Dear blog

How’s it going?

I am full of beans today I feel f*cking fantastic!

I Napoleon Dynamite’d a sample of cold brew coffee this AM on my bike ride to work and I made awesome time to the office. A starbucks employee had a tray with one drink left on it and an egg sammy (hate people who say that but I had to) I go I’ll take that bro! The kid looked all around til he noticed me on my bike with my hand outstretched. He goes okay, comes over, gives me the song and dance about what kind of coffee it is and I chugged it right down thank god it was a cold drink. I went to eat the egg thing but thought better of it (too much chewing) then peddled off. All the cars waiting at the red light I like to think were like GO SISTER YASS. My thighs are getting stronger and I can tackle steep hills uphill without dying as much or jumping off to walk my bike in failure. I still jump curbs and shit like a prick so enjoy the visual if you have time.

I stayed up late-ish last night and miraculously awoke without a hangover. I feel capital Raymazing. You might even think manic but nope, I am just happy. Happiness is a warm gun and I’m gonna shoot mine at everyone.

I have been wearing this jacket a lot. When you have too many clothes and then favour one thing for days out of protest with nobody. With your wardrobe. I defy thee, Fanciful clothes!

I always bring a backup outfit after biking to work but then I keep my sporty look on because it feels like a power look and adds some pep to my step. When I wear my stuffy office clothes I feel like a frump hiding a gross body. If you wear work-out clothes as real clothes you make slightly healthier choices. The system works.

Oh yes it gets stupider looking. Thanks for the pants mom!

We got a hotel so we could go swimming and felt like summer didn’t just blow on by. We spent one hour only in the pool. They got rid of the hot tub at the Sheraton which is fine because the pool is heated. You know what’s hilarious about looking like a degenerate Baywatch lifeguard swimming to-and-fro like an off the clock Bill Murray? Everything.

Heather and I didn’t see each other all summer long. Crazy busy girls. It was nice to reunite!

I stopped to scratch my head here I had to take off my helmet to get to the source of the itch then looked up and noticed this, what would you call it?

Such whimsy.

See I wore it last night too. It’s cosmetic this colour. Now you know my secrets.

A brief scene from Friday. Another one for the books. A book that will be slammed closed tight in a vault sunken to the bottom of the ocean.

It was cold af Friday. This week is nice though. Got my Indian summer after all yo make the best of this week.

Went to the ball game. We lost. It was lit.

Scotch Fridays are legendary ’round here. Starts the weekend off right.

BTS KFC commercial. I asked if I could take a pic of their sandwich later on in the day and they all gawked at me like I was a total idiot. Film industry people are GIANT ASSHOLES. They run on no sleep, shit hours, they are always behind schedule and they’re all gruff grumpy and treat you like dog shit so I purposely asked to take the picture because I knew it would be met with disdain. Right again my friends! Not like a chicken sandwich is giving away trade secrets.

I bring you guys the hard-hitting news that you love.

What can I say? I’m just totally drawn to show business.

When the Canadian Tux comes out it’s fall y’all.

My donair from last week. I try not to eat these too often so much BUT when I do I get a big ego trip like I think the pub is in love with me for being so endearing eating their cultural culinary thing like this came out super fast and the cook always peeks under the pass to see who ordered the donair they must be badass then he sees me and I pretend I didn’t see that I saw but I did. Yes my life is this pathetic that I think about shit like this.

Another bike outfit. I wonder what my rear looks like when I am burning it down the road the skirt flips do they think I am a tennis player? I hope so.

This is my teeny room. I am moving btw. To a bachelor. No roommates. I am a big girl now. I hope I don’t regret it only because of the location it’s where all the crack addicts chill on Queen east. Hoping to befriend them and they are cool to tenants who can just call the po on them right?

This was a night I power walked home literally couldn’t tell you which one.

Another day another brilliant outfit. If you reckon I am trolling the world through fashion you’re right. Countdown to copycats.

A day I used the TTC it doesn’t happen often so I took a picture.

Sushi after my hair appt last week with Donna.

Too bad so blurry I love this ladies room.

It’s fashion week and Tiff at the same time in Toronto. Yorkville is quite the neighbourhood to take that all in of course.

Do you get FOMO or JOMO when you see this?

Hey there sports fans. Feeling my new locks. I vow to get my hair did more frequently.

Because look. Thanks again Donna Dolphy! Check her out if you want expensive and healthy looking hair too.

