My Dream House/Location/Future

Who doesn’t think about how they want their life to be in the future? I feel like everyone thinks about their dream house and their dream man/woman and their dream job, am I right? I think that’s completely normal! When you are in elementary school your teachers already start asking you what you want to be when you grow up, and that’s when it all starts. Throughout your young teenage years you then start to develop what you think would be the perfect life and your “happily ever after”. You start to think about where you would love to live one day and what you want to do with the rest of your life. Each individual thing that you can think of in your head that makes you happy all comes together to make one big perfect idea of your future. Just for fun, in this post I am going to give you a peak into my brain and share with you what I want for my future. Ready?

First thing’s first, after college I want to have a job. Some people may say I want to have a very successful, high paying job but I feel like now days you can’t even ask for that much. So for now, I am just asking to be employed after college. Because I am a media management major, I do hope to have a job that has something to do with that. In a perfect world, I would be working at a radio station, recording studio, or record label doing the behind the scenes/business type stuff. I just know that I want to be surrounded by music, and I think that that is the best way to do that without having to sing or perform or be on screen/camera. In a perfect world I would also be working with successful people in an environment that I enjoyed working in. I would like to be high up in the company, and be able to have a somewhat flexible schedule. I would like to be able to plan events and help the performers who I would be working with. As for now that is all I really have to say about my “dream/future job”.

Below is a picture of what my job setting could look like:

As for my location, I really want nothing more than to move south. I use to want to move to a city like New York or Chicago, however recently I have really loved everything about the south. I have been told that for my job it would be good to look at LA, NYC, Chicago, or Nashville. I think time will tell where I end up. In a perfect world I would live by the beach. Something about the water makes me so happy with life. I have always thought that living in the Carolinas would be nice. My grandparents have a condo there and they have vacationed there for as long as I can remember. My parents have also vacationed there for as long as I can remember and have talked about moving there after my sisters and I all finish our schooling. I like the southern hospitality and the laid back feel that surrounds the beach. I even like the southern accents. If I lived in the south I would dress really preppy and eat the best seafood of my whole life. I would like to live in Charleston, South Carolina so that it’s not that far from the beach but not too close. I also think it would have a lot of job opportunities.

Below is a picture of Charleston, SC:

So now that I have decided where I want to live I have to talk about my dream house. I would love to have a big, white house with a wrap around porch. I think it would be lovely if my house overlooked a lake, and I could sit on the porch and look out at the water, kind of like in The Notebook. The porch would be decorated to look very welcoming and there would be plenty of space for family and friends to come and sit and talk together. I would have a large wood door as my front door and when you opened the door to go inside it would look homey and like the people who live there love to live there and are happy. There would be a giant staircase that leads upstairs and a balcony upstairs that overlooks the first floor of the house. There would be dark hardwood floors and white crown molding. There would be a huge kitchen with plenty of room to make the best meals. There would also be a large dining room with a great kitchen table. The table would have to be a good size so that we could have a lot of people over at once to enjoy our great meals. The family room would be large and welcoming. Even though it would be large, the furniture would be set up in a way that doesn’t look overwhelming. There would b e the best closets and the best bathrooms in my house. The best part of the house would be the backyard. It would go out to a pool and there would be amazing landscaping surrounding it. Also the backyard would back up to a lake. There would be a dock right outside the house where my boat and jet skis would be docked. That would definitely be my fantasy back yard and house.

Below are a few photos of what my house could look like:

I would love the fall in love with a southern boy with a southern accent and who uses manners and has southern hospitality. We would get married on the beach, he would have a successful job, we would start a family, and live happily ever after.

Below is a picture of what our wedding could look like:

I hope you enjoyed reading about what my dream life would be like, and I would love to hear about what some of your unrealistic expectations are for your future. I know I said unrealistic, but what if this actually happened? That would be crazy. Anyway, until next time!

Lauren

New Music & Music I Like Right Now

In this post I am going to talk about music. New music that has come out recently as well as music that I have just really been enjoying lately. I feel like I have been listening to new music recently, instead of sticking to the same old same old stuff that I normally do. I’m not saying that I listen to the same music all the time over and over again, I’m just saying that I have discovered some new music and want to share! I hope you enjoy and check out these awesome artists!

