Day 2: Bali Adventures and Crazy Shopping Bargains

Good morning (or whenever you are all reading this around the world)! Day 2 of my Bali adventure was definitely happening when I woke up at a lovely 5am here this morning. Bali is 3 hours behind Australian time (where I live anyway) so it was still weird adjusting to the time difference.

After waiting what felt like forever for it finally to be an appropriate time to have breakfast, we went and ate and the food was amazing.

After breakfast we knew we wanted to experience some of this Bali shopping everyone goes on and on about so we got our hats and went out to the streets we had looked at the night before. It is a very different experience than shopping in Australia, obviously. I usually like to take my time to look in stores and see what’s around before making any choices but this became increasingly difficult when all the people on the streets are so in your face trying to make you buy stuff. Kieran bought a couple of things and then we were just too hot we left the streets and came back for a swim.

Swimming, drinking and eating was the next thing we did (big surprise there). After relaxing in the pool for a couple of hours we walked up the street a bit and had some lunch and then we thought that we would give this shopping thing another try. So we covered ourselves in sunscreen, grabbed our hats again and headed to Kuta to do some shopping.

It was insane. Kieran and I got used to bartering prices and saying no thanks and moving on in places that we had no interest in. In the end though we ended up walking away, wallets slightly lighter carrying as much stuff as we could.

More swimming, more relaxing and more eating were called for for the rest of the day. We also went shopping again at night and I bought more stuff (if possible). I love a good bargain so shopping here is definitely way more fun than at home.

Another ‘early’ night before another busy day. Tomorrow is our last day staying at the Melasti Beach Resort in Legion before moving onto our next resort in Seminyak and I am way too excited.

Follow my adventures on my Instagram and Snspchat (both usernames are @krristelley).

Tomorrows adventures I am sure will involve more shopping, lots of picture taking and exploring and who even knows what else?

Thanks for reading,

Kristelle xx

Day 1: Bali Adventures

Bali adventures: Day 1

So, for this little blog post series I am going to be writing daily posts (but as I have mentioned in the last few posts, the probably won’t be posted daily). I have already written a “What’s in my Suitcase” post (which you can check out here).

Day 1 of the adventure starts the second you wake up for the day ready go. We had a 10am flight to Depsnar, so naturally you have to wake up at 4am like we did. Usually I am the grumpiest person in the mornings but today was different (probably because I was way too excited for what I knew lay ahead).

We got to the airport (probably just before 6am?) we had some breaky, got a coffee to wake ourselves up and then checked our suitcases. After all this was done we had to go through customs blah blah the usual airport stuff and then came the duty free shopping. You are only allowed to take 1L of alcohol (per person over 18) into Bali and you’re allowed just over 2.25L on the way back. We purchased our alcohol for both (you can pick up the ‘way back’ alcohol when you come back into Australia.

Next came the plane. Its almost a 7 hour flight here today from Sydney, so we had to be prepared for a lot of sitting down. I brought my laptop with me (and surprise, surprise) I am catching up and planning ahead my blog posts. I am currently writing this an hour after take off (748km from Sydney and 3868km until Denpasar, Bali). I am travelling at 397km/hour and am roughly 40,000 feet above Australia. I haven’t been on a plane since I was 10 years old (which was 10 years ago), so it is all quite exciting.

Arrival

We arrived finally! Took forever to collect our bags but finally we were off into a ‘cab’. I was so shocked at the complete lack of road rules! They drive all over the place here but somehow it works so well for them that no one crashed. Motorbikes everywhere, people without helmets and 3+ people sitting on one tiny bike!

Arriving at the resort was interesting, the first thing I wanted was a mixture of “I’m starving let’s eat” and “let me jump in this heavenly pool”.

We opted for food and a cocktail first and I was amazed by how cheap everything really is here!

After a meal we headed straight to the pool and Kieran, of course, was extremely pleased with the pool bar. It was so warm and so relaxing I can not even put into words how at ease with life I was.

After a swim, we showered and decided to wander the streets and look at the shopping that we knew we would encounter the next day. Although everyone tries to sell you everything, it was overall a fun experience. Buying alcohol from the local ‘mini-marts’ every 100m and experiencing the craziness of it all was amazing.

