My month in photos

I haven't done a "my week in photos" post in quiet a while because I honestly haven't had the time to take a lot of photos, either that or my week was really boring and I figured no one really wanted to see photos of what I ate for dinner every day! So, to make things a little more interesting I decided to do a "my month in photos" from a combination of my posts on instagram and other modes of photography (is that the right expression) Here we go!:

For a few days the moon was full and absolutely stunning.

I got a little Arty...

Decided to wear my motorbike jacket out (the fact that I don't have a motorbike yet is irrelevant) 

Things got a little weird when I decided to comic-book myself with makeup one night. Which was the result of boredom, procrastination and running on energy drinks.

Finishing an 18 page assignment with very little sleep, Ps: don't try this at home kids.

Gorgeous sunset, (ps: no I wasn't driving, you can calm) 

Something about these jellybeans brings back a flood of childhood memories. I still remember the day my doctor didn't offer my a jellybean after I'd gone to see him, it was a very sad day, my childhood was over.

I got a little too excited and over-estimated how many brownies I actually needed to make one day, but honestly, can one have too many brownies? I think not!

Found a weirdo in my mirror

For whatever reason, my best friend Lisa and I couldn't breathe laughing at her impression of a hillbilly playing a guitar while we were waiting in my car, which resulted in foggy windows and drawing. We had a little too much sugar that night.... 

The same night we went to watch Lucy (very odd movie) and the cinema was empty! (we had fun ;) )



Pizza night! 

After the sad death of Robin Williams, my friends and I decided to watch Aladdin as a tribute. (the beginning of any disney movie always makes me a little nostalgic) 

Sunday drinks with a friend! Not just Smirnoff...

Got a little arty once again.. With new watercolour pencils.

So there it is, my month in photos!

Hope you're having a great week and month so far,

Infinite x's and o's,

Elena 

Sunday baking! Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

After just getting back from a trip to Port Stephens for a few days I was itching to bake something.
After a few days of not cooking anything.. I start to get withdrawal symptoms... I dream of cooking, what I'm going to  make, the presentation, the texture, the extensive flavour combinations.
I've come to the conclusion that I'm weird. But hey, Johnny Depp did say everybody is a little weird and we should all celebrate that and not be ashamed of it. I totally agree with that! But to be honest I'd probably agree with anything Johnny says.

I'm a fan of the Australian My Kitchen Rules and after watching Paul and Blair's instant restaurant where Manu gave them a ten out of ten for their triple chocolate cheesecake, I knew I needed to make it. We had friends coming over for dinner so It was the perfect opportunity.  It was surprising easy to make and it tasted aaaamazing. Everyone raved about it! You know it's a good dessert when everyone whips out their phone to instagram it. It is incredibly creamy and delicate and the raspberries in the dark chocolate layer give it that tartness to cut through how rich it is.

Just a word of advice though if you are attempting to make this dessert. Make sure all the ingredients that you combine are at room temperature, for instance when you add the cream cheese to the melted chocolate. if the cream cheese is too cold the chocolate will seize and you won't get that perfectly smooth texture.

Enjoy your Sunday & happy baking!

Infinite x's and o's

Elena

A week in photos

 Beautiful night, almost looks like we live in some sort of tropical resort, hah! 

We had a black-out on Saturday night. Since no one wanted to play monopoly with me (because they knew I'd win mwaha), we ended up compromising and enjoying a glass of semillon under candle-light. It also meant mum and I got to light all our many candles and chandelier, transforming our house into a romantic/gothic cathedral (under the protest of the boys).  

I adopted a kitten!

I thought I would make a post dedicated to my newly adopted Kitten, Aslan!  Although he's growing out of his kitten faze now considering he's already 6 months old.
After saying a sad goodbye to our eldest cat Hidy last year, my family and I decided we were ready to welcome a new member.

I knew that I wanted to adopt a kitten from our local shelter instead of buying from a breeder, just because it would feel like a good deed in a way, giving an animal a second chance at life and a new home.

We looked at every kitten there, they were all going crazily wild, playing with toys and hanging off walls (quite literally), except for this little guy. He was curled up by himself wrapped around his big fluffy tail.
I went to pat him and he walked straight up to me, looked me in the eyes and nose bumped me with his cold little pink nose. It was the cutest thing out. I fell for him instantly, maybe that was his master plan.

("Paint me like one of your french girls")

On the car ride home, he continued to nose bump me. It was almost like he had to make sure we all knew of his presence and didn't forget about him. At first I thought it may be because he's short-sited and has to get up close to faces to  be able to see them, but he sees perfectly fine, just one of his cute personality traits.

I decided to call him Aslan because growing up, the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis were my favourite books and Aslan was my favourite character. Also because he has the same colouring and bravery.
He walks straight up to our dogs with no fear, he's not afraid of the vacuum cleaner (which frightens our big Staffy, sarcastically named "Butch") and he likes eating grapes and cheese. 

Every afternoon Aslan takes his little toy horse (which he adopted as his from nephews toy box) and sits on the back veranda to watch the tide coming in.  He also has a collection of leaves he brings in from outside and places them in a little pile near the sliding door, along with a few blue flowers from our Jacaranda tree. 

