booked!

What's that they say? Oh ya...
VEGAS, BABY!

and although it isn't for a few months, we're pumped!

And speaking of trips... I'm heading a few hundred kilometers down the road this weekend for a visit with some awesome girlfriends.

It was the kind of week at work that... lets just say.... will feel really good to be balanced out with some relaxing, shopping, a concert, and some visits with the girls. Can't wait!

Have a great weekend!

fashion senses

So here are the ground rules: sometimes Outside Voice is expressive and analytical, sometimes it’s a little sad, sometimes it’s whiny and tetchy… and sometimes it’s shallow and interested in everything pop culture. Because, you know, our world is made up of all those things, and I believe in enjoying little things in whatever area your interests lie- even if it’s not all deep and insightful.

I promise I’ll balance this terribly pop-culture-filled post with a deeply analytical view of global political events later… or not.

Photo Credit: life.com

My fashion freak flag is flying high lately. Due to New York Fashion Week occurring from Feb 10-17 and the Grammy’s that graced our TV sets on Sunday night. So, my coverall clad world at the mine is a little more sparkly as I take my coffee breaks to peruse the gowns, runway trends, and interviews with the fashion gods/ goddesses. I thought as I was spending my work week being nicely distracted by the swanky gowns, minimalist menswear, and ethnic inspired prints, I’d share some of the joy with you.

Photo Credit: life.com

And if your fashion freak flag needs some more wind in it’s sails, The Rachel Zoe Report is a fun daily newsletter illustrating occurrences in fashion as well as objects to put on your wish list (sometimes unattainable, but still fun to drool over).

RZ is a pretty crazy fashion icon herself with her TV show of stylizing stars such as Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson, Demi Moore, and Jennifer Garner. You can catch her show on Bravo Online if you’re ever having one of those super lazy indulgent weekends. {My roomie and I blazed through all of the episodes in university as we put off studying for our finals one year. Somehow pop culture seems to be a perfect procrastination tool during high pressure times. Love it.}

Photo Credit: life.com

She has recently shared some interviews with designers as she has attended NY Fashion Week. Here is one with Diane Von Furstenberg, a woman power house and inspiration:

RZ: For as long as the fashion world can remember, you have been the ultimate figure of empowerment for women everywhere with your eponymous line, Diane Von Furstenberg. Growing up, who were the people who inspired you?
DVF: My mother was and has been the most influential inspiration in my life, mostly because she taught me that 'fear is not an option'.

RZ: What started with your first iconic wrap dress in the '70s is now a global luxury line...in your own words, how has the DVF woman changed from then to now? Where do you see her going next?
DVF: The DVF woman has always been very individual. She's always in the driver's seat...active, seductive, and above all confident. When I first started my career it was the time of women's liberation...all was ahead of us!! But women are women and somehow not much has changed.

RZ: How do you prepare for the insanity that is New York Fashion Week? What is your favorite part?
DVF: I usually prepare by doing a lot of yoga. Fashion shows are so useful because they force you to edit and to present a collection in a concise way. It's a presentation to the press and to the stores that sell your clothes...it is so exciting!!!

RZ: Tell me something that you are coveting for spring!
DVF: The 'Harper' is our new bag shape for Spring...I love it!!! It's extremely versatile and comes in a variety of colors! It just became available on DVF.com.

RZ: I have personally looked up to you throughout my entire career, and now many of my Zoe Report readers do too. What advice would you give to any of them who are planning for a profession in the fashion industry?
DVF: Be confident!! The industry is growing and new, young talent is emerging, but fashion will always remain a mysterious thing...it reflects the contemporary period you live in, the mood of the time, the way people want to project themselves, it's ever-evolving...


And for a wrap up of all this gowned goodness, a look at both the ridiculous and ravishing outfits at The Grammy’s:

Lady Gaga: arrived in an egg! An egg… people!

Now there’s a coping mechanism to having a bad hair day or not feeling fit in your dress. Go to a party encased in a statement-making elliptical figure. Although, I have to say I admire her for her step-outside-of-the-box, making-freakish-trendy and people who aren’t fit-to-the- norm cool. I’m into it (maybe not the egg part, but the general theme).

Photo Credit: life.com

Katy Perry wore angel wings. I really wonder who styles these people, or maybe they’re recycling their Halloween costumes- that would be pretty efficient.

Photo Credit: life.com

Jennifer Lopez in a super mini discoball/ dress... She pulled it off though.

Photo Credit: life.com

And my favorite normal-esque gown of the night:

Julianne Hough in a dress I'd love to own.

Photo Credit: life.com

Hope everyone's rockin' their stilettos, slippers, or in my case... steel toe boots this week.

Valentines Day Present

Since I'm heading off to camp, here is your early Valentines day pressie.

Remember in junior high when telling someone you liked them came one of two ways: pulling their ponytail or making them a mix tape? Well, I will save you the ponytail violence.

Here is a Valentines Day Mix Tape for you:
















Happy Happy Love Day! (tomorrow)

Love Month

So, how do I soften the blow between the recent sad events, and this post about February: the month of lovin’? Well, I suppose the way we do it is the way we do anything, let normality sweep us off our feet and carry us into the rest of daily life.

This mixture of significant wake up calls, and insignificant life events is what carries us through this normal pattern of life. We need to embrace the significant events- let them wake us up and push us into a greater experience- let it shake us up so all the realizations that had settled at the bottom, somewhere down there with monotony and routine get stirred up into the forefront of life.

But, then, carry on. Carry on into the simple pleasures of coffee with friends, snowboarding in the sun, baking cookies. Make sure to bring those feelings of realization and add them to your recipe of normalcy, but carry on.

So, how do we carry on and celebrate this sparkly, cheesy, red cut-out-heart-filled month of love?