Eventually we made our way back to the resort and finished the evening with a pizza, drink and a shower before collapsing into bed awaiting the second day of our adventure.

Keep up with my travels on Instagram and Snapchat (both usernames are @krristelley )

Day 2 adventures up next,

Kristelle xxx

Ladies Day Out

Even though it is the time of the year that I should be sitting at home inside studying and not going out drinking and to social events, reading books that don't relate to my uni subjects or watching Netflix for 3 hours. Should be minimising my hours at work for a couple of weeks and not sit on my computer writing blog posts. I seem to go against this and do the complete opposite anyway!

Once such exception was the weekend that has just passed. Ladies Day at the races was so much fun I am so glad that even though the water was horrible and it rained the entire day I still went out and had a fabulous time. 

Ladies day was an excuse to get dressed up, (for most women) put some ridiculous looking fascinator on your head and call it stylish, drink copious amounts of champagne/wine/any alcohol being served, bet on horses and basically just socialise with all the other women around you. I don't participate in all of this (mostly I just enjoy dressing up and drinking alcohol) but it was definitely a good day. One to remember is probably how I am going to choose how to quote it. 

Later the same night I was also invited to go to a club and I almost didn't go. I got home after a long day at the races, put my pyjamas on, ate some food and settled down and started even laying singstar with the fam??? (Side note: I use the term fam to include those who are not actually family, but are close enough they may as well be). But I decided to put more make up on, change my clothes and go back out because in all honesty how many good stories do people have that they remember that went like this "well I was tired so I stayed at home that night....." No.

Turns out, clubbing was a crazy idea. There were barely any people in the clubs compared to what I remember a few months ago? (maybe the weather had something to do with this). The smartest ideas I had all night were:

1. Leave early enough to catch the last train home of the night so we didn't need to catch a bus
2. Get popcorn chicken and chips on the way to the train

Turns out as smart as those ideas were, number 1 turned out to be a joke and number 2 didn't even happen. Instead we walked out the club and saw the rain. I don't think I have ever seen it rain harder than it did that night when Kieran and I left the club. Of course it was uphill to get back to the train station and although we ran just to get inside quicker (it was freezing in the rain), it really did no good. When we got to the train station it looked like we had gone swimming. Tipping water out of our shoes, wringing out shirts out and me tying my hair up just so it wouldn't stick to my face. Getting home is always something I dread, but after sitting in sticky wet clothes creating a puddle around us on an air-conditioned train for 50 minutes home freezing cold and hungry, I do not want to experience that again.

Anyway, in typical fashion I will end this post by sharing some of the photos we took that day at the races.

Dress by Atmos&Here from The Iconic

One of my gorgeous bestfriends Maddie

My wonderful boyfriend Kieran 

Dodgy photo of a polaroid we took before we left

One of many glasses we drank that day 

Thanks for reading guys, 
Kristelle xx

Race Day

This weekend just gone I was excited to (once again) try something new that I had never done before. It was my beautiful mother's 40th birthday and she wanted the family and some friends to go to the races with her. I was excited because it was something that I had been wanting to do for a while but just never really had been presented with the opportunity. So this was perfect. 

There is a few different racecourses nearish to where I live and it was one of the race days of the spring carnival! 

I can quite happily say that I enjoyed all aspects of 'The Races' at Royal Randwick racecourse. The fashion, the atmosphere, drinking champagne and cheering on with everyone else. Only complaint I could possibly have was the food was not very good (but then again that wasn't even important).

I saw so many beautiful dresses on girls I will admit I was pretty jealous. All in all it was a wonderful day. There was money won (and lost) on gambling and sure some of us may have had a little too much champagne and taken a few too many photos (when is that ever a real problem though??) but it was most defiantly a lot of fun and I can not wait until I get to do this again!

My lovely boyfriend and I at the start of the day

Happy birthday to my beautiful mother who we celebrated turning 40 (don't worry I will continue telling everyone it was 25)

Thanks for reading xxx

Instagram: @krristelley 

Parties and Partying

I'm 19 years old, almost 20 so it is safe to say that I am no stranger to going out and partying. I do enjoy it most of the time (I really have to be in the mood for it sometimes) and I have to be out with the right people to have the best experiences. I'm pretty happy to say that 98% of the time I am actually out with the right people (my amazing boyfriend and beautiful bestfriends)!

