Winter Fashion 2009

What's in for fashion right now: scarves are sooo in right now. There is a scarf out there for just about every outfit. Plain scarfs, long scarfs, designed scarfs, and crazy scarfs..there is one for you! My favorite is my red and black plaid print. It looks stunner on top of a plain black shirt. Also, one shouldered tops and dresses are very hot. This is my personal favorite. Unfortunately, this look is not for everyone, especially those with broad shoulders. This symmetrical design is eye catching and a classy revealing look. I tried on the prettiest long sleeved one shouldered top today but unfortunately the color did not go well with my pale white skin. But I'm sure I'll find another one out there in this crazy shopping world. And new this season making a huge entrance...SEQUINS! Sequins are very popular and help just about anything it is on to stand out. When the light hits it, it's sure to turn heads. Sequins are found on everything from clothes to hats and even purses and shoes. They come in just about every color so that is never an issue. Today I went to my favorite store (forever21) and bought the cutest black sequined, one shouldered dress. I plan on wearing to a Christmas dance and I'm sure to receive compliments. I also bought some beautiful gold and diamond chandelier earrings along with a black,gold, and diamond ring. All of this plus some hair pins cost only $40! What a steal!! (I even got a cool free water bottle!)

Anything and Everything

So I'm just going to type everything that comes to my mind right now. I honestly can't think of anything to talk about except for myself today. It's quite selfish I know. Maybe I'll talk about things I like. Well I love the 20's era. Everything from the clothes to the way people talked. I wish I could have lived in that time. I love New York. The city of lights and where dreams are made. When I went last year, I felt important and I left my heart there before I left. I want to move to New York City after I graduate college. Since I began playing guitar this year, I love guitars now. I have this weird obsession with Ryan Sheckler and I really do not know why. He is super cute but he skateboards..that's not like me to like skaters. I love really big nice trucks and hot sport cars. The truck represents something strong and important. It sayes," Get out of my way!" Sports cars are dangerous and a thrill. It reminds me to live life to the fullest with no regrets. People that play with my hair are definitely on my list. It is an amazing feeling to my head! I'm obsessed with the Victoria's secret angels. They all are beautiful not only on the outside but the inside too. They are sexy and classy and no where near trashy. Marisa Miller and Miranda Kerr are my favorites. Following behind them is Alessandra Ambrossio and Doutzen Kroes. I love dressing up. Looking pretty helps me feel good too and loosen up a bit. Anything that is zebra print, I love it. My prom dress is even zebra print! I love long curly hair which is what I'm working toward on my own head. Now I'm tired and going to bed.

New Moon= loveee

'New Moon' left me speechless. I was caught up in the movie that I forget other people were in the room. The love story mixed with the suspense rivalry is attention grabbing and you can't help but be hooked. The Twilight series seems as though it will only grow better and I can't wait until the third movie! I remember when I saw the first Twilight last Thanksgiving in Times Square, New York City. But all I know is Bella is getting on my nerves. She needs to make up her mind. She's so torn between Edward and Jacob. Sure, Edward belongs with Bella because that's how the story goes, but what's so wrong with Jacob? He's so fiiiine! He is tan, muscular, and he cut his hair! And he wants nothing but the best for Bella but nooo,"Edward, Edward, Edward," is all she's thinking about. I'm probably so mad because I just realized my love story is the same as the Twilight story. (And yes, I'm Jacob in the situation.) That girl just needs to get it together. I wonder if she's going to marry Edward the next movie since he proposed at the end of New Moon. (Hmmm!) I wonder what's going to happen to Jacob and if he'll meet another girl. I'm glad that one bad guy was killed by the wolfpack but that red head freak Victoria needs to die too. She's nothing but problems and she's tried to kill Bella twice now. Ugh I'm so impatient. Twlight 3 come out already!

"All I've Got Are These Photographs"

"All I've Got Are These Photographs".. a line from Rihanna's new song "Photographs" speaking on the photo of her from her beating.

