An absolute fail

So it's New Year's Eve, that's come around quickly. I'm currently in a very cheap and daggy motel room on the outskirts of Sydney preparing to celebrate at midnight.

Blogmas was a bit of a fail wasn't it? I think I blogged all of 5 days. I just don't know how I used to blog daily, it was a lot harder than I remember and I didn't even have the excuse of a full time course. 

But on the up side I've got plans to be a lot more consistent and regular with blog posts and keeping the travel stuff at the top of the 'to blog' list as it seems that's what you guys like the most. Of course they'll be other stuff in there too. 

I'm writing this on my phone and can't put links in but don't forget to follow me on Instagram @emilymariejarvis, for photos of my adventures until I start properly blogging again in the new year. I'm sure they'll be heaps of photos up there from Sydney. Also all my social media links are in the right hand side bar so you can like and follow me anytime. 

I hope you all have a safe, happy and fun New Years Eve. Thanks for being here in 2014 and here's to an even better 2015. 

King's Park - the place to go in Perth

King's Park is located on the western edge of Perth in Western Australia. In covers 4.06 square km's and is full to the brim with plants native to WA. It's free to enter all year around and spending a day there would be very easy to do. A free day out - what more could you want?

There's plenty to see in King's Park, and because it's free, for me it makes it one of Perth's best attractions. The Western Australian botanic garden, within the park, is the highlight. It is home to the unique and diverse plant life of WA, which is home to half of Australia's plant life most of which are found no where else on earth. The botanic garden is part of the worldwide network committed to plant conservation. It's a beautiful part of the park and also very interesting. It's also home to Gija Jumulu (think my spell check just had a breakdown when I clicked add to dictionary), a 750 year old Boab tree. Worth checking out. 

You can also take a free guided walk with a guide at various times throughout the day who will give you all the information you need about the various species of fauna on display. But if you just want to go around the gardens at your own pace there's plenty of information boards and also lot's of places just to sit and take it all in. 

Yes, that would be another tree top walk. Not quite as high as the last, but still spectacular with views right across the park. You can also enjoy panoramic views of where two rivers meet. There's plenty of places to where you can lay out a picnic mat and enjoy relaxing in the sun with a picnic. 

There's also a few memorial monuments in the park - state memorial, the flame of remembrance and the whispering wall. They're all rather beautiful with great views from the memorials and also the whispering wall is a great place to sit, rest your feet and enjoy an ice lolly or cold drink.

There are heaps of things to see and do in Perth and I'd highly recommend have a Google before you go so you're not bamboozled by choice when you get there. Also hunt down the tourist information centre, this is a must whenever you go somewhere new, as you can grab a map and leaflets for things you want to do. But if you're strapped for cash, want a day trip with views of the city King's Park is a must. 

Have you been to King's Park, I'd love to know what you thought in the comments. Also have you got any recommendations for places we should visit in Australia? 

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It's all about Albany

Albany, found in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, is a beautiful coastal town crammed full of breathtaking beaches, cute shops and restaurants and an abundance of history. Jack and I ventured down to Albany last weekend for a bit of a road trip and after a four hour drive from Bunbury we were spoiled for choice with things to do and see.

I'm a massive history buff (bit nerdy but true) and World War One & Two are parts of history that I really enjoy learning and reading about. Being from England I've only ever really learned about the part the English, French, Germans and Russians had to play so the opportunity to discover new things about Australia and New Zealand's parts in both wars was something I definitely wanted to do. If it's something you'd like to learn about too then Albany is the place for you. 

Little historical fact now, Albany is the port from which the ANZAC soldiers left for Galliploli from and also were a lot of American submarine's were based during the war. For that reason there's a lot to be seen. The national ANZAC centre as well as the memorial statue is worth a visit whether, like me, you're really interested or if you're not. There's a lot of beautiful views from up there and a nice walking track as well. The museum is $24 dollars per adult to enter but you don't have to, there's still lots to see if you choose it's too pricey for you. 

