So we just came back from a gorgeous little getaway to the Bahamas and are feeling very, very relaxed!

We stayed at Lazy Bay, our little beach house in Staniel Cay (the Exumas) and relaxed in bliss.    It backs right onto the water and has its own dock, so we mostly chilled out, went stand up paddling, swam in the bay, and visited friends on the island.

All taken in Lazy Bay, Staniel Cay.

It really is the most relaxing place to go to.  The water is so clear and such a pretty colour - I just want to do photoshoots there (someone come and shoot me please!!).  If you're interested in taking a family vacation or a little romantic getaway, check out www.stanielrent.com to book a trip.   They can organise anything from boating tours, personal chefs, accomodation, flights and golf cart rentals.

We're in the process of redecorating Lazy Bay, because the previous owners stuff was (in my opinion) pretty horrible.  They loved their fishing and so pictures of salmon, trout, marlin and lobsters adorned everything from the wall hangings, plates and cushions.  These had to go….It was a very therapeutic spring cleaning session for me ;)

So, so ugly.  Watch this space - I'll make it chic!

So we've moved a bunch of new furniture in and I'll go on a decorating trip next time I'm in Miami.  I'll update you guys with new pictures when we come back next time, but I'm thinking a beach-house kind of theme - what do you reckon?  If anyone's an interior design expert, hit me up with some ideas!

The only thing that marred our holiday was the trip home.  We were booked on Flamingo Air (a little 8 seater plane) to fly from Staniel Cay to Nassau, and shortly after taking off, we made a stop (unexpected) in Black Point to drop off an envelope or something.  We landed pretty hard, but the pilots were joking and laughing, so I didn't think there was too much of a problem.  One of the pilots got off the plane to drop off the envelope, came back on, and we were about to start taxi-ing again to take off when all of a sudden there was a huge bang and the plane fell onto one side.

The pilots seemed shock but switched everything off and we weren't in any apparent danger, nonetheless I wanted to get the hell off that little plane.    As we got off, we saw that the wheel and it's stand had collapsed in on one side of the plane, the rotors were damaged and it was leaking fuel.    The pilots reckon that the switch must have flipped by itself - but I know nothing about planes, so I have no idea.  Anyway, check out the pics, and if you have piloting background, perhaps you can shed a little light for me.

We called one of our friends back in Staniel Cay and they organised to send one of the guys on the island our - he's a pilot with his own private business, so he took us safely back to Nassau.  I wasn't particularly keen to get back on another Flamingo Air flight, especially since the pilot told me that the plane was probably an '83 or '84 model (older than me)!!!

So thank you Bahamas, I love all of your islands, but Flamingo Air - not so much.  Next time we come back, I'll book the private pilot again, he's not that expensive and well worth it in my opinion!   Let's just say I was more than happy to get back on a big American Airlines plane again.

One night in Miami, a beautiful dinner at Doré with friends, and a couple of mojitos to calm the nerves (it's cheaper than therapy), I felt just fine to fly the next day to Austin.

At Doré, Miami with my beautiful friend Imany

So here we are in the Lone Star State - I'm hoping this weekend will be a good one, we're due for some extra luck right about now :)

 

Stay tuned for a recap of Qatar and Dubai in my next post about Austin - I have my awesome new little Nikon 1 V2 that's coming around the world with me as my Gypsy Cam!

 

Lauren xx

 

 

Sorry for my absence guys!

Literally the day I left Australia and touched down in Dubai, my Mac decided to stop working and wouldn't even turn on properly.  I had to wait until I got to the US to visit an Apple store, and the only thing they could do was completely wipe it.  Luckily I had all my important stuff backed up to my Dropbox, but anything else I was working on - blog posts etc - were lost :(


Back to square one...

So I will start working again on Part 2 of my Fitness, Diet and Grooming blog and update you with all my travels so far.  I'm currently in the beautiful Bahamas and the internet is a little slow, but I'll do my best to get to it ASAP!  In the meantime, keep up with daily updates of my travels by following my instagram account @LaurenKVickers.

 

Sending love from the Bahamas :)

 

 

 

Today I received the wonderful photos from my wedding! I don’t know where to start with everything!!