For starters, the new John Mayer album just came out! I have yet to listen to the whole thing the whole way through but from what I have heard it sounds amazing. I am a huge John Mayer fan, and have been for a very long time. I have seen him I think four or five times live and have loved every second of it. He is a great performer (minus the ugly facial expressions he makes while performing) and makes the concert personal. I think my favorite album of John’s will always be “Continuum”. I really have nothing at all bad to say about the album at all. It came out in 2006 and I still listen to it a couple times a week. Sorry to rant about that. Anyways, John’s new album titled “Born and Raised” does not disappoint at all. I personally think it sounds great! It has kind of an R&B, blues, and pop sound to it. I know that’s a lot to say that one album is and maybe a little hard to picture or imagine, but it is seriously so great. The songs are very easy to listen to and are very soothing. “Shadow Days” was the first single off this album. I think this was a good choice for a single just because it is catchy and has a good beat that people would want to sing to. I will insert a clip of it below:

Another popular song from his new album is "Queen of California". I think this song has almost a country vibe to it? That may be going a little far but I think that when I really listen to it and focus. It is also acoustic and electric sounding.

One of my personal favorites from this album is “Something Like Olivia”. I think this song has a great beat and a great electric guitar background. It’s a song that makes you tap your foot to and sing along to. I also think the words are very heartfelt and cute. Listen to the clip below and tell me that you don’t want to tap your foot…

Great, right? Right.

Anyway, I seriously suggest you check out his album! You won’t be disappointed.

Another great album that just came out is Haley Reinhart’s “Listen Up!”. Haley was an American Idol contestant last year who ended third in the competition, however her new record sounds like a winning one to me. I love her raspy soulful voice. I think she kind of sounds like Miley Cyrus and Christina Aguilera. I was surprised by how much I actually enjoy this album as a whole. She was one of my favorites throughout the whole American Idol contest so I guess it does make sense. My favorite song so far off her album is “Free”. The first time I heard it I knew I loved it! I like the feel of it and the way it kind of swings along. It’s very soulful and smooth. I will insert a clip of the song below:

I also think that “Undone” is also a beautiful song. It is probably my second favorite on the album tied with “Spiderweb”. “Undone” is very slow and kind of sad sounding. You can tell that there is a story behind that song and there is a lot of feeling behind those lyrics. I feel like her voice sounds very emotional and a lot of people would like that. “Spiderweb” has more of an upbeat and edgy sound almost. It is louder and has a faster beat to it. Her voice still sounds so great and soulful in it. I highly suggest you check out her album as well!

The two other artists I am going to talk about are from American Idol as well. The first is Scotty McCreery, who I just recently have been non-stop listening to and the second is Phillip Phillips, the winner from this season. Both artists I think are very talented and deserve a lot of recognition, and I think you should check both of them out! Here is a picture of both of them at the finale last night!

(Phillip Phillips is on the left and Scotty is on the right)

Scotty is a country artist, whose voice I love so much. He sounds like a very true country artist and sounds much older than he actually is in my opinion. His debut album is called “Clear As Day”. My favorite songs on it are “Water Tower Town”, “You Make That Look Good”, and “Clear As Day”. “Water Tower Town” is a really fun upbeat song that sounds just like the typically small southern town you would imagine. It makes me happy because it is just such a happy fun song. “You Make That Look Good” is a really cute song I think. He is just talking about how this girl looks good in anything basically. Finally, the song “Clear As Day” is such an emotional song. It almost made me cry the first time I listened to it. I wasn’t expecting the ending that it has, and I think it makes the song creative and interesting. Overall, I love this album and cannot stop listening to it especially now that its warm outside (something about warm weather makes me love country music even more then usual). I am also extremely impressed that this is only his first album. I will insert a clip below of a preview of his album:

Lastly, I just wanted to talk about Phillip Phillips, the winner of American Idol this season! He has such a unique sound that I love (and obviously America does too)! I can't wait to hear the music that he will come out with in the future. I will insert a clip of his finale song:

I hope you enjoyed this post and check out these awesome musicians!

