Book| Harper Lee

                         "Equal rights for all; special privileges for none"- Atticus Finch

Hello again, sorry I haven't blogged in a while, university has got the better of me- way too many deadlines and reading to do! 
But anyway, everyday on the train I read, I never used to in first year, however, I have come to love reading for pleasure again and it is my scape goat from university everyday.
Now Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, is one of the classics, and thus you almost feel like you should read it to see what the fuss is all about and let me tell you, it doesn't let you down. 
I was skeptical about reading it, as I had intact read it before when I was a lot younger, but never really understood it. I'm not sure if its because I have an appreciation for something written in the past, that made me fall inlove with it or because I had gotten older. 
Either way, it is a marvellous book and so is the sequel. 
These two books central theme is based around justice and the fight for it during an era when civil rights and segregation was a predominant theme within America. 
To Kill a Mockingbird, is special because it is written from a child's perspective and Jean's innocence and her belief in justice and equality is something that brings the book together. 
However, Go set a Watchman, for me, was special, it really did relate to the father, daughter relationship and made me question my relationship with my father. Like Jean, my dad is my hero and therefore, in many respects I can relate to it.
Harper Lee, has a special way of writing, and she really is a divine author. I literally could not put these books down and they'll forever be something I reach back too. 


                                                                Love Kelly xx

Book| Madeline Shaw- 'Get the Glow'.

So recently I have become obsessed with cooking, I have literally spent everyday making something new in the kitchen- most of which were successes and some not so much.
However I have discovered a little gem of a book- 'Madeline Shaw's Get the Glow'. I've always been intrigued by healthy food and ways to make it exciting in my everyday food instead of boring salads. Over the past year there has been a surge in healthy eating blogs, writers, you tubers and I have become fascinated by all of them especially Madeline Shaw and Deliciously Ella.
I think these two stick out for me the most, as they both hardly use any special ingredients and all ingredients can easily be found in my local Sainsburys.
Therefore I decided to treat myself to Madeline Shaw's book, which had- pardon the pun, glowing reviews online.
I have tried around 4 or 5 of the recipes from the book, which is hardly enough of the recipes within the book.
However, I did try a little gem- Turkey Meatballs. These are divine, something about them is so full of flavour. I did make them with pasta both times as my family weren't brave enough to try the courgette.
I also made the Orange and Pomegranate Chicken, which was also divine and full of flavour. This one I was a little hesitant about due to the odd flavour combination- but the sweet crunch at the end was perfect.
All in all I have found this book to be perfectly useful in my entrance to a more healthier lifestyle.

But it did make me think, that this book has inspired me into something new- which makes me realise how odd it is that one thing can change your lifestyle in the smallest way.



                                                              Love Kelly xox

Food| Healthy snack.

Apple and Almond Butter.

Now I'm definitely a snacker and it has always been by biggest weakness. When I was younger I would always reach for the chocolate bars or biscuits. However as time has gone on I have learnt to snack more intelligently.
Todays snack post isn't anything fancy at all and infant is super symbol to make- only 2 ingredients.
Apple with almond butter on. Yes my Almond butter obsession still rallies on today.

Literally all you need to do is cut up your Apple into slices either quarter or 8th's and put a generous amount of almond butter spread over the top- this takes literally 2 minutes and I usually make it when I'm super hungry and can't be bothered to wait for food!

Super simple and super easy to make- something about the sweetness of the apple with the  nutty almond butter just seems to work.

                                                                   Happy snacking!
                                                                     

Something New| Yoga.

https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene

As you may have read in my previous post, I have recently taken up Yoga- it was one of my ‘must do’s’ this summer and I’m incredibly delighted to have perceived with it. I am still relatively new to the practice of Yoga and thus thought I’d share the way in which I have taken it up.

Now once I had decided to take up Yoga, I didn’t really know where to start- I didn’t want to commit to a class full of Yoga ry’ people and didn’t want a dvd on it. So I went to the trust YouTube to seek out a Yoga teacher online. Coming across ‘Yoga with Adrianne’. I found she did a playlist called ’30 days of Yoga with Adrianne.  This was perfect as it meant I could try something new and didn’t have to be completely committed to it, if I didn’t want too.

Why I love this Yoga Playlist?

*Easy to follow:

Adrianne makes Yoga super simple and talks through any new poses that we are trying. She always does everything slowly which helps me a lot as I like to watch the screen and do the pose and the same time- and don’t get stressed out by everything going to quickly and not being able to keep up.

