Thursday 31 December 2015

An Amazing Year - Looking Back on 2015


I really can't believe that this is the last day of 2015.
December seems to have whizzed by in a flash, and I'm a little sad to see it go, as this year has been a really great one for me!

2015 was the year of some pretty big, life changing moments, and I have some incredible memories to look back on.
Lots of exciting things happened, from big things, like Tom and I moving into our own place together, to smaller things, like finally discovering podcasts (how did I not know about them before?! They've made my drive to work so much more fun!)

I love looking back at the year and remembering all the amazing things I have to be grateful for. Here are a few of the highlights from 2015...

*Starting off the year with a relaxed picnic in King's Park with some of my closest friends

*After a long hunt, Tom and I finally bought our first home!
We love our little apartment and have had such a great time moving in together and making it all home-y. We've still got a way to go before it'll be "finished" but I've been loving the process.

*A long weekend trip to Melbourne for my birthday
(The first time in years that I wasn't working or studying on the day!)

*Discovering "minimalism" and the idea of more simple living.
I've been on a decluttering and downsizing kick this whole year and it's something I plan to continue for years to come. I definitely wouldn't call myself a minimalist by any means, but I've had a huge shift in mindset and it's been pretty life changing. Thankfully Tom's been on board too and it's been so great to share this experience together. I've been inspired by a lot of blogs, youtube channels and podcasts so I'll hopefully get around to putting together my own post about this soon!

*Tying into the more minimalistic lifestyle I've been slowly adopting, I'm loving the fact that I've downsized my wardrobe and have been happily living with a capsule wardrobe for the past few months now. I still probably have a few too many pieces in my wardrobe, but I'm definitely finding it's much more manageable now! I was worried that streamlining my wardrobe would be problematic from the fashion blogging side of things, but I haven't found it to be a problem at all (although I will admit I've been a bad blogger and haven't been posting as much as I'd like lately). I actually think there might be a few changes coming to Lauren Loves Laughter next year, as I'm planning on sharing a lot more about capsule wardrobes and how I've applied this more minimal mindset to other aspects of my life.

*I finally dove in and decided to try my hand at Youtube.
I've only posted a few videos so far, but I'm happy to have finally overcome the fear of putting myself out there and gotten started on it, as it's something I've been wanting to do for a while now.  It's just another fun, creative outlet for me and hopefully something I'll continue in 2016!

*Tom and I celebrated our six year anniversary!
It's been an awesome six years that seem to have just flown by. I am so lucky to have such an amazing, funny, kind, (not to mention incredibly good looking) guy by my side.
Ok... enough of the soppiness!

*An awesome holiday in Melbourne and Tasmania to end the year.
Taylor Swift's 1989 Tour was amazing, and we then had a lovely relaxing holiday in Tassie. I totally fell in love with the place - the adorable old houses in Hobart, the winding roads and gorgeous small towns, the delicious food (particularly their raspberries!), the amazing view from our accommodation in Swansea, and an amazing day spent trekking around Cradle Mountain.

It's been a good year :)
I have a feeling though that  2016 is going to be equally fabulous (if not better) as I have some exciting news up my sleeve (but you'll just have to wait for that!)

I hope you're 2015 has been just as amazing!

Lots of Love
Lauren
xxx

Wednesday 30 December 2015

My Style (and Travel) Diary - Breakfast at The Hardware Societe



Hello!

Tom and I have been back in Perth for over a week now and I've finally found a little time to have a look through the many photos of what turned out to be a seriously awesome trip to Melbourne and Tasmania. 

These photos were taken on our second day in Melbourne, in the short time we had before jetting off to Hobart.
Of course we had to have breakfast (it's our thing) and The Hardware Societe was top of my list of places to try out.
We weren't disappointed! It was a cute little place with butterflies on the walls and lovely pendant lights, and our seat at the bar area gave us the perfect view of all the yummy food being prepared. 
 I chose the Brioche French Toast while Tom went for a more savoury option with the Croque Madame. Both were delicious! (Although we probably ate a little too much and were both feeling uncomfortably full by the end... I guess that's a sign we enjoyed the food though!)