I want that backpack.

Yes the outfit is thrown together weirdness but you know me idgaf.

Fierce face.

I hoarded these on my phone for a year because I liked how I looked this night. In a past life.

Donna’s crazy glasses.

Thuper blonde signing off this thuper post good day one and all.

this is not a year in review post

Omg you’re so welcome. I didn’t even receive my year in review facebook video montage, who cares. We know what I did. Can’t even stand what you guys all did the first time around right! Blah humfug. This isn’t going to be a self-congratulating (nauseating) I love myself end of year summarization blog post I see popping up all over facebook rn. It’s always by people whose lives are “good enough” so they should just stop there, done with gloating. We get it. Nice hair cut.

This is just going to be a fun post using whatever treasures I have hoarded on my phone the past little while.

After work every day I do not have the energy to write fluffy fanfare about myself, I apologize but whatever, you’ll get a post here whenever I can and today’s the day. I’ve suffered only a few distractions (play-by-play texts from my bored mother) and a few housecleaning duties while d/ling my collection of blog pics. It really is a process.

I will spare you the complaints about how boring it is going through my catalogue, emailing the best-ofs to myself then opening each one… scrutinizing each one and don’t get me started on mail batches it takes just as long. Ha guess I am not sparing you any complaining. Then I individually save images on my desktop, or a folder then upload them all to flickr THEN html for each image via there to here and some quippy stupid copy along with – it’s confusing. Life is too fast-paced and dramatic for this drudgery if you have a better system where I can be locked away without distraction, please tell me it. I mean, it starts out fun then it’s like please enough.

We had a great Christmas hope yours was swell as well. We did a lot. Have been on the run for weeks it seems. Will be nice to get back to the routine but am enjoying time off too. I really want to start eating better and exercising more now that it’s NYE and thus, one more party, we can get back to basics.

It was quite a delicious time all around.

Speaking about best ofs my mom and nana got out all the best crap we made.

I rememeber that year!

We have a champagne thing amongst ourselves my mom is into boozahol now and I love it.

I guess you could say I am rocking around the Christmas tree. Ten bucks says Nana invites us back to sleepover and take it down before she goes to Florida.

The girls on their way to mass. Auntie Winnie, my Nana’s sister, suffered two great losses recently. Her son a few months ago and now her husband, a week before Christmas. The older I get and experiences that surround me give insight into how fragile life is, time is fleeting, HOLY SHIT TAKE HOLD OF LIFE BRO. Every year I am told it’s my Nana’s last Christmas. That side of my family loves the dramatics but guess what? Rude gyal Eileen bi’gone to Florida asap. The secret to a long awesome life is to indulge the shit out of yourself and to travel to every pocket of the world that you can for as long as you can to the very end. Eileen is an inspiration and a bona fide testament to my papa’s love of adventure and travel, the world over. She has seen more than I have seen!

My mom and I dressed the same without even discussing it.

My outfit was a last minute idea I forgot I owned this thing, I had never belted it before either. I wore it the next day too it was working so well haha. The lighting at my nana’s is supremo ideal that lady knows what she’s doing.

We went to Julian’s uncles xmas party on xmas eve-eve holy gong show what a great time lol. I took this on the street before going up to their place.

Getting in a hair appt with Donna Dolphy just before the holidays was nothing short of war but I prevailed and it was her birthday no less. Oh we had a time.

Not a bad after pic/job she did no? Yes. Sizzling.

Donna made me beef patties. I had beef patties with Beyonce. It was the last day of work and thus, scotchy scotch I needed those patties yo haha.

I enjoy the height of my hair here.

The before wasn’t the worst either though. Donna called me fat the last time she saw me so don’t think I think too highly of myself, Donna took me down. She roasts me all the time, she is Jamaican haha. I was pretty thin when she first met me and my hair appointments are stretched out cos I like to let my roots grow (I am lazy) so people can gauge a difference when time passes between seeing each other. Probably why my Nana always roasted me… it all makes sense now.

We are all about the pong at work mang.

Visited the CBC building last week nbd.

We went to London the weekend before last. I work 9-5 m-f so doing weekend stuff is like a blitzkrieg in the schedule nahmean. I liked the scenery though sleep does me just fine.

we saw Arrival. How do I get free movie passes?

Our hood is pretty #respect.

I was called a Russian at the lcbo and this is what I looked like at the time I do not blame them.

The lighting all over Nana’s house is the best.