*Can do it whenever you want:

The brilliant thing about Yoga on YouTube is you can literally do it whenever you want too, you aren’t committed to a time place or day to achieve relaxation through Yoga and can do it in the comfort of your own home- for me this is probably the most ideal thing ever.

*Adrianne way:

Adrianne has a brilliant personality and way of thinking she really does put you at ease from the beginning and by thinking positively about life, it does in many ways rub off on you during the 30 days- you start thinking with a more positive mentality. Problems are shut out of your head while you focus on your inner peace and personal mental time.

* Perfect amount of time to see if you fall in love with Yoga or not.

There is that idea that if you do something for 30 days it becomes routine. Well I believe this playlist of 30 days is the perfect amount of time for you to either fall in love with Yoga or realise it isn’t really for you.  Also in many ways, it is a free service and you therefore I not loosing any money for a little bit of experimentation.

I do hope this inspires someone out there to thing about taking up Yoga and giving Yoga with Adrianne a chance, it really is something so simple and helps me in many ways.

                                                Love Kelly xx

Re- Introduction.

Well hello again, it’s been a while and for that matter I feel like I should probably reintroduce myself onto my own blog (weird!).

Over the course of these past 3 months, little old me has travelled nearly 9,000 miles across the world to Australia on her own- creating the first chapter in my Travel Adventures.

However, as much as I planned to blog every day and document my trip, I was having too much of an experience to even think about taking the time to blog everyday- so I shall post below what I got up too in detail/ pictures.

However, Australia wasn’t just an experience of a lifetime, it taught be valuable lesson that has helped to shape my personality.

One of the many questions I got asked before I embarked on this trip, was, ‘Are you going to find yourself?’ and in my usual dismissive nature I snorted of course not- as at the time, I was very apprehensive about self-enlightenment. As I’m sure you would have guessed that did very much change, and it wasn’t till arrived back home after nearly 6 weeks out of the UK that I fully realised this. Australia taught me a number of things:

*Nature is beautiful:  I have always enjoyed bike rides and walking along the sea front on days out. But this appreciation for nature and people has stepped up a notch since my trip. I think people spend too much time looking at a screen and not enough time appreciating the scenery and the amazing world we live in. Considering I didn’t have my phone out while I was away, I learnt how to look up and appreciate the scenery. Australia is an active country so therefore I got into going on long walks and sitting down at a bench and watching the world go by.

*Worry less: I am, and have always been, the biggest worrier you could ever meet. I get worked up about the tiniest of things creating a problem that wasn’t even there to begin with.  Now many people, were shocked to learn I was going 9,000 miles away on my own. However, the big adventure has done me well. I learnt to do things on my own that I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to do and in fact understood there’s more to worry about than not being at the train station 15 minutes earlier. 

*The World is huge: One of the best pieces of advice I would give to anyone (even friends) is get out of your hometown even if its for a weekend and even do it on your own.  I learnt a lot more about myself when I was not surround by the influence and natures of the people I had spent 19 years of my life with- you got to do something of your own interest. Speak to new people with different ideas and different stories. I met the loveliest elderly German gentleman called Otto, who was a young child during WW2 and hearing his stories were fascinating. However, I also learnt that in fact the world does not revolve around your hometown and there’s far more important places in the world. Travelling to Australia taught me the world is huge, it gave me a thirst for experiencing new places and an insight into how naive I was just focusing my life around the small area I call home.

*Happiness starts within:  Now one thing I would say has changed is my outlook on life. I do very much believe in a healthy lifestyle and Australia is very much a healthy country, I had a freshly squeezed juice everyday. Anywhere I turned I could buy healthy banana bread- it’s a country full of the fresh fabulous food. Creating me into the biggest healthy foodie ever since and something I’m slowly learning. But also happiness is about doing something you love. Life is too short to be stuck under a cloud where you aren’t happy or are just plodding along. Life is about experiences and activities. If you love something you should do it, be enthusiastic. The World is well and truly your oyster if you believe in yourself.

*Peaceful Mind: Now if you read my ‘Summer Bucket List’ you’ll remember I wanted to try out Yoga. Well I very much succeeded in that and try and give myself half an hour a day of Yoga- my favourite Yoga tutorial ‘Yoga with Adrienne’ on You Tube, I found it really easy to follow her and she even has a 30 day Yoga playlist which was brilliant to easy yourself into Yoga. But it gave me a peace of mind. I never really understood it. But honestly its my new found favourite thing to do. When its nice weather I even complete my yoga session in the garden with the birds tweeting, bringing a whole new calm vibe. Yoga has made me connect with my body and own internal emotions and I think that’s partly the reason I have learnt to love myself and be chill just like the majority of Australian seem to be!

