Sisterhood Of The World Blogger Award

 

Happy Holidays Readers!!!!

 

The lovely Miss Laura Bora from Miss Laura Bora's Blog has nominated me for an award for the Sisterhood of The World.

Here's how it goes:

The Rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you, linking back to their site

2. Answer the ten questions that have been set you

3. Make up ten new questions for your nominees to answer

4. Nominate ten people

5. HAVE FUN

So the questions Laura has given me are:

1. Who is your fashion inspiration?

To be honest, I'm not much of a fashion person I mean I appreciate fashion but I'm more of a safe dresser. Although when I do need inspiration I love a mix of Khloe and Kim Kardashian #SorryNotSorry

2.  Do you have any pets?                                      

Right now I don't but I really REALLY want a Labrador but I want to make sure I have enough of a backyard for him or her.

3. What is your favourite quote?

I really love this one but more recently I shared one that Khloe had shared and it's heartbreaking and beautiful.

4. Favourite song right now?

 

5. What is your new years resolution?

 

To be healthier version of myself and to keep pushing through everyone else's perceptions of me so I can do what I want to do.

 

6. What is your middle name?

 

I'd rather not say juts because with my full name my online profile would have no secrecy left :(

 

7. Glass half full or glass half empty?

 

Half full... most days

 

8. Favourite TV show right now?

 

Pretty Little Liars

 

9. What is your favourite wild animal?

 

Are horses considered wild animals?

 

10. One makeup item that you couldn't live without?

 

Concealer. I don't wear a lot of make up but concealer is a must to hide my insomnia nights in the morning sun...

 

That's it folks... I'm going to cheat and not tag anyone but if you choose to do the tag send me your link and I'll definitely pop by. I just don't want to force anyone to do this post at this time of the year.. if you do decide to do it, these are my questions to you:

 

1.Who's your favourite blogger and why?

2. What's better bold lips or bold eye make up?

3. Favourite Christmas memory?

4. Favourite sport? ( you don't have to play)

5. Do you have breakfast daily?

6. Do you own a LBD? What makes yours special?

7. At what age did you stop believing in Santa?

8. Have you ever tried online dating?

9. What's your fail safe recipe?

10.What's your New years eve plans?

 

 

Wedding Vibes : OOTD (My Attempt at Fashion Blogging)

I attended a wedding this weekend and I literally wore one of my favourite outfits - EVER! 

Details: 
Custom Made Champagne Sequence Dress
Nine West Nude Sandals
Nude Pierre Cardin Clutch

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I loved this look it made me feel so pretty... anyway happy Tuesday x

Monday Musings

Go tell your story... 

Hypocrisy At It's Best

DISCLAIMER: This is one mixed bag of emotions in this post.There aren't any pretty pictures to go with this post just raw emotion. 

I've always prided myself on not being a hypocrite but such is life when you bite your tongue and hang your head in shame as you give into something you morally don't agree with.

I know I'm being cryptic and I wish I could just write out and share with you guys what's going on my mind so I can get it off my chest but I can't because I don't want to humiliate the other people involved but I'll just say this: the one thing people have always said about me is that I'm so straight forward/ so honest/ so trustworthy and now I've been asked to support a decision I don't agree with and I feel like a fraud.

I've been really battling with this because it's not just that I don't agree but other people I'm close too agree that to support this decision is wrong and yet we're all doing it...

You see we so things we wouldn't ordinarily do for the people we love but my conundrum I'm suffering through today is... Would they do the same for me? Or better yet, how much can you write off your own sanity for the sake of being the "better person"?

I know, heavy thoughts for a Friday morning but this has been weighing me down for weeks and it doesn't feel it's going to get any better.

So, thoughts?? Support without (with little) judgement or preserve your integrity?

The Songs That Made My 2014!

I've said this a million times (ok, about 100 times) before - music is a very big part of my life and this year has been no different so when I saw that Helene was hosting a link up about the Best Songs of 2014 so of course I wanted to join the party!

