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!)

#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.

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.

That Time I Ran and Didn't Give Up

I finally did it!

I ran five god-damn kilometres!

I know it's no great feat by any means, but for me - who could hardly run a kilometre at the start of the year - it felt like such an achievement. It has been something I have wanted to do for so long, but I never thought I could. I guess it was that whole "mind over matter" deal, and I feel fantastic for finally having conquered that.

Now the only way is up! I have plans to attempt an 8km fun run in January back down in Gippsland with my dad, so that will be my next milestone.

Achieved any goals lately? It's such a fantastic feeling. I used to think goal setting was a bit lame, as a lot of that positive-psychology can be. However, that little feeling of success you get every time you tick an item off a list, reward yourself with that glass of bubbles, or see that little counter tick to 5km (even if you feel like you are half way into cardiac arrest) is totally worth it.

Reanna.

Gluten Free Experimenting

My gluten/wheat free experiment has been slightly more successful these past few days! While I'm not being 100% pedantic, I still feel like I have managed to successfully cut down the amount of wheat I am consuming. And I think I am starting to feel slightly better from it! But it's still too early to tell for sure.

Here's some of my recent gluten free discoveries:

As I mentioned the other day, Chris and I purchased some authentic corn tortillas from a local restaurant. We served them up that night with pork fajitas and fresh salads. They were absolutely delicious, and we have a stack more stored in the freezer! 

Chris commented the other day that we have a heap of polenta buried in the pantry. Polenta is something I have pretty much never cooked with. How? What do I do? After a bit of hesitation I tried out this polenta cake recipe. It was incredibly simple, though could easily do with some tinkering to add a bit more flavour though. I quite enjoyed the taste of the polenta though, so I'd love to hear any recipes or recommendations you guys have for cooking with polenta!

I was slightly amazed when cooking with it, that stuff expanded like crazy when I put it in the boiling liquid! 

I'm really enjoying the challenge this experiment is posing to me, having to think about altering most meals that I cook. Do you have any gluten free recipes you love?

Reanna.

The Gluten Free Experiment

On the weekend Chris and I visited my Mum's side of the family for my baby half brothers second birthday (yes, he it the cutest thing ever). I was having a chat to my Mum after she served up gluten free rolls for herself and one of my aunts - who is gluten and lactose intolerant - as well as a gluten and lactose free cake. Which was amazing.

But forget the cake. I was talking to my Mum about her decision to cut out gluten from her diet. I'm not sure how strict she is about it, but she says she feels so much better when she does. This got me thinking about whether it's something that I should consider. I often feel tired, lethargic and bloated, even though I eat healthy (for the most part), get plenty of sleep and exercise daily. Perhaps this might help? I have considered cutting gluten out of my diet before, but always decided against it due to the effort involved. Chris must have been thinking along the same lines, as he was the one who put it to words. So we are giving it a try!

This is not said cake, however it is another gluten free concoction delivered by my Dad earlier this year. Yep, my Dad can cook! I'm a bit excited - and scared - to delve into the world of gluten free cooking!

Yesterday was the beginning. We aren't going to be ultra strict about cutting gluten 100% out of our diet, but rather focus on reducing the amount of gluten we do consume. For instance, we are still having oats for our breakfast, even though contain traces of gluten, they are only in minimal amounts (or so I have read. Correct me if I am wrong!). 

Last night we had lentil burgers for dinner, so I decided I'd try my hand at making some gluten free rolls to go with them! I have no idea about gluten free flours, so after spending a good 10 minutes staring hopelessly at the gluten free section of the supermarket I opted for a basic homebrand gluten free flour. I made rolls using a basic white roll recipe, and they turned out... okay. They didn't rise very much, and were a bit dry and dense. But I have gathered this to be a bit of a norm for gluten free baking. Any tips?

So fingers crossed we can stick to it and start to see some results! Any advice on the gluten free front would be fantastic - flours? Simple recipes? What's cheap (with car rego and christmas on the horizon, money isn't flowing haha)?

Reanna.