First of all, check out the highlights video (about 5 minutes) of the wedding:

 

http://player.vimeo.com/video/59394037

 

and then have a look at the photos:

It was such a gorgeous day, we were really lucky with the weather! A few big raindrops on the car windshield as I arrived at the ceremony worried me a little but it was absolutely perfect!

I’m so grateful to have had family and friends come from all over the world for our special day, it made it THAT much better.

Having everything in the one location made it so much easier and the Long Reef Golf Club really turned it on for us, despite our unusual food requests. With Randy being really fussy, myself being vegetarian, a bunch of our friends being vegan or dairy/gluten/wheat/soy intolerant, we decided that having the regular two-plate drop wouldn’t cut it! We went all out with food stations, featuring a Brazilian BBQ, Sushi Station, salad bar, breads, fresh fruit, cheeses, antipasti platters, a seafood and oyster bar and a lolly buffet! Nancy at I Want Cake also made us 3 separate cakes, with the top layer Gluten Free to cater for everyone. Of course endless cocktails and beautiful wines were flowing all evening.

Probably the biggest hit of the night (other than the food and the view) was the Photo Booth! Everyone got really into it and Jonathan Dear had so many fun props for us to all play around with. We printed out two identical photo strips of 4 photos and the guests kept one strip, and stuck the other in a photo book and wrote a message for us. I can’t wait to see how it all turned out.

I would have been so overwhelmed and nothing would have happened at all without the help of Laura and Sally at Frolic Events. It’s hard enough planning a wedding, let alone trying to plan one when you’re overseas 8 months of the year. These two wonderful girls helped with everything from the food, the venue, the dress, DJ, flowers, styling, and even helping find accommodation for our friends and family!! Also finding us a translator and a celebrant who were both so helpful and charming made the day and night flow so smoothly.

There are so many people to thank! All of my suppliers worked so hard and I loved every detail, big and small, of the wedding!!

Wedding Planners

- Laura Brown, Sally Heys and the rest of the team at Frolic Events

- www.frolicevents.com.au

Clothes/Styling

- My dress and veil - designed and custom made by Ervan Woo (www.ervanwoo.com.au)

- My shoes - a great $50 pair from Windsor Smith

- Bridesmaids dresses - Sheike

- Jewellery and hair accessories - Tessarella House (www.tessarellahouse.com.au)

- Hair and makeup - Tricia Albulario ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

- Randy’s suit - DSquared

- Randy’s shoes were from Lanvin

- Groomsmen shirts - Ben Sherman

- Flowers - Lavande Designs (www.lavandedesigns.com.au)

Photgraphy & Video – I actually forgot to thank these guys on the day! I’m so, sorry guys, you worked the hardest out of everyone!!!!!)

- Photography and Photo Booth by Jonathan Dear of Vibrant Photography (www.vibrantphotography.com.au)

- Video by Dave Sheerman of Sheer Image (www.sheerimage.com.au)

Everything else

- The Venue - Long Reef Golf Club (www.longreefgolfclub.com.au)

- Catering – Brazilian bbq, sushi station, cocktails and the rest – all by Flare Catering at the Long Reef Golf Club

- Cake – Nancy Vu at I Want Cake (www.iwantcake.com.au)

- Invitations, Menus, Stationary – I also forgot to thank the wonderful Felicity at Spiritus Dea on the day too, I’m so sorry! (www.spiritusdea.com.au)

- Badass Motorcycles – Mikey and Jeremy at Deus Customs (www.deuscustoms.com)

- Celebrant – Jessie Cacchillo (www.jessiecacchillo.com.au)

- Translator – Jean-Phillippe Ducharne ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

- DJ – Victor De Sousa at Tribe Entertainment ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

 

Hi Everyone!

 

I've had a lot of people asking me lately what I do with my exercise routines, diet and beauty regimes etc, so I thought it was time to (hopefully) help you out with my some of my personal favourites.  Because there is so much information, I've decided to break it up into three steps.  1. Fitness, 2. Diet and Nutrition, and 3. Grooming.

