LIFE UPDATE!

Rachael walking Louie along the lake across from our air BnB - right before we left!

HI
Okay, so I got back from Paynesville just under a week ago - twas fun but I am glad to be back!
I didn't take many photos there because I didn't bring my DSLR, but I do have a few on my phone (and there are a few on my 'Phhhoto' account: @fishbowl).
We came back on Sunday after a short trip that included lots of dog walking, cave exploring, winery visits and me practically binge reading The Maze Runner series.

My week since our return has been very busy up until now. The day I got back, I began obsessively watching the new 'Shadowhunters' TV show on Freeform!! I've seen the first episode probably four or five times now?

In a few sentences, my past week has included:

Monday: my friend Madison came over and we basically just made soup and watched Shadowhunters.
Tuesday: I hung out with two other friends, again watching Shadowhunters, and making vegan + gluten free Anzac biscuits.
Wednesday: I had a sleepover with my friend Izzy and we played Animal Crossing and made rice paper rolls for dinner.
Thursday: I went op shopping with Madison, hoping to find some 90s style clothes.
Friday: I went to another friend's house to play Animal Crossing and plan our joint birthday party, although we didn't end up having much to plan.

(I actually sound like a little kid with all this Animal Crossing... I swear I'll be a legal adult in 7 days.)

The clothes I bought whilst op-shopping included a velvet-looking black hoodie, a black cardigan and an oversized navy blue t-shirt with embroidery on the front.

I just thought I'd show the shirt (the cardigan and hoodie don't need much imagination to picture haha)

I've been a little bit stressed lately because I found out what university I'll be going to, and struggling with the decision to defer or not... so if anyone else is going through/has gone through the same thing, let me know what you did! Although at this point in time, I'm leaning towards a deferral - I don't feel ready for school again, ew.

I've also been feeling really jealous in some of my friendships recently, which isn't that unusual, except for the fact that it's sticking for longer than a minute or two this time. I don't really know the best way to go about this and it's hard to let go of these sorts of feelings but I think the best thing to do is take a step back and let yourself realise that you're not co-dependent on this person, you have a life outside of them and just reacquaint yourself with yourself! Maybe even spend a day with other friends.
I'm just writing this incase anyone reading it can relate, because it's a pretty frustrating feeling that I don't think we have all that much control over.

Anyway, sorry if this post was all over the place, just wanted to update everything! Leave a comment and I'll be happy to talk to you! :) x

25 FACTS ABOUT ME

AH It's been a while! I'm in a bit of a rush, as I'm leaving for Paynesville in two and a half hours and I have yet to pack - but I wanted to post something before I leave.
I usually love reading other people's tags and facts about them, but I'm not sure if I want them to be a huge part of this blog - I have other things to discuss (aka favourite movies and good books hahah)
Anyway, without further ado, here are 25 random facts about me!

1. My middle name is Molly
2. I have two older brothers
3. I don't eat any animal products!
4. I love reading - my favourite book is City of Bones
5. My three favourite movies are Lords of Dogtown, Palo Alto and Brokeback Mountain
6. I am very introverted - I like spending time alone
7. I love organisation and stationary, but in reality I'm not very organised
8. I feel weird wearing big brand names like Nike
9. I haaaate conflict
10. I frequently stress about whether I'm wasting my life
11. My hair is naturally light blonde and I love it
12. I have a jack russell terrier, her name is Kelly 
13. 13 is my favourite number
14. Wrapping presents is my favourite thing about Christmas
15. I liked school until year 10 and after that I hated it
16. I was born on the 30th of January
17. I am very good at under-packing!!
18. My favourite season is Autumn
19. I have very weak nails :(
20. I had braces for two years (from about 12 - 14)
21. I am so socially awkward it hurts
22. I have absolutely no idea what I want to do with my life
23. My favourite holiday is Halloween
24. I have never been in a relationship
25. I feel like the more makeup I put on, the weirder I look

And now I'll leave you with this adorable photo of Kelly - aren't her eyes so pretty? Comment a random fact about yourself or something we have in common!! Byee :))

VEGAN PASSIONFRUIT SPONGE CAKE

Okay, so this isn't exactly a sponge cake because it isn't based solely on flour, sugar and eggs but it tastes like one and is honestly the easiest cake to make. It's a very reliable recipe for me, and it's pretty much impossible to mess up! You can also tweak it a little bit to turn it into an entirely different recipe (exchange 1/3 of a cup of flour for cocoa powder and reduce the vanilla essence by 3tsp and you have chocolate cake!)

