TuesdayThoughts

Exhaustion.

October 30, 2014


"Control what you can control. Don't lose sleep worrying about things that you don't have control over because, at the end of the day, you still won't have any control over them." - Cara Newton

Words cannot explain my exhaustion right now, I'm at the stage where you can barely hold you head up, well that's me right now. This has been one of the longest weeks of my entire life and I cannot wait till its over. I cannot wait to start a fresh and to actually let my life begin. I have noticed a few things though lately. 

1. I rarely make sense anymore 
2. I cannot sleep 
3. I crave TV more than anything 
4. I've become more sensitive to the heat and cold (I know weird!) 
5. I have an addiction to counting down when things will be over, whether it be time, days, months, etc.

SO as a quick post today as I procrastinate my troubles away, I thought I would share some little tips that I have found to combat my number one issue, LACK OF SLEEP. 
1. Sleeping Masks
2. Big glasses of water 
3. Calming music eg. Ed Sheeran Multiple Album 
4. No lollies after 8pm 
5. This is going to sound really weird, but I read it online and it helped so much. So basically you start at your toes and you start clenching and holding your muscles for about 10 seconds and then gradually move up your body. I'm usually asleep by my lower back, because I don't remember anything after that! 

So I hope these little tips might help you if you're struggling to sleep because I am so exhausted I'm not really sure what I'm writing! But hey, in less than 24 hours I WILL BE DONE MY HSC AND FREE!!! So watch this space for some exciting things!! 

♡♡♡

Music

My Song.

October 29, 2014


"Ah music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here!"  - Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (JK Rowling).

I don't know if this is a thing that everyone does, but in my family when each of us was born my dad sung us a song and it became "our song." So my song is 'Little Ray of Sunshine' (1970) by Axiom. When ever I listen to this song it sort of gives me faith in my parents, that they actually know what they'e doing and it makes me feel really special, because when you listen to this lyrics it's such a beautiful song about the relationship between a father and his daughter. 

There are so many beautiful old classic songs with such wonderful lyrics, but this one really stands out to me and it's impossible to be in a bad mood if this song is on. It really does make you think how much your parents really do care about you, how much sacrifice they put in to raise you and how much your parents really love you. 

Music is so powerful and it is indescribable how special someone's song is to them. I know right now, and I always have that I will give each of my children a song, because especially during the teenage years when one's identity is questioned having a song can really bring you back down to earth and remind you where you belong, remind you who you are where you came from. 

MY SONG: 
(My dad and I really like THIS version, but I couldn't find it!)

♡♡♡

Reviews

Howl's Moving Castle.

October 28, 2014


"They say that the best blaze burns brightest when circumstances are at their worst." - Sophie Hatter, Howl's Moving Castle

Sorry about the lack of posting, but I'll catch up soon for all the missed days, it's just a full on week! 
So when I came home from my exam this morning I wanted to watch a movie during my lunch before I started studying for the next one (ugh). 

So today I thought I would share one of my absolute favorite movies; 'Howl's Moving Castle'. If you haven't seen any of the Studio Ghibli movies you're missing out and this one is incredible. It's full of love, pain, hardship and sacrifice. I've seen it over 10 times and I think I could watch it 10 more. 

There's something about the style of animation of these movies, whether it be the beauty in the way the character itself is created, the mouth watering depictions of food or the beautifully created landscapes and buildings. 
(If that doesn't make you hungry, I don't know what will).


The story begins with plain, hat shop employee Sophie being rescued by Howl and their story continues from there. I don't want to say too much but (SPOILER ALERT) this movie honestly inspires me so much and I love how it teaches the importance of acceptance and having faith in people which is such an important message in today's society, as both Sophie and Howl are cursed and must overcome the terrible curses which have been placed upon them, with not only true love but faith in self and faith in those around you. 

I definitely recommend checking out Howl's Moving Castle or any of the other Studio Ghibli films! 
If you have seen any of them, which one is your favorite? 

TRAILER: 

♡♡♡

Book vs Movie.

October 24, 2014


"Here's how adaption works - almost everything in the movie is in the book in some form. But it's as though the deck has been completely reshuffled and some of the cares have been assigned different values, some of the fours have been made into jacks and some of the jacks have been made into twos." - Walter Kim

Ah yes, the debate the is as constant as the sun rising. Books versus Movies. As I lover of both, deciding whether you preferred the book or the movie can be one of the easiest decisions you ever make, or can be one of the hardest. 

I just finished reading John Green's 'The Fault in Our Stars' - which was a very long time coming, especially as I watched the movie months before with my friend Sonali. The movie ended with me collapsing in a field of tears and practically launching myself into her arms, Sonali on the other hand whilst comforting me and helping me come to terms with what we had just witnessed was also crying so hard that she lost her contact lens. As you can see, it was an emotional journey for nearly all who view it. It's movies like this that make me question the whole debate, as what often happens with me and sad movies is that if I know it's going to be sad, I won't cry, it's like my mind and body are emotionally prepared and then I sit there like some heartless, stone statue whilst everyone around me passes the tissues and hands out cuddles. 

Let me paint you a picture. It's 2am, the day after you finished your final Maths exam and you're finishing a book [insert The Fault in Our Stars, The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, etc]. You know what these books are like, you know the emotional pain and hardship that comes with reading something written by Nicholas Sparks or John Green, BUT, you have already seen the film. You sat through that movie and balled your eyes out, so you finish that book, and then you sit there. You sit there for a good solid minute thinking about what you just read. Then something happens, you either break down into an emotional mess of ugly sobbing and the classic 'Kim Kardashian crying face' (please google it if you don't know what I'm talking about) or you pick up a tissue, wipe away a single tear and roll over and go to sleep. Now funnily enough, I was the second option. I Lauren MTP didn't cry when reading the fault in our stars, yet I was a complete and utter wreck after the movie. I promise there was ugly tears and uncontrollable shaking, ASK SONALI, SHE WAS HOLDING ONTO ME.

