My seestah

You are currently browsing articles tagged My seestah.

Sending a Smoke Signal!

08/17/2011 in Out of Town, Random Musings, Vacation, What we're Doing by Lauren | No comments

So, between starting a new job last month….and all this crazy traveling, things have been noots over here in LK land.

I JUST flew in from (darling, adorable!) Milwaukee, WI where I got a brain full of mind-blowing information at corporate training in seriously the most gorgeous office building I have EVER seen.  

(and maybe chuckling a little picturing Wayne and Garth in the bottling plant to the Laverne and Shirley theme song)

“Yes, Pete, it is. Actually, it's pronounced 'mill-e-wah-que' which is Algonquin for ‘the good land.’ “

Listen, if you’re ever in the area, I definitely suggest visiting The Safe House – a spy-themed restaurant/nightclub that you access via an unmarked door down an ally on Front Street.

If you don’t know the password (which I didn’t) you need to be prepared to do some sort of embarrassing stunt (I did 3 intimidating strong-man poses while giving a hearty “GRRR”… little did I know the entire thing was being broadcast throughout the bar on various TV screens)

It’s a SUPER eccentric place full of spy memorabilia, nooks and crannies, doors that lead nowhere, and all kinds of other quirky things.  My FAVORITE part was the “House Mentalist and Magician” Scott Xavierwho SERIOUSLY blew my mind.  (Sidebar: he’s also pretty smooth with the ladies.)  He definitely earned every dollar in his tip jar…which he’s saving for a very worthy cause:I gotta say – The Safe House was just as cool as it was peculiar… and definitely quite the experience.

Safe House on Urbanspoon

Other notable events in Milwaukee?  I rocked my first Owl.

Yep, Milwaukee was awesome.

Bonus: I am a super lucky girl because tomorrow I head out to DESTIN to recreate this picture:

2 of my favorite guys in the whole wide world and my seestah!  Can’t WAIT!

Hopefully normal blogging will return asap.  I hope you’re having an amazing end of summer also!

xx, L

Tags: , , , , , ,

Team Katie 2K11!

06/07/2011 in Events, Health, PSAs, Reminders, Volunteering, What we're Doing by Lauren | 2 comments

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you already know a LOT about my sister.

First of all, you know she’s absolutely adorable


married to the best guy in the world

and a doggie mommy to the cutest little furry child you’ve ever seen!

Milo!

You also probably know that she’s…

a wine enthusiast

a lover of fine food

an excellent dancer
a Jenga ninja

a shoe expert
and generally awesome and a total riot to be around.

I think that hits all the high points, no?

What you may NOT know is that she suffers from a chronic auto-immune disorder called Lupus.

The Q+DD on Lupus is this: Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body (skin, joints and/or organs inside the body). Normally our immune system produces proteins called antibodies that protect the body from foreign substances, like bacteria and viruses. With lupus, your immune system cannot tell the difference between these foreign invaders and your body’s healthy tissues and creates autoantibodies (“auto” means “self”) to attack and destroy healthy tissue. These autoantibodies cause inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body. (www.lupusfoundation.org.)

While Katie’s Lupus does affect her everyday life in many ways, Lupus is largely a disease of “flares” and “remission” and Katie is a total fighter and does a good job of showing Lupus who’s boss.

However, for many people, Lupus is quite debilitating and can be fatal. As of now, the cause of Lupus is unknown and there is no cure.

The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) is the nation’s leading nonprofit voluntary health organization dedicated to finding the causes of and cure for lupus and providing support and services to all people affected by Lupus and next weekend my sister will once again be leading TEAM KATIE in the Birmingham “Walk for Lupus Now”

Last year’s team was incredibly successful in their fundraising goals and in being VERY ATTRACTIVE.  Witness:

Team Katie 2010

In fact, Team Katie was the #2 ranking fundraising team (missing out on first place by a VERY narrow margin!)

This year, however…Team Katie is TAKING NO PRISONERS. So far, TK has raised over $5K for this very worthy cause and is currently in the lead!

Please consider making a donation to TEAM KATIE…every little bit helps…and if you are a Birmingham reader, Katie would LOVE to have you as a part of her team next Saturday, June 11th (and if you wanna come with us from Atlanta, there’s room in the car with Greg, Olive and me!)

Please click here to visit Katie’s personal fundraising page!

Get your PURPLE ON next weekend in BIRMINGHAM!

xx, L

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I am BACK!

05/08/2011 in Appetizers, Camp Twin Lakes, Entertaining, Event Space, Events, PSAs by Lauren | 3 comments

It’s been a crazy past few months and while life has been absolutely amazing – a lot of things have fallen by the wayside for me. (Particularly, blog post writing.)

