New Blog, New Adventure

Howdy blogosphere. It appears I fell off the face of the earth due to uni, work, volunteering, and lack of inspiration. However, I am back, but on a new blog platform (same name!) and with a new journey. I am about to embark on a semester of university exchange in the Czech Republic, and am documenting my adventures on a blog for my family and friends. If you are interested, please take a look! Thanks for all your support on this past little blog.

https://youllmovemountainss.wordpress.com

Yes, there is meant to be two 's' after 'mountain'. Apparently someone else already took the name!

- Reanna.

Thrift Love: Recent Finds

I truly had the intention of posting these goodies a few days ago, but time seems to be slipping away from me ridiculously quickly. It was Valentines Day, I blinked, and now it's Wednesday the next week. What? When? How?

Once all the chaos that is currently overtaking my life (good chaos, I have a crazy amount of commitments right now and I love it) I endeavour to get posting a bit more regularly. However, I am turning 21 next week, so sorry if I completely fall out of cyberspace for awhile!

Here is a few op-shop finds that have entered our household recently:

Chris scored this Snoopy comic book last week. I personally don't find the Peanuts series overly amusing, but I am a fan of comic style artwork. But this book is not for reading: I actually have crafted this up (whaaaat?) into some decorations for Chris and my 21st this coming weekend. I'll be sure to share my creation next week!

And Chris hit a goldmine again. This time with a massive copy of Grimm Fairy Tales. He admits it was an impulse buy. We don't really need this giant book, but it was too awesome not to buy.

Finally, I actually bought something. I have already raved about this baby over on instagram. But oh my gosh. This, this is true thrift love. And at $2, how could I go wrong?

Have you scored anything awesome out thrifting lately?

Reanna.

On Valentines Day & Last Minute Gifts

Valentines Day. People seem to either complain about being single (and apparently sitting alone in their underwear and eating Nutella to drown their sorrows, according to my Facebook feed), gush over each other in public with far too much enthusiasm, or simply not care. Not exactly the most successful holiday of the calendar, is it.

Personally, I have been one of the people who brush it by the wayside. Chris and I have date nights every other week, so we don't feel the need to celebrate this day with anymore than a minor acknowledgment. Plus, the next two weeks of February sees both our birthdays AND our anniversary, so we aren't really missing out on anything!

Admittedly, we did go out last night for dinner and a show (meatballs on Swan St and Nina Las Vegas Presents, to be in fact). Tonight, Chris is at work, so I have plans for dinner, the gym, and starting a new tv show. 

Dinner at the Meatball & Wine Bar // One half of Cosmos Midnight // Nina Las Vegas

However, this morning I felt inspired to whip together a little gift of sorts for Chris. I have seen similar things online before, and it has always struck me as a sweet idea. So in a matter of ten minutes I was able to put this little guy together.

What's that Reanna? You did something creative AND tried to set up a photo?

All this involved was a permanent marker, a little bottle/jar, paper, a piece of string, and some coloured popsicle sticks (left over from when I made a Hobbit themed terrarium…). The idea is that whenever we feel like going out together, we can select one of the "ideas" I have already stored in here. It could be at random, or with a bit of careful selection (some ideas being a bit more pricey than others!). So far I have popped in a few bars and cafes we have always wanted to go to, some we have already been to but have been meaning to check out again, and a few less specific adventures we have always aspired to do. I'm going to encourage Chris to add a couple of his own when he gets it! Forever the ideas man.

Simple, but considering I made this about two hours ago, I am relatively happy with it.
What do you think about the whole Valentine's Day saga? Pro or against? 

Either way, I send love to you all!

Reanna.

Lentil as Anything

If any of you lovely people have the misfortune of following my instagram feed (i.e. lots of #foodporn, photos of old buildings and my feet), you may have seen that I am having a bit of a love affair with Lentil as Anything, particularly the lovely restaurant down at the Abbotsford Convent.