 

First of all, I’m not a fitness model. I’ve had fitness campaigns, and been booked for advertising products, but I’ve never had a six pack and I don’t build muscle easily. I’m 5’11” (180cm) and have long, lean muscles, so I tend to look slimmer, which works in my line of work, but I rarely pay too much attention to the number on the scale. Things like hormones, water retention and amount of muscle vs fat in the body can alter your weight. I think a better guide to your best body is how your clothes fit. If your favourite jeans are getting a little too snug – it’s time to get moving.

 

Also, I’m not a personal trainer. This is a motivational guide of what works for me because although I like exercise when I’m actually doing it (and the endorphins afterwards), I never really wake up in the morning and WANT to go to the gym. Go figure.

So here are some tips and tricks for those of you who find it difficult to work out:

 

~ Pre-Workout Prep ~

· Take a little time beforehand and prepare your playlists on your iPod. Music can be a great guide to cardio pace or weight repetitions and can help you to push harder when you know and like what’s playing while you workout. Also, planning your playlist will save you from sitting there skipping through the songs you don’t like and wasting your workout time. I like to work out to music that makes me want to dance or has a strong beat to keep a rhythm.

· Pack your gym bag before you go to bed, and leave it by the door. If you’re going to work, put it in the car so that you don’t have any excuses to head home on your way to the gym and you don’t risk having a last minute rush and only one shoe if you’ve overslept your alarm in the morning.

· Book yourself in. You know your schedule better than anyone. Make an appointment with yourself, just as you would any other meeting, coffee catch up or dinner, so that you block out some time in your day for your exercise. This can be worked out the night before, or days in advance, whatever suits your schedule.

 

~ Buddies with Benefits ~

· Get your mind out of the gutter – not THAT kind of buddy!

· Guilt is an excellent motivator – you’re more likely to go workout, and keep going regularly if you have a workout buddy that you don’t want to let down. Sports teams are great too, but if your schedule doesn’t allow it, try a friend or co worker – they can double up as your weights spotter, make sure you’re not cheating, and you can alternate circuits together.

· Train with people who are fitter than you. You’ll push yourself harder, just adjust to your own level. For instance, I work out a lot with my husband, who is super, super fit. I run on the treadmill for the same amount of time, but at a slower pace, or on a different incline, and we do the same amount of reps and sets in weight circuits, but I use a much lighter weight.

· Train with people with different expertise. I have a girlfriend Sheridyn who has done a lock of kickboxing training, and she had some great strength building exercises (I’ve added a few into the workout below). Another girlfriend, Erin, is a dancer and knows some great core workouts and stretching exercises. Becky is a firefighter and knows all about pushing your limits and working through the pain barrier. Training with people with different specialties will teach you new exercises, and keep it interesting. Then you can tailor certain things into your workout to keep it exciting and challenging.
Here's a picture of a few of us looking retarded as we do V Ups in a group training session during my Hen's Week in Hawaii:

 

 

~ Maximise Your Time ~

· Most people don’t have time for 2 hour sessions at the gym - mums, people busy with work (which is pretty much everybody) and frequent travellers often find it difficult to block out long periods in the day for exercising. Don’t worry! I’ve got you covered!

· Plan your list of exercises. Think about what you want to work on today, upper body? Cardio? Maybe just a little bit of everything? Write down the amount of repetitions and weights or distances.

· Maximum sweat. Even if you only have 30 minutes, you can still work up a great sweat using no rest circuits – the idea is to work a different body part throughout each exercise so that you don’t overtire one body part, and you keep your heart rate up the whole way through. By breaking it down into little steps, it makes it more interesting and you’re more likely to concentrate and put everything into it. Here’s a great 30 minute workout that you can do anytime, anywhere. You can add running/jogging/swimming/cross training/any other cardio before or after to extend it, or just do it on its own. Using your out breath to exert force, stabilizing your core and keeping your body position in check, this can help tone your whole body. I tested it out myself too – see sweaty picture :)

 

 

~It’s All In Your Head~

· Do exercises you dislike the most first. Get them out of the way first and move onto the ones you like later so that you’re less likely to skip out on it. I have a love/hate relationship with a certain hamstring-working machine which I always try to knock over immediately after my warm up.

· Mind over matter. We’ve all had those moments when we start a run or something, and cut short because we feel too tired. Slow it down, and give yourself a mini goal (5 minutes more, to the end of the street, 5 more reps) and push a little further. You’re better off jogging for 40 minutes, than running for 10 and getting too tired.

