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

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 

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)

Turning 20

Oh what a crazy few days it has been. Thursday was my 20th birthday and I am officially out of my teens! I think this is bringing me a whole range of crazy emotions that I don't even really know how to put into words, but I will try nonetheless.

I've been an adult for two whole years already since I turned 18 BUT I was still a 'teenager' so I don't really know if it counted. I still felt young and like I could get away with anything. You're still referred to as a teenager and it sounds so much younger.

Lots of things become irrelevant to you once you turn 20. Silly little things like deciding when you want to be a 'kid' or an 'adult'. Belting out Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus just really doesn't have the same effect anymore, because with those sweet lyrics "I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby", yeah they just aren't true anymore...

So here I thought to end this simple post, I would leave you all with 20 things I have learnt by the time I turned 20. Who knows, my views on absolutely everything could change within another few years- but for now, here is what I know.

1. Not everyone is going to care about your birthday as you get older as much as you do- yes that means you won't receive presents from everyone anymore, sigh.
2. Quality over quantity- it really doesn't matter if you have 4 friends. If they are good friends, never let them go. It's better to have 4 fabulous friends than 40 fucking shitty acquaintances who don't care about you when you need it
3. Time heals most wounds- note, I say MOST
4. Holding grudges is NOT worth your time- who cares if that one girl did something bad to you 3 years ago, there's no point holding a grudge because you are better than that. *does not mean you have to forgive, but just move on with your damn life*
5. Criticism means you're doing something right- (unless it's constructive criticism about work/uni etc.) just ignore it. People who criticise the way you live your life should have no impact on you
6. There is beauty in everything around you, you just have to look for it 
7. Not everyone is meant to be your friend- again with the friends. There is no point trying to make everyone you meet your friend- some people are just not going to like you or even want to be your friend and that is completely okay, just acknowledge this and move on (refer to #2)
8. There is no point dwelling on the past- what's done is done. Learn from mistakes and acknowledge accomplishments and move on
9. You don't have to have your life figured out by the time you're 20- if you do, thats great! If not, who cares! We are so young we have a lifetime to figure out what we want and who we want to be. That's the point of life! To grow and discover ourselves and become who we want.
10. If you aren't loving what you're doing, change it- best time ever to make changes, in your 20's. Started a career you don't love? Change it. Discover yourself, explore, travel the world. Do whatever makes you happy. 
11. Dieting is stupid. It's all about maintaining a lifestyle
12. Making mistakes is okay
13. Materialistic things will only make you so happy- there's more to life than having the newest phone (seems basic but sometimes you need to remember this)
14. Exploring is always a good idea
15. Drinking plenty of water each day is also a good idea
16. Wearing sunscreen (and not burning to a crisp) is definitely always a good idea- no one likes premature wrinkles and rough sunburnt skin (or skin cancer)
17. Love yourself before you love someone else and you will feel so much better about yourself- I've learnt this over the years. When I was younger I barely loved myself and it was really hard to be happy and in love with someone else all the time because I never really felt complete. Once I learnt to love myself, loving someone else was so much easier and I feel whole and complete
18. Admit it when you're wrong- it helps you learn and grow
19. Don't be afraid to stand out from the crowd and be noticed- it's not always going to be a bad thing
20. Finding at least one small thing every day that you are thankful for or happy about will always remind you life is good (even on the bad days)

So there you have it. Turning 20.
Thanks for reading,
Kristelle xxx
Instagram: @krristelley

5 year anniversary

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kristelle xx

Instagram: @krristelley