20th Birthday Shenanigans

Ahh so I am 20 now, I guess that happened. All I wanted for my birthday this year was to spend the night in great company with people I love and spend a weekend some place quiet, doing all the things I love. Thankfully, I am lucky enough to say that I got exactly that.

On my actual birthday I spent the day at the beach with my little sister and then I had dinner in Darling Harbour in Sydney with my family and closest friends (well they are basically family). It was a beautiful dinner at a lovely restaurant called Cyren's Seafood Bar and Grill. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is in Sydney, the menu is really great. The reason I was drawn to it (other than the promise of seafood- which I am in love with) is the Fishbowl drinks. Of course I ordered one and drank most of it myself (oops). Dinner was accompanied by fireworks in the harbour (which were obviously beautiful) and I even had everyone embarrass the crap out of me and (very loudly) sing me happy birthday with the waiters in front of everyone (thanks guys).

After dinner, my boyfriend, two friends and myself headed around the harbour in looks for something fun to do. We didn't really spend too much longer out after dinner because we were so tired and some of us had to work the next day (not me though thankfully haha).

I was very spoilt and received some amazing gifts from my friends and family (which I love presents but I prefer to give them rather than receive them).

Beach days for my birthday. 20 now! 

This was taken after dinner at Bungalow 8. It was a really good night 

Taken during dinner when I was encouraged to drink the fishbowl straight from the well, fishbowl

On to the other part of my weekend- the long weekend away with my favourite person (yes this is my boyfriend Kieran). I chose to go camping at a little place called South West Rocks that is about 5 or so hours from both Sydney and Brisbane. It's a beautiful place and I had been camping there before and had a blast so I wanted to go back.

This weekend was supposed to include swimming, fishing, relaxing, bushwalking, eating food, drinking and basically just having fun. We had a few extra things included in the weekend that I didn't expect. So really the weekend turned out to be: swimming, fishing, adventuring, whale watching, searching for kangaroos, bushwalking, drinking and a lot more swimming with a touch of relaxing.

It was the best weekend I have had in a long time as it was everything I wanted and more. If you asked me to pick a highlight I really don't think that I would be able to. Fishing off the rocks in the ocean and seeing whales, sea turtles and stingrays was I have to say probably one of the best times. I caught some fish that we ended up cooking for dinner and it was a great time.

Fishing off the rocks, this was the first fish that I caught this weekend 

Amazing view of the beach that we hiked down too after we hiked up to the lighthouse (it was at the top of this very steep hill) 

Private beach that we hiked down to (the walk down was bearable but the walk back up, oh my god. Glad that's over lol.

Happy snap of me overlooking the ocean

Lately I feel like I have been at a loss for words. To put it simply, I am so blessed to have the friends, family and the boyfriend that I do. I am an extremely lucky girl that I get to go through life with such amazing people by my side and I wouldn't have it any other way. Shoutouts to Kieran, Mum, Tamara, Darren, Amy, Maddie and Amber for giving me an amazing birthday.

Thanks for reading guys, hope the pictures are more exciting than my rambling collection of words.
Kristelle xx

Instagram: @krristelley (currently being spammed with pictures from this holiday infact)

Bondi to Coogee

After (I don't even want to calculate how long so let's just say a long) time, I finally was able to go to Bondi and do the Bondi to Coogee walk with my boyfriend!

Bondi Street Art

 This happened a couple of weekends ago now, but it was still something that I just wanted to cross off my list so bad, so it deserved its own post. If you ever come to Sydney, this is definitely one of the things that you have to cross off your list of activities.

Kieran and I stopping for 1 of 1383482 photos we always take with the GoPro

Bondi Icebergs

It's still Winter here, so it was pretty cold (cold enough to wear pants and a jacket) but it was still a beautiful sunny day. There was also a surf comp on the day we were there which was pretty cool, but I have no idea how they could even bare to be in the water (even in a wetsuit) because the water was freezing.

Bondi is a beautiful place, lots of street art and plenty of nice little cafes to eat at. Which is exactly what Kieran and I did before our walk. If anyone is ever in Bondi I totally recommend checking out the Lammond Cafe, food was great and so was the service!

Bondi Street Art

Originally, Kieran and I were only going to the Bondi to Bronte walk, but it's actually only a few kilometres and takes about 20 minutes each way (even calculated with the constant stopping to take photos of the scenery).