· Goals are important. Think ahead what you want to achieve. Most people are visual, so putting up pictures, setting your phone’s lock screen and visualizing what your want while you work out all help immensely. Often my best photo shoot ideas come to me while I’m running. It must be something about all the oxygen getting your mind flowing

· Once you know what your goals are, you can start your plan of attack, by setting yourself the mini goals that represent the steps you take along the way.

· Make it fun, shake it up. Take a Zumba or Pilates class, do a fun run with friends, go out dancing (without the alcohol) or play some beach volleyball. Just keep moving and have a good time.

· Rewards – the best part. Lifting weights that are twice as heavy as when you first started? Beating your personal best on that 5km run? Feeling more confident now that you’re getting your bikini body back? Great, it’s time to reward yourself. Book a little mini getaway, buy yourself some new workout gear, splash out on that bikini, or treat yourself to a mini-spa day at home (ideas for that coming out in Part 3).

 

I hope some (or all) of these tips work for you as they do for me! If you have any other great ideas, questions, or any feedback, please feel free to let me know! You can email me on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or tag me on Twitter or Instagram to let me know your progress - @LaurenKVickers

 

Here’s some more links to inspiring people to follow too, so you keep getting new ideas and don’t fall off the wagon ;)

 

www.twitter.com/sheridynfisher

 

www.twitter.com/becky_lamb

 

www.twitter.com/committed_jay

 

www.instagram.com/shaecharlie

 

www.instagram.com/cheyne_abstrong

 

www.instagram.com/dominiqueletoullec

 

www.youtube.com/tiffanyrotheworkouts

 

 

Lauren xoxox

 

 

 

So I was slack last year!  I'm sorry guys, it was a crazy year for me and I found it easier to do small updates on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook rather than come and post messages.

 

So I need some feedback!   What would you like to see?  Weekly/Monthly updates?  More Behind the Scenes photos?  More shoots?  More motorsport?  More videos?    Send me an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and let me know what you prefer :)

 

2012 was big for me, to say the least.   I had some of my favourite clients like Abyss, Bras n Things, Fosters etc, and I took on a bunch of new clients and campaigns too:

Honey Birdette Lingerie
Pleasure State Lingerie
Blue Kiss Swimwear
J&B Whiskey
Rockstar Energy
V Energy
Ivy Pacha
Blockout Clothing
ICE Clothing
Zahara Designs
Sheridyn Swim
Coochi Coochi Lingerie
Bundaberg Rum
Decathlon
Maxim
Playboy Fragrances

And I notched up some awesome experiences through the year too:

Travelled to 13 different countries (and to Japan for the very first time!)
Appeared on the cover of Playboy Spain, V8 Action Illustrated and Tradie Magazines
Shot a calendar in Ibiza for FÖRCH
Shot a calendar for Breast Cancer Awareness with Ben Scott, Helen Shields Bennetts and 11 other girls (you can buy it here - Sirens Calendar 2013)
Shot posters for Breast Cancer Awareness with French photographer Alex Chailan
Travelled all around Australia TV Presenting for the Australian Superbikes on Speed TV
Was published in Sport Magazine UK and DT Magazine Spain
Appeared as a guest on the Darren Sanders Show
Had 3 huge 9ft posters in Honey Birdette and 1 in Blockout
Became the face (and packaging) for Bras N Things Hanky Panky line
Shot the Pleasure State Autumn/Winter 2013 Campaign in Paris (Check out the Behind the Scenes Video)
Visited Colin Edwards' Texas Tornado Bootcamp
Was published in Moto Revue Magazine France
Catwalked for Johanna Johnson at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Sydney
Catwalked for 16 designers in the Bridal Show
Shot in Tokyo!!!!
Jumped out of a cake for a TV Commercial
Became an Ambassador for Kevin McKenzie Hair
Became an Auntie :)
Had a week-long bachelorette party with 6 of my girlfriends in Hawaii
and married the love of my life on the 16th December :)

If you want to keep up with my news on a daily basis, feel free to follow me on my social media channels:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

 

Remember to send me your feedback and let me know what you'd like to see more of!!

 

Lauren xx