*Spring has Sprung*

I wandered around the garden this afternoon, camera in one hand, a cup of tea in the other, and thought I'd share what made me smile...

Yes, this post was pretty random, but these flowers did make me smile today, I hope they do the same for you. If not, click here to enter  my giveaway to win some lovely things that will certainly make you :) xx

Soap&Glory and BarryM **GiveAway!**

I am aiming at *hopefully* having 100 followers on this blog in the next few weeks...I am currently at 74. Pretty please can you help me get there :) 

I have some lovely things to giveaway to celebrate the occasion! Well, 2 lovely sets of lovely things to giveaway to be exact...These goodies are extra special as we you can't get your hands on these wonderful brands here in South Africa. Unless you have a magic carpet to take you to England, in which case, can I come with?? 

The first will go to a random lucky someone...all you have to do is comment on this post so I know who's who in the zoo (please also tell me what you'd like to see more of on my blog) 'follow' this blog and 'like' my page on facebook, easy right?

And the second prezzie will go to my 100th** follower!

**the only condition...winners have to reside in South Africa as shipping laws make it very difficult for me to send liquids overseas...so only South Africans will be eligible for this giveaway, but please don't let that stop you from checking out my blog! Lots more giveaways to be done in the future with non-liquidy prizes...yay!

Lucky Draw Winners will be announced on the 30th September 7th October *more time to enter ladies!!*. 

Good luck xx

I lurve presents...

Tomorrow, I will officially be joining the thousands of other South Africans and becoming a part of the working world...not too excited for this as my new job involves a 6 day week and lots of long hours (*hoping I still get the time to fit in blogging!*). But I am very keen to start this next phase of my life :) So, where does the title of this post come from? Well I headed down to Durbs to see Farmboy as he had a long weekend *not sure when next I'm going to be able to see him as I will be working weekends...sniff sniff* and along the way I met up with a new friend for some hot chocolate and my first nibble of a macaroon. Macaroons are all the rage at the moment, with bloggers going crazy for them, but I wasn't so taken, a little sweet for my liking, but definitely edible!

Anywho...where was I...oh yes, I met up with Megan from ChinaDollIllustrations, *I did a little interview on her a short while ago and we hit it off and have been friends ever since* :) In the process of buying one of her prints, we got our wires crossed and the print that I'm waiting for is still on it's way, so she gave me this one as a little prezzie...it's gorgeous! You have to check out her other work, she is just so darn talented!

**Megan is having a giveaway at the moment! Click here for more info on how to get your paws on a puppy!**

500 Pencils

What would you do with 500 pencils? Bet you wouldn't think to store them like this:

500 pencils is the coolest idea since sliced bread. Every month, 25 pencils get delivered to your door, packaged in tones and hues tantalizing enough to make your mouth water (lemon drop, pumpkin pudding) and some that just make you day dream (drizzly afternoon, mermaids gown). 20 months go by and your left with 500 gorgeous pencils, and some great ideas on how to store them! Now, where's my credit card :) 

Thanks to Elle Decor for posting the above find, I loved it so much I had to repost it to all of you!

**Pata Pata** Joburg's answer to AfroChic

Located in the heart of Joburg's business district is this gem. Pop in for a late afternoon drink with friends, or stay for a bite to eat while you take in the sounds of local jazz bands. Next door is the Bioscope Independent Cinema if you fancy something a little more artsy, and on Sundays don't forget to check out the ultra cool Market On Main.

Hours:

Monday to Sunday 08:00 - 11:00pm

Directions:

Main Street Life, 286 Fox Street, Maboneng Precinct, Johannesburg

Woman's Day 10k run!

This Woman's Day, TotalSports and Shape magazine teamed up to bring us a 5 & 10 k race in Jo'burg, Durban and Stellenbosch. For the past 5 weeks I have been following (well at least as best as I can) Shape's training schedule to get fit and ready to run 10k's. Now, I had a vague idea that the race was at the beginning of August, but this didn't quite register until a week before when I realised I would have to cut my 12 week program down to 5 weeks...eek! Just so you know, before I started with the program, the furthest I could run was to the kitchen to answer the phone and even then I felt like my heart was going to explode. I hated running and always felt so useless whenever I tried. But with the goal of having already registered for a race, the rest just happened :)

I didn't run the whole thing, I walked, a lot, but the point is I finished it and I was not the last person to cross the finish line either. What an exhilarating experience! And, not a bad way to get fighting fit and bikini ready for summer.