Stay With Me - I don't want to lie to you, I have no idea when this song came out I just knew I loved it and Sam Smith and Adele could possibly make the most heartwrenching love album known to mankind.

I would have to say that Stay With Me is the song that will always remind me of this year because it's the one that has been most consistent over this year.

 Come Get It Bae - don't hate me but I was actually not a very big fan of Pharrell Williams in the past, I always enjoyed his songs but never felt compelled to buy them until this one. This song made me so happy every single time I heard it on the radio. Hands down my go to happy dance song this year. Have I mentioned I hate the word "bae" but I love this song #SorryNotSorry

Thinking Out Loud - Who are you if you have not included this song on your list? This is ridiculously beautiful and hands down my lyrics of the year! Again, I haven't been a huge fan of Ed Sheeran's before but Oh My Word thing song opened my eyes to his amazingness.

"And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways

Maybe just the touch of a hand

Well, me—I fall in love with you every single day"

"'Cause honey your soul could never grow old, it's evergreen"

I Lived - I've told you before that One Republic follow me on Twitter (why don't you???) but I actually only had a few of their songs on my phone but literally the first time I heard this song I knew I was going to love it and my instincts were right. I think it's probably because the lyrics are on point once again but also because I've been trying to live my life this way this year.

I know this is my favourites list but I thought it would only be fair to add a few of my least favourite songs:

1. Shake It Off - T.Swift - I know earlier in the year I said I liked it but damn this song got super annoying but not as annoying as ...
2. All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor - I will sing along to this song because it's been played so much it's drummed into my head so badly I want to stab my ears! I loved this song at some stage but it was just overplayed and went from hit to hit me in the head so I don't have to listen to it. Also the fact that all her songs seem to sound the same just really annoyed me.  #RantOver
3. Wiggle - Damn you Jason Derulio I hate this song it's offensive and freaking annoying.

Soooooo, spill it - what's your best of the best of 2014????

A Child Called It - Book Review

This is an old book and I can't believe it's taken me this long to finally sit down and get to it. If you've read it you'll understand how critical it is to be aware of what happens to the children around you.

It's not that I'm giving away some big secret plot this is a book about one child's abuse which is so inhumane that it leaves you feeling absolutely gutted about situations similar to this that go unnoticed.

For most of this book I felt confused as to how David's father and teachers and neighbours let the situation get so out of hand. I was the most angry with David's father which is funny because David's mother is the abuser I just felt that there is obviously more to the story probably more than David ever knew or would know so the story seems incomplete but the idea that a somewhat normal family switches to a disgusting lowlife alcoholic dictator run household.

I must say that this book made me reflect on the kids that I may have judged growing up because perhaps they weren't the cleanest or they were some shade of "abnormal" and the fact that I just judged them instead of seeking help or extending a helping hand...

There's so much to say about this book but I'd prefer for you to read it and then we discuss it ...

Here is my Goodreads review:

A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Heartbreaking to read and yet I found myself filled with hope that despite what people throw at you, with faith you can push through.

I can't even explain how many times I felt physically sick reading about David's experiences and yet all I can say is that I'm inspired by him.

View all my reviews

This book just made me feel like I wasn't doing enough. Like, what was I doing that could make someone else's life better?

 

I Finally Get It

I finally get it, the reason why blogland was so quiet during the middle of the year. Summer makes it difficult to blog because there's so much going on.

For most of you, you know I'm from South Africa so we are in the middle of summer and that means fun in the sun, cocktails and loads of socializing.

Yesterday when I logged onto my bloglovin feed I had 131 unread blog posts. I've only ever had more unread posts from when I went to Europe for two weeks. I'm stumped because honestly, I don't think I'm going to be able to read everything and do EVERYTHING I need to get done before 2015 closes on us.

So I thought I should update you guys on what's happening..

~ My brother's wedding is just over 50 days from now and there's loads to do from a bridesmaid POV as well as sister of the groom. Including bachelorette planning to finalizing accommodation for out of town guests.

~ I've recently moved into a new place which is awesome but daunting because there is so much to do. I have also realised that my OCD nature is through the damn roof! I really need to sort this ish out because I will go cray trying to keep everything spotless.

