Christmas Bullet Journal Spreads

Hi everyone! As you may know, I have a bullet journal and I love using it to organise and plan EVERYTHING. Today I’m showing you three of my favourite Christmas spreads that you can work into your planner.

This month, I made my calendar very festive and focused on red and green as my theme colours. I think that the baubles along the top and the pine tree on the side make the Christmas theme very clear : ).
The squares are also the perfect amount of space for events each day (the spacing is 6 x 6 squares). In the blank space on the right I added a “tasks” list for large to-dos and key goals. I highly recommend this layout as it made it easy to plan things out at a very busy time!

For my second page, I made a “gift list” to track all of the presents I would be giving to my friends and family. This one is really useful for future Christmases and birthdays as you can go back and check that you’re not giving someone the same gift multiple times in a row!

Lastly, I made my own Christmas wish list with a minimalistic look to counteract all of the colour and images that I had put in my other spreads. I love the idea of paring it down to four things: something you want, something you need, something you’ll wear and something you’ll read and I included this idea at the bottom of my initial brainstorm.

I Ran Every Day for 30 Days – Week 4 Recap

Week 4 in this challenge was by far the hardest. I had a major setback this week and had to change my goals. Plus, motivation was not running high and the weather didn’t make things any easier. If you want to see my other weekly recaps, you can open this link. Otherwise, let’s get into Week 4!

Week 3 Review

Distance –>

The total distance I ran this week was: 17.99 km.
I can’t say I’m disappointed about this distance but I’m definitely not impressed with my lack of motivation and effort. I’m beginning to feel fatigue from previous runs and the challenge is definitely putting strain on my already-tired muscles! On Friday afternoon, I injured my ankle at soccer and was not able to run or walk at all on Saturday. Today I went for a walk to make up for it but I’m overall sad I wasn’t able to reach 30 days of running! ; (

Notes –>

My ankle injury was a major pain (literally)! I fractured it earlier this year and it’s now really swollen and achy. Even without that setback, though, this week has been really tough. I’ve learnt that putting pressure on things you enjoy can sometimes backfire and make you not look forward to them!

Eating Recommended Serving Sizes

Today I tried out something new and embarked on a food-related challenge. I ate recommended serving sizes at each meal throughout the day! I’m really enjoying doing challenges like this so let me know if you have any recommendations -I already Ran Every Day for 30 Days and you can read about that here. Anyway, here’s what I ate at each meal:

Breakfast: Yoghurt with Muesli

With my muesli this morning I had organic Greek yoghurt. The recommended portion seemed way bigger than what I would usually eat, weighing in at 125 grams. The muesli I ate was homemade, organic and fruit-free so the serving size was harder to find. I settled on the recommendation for the muesli that I would have otherwise bought: 45 grams. This meal was really filling and probably more than what I would typically eat at breakfast.

Lunch: Salad and Focaccia

I was full throughout the morning and didn’t have any snacks. When it got to lunch, I got out my measuring cup and piled 1 cup of salad and raw vegetables into my plate. I ate cabbage, lettuce, tomato, feta and cucumber along with some focaccia. This was much harder to calculate than breakfast as the food was all homemade so I found the recipe we’d used and worked backwards from there to reach 1/16th of a 500-gram-flour focaccia.

Afternoon Snack: Fruit and A Muesli Bar

I’m in the habit of having a mid-afternoon snack and today I ate a nectarine and 40 grams of our homemade muesli bars. I wasn’t too full after my light lunch and this snack was the perfect pick-me-up.

Dinner: Homemade Pizza

When it came to dinner, I definitely failed when it came to counting portions! Our homemade pizza is very light and has a super thin crust with no extravagant toppings. While most pizza stores and recipes recommend eating 2 slices, I knew that this wasn’t an accurate judgement. I ate a whole personal pizza (find out more about the concept here) and I definitely don’t regret it!

Overall, eating serving sizes was hard for the foods that I really like but definitely could be realistic as I didn’t feel too hungry throughout the day. Although the portions are not always realistic, I was very lucky with my food options. Let me know if you’d like to see me participate in more challenges in the future!