So instead, we decided to go the step further, which is to Coogee and back, and it is a lot further than Bronte. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining, however near the end the weather turned a bit sour. No rain though, but plenty of clouds and overcast weather quickly turned the day cold and we had to head back to the car to venture home.

Overlooking Bronte?? beach

There is plenty of nice places to stop along the walk to take some nice photos and also grab a smoothie or a bite to eat if you get hungry.

If you can't handle the heat, I would definitely recommend only doing the Bondi to Coogee walk in Autumn/Winter weather because even in Winter we still got hot out there. Alternatively, if you're not up for the approximately 13km round trip from Bondi to Coogee, Bondi to Bronte is a great choice. It's only a few kilometres each way, so you still get to enjoy all the beauty this place has to offer, just with less walking distance.

It was a good day and Kieran and I 150% plan to do this again- in Summer. The idea was to take our exercise clothes but wear swimming costumes underneath. We would walk/swim/walk to mix it up a bit (and to obviously cool off during the walk). There's so much to be excited for this Summer and I can not wait for this.

Thanks for reading,
Stelle xx

Instagram: @krristelley

Sisters

Having a sister is a wonderful thing. Your very own bestfriend/hair stylist/ make up artist/ partner in crime (and way way more) from the beginning. You may hate her at times but you will always love her. 

I'm (un)lucky enough to have a little sister of my very own. 

I used to get annoyed when she would copy everything that I say/ do/ like/ wanted/ bought but as my mother ever so kindly pointed out all these years, 'imitation is the highest form of flattery'.

I think you love playing with toys together when you're young (barbies and polly pockets for us) and playing other silly little games (doctors, teachers and spies were our favourites). Then you get to that age where all you can possibly do is fight with each other. You hate each other more than you like each other and you can't stand to share anything let alone talk to each other sometimes. 

I am happily past that age now (for the most part) and get to enjoy all the perks that come with having a sister again.

You want someone to paint your nails?

Drive you to the train station to go clubbing?

Cook dinner with?

Go out to random places to get food because you're hungry?

Fashion advice?

Need to borrow an outfit?

Wondering if your hair looks good today?

Have the sudden urge to go shopping and don't want to go alone?

Need help fake tanning the middle of your back?

Want to go on a maccas run but don't want to go alone?

Need someone to exercise with you?

Need someone to hang out with just so you don't feel lonely?

All of the above for me are reasons why I actually love having a sister. As much as she annoys the hell out of me, I know I will always have someone there to do these things with me and help me out when I need it. Best part is, we live in the same house so there is literally next to no effort to do all of these things together. No need to make the same effort to hang out with a friend and you can be mean to each other and know that at the end of the day you will always have each others backs.

I appreciate having a sister (but I'm still glad I'm the older one).

Kristelle xx

Instagram: @krristelley

Questions

Thought this would be fun to answer a bunch of questions about myself to let my beautiful readers get to know me a bit better. Anyone who feels like answering them do it and send me the link so I can read your responses!

Shallow: 

1. Favorite color- pink

2. Height- 166cm

3. Eye color- blue 

4. Hair color- blonde 

5. Age- 19

6. Piercings? 2 on each ear and my belly button 

7. Tattoos? 1 (for now) a small heart on my wrist 

8. Favorite animal/pet- bunny

9. Favorite scent- Marc Jacobs Daisy 

10. What time is it? 12:44am

Wading: 

11. Favorite time of day- evening/sunset

12. First pet- goldfish 

13. Siblings- little sister 

14. First car- white ford laser

15. On a day like today you would...? Lay in the sun

16. The last book you read- my Human Resource Management textbook 

17. The last text message you sent/received- sent to Kieran (can't even share what that said oops) and received from Kieran (would be perfect!!)

18. Are you usually hot or cold- hot. Always hot 

19. Pick one thing to your left, what does it mean to you- it's a pillow 

20. Day or night and why- day because I love the sun and adventure 

Knee Deep: 

21. When was the last time you told someone you loved them? A few hours ago 

22. When was the last time someone told you they loved you- few hours ago 

23. Who is your best friend and how did you meet- Kieran at school and Amber at little athletics 

24. Would you rather love or be loved- love. I love to love 

25. Do you get sick often- not really 

26. Do you live alone or with other people- with my fam

27. When was the last time you saw your family- saw my sister this afternoon and saw my mum on Saturday morning 😐 (it's Tuesday lol)

