one year prettier.

Yesterday we celebrated the feliz birthday of one of my closest friends at BYU. I've known Jenny for three years now; it's crazy how time flies when you're having fun! I love this girl so much, we've been through so much together & so many of my favorite college moments have been spent with her.

I'm a firm believer that people come into your life for a reason; sometimes for reasons that you may not figure out in this life. I know I've learned so much from Jenny & I'm so grateful for her friendship. Love ya Jenny-ling-ling!

All of my ♥,
Lauren

something new.

The blog got a makeover!

I put my design skills to work & created an entire new layout.
I stalk design blogs like crazy and drew inspiration for the new look from airmail
wedding invitations.
I thought it seemed fitting for the blog.

I'm still not completely done with the layout.
I'll be tweaking for at least a week till I'm completely satisfied.
I'm a perfectionist.

I love love love design so much
& I'm always down for helping a friend in need.
[free of charge of course]
I'm in no way good enough to charge people, at least not yet.

Adiós old blog design, you shall be missed!

All of my ♥,
Lauren

nothing but pennies in my pocket.

I know that they're considered lucky.

but this is ridiculous.

I was sitting in class (immigrant & refugee health)

& wanted a snack so I ran to the testing center, wallet in hand,

feeling pretty excited because my wallet felt fat.

But, as I opened it up to purchase a fuze-healthy infusions peach mango.

I saw this.

& started laughing.

mandy moore & I have something in common.

All of my ♥,

Lauren

some like it hot.

i've said it before, i'm not a sweets kind of girl. I can resist the temptation of brownies, cookies, cake, anything sugary; but put something salty or spicy in front of my & I cave in. i'm pretty sure that it has to do with the fact that i'm mexican.

my mouth waters when i think of chili (like it is right now). i went to high school in east l.a. and instead of having ice cream trucks or bake sales after school, we would have corn men selling elotes & ice cream trucks selling hot cheetos with lime juice. There are 4 snacks that I crave constantly. Some may seem weird to you, but don't shut them down, try them. i promise, they're really good...


1. Tapatío on popcorn. i still remember the first time my dad taught me how to eat popcorn like this. at first, my taste buds couldn't handle the heat so i would literally keep my mouth open under a running faucet! i promise it's not that painful anymore. my old roommates used to think i was crazy, but when i went to méxico, i found that they actually have pumps of hot sauce at movie theaters & they sell popcorn with hot sauce packets. oh & p.s. it's kind of a habit of mine to just call hot sauce chile because that's what it's called in spanish & i grew up calling it that.


2. hot cheetos with lime, with lime juice. hot cheetos with lime are my favorite chips, my friends and i love them so much that when my bestie Jeniffer was in Spain, she had her mom send her a bag. $20 bag of hot cheetos anyone? when i was in middle school, the 8th grade class would sell this snack in a classroom & if you didn't get let out for "nutrition" early enough, they would be sold out. i confess, i used to have two small bags a day. there's something about lime juice that just makes things more flavorful. the only thing with this snack is that if you don't eat it fast enough, it could turn soggy. no bueno. mind you, this snack as well with the others are only for those who like spicy foods, if you don't like hot flavored things, you're not going to like them, simple as that.


3. doritos with laughing cow cheese. this is my personal creation. my grandpa introduced my to laughing cow cheese with crackers, but i thought this snack needed a little kick. i think i was on my period when i created this one & it's been a hit with everyone i've introduced it to. just ask Matty g. this one isn't as spicy as the others, but it's just as yummy.


4. pico de gallo chili powder with pineapple. i haven't found pico de gallo in provo, so i've been using different brands, walmart has a pretty good one. i've always loved chili powder i used to eat it as a candy when i was in fifth grade, lucas anyone? i used to pour the stuff on my hand & lick it. i still do that with chili powder whenever i have it. it accents the pineapple quite nicely. if you think it's weird just go to l.a. any fruit vendor will sell you fruit bags with a packet of chili powder & lemon juice included. it tastes good on anything but my personal favorites are mangos, watermelon, jicama, apples (green ones), and cucumber.



i love my culture so much & especially when it has yummy snacks attached with it. please try some of these out, if anything just to say you did it. if you have any delicious snack combinations that you love, send them my way! (i think diversity is awesome.)

here's to the yummy snacks of the world! & chili & lime. long live the spicy!

All of my ♥,
Lauren

is qasrsm a word?

My ward does this thing where we get new callings every semester. This semester, I've been called to the friendship council. Basically, it's the best calling ever. I'm in charge of planning fun activities & being a friend to anyone & everyone in the ward. Could there be anything better?
We had a stake lu'au this Saturday where Tyson & I helped decorate a booth. Post lu'au we hit up Wendys & then played games like there was no tomorrow. p.s. have you guys ever played pit? It was my first time & I'm hooked!








All of my ♥,
Lauren

thank you MLKJ...

[Matty G (kindred spirits) & I got the exact same yogurt but, someone went overboard on the graham crackers]
[intense story telling.]