What you'll need:

• 2 cups of plain flour
• 1 + 1/4 cups of caster sugar
• 1tsp of bicarb soda
• 1/2tsp of salt
• 1 cup of warm water
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil (or another oil, doesn't matter too much)
• 2tsp of apple cider vinegar/white vinegar
• 4tsp of vanilla essence
• 180g of icing cugar
• 20g of vegan butter (optional/I use Nuttelex)
• 1 + 1/2 tbsp of passionfruit pulp (you can buy this in a tin)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit) and prepare a 20cm round baking tin. (I didn't prepare a tin or use one to these specifications and you will find out why in a moment)
2. In a large mixing bowl, use a fork to mix together the dry ingredients - I like to use a fork because I feel like it gives a more thorough mixing.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the mixture and combine. Try not to eat any of the batter because you won't be able to stop!! I ate so much I had to put the cake in a smaller tin... wow
4. Check on the cake in about 30 minutes by poking a fork or a skewer into it. If the fork comes out clean, it is ready to be taken out. If not, leave it in for a bit longer.
5. Once the cake has cooled down, make the icing by mixing the vegan butter, icing sugar and passionfruit pulp and spoon it on top! Done!
   Hint: remember not to put the icing on until the cake is no longer warm! I always make that mistake.
   

This is a very sweet recipe so prepare yourself...
Thanks for reading! Leave a comment if you decide to make this! :)

GOALS

As I'm sure many people would agree, New Years resolutions don't often seem to stick. That's why instead of having general resolutions for the entire year, I am (hopefully) going to set myself new goals each month.
I find that having short-term goals makes them seem much more achievable, particularly if they're quite specific.

My January Goals:

• Blogging
  It's been in my thoughts throughout December and I'd like to start posting something at least twice a week.

• Write moreI guess that links in with the first one but I'd also like to write more short stories and write in my diary more ~ I like having a record of my life.

• Be active
  This is such an overdone goal, I've tried before but I always end up breaking my routine, so now I've decided to not have a routine. I'm setting myself the goal of finding time to go for a run three times a week, whenever that may be, and being active every day. I feel like this should be achievable. And being active can be anything from going for a run, a walk or doing a bit of yoga in the morning/before bed.
  ... these start Monday right?

What are your goals? x

BOOKS I READ IN 2015

HELLO, so something I love to do in my spare time is read. I didn't read heaps of books this year because I was being stubborn (I didn't want to read my school books but whenever I picked up a book that wasn't for school I felt guilty and thought if I'm going to read then it should be for school. Solution? don't read anything...) but nevertheless, here is a list of all the books I read this year (sorry it's SOOO long).

• Palo Alto by James Franco. This is a collection of linked short stories which were inspired by memories of life growing up in Palo Alto. The stories are all pretty much about teenagers who spend their time drinking and being angsty. The reason I read this book was because I loved the movie so much - it's one of my favourites - but I was a bit disappointed with the book. The stories weren't particularly gripping and I ended up forcing myself to keep reading.

• Cloudstreet by Tim Winton. This is an australian fiction book about two families living in the same house of a period of twenty years. I had to read this for school and I have to say, it's better than it sounds. I enjoyed this book, it's easy to read, the characters are believable, and although it can be slightly weird at times, I feel like most people could read this and enjoy it.

• The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting - a paranormal YA book that I read because it was suggested by Carrie Fletcher from itswaypastmybedtime. Overall, I enjoyed this book although I think it was a bit too young for me - it's definitely on the young side of young adult. It's about a girl who can sense the bodies of people who have been murdered and focuses particularly on her trying to find a serial killer (I think? It's been a while okay)

• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. To be honest, this wasn't my favourite book. While it was an easy read and the idea was cute, I felt myself disagreeing with how the themes of this book were dealt and worrying about the message it was sending. Eleanor (the main character) is a victim of domestic abuse and instead of dealing with this in a realistic and confronting way, it is as if she is rescued by her high school boyfriend, romanticising all the wrong elements of what could have been a meaningful story. 

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was a book that I reread this year. I originally read it for the first time in year eight (four years ago) although I don't think I ever finished it or really understood what was happening. This time I read it through and loved it. It is written so well and I love that it is written from the perspective of a young girl, simply a bystander to everything that is going on. I would definitely recommend this book.

• Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin is a book that I had been meaning to read for years so I finally picked it up and I was not disappointed. It's an autobiography (but it reads like a fictional story) about Li Cunxin's journey from poverty in China to being a world famous ballet dancer. It's been a while now since I read this but all I have to say is go read it!!

• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. Basically it's a YA fantasy about a boy who discovers his family isn't as normal as he thought and there are time loops and special powers involved haha. It was a good book, I'd be interested in reading the next two but I'm not rushing out to buy them right now.

