Author: lmpicard16@gmail.com

24.

24.

Finding words & processing emotions is tough today. 
I know I’m not alone in feeling this. 
We are all shaken by this tragedy, being brought together because of it, 
but feeling it in our own way. 

We can’t imagine what the families are going through,
because no matter what we may feel,
it’s nothing compared to what they are now forced to endure,
for the rest of their lives.

My heart – all of our hearts – break for them.

It’s terrible that it takes horrific tragedies like this one to
remind us just how precious life is. 
I wish it didn’t take something like this to put things into perspective. 

But my gosh, what a punch in the gut this was to us all. 

In an instant, it woke us up from our own concerns, 
and made us realize the fragility of life, 
and the beauty of simply waking up to another day. 

Our daily worries & stresses that consume our thoughts 
instantly shrink or disappear when we are suddenly reminded that
the only thing that matters in life are those we love. 
Our people are the most important thing we have, 
and we are never promised tomorrow with them. 

It’s a sad, but also beautiful truth. 

The beauty of life is that we get to love. 
And the beauty of death is that it reminds us of this.

Love is a gift.

That truth doesn’t make it easier to deal with loss, 
but it gives purpose to the way we live.

I know what to do or how to feel no better than you. 

But I guess… we have to carry on with love.

Love our people harder. 
Show them & tell them every day. 

Love those who think differently than we do.  
Set aside our beliefs and listen. 
And love, even if we disagree.

Our country, our world, is so divided, 
but we have so much in common. 

We know this. 

But now we’ve been reminded.

We all just want to love & be loved. 
We can, and we have to, come together in that. 

No one is above death, 
and no one is unworthy of love. 

We’re all going to leave this world one day. 

So let’s love each other while we’re here. 

Let’s love each other while we can.

❤️

Another Year Has Gone By…

It’s insane that basically another year has passed since my last post.

I had said I’d start blogging again in 2018, yet here I am, writing my second post of the year on December 29th, 2018.

But boy, what a year it’s been.

So much more has happened in 2018 than I thought had happened in 2017.

So many good things, fun things, amazing things. So many incredible memories made.

But also a lot of hard things happened too. Things that helped me (or forced me to) grow, and learn, and become who I am and who I’m becoming.

I turn 25 in about 2 weeks and am just realizing now as I reflect on the last year that 24 is a great age, but it’s not the easiest age. It’s an age you want to ‘start getting your life together since you’re no longer a fresh college grad,’ yet you also are basically just as clueless as you were the day you graduated. But, it’s an age where you start to realize that that’s okay.

The end of 2018 was pretty tough. On top of a lot of work stress, we had some heavy things happen in our extended family – a lot of pain, tears, and sadness.

While I wouldn’t want to go through any of it again, it brought us all even closer and helped us appreciate what we have even more.

I guess ending the year feeling grateful for family, friends, health, and the things we have at this moment that we know we won’t have forever is not the worst way to end a year.

I have more to say and actually want to say it in 2019.

And I think I’m going to.

Yours Truly,

Laur

It’s been a while…

So… the last time I checked in it was July 2016.

That year ended.

2017 happened.

And now it’s 2018.

Wow.

Hi! How have you been!?

I’m 24 now, working at my second job and living in my second apartment since graduating college.

Life has been full of change – new jobs, new apartments, new friends, new lessons learned.

Life has been hectic – moving, friendships changing, spending time with family and friends, and figuring out what I want (or don’t want) to do.

Life has been fun – football games, nights out, nights in, vacations, holidays, happiness, and growth.

Life has been stressful – leaving a job and saying goodbye to coworkers I loved, moving to a new apartment with new roommates, and figuring out how to be an adult (spoiler alert: totally haven’t figured this out yet).

Life has been crazy, but life has been – and is – really good.

One of my goals for 2018 was to get back to blogging, and here I am on January 15th, 2018, finally back on here – even if it’s just for a minute.

While the URL is still “LaurRuns,” my plan is to take this space on the internet in a new direction.

Though I’ve always been authentic and I’ve always written whatever I wanted on here, I want my blog to be even more real. I don’t want to do what others are doing just because I know what gets liked on Instagram or shared on Twitter.

I want to be truly “me.” I want to share my thoughts, voice my opinions, and tell my story.

That doesn’t mean this will be a diary of deep, dark, juicy thoughts… Well, maybe sometimes it will be. But, most the time, it will be a place where I share my daily musings, my outfits, my favorite things, my workouts, my latest eats, and the fun I have with my friends and family.

Along the way, I’ll just be trying to dig deeper and share more of what’s on my mind.

Though I’m still young – I just turned 24 five days ago – and though it’s only been a year and half since I last wrote here (ugh I know, that is a long time…sorry!!) – I have been through a lot since we last spoke.

I’ve been in the “real world” for almost 2 years now and I’ve experienced things I hadn’t yet while I was still a college kid.

The country and the world have changed and we’ve all changed along with the times. And I have a lot to say about it.

My job has changed, my thoughts and beliefs have evolved, and I have learnt, grown, and changed, too.

Anyway, that’s enough for today – I’ll be back in the new few weeks to catch you up on things.