When I say Rihanna you may think, oh yeah that singer who's ex boyfriend,Chris Brown, beat her. But when I hear Rihanna, I think of a strong girl who's overcome the tragedy and has come back harder than ever. She's gained a confidence that can not be destroyed and she's become a voice speaking out against violence. Relationships are hard but absolutely no one deserves to have their face beat for anything. Rihanna has changed up her look and has reached out to her supporting fans through her tough time. Her new CD, "Rated R" came out last week and it is definitely my favorite.(I have EVER song on my iPod). Her hard hitting music is personal this time and many of her songs address her previous relation with Chris Brown. She speaks on how she feels and I'm sure many of her fans can relate to her pain and sadness in some way. After I saw her picture that was taken shortly after her beating, it almost brought me to tears. Her face was bruised and swollen. Her eyes were closed and you could read the pain all over her face. Today I was driving home and I was listening to Ryan Seacrest on G105. "877 811 7926 we have Rihanna here". I freaked out and grabbed my phone faster than a dog jumps at food. I called but I didn't manage to get on the air but I was able to leave a message. I said, "Hey Rihanna!I'm Lauren from North Carolina. I just want to say that I am a huge fan of your music and I'm in love with your new album. Also, you're such an inspiration for many girls that relate to your incident. Being able to go on national television and speak on your pain is admirable. You truly are a hero for many women and even men. Hopefully, we all learn a lesson from you. We love you and keep doing your thang girl!"

"She Smiles"

Awhile back I wrote a poem. It's about a girl who's lost in love and in herself. The girl is helpless and doesn't know where to look to. She's hiding behind a fake smile trying to get by day to day. Her heart is broken and she looks for love in all the wrong places. She tries to find happiness from guys but they all want one thing and it's not what she needs to kill her sadness. People see her but they will never truly know what she's really thinking about and how she feels inside. The girl has become desperate and she's ready to give up and lose hope. She's done bad things that she regrets but can't do anything about. Too bad she never sought out God to lean on. If only she would realize that God is always here, she could forgive herself for everything she has done and move on with her life. I wrote it to show how much we hurt each other every day. Where has the love in the world gone and why do we all hate so much?

"She Smiles" by Lauren Skalos

No one really knows whats going through her head,

She tries to find what she wants but the feelings dead.

Shes given up from time to time,

But shes desperate for something to change her mind.

She always sought the easy way out,

In the end she saw what they were really about.

Shes done things she cant change now,

Shes the star in this show and takes her bow.

Too bad no one can treat her right,

Another guy, another night.

She knows shes better and deserves more than that,

He's out there somewhere and shes wondering where hes at.

Now shes numb slowly becoming heartless,

Needs someone to help her out of the darkness.

She used to be so different-innocent and all,

She was up so high all she could do was fall.

She waits and dreams for the day

She'll wake up and see this was all a phase.

Until then she smiles,

And waits for a guy thats worth her while...

Sweet 16

My birthday isn't until August but I decided to celebrate in July. It is the peak of the summer and a great time to go to the beach before school starts back. My two best friends, Hailey and Alice, joined my mom and I on a girl's beach trip weekend. We stayed on the strip, in walking distance of the teen dance club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. When we arrived, we unloaded and went up to our awesome hotel room. The view was beautiful. We could see down the whole strip and the beach. First thing we did was put our bathing suits on and head down to the pool (it was too windy for the beach). We met many teenagers our age and made some new friends. After a couple hours of laying out, we went up to the room, ate dinner, and got ready for our night out. It's pretty crazy having three teenage girls get dressed up all at once. Everyone was in a corner of the mirror as we rushed to get to the club. We finally stood at the entrance of Karma and people were everywhere! We even ran into some Fayetteville friends. We had a great time and were exhausted when we went back to our hotel. The next day, the weather wasn't too great so we went shopping at Myrtle Beach's Coastal Grand Mall. Later in the day, we came back and hit the beach. We went back inside to get ready for dinner. We went to Broadway at the Beach and ate at Planet Hollywood. (We had a very cute waiter haha!) After dinner, we went straight back to Karma where we were the night before. Two of my good friends Ryan and Pankey were also there and we all hung out and danced. After we left the club we went back to the hotel and hung out with some of our new friends on the beach but they were a little crazy so we went to our room. The very last day, we went to breakfast and came back to stay on the beach all day. Unfortunately, I started raining mid afternoon so we had to come back home. It was an overall great trip and hopefully, I can do something like that again someday.

Kanye West...why?

The Kanye West/Lady Gaga tour was coming up in December. I heard about this concert back in July and I knew I HAD to go. After talking to my parents, they gave me the OK and told me to go ahead and look at ticket prices. I also told some friends who I knew would be interested in going if they wanted to tag along. I had seen Kanye West live on my TV and his performance was incredible! I could not wait until December came around. Two days ago, my dad yelled, "Lauren, turn on the news!" I could not believe what I was hearing...the whole tour was canceled! "WHY?", I asked myself. Well about a month ago on the VMA's, Kanye had to give his opinion on how he felt about Taylor Swift winning an award over Beyonce. He was continually boo-ed throughout the evening and comments were being made about him all around the world that night. Although I lost alot of respect for him after he stole Taylor's spotlight, I couldn't hate him forever and it did not erase the fact that he is an amazing artist. This incident had alot to do with the cancellation of the tour. His manager felt that many people would not attend the show due to his mishap and they were not prepared to spend money on something that would not sell. Also Lady Gaga, made the statement that her and Kanye had artistic differences while planning the show so she decided to still continue on her own solo tour. Although I am highly upset that the tour is no more, I believe Kanye learned that you reap what you sow.

