Day 3: Bali Adventures

Good morning everyone! Another bright and early one for me today. I feel amazing. My only wish is that I had that crisp fresh air to breathe in that Australia gives me, but then I look at the breathtaking scenery and I forget that.

Another hot one today. But then again, that is every single day here. Today was the last night that we were going to be spending in Legion at Melasti Beach Resort. I must say I was super excited for this because even though the resort we were currently staying at was nice (the pools, pool bars, view, restaurant and bar were all lovely) I knew the next place we were due to stay would take my breath away. But alas, that is not until tomorrow.

Today we set out with a mission after our morning buffet breakfast and swim. We had to find a very specific tattoo shop, because that is where Kieran has planned out his whole tattoo in Bali. We had some rough directions but in these streets that really just didn’t cut it. We trekked out to the hotel he knew it was near and from there things just went crazy.

It is extremely hot and humid out, but there is no point catching a ‘taksi’ (I love their spelling haha, it just makes so much sense) because traffic is atrocious. It would’ve taken longer sitting in a car in traffic than it would of walking.

We saw a few pretty nice looking resorts on the way to Kuta where the tattoo shop is and some pretty standard stuff you would see at home that amazes me here. We found Starbucks, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s and even though they are such standard chain stores at home, it was so cool to see them in another country. McDonald’s especially, I couldn’t believe how dirt cheap their food was. Makes me miss cheap Maccas back in Aus (it’s just too expensive now for the shitty food lol).

After about 3 hours of walking, asking endless people for directions, stopping in every mini-mart (just like the standards 7/11 back home minus the petrol) for a bottle of water, stopping at a bar to have a few actual drinks and use their bathroom, paying some random shop owner 10,000 IDR (aka $1) to use their computer with internet- we finally found the place!

The place was really nice for what I thought tattoo joints in Bali would look like and the people were so friendly. We were there for barely any time at all before we headed back to our resort.

After a tiring day where we probably walked for almost 4 hours all up, we went straight for a swim, because well as per usual we were dripping in sweat.

Some more swimming, more drinks and some dinner hit the spot really well and we ended our last night in Melasti Beach Resort with quite an early one awaiting tomorrow’s adventures.

Don’t forget you can follow my adventures on Instagram and Snapchat (both are @krristelley)

Next post will be shortly,

Kristelle xxx

What's in my Suitcase: Bali Trip

What’s in my suitcase: Bali trip

Hey everyone! Once again, its been a while since I have written anything here (I am forever sorry about this) but so much has been going on and I am about to be in for an amazing trip with my boyfriend and his family. I am going to try and post daily with my adventures, but I am not sure how my wifi connections are going to be, so the posts might be a little delayed.

27^th December, 2015

Flight to Bali: 10am

Landing in Bali: 1:30pm

Flight: 6 hours and 45 minutes

This morning I had to wake up at 4am (yes 4am) to get ready for the trip to the airport (oh joy). In typical fashion I packed my bag the night before so I thought I would start the holiday blogs off with a little bit about what to pack when going to Bali.

So firstly, it’s probably important to note that I am going to Bali for 10 nights/ 11 days. Travelling to, I have one suitcase in checked baggage and a smallish backpack for my carry on luggage.

Carry on bag:

·      Travel diary:

o   Pen (necessary for filling out all the annoying documents)

o   Passport (if you want to leave the country lol)

o   Money $$$

o   Headphones

o   Lip balm

o   Any medications

·      Laptop w/ charger

·      Camera w/ charger

·      Small make up bag (I only brought 4 make up items- wow for me that’s impressive)

o   BB cream (and brush)

o   Concealer

o   Mascara

o   Powder (and brush)

·      Sunglasses (for when you’re off the plane)

·      A book (my choice today was ‘The Marriage Plot’

Suitcase: (you really don’t need to pack heavy for this one as everything is so cheap over in Indonesia you can just buy a lot of the stuff over there. This is what I packed for an 11 day/10 night trip.