I think my mom is giving me this hat back hahaha.

Hi honey lol. This is Christmas day.

Our staff party was hilarious, fun, amazing. Margarita texted to see what I was wearing, I sent pics and she obvs figured it all out.

A coworker brought his mom and then they slaughtered us, well we won but at first it was very long and arduous plus they were only drinking pop so I kept having to drink the beer. I just had a disconap so it got me immediately drunk. Good times. That is my actual work desk too btw legit covered in beer on Monday lol.

Had to go to an event after work, changed before hand as these pants stretched throughout the day and I looked like a frump. Not bad on the legs however.

Went fer grub in town in the country a couple weeks ago I love this hidden gem pub.



Uber 5000
came over, made me a drawing on a canvas I prepped no big deal.

we played it cool.

Hi. Yes there is more.

This is my fav street selfie mirror. I do not overplay it tho.

Nice work dudes.

This was a fun night.

Got that phone for my Nana. And some lamps.

Forgot to post that I was featured on a girls with glasses website before haha nice.

Happy New Year’s Eve I gotta get in the shower now bud. See you in 2017!

SHOOOOKKKKKK

Hey guys!

What can I say other than I blew it this summer in terms of being an ultra prolific bloggess. Just been way to busy work training and in my spare time doing my other gigs and also when you feel the eyes of the man on yuh you kinda feel majorly paranoid about bathing suit selfies and megalomaniac twitter rants etc. I’ve also got a few client-owed blog features that makes me avoid this place like the plague BUT you guys sure don’t and it weighs heavily on my soul. When a writer isn’t writing they’re typically fighting some internal/external battle elsewhere. This channel has become a reflection of everything about me. What I say, what I don’t say. I get repulsed by people often and I feel the need to choke their means of finding shit out about me. Sometimes you feel like being silent, going dark, for many days at a time until you feel your foe can’t find or hurt you. Then so many days pass and you’re like what does it matter if I wait more days just to remind people about my favourite colour and things to do again?

A lot of soul searching in terms of mild panic lately, can I do this, or that? What should I be doing with my life because if I keep doing x, y and z, I am going to be awfully unhappy for a long time. I think we always know what’s good for us and when the temporary solution band-aid must be ripped.

For me, it’s always writing and creating but when too much time passes I start to feel dead. Over. An over-achiever going under. I haven’t put in enough of the work in this stage of the process. My agent forgot about me. As I sit down to write this blog post right now I finally feel free and released, silly. It always comes back to you. You don’t need to have complete joy in your life to write an airy-fairy blog post. You don’t need a theme always maybe just a dream and a scream. If you’re good, you will always be good at it just be patient and wait until your laptop is fixed again haha.

The colder weather helps inspire me as it affects my moods and when the moods are ignited, out comes the crap from my head. Oh the feelings they’re just everywhere.

Wahhh wahh okay I’m done lets change gears now and go through some pics, kay?

A photo posted by Raymi Lauren (@raymitheminx) on

Ha ha just one more of my new glasses (thanks Julian <3). Need to utilizie the instagram embed code feature more often it's such a time saver. Other (greats) bloggers I have seen complain about how hard it is to blog now. It's not just me. We have become spoiled on the immediacey of social so much so that blogging IS actually a chore. I use to be so passionate about sitting down for a good write. Prepare my coffee and do all my rituals then sit down FOR HOURS. I am not that person anymore. I am quite hyper-active despite bitching about never getting to do "anything for myself ever!" LOL.

I met Ava at last. My brother kept telling me how she looked like me and reminded me of him and we’ve been so busy this summer I carried a secret guilt cloud about seeing her. Then my facebook feed became about babies and DO YOU WANT TO HAVE ONE SOME DAY LAUREN? Ha it’s cool it’s cool but there’s no way I coul afford one right now. Nah I don’t feel THE SURRMOUNTING PRESSURE at all. I mean I am only 33 not like I have a CLOSING WINDOW or anything. Anyway. Ava blew my mind. I cried twice about the emotions I’d feel about it while brushing my hair I can’t remember what we did the night before… the month has been a blur but I know we are always short on time and rushed and frantic we have eight million different jobs and tasks to take care of all the time it seems so as I got ready I was stressed (as usual) to get my mother’s Happy Juice cleanse in time and coordinate being on the road blah blah.