~ I've started a new venture and while it's picking up slowly but surely it's also hard but I'm loving it which is an incredible feeling. I love being busy with something I love doing.

~ I cannot even comprehend the fact that 2014 is just about done and dusted. I knew that it was going to be a challenging year but the challenges have been so different than what I imagined it would be and I feel like the days are literally running away from me.

~ I just realized I haven't bought a single Christmas gift and don't have a single clue as to what I'm getting anyone!

Anyway, I'm hoping to pop around here more but the next few days are ridiculously booked up - please still love me in my absence!

Also, do you know of any fun link ups happening? I need some inspiration to blog peeps ;)

Nutella Surprise

Hey guys,

We're into the second week in December which really means this is the last week that anyone will actually be doing work at work. It's crazy I know but this year has really managed to evade me in many ways. A lot of stuff has been going on and I've been saying and I'll say it again I will share the information with you guys when I'm ready.. I promise it will be this year though ;)

Today I wanted to share a variation on a recipe which I've seen floating around the magic Nutella Cookie that doesn't need the oven.

Here's what you'll need:

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla essence
pinch of salt
1/8 cup peanut butter (if you use crunchy peanut butter there's an extra texture which is delicious)
1/2 cup Nutella (or more if you're passionate about it)
3 cup Rice Crispies (depending on how much crunch you want)

So here's what you do:

1. In a pot, bring to a boil the milk, sugar, cocoa and butter. After a minute or two remove from heat.

2. Add in remaining ingredients and stir! Try not to over stir it because the rice crispies will get soppy which isn't much fun.

3. Use a large tablespoon and lay them onto a baking sheet. Then pop them into the fridge. They won't get super hard so you may need to leave them in the fridge until you want to eat them

.
We had cookies for a good week and a half which was our go to snack. they aren't as sweet as you would think they would be which is good because it satisfies the sweet craving without turning you into a complete diabetic. Fun, right?

Anyway, what's your go to cookie recipe?

Let's Make December White Hot Passion!

Firstly I wanted to say thank you to all of you that sent positive thoughts and kind words about my last post. I'm still reeling from it all despite attending his funeral on Saturday. 

However I will tell you that someone shared this quote at his funeral and I thought, WOW I need to adapt this! I need to reach my white hot passion! It's obviously the first of December which also makes me anxious because my to do list hasn't got a huge dent in it and I've literally got 31 days left to complete them.

If I reflect on where I was a year ago things are sooooo different and I am so different but sitting at the funeral on Saturday listening to all these incredible things people said about my friend (knowing I wasn't the only one who felt that way about him) I decided when I die, I want people to say those things about me. She was a girl with so much passion. 

Seriously though, I crave White Hot Passion, don't you?

What's your December plans?

I'm Thankful

I write this post with a somewhat an extremely heavy heart. This week I lost a friend, in a way one should never lose anyone by them choosing to leave before their time. 

The thing is with this particular friend, we haven't actually spoken in over a year but we've been facebook friends and have sent the odd text to check in with one another a share a joke we knew the other would appreciate but when I received the message to say "T passed away". I went numb. How could a vibrant, driven, beautiful 28 year old mind be gone from the world like this? 

Then the next message came through "He killed himself". Now maybe I should take a moment to say I am an Apple girl so the message popped up on screen but was paying for something so just glanced at it thinking I must need sleep because I'm clearly hallucinating. I wasn't because the next message was "He ..." I'll spare you the details and I'll respect his memory as well as his family's privacy by not sharing the sordid details. 

It's four days later and I'm still feeling like this is just surreal. I wanted to share my speculations as to why someone would choose to end their own lives but the truth is, I have no right to play guessing games. 

What I will say is that when you chose to pursue a certain path in life and if you're not 100% in love with it and decide to take an early exit from that road, please ask for help. Please ask for someone to listen to you. Please find some sort of spiritual guidance, whatever you need to push you back to the safe zone. You don't have to jump off the road you're on. You just have to look for a different offramp.

