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

Late Night Musings

This post only needs to be short and sweet. It's just after 12:30am, I'm getting up in about 7 hours to start my day and I need to share what's going on in my brain before I can sleep. 

1. It's been a year. It was hell but I've done it. I'm here, I survived through it all. I think I'm even happy now? The world didn't end. The sun still rises and sets. All is okay. And I am thankful to the only person I can ever rely on. You know who you are. 

2. Tomorrow is a new day. Workout, make my lunch, keep eating right and head to uni. Study, learn, make friends and succeed. That's what it's all about. 

3. There are places I haven't seen and new opportunities everyday and I need to remember to make the most of it. 

4. Remember I don't have to do my make up for uni and gym clothes are acceptable. Be comfy in the 35 degree Autumn (yeah right it's Autumn- kidding its Sydney, it's crazy all the time) weather and take my laptop charger (I will need it despite me saying I'll just turn my brightness down).

5. Not every friend is worth my time and effort and it's okay to let go and not talk to them anymore. There will be other people who are worth the effort I come accross in life. Stick to putting in the effort with those who already matter. 

6. Nothing good comes out of holding on to anger. A grudge against someone isn't worth the energy. Move on, not necessarily forgive or forget- but just let it go and move on. It's really not worth it (I'm the bigger person for it anyway). 

7. Some people are just stupid. Accept it and be smarter. 

Thanks for reading direct from my jumbled, slightly (okay maybe more than slightly) crazy brain. 

Stelle xx

Meatball Recipe

Hey everyone! So for anyone who follows my tumblr, knows me in person or watches my snapchat stories, you will have noticed that I enjoy cooking quite a lot. 

The small backstory is that every week I meal prep for my boyfriend (cooking a total of 25 meals- not 25 different meals lol) but it has given me a chance to explore my cooking skills and create new recipes as I go when he requests a meal (e.g. I want lasagne- I make up my own recipe to suit that). So with this I thought I would share recipes I create just in case anyone else out there wants to try!

Meatball Recipe

Ingredients:

- 500g lean mince

- 2 cloves garlic: crushed

- 2 eggs

- 1 medium sized onion finely diced

- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

- 1/2 teaspoon crushed chilli (or one small red chilli chopped finely)

- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

- 1 jar pasta sauce (I use the brand 'Raguletto' flavoured red wine with garlic)

The ingredients for meatballs (minus the mince because I already used it and forgot to include it in the photo!)

Method:

1. Preheat fan forced oven to 180 degrees Celsius and lightly oil a baking dish

2. Place all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl

3. Mix all ingredients together. This works the best if you use your hands because you can mix everything in together easier and break down the mince. If you don't want to use your hands I would recommend using a large wooden spoon. But my advice- hands work best!

4. Once all the ingredients are well combined, use hands to roll meatballs and place in baking dish. You want to try and roll the meatballs to roughly the size of a golf ball, squashing the mince together so it has less of a chance of falling apart (the egg is the best ingredient that will keep the mince 'sticky' so it will stick together easier).

Meatballs at step 4 after being rolled and placed in the tray

5. Cover the meatballs completely with the sauce of your choosing 

6. Cook in oven for about 40-50 minutes

To serve I like to use mashed potatoes and sprinkle fresh parsley and a tad of parmesan cheese on top. However they also go well with penne pasta.

Final product! They smell really good and will serve about 4 

There is my recipe! I really like making these posts so I will continue to share them along with my regular posts.

Thanks for reading,

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

O WEEK

So my favourite part of the Uni year has officially finished! And that ladies and gentlemen, is O WEEK! For those of you who don't know what ' O week' is, it stands for Orientation week and is basically just a week where you attend lectures only (unless you're unlucky and a tutorial is running), sign up for clubs at uni, attend back to uni parties sand get to collect a lot of free stuff #heaven.

It was a good week for me. I went to classes, discovered I have some awesome new lecturers (one of them acted out the opening scene from How to Get Away With Murder- I think he is my favourite simply because of that), ate free food, collected freebies and signed up to a few random clubs. I also went to the official welcome back to uni party called "Summer Haze" and it was alright (apart from the fact I stood in line for an hour and had been at uni for the last 9 AND was starving).

I'm looking forward to this uni semester (ask me again in 2 weeks and I'll probably be eating my words) but I enjoy meeting new people and having new experiences and learning new things which is exactly what I plan to be doing this semester. 

