Winter Wonderland...

 Hey there all,
Hope you are having a fantastic week (I am now that my science test is done).
It appears that winter has decided to pay a visit to this part of Australia and now it is absolutely freezing (and I mean below zero temperatures). We've had both the fire and heater on and it's the kind of weather that makes you just want to stay cuddled up in bed, under the doona, drinking tea/hot chocolate, and not really focusing on anything.
But I've been thinking... everyone seems to love summer and spend all winter complaining about the cold and wishing it was summer. While I love being at the beach and not having to go to school during summer I also love winter and here are the reasons why:

1. SNOW. I love skiing and while it doesn't snow where I live it snows not too far away and I love travelling to the snow for a weekend and spending some time skiing.

2.MY BIRTHDAY. My birthday is coming up!!!!

3.Hot Chocolate and Tea. I love drinking tea and hot chocolate and winter is the perfect time for it.

4.It's not stinking hot. The good thing about winter is that it is so much easier to warm yourself up then cool down. This is probably my favourite thing about winter (apart from my birthday and skiing)

5.Cuddling up under the doona with a hot water bottle. No more needs to be said.

So hope you are feeling a bit better about heading into winter now (and anyone who isn't when it is your winter remember this). Let me know what your favourite things about winter are below.

PS. I've decided that I am going to post every Monday, Wednesday and on the weekends, Mop will probably not be posting every week.

Image featured in the background of the header of this post was found on canva.com as a free image. 

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Exams, Assignments, Tests- How do you stay on top of it all?

Hey there, just in case you didn't notice Mop and I have swapped posting days (so I now post on Wednesdays). Hopefully, Mop will start posting on Mondays from now on.

I am an organised person. I like things to be in order and I generally know when I have assessment coming up at school. But at this time of year, it seems a bit like all the teachers got together and decided to put all the semester exams within four days of each other. It is so hard to decide what you need to remember. Should I focus on these dates for history or the formulas for maths? So today I thought that I might share some of the ways I stay on top of this assessment.
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1. Start revising early (don't worry months aren't always needed, just a few weeks will do)
2. Focus on what you don't understand. (have a look through your book and think about what you didn't understand, spend more time on that but make sure you spend a few minutes on the other things as well.)
3.Write all the important information on a piece of paper or notecard as if it was something you were allowed to bring into the test with you. Revise using this.
4. Teach it to someone else. A sibling or friend who would be willing to listen to you for awhile could be a valuable tool. Teach them the important information.
5. Hand-write it- This won't make you magically remember everything but hand-writing is proven to help you retain more information.






The image featured in the background of the header of this post was found on canva.com as a free image. 

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Sunsets

Hey there, it's Poppy.
The other day I was looking through some of the photos on my phone and I noticed that I have lots of photos of sunsets.
Everyone enjoys taking photos of different things and for me this is sunsets. I think that I enjoy taking photos of them because they are something so structured (because they happen every day) yet they are all so different and unique. With all the photos I have of sunsets, they are all different.
I thought that I might share some of my favourites:

This photo is from a few weeks ago

This is my favourite photo and is from late summer. 

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Snail Mail

Hey there, it's Poppy.
For Christmas last year, I received this Snail Mail book, written by Michelle Mackintosh. It shared some super cute ideas for hand-written letters. This book has inspired me to start writing hand-written letters to some of my friends and family.
Here are some reasons why snail mail is better than email, text or social media.

1.You get to receive letters in the mail. It sounds kind of silly but who doesn't love getting something (that isn't bills or boring stuff like that) in the mail.
2. You take the time to think about what you are writing. No one sends a letter that says ok or hi. People actually take the time and effort to consider what they want to say and put time into their replies.
3. You can make them creative and colourful. I am a visual person and I love things to be colourful and detailed. You can't add hand draw pictures or creative borders to emails. The snail mail book has lots of examples of creative ways to write letters.
4.You can keep all your letters. I have a box in my bedroom that I put all of my letters into. You can keep letters and re-read them whenever you want. They are much more special and significant than text messages.

So while text messages, email and social media are all great snail mail is a fantastic way to connect with long-lost friends, or friends that may have moved away, and family members. Why don't you give it a go? Send a letter to someone (it could even be the lady down the street or your grandparents). Have a go at making a letter interesting and adding a creative design.

Image featured in the background of the header of this post was found on canva.com as a free image. 
All opinions in the post are entirely my own. 

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Some blogging questions...

Hey there,
It's Poppy again.
I have been thinking about some ways for you to get to know me better and I thought that a question and answer post would be the best way. So here are a few questions that I think will let you know a bit more about the way I blog. I would love to hear your answers as well! Leave a comment below with your thoughts.
1. Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging 6 years ago to share my favourite book reviews but recently I have chosen to create this blog, with Mop, to share advice, tips, tricks and stories from our lives. We looked at soooooo many other lifestyle blogs and we both really enjoy reading them- so why shouldn't we start our own.

2.What is your favourite thing about blogging?
I absolutely love reading the comments that are left on our posts. It makes me really happy to see that our efforts are being appreciated by someone and we are achieving our goals. Your feedback is one of the reasons we started this- blogging is not a one sided thing.

3. When you are stuck for post ideas what do you do?
When I have absolutely no idea what to post- which happens often considering my mind is normally full of ideas- I look at pictures on Pinterest, or some websites with post ideas. Often thinking about something else can make a great idea pop into my head.