Like I mentioned in a previous post, I am currently in my busiest time of the year. From July until December I seem to be non-stop on the go. Everyone is having their birthdays (which is actually quite funny because both my bestfriend and my boyfriend don't have their birthdays until January and February). This means a lot of weekends are spent going out celebrating and a lot of money is spent doing so. But it also means there are a lot of times that I (and everyone I go out with) need to be careful of what is exactly going on around us.

I'm from Sydney, Australia and I know the 'nightlife' used to be pretty good. But now there are so many laws and lockouts that apply basically anywhere you go in the city regarding what times you can go into/out of clubs and times you can buy alcohol. I don't really think these laws have done anything except increase drug use. Everywhere you go (and yes I do mean literally everywhere) there are people on drugs. It's really obvious to tell the difference between people who have drunk too much and the people who have decided to do drugs for the night instead. Neither is safe (obviously), but I don't think the laws introduced were the way to go. All that's been done is drive many places out of business because 1am onwards was when they would make most of their money. 

No more club hopping and partying all night long, drinking until the sun comes up. 

I think it's sad (and I know it isn't just here, it can happen anywhere) that people spike drinks... Listening to stories friends of mine have told me about drink spiking makes me so angry. Stories my girlfriends tell me about creepy guys following them around and pursing them even after invitations to dance/ get a drink/ go to their hotel rooms or houses have been declined. It's scary. I'm lucky in the sense that I have amazing friends and a very protective boyfriend who I know will always look out for me and I look out for them. But the scary part is still anything can happen. You can't "let loose" for a night because there aren't good people out there.

The number of fights I've been around and that have impacted me is ridiculous. Being pushed down and bruised and cut up because of fights happening near me is ridiculous (and I know I am not the only one that this happens to).

I wish everyone who decided to go out partying and clubbing would take a bit more responsibility, control their behaviour and not be inappropriate/creepy because then I know everyone would have such a better time and the government wouldn't have to be so strict with laws and enforcements on everyone as a whole. 

I'm really looking forward to my birthday 'week' this October because I have about 4 days/nights of fun planned and I really hope none of it is ruined or spoilt from anything I've mentioned above. All anyone would like is to feel safe when they go out. 

And on a much lighter note, enjoy these happy snaps from the last two birthdays I attended over the last two weekends.

Tapas + Thai = a Great Birthday

Hey everyone! So this post is going to be based around the fact that it was my boyfriend's mum's birthday on Monday and we did a bunch of fun stuff to celebrate (with more to come??)

It was a milestone birthday (the big 50, but I wouldn't say that to anyone who is actually turning 50 haha). To sum up this post, we have just basically done a bunch of stuff to celebrate mostly revolving around food, because well who doesn't love food?? There was also a few random (funny) things that have happened in between but I will get to that later in the post. 

Beautiful place in a beautiful location (photo from their website)

The first celebration we had was a surprise lunch in the city on Sunday. Kieran and I had bought his parents a Tapas dining voucher that they were meant to enjoy on their own for a night out (lol). Instead, it was turned into a family event (which is totally fine by me because the food was amazing). His parents, Kieran, his brother and myself went to a lovely restaurant in Sydney part of the Nick's group called 'Stacks Taverna Bar & Restaurant'. If anyone around Darling Harbour in Sydney fancies a good meal at a good price with amazing customer service, I highly recommend this place. 

We enjoyed a range of Tapas dishes (which were very well priced and the portion sizes were huge), along with a cocktail jug (yum), pizza and churros for dessert. 

You can see about 3 of the 6 tapas dishes we shared, plus we had the pizzas

On the way home, Kieran and I found a puppy and long story short we tricked his mum into thinking we brought it home and it was in the living room because "it was too cold outside". It was funny but now it's left Kieran wanting a puppy even more (I promise we will get one when we move out okay).