·      5 bikinis (I like variety, its probably overboard and I’m sure 2 would have been fine)

·      Enough underwear and bras

·      1x dress

·      4x tops

·      1x denim shorts

·      2x cotton shorts

·      2x gym outfits

·      3 pairs of shoes (thongs, sandals, converse- I’m wearing my gym shoes on the plane)

·      1x set of pajamas

·      1x cap and 1 floppy brimmed hat

·      1x loose long pants (to cover up when going and visiting temples etc.)

·      4x pairs of socks

·      1x book for the trip/flight home (my choice was ‘The Power of Now’

·      Toiletries (only because there are the certain brands of things that I prefer and I didn’t want to not be able to find what I like when I’m over there

o   Shampoo and conditioner

o   Sunscreen

o   Toothbrush + toothpaste

o   Razor and shaving gel

o   Deodorant

When you first read the list, you may think that I have packed a lot (or a little I guess depending on your definition). But considering and I am that person who always packs way too much crap every time I go somewhere so this is a really good effort for me. When going camping for 2 nights this would be the amount of items I would take (lol). I am planning on buying my remaining outfits when I am over in Bali as I really only have enough outfits for half the trip (being mindful that I will probably be wearing more than one outfit each day).

You can follow my Bali adventures on Instagram and snapchat and I will also be trying to post daily blog posts (based on my ability to get a strong enough wifi connection, and depending if it is for free or not haha).

Instagram: @krristelley

Snapchat: @krristelley

Thanks for reading until next post,

Kristelle xxx

Summer Bucket List 2016

Here is my Summer Bucket List. If it says 'we' on it, I am probably referring to Kieran and myself because let's be real here, most of this stuff is on the list because I want to do it with him. Also this list is going to be updated every time I think of something new (I make lists in my phone and also lists in my diary, but if I have it published on here I can't lose the lost (I am a genius I know). 

1. Beach bonfire
2. Paddleboarding
3. Ride a jetski
4. Try something new
5. Get a new tattoo
6. Get my full driver's license
7. Create something beautiful
8. Fill an album with polaroids of my adventures
9. Visit a new place 
10. Go camping 
11. Go kayaking
12. Mountain/bushwalking/hiking some place new
13. Visit Jellybean pool
14. Go fishing and catch fish that we can cook for dinner
15. Bike riding at the beach
16. Visit the markets
17. Road trip to the Central Coast
18. Say yes more
19. Try dirtbike riding
20. Do a pub crawl
21. Visit Cockatoo Island
22. Visit the aquarium 
23. Watch a beach sunset
24. Learn to surf (for real this time)
25. Attend a Marco Polo event
26. Try aqua golf
27. Try something different on a menu at a cafe instead of always ordering the same 3 things
28. Read at least 10 books
29. Do something nice for someone else
30. Grow a plant
31. Attend an 'outside' movie event
32. Use my birthday present and do the Harbour Bridge Climb
33. Attend a festival/ outdoor concert
34. Go swimming at a waterfall
35. Roadtrip with friends
36. Take one photo every day for all of Summer and make a mini-video at the end (December 1st until February 29th)
37. Have a picnic somewhere beautiful
38. Create tie dye clothes
39. Swim at a waterfall 
40. Visit delwood beach 
41. Visit Neilsons Point 
42. Visit Somersby Falls 
43. Visit Milk beach 
44. Rose Bay
45. Figure 8 Pools

5 year anniversary

I'm really sad I haven't gotten around to writing this post up or actually posting it. It's been a crazy couple of weeks but I needed to write about this. 

It's Monday now (here in Australia anyway, around lunchtime) and last Thursday (24th of September) it was my anniversary. So basically anyone who knows me will know that I'm not usually OTT with my love (I'm not sure why, I'm just not big on hugging everyone and PDA but whatever), but I feel I'm allowed to be soppy and in love on my anniversary because it's special to me. 

24th of September 2015 marks 5 years that I have been with my high school sweetheart. I've written a post previously all about how we met and how our relationship came to be, so if you wanna check that out I'll just link it here.

