Lessons learnt from our Engagement Party

Last Saturday (March 15th) we had our engagement party !
I am really glad we decided to have one, it was a pretty good night & i did have fun but more importantly it led me to discover a few vital lessons about planning a party. I think the best thing i can take from our party is that it was like a trial run & i'll feel much more prepared once i start planning a wedding.

This is where it gets real though, i want to tell you about the biggest regrets i have from our party, the first being:

- Not going with my gut when it comes to inviting people (in short, there were a group of people i felt obliged to invite who turned up late, didn't say hello, sat down at 1 table for the whole night, pretty much judged everyone else around them, drank all of 1 particular beer, didn't mingle with other people they knew or even speak to us for the short time they were there & then said nothing more that 'cya' as they left...to be honest, until they got there i hadn't even noticed the lack of their presence.)

- Thinking a few strings of fairy lights, bunting, balloons & flower arrangement would transform a fairly plain hall

- Not spending time talking to the people i like the most

- Trying harder than i should to help people enjoy themselves

- Feeling bad about the way i looked for the whole night

- Stressing about pointless things in the lead up

- Not helping my mum more with the food & kitchen clean up

- Worrying about what people thought of me whilst i was dancing

- Not taking more photos

- Not making a speech


Wow, i sound negative. I suppose the reason for that is the fact that i had a major fall on the night.
A good friend of mine was a bit upset & sick in the bathroom, so naturally i was there with her trying to make her feel better, i was really worried about her & wanted to make sure she was ok ! All she wanted was to be taken home & a bottle of water so i rushed out of the bathroom to find her partner & to grab her a bottle of water...on my way i (stupidly) ran towards the kitchen and low & behold someone had just spilt a beer. I slipped & fell pretty hard on the wooden floorboards hitting my chin & wrist. It hurt, it really hurt.

My dad was on his way to clean up the spill & was standing right there when i fell over. He grabbed me into a big hug straight away & asked me if i was alright. Now i don't know about you guys but if something has gone wrong, and your mum or dad appear to ask you if you're alright, it automatically triggers tears. I can be as strong as anyone else, until my parents are there.

So my dad was hugging me & my internal monologue was 'DONT CRY, do not cry!' i pulled away & got to the kitchen, got the water & hid in the bathroom for a while, realising how bad i felt. I had a 5 minute pity party with a can of Coke as my ice pack.

For the rest of the night i tried my best to smile & enjoy it but i just felt horrible. I really felt defeated &  i still do. I feel like all my hard work had produced a less than impressive outcome. I feel used as a 'free night out' by some of the guests, i felt like a bad person for not making a speech thanking the people who helped us out, i feel like we don't deserve the gifts or money people were kind enough to give us, i just feel so negative towards the whole night. Sigh.

In order to not sounds like a massive whiner, there were some positive outcomes from the night:

- Dancing with my grandma before she left & feeling amazing that she was having a good time !

- Organising an amazing wood fired pizza catering company

- Seeing alot of my family reconnecting & enjoying spending time with each other

- Taking the time to realise all the wonderfully supportive girls & guys we have around us & knowing we will have so many choices when we (finally) pick our bridal party

- Randomly going up & kissing M throughout the night, this reminded me how lucky i am to be marrying such a beautiful person

So there it is ! A raw & somewhat real insight into our engagement party.
It actually felt really good to be able to write that out & get it off my chest. I'm still dwelling on a few things from the night, but am trying to be positive & make the wedding the best day of our lives

Did you have any engagement party mishaps ? Was there anything from the night you reget ?

I would love to hear some of your stories
x

Engaged !

So there is a story i need to share with you all
It's very sentimental & funny, also a little bit cute !

It is the story of how M & i came to be engaged..

It begins on October 26, we were staying at the Q Station near Manly to celebrate the wedding of 2 of our closet friends. The next day we were flying out to Hawaii for what would become my favorite holiday EVER !!