We also decided to visit the Western Australia museum. It's free entry but a donation of $5 is recommended, which is definitely not a lot for the free exhibitions they have on offer. There's also paid exhibitions on regularly and when Jack and I visited there was an exhibition called 'Da Vinci Machines' on. You also have to pay to go on the ship (pictured above) but it's a good way to learn a little about the area and how it's developed, as Albany is the oldest permanently settled town in WA, and a good way to kill some time if necessary.

Jack and I stayed in the Banksia Gardens motel for the night, which was a lovely motel and if you're staying for a weekend or even longer is well worth looking into. Our apartment came with full kitchen, TV, two bedrooms, a shower and a bath so staying there for a week wouldn't have been hard. We ate at the Venice restaurant which was so good. The food was amazing and portion sizes were really good for the price. Only downside none of the mussels in my spaghetti marinara were open which was a bit of a bummer but the dish was lovely anyway. And Albany by night is stunning so it's well worth a wander around, or if you can't stand that icy breeze, a drive.

We took the long way home, really roadtripping it back and going through as many towns as possible to get back to Bunbury. We also took a drive around the Princess Royal Harbour to look at the natural blow holes and some really gorgeous beaches. 

If you've got time I'd really recommend having a look around the harbour. The views are breathtaking as is the hike back up the hill from the blowholes, but worth it. It's all free to do so money is not an issue with this one. 

On the way home we decided to stop and do the tree top walk in the Valley of the Giants. It's located in Denmark and costs $15 each but again is definitely worth it. At it's highest point you are at 40 meters above ground level so it's not for the feint hearted. It's a fun walk around the tops of the trees and it's pretty spectacular when you're up there. 

If you're not so keen on heights you don't have to do the tree top part but if you've paid the money you may as well just to say you did. But there is also a ground level walk around the trees with information about all the flora and fauna on display in the national park. It's pretty fascinating and definitely the one thing to visit if you're in the area and on a tight budget. 

A good weekend in Albany is pretty easy to accomplish, let me know if you've been and what you thought of it in the comments and don't forget to let me know if there's anywhere you think really have to visit in Australia.

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Christmas Down Under

I'm going to be spending Christmas in Australia, as you may have guessed, and, mainly due to the weather, it's been a little tricky to get into the festive mood. It doesn't feel like Christmas when I can go and lay on the beach on a Sunday in 30 degree heat rather than curl up in a blanket after a wintry walk waiting for a good old fashioned beef stew. However, over the past few weeks I've done a few things that have helped get me into the Christmas spirit and I'm going to share them with you to help any of you who are away from home at the festive season and need some extra help getting into the swing of things. 

I love wrapping presents. In fact, it's one of my favourite parts of Christmas. I normally jump at the oppurtunity to help my mum wrap up presents she's bought. Luckily I'm going to be spending Christmas with family so I don't need an excuse to buy presents, also a few for Jack as it's our first Christmas actually together. If you're not spending Christmas with friends or family why not buy something cheap to give to one of the charity, christmas present boxes you can find in most of the big supermarkets. Or you might be living in a hostel or flat share, try a secret santa it's a good way to bond and it means you can do a bit of Christmas shopping and a bit of wrapping. 

Family is key to Christmas. Obviously not everyone is going to be able to stay with family if they're travelling, but if you can why not treat yourself to a flight to their neck of the woods. If they're living abroad it's unlikely you get to spend many Christmases with them so they'd love it too and you get to spend Christmas with family. 

If there's no family near you, have a quiet Christmas with who you're travelling with whether it be a friend from home, someone you've met or someone you're living with. A BBQ and a few beers on the beach will be something you won't forget - it's definitely not something you'll do every year. 

Just because it doesn't get frosty cold in Australia doesn't mean they don't adorn their houses in Christmas lights. Go for a drive and see what you can see. Some of them are spectacular and they make me just as smiley and giddy as they do at home. A great way to start feeling festive. 

Of course there's Christmas fairs, festivals, markets and every other kind of festivity you can think of going on. Have a look online and you're bound to find some sort of Christmas themed event going on near you. Have a wander down and enjoy the atmosphere, you don't have to spend any money just enjoy what's going on. 