In a brief summary, Lentil as Anything is a not-for-profit chain of restaurants in Melbourne with a "pay as you feel" philosophy. Food is prepared and served predominately by volunteers, is vegetarian and is as sustainable and locally sourced as possible. There is no prices on any of the meals. Rather, you come in and enjoy your food, then pay what you feel the meal was worth in one of the "magic boxes" on your way out. The aim of this is to focus on individuals, rather than money, so that those that can't afford to pay for a regular meal at a restaurant can pay as much - or as little - as they want without feeling looked down upon. 

I have been to both the Footscray and Abbotsford restaurants, which offer a communal eating atmosphere, and a self serve buffet of deliciousness. Simply grab a plate and load it up with what you will.

I am drooling looking back at this photo. Meals usually consist of curries, rice, salads, and often focus around a particular cuisine. I've had Mexican, Ethiopian (best injera ever) and Mediterranean. 

The two other restaurants I have yet to check out (emphasis on "yet" here) are in Preston and St Kilda, and offer a menu rather than buffet style affair. The philosophy behind Lentils is fantastic, and the generosity of volunteers and patrons is amazing. I am eager to see developments of this organisation in the future!

I love the chilled out atmosphere at Abbotsford restaurant, as well as the Convent itself. I could spend all day gazing at this beautiful old buildings.

Have you been to Lentil as Anything before? Or the Convent? It is such a beautiful part of the city.

Reanna.

Confessions of a Meal Planner

I always have mixed feelings about admitting that I am a meal planner to my peers. I'll be honest, I'm not really sure how many other 20-year-olds do this kind of thing. Is it dorky? Do I seem incredibly old and pedantic? But really, what does it matter. I love cooking, and I love meal planning and all the benefits it entails.

Back when I first begun here blog, I shared my weekly meal plans online. While I have currently stopped posting them, I have by no means stopped implementing them at home! Each week, usually on a Friday night - over the occasional bottle of wine - Chris and I sit down with a selection of our cookbooks and plan out meals for the week (I know, could we be any more hardcore young adults?). Chris is the ideas man, pulling recipes from everywhere, while I occasionally mumble something along the lines of "we could just do a stir fry or something…"
From my personal experience, the benefits of making a meal plan are boundless. We only go major food shopping once a week, which saves us money and time by cutting out numerous trips to the supermarket (though I'll be honest here, we always forget or run out of something during the week so we do often go back!). While we don't usually assign meals to specific days, we always decide in the morning what we are going to have, so we can know what we are doing upon returning home from the days adventures. On a sustainable level, we never have to throw out unused food because we only buy what we need. And in the year and a bit we have lived out of home, Chris and I have never bought take out - something I am incredibly happy about.

I bought Chris this blackboard for Christmas, to finally fulfil our dream of displaying our meal plan in a more aesthetically pleasing way. Plus, we are just really into decorating our little apartment.
Are you a meal planner? Do you love it as much as I do, or am I just an overly organised crazy person (some days, I really think I am!).
Reanna.

#100happydays Progress

This year is already going wayyy too fast for my liking. Can you believe it's already February? This month is already looking pretty busy for me. I'll be back to studying in less than a month, a have several volunteering opportunities on the horizon that all need several training days, and a handful of birthdays for relatives - including my own and Chris'. Oh, and Valentines Day and Chris and my three year anniversary is also meant to fit in there somewhere as well. And work. And the gym. And general day-to-day life. However, I am excited to take it all in my stride. 

Something that else that seems to be flying by is the #100happydays challenge. I am officially a quarter of the way through, and I am proud to say I haven't missed a day! I apologise to everyone who follows me on instagram for all my daily spam.

