Best girls out weekend EVER! Jen flew in from Hamburg to run around town with me and Mere. Tate Modern, Covent Garden, Picadilly Circus, et.c. We walked and walked and walked, and stumbled upon some of the most amazing places off the beaten path. Highligts include: The Millenium Bridge, Bagman and Robin, the balcony at Punch and Judy, and the opera boxes at Sarastro. Aww! I love my girls :)

So, while you are here, lets get one thing straight -
NO CRITICIZING LAUREN'S BLOG!
this is my space, and i will be as cute and adorable or sentimental and sappy or as pissy and moody as I want to be, and you who are priveleged enough to be invited in are welcome to do the same. But no criticizing! This is a very personal effort, in attempt to share my life with those I can't see as often as I like, so please consider anything you read here to be said with the same intimacy as if we were having a private chat in my living room. Which, as long as we are pretending, is furnished with the cushiest pottery barn sofas, has a fireplace, and is decorated with artwork made by close friends.

I'm glad we had this talk :)

website of the week:
nataliedee.com
brought to you by meredith, official ray of sunshine

Game time! YAY!

So, who can guess why I named this site more go? Here is a hint: If the answer seems too obvious, it probaly is. Immediate family, team partners, and anybody else who actually knows the real answer is automatically disqualified. Only guesses! Post in the comment area below.

I have two prizes in mind, fabulous souvenirs from London, for the most creative answer, and the answer closest to the truth. Best of luck!

Well, its come down to this.... I can do laundry, or I can go shopping.
I'll be at Oxford Circus if you need me :)

Walked a stranger home yesterday. She was so drunk. She couldn’t walk. She couldn’t remember where she lived. She cried and cried, She kissed my cheek and called me an angel. She won’t remember. I will.

Well, there were four more bombs in London yesterday. They didn’t detonate correctly. Only one of the bombers was hurt. I have two reactions. The first, is well, this is the life, the world I’ve inherited, I’m not going to sit home scared all day. So I go to work, I watch the news, and I get on with the things I love to do. Then there is my other reaction, much more private, vulnerable, human. I shudder a little when I hear sirens. I worry when I ride the tube. I think about the innocents who have died. I think the bombers, and the world that created them. I reflect. I mourn. I dust myself off, and still, I get back on the bus.

Quote of the week, courtesy of Tiffany:
Boys are like buses. Wait 15 minutes, you'll catch another!

(mikkel, guenduez, lauren, susan...photo by nicole...from our first house party!)
Here is what I learned about Denmark today:
There are three parts to Denmark: the main part, the island in the water that is connected to the north sea, and Greenland. Copenhagen is the capitol, it is on the Island.
About 6 years ago they build a bridge from Copenhagen to Sweden, and now the two countries share even more in common. It only takes 15 minutes on a high speed boat, if you don’t take the bridge.
Copenhagen has about 1.5 million people. Denmark has about 5.5.
Denmark is not far from Germany.
The only famous band from Denmark is Aqua. (Barbie Girl) (ouch)
There is a cool part of Copenhagen, that is autonomous and I’m not sure why, but in recent years the right wing government is trying to police it and causing problems there. Its also in one of the most beautiful parts of the city, and tourists seem to like it.
Many of the Danish think the Netherlands are very smart with their progressive government, but overall the country is to chicken to try to do the same.
My favorite Danish export is my friend Mikkel, who has offered to show me around in September.

I live in London! I love this city! This is me, with my team partner Guenduez. Isn't he dreamy? There are 15 of us in the Saatchi program here, a pretty good group.

I am seriously in love with this city. The second I crossed the Thames, I knew I was home. Funny how cities can just speak to you like that.

Why I’m in advertising:

Well, for starters, I love advertising. I am fascinated by taking a product and create meaning and context and culture around it. The product could be as simple as soap, or as complex as fighting prejudice, and either way, the process is the same. You come up with a big idea, then distill until you have a simple, clear, compelling message. Kinda like sugaring for maple syrup. I mean, wow, who’s idea was it to poke a hole in a tree and collect the sap? I’m sure everybody in his colony though he was nuts, right up until they got their first taste. And then it was crystal clear, and everybody was all, “why didn’t I think of that” or “I knew he had it in him” or “you bastard, you’ve commercialized a tree! Think of the squirells!”
Whatever. Did someone say there were pancakes?

Okay, it should also be said that I hate advertising. You know this if you've ever watched TV with me. There is no doubt in my mind that Bernie and Phil will be punished for the pain they have inflicted on the good people of Boston. There are a lot of reasons most ads suck. Sometimes, advertisers don’t try hard enough. Sometimes a product has no soul. Sometimes, the client is too scared to let it have one. I hate advertising. And I work every day to make it worthy of a little more love.

About my school:

Its a two year advertising portfolio program. Students put together a portfolio of advertising pieces in order to be hired by the top tier of agencies worldwide. Our main campuses are located in Miami, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Hamburg, and Sao Paulo. After spending a year in a full time location, students have the option to study or intern in up to four other locations. Opportunities are available in New York, Chicago, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Madrid, Prauge, and Budapest. The idea is, if you are going to work in a global agency, you had better have a global perspective. Our students as well as our teachers come from all over the world, with a broad range of experiences and backgrounds.

The basics:

Age:24
Hometown: Peabody
Places I’ve lived: Peabody, Boston, Cambridge, Miami Beach, San Francisco, New York, London
Places I’ve traveled: Texas, D.C. Cincinatti, Paris, Rome, Florence, Israel, St. Thomas, Alaska, Florida, more
What I do: Student. Of the world, of myself, and of advertising.