Happy President's Day friends!
I hope your three day weekend was full of adventures. Or at least relaxing. Or...if you're me...furniture assembly.
Anyway - here are some of the best things I've found on the internet lately.
A really great essay from my favorite travel blogger.
What would you take with you if your house was burning?
A lesson in coffee slang from the NY Times.
My first, and favorite, "adult" coffee table book.
Thinking about this. For me (today), it's coffee shops that know my order before I have to say it, blogs that don't require a click through on my reader & a perfect 75 degree day.
She bakes and she writes. I accidentally saw a picture of you.
I go back to the house for a book.
love.lauren
Every once in a while, you just need something fun to read. Here are some of the best distractions I've found lately.
- Hilarious Amazon reviews for a ridiculous TV... (via Matador Network)
- Two friends decide to spend 40 days trying to date...and document all of it. This was one of my favorites! (via 40 Days of Dating).
- George Clooney discussing nipples on his bat suit and other gems during his recent Reddit Ask Me Anything session.
- The AMAZING Grand Budapest Hotel trailer. Cannot. Wait.
- Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. I love them all, but c'mon. Tina Fey? Yes.
love.lauren
Well 30, here you are. Staring me in the face.
Good news is, you don't scare me one bit.
To celebrate what I call "official" adulthood, my family and friends threw me a perfect surprise party. There's something pretty special about getting all those people you love together at once.
There was a photo booth (with props). There was my FAVORITE meal. There were embarrassing photos. There was a birthday tree (I knew leaving my Christmas tree up way past what is appropriate would pay off!). There was a virtual love fest from my favorite lumberjacks. It was everything. It was the perfect way to ring in a new decade (!!!!).
I have a feeling my 30's hold quite a few adventures. And I can't wait to share them with all these wonderful people.
love.lauren
I've been to some pretty great places.
But there's something really special about Southeast Asia.
I'm not sure if it's the wonderful, friendly people you meet,
the intoxicating smells (good & bad) that you don't get anywhere else, the food (OH the food...) or the scenery.
Maybe it's just that it's a place unlike any other I've ever been in my life.
After visiting Vietnam a few years ago, I knew I'd be back. I HAD to be back.
When my sister suggested we meet in Bangkok for the holidays, it didn't take much convincing.
When her friend Meagan decided to come too, I was excited to share one of my favorite parts of the world with someone new.
When we painstakingly worked to convince my best friend she needed to be there, it was perfect.
And so we went.
And it. was. wonderful.
We ventured to every corner of the beautiful country.
On planes, trains, motorcycle sidecars, long tails, speed boats and even three hour long taxi rides.
We trusted strangers to help us.
We ate. Oh we ate. VN's banana pancakes, pad thai, a few accidental chilis, papayas, rogue quail eggs.
We got drunk on sunshine and sand (and maybe a little singha.)
There were elephants. And tigers. A few frogs. Bugs. BUGS.
We played cards, shared laughs. Got lost and found new corners to explore.
We rang in the new year in an old, wooden wat with hundreds of candles and monks.
We made wishes and resolutions on lanterns and sent them off into the night.
We swam in rivers, under waterfalls, in the bluest, clearest water you'll ever see.
On our last day on Phi Phi, our favorite waiter quietly asked us not to forget Thailand.
To do such a thing would be impossible.
Because we had all fallen in love. With a country. With it's people. With this big, beautiful world.
love.lauren
here are a few (okay, a lot) of my favorite photos. video to come soon!
