DAY 80 // Saying Goodbye to the french girl

Alright!
Woahhh time for an update of what is going on over here because I know I didn't post yesterday.

Camille and I celebrated our LAST work day at the farm today. WEO!! This means no more gardening, cleaning, chipping weeds or picking watermelons EVER again. how fantastic!!

{Cam in the garden today looking stunning with her leaf hat}

I know, I know what you're thinking.."well what happened to 88 days?" . What happened was, since the rain pretty much wiped out the watermelon crops before we could pick them all.. and the pumpkin crops won't be ready to pick for a couple more weeks, Ian has run out of work for us..or rather ME. So I will be leaving the farm on Sunday. HURRAYY

So, in preparation for our departure, Cam, Ian, Hailey and I had a little hangout after dinner last night and we ate brownies and ice cream and laughed and reminisced about our first days at the farm while talking about our excitement to finally leave!

{ Ian with his card and brownies from Cam & I ..he loved them!}

SO, it's a sad, sad, Friday.
Camille JUST left on a bus out of here tonight..we had a teary goodbye sesh after work today as she gave me the sweetest card ever and I gave her the photo album/aussie adventure story that I posted about the other day. She loved it and I had a smile on the face the entire time she was reading it aloud to me..tears streaming down her face with laughter and sadness all in one.

I honestly will miss the crap out of that girl. As much as we bickered and frustrated each other at times, it never lasted long and without fail we'd be back to buddies again in five minutes, watching x-factor and making dinner together..and whining about how sick we were of chipping weeds..

Working on the farm tested our patience, our physical and metal strength and ultimiltly our friendship . We conquered (almost) 88 days together and were there for each and leaning on one another every step of the way. Lifting each others spirits when we were feeling like crap and sharing heart to heart talks on the weekends over wine and cheese.

With almost four months of memories to take away with us, I am so so grateful to have met such an awesome human being. She truly is a character :) and a lovely one at that..
I admire the way she is able to roll with the punches and take life as it comes (with plenty of laughs.) And I love the way she can make people laugh without even trying… And I love her unwavering ability to see the good in everyone she meets throughout her travels.


So Cheers to her..and to US, together, conquering the farmlife in Australia..
Bring on the next adventure!

{Wise words (and very fitting) from an amazing man. RIP}

{Our first day on the farm..}

 {Our last weekend together..ready to hit the town in Bilo (as twins) }

{The many faces of Cam and Steph}

{Ian & Cam saying goodbye!}

{Time to run free.}

DAY 79 // Getting ready for departure...

Alright, this will be a short and sweet post tonight as I am knackered!! (british slang.. it's my new thing..)

No but seriously..so tired.
This evening I've been working away on a little gift for Camille for when she leaves. And though it's silly (keep in mind I'm working with limited supplied here..) , I'm using it as my creative bit for today ! It's a little photo album and story about our "Aussie Adventures" featuring highlights of our trip and funny moments along the way..

She's leaving the farm on Friday because she's catching a flight home for christmas and needs to get down to Sydney and to the airport ASAP to get a flight on standby. So that's when I'll be giving it to her and we'll be saying our tearful goodbyes after almost 4 months together ! AHH!

let's hope she doesn't read this before Friday…...

Also I made a card for Ian, saying our thank you's and some funny things about our time here at the farm..as well as baked and decorated some brownies for him ..which we'll probably present to him tomorrow night!

JEEZ..it's been a busy one.
Okay here are some photos of these goodies!

Thanks for Reading xo

DAY 77 // Purple is the new red.

So I dyed my hair purple last night….AND I LOVE IT.
After my semi-disaster with blonde and spending a week with orangey/yellow hair I thought it was time to go for it. After all the blonde was just a transition colour while I grew the balls to attempt a wild colour like this.

I was pretty stoked with the result considering I've only coloured my own hair a handful of times..half of which was in high school.... I usually just leave the matters of my hair to my hair stylist friends..(which I do still recommend! if you can..)

I used the brand, BRILLIANCE in "Violet Wild Silk" .."the latest catwalk colour trend" apparently? Perfecttttt.  I have used this brand before (in noosa), in a shade of intense red and I really liked the vibrance of the colour..and I found the colour stayed brighter longer. You can find this brand at Woolworth's and Coles, If I remember correctly from Noosa. Some Chemist's may carry it as well.

Well, thats enough hair advice from me for one day..
Here's some photos Camille took for me this afternoon !