I believe any amount of time together, no matter how short or how long should be celebrated because it really is a special thing. 

This year, I spent the day babysitting some kids and we witched possibly the worst movie I have seen in a long time (Pixels-- yeah I don't recommend this for anyone lol) and Kieran spend the day working. We didn't really have anything planned and we weren't buying each other presents because a couple of weeks ago we went to the snow as an early anniversary gift to each other- I'll link that post here if you want to check it out. 

All I wanted was a nice quiet night in, but anyway. About 5pm he called me an let me know he was home from work and would be over soon. He got to my house and we sat around and watched a bit of Arrow (I am absolutely obsessed with this show right now- but we only watch it together so we both will be up to the same episodes, sigh).

After a while he said let's go to the city for dinner, so he told me to get dressed (I said I had to do my make up also, but typical Kieran fashion he told me I look better without it- lie), he had spare clothes in a bag and even though the weather was ugly and rainy, he drove us to the city. He also picked Hurricanes for dinner (really nice place for steaks and ribs) and the silly thing didn't think to even make a booking. We had to wait quite a while for a table, but it was okay. In the end we were so hungry when we finally got seated I swore I could've eaten anything. 

He had ribs and chicken and I had a steak and it was a good meal. I had a lot of fun talking and laughing out at dinner with him and that's how I think it should always be. After dinner finished it was about 10pm so we headed home (he had work the next day still) and just hung out and went to bed not much later. 

I will say the highlight (???) of the next morning was when his phone rang multiple times at 5:30am from his work to go early.. But the cherry on top of this beautiful wake up call, is that he sleeps through anything. The phone woke me up and then I had to try wake him up to take the call (which is pretty difficult honestly). Best part was after he left for work I got to go back to sleep :)

Writing this now makes me realise that we actually sound sort of old and boring, but that's the way I like it. A simple meal and being lazy watching one of my favourite shows on Netflix, not sure what more I could ask for. We had had the anniversary adventure, it was time to chill. Plus my birthday is really close to our anniversary so I never expect or ask for anything crazy over the top. 

I think I'll end this little post with the collage of photos that I posted on Instagram and Facebook. 

- The top left: photo is from the end of 2010 when we had just starting dating and spending time at each others houses. I can't even express how much I laugh at that photo. Why am I wearing bunny ears? Look at Kieran's hair! It's also when I though editing all my photos in toycamera analogcolour taken on my Mac was the coolest thing ever... Wow

- Top middle: The year was 2011. This photo was taken in our little mini 'photoshoot' I had a family friend do for us at our Year 10 formal. I still look the same and pretty awkward at that. Kieran has a similar hair cut, bit shorter and no 'rats tail' this time (I don't think you can see it in the last photo though). 

- Top right: Year is 2012. This photo was taken before we both got super drunk at Kieran's first work Christmas party. He was a first year apprentice and I was in Year 11 in high school haha. We both have the same hair styles from the previous year and we both look super young haha

- Bottom left: Year is 2013. I think we both look a bit older in this photo. I look older thanks to make up and fake tan and Kieran got a new hair style haha. This photo was taken at my Year 12 formal (which sadly Kieran wasn't allowed to attend because it was students only).

- Bottom middle: Year is 2014. This photo was taken before (once again) we went out and got super drunk lol. Another Christmas party courtesy of Kieran's awesome workplace. Kieran got shorter hair again. This was also after my first year of university was complete and I was working two jobs at this point so I remember the night out was absolutely awesome. 

- Bottom right: Finally we get to the year 2015 aka now. This photo was taken about a month ago and was a pretty good day. At a wedding for one of Kieran's work friends we both got to dress up nicely (I think I appreciated this more than him because he didn't like wearing a suit lol) and we got to drink (lots) and eat good food and enjoy the love. I have (yes still) kept the same hairstyle over the last 5 years (well same for most of my life tbh). Boob length blonde hair (never dyed). Kieran got shorter hair (again) and I think it suits him like this- he looks more mature. Also I think the difference in our sizes is pretty funny over the years. We both started as these small skinny kids and now he is pretty big and I've grown into my curves a bit more too haha. 