A Christmas tree is also a Christmas essential I think everyone will agree, and they don't cost a bomb. You can buy little fake ones from most supermarkets and they look really pretty, give you something to put presents under and they're quintessentially Christmas. 

One thing I love to do around Christmas is bake. Gingerbread, yule log, mince pies the lot. A few simple and cheap ingredients, or even a ready made kit/mix and you're away. The smells of the food and of course the eating couldn't be more Christmas.

So, a few tips to get into that Christmas mood when you're away from home and it might seem that little bit harder. How do you get into the Christmas mood? Let me know in the comments. 

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Turning twenty one

I'm not going to lie. I was quite nervous about turning 21 in Australia away from home. Twenty one is a big deal, you're an adult now and being away from home for that milestone made me a little uneasy. I was worried that, for the first time, I was going to feel uncontrollably homesick. I've spent every birthday at home and to spend such a big one somewhere else, pretty much as far as I could get from home, was odd. 

Kingston enjoying a chocolate shake, waiting for pancakes

When it came down to it I had nothing to worry about, of course. I had family all around me and Jack and if that wasn't enough the beautiful invention that is skype made me feel like I could have been at home. Jack woke me up at 4.30 am when he was going off to work with a kiss goodbye, a happy birthday and a card 'presents later' he said. Although I was quite happy with just a card at that point, Jack doesn't do cards you see. A perfect start to the morning. 

Uncle Bernard and Kingston enjoying some Christmas colouring in

Of course, being the lazy twenty one year old I am, I went back to sleep but dragged myself out of bed at 7am to a cloudy Western Australia - could have been at home. I'm always marvelling at how amazing skype and face time is but on my birthday I appreciated it more than ever. My whole family was sat around my mum's iPad ready with a cake and a 'happy birthday to you', in almost sync. It was the next best thing to being with them for sure. Over the past few weeks I've received a few gifts and cards in the post from back home so whilst on skype to the family I opened them and I think we all appreciated being able to do it together like normal. 

'Who needs strawberry shake when I can have mum's coffee?'

You may know I'm staying with family in WA, which was another thing that made my birthday special. I've never spent a birthday with these members of my family before so it was really nice to get to do that and something I'll definitely not forget. We went out for brunch and I definitely drunk too much coffee and definitely had to go to bed later in the day with a caffeine hangover. But it was a lovely morning and I highly doubt they'll be many birthdays where I can sit outside by the water eating pancakes without freezing my butt off. 

Surprise presents on the bed from Jack

Getting to spend my birthday with Jack was a little gift in its self. He went away two days before my birthday last year which was horrible, but this year he more than made up for it and spoiled me rotten. Not only on my birthday but over the whole weekend. He's definitely a keeper, he even remembered yellow flowers (the lily's are yellow). 

We're in love we just don't like sitting too close

Another surprise, getting taken out to dinner at The Lighthouse in Bunbury, again with the whole family that are living over here. It was so special and lovely and a lot of fun. Not to mention the food was amazing. I felt incredibly lucky and blessed the whole day. 

The Clan down under

My whole birthday was a really lovely, special day that I'm really not going to forget in a hurry. I'm so grateful for the amazing family and friends that I have that treated me like a princess the whole day. And I got to wear a playsuit with lemon's on it, with no tights, on December 5th. Very lucky I think you'd agree. 

Sunbathing ranga style 

Me and Jack spent all day Saturday at the beach which was perfect. It was so relaxing and beautiful and for me the best way to spend my birthday weekend in Australia as I love the beach but due to not wanting to get pneumonia normally avoid it on my birthday. Apart from once when I got a new coat and wanted to put it to the test. I even got a tan which topped it off with a cherry.

Being antisocial 

We finished the weekend with morning tea and the cinema. Again a lovely day well spent and a perfect way to end my birthday weekend. The only complaint, the lack of Cornish clotted cream for scones. But other than that the perfect weekend. 

