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

What's in my Suitcase: Bali Trip

What’s in my suitcase: Bali trip

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

27^th December, 2015

Flight to Bali: 10am

Landing in Bali: 1:30pm

Flight: 6 hours and 45 minutes

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

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

Carry on bag:

·      Travel diary:

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

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

o   Money $$$

o   Headphones

o   Lip balm

o   Any medications

·      Laptop w/ charger

·      Camera w/ charger

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

o   BB cream (and brush)

o   Concealer

o   Mascara

o   Powder (and brush)

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

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

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

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

·      Enough underwear and bras

·      1x dress

·      4x tops

·      1x denim shorts

·      2x cotton shorts

·      2x gym outfits

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

·      1x set of pajamas

·      1x cap and 1 floppy brimmed hat

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

·      4x pairs of socks

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

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

o   Shampoo and conditioner

o   Sunscreen

o   Toothbrush + toothpaste

o   Razor and shaving gel

o   Deodorant

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

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

Instagram: @krristelley

Snapchat: @krristelley

Thanks for reading until next post,

Kristelle xxx

Merry Christmas 2015

Just want to start off with wishing all my lovely readers out there a Merry Christmas! I hope everyone had a beautiful day however you spent it.

For me, Christmas is all about the enjoying the good food, good company and having a few (or more) drinks. This year I spent Christmas with my family and my boyfriend.

I was a little chef and helped my mum prepare a heap of the dishes as this year was our year to host. We had way too much food, but then again I guess that’s how it is supposed to be.

We had a beautiful lunch including salads, ham, pork, turkey, chicken and baked veggies.

This year our regular old Kris Kringle was changed around a bit and it only involved the kids. I dressed up as Santa (but shh if anyone asks Santa wasn’t me and I was just going to the bathroom the whole time) and gave all the kids presents out. I really don’t know who had more fun with this- me or the kids who didn’t know it was me under the fake beard and Santa suit.

Dessert came after presents and I always say this is my favourite part of the day- but let’s be real, everything I’m writing about I will always say “this is my favourite part” (I think I secretly just love Christmas). We had a beautiful selection of fresh fruits, cheesecake, trifle and pastries. I was in heaven (literally). To me Christmas is the one day a year that you can eat like crazy without feeling a single shred of guilt or shame (that’s what New Year’s resolutions are for).

The night ended with some cheese platters and alcoholic drinks whilst we sat around watching my youngest cousin dance to some house music (my boyfriend was a good dance teacher- or was it the other way around?). After the family all went home, the usual group of us watched American Pie and played the Christmas Drinking Game (place a Santa hat in the corner of the screen and every time someone ‘wears it’ you have to take a drink.

I’ll end this blog post with a couple of photos from the day. All up I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas (or just a wonderful day in case you don’t celebrate).

And a special shout out to all retail/hospitality/food industry workers that had to put in a lot of time and effort, blood, sweat and tears in the month leading up to Christmas that allowed everyone to have such wonderful days. You guys (and gals) are the real MVP’s.

Follow my Bali adventure (which I leave for on the 27^th of December) on my Instagram and snapchat accounts:

Instagram: @krristelley

Snapchat: @krristelley

Thanks for reading and until my next post,

Kristelle xx

(side note: I am posting these in Bali and my wifi connection isn't strong enough at the moment to be sending myself pictures to my laptop so I will edit those in later)

Summer Bucket List 2016

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

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

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

Summer Vibes

Every time it crosses my mind to jump onto my laptop and make a blog post, I sound like a broken record. Starting everything off the same with "well, it's been a while since I made a post...". You all can't see me, but I am shaking my head and rolling my eyes at myself thinking "wow, aren't I clever? What a good way to start the post. Yep I will actually blog more often now".

Truthfully, I know I probably won't. As much as I love to write here and share my thoughts, feelings, views and opinions on life (well pretty much anything), I figure I just don't have that much going on that I know would even be remotely interesting to some people. 

Instead I'm just going to tell everyone what I am excited for this Summer and what I am thankful for right now. 

Bali holiday- 

Less than 6 weeks. First overseas holiday without my fam and first overseas holiday in almost 10 years. Pretty keen to say the least

Finishing uni sem- 

Should be first, but oh well. Done on Friday (not looking forward to the release of marks though. I've gotten lazy. Stopped trying as hard. I am disappointed in myself, but I still have another 3(?) semesters to try and make myself proud again

The mountain of books I have to read-

I recently went on a crazy shopping spree, to buy books of course. Titles I have planned to read this Summer include some new editions and some old favourites. I'll share my list and I want to write something about each book once I've read it. No promises though. Who knows if I'll even make it through half this list, but I'll try. 

1. The Truth About Forever- Sarah Dessen (oldie)
2. An Abundance of Katherines- John Green (oldie, wasn't a fan but I will give it another chance)
3. Dracula- Bram Stoker (oldie but honestly never finished the thing)
4. The Lovely Bones- Alice Sebold (oldie, needs another read)
5. Looking For Alaska- John Green (oldie, probably one of my favourite books of all time)
6. Paradise- Simone Elkeles (oldie and newbie- 2 books part of a series, read the first and haven't read the second)
7. The Marriage Plot- Jeffrey Eugenides (newbie)
8. Perfect Chemistry- Simone Elkeles (newbie)
9. The Opposite of Loneliness- Marina Keegan (newbie)
10. The Bell Jar- Sylvia Plath (newbie, always wanted to read this, not sure why though)
11. The Beginning of Everything- Robyn Scheneider (newbie)
12. The Virgin Suicides- Jeffery Eugenides (newbie)
13. The Power of Now- Eckhart Tolle (newbie)
14. The Pact- Jodie Picoult (oldie)
15. The Catcher in the Rye- J.D Salinger (oldie)

Beach days-

My ultimate favourite thing about Summer. The beach is my home and I am looking forward to being out there as much as I possibly can (wearing my SPF50+ sunscreen of course because I would like to avoid that sun damage if I can)

Creating my bucket list-

Last year was ridiculous, I barely got anything done on my bucket list, but hey let's try again. I'll have this post up by the end of November

That's honestly all I have in my mind right now of what I have to be excited for.

I am thankful that I am happy and healthy. 

I am thankful that I have beautiful friends whom I get to share my happiness with.

I am thankful for my family and all they do for me.

I am thankful for the amazing soul I get to call my boyfriend and whom I get to share all of life's crazy adventures with. 

I am thankful that I get to wake up each day knowing that I have a bright future and it is whatever I make of it. 

I am thankful that I have opportunities and they are endless. 

Lastly, I am thankful that in this crazy, messed up world I am finally figuring out who I am, what I want and how to get it. 

Cheesy as this is, let's end with a very spiritual quote, "Life's a climb, but the view is great". Pretty much sums up my take on life. 

Thanks for reading, next post real soon (I actually promise this- I'm probably writing it write now and saving for later).

Kristelle xxx