A week full of figs...

Can I just start by saying how much I love figs? They are my favourite fruit in the world. For some reason the smell and taste of them reminds me of when I was little... So after Gabbi gave me a lifetime supply of them last week, I was feeling quite spritely and youthful! But figs are not the only good things in my life lately... (probably a good thing!)

I have really loved being back at my home University campus- and why wouldn't I with all the beautiful scenery it has to offer? I have not been to this campus since the first year of my degree (since I was in the Gold Coast for my second year, and then the UK for the first semester of my third and final year) so I think I appreciate it even more. I am only there on Thursdays, but I have a huge break between my two classes, which means I get to sit outside and study in the sun! They have set up big blow-up couches to sit on, and I sat there last week learning French and typing out my notes from the previous class. I got a lot done and I actually enjoyed studying there! I hope the weather stays warm for just a few weeks longer so I can do this again!

At the moment, while I am still fairly new, I am only doing half days at my new job. I hope I get more hours soon for money reasons, but it is nice to have half the day off! Last Friday Mum and I went to the central markets (surprise, surprise).

I got a photo of the 'summer' banner a few weeks ago! Now it is my mission to get a photo of all the seasons! Just another excuse to go into the markets....

My favourite painting in the market

Mum and I are getting really good at knowing where to buy each item on our shopping lists, in terms of which stalls have the best price/quality for each particular item. But it can get really confusing and because there are so many stalls, we keep forgetting which ones we like and where they are! So I made a little map of the market and then made it all pretty and gave it to Mum for a present. Now we will get allllllll the bargains!

My little market map

Saturday morning it was time for a workout with Alex. I was pretty sore from a weights session a few days before, so I just did core work and arm strength, while Alex proceeded to kill himself with the heaviest weights I have ever seen him lift- he's getting bigger and bigger (he is in training for a fitness comp later this year). Afterwards we took his dog, Kodi, to the beach. It made me realise how much I miss having a dog! SOOOOO MUCH!

Isn't he beautiful? And I think I am his new best friend...

Boys going for a swim

I have been going for lots of early morning runs too. Every second day I go for a 20minute run and then do leg strength and weights in my backyard. On the other days I go for a one hour walk and then have swimming at night. no spending money on a gym membership for me! Plus, the mornings are usually really beautiful and being outside and seeing the sun rise puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day...

As the title of this posts suggests..I have to write something about THE FIGS!!!!

Gabi brought these to my house the other day! I was so happy. There is something really cute about figs, I think. They are so chubby and I like that they have a little point on the top of them. But that is just me being weird!

cute ;)

I made some snack bars with some of them, gave some to Soph and Hannah's Mum to make jam with and then froze the rest, because they don't keep for long. But the best thing I have done with them so far was with Gabi at her Mum's house on Saturday night. They have a big property and we went camping on it for the night! But not before we made homemade pizzas- including FIG PIZZAS!!!!!

Match made in heaven- Figs, balsamic caramelised onion and blue cheese. Yummmmm, I could eat this for the rest of my life and never get over it.

After some pizza and a few glasses of red wine, it was already dark and we had not even set up our tent yet. So with slightly tipsy heads and our torches, we made our way out into the property to set up for the night. After we did so, the wine had well and truly got to our heads and we were asleep within a few minutes! Not exactly how we had planned! But the sunset definitely was!

It wasn't the most 'realistic' camping adventure, but it was a really good night, something different, and it ticked off an item on my 'SA-to-do-list!'

The cows were pretty suspicious of the strange girls that had set up camp in their paddock for the night. They looked at us like we were crazy...

The GoPro captured this one- Gabi and I enjoying the sunset and the fresh morning air. So worth enduring the cold during the night!

After making the 'long trek' back up to the house, we had some breakfast! Gabi made me a really good coffee as well as quionoa flake porridge with goji berries, pumpkin seeds and coconut. Yummmm!

After such a good weekend, it could not have ended better than with a few drinks and cheese platters on my balcony at sunset. Nothing better than lazy drinks, yummy food and good friends to finish off the weekend with. 

10 weeks until I leave Australia again!