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A Review | Girl Online by Zoe Sugg aka Zoella

Buy Girl Online here

I've loved reading for as long as I can remember. Picking up a book a losing myself in a great story is something I can't resist. So, when Zoe Sugg (aka Zoella), someone who says they love reading as much as I do, released her debut novel I couldn't not purchase it. It isn't on the shelves in Australia yet so I bought it on my kindle (thanks dad) and I loved it just as much as watching her YouTube videos.

The book took me back to being a thirteen year old and it was the type of book I read then but the type of book I love equally as a very nearly twenty one year old. It is clearly a young adult novel, written with teenage girls in mind but I still really enjoyed it.

'Girl Online' follows Penny. A school girl from Brighton who writes an anonymous blog, loves photography and suffers from panic attacks and anxiety. To say I could empathise with this main character is an understatement.

The story was great with a well developed narrator making it easy to read. It was funny, sad and everything in between. It was a proper teenage read - it felt a little like Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging but slightly more grown up. It was fun to watch Penny grow and learn like all teenagers do and I could definitely see myself in her - as most post-teen women will be able to.

The themes Zoe chose to deal with were quite unique, I felt, and very well dealt with. It was clear Zoe knew what she was talking about when dealing with the anxiety that featured heavily in the novel but didn't take over from the book. She also dealt well with the up's and down's that come with the online world and finding your first love. All the major ideas intertwined nicely and didn't feel like a jumble of ideas crashed together.

There were a lot of cliches and the plot has seen before but for a teenagers novel, at a debut novel, I'll let that go. It was still a very enjoyable, easy read, perfect for when you want to curl up and feel cosy. I read this in a day when it was raining outside and I curled up on the couch with several cups of tea and candles and felt very content.

I'm not going to lie - I was sad when it came to an end. I wanted to carry on reading the story and Zoe's writing which I loved! It was an excellent first novel and I'm really hoping for more from Zoe, a very talented young lady.

A Day Trip | Penguin Island

Remember that TV show about penguins that was on in the UK back in 2010 called 'Penguin Island', well this is where that documentary was shot. Penguin Island, 45 minutes south of Perth and five minute ferry ride across Shoalwater Marine Park in Western, home to WA's largest colony of little penguins - the smallest penguin species in the world.

Last weekend me and Jack took the drive two hours north of Eaton to Rockingham to catch the little ferry across to penguin island. It was beautiful sunny day so we decided to make the most of it and also hop on the glass bottom boat to cruise to Seal Island where, funnily enough, there's a few seals to be seen. Only male ones however as they leave the females on an island up stream to bring up the young. We saw a few seals lying lazily on the beach and another gliding through the perfectly clear water. 

The cruise was brilliant and accompanied by a very informative tour guide which meant I never found myself looking at something and saying 'I wonder..' Lois (I hope that's how you spell it) gave us all the information we could possibly need about the environment, the habitats and all the creatures in it from the sea grass underneath us to the huge seals lying in the sun. 

After our twenty minute-or so cruise we arrived back at Penguin Island. We'd booked to go into the feeding talk so we had ten minutes to have a quick look at the beach. It was beautiful and if it had been a few degrees warmer I'd have gotten in the sea but as it was I decided against that. The beaches are swamped with sea birds of all different varieties, all though mainly sea gulls, and it was fun watching them waddle through the soft sand with their feet sinking.

So after a bit of a wander we headed into the feeding building where we were greeted by seven little penguins stood on a rock ready for their lunch. The whole feeding session was joined by a talk which again was very informative about the penguins and the way they live but also why the ten in the rescue centre are there and why they'll be put back to the wild or why they can't be. You can do Penguin Island without the cruise or the feeding talk but for me they were the best bits as the information we got from both guides was brilliant. Also it's the only way you're guaranteed to see  penguins so for a few extra dollars I think it's worth it. 

The penguins were so cute and you can go into that room at any time for free but if you want the talk you pay a little extra but as I've said, it's definitely worth it. Whilst we were there we figured it would be rude not to have a walk around the whole island, which we did, sticking to the board walk as instructed so as not to disturb any sleeping baby penguins or habitats. We didn't see any penguins on our walk but it was lovely nonetheless and a great way to end our day on penguin island. 