Truly Yours,

Laura

Happy Weekend, Indeed

Happy Weekend, Indeed

Hi guys, and happy weekend! 

I’ve survived two weeks of my first “real world” job, and so far, so good!

I’m loving my coworkers and the work seems right up my alley. It’ll be a while before I’m up to speed, but I’m learning so much and enjoying the process and getting to know my colleagues! 

Anyway, I know I haven’t been on here as much as I wanted to this summer – between finding an apartment, moving in, starting work, and trying to relax and see friends and fam, the chance to blog has slipped away. Ugh!

I thought I would get on here today to say hello and share a few pictures from the past couple weeks. You can also find these pics on my Instagram (@LaurRuns). Follow along for daily photos!

My morning workout + fave post-workout snack!

Loving the new Panera peach blueberry power smoothie with almond milk!

Lunch outside with my mom at one of my favorite casual restaurants in my hometown (before I moved to Boston). Love spending time with her (and the good food doesn’t hurt ;)). This was a spinach wrap with turkey, spicy honey mustard, lettuce, tomato, walnuts, and dried cranberries, plus a side salad. Yum!

One of my work day outfits from last week. I’m fortunate that we have a casual dress code and can wear whatever we want! This means I can still wear all my old college class clothes (minus the workout clothes I usually wore…) or business casual – whatever I’m in the mood for. So nice!

The CEO of our company is amazing and had us all over for food and drinks at her gorgeous home on Tuesday evening. I enjoyed spending time with my coworkers, sipping rosé, and snacking on watermelon (x5), sliders, and mini wraps. Can’t wait for more of these nights in the future!

The scene of my peaceful, quiet Saturday morning – exactly what I needed after super early mornings and busy work days. Waking up naturally (at 8:45), sipping coffee, listening to podcasts, reading magazines, and then getting an awesome 5 miles in (while exploring my new neighborhood) was the perfect start to my weekend.

I hope you guys are enjoying your summer, and that I get to talk to you all again soon!

I’M BACK!!

Hi guys! How are you?! Happy Thursday!

I literally hate how long it’s been since my last post

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I have way, way too much to update you on, now that I’ve graduated college and am home for a few weeks before moving back to Boston (hooray!!) to start my first *real world* job. AHHH!!

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Continue reading “I’M BACK!!”

Latest Link Love

Hi guys! Long time no talk, once again.

I’m back at school now for my last semester, so things have been hectic around here as I juggle classes, job apps, and senior year shenanigans!

I’ll definitely need to write an update post one of these days, but today I’m popping in to say a quick hello and share some more of my favorite Internet finds from lately.

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As always, thanks to Amanda and Heather for hosting their awesome link-up parties!


Before I get to the links, I just wanted to share some news that I recently shared on Instagram

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Birthday Weekend Recap

I’m currently en route to New York City to meet up with my mentor (who works at a huge magazine!) and an editorial assistant for another magazine. I’m beyond excited!

Anyway, how was your weekend? Mine was fabulous. It just so happened to be my 22nd birthday yesterday, so that made it all the more exciting.

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A Weekend Full of (Foodie) Favorites

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I can’t believe it’s 2016. This is the year I graduate college! <- That is crazy.

Anyway, I hope you had a great New Year’s Eve and holiday weekend!

I’m coming at you today with a recap of my year so far. 😉

Continue reading “A Weekend Full of (Foodie) Favorites”

Easy No-Bake White Chocolate Golden Oreo Truffles + Some Thursday Thoughts

As I promised, today I’m sharing a delicious recipe that’s perfect for a New Year’s Eve party, or any day of the (new!) year.

I made these bad boys for our Christmas Eve party, and my family loved them. They’re decadent and delicious and I made sure to make plenty so we also had more than enough for Christmas and a few other family parties last weekend.

Like I said, there are tons of recipes for these (all you have to do is Google “Oreo truffles” and you’ll come across pages of different varieties!), but I put my own little spin on them based loosely off of this recipe.

My mom gets migraines from chocolate (I know, it’s super sad for her, too), so I wanted to make a dessert that she could enjoy. This led me to… White Chocolate Golden Oreo Truffles. Yum.

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Continue reading “Easy No-Bake White Chocolate Golden Oreo Truffles + Some Thursday Thoughts”

A Little Christmas Recap + Some Links I Love

I hope everyone is having a great weekend and that you had a very merry Christmas if you celebrate! 

I had an absolutely amazing Christmas. It was so, so nice to be home with my parents and all three of my older brothers. We haven’t all been home together in quite some time, so there was nothing more I wanted this holiday season than lots of quality fam time.

I feel so happy and blessed that we could all be together because my family is truly the greatest gift. As much as I love the Christmas cheer, music, baking, treats, shopping for presents, coziness, and excitement of the holiday season, my favorite thing about Christmas time is being with my loved ones. There’s seriously nothing better.

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Clearly not the most recent picture, but it was too cute not to share – haha!

To kick off the holiday weekend, we went to Christmas Eve mass and then had our usual Christmas Eve lasagna dinner (and fun yankee swap) at my aunt’s house, which is a tradition we’ve had for years.

Continue reading “A Little Christmas Recap + Some Links I Love”