So this got me really thinking, how weird is that? The well-known Book Worm, I've literally won medals for reading, didn't cry in the book but she cried in the movie. Okay I've been thinking about this pretty thoroughly over the past 48 hours and I've come to the conclusion that I liked the movie better. The more I think about this the stranger the thought becomes. Maybe it was because Shailene and Ansel brought Hazel Grace and Augustus to life. Maybe because the film allowed you to explore countries that are across the other side of the world. All in all the film was done so so well and I think it's one of the best film adaptions I have ever seen. The lines were word for word and I really loved how when ever one of the characters was on their phones or computers the little image of what they were writing came up on the screen, I know that won't make sense if you haven't seen it, but hey that's an excuse to go and watch the movie. Overall the book and movie have definitely made me think a lot about the nature of life and how this is a good life. We have to make the most of every day and that we are lucky to be alive, no matter what our situation is. I know I'll be re watching the movie, A LOT and definitely re-reading the book sometime in the near future, but just take some time to watch the trailer and then take some more time to watch the movie because trust me, you won't regret it. 

Getting back to the whole debate though one of my favourite things is watching a movie after I've read the book or reading the book after I've watched the movie. I am still developing my rules when it comes to this but I thought I would share with you some little things that I have discovered myself and some little things that I have picked up from people. 

1. Go in with low expectations, I know it's not the most positive outlook, but expect to be disappointed. That way 9/10 times you come out pleasantly surprised and not disappointed at all. 
2. If you can't take spoilers (this one is for you, Sarah), avoid Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter and all other forms of social media. I learnt this the hard way as a few weeks before I was going to see the Fault in Our Stars a girl posted a Facebook status, which single-handily destroyed all the hard work I had done to avoid this particular spoiler and also ruin the surprise element for the movie (I know it was months ago, but I'm still mad). 
3. You need to make a choice. You either read the book and then see the movie adaption, meaning you are often disapointed as the best details or favorite scenes are often cut. This is what my friend Miriama describes as the 'rookie mistake' or you go and see a movie and then read the book. Which means that you are pleasantly surprised (or angered) but the immense amount of detail which you find in the book, you get to picture the characters in the novel as the cast from the movie and you get to relive the experience. 
4. Read the book WAY before the movie comes out, this means you have time to forget that the director missed out that intricate detail and you leave the cinema coming to the conclusion that the movie adaption was identical to the book, and NOT A SINGLE DETAIL WAS MISSED. This is one of my personal favourite approaches to this issue.
5. If you're going with a group split yourselves (you can still sit in a row, just give me a second to explain), people who haven't read the book and need explainations are put with people who like talking during movies (aka myself) and then at the complete other end of the row, place those who remain dead silent, and need to pay 100% attention to the movie, that way no way gets annoyed or no one is left confused and completely lost as to why that guy is kissing that girl when they're brother and sister (guess that series).

I hope these little tips help and feel free to leave a comment about anything you have to say on The Fault in Our Stars, movie watching, book reading or any tips you have for these activities. 

♡♡♡

2000 Views.

October 24, 2014


"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart." - A.A. Milne 

Okay so I was struggling to think of something to write about today and when I looked at my view counter I have just hit 2000 views. I literally do not know what to think. My blog has been viewed over 2000 times, someone other than me have pulled up at my corner of the internet and read my blog. 

TWO THOUSAND VIEWS.
I guess I should say thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. From the bottom of my heart it honestly means the absolute world and I have no way to express my thanks. I am so incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to have my voice heard and that I am so fortunate that people want to read what I write, and that it has been viewed so many times. Thank you for reading what I have written and I honestly don't know what to think. 

For someone who this time last year barely had 100 views I don't know what how I got so lucky, just thank you. I know I said thank you 2000 times but I will never be able to express how thankful and lucky I am. 

I love and appreciate everyone who has taken the chance to read my thoughts and I hope you have the most wonderful day! 

♡♡♡

Music

Multiply.

October 23, 2014


"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo

So a couple blog posts ago I mentioned that I recently purchased Ed Sheeran's album: Multiply. I know I am a bit late to jump on this band wagon, but this album has made the last couple of weeks a lot more bearable. 

This album, like most of Ed's music is able to speak to people on such a different level and his music is so relaxing and peaceful. I used to only listen to music that was very go go go with a beat  and that you can dance to, but both this and the Winterbourne album (plus Nicole) has made me appreciate the beauty of quiet music. 

If you haven't just take a listen to the album and then go buy it because the music is just too good and I have actually been listening to it in bed at night and I have found I'm actually sleeping a lot better, is that weird? That Ed Sheeran's music is he long me get to sleep at night. 

But overall a killer album and 10/10 would recommend taking a minute (you really need more) to appreciate good music, to understand the power of music and the power of people.

Ed Sheeran: 

♡♡♡

image, taken by me on my iPhone 4.

Current Obsession: Travel Vloggers.

October 23, 2014


"I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list ." - Susan Sontag

So lately in my down time I've become really really obsessed with some more travel vloggers on YouTube. Especially; FunForLouis, Mr Ben Brown, Steve Booker, Will Darbyshire and so many other's as they recently took a trip to Toronto, Canada for Buffer Festival. I have particularly been following Louis, Ben, Steve and Will's trip as they have now roadtripped' from Canada to New York. As you watch in these vlogs gradually people are going home but Louis, Ben and Will are now about to travel from NY to California and words cannot describe my jealousy right now. Through people like this you are able to see so many different parts of the world without leaving your bedroom, which I think is a beautiful gift to share with the world. 