I apologize for all the highway innuendos but I can't think of any others right now because right now, even though I wanted to share this with you, I am still mourning the loss of life that was once my friends. 

I find that I'm somewhat obsessed with his page now and consistently checking what other people are feeling or saying about him. This is just unreal and while I'm pretty sure I could have written the best post I've ever written and one worthy of the loss of this incredible person but instead this is just an OK post filled with loads of feelings the most being this .....

I'M THANKFUL that I've managed to push through dark times thanks to my faith, family and a support system. 

I hope you have all of those today. It's thanksgiving in the States but I have more than enough American friends to feel like I could share my thankful post with all of you from sunny South Africa.

What are you most thankful for today?

"When You Play The Game of Thrones You Either Live Or You Die"

Now isn't the title of this blog like the best thing you want to read on a Monday morning??? For all the GoT fans, if you're anything like me you'd be super excited however if you're not a fan you would think I'm cray!

This morning I was struggling to find something to post about and while I have many different ideas none of them were just going to let me word vomit all over you. You see, today, I'm in a really good mood... the last few days have been rough and once again I'll be cryptic by not actually telling you why it's been rough because I'll probably do a "big" reveal next week. 

What I will tell you is that I finally finished the first book in the GoT series and is it possible that I love it even more so than I did when I watched it? YES! I was nervous about reading the book and was afraid that I may realise that the writers of the show didn't do the book justice (yes, I know the author was part of the writing team) because sometimes things don't translate well onscreen like they would if you're in the mind of a character. That was not the case in this book. 

What I will say is that the book provided enlightenment on the following:

1. Why Ned sends Jon to the Wall at such a young age.

2. Why Peter, Littlefinger, thinks he has a chance with Catelyn.

3. How Sansa thinks. 

4. Why Jon stays at the Wall.

5. Where Arya got her name for her direwolf, Nymeria.

6. The Hound isn't as bad as I thought he was.

It also solidified these thoughts :

1. I hate Catelyn Stark, she may have her family's best interests at heart but she's a complete cow to Jon even though he is a child. 

2. Jon is an incredible man, even at a boys age. He has such a beautiful nature and he's oh so valiant. 

3. Cersei is a cow. I'm not even going to elaborate. 

4. Joffrey is F$%#ed in his head

5. Dany is admirable and a strong leader, she really is destined for great things!

6. Sansa is too gullible.

Here is my review :

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brilliant writing which didn't surprise me because of how awesome the show is.... However the book allows you into the deeper thoughts of the characters which really excited me. I'm hooked on this series!

View all my reviews

Are you addicted to GoT? Who's your favourite character? Jon Snow is mine but I took a quiz and it turned out that I'm Arya so if buzzfeed says I am, I must be!

Have a great week peeps 

Red Door Cafe - Review

Hello Blogland! How's everything going on your side of the world? Today I'm sharing a little gem I found in Johannesburg, actually, I didn't find it one of my friends did and it's not really in the central area of Johannesburg but more so in Edenvale. 

My friend lives a paleo lifestyle so eating out at times can be a challenge when I suggested that we meet near the airport he found this lovely quaint place. 

The Red Door Cafe has both paleo and non paleo friendly dishes but all the dishes are ridiculously delicious. We had a bullet proof coffee. That was my first one and I'll definitely be having a second one soon... They even have great healthy dessert options available. We sat outside but took a peak inside and this place has so much character - I just adore it!

The only thing I will give you a heads up on is that they charge you for hot water and lemon which is unusual but hey, the taste is worth the R2.50! 

Are you following any diet regime? Or do you just like quaint places like I do?

My Other Ex { Book Review }

I'm a girl who has had A LOT of friends come and go in my life sometimes with an event which escalates into the break up and sometimes... there's no warning signs. This book helped me feel as if I wasn't the only one who has had these experiences. I know I have been completely blessed to have had such an incredible amount of friends in my life and again, this collection of other woman's stories' reminded me that it's perfectly okay to feel as if when I lose a friend I've lost a love. Not all breakups are due to a lack of romance. 