Life Lately

Chai tea, Criminology readings for uni, and bed // Spring = fresh flowers around the house! // Asian lunch date while exploring Footscray the other day. Chris was in the midst of chewing when I snapped this, so I cropped his face out! // Whipping up some homemade nibblies // Chris is attempting to make kimchi! Fingers crossed it works.

Life seems so busy this semester, I can hardly keep track of time! Today was my last day of class at uni before finally getting a week off. Well overdue! 

I've been dreaming up recipes to try out and blog, but none have come into fruition. I will endeavour to try some over my week off! I tried to make a vegan jelly slice - completely of my own creation - so disaster ensued. It was edible, but a complete failure otherwise. I guess that what you get when you try make your own recipe from scratch. I will try again though!

Tonight I am heading out for dinner with a couple of friends to celebrate making it to the semester break, then I'm off back to Gippsland to visit the family for the weekend. So no meal plan this weekend, keep an eye out for it on Monday though!

How are things in your neck of the woods? Had any kitchen disasters lately?

Reanna.

Taking Stock (ft. Hippos)

This week, I am taking stock of life, courtesy of Pip at Meet Me At Mikes!

Making: plans.

Cooking: delicious lamb curry for a dinner party with friends tonight!

Drinking: copious amounts of tea. 

Reading: "An Introduction to Personality and Intelligence".

Wanting: this last week of uni to fly by. 

Looking: to the future. I'm planning on going on exchange through uni next year!

Playing: Triple J. 

Wasting: time not studying. 

Fixing: my balcony. We have grand plans to have it functional for summer!

Deciding: where I want to go. 

Wishing: the sun would come out more. 

Enjoying: planning the future. 

Waiting: for the future to come. 

Liking: being back at the gym. 

Wondering: if I'll ever get this History assignment done. 

Loving: that I just got offered a job to work at the Australian Open of the summer holidays!! 

Pondering: trying to make a vegan and sugar-free jelly slice. 

Considering: getting more tattoos, but I can't justify spending the money. 

Watching: I just finished watching Skins: the Final Series. I have mixed feelings about it. 

Hoping: that I do okay at uni this semester. 

Marvelling: at spring time. 

Needing: motivation. 

Smelling: my perfume. 

Wearing: a collared singlet top - it's warm enough to go without a jumper today!

Following: some fabulous blogs. 

Noticing: how lucky I am. 

Knowing: that everything is always okay in the end. 

Thinking: I should be reading for my Criminology presentation next week. 

Feeling: content. 

Admiring: creative people.

Buying: food for the week ahead. 

Getting: where I want to be. 

Bookmarking: places to travel next year. 

Opening: a new chapter. 

Giggling: at silly jokes with my love. 

And to top that off, here is one of only pictures I snapped at the Werribee Zoo yesterday (I had a "girls day out" with my Mum, little sister and young cousins).

Yes, that is a hippo pretty much sitting on another hippo. I am so immature sometimes. Enjoy!
I haven't had much time in the kitchen lately, I've been slightly buried under uni work (yet here I am blogging!). But I have a few posts planned, and some recipes I want to try out. So there will be some more foody action happening around here soon!

What's been happening this week in your neighbourhood? Are you taking stock with Pip?
Reanna.

Sunday

It feels like Spring again today.

Chris finally has a new part-time job, so he now has Sundays at home. To celebrate, we had a leisurely stroll down to the Flemington Racecourse Market this morning. I picked flowers on the way home, and we discovered an awesome, old metal chest amongst the hard rubbish down our street. I have plans to turn it into a little herb garden on our balcony - I'll keep you posted. And now it's time to study, after demolishing homemade grilled vegetable pizza for lunch.

How's your Sunday going?

Reanna.

Rise & Shine (& Eat!)

If any of you have seen my instagram feed, you will probably have noticed that I post a lot of pictures of my food. In particular, breakfast.

I'm not quite sure when this became my favourite meal of the day, but according to my Mum I have always been one to get up and eat straight away. Usually due to having been sent to bed early the previous night after refusing to eat half my dinner. Oh, the days of being a fussy child. I must have been horrible.