As someone who wants to travel more than anything on the world these vlogs are not only killing me but inspiring me go travel the world and capture every moment of if, which was actually my senior quote. 

So I definitely recommend you check out some of these vloggers and I'll leave of their their recent videos and other links below! Go check them all out and join me in this feeling of immense jealousy. 

Recent Videos that have made me very very jealous - 
FunForLouis: 

Mr Ben Brown:

Steve Booker: 

Will Darbyshire: 

Louis Cole: 
- YouTube 

Ben Brown: 

Steve Booker: 
- YouTube 

Will Darbyshire: 
- YouTube 

♡♡♡

The Mirror Image.

October 21, 2014


"Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker and what he thinks into it." - Ernest Holmes

So yesterday when I was getting my formal dress tailored (the short life) I had to stare in the mirror for quite a long time and I sort of started to get really mad at myself because here I was in a beautiful dress that I really love and I could not stop myself from picking out my flaws.

The two things I am most self conscious about are my smile and my skin. As I suffered severely from eczema when I was a child my skin still has some what seem like odd tan lines and I am often prone to dry or very red skin. As my dress can be work strapless or with thin sort of bra-like straps, is how you would describe, it a lot of my upper chest and collar-bone area is on display which means the fact that my skin is not all the same colour is quite visibly on display. 

As I stared in the mirror I was really happy with the bottom half of the dress. It fits really nice and I can breathe, which is always a bonus, but the more I stared at the top half the more anxious and critical I got. I just began to pick myself to pieces examining each individual part of my upper body and picking what was wrong. I couldn't stop myself from saying, "that rash left a mark" and "we'll have to get rid of that redness." 

Finally the seamstress asked me to turn around, so my back was facing the mirror, my first thought was okay now I can stop picking myself to pieces, but after a while I became bored, and I wanted to pick myself to pieces again. I'm usually very pro body pride and embracing who you are, but today I just could not stop picking at the flaws like my skin and overall top half of my body. 

My skin and rashes are not my fault I can't control it, so why am I making myself feel worse about it? 
My somewhat broad and rounded shoulders are both genetic and due to my gymnastics days, I can't control or change it, so why am I making myself feel worse about it? 
My spots and the overall physical appearance of my face is not my fault, I wash and cleanse my face and try to drink lots of water, I can't control or change it, so why am I making myself feel worse about it? 

As I write this post I know I'm being silly, I know I can't help my flaws but I feel as though my mind has been programmed to be constantly picking at myself and no matter how much image booster motivation I look at I still feel self conscious and I still feel as if I have an obligation to criticize myself. 

Why do I feel like this? Why am I constantly never happy when looking in the mirror? Why has society programmed us to never be happy with our appearances and it's just not fair. I need to try, I need to try harder to accept and love myself but it's so hard when you look in the mirror and you are never happy with what you see. 

I know I sometimes struggle with accepting myself but I think the most important thing is that even though we sometimes cannot see our own beauty, we can see the beauty in others. Both in their personalities and their physical appearance. I have a friend and she is one of the most beautiful and sweetest girls I have ever met and she honestly compliments people so much. She inspires me to compliment people more because if someone says something that boosts your ego it can change your whole day and if we as individuals have the ability to do this then what is standing in our paths? 

We have the ability to change a person's day. To make their week and yet sometimes we choose to stay silent, we choose to keep our voices hidden. Don't stay silent, there is enough sadness and despair in this world without adding to the fact that there is some little girl staring in the mirror right now, and she's not happy with herself because society has made her feel ugly. Remind yourself, remind your friends and remind your family that we are not ugly, society is. 

[also listen to THIS song by Ed Sheeran because it makes you feel 1000x better about yourself]

♡♡♡

October 19, 2014


Fashion

Sweater Weather.

October 19, 2014

Tis the season for Christmas sweaters

So even though it's Spring in Australia it is Autumn and coming up Winter in the Northern Hemisphere, so I thought I would find some super cute sweaters online and put together a post! I hope you enjoy and stay cuddled up because there is nothing I hate more then being cold.

One Month.

October 19, 2014


"The kind of soil in your area determines the type of crop you will plant to harvest. The kind of potentials in which you will decide the type of success you will celebrate." - Israelmore Ayirvor

I know I've already made today's post but I just wanted to make a little post congratulating myself and this blog for having a post up for every day for the past month. It honestly feels like so much longer than a month, as so much has happened to me since then. I have become quite attached to this little online diary and it makes me feel really proud that there has been a post for every day, even if it has been late sometimes or made up on the next day, there has been a post.

Thank you for visiting my little corner of the internet, whether it be today, for the first time or whether you have been a constant reader since last year. Thank you so much for everything, from the bottom of my heart and I really do hope that you enjoy delving into the deepest thoughts of my mind, and hopefully feel inspired each day by the little things I write. 

I hope you have a truly wonderful day and happy reading! 

♡♡♡

Fashion

Formal/Prom Dresses.

October 19, 2014


"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." - Roald Dahl

Formal season is almost over, but for me it's just about to begin as my formal is in less than a month. I had been planning to post this a lot earlier, even before I had found my dress but I still wanted to share some of the dresses that I liked and my own is even in the mix so I hope you enjoy and if your formal is coming up, maybe get some inspiration. 

Royal Blue A-line Illusion Cap Sleeves Crew Neck Long Formal Dress

It's Nice to Meet You.

