Reminiscing of a Summer Holiday...

I am dreaming of silky soft sand beneath my toes.. I am dreaming of the soothing rumble of the waves. I am dreaming of sun-kissed skin, bikini tan lines and the smell of coconut oil. I am dreaming of lobster lunches, Jack Johnson oozing from the music box.. I am dreaming of falling asleep on the shore with a book in hand. I am dreaming of a salt-encrusted happiness one will only find on the beach.

This is my outfit of the day for work... I am craving a holiday. It has been far too long since I have slung a rucksack across my back and traveled to a place unknown. I am getting itchy feet again - something only experiencing a new town and a new culture will cure.

It won't be long now... but in the meantime, I will work and save as much as I can, while enjoying a little surf after the clock strikes 5pm every evening. It is my little slice of life. Surfing and the ocean makes me feel most alive.

I am counting down the hours.... only three more to go.

What I Wore on Friday Night

Last night I went out and met up with an old friend of mine called, Gustav, who was visiting town. 

I hadn't seen this guy in such a long time so I was really excited to catch up with him and have a good bottle of wine. 

The outfit I wore, I have just realized, is all proudly South African! 

The place we went to was very la-dee-da.

What I Wore:

Floral Dress - Edgars

Tights - Woolworths

Heels - Mr. Price 

♥

Outfit of the Night

What I Wore:

Top - H&M

Boots - H&M

Jeans - Sissy Boy
Ear-Piece - H&M

Leather Jacket - YDE

Silver Necklace - St. Christopher
Leather Handbag - Somewhere in Venice

I have fallen so in love with my top, which is a find from H&M about a month ago. Beyonce wears it in one of their fashion shoots... see, see, right there: 

...ANYWAY...

In light of my good friend Rene's going away party last night, I took the opportunity to dress up and go a little bit cray-cray on the dance-floor. Because, well... why not? It has been a while since I have been able to have some quality time with two of my closest friends: Coco and Rene. 

Also, as you can CLEARLY tell from my previous post, it has been a while since I consumed alochol too........ scouts honor!

We went to a local club in town called Zanzibar where a live band called Zebra & Giraffe were playing. We had such a wonderful evening of dancing and having the usual far too deep heart-to-hearts once a few drinks were in us - we all got pretty emotional about Rene leaving but at the same time we are all so happy for her too. The town we live in is really small and when you're in your twenties, there really isn't much in the way of opportunities over here. So, she has taken the plunge into the big wide open world and moving to a big city! I am so proud of her and wish her all the best for the future - may we always remain close friends and see each other often.

So raise your wine glasses, Bloggers'... to one of the most wonderful, kind-hearted ladies I have ever had the pleasure of meeting: 

Rene

On that note... here are a few shots (the photographic sense of the word... not the drink! Thank God...) of our night out and what it all entailed, parental guidance is advised. Not suitable for photo sensitive viewers. Also.... you may possibly get nightmares..... just saying:

As you can see, it all started off with us acting pretty socially acceptable - some slight gangster-tivity going on but on a whole things were going great with our new found friend, Marnus.

Add a live band, a few more drinks and a shooter or two and this is the outcome: 

(Definitely not Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice..... the ingredients chosen to create the perfect little girls!!)

Bubbles. Buttercup. And Blossom??? See the resemblance? It's uncanny!!!

"Blossom, commander and the leader 

Bubbles, she is the joy and the laughter 

Buttercup, she's the toughest fighter 

Powerpuffs save the day... 

Fighting crime, trying to save the world 

Here they come just in time, the Powerpuff Girls 

Fighting crime, trying to save the world 

Here they come just in time, the Powerpuff Girls 

Powerpuff!" 

Seriously.. we deserve our own TV show with this shit!

We did manage to get one or two decent enough looking shots in the mix though, but they aren't nearly as much fun. I've added them in though so that you can see that we aren't completely and utterly bonkers.... No. Wait. We still are... regardless:

So... to conclude this fashion gone wrong post of the day.... this is my analysis of the night:

Before:

After:

Our alter-egos were set free. Yep. I think I pretty much nailed this one. 

Outfit of the Day

 

 

It's not often that I suffer from 'major' hangovers. I always know when enough is enough and believe that a glass of red wine every night is good for your heart! That is my theory and I am sticking with it!

 

Well, the morning after these photographs were taken.... my head felt like it was exploding.

 

It was a Thursday evening and because my work schedule always varies, I was off the following day! So, naturally, I ordered a bottle of wine to share with my friend Claire while we caught up in our regular bar.

 

We depleted the bottle of wine and went on to order more by the glass! To make matters worse, I hadn't had time for dinner as I arrived at the bar directly after work.

That was my big mistake.

 

I vow from here on in to NEVER drink on an empty stomach!!!

 

My one day off was spent with me feeling very sorry for myself, nursing a mother of a hangover at home - but it was a fab evening and I got to see a friend I hadn't seen in months!

 

I loved my outfit. The pink jacket was from a store in Amsterdam. I'll have to check the label inside to give you the designer if interested but I loved the cut and the color and pretty much everything about the jacket!

 

I also got to break out my beautiful Guess heels (which I can barely walk in...) for the first time all year.

