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

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

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

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

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 :)

My Colourful Spring Capsule Wardrobe

Hello Hello :)

The past few months I've been mentioning here and there about how I've been experimenting with a capsule wardrobe, and promising a  more detailed post on the topic.  There are so many awesome blogs and videos that all praise the numerous benefits that having a more minimal and well edited wardrobe brings, and I've well and truly fallen in love with the concept.

Dressing with fewer items over the last couple of months has not only helped me to declutter and simplify, it's also made me be a little more creative with my outfit choices and I've really enjoyed playing around with my style to find what really works for me. It's so easy getting dressed when your wardrobe is full of pieces you love and I'll definitely be continuing this way - I'm hooked!

I thought I'd share a video showing the pieces I've included in my Spring Capsule. You'll notice it's full of bright colours and patterns, but also incorporates more neutral pieces that help to tie everything together. It's been working great for me so far!

These are generally the clothes I wear on the weekend - as you can see, the pieces are all pretty casual - because when it comes to work I generally just stick to my standard "uniform" of black pants and a simple top. Actually, now that I think about it - I've been dressing with a "Work Capsule Wardrobe" for the past few years without even realising it!

It's really not about the numbers, but just to give you a guideline in case you're interested in giving it a go yourself, I broke it down like this:

3 dresses

1 Playsuit

1 pair of overalls

14 Tops

6 Bottoms (4 pairs of jeans and 2 pairs of shorts)

8 Outerwear Pieces (Cardigans/jackets)

This adds up to 33 items. I obviously haven't included shoes/accessories/jewellery and have also been pretty lenient with myself, in that if I wanted to wear something not included in my capsule - then I'd just wear it! The point is to simplify, not add too many restrictions or more stress to your life!

If you're interested in finding out more about this whole "capsule wardrobe thing", then I highly recommend checking out Unfancy and Project 333. They're two of my favourite blogs and there's tonnes of inspiration as well as way more information, explanations and tips! 

I hope you enjoy the video and that it gives you a little inspiration, particularly if you're a lover of colour, because I haven't seen a whole lot of colourful capsule wardrobes videos yet! Let me know what you think and if you give it a go!

Lots of Love

Lauren

xxx

A Vampire Makeup Tutorial

Hello!

So today I have something a little different to share with you!

A couple of weeks ago, my sister asked me to do her makeup for a Halloween party, and I ended up turning her into a creepy looking vampire - inspired by The Vampire Diaries.

It turned out really well (if I do say so myself), so I thought I'd recreate it and film the process - partly just to record what I'd done in case I ever felt the need to dress up as a vampire again, and partly because I've been obsessed with youtube makeup tutorials for years and I was finally ready to dive in and give it a go myself!

Let me know what you think of the look and video (if you watch it... sorry it's a little awkward!) Hopefully it can give you a little inspiration if you have a costume party coming up... or maybe for Halloween next year? :)

Lauren

xxx

My Style Diary - White Lace and Rambling About Capsule Wardrobes

Hello :)

Long time no see! I've been slacking with the blog lately, but I'm back with a quick outfit post, featuring a white lace dress (you know I love my white).

This Forever New dress has been in my wardrobe for a few years, and although I love it, I can count on one hand the number of times I've worn it. Hopefully this summer it will get a little more love as it is a beautiful dress.

The past few months  I've again been experimenting with dressing with a "Capsule Wardrobe", loosely following the Project 333 guidelines, which involves wearing 33 pieces for three months (one season).

The idea is that having a more minimal, streamlined wardrobe makes the process of getting dressed each day so much simpler, and it eliminates that common dilemma of "a wardrobe full of clothes, but nothing to wear" that I'm sure most people have experienced at some point!

Having a smaller, more streamlined but well edited wardrobe, full of only pieces you love, that all work together and suit your lifestyle, really does help to solve this problem! For me, it's really helped me to appreciate what I have and has actually made me more creative in how I put outfits together because I'm not so overwhelmed with choice!

My Spring Capsule Wardrobe has been going really well, and I'm really enjoying it. Having said that though, I do have to admit that this dress was not one of my 33 pieces! I'm not being super strict with myself about the numbers though. (That's not really what it's about anyway).

 Overall I've simplified, and for me that's enough.

I haven't discussed it a whole lot here on the blog, but this year I've really been delving into the concept of "minimalism" and just generally trying to live more simply and intentionally, and simplifying my wardrobe has definitely been a big part of this. I'm still a long way from where I want to be, but just having this change in mindset has made a such a huge difference. It's something I'm planning on talking about a lot more - but I'll save that for another post.

(This didn't end up being so quick after all!)

Hope you're having a great day!

Lauren

xxx

Dress - Forever New

Shoes - Aldo
Watch - Thomas Sabo

The Foodie Post - Rabbit in the Moon

A few weeks ago, Tom and I (along with our trusty breakfast buddies), headed to Rabbit in the Moon, a little place in North Fremantle, for a delicious Sunday brunch. 

It was our first time at this cafe and I have to say I was pretty impressed from the moment I walked in - all the decor is just so bright and fun!

Aside from the lovely interiors, I was also pretty pleased with the breakfast selection (which is really the important part) - as it had a few slightly different options, along with the usual eggs/bacon/avocado (you know, the standard breakfast situation).

I have to admit, I chose my meal - the Coconut Mango Chia Pudding - based on the gorgeous pics I'd seen on Instagram, and luckily I wasn't disappointed, either by the taste or the presentation - just look how pretty that thing is - almost too beautiful to eat!

Tom was also very happy with his choice of the Kaya waffles - "American style waffles with creamy kaya puree, sweet maple, popping candy mascarpone topped with seasonal fruits" - Popping Candy?! Yes please! :)

Our friends chose the more typical breakfast of Eggs Benedict and the Baked Eggs, and both received the thumbs up.

I have to say that the service was great too, with all the staff being really welcoming and friendly, (and I didn't feel too awkward taking so many photos!)

We haven't been back yet, but it's definitely somewhere we'll return to and I recommend checking it out if you're looking for a new breakfast spot in Perth!

Hope you're having a great day!

Lots of Love

Lauren

xxx