October 19, 2014


"It's the friends you can call up at 4am that matter." - Marlene Dietrich

A constant thought on my mind lately has been how much not only my life has changed but how much I, as an individual have changed. When I was younger I suffered severely from social anxiety, I could never eat in the food court of shopping centers, I couldn't catch trains or buses anywhere and when I was starting primary school my family doctor suggested the primary school I went to because it was a smaller school and meant that I wouldn't be so overwhelmed. 

When I think about it now, I never had very many close friends during Primary School, I had a few friends outside of school, but I could probably could have counted all my friends with my fingers. Like most things in life this has changed so much. since then. I now have the most wonderful group of close friends and an uncountable amount of people who I can rely on. 

I still get anxious when I am going out with people, like I tend to forget things or spill things all over myself but I have managed to grow out of certain parts of my anxiousness. I now have no problem with public transport, food courts, being surrounded by people in tight places and most importantly I have completely lost my fear of meeting new people, which to some extent I think plagued me up until last year. I only made new friends when I had to and I still got really upset and worried, but now and especially over the past year, this has changed so much. 

I absolutely love meeting new people now, I have no problem with making conversation with strangers and I love going to parties and talking and getting to know new people. It's so crazy how my life has changed from being the girl who hated doing anything other than sitting in her room and reading her books to someone who loves going to parties and meeting new people, even if the friendships don't last longer than that night it still makes my younger self feel proud to know how far I have come and how much my life has changed. 

I honestly don't know what changed or this change occurred, but I feel like once I developed a solid support network outside of my family, that I knew I could depend on, and I wasn't so scared to meet people anymore. There is still always the feeling where in my head all I can think is "do these people really want to be here with me?", bur I guess that as I continue to grow and face new challenges I'll be able to overcome this fear and put those voices to bed, permanently. 

Being courageous is hard but I tell myself two things, I tell myself you'll regret it if you're not courageous now and a life with regrets is a life  not lived. The second thing I tell myself is that people actually want to spend time with me, people go out of their way to do nice things for me and the thoughts you are thinking are just in your head, even as I write this I am questioning myself, I'm questioning whether what I'm saying is actually true, but I'm letting the stronger side of me take control and letting myself believe that what I'm saying is true because in the end you can only have faith and hope in people, and have faith and hope in yourself, because in situations like this, what else can you do.

♡♡♡

Boredom.

October 17, 2014


"When you pay attention to boredom it gets unbelievably interesting." - Jon Kabat-Zinn

So I don't know about you, but lately one of the major issues for me has been boredom!!!! I am bored all the time and from what I can see, most of my friends are pretty bored too.

Most conversations go a little like this:
Person 1: HEY 
Person 2: OMG HIIII! Haven't spoken in so long 
Person 1: I KNOW RIGHT!! But how are you?? 
Person 2: I am so so so bored!!!!!

So ladies and gentlemen we need some serious boredom busters up here, so I thought I would put together a list of 10 things that you can do to beat the bored. 

1. Put your computer on split screen and be watching your favorite Youtuber and scroll aimlessly through your Tumblr dashboard 
2. Paint you nails! I'm thinking of going purple after my exams
3. Watch an episode of your favorite TV Show 
4. Make a smoothie, click HERE for a super yummy and super simple recipe
5. Read some blogs, I have recently been obsessed with Lily from lilypebbles, Olivia from whatolivia did and Niomi from niomismart
6. Do some exercise, I usually do a Blogalaties video, ride my exercise bike, jump on my trampoline or take my dog for a walk/run 
7. Read a book, I'm currently reading The Fault In Our Stars by John Green and I sort of stopped a little bit because I know what's coming and I'm scared 
8. Message a friend, you can just say "hey" and I guarantee some weird conversation will stem from it
9. Listen to some music, I'm obsessed with Ed Sheeran's Multiply or X Album, the Winterbourne EP All about the Sun and I also listened to Troye Sivan's TRXYE EP and I honestly forgot how good it was, definitely recommend 
10. I know it's lame but tidy your room, a clean space can be a really good way to beat boredom and fake you feel inspired with a clean new space 

So I hope my ideas and tips will help you beat the boredom and try and make the most of your day! 

♡♡♡

Something to Think About.

October 15, 2014


"It's a little video, it's a little video, it's a little video about twins." - Jack Harries

Please check out this video by Jacksgap, it is one of the truest, honest and most accurate videos I have ever seen about YouTube and the way YouTube and even internet culture is perceived. 

As usual Jack and Finn put their individual spin on it and make the topic completely their own. These boys put so much effort into their videos and if you have or haven't please check out their series called 'The Rickshaw Run,' these are a serious of videos which the boys created to document their journey, as they traveled across India in Tuk Tuks. Throughout these videos, I was laughing, crying and overall thankful that they had taken cameras and recorded their experiences. 

The way they edit and film their videos shows how talented they are and their creativity never ceases to amaze me.
They are able to tell their stories in such individual ways and really do grab their cameras and the opportunities that YouTube has given them with both hands. 

Please give these boys some love (I'll leave their links below) and please watch this video, and if you feel so inclined 'The Rickshaw Run' series because I guarantee you will not regret it. Also I think it's really important (optional) to take a moment to really think about what  they're saying, because I don't know about you but their video really got me thinking about YouTube and internet culture in general. Their 'Rickshaw Run' videos also allowed you to think about people in other cultures and I know their is so much more to the message of the series but I really enjoyed the fact that it allowed me to see such a beautiful country, and for someone who wants to travel more than anything, this was a wonderful gift. 

I definitely think you should check out their videos, I know you'll enjoy them. 

Affirmations.

October 15, 2014


"Feeling good about your life, but not expressing a heartfelt 'thank you,' is like wrapping a gift for someone and never giving it to them." - Chip Conley 

Okay so as I posted the past three days posts today as I have just been so very busy right now with exams and everything so I called on my lovely friend Isadora who never fails to inspire or support me in a plea of desperation for a blog post, and she had the wonderful idea of doing a post on affirmations. I'm sorry internet but I'm not going to give you the exact reason as to why this is so very important at the moment because affirmations are such a personal and intimate thing. 