I like looking at the old photos, so many memories and it makes me laugh honestly. 

Thanks if you stuck through and read this whole post, I know it probably wasn't that interesting to anyone. Stay tuned, it's almost my birthday!

Kristelle xx

Instagram: @krristelley

Orange is the New Black

I joined the bandwagon guys! I finally got Netflix out here in Australia recently and yes, I gave in and decided I needed to watch Orange is the New Black... just like what seemed everyone else. 

But I'm glad I did! I can easily say this is one of the best shows I have ever watched. Definitely up there with my all time favourites of Greys Anatomy, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill and The O.C. It's something new and fresh which is definitely what I needed considering all my favourites are years old (except for Grey's Anatomy, but let's be real here, the show needs to end to save itself now). 

Season 1 and 2 I loved so much. They were so good. Kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't wait to watch the next episode (which is probably how most nights when I had finished whatever else I had to do I would stay up until 2:30-3am just to finish another episode. 

Season 3 in my opinion wasn't that great. It just didn't really go anywhere? If you get what I mean. 

Ruby Rose, yes she's hot and yes I have known who she is for a long time from little things like Girlfriend magazine?? and on TV (well I think that's right, but I'm not sure so don't hold me to that lol). I don't however understand the sudden "omg I love Ruby Rose she's so hot I think I'm lesbian now". Like girls, no.

I can't wait for season 4 but that is a long time away (sad face).

I got my boyfriend into the show which is pretty funny. He got mad at me when I would watch the episodes without him because he would miss out on what was going on. The next episode we would watch together he would keep asking questions about what was going on, who was who etc. So I decided we could start at the beginning together (that was we always have something to watch when he's at my house and we don't want to watch a movie).

Oh he also told me I would be Piper and I'm a tad offended. I don't even know who my favourite character is- I just can't pick one. 

Any other OITNB addicts out there, I would love to know! When I start watching a series I either hate it and give up after 2 episodes or I become obsessed and watch everything as fast as possible. No middle ground. 

Thanks for reading about how crazy I am when it comes to TV shows, until next post,

Kristelle xx

Check out my Instagram here OR @krristelley (if you're just on your phone) xx

Check out my Tumblr here x

Wedding Cake Rock

I would like to be able to say "Yay a day where I have no work and can do whatever I want!!!!" but that wasn't exactly true. I conveniently had work in the evening though, which meant I could spend my day doing whatever I wanted :-)

If you want to stay updated with all of my adventures, check out:
My Instagram here @krristelley
My Tumblr wi-ldberries
or even add my Snapchat @krristelley

Today was a day for an adventure. I messaged one of my beautiful friends (Jess) and I decided it was going to be a beautiful day for a hike and a trip to the infamous Wedding Cake Rock. 

Wedding Cake Rock

The hike was tiring. I will admit that much. There were so many trees and rocks to trip over (I almost face planted several times) and there was so much mud even though I don't think it had rained there in the last week or so. 

Bundeena Coastal Trek

There were several beautiful lookouts on the way to our main goal of Wedding Cake Rock and it was all so beautiful. The ocean, the view, mini waterfalls and even the trees and shrubs were nice enough to appreciate.

Standard selfie in front of Wedding Cake Rock

Wedding Cake Rock is actually fenced off now because of all the dangerous photos people were taking on it and the large amounts of people that would stand on the rock at a time made it 'unstable'. Bit of a yolo moment quickly hoping on the rock for a photo and then running back off for fear of dying and falling to our doom :')

Not even an accurate photo to describe how high up we really were

The hike lasted us about 2 and a half hours including us stopping to mess around and take all of these photos. Today was a good day. Getting exercise with some great company and appreciating the beauty of Australian nature. 

