Little Places on the Internet #2

In a few days I am going overseas to visit family for about a week. Life has been pretty busy, getting packed, organising outings, and planning out all the homework I have to do there, but I have a few blog posts queued for the time I am away, so hopefully you won't miss me too much!

Since I've been a little short on time this week I thought I would give you another link roundup. I like doing these, I think they're really great ways to discover new and useful websites that you wouldn't have otherwise known about.

1. A Good Movie to Watch

This one is pretty self explanatory. Don't know what movie you're in the mood to watch? Just hop on over to this website and either pick a recommendation, or choose a mood or genre!

2. Ocearch

I only recently discovered this website and it's rather neat if I do say so myself. It's a shark tracker, which gives you the current locations of sharks which have been tagged, as well as their names, and other information about them.

3. The Sketchbook Project

The Sketchbook Project is a large collection of people's sketchbooks and art books. You can search for something specific, or simply browse through them. Definitely worth checking out if you are ever in need of inspiration.


4. Visual News

This is quite a cool website if you're not one for reading or going onto pages which have a lot of text.


Little Places on the Internet #1

Easter Cooking: Easter Bark

I must admit, until the end of last year I hard never heard of making 'bark' before. When I first came across it I was rather confused, and had to do some googling to find out what exactly it was, and how it's made. From my understanding, bark is traditionally a Christmas treat, but I thought it looked too good to have to wait for another year or so to make, so I decided to try whipping up an Easter themed one! I know my family certainly enjoyed it, so I hope you all do too!

Easter Bark
Ingredients
White chocolate
Mini marshmallows
Mini Easter Eggs
Sprinkles

Method
Step 1. Heat the chocolate in a microwave-safe container in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each one, until the chocolate has melted. Each time your stir, mix the chocolate for a good 20 seconds to ensure that it won't burn when you put it back in. I heated my chocolate in a glass jug, and it took 90 seconds.

Step 2. Stir the mini marshmallows, mini eggs, and some of the sprinkles into the white chocolate. Pour the mixture into a tray or baking dish and place in the fridge until hardened.

Step 3. Cut the bark into edible pieces and serve and keep in the fridge when not eating.

Let me know how you find this recipe!

School Fair

When school finished a few years ago, I thought I would never come back - I was done with my years of schooling, and I would never have to see the walls of the school ever again - I was very excited to not have to go back. However, this was not to be. I think while you're still in school the only thing you want is to get out, but once you leave you almost want to go back. It's normal to you, it's how you've lived for at least 12 years of your life, so it's beyond strange not to be locked into that routine anymore.

Anyway, enough with the nostalgia. Last weekend was my high school's annual community fair day. My sister was performing a couple of pieces on her violin, and I wanted to catch up with some old friends, so I went along for a few hours. My mum and I bidded on a whole bunch of items in the silent auction, and won a bit more than we probably should have, but oh well. The things we won are actually quite nice, and what we don't need will have good lives in the emergency present pile. I didn't manage to snap everything we bought/won, because we opened most things before I remembered to take some photos, but I got what I could.

All the items in the following photos came in the same 'mindfulness hamper', and my sister and I decided to share them with each other, and make our bathroom look pretty.

These are some of the jams and relishes we bought. I'm especially excited to try the tomato relish (big fan over here!).

The remaining images are of an assortment of things from a variety of the different hampers we won at the silent auction.

Revived Book Review (Spoiler Free)

Revived is an engaging story by author Cat Patrick which follows the life of teenager, Daisy West. As with all of Patrick's novels, Revived is about the sort of topic which forces you to think. Could this scenario actually be happening right now?

Daisy is a test subject in a top-secret government program called Revive, named after the drug they are testing, which brings people back to life. The drug only works if administered within several minutes after death, and every time a test subject 'dies' they have to be relocated, and given new identities.

Although Daisy had never formed too serious an attachment to anyone in towns she previously lived in, her latest move to Omaha changes things. She meets her soon-to-be best friend, develops a crush on a cute guy, and enjoys her life in the new town. However, good things don't last forever, and Daisy's seemingly perfect world gets turned upside down through events out of anyone's control. Revived explores the themes of identity, relationships, and the things that can happen to us when these connections get torn apart.

Although criticised by some as being a plain character with little depth, Daisy is three-dimensional, thrust into a life she didn't choose, and forced into making difficult choices, even if they sometimes the route she takes seems like the wrong one. This is what makes her 'real'. In the real world people do not always make good decisions, people act hastily, people mess up. I think Daisy's character reflects this human characteristic well.

Patrick's writing is cohesive, and manages to suitably translate complex themes for the readers. Personally, one of my favourite examples of this surrounds the idea of God and religion. Despite the fact that Daisy has died several times, there is no ultimate conclusion on her behalf of what would happen when she dies for real. Daisy deems religion as being 'unnecessary' to her as she believes that most religious ideas revolve around the idea of life after death, and she has not ever had to worry about dying.

Another religious undertone in Revived is that the mysterious man in charge of Revive is aptly named God as he has the power to 'manipulate life and death'.

Despite all the negativity that occurs in Daisy's life, there are happier moments for her as well. She jokes around with her friends, enjoys designing, decorating, and furnishing her bedroom, and runs a blog with her transgender friend Megan. No matter how much bad there is, Daisy manages to pull herself up, knowing that she'll eventually 'fall back into step' with the world.

Whilst the ending was somewhat predictable, the story still made me feel like crying, and I didn't want to lose hope for Daisy's future. Overall, I found Revived to be a worthwhile read, so I would recommend it to you, if it sounds like the kind of story you would enjoy.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Easter Cooking: Chocolate Nests

The other day I was flipping through some old recipe books in the cupboard, looking for something interesting to make, and stumbled upon these little beauties. When I lived in London, these were made all the time for kids parties, and since I hadn't had the luxury of eating one in about 8 years, I scurried straight into the kitchen to get started.