Anyway, we got dressed up, went to the wedding & had a marvellous time !! I got a bit 'happy' off of the free flowing champagne & started sooking about not being engaged / married to M, it went a little something like this... 'Babe i love you so much & all i want forevvvvvvvvver it to spend my life with you *sob sob* when are we going to get married *hiccup* wahhhhhhh'. I wouldn't say i was a mess cause i wasn't but i WAS being a sook !! So M gave the me usual speil 'you know i love you', 'it will happen in good time' yada yada. I guess that was good enough for me cause i was out for the night, maybe because of the champagne, maybe because of the super comfy bed :) who's to say ?

The next day i was back to the usual laid back Lauren, no pressure for a ring (at least not that i showed) & no mention of wanting a proposal. All was good in the hood. So off we flew to Hawaii

On the second night we were there, M started making mention about wanting to book a table at Duke's for the 30th (the night we first met in 2009). Didn't seem suss to me, because of course if M was going to propose i would know. I was the girl that knew these thing ! I knew every present i was getting for christmas, i knew about the secret holiday mum had booked for the family. I just knew these things. People couldn't keep secrets from me & especially not M !! Oh how wrong i was...

We went about enjoying those first few days in Hawaii. Lots of shopping, eating, swimming, all the usual holiday activities & then the 30th rolled around ! Perfectly . Normal . Day

If M was nervous or apprehensive, or even the slightest bit anxious about popping the question, he didn't show it, not today...not ever !

So we started getting ready for dinner, we'd just had a swim in the hotel pool so were having showers & stuff. After i got out, M asked me if he should take his backpack. At first i was like 'no, why do we need a backpack to go to dinner' but he mentioned wanting to take his GoPro to film the sunset & then i decided i needed a pair of thongs to wear if my heels got annoying, so WE decided to take the backpack (see what he did there ?? )

A quick picture we took in the hotel lobby 

Once we got to Dukes the sun was setting & we were seated outside. I'm sure everyone says it, but that night was absolutely perfect. Excuse me whilst i get sentimental for a moment. There was a light breeze, not the kind that blows your hair into your lipgloss or sand into your eyes, but they sort of breeze that just makes you aware of being outside. The sunset was the prettiest i have ever seen, ever. Waikiki beach was pretty empty, there were enough people around to make an atmosphere but not too many that it felt crowded. The sand was dry & easy to walk on & the humidity was non existent. It was perfect !

We ordered. I remember getting rice paper rolls & M didn't like them (which i was secretly happy about) so i ate the whole plate, there were only 4 but still, so delicious ! Next up i got calamari & M got a sirloin or some sort of steak. OMG i think this was the best part of his night, in fact the whole trip !! He LOVED this steak ! You know after you eat something super delicious you spend the next 5 minutes like 'oh wow, that steak ! Did you see it ? You should have had some. My god, that steak was delicious. i think that was the best steak of my life ! But seriously, OMG that steak'

The beloved steak

After M's love affair with the steak he had just consumed died down, we decided to walk along the beach. I switched my heels to thongs & off we went

So we're walking, i was pretty full at this point ! We hadn't had dessert but he promised me we could pick up a carton of Ben & Jerry's on the way back to the hotel room, so i was kinda anticipating that too. We kept walking & walking, M was just chatting away about the trip & things we were going to do over the next few days. We had walked up to the peak of Diamond Head earlier that day so we were both pretty tired, but we kept walking along the beach. I asked M why we were still walking & he said something about 'wanting to find the perfect spot, to sit for a bit' so i went along with it, in my head i was secretly hoping for some Ben & Jerry's !

Looking out at the pretty sunset as we were walking, sigh...i miss Hawaii already 

M found a spot, if you've ever been to Hawaii & walked along Waikiki beach we stopped around the same area as the Duke statue. M sat down in the sand & had his arm around me, we were both talking about how pretty it was & what a good night we had had. He said he was so glad he had gone to the same club as me all those years ago & i agreed. Then he reached behind me to get something from his backpack...

the GoPro of course !