Hiatus = over.

But before we return to our regularly scheduled LK programming, I have a BIG THANK YOU for everyone involved with, everyone who donated to, everyone who supported and everyone who attended Camp Dance. I couldn’t even begin to start naming names – but just know I appreciate you so much.

It was INCREDIBLE.  Absolutely incredible.

I loved everything. The switch from the Zoo to the World of Coke was a game-changer – everything was so fun and peppy and whimsical and the WoC staff was INCREDIBLE.


The caterer was Bold American (I heart you, Mo!) who knocked our “camp” theme out of the PARK with  mini-fluffer nutter sammies, brie grilled cheeses, loaded baked potatoes, sliders and the clear winner of the night – CORN DOGS.

The corn dog is the new tater tot

and the desserts – oh the desserts!  I don’t even know where to start.  Witness:


I think everyone had an amazing time – I know I did because I was so busy dancing, I didn’t take a single picture. Thank goodness Greg was there!  Here are a few snaps:

G + me before the party started

G + me before the party started (dress is Halston Heritage)

Cutie Jona Sheer mixing a cocktail in "Taste It"

people filing into the WoC

M.F.E.O.

Proof.

Party people in the house.

Kraselsky women (and Dr. Amy) on the dance floor

Handsome men everywhere!

"The Beverly" and vodka, anyone?

It’s looking like we raised in the neighborhood of $85K for Camp Twin Lakes and we couldn’t be more excited!

Thanks again to everyone!  I can’t WAIT for next year….

xx, L

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Springing Forward…

03/14/2011 in Where we're Shopping by Lauren | No comments

Why does daylight savings time feel like jet lag… even though we only lost an hour? Well fill up that coffee cup and get ready for this post because I got a jump on spring this weekend in Birmingham at Gus Mayer in it’s new location at the Summit. (If you are ANYWHERE near the area head there IMMEDIATELY.)

Without bias, I can tell you it is absolutely the most gorgeous store I have ever laid eyes on.

I’ll give you a better virtual tour soon, but I am currently a little love drunk off of my purchases I just need to tell you about my LOOT.

The shoe selection is the BEST I have EVER experienced and honestly – there wasn’t one item I didn’t want to take home immediately. But I decided (ok it was mandated by the boss man…a.k.a. my dad) that 3 was my limit this trip.

Though there were plenty of super exclusive brands from which to choose (Grey Mer, Vic Matie, Janet & Janet, and Leifsdottir to name a few) as well as chic favorites (Stuart Weitzman, Pour La Victoire, and Prada for example) I stuck with my girls Tory, Kate, and Diane and think I chose quite wisely. Check it:

1. Summer Staple – Tory Burch – “Miller 2″


I don’t wear flats often, but in the summer, I absolutely LIVE in a pair of gold Bernardos. Skirts, dresses, jeans, shorts, you name it – I have rocked my Bernies with it. They’ve done me right through several seasons, but I thought it might be time to give those bad boys a rest… and with these lovelies the search for the perfect summer sandal has come to an end. Welcome home, darlings.

2. Secret Wardrobe Weapon– Kate Spade – “Licorice“

In my closet, you will always, always find a pair of 4’’ patent leather pumps in a shade that closely aligns to my skin tone. The “naked” shoe – this pump goes with absolutely EVERYTHING and will make your legs look like they go on for days! I’ve had several variations of “the naked shoe” but these are about the prettiest I have ever seen. Super graceful, they’ll be amazing with skirt suits, gorgeous with summer sundresses, and sharp as a tack paired with navy slacks. Trust. It’s LOVE.

3. Sexy Splurge – Diane Von Furstenberg – “Opal”


This was my wild card. Amazing Ellen , who works on the shoe floor, was walking by me with a stack of shoes a mile high for another customer and ordered me to put these on my feet. Ellen is NEVER wrong. I may or may not be staring at them with lust in my eyes as I write this post. Ok I am.

Ok and that’s IT! Summer, I may not be totally ready for you…but I’m off to an excellent start!

xx, L

Gus Mayer
225 Summit Boulevard
Suite 700
Birmingham, AL 35243
205.870.3300

Tags: , , , , ,

Puppy Love

03/12/2011 in Pampered Pooches by Lauren | 2 comments

Oh guys!  I got a little fluffy nephew recently!  My sister got the CUTEST little shih tzu ever named Milo and I am in LOVE.

He’s only 10 weeks old and only 3 lbs and made my little 7lb Olive look enormous!  Check out this picture of them on DK+DK’s couch:

Delish.