I Ran Every Day for 30 Days – Week 3 Recap

For the past 20 days, my challenge has been to run every single day. I’m about three quarters of the way into my goal of reaching 30 days straight and let me tell you, it has been a bumpy ride! Here’s an overview of Week 3:

Week Three Review

Distance –>

The total distance I ran this week was: 24.67 km.
This week I really wanted to beat the total distance I’d run in Week 1 since I was pretty disappointed about my decrease during Week 2. Motivation was high throughout the week and I felt as though any run shorter than 3 km didn’t feel complete – I can’t believe how much has changed in just 21 days!

Notes –>

I ran really far this week and I’m very proud of the distance I reached but I don’t think that I’ll be trying to beat it next week. We’ll see how I go, though, as my competitive spirit might flare up!

If this is the first post on Chamomile & Colour that you’ve stumbled upon, feel free to check out my first weekly recap to get up to speed. You can find it here.

Christmas Wishlist 2019

Christmas is coming! It’s the most wonderful time of the year 🎵 and I’ve finally finished my Christmas wishlist for 2019. I love seeing what other people are hoping to receive so I decided to write this post for you guys but I’m definitely not expecting any of these gifts, these are just some things that I’ve noticed throughout the year and would make the most of if I ever purchased them in the future. Like this post if you want to see more Christmas content as I’d love to make some more!

Stationery & Books

Zebra Mildliner Highlighters

“You Are Not So Smart”, By David McRaney

“Brief Answers to the Big Questions”, By Stephen Hawking

Clothes, Shoes & Accessories

Layered Necklace from Princess Polly

Nike Air Force One “Shadow” Sneakers from Platypus

Leaf Ring from Henryka

Bathing Suit from Zaful

Miscellaneous

Scratchable World Map from Amazon

I Ran Every Day for 30 Days – Week 2 Recap

Hi again! You may be aware that I recently challenged myself to go for a run every single day for a whole month. I’m not a professional runner and this challenge has been a little difficult so far but it’s improved my fitness and endurance so much. Here’s my review of this week.

Week Two Review

Distance –>

The total distance I ran this week was: 20.53 km.
I actually ran less than last week but I felt really good during the 5km longer runs that I completed; a big improvement from my spluttering self last week. My motivation was a bit lower, though, an aspect I can hopefully improve in the next few days.

Notes –>

It’s reaching the summer season here in Australia and the extreme heat is causing some problems for this challenge. On really hot days, I have to wait until late to run (or wake up early) and I often complete shorter routes too. It also doesn’t help my sleep schedule as the sun squeezing in through the windows wakes me up pretty early, making me more tired during the day. I hope that next week I can be organised enough to run a longer total distance by rearranging my schedule a little.

That’s it for today but you can come back next week for my Week 3 Recap!

I Ran Every Day for 30 Days – Week 1 Recap

Welcome back to Chamomile & Colour! Today I’m doing something completely new – I’m starting a running log online. I recently challenged myself to run every day for a whole month right in the thick of exam season because I wanted to prove to myself that I have more time than I think. While exams are on, I leave many things undone; I don’t practise the piano, I forget to tidy my room and I’m a bit of a mess overall. I hope this experience can change my ‘busy mindset’ and maybe even inspire you to join in!

Week One Review

I started this challenge on a Sunday as I had seen the idea on YouTube and was excited to join in – I like running and I’d been feeling unproductive and unmotivated due to my school exams.

Distance –>

The total distance I ran this week was: 21.59 km.

Notes –>

The biggest changes I have seen so far are in my appetite and drowsiness. I found that I’m eating a lot more and that I’m much hungrier than what I was a few weeks ago. Another interesting change is how much more energised I feel daily which I hope will translate into more sleep.

Each week I’m going to be checking in and hopefully I can see some progress in distance and how I’m feeling as well. I would encourage anyone to participate in a similar challenge as it’s taught me heaps already! Stay tuned for more updates!

Should you go on exchange?

Hi everyone! This year, I participated in a study trip to France in which I stayed at my French correspondent’s house for two weeks to practise my language skills and learn about a different culture. The experience was amazing and I would highly recommend it to ANYONE. Before going, though, I wasn’t sure if I was interested or not and was searching heaps of questions online. Hopefully this can help you decide on whether or not you should go!