For more information about the island as well as prices, times and all that sort of stuff visit the penguin island website and don't forget to let me know what you think of your visit in comments below, or if you have any other good days out in WA to recommend?  

Book your visit here Picture courtesy of Penguin Island website

P.S Don't forget to check out my madeit.com.au Christmas gift guide it's under a month away now ladies and gents.

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Blogmas Day 2

Today my best friend, Katrina, (pictured above, the blonde one obviously) turned 21. That's scary. It feels like every day I'm wishing someone else I went to school with 'happy twenty first birthday'. It's ridiculous it feels like only yesterday we were all turn 18 and going out to Brighton for our after prom party. I've known Katrina for seventeen years and we've celebrated nearly everyone of those seventeen birthdays together, missing out on each other's twenty first sucks. But this isn't a blog post about how I'm missing my one true love ;), this is a blog post about growing up.

Twenty one feels like the age where you're meant to be one of those together people. One of those people who carries a diary everywhere, has appointments in said diary and goes drinks expensive coffee and cool coffee. I have a diary which I forget about most days, I have zero appointments and I may drink coffee but it's normally from Macca's. In other words I don't feel like a grown up, together person yet and I'm here to say that's okay.

Twenty one is young. Twenty one is fun so enjoy it while you can because one day you're going to be going to work everyday, hopefully doing something you love, paying off a mortgage, for a house you hopefully love, and even probably bringing up children, which hopefully you love more than the job and the house but you know swings and roundabouts. When all those things happen you don't have the opportunities or time to go cycling through the streets in the dark singing One Direction songs or travelling around the world or drinking two babycino's in Costa because you're a cheap skate and don't want to fork out for a proper hot chocolate.

I turn twenty one in three days and I'm in a different country having experiences I never thought I'd get the oppurtunity to have. At twenty, nearly twenty one, I've finally found something I really love doing. Travelling. And although when I get home I have every intention of getting a car and a job and possibly think about moving out, I want to travel. I want to see everything the world has to offer me and I may be twenty one in a few days, and maybe that is, or was, the age you became an adult. But who cares, be an adult who has fun and continues to learn and grow and be inspired by everything.

I'm twenty one in three days and I still have no idea.

Blogmas day one | Lemon Pea does Blogmas

Jack just came home with a One Direction advent calender so kids, it's Christmas! How exciting? Though terrifying at the same time, this time last year we were two days from Jack leaving for Australia, I hadn't even created a blog let alone daily blogging and I had just started a crappy Christmas temp job to pay for my ticket out to Australia. How times change, right?

What's blogmas? I hear you cry.

Well my lovely readers, blogmas is daily blogging until Christmas. I don't know if blogmas is actually a thing, probably should have checked that first, but vlogmas is. Everyday until Christmas you'll find your favourite vloggers uploading a new vlog. Very stressul and since I'm not a YouTuber and have limited video editing skills I've opted for something I know - blogging.

I've daily blogged before, that's how this whole blogging thing started but this feels different. So let's see how it goes.

But on the theme of Christmas, don't forget to check out MadeIt for some lovely, unique gifts for your loved ones and also my blog post all about my favourite items from the site.

Merry blogmas everyone!

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A Recipe | Hearty Fish Curry

If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen a photo of my scrummy fish curry. That was a fair few weeks ago now and, as promised, here, at last is the recipe for said curry. 

