Word on the street...

the blog is being reloacted....

http://whatlaurendid.blogspot.com/

<3

We have T.V. in color now...

So, this is probably my current favorite dress that I own. I've worn it twice this week... because it makes me feel like I've been transported back in time. And really... how much do I love modcloth.com?



I usually wear it with a thick black belt, but the tie-waist is cute, too. Dresses are the best. Hands down. Just thought I'd share.

strawberries

strawberries, originally uploaded by lauren kristine.

Postage Stamp Box

Several years ago I bought a big bag of old postage stamps from around the world. They now reside on a series of boxes. They'd be perfect for holding small office-treasures on one's desk.

Carbs!

I used pretty much an entire 5 pound bag of bread flour in just 3 baking sessions. This is some french bread from the other day, just out of the oven.
Here's what happened after Declan found it. (Okay... I had a few slices... but seriously...) He can make bread disappear as long as butter and honey are involved.
Our neighbor Bryn came over the other day when Declan was at work. She and I had cookbooks all over the coffee table and couch while trying to decide what to make. And the winner was.... orange-pecan sticky buns! (Sweet dough recipe for my bread machine + a modified Martha Stewart recipe + fresh orange juice and zest.) This photo is of my breakfast the following morning.And.... here's a bonus picture of today's batch of french bread... (no one's home to share it with me, or it would be more than halfway gone!)Yum.... tomorrow for my lunch at work I'm going to take a few slices and toast them, top them with a bit of mascarpone cheese (and probably honey) and then eat a big bowl of strawberries.

Childhood Inspiration Series: Part One

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And pretty maids all in a row.

This lovely necklace is the first in a series that I hope will be rather expansive and thorough... I want to explore all my favorite stories and nursery rhymes from childhood. Strange task? Indeed. This piece had been floating around in my mind and on scraps of paper for awhile until I was able to buy the right kind of chain. Sorry the focus is off in the picture... I haven't yet mastered The Fancy Camera.

Most of my recent pieces are Alice in Wonderland related. Pocket watch necklaces, giant hair bows... even a lot of my outfits lately are Alice-inspired. I'll do an entire post... or more... on those when all the photos are recovered from my "oops I need to reformat my computer" situation.

More on the necklace, though. The shell already had a tiny hole in it. I've found dozens of these "jewelry shells" at the beach over the past few summers. The little pink metal-rimmed flower is part of an enormous clip-on earring that belonged to one of my great-grandmothers. She had really curious taste in jewelry. So much of it is unnecessarily large. However, it has served me well in my re-purposing endeavors. I want to check local thrift/estate sale shops for other old-lady jewelry so I won't have a difficult time parting with it. (Who am I kidding... as soon as something's finished I feel like I need to keep/wear it forever.)

In other news, we've been slowly replacing our hand-me-down furniture with our own "grown-up" furniture. I'm just fluffing my nest, I suppose, but I get so happy when I see that our home is finally starting to represent our eclectic aesthetic! We just bought some frames today so we can hang some random art prints we have. Yay!

Happy it's Spring

So, I ordered this dress from modcloth.com the other day. I'm super excited about it. I'm all about sundresses right now. We had a few warm days last week and I was so happy to wear dresses and skirts. Jeans are really not my favorite, especially since I have to wear them everyday to work. If only they'd let me make my chalkboards while wearing a pretty dress and sandals. *sigh*

This picture also makes me want a lovely parasol to take to the beach. I'm in the market for an inexpensive, low beach chair that's not super heavy... and, preferably, is pink. But really, a parasol stuck in the sand would definitely help to ensure a lack of unnecessary sun-burning. Also, those big beach umbrellas are, well... big. (Yes, I know I'm ridiculous.)
The Spring issue of Lula, my favorite fashion/art magazine, is full of dreamily soft portraits and ice-cream colored dresses. Ruffles and bows and floral prints... oh my! It's like my imagination exploded on the pages. Between Lula and Anthropologie, I've got enough inspiration for years of craft/accessory/clothing projects.

I need to take pictures of the skirt I made a few weeks ago! My friend Heather bought us tickets to see Rasputina and I needed something awesome to wear to the show. More on that later...