Let’s hand this one off to one of the reasons I became a teacher: kiddos. Kiddos and their amazingly innocent view of the world, they seem to have a great balance of simple pleasures mixed in with a necessary realization of amazing.

Photo taken on a camping trip last summer... ohh summer!

Quotes about love from the innocent littles:


"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth."- 
Billy - age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
Karl - age 5

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday." 
Noelle - age 7


And my two personal favorites:


"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you."
Karen - age 7

You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." 
Jessica - age 8


So… go out and say I love you, make it safe in your mouth, and let the little stars come out of you; go ahead, love a little.


Happy Love Month.

loss

This weekend a boy that I went to highschool with passed away in a snowmobiling accident. Our town is amazing for ourdoor activities and people find bliss in adventuring in the wonderful mountain terrain and living on the edge.

It's amazing how an event like this can take that reality we all try to ignore--the reality that life is so temporary and we are so vulnerable--and shove it in your face. This event put that truth right in my path on Monday and I was tripping over it all day.

I went from Kindergarten to grade 12 with this boy and in a small town like this, you are attached. Even though I haven't spoken to him much since graduation I am attached to him as part of the community and as the kind person he was. Seeing his mom at the grocery store, seeing his little sister grow up and leave for University, seeing his dad at the local feed store. I feel such a sadness for his family and friends.

I still can't grasp the very real idea of good people touching this earth one day and giving the magic they do, then being absent the next; leaving all their loved ones behind with an empty piece of this big puzzle called life.

It makes me feel confused about a few things: I don't know why bad things happen to good people, I don't know why this human condition we all exist within has to be so vulnerable. This thought of vulnerability to danger doesn't mesh with what we ever want for our own family and friends, but yet is a certainty in our world.

The fact is, there is nothing else to do with this grand fact but let it be the turth and let it be a catalyst for us all to live bigger and better. Recognize the amazing people that surround you every day just in case, one day, you don't get to tell them you love them or how amazing they really are.


"We are vulnerable beings. We were born, and we will die. But today, while we breathe, we live deliberately." -Kelle Hampton


Embrace this vulnerability and let it trip you up. Let it sit right in the middle of your path until you have to aknowledge it, embrace it, and let it push you into a place of living deliberately.

Weekend, you had me at Hello.

Originally, this blog was to prompt myself to document. So much of life flies by in the hustle bustle of daily routines, I find stopping to document and notice things makes me more aware of the present.

So, in good ol' 13 year old fashion, I bring you a "dear diary" segment of my 'Outside Voice'.

Dear Diary,

I came home from work this week tired, grumpy, and ready to hibernate and hide from the outside world. Funny how when you have every intention to do one thing, everything else unplanned gets put in your path. So, as one must do sometimes I tossed my sweatpants and tea mug aside to embrace what the weekend had to give. And man, it was a good one.

I should have known the wonder the weekend held when the first phone call I got was my boyfriend asking me if I wanted to come over, make chocolate chip cookies, and watch a movie. Is that even a question? After watching him do most of the making, and me doing most of the eating, the weekend had won me over already.

Friday was highlighted with sushi lunch with girlfriends and a trip to my favorite health food store to stock up on my allergy-friendly foods. That night I was still not convinced that I wanted to be an outgoing party-goer, but I felt I should make an appearance at a friend's birthday party. They had rented out the local curling club (I know what you're thinking, and you're right... even my grandma would have been astonished if I didn't take the chance to party there.) So I dressed up and went to mingle. Soon the mingling turned into a few drinks and curling(!) I had never curled in my life, but what sport isn't fun when you can get needlessly competitive about throwing a rock down some ice while sporting flats and a skirt? It was quite the scene. A few new friends and party games later we rocked the dance floor and headed home in the wee hours of the morning.

On Saturday I decided to nurse my headache with some fresh air up the mountain snowboarding with a group of friends. There was 7 of us rippin' it up, only stopping for a hangover cure of nachos and sun. That evening we all tiredly gathered to watch the UFC fights (ugh) I hate watching the fights, but I can't say no to a group of friends gathered, visiting in every nook of the living room- even if the boys are obnoxiously cheering on wrestling men in the background.

Sunday started off sweeping the 7 inches of snow that had accumulated on my car during brunch and boardgames at the boyfriend's. It's the Great Snowfall of February that's supposed to carry on all week. The perfect opportunity to gather my sweats and tea mug that were cast aside and button down the hatches for some rest before work.

Hope your weekends had some fun, friends, and maybe a little sweats-and-tea-action.

xoxo
Lauren

Happy Groundhog Day

This post was intended to be up yesterday, but the silly mine internet was down, so here it is- Happy Post-Groundhog Day!
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Forget science, ignore common sense. This little brown rodent knows his shit. And spring is coming early.

Maybe all the mining activity around here (no animal friendly digs up here) have the little groundhogs pissed as us, cuz here’s what my walk to work looked like Tuesday morning:




But, we’re all about lookin’ at the bright side around here, so I’m doing a little happy dance for spring, and reflecting on some weekend fun in the sun and snow:

accompanied by some shitty, erm, awesome iphone photos to illustrate…for your viewing pleasure:

1. A weekend drive with epic views of the sun bathed mountains.

2. A trip up those sunbathed beauties to snowboard with the girls.

3. A moose lying on the front lawn.

I'm fully aware that I’m fulfilling a Canadian stereotype right now… but seriously, the moose wouldn’t freakin’ move. Maybe it was enjoying the mountain view too.

4. A night out dancing! Because what weekend isn’t complete with a few and dance moves such as the worm being executed?

(the answer is: hopefully every weekend is complete without said dance move.) But dude, we rocked this one out.

Happy sun, snow, and Groundhog Day!