Well shucks, this song.

Back to the Basics

Last year I used a yellow backpack.

 It was one that my younger brother had used in either middle or elementary school, I think. But it suited my purposes decently. There was just one problem-- no laptop sleeve. So my pretty pink laptop got a little scraped up and dinged.

So this summer, I got a bigger backpack, complete with a laptop sleeve.

IT'S AN ADULT SIZED BACKPACK ON ACCOUNT OF I AM AN ADULT.

But....... the problem is......

CONFESSION: I don't have an adult-sized back.

But... I should have seen it coming. I mean... a few summers ago I went backpacking through the New Mexican mountains. And my backpack was a tad too large for me (despite being a "woman's" pack). 

See?

So yeah, I have a kid-sized back and an adult-sized backpack, and it all works out mediocrely.

Food for Thought.

So I mentioned earlier that cooking at college is a little bit terrifying. But I've had a few successes. Well, one of them was primarily Colin's success, to be honest. I'll get to that in a bit. Here are some of my pretty regular meals:

1. Eggs on toast, sunny-side up, and a glass of milk. The Country Oatmeal bread is SOOO good.

2. Vanilla yogurt with banana cut up into it

3. Salad! The salad I've been making is awfully good, and I'm pretty proud of it. It is greens (because iceberg lettuce is gross), red onion, mozzarella cheese, sliced almonds, and chunks of yellow apple! I like it with a mixture of this dressing Colin makes (some vinegar-garlic concoction) and raspberry vinaigrette.

4. Colin roasted a chicken. All by himself. He even bought the ingredients with his own money and came up with his own seasoning. He added some potatoes to the pan, and it was delicious. He picked the bones clean afterwards and it's now all in the freezer, waiting to be used later.

THE CHICKEN: A photographic record

The Upgrade

Last year I lived in a dorm room. It looked something like this:

Bed

Desk

Closet

Spacious Room. (There's another bed to the right of the frame.)

Now I am a big girl. So I'm living in an apartment. And this is what my room looks like:

Dresser and desk

Dresser and Desk

Bed

Side A. That lone suitcase is the one thing I still need to finish unpacking. It has my tank tops, a pair of gloves, and two hats inside of it.

Side B. The door you see is the door to the closet. It doesn't open all the way because of the dresser next to it.

The closet. It's hard to get a decent picture of it-- there's maybe about 8 more inches to the left. Shared between two people. I have to actually put my shirts in my dresser this time around.

So I don't know how much of an upgrade the sleeping quarters ought to be considered. BUT I do have a decently sized kitchen, a living room, and there are 2 full bathrooms for the five of us girls.

I went grocery shopping yesterday and it was absolutely terrifying. I don't know how to do food. I got yogurt, fixings for salad, pasta, rice, tuna, pita... and I think that's about it. I'm already making another list. I need to figure out how to cook chicken. Right now I'm leaning towards boiling, because it sounds feasible. And then I can freeze it and stuff. Clearly I'm a pro...

So this is Lauren. Learning how to Live. Alliteratively, it appears.

PACKING

I've finished going through all the tops in my closet as part of the college packing process. This is what it looks like now:

THE YES! PILE

These are all going in the suitcase. And I had goshdarn better wear them at school!

The Mehhhybe Pile

This particular pile is characterized by indecision. I have to go through it again. Host a mini fashion show. Survey a statistically random sample. Primarily, MAKE DECISIONS.

The NO, Not Coming to College, but will Likely be Seen on Younger Sisters in the Very Near Future "Pile."

Rebekah has been crossing her fingers and making special requests. Even negotiating. I make her fashionable. Or rather, my rejects do. I just don't have room to house my Collection, so they tend to find their way into her foster care for neglected clothing system. Sometime, maybe I will document Rebekah's outfits over the course of the week and point out what in her ensembles are Lauren Originals. Maybe.





Items that will be on my wishlist for FOREVER

1. Hunter yellow wellies 
I hate wet feet. Therefore, I am a fan of rain boots. Particularly yellow rain boots. They are fun. They are classic. And Hunter just makes them look... Normal. No extra frills or fancy. Just fancying the boot.

(Photo from here)

2. Minnetonka Women's Calf-high 3-layer fringe boots
They are just... so cute. I really like them. A lot. They add style to any outfit. A tall boot is classy. The fringe keeps it casual. And Minnetonka is really comfortable.

(Photo from here)

3. North Face Coats
Easy explanation: I get cold. A lot. Easily. Either of these, in either black or brown. Currently undecided.

Link

Link

4. PEACOATS.
I'm obsessed. Every time I see a cute one, I want it. Cute buttons, toggle fasteners, nicely tailored, fun colors... Especially the fun colors.

Green

Yellow or Mustard

Purple or Plum

Red

White

Though, of course, charcoal and navy are terribly timeless and classy, too.

Words of Wisdom

"Though we might wish otherwise, the history of what might have been is usually not history at all, mixing together as it does the messy tangle of past experience with the clairvoyant certainty of our present preferences."
--Joseph J. Ellis, Founding Brothers p. 105

Who would have thought such profound words could be found in a dry history book.