Ingredients

2 fillets of white fish of your choice (I used Basa)

1/2 onion

1 clove of garlic

1/8 chunk of pumpkin

1 red pepper

4 spring onions

1 red chilli pepper

1/2 sweet potato

Hand full of snow peas

4 mushrooms

1 mango

1 can of coconut cream

2 teaspoons of green curry paste

Pinch of chilli flakes

1 teaspoon of tarragon

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of tumeric

1 teaspoon of parika

I like spices

Method

• Prepare all the ingredients. I chop all the veggies nice and chunky so the final product is a proper heart curry.
• Fry the onion and garlic in a pan with a tablespoon or so of oil until softened
• Add the chilli, red pepper, mushrooms and spring onions and do the same
• One all those ingredients are lightly fried off and the coconut cream, curry paste and spices and leave to simmer for roughly 10-15 minutes to allow all the flavours to infuse in the cream. Once you've left it for a while have a taste and feel free to add more spice to your own personal tastes, if you're not so keen on spice add less then I have recommended and then you can add more later if you want to
• Now add all the other veggies and the basa and bring the curry down to a simmer. You don't want it to boil as the fish will break down into small pieces. 
• You can serve the curry as soon as the fish is cooked however, I left mine to simmer away for an afternoon and the result was much nicer as the flavours had more time to infuse and deepen. 
• I served mine with rice and poppadoms and it went down a treat.

So there we are, a very simple, easy recipe with great results for every one to enjoy on a cold winter evening. I cooked this for three people and there was loads left, until they went back for seconds. I've also made this when I was in a rush and instead of adding all the different spices I added two teaspoons of vindaloo paste which worked well (although I prefer it with the individual spices) so that's another option and you could use any curry paste you like.

Let me know if you try it out in the comments, Enjoy :) 

P.S Don't forget to check out my madeit.com.au Christmas gift guide it's under a month away now ladies and gents.

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A Review | The Name of the Star by Maureen Jouhnson

Buy the book on Amazon here

In the past few years I have heard so many Booktubers get excited about this book and give it great reviews, so this Halloween I decided I’d make it my spooky read. I’m a great lover of Victorian London in literature and Jack the Ripper is one of my favourite characters from that setting, I think this is both the reason for leaving ‘The Name of the Star’ alone for such a long time and for deciding to pick it up. I was nervous that Jack the Ripper couldn’t be executed in the same way in a modern day setting but I was curious as to how Johnson was going to get round it.

Johnson’s premise for a Jack the Ripper story in modern London was a good one, however it was poorly executed.

From beginning until 95% of the way through I felt disconnected from the plot, as did Rory the main character. The Jack the Ripper element got very lost amongst a boring, unnecessary love story, an irrational twist (which ended up taking the story even further from the thing that made me most want to read it), and general nonsense. There were so many blurry, pointless elements to the book, such as the very pointless love story that achieved very little in the way of plot development, that the exciting part ended up being an after thought - in other words too much faff not enough action.

Half way through the book Rory discovers she can see ghosts. This element allows Johnson to incorporate the Ripper idea nicely into the story but also forces her to include very inconceivable elements which made me stop and think - really though? Really? It also dragged everything further from the whole Ripper element which in the end seemed unnecessary as it all unveiled to have very little to do with Jack the Ripper. I found myself wanting more Ripper and less supernatural on countless occasions.

A lot of the characters felt very half hearted and bland and I’ll be honest easy to forget. Very few of them had much depth apart from the Ripper himself. The dialogue between the characters felt very forced and meaningless, almost used as a device to remind the reader that there is a Ripper in the story when the plot got lost on some other element. Rory’s ‘nemesis’ was rather un-nemsisy. A head girl who’s a bit of an over achiever doesn't constitute a dislike in my eyes and it felt a bit immature and over done.

There were good elements to the story. It was an easy read, it took some time to get through because it was all a bit messy and lost but the writing was easy to read and didn’t need to much brain power. The factual elements included throughout were, for me, one of the best parts as that’s really what I was hoping for. I thought she included them nicely throughout but at times they felt like she was just using them as a reminder that there was  Ripper in London but here’s Rory and she’s not that worried about it all. I’ll hand it to Johnson that she definitely didn't shy away from the gore of the Ripper, the facts included, well, all the facts and again it was all well incorporated.

The book was rounded up nicely, everything was solved and the characters were comfortable though there was enough of a cliff hanger for those who are interested in reading the next book in the series.

Me, I’m undecided whether I will or not as of yet.


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P.S Don't forget to check out my madeit.com.au Christmas gift guide it's under a month away now ladies and gents.

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