28. What do you want to achieve in the next year- just be the best I can be at what I'm doing 

29. Do you believe in true love- yes

30. Have you ever been hurt by someone you thought cared about you- yes

To the Waist: 

31. When was the last time you got hurt- today I ran into a bench 

32. Have you ever hurt yourself- yes

33. What was the last fight you had about- moving out 

34. Has anyone told you they hated you- yes lol 

35. Have you seen anyone die- no

36. What would you tell your younger self- don't grow up hating yourself, do your homework, don't give a fuck what people think, you're gonna meet the love of your life at 14 (be warned) and don't let the popular girls make you feel ugly or inadequate because you're going to be better off when you're out of school so it's all going to be okay 

37. Would you skip the bad parts of your life to be successful- absolutely 

38. What do you want to do with the rest of your life- get my career where I want it, stay sassy, get married and be one bad ass wife and mother 

39. Have you left behind/ were you left behind in a friendship- yes but no regrets 

40. What is more important money or love- they're both important, but still love

Neck Deep: 

41. Who would you want to meet again in your life- no idea 

42. Why did you choose your career path- because I love it

43. What is something you regret from your past- giving up too easily 

44. How much time is left at the end of your day- depends how you look at it. Either 23 hours because it's a new day or the day's already over and I should be sleeping 

45. What was your last dream about- moving into my own house and being happy lol 

46. Have you ever hated someone and why- just because asshole

47. Talk about your favorite family member- my mum and sister are my favourites. Annoying, stubborn and a pain in the ass to be around. But, thoughtful, loving and my bestfriends. 

48. What is one thing you want to confess- I can't wait to have my own family even though I always tell everyone I hate kids when they ask me lol

49. Have you ever tried to take away your problems instead of deal with them- yes?

50. Who would you save- yourself or a stranger?- I'm selfish. Everyone would like to believe they're a great person, some sort of hero and believe they would save a stranger. But realistically no. Human instinct says no. I would save myself. If I was like 90 and had lived a long fulfilling life I would save the stranger. Ask me to save someone I love, no problems I genuinely wouldn't hesitate. But not a stranger. Nope. 

Head Under Water: 

51. Have you been in love- I am so yes

52. Talk about someone in your life who has died- my nanna. I loved her. Her stories, her hugs that crushed you and the lipstick smears on your face after she's said hello. The visits to her little place and the traditional Chinese food we ate every Christmas Eve. She was a lovely woman and I miss her very much. 

53. Describe your first love in 5 words- passionate, adventurous, soulmate, crazy, fulfilling 

54. When was the last time you thought you were beautiful- a few weeks ago when I looked good in my clothes, had a killer tan and my make up was amazing. Topping it off I took a great picture lol 

55. Have you ever had to recover after something- yes and damn it's hard 

56. What do you hate about love- it's exhausting sometimes and you can't ever let it not be a priority 

57. Top ten life values- health, happiness, love, honesty, passion, adventure, intelligence, friendship, loyalty and trust 

58. How do you fall asleep- Monday-Friday after a long day of either uni or study and a long night at work I fall asleep with my phone next to me after scrolling social media til I can't keep my eyes open. On weekends I fall asleep next to my love

59. When was the last time you smiled and the last time you cried- smiled: tonight when Kieran texted me he loves me. Cried: uhh probably yesterday morning when I had a sook my cafe was too busy to eat at 

60. What would you give up everything for? I'd give up everything for the three people I care most about in my life (and in no order) mum, sister and boyfriend 😊

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.

Food is life

Okay, so I don't know about everyone else here, but I am absolutely obsessed with food. Not just "oh this place will be good let's eat here" but to the point where basically everything I do is revolving around what I am going to eat that day (lol). Tbh I would love to know how many other people out there do this, so I don't feel so alone haha. 

I basically eat everything. There are very few things I won't eat (I don't even pretend that I'm allergic to cucumber anymore, I eat it now!). There are some things of course that I would prefer not to eat, but given the opportunity, I will still probably eat them.

So for those of you who have read some of my previous blog posts, you would know that I have made the choice to move towards a healthier lifestyle. Of course I still eat junk food, but I have been trying to get that out of my system. 

One of my favourite healthy foods are acai bowls. They are super tasty and you can basically just top them with any fruit, chai seeds, muesli, just basically anything you want. They were super quick and easy to make (and they make for a good Instagram photo haha). Here's a few of the best acai bowls I've had lately (and a quick recipe for my home made one!!). There's a wonderful place near me that makes the best acai bowls ever (and that's what these two pics are from). XS Espresso for anyone who lives in Sydney!

