Corduroy skirts are a sin.

Click here to find out why.

Stop drinking the Haterade and start spreading the love.
Equal rights for all!

Keep it classy and fabulous!
xoxo, Laura

Another song from another commercial.

So there's this awesome Clorox bleach commercial about a bathroom being a playground. The whole thing looks like a really cool painting or something. But what's best about the commercial is the song in the background--"Birthday Girl," by Andrew Rodriguez.

Isn't it amazing where you discover things?

Keep it classy and fabulous!
xoxo, Laura

Tofurkey day.

Hey everybody! I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving...mine was pretty good, I must say.

So we have a few traditions at my house for Thanksgiving. First and foremost, we always start the day off by watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, eating Pillsbury cinnamon rolls (NOT Grands, just the normal ones), eggs, fruit, and bacon. We've been doing that my entire life. I can't remember a time when we didn't do that on Thanksgiving.

Secondly, my mother and I always make homemade applesauce. It's amazing. I don't remember when we started doing it, but it's been going on for a very long time. We only have it once a year, and it's the best applesauce you will ever eat in your entire life.

We have a few weird traditions, too...we only eat chicken on Thanksgiving, not turkey. That's only started in about the past 5 years, when everyone fessed up and admitted they hated turkey and that having it around the house for two weeks afterward was awful. But besides the chicken, we always have some sort of vegetarian option, because either me, my brother, or his girlfriend, Claire, is a vegetarian at Thanksgiving. (That started when I was about 13 or 14...we all just keep cycling through.) This year it was me and his girlfriend. Also, we always have cranberry sauce from a can, and it always has to retain its can-like shape. (Kind of gross, but also hilarious.) We always have an alternate pie besides pumpkin, because my mom is the only one who likes pumpkin pie. We generally have either my chocolate mousse pie or Claire's famous peanut butter pie. Oh, and we always watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on ABC, and we absolutely do NOT do Black Friday shopping, unless it's online.

All of our traditions, except for the vegetarian and chicken thing, have been around for as long as I can remember. What's your family tradition?

Keep it classy and fabulous!
xoxo, Laura

OMG VINTAGE GAGA.

If you have any doubt as to whether or not Lady Gaga is a talented singer-songwriter, or if she can actually write music, or whatever, this should clear things up...it's a video of her performing in 2005. And it's incredible.

Keep it classy and fabulous!
xoxo, Laura

Really?!?!?

So, in case you haven't heard, Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs recently recieved a shipment of the H1N1/Swine Flu vaccine to give to their employees. Except guess what? They got it before schools and hospitals. Really keeping it classy, Goldman Sachs.
Naturally, the good people at Saturday Night Live thought it was important to call them out.
So all I have to say to the people at Goldman Sachs is...REALLY!?!

Keep it classy and fabulous!
xoxo, Laura

Every time I feel the spirit...

I grew up in a very church-oriented household. I was always at church for something--preschool, choir, art, basketball, youth group, regular church, Sunday School, accompanying my parents to meetings, and so on. I never really thought about my faith--it was just handed to me. I was a Christian, and that was the way it was. I never questioned it.
My freshman year, though, things started to change. My best friend died from neuroblastoma, an agressive form of leukemia. Then, my sophomore year, I was diagnosed with depression. In April of 2007, though, my dad died very suddenly from a massive stroke. It was the breaking point--it made me question everything I knew about God. If God was so good, why did he take my father away from me? Why did he take my best friend away from me? Why did he make me suffer every day with sadness and anger?
It didn't make sense. The people at my church tried to comfort me, but their "words of comfort" quickly became a veil for trying to find out gossip about what was going on with our family. I stopped going to my youth group because people were much too nosy, and for selfish reasons.
I've grown away from the intense Christian lifestyle I used to lead, which, in the South especially, I feel is a big no-no. (It doesn't help that I have very liberal views on things such as gay marriage, abortion, and the legalization of marijuana--talk about being the black sheep!) However, I do have faith that God exists, and I do still believe in doing good things for other people. I believe that it's important for your spirituality to live in a self-sacrificial manner. Do charity work. Care for others. I believe that it's not all about you--it has to be about other people, too. And don't do things for other people for your own selfish purposes, so that you can recieve the glory--do it because you can and it needs to be done. Do it humbly and with a joyful heart. I've been pleased that there have been so many ways for me to give here at USC and with my sorority. I try and give as much as I can in all the ways I can.