Yesterday marked the end of my 'week off from being motivated' and as much as I think it was needed and I enjoyed being slack- thank god that's over! I am ready to be motivated again! I think that my week off came just at the right time because for the next 10 weeks I need to be MEGA motivated... and that is because.... I AM GOING TO FRANCE ON THE 6th JUNE!!!!! I am so excited for this. I am meeting up with my French lover (haha) and we are driving to Spain! 

While I am unspeakably thrilled about this little trip, I also have a lot to sort out before then in terms of studying, saving money, working hard at my new job and trying to be as fit and healthy as possible before I leave!!!! It is a lot to focus on, but what is more motivating than three weeks in France/Spain with a very cute Frenchman? Not a lot, I'm vouching. 

So even though I had a 'week off,' I actually still went for a few walks and runs in the past few days, as well as a gym session with Alex and a Mt Lofty climb with Beth- all with France and Spain in mind!

Semaphore has been particularly beautiful on sunny days of late. Even though there has been some rain and it is getting colder now, we have still been getting some sun...

The walk from Semaphore to Largs Bay has little gym stations along the way. I have to admit I never use them, but I like them because they promote exercise... maybe I will give them a go. The view sure beats that of any other gym!

Beth and I did Lofty on Saturday morning, since we were supposed to do it the week before but it was raining. It was a nice day this time!

Crunchy gum leaves :)

The past week has not been a terrible one for my diet, but it definitely has not been the best. I didn't overeat but I didn't eat as healthy as I normally do- and I can really notice it. My skin hates it when I eat any processed food or sugar, and my tummy hates bread!!! I think that a lot of people get confused about what it is to be 'healthy.' Some say to eat low fat foods, some say to stick to a certain amount of calories, some say to exercise before breakfast, while others recommend working out at night- it is all very conflicting advice that has always driven me crazy. I think I have finally got to the point where I don't listen to everything that people tell me, and instead decide what I think works for me. Since I have stuck up a few photos of Spain at my desk to motivate me to finish my homework before June, I thought I would put up (yet another) list of things to keep me on track health-wise. 

A list of all the things that work for me (but maybe not for everybody else...)

I also want to start seriously focusing on crossing some items off of the Adelaide list I made up! I have some camping plans for this weekend and I have already ticked off one item (if you can guess what it is from the pic below!) but I will write about that in my next post.....

Soph on her way to tick off an item of my 'Adelaide to-do-list' with me!

xxx

A transgender bird, a new puppy and embracing my lack of motivation!

This week has been a strange one for me, but not an unfamiliar one. It has just been one of those weeks where I have lost almost all of my motivation to be healthy or work out... but (and I can't believe I am saying this) for the first time, I am not bothered by my missing motivation. I used to get really upset about these kinds of weeks- I think because I always put so much effort into my health and fitness that when I do have an 'off week,' I am too hard on myself about it. But this time I made a conscious decision to use this time to focus on other things. Exercise and eating healthy are usually at the very top of my priorities list, but I have to remember I have other aspirations too!

At the moment I am in the midst of starting a new term at uni, starting a new job and basically organising my life for the next year or so. I have still been walking or running most mornings and eating pretty well, but not like I usually do.

So... what is a girl to do? 

EMBRACE IT!

These times of fatigue and lack of motivation are few and far between, so I am just accepting it and using the time to focus on other things...

'Ideas'

...Like art! Well, not entirely. One of my subjects this semester is Creative Writing and as part of one of my main assignments, I have to keep a 'workbook' where I record all the ideas and considerations that I have for the story I am to produce at the end of the semester. The workbook can include anything- photos, art, recipes, poems- anything that inspires! This is awesome for me, because one of my aims at the start of this year was to get back into art and being creative- and this way I am doing that while also getting my homework done! What a good girl I am! 

Dress prints!

'Missing someone'

I really like the idea for my story assignment so far (not to mention all the drawing I have been doing to come up with it!). So far it revolves around a man who is in love with a mannequin from a clothing store that looks a lot like his late wife. I promise nothing weird or sexual will go on between the man and said mannequin! Basically it is just a story about the intense feeling of missing someone desperately.

