goodbyegone

I recently picked up the newest issue of company magazine with Ashley Benson on the cover and whilst flicking through it a certain post caught my eye; 'When is too soon to say I love you?'. Written by Jameela Jamil, the article talks about everything we all judge when it comes to relationships and love and I completely agree with everything she said.

We, as humans, are a judging species. It comes naturally to us, not necessarily in a good or bad way. However, we are almost always too quick in the things and the way we judge, especially when it comes to other people's relationships.

'They said I love you after 4 weeks', 'They're engaged at 18, are they mad', 'The age gap is far too big', etc. I admit that when it comes to teenagers getting engaged or a large age gap, I get a little judgmental. However, recently I've learnt that it's NOT for me or anyone else to judge. Love is between the two people that share it, not the world around those people.

I believe that an expression of love is a moment which should not be held back. If a man or woman says 'I love you' to their partner after 2 days or 2 years, is it hurting you? Did it affect you in anyway? Did it change your life like it changed theirs? I didn't think so.

At the end of the day, we love at our own pace and we shouldn't be worried about who loves faster or slower than us. So the next time you see a young woman with a ring the fourth finger of her left hand, or a couple who don't look nearly the same age, think. If you fell in love with somebody after two weeks, or someone who was significantly older or younger than you, would you want people to judge you? Or would you want them to be happy for you?

xo, Lauren.

Over the past few weeks, I've been searching for a lot of new music and looking for new artists to listen to and I've found a lot. So, you all can look forward to lots of music posts coming your way very soon!

One I would particularly like to talk about is Betsy Lane. So, just from people I follow on tumblr I sort of knew about her but obviously not much. Then one day last week she followed me on twitter. Just out of curiosity I clicked on her profile and there was an iTunes link which brings you to her song 'Nashville Nights'.

I clicked the preview and really liked what I heard, so off to soundcloud I went and listened to some of the rest of her stuff. Instantly I just feel in love with her vocals and her lyrics. Her lyrics are just so cleverly and beautifully put together and along with her pure and fantastic vocals, I can see her going far in the industry.

'Nashville Nights' is probably my favorite I've heard so far. It's one of those songs that makes you think of summer and just letting loose and having fun with your friends doing whatever. What I like most about the song however, is how the lyrics paint a vivid picture and along with the fun, not-too-fast, not-too-slow beat this just makes it that song that you associate with certain memories of having fun and letting go.

Not only does Betsy have this song available on her iTunes, but also her '10 Months Ago' EP which is just beautiful.

I really encourage you all to go and have a listen, because I guarantee this is one new artist you'll not want to let pass!

Betsy's Links

Twitter

iTunes

Soundcloud

Have you guys ever heard of Betsy Lane? If so, leave your favourite song in the comments below. :)

Today, I woke up happy. In saying that I don't mean that it's a rare thing, but I genuinely woke up this morning feeling like I had nothing to complain about and I just felt really content (even though this was at 9am but we'll let that slide).

Over the past few weeks, I have gotten myself so stressed out over school. To make a long story short, I just felt as if I wasn't going anywhere and putting in the work was for nothing. However, I was putting in the work but that's something I kept telling myself I wasn't doing enough of, or good enough.

Yesterday, which was Friday, I told myself I was going to have a 'no complain' day, meaning that anything from 'I'm so cold' to 'I just want to go home' wasn't going to pop out of my mouth. Although I did throw a few complaints out here and there, mostly being 'I feel sick' but I made an exception for that one because, well, I genuinely felt ill.

Anyway, enough of me justifying my sick-y complaints. I genuinely found myself feeling happier than most days yesterday and I didn't feel stressed, or anxious, or snappy, which I will admit I do on most days. When I woke up this morning, I genuinely believe I felt happier today because I had a better outlook and approach to yesterday's shenanigans.

Basically what I'm trying to say here is try it. Try going a day without complaining about the little things in life. Embrace the cold days, because soon enough you're not going to be able to wrap up warm and drink toasty hot chocolate by the fire. When you go to complain about how tired you are, just think about how much better your sleep is going to be tonight. Obviously none of us are ever going to be able to go without complaining forever, that's just impossible, but one day. Try it for one day and see how being positive will outweigh everything that's negative.

Remember, your actions are what define your own happiness, so act wisely.

xo, Lauren.

Hi everyone, just wanted to let you know that I am no longer lucyellas! From now on my blog url will be goodbyegone. I just wanted something that wasn't necessarily a name/my own name so I went with this as it's one of my favourite songs and it's nice, short and catchy!

Let me know what you think and I hope you don't miss lucyellas too much. :)

xo, Lauren.

When asked to describe my style, to be completely honest with you I couldn't. I literally don't have one because I love everything. One day I'll be in a floral dress and dainty shoes and the next I'll be in leather trousers and a flannel. However, I do have a few style inspirations and I've decided to do a 'Stylespiration' series on my YouTube channel and cross it over here - meaning that a lookbook will be up on my channel and I'm gonna talk about it on here. Make sense? :)

Jade has been one of my style icons since the X Factor days. The way she has a few different styles incorporated into one just mirrors mine completely. Through her I've come to learn that I should be taking risks with my fashion and because my style is so branched out, I should mix them together which is something I was afraid to do before. My favourite outfit in this video has to be the flannel and the leather skirt. What I love most about this outfit is that it's so multipurpose, I could wear the flannel tucked in or cropped, like I made it in the video and also, I can dress it up with heels or dress it down with converse and I'm good to go.

Who are your style inspirations? Do you like Jade's style? What's your fave outfit from the video?

Let me know in the comments! :)

So many people live life for other people, to make them happy rather than themselves. I've been a victim of this myself. In the past, there were times when I put other people's happiness before my own, and yes, although that's a nice legacy to leave behind, it's not healthy when you're hurting yourself in the process.

I think the most important thing to realise is that it's okay to be selfish sometimes. You don't need to live your life based on the way other people are living theirs, or how they expect you to live yours. Do the things that make you happy and don't let anyone tell you they're wrong. If sitting in bed watching movies makes you smile, do it. If you like to paint, splash a canvas. Go for a run, blast your music, start a blog... Do whatever you want to do but do it for you. There's no point in doing something if you don't enjoy it when you could be doing so many other things that are going to benefit you and make you smile.

I'm going on quite a rambly-rant here so I'll leave you with this:

' Don't let other people or what you do for them define your happiness, let it be what you do for you. '

Love you guys.

Smile.

xo, Lauren.

Hi everyone, now that 2014 is here I wanted to let you guys know my 2013 favourites! I already did a video on it over on my YouTube channel is you'd like to check that out (click here) BUT for now, here's my Top 5's of 2013!