Here is a few more snapshots from the challenge:

My mum, brother and I completed an 8km fun run at Waratah Bay, I have never run that far in my life! // Breakfast photos, always // My favourite guy // I have developed a new found love for riding my bike around the city // Forever a tourist in my own city

If you are interested to find out more about the challenge, head on over to their page for a bit more information and to sign up! Sometimes I find myself at the end of the day realising I haven't even considered what I should post, but sitting down and reflecting over the days events is encouraging me to see little bits of happiness in my everyday life. Some days it is a bit more of a challenge than others, but there is always something there.
Reanna.

Musings: Self Acceptance

Something that has come up in conversation frequently in recent times between Chris and I has been the issue of self acceptance. The past year or so has been a massive leap forward for us in our lives, and has thrown so many new things at us. While numerous good things have come through, the testing times of living out of home, living together and university have also bought forward traits that we are not so fond of. Some of these we come to realise and can overcome with a bit of positive thinking, while others are traits that are simply just parts of our personality. At times, this can be challenging to accept - but hey, we can't all be perfect. It is no quick process, but I am coming to terms with realising that this is who I am, this is how I roll. Heck, it may not be elegant and fun all the time, but this is me. Talking about this with Chris - who is also going through a similar thought process - makes realisation a whole lot easier.

Studying Psychology at university has also helped me realise that this is completely normal, even if at times I feel like everything is wrong with me and self doubt is filling up my thoughts. Adolescence is a time of identity crisis and confusion, and I am coming to the end of that (I am in denial that I am turning 21 in less than a month!). Erikson's theory of Psychosocial Development defines the teenage years as a conflict of Identity and Role Confusion, with identity being something we must resolve in order to develop normally in adult life. Upon reading this and similar developmental theories, this whole 'self acceptance' deal has become a bit easier. And a bit more important.
As part of my summer goals I challenged myself to read five books. Somehow, I came up with the idea to read Eat, Pray, Love, after watching the movie a couple of years ago. I know, I am pretty far behind the times - this book and all the inspiration that comes with it has probably already come up in your newsfeed a long time ago! However, I am finding the author's approach to finding happiness, and henceforth finding herself again, is something that is echoing in my own life at the moment. And allowing myself to accept me as who I am, with all my faults and ridiculous traits, is a step in the right direction.
Another noteworthy piece of literature which I feel also applies in my current state of things is a quote from Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird:

"They are certainly entitled to think that, and they're certainly entitled to full respect for their opinions, but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself."

I don't know why I felt compelled to share this with the online world, but this has been spinning around my head a lot recently. I have read a few posts recently that have been along similar lines, so perhaps that was a bit of point in the right direction for me.
Reanna.

(Also, on a complete side note, I recently wrote an article for the fantastic UniMelb Adventures blog about my experience of moving out of home for university!)

A Cheapskate's Photo Journal

At the commencement of 2014 I was feeling refreshed, energised and inspired. I had a million ideas running through my head of things I wanted to achieve, new things to try, and places to go. While I didn't end up setting any goals, I did actually end up extracting some of these whirlwind ideas and putting them into play (a rare occurrence for me!).

One of my summer holidays goals was to take more photos of Chris and I. Considering we have been dating for nearly three years, we probably only have a handful of photos of us together, and of those less than half would actually be decent! I have also been pondering how I can better utilise all these photos I take of my day to day life on my iPhone. I've been known to always sneakily pull my phone out in every situation to take a quick snapshot (most usually of my food), but then I never do anymore with it than perhaps post it on instagram. Inspired by the mindset of simplicity that Elsie has towards scrapbooking over on A Beautiful Mess, I decided to make a photo journal of 2014 in order to utilise all these pictures.

I wanted to create something that would suit my lifestyle. I would love to have copious amounts of supplies but a) I don't have the money, b) I don't have the time to spend hours creating beautiful pages, and c) I am really, really not that creative! With this in mind, here is what I ended up picking up:

Yep. A notebook from Kikki K, a bunch of sticky notes, glue, scissors, and a pen. As for my photos, I simply print them out at the library (I do have a printer at home, but have you seen how expensive printer ink is?!).

