Archive

Author Archives: Lauren

Cat on the loose.

King of the road.

Eye of the tiger.

However you want to say it, this video projection of a tiger running in tandem with the speed of a moving car is the coolest.  See for yourself.

(found at even cleveland)

“The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls is by far one of my favorite books that I have ever read. When I saw her second book, “Half Broke Horses”, for sale at the bookstore, I knew I would love it. I was right. There is something about the way the author tells a story that sucks you into her world. This book was written from the point of view of Jeannette’s grandmother. Her life story as a wild woman in the Wild West is, at times, unbelievable. I loved this book and everything that it represents. What can I say, I like the point of view of a wild woman.

I’m just really getting into this social media thing lately. In addition to my recent membership to and excitement about Instagram, I’m also chirping at the feed over at @Sister_Disco_

(“The Animal Fair” by Alice and Martin Provensen via Brain Pickings – Part 20 )

What can I say, I think these things are so fun.   Some of my favorites:

Tyga @TygaVerified – so, it took me a bit to realize this isn’t the real Tyga

Astrology Zone @astrologyzone – ahhh, Susan, you are amazing!

Erin Haslag @WELLinLA (and Sister Disco homie) – learning so much from this girl about wellness and how to live a more joy filled life!

Mindy Kaling @mindykaling – cracks me up!

Gabrielle Bernstein @GabbyBernstein – truth, always!

Summer Steady from Sister Disco on 8tracks.

CLICK HERE to listen

Tracklist:
1. Tamiditin Tan Ufrawan by Tinariwen
2. Ayako by Guitar
3. Scandinavian Crush by Craft Spells
4. Honey by Monster Rally
5. Woman by Timber Timbre
6. Obiani Sua Efir by Asaase Ase
7. Didn’t I by Darondo
8. Intento Gaby Moreno

Image via Wildflower

The second portion of our trip to Peru started with an early morning train ride from the Sacred Valley to the mountain town just below Machu Picchu!

After settling into our hotel, we had the afternoon to explore our surroundings and check out the landscape.
Some of us also took the opportunity to browse the local market.  The guy who ran this music stand was incredible at playing the various instruments.


Before sunrise the next morning, we all boarded a bus for the 20 minute ride up the mountain to catch Machu Picchu as the sun rose above it.  Words can’t really explain how amazing and overwhelming this initial view is.

After taking in our surroundings, four of us headed over to climb Wayna Picchu (the mountain that overlooks Machu Picchu).  It’s an incredible climb!

It ends with a crazy view of Machu Picchu from above.But the real challenge, in my opinion, is the initial climb down; check out these steep, narrow stairs!Once we made it back down to the base, we all met up again and took a tour of the ruins.  Honestly, there is so much to see, you could spend a fews days here.After a relaxing night back at the hotel, we headed back to the Sacred Valley.  This time our train ride came with a surprise.  About half way through, this guy started dancing up and down the aisles.  His debut was followed by a fashion show by the train attendants.  Yea, we thought this was strange too – in the most entertaining way!

Once off the train, we headed to an incredible, centuries-old hacienda for our daily pisco sour, a rousing round of this super fun coin toss game called sapo (or “toad”) and decadent lunch.The last night and day of our trip was spent in Cuzco, a beautiful Spanish-influenced city.  We took in a few more sites, finished up some shopping, and were lucky enough to catch some of the festivities leading up to the solstice celebration.On our way back to the states, six of us had the chance to spend a couple hours in Lima (Teddy and his girlfriend, Kelley, said goodbye and headed off for a few extra days in Buenos Aries!).  We hadn’t much prepared for what we wanted to see in Lima.  David pulled out the guide book and announced that Herman Melville once called Lima “the saddest city on earth”.  I’m sure we didn’t get a chance to find its charming parts so instead of say anything further or leaving you there, we’ll end with a final pic of the whole crew over Machu Picchu!

Farrell has been quite influential in my life with regard to using as many low/no chemical beauty products as possible – and getting real about what is in the products we use on our bodies.  In her honor, I thought I’d give you a little run down on the facial products I’ve been using lately.

