BOOKTUBE NEWBIE TAG

Hi Everybody!

I finally got around to recording my BOOKTUBE NEWBIE TAG. 

This is a video about why I joined 'BookTube' and what I hope to gain from it - and just a couple of other random fun bookwormy facts about me!

Enjoy!

My Links: 

INSTAGRAM

FACEBOOK

Twitter

YOUTUBE

Thanks for watching everybody! If you liked this vid, please subscribe to my new and growing channel and I'll be sure to subscribe back and keep in touch xxx

Click Here and Subscribe to my YouTube Channel!

Summer Favourites Tag

Click Here and Subscribe to my YouTube Channel!

Hi Everybody,

While most of the people I know online are busy gearing up for Fall, here on this side of the world we're heading right into the delicious season of Summer. For that reason, I thought to do my Summer Favourites and maybe make all ya'll bundled up on the other side of the world a little envious of our sunny Christmas :)

My Links: 

INSTAGRAM

FACEBOOK

Twitter

YOUTUBE

Thanks for watching everybody! If you liked this vid, please subscribe to my new and growing channel and I'll be sure to subscribe back and keep in touch xxx

Click Here and Subscribe to my YouTube Channel!

Hair Tutorial: Messy Sock Bun

Hey guys,

So after my previous two posts I got some requests to do a couple of videos from South African food to hair tutorials, book reviews, travel posts, makeup tutorials and more! 

This is my first hair tutorial.. so I started with an easy one... a sock bun!

Let me know what you think of my amateur video and youtube skills and I'd really appreciate it if you subscribe to my channel, like the vids etc etc etc! :D

Have a groovy evening x

Every Day Makeup

Aloha my good friends.

I'm really starting to get into my youtube videos lately. 

I'm finding youtube to be an absolutely amazing way of learning new hairstyles, recipes, yoga poses, songs of guitar etc etc etc. 

The possibilities are endless.

I'm still a complete newbie with making videos but I gave my usual every day makeup look tutorial a bash. 

Here you can check out the products and brands I use, laugh at my clumsiness and occasional curse word and completely non-intentional Arab remark. 

:D

I'd love your thoughts.

Also, because I'm new at this - I'd really love your ideas of other videos I could do to entertain you guys further. It's something I really want to get into properly.

I have no hopes or dreams of becoming the next international youtube superstar (I think it's pretty obvious from my videos that aint gonna happen.....) but it's really fun and I enjoy it. 

I look forward to hearing from ya'll soon.

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail | Book Review

Meet Cheryl, 5 years ago her mother died of cancer. Once upon a time she'd been the one that seemed to have it altogether, but as she battled through her grief, she went off the beaten track (figuratively and literally). 

Before she makes the wild decision to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (a 1.100 mile hike), Cheryl loses sight of herself as she dapples in adultery, sex and drugs. When the divorce with her husband is finalized, she sets off on her journey, hoping to get back to being the woman that she once was. 

There's one slight hitch though.... she's never backpacked or hiked before. Nor had she trained for this trip. She was not prepared for what she was about to get herself into at all!

Wild has gotten so many mixed reviews and mine is a combination of both good and bad. 

I enjoyed this book. I found the writing excellent, the descriptions beautiful, the honesty and raw quality brutal yet addictive. Yet I found that the book droned on... seemingly never-ending and skipping between the actual story of her hike through the Pacific Crest Trail and her story before it. The story of her failed marriage and heroin addiction, sleeping around with anyone with a penis and the grief over the death of her mother... 

It meshed together well because it helps you to understand how she got to where she is, but I must say that the book was far from what I was expecting.

But that's just the thing isn't it? Judging a book by the cover is one of the biggest crimes in the book world. I walked into my local bookstore and saw a book with a roughed up hiking boot slapped on the front cover and thought, 'Wow! This looks like something I'd love to read!'

And for the record I did love reading it. I related SO much to Cheryl throughout the course of the book. By the third page I was actually convinced this book was written about me! Even with her silly decisions that make you want to shout down into the pages at her... it was just brilliant. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!

This is a REAL book about things that can and probably will go wrong if you decide to venture out into the wild by yourself. It is a book of mistakes and life lessons, of reality and hardships! It is a book about being independent and brave. 

It is a book that will resonate in me for a very, very long time. 

February Favorites

Hi everyone!

Are you all sitting cozy with your coffee / tea / hot chocolate or wine??? 

Good... 

I hope you enjoy my post today. 

It's just a little look into my February. Which was CRAAAAAAAZY by the way!

I hope you all had an excellent month too and look forward to hearing what exciting things happened to you throughout the month in the comments below! 

Favorite Purchases:

I found my bikini for Bali and Philippines!!!