It was a little chilly in Melbourne, so it was a jeans and t-shirt outfit for the day, with my lightweight navy trench coat over the top. Simple and comfy, but classic - and dressed up tad with a slick of red lipstick (I've been loving red lipstick lately).

Hope you're having a great night!

Lots of Love
Lauren
xxx

Top - Roxy
Jeans - Seven for All Mankind
Coat - United Colors of Benetton
Shoes - Roxy
Bag - Jigsaw

Saturday 26 December 2015

Feeling Christmassy in Melbourne


Hello :)

Merry Christmas!

It's now boxing day in Australia  but I thought I'd quickly share a few festive photos from when we were in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago. 
It was quite a short stop in Melbourne - we were only there for one night, but we had the morning to walk around before heading to the airport and on to Tasmania.

There were some beautiful Christmas lights and decorations around the city, and I really loved walking through Royal Arcade (where most of these photos were taken) as it was looking particularly festive. There was a really beautiful store there selling  Babushka dolls and Christmas baubles from Russia that were so beautiful! 
We had a lovely time just strolling around and feeling that festive, magical vibe, so I hope you enjoy these photos!

I hope you've had a really lovely Christmas!

Lots of Love
Lauren
xxx

Friday 11 December 2015

My Style Diary - Pink is My Happy Colour


Hello Hello :)

So right now as I'm writing this post, Tom and I are on holiday! Yay!
 We just arrived here in Hobart this evening, after having an awesome time in Melbourne where we went to see the Taylor Swift concert! (More on that later - it was amazing!!)

Today though,  I have some very colourful photos to share from our first day in Melbourne.
After dropping our bags off at the hotel, we went for a wander and eventually made our way over to Hosier Lane to check out the new street art (it's all completely changed since we were there in May). The colourful murals proved to be the perfect backdrop for a few outfit photos, seeing as I was wearing a very bright pink top!
This was my plane outfit - very simple and comfy, but spiced up a little with a long necklace.

I don't think I've shown this top in many of my blog photos, but I wear it all the time to work. It's such a "feel-good" top and one that I also tend to throw on when I'm feeling a bit "blah", because you just can't be sad or grumpy when you're wearing such a bright, happy colour!

There were a lot of people taking photos of the street art yesterday - even a couple having their wedding photos taken there - so there was a really fun vibe about the place.

Anyway, I'm kind of falling asleep right now,  so I better leave it at that, but there will hopefully be lots more posts coming, so talk to you soon!
In the meantime - let me know if you've ever been to Tassie and if you have any suggestions of things to do or see!

Also... What's your "happy colour?" :)

Lots of Love
Lauren
xxx

Top - Trenery
Jeans - 7 For All Mankind
Shoes - Converse
Bag - Jigsaw
Watch - Calvin Klein
Necklace - Mimco

Sunday 6 December 2015

My Style Diary - Gingham and White Lace


Hello :)

I was having a quick look back at a few of my recent outfit posts and I've just realised there seems to be a definite blue and white theme going on! In my last post I was talking about my spring capsule wardrobe, which is made up of quite a few brightly coloured pieces, but you wouldn't know it going by my outfit posts! 

Although it may not look like it, I have actually been getting a lot of wear out of the colourful pieces in my capsule wardrobe. Clearly I just haven't been taking the time to photograph those outfits! I'll have to make more of an effort from now on though, because I do really want to show that a colourful capsule wardrobe is definitely possible. It doesn't have to be all about the neutrals!

Anyway... onto the outfit... 
I've been loving wearing my gingham shorts, and was surprised to find that this white lace top (one of my all time favourites) actually pairs really nicely with them. I didn't expect it at first, as the top is a little bit boxy, but when tucked into the shorts I think it is actually a really cute look. That's the beauty of a capsule wardrobe - it let's you experiment and come up with combinations you probably wouldn't have tried if you were working with a larger number of items.

That's it for today! 
Hope you've had a fab weekend :)

Lots of Love
Lauren
xxx

Top - Topshop
Shorts - Gingham
Watch - Calvin Klein
Sandals - Windsor Smith

...and I just had to include this photo of Tom... because he's such a cutie :)

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