I biked to Sugar Beach and Julian met me after his sound engineer session. He is working on his next greatest hit right now it’s truly amazing (I get to sing on it). We listened to the skeleton of the track over and over again. I asked him if he knew who Gentleman Reg was when he showed up and he was like yeah!? I go he is sitting right THERE. I watched him from behind for about an hour sitting and reading in front of me and kept it a special secret treat for Julian to approach and now they’re email buddies. Reg came over to meet me we have met many times over my tenure “in the scene” in the city of Toronto but it was nice to see him still kicking around. I do not have the balls to approach notables in Toronto. We’re not supposed to acknowledge celebs here for some reason. I am proud that Julian breaks down social barriers like that, went on over and sat down with him and I took photos. I believe it can be very isolating and lonely in Toronto in this respect. I know I was hella lonely the hour or two while I waited. A few times some old man or other would say something funny to me but for the most part no one talks in Toronto. There is a lot about Toronto I hate. There is always a possibily for a shitty interaction. I keep it nice bright and cheery. When not being insanely shy. Always approachable.

Hi Reg!

Sugar Beach is a lovely place about Toronto though. Staying in the liiiight. Also the Woodbine bike path I took there through the beaches and all that crap it was mega-mysterious, exhilarating and I wanna do it again asap.

I took this to show Julian what it looked like (first timer) and he asked why we hadn’t been there all summer (it rules) I was like, uh, I thought you hated beaches? No. Not THIS beach. Okay well next time I will have a look at my crystal ball and have that known already for you haha.

I’ve lost 5lbs since this photo was taken. Like that bruise? Renovations summer house bit me I clipped a table don’t forget I am 1. an amazon crashing through life and 2. clumsy af. Also the lights weren’t on. It’s almost gone now anyway. I have no idea what the weird alien one down the middle of my thigh is though I might need to start a bruise journal again. I wore those neon shorts to be seen and the bathingsuit for the sweat. First time ever wearing a helmet (thank you Corena!) I cannot believe I made it this far biking in the city without one like a grandfathered out NHL rule. I felt like 22 Jump Street in that helmet in a good way.

I wore these nike athletic capris to cover my bruise/to look trim for Nana’s and the dainty shirt to lady it up and it worked like a charm. Thank you for the shirt mom. See how easily I just said thank you just now.

And the boys finally met it went swimmingly. Shawn laughed at how Julian and I interact together. Nana loves Julian blah blah etc.

I had a vision and a concept for this. I think it came out a little forced though ahah.

Ava is a stunning baby and her temperament is perfect.

She would not take her eyes off me which I of course loved. It’s probably because my hair is extremely yellow and it’s hard not to look at me cos you’re like WTF is that? She liked Julian too so cute I die.

No caption necessary. This shirt is the gift that keeps on giving. Backstory. It comes from Forever 21 a few years ago and I bought it in the throes of some arrested developmental delusional bliss or other and it still looks good on me. Corena gave me an “I taste as good as I look” or something like that tshirt bahahha.

Can only be busted out on special occasions. Like going to shoppers.

Was getting sick of swooping my roots over. I love Donna Dolphy so much. I had to fight her on not cutting my hair. It was a tough battle but I conquered. Just say no to scissors.

It’s a bit less brassy now too me likey. I wanna keep it multi-tonal and healthy as possible which is why I let it grow out this summer like a beach rat. If you’re confident you can make any look work but I’d like less hassle and worry about it nahmean. Donna Dolphy Yorkville Salon said I am not like those princess major upkeep girls I am low-key that’s why she’s down to work with me which reminds me I am going to start blogging for her too. Oh the list grows lol.

Wow it got dark. I got used to it and didn’t mind. lemme know if you need hair help I’ll set you up with Donna nahhmean?

Julian hung with me this day bless his heart salon visits are long af. He got to see how ugly we look during the process he kept trying to take pics ughhhh. Donna will fix his hair next.

The closest I will ever come to playing pokemon go is wearing this hat. Maybe if I stole it too eh. I look good in hats not gunna lie. Let me know if you need a list of other things I look good in.

This dresser is gone now I miss it already. Our room is truly bohemme right now.

Julian had a show somewhere in all of this mess. Hi Heather! thanks to all of you who came out, it was noted and appreciated. Booking a live music show in August is sign a deal with the stressed out af devil. it’s a month when no one is really around it’s like herding cats.

Beach date with Tash and her kid and the pugs was fun and hilarious.

I have run outta time but this has been great. Check in later with more adventures soon promise xoxo.