Thanks for Reading xo

DAY 75 // Festive Snail Mail.

Ah my day started off SO freakin' WELL! I got to Skype chat with my long lost buddies in Finland, Landon and Feliiipppeee who were partying it up at 1am. It was so so great to hear their voices..I saw Landon's new hair cut for like 5 seconds..the connection was shit..but at least we got to talk and catch up for a bit. It was Lovely! I miss those two a lot and can't wait till the day we get to reunite.

Before long I was wisked off into town with Cam.. starting our day bright and early with a greasy breakfast at a NEW location..yes, not our usual, we decided to venture down the road a bit to Anderson's little cafe which was pretty delish, (despite the grease and very buttery toast). We also got "Freezechino's" ..which had absolutely no caffeine in them yet enough sugar to keep us buzzing all day. So not our healthiest meal…..

Since it was a super humid day we decided to hit up Apollo's Motel pool again.. we lounged and napped..taking a dip in the water. Then headed to our beloved Reject shop and Woolies for groceries.

Today I bought some bits and bobs to make a special gift for a lovely friend and worked on sending off some festive snail mail to family and friends back home. I couldn't get over how awesome the stamps that she gave me where!! Such a nerdy thing to get excited about..but I loved them.

So here are some snaps from today and the totally awesome stamps I received !

Thats all for today,
Thanks for reading xo

DAY 63 // Watermelon Anyone?

Alright so I haven't done a food post in awhile and since watermelon season is clearly upon us here in Australia (thanks to the hard working hands of Cam and Steph..) I decided to research some creative ways to eat the damn thangs!  (Sorry Canadian readers..this may not be as helpful to you as us aussies..BUT if you like an idea, keep em in your memory bank for next year when watermelon season rolls around again for your guys ..suckaaas)

Watermelon is delicious, most can agree with that. It's sweet, watery, crisp and the perfect refreshing summer's snack. It is also cheap! (if in season) and super good for you. According to National Geographic's article: five reasons to eat watermelon, a 10 ounce wedge of watermelon contains one-third of the recommended daily value of Vitamins A & C. As well as helps in aiding sore muscles, maintaining a healthy heart, is a natural viagra? ..and could even combat cancer. I'd say it a super melon.

SO, Here are 5 creative (and simple) ways to reap the benefits of this super melon in ways you may expect!

Thanks for Reading
Until Tomorrow xo

Frozen Watermelon Margarita

{ image: http://www.thekitchn.com}

Happy hour anyone? All you need is a blender, some tequila, limes and salt for this bad boy! Check out the full recipe here

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Watermelon Dippers

{image: elliebeanddesign.com }

Mix 8 ounces of low-fat sour cream with four tablespoons of sugar and one teaspoon of vanilla extract to make this sweet and healthy snack dip. Full Recipe here 

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Watermelon, Strawberry and Basil Quinoa Salad 

 {image:http://www.edibleperspective.com}

Never thought to put watermelon in a salad but this one looks delicious! I'm a big fan of sweet and savory combos so this is one recipe I would love to try. For instructions on how to make the Lemon Shallot dressing and other awesome recipes go here

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Watermelon Lime Soda

{image: completelydelicious.com}

Sip it on it's own or spike it with your poison of choice.. an easy way to cool down and enjoy with an afternoon BBQ on the go. Full Recipe here

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Watermelon, Strawberry, Basil Skewers

{image: http://www.edibleperspective.com}

Simple ingredients and a delicious combo..these cute little skewers will impress your friends at an afternoon BBQ or dinner party. Solid Idea. Full recipe here

{image:http://news.nationalgeographic.com.au}

DAY 21 // Quinoa Pizza Bites

Monday Update.
Another day off for us due to a long weekend! YES.
We slept in and went for a run around the farm..barely escaping attacks from a couple Magpies who always give us trouble when we run by their "territory". Evil Birds! It was really hot today and all we could think about was how happy we were to not being chipping weeds. We then decided to do another spontaneous photo shoot in the afternoon which I will post in the next couple days!

For my creative bit.. I'm posting my first food related blog post .. this is definitely not my forte. Only recently have I started to NOT feel like a complete retard in the kitchen. I've always hoped that one day I would just wake up and all of my mom's incredible cooking talent and expertise would be planted in my brain and I would then be a kitchen wizard. Sadly this hasn't happened and I realize that I will continue to be hopeless until I actually make an effort at feeding myself descent meals rather than canned tuna and rice cakes.