I used to be happy to just have cereal or occasionally toast (lathered in peanut butter). But as I've become older and actually starting caring about what enters my body, my breakfasting habits have changed. During our first year or so of dating, Chris and I began to experiment with lots of different types of breakfast on our lazy - often hungover - Sunday mornings. One of my favourite discoveries was bircher muesli. So simple, yet so delicious. Since we moved out of home at the end of last year, this - or a slightly modified version of it - has become our everyday staple. And I never get sick of it. 

Just a handful of oats, a sprinkle of dried fruit (usually sultanas) and topped off with milk. We cover this and keep it in the fridge over night, before chopping up a combination of fresh fruit to pop on top, along with yogurt (we make our own with the Easiyo system) and whatever other toppings we have lying around (nuts, LSA, shredded coconut, seeds). I am far too excited about this warmer weather and stone fruit coming back into season. I've missed peaches and nectarines!

(As you may also notice, our bowls have changed. I somehow managed to break all four bowls, at once. Skillz.)

Occasionally we splash out and make pancakes, usually made from wholemeal flour, but we have tried different varieties of spelt and millet over time! Banana bread is another back up, usually when our fruit bowl and fridge are getting empty at the end of the week.

So there you have it, my morning breakfast ritual. Sorry, I get a bit excited about it. There's nothing I look forward to more than a big, delicious breakfast, and a giant (and I mean giant, our mugs are huge) cup of green tea. 

What's your favourite breakfast? Our perhaps your other favourite meal of the day?

Reanna.

The Liebster Award

So, I have been nominated for a Liebster Award by the wonderful Laura of the Tiniest Happily Ever After! I've seen this award around a few times, but never dreamed of getting it! It's such a great feeling to know that people are stopping by my blog for a look, and this award is a fantastic way to get to know some of my fellow bloggers!

The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. So, what is a Liebster? The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

The rules of this award are:

1. Link back to those who nominate you

2. Answer the 10 questions the nominator has for you

3. Nominate 5-11 bloggers with less than 200 followers

4. Create 10 questions for your nominees

5. Be sure to notify your nominees

So here goes with Laura's questions!

1) What is your guilty pleasure?

Watching mindless cartoons. I'm not much of a tv watcher, but some mornings all I want is to ignore all the housework, study and exercise I should probably be doing and watch an hour of mindless television. I've recently discovered Adventure Time, and it's pretty fantastic.

2) If your house was on fire what three things would you save?

If I took this the serious way, I would take my wallet, my phone and my laptop. But on a more sentimental angle, I would go for my great, great grandmothers beautiful autograph book, the photo of my parents and I from my year 12 formal, and the bracelet Chris gave me for our first Christmas.

3) Growing up, who was your celebrity crush?

Oh god. Can we skip this question? Uhm, I think I had a bit of a thing for Legolas in Lord of the Rings (actually, I still love Orlando Bloom). And I am ashamed to admit I did like Robert Pattinson when the first Twilight movie came out. Then I got over the series and haven't seen any of the movies since the second!

4) What is your favourite item of clothing you own?

My Rage Against the Machine t-shirt. I bought it years ago from Retro Star in Melbourne, during my angsty teen years. I usually just wear it around home these days, but I still love it.

5) If you could change your name, what would you change it to?

Considering how irritated I get that my name is ALWAYS spelt wrong (be gone with your "h's" and "i's"!), I have never actually considered this. I have no idea.

6) What is your "signature" dish?

We cook different stuff all the time around here, and we usually follow recipes, so I don't really have a signature dish! If I had to say one, probably burritos/tacos. Be it prawn, beef, or vegetables, you can't really go wrong with them. And I've started making to tortillas from scratch too!

7) What has surprised you the most about keeping a blog?

I am surprised I've kept it up! I was dreading that I would give up after a month. But surprisingly I am really enjoying keeping it - it's a welcome reprise from uni work! And I love reading all the other blogs I follow, and feeling constantly inspired and motivated by them all. It's fantastic.

8) Have you ever broken a bone? If so, how?

Nope, never! The only hospital experience I've ever had was getting my damn wisdom teeth removed.

9) Who would play you in the movie of your life?

