a personal style blog by Lauren Pfieffer

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Blissfully Beautiful.

Green Polka Dot Dress, Lace Peter Pan Collar Dress, Cream Socks, Nude Oxfords: Forever21.
Beige Hair Bow: Modcloth.
Floral Clip on Earrings: Thrifted.

Hello everyone!
Today was seriously beyond beautiful out. I don't think there has ever been a day in January in Ohio where it has been 57 degrees out. I've just about come to the conclusion that I cannot, in fact, understand Ohio's wonky weather...it truly is the craziest!

I am rather thankful for the beautiful weather because with the sun out, I feel so much more alive and happy. I must be completely honest with you all on something. Lately I've been suffering with the in and outs of depression. Depression is incredibly common in my family and it was no wonder I inherited the gene, as well. When I say depression, I don't mean I feel sad about a bad grade or a rainy day, but truly depressed. The kind of depressed where I feel hopeless and defeated. The kind of depression where I just hate everyone and everything even if they didn't do anything to me. The kind of depression where I don't ever want to get out of bed- where nothing in life seems to hold any value or intrigue anymore. It's been a rough past couple of weeks and I truly couldn't tell you why I've been depressed. It just sort of came out of nowhere without an explanation. Hopefully soon this spell wears off and I can go back to be regular Lauren again. I would like that a lot.

Oh, but one thing I have to mention before I go! It was definitely brightening to my spirits this morning when up on my news feed I saw the lovely interview Maria of Avenue M posted of me. Awhile back I answered some questions for a little interview, and she just put together the post. She has me absolutely blushing! Maria and are so similar and I find myself wishing that we were friends in real life... Oh, if only she didn't live in Australia! Anywho, here is the interview if you'd like to check it out; 

With much love, Lauren.
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Monday, January 30, 2012

Follow Your Heart.

Why hello sweet readers!
One of the things I most strongly believe in is following your heart whether it be for love, a job, a move, an outfit...anything! I did a guest post today over on the incredibly lovely blog for Miranda of Little Gold Pocket Watch on just that; following your heart. If you'd like to read about my decision on following my heart and see the rest of this outfit post, hop on over here if you please!

Thank you ever so much Miranda for graciously giving me the opportunity to post of your incredible blog...You are such an inspiration always and forever!

Hope you all are doing well;
With much love, Lauren.
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Sunday, January 29, 2012

How To Deal With Anonymous Commenters.

It's no secret that any sort of blogging whether it be fashion, lifestyle,cooking, or photography brings about commenters. With the internet being the incredible abyss of information and resources that it is, various unique visitors are brought to our blogs each and every day. Some of these visitors who don't allow allow their true identity to be discovered, I like to call 'anons.'

There are two types of anons. The kind ones, and the mean ones. Fairly elementary school, right? (If only everything in life could be separated between just good and bad). Here's a little about both:

The 'Kind' Anons.
Kind anons can sometimes be even nicer than regular blog followers themselves. They don't flood your comment box with the all too common, "awwssommeee blog! Check mine out plzz and enter my giveaway. Kissez!" Because anons don't give their names or the link to their blog (if they have one), a blogger doesn't need to worry about the evils of spamming. Additionally, some of the most heartfelt comments I've ever received have been from kind anonymous commenters. Without the fear of being judged by giving out a name, kind anon commenters let their true feelings and kindness radiate and leave a blogger feeling simply on top of the world. A kind comment from a stranger can make a blogger have a revelation that what they write about does affect others.

The 'Mean' Anons.
Ahh, but to everything good and beautiful there must be something evil and ugly to counteract, and that would be mean anonymous commenters. I've never really understood the mentality of mean anons. Why would you purposely set out to diminish and bring down another person's self esteem in a place where he or she has found safety and solitude? Why can't mean anons take the hint that 'if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?" I've gotten my fair share of mean anonymous comments in my days of blogging. Receiving a comment as simple as, "u look soo fat in dis dress" can ruin my day, let alone anyone's day even though it is a silly, meaningless comment. No matter how hard any of us try not to let mean anons get to us, deep inside we know that underneath all of the misspelled words and horrific grammar that it bothers us. Mean anons seek to tear a blogger down in any way they can and make all of the silly insecurities we think about ourselves resurface. Mean anons are usually just sad people who jump around from blog to blog and write the first mean thing that comes to their mind. Most people think that anonymous commenters are long time readers, followers, or stalkers of their blog, but contrarily they are usually just lifeless losers who happen to drop by once and never come by again.

So how DO you deal with anons? The kind and the mean ones?