He suggested we walk down to the shore line as someone had drawn a heart in the sand, turned out it was just a weird circle that he quickly traced into a heart. Then all of a sudden he was right in front of me. He was holding both my hands & kind of swinging them. He was staring at me with this seriously but loving expressions. He started saying things like 'how happy he was', 'how he knew he had found his soulmate', 'how much in love he was'...then he let go of my hands

**The dialogue inside my head **
What in the heck is going on
This can't be happening
Where is the GoPrro
Is this a prank
So help him if he thinks this is funny
Wait, he's serious
OMG HE IS SERIOUS

The circle / heart 

I shouted at him 'babe, is this for real, are you serious' ! He nodded & the next thing i knew he was on one knee in the sand with the most perfect, shiny, beautiful diamond ring i had ever seen. He said, so clearly, 'will you marry me'. I lent over and snapped the box shut ! I was so shocked i didn't know what was happening, well i did know what was happening but i couldn't quite comprehend or process it ! i kept asking him 'are you sure', 'is this real' ?? It was crazy town !!

I was laughing & screaming & jumping & running in little circles, i was like a woman possessed  but a happy one. Then it occurred to me 'M, you didn't put the ring on my finger ! put it on, put it on' he came back at me with 'you didn't say yes' 'oh ! yes yes yes' & then the ring was there ! A perfectly perfect ring of perfectness









And that is how it happened ! A lovely older couple witnessed it & came over to say congratulations. We probably spent another 5 minutes sitting there taking it all in, i was shaking my head alot, in fact all of me was shaking alot' he asked me if i liked it, only once though because he knew i LOVED it ! I kept staring at it & cursing my decision not to get a manicure the day before ! After a bit of time we decided to walk back to the room, we were pretty loved up ! Cuddling, walking arm in arm, stopping to have a kiss at pedestrian crossings hahahaha & you know what we didn't care ! We were so happy together

On the corner before our hotel, M popped in to the convenience store & returned with my favorite flavour of Ben & Jerry's & a little bottle of champagne. Such a thoughtful boy ! We got ice from the ice machine on the way back into the hotel & had the best night with our ice cream & wine. Skyping people & calling friends back home

It was honestly the best proposal i could have imagined !
I am a lucky girl
xx

Christmas Recap - 2013

Ta-da ! 

This is my haul from Christmas day !!

I was pretty spoilt by Santa :) 

So lucky

From left to right:
- Miller & Moore Bath & Body set
- Tiffany blue jewellery box (from Forever New)
- Ornate rocking horse ornament
- Lux body wash & cleansing puff
- 'Hello May' wedding magazine
- Cute little hang up tea-towel
- Icing nozzle kit
(perfect for the macarons i plan to make for our engagement party favors)
- Lindt milk chocolate balls
- Cadbury fingers *drools*
- 2x little bottles of 'Yellow'
- Dachshund book ends
- 'Meow' by Katy Perry (gift set)
- A bunch of avon creams, soaps & lip products
- Body Shop 'Born Lippy' in raspberry

Such an eclectic mix of present ! My family are too nice :)
I also got money for my parents & gorgeous canvas made by M which i havent shown

This Christmas i bought M a Wet 'n' Wild Season Pass as his main present, i also got him a bunch of smaller items to go with is (boardies, deodorant, shower speaker etc) 

I couldn't really work out a cute way to wrap & present a piece of paper, like the season pass, so instead i made his gifts into a treasure hunt ! I wrapped all the gifts with a clue & placed them around out house  :) He really enjoyed finding them all, at first i was a but worried he would think it was lame, but i think it went down really well 

Presents before they were wrapped ! 

My parents christmas tree, with loads of presents & our family dog Beba

 Nugget & Jelly trying to scab some Christmas dinner off Grandma 

With These Hands - Week 1 - Valentine's

Hello !! 