"You only get what you give away, so give away love."
--Sarah Bareilles

Keep it classy and fabulous!
xoxo, Laura

Relations.

I love making new friends.

I've made a ton of new friends here at USC. First and foremost, there's the girls in my sorority, Delta Zeta. They're all really awesome--everyone is so funny and fun to be around! A few DZ girls in particular have really made an impact--Blake, Sarah, Nicole, Brittany, and Daley, just to name a few.
I met Blake on Bid Day. We ended up hanging out a lot because of mutual friends, and now she's someone I hang out with a lot. She and I have a lot in common, and we have the same sense of humor and style. I'm actually going to the basketball game with her tonight!
Sarah is my Big Sister. Obviously, she's great! She really is the best big sister I could ask for--she's been like my big sister since the first time I met her. I can talk to her about anything.
Nicole was my Bid Day Buddy (sort of like a temporary big sister). We still talk all the time--she's like an older version of me.
I didn't meet Brittany and Daley until a little later in the semester, but I always have the best time with them! Daley is hilarious, and Brittany is my voice of reason when I get too crazy.
I've become close to several of the girls on my floor as well--Alexis and Stevie, my suitemates (Stevie is in U101 with me, so she has a blog, too), Natalie and Krystin, who are roomates (Natalie's a DZ), and Taylor, who's also a DZ. They're people I can go to about anything!
And, finally, there's also my boyfriend, Will. I started dating him a couple weeks into school. He's wonderful. Enough said. :)
Everyone who I've met here has helped me in different ways--everyone is so positive and wants me to succeed. But I feel like it goes both ways--I want everyone else to succeed, too.

Keep it classy and fabulous!
xoxo, Laura

Ode to T-Swizzle.

Taylor Swift is one of my faves. She is so talented, beautiful, and she's not afraid to speak her mind (read: call guys out in chart-topping songs). On top of that, she's HILARIOUS! Check out some of her best stuff:
T-Swizzle and T-Pain
Saturday Night Live Monologue
Kate Gosselin
Parents are Terrible Drivers.

Keep it classy and fabulous!
xoxo, Laura

MEET YOUR MEAT.

This is why we should all go vegetarian OR, even better, vegan. Animal cruelty should not be accepted in the meat and dairy industry. Write to your congressman about enforcing stricter policies regarding agriculture, and support PETA.

Warning: this video contains extremely shocking and gory images. Do not watch this if you are easily disturbed.

Peace out.

When I get done with college, I am leaving the US. I am moving the either Paris or London, and I am STAYING THERE.

So studying abroad is the perfect solution to sort of "practice" for being away. Obviously, I want to study in London and Paris, so that I can be in the fashion captals of the world. I'm planning on studying in Paris at the end of my senior year, and I want to spend a semester in London either my sophomore or junior year. If I'm able to, I want to spend a semester in Paris as well, just to get used to the area.

I only see a couple of barriers in terms of studying abroad. One, of course, is the money. It's going to take a lot of cash to get me over there. However, I've already started a fund for that, and there are grants and scholarships I can get. The other is choosing the right school. I don't want to end up at some BS design school. That would completely defeat the purpose of my being there, because it would help me exactly ZERO. I'm not worried about being away from home or what my family will think--I'm actually happiest when I'm somewhat out of my element, and my mother thinks studying abroad is an awesome idea.

So, in a few years (maybe even months!), I'll be peacing out of here.

Keep it classy and fabulous!
xoxo, Laura

Lend a Hand, Part 3.

So far, I've really enjoyed my time at Hand. My mentee, Alice, is really starting to open up to me. However, I'm not sure how to approach certain topics, particularly academic success. (She's already very involved with extracirricular activities.) In terms of academic success, I think the most important topics to cover with her are study skills and organization. It seems to me that her grades are a little bit hit-or-miss, which, to me, indicates a lack of study skills AND organization. Again, I'm not sure how to approach the subject with her, since she just starting to open up to me, and I don't want her to think that all I care about in terms of her is school. I don't want to be her parent, so to speak. However, I suppose questions like these might work:
1. Why do you like your favorite class (in her case, Language Arts and Social Studies)?
2. What's your favorite way to study?
3. What's the difference between when you get good grades and bad grades? (i.e., do you study differently, participate in class, etc.)
In terms of her involvement...
1. Do you want to keep playing music when you get older?
2. Do you want to keep doing art?
3. Can you sign up for chorus next year?

Anyways, that's all for now.

Keep it classy and fabulous!
xoxo, Laura