I fell so in love with this little number I just couldn't resist the splurge... can't wait to pack it in my suitcase and head off for Southeast Asia!

Eeeeek!





I also FINALLY found my leather backpack that I've been hunting for... and got it at an absolute BARGAIN!!!
The money went towards a good cause too.
I found this little guy while stumbling around town in a pair of painful heels with no soles! I'd crept into this tiny store called Eye Love to give my feet a break when I spotted a leather backpack jammed into the corner window.

It was love at first sight.
And now it's going to be slung across my shoulders when I backpack through Southeast Asia in a few months time!

Favorite thing to do in my spare time:

The ocean is my safe haven. Every chance I get I am down on the shore, digging my bare feet into the sand and enjoying some down time. 

Favorite Photograph:

I took this one evening while the sun was setting over the rolling hills of the beautiful town I am lucky enough to call home.

Favorite Reads:

I started reading A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen. 

I never denied being a crazy cat lady..........

Book review on A Street Cat Named Bob HERE.



I've also been loving lazy Sunday's kicking back with a cup of tea and reading up about Indonesia... My flight's in 4 months time!!!!

Favorite Exercise:

I started Crossfit. 

That is what I look for before Crossfit....

And this is what I look like afterwards:

An absolute sweat monster!

Favorite Laugh:

For anyone who does Crossfit, I'm pretty sure this picture is self-explanatory.



Oh! I also had this pic posted onto my Facebook timeline from my best friend, Lucien... I think tea actually came out of my nose I laughed so hard:



(Every bit of that screams Jade!)

Favorite Decision:

Just over a month ago, I made the decision to stop drinking.

Not altogether... but I decided to cut back a lot. 

It had gotten to a stage where I would open a bottle of wine every single night and in the end I just got sick of it. 

It started making me miserable. 

It was effecting my mind and my body and so I took a stand. 

I replaced alcohol with Crossfit and stuck to teas, hot chocolate, WATER and Bloody Mary's without any vodka in during the evenings. 

I drank only a handful of times this month and all were for good reasons. 

The first glass of wine I had in February was on Wednesday the 4th to celebrate that I'd just booked my flights to the Philippines and Bali!

Another time I indulged in a glass of red (note how I don't say bottle?!) was on my granny's last night in South Africa before she headed back to Scotland.

I just want wine to be special. 

I don't want drinking to be a routine in my life - and I think I'm doing pretty great so far!

Favorite Surprise:

I had a really, really shitty day at the beginning of the month and to cheer me up, an old friend surprised me at work with a gorgeous photograph he'd taken that reminded him of me and he also stuck on a sneaky chocolate! 

Why did I have such a shitty day???? Because I got attacked by a wet wipe box and almost lost my finger! 

I kid you not. 

My finger got stuck inside that thing and two guys had to cut it off me with pocket knives!!!!!

You can't take me anywhere..........



Another cool surprise that happened to me in February was finding my mums old polaroid camera!
I haven't managed to get the film for it yet (it's going to be quite pricey!) but once I've got some spare cash lying around I can't wait to play with this guy!

Favorite Moment:

When I realized that even though there was no electricity, I could prevail. 

I had a fully charged laptop, an internet dongle to connect to blog world and a gas stove to boil some water in order to make some plunger coffee!

Success!

Favorite Times With Friends:



Cooking my best friend, Lucien, a big seafood dinner and having a cozy night in watching horror movies!

Favorite Feeling:




Being comfortable in my baggy pj's and sweat-pants, no makeup and reading glasses on while pottering around the house.
No need to impress anyone... just 'ou naturel' and chilling OUT....
Such a great feeling over the weekends rather than caking up in makeup and slipping into tight clothes and going out partying, spending all your money.

Instead, I've been reading books and enjoying time at home with my cats and dogs.

Pure BLISS.



Oh yeah.... also treating myself to the occasional glass of wine in the evenings was lovely. I've certainly cut back A LOT... and I can feel the difference already.

Just loving life!


Favorite Spoils:




It was Valentines Day - and this year I decided to spoil myself a bit... OK, A LOT!!!

I bought myself a super cool Go Pro Hero 4 Silver which I haven't had the opportunity to use properly yet because I still need a few of the goodies like 'floaty backdoors' and stuff. I also still need to put a hole into my surfboard so that I can finally get some epic photos of me surfing (well, I like to think they're going to be epic anyway!).
But soon enough I'll put my Go Pro to use and share all the awesome images I capture with you!!!

I also bought myself a lovely book which I'm currently over half way through - I'll feature more of it in next months posts... but just know that it is AMAZING and if you haven't read Wild by Cheryl Strayed then you need to go and find yourself a copy immediately! Especially if you love the outdoors and have a case of Wanderlust!

