Pondering on Love...

Right now I feel excited. I feel like good things are coming my way. One thing I know is that it is very easy to be excited and happy after something wonderful has happened, but harder to be excited and happy before such a thing has occurred. I'm trying to shake that up a little. So often we wait until we get what we've been yearning for to be thankful for it. I'm trying to be thankful already. It's no surprise that the thing that I'm most excited for will be finding, falling, and being in love. I talk about it nonstop, and think about it even more. However, I don't let the fact that I am currently single dictate or rule my life too much, because I used to. I used to get so hung up and caught up over the fact that I was single. Now even though I definitely wouldn't say no to a date if a boy asked me out on one, I'm not really that fussed over the fact that I am single. It's by one thing only that I'm at peace with it. It's the simple thought that if I was meant to be in a relationship right now, I would be. I know that everything has a perfect timing, and it just so happens that it's not yet my perfect timing for love. And that is totally okay. You've just got to accept such a reality and move on with life. There is so much beauty and wonder out there to experience. Why should I let the fact that I'm single hold me back so much? It just seems silly. My value isn't dependent on my relationship status. I used to think it was. 

I have three siblings and I am currently the only one who is single. That's okay. My time for love will come around soon enough. I believe that you've just to keep running your race and let things happen how they're supposed to. It doesn't mean sit back and do nothing, but that instead of stressing about the things I can't control, just vibe with life instead. The simple, but complicated, fact is that we are not as in control as we think we are. One day love is going to find me and it's going to be amazing. So instead of sitting and feeling sad and alone, I am feeling excited and happy about the day that it will happen. I'm not going to miss out on the present because I'm looking too far forward into the future. I'm going to embrace and delight in every wonderful experience that comes my way. I'll feel excited over the fact that one day I'll get to share all of these experiences with the love of my life, and that I'll get to hear about all of his wonderful experiences too. 

Love isn't always sunshine and rainbows, and social media tends to glamourise it while forgetting that a lot of hard work goes into those relationships. We read flowery words and see beautifully framed pictures on Instagram and think that's how it always is. We couldn't be more wrong. It is vital that we remember that good relationships take effort and perseverance, a lot of hard work behind the scenes, and two people who want to be together more than anything else. These relationships are formed in the valley, not on the mountain top. Skies will become grey and times will be tough, so you want to make sure the person whose hand your holding is planning on staying there for the long haul. I can't pretend to be an expert on love, when I have virtually no experience in the field, but something I do know is that it should make you feel infinite and out of control. It should be a bursting flame that makes you feel like you have fireworks going off inside you. Most importantly though, it should feel like coming home. I can't wait to come home. 

Love, S.

Image: Tumblr

Homemade Granola Recipe

This morning I was faced with a dilemma. I was out of muesli. This is an awful situation to be in when you're really craving muesli, fruit and yoghurt. Bit of a #firstworldproblem though, I know. Instead of remaining upset and deflated, I just decided to make my own. The thing about granola is that it is very easy to make, and they all work off the same basic recipe. The one that I made, which is the one I'm sharing here, is very basic. That's simply because I didn't have too much in my pantry, so I just worked with what I had. This recipe is a mixture of Suzie's (from Hello October, you can find her recipe here) and also from an article I read on Buzzfeed (which you can find here). 

Ingredients 

2 cups of oats

Handful of pumpkin seeds

A bit more than 1/4 cup of honey

A bit less than a 1/3 cup of extra-virgin olive oil

Brown sugar (just to sprinkle)

Dark chocolate (chopped up into little pieces)

Pinch of sea salt

Method

1. Preheat your oven to about 160 degrees celsius. 

2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl (for me that was the oats and the pumpkin seeds. If you were using dried fruit, nuts or spices you'd add those in now). 

3. Add in the oil and mix to combine.

4. Then add in the honey and mix to combine. 

5. Add in your pinch of sea salt and mix well. 

6. Once it's all mixed well pop it onto a baking try and spread it out so you have an even layer that isn't too thick, then add your sprinkling of brown sugar. 

7. Bake it for about 10-15 minutes, but stir it about halfway through baking. I ended up baking mine for a little longer, so just test it as you go. 

8. Take it out to cool, and once it's cool add the chocolate chips. 

9. Add it to your breakfast or store it in an airtight container. From what I've read, this will keep for up to a few months! 

I ate mine with some vanilla yoghurt and strawberries and it honestly tasted SO amazing! This is definitely something I will be eating regularly from now on. Happy baking!