With simplicity in mind, and about half an hour, I was able to throw together a few pages from out first week of January. Chris and I went for a random camping trip, which was a perfect way to kick of the year. 

They are no masterpieces, but I love that at the end of the year I will be able to flick back through this book and reminisce over these days. I hope I can keep this up! I aiming to print photos over roughly once a week and setting aside half an hour or so to put together the pages. Are you trying anything new this year?

Reanna.

Being Fancy: Dinner on the Colonial Tramcar

Trams have become a rather iconic part of Melbourne over the years, and even more iconic is probably the famed fleet of tramcar restaurants. I have often chanced upon one slowly crawling along the St Kilda tram lines, and fantasised about dinner upon it. However, I never investigated them anymore, feeling such an indulgence would be far too fancy for myself. This Christmas just gone, however, Chris and I were lucky enough to receive a voucher for an early dinner upon the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant. Naturally, we were far too excited - any gift involving food, wine and Melbourne is sure to please us. We booked in our dinner within a matter of weeks and eagerly leapt on board our tram,

The trams themselves are simply amazing to behold. The indoor decor was beautiful, representing past colonial times with plush cushions and brass fittings. The staff were wonderful and enthusiastic, as well as ever willing to ensure your wine glass was full. 

The early dinner included a three course meal of appetisers, a main, and dessert. All of it was delicious, though nothing incredibly spectacular. The wine, on the other hand, was fantastic. Experiencing the atmosphere of eating and enjoying each others company on these quaint trams was by far the highlight of the night. 

I wish I had captured more photos of the interior of the tram, but as you can see above the mood lighting was not helping my (poor) attempts at photography!

If you are ever in need of a gift for someone, or just a fancy date night with a bit of classic Melbournian twist, try it out! Have you been on any fancy date nights lately? I love going out for nights like this, I really feel like it's a great way to spend quality time with my quality man.
Reanna.

#100happydays

While aimlessly scrolling through my twitter feed the other day I came across the 100 Happy Days Challenge. Intrigued, I followed the link to their site, and within five minutes I was signed up.

There isn't much to the challenge, you just fill in some details, link up one of our million social networks and choose a hashtag (you can customise your own or stick with the basic #100happydays).

But what is the challenge?

The challenge is asking you take aside some time in your busy, day to day life to be happy. To appreciate little moments, to stop and smile for a moment. Every day for 100 days they ask you to submit one photo that made you happy - anything at all - onto your selected social media outlet, and link up with the hashtag. At the end of the 100 days you will be sent a little booklet featuring your photos from throughout the challenge. But that isn't even the main benefit: by taking aside a moment each day to appreciate what makes us happy in life, we can feel a bit better too.

I am only about a week into the challenge, and am sharing my photos over on my instagram feed. While the premise of the challenge is quite basic, I think I personally can take a bit out of. I often get caught up in the little things - negative things - and forget about everything else I have in my life, and how lucky I am to be where I am right now. The challenge is reminding me each day to take a moment to think about what has made me happy today. It also gives me an excuse to be a bit more of an instagram pest than usual!

Here's a few of my first few days of the challenge: 

Day 1: Picnic-ing on the Maribrynong River // Day 2: Laneways in the neighbourhood // Day 3: First day of work at the Australian Open!

Could you take the challenge?

Reanna.

Returning, ft A Cup of Tea With Me!

This holiday period has been a lot busier than I anticipated! It has, however, been wonderful, featuring several getaways, tonnes of delicious food, chill out time, and reflection. This blog hiatus has been a bit longer than I initially planned, but I think it was needed in order for me to wrap my head a bit more around the direction I am taking here.

To ease back into the blogosphere, Pip over at Meet Me At Mikes has created a little interview for her Blog with Pip students to partake in. It is far too hot in Melbourne right now to even consider tea (four days of 40+ degree heat while working at either a bakery or the Australian Open is going to destroy me!), so let's go with iced tea. That still counts, right?