Simple acai recipe:

Acai smoothie pack

Raspberries/bluberries/strawberries (to blend in the puree)

Splash of almond milk

To top:

Fresh fruit (my favourites include: strawberries, passionfruit, banana, kiwi-fruit)

Any other toppings (I personally enjoy muesli and chai seeds)

And as for the method you just blend the first three things together and then pour it in a bowl. It should be a thick consistency. Then chop up all the fruit and make it look pretty on top of the acai mix :-)

Simple, easy and one of my favourites. 

 Apart from my acai love, yes I do love other things. Recently my boyfriend took me on a date to a wonderful gourmet burger place (I've been here once before, but this time was better). I had an amazing chicken snitzel burger and he had a kangaroo burger and we 'shared' chips. Not the best photo, but it was a good night! Moo Gourmet Burgers for anyone who lives in Sydney, look it up :)

 Another one of the most amazing meals I have had recently was just a random bestfriend lunch date. We went to this amazing place called Grano. They have a coffee shop version with just drinks and desserts and a restaurant next door. We were starving so naturally we went for the restaurant. (pictured above) we had a prosciutto pizza with rocket (and it was amazing) and some kind of chicken salad with their special dressing. We shared both of the foods and I am seriously still dying to go back there!

Last but not least, considering I am obsessed with food, I think you all can guess what else I may be obsessed with (yes it is grocery shopping). Doing the groceries calms me, and I find it relaxing to plan out and buy the foods I plan on eating for the next week. It is genuinely fun for me, even though I know most people hate it. 

I am always on the hunt for nice places to eat (mostly cool/cute cafes around the beaches) and I plan to make a list and visit all of these places and order something of the menu. I might make this a plan with my boyfriend considering we both love eating.

Kristelle xx

Instagram: @krristelley

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

Vivid Sydney + Clubbing?

Everyone out there who doesn't live in Sydney (most likely) will have absolutely no idea what I am talking with the title of this post. But I will do my absolute best to try and convey how beautiful the city of Sydney can actually be and give everyone here reading one amazing reason they should consider visiting Sydney in their lifetime (if you don't already live here that is haha). Sydney is beautiful.

I know a lot of people believe that were they live is boring, ugly or it really just isn't cool in any way whatsoever (because you are so used to it) but I beg to differ. There is beauty in everything if you look for it. I'm not particularly a huge fan of where I live (my actual suburb lol) but I find the city of Sydney (where I classify myself to live) beautiful, as is so much around it. If you've read my blog before you will know that I love my adventures and I love exploring new places and experiencing new things and I always try to do this and get out as much as possible. I don't like sitting at home and doing the same old things every weekend. I like new things. I never used to, but now I am accustomed to trying and enjoying (most) new experiences (or things that are different and I don't get to do too often).

Sydney Opera House for Vivid

This is no different. For those who don't know, Vivid is basically a Sydney lights festival that is held once a year during the end of May/start of June. The city is decorated beautifully and it is a great even to attend. The vibes are great.

This Saturday night just passed, I headed out into the city with a few people I love and we had a great night. The night however didn't go anything like how we had planned (which isn't even a bad thing).

The five of us (myself, Kieran, Maddie, Shiane and Jayden) went into Circular Quay with the intention of waking around enjoying Vivid and getting a meal together. It was freezing so we were all rugged up (coats, boots, jeans- the works). We stopped at the bottle shop and got some beverages (lol). I knew the city would be busy, but I didn't plan on being starving and having no idea where to eat. So one of the boys suggested we should go to Kings Cross. I was like 'uh yeah sure let's go get the pizza they have there'. We wound up catching the train to the Cross and then got our pizza. We were there, so why shouldn't we go and start drinking in a bar? So that's what we did.

Me, Kieran, Maddie and Shiane 

Kieran and myself

Then, once we were all feeling the buzz from a few drinks (and we were sick of the lame music in the bar) we headed over to one of my favourite clubs in the cross. We danced for so many hours I think I lost count. All I know is that we were having the best time and I'm so glad our night took such a random turn. There probably isn't much more I could say about the club (because what happens in the club stays in the club haha).

After we were finishing up clubbing for the night (I remember being absolutely starving which made me keen to leave haha), we went to KFC for a good feed at what I remember being about 3am. Kieran stole half our food (bulk) and then we went and caught the bus home. I definitely enjoyed standing up for almost an hour and a half while Kieran leant on my stomach and slept lol.