That evening we were too excited to wait until the next day for presents, so we gave his mum her presents early and it is safe to say we scored about 264794728 points for being amazing present givers. We got her a card saying Happy 21st (lol), a 'joke' present which Kieran can take full credit for because it's embarrassing (again, lol), a nice perfume and a knife block set which she absolutely loved. I like giving presents when people so obviously love what they got.

The next evening (Monday, her birthday) we went out for a family dinner at a Thai restaurant local to where we live. I will say, not all the food was the best and it was freezing inside because

1) they had the doors wide open

2) No heat/air conditioning was on

3) It was actually only about 8-10 degrees Celsius outside

4) Refer back to 1 and 2 because my hands were frozen 

Again, we shared about 6 dishes and rice between 6 of us and a nice bottle of bubbly. After dinner, we went back to Kieran's place for a really nice red velvet birthday cake and to sing happy birthday. His entire house smelt like flowers because there were no less than about 5 or 6 bouquets in the house. 

I had a good time this 'weekend' with his family. The jokes are funny, the food is good and I don't think I stopped laughing the entire time. His dad also found it quite amusing when I pointed out I don't hang out with my own family, only theirs. Of course Kieran has to be dorky and point out "I am family" lol. 

Thanks for reading guys and gals. 

Kristelle xxx

Am I Sober?

So I've been divided on this for a very, very long time. I live in Australia and I am currently 19 years old. The legal drinking age here is 18. But if I am being completely honest (and I am right now) where I lived as a teenager, the people I know and people I went to school with all started drinking around 13/14. I think I had my first drink when I was 14 (one drink, no big deal?) then when I attended parties from probably 15 and on, there was always alcohol around so I would always drink it (everyone else did so what was the big deal?).

Looking back on this now, I can not believe I did that. Sure I didn't drink much (because how much does a small 15 year old girl actually need to drink before they are drunk, answer: not much at all). It was probably the worst thing I could do for my body! Even though it might have been once or twice a month when I went to a party, it was more than it should of been. 

There are times I can remember (pretty ironic that I use that word considering I don't remember the nights at all, more so the consequences of said nights) where I didn't know what I was doing. Parties that police showed up to, times I would throw up everywhere (classy, I know) and the countless hangovers I had the next day. Not to mention that it became worse when I was 17, had many friends who were already 18 (easier access to alcohol) and the fact that I had my license and I was always too scared to drive pretty much the entire next day after a night out (so I should of been).

This was one of the worst nights I ever had out. Didn't have much to drink
but was sick enough not to remember a thing. This night my friends told me
they think my drink was spiked

Once I turned 18, the novelty of alcohol was no where near as big as I thought it would be. Everyone makes 18 out to be a big deal because you can go clubbing and legally drink, smoke, gamble etc. Sure, I went clubbing 5 months after I turned 18. I still drank regularly though (mostly still parties and "gatherings" with my friends).

I am now 19, I turn 20 is less than 6 months and I am over it. I am over the hangovers, the sickness, the drama that intoxicated people cause. I am over the stupidity of the drunk people, the desperation of drunk guys and girls in clubs and I am over the sleaziness people seem to think it is okay to bring about when they have been drinking. 

I honestly don't remember when exactly my last drink was. I remember probably 2 months ago sitting down at home after work one night and having a glass of wine while I was eating cheese (how adult of me). I went clubbing about a month ago and had one drink before I got there and I had a bouncer harass me about my alcohol intake for the night (I was probably looking bored and tired waiting to get into the club, not sloppy and drunk like everyone else). I've been out so many times and I am always the first to say I am happy to drive. My boyfriend quite enjoys that because he loves to drink beer with his mates when we are out, so I just drive. Even last Saturday I went to a gathering at my friends house for Easter and I didn't touch alcohol once. It is unappealing to me now. 

I am happy and I feel better now that I have stopped binge drinking (and yes that is exactly what I would call what I have done since I was 14). Drinking to the point where I was drunk on random nights was 'fun' at the time. But now I know better. I am trying to get back into shape as my adult metabolism already wasn't what it used to be when I was 16. I don't need the drinks to have fun anymore and I'm okay with that.