1. Name, state and a bit about what you do on a daily basis 

Hi there! My name Reanna (pronounced like the singer Rhianna, but spelt without unnecessary h's), and I live in wonderful Melbourne, thought I originate from South Gippsland in regional Victoria. My daily schedule is a bit all over the place at the moment, but generally I am full time university student. 2014 marks year two of my Bachelor of Arts (Psychology and Criminology) at the University of Melbourne. Thus far, I am loving it, and love the new life I have here in Melbourne! I also work casually at a bakery (I am so sick of bread) and volunteer with St Vinnies, with hopefully more volunteering on the horizon!

2. Favourite things to do

When the weather is at an acceptable level, drink copious amounts of green tea. Since moving out of home I have developed a passion for cooking at home, with particular interest in healthy spins on meals and cooking as much as I can from scratch. I also love exercising, wandering aimlessly around the city, thrifting, beers in the sunshine, and have recently reignited a love for reading.

3. Favourite place to be

I do love my little apartment that I share with my wonderful boyfriend. We have really created a space that reflects us, and our love for quirky vintage finds (does hard rubbish count as vintage?).

4. Favourite things to eat/drink

Uhm, I don't even know where to begin! Crossways is one of my all time favourite meals when I am out in the city and feeling a bit tight in the wallet. Other than that, I do love a homemade curry, with brown rice and freshly made flatbread, tempeh burgers in fresh bread from the Victoria Market, and stir fry also never fails to deliver. As for drinks, green tea and a Corona with lemon on a hot day.

5. Favourite inspirations

A Beautiful Mess was my ultimate inspiration for following and eventually creating a blog. And the discovery of them came from frankie magazine. I am also beginning to delve in reading Rookie, having been an admirer of Tavi for quiet awhile. 

6. Something I want to know more about

My mind is exploding with concepts I would love to explore since beginning university. I want to delve into some more serious reading, with the likes of Foucault and Fanon continually appearing in my course. I have also recently sparked an interest in feminism and would love to know more about it. Knitting is something I have also recently begun (I am horrendously uncreative!) and I am eager to develop my skills in regards to that!

7. Some favourite blogs

This list is constantly morphing and growing! I love some more popular blogs such as A Beautiful Mess, Skunkboy Creatures and Meet Me At Mikes, as well as many others. Some blogs that have caught my eye recently have been Secrets and Treasures, Chit Chat Chomp, Rose and Vintage, Prudence Claire and the Laughing Medusa.

And there we have it! I am off soak in a cold bath and lie under the air conditioner in anticipation of another hot night here in Melbourne! I'll be back in action soon!

Reanna.

Getaway

Real holidays are finally here. I'm spending the Christmas period in Lakes Entrance with some family, as well as popping off to various other family gatherings for the season. It should be a busy time, but I am looking forward to it. Living out of home has given me a greater appreciation of family get togethers, and the time we do get to see together. 

So during this time I will be taking a short break from the blogosphere. During this time I also think I will spend a bit of time reflecting over where I want this blog to go. I have been feeling a bit disheartened about this venture at the moment, so I hope spending some time brainstorming and working a few things out.

I hope you all enjoy your holiday season! 

Reanna.

Christmas Nostalgia

This year I have been making a bit more of an effort to get myself into the Christmas spirit. Don't get me wrong, I still love the festive season and all it offers, but it has lost that little bit of… sparkle, I suppose? As a child Christmas was pretty much the best day of the year, potentially even topping birthdays and those days you found an ice cream truck in the middle of nowhere. The tumultuous teenage years that saw me try to work out a bit more about myself saw me change my interests multiple times, and we all had those moments of "not more clothes" (not know, clothing vouchers are always a request from me!). Growing older also saw my transition from being a sole present recipient to being a present buyer. I started working when I was fifteen, and I have been buying presents ever since. This used to be bit of a drag for me, but know I love giving gifts more than receiving them. I've also found that now that I am edging my way into adulthood, I always seem to know what I am getting for Christmas. It's still great to get the gift, but the excitement is somewhat lost when you unwrap a gift you chose yourself. My increasing awareness about the consumerist culture of Christmas can often dampen the occasion now too (I recently read this fantastic article and it really highlights this issue in Australia). Having spent my teenage years working in retail, I have witnessed many child tantrums and stressed individuals under the pressure of Christmas.