We arrived home around 4:30am, tired. That's the only word I had for my feelings at 4:30 in the morning. Tired. I dropped Maddie off home and then Kieran and I went straight to bed. Didn't help that it was freezing in the house because no heaters had been on because no one was home.

I'm so happy that I got to share such a fun night with such a fun bunch of people. We will definitely be at it again soon, which means I will have another blog post coming your way about a good night out!

I think that these photos tell everyone we were having a lot of fun

Thanks for reading everyone, I have a bunch of posts coming your way in the next week!
Kristelle xxxx

Sydney's Storm April 2015

Am I the only person who always automatically feels crappy when the weather is bad? No?

I don't know what it is, but when it's freezing cold, windy and raining or storming like crazy, it immediately puts me into a bad mood. A mood where I just want to curl up on the lounge and watch TV or read a book or basically just do nothing. Nothing productive anyway. 

So in the last few days, Sydney (NSW, Australia),  has just suffered the "wettest two days in over 13 years", accompanied by a pretty horrific storm. (Click the link for some extra information about the storm).

I tried to go and feed my pet bunny this morning. I was outside for no longer than 2 minutes and I was drenched head to toe. Then I felt bad that I can't move my rabbit cage (it's too big, bulky and heavy, plus it had made its groove in the ground) and I have no where for my bunny inside. She's okay though, her cage is 3 stories and the top story is all enclosed with walls and all surrounding. 

My back and front yards are flooded, along with everyone else's in the surrounding areas. 

Amongst all the debris the storm has picked up and things that have been ruined, Sydney has become a sea of broken umbrellas from all of the brave (crazy?) people that tried to brave the storm before we were all just told to stay inside and postpone all unnecessary travel. 

The esplanade at Manly. Funny to think 2 weeks ago I was standing where that boat is, doing a photoshoot for a uni
project. Picture- John Granger

The Northern Beaches and the areas in the Central Coast, Newcastle and Illawarra regions from what I heard have had the worst of the storm. Dams are overflowing with water, creeks and rivers overflowing causing flash floods on roads, trees crushing cars, beaches being ruined by extremely strong winds, water sweeping people and their belongings away. 

A house in Maitland, doesn't resemble much of a house at the moment. Picture- Adam Taylor

My heart goes out to all of the people affected by the storms and the flash flooding. It can not be easy to watch your house or car or belongings just get washed away. I hope the communities stand strong and when the time comes, when the storm has passed to rebuild what they once had. 

Manly Dam which is currently overflowing and somehow looks like a waterfall. Picture- John Grainger 

Police, ambulance, firefighters and the SES (state emergency services) should be applauded on their efforts at evacuating, rescuing (although we all wish that wasn't necessary) and keeping the community as safe as possible during the difficult times. 

The sand as taken over everything thanks to the strong winds at Curl Curl Beach. Picture- Patrick O'Hara

Let us all stand together and hope that the cities and small country towns (such as Dungog) can rebuild and move past this tragedy. 

Stretch of 'road' in Maitland. Picture- Adam Taylor

If you're interested in knowing more of what has happened the last few days in Sydney, here are some good news sources to check out what has been going on. And in light of this tragedy, people still seem to film and get photos of some pretty cool things (giant fish swimming in the street in front of a school???)

- Sydney weather: It's not a cyclone but it sure felt like one 

- Sydney snaps its worst storm in eight years on social media (photos)

- Wild weather lashes Sydneys west as residents battle heavy wind and strong rain 

- Dungog like war zone after flash flooding 

All of the images are credited and taken from this news source.

There's just some links, but just Google it and thousands of results will show up!

Thanks for reading this post,

Kristelle xx

Bucket List Review

Hey everyone! So I thought it was about time I go back and revisit my Summer Bucket List and actually see what I have/haven't accomplished this Summer. As a little side note I want to say I really didn't think that all of these things would be done in Summer (mostly due to the fact that my boyfriend has a full-time job and worked a heap of overtime and I was basically working every day during Summer with two jobs!)