I feel like I should also add in here that my body has never been very good at processing alcohol. No matter how little or how much I consumed, I am always sick. I am sick that night and sometimes I even spend the next few days trying to recover from the one night of drinking. I get extremely bloated which leads to me feeling sad and self conscious and there's no reason I should make myself feel like that if I don't have to. But yeah, it's just not for me.

That's not to say I am going to preach about how drinking is stupid and tell everyone not to do it. I've made my choices for myself and I am extremely happy with them. I'm not going to shun my friends for drinking or anything (lol) I just don't want to be pressured or looked down upon because I say no (sometimes that happens, but I'm not overly fussed). As long as people do not put themselves or especially others in danger from their drinking (fighting, driving or anything else that is dangerous) then I say drink as much or as little as you want. 

Thanks for reading, I would love to hear anyone else's opinions on the subject. Until next blog post!

Stelle xx 

Kieran's birthday!

I would like to wish my boyfriend Kieran a very happy 19th birthday (from Saturday)!

I want to say a few things about him (yes on my blog and yes hi Kieran I know you will read this eventually).

I organised the weekend and we ended up at Manly Beach on Saturday for a day in the sun, swimming and a cafe lunch. In the night we went to the city (about 10 guys and 2 girls, nice ratio) and partied all night and it was so much fun. Sunday was mostly spent sleeping off the hangovers from Saturday night and watching How to Get Away with Murder (OMG it can not end that way) and then we had a family dinner in the evening. It was an amazing weekend, here are some pictures from it and I'm writing a little something about Kieran below.

View of Manly Beach from the walk between Manly/Shelley Beach

Amazing lunch- chicken burger and salad for me and a beef burger for him

Quick picture form the train ride into the city

Now about Kieran. I wish everyone saw Kieran the way I do. He is funny, attractive and smart. He knows so much about everything and when he talks about something he is passionate about he can go on for hours. He is loving and kind and would do anything for anyone who needs his help. He knows how to make you laugh even when you're so angry you want to throw something. 

He can make you smile when you're sad and in no time you'll forget why you're even sad in the first place. He will cuddle you and cook you food when you're sick and upset and then he will apologise that he can't cook as well as you, but just settle for buying something you love. 

He will get addicted to the TV shows you love and demand you wait to watch the new episodes with him so he isn't left out and you will do it because he took the time to like something you like. 

He will buy your movie ticket and dinner when you go out, despite your arguments that you can pay for yourself. He is a lot of things, but mostly he is just amazing. I do wish everyone saw him the way I do, but then again it wouldn't be the same. 

Happy birthday again Kieran (now you're old like me!!)

Thanks for reading,

Stelle xx

Motorbike riding and Rodeoing?

Anyone who knows me will know that I am a bit of a princess. Not in the sense that I sit around and expect everyone to do everything for me (I am a hard worker and do almost everything for myself), but I am not a huge fan of getting 'dirty' and doing activities that involve that. I love the beach. That is the one true place I will call my home and I will go far enough to say that I belong there. I like that there are wide open spaces, water and it's peaceful. But at the same time I appreciate that all I have to deal with is sand and then sun and that I am still extremely close to the city and the area is.. populated. 

What I was not prepared for, was a weekend away in the bush (aka. the middle of nowhere to me). There was no phone reception, no electricity (everything ran off gas), wide open spaces, lots of trees and dirt and only being able to have a 3 minute or less shower (any girls who care lots about washing their hair and taking their time would feel my pain at this). But as I am all one for new experiences and adventures (and to stick to saying yes more instead of no, I sucked it up, packed a backpack and went for the weekend adventure. 

I rode on the backs of motorbikes, I rode a quad bike, drank alcohol. I didn't wash my hair for three days, I ate the biggest chicken snitzel I have ever seen. I did the dishes, I read books, I sat around and watched the riding of motorbikes (no one warns you how much your bum will actually hurt afterwards). And strangest of all things... I went to the rodeo.

New experiences all around but I am honestly surprised to say how much of a good weekend I had. I gave it the chance but I honestly didn't expect it to be so much fun. That was a typical bogan weekend (or I see it as one anyway). But it was fun and I'm glad I had the experience. 

