Happy 30th at Casa Labia

No, it wasn't my 30th (that's only this year), but a very good friend of mine's. We had a wonderful lunch at Casa Labia, which is just a beautiful venue. The food was to die for, we had lots of bubbly and the day was perfect. And it was all rounded off with a delicious red velvet cake covered in cream cheese frosting (my new fav).

Happy 30th Samara! Hope it's a spectacular year.

christmas cheer :)

chocolate & fresh cherry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Pudding was my job this Christmas, so I make these yummy cupcakes. Pitting fresh cherries isn't the greatest job in the world though, but it was sooo worth it.

christmas tree, oh christmas tree

weekend away in jacobsbaai

We spent a wonderful weekend away with my family in this delightful little west coast town. It's a gem and we'll definitely be going back, especially if we can stay in the same accommodation.

Our Garden

A before and after of our back garden. Quite an improvement I'd say. I'll post some new images soon as it's looking nicely established now.

cute new things

From top to bottom and left to right:
beautiful country road frame with something I made in it
cute ceramic bunny from this year's Kamers Vol Geskenke
diy necklace holder I made
fragrance burner from The Body Shop (another b-day prezzy from my man)
ceramic bowls from this year's Kamers Vol Geskenke
gorgeous bamboo art

garden route holiday

Well, despite my hectic schedule, I did get to go on holiday with my hubby for my birthday. It was superb and a well deserved break (though I can't say I loved the mound of emails and work that was waiting for me when I got back). We went for a bit of a trip down the Garden Route and back and I must admit this area must be one of my favourites to visit in SA

First stop was Swellendam



Then of to Wilderness, with a lot of stops inbetween, including Mosselbay, Groot Brak and Glentana.


I've only ever driven through Wilderness and it was so nice to spend 2 days there. We stayed in the most stunning little self-catering place called The Wallow, and I can definitely recommend it for anyone looking for accommodation in that area. We spent our time driving around the area and exploring.

On our way to Tsitsikamma we found this cute little shop in Buffelsbaai.


Then it was off to the Tsitsikamma National Park. I have always loved it there, ever since I first went there with my parents when I was a child. We spent time walking some of the trails, lying around reading, staring at the see and just doing as little as possible.



And look at the beautiful earrings I got from my hubby for my birthday.


All in all it was a great trip and I think we should definitely make this a yearly affair :)

kitty kat

I want a kitty. Aren't these 4 just to cute?!? Wonder what my doggies would say though....

bad bad blogger

So, I've been a super bad blogger of late. And it doesn't look like  it will be improving any time soon :P. Let's just say, due to a crazy workload, I'm just can't spend another minute in front of a pc, even for my lovely blog. Most days, nights and weekends spent working will do that to you. But hopefully I'll get out of this work frenzy (hopefully sooner than later) and then the blogging fun can commence.

So, I just wanted to say hi and hope that this bought of bad blogging won't scare you away.

There are a few posts coming up, just to tied you over :)

how you make me feel

I love you because you can make me laugh when I don't even want to smile

cutie pies

Just some cute critters that made me go "aaah!".

"the art of clean up”

Love this! By Ursus Werhli

camera cookies

Can we change the saying to "cute as a cookie" because these are just adorable.

finally, some frames

So, all those hours of hunting for beautiful ways to hang frames has finally paid off. The biggest hindrance to date has actually been finding frames that I like. Nothing has grabbed my attention and the few that I've found that I really like were crazy expensive. Then I spotted the most gorgeous frames on a twitter post and just had to have them. They come from Country Road in the Waterfront and they are spectacular. I might have spent a little too much on them, but they were so worth it and I'll keep them forever.

Then I saw a great way of deciding how to hang frames on pinterest (see here) and off we went. It's super easy and save you the anxiety of having to drill holes before you're 100% sure about the arrangement. I first arranged the frames on our lounge carpet to get the basic layout and then all you do is cut brown paper into the sizes of each frame, mark where the hook is so you know where the nail need to go and then stick it to the wall with masking tape. This was great because I spent a whole afternoon moving them around to find just the right layout. And, TADA, here they are. We've got wedding pics in them, but the wonderful thing about this is you can change the photos when you want.

We also finally put up some of our other art and our house is not really starting to feel like a home. I also made a note board with an old frame, which I pained yellow, and some chalk board paint, and we finally put up our house number, so people can finally find us easily :)

popcsicles

Getting into that spring feeling (even though warmer weather doesn't seem to be any nearer) I put together this collage of pretty popsicle. Doesn't it make you long for the beach, warm evenings and picnics?

Fruity, Savory, Creamy, Boozy Popsicles
Popsicle Cards
Strawberry Popsicles
Popsicle Game
Popsicle Tattoos
Popsicle Wallpaper
Mango Orange Popsicles

louis vuitton window display

I'm not a Vuitton fan, but I just love this :)

sushi at Willoughby & Co

My wonderful hubby took me for sushi at Willoughby yesterday. And it was spectacular. Definitely going again *lick lips*

paarl and the taal monument

This weekend Rudi and I went out to the Taal Monument in Paarl. I've always wanted to go see it, but just never got round to it. You have a stunning view from up there and we're planning to go have picnic there when the weather warms up. We also popped in at Fairview Wine Farm for some cheese and bread. The last stop was ice-cream at our favourite little gelato shop.

out and about

Breakfast at LaCuccina, a drive around Camps Bay and Bantry Bay, and sitting in a Sea Point parking lot looking out over the sea. What a great way to spend a Saturday.