To make the entire month PERFECT, I used some of the money I have been saving for YEARS now on plane tickets to Bali and Philippines!
It's 100-ish days until I pack up my suitcase, throw a leather backpack over my shoulders and catch a flight out of here!!!

Favorite Activity:





I attended an Angel Connection retreat out on a farm in Rheenendaal and it was nothing short of amazing.
Read more about it HERE.


Favorite Auntie Moment:

Seeing this little guy growing up!
He's getting so big and strong - my heart cannot contain the love!!

Favorite Goal:




I've been editing The Other Woman as much as I possibly can over the month of Feb but as you can see, it's been a pretty crazy month!!!

It is nearly finished though and I hope to have it all polished and ready to go by the end of March!

My goal was to have the book be ready and available by my birth month, May... but now I have a feeling it may just be ready before then!

I'm going to be pushing towards finding an agent now too... I have one in mind based in London who I've already been in contact with. It's all a bit daunting because you have to supply cover letters and a synopsis of your work which has never been one of my strong suits and the thing is that if the agent doesn't like your cover letter or the synopsis then they won't even take a peak at the actual manuscript!!
I think that is what makes me choke. Knowing it rests on those two things... gulp.
But I need to try - and I'm going to!

Wish me luck!


Favorite SURPRISE:









I've turned BACK into a blondie!!!!

And I am absolutely LOVING it!

Being blonde ALWAYS makes me feel happy and more confident. There's something about it that just makes me feel more feminine!




Since re-bleaching it, my hair has been more curly than EVER! Seriously, it's wild!!!
I've also just started to take some hair growth supplements after the devastating realization that I cannot afford extensions..... ever.
So hopefully it'll work and grow down to my ass like I want it to soon! This awkward length it's at now is a right pain....

Had to add the photo of me and my kitty-cat... although she is immensely pissed off with me because I caught her with two legs dangling out of her mouth that just happened to belong to a frog... of course I saved the poor thing... much to her disappointment.

Happy, happy days to being a blondie again!


Favorite Work Event:



We had our first exhibition opening of the year and it was a huge success!


Buuuuut.....



The next morning I was NOT excited to put makeup on and head to work again.
Seriously in need of a chilled day in front of the television!
But I kicked the days butt and got home that evening and continued to pack my life into boxes for the big move....

I never thought I'd feel so emotional about the move... But I do.
I had actual tears this morning although I fought them away as best I could.




Lao Tzu once said, 'New Beginnings Are Often Disguised As Painful Endings'.
And on that note:


Favorite Quote:

I loved this quote! 

Enough said.
(and because I've now just turned back into a blondie, the lemons now apply!)




So today is the last day of Feb and I'm about to finish up work and head off to my new house, which I haven't even seen yet!!! Eeeek...
After moving in some boxes and settling the cats and dogs in I'll be slicking back some oysters and welcoming in the new beginning.

I hope Feb's been good to you all.

See you in March ;)

My Flights are Booked and Paid For!!!

Hi everyone!

I've got some really big news for all of you. 

Many of you have been reading my blog for months, if not years and putting up with my countless posts based on travel. 

I have one of the worst cases of wanderlust known to man and over the past year I haven't been able to pursue it. 

Backpacking and camping my way through Europe in 2013 left me penniless! I've been working my butt off ever since, saving away as much as possible at the end of each month. 

What I saved went directly into my travel account and now I can finally say that all of this hard work has paid off!!

Yesterday I booked and paid for my flights to the Philippines and to Bali!!!!!!!

My first big stop after a twelve-ish hour flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, is Hong Kong. There are no direct flights from South Africa to the Philippines or Bali so you have to catch a connecting flight from another country.
I was lucky enough to book my connecting flight to Cebu, Philippines from Hong Kong! Never, ever, EVER has Hong Kong crossed my mind as a place that I have wanted to see. Not because I don't like the sound of it - but because I never really looked into how amazing it was over there.
Since knowing that it is a part of my travels, I have been researching a fair bit and now to say that I'm excited to experience Hong Kong is an understatement!
I will have an entire day to explore Hong Kong before my journey to the Philippines continues and although I am still researching, I have absolutely NO idea what I am going to get up to while I'm there. I guess there's only one way to find out!
After some Hong Kong-ish adventures with just me and my suitcase, it will be time to board my connecting flight to Cebu!

I've booked myself into this gorgeous resort on an island in the Philippines where they offer surfing packages. The package that I've chosen includes accommodation (your choice between a standard air-conditioned room which is the most expensive, a cottage equipped with a fan or a basic backpackers room). 

I'll be staying in a dreamy thatch-roofed, air-conditioned home like this during the course of my stay:

The package also includes airport transfers, breakfast every morning, daily surf lessons, transport to  the breathtaking surf spots, all surfing equipment, an hour and a half massage, island hopping tours, wifi and more!