 If you are thinking about getting your run on but need a bit of motivation, click here to join hundreds of other women just like you, who, with a little help from Shape, could be the next Comrades winner! :)  Just sign up for their weekly newsletter which is sent to you every friday with the next weeks training schedule. The program is broken down into 3 days of training, with lots of idea's and tips on getting the most out of it. Plus, join their facebook and twitter profiles to connect with other women out there going through exactly the same thing :)

PS the SPAR Women's Challenge is happening on the 27th August at the SuperSport Park in Centurion, Jo'burg with entries open for both a 5k and a 10k race. Go on, your body will <3 you for it. Plus all finishers will receive a medal and a goodie bag...yay! Click here to enter.

Missioning around *Centacow*

On a recent trip to Durban, Farmboy and I decided to do a little exploring of the area surrounding his farm in Creighton (you're not alone if you have no idea where Creighton is...it's about 40 kilometers from Ixopo, KZN). Centacow Mission was founded in 1888 by Trappist Monks, when a man called Abbot Francis Pfanner purchased a small farm in this small corner of Kwazulu Natal. Missionaries developed Centocow into a flourishing station where the brothers cared for the farm, did all the carpentry, blacksmith work and made the bricks for building operations. Today Centocow Mission looks desolate. Farmboy recently made a purchase of an exquisite piece of yellow wood furniture from one of the few monks still staying at Centacow, who told him that they now offer one of the buildings as accommodation for conferences etc.

Enough with the history lesson :) here are some pictures to set the scene for you...

**Decorex** JHB

Guess who won double tickets to Decorex Jhb??? Little ol' me :) Thanks so much to LuckyPony (and of course Decorex for the win!)

The convention is happening from the 5th (today) to the 9th August at Gallagher Convention Centre. Tickets cost R70 and can be purchased at the door. Hope to see u there!

Source: LuckyPony

**Wedding Bells**

Last weekend marked the wonderful marriage celebration of my mommy to the awesome Rob! What a perfect day. The weather was beautiful, the venue was surreal, and my mom, she looked just gorgeous! And the best part, I have 2 new wonderful (and did I mention gorgeous!) sisters to add the mix. Here are a few pictures we have so far, while we wait for the professional pic's to arrive...

The Bride & Groom

A few shot's of the venue and flowers

Doing my mom's makeup :)

Left: Me and my very handsome brother. Right: Me and the bride :)

Left: My lovely new *sisters* and my Granny. Right: My new family!

The venue was Morrels Exclusive Boutique Venue & Manor House in Randburg, the ideal setting for the 'french style' wedding my mom was after.

Unfortunately, I don't seem to have any pic's of Farmboy and myself :( So those will have to come when the professional pic's arrive...

The perfect start to a wonderful new journey of friendship and family...

P.S. talk about an overuse of the word *wonderful* :)

Q&A with Megan of *ChinaDollIllustrations*

A little while ago I did post on the  incredibly skilled jewelry designer and hand forger, Jess from HelloThula. This past weekend I was in Durban visiting Farmboy, and just had to pop in for tea with this pretty lady...

Here is what we got chatting about while sipping on fragrant tea and stuffing our faces with basil pesto and mozzarella pannini's.

Enjoy

x

Q. What is your favourite food/colour/animal/place in the world/way to spend a Sunday afternoon?

My favourite food right now is an italian pesto salad with mozarella cheese and baby tomatoes mmmmm.

My favourite colour changes all the time but I have salmon pink on the brain at the moment. Lastly my favourite animal has always been the panda bear, they are so awesome and pretty and cute all at the same time :)

I am so lucky to have traveled a lot as a kid but my most memorable places are Lake Malawi ( I don't think South Africans realize how close it is or how beautiful it is) and Yosemite (national park in America) the surroundings and views are spectacular there.

Call me corny but my ideal Sunday afternoon would consist of me at home in my pj's with teapots full of tea, junk food to the max and unlimited amount of movies.

Q) For those readers who haven't seen your blog, what is it that you do?

I am a freelance illustrator. I illustrate for magazines and I do a lot of commission work for birthdays, and Christmas presents etc. But my work mostly consists of my personal pieces, these are the illustrations I market the most on my blog as well as face book and flickr. I literally just can't stop drawing and I have a portfolio full of art which I print and sell at markets and online. My goal is to develop my own style and world of art that will be recognized by many and eventually become an independent illustrator. Thats pretty much the entirety of what I do.

Q) I wish I could just pick up a pencil and go for it, alas, maybe I can learn? Did you study illustration?