The story is set in the 1940's...just, you know, because I can! It has been fun drawing lots of
1940's dresses and mannequin styles

I have also been getting mega creative in the kitchen- and have pretty much dubbed myself 'The Queen of Pesto.' I have been trying all different combinations to go with salads, on bread and in zucchini pasta- which I have become obsessed with, also.

The red pesto is sun dried tomatoes, cashews, basil, lemon and pepper- SERIOUSLY AMAZING. I can't even begin to explain how yummy this is! I made it for a girl's night I went to earlier this week- a special occasion to welcome a new puppy! See below!

My green pesto with green tea noodles (something I discovered from my Malaysian flatmate in Sunderland), feta, tomato and zucchini. I had this last night after a stressful day... you know those days where a big bowl of pasta in front of the TV is the only thing that will suffice? Well, that craving was indulged, and delicious it definitely was!

MEET BRUCE!
My friend Jess just got him and he is a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Such a beautiful little man... for now! He is going to be a big boy!

Beth's backyard... just about as Australian as you can get! I absolutely adore where she lives...apart from the fact that it is an hours drive from me!

On the weekend I also went to Beth's house. We were originally going to do Mt Lofty, but it was raining. Thank god, because I was feeling a little bit seedy after my first night out drinking since being back in Adelaide the night before!

Mt Lofty or not, we decided that we still deserved a home cooked brekky! Followed closely by movies and chocolate. See? I am really embracing my time off from being healthy- haha!

This is Chester. I have to write about his story, because I think it needs to be told. Chester has been a part of Beth's family for many, many years. While she was away last year, Beth's Mum said that Chester was acting strange and she thought he was sick. About a month later, all was revealed. Beth received a photo from her Mum of an egg that Chester had laid. Chester had been a girl that WHOLE time and no one ever knew. I thought it was quite sad- what a confused life Chester (or Chestina, as I now like to call her) has had! But, in saying that, I laughed my head off when I first heard the story! 

I thought I would finish with a photo of myself and Han from last weekend. It wasn't the original plan, but I did end up going to the last night of the Fringe Festival, and I am glad I did because I got to spend time with my lovely ladies again- including the beautiful Han! Even though it was hard, I am glad I spent some time away from my friends last year because it has made me appreciate them being around me more than ever. It is nice to have them close by. When my motivation goes out the window, I am glad I have other priorities, such as spending time with my lovely friends, to focus on.

xx

A rare alignment of two travellers...

STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW....! And see what happens when Rachel Darling and Gabi Winding are in Adelaide AT THE SAME TIME!!!!! It sounds like I am overreacting, but this is a rare event! Between me living in the Gold Coast and then spending eight months away on exchange and Gabi living in Malaysia, the US and who knows where else- we hardly ever get to enjoy the fact that we are actually neighbours! It turns out that while we are both residing in our beloved area of Semaphore, we have lots of adventures together! We are both big fans of outdoorsy fun and healthy packed picnics- team that with a GoPro camera and I've got something well worth blogging about! Since this rare moment in time is going to be short lived (Gabi is going to work at Sea next month) we are trying to cram in as many little adventures as possible! These pics are from last weekend when we took our bikes up to the Mount Crawford Forrest....

Even though it wasn't sunny, the sky looked crazy cool that day! It always looked like rain was about to come, but thankfully it never did and we were spared a muddy doom...

This is where we sat for our picnic! It was sooooo quiet and a little bit eerie..

GREETINGS! From the GoProGals!

It didn't feel like we were in Australia while we were exploring this place- it felt more like we
were in America or Canada..

This tree stump was just MADE for holding up our GoPro...and Gabi is clearly pleased with this.

Zucchini-pesto pasta, veggie-quinoa bites, fruit salad and green beans made a healthy little picnic.

Action shot of me shovelling food into my mouth

The GoPro may be Gabi's, but I can get creative with my camera too, ok!? My trusty iPhone camera took this one! I really should learn how to use a real camera... but at the moment it is just too far down the list of things I want to learn...

Mt Crawford forrest was a fun little adventure full of fur trees and gravelly roads. It was fun getting around on our bikes and it meant that we saw more in less time... especially after I figured out that I could change my gears... But we didn't even see nearly half of it! I really want to get back there and see some more of that strange place!