But this year I am trying to get myself back into this mood of the season. Our little Christmas tree was up on December 1st, I've spent hours trying to find perfect gifts, and planned some Christmas baking. Chris is even on the hunt for matching Christmas t-shirts for us to wear, but I'm not so convinced that I could actually wear one! I'm not going over the top, but I am trying to find the right groove for myself and Chris for the season. I would love to be able to make more gifts myself, but as of yet I don't have the time or expertise to do so!  

And it's starting to pay off. A bit more of a positive outlook and reflection, and now I am counting down the days until Christmas! 

Have you changed how you think about Christmas over the years? Is there anything you do to help get yourself in the spirit?

Reanna.

Snapshots

Mini cacao and spelt pancakes for a quick dessert // Date night in the CBD, ft. Italian beers in the sunshine at Federation Square // Only the coolest of people drink their coconut mojitos with curly straws // Picnic in the sun at Carlton Gardens with friends. It's finally starting to feel a bit like Summer // Chris and I whipped up a heap of homemade pizzas for his family when we dropped by for a visit last week // Freshly brewed chai tea at the Collingwood Children's Garden.

Considering I haven't had much work lately time feels like it is flying by. I seem to always be busy, be it Christmas shopping (I am almost finally done), cooking, visiting family and friends, or going out for evening walks. The sun is finally beginning to come out more, so I am jumping at every opportunity to spend some time outside. I don't want to get my hopes up too much about the weather just yet though!
How is your Christmas organisation going?
Reanna.

P.S. This week I am tagging along over at the Beetle Shack with Stills.

Thrift Love: Our Study Nook

My love for second-hand goodness spreads beyond clothes. Many thrifted knick knacks decorate our little apartment, and we even have various pieces of furniture scored at bargain prices too!

When Chris and I moved to Melbourne the one piece of furniture that we were lacking was a desk. Which was a bit of an issue, considering we were both about to start university and our dining table is not exactly the biggest thing in the world. We scoured op-shops for a couple of weeks, until Chris stumbled across this beauty at the Brotherhood of St Laurence in Moonee Ponds. For a mere $20 it was perfect, and it is in great condition. Somehow, we managed to shove it into my tiny car (despite doubtful comments from the op-shop cashier) and carry it up a flight of stairs into our apartment.

Everything else you see in the corner is also thrifted, except the corkboard. We have four of these amazing red chairs in our apartment. I was gifted them from my mum, who in turn had had them given second hand to her! Our stationary is stored in a vintage money box, and the Dracula (or a romantic version of Dracula, I have no idea haha) is from the Chapel Street Bazar. The gum ball machine is probably my favourite purchase ever, from the Kongwak market down in Gippsland.

Thanks for letting me share this little corner of our home! 

Do you love thrifting decorations and furniture for your house?

Reanna.

Christmas in Melbourne: Gingerbread Village

As mentioned the other day, Chris and I have always aspired to make a gingerbread house. So you can imagine our excitement when we chanced upon Melbourne's Gingerbread Village at the Town Hall last year. We were just as enthused when we found out it was on again this year, so we fought our way through hordes of children to visit (note: no children were hurt in the process).

Please excuse the quality of these photos, there was no lighting in the building to better allow for the Christmas decorations to shine!

I cannot imagine the amount of time and effort would have gone into making these masterpieces. These photos hardly do them justice. There are so many little details that grabbed your attention, made you laugh, or captured what Melbourne is like.