I actually studied Fashion Design where Illustration is a big part of the work you do. Thats where I really saw the value in being able to draw and illustrate forms, textures etc.

Q) How long does it take to complete one drawing from start to finish?

Thats a tough question, each artwork is different really. Some pieces I want to be super detailed which take up to 3-4 hours whereas others are a lot more simplistic and only have a few pencil lines and only take an hour. How ever I have realized with myself that the longer I take and the more work I put in, the better it will look. I guess thats how it works with most things. 

Q) Do you ever got so frustrated that you rip up what you're doing and chuck it in the bin? Or does that just happen in the movies?

There are days where I just don't feel it and land up scrunching up sketch after sketch in frustration, this mostly happens when there is too much negative thinking and bad self esteem. On those days I realize it is time to put the pencil down and get some positive inspiration weather that be from hanging out with friends, taking a walk on the beach anything to relax your brain really. Even sometimes washing the dishes can do the trick he he.

Q) Now we know your just human and also get frustrated with your own work, Where/who do you get your inspiration from?

My inspiration mostly comes from nature and animals, when I was younger I grew up having lots of animals from horses to hamsters and even chickens we also travelled a lot seeing so many places that changed my whole perspective on life. So naturally I have always been in love nature. But art in all it's forms also inspires me daily. On the web there are so many inspirational people, photographers, fashion, graphic and interior designers that produce phenomenal work. These people always push me to try to be better at what I do.

Q) What was the first drawing/illustration that you ever did?

 My mom was an artist so I guess she planted the seed, she had this awesome art room full of paints, canvases and easels, she always encouraged me to draw. Although I don't actually remember the first drawing I did, but the one thing my sister and I always use to do was draw rows and rows of girl figures in the best clothing designs we could think of, they would each have different hair colour, eye colour and each have their own outfit! We used to have a blast drawing them.

Q) What do you think about the future for illustrators in South Africa?

I think the world is full of talented people and that includes the people of South Africa. How ever I do think that we are a little bit behind and have not become aware of how we can use our skills to make money as well as become well known around the world. This is changing slowly which is really exciting as the potential for a community of successful artists is huge. I really hope to see some South African names in lights in the near future. It is totally possible for us to catch up with the international art and illustration community.

Q) Ultimately, where would you like to see your drawings/illustrations displayed? 

I would love to see my art in big magazines, children's books, design books, anywhere really. I always get a wonderful sense of accomplishment when I see my art featured and exhibited anywhere. I also hope to start my own stationary brand which will be branded with my illustrations and art one day, I would really love that.

Lastly, where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

I have absolutely no idea as to where or what I will be doing in 5 years time, I am the kind of person who takes it year by year. I don't really plan to far ahead but I would like to see myself in Hong Kong perhaps, maybe even somewhere else as an independent illustrator or even a part time illustrator, part time teacher. Teaching children is another big dream of mine. Marriage and babies will come in their own time but I see my boyfriend Dustin and I enjoying our lives either traveling, teaching and always always illustrating and designing. 

Thanks Megan for an absolutely wonderful morning! 

Get Crafty! *Vintage MakeUp Box*

I've had this boring pine box/chest of drawers hanging around in my room for years. It used to be filled with my (*wait for it*), my rubber...sorry we don't use that word anymore...I mean, eraser collection, cassette tapes and other such nonsense. Farmboy suggested we do something with it. It has now become the UlTiMaTe MaKe-Up storage device! 

please excuse the apostrophe's...as an English major I should have know better. I couldn't even blame Farmboy as I had done the stenciling!

It was so easy to do, I think you should give it a try!

You will need...

box/chest of drawer/anything needing a 'lift'

paint brushes

turpentine (to clean the brushes)

3 colours of paint (we just used what we could find in the shed...it was Plascon's Super Acrylic Polvin in "baby elephant" for the main colour, for the 'vintage' look we used Plascon Multi Surface Primer, and black for the stenciling)

lots and lots of newspaper

some sponges

stencils (we used an old x-ray that we traced and cut out on)

Step 1: Paint your box thingy all over with your base colour and leave to dry. Don't forget to put down lots of newspaper so as not to make a big mess

Step 2: First mix a little turpentine with your white paint to get a nice even consistency, and before you go crazy with your box, practice on a spare piece of something to get your creativity flowing. Make sure your box is completely dry and then it's bomb's away...happy spongeing! This is a bit of a process, and you will get better at it as you go along...promise!