Britney Spears...Oops she did it again!

September 5,2009...The day was finally here. I had remembered when I was about 8 and I had first seen her in concert. Now, the legendary Britney Spears was back on a nationwide tour. Sure, she's gone a little crazy recently but I sincerely feel she has been awaken and she has cleaned up well. Alice, Katie, Mary Katherine, Tyler, Mrs. Julie, and I were on the road to Greensboro, NC where Britney and her dancers were rehearsing at the time. About 3 hours later, we arrived at our hotel which was about 5 minutes from the colosseum. Another group of girls: Lily, Savannah, Caroline, and Lauren, joined us on this adventure. Lily is fabulous when it comes to hair and make-up and she helped us all get ready. All dolled up and ready to go eat, we went to a restaurant called Darell's. The food was excellent (well,except for Katie's). I should have ordered what MK had. It was Chicken Fettuccine and cooked to perfection. After dinner we all packed up in the car and pulled into the parking lot of the colosseum. Walking up to the entrance we saw many girls dressed up and some were wearing Britney's outfits from her music videos. Walking to our seats we were all so excited. We had fourth row seats! We were so close to the stage and could not wait for the show to start. Kristina DeBarge opened the show with two of her songs and hip hop back up dancers. All of a sudden, this random boy band,One Chance, showed up on stage. No one was expecting them. I personally did not like them. With their frosted hair tips and extreme "dance moves", they were a knock off of the late n'sync and backstreet boys. The next performer was the one and only, Jordin Sparks. She performed better than what I expected and she was workin' it up on that stage. She wore a short black dress with frills all over it almost as Tina Turner's famous black dress. I have the same dress too! After she was done, the countdown began. Twenty minutes until the Circus began! After waiting impatiently, the clock was reading,"3,2,1!" Many famous circus acts took place all over the stage and I was shocked in amazement at what some of these people could do. The infamous Perez Hilton showed up on the screen dressed up like a queen. I don't really know what he said because everyone was screaming so loud. All of a sudden, this large screen arose and Britney came down from the ceiling spinning around almost like a ballerina. She started off with her newest popular song "Circus" since that was the theme of her tour. Throughout the show, she never failed to entertain all of us and we screamed to the top of our lungs every song we knew. The finale ended with her song "Womanizer"(which is one of my personal favorites). She was dressed as a cop and her dancers were jailers. I could tell she had left everything she had on that stage. At the end of that song, sparklers came from above her and confetti fell onto everyone in the building. That concert was one of the best ones I have ever been to! Britney, although you are crazy, you never fail to entertain us. Keep doing your thang. :)

Inspiration From a Old Remembered Song

"Stand in the rain, stand your ground, stand up when it's all crashing down."

Today I listened to some old songs on my previous iPod. I came across a song by Superchick, a Christian rock band that writes their songs based on real life situations. "Stand in the Rain" is my favorite song by them and I used to listen to it when I would have a bad day. The lyrics are strong and powerful and remind me that everything will be alright. God has a purpose for everything and sometimes we go through tough times to see that He is still there, guiding us the rest of the way. Although the song is a little depressing, it tells us that through we should never give up. Life is hard and we come to points where we make tough, life-changing decisions. While we are growing older, the decisions become more common and more difficult.

Teenagers go through alot. Everything from school, to extra activities, taking care of their families, boyfriends/girlfriends, and still trying to have fun in between. The stress can become overbearing, but so can the temptations. It is important to be strong through these years and to keep your focus on target. We will fall but God helps us get right back up. People will love to see you fail but we should keep that as a motivation to do our best in everything we do.

We should realize that nothing is perfect and we will all experience pain. But I know that no pain I could feel could ever compare to what Jesus felt on the cross. Not only was He nailed into wood with a crown of thorns on his head, but He was carrying all of the pains and mistakes we have. He loved us so much that He did it without a single complaint and He was the innocent one through all of this. Think about how big of a God He is and how small we are. He can take care of everything. He created the earth, planets, and He knows every star in the sky by name. He created each and every single person on earth then sent His Son to die to save us all.

This song helps me see that through everything God is a Mighty God and will never let me down. He sees everything I do and hears everything I say. All I want to do is please Him and make Him proud of me. I know that after we leave this earth, we will be rewarded in Heaven and praise the One who gave us life and His promise.