 

 

 

What I Wore:

 

Beige Vest - Oasis

Jeans - Sissy Boy

Heels - Guess

Jacket - ? (Amsterdam Bargain)

Scarf - Mr. Price

Bag - Mr. Price

Bangles - Mr. Price 

February Favorites

My Favorite Sunset:

 

When I am on a late shift at work, I finish at around 19h30 in the evenings. South African sunsets can be absolutely breathtaking - as can sunrises. This was one of the many sunsets I was blessed enough to watch this month from the top of the mountain where my work is situated.

My Favorite Rainbow: 

This rainbow came after a good three days of solid, much needed rain. It hung perfectly over the townships almost majestically. When I looked at it I truly thought I could find the pot of gold at the end, it was that big and close. The photograph just doesn't do it justice.

 



My Favorite Laugh:



One of my dearest friends, Kyle, has a very similar, silly sense of humor as I do. We are constantly in fits of giggles and right now our latest thing is going, 'Nom nom nom' whenever we go out for food or even talk about it. I found this photo and when I shared it with him we couldn't stop laughing. Having inside jokes is always fun - ours are just tipping the iceberg of delightful weirdness!

My Favorite News: 




My plane ticket to London and my Contiki tour has been booked!!!! I had applied for leave at work and had been anxiously waiting for a full week to see if my 5 week leave was approved... on the 16th Feb I worked up the courage to ask management who smiled at me and asked, 'Do I even have a choice?' in the nicest possible way! So when I get back from my endeavors at least I know I still have a secure, fantastic job awaiting me!

 

My Favorite Valentines:




One day late... but I arrived home from a drink at a local bar to find one of my gorgeous girls snuggled into a basket by my front door. Although Valentine's Day had passed 24 hours earlier - Guru tried her best to make herself my Valentine's gift and my heart just swelled with adoration and overwhelming love for my furry companion.

 

My Favorite Wedding Dress?!?:



Not what it looks like!!! Well - I guess it is. That's me in a wedding dress. Who would have thought? Not too shabby... but seriously, not what it looks like. I did a bridal photoshoot for a local company called Besters Bridal Boutique and from all of the dresses I tried on, this one was my favorite.

 

My Favorite Oufit:



As my travel plans have finally been set into place, I've been starting to realize that I need to do a lot of saving over the next month and a bit before I arrive in London! I honestly don't know how I am going to afford it all.... half way through the month however, I was quite literally going insane. I hadn't been out at all. I hadn't worn something pretty or seen friends, I'd been a bit of a hermit if you will... that's when I decided to head out to a local bar and watch a live band and treat myself to a few beers. A few beers multiplied and a number of shooters were somehow also added into the equation. The next day I woke up and felt absolutely awful and I realized that I don't even really want to be out and about anymore. So I apologize for the lack of fashion pics to all of you fashion-crazed bloggers who enjoy those sort of posts from me - but until I depart for Europe I fear that they will be very few and far between. All worth it in the end though, right?

 

My Favorite Inspirational Quotes:

 

This proves to be a rather perfect quote for my life at this point. Out of all of the lessons I have learned over the past two months, this one is by far the one I am most grateful for finally understanding.



I loved this. 2013 is a year of completely refreshing my life and the five W's is something quick and easy to read that reassures me of what I am doing.

I found this gigantic Ferrero Rocher.... Mind blown.

I got my St. Christopher necklace that I have been looking for for so long. My little travel companion! :)
 

This looks odd... but it is chicken breast wrapped in bacon with melted cheese on top. Heaven.

I ran out of food at home, so I improvised with whatever I could salvage from my fridge. This turned out absolutely delcious!! It is literally onion, garlic, x 2 chili's (because I like it hot....) stripped ham and green pepper with salt and pepper to season. Amazing what you can make with so little and it really was divine.

My favorite marinade - blueberries and thyme. Mmm. I made this for my folks as well as my friend, Brendon, who came to stay for two nights.

Enjoying a glass of wine with my brother and sister-in-law after a lovely swim in the lagoon. My brother very bluntly told me that I have dread-locks... and so my sister-in-law spent about half an hour trying to help me comb out extremely painful knots... my consequence of not looking after my hair for a while. Ooops. It is fixed now - just to clarify things!!! 

Kyle and I have an ever-growing friendship. He's been so wonderful to me through my tough time lately... from things with my breakup to home life with my dad and his illness. Kyle's always there to help. This day we took his boat out for a spin! It was amazing! I'd never been so close to going out of the Knysna Heads.. we literally saw the Paquita wreckage under the ocean, it was that clear!

Went out to Firefly and has loads of lovely cocktails with friends. Firefly is such a creative, funky chai bar with the most delicious curries imaginable.

And lastly... I started to read my very first Nicholas Sparks novel, 'Safe Haven.' I saw a review of it on someone else's blog and really wanted to read it before seeing the film. I have not been able to put it down! Cannot wait to see the film either... it is very nice to be able to envision Alex's character as the sexy, 'Josh Duhamel' ... who I've always had a bit of a thing for. The book also proves to be of great relevance in my life right now as it is about a woman who starts life over - which is exactly what I am doing right now. I don't want to give too much of the book away though - so trust me, just read it!

What did all of you get up to over the month of Feb? Please leave your monthly favorites below and I'll be sure to take a look!

 

Hope everyone has a fantastic month in March - happy birthday to all of you Pisces and Aries starsigns out there!

 

Signing out.

 

J