a catch up. because it's the end of june ///

i have panic attacks about parallel parking--it's part of the reason i hate venturing to LA or any city in southern california. that and narrow streets. i'll say 2014728156983 prayers out loud every time i'm headed out, "please bless that i find the perfect spot. that there's an actual parking lot. or that i can make the how-to from pinterest a reality."

occasionally, i get my big girl pants on and decide to actually venture to fun places to do fun things with my fam and friendsss. nothing a little beyoncé plus pep talk in the car can't cure. you think i'm joking.

anyways, no time like the present to play a fast paced game of catch-up, so scroll baby scroll!

// a really delicious freshly-picked orange from right outside katie's house. if i could be so lucky.
// went to sea world. complimentary tickets for teachers? use all the perks!!!!!!!
// lavender bundles, from an organic farm somewhere along highway 150 in ojai.
// avocados from one of the canyon's on katie's ranch. katie lives the dream life. why even try?
keep scrolling!

in may we celebrated mothers day at church. skyped with elder quesada flores. & went to an evening with diane guerrero (janethevirigin!!!!!!!!) where she talked about her memoir and the deportation of her parents.

also in may we said farewell to my abuelita. a roadtrip to utah ensued. it was the greatest family reunion the flores have ever seen. ALLTHECOUSINS! baked potato bar! homemade pupusas! homemade elotes! uno! laughing. spontaneous birthday cakes. wut? leave it to my abuela to have the coolest departing-this-earth weekend.

beginning of june = misden's birthday! 26 never looked so good. mini high-school reunion. how is it that it's been eight years, but we're still as awkward as we were at 15, maybe even more?? we brunched hard at recess eatery. the weather was hothothot i melted in places i didn't even know i could sweat from, but anything for a good photo op. ignore the dead arms.

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but wait, there's more! scrolly scroll scroll.

// went to a dodgers game. dodger dogs y u so expensive! oh, look my parents in front of a giant bobblehead.
// never has a more accurate picture been taken of the flores family.
// eggs benedict are my weakness. eat all the carbs!


went to sea world. atlantis broke down twice. where are the dolphins in that ride, the medusa head, the shaking on the elevator? am i making that up? someone confirm. please! it's killing me, and a midnight google-ing session on the subject has failed me. it's true.

lastly went to visit ex-roommate katie. my second red-headed roommate named katie. she lives outside of la in a small little stretch of land named piru on a ranch where they grow oranges + avocados + lemons + grapefruit. i came home with a bag of beautiful avocados. free99! take that sprouts. we went to a avocado growers appreciation barbeque. i was a very grateful plus one. PERKS. afterwards we drove to ojai to tour a lavender farm and checked out their lavender festival. pretty smelling purple flowers, grandma boutiques, + weirdly infused lavender food sign me up!

the end.

"what have you been up to, lauren?"

a list of -eds and -ings because parallelism is overrated* 

*sometimes

:: ordered eggs benedict three brunches in a row from here. here. and here. (for the record, s&w's was the best!)

:: invested in a scale—[probably because of the above]

:: rediscovering the glory of gilmore girls, and wishing I could attend every festival-carnival-celebration that Stars Hollow/Emily Gilmore has ever thrown.

:: avoiding LA traffic like it's the bubonic plague because CAR-mageddon. I'm looking at you 5. 405. and 101. bolded exclamation point.

:: acting like newport beach is my assigned temple because... (see above)

:: coming to a political awakening. also looking into alternative party affiliations and possible write-ins for president. can i make my own party? more importantly can i call it the fiesta-party. double the party, double the fun.

:: becoming the queen of breakfast and taking full advantage of a pantry and spice racks that don't have grad school budget restraints.

:: attending the local spanish ward and pretending I know how to play the piano. sidenote: thankfully, the relief society room's piano has prerecorded songs because a poor wayfaring man of grief is still my boss.

:: getting into fights with the rooster who lives next door. his 5 am booty calls are getting old real quick. update: the rooster, all four hens, AND the chihuahuas have all mysteriously disappeared one day after i yelled 'shutup!' at them from my bedroom window.

:: working as a part-time math tutor...for my brother. i'm compensated in the form of teenage frustration + homemade popcorn. win-win?

:: pulling off my lips twice a day & feeling distrubingly fascinated by the similarity of the skin from my lips and a snake's freshly shed skin. tmi? #accutane

:: sporting the hottest threads: sweats, baseball shorts, old concert tees, my brother's t-shirts + a high bun + NOMAKEUP #thnkuaccutane #drkskinblessings

:: driving through the streets downtown LBC twice a week and giving in to thug-life urges of listening to a bit of snoop dogg, old school r&b, and maaaaayyyybe took out my lil' bow-wow cd. doggy bag circa 2001.

:: pretending i have a second place of residence in huntington beach.

:: coming to terms with my lactose-intolerancenessness and feeling srsly so blessed that i live in the age of chewy vanilla lactaid pills.


you made it to the end!
go you!
(somehow cheering you on just felt like the most appropriate way to end)

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