The Second Year

It was our second wedding anniversary in early July and I am ashamed to admit it but compared to last year, it was a total non-event. It was a hectic week for us both and neither of us were operating at 100%. By the time our anniversary rolled around on the weekend, we just ran out of steam. We wished each other and tried to celebrate but no cards or presents were exchanged, no real effort was made on either part. After it had passed, we both acknowledged the shittyness of our behaviour. It’s important to celebrate, to go that extra mile to make your partner feel special and loved, to thank them for another year gone by – this becomes even more important the longer you have been together (complacency is a very real danger). So a do-over is necessary. This weekend we are heading to the mountains to celebrate another adventure filled year.

It was just on the off-chance that I happened to stumble across this gorgeous villa in Santorini while looking for anniversary present ideas (it’s cotton. HELP?) and had to post it. It’s on this very tiny bucket list island that we got engaged.

Source | Elle Decor

Senza, The Heads

South Africans subsist on a diet almost purely made up of meat, meat and more meat. Maybe a few vegetables and fruit thrown in here and there but so long as it’s accompanied by meat, preferably barbequed. It was wonderful to gorge for the first week (and to feel my jeans slowly loosening… yes, excessive proteins with little carbs makes the weight melt right off you) but by week 2, I was desperately craving some carbs. Warm fresh bread, spicy rice, bouncy creamy pasta all featured generously in my day dreams. So on another cold and misty day, we ventured up to the Heads in Knysna to rustle up some carbs.For as long as I can remember, a restaurant has sat proudly on these shores of the lagoon and sea. I’ve celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, Sunday lunches all throughout my life at this very spot. And although the name and decor of the restaurant has changed countless times, the scenery is always the same. I have to admit that Senza is probably my favourite of all the attempted restaurants in this spot. The open fire, the white panelled walls and interesting light fittings immediately won me over but it’s the windows framing that view that had our camera on the table throughout our meal (of creamy pasta for me of course).

Images | Wishful Thinking

Rose Gold

Etsy is my new favourite source for delicate and unusual jewellery. Very often the pieces are handmade and reasonably priced. I’ve always been a strictly silver/white gold/platinum (note to Jordan: write that down please) accessories kind of girl but as I got older, a bit of yellow gold crept in here and there. Nowadays I’m all about the rose gold. I’m flirting with purchasing one of these beauties…

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Aussie TV

We were warned before we came over but nothing could prepare us for how bad the television is in Australia. Ok, let me rephrase that, it’s not the actual content that’s lacking, it’s the format. Before a show has even started, you have watched a minimum of 10 adverts (I know because I counted). You’ll watch an entire show, (filled with adverts) and then right at the crucial end part, the show will cut to another 5 adverts only to come back to show you the last 3 minutes of the show – it’s this point in particular that has given my normally placid husband a throbbing head vein. In addition to the advert brainwash, they have highlights of the news that. play. all. day. OF THE NEWS! Why is this necessary? Just in case you see something that makes you want to watch the news? I despair.

But I’m in a glass half full kind of mood today so I’ll acknowledge that I watch far less television now than ever before. I’m also more selective in what I watch and only have a few favourites I’ll devote my time to. One such favourite is Offspring. To that, I am hopelessly addicted. It helps that the main character’s apartment looks like this…

Source | Home Life | Photography: Armelle Habib | Styling: Julia Green

Ladies out there, if you can get it where you live, I urge you to get into this series. It has me laughing and crying every Wednesday night. I wanted to add a clip of my favourite scene (which is a bit long but worth it if you have a few minutes) but I can only seem to post the link to YouTube. I think we can all relate… right? 

[Click here for my favourite scene of Offspring]

A Backdrop of Boats

We are getting to the end of my holiday photos (which means it’s probably time to replenish them with another trip… thankfully I have something up my sleeve)! Thanks for sharing them with me and for all your lovely comments – each and every one of them filled me with warm and fuzzy pride. Jordan has done some fantastic editing with his new toy (Lightroom) and I think his photos of Knysna do the beautiful town far more justice than my attempts. As is typical of the Garden Route, we were blessed with crazy weather throughout our trip. Hot berg winds, raging thunderstorms, heavy fog (that delayed my grandmother’s flight) and endless, endless rain. Our day trip to Knysna was taken on particularly miserable day but the flat, grey light served as the perfect backdrop for the ageing yachts and the bright colours of one of my favourite places on the planet, man-made Thesen Island.

Images | Wishful Thinking

9 Months

Don’t get your hopes up. I’m not trying to tell you anything (as I type this with a large alcoholic beverage in my hand) but I can’t deny that babies are on my mind. I guess you just get to that age in your life where your Facebook feed blows up with blushing brides and seriously over enthusiastic new parents. And after eleven years of semi-conventional domesticity and two years of marriage, the thought of babies no longer has me running for an open door with flailing arms and a terrified expression. I’m warming to the idea, if you will. Although I must admit the mere fact that I found myself putting together a nursery mood board surprised me (in a pleasant way) and earned a very high eyebrow and audible gulp from an inquisitive husband. Here’s what I envisioned for a new life…

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M

A Host With The Most

My trip to Sweden a few years ago never strays far from my thoughts. I think about the immaculate and clever interiors, the impeccably dressed individuals on the street with their blonde hair and hipster glasses (of which I now own a pair), I think of the delicious food and the stunning architecture (and sometimes I think about the fact that I spent about £20 on one beer *shudder*). My only regret is that I did not see more of Scandinavia. Particularly Copenhagen. By all accounts, it looks like my kind of city. Especially with restaurants like Höst.

 

 

Images | New Norm

Mountains And Such

In order to get to the Karoo from the coast, you need to drive over the winding mountain pass. It’s the kind of drive that gives you grey hairs and takes a few years off your life. Dairy and other farm trucks come tearing around the corners, not caring who they take out in the process. It was the one occasion during our holiday that I was happy to be sandwiched in between my grandmother and my sister in the back seat of the car. Risk of death aside, it’s an absolutely beautiful drive with plenty of pull-over stops to take the perfect pictures. I know I have posted that picture of me looking out on the mountain before but it’s probably my favourite picture of the whole trip. I was thinking about all the visits I had made to that particular spot throughout my life. As a child with my bickering parents when the pass was first built, on a school trip where I nearly had heatstroke, as a foolish drunken teenager who mooned passers-by, as a love-sick teenager (who had just met Jordan), and then, as an adult who could no longer call it home. For someone who’s mind is always churning, it was a rare moment of peace. It seemed to descend on us all and the drive back (by way of farm market) became somewhat subdued. My sister later told me that that particular spot had become popular for loved ones to scatter the ashes of those they had lost. I couldn’t think of a better resting place.

My grandmother and Jordan. She adores him.

South Africans never joke about bacon… 

Images | Wishful Thinking