Well Deb would be proud because I have come along way since I first left home. Being in a real kitchen and not a shitty backpackers helps too. Since being on the farm Cam and I have been planning meals like adults and making grocery lists and actually cooking healthy meals every night and It's been great. Saturday night Camille made a delicious lasagne for Ian and I so tonight I thought I'd try a unique recipe that a friend of mine posted on Instagram awhile back. Quinoa Pizza Bites. I thought this sounded like an awesome and delicious way to use quinoa creatively for a meal, and it was!

In a few easy steps and some basic ingredients you got yourself some cute little gluten free pizzas.

Thanks for reading :)
Bon Appetit!

WHAT YOU NEED //

// 1 cup Quinoa
// 2 Eggs
// 1 cup chopped onion
// 2 tablespoons minced garlic
// 1/2 cup fresh basil
// 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes (regular works too)
// 1/2 teaspoon salt
// 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
// 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
// Pizza Sauce
// Mozzarella Cheese (grated)

HOW TO:

// Boil quinoa in two cups of water (20 minutes)
// Pre heat oven to 350
// chop ingredients and mix everything together with the quinoa in a bowl
// Place mixture in fridge to cool for 5 minutes
// Place on tray in 1 or 2 inch round portions (see photos) OR you can use a muffin tins
// Bake for 15-20 minutes (after 15, I added pizza sauce and cheese on top before putting them in for another 5 minutes - should look golden brown. )
// Cool for 10 minutes

{ Should make 24 Bites }

DAY 19 // Fashion Fix

Happy Weekend Everyone,

Today Cam and I spent our usual Saturday in town grocery shopping..we had our second lunch and coffee at the only moderately cool cafe in town called Cafe Aroma. 

My creative post today is a DIY project that I completely winged.

I don't really like doing formal DIY posts because most the time my DIY's are just experimental and I have no idea wether it will work..or what the final product will look like. Plus, with limited supplies it's hard to do something intricate.. a lot of the time they are just random and simple ideas to solve weird problems. Hence this one.

So I woke up last sunday morning to a find my newly thrifted striped crop top with a massive (awkwardly placed) grease stain on it..how did that happen? Oh ya.. I savagely ate a meat pie at 3am. Devastating...

I really like this shirt! So immediately I began thinking of ways to make it wearable again.

This situation reminds me of when I was young and always drawing pictures and making art at my aunt's house. I was a perfectionist child back then and always wanted my work to be perfect..so when I made a "mistake" on something I would break down in a panic. My Aunt would said to me, "Don't worry Steph, there's always a way to fix it" and she would, every time, without fail, find a way to hide the mistake. A true lesson in problem solving at a young age. 

I guess now this is my way of hiding my mistake..

Here's what I came up with.

You'll Need: Scissors, Fabric, Needle & Thread, Pencil.

 

A little random..but totally Wearable!  

Thanks for Reading!

Until Tomorrow xo

DAY 9 // Finders Keepers DIY

Alright, DAY 9! And its wednesday so that means only two more work days till a nice little weekend break. STOKED.

Today was long and hot..36 degrees hot.. and I burnt my ears! what the heck? I've NEVER done that before. I guess it serves me right for choosing not to wear a hat. It hurts.

Ok, so creative bit for the day.

I had this idea a few days ago.. I love cutting clothes up and making them more awesome or just, new. So I found this dude's "singlet" in our dorm room in Cairns a couple weeks ago and there was no one in the room but me and cam, no one to claim it, so I took it. It's just a plain white shirt, loose fitting and comfy..but for creativity's sake I thought I'd transform it a bit and cut the crap out of it.

I cut the bottom all the way around so that the front is shorter than the back, and then cut the back into a deep "V" with horizontal slits. Then for the front I added some gold studs that I randomly bought at Jay Jay's, (while buying a sweeeet pair of overalls..) to each shoulder.

Something like this is super easy to do while traveling. I don't condone stealing of course...BUT at hostels a lot of the time there are "lost and found" type boxes full of forgotten stuff. So if you're not weirded out my second hand clothes, give it a wash and make it your own.

This project literally cost my 99 cents. Perfect on a poor backpacker's budget.

{Excuse the quality of the photos- not my best work..a bit rushed tonight.}

Thanks for reading,

Until tomorrow
xox