Marching into 2016

How I kicked off the new Semester at Curtin

March is the start of many things for me; it's the beginning of the new academic year, a new season and my second year cheer-leading. Not to mention, some new opportunities, harsh blows from life and unusual (and at times amusing) incidents have surfaced this month. Both my parents have been incapacitated, my mum after a foot-operation and my dad through a kitchen-mishap! Three new prospects for employment and work experience have found their way to me and I have learnt a thing or two about the rat-race that weren't so pleasant (more on that another time). I've also been chewing a lot of gum and accidentally biting my tongue a lot (just randomly).

Goodbye Summer

To me March wrestles with an identity crisis. The autumn weather is in denial about BBQ season being over. While this makes it difficult for me to dress myself, it also poses the problem of needing to study inside, but wanting to soak up the last of the beautiful Australian sunshine. Easter has come early this year, and in the northern hemisphere it is traditionally a celebration of new life and spring, so trying to factor that into the beginning of the dormant months causes me to feel further disconnected from the holiday (as I am also in the process of redefining my spiritual side). 

My  mum and I on a beach walk one sunny morning this month

New-Year's Resolutions Update

Nearly three months on I can say that I am progressing with my New Year's Resolutions! How many people can say that they haven't given up on or forgotten theirs? I am happy to be an exception to the rule. While it has been a month since I last posted on this blog, that can be attributed to me falling ill (typical) and a change in my routine. Hopefully I will get back on track. I have seen a significant improvement in my punctuality and have accumulated a decent amount of savings. Of course this hasn't been easy, I have encountered obstacles for all three of my goals and I am certainly not perfect in these areas, I am focusing on the positives; Yay me!!

What is my life?

Curtin's 2016 small and mighty pep squad!

Right now my weeks are a balancing act of; working in retail, attending university classes, studying independently, mentoring new students, interning, cheer practice, fitting in gym workouts, dating my amazing boyfriend, trying to catch up with friends, going to parties, gatherings and events, spending time with my family, house sitting, trying to blog, eating right, daily chores like administration or cleaning and trying to find time for other pursuits that would make me feel happy and fulfilled (e.g. playing the piano, reading, photography and volunteering). When do I have time to breathe? Somehow I manage to find time to waste away in front of a screen... I have felt a bit overwhelmed, downtrodden and uninspired as of late, especially today when I didn't get much done on account of being hung-over (which is a rare occurrence and the punishment for having a wonderful and carefree night!). What to do? Soldier on! The Easter break is coming at the perfect time. I need some time to decompress and catch up on the work that is already starting to pile up, as we all do in March! I will not let my current disappointments stop me from focusing on my present opportunities and the future. 

This Months Favourites

Food: I have been experimenting with vegan-ism from health, sustainability and anti-cruelty stances this past month. While I have still been eating meat, I am becoming a much more conscious consumer and I wish to explore these issues in more depth. My favourite foods have been two that I never used to touch; tomato salsa and soda water. I still strongly dislike tomato in most of its forms, and used to find soda water bitter and bland at the same time. But I have recently found both to be refreshing and healthy to snack on and my palate has finally accepted them. We have had a plentiful supply of both, with the soda stream machine I got my parents for Christmas and my dad going on a bit of a nacho kick!

A delicious breakfast I had this month at the Burns Beach Cafe:
Poached egg, roasted cauliflower, almond crumble and pancetta on cream cheese.

Fashion: I have been experimenting in the wardrobe department by trying to incorporate a capsule wardrobe into my life. I wont say much on this topic yet as I hope to create more posts on this topic but culling my clothing and creating a uniform is making my mind and wallet a lot happier! I am sharpening and evolving my style through this practice and can't wait to see where it takes me in the colder months. 

Beauty: I can see that I am evolving to develop into a typical hipster millennial or something with the minimalism and vegan ism, but I have also been loving natural beauty products...namely rose water and coconut oil for moisturizing and baking soda for my teeth and also cleaning! Its nice to get back to basics and I have been noticing a difference in my skin and teeth colour. Another way to purify your beauty routine is to focus on drinking as much water as you can, you will see an improvement in your skin and overall health (like you haven't been told that before!). 

A top-knot, white tee and this make-up look aren't usually my go -too...
but it was fun and refreshing to ix things up 

I could go on and on and write so much more about this month but I will leave the post here for now. This post has energized me (right before I need to go to bed and have an early start tomorrow, oops) and made me excited to grab life by the horns next week! Please leave a comment if you read my post, I would love any feedback. 

Keep Marching on! xoxo Elise