Homemade Muesli Bars

I have such a sweet tooth and I usually dislike all of these 'healthy' takes on naughty treats. Sweet potato brownies were inedible and chickpea cookies were just all sorts of wrong. So you can understand my hesitation when it came to making a new 'healthy' treat. To my surprise this one was actually delicious. So delicious that they were gone within 24 hours. 

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup wholemeal plain flour
1/4 cup pepitas 
1/4 cup flaked almonds
1 cup dried fruit
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt flakes
1/3 virgin coconut oil
3/4 rice malt syrup or honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Method:
Preheat oven to 170
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. For the 1 cup of dried fruit originally the recipe was supposed to have 1/4 each of sultanas, goji berries and dried cranberries. Im not really the biggest fan of those dried fruits so I added half a cup of dates and half a cup of dried apricots (in my opinion this was the better choice) Meanwhile place oil and syrup in a small saucepan; bring to the boil and boil until the oil is melted. Remove mixture from heat and stir in extract
Add the oil mixture to your bowl of dry ingredients and stir. If the mixture seems still use your hands to combine the mixture more thoroughly. Spoon mixture into a prepared pan and press down firmly. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Remove from over. Cool on wire rack and then enjoy :D 

You + Me

The drive was long and weary. I had not slept in days, only flickers between weariness and wide awake. I wanted to go away though; the weight of the concrete jungle bearing down on me was becoming claustrophobic. I drove through country towns, rainforests, and fields of abandonment, finally reaching you.

Lost in thought I strolled next to you. I took photos, memories, and moments to treasure. I sometimes find it easier to take an image and remember the moment through the photograph. My mind is so cloudy I find it hard to see the truth sometimes.

I smiled. I know you want to see me smile, so I do. 

My body in nothing but undergarments, I danced. Neither with style, nor rhythm but I didn’t care. I danced with reckless abandonment and you danced along with me. I felt happy. I felt me.  I smiled and it was real.

I walked with you by the seaside and I was happy.

Half Top Knot

My ‘I’ve just woken up and my hair is annoying me look’ is just pulling back those front strands and tying them into some messy bun/knot thing. We all do it, whether it is in a messy pony or high bun, these are our go to hairstyles when we are too lazy to put in any effort. 

According to an online article from Harper’s  Bazaar the half bun is an actual, on trend hairstyle. Wooo go us lazy women, now we can really say – I woke up like this - flawless. 

Charlotte's Web

Her name is Charlotte…

I picture you as this intricate web that I will never see, nor do I think I want to. With the rise of the sun I imagine you glistening in the morning light, the silver threads dusted with morning dew. He gazes up at this masterpiece as he once gazed upon me. A look of wonderment, adoration and love; I don’t know what hurts more the fact that I know what you will have or that I know now what I will not have again.

I was the autumn leaf that fell too far when the seasons changed. I was there for a while, a small piece of beauty in a bigger picture, but that picture like many things had to change seasons. Maybe if I had held on a little tighter I could have made it through the winter, made it through so that I could bloom again in the spring. Maybe you could have waited or I could have been stronger. Maybe I could have done a lot of things but I am left with what is and what has been.

I felt the summer sun during the hottest of days; the bloom of flowers in the coming of spring and the ever-changing colours of life in autumn, but the time was forever changing. I couldn’t hold on any longer and as this once beautiful leaf fell from the tree it was swept up into a gust of wind. From above I can see now that you are content gazing at her silver threaded art, so I let the wind take me. As I move I can still hear the haunting whisper of her name reverberating through my mind. Her name is Charlotte, you say.

Photography by Jack Grayson, click here for more images.