I have lots to blog about and lots of things to share so I will update regularly and keep everyone posted! (because I know there are lots of people who read this and possibly some who even care what  I have to say haha).

Thanks for reading,

Stelle xx

Minion Cupcakes

So today I spent a few hours baking. Fun fact about me- I love to bake and cook! I find it relaxes me and well you do end up with some pretty good tasting food at the end!

I thought I would share my minion cupcake recipe with you all in case any of you wanted to try it out! *I made this recipe myself, I usually would throw a bunch of ingredients together until I got something that worked, and this is what I have figured out works*

Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

4 eggs

2 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1 teaspoon vanilla essence 

1 cup caster sugar

200g butter (soft)

chocolate chips

Decoration:

white mini marshmallows

500g box white fondant

yellow food colouring

chocolate chips

sugar/water paste (2 parts sugar, 1 part hot water)

black icing pen

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to about 180 degrees Celsius & line a tray with muffin papers

2. Combine butter, vanilla essence & sugar in a bowl. Mix with electric mixer until combined

3. Add eggs one at a time and then continue to mix

4. Add half the flour and half the milk and continue mixing. Then add the rest of the flour and milk and mix until a smooth consistency and all ingredients are combined. (The mixture should be thick, not runny). I add the chocolate chips here once it is all mixed together

Mixture combined (before adding chocolate chips)

 5. Bake for about 20 minutes or until cooked through (I usually check with a skewer in the middle cupcake on the tray to see if they are cooked the whole way through aka. the skewer comes out clean with no mixture on it. If it comes out with mixture, they cook for another 5 mins and then they should be ready)

Cooked cupcakes (if the surface is too uneven, cut the top off to flatten it)

6. Let the cupcakes cool down completely before decorating

7. Once cool, you will need to knead the fondant until it is smooth. You then add a few drops of yellow food colouring (to however dark/light you would like the yellow to be) and knead the colour through the fondant

8. Then you will roll out the fondant with a rolling pin and cut the appropriate size circle out to cover the top of the cupcakes (I used a glass that was roughly the same size as the cupcakes to cut my circles out)

9. Cover each cupcake with a thin layer of yellow fondant. I like to try and use the back of a spoon to smooth it over and get rid of finger bumps if I can

Fondant covered cupcakes (before being smoothed over with a spoon)

10. Make the sugar/water paste by mixing 2 parts sugar and 1 part hot water. This will act as your glue for the marshmallows and chic chips. 

11. "Glue" marshmallows for eyes, chocolate chips for eyeballs and then draw on a black line for the minion goggles and a mouth. 

12. You now have mini minion cupcakes!

My final product! They were a bit rushed so not perfect, but they taste amazing

There's my recipe and tips everyone! If I were to make these again I probably would have used regular sized marshmallows simply because I like bigger eyes. The cupcake recipe itself tastes amazing and the decoration is just for something fun. I made these for my boyfriends birthday (which  is tomorrow and he is 19 lol) so I hope he likes them!

Thanks for reading, 

Stelle xx

Kiama

I was so happy to get away. Get away to my (second) favourite place. Not quite home, but home enough that I didn't want to leave. 

A week ago I went on a 'get away from life and life's drama' trip down the South Coast to Kiama. I sipped alcohol, I floated in the pool, I explored the towns along the Coast. I took photos (lots and lots of photos). I got lost so many times and I watched my boyfriend get his nose pierced. I ate lots of food and watched the clouds float through the air. I cooked, I cleaned, I camped. I sang. I danced. I laughed and I cried. I kissed and loved and I felt loved. It was a weekend where I felt at ease. 

I'm not much of a writer and I don't know if anyone out there even enjoys reading my blog but I just want to let you all know that I enjoy writing these feelings and capturing these memories. My life isn't perfect but it's an adventure.

Loving on him from the lookout near Gerringong. Most beautiful sight (and a lovely bush/beach background too)

Again, I love this

Our typical selves. Not much else to say

Shoalhaven Heads. I love this picture I took of him

Kiama Lighthouse at night

The trip with my favourite person was great. Our padlock near the Blow Hole was still intact (if still very rusty). We ate ice-cream and snuggled up under trees in the park. Ate lunch in the RSL surrounded by old people where he told me "this will be us one day Stelle".

Thanks for reading everyone, not much to read but a single picture does tell a thousand words.

Stelle xx