Be they someone’s awesome grandma, a movie star, a was hero, a writer, or a pin up girl. My favorite things to read about them are always when they reflect on their life and their careers. They always seem to have it figured out, because they have been through it all, and lived it up. And also that is when people say crazy things like “Alfred Hitchcock stalked me.”~ Paraphrased Tippi Hedren. I suppose it’s because they realize the best things to be are honest… because it’s what happened after all. And why should they be afraid to be truthful? Also seriously Tippi Hedren… I’m sorry about Hitchcock… he was all sorts of creepy.
I get carried up in that story about Tippi sometimes, because most girls have been in that situation. Even in modern times. A superior who is all hands… Gross.
Now another one of those ladies who figured it out and lived it up was Bettie Page. Now I have always understood her to a certain degree. She not only has totally rad bangs like me (I’m going to say I never copied her bang style. I have actually had bangs since I have had hair.) She was really mischievous… and I have been called that a few times (a week.) And people are super crazy about her, (sometimes in an unsettling way) without ever taking the time to understand her as a person, not a visual object.
But don’t worry I won’t get too much into that. I’m here to celebrate the good. One thing I have always like about her is she always seemed to be having fun, and making the most out of anywhere she was.
Pretending to be attacked by a tree… happy.
Sitting with leopards.. happy.
In weird plastic-y outfits… happy.
Being straight up naked… happy
Wouldn’t it be great to be that happy all the time? I think so.
Well one of my favorite quotes from her is super important for both boys, girls, and people who like to be happy near trees (in or out of clothes):
Thank you for being you Bettie.
I have always liked that quote, it’s simple and true. Be yourself and never apologize for it. You will thank yourself for it someday.
Also.. bangs are fantastic, they may be why both Bettie and I are so happy… it’s just a theory.
And I really like when that happens because, I can make something super nice for someone!
Apparently last year when I drew myself as a mermaid I started a frenzy of other people I know who also never got to realize their mermaid potential. I was hearing right and left from others who felt that they too needed to be a creature of the sea!
One of those wonderful people was Sarah! The adorable sister of Jimmy!
And even though I took a moderate eternity to finish it… Here she finally is…and I would like to present to the entire internet.
Sarah my mermaid homegirl:
She’s fishtastic! No wait she’s mer-iffic!
It’s so hard to be a mermaid in the Valley. But she’s totally doing it everyday complete with a classy, flashy, fish friend. She has the best mermaid style is all sorts of sparkly purple, has constantly color changing follicles… and is the best caretaker of sea horses in the whole Pacific.
This is pretty much on her business card.
I hope you like it Sarah! And I hope everyone has a super great weekend.
I’m off to the beach… to celebrate my bestie Isabel’s bachelorette party this weekend and not necessarily to become a mermaid.
Have a nice weekend everybody!
♥Lauren (who is going to be a mermaid no matter what)
Viciously Sweet 