• All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. A YA about a girl, who is coping with her sister's death, and a boy with bipolar. I liked this book, read it very fast and if you're a fan of Paper Towns by John Green, you will enjoy this as it reminded me a lot of it. However, it is not dissimilar to any other YA contemporary books I have read so if you're looking for something more original, maybe keep looking.

• A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. This book killed me. I read this because one of my friends practically insisted on it and I don't even know where to start with this book. I could write a whole review on it.  It's about the lives of four male friends from the time they graduate college until their deaths, and you go into it not really knowing much. It's very well written, the characters - for me - weren't all completely likeable but they were realistic, which impressed me. And let me tell you, this book is SO emotionally gruelling, your heart will hurt. I have never, and probably will never again read a book so completely heart wrenching.
  I hadn't been able to decide whether this is something I would recommend to people purely because I didn't know whether I wanted to put them through that pain, but it's such an important book. Read it. It doesn't romanticise anything, and a book that can make a person feel this much, must be a good book.

• City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. A YA fantasy book that I have been obsessed with ever since I first read it in 2012. This is no doubt my favourite book series (it's called The Mortal Instruments). I reread it this year because - keep in mind I'm trying really hard not to get too excited and write this in all caps - they're making a TV series!!! I love these books and the world that Cassandra Clare created. The characters are witty and wonderful and completely swoon-worthy (lmao I'm so lame) and this isn't just one book series either. It's a whole world with two series' already out and another one on the way. Do yourself a favour and read this book.

• The last book I finished in 2015 was Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout. To be honest, I wasn't that impressed with this book. I read this purely because I wanted something easy to read while I was stuck in the car for six hours, and I wanted it to be a romance that I could get excited about. So I downloaded this (on my kindle), not expecting much, although it had a big fan base which gave me hope, yet I can't even be bothered writing this because I'm just so frustrated with that book. There were very few good moments between the two main characters and by the end of the book, their relationship had not progressed at all. The writing was not impressive to me - it seemed like it was a fanfiction or something written on Wattpad. So if you're looking for a YA fantasy/romance where the characters are actually likeable, I wouldn't read this hahah.

Thanks for reading and Happy New Year! Sorry it was so long but leave me a comment on what you thought of these books, or which books you read in 2015! 

APOLLO BAY

Just over a week ago, my friend Emma and I left Melbourne for a five day trip to Apollo Bay.
I slept over at Emma's house the night before we left and it was the first time I'd seen her in over 10 months. We departed her house at about 10am the next morning and I just have to mention that while we were waiting for our train we ate the best dumplings I've probably ever had.

After roughly eight hours of travelling, we had arrived in Apollo Bay and were checking into our hostel. We stayed at the YHA Eco Hostel, chosen both for the price and the good reviews, and in no way were we disappointed. Neither Emma nor I had ever stayed in a hostel before so we were pretty much expecting the worst - especially after hearing hostel horror stories from family members and pieces online - but this hostel was as clean as any hotel, the people were super friendly (yet not too friendly), happy to help and I didn't feel like my belongings were in any way unsafe, although of course that didnt stop me from taking all the precautions!

While we were eating dinner the first night (massive bowls of pasta), we were sitting on a deck just outside the kitchen and a guy a few years older than us came outside and spoke to us. It turned out he was also vegan and was pretty chuffed about the fact that at that moment in time and space, 100% of the people sitting/standing on that deck were vegan. I guess it was pretty cool.

Day 2 of our trip was cool and cloudy, so we decided to rug up and go for a walk through Marengo to Shelly beach.
Of course I managed to completely forget about sunscreen until we were back in Apollo Bay and my usually-very-pale-face was well on it's way to becoming Belthazor (aka Cole's red-faced demon form from 'Charmed').

Beach - what more can I say

The trail from Marengo to Shelly beach

The rocks here were amazing! Very slippery too

The lighting isn't great here but I felt like I had to show at least one photo of myself hahaha

The thing I love most about Apollo Bay is that you have the beach one way and these beautiful hills the other, unique compared to other beach towns along the Great Ocean Road

As we were eating dinner that night - do all interesting things happen during food time or do we just eat 24/7? - we were swarmed by seagulls and for a moment there I was genuinely scared. Probably more than a moment considering birds are very near the top of my 'things to be scared of' list. Luckily, Emma had no problem channeling her inner demon and protecting our chips from being bird-napped.