Leave it to my stylish little seestah to choose the cutest doggy things ever.  I just HAVE to show you his tags:

Click HERE to buy for $12 on Etsy!

Cute. Cute. CUTE.

xx, L

Tags: , , , , ,

Attitude of Gratitude

11/25/2010 in Holidays, PSAs, Random Musings by Lauren | 4 comments

A wise person once told me that if I accept an “attitude of gratitude”, I’ll never be unhappy a day in my life.

It’s not easy to accomplish every day and in every situation, but when I’m in a rut – I just count my blessings and I’m back to feeling like the luckiest girl in the world!

It’s Thanksgiving, so….what better time than now to count ‘em?

Today I’m grateful for:

My family – Mom, Dad, Katie, Brian, Gram and everyone out in Texas, NYC, and Alabama who hang out on my family tree.

Oh, and Olive. I am particularly grateful for the puppy princess with whom I share my condo and my life.

My friends – My lovely family of friends who support me, make me laugh, sip cocktails with me, and tell me important things like when I have black bean dip stuck in my teeth.

Greg – he’s so smart and funny and ambitious and SO good to me… he is also quite private– so he’s probably grateful for the end of this sentence.

My job –I just adore the 4 partners of my firm for affording me the amazing opportunity to join their team and I adore each and every one of my brilliant, talented colleagues.

The Quick + Dirty Dirty – I’m such a lucky lady to get to write every day, have such amazing reader support, to have met such wonderful people along the way, to have a fantastic partner in Lindsay and to have people like Amy and Mark who make this site look GOOD!

I’m grateful for the big things like my faith and my freedom and I’m grateful for the little things like my hot rollers, my DVR, Keratin treatments and Junior Mints.

Finally, I’m grateful that I live in Atlanta – this fabulous city that inspires me and entertains me every single day!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

xx, L

Tags: , , , , , ,

TODAY!

10/28/2010 in Holidays, PSAs, Vacation by Lauren | 2 comments

Sorry I’ve been MIA. But it’s about to continue. Because today I leave for…

Destin, FL

with these people

Seestah and Brother in Law

and this guy

Hunk.

And 4 other superfun people and I.  Just. Can’t.  Wait.

xx, L

P.S. Happy Halloween. I’m not gonna lie…I miss the costumes already.  If you’re going to Spiralween (don’t forget $5 off with promo code “kraselskyween”) be sure and step it up. The judging is done via pix (so I still get to weigh in!) and there are TWO $500 prizes…

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Big Success!

06/06/2010 in Events, What we're Doing by Lauren | 6 comments

There were over 300 participants at the Walk for Lupus on Saturday, raising around $25,000 and TEAM KATIE came in second place…missing out on first by a VERY narrow margin of only $30!

Team Katie!

We were stylin’ in the purple tiaras Katie brought us

Even my dad found a manly way to wear a tiara!

…and stayed hydrated thanks to the superawesome TEAM KATIE water bottles courtesy of Jennifer Kulbursh and Kamin and Associates!

Katie was a total rock star!  They gave her a tent for a home base


and she was interviewed by our local news station, CBS 42!

See the video here!

My family and I are so proud of my seestah…

…and SO grateful for ALL of your support. THANK YOU so much to everyone who donated and participated!

xx, L

PS Thanks for your excellent photography, Robin!  xo

Tags: , , , , ,

TEAM KATIE!

05/31/2010 in Events, Volunteering, What we're Doing by Lauren | 10 comments

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you already know a LOT about my sister.

First of all, you know she’s absolutely adorable

Duh.

and married to the best guy in the world

Love the Helds.

You also probably know that she’s…

a wine enthusiast

a lover of fine food

an excellent dancer
a Jenga ninja

a shoe expert
and generally awesome and a total riot to be around.

I think that hits all the high points, no?

What you may NOT know is that she suffers from a chronic auto-immune disorder called Lupus.

The Q+DD on Lupus is this: Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body (skin, joints and/or organs inside the body). Normally our immune system produces proteins called antibodies that protect the body from foreign substances, like bacteria and viruses. With lupus, your immune system cannot tell the difference between these foreign invaders and your body’s healthy tissues and creates autoantibodies (“auto” means “self”) to attack and destroy healthy tissue. These autoantibodies cause inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body.  (www.lupusfoundation.org.)

While Katie’s Lupus does affect her everyday life in many ways, Lupus is largely a disease of “flares” and “remission” and Katie is a total fighter and does a good job of showing Lupus who’s boss.

However, for many people, Lupus is quite debilitating and can be fatal.  As of now, the cause of Lupus is unknown and there is no cure.