The best part is that it is all so affordable! The Philippines and Bali are so cheap for us South African's which doesn't come often I must say! The Rand exchange rate is usually a pretty painful ordeal so I am really stoked to have stumbled across this... although I owe SO much thanks to Chris over at his amazing travel blog: BackPacker Banter and his gorgeous lady-pie, Tara who also has one of the best travel blogs I've ever read: Where Is Tara?

Without them, I'd never have found this package! I'd probably still be sitting behind my desk at work, picking irritably at my nails and trying desperately to make deals with 'The Man Upstairs,' to somehow help me get out of my rut! A tit for tat sort of thing.

After the Philippines I'll be shooting off to finally live my dream of becoming a beach-bum and water baby in Indonesia. I'll be baking away in the sun, attaching a leash to my ankle and paddling out on a surfboard into the crystal clear ocean. I'll be sipping away at fresh coconut milk straight from the shell and popping meaty crayfish into my mouth in between snorkeling over the coral. I'll be island hopping and soaking up the Balinese sun until I am bronzed and blissed out with happiness.

Travelling alone to South East Asia where I know no one and where the language sounds like gibberish to me is nothing short of daunting... but this is what I have been craving. This is what I have been working so hard towards... and now it is all coming together. 

Do you have any exciting travel plans coming up over 2015? 

Are there any countries that you are dying to explore and saving up for?

I'd love to hear all about your travel dreams in the comments below. 

Thursday's Trio of Blessings

Where are the weeks going? I can hardly believe that we are now halfway through the year. Is it just me or is time just going too fast? So much has happened in my life that I wish I could just step back and process it all; but time and life stops for no one. You just have to keep carrying on. 

Today is another freezing day, grey and stormy with trickles of rain running down my windowpane. I haven’t slept since 3am. By 4am I finally kicked off the blankets and padded downstairs to boil the kettle. With the storm being so loud it was impossible to drift back off to sleep - so instead I put on Bones season 8. I am a few episodes away from finishing the season - which is excellent by the way. 

While writing this Thursday’s Trio of Blessings I honestly wasn’t sure if it was hard or easy to choose the three main points to mention. I’ve decided that to focus blessings on purely one day is way too hard. Instead I’m going to focus on three blessings that have happened throughout the course of the week from one Thursday to another. 

So here we go, another Jade’s Thursday’s Trio of Blessings posts:

Blessing One:

Walk With Me, my very first novel, has now started to be distributed into the homes of my friends and family. Copies have been shipped off all over the globe. 

It’s an intensely scary feeling knowing that your work is suddenly out there, breathing its own life. After all these years, I have finally kicked it from the proverbial nest and am letting it build it’s wings and fly as it falls into the hands of the readers. 

Already I have had the most wonderful feedback. 

I guess the most frightening part about writing a book is knowing that it obviously won’t be every persons cup of tea. My book has fallen into the hands of equal amounts of men and women which is great although I do feel that the men won’t thoroughly enjoy the chick-lit type of writing that I am automatically drawn more towards. 

I’ve asked each person to write a small review on the book once they have finished it - that’s probably the most exciting part. I’ve asked them to be open with me and tell me the good, the bad and the ugly about it. How else do you grow and learn? Constructive criticism is so helpful to us writers out there. 

In the batch of books I currently have printed I have 7 copies that are still available. 

Should any of you wish to make an order - please see below the details:

Place your order by either commenting below or preferably popping me an email as I will need a postal address to send the book to you. 

The book is R200.00 - depending on where you are in the world you can convert it into your specific currency from ZAR (South African currency).

Once I have your postal address I will request quotes to courier the book to you and quote you thereafter. 

Payment will obviously have to be done via EFT and once it reflects, the book will start its journey to you!! 

If you are a book reviewer - I would love a link to your website and would love to get in touch with you about reviewing my book. 

OK so with that bit of writers business out of the way… here is…

Blessing Two:

As I am sure the entire world knows by now, the FIFA world cup has begun and the festivities are ginormous! 

I have been having the absolute best time with my very best friends cheering and watching the matches, cooking dinners and getting merry on red wine in front of the crackling fire place. 

As of next week I won’t be seeing much of these guys anymore - as there will be a huge physical distance between us. We will all be in different cities - so we are currently just enjoying the last few days of our time all together. 

These people in these photographs are the most special and wonderful people I know. They have the warmest and kindest hearts and are just the most precious people in the world to me. 

It is so important to acknowledge how blessed you are to have the friends you have in your life. 

Blessing Three:

I just realized that it is one week until pay day - thank GOD. 

What were your blessings this week? 

Have a fabulous day lovely readers.