Step 3: Tea time!

Step 4: Use your tea time to prepare your stencils. Just print out the words you want to stencil on your 'thingy', glue them onto thick card or an x-ray if you have, and then using a craft knife, cut them out...otherwise just get yourself an actual stencil to use. 

Using your black paint, get to stenciling. Use a sponge to 'dab' the paint on the stencil as it creates a much nicer effect than solid painting. Leave to dry.

Step 5: Stand back and admire your work!

Voila! The ultimate beauty storage device! 

The idea for this *make-over* came from the lovely Sacha at OnceUponATime who specialises in transforming old forgotten furniture, and does it in style...thanks so much for the inspiration Sascha!

#JoziBloggerMeetup

Early on a recent wednesday evening, a group of 50 enquiring souls streamed into the wonder that is Wolves for a night of wine, socializing, prizes and a red velvet cupcake or two.  The reason I hear you ask? Well, three friends had an idea, an idea which would shake the very ground that Jo'burg stands upon. An idea to hold a get together for all those bloggers residing in the city of gold...

The goodies up for grabs! And of course the vino...

Then venue...Wolves Cafe, Ilovo.

Playing around with fellow friend & blogger, Lou

 My dear friend Lou and I arrived at Wolves at a fashionably early 17:39 (bear in mind things were only kicking off at 18:00). We sat down awkwardly and ordered some tea, feeling very much like farts in a perfume factory. Luckily, Angie came over and with talk of a raffle & wine, we had made at least one new friend. At that was only the beginning...

The lovely Araffa and Lou on the left, and swopping blog url's...Sarah & Serena

Lou, Serena, Sarah and me...all smiles! And on the right, Michelle & Alma getting ready to win some prizes!

 What a delightful way to spend an evening, chatting away about life in Jo'burg, blogging in Jo'burg and everything in between.

As is the case with most events, one never get's a chance to meet *everyone*. But, to combat this little dilemma, here is a list of all those in attendance and their blog urls! Yay for Jo'burg bloggers! So go on, check them out and get commenting :)

A HuGe thank you to Angie, Nicci, Emma, Natasha & Jo for a stupendous evening! Here's to many more, and to many more amazing raffles (*let's get Mauritius on the cards this time!*)

* Tanya – tan32.wordpress.com

* Roz – jellybeanjourney.wordpress.com (email Roz at wrighttwinmommy@gmail.com for access as her’s is a private blog)

* Timor – lovecybelle.wordpress.com

* Gina – gnatj.com

* Stacey Vee – lionheartinourbathtub.blogspot.com

* Nicci – fromnearthemoon.wordpress.com

* Serena – medstudentbarbie.blogspot.com

* Hayley – hayleymal.blogspot.com

* Vanessa – randomramblingsofacrazedwoman.co.za

* Kate – justagirlwholikeswords.com

* Carlette – nunuza.blogspot.com

* Sarah – sarah-theangelheadedhipster.blogspot.com

* Sid – seedsthoughts.blogspot.com

* David – thetechduel.wordpress.com

* Tanya – tanyakovarsky.wordpress.com

* Tunet – quirkykindacool.wordpress.com

* Lexie – truthfulobservations.tumblr.com

* Tiffany – tothumperwithlove.blogspot.com

* Paul – itsjustafantasybaby.blogspot.com (need the proper link asseblief)

* Emma – emmajanenation.com

* Jo – buttoncandy.org

* Michelle – smokethissxx.blogspot.com

* Alma – labonnev@tumblr.com

* Roxy – citygirlsearching.blogspot.com

* Lou – thetrialsofmisslola.tumblr.com (computer says no???)

* Mariella – italiankisses.blogspot.com

* Araffa – mynameisfarra.tumblr.com

* Natalie – cleomagazine.co.za

* Greg – berylontoast.blogspot.com

* Gareth – garethpon.tumblr.com

* Tamiya – tamiyat.co.za

* Kirsty – kirstyroxannewilde.blogspot.com

* Faye – what.to.do.with.daylight.blogspot.com (Blogger does not like this?)