I really want to say Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter), Lily Loveless (Naomi Campbell in Skins 3 & 4) or someone awesome like that. But I honestly have no idea who is suited for me!

10) If you could have a magical power, what would it be?

I should have this done easy, seeing as I spent my whole childhood with my heads in fantasy books and playing games where I was an awesome witch/fairy/magician/what-have-you. The ability to transfigure objects or summon things out of thin air would be pretty sweet. 

Phew, I survived!

Here's my nominees:

(sorry if anyone has over 200 followers, sometime I couldn't see how many you had so I based it off bloglovin'!)

Chit Chat Chomp

Kendra Genevieve Rose

prudenceclaire

dabbling all day

secrets n treasures

And your 10 questions are:

1) If you could live off one type food, what would it be?

2) What song best described your day today?

3) Growing up, what was that one dish your parents always served up?
4) Why did you start blogging?
5) Favourite piece of jewellery?
6) What was your least favourite subject at school?
7) What's something you have learnt since starting your blog?
8) Coffee or tea?
9) What's something quirky about yourself?
10) You're at Hogwarts, what house do you get sorted into? (If your not a Harry Potter fan, what's your favourite colour!)

There's no obligation to take part in this, but it's a great way to get to know who is out there reading your blog. Thanks again for nominating me Laura!
Reanna.

I'm Blogging With Pip!

I've been following Pip on her blog Meet Me At Mikes for awhile now, since I have entered the blogging world. Turns out I've been a fan of hers even before this, I didn't realise she wrote for Frankie magazine (I should renew my subscription for that one day). Yesterday, she posted on her blog that she has released her on e-course - Blog With Pip! I've been wanting to expand my blogging knowledge for awhile, cos let's face it, I still have a lot to learn! So, after pondering it over night, I've signed myself up for this course!

And I am so excited! Conveniently, this also coincides with one of my semester goals - which was to find something to do over the summer break. This course starts just as I wrap up with my exams, perfect!

I can't wait to start and meet new people, learn some great skills, and expand on this newfound hobby of mine!

Have you signed up for this course, or something similar? I'd love to hear if anyone else is joining in!

Reanna.

Those Plans That Never Happen

It always seems to happen to me. I have all these intentions and plans, but they never come into fruition. But in an effort to improve my overall happiness and positivity, it's probably about time I get myself into gear and just do these things. Motivation, come at me!

Decorate our apartment:

We only have a miniscule one bedroom apartment, yet it seems so empty! Chris and I had grand plans for covering the walls with posters and artwork (we have actually bought quite a few pieces). But due to being in a rental, and the fact the walls are brick, this hasn't happened yet. 

Aren't these just the cutest prints ever? Beer and food are also two of my favourite loves in life. I should probably consider putting up all the frames shoved under our be before I buy more!

Read more:

After reading this post by one of my talented friends the other day, I am eager to re-ignite my passion for reading. As a child I spend every waking minute with my nose buried in a book (normally fantasy, I loved my dragons!). However, it has been fairly on and off relationship in the past year or so, due to work and uni commitments. But I am trying to get more motivated! Instead of mindlessly watching tv for an hour or so before bed, I'm pulling out a book. I recently read the Millenium Trilogy and loved it. I would highly recommend these to anyone! At the moment I'm trying my hand at an old classic, Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. It hasn't grabbed my interest too much yet, but I am persisting.

Run a decent distance:

Just prior to moving out of home late last year, I began training myself to run off a treadmill. And my god it was hard. While my fitness and running ability has significantly improved, I still don't run very far or very fast. I'd love to be able to train myself up for a fun run, but I never seem to have enough positivity to stick at it! I'm thinking of trying to do this years Colour Run. It's only five kilometres, but I would be thrilled if I could do that. 

I'm joining up at the gym again (wayyy too excited!), so I can no longer use rain as an excuse to avoid running!

So there we have it. It's been somewhat enjoyable reflecting on these, as I often just quickly let them cross my mind. I know it will be a great sense of achievement to see some of these plans play out. Time to get motivated!

...tomorrow morning anyway haha. 

Do you have any plans that always seem to fall on the back burner? What motivates you?

Reanna.