(The car ride home, I had to put him back in his carrier for safety reasons but also because he kept trying to kiss the driver.)

While you're on the computer he either will place his head on your arm or snuggle onto your lap. He still does this except he's now a tad bigger and if you would like to move your mouse, see the screen or type, good luck.

I'm not really sure what breed he is. On his paperwork all it states is that he's "mixed etc" so, he could be a mixture of anything. I think he may be part ragdoll, just by the way he acts and his fluffy tail.
He has so much character and is such a blessing to have, he adds a lot of comedy into my life.

Hope you're all having an excellent weekend!
Infinite x's and o's

Elena

2013 Flashback

2013, what a year!

A year full of lessons but also full of family,happiness, life milestones and steps in the right direction towards my future. I don't even know where to begin, but here it goes... 

January is all a bit of a blur, I was still deciding what I wanted to do with my career. I finally decided to sign up for a diploma of hospitality instead of completing my high school certificate. 

Also in January, our extended family from Victoria came over for a visit and we spent a week showing them the beautiful city of Sydney

                                                  (my cousin Matthew at Taronga Zoo)

In february I started my diploma of hospitality and made some new friends. The next few months are pretty similar to one another. I was going to classes, helping run the restaurant at our University (we each took turns at being the "Maitre D") and spending a lot more time drawing and making artworks. Probably more than I should seeing as though teachers would walk past my desk and comment on my note-taking skills. (Sarcastically because the entire page was drawings, FYI I was actually taking notes, they were on a separate page,haha)

Moving on to June, My Mum and I drove up to see my Dad while he was on a business trip further-in land and we spent a few days exploring the town. I did a few hours of driving since I was so desperate to get my license and had about 30 hours still left to complete. The end of June my Grandmother came to stay with us for a few months before she could move into a nursing home, it was a bit of a struggle for all of us but we got through it and Grandma is now enjoying her time being pampered and given 100 percent attention.

In August it was my Mums Birthday and one of the major assessments In my course. My peers and I ran the open day at our College and it was definitely a challenge. 

On september 4th I got my license! I was so nervous on the day of my test as I suppose everyone is but I got almost 100 percent. I was sure after the first 2 minutes going out the drive-way I had already failed. That lesson taught me to have more confidence in myself (as hard as that may be)

Towards the middle of September it was my 18th Birthday! At the start of the year I had started to plan a big party with all my friends, but I re-thought that idea seeing as though big parties aren't really my thing and decided to have an all-girls Breakfast at Tiffany's themed party instead. The night before the party a quite a few people pulled out. That's life and the people that were meant to be there came. It was an amazing day full of unexpected gifts and surprises (which includes the cake made by my gorgeous friend Jacki).

My brother also surprised me with an amazing gift, my canon 60d camera. He had heard me talking about wanting to take professional photos for a while and bought it for me. It was so unexpected  and I am so grateful he got it for me.

September also marked two years since I lost 35 kilos, which was a massive mile-stone for me, because I had managed to still keep off the weight.

In november I went to a few different open days for colleges trying to decide which direction I should go with my life and decided on Makeup. Brainwave! Why had I never thought of this before. I mean, I love art... and makeup so why not combine both.

I had actually wanted to do a Diploma of makeup a while ago but branded it as too expensive. After talking to the head teacher she explained to me that I wouldn't have to pay for the course as it is government funded and only when I am earning over a certain amount would I need to pay it back. I signed up, and starting getting excited about my future again.

To Celebrate my decision, I made another decision to dye my hair blonde! I'd always wanted to do it because well, I guess you always want what you can't have. I went to the hairdressers and got highlights in my hair, I loved them.. for the first day. Then after a wash, I had orange hair. 

(the day my hair was dyed, I won't show a photo of what it turned out like, because it was mortifying and frankly, I don't want to be responsible for someone's computer screen cracking)

After weeks of hoping my hair would return to its former-blondness by using blue shampoo's and asking the advice from different hair-dressers. I gave up my dream of being blonde and went back to the hairdressers for some boring brown dye.

 (back to boring brown)

Now onto the sorrow part of 2013. One day our dog decided she didn't like how our cat Hidy was looking at her and she killed her. I don't think she knew her own strength and I won't go into detail of exactly what happened but it was terrible and I don't think I'll ever be able to forget it. I'd grown up with Hidy as my cat and it was very sad to see her leave. R.I.P Hidy.

  December, Christmas Time!  Only this time, there was a new member added to our family, Zach. Now I have two gorgeous nephews and a cheeky niece (she's gorgeous too). We had our family celebration on Christmas eve like we do every year and on Christmas day had a small get together with family friends.

 

I was spoilt with presents and got a lot of things that will be useful to me in the future and when I move out, such as a brand new PINK kitchen-aid blender (to match my mixer) from my Parents. (they emphasised the sentence "this will be good when you move out".)

So that pretty much wraps it up, 2013 was one of the best and worst years of my life. I hope you all had a wonderful 2013 and have an even better 2014 filled with happiness and achieving your dreams.

Infinite x's and o's,

Elena