The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) is the nation’s leading nonprofit voluntary health organization dedicated to finding the causes of and cure for lupus and providing support and services to all people affected by lupus and next weekend my sister will once again be leading TEAM KATIE in the Birmingham “Walk for Lupus Now”

Last year’s team was incredibly successful in their fundraising goals and in being totally adorable. Witness:

Tiaras for everyone!

Please consider making a donation to TEAM KATIE…every little bit helps…and if you are a Birmingham reader, Katie would LOVE to have you as a part of her team next Saturday, June 5th (and if you wanna come with us from Atlanta, there’s room in the car with La, Brooke, Olive and me!)

Please click here to visit Katie’s personal fundraising page!

See ya in Birmingham!

xx, L

Tags: , , , , ,

Urban Pl8: What I 8.

05/27/2010 in Pampered Pooches, Westside, Where we're Eating by Lauren | 4 comments

After a night of fiercely competitive Jenga at Ormsby’s on Saturday…

(That's my sister's game-face)

…Sunday morning Greg and I decided to revisit the general scene of the crime for sustenance: back to the Westside for brunch at Urban Pl8.

Well, that and because we had both a Scoutmob AND a Groupon for Urban Pl8. (For the record: we had been dying to go there anyway.  I am seriously TRYING not to let SM and Groupon dictate all my activities but it’s just becoming so darn hard not to!  Especially with the iPhone apps!)

Anyway, after calling to see if Urban Pl8 is dog-friendly…

(they are!)

…we made our way over to the decorator district. Now, you should know that Urban Pl8 is all the way down Huff Road in a bit of a random location.

Luckily, we knew where it was because we had both, on separate occasions, tried (unsuccessfully) to dine at Urban Pl8 during their afternoon siesta (please note somewhat funky hours of operation below.)

Here’s the Q+DD: Urban Pl8 was opened last July by chef and owner Betsy Pitts, former sous chef at Bacchanalia and Floataway Café.  Betsy aimed to create a restaurant that focused on “high quality, affordable food in a casual, cool, friendly atmosphere…an everyday kind of place with exceptional food and service.” She says, “It’s about local, sustainable products, healthier options, and affordability.”

I REALLY enjoyed my brunch.   After we checked in on Four Square,

Greg ordered a bloody mary

I snapped a photo just in case you forgot what a bloody mary looks like. Ta dah!

I opted for a Greyhound.  (I forgot about Greyhounds!   Vodka + grapefruit  = perfect brunch cocktail!)  They also offer “bottomless” mimosas for $10 and “bottomless” bloody marys for $15.  Hello!

Our food was delish. Greg had the grilled chicken pesto omelet:

made with 3 farm eggs, goat cheese, roasted red peppers and pesto

Which was served with a whole wheat English muffin and creamy polenta. Not grits. (in case you thought they were secretly the same thing…a la Superman/Clark Kent…: Polenta = yellow cornmeal.  Grits = hominy. Thanks, TK!)

I had the veggie burger

made with pinto beans, jalapeños, shitake, roasted corn, and cilantro topped with mixed greens, spicy tomato salsa, and spicy sour cream

I don’t know if the consistency would be for everyone – but I liked my v. burg a LOT. It was served with a fresh little green salad with golden raisins and sunflower seeds and I thought it was perfect.

We also split a slice of the peanut butter French toast which was To. Die. For.

I took this pic with my glorious iPhone to send to TK to make him jealous...it worked.

I don’t really have words for this.  I just think you should try it.  And bring me with you. Please.

There were a lot of things on the menu that I’d like to try, plus, the menu changes almost daily – I am excited to go back for any meal!

Also worth mentioning: the crowd was really cool.  Funky little hipsters brooding over coffee, a table full of mimosa-swilling girlfriends, cute couples of all varieties, post-church patrons, solo brunch diners– it was a nice little slice of Atlanta life there at Urban Pl8 that day.

"Europe? I know that place."

Plus, I loved that the patio served as a patch of green among all the surrounding buildings. Sort of a little urban garden.  All-in-all, it was a lovely brunch – a gr8 way to start the day! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist!)

xx, L

Urban PL8
1082 Huff Road, Atlanta, GA 30318
404-367-0312
Hours:
Lunch – Tuesday – Friday 11-2:30
Brunch – Saturday + Sunday 11-3
Dinner – Wednesday – Saturday 6:30 – 9:30

Urban pL8 on Urbanspoon

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Katie’s Pick!

05/05/2010 in Katie's Picks by Lauren | No comments

Just when you thought you had to say bye-bye to your Fryes until fall…

I miss you...

KIRA LOWTOP by Frye
$118

Sneakers are officially IN. (Did they ever go out?)

