The day we left the house…

Would you believe me if I told you that I could count the days that it HASN’T rained (since April last year) on my hands? It’s easier to try and forget about the grey and rainy skies when you head to work every day, but when you have just over a week off, it’s a bit harder to grin and bear it. So on the one day of our holiday that it wasn’t raining, we bolted out the door like caged animals. Since I live through public transport on the weekdays, we always opt to walk when visiting the city on the weekends. And walk we did, we took the scenic route from Waterloo, down the Southbank, through Covent Garden, all the way to the British Museum (to escape the rain again). No matter how many times I do the walk, I always see something new!

All images via Wishful Thinking

Monday snoop–simple is key…

If you are still hitting the snooze button 3 times before getting out of bed, then you have my deepest sympathies because I have been sharing in your pain. I guess I am still struggling to tear myself out of holiday mode. And even though I hate to admit it, taking down all the festive decorations seemed to help me get back on track – I can now see the television again and I am no longer tripping over miles of fairly light cables. I think the key to getting through this month will be keeping things simple. Packing away all the excess festive alcohol, relegating that old fondue pot to the loft and de-cluttering my bookshelves. It’s this notion that has me drawn to simple Scandinavian homes with bright clean walls, neutral tones, minimal furniture and beautiful styling.

A little something like this…

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It’s on it’s way!

I am a self-confessed H&M addict. It’s a very sad sad day when I walk out of that store empty handed (luckily these days are few and far between). One day, I’d like to meet the buyers and the designers and give them a high-five for filling my drawers and cupboards over the years for a marginal cost (then I would like to chastise them for their appalling online service). So it’s really no surprise that I love their Spring collection, even if it feels a bit mad looking at things that reveal just an inch of flesh in the middle of an English winter. At this point, I needed hope that it will get warmer and I will be wearing one (if not all) of these outfits below.

Happy weekend all! We made it through the first week of 2013! Woot woot!

Thursday snoop – the perfect hideaway…

I always breath a little sigh of relief after the winter solstice, for me it feels like the worst of winter is over and I can finally start to claw back some daylight hours. But in reality, January is one of the hardest months for a South African living in a cold climate and I know by mid January, I will be practically gasping for sunshine and warmth. At this point, I’ll settle for some coastal eye candy in the form of this beautiful beach cottage. Natural timber walls, floors, and low ceilings along with the relaxed furniture and rich textiles create the perfect little beach hideaway. I’d also quite happily give up chocolate for the rest of my life if I could have a dining room just like this one.

Perfection, no?

Images via Skona Hem

Easing into the real world…

Well Hello World! I can’t believe it’s been well over a week since I sat down to have my daily ramble! First of all, Happy New Year to all. I hope your holiday was filled with relaxation, good food and friends and family. Things were quiet (and extremely wet) round this part of the world so we took some time to catch up on sleep, reading, chores and changing a few things round this here blog (oh, what a riveting life I do lead)! I made just a few subtle changes, nothing fancy. Although you might notice that I finally joined the 21st century and set up a Facebook page, joined Instagram and signed up to Twitter. Feel free to follow me in whichever way you want, just know that I am yet to figure out how to use any of them but I’m learning and maybe by the end of January, I might get the hang of all of it.

2013, I am just about ready for you!

All images via Wishful Thinking

Wishing you a….

Image via Wishful Thinking

And so another week draws to an end. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t exhausted – I’ve partied hard, ate too much and spent too much already but despite the craziness, I adore this time of year. And as I sit here with my twinkling lights, presents under the tree, my feet firmly up on the table and The Nutcracker playing in the background, I realise that this is the first time I have stopped to take it all in. I intend to do a bit more of this over the coming week so I am going to sign off now until the New Year. Thank you so much to those of you who continue to stop by my blog and read my ramblings. Stick around for next year because I have some wonderful things on the horizon and I would love to share them with you.

Have a wonderful Christmas all and a very happy New Year!

Let’s have a bite to eat in Sydney…

My Pinterest board of beautiful shops and eateries is growing by the minute. And now that I have started pinning them, I can’t seem to stop! It’s been so long since I was wowed by a restaurant in person that I keep on daydreaming about selecting a few of my favourite beauties from my boards and jetting around the world to experience them in the flesh. How cool would that be? The Old Library Restaurant by Hecker Guthrie in Sydney would certainly be on my list.

Thoughts?

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