Lauren

My Style Icons & Spring Fashion Trends

So for this post I am kind of combining two ideas that I had. I knew I wanted to blog about style and about new trends and the kind of fashion styles that I am interested in right now, so I decided to do a combination of the two. The first half of this blog will be about my favorite celebrity style icons and the second half will be about spring 2012 trends. I was going to limit myself to clothing, however now that I am thinking about it I want to be able to discuss more then just clothes. I will probably be mentioning nail polish and other little things like that. I hope you enjoy this blog! Feel free to share your favorite spring trends and celebrity style icons with me as well, I'd love to hear!

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I have a lot of trouble trying to define my style. First of all, I’m in college and here I usually walk around in Nike running shorts and a t-shirt or jeans and a sweatshirt rather than trying to put a lot of effort into my outfits. However, when I go out with friends or am going to chapter for my sorority when you have to dress nice, I do tend to think more about my style and what I am putting together and why. I like kind of the rocker-chic look. I think that Miley Cyrus pulls this look off. She also would probably add boho to her style description. I also like the kind of preppy, put-together look such as J. Crew clothing and Vineyard Vines. Lilly Pulitzer is also very preppy (maybe almost too much for me), but I do like the southern feel of their clothing. Lastly, I really love it when someone can put together an outfit that looks so put together, yet it looks like they spent almost no time on it at all. When I think of this Lauren Conrad comes to mind. I think all her clothing and her outfits always look so put together and so casual. With the warm months being here and summer fast approaching, I love the carefree look. I think in the summer you can wear and pull off all kinds of bright colors and crazy things you just can’t get away with in the cooler months. I love summer styles because I think people are more daring and I think that you have more options of what you can choose from to wear.

Miley Cyrus example: I really like this outfit because of how casual it looks but still how fashion-forward I think it is. She is wearing a plain white top that really appears to be nothing special. She is wearing it with ripped, black skinny jeans paired with super cute, edgy black heels. This is a good example for what I like about the rocker-chic-laid back look.

 

Preppy fashion example: I LOVE this outfit. Her bright red-orange shorts look so perfect with her jean button-down top. The top under her button-down top appears to be white with a pattern that is similar to the color of her shorts. I really think that this whole outfit comes together so perfectly. I also think that her watch looks very classy and nice. I would love to own the shorts and jean shirt for myself, HAH!

Lauren Conrad example: I admire her style because it looks like something so effortlessly put together. It looks nice all put together, but when you look at what she is actually wearing and all the separate pieces she is really just wearing basic things. I think to master this style you just have to be able to know what looks good together. Her plain black v-neck and bright red skirt are two very basic pieces, but when the brown belt is added into the outfit it makes it all come together. She also kept the look very casual by wearing flats.

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It’s finally warm again outside! That means bright colors and lots of options when it comes to fashion! In the summer months I think that there is a lot more opportunity to wear whatever you like and whatever you think is cute. However, I still think it is good to know and keep track of what some of the current trends are. Some of my favorite spring and summer trends for 2012 are neon colors, high-low skirts, and white shorts.

Neon color example: As you can see in this picture there is a lot of neon going on! My favorite part about the whole outfit I think are the sandals. Oh. My. Gosh. The neon pink against a tan looks so cute! I also love the gold accent on them. The shorts are my second favorite part of the outfit. I think they make a big statement and look super cute. Her hat and her shirt and jewelry are very bright and flattering as well.

High-low skirt: At first I didn’t really know if I liked this trend, and I thought it was kind of weird. However, now that more people are wearing them they are kind of growing on me and I actually really like them. My friend just bought a high-low dress and plans to belt it in the center and I think it looks super cute. Her dress looks kind of similar to the dress in the picture below (that is belted). Overall, I think this new trend is fun and unique.

White shorts: I know that this is definitely NOT a new trend, and I don’t really even know if you could consider it a trend? But for this blog I am going to consider it one. I like white shorts because it reminds me of summer (since technically you aren’t supposed to wear them until after Memorial Day). I like how the white looks against tan skin, and seriously you can wear just about anything with them! You can dress them up or dress them down, and I think they look really clean and fresh.

I hope you found the trends and fashion styles that I enjoy interesting! Feel free to share what you love too!

Lauren

First Animation