Sneak into these versatile sneaks any time you want… shorts, skirts, dresses, jeans, whatever it is you’re rocking, pair it with these scuffed rubber soled cuties from Frye!

Available in Ecru, Green, Grey, Pink, Tan, & Lavender

xx, L (+K!)

Available at Gus Mayer shoe salon in Birmingham, AL 205-877-8554

Tags: , , ,

Cruise Control!

05/01/2010 in Vacation, What we're Doing by Lauren | 2 comments

It’s come to my attention that I’ve neglected to tell you about the FABULOUS time we had on our cruise last month!

Listen, I know that anywhere I go with my family will be superfun and amazing (because they are superfun and amazing) but I’ll be honest, I was a little apprehensive because of my preconceived notions about cruises.

My vacation personality is much more “push your toes into white sand, drink a cocktail, and chill” than “bingo and poolside games on the lido deck.” Additionally, I don’t like fruity drinks (except for the tiny umbrella part) and I loathe buffets.  Sorry, not sorry.

I am here to tell you that the Celebrity Solstice was anything BUT a floating conga-line in the sea.

From the ENORMOUS staterooms…

(stocked daily with chilled champagne, fresh raspberry or peach iced tea, and fresh fruit)

to the SPECTACULAR spa and gym area…

I enjoyed some amazing pilates mat classes, a fabulous mani/pedi and an incredible massage…all Bliss products… and took full advantage of the truly heavenly relaxation areas complete with eucalyptus steam rooms and heated stone loungers

to the unbelievable food and beautiful restaurants…

I think everyone’s favorite was the Asian-themed specialty restaurant where we ate our weight in dim sum and polished off a bottle of some of the best unfiltered sake I’ve ever had…but I think my favorite was the French restaurant…I can’t remember what I ate, but I certainly remember that I loved it!

to the beautiful décor, it really was a breathtaking ship.

space after gorgeous space…they even had genuine muppet-fur curtains!

Fancy!

Also wonderful were the excursions that my dad planned in each port! If you are ever in the following places, here are my recommendations:

1.    San Juan, Puerto Rico. YOU MUST CALL Leslie Wiggins who owns Flavors of San Juan.  Leslie, a native of EAST COBB, fell in love with her Puerto Rican husband and they moved right into the heart of San Juan where she guides small groups on a boutique restaurant and food tour.

OK so first of all, Leslie is precious. Total PLU. And each restaurant we went to was better than the next (and I was THRILLED to have resto recommendations for Linds’s trip this week!)

I can’t decide whether my favorite part was the mojito demonstration we received at Café Chic

Or all the delicious tapas we ate at each of the other adorable restaurants

or the whiskey shot we took as a family at local dive bar El Batey!

She also did a great job of giving us the lay of the land and educating us on the history of Old San Juan…without boring us in the least. If you ever find yourself in San Juan you’ve gotta call Leslie Wiggins!

Flavors of San Juan
info@flavorsofsanjuan.com
(787) 964-2447
www.sanjuanfoodtours.com

2.    St. Kitts – we booked an open-air Jeep tour of the countryside through Greg’s Safaris. We had a fun day, even though we kinda got the bait-and-switch from an open-air Jeep to an SUV with the windows rolled down…

…and if you like botany, this is the tour for you.   We learned a LOT about the plant-life in St. Kitts.

Right, B?

3.  St. Maarten – Ok so I LOVED St. Maarten. We all did.  I want to go back ASAP and park myself on the coast there.  We spent the day on a private boat with Carlos of Captain Alan.   

We went snorkeling  (well, Dad, Brian, and Katie went snorkeling while DK and I chatted on the boat and sipped cocktails), ate fresh fruit and sandwiches on an amazing French baguette (St. Maarten is ½ French and ½ Dutch so it was the real deal, yo) and went tubing

(I finally broke down and got my hair wet, oookaaaay?)

We had a wonderful, memorable, fabulous day and we all fell in love with Carlos!

Before we went out, the owner of the company asked Carlos to go over the day’s itinerary with us, to which Carlos winked – “I like to wing it!”

Kudos to my awesome dad for doing such a great job planning our non-sea days!

As far as our sea-days were concerned…we spent a LOT of QT with each other, some cocktails… oh, and Chelsea!

(I tore through this baby the first day while Katie burned through Are You There Vodka… and we and passed them around to the group!)

In conclusion, as it turns out, I may just be a cruise-person after all.  And true confession…

…nothing goes with a steel drum quiiiiiiiiiiite like a fruity cocktail. Trust.

Oh and happy 61st, Dad!

xx, L

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

« Older entries

Categories

Lauren’s Tweets

Lindsay’s Tweets