Shoalhaven Heads Beach- South Coast of NSW

1. Go camping- We actually went camping twice, once over the New Year period for about 5 days with my family and then a second time when we went camping in Kiama!
2. Get drunk on the beach- This was probably done a few times actually (lol), but the one that stands out to me was on New Years Eve when we continued our partying and sat on the beach (slightly intoxicated) talking about life
3. Have a campfire
4. Learn to surf
5. Go paddleboarding- This was one of the standout memories from the Summer because it was a random day when we decided to do this and I was very nervous to give it a go but I actually loved it so much and we had so much fun
6. Go fishing- I'm not even 100% sure if I can count this as going fishing because we sat in the light rain (more annoying than actual rain) and we didn't catch any fish (extremely disappointing). But we still went fishing and had bait and everything. To be fair, the fish were smart and were eating the bait off the hook without actually getting hooked...
7. Do the Bondi to Bronte walk
8. Get a piercing- This was a total spur of the moment decision (even though it was on my bucket list I didn't think I would actually do it). I got my belly pierced, it got infected, took forever to heal and was getting knocked by Kieran constantly when we would muck around. But no ragrets. I should mention 2 weeks later Kieran also got his nose pierced when we were on holidays in Kiama. Totally random
9. Go for a bike ride
10. Have a picnic lunch- I am going to count our picnic lunch as the day when I was sad and sick so Kieran bought over a whole bunch of foods that I liked (including the best cheese ever) and he made us lunch (sort of). It was sweet and it was cute.
11. Go snorkelling
12. Visit the mountains in Summer
13. Get a new tattoo
14. Make a video of our Summer
15. Workout more- YES! done on both of our parts I think. He goes to the gym probably 5 times a week and I've been working out using the Kayla Itsines guides and I couldn't be happier. Progress is so easy to see on him, bit harder on me but I feel so much better!
16. Go to an outdoor movie/drive ins- We went to the drive ins, ate our food and watched Taken 3. Probably a bit different to how they used to watch movies at the drive ins, but we had fun with our mountain of pillows and my 1.5L of orange juice I deemed necessary to watch a movie.
17. Spend the day at a water park- We went to Wet 'n' Wild Sydney once, I think that should count?
18. Save up for 2015's holidays- In progress! I think I should let everyone know that this New Years, Kieran and I will be going to Bali! We both opened up savings bank accounts for the trip so that totally counts and starting to save
19. Go to a music festival
20. Do something crazy- Okay it might not seem like much but I totally think that this one for me would have to be when Kieran actually got me on his motorbike and when I rode the quadbike too. Totally not my thing, I never would of done it. But I was saying yes to new experiences and it was definitely crazy!
21. Messy twister
22. Carve our names into a tree
23. Make a homemade slip 'n' slide
24. Visit a waterfall and go swimming
25. Skinny dipping at night- story of this isn't appropriate, but I did it
26. Water balloon fight
27. Watch a sunrise

I'm kind of bummed that a lot of things didn't get crossed off this Summer. But Kieran and I have come up with a plan:

• every weekend when neither of us are working, we are going to ignore what the weather is like (unless it's really extreme aka thunder storming or torrential rainfall) and pick an activity and go and do it. It's what we have 'planned' for this weekend. Around my work, we are just gonna go for it!

I plan to re-update this post in probably a couple of months time. I know there are heaps of other fun things I want to do that I have totally forgotten to even include in this list- but hey you will probably see a blog post about them (or I will just sneakily slip them in my next update).

Hope all my fellow Southern hemisphere folks out there had an amazing Summer & my Northern hemisphere friends enjoyed their Winter. I know I love Summer and it is safe to say I am not keen on Winter (I hate the cold- but I might get to go to the snow *fingers crossed*).

Still one of the most amazing days I've had Paddleboarding @ Northern Beaches

So thank you everyone for reading and I hope I can continue to cross things off this list!
Stelle xx

Christmas Party

Last weekend was a great weekend. Not only was it great because I actually had both Saturday and Sunday off work (for once lol) but it was my boyfriends work Christmas Party. Now the previous parties had all been amazing (year 1 they hired out an entire floor in the Centre-point Tower, Year 2 they hired out Luna Park) but this year was beautiful. Amazing location, fancy food and free alcohol (bonus anywhere haha).

This year we were lucky enough to have a three course meal and drinks at Fort Denison in Sydney Harbour. The only downfall was the rain, but it was still a beautiful location.

We had to arrive nice and early to catch the boat over to the island. Dinner didn't take long and it was probably one of the most sophisticated meals I had placed in front of me in a long time. 