So on that note, Hello my name is Kelly. I’m 19 and a history student in London. I love healthy food, books, and clothes and have a passion now for travelling. I’m a newbie to Yoga and very much am a peaceful life enthusiast.

                                                So lets start this new journey.

                                              A life of happiness is worth living

                                                            Love Kelly

                                                                 xox

DAY 1: Sydney Sightseeing Tour Bus- Thursday 18th June.

So today was my first official day in Sydney. In which I thought I'd start off my adventure by taking a hop on, hop off tour bus around the city to familiarise myself with the surroundings. 
I started off my day by taking the ferry from the Taronga Zoo station which gave me a lovely view of Sydney Harbour on the way in. This was the view from just near the Ferry platform. 

I then went on one of the red hop on hop off bus, which both routes took about 2 hours to do, so all together I was on a red bus tour for 4 hours!!

Things I want to do this Summer:

_____________________________________________________________________________

Well Summer officially started for me around 2 weeks ago and it got me thinking about the things I would like to achieve this summer whether its a personal goal or even just an activity that makes me feel happy.  As I'm in University I only really have 2/3 more summers left of around 2 months off so I thought it is probably best to go out with amazing memories which I can cherish once I enter the really world of working throughout the months of July and August. 

Therefore, I have 10 things I would like to do this summer. 

1) Go on a road trip. This is something I wish I have done more over the past 2 years (well since I past my driving test). I think being in the same place sometimes can get very consuming, and therefore that is why I vow to try and take more road trips with friends to explore places, even if you are just visiting your favourite place such as Brighton or Cambridge. It is fun to go somewhere with your friends. 

2) Go on a picnic. Everyone knows my love for picnics  ever since I was a child I have loved them. They constantly remind me of my childhood and the summertime and every year they are on my list of things to do during the summer. Lazing in the afternoon Sun with strawberries is probably one of the most summery things for me. 

3) Switch off from the world. Due to the constant overload of information we get know days from Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, we never really switch off as people. Therefore, I thought this summer I would build in 'ME time' where I'm away from my phone, my laptop and anything with information and just do something for me. I think its important to just reflect by yourself and during Summer it can bring a piece of mind. 

4) Take more bike rides. I love a bike ride, especially considering I can go cycling along my the river and on a nice day it is perfect. I would love this Summer to go on a bike ride once a week, and just enjoy being outside in Nature and getting exercise too! 

5) Explore more cooking ways. I'm a massive foodie! I love trying new foods and exploring new dishes however my family are by far the fussiest family I know. So this Summer I want to explore new foods I have never tried and push my cooking skills. I think Summer is the best time to do this as you have enough time on your hands. 

6) Read 5 books in the 3 months. This past year at university as made me realise I not only have not put enough time in my day to read for enjoyment but I have also forgot what it is like to read for just enjoyment. Therefore I still have 5 books on my pile from last summer that I never got round to read and so I would finally like to read their story.  

7) Post my travels on my blog. If you read my first ever blog post, you will know I'm about to travel to Australia for the first time on my own and would love to document my story not only for the Internet to see but also for me. As later in my life I can look back on my Australian trip with a digital diary of all the little things that pictures or videos can't explain. 

8) Learn to say YES and be free. I'm a very anxious person, and like to be super organised in my day and if things don't plan out or someone asks me to do something different to what is planned in my day I start to worry and get anxious. However, this summer I would like to try and overcome it, I know you can't do something like that in just one swoop but simple things like saying Yes when everyone wants to go out after a meal instead of being the only person to go home is something I would like to try and do. In other words, I want to be more free and not think about the teeny tiny consequences. 

9)  Learn yoga. I have always admired people who do Yoga it not only looks so relaxing but is something that can detoxify your body. Therefore I would really like to explore it and see if I can grasp it a little over summer. 

10) Be creative- start a hobby. I was not a creative person at school whatsoever, I never really understood Art Class or Drama Class, but I would like to start a creative hobby such as Photography, which hopefully will happen over the Summer on my travels. I suppose practice makes perfect when it comes to it but it looks like an art that once grasped is a brilliant skill to have. 

Do you have a list for the Summer? 

Love

Kelly xox