So if you don't know an affirmation or sometimes called fuzzy wuzzies (thanks Lauren - not me, my friend called Lauren) and they are basically a little message you send someone can be verbally, via video or even by a letter or text where you can write or say whatever you like. You can write/say how you feel about that person, what inspires you about that person, what you love about them or even the things that they do that make you smile or laugh. 

An affirmation is something so very personal, so you can see it can be shaped into so many different things but as the other name suggests it is basically meant to make you (the writer) and someone else (the recipient) feel warm and good about yourself. For me affirmations can change the way I look at myself for that day because it means that someone I love and care for has managed to get into my head and beat away all those negative thoughts that are constantly swimming around with a baseball bat and have them subdued for a while. 

I have received so many affirmations over the past couple of years, I don't know whether it's a Catholic school thing or not but we are always writing these and they make you laugh, they make you cry and they just have the ability to make you feel so incredibly special. It makes you feel as if someone really does care for you, and if everything you do is actually noticed and appreciated by someone. 

So I'm going to write two things, first thing is a DIY affirmation and the second is an affirmation for you, yes you, the person reading this blog post RIGHT NOW.

Dear _____, 
I love your _____ and you make me so incredibly _____ every day. I don't know what I would do without your _____ and your overall _____ in my life. You inspire me to be better than I am and I am so incredibly thankful for your friendship and support. You are so talented in everything you do, especially _____ and your passion for your _____ shows through with what you do every day and overall how you live your life. I love you to the moon and back and I don't think you will ever fully understand how much I love, need and rely on you. 
Lots of love and infinite hugs and kisses, 
_____ (xo, xoxo, xx, x, o)

Okay now onto you guys:
Dear Reader, 
I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you. To say thank you for reading this post or for reading my blog no matter how long you have been here. Just you taking five minutes out of your life to get an insight into mine means the absolute world, honestly every time that view ticker goes up my heart flutter not because my blog is gaining popularity, which I am thankful for, but because someone has taken time to pull up a chair in my corner of the internet. Someone is reading my thoughts and opinions on various issues, no matter how immature or stupid they are. I love the support I get from all the people who know me in real life or online and the always positive response I get from people reading my blog. Thank you so much for being you because without you I would not feel as inspired as I do to keep letting my thoughts fly free and setting them out into the world. I would not feel inspired to write better blog posts and I would not feel brave enough to tell people that I have this blog, that I have this little corner of the Internet where I can sit and let my thoughts out about anything and everything so thank you for letting me have a voice and for letting me be completely and utterly who I am on this blog, no questions asks. Thank you for being you and I love you so very much! 
Lauren x

♡♡♡

Inspiration.

October 15, 2014


"It's everybody's dream. No one's going to hand it to you. You have to prove that's special to you." - Abigail Armstrong

There's this funny little thing called inspiration. It can be found in the oddest of times and the strangest of places and the more I write on this blog the more I'm discovering that various things inspire me. Sometimes someone will say something to me and I just think, hey, it would be great to write about that. 

For me, personally I think a lot of my inspiration comes from people. Whether it be the things people say, the things people do or even the way we carry ourselves. I love looking at people and sometimes taking a minute to just see how they converse with someone else. Do they talk with their hands, or start to jump around and overall be filled with a contagious energy. My personal favorite is when someone's passion shows. After you know people for a while you can start to tell when they are really passionate about something. Like my friend Giselle, who is one of the most passionate and hard-working people I have ever met, starts to go a little red and raises her voice and speaks with such authority that it is so incredibly captivating that you sometimes can't be helped to begin to agree with whatever she is talking about.

Okay so let's do a fun interactive activity, you don't have to comment write, just do it in your head.
1. Who inspires you the most?
2. How do you feel when you are inspired?
3. Are you inspired by yourself?
4. How does being inspired by yourself make you feel?
5. Have you felt inspired today?

Now I think that if you haven't felt inspired today that needs to change AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! Have a little chat to the person that you answered for question one because I don't know about you but the person/people (oooohhhhh ambiguous) who are the answer to my question is/are always able to say something to inspire me and try and make me better than what I am.

So when thinking or talking about inspiration I think one of the most important aspects is that by being inspired you are called to action, you want to get up off your bum and do something, even if its just something like clean your room or give more hugs. The second aspect of inspiration is that it makes you want to be better than you are, and for me this is always a major thing. When I feel inspired I always feel like I need to do something to help someone else or make someone else feel better, whether it be donating money to a pop up stand or even sending someone something you saw online and thought of them. The third aspect of being inspired is that you feel happy, that being inspired doesn't make you feel sad, angry or pressured, being inspired makes you feel good and that you want to spread the warm fuzzy feeling!

So today, take some time to talk to some inspirational people or even look up some inspiration quotes!

♡♡♡

Throwback Tuesday?

October 15, 2014



Okay so as a little celebration for finishing two out of the seven of my final exams and the fact that I don't have another exam till next week, I decided to hit the classics and watch some movies from pre 2009. The movies of today were Camp Rock (2008) starring Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas and Bratz (2007) starring Skyler Shaye and Janel Parrish.



I don't know about you but when ever I watch old movies my first thought is always what ARE you wearing and I do not remember you looking like that! Another thing I always notice is the fact that there is always a killer wardrobe sequence or changing room montage. Though one thing I do remember is the fact that I was so jealous of these scenes because when I was younger I could never buy anything when shopping with my friends because I was too anxious to go into the dressing rooms and to this day it still sort of stresses me out. I don't know where this fear came from because I absolutely love shopping and buying new things but my friends have helped me gain more confidence and as I have gotten older I'm getting more and more comfortable in my own skin and hopefully a killer changing room montage will be in my future soon!