You may have read my blog from earlier today about the 'With these Hands' project i've joined :) 

So the first weeks theme was Valentine's ! 

I used the opportunity to make a 3 course dinner for the boy, after oz-tag (i know, romantic) 

This is what i made...

Corn Chowder 

(Note: does not photograph well)

Chicken Cordon Bleu with Mashed potato & Broccoli 

Sticky date pudding with vanilla ice cream...we shared 1 heart shaped pudding 

Damn, i suck at taking food photos 

Anyway it was dee-licious & to accompany i made M a Laker's themed menu 

And that was my V-day 

I hope you all had an amazing night, with whatever you did 

Check back on the blog for next weeks WTH project, based on 'Garden'

To see the creative projects from the other girls, visit their blogs. Vanilla Bliss for Rhi & Miss Directions for Ash

x

With These Hands

Recently i have been struggling for ideas of things to blog about, you might have noticed the lack of posts...it was really starting to worry me

That was until i came across 'With These Hands' 

A weekly blogging theme, based on DIY projects, created by Ash (of Miss Directions fame) & Rhi (creator of Vanilla Bliss), Sophia (the girl behind Je m'appelle Sophia) too

If you feel like joining in, let me know 

The Idea: A weekly theme, released on Fridays, to which we create something (with our hands). 

The Rules: (There aren't too many)

- No nail-art (because there plenty of girls out there who can do that better than us!)

- Anything else goes really, whether it's as simple as a drawing or as complicated as a quilt so long as you can make/create it and it fits the theme it counts.

- The project has to be started before the following Friday - but not completed if it's a big one

- We have to blog about the project (well duh!)

The Theme: They've picked an easy one for week one, Valentine day  

All graphic credit to Ash from Miss Directions 

So with that said, I have officially joined up with Ash, Rhi & Sophia

Look...i even have my own badge !!

I am so excited to show you all what i have planned ! 

This is going to be the fun-est kick start to blogging 

Love x

Christmas Recap

Hello you guys !! 

This post is just a quick one about our first christmas together since moving out 

I know there isn't alot of substance here, but hopefully you enjoy the photos & pretty colours 

I'm really trying to get into the habit of blogging at least every 2nd day !! 

There are so many consistent bloggers around, who's realm i want to join 

Ahhh one day ! 

Anywho, this was our Christmas 

For christmas my parents bought us flights to go back to Hawaii !! So i spent the hot days infront of the air con researching all the amazing places to stay 

Look how lovely my nails were ! 

Sigh, at least 4 of those 5 are now broken down to their nub :( 

If only M had put a ring on it whilst it lasted 

i kid i kid (sort of)

You know christmas morning will start off well when it entails a peppermint soy latte

Bliss !

One of my gifts from M

Nugget on a chain 

Nugget enjoys watching the OC, lying on the rug & eating tinsel 

If you're a frequent reader, you'd know my interior decorating ideas are constrained to the laker colours !! The tree wasn't exempt from this 

Not impressed with being in a stocking 

Christmas tree farms ! So festive 

Christmas baking 

This was Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark

So delish ! 

Sigh

Note to self, take better photos next year 

xx

2012 - the good the bad & the 'to do' in 2013

Whoooo so 2013 is almost upon us !

I for one am looking forward to next year

I love the 'fresh' feeling that comes with a new year & the idea that it's a new beginning 

Twenty twelve was ok, i felt like it didnt even happen lol it went so quick i could barely keep up, let alone get things done !

For now though, its all about twenty twelve & the year that was

the good...

- moving into our first home together 

- reaching the '2 year' mark with M

- learning to snowboard in NZ

- quitting the job i knew wasn't right for me 

(funnily enough the same one i thought was right for me this time last year)

- getting a job that isn't my dream job, but is perfect for right now

- getting the happiest, smartest & most beautiful puppy EVER

- being debt free

- seeing a few of our closest friends get engaged & being so so happy

the bad...

