Lauran's Life Lately -- Favorites Recap!

One of my favorite bloggers/instagrammers, Bethany Menzel, does "life lately" posts on her website, and I think they are so fun! She inspired me to try something similar. If you don't already follower her, you should! She has the most perfect style, and she is the sweetest wife, and momma. She has such inspiring pictures & she travels to the coolest places. You can find her at @bethanymenzel or at http://bethanymenzel.com/.

So Lauran's Life Lately....hmmmm...

Duke graduates in 40 days! What?! We are so excited. After graduation, he has 60 days of paid leave, aka the longest vacation we will ever have until he retires. During this time we will be doing lots of traveling, prepping to move, and spending time with our loved ones. I am sure there will be a major picture/blog overload of all things travel during that time period.

After we move and get settled, I am beginning my final two years of school in order to get my Elementary Ed teaching license. I am finishing up my degree through Phoenix University Online. Online school is actually what I prefer, and it also is so much easier with our lifestyle. I am able to work and also travel, all while working towards my goals.

We have chosen to rent instead of buy a home in Delaware, because Duke will only be at this assignment for 2-3 years. We have a realtor who is searching for the perfect place and handling everything for us, which really helps my anxiety. Trying to find a place to live is hard. We plan to live way below our means, so that we can save as much money as possible during the next few years. After our time in Delaware is up, we plan to move abroad for a bit, and/or begin the adventure of grad school. We are not quite sure in what order, and a lot can still happen in the next 3 years to switch up our plans. I am learning that when it comes to making plans + the military, you just need to take everything day by day.

We honestly have not started planning any form of a wedding so far. We don't even have a date. But we do have a rough estimate, and luckily we pretty much know exactly what we want. Once we get settled this fall, we plan on sitting down together and making some decisions. Luckily we have lots of family and friends to help us out with all the pretty details. The ideal date is the end of next summer, and I am excited to start making some headway with the planning process.

While Duke finishes up his final month at USAFA, I have been busy also finishing up my spring semester. I have been loving working out lately and strive to do so 5-6 days a week. My all time favorite workout is spinning. Like SoulCycle spinning! I fell in love with spinning when I lived in CO Springs for the summer, because there was an amazing studio right down the street from my apartment. When I moved back to the valley, it was really hard to adjust to no longer having that community. I got my own spin bike for Christmas, and I spin about 3-4 days a week. It is not as fun as the group classes, but it gets the job done. I am so pumped to be back in CO for a week in a little over a month, and I plan on visiting my favorite studio as much as I can!! 3 days a week I have been lifting, along with meal prep and eating super clean. The physical results have been amazing, but even more so, getting fit has helped my attitude and mental state SO MUCH. If you suffer from anxiety, working out is a must.

Lately I am loving...


My go to favorite meals/snacks: Smoothies packed w/ spinach & mango, scrambled eggs, and maple apple chicken sausage are my go to foods right now. Super weird, but I crave all three of these things! I also drink lots of la croix. Coconut, lemon, and lime are the best flavors in my opinion. GT's kombucha is also a forever favorite.

Netflix Binges: Right now I am watching all of the Marvel series: Jessica Jones, The Defenders, Luke Cage, etc. I am shocked that I love them as much as I do. I also recently watched and enjoyed Godless, The Santa Clarita Diet, The Good Place, and Bloodline.

Movies: I am a big fan of tv series, so I only really watch movies when I am with Duke. Recently we watched "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri". It blew my mind. The acting, the details, the story line. So amazing, and I HIGHLY recommend it.

Music I am loving: Right now I am on a country music kick.

Favorite things I am wearing: I nonstop wear my Urban Outfitters BDG high rise twig black skinny jeans. Normally I reach for a teeshirt or a Madewell Central Shirt, I love how they fit! Lately I am wearing sneakers with everything. My favorites are converse, my black new balance, stan smiths, or a pair of slip on vans that I just got.

Things I am wanting to buy: I have been dying to try a pair of Madewell jeans. I just have yet to bite the bullet because they are pricey. I also recently found a company called Sseko Designs, and they have the prettiest handmade leather sandals. I love the idea of Sseko because they use their company to create opportunities for women globally by providing jobs. Everything is handmade in Uganda!

I am trying to be better at: I am working on not spending so much time looking at my phone, not being so hard on myself, and taking everything one day at a time. Since we are getting ready to move and travel a lot, everything is a mess and I have boxes and suitcases everywhere. My type A personality often freaks out over the mess. I am trying to remind myself that the mess is temporary, and that it means that good things are about to happen!

Things I am currently passionate about: Right now I am loving home decor. I am so excited to decorate our first home and make it our own. Almost everything we have so far has been thrifted or is an antique. I love old stuff and finding treasures so make our space unique.

Current favorite beauty products: NYX butter gloss in color creme brûlée, Anastasia Beverly Hills brow wiz in taupe, Tarte shape tape concealer, Benefit they're real mascara, and Tarte amazonian clay oil free foundation. I love simple and natural looking makeup. All of these products help to achieve that "I naturally look good" look, even though that is definitely not the case. haha.

I thought this was fun, and I hope to keep doing it as life keeps changing. I might even be able to convince Duke to do a life lately/favorites post, we will see!

xo, Lauran