May 2013Luce's Eternal Sunshine: May 2013

27 May 2013

Orange collect

I have only just discovered the joys of Polyvore (about two years late), an awesome site that lets you mix and match all of your favourite trends in creative ways. It allows me to drool over clothes I'll never be able to afford, put them into pretty collages and procrastinate writing that dreaded report just a teeny bit longer...naturally, I'm addicted!

My wardrobe is already chock full of my fave colour orange but you can never have too much right??

Orange collect






Zara top
zara.com



Rebecca Taylor silk shorts
rebeccataylor.com


One Green Elephant slim cut jeans
$54 - zalando.co.uk


Topshop shoes
topshop.com


J Crew slouch bag
jcrew.com


Radà chain jewelry
$130 - pret-a-beaute.com


Neon earrings
$5.28 - ringsandtings.com


Tech accessory
trinaturk.com


Maybelline bright lipstick
$21 - nelly.com




xx Luce

20 May 2013

A bruised mind, darkest of days

So, this might seem a bit contradictory because my last post was about happiness but this is a topic I feel very strongly about. Mental illness affects many people in our society and for them, happiness is hard to come by.

Last week I went to a mental health public forum for an article I was writing for uni (last article for uni EVER, how exciting!). It's been done and it's handed in now but somehow I can't stop thinking about some of the things that were discussed.

Did you know that on average, people with severe mental illnesses live 25 years less than the rest of the population? I didn't. Apparently 75% of these deaths are caused by physical illnesses rather than the mental problems. Pretty sad hey?

These are shocking statistics but I find it more shocking that I wasn't aware of this and wonder how many other people would be surprised too. Mental illness still has a huge stigma attached to it. As Australians, we don't really make it easy for each other to get out how we're feeling without being labelled 'emo' or an 'oversharer' or in some cases 'un-Australian'!

I understand this perception. Even though I'm a stress head, I'm a massive believer in positive thinking. For a while, I had a hard time wrapping my head around a close family member's condition, thinking they were just a bit depressed...or ashamed to say, putting it on for show. I would be confused as to why they could not get up before 1pm and frustrated at their lack of drive.

Now I realise these problems go so much deeper than just your mindset on life, but there are a ton of other factors involved, such as genetics and biological make up. For people with mental illnesses, every day is a battle and the truth is, the majority of these people have to deal with it for the rest of their lives so they really don't need us telling them to 'get over it'!

Image Source
I just thought I'd write this post to encourage you not to dismiss mental health issues, and to try and have some compassion (something I am still learning, trust me) for those who deal with these problems on a daily basis.

xx Luce

17 May 2013

If you want to be happy, be.

Ten things that make me happy:

1// A winter morning. Or any morning that is spent in bed with a yummy breakfast and a book that cannot be put down.

2// Besties/Family/Boyfriend. Being with people that know me so well that no pretenses exist and small talk isn't needed. Perfect.

3// My three year old nephew. Sometimes he casually calls me Luce when we're having a chat, like I'm his best friend, and it is way too beautiful.

4// Morning runs. They clear my head and wake me up for the day ahead. It's always hard getting out of bed but worth it when I get in a rhythm.

5// Sudden bursts of laughter that turns into hysterical laughter. Especially if it's me making other people laugh. That makes me think I'm a little hilarious...or funny looking. Or both?

6// Spontaneous outings. They usually turn into the most memorable of times and require no itinerary - win win!

7// Seeing my family and friends truly happy. Especially if it's about something they think is stupid but amazing and they tell me with massive grins on their faces.

8// Reading. I read anything and everything, novels, picture books, blogs, newspapers, online articles. I love it! That feeling you get after reading a perfect book is indescribable.

9// Being active, fit and healthy. When I'm exercising regularly and eating healthy (most of the time...) I feel my best.

10// Op shopping - best kind of retail therapy! I love op shopping with my friend Ninny poo. Her excitement and enthusiasm for a bargain is contagious, she really should've been one of the crazy cats in the Thriftshop music video.

My happy list was incredibly hard to narrow down because there's so many things that make me happy: chocolate, helping people, hugs, tea, being motivated, blasting my favourite songs in the car, writing lists, guiltless decision making, giving presents, receiving presents and movies that make me think.

The ones that made it to the list came to me first and encompass most parts of my life.

By the way, this post was inspired by Story of My Life's challenge. I'm a little slow on the uptake but better late than never!

What's on your happy list?

xx Luce

14 May 2013

Dinner for Mumma Bear

Yep, the belated Mother's Day post.

My mum is definitely one in a million. She's completely bonkers, ridiculously caring and a bit of a psycho. We argue occasionally and she annoys me sometimes, especially when I have to show her how to change the TV settings for the MILLIONTH TIME. Mostly though, we are the best of friends and you will generally find us laughing manically about something nobody else gets. I love her to bits. 

Crazy mumma! 

To show my love, I decided to cook a Mother's Day dinner.