- wasting 6 months in the wrong job 

- dwelling on silly things that happened in the past 

the to-do's for 2013...

- save loads of money towards our Hawaii / Bora Bora / Tahiti holiday

- keeping my nails perfectly manicured, especially on my left hand (wink wink)

- incorporate clean eating into my diet

- walking nugget every day instead of a gym membership

- starting study & doing up the spare room as a home office

- having fun !

Yay for 2013

Can't wait to see what you hold

Happy New Years xx

How's your self image ?

Ok so this post will be a little different to what i normally talk about

This post will be about self image

For the past month i have felt a bit 'down & out' i can't exactly pin point what it is that makes me feel like this but i know for sure i need to change it

Last night we had a family 'pre christmas' dinner as my brother in law & his girlfriend are going to the states for the holidays, it was so much fun...until it was time for photos

I can't tell you how much i HATE having photos of myself taken, i just never look good ! I know the photos wont turn out nice so i resist having them taken SO hard, which in turn makes me that annoying 'oh, i don't do photos' kind of girl ! Errrgh. I managed to have some taken but i havent even looked at them (& not sure i will), the feeling of such negativity towards myself put a dampener on my night

This morning i woke up & i realised i NEED to change this way of thinking, i need to give myself a reason to like myself, it sounds so conceited but if i don't i worry i'll become self destructive.

So this is where i'm reaching out...how do you get a positive self image ? What do you do to maintain it ? 

XO Lauren 

"... and the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse. And that's where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we  always strive to become better than we are."

Our Story !

Valentine's Day ! I shall be seeing you tomorrow

I love the idea behind tomorrow, the thought that people all over the world are out there doing nice things for others, its such a sweet notion & definitely something i love celebrating

There are haters out there, but just because its super over commercialized doesn't mean you have to buy into that side of it, this year 2 of my presents for M are homemade & the third was bought in the post-christmas sales (proactive, i know)

Anyway I got the idea from this post from the brunette one & though doing it would give you guys a cute peak into my life !!

1. How long have you and your significant other been together? We've been together for almost 2 years
2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?} At a Halloween party in 2009! It was at an indie club in Sydney (Purple Sneakers, if you were wondering) & we met via mutual friends, i felt something as soon as i saw M (dressed as a devil) and we spoke for almost the whole night...just the two of us. We were both tipsy & as we were leaving the club he held out his hand to help me over the steps, that was the first time i thought he could be the one for me
3. Name 3 things you love most about your partner? That he is thoughtful, that he is old-fashioned (sort of) & that he doesn't care what other people think
4. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals? He is an ''i'm going to do something romantic & creative that no-one else has ever though of' kind of guy
5. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch? Sunset dinner on the beach for sure ! We love going for drives to the beach, especially at sunset <3 so romantic
6. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere? I would love to slow dance & actually know what i'm doing, like actual ballroom dancing style, that'd be really cute
7. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day. I'm taking him a cookie hamper in the morning ! Poor M is surrounded by girls at work who are always getting flowers delivered, so i thought i'd take him something so he feels included hehehe at night we're going to watch some of our favorite TV shows together with chinese takeaway...can't wait !

So, what will you be doing for Valentines Day ?

It's about time you met...

Me, M & My pony

There i am ! At the lovely, overcast Rosehill Racecourse

We went to the races this Saturday for Myer's 'Mad About the Hat' Day

Together we won about $90 on various punts, couple of high rollers over here lol

Anyway, to the left of me is my gorgeous boyfriend of 18 months, known on this blog as 'M'

He's a keeper, i don't want to get too sappy in front of you all, but i am very much in love with him & lucky to have him in my life

So, now you know what i look like, kinda.

I'm gonna chuck a Faux Fuchsia & keep myself semi- anonymous

p.s. i lied about the pony, wish he was mine though