So take a little break and enjoy a bit of peace and relaxation with some super lame and super fab classics from the days when you didn't actually know what High School was like.

♡♡♡

Note: I do not own any of these images.

Big Days.

October 12, 2014


"My success was due to good luck, hard work, and support and advice from friends and mentors. But most importantly, it depended on me to keep trying after I had failed." - Mark Warner

As the next three weeks are going to be a bit of a roller coaster, I don't know how even my posting will be, but I just wanted to keep it short and sweet and wish everyone good luck for the coming weeks. 
We have worked hard. 
We have studied. 
We are prepared and we will smash it. 
I love you all and good luck!!!!

♡♡♡

Routine.

October 11, 2014


"I want to caution you against the idea that balance has to be a routine that looks the same week in and week out." - Kevin Thoman 

Wake Up. Study. Eat. Study. Watch TV. Study. Exercise. Study. Write Blog Post. Study. Sleep. Repeat.

That's my day, my day every day, and I've had enough. I'm sick of routines. 
I and pretty much everyone else my age is stuck in a rut, some kind of rhythm where we cannot break it until the 4th of November. On that day everything will change, and our lives will began (sorry I didn't know you said no cheese). 

Routines are one of the most mundane aspects of our society and is somewhat similar to a plan. How have we let our lives become so organised that we're no longer happy?  When happiness is one of the things we always promised to be. 

I think every person loves routine in their life, to some extent, but I never would have wished for something like this. Something so incredibly vigorous that it's affecting every aspect of our lives. When I was little I used to find that during the summer holidays I became bored of a life without routine and looked forward to going back to school, but right now I could not think of anything worse, anything worse than dragging myself out of bed and putting on a uniform. 

Routines are not only sending us insane but it's sending our parents and our families mad too. Everyone is frustrated, angry and stressed and I don't know about you but I've just about enough of being angry and scared. 

The future is getting closer and closer and I thought I would be more scared, but I'm not. I just want to get these three weeks done with and then my life will really begin, and then the routines will cease. 

♡♡♡


Wanderlust.

October 10, 2014


"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." - Augustine of Hippo

Wanderlust is defined as the 'strong desire to travel' and just say wanderlust was an illness or disease than man oh man have I got it bad. I actually think my case is life threatening, if I'm completely honest with you.

Travelling is something I want to do more than anything of the world. The furthest I have ever been from home is still inside Australia and sometimes it really makes me mad. It makes me mad that there are people who get to travel, or who have been born overseas and I know there are always pros and cons like all my relatives live here and what not but I would still love to have an excuse like that to travel. I know this is stupid and selfish but it's true, I'm trying to be honest on this blog and sometimes the little whiney girl inside me comes out who asks why some people have got to see the world and she hasn't.

For me, that's one of those moments when I have to reign myself in and remind myself that the people I'm jealous of are my friends, family or even people who I look up to and the fact that they personally had nothing to do with the lack of travelling which I have done and that to be the best version of myself I must be happy. I'm happy for myself and the opportunities that I have been given. I'm happy for those who have the chance to travel and the chance to live their dreams. I'm happy that one day my time will come and I'll get to live my dreams, because I truly do believe that good things not only come to those who wait, but good things come to those who work hard, and if that's all it takes, then that's what I'll keep doing.

As I wait, I have a nasty habit where I start to write goals and lists of everything I want to do, which means my life somewhat lacks the element of spontaneity which is so sought after, but keeping lists and making goals for myself allows me to remind myself every day of my goals, dreams and aspirations. Dreams like, travelling the world.

I want to go everywhere. Every single continent, at least and then some more. I am so determined to travel. I want to see all the corners of the world, I want to make memories, I want to capture those memories and I want to live a life where I have no regrets. I want to be able to not only tell my grandchildren everything I did but I want to show them. I want to sit in an old armchair by the fire with a blanket on my lap and flick through photo albums pointing out to the amazing places I travelled and the even more amazing people I met. I want to watch videos of all the things I did and most of all I want to tick off anything remotely possible on my bucket list.

We always have goals and dreams for ourselves and one of my major goals is to live without regrets, every time I'm scared to do something I just have to tell myself that if I don't, I will regret it. I have too many regrets as is and I refuse to add to this list. 

We must live our lives as though every day is our last. We must not only have faith in ourselves but faith in our futures and good things will come. Send some happy vibes into the world and they'll find their way back to you someday. 

♡♡♡

Once Upon A Time.

October 08, 2014


"You were right. It was an impossible battle, which is why I had to fight it." - Prince James (Prince Charming)

So I have a ridiculously addictive personality, if I start something I get hooked and I can't stop. So my previous obsession was the TV show One Tree Hill and since I finished that I've been on the hunt for a new show, I began to go through the list of all the shows I want to watch and realised I was incredibly far behind on Once Upon A Time and with the gifs all over tumblr of the Frozen episode I decided to start re-watching it, as a little gift for myself, two to three episodes a day during my breaks. 

Once Upon A Time is (spoiler alert) a combination between a modern world and the traditional fairy tales we all know and love. It explores the story of Emma Swan who we later find out is (MASSIVE SPOILERS PLEASE DO NOT READ) the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, also know as Mary Margaret Blanchard and David Nolan. 