I like to think of myself as a bit of a champion in the kitchen, but in all honesty, I would be eliminated well before the croquembouche stage on Masterchef. So I pulled out Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals cookbook to trawl through the colourful pages in search of a tasty meal. I was cooking for seven: myself, mum, dad, brother, sister, brother in law and my three year old nephew. My 12 week old nephew slept right through dinner, how rude! 

In the end, I decided on Jamie's ultimate pork tacos. I made them with kidney beans instead of black beans (black beans are hell to find!) and an avocado green salad.

I was so concerned in actually locating the pork belly (first time cooking pork belly and all) that I missed one small but important requirement. The recipe quite clearly says 'skinless' pork belly is required, for obvious reasons. I honestly thought I could outplay Jamie Oliver - rookie mistake. 

Utilising my sister's knife skills, and ignoring her vegetarian gag reflexes, we then removed the skin from poor Babe whilst trying to keep the fatty parts that make pork belly so scrumptious. This definitely reaffirmed Harmony's belief in vegetarianism, I mean, the skin still had little piggy hairs on it! Please forgive me for reminding you of this again Harms. 

Prepping my ingredients, like Jamie says.
Jamie is obviously a god with this 15 minute cooking nonsense, but the whole meal took me about 40 minutes, including cooking chicken for my skeptical brother in law. The only thing affected was the cooking time of the pork, which might need to be pulled off early if you're a slow poke like me to prevent overcooking.

The flavours were incredible though, and I developed a love affair with coriander - seriously, who knew coriander in a salad could be that amazing?!

For dessert, I made Salted Caramel Pots de Creme out of Curtis Stone's cookbook What's for Dinner?. Pots de Creme are basically baked custards and melt in the mouth divine. Salted caramel is my absolutely favourite so this was the number one pick!

What was lacking in presentation made up in flavour, promise! 
In typical Lucy style, I ran into a bit of a hurdle with this one too when I realised we didn't have enough ramekins in the house. After having a mini meltdown, I proceeded to make one giant Pot de Creme instead and increased the cooking time to ensure it wasn't a runny mess.


They were the perfect balance of salt and caramel, with a hint of vanilla and I added chocolate wafer sticks for some crunch. I scored 9 out of 10 according to my darling brother, so I'm guessing the meal was a hit!  
Happy Mother's Day Mum!

xx Luce 

9 May 2013

Romance = food

Health food shopping is definitely my weakness. While other girls splurge on heels, I buy bulk coconut oil and raw chocolate. Honestly, all I wanted for my birthday was cook books and quinoa. My boyfriend thinks I love food more than him - he's wrong of course, I love them both equally!

I've found it hard to narrow down my go to health store because I always need to visit three or four different shops to buy all my favourites, usually driving from one corner of Perth to the other.

So today, because it's pay day (from my casual PR job, not Centrelink for once!) I stopped at Organic Selection, a local shop that I hadn't been to yet, to have a look at what they had to offer. I was also searching for the amazing Pana chocolate my sweetie of a friend, Anh, gave me for my birthday. Big mistake. Although it was a teeny tiny shop, it was packed full of delicious and healthy goodies. Kale chips to coconut water, I was in organic heaven*.

I restricted myself to a couple of Pana raw organic chocolate bars (and some tried and tested Loving Earth chocolate) a delectable chocolate flavoured almond milk and some goats cheese, which I'm excited to try.

I've been told that all the Pana chocolate flavours are amazing and judging from the Coconut and Goji one I've already sampled (oops!) I believe it! It's super creamy and the packaging is freaking cute too.

My chocolate themed mini haul
xx Luce

* NB. Organic heaven doesn't actually exist and I don't eat completely organic, or even close to it, but go check this little shop out, it's grand!

8 May 2013

Smell the rain

Winter is finally coming to Perth!

I've always associated rain with safety, like a liquid shield. That is until my darling mum told the story of how we were robbed on a stormy night when I was younger. The burglar crept right past my sleeping sister and took my dad's wallet. They also traipsed mud right through the house, which I think is what annoyed mum the most.

To be honest, her attempt to change my romantic view of winter weather hasn't worked. I still feel that when I have my flannelette pajamas on, a hot cup of tea in hand and the covers pulled up to my chin, all is good in the world.


Tea of choice: love from pukka 
Book of choice: Tell the wolves I'm home by Carol Rifka Brunt

xx Luce

7 May 2013

Why, hello there!

Starting my own little blog - how ridiculously exciting! 

I've finally jumped right into the blogosphere for many reasons, but mainly, I want to revisit my creative side. It's so easy to get caught up in the mundane and hardships of every day that you gloss over the beautiful things. With my uni degree and life in general, I sometimes find myself engulfed by stress. Hopefully my blog will be a little oasis away from this crazy, wonderful life.

I'm Lucy by the way. I'm a 20 something Perthite with a love of op shopping, food and fitness. I'm nearly finished with my PR and journalism degree and am equally scared and excited about what life has in store for me. 

This blog will most likely be a little crazy and full of my thoughts, inspirations and every day musings. 

Please enjoy! 

xx Luce