1. Homemade Honey + Sugar Lip Scrub – For a quick and easy lip exfoliator, I mix a little sugar and honey together, massage it onto my lips and leave it on for 5-10 minutes.

2. Burt’s Bees Orange Essence Facial Cleanser – I’m really enjoying this cleanser which has a very mild scrub component to it.

3. Coconut Oil  I mainly use this coconut oil as a make-up remover.  Occasionally, I apply it after I’ve washed my face and leave it on for 15-30 mins as a moisturizer.

4. Apivita Natural Oil – Almond – I often apply this oil instead of a moisturizer at night.  I also like to use it around my eyes (I’m not sure whether this is advised or not).

5. Korres Pomegranate Mattifying Primer – Korres also has an all natural line.  While this product feels great, I couldn’t find it in the Cosmetics Database and it seems that there was a pretty big difference in the ingredients used in Korres vs. Korres Natural products.  Shucks!

6. First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream – I can’t say enough good things about this moisturizer.  It got me through the winter, when my face can become super dry.  It’s wonderful and anyone who has dry, flakey or sensitive skin should hook themselves up. 

7. EltaMD UV Physical Broad-Spectrum SPF 41  I am also a major supporter of EltaMD’s tinted sunscreen.  It is super light but also does a great job evening out your skin tone.  The only slightly difficult thing is that you have to buy it from a doctor’s office but the EltaMD website has an easy to use distributor locator.

Take a look back at some of Farrell’s favorite natural beauty products, make-up and deodorant!

We start off every week with some photos taken by our friends and family. Looks like summer is in fully swing and everyone is hitting the road!

Ddeani – Cleveland Hopkins Airport at 4 a.m.
“And they’re off!”

Annmarie – South Carolina
Stopping to get gas and fireworks on our drive down to Anna Maria, Florida.

Juanita – New Orleans, LA
Up and down the hallways of Langston Hughes Elementary

Waiting for the Paulin Brothers Brass Band at Preservation Hall

In front of portraits of Laura at the Laura Plantation

Jo – Memphis, TN and Graceland
We’ve been driving cross country for the past week & we’d blown out a tire going through Oklahoma, so we got into Memphis around midnight on Friday night. We were in rough shape from the challenges of the day, but we were determined to have fun so we went straight to Wild Bill’s. It’s a divey joint that only sells 40s & chicken wings. The blues they play there are legit…the grandpa type that first welcomed us got up later for a couple smooth songs and people jumped in with harmonica or backup vocals as they pleased – it seems they were all friends and we got included. The next day we went to Graceland, y’all! We all got Elvis fever…what a dream boat.



Last month, Farrell and Albert took a trip to “the beach” – the house our grandparents built in Huron, Ohio.  Growing up, we spent a large part of our summers there swimming, riding bikes and playing with our cousins.  The last time I was there, I took a bunch of pictures of the inside of the house, which is so full of its own personality.  To be honest, I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of capturing the details of this home that every one of our many aunts, uncles and cousins could probably describe – inch by inch – from memory.



*Our grandmother‘s father, Gramp, painted all of these pictures.

I recently watched the documentary “Eames: The Architect and The Painter” about the husband and wife design team, Charles and Ray Eames.  It is a fun, touching and inspiring film about how the Eames’ paired up to form a life of creativity and innovation through constantly evolving design.  One of the scenes featured the playful Eames’ animal masks…

…which reminded me of this wild bunch in my own life!

As well as this masked-Picasso photo, which I came upon awhile back.

And then these two works that I absolutely adore.

Bird Mask by Jacqueline Ford

Sculpture by A.J. Fosik

Click through images for source info.

In addition to Farrell and Albert, a good little chunk of my closest friends and family have also moved out of New York in the past couple of months – a strange phenomena of NYC living.  With the majority of my remaining friends residing in Brooklyn, I’ve had a string of slightly more quiet Manhattan nights than I’ve had over the past couple of years.  But because the warmer months are finally here, I’ve traded in the Netflix for a lot of meandering around the neighborhood.  In the words of Patsy Cline, “I go out walkin’, after midnight…”


*

Ain’t it funny how the night moves

(Click on image below to play the song.  You know you can’t resist a little Bob Seger!)