Bucket hat selfies at the rodeo 

This is what a rodeo looks like, lots of horses and bulls and baby cows and sheep. Oh it also smells sort of funky because of that

I should mention that this weekend was the Australia Day long weekend, so yes this post is a tad delayed. I don't even know why. And although there is no photographic evidence of me on bikes I promise I rode them (the GoPro died and my motorbike outfit aka boyfriends trackies and an old T-shirt was definitely not cute). 

Thanks for reading,

Stelle xx

My Bestfriend is 19!

Much of the last week for me has basically been spent at my bestfriends house. Why? Because well other than being my bestfriend, it was her birthday! Like me, the birthday celebrations seem to have to last a whole week. With everything from staying in our pyjamas all day and being ugly, to clubbing, to partying in her backyard, to spending $70 on 'Frozen' balloons, to finding penis straws and even to going grocery shopping in our onesies. It was an amazing week and I would like to wish my bestfriend Amber a very happy 19th birthday!

Here are some happy snaps from our week of adventures (mostly just her party because the rest was documented on snapchat). I'm glad she is my bestfriend!

Dani, Amber and I

Again, obviously very pretty

we had a good night

They stuck stickers on my face and I felt like a fairy. Doesn't help my case of proving I'm an adult, I look 15

We all know there were many things said and done this past week that we can't post pictures of or talk about because that would just ruin it (and also a lot was way too embarrassing).

But cheers to the girl who will without fail come to Maccas with me (again bogan jokes queued) and eat our body weight in food (McFeasts and Big Macs for all!), help me with every crazy scheme we can come up with and let me steal her clothes when I have "nothing to wear". The girl who needs me to sit in the bathroom with her when she has a shower because she will get too 'lonely' and who will laugh at even my lamest jokes. The girl who's driving makes me feel like I am going to die, but I will get in the car with regardless. Thank you for being you.

Champagne and dinner dates

I've started to find that the older I get, the more my tastes have been changing. I enjoy different foods, different drinks, different peoples company, different music and doing different things. My priorities have changed drastically and I am becoming the person I want to be. I feel bad about myself when I sit around wasting an entire day doing nothing when there is so much out there for me to experience or simply because I could be doing so many more useful things (aka working my little butt off). 

From level 13 on the carpark rooftop Manly looks beautiful at sunset (let's face it, it's beautiful anyway)

I remember the days when the most fun I could have was running around outside with my friends, having a sleepover was a big deal and it was super cool if we could go to the shopping centre. Now I'm just old and meet friends for coffee dates in between all of our crazy schedules. Oh and I spend like 95% of my free time at some beach.

Gourmet burgers and fries for dinner

I did have a super cute dinner/crazy adventure with some friends the other night. It started with us aiming for a dinner in Bondi by the water. Somehow (this always happens to me) I took a wrong turn in the city and ended up crossing the Harbour Bridge. Avoiding tolls, I continued driving and decided Manly was a better fit (funny because they are on opposite sides of the city). We ate gourmet burgers for dinner because it was pretty much the only thing we could all decide on between having a 'wanna-be healthy gal' (me), vegetarian (Maddie), 'meat-only-no-salad-what-so-ever guy' (Kieran) and probably the only normal one (Dani). It was a great meal, more talking done by me than eating (but what else is new??) We were sitting on the beach when we decided it was a good time to go clubbing, so we set off home to head for a local place.

We were all disappointed when it was dead on a Saturday night (c'mon people??) I was the designated driver (see here, I am limiting my alcohol #proud) but we all had a good night. Driving my tipsy friends home and having our singing sessions in the car is worth it.

Special occasions I am allowed to drink (I tell myself that anyway- it's okay to celebrate and still be healthy??). My boyfriend's cousin, turned 18 and we celebrated at the country club. This is part of my whole 'getting older having different tastes'. I ate fancy finger foods and drank champagne and white whine. Encouraged the birthday boy to be irresponsible (I am actually a good role model and peer pressure is bad I swear). But we had a good day. Fell asleep super early that night because day drinking + super hot days = instant energy drainer. Once again I am lucky to have such amazing people in my life. 

Thanks for reading
Stelle xx