* Amy - littlemissconceptions.tumblr.com

* MeeA – mamameea.blogspot.com

* Camilla – heysweetieblog.blogspot.com

* Yusuf – untitledawearness.com (under construction)

* Megan – waitingformeg.blogspot.com (Second Floor Living)

* Jeanette – therealjenty.com and jeanetteverster.com

* Fiona – rememberwhenwewereyoung.wordpress.com

* Stacey – storyscarves.org/blog

* Sindi-Leigh – just-let-em-eat-cake.tumblr.com

* Ricardo – (waiting for URL)

* Tamaryn – exmi.co.za

* Indianna – nicefind.blogspot.com

* Ivana – ivanalilly.blogspot.com

* Gwen – untravelledsoles.blogspot.com

* Angie – superduper.co.za/lucky

* Natasha – littleandbunny.blogspot.com

* Nicki – waitingforluca.wordpress.com

Festival Fun...

Day 2, 3, 4 (and right now 5) of the Grahamstown National Arts Festival have been and gone. The weather has improved, and there is a lovely buzz in the air as people are coming and going all about town. If you are here, save yourself R65 and instead of watching the Mark Banks Comedy Show, treat yourself to a new beanie or pendant at the Village Green :)

Or indulge in something a little tastier...

If you're feeling parched...

There's even something for those of us with a sweet tooth...

There really is something for everyone here at "Amazing"...and if you're still wondering what to do to keep yourself amused why not try out one of the talks at ThinkFest, the intellectual side of the Festival. For more info on that click here. We're going to hear Zapiro's talk tomorrow...should be interesting?!

Scavenging...

The art of Scavenging (according to a recent episode of Jerry Springor, scavenging is most definitely an art) can be a very painstakingly slow process requiring reams of patience and dedication.  And sometimes you strike gold...like Cameron did with his wooden box.

To be really successful, make friends with the scrap heap owner...he may even give you junk, *ahem* I mean potential treasures, for free!

There are 2 scrap yards in Grahamstown for you to try your luck at, Roxcell which is located just past the Golf Club on the outskirts of town and there seems to be another one nearby Roxcell (not sure exactly where) but most scrappers seem to recommend Roxcell. Have fun!

Grahamstown Festival 2011!!

Starting next thursday, June 30th is the annual National Arts Festival...yipee!

To see whats showing click here for the website and click here for the facebook group to stay up to date with whats going on! 

I'm going to be here in Grahamstown for at least the first few days, so look out for some pic's and other cool stuff when the Festival kicks off next week :)

*Lomo*graphy!

"It began with a fateful encounter in the early 1990s, when two students in Vienna, Austria, stumbled upon the Lomo Kompakt Automat – a small, enigmatic Russian camera. Mindlessly taking shots from the hip, and sometimes looking through the viewfinder, they were astounded with the mindblowing photos that it produced – the colours were vibrant, with deep saturation and vignettes that framed the shot – it was nothing like they had seen before! Upon returning home, friends wanted their own Lomo LC-A, igniting a new style of artistic experimental photography that we now know as Lomography!" Lomography


If you still have no idea what the title of this post means, check these out:

All of the above pictures were taken with this little guy...

I bought this for Farmboy in South Korea where these camera's are a whole lot cheaper than here in South Africa. BUT if you can afford to spend R600 on a new toy, you won't be disappointed! Click here for the Exposure online store where you can get your hands on everything Lomo. 

The actual Exposure store is located in Cape Town at the Old Biscuit Mill: 375 Albert Road, Woodstock.

Municipal Elections 2011

What not to do:

Wake up at 6:30 and think about maybe getting to the voting stations early for this little baby:

Then go back to sleep till 8:30 and have to deal with this:

All for the sake of checking you get one of these:

To put your mark on this:

*and not forgetting to check that one of these was on the back*

My advice to you would be to get there MUCH later in the day after having a lovely long relax in bed and a nice breakfast with your family :)

For some great tweets (*and lots of other cool stuff!*) about the Elections, check out my awesome friend's blog by clicking here...and there you have it. Another bout of elections done and dusted, and now we wait and see...

Cute take on the recent **Royal Wedding**

A friend of a friend posted this on her facebook profile, thought it was just too cute to keep to myself :)

**The Royal Wedding**

If you haven't heard by now that Britain's most eligible bachelor is about to tie the knot, where my dear have you been?? It's all over the news, people have been tweeting about the up and coming union for ages. Not only are the Brit's getting a day off, 'Royal' stamps are even going on sale to celebrate the event and even Accessorize (the ladies fashion accessory chain) is getting in on the action and advertising 'royal inspired' trends.

If you're a bit behind on who's who in the zoo, here's something for you to read to get clued up.

And for something a bit cheeky, check out the following clip:

Anyways, I am oh so lucky enough to be in London for the event (I like to think that I've been personally invited to be the South African representative) and will keep you up to date on whats happening closer to the big day.