*I'm being naught and back dating my posts to when they actually happened, but I have been crazy and haven't had any time to blog, so I have a lot of catching up to do :)

fab shelves

I wonder if I could get my dad to make me these shelves?

crayola colour chairs

I want these for our patio *sigh*

paper ring

Beautiful paper ring by Elsa Mora

rainy friday

This is how you should spend a rainy Friday, snuggled up in bed...

Take note, this is our bed and not hers :)

cape town

Taken and edited with Camera+ on my iPhone.

more cute garden ideas

:D

designer showcase: Mike Kus

Names: Mike Kus
Claim to fame: Design
Website: http://mikekus.com/

california dreaming

I've wanted to go to the USA since I can remember. Time and money don't always play along in my grand ideas about traveling the world and most of the time day to day life overshadows my dreams of seeing far of places. But really, I'd just like to travel more and I need to make a plan to do it :)

So, with that in mind I've been doing some research into the possibility of Rudi and I going to America next year. It really is just a dream at this stage, but if I do enough homework I can at least find out what it would cost and then work towards saving for it, even if it's not next year.

Obviously America is huge, and to see it all in one go would be, if not impossible, very very expensive. So we've narrowed down the places we'd like to see quite radically. Firstly, we have to see New York. This is an absolute must. I think I've watch too many tv series (sex & the city, gossip girl, etc) not to want to set foot there are least once in my life. I don't imagine that we could only stay a few days, but that would be enough. Just to walk down 5th avenue once would be amazing.

Most of our trip would then be dedicated to seeing the natural wonders of California. We'd love to go to San Diago first, to Comic Con. Our little geek hearts would burst from all the sci-fi goodness. Then we'd make our way up the coast along the Pacific Coast Highway, which National Geographic rates as one of the top 500 trips in the world to do. They it would be off to Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe and we'd end it all off with a few days in San Francisco.

Mmm... I have it all planned out in my head. Now just to make it a reality.

*those beautiful photos at the top can are from here

lust have: woolies knitted blanket

Aah, you have to love half price end of season sales. I've been eyeing this chunky knitted blanket at woolies since it first appeared in stores at the beginning of winter. I was dying to buy it, but wasn't willing to part with the amount of money that they wanted (woolworths can be outrageous sometimes). So I decided to bide my time and see if it would go on sale at the end of winter. And low and behold, on Wednesday when I popped into woolworths it was on sale, and for 50% off. So I snapped it up in a second. Its warm and cuddly and oh so pretty. I now spend all day cuddled up in it in front of my pc. Such a good buy :)

gardening: our potted plants

So, I mentioned last week that we had just gotten some paving done at our new place. And after checking it out for a bit we decide that we definitely needed to get some potted plants to liven up the place. So off we went to Stodels on Saturday on a plant buying mission. We bought 3 pots, ranging from large to slightly smaller and planted a yucca and two succulents in them. I love it! They look fab and are apparently super easy to look after, which is a good thing for me. I so loved buying stuff for our garden that I went out on Sunday again and got another succulent (in the purple pot) and some pretty white flowers. I never thought I'd like gardening, but I can't wait to get started on the rest.

italian greyhound cuteness

I don't know what my sudden fascination with this bread is, but I just can't get enough of their flighty cuteness. I was watching Dogs 101 on tv the other night and they had an insert about Italian greyhounds. I wanted to squeal with suppressed glee. They are so skinny and neurotic and afraid of their own shadow, but they are adorable.

pink pop

I'm already imagining (and buying) clothes that I can wear this summer. I'm already tired of winter and can't wait to haul out all my cute summer dresses. The one in the photo is gorgeous, especially pared with that bright pink blazer. Summer, please come quick.

floating in the clouds

felt bunny necklace

I just thought this bunny's face was too sweet. Can't believe it's made out of felt.
See more here

pinterest overload

As if I don't spend enough time on Pinterest, I've just discovered (and downloaded) their iPhone app. Check it out if you dare.

scrumptious logos

If I ever get to go to America I'd love to visit these bakeries. If their foody fare is even half as tasty as their logo I'm sure I would be in for a treat.

Top to Bottom: Kara's Cupcakes, Trophy Cupcakes, Frost Donuts & Vanilla Bake Shop

2 years in the cape!

Yesterday we celebrated our 2 year "move down to cape town" anniversary. I can't believe that it's been so long already and so much has happened in those two years. If you had told me then that in 2 years I would have a thriving business and own a house of my very own, I would have laughed. But that's were we are now and it's wonderful! Here's to the rest of our live in this beautiful place.

ps: we went to Sevurga for supper and, like always, it was spectacular. If you go you have to save place for their chocolate fondant. It's to die for. And there are great half price sushi platters in their winter special.

brick planters

We are now the proud owners of a pretty decent paved patio (pics coming soon). There's an area down the side of the house that doesn't get a lot of sun and no grass grows there. with the winter rain and the dogs it was turning into one big mud pit, so we decided to get someone to pave it. I never thought I'd be this excited about paving! But I suppose that because it's our own home that we're doing up it makes it special.

This weekend we will be on the hunt for a few things to brighten up our new patio and while browsing through printerest I came across the above planter ideas, fist done by the people of Potted. Isn't it just fab, and super easy for beginner diys. We are definitely going to investigate doing this somewhere. Wish us luck :)

cuddly cushion friends

These are all so adorable. I love quirky cushion and would scatter then all over the house if I could. I just need to find them first, and get past Rudi, who, like most men, don't understand the fascination :). We laughed so hard when we saw this scene in Coupling and I've never been able to think of cushions again in the same way

loving metal type

How cool would any of these be on the wall above my desk?!? I wonder who I can commission to make me some cool type out of metal.

pinterest love: confetti

Is it spring yet? Cos I'm in a party mood :)

marshmallow

This was too cute not to post