The menu for the evening included:

• Savoury canapés on arrival (not sure what was in these other than the mumbled word 'duck' and I politely declined)
• Entreés
• Bruschetta w truss tomatoes, roasted red peppers & sheep’s milk feta- I had this and it was interesting. I love bruschetta and I was quite keen to try this. I think I was a bit thrown by the sheep's milk feta. I still don't know what I thought about it except for the texture was strange.  
• Grain fed beef tartare w 63 degree quail egg
• Mains 
• Organic chicken breast w sautéed baby vegetables, mushroom jus & crisped pancetta- this was the main placed in front of me and when I heard it was chicken I was excited to eat it (because how can you go wrong with chicken?) I was impressed, this dish was so good I actually ate it all. 
• 18 hour braised Junee lamb shoulder w Paris mash, gremolata & lamb jus gras
• Dessert
• Mini Crème Brûlée- I tasted this because I am again a huge fan of Crème Brûlée normally. This one was extremely rich it was no wonder they were only 'mini'. I couldn't eat more than two bites because it was overwhelming (in a good way though). 
• Mini ice-cream cones- I think I actually ate about three of these. The strawberry was nice, but the plain old vanilla was the best, I enjoyed these so much

On arrival we were also presented with the options of champagne, white wine or beer. The service was friendly and it was a beautiful place. We got to have 2 free spirit tokens each (by boyfriend gave me his because he was content drinking his beer) and I bought an extra spirit amongst drinking white wine. 

We also got to go on a tour of Fort Denison in small groups not long after we arrived. We learnt bits and pieces about the history of the place and what had changed since then and now. Also we walked up what felt like a million stairs to get to the top of the lookout (because they were small steps and I was wearing high heels). The view of the harbour was amazing especially at night time. 

View of the Sydney Harbour Bridge from Fort Denison

Photo from thee top of Fort Denison with the Opera House in the background

We danced, we drank we had a good time amongst the generally older crowd of the company my boyfriend works for. I have to add in that he looks really good when he dresses up nicely :)
After the Christmas party, we and a couple of Kieran's work friends decided to continue the party in the city and go clubbing. We tossed up between the Casino and Home Bar, and ended up on Home Bar because of the lockout and I wanted to dance. If we had time and were awake still we were going to go the Casino (but it didn't happen).

Overall, it was an amazing night. I thoroughly enjoyed myself because it isn't something that you get to experience all of the time. All I could think about on the night was how expensive that Christmas party must have been and how much the company must love having a good end of year celebration. Even catching the train into the city at 4 in the afternoon didn't ruin my mood for the night.

Ready for the party, dress from Forever New

Loved dressing up and getting to go out somewhere extremely nice

Sorry for two posts in one day, I just finally had the morning off when I remembered to write a post! Thanks for reading, I'm off to workout now and until next time xx

University Life Lessons

So for those of you who don't know me or are unaware, I am currently a first year university student at the lovely Macquarie University here in Australia. I have completed my first semester and last week I have just started back for my second semester. I am studying a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Marketing and I am pretty confident in saying that I enjoy what I do. I thought I would make this blog post to share some of my first hand experience, advice, fears, things I have learnt and other random facts about university life that I have learnt from my time at uni so far. 

It's okay for one of your main goals at the start of your university life to be "I want to make friends"-

Hell this was all I wanted when I started university. I was fresh out of the worst years of my life aka high school and I had left (well the same way I had started and lived through most of high school) with basically no friends. Uni was a fresh start and a way to show myself as the new person I am (more mature and just an all round nicer, happier person) and make new friends.

But on the same note, it's totally okay not to have friends everywhere you turn and not to become friends with everyone you speak to- 

This one was a big thing for me to come to terms with. Though all I wanted was to make new friends that I could hang out with on weekends and have coffee with at uni, I have made very few of these "proper" friends. I have one amazing friend that I see all the time outside of uni and a handful that I am happy to hang out with at uni when we are there together and make good conversation. However I've learnt that it's okay not to have friends in every single class you take and know everyone around you (considering my degree is massive and there are literally thousands upon thousands of us it would be a bit odd if I did know everyone). Also not everyone you speak to is going to be a good friend to you or be suitable to be your friend. You need to get to know people and figure out if you're compatible and remember that not everyone may be as nice as you are.  

You're still going to be figuring yourself out- 

Although you may believe you've enrolled in a university course and you're a legal adult (most of us are 18 when we enter uni) that we should have our lives sorted and know who we are and know this is what we want to do. Wrong. From my experiences university is the whole process of getting to completely understand who you are as a person and figure out where you want your life to take you. Sure, the whole time isn't for figuring out what you want to study (otherwise you'd never get anywhere) but it is for figuring out what you want to do after you study and the person that you want to be!