This has got to be one of the simplest recipes I know, that you almost don't need an actual recipe for it. So - there's no excuse for not giving it a go!

Chocolate Nests
Taken from Usborne's Easter Cooking Book
Ingredients

• One packet of cadbury mini eggs (I don't know if other companies make the equivalent of these)
• 2 tablespoons of golden syrup
• 250g melting chocolate
• 100g cornflakes (or rice bubbles)

Method
Step 1. Melt the chocolate in a large saucepan with a little butter so it doesn't burn as easily.

Step 2. Stir in the golden syrup to the nearly-melted chocolate.

Step 3. Once the chocolate had completely melted, mix in the cornflakes.

Step 4. Place heaped spoonfuls of mixture into muffin cases, shape with your fingers, and press an indent into the middle of each nest. In the indent place 3 of the mini eggs.

Step 5. Place the muffin tray in the fridge and leave to set for about an hour.

I love this recipe simply because it is so easy, and can be quickly whipped up in an emergency. 

Enjoy!

Cat Photography

I don't know if every pet owner feels this way, but I just looove taking photos of our family cat. She's just so darned cute and fluffy that I simply cannot resist! Over the few months that we've had her, I have taken a heck of a lot of photos of her, and I thought I would share some of the better/funnier ones with you today.

Storm absolutely adores watching these kinds of cat videos. She gets confused when the birds fly off the screen though, and will look around the room and behind the computer for them.

"No, I'm not too big for this box!"

DIY Craft: Notebook-Themed Pencil Case

At school, and at university, I feel like sometimes I am in competition (with whom I don't know) to have the cutest stationery. And I love going all out, to the point where I now have too many cute notebooks, and pens, and the like, and I simply cannot take them all to class every day.

Ignoring the fact that I have far too many pencil cases, I decided to have a go at making a notebook themed one. It was quite simple, and I think it only took me about an hour or so, so it's a good craft to do when you are bored and wanting to fill in some time. There are obviously simpler (and more complex) designs you could use on your own pencil case, but I thought the notebook one was appropriate, and would look cute.

Notebook-Themed Pencil Case

You will need:

some white or cream fabric

white or cream thread

blue thread

red thread

4 buttons

some elastic, or two hair ties

a sewing machine and needles - it's okay if you would rather sew this by hand, it will just take you a little bit longer.

What to do:

Start out by cutting your cream fabric to the size that you want it. Mine ended up being around 40cm across, and 14cm lengthwise. The next step is to sew the blue lines all the way across. If it makes it easier you can mark out where you want the lines in chalk or pencil, but it's not too tricky and you can probably manage okay without doing that.

This next part is a little fiddly, so don't worry if it takes you a little while. Fold over and pin the sides so that the frayed edges of the fabric are not visible, then sew them up with the white thread.

Once you've done that you can sew the red lines on. I would recommend marking this out with chalk or pencil so that you get the distances correct. Next, sew the bottom and side edges together, and then attach the buttons, making sure that they are directly opposite each other. Then grab the elastic or hair ties and fix them round the buttons, so that they hold the pencil case closed.

And that's it! It's a pretty simple craft, but it ends up looking rather trendy, and be prepared for curious admirers asking about where you bought it from!

I hope you have fun with this cute craft, and have a wonderful week!

Quick Tips: Eating Healthy on a Budget

As a university student, I find that eating healthy can be hard, especially when there is often little time in the mornings or evenings to prepare lunch and snacks. Today I will share with you some of the things I have learnt over the last year when it comes to eating healthy on a budget.

Tip 1: Bring your lunch from home.
Whilst this takes some time out of your morning, or the night before, it is worth it to be able to pick and choose what you fancy eating. This means that you aren't always searching for a cheap cafe to eat lunch at, and it saves time as well. Just grabbing some leftovers out of the fridge can make for a delicious lunchtime meal. It also helps to save money in the long term.

Tip 2: Get to know the cafes on and around campus.
If you simply just don't have time to prepare your own lunch, or if there isn't ever much healthy food in the house, you can suss out which ones have the best / healthiest food, and which ones don't cost too much. This tip has the bonus of being able to meet new people in the cafes if you are up for that sort of thing, and sometimes it can just be nice to get off campus and go out with a friend to celebrate getting a good grade in that awful group assignment.

Tip 3: Fruit and Veggies
When in season, fruits can be the same price as, or even cheaper than a packet of crackers or biscuits. And they are better for you. If you do start to eat fruit instead of other sweets, generally after a while your tastebuds begin to find chocolate and cakes too sugary and sweet. So this is a good way to wean yourself off the biscuits if you feel as though you eat too many.

Tip 4: Drink tap water, and bring a water bottle with you everywhere.
Tap water is A LOT cheaper than buying a bottle of water or soft drink for a few dollars. It's better for the environment too, to be reusing your bottles, instead of buying a new one everyday.

Tip 5: Eat breakfast before you leave for class/work in the morning.
Even just a piece of toast or fruit will help you to feel not as hungry during the day, so you will be less likely to buy food. Breakfast is great to eat because it helps set you up for the day and gives you energy to get moving and not skip that 8.30am lecture.

Tip 6: If you are cooking all your own meals then come up with a monthly menu, or a weekly one.
This means that you can plan ahead, and won't be as likely to go out to get takeaways on an impulse. You can get planners similar to the one above from Kikki K.

Today I am off to Red Hill market with my mum, sister, and her exchange student, and hopefully the car won't end up being as full as it was last time (the whole boot was stuffed to overflowing!). If you're going to be down there, come find me and say hi!

Oh, and Ps. Thought I would give a new font a bit of a whirl! How are you liking it?