After chips we went for a walk along the beach and the water was soo beautiful

Day 3 was a very chill day. I didn't feel too great due to the suburn on my face and the fact that I had been consistently layering my face with any sort of moisturiser I could find. It left me feeling sluggish, although I suppose that momentary relief was worth it at the time. I did naht want a peely face.
We stayed in our room pretty much all day, aside from being temporarily locked out, until we decided to go for a 'walk' up to Mariner's Lookout. I put the word 'walk' in quotation marks because that isn't exactly how we got there...
According the the receptionist at our hostel, it was about an hours walk each way, up and down a steep hill, but we had to do something that day. Maybe two minutes into the walk, a taxi drove past and all it took was one look at eachother and we were on our way, cruising up the hill in a yellow taxi - at a slightly alarming speed, might I add.
The view from the lookout was really nice, we could see all of Apollo Bay + more, and once returning from our walk (yep, we actually managed to walk back) we had a quick look at the view from the top of our hostel before retiring to our room to play Animal Crossing, like the adults we are.

The view from Mariner's Lookout

A sheep we saw on the way back from the lookout! I snapped probably like twenty photos of it's bum and like four of it's face - this is the money shot

The last two days were relatively similar, there wasn't heaps to do without a car or a bike, so on our last night we both got an icypole (the sorbet place was closed, unfortunately) and had a bit of a laugh while *attempting* to exercise, and pretty much all of the next day was spent travelling. It also included me not feeling so great on the bus ride back, losing my wallet (which held I sterling silver toe ring I bought) and some interesting characters on the train - one of whom legitimately sounded like a pimp.
Three things I have taken away from this trip are:

1. Do not forget to be sun safe, even/especially when it's cloudy!! (This is one I already knew, but clearly it needed reinforcement)
   
2. Wheely bags/backpacks will greatly improve your quality of life. My brother of course took my suitcase the day before I needed it, so I was stuck with lugging around a heavy suitcase in my hand - painful and impractical, don't do it.
   
3. Sweet chilli sauce has a lot of sugar - we went temporarily mad.
   

Sorry if this was super long, I had so much to write about. I also have heaps more photos to share so I may or may not do a second post mainly with photos and not much writing (I always find that those sort of posts keep my attention longer too)

-Gracie

ME (Belthazor)

VEGAN GINGERBREAD COOKIES ~ RECIPE

This is a really simple recipe, and it doesn't require many unordinary ingredients that you wouldn't already have in the cupboard!

What you'll need:

• 150g brown sugar (I used dark brown sugar for both batches, I think either light or dark would work fine)
• 2 tbsp golden syrup (maple syrup should be fine too)
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground clove
• 190g butter substitute (I use Nuttelex)
• 1 small tsp bicarb soda
• 450g plain flour
• Icing sugar + water (for easy icing)

Method:
1. Combine all the ingredients together, either on the stove or just in a mixing bowl (like I did), making sure to sift the flower. However, if you're choosing to mix them on the stove, remove the mixture from the heat and then add the flour.

Note: Add extra spices if you'd like a stronger flavour! I think I will next time.

First batch

2. This is what the dough should look like after everything is combined. It should be firm, so you may need to add more flour. Cover the bowl with glad wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

First batch

3. After you've taken the dough out of the fridge, spread some flour on your workbench and your rolling pin so that the dough won't stick to them, you will need to keep adding more as you go. Find some cookie cutters (I used gingerbread men, candy canes and Christmas trees) and pop them on a tray ready to be put into the oven. You can preheat the oven, in fact most recipes would say you should but I always forget and they turn out fiiiine, to 180 degrees Celsius and bake the cookies for 10 - 15 minutes. 

First batch

Here are my cookies, just out of the oven!
Note: It can be hard to tell whether they're done or not when you take them out because they will still be a bit soft (they harden up once they've cooled for a bit) but resist the urge to leave them in for just a little bit longer! That's what always stumps me and then they end up burning. In fact, that may or may not have happened today...

Second batch

SO. I made a second batch of cookies and you can probably tell from the photos that they're slightly different from the first one.
In the original batch, I had to use blackstrap molasses instead of golden syrup, despite the fact that I can't STAND molasses, oh my God. Even the smell.
I was hoping it wouldn't be noticeable once the cookies were out of the oven but I decided that while the dough was in the fridge, I would go up the street, buy some golden syrup and make another batch of cookies, because who wants gingerbread cookies that taste like sewerage? (No offence intended if you really like molasses hahah)
I used the same process and all other ingredients were the same, but I think the second batch is definitely better than the first, although everyone else in my house seems to like the first just fine, so maybe it's just dependent on personal taste - I still suggest golden syrup though.

I simply used icing sugar mixed with water to decorate these (just add icing sugar and water to your desired consistency - more icing sugar compared to water = thicker mixture) but obviously you can do whatever decorations you want! Food colouring is always fun too.

I didn't bother icing the first batch, mainly because I was tired but also because I wasn't as emotionally invested in those ones hahah.

So have fun baking and Merry Christmas!!