Pros

• Your listening and reading comprehension capabilities will skyrocket and you will also have heaps of chances to practise your language skills by speaking to the family.
  Don’t be afraid to make mistakes as your host family will be the most supportive and helpful people with language learning.
• You will build strong relationships across the globe that you can count on in the future.
  You don’t need to become lifelong friends to be able to maintain in contact over the years.
• Your independence and confidence will improve.
  Before leaving for the trip, I was too embarrassed to order food but now I have no problem speaking to anyone I don’t know as I had to do it so frequently in France!
• Your motivation to learn the language will be fresh.
  You will have gathered heaps of resources like songs, websites and YouTube channels, inspiring you to love the language and culture there.

Cons

• Your correspondent’s friends will be unsure of how to act with you.
  It was really awkward with them as they didn’t know how much French I knew and weren’t sure if I could understand them or not. I highly recommend just introducing yourself to their friends and asking them simple questions so they will feel comfortable talking to you.
• The host family you stay with may have different customs to you and will do some things differently.
  Their way of doing things will not necessarily be right or wrong but you will need to adapt a little to what they do and how they do it. For me, this mainly had to do with bedtimes and meals.

I hope this short list helps you with your decision as choosing to go to France opened my eyes to so many things and improved me heaps! Even if you decide not to go, good luck on your language-learning journey!

How to Recover from Study Burnout

It happens; sometimes you can work too hard without realising it, other times it hits right before exam season. Burnout can happen to anyone and it’s important to address it as soon as possible so that you can get back on track. Today we’re discussing the top three things you can do to recover from study burnout and if you’re interested in study-break-related tips to help prevent it, you can click here. Otherwise, without any further ado, here are today’s tips!

The first anti-burnout strategy you can undertake is to set time for yourself to do what you enjoy. You could journal, go for a run, do some yoga, watch a TV show or read a book. All of these things can be really beneficial to your mental health and will assist you in rediscovering your passions. I think this step is really important as sometimes, studying makes it feel like there’s nothing more to life than school. Doing something you truly enjoy can definitely improve your mindset and mood – it’s a crucial part of my recovery strategy.

Next, do something to look after yourself (mentally, physically, emotionally and/or socially). Spending time to reset your daily routine and make yourself feel good can prepare you for the next chapter of your life. You can go to a spa session, cook one of your favourite meals or catch up with your friends. This doesn’t have to be anything fancy but it can make you feel physically better, subsequently improving your mental and emotional wellbeing.

Lastly, make sure you’re sleeping well. Physical fatigue is a huge contributor to study burnout and feeling tired can make it difficult to retain new information at school. Go to sleep at a decent time for an entire week and set an earlier alarm in the morning. By improving your sleep schedule, you can get into healthy habits for later in life as well as feeling super refreshed.

That’s it for my top three burnout-curing tips, I really hope you found them useful. I’m not trying to give medical advice here so make sure you consult your GP if excessive fatigue is plaguing you and take these tips as simple suggestions. Remember, support is always close at hand!

Halloween Costume Ideas

Happy Halloween! 🎃👻
Today, in honour of “Spooky Season”, I’m sharing three of my favourite Halloween costumes, ones that I think are totally underrated but perfect for that last-minute outfit scramble. Enjoy!

Some cute outfit inspiration from pinterest.

A chef

This one’s so good because you can dress as a creepy killer chef or imitate a famous cook or even just dress up like a perfectly normal waiter or kitchen hand. To pull off this idea, you can add some funky props like a cloche, a squeaky chicken (don’t ask) or a rolling pin. I think a moustache is also a hilarious touch to this outfit.

A kids police officer costume online.

A cop

This can be a hilarious costume and can be taken in so many different ways. You can dress up as a scary cop, a good cop and anything in between. There are many pre-made outfits but you can definitely put something together yourself with a sheriff badge, a blue cap and some homemade handcuffs.

This idea would be so easy to replicate! Find out how here.

A movie character

I’m sorry, I know how unspecific this idea is but it’s just so easy to create a last-minute Halloween costume inspired by a movie! If you want to see my book week dress-up ideas, feel free to click this link but I’m sure that you can think of an iconic character who dresses quite similarly to you. Here’s an example from the kids movie “Inside Out”. It’s so easy to recreate and looks so effective! Make sure you match your personality to the character’s one for the night to make the costume even funnier!