Luna Park was my favourite, though the MCG, the Arts Centre and the Melbourne Zoo were pretty fantastic too!

Except this. Is this even in Melbourne? (Yes, the roof is made of pasta)

Chris had to hold me back from taking a bite out of one of the lights of the MCG, everything just smelt so delicious! There were people offering gingerbread for sale outside, but I resisted. Though the gingerbread ice-cream did sound intriguing.

We have a few more Christmas outings around the city planned for the coming two weeks. Two weeks, can you believe it! Do you have any favourite Christmas activities? Or are there any around Melbourne I should check out?

Reanna.

5 Ideas for Christmas Deliciousness

Christmas is getting so close that it's starting to scare me. Christmas carols are playing at work (my boss played Mariah Carey's Christmas album on repeat for four hours. Torture), lights are popping up around the neighbourhood, and mince tarts are everywhere. And I say all this scares me due to my impending list of Christmas presents to buy. But I will succeed! 

In an effort to get into the swing of the Christmas, I thought I'd write up a couple of Christmassy themed posts! Today, I thought I'd share some great recipes for the season I have spied on some of my favourite blogs. Fingers crossed I can make some of these when I get the time!

This delicious rhubarb ice-cream fits the Christmas bill perfectly with flavour and colour. And it has the added bonus of being vegan! I've always wanted to try out a tofu based ice-cream, so this one will hopefully pop up in my freezer some time soon!

These fruit mince pies over at the Healthy Chef (one of my favourite sites to peruse for healthy alternatives) sound amazing. And this is in light of the fact that I work at a bakery that is making mince pies daily. I love the healthy twist on this favourite Christmas treat.

Chris made up a batch of infused olive oil today, adding in a bit of rosemary instead of thyme. It was fantastic with some homemade foccacia. This would be a great gift idea, as there are so many alterations and it's so incredibly easy!

Making a gingerbread house has always been on Chris and my to-do list, but we have never gotten around to it. This year we endeavour to change that, and yesterday I stumbled upon these great gingerbread recipes. With a gluten free or spelt option, this is right up my alley!

Oh it's happening.
(Or are we aiming too high here?)

Another great homemade gift idea is these Pineapple and Lime Pectin Jellies! Who doesn't love lollies, especially when they are vegan and gluten free. The lovely lady behind the recipe is even making them by the dozen and has them for sale if you don't have the time to whip up a batch yourself!

And I am sure there is much, much more out there that will fill my blog feed in the coming weeks. I'm looking forward to getting more into the Christmas spirit! If you have any favourite Christmas recipes or foodie gift ideas, I would love to hear! I hope your Christmas preparations are going well.
Reanna.

Sunshine Exists? (Williamstown Beach)

If anyone else is a Melbourne dweller, you'll know what I mean. The Spring that has just passed was one of the coldest on record, and you wouldn't even know that Summer officially began a week ago. So on the rare occasion that the sun actually shines, and a bit of heat kicks in, getting outside is the only thing on my mind.

This past weekend was one of the blessed days of sunshine. It hit the 30 degree mark, and I even had the slather on a heap of sunscreen and cover my shoulders for fear of burning (note: I am ridiculously pale. Tanning is not something that comes naturally to me). Chris, myself and another friend decided we needed to be outside, preferably at a beach somewhere with an ice cream in hand. Since moving to the city I had yet to visit a local beach, so after a bit of consideration (ie. Googling "Melbourne beaches") we settled on Williamstown.

It was a bit of a train trip from the CBD, but totally worth it.

Aside from the ridiculous amount of children running around and the odd dead giant jellyfish on the sand, it was a beautiful spot. None of us were game enough to go for a swim (honestly, none of us even bought bathers), but we had a stroll around, soaked up the warmth, and enjoyed our much sought after ice cream. I'll definitely be back.

Any other Melbournians out there as over this weather as I am? Or are you lucky enough to be in a place that doesn't experience four seasons in one day?

Reanna.