On MLKJ day, I woke up at 10:30 am, took a shower & gave my hair a much needed deep conditioning, made a goal to comb my hair more often (hence shiny-ness in pics — a brush does wonders), did some homework, watched episodes of Law & Order: SVU♥, made myself a new ringtone, got bored — cut my bangs AGAIN, went out for frozen yogurt, played matchmaker, & watched The Social Network. I'd say it was a day well spent. Hope yours was just as great!

All of my ♥,
Lauren

feliz friday — the explanation.

Feliz Friday.

That means happy friday in Spanish (cough cough Tiff)

but Qu'est ce?

It all started with a sketch book & a calendar.

I'm Mexican.

99 (or something like that) %.

Every now & then, my dad travels to Me-hi-ko to visit my relatives.

When I was in fifth grade, he brought me back a scribe sketchbook.

[best thing EVER!]

I was obsessed with Sailor Moon, Cardcaptors, and other anime series at the time.

So I would fill the scribe's with printed pictures of the cartoons I adored.

It was a scrapbook of sorts.

As time went on,

I kept adding to the sketchbook filling it with pictures

and clippings of other things that made me happy

& thus, the happy book was born.

Feliz Fridays come from

this Calendar.

I've purchased it for two years now...

Every day, I would write my favorites in this happy book

& on Fridays, I made it a goal to blog about my favorite happiness-causing-thing listed.

I just found out there's an online version.

& since I've already purchased a Mexico calendar for my room,

I'll probably follow that one.

One day, I'll scan actual pages from my Happy Book,

but, for now I'll just show snippits of it in picture form.

volume i on the left, ii on the right

these are a few of my favorite things, literally.

My freshman year favorites!

High school hand-writing. oi vey!

transformation. from little monster —> to beeeeast. gah!

I feel like I just shared a piece of my soul with you!

For the online version of the happy book, click here.

happiness is a marvelous thing!

All of my ♥,

Lauren

i did something crazy today ...

I may or may not have asked for special permission to take 21 credits.
As in 3 credits more than what is allowed.
Insane? Maybe.
But truth is, if I can avoid it, I want to reside in Califa in the summertime.
It's all good though, I have MIA radio on the go on mi pandora.
What could go wrong?



All of my ♥,
Lauren

neon cupcakes.

Everyone knows I have a thing for birthdays.
& Monday just happened to be roomie Tiff's feliz birthday.
I was in the SLC for this momentous occasion,
so to make up for my absence, I made a batch of neon cupcakes.
yes, neon.
Don't worry though, I held tight to my new years resolution.
They're staring at my face in the kitchen right this moment.
You should come by & partake. :]

All of my ♥,
Lauren

8 simple rules.

I'm really excited to meet 2011. I woke up smiling today & filled with a new sense of determination & positivity. I have this feeling deep down inside that 2011 will be one for the history books. I've never felt so much optimism at the start of a new year before & it's kind of invigorating. It's like someone sprinkled bright yellow lemon zest into my life (weird description, I know, but yellow's my fave color & lemon zest smells amazingly fresh). I have a new mantra for this year : "Life is for living." That simple phrase encompases my new found sense of carpe-diesm.

eight is my most favorite number — partly because I was born on the 8th day of the 8th month, but mostly for alot of little reasons. & it's kind of magical that I came up with 8 new years resolutions for 2011. I thought long & hard about these goals; I've been planning some for a month now. In the end, I came up with 4 public goals & 4 private goals. I didn't really intend for it to happen that way, promise. There's just some goals that are kind of personal goals that I only share with a selected few because they are super important & precious to me. That probably sounds bogus, but if you knew the goals, trust, you'd understand.
New Years Resolutions 2011 edition.
1. Run a half-marathon
Last year, I gave myself the challenge to learn to love running and I've made progress,
which you can read about here & here. But this is the big daddy challenge of them all. I'm
excited to prove to the world & myself, that I can run 13.1 mi & still live to tell the story.

2. No junk food
for realsies this time. I was doing so good, then I slipped, crashed & burned. Plus
following #2 will greatly help #1.

3. Read scriptures at least 10 min. everday.
I skype read the Book of Mormon with my brother as often as possible (laugh if you will. I
love it!) but, on the days I can't skype, I'll read on my own. I'm starting from the
beginning all the way from Genesis. This way, Ezra & I are still in the same boat & I get to
brush up on my Bible stories. It's a win-win.

4. Learn to swallow a pill.
Embarrassing? yes. Impossible? no. It's all in my head because I can swallow all sorts of
things just fine...I just freeze up when it comes to medicine. My current strategy in dealing
with pain is to wait it out. I probably have a stronger tolerance for pain than your average
20 year old because of that. When I have a headache I give myself (or have someone else do
the honors) Frankenstein bolts (apply pressure with fingers to my temples). I also
sometimes tie a bandana super tight around my head to create comfortable pressure. It's
amazing how creative you can get when you can't take medicine.

5. sorry.

6. You'll see

7. Hopefully!

8. Someday you'll understand...




That's a lot of written word & I'm sorry. I promise to have more picture posts. I just felt like I had to explain a couple of things. What are your new years resolutions? Please share! :]

All of my ♥ (& support in your resolution efforts!),
Lauren