University classes and expectations are literally nothing like what you experience at high school- 

Ahh the joys of being thrown into the unknown. And not the shallow kiddies pool (because we are not children anymore in education that we are being forced to have *sigh*) but thrown with full force in the deepest part of the Ocean with the sharks (well so to speak anyway). There is no "easing" into the subjects or hand holding when you don't know what to do. You want to know how to do something (now depending on your tutors and lecturers help may vary) you have to go out of your way and schedule time to ask questions or send emails that may not always give detailed responses. Then when you get the answer you can still have no idea what you're doing. Hands up to anyone who can relate to this? Because I know this is exactly how I have felt starting each subject even this semester. 

It's okay to fail a class-

This one hits hard. At the start of university I was so convinced I would could not fail anything because "it's a lot of money" and it's a "waste of time to do it if I fail" and that "I wouldn't get anywhere in life if I fail a class" (okay the last one is a tad dramatic, but in all honesty it is how you can feel). But let me tell you something now from personal experience, it's okay to fail a class. Life does go on. The sun will still come out everyday and you will be okay. Of course it is a horrible feeling when you get your results after studying like crazy (or not so crazy for some classes in my case- which may I point out is why I failed) and you look down the list and see that big fat F. It's not a good feeling, but you didn't take away nothing from failing that class did you? You will still have learnt course material (more than you may think) and most importantly you've learnt where you went wrong and what you have to do better next time to ensure success.

*Side note- if you fail a class twice, life will still go on and you will still be okay. You just may need to identify the areas that you go wrong and get that extra help to pass the class*

Ignoring your friends/family/relationship and only focusing on University is a horrible idea-

Well, I know many of us can be culprits to this. There's a lot that can affect us ignoring people around us that we care about (I know the main factors for me are stress and anxiety), but it's important to not get overwhelmed by the workload. Make time to have lunch with your friends and hang out with your family. Spend an hour studying and then take the rest of the night off to go see a movie with your boyfriend. You need to make time for the important people in your life just as much as you need to finish your assignments and study for that test. But I promise you, the world isn't going to end if you take a few hours off doing assignments or studying to catch up with your friends and have some social interaction. We all need that and it's one of my regrets during the first semester of uni because I felt like I had to stay home all the time instead of being social because I put myself under a lot of stress. I missed out on a lot of things and I'm happy now I can finally start making up that time with my beautiful friends that I drifted from at the start of the year. 

It is absolutely vital for you to have 'me time'-

I am a major culprit of not making any 'me time'. I was always so busy focusing on homework and assignments, spending time with my family, working and spending all of my free time with my boyfriend (I rarely saw my friends as mentioned above) that I didn't have any time to myself. And trust me, it takes a toll on you and people will notice. You are treating your mind with the education, but you need to remember to treat your body and your soul as well. Read a book, go for a walk, take a yoga class, fly a kite, jump in your car and drive somewhere you love by yourself while listening to your favourite music. Whatever it is just do something for you. You won't regret it, trust me.

Coffee will essentially save your life most days-

When you've had two hours sleep because you thought it was a good idea to go out all night when you had 2 assignments due the next day, that you then had to pull an all-nighter for (probably not the best idea)... Coffee will save you when you feel like death the next day

Buy second hand textbooks (when possible)-

Trust me on this one, you will save a small fortune. Most of the time the previous editions of the textbook for your classes will work just as well as the brand new edition and you are able to source them on the Internet or from flyers around your uni for a fraction of the price. If you're like me and doing a Commerce degree, you will know that on average a textbook costs around the $150 mark. As well as buying them second hand, once you've finished the course if you no longer need them, re-sell them to other students in need and you will have some extra cash handy to help purchase your next round of textbooks (or if you're like me it will be used for alcohol the night your exams finish to party and forget about everything you've just done).

So that is all I can think of right now that I have personally experienced or learnt. Of course there are other things I should have learnt like

1. Don't procrastinate
2. Listen to the recommended 10 hours per subject study time a week
3. Trying to park at uni and drive in peak hour traffic is the worst idea I'll ever have

well I'm sure you get the general idea. BUT I haven't managed to fully comprehend these things yet, so it would be a lie to put them as part of my advice and lessons learnt. 

Thank you for reading!