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.