1. What if it's your first time receiving a mean comment? Don't sweat it. Know that you are not being personally attacked by this mean hearted soul. He or she has their own problem(s) (whether it be self-esteem issues, anger, or jealousy), and is taking it out on you. There are hundreds of thousands of other bloggers like you who also receive mean anonymous commenters, so don't ever feel like you're alone. All of us are in this together!
2. What if you're wondering how to reply to an anonymous commenter? Obviously you can't go to their blog and leave an answer in a comment or email them back, so sometimes it's helpful to set up a formspring account where anyone can ask a blogger questions. All an individual has to do is send in a question, and the owner of the account will receive the question, anwser it, and post it onto their formspring where the commenter can be properly answered. Additionally, two less effective ways are to address the comment in your next post, or to post a comment in your own comment box. Both ways are suitable, but the original question asker is less likely to see the anwser.
3. What should you do if you receive a mean anonymous comment? Coming from experience I've had; do.not.address.it. If a mean anon takes time to bring you down, what is the point in wasting your time to succumb to their level and reply back? When I once tried addressing the mean anon in a post, the commenter just keep egging me on and on for quite awhile and was relentless. By ignoring the commenter much strife and stress on your point will be avoided.
4. So if you shouldn't anwser it, what should you do? There's a couple options you can take to dealing with a mean comment. One option like I previously said is to ignore it, but I've found an even better method is to delete the comment. Having that negative energy and person on your blog hosts no benefits to you as a blogger or person. You'll just obsess about the comment and keep going back to it and thinking about it. By simply deleting the comment you delete that negativity from your life. In a few weeks, you won't even be able to remember you had a mean comment. Additionally, if the comment is threatening or creepy make sure to report or flag the comment to the blogger team.
5. What can you do to prevent anonymous commenters? Anonymous commenters can be prevented a few different ways to your preference. Under your blogger settings, click on 'comments' where you may customize whether you allow anyone to comment, only users with a blog, or only users who provide a name. I know when I first started my blog I made it so only blog users could comment and I found that it made me feel better that when I clicked to see my comments I wouldn't see anything negative pop up.
6. What can you as a blogger do to stop mean anonymous commenters? Stand up and speak out. We bloggers as a whole can stand up and stop the hate, negativity, and fear that goes along with anonymous commenters. By supporting each other with kindness, consoling each other when it comes to mean comments, and talking on our blogs about strength in not submitting to what mean anons want (to make us feel bad) we all can defeat those who want to bring us down.

Hope this perhaps helped you all is some way, shape or form. If you have anything that you all use to deal with anonymous commenters, let me know!

With much love, Lauren.

P.S. Speaking of replying to anonymous commenters. To the anon who asked the other day my view on sex, here is my anwser;
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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Surprise Snow.

Navy Dress w/ White Piping, Cream Hair Bow: Modcloth.
Light Pink Cardigan, Tan Flats, Pearl Drop Earrings : Thrifted.
Cream Tights: JcPenny's.

Hello everyone!
Are you all enjoying your weekend? I woke up to quite the snowstorm this morning which was so unexpected! Snow was definitely not in the forecast, but it was a pleasant little surprise to receive some because it's been raining straight for the past week... My only complaint though is that why can I never get this snow during the school week!? Gosh, I've had so many missed snow day opportunities this year...

With much love, Lauren.
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Friday, January 27, 2012

Birthday Boy.

Red Chiffon Dress: Forever21.
Lace Top: Thrifted.
Black Stilettos: Burlington Coat Factory.

Hello everyone!
Today was Matt's 19th birthday...I can't believe how old he's getting! When him and I first started dating I was only fourteen and he was only fifteen...Amazing how time flies. To celebrate his birthday we didn't do anything too extravagant because Matt himself isn't really an extravagant guy. Just good pizza, delicious cake, and some much needed one on one talking at his house this evening. With school being so hectic lately, I've hardly had time to talk or see him lately, so it definitely did help cheer me up a bit to see him.

Speaking of Matt's birthday, I have to tell you all a funny story about when I went to buy Matt's present! He wanted me to get him lottery cards (he's totally obsessed), so I went to the local gas station today to purchase some. When I went to check out, the cashier asked me if I wasn't even old enough to buy them! Goodness, I didn't think I looked that young...I've definitely come to the conclusion that it's the bangs :)

Hope you all are doing well!
With much love, Lauren.
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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Remix #4.










Hello everyone!
I've been wanting to do a remix post for this black, structured blazer from Forever21 for quite sometime now! It's definitely the most versatile and most used item in my closet, and a piece that is probably one of my best purchases ever. I've been thinking a lot lately about how I am going to downsize my wardrobe for the tiny closet that I'll have next year, and contemplating what versatile pieces I want to take. This is the first one that comes to my mind! Whenever I'm feeling unhappy with my outfit, this is the perfect throw on piece to pull everything together. It sure will boost up my college wardrobe this fall! I actually wore this blazer today to school, but the weather has just been so awful lately with downpouring rain that I couldn't take any pictures.

I'm sorry for the lack of activity that I've had posting, commenting, and replying back to you all lately. To be truthful I've just felt kind of depressed and down and I'm not sure why. School is just taking a toll on me because of all the stress revolving around my senior paper and I just feel trapped in a place not for me...After submitting my application fee to Kent over the weekend I just feel like, what in the world am I doing here wasting my time? None of my classes are going to help me for my major, and most of them just involve silly busy work. I try not to feel like I want to escape, but sometimes it's so hard because I just hate high school so much. Lately I've been so unproductive and have just wanted to sleep, sleep, sleep...Hopefully things perk up sometime soon!

With much love, Lauren.

P.S. Don't judge me too harshly for some of these photos! Some were taken a long time ago, hehe. 
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