So there are 3 blogging questions that will let you know a bit more about the way I work around this blog. If you have any more questions, or would like some helping setting up your own blog leave a comment below or use our contact form.

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Inspiration for any day

Hey there, it's Poppy.
1am the kind of person who loves looking at quotes. I love being inspired and when I am having a bad day I can spend ages looking at quotes on Pinterest. Believe it or not, it makes me feel better! So I thought that today I might share my 5 favourite quotes. These can be found on our Pinterest, or the direct pin can be found by clicking the links.

1. Life is like a camera, you focus on what is important, capture the good times, develop from the negatives and if things don't work out take another shot. I love this quote, and I think that I shared it in an earlier post. I think that it is a perfect metaphor and gives me the courage to have another go when things don't work out (like our first blog).

2. I may not be there yet but I am closer than I was yesterday. One step can make all the difference. This is another one of my favourite quotes. I find it hard sometimes to start something that I know will be difficult and take lots of time and effort but reading this reminds me that the first step is the most important and starting will mean that I am closer to finishing that I was before.

3. Great things are done by a series of small things brought together- vincent van gogh. I think that this quote is a reminder that everything you do doesn't have to be big and take a lot of time, lots of small things work just as well as one big one. Kind of like cleaning your room- little bits each day make it much easier.

4. Quiet people have the loudest minds- stephen king. This might not be inspirational for some people but it reminds me that it is ok to be quiet and not shout out every thought that comes to my mind. Just because I don't share all my ideas doesn't mean that they aren't as good as those who share them all. This one has a similar message

5.I'm not beautiful like you, I'm beautiful like me. I read this to remind myself that everyone is different and that's ok. Don't try too hard to fit in, you were born to stand out. This also reminds me that it is ok to be different and that pretending to be someone else just to make my friends happy is no good to anyone.

So there are my 5 (or 7) favourite inspirational quotes that are perfect for any day. Which is your favourite? Did I miss one?
Let me know below...
p.s I can't wait to share my post with you tomorrow!

 If you want to see some more check out our inspirational quotes board on Pinterest (which can also be found on the sidebar)

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Summer has come and passed...

Hi, just letting you know that this is an older post that Mop wrote at the beginning of February. Unfortunately she couldn't write her post for today so I am going to share her favourite summer memories. xPoppy

 Hi guys! It is I, Mop! This is my first post here at Poppy & Mop, and it's about my favourite summer memories. (Also, anyone notice the stunning similarity between this posts title and Green Day lyrics? 😂)

Camping with my mates

Gah. I sound all bogan-ish but it's true, I had loads of fun camping with Poppy and some awesome other friends at the beach to celebrate my birthday. We all enjoyed it loads, apart from when we thought we heard the ice cream truck, but it turned out to be the seafood van, and getting bluebottle stings was also not the best...

My beautiful new cousins

I now have another three little cousins, all who I love very much. I spent a lot of the holidays in Sydney, and even went to the beach with R, who didn't get to eat any chips. I am so grateful that all my cousins are healthy and safe.

Going to Newtown

While staying in Sydney I went to Newtown three times, because there is really nothing like it where I live. I got some pretty cool art supplies and school stuff. I think my favourite Newtown shops would be Art on King, Pentimento, Made590, Oragami Doll and those super cool by vinyl and record stores.

A day at the beach

My family and I had a wonderful time at the beach at Freshwater, near Manly, while we were in Sydney. We found a lovely fish and chips shop, as well as explored the rock pools and splashed around a bit.

Epic Christmas (as usual)

Everyone who I am even vaguely related to I see at the big Christmas dinner with my family (luckily Poppy was there) and I had the most fun playing laser tag, chasing my younger cousins and stuffing my face with pavlova and other food.

Seeing Poppy loads

I don't often get to see Poppy as often as I wish I did, because we live on opposite sides of the city. I got to see her loads over the holidays and I am so happy, because it all lead to this blog.
What are your favourite things to do in the holidays and on the weekends?

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Delectable Dutch Pancakes

Hey there, it's Poppy. I decided that I would love to share this post with you (it is one of my favourites from our old blog) and it seemed like an excellent opportunity. Hope you enjoy...
What you need;
1 cup of Self raising flour
Margarine or butter (to grease the pan)
2 tablespoons of caster sugar
3/4 of a cup of milk
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method
1. Combine flour and sugar in a large bowl.
2. Add egg and combine
3. Add milk
4. Stir until the mixture is smooth and has creamy texture.
5. Heat a fry pan (any size will do, the bigger the more pancakes you will get at a time)
6. Scoop mixture out using a dessert spoon (half a spoonful for a pancake) and place in the frypan
7. Wait until bubbles rise on the top of the Dutch pancake and then carefully flip.
8. After about 1 minute get the pancake out and serve.

We had chocolate sauce, strawberries and blueberries on our pancakes and they were delicious! As a variation you may want to put 3-4 spoonful's of mixture at a time to create full size pancakes. 

If you had a go let us know in the comments below (I didn't make that rhyme on purpose). Did yours work? Don't worry if they didn't, I am the worst a making pancakes and I always manage to burn them or not cook them enough)

Image featured in the background of the header of this post was found on canva.com as a free image. 

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