It was so peaceful out there in the sun and light breeze, climbing away next to the ocean

Instead of taking a path back to the car, Jess and I walked down the rocks closer to the water. The view was absolutely amazing, I don't think I can emphasise how beautiful this country really is. The weather (although sunny) has been super cold lately. It felt so nice to be up there, jacket off because we really were working up a sweat, my skin soaking up the sun's rays. 

I really felt like I was on top of the world

Wind in my hair and sun on my face I felt so happy and so at peace. But Jess and I had climbed all the way down the rocks (to where we couldn't climb down anymore) and we were quite a walk from the path. So naturally, the only way to get to the path was straight back up the side of the cliff. Bear Grylls styles, we rock climbed back up. A lot of effort and kind of scary for someone aka me who is scared of heights. 

It was an amazing day. We ate lunch on a wharf and I was happy. Days like this remind me of how lucky I really am and how much I love my life.

Thanks for reading! 

Kristelle xxx

Everything Happens For a Reason

I am (and always have been) a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Even when things aren't going my way or turning out how I had hoped for or planned. I know that's the hardest time to believe in something you swear by (when it's not working out for you).

Now I believe in a lot of things. Some of those beliefs have changed over time (I can't say I am 19 years old and still believe in Santa or the Tooth Fairy), but for the most part my beliefs have just grown with me. 

I believe in fate.

I believe in karma.

I believe in love.

I believe in science.

I believe in the power of positive thinking. 

But I also believe hard work and consistent effort will always work out in the end. 

And now even though I truely believe everything happens for a reason I can't help but wonder why some things happen to me at all. 

Like did I deserve to do badly on that assignment I tried so hard on?

Do I deserve for it to be so difficult to find a job that I actually enjoy?

Did I deserve to get hit in the face from some fight some randoms guys had while clubbing?

Do I deserve to be miserable, even though I 150% know what's going to make me happy, but I still can't have it?

I guess I'm just feelings gloomy, which might be why I've neglected my blog a little bit for the last couple of weeks. 

I feel like I need a sign from the universe just to let me know that I'm okay and that I'm doing okay at life right now, because I can honestly say it doesn't feel like it. 

Thanks for reading, hopefully I'll be more back to my bubbly happy self soon.

Kristelle xx

How Do I Feel About Sports?

I know most people who know me will automatically agree with me when I say I'm not a huge fan of sports. And then I'm sure a lot of people will ask why not? Let me just start by saying I wish I enjoyed sports. I really do. And then going with that, I wish Australian sports culture was more like what you see in American sports culture. You know what I'm talking about, even if I have just gotten this image from TV and the movies (I am 95% sure it is actually like this in real life though, based on the Americans I have met and spoken with). Everyone in the town gets behind the team, people live and breathe sport, sports events are like a major thing, high school sports teams; everyone knows everything about them... I think you all get what I mean.

I just find Australian sporting... dull? I think that's the word I would use. When I was younger I was really into it. I loved netball (most of the world will probably be wondering what that is hey) and I would watch matches, know players names and be pretty invested in who won. I also loved the NRL (football) and loved my team. I would go to games and be sad when we lost and happy when we won.  There's more but those are just the main two that I cared about or was invested in.

I really would love to find that spirit for sports I once had. It should be fun and exciting to get together with your friends and watch a match on TV at home or at the pub or something (lol), go to games even. The other night I felt like I was re-living my younger days because I went to my first football match in at least 3 years. I went with my family, boyfriend and 2 of my best girlfriends. It was a lot of fun (even though our team ended up losing 36-30 and we even had a 24 point lead at one point- but let's not dwell on that please...). We went to the leagues club afterwards and at food and talked for a couple more hours and it was a good night. 

Amber, Maddie and I with one of the mascots 

You can tell these pics were taken whilst we were winning because we were all very happy

Good nights like this make me appreciate the small things so much more. I would love to be able to go to more games and have more casual nights like this and to actually care again about who wins and who loses. It makes life just that bit more interesting, you know?

Feel free to check out my Instagram @krristelley or online here because I post a lot of photos of what I do there!

Thanks for reading, 

Stelle xxx