Ellies of Knysna

I have an endless list of stories I want to share about my trip back home so brace yourself lovely readers. I wanted to start with one of my favourite highlights – the day we walked with the Knysna Elephants. I actually grew up in the small coastal town of George, not very far away from the Knysna Elephant Park, but being an ignorant local, I never ventured inside. We decided to rectify this wrong this past holiday and armed with a hefty feeding bucket of chopped vegetables, we gingerly made our way over the grass to the herd of 15 something elephants roaming the forest. The sanctuary provides refuge for orphaned calves, relocated ellies and ellies rescued from culls and circuses, so some of them are a little shy and battle scarred but I think this made them even more special. We spent some time feeding these greedy giants and then were able to walk amongst them. They were surprisingly obliging, letting us rub their ears, trunks and tails and on occasion, giving us a subtle nudge when we stood in their way. It was one of the most humbling experiences of my life and if you ever find yourself in Africa, do yourself a favour and walk amongst an elephant herd.

Just take a look at that wrinkly fuzzy head!

We were fascinated to watch them eat - they grab the grass with their trunks and then hold their trunk in place with their foot to make pulling the grass easier!

Had to get a close up of the fuzzy head and the stubby feet!

All images via Wishful Thinking

Home is definitely where the heart is…

I’m back from the land of breath-taking scenery, fast drivers, extreme weather, varying kinds of red meat and wine and of course, wildlife. There are hundreds of photos, piles of washing, overflowing suitcases and jet lag to attend to but I am hoping to sort it all out over the weekend and show you exactly what I got up to. Here’s a taster…

THE Hat

Guess what I bought myself the other day? A wide-brimmed wool burgundy hat. I feel like a total imposter wearing it, like I should have a French accent and be wearing loafers - that’s probably because it’s so ridiculously stylish and grown up (if I don’t say so myself). I had a look back through my Pinterest boards and realised that I may have been slightly influenced.

A little break

By the time you read this, I will be hopefully be gobbling up good food and resting with my family in friends in my home town of George, South Africa. I’m going to take a little break from blogging in an effort to spend as much time as possible away from the screen. But I will be back and I will be armed with a mountain of photographs so brace yourself!

Oldies but goodies – pics from the last time I was home

Bravey Navy

I’m usually all about the cool and calming neutrals and regularly splash their beauty all over this here blog, but that doesn’t mean I am averse to vibrant colour or the dark and moody – quite the contrary. Take a look at this Mount Eliza stunner posted in Design Files. First off, please note one of my favourite elements in any home, layers upon layers. The other common theme throughout are those rich navy walls. I just love how they have turned a fairly simple pine bookcase into a great feature. I’m also deeply madly in love with those battered leather sofas in the living room. I could go on. Yes, I think I could live with this kind of colour for sure.

Source | The Design Files

The mysterious shrinking saga

Remember I told you that we had a whole bunch of stuff shipped over with us from the UK? Well a few (ahem, most) of them were items of clothing I couldn’t part with. And now that the weather is starting to turn, I decided to bust a few of them out again. I started with my favourite pair of Mango jeans. They got as far as my thighs and then I needed a bit of a wiggle to work them over my hips. My confusion turned to despair when I realised there was no way I was going to button them up. The same fate befell Jordan’s jeans. Our conclusion? They shrunk in the container. That’s our story and we are sticking to it. In the meantime, I’m on the lookout for a beautiful pair of distressed jeans, perhaps in a size or two bigger than usual.

And just because it’s only slightly relevant…