I must be honest I would have never read this book if I hadn't read Kate's review and turns out she was spot on! I loved this book so much. While reading this book I was/am also reading two others and this one kept pulling me in especially because the chapters are so quick to read so I could fit in a chapter quickly while waiting at the petrol station or waiting for a friend before our coffee date. 


Okay, so the Goodreads description of this book is:

Have you ever lost a friend? Was that loss in some ways more painful than the end of a love affair?

Women’s friendships so often come to a crossroads at which time two women can try to hold on to the friendship, staying connected, or the friends can take two completely separate paths without each other.

Many of the essays in this book are about this moment in time, when both rupture and new beginnings are possible.

There are so many ways that friendships can end, and this book describes 35 of them, from talented and accomplished contributors. At the heart of each essay is the recognition from each writer that she has lost something very real and very personal, a connection that will never be forgotten.

I've picked a few moments or quotes from the book that truly resonated with me and I thought I'd share them with you.

" Women are frustratingly and magnificently wired for intimacy" - Nicole Knepper
My View: This is so relevant in my life because I crave the intimacy of a friendship which is probably the reason why when I'm friends with you, I'm all in"

"She hasn't died, but my best friend is gone." - Cheryl Suchors

My View: I've had this feeling and while your best friend still lives, the emptiness felt of her lost presence feels like death, sometimes wore than death because she's alive and well.. just living without you. 

" The number one reason people leave a relationship is called diminished returns: you don't get back what you put it." - Alexandra Rosas

My View: I would be guilty of this reason for a break up. I think like that this author noted that it's people who feel this way and not just women. 

Below is my Goodreads rating:

My Other Ex: Women's True Stories of Losing and Leaving Friends by Jessica Smock
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I never read short stories but after reading a blog review of this book I was definitely interested and I was not disappointed.

This nook has many short stories of different female friendships developing and ending and sometimes reconciling. Some of the stories truly touched my heart and helped me understand some of my own friendships which ended hastily or without a "show down". I think this is a book every woman should read to help them understand their past and possible future friendships.

Love Love Love!

View all my reviews

I truly believe that friendships are "...mutual platonic love affairs..." that's the reason it hurts so damn much when it end but even more so I agree with this " friendship is a verb" . I honestly wish every woman would read this book. It helped me understand my lost loves...

Have you ever lost a friendship without knowing what was the cause?

PS: Have a great week!

"I'd Rather Die Out There Than Stay In Here Forever"

My intention was for this to be a movie review post, the movie of course for those who haven't watched it or read it is The Maze Runner I had planned it while I was sitting on the edge of my seat watching the movie and then the title's quote came up "I'd Rather Die Out There Than Stay In Here Forever" and it got me thinking... what would I really do?

Now I won't give the story line away because I know some of you may want to watch the movie at some stage but there's a point in the film which got me thinking... would I choose to live a life of contentment and mediocrity or would I be willing to die looking for adventure and passion.

I actually already know the answer to this one. You see, I have this person in my life whom I love dearly and I could easily decide to pursue a relationship with him and our lives would be so good and content but I also know myself. I know I would never be happy in the long run. Maybe I'm asking too much in life to be looking for a passionate relationship which excites me and challenges me but I guess that's my question to ask because it's my answer to live with.

I wish I could tell all of you that I want to just find someone and settle down but the truth is I want someone who is going to want to challenge my every choice in life, a love which consumes me which is also a little dangerous... (sound familiar?)

Either way, this wasn't supposed to be a post about love more about a post about whether you're an individual who would choose to stay in comfort or be willing to die looking for something more.

Oh so I watched the movie as I mentioned earlier and it had a similar feel to Divergent/Hunger Games. I didn't realise it was based on a book because if I had, I would have read it before watching the movie. Also ladies, Dylan O'Brien is worth checking out. He's like a cute nerd... and who doesn't like cute nerds?

What's the latest film you've watched?

Also, I'm linking up with Helene for my current favourite song of the week and it's easy and I hope you enjoy it!

What are you listening to this week?