The fairy tale world has been cursed by the Evil Queen and they have all been sent to our world, cursed to live here. One of the most serious aspects of the curse means that they have forgotten their fairy tale (real) selves and are cursed to live without their loved ones forever. They have all been given different identities and somewhat false memories of lives which they have not lived. The show constantly switches between the fairy tale world and our own to reveal the back stories and explanations of the characters and the transitions between the two worlds are excellent, the names and professions of their real live selfs is often quite ironic when you think about it, adding a level of humour to the show. To defeat the curse it was prophesied that the child of Snow and Charming was to save them all, so Charming and Snow send their daughter, Emma, who becomes our heroine and main character, to the human world and on her 28th Birthday she is destined to save them all, I however, have already revealed enough so I will let you learn more about Emma and her destiny. 

It's such a wonderful TV show and it is right up my alley as I am completely obsessed with movies or TV shows that bring Fairy Tales to a modern world or mix the classics with our twenty-first century world, and for me Once Upon A Time does this so well. 
I definitely recommend this show if you are a fan of fairy tales or even just classic stories of true love, crime, mystery, drama or even sometimes horror this show has it all. 

So join the tales of the Storybrook Township and rediscover the fairy tales we all know and love because this show is so incredibly good, and remember good will always triumph over evil.

♡♡♡

Motivation.

October 07, 2014

Quote

"You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream..." - CS Lewis

I'm in a rut, and I'm in desperate need of some motivation. Motivation is such a hard thing to talk about though, because the best and truest form of motivation is self-motivation, but I think giving yourself a boost with some snazzy pictures can't help! 

So I thought for today's post I would put together a some motivational images which I found to give us all the boost to get through to the end. I hope you enjoy!

Plans.

October 06, 2014


"Life happens to you while you're making other plans." - John Lennon

We plan, we plan and we plan some more. We plan our study timetables, our holidays, our concerts, our work, our blog posts (or is that just me). We plan our entire lives into a fit schedule; you go to high school, you go to Uni, you get married, you have kids, you die. 

I don't know about you but that sounds so incredibly depressing. Of course I want to do all those things in my life, but I want to travel the world, I want to help people, I want to gain life experience, I want to capture the most important moments in life whether it be on camera or just in my head. 

The amount of things that I want to do in my life is absolutely ridiculous and today all I could think about was the fact that the quote above could not be more true. We have been planning for the upcoming weeks and weeks previous for the past year and years before that, and look here we are. Everything will all be over after the next few weeks, but the thing is, it's crept up so quickly! 

Even if you have no clue what I'm talking about you have to admit that sometimes you gotta look around and ask yourself WHEN DID IT BECOME OCTOBER?? To me February feels like only a few months ago not eight. 

Life is moving so quickly, and it's like that Cheaper by the Dozen quote; "five minutes ago she was sitting on my shoulders pointing at cows in Munger's Field" "and then you blinked."
For me it felt like it was only a few weeks ago that I was 11 years old and just starting High School, not a friend in sight, and suddenly I blinked. 
I blinked and I just graduated. 
I blinked and I was surrounded by such beautiful, successful and supportive people. 
I blinked and my life had changed. 

While I was so busy thinking of plans for this month I didn't realise that the month is almost done, I didn't realise that my senior year is almost done. 

Though I have come to realise that the more we plan, the faster life goes by. The more we try to organise every second, of every hour, of every day the faster it goes. 

So I guess we just have to sit back and take a moment. Do something spontaneous. Take a moment to not plan and just try and live you life, day by day, because in the end, life is too short to be anything but happy. 

♡♡♡

I Can't Sleep.

October 05, 2014


"I don't know if you've ever felt like that. That you wanted to sleep for a thousand years. Or not just exist. Or just not be aware that you do exist. Or something like that. I think wanting that is very morbid, but I want it when I get like this. That's why I'm trying not to think, I just want it all to stop spinning." - Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower 

[prepare for a teenager whinging about final exams]

Okay it's almost 2:30am and I can't sleep. I know 2:30 isn't even that late at night or early in the morning but it's really annoying me that I can't sleep. I have my phone plugged in with my alarm set, I have my sleeping mask on and I have the covers in a somewhat balance between too hot and too cold. The neighbours have quietened down (literally could hear both ends of her phone call BOTH) and I'm ready to go to sleep. Yet I'm still sitting here, I'm sitting her writing this post and not sleeping and no matter what I do I cannot get to sleep.

Sleeping is one of the oddest things that we as humans do. Every night we put on special clothes, lie on special furniture and remain unconscious for 2-12 hours depending on how much sleep you actually get. 

Personally I am a night owl. I love sleeping in and I always get the most work down between 10pm and 2am when everyone in my house is either getting ready for bed or are in bed. However for the next 25 days I have to force myself to continue to wake up at 7. I hate waking up early, I hate it. I prefer to lay in bed till midday and then go to bed late if it means that I DON'T HAVE TO WAKE UP EARLY OR SET AN ALARM. 

I know I don't get enough sleep, and I know that during these HSC times everyone says the most important thing is to sleep, eat and keep yourself healthy but I think I would feel much happier and much healthier if I didn't have to be up at the crack of dawn every day fighting for my future. Fighting for the life I want to live, and I know good things come to those who wait and what not but I'm sick of it. I'm sick of working my butt off and getting no where. I don't want to write essays or read books that I don't like or don't enjoy, I want to write blog posts and watch and film YouTube videos. 
I am done with this student life. 
I want to live my life. My life where I can do what I want, my life where I am free. 

I know my parents have sacrificed a lot for me to have an education and so that my life would be better, but the pressure that society puts on us to do well during our HSC is killing students. No other Western countries in the world have something quite as vigorous as this and I don't think it's fair. I know I have no right to whinge because there are so many bigger things in the world that I could be writing about. So many more issues than some random Australian whinging about her final exams, but the thing is, once these exams are over, once I stop being such a drama queen I can live my life, I can focus on what's more important. I can focus my energy on helping those in need instead of whinging about how stressed and tired I am. 
I can write posts about people who need help and I hopefully will be able to help people. I want to use my voice for the good, the good of tomorrow. I'm sick of being silent and I've just had enough. 

