Lauren's blog

Fall brings change. Pears now taste better than peaches. October begins the wine crush, beautiful leaves begin to fall around us, but most of all it means it is time to put on more clothes! No matter what age, for every woman there is still that exhilarating feeling of back to school and the careful selection of that perfect first day’s outfit. You may still be splashing around in Jamison Square with your faded sun dress, but this year’s fashion creatives have a bundle of colors, fabrics, textures, and designs in store for you!

To kick it off, join in the excitement of one of fashion’s biggest events! Portland Fashion Week is coming and you can be a part of this years’ five day extravaganza. I personally know there are some real lookers out there in Portlandia that have mastered balancing style & grace with careers, families, and work.

Rewind ten or so years and I am at my mother’s side as she pours through the latest issue of Vogue Magazine. I have a look of utter astonishment on my 15 year old face when I see Cindy Crawford strutting her stuff atop a NYC high rise. It takes some convincing for me to don these heel raisers myself when the time comes for high school dances. My girlfriends and I are off kilter to say the least, but the shoes are tossed aside on the dance floor anyway, so we manage just fine.

College nearly brings me to the point of high heel mastery as I abolish all my qualms of the fashionable trend. I learn to actually run in the contraptions, catching the bus downtown for a Saturday night out. Now I thumb through Vogue myself and admittedly, shoes capture my attention more than any other dress or accessory. I make sensible choices and actually consider arch support and functionality, but most of the time I want to be literally uplifted by my shoes, whether it is the influence of an artful shape or vibrant color.

I have had a rule in place for some time when it comes to what I put into my belly, if I can’t pronounce it, I don’t consume it. Luckily I took French in high school so I can eat quite a bit of food. Some even full of fat (sparingly), but delicious and natural all the same. I have grown accustomed to people around me laughing or thinking I am somewhat of a “food snob”. Perhaps they don’t realize my sophisticated meals often consist of dry black beans I soak the night before and proceed to throw on top of greens accompanied by too much toasted Dave's Killer Bread

(Oh my, if you haven’t tried it you are missing out.) Yes. I can be just as lazy as anybody else who has worked all day long and can’t bare the thought of pushing around a shopping cart or walking to their farmer’s market just down the block. Yeah, it’s sad because those are EVERYWHERE here in Portland. And I do go…when I can.