I want to take pictures, I want to write, I want to film videos and I want to live my life. 
I just have to wait 25 for more days. 

♡♡♡

Fashion

Style Icons.

October 04, 2014


"Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak." - Rachel Zoe

So I've had this post in the works for a while, and you can check out my Pinterest for more pictures but my two current style icons are Zoe Sugg also known as Zoella (I will leave all their links below) and Jenn Im also known as Clothesencounters. 

It's funny when you compare the different styles of these two girls but I have been obsessed with what they are wearing lately. Jenn usually wears more bold and urban outfits which inspire me to lace up my boots and not give a damn what people think. Whereas Zoe wears more cute and chic outfits where she rocks a collared shirt and inspires me to pop on some cute heels and ombré my hair. 

Both girls have absolutely wonderful styles and I've selected a collection of images for you to enjoy! 

Endings.

October 04, 2014



"There is no real ending. It's just the place where you stop the story." - Frank Herbert

So this post was on hold for a long time but when I actually started writing it I was  watching the last episode of One Tree Hill. Okay normal post resumes now...

Is it cheating that I'm writing a post about endings when I haven't actually finished the episode yet? Okay sorry I stopped and finished the episode, and just sat there, for a good solid minute. Just staring at the screen. You know that moment when you're sitting in the cinema and the final line of the movie is spoken. When the credits come up and the lights begin to turn back on. 
It's pretty similar to that moment when you're sitting on your bed at night and you read the last line and then turn the last page of the book. 
Endings. 
That's the feeling.
The feeling of something ending. 

Endings are such weird things, like something has a start and then you enjoy it or not enjoy it and then it just stops, it just ends. Sometimes endings are some of the worst things you will ever experience and sometimes they are the absolute best. As I write this post my mind can't help but wander back to my final week of High School which was one of the biggest endings I have ever experienced. I completed thirteen years of schooling and in many graduation week speeches the hours and minutes that we spent in school were said but I can't be bothered to google it (sorry), but the important thing is THAT IT ENDED. 

I no longer catch the bus to school and look out the window with my music in, pretending I'm filming a music video (don't judge me, you all do it). I no longer go into the office and swipe on and sit down at my first period classes. I don't say 'goodmorning everyone' to my homeroom when I walk in and I no longer get to sit down at lunch and recess and spend it with the most important people in my life. It's all ended. 

I know I should be thankful to have been fortunate enough to have these experiences and I should be thankful that I have met so many wonderful friends through my six years of High School and I know I should stop writing about High School ending but you know what? I miss my friends. I miss walking past our courtyard and being surrounded by everyone I know and love. I miss walking down the hallways and being able to smile at a million different faces. 
The thing I miss the most though is walking back to my locker with an arm wrapped around me and laughing my head off over something that happened. That's what I miss the most. 

But it's ended, it's all over. I don't get to walk down those halls with an arm wrapped around me. I don't get to sit down at my group and just observe (I'm a people watcher not a creep). 
Everyone always says it's see you later not goodbye but I think we're in denial, it's ended. 

It's another ending to add to the list and no matter how hard you fight or how hard you push, everything ends and all we are left with is the memories.

♡♡♡

image.

Burnt Toast.

October 02, 2014


[Another odd post inspired by something odd]

So for my family the smell of burn toast is ridiculously common as my brother and dad prefer their toast very well done. So our house often reeks of burn toast, and when I was outside reading my book I realised that people outside my house people can smell BURNT TOAST. 
Before I began to think how this could inspire a blog post all I could think was oh my god people must think we are literally crazy. We have a mad dog that barks at every man, woman and child who walks past our house and it smells of burnt toast. You know that episode of 'How I Met Your Mother' where Ted says "If you can't see the crazy person on the bus, then you're the crazy person on the bus." Does this mean my house is the crazy house? I'm praying that there is someone whose house is crazier than ours because otherwise OUR HOUSE IS THE CRAZY HOUSE and I cannot take anymore chaos in my life, let alone people thinking we're the crazy house with the mad dog and the constant smell of burning toast.

Besides freaking out about my house I began to think that it's really odd it is that each of our homes are different, each of us was raised differently and each of us will pass on different things for our own families in the future. I know you're thinking yes Lauren my house has hardwood floors and your house has tiles, but I don't mean the literal things that make our houses different I mean the things that make my own family different from yours and the different things we all do because of our families. Like the fact that in my house we always have chicken on a Wednesday night because mum can bring a BBQ one and salad home from the supermarket or on Sunday nights it's what Nicole describes as 'egg night' but basically have bacon and eggs or find your own dinner night. 

My family has had such an influence on how I look, but how I speak and overall carry myself as a person, but we as individuals, are influenced by so many different things. We are made who we are today because of our parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, colleagues and even our acquaintances. 
If you didn't meet that friend then you might not have that quirky habit that no one understands but the two of you. If your parents didn't raise you to brush your teeth before breakfast then you might brush after. It is honestly one of the oddest things to think about, how every little thing can impact our lives. 

I personally am I watch wearer and I get very anxious and upset when my watch isn't with me, now this may be due to the fact that I feel the need to count down how much longer is left in class or to cover up the pure white watch tan which I have developed form wearing a watch every day for the past 8 years, but there a little quirky things like this that make us individual.

So today's thoughts are more on embracing the little things that make you, YOU! Don't ever feel the need to hide your little quirky habits and share them with the world because you never know who might have the same habits as you!

♡♡♡

image.