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????

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 ;)

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?

2014 MTV Video Music Awards

While I was not intending on posting today I managed to watch the MTV VMAs and had to share some of my thoughts with you. Early disclosure, they are random but that was the point!

The opening was pretty interesting but why was Nicki Minaj holding her top through her collaboration with Jessie J and Ariana Grande? Wardrobe malfunction... !

How ridiculously amazing is JLo's body? This woman is 45 years old and yet she only gets better with age. 

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I think Britney and Justin did it better.. but well done Katy for the the throwback! I think they just needed to do something more with the look for it to outdo the original moment. 

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Mrs Kim Kardashian West went for a patterned mini dress but she actually ended up looking really casual in comparison to her sisters.

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I'm not loving Taylor Swift's outfit choice, this pattern just wasn't exciting enough and I still don't understand why these celebs keep walking around without pants?? However her reaction to Lourde winning the best Rock Music video was super cute!

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My most surprising winner is definitely Fifth Harmony for Artist to Watch. While I liked them during their time on X-Factor I really didn't think they were going to beat 5 Seconds of Summer or Sam Smith but hey, girl power, right?

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The most sincere performance goes to Sam Smith.. damn can he sing! I tried really hard to find a good clip of it but was unsuccessful, however if I do I'll put it up at a later stage.

However one of the more sincere moments would be when Miley had her friend, Jesse, a homeless youth accept her award for Video of the Year.

I know the internet was buzzing with Beyonce's performance but I'm not feeling particularly overwhelmed with praise but her daughter was pretty cute! 

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So, did you watch the show?

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Z is for Zen (A to Z Challenge)

Finally it's the last day of the A to Z Challenge and I'm so happy it's been a long month...

It's been a trying month for many reasons but I always wondered if finding my "zen" would help.

Zen means finding peace and meditation or calmness and for a girl who grew up in Johannesburg, I know all about being stressed, full of worry and pushing myself beyond the standard. That creates some crazy in life and I want to find some calm.

I found this list to find one's Zen but I don't think it's as easy to do.

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I am currently living in Cape Town and while it is much more peaceful (or slow, as Joburg people would say) I still think I'm searching for my zen.

One of the things I enjoy doing in Cape Town is walking along the beach but I hate that I don't actually do it enough.

What do you do to find your calm space?

Y is for " You" songs (A to Z Challenge)

Its the second last day of the A to Z Challenge, you can see all the other posts here.

Today is some of my YOU songs!

Lucy Pearl - You ~ reminds me of my early teens, I still absolutely love to dance to this song

One Direction - You and I ~ It's a recent song of the latest 1D album but it's really sweet and their newly released video is a calm and sweet video compared to some of the more whacky fun ones they have done for their more upbeat songs.

Chris Brown - With You ~ while I am not a fan of Chris Brown, I love this song.

What's your favourite "You" song?

X is for X-Men (A to Z Challenge)

Being the proud 80s and 90s child that I am, I was able to grow up surrounded with some of the best cartoons ever!!!! For example, Pepper Ann, Doung, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the smurfs but my favourite has to be X-Men.

So when the movie idea came up, I was so excited something like this

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I was always a huge fan of Rogue and Gambit. I did do not understand why everyone else was obsessed with Jean Gray

~ Credit ~ - Rogue and Gambit the way I remembered them

~ Credit ~ - Jean Grey

When the movie released and there was no Gambit, I was so disappointed but then I watched the first one and the choice of Rogue was terrible! I hate the way they portrayed Rogue's character of being too young and naive really pissed me off. 

 

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The reason I loved Rogue (in the cartoon) was because she was strong, independent, sarcastic and sexy. No offense to Anna Paquin but she is nothing like that in the movie. 

However in light of the fact that I loved the cartoon series, I continue to watch the movies but every time Rogue is shown or mentioned, I'm just reminded how badly adapted the movie script is. 

Which was or is your favourite character? Did the movies do him/her justice?

W is for When you're no longer young ...(A to Z Challenge)

....You understand Monica Lewinsky jokes

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.... You use the term "When I was young..." 

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.... Nerds were not cool (although, here's tip - most of the "nerds" end up being great hot husband material

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``` you taped songs off the radio with a cassette and had to use a pencil to rewind it so you could listen to it again and then this happened - see picture below - and your life was over!

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....You know Uncle Carl

DO you remember any of these?

xxx Nats 

V is for Vexatious (A to Z Challenge)

Vexatious - Causing or tending to cause annoyance, frustration or worry

~ Oxford Online Dictionary 

During my law degree, I learnt that a person could be penalised for vexatious behaviour and I always remembered the word. I thought it was funny like, serendipity, just one of those words I would always remember. 

Can you sense the annoyance?

When I try using it in my everyday conversation I notice how many people don't know what it means so I thought I might as well share it with you.

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Have you used this word before?

U is for Uptothemoon (A to Z Challenge)

Uptothemoon is my race horse, my animal soul, my friend.

Our first meeting

While a lot of people laugh at my attachment to Uptothemoon or think it's crazy that I think she and I understand one another - it does not matter because I know she gets me. She feeds off my moods and has the ability to alter my mood within minutes.

After her first race, she had grown so much!

I mean if taking a selfie with a horse isn't the cutest thing, I don't know what's going to make your day better :)

Just relaxing her head on mine.

T is for Travel (A to Z Challenge)

Just go, anywhere....

xxx Nats

S is for Say Something (A to Z Challenge)

The first time I heard this song was on America's X Factor and I thought it was haunting and beautiful.

Here is the original:

Don't hate me, but I actually think I like Alex and Sierra's version more... 

What are your thoughts? Love or hate this song?

R is for Random (A to Z Challenge)

It's Easter Monday and R - day so here goes my latest random thoughts 

~ I'm the man -Aloe Blacc-  love this song

~ All of me - John Legend I cannot hear this song enough

~ sickness is crazy. When it hits, it can really wind you and the weirdest thing is how quickly it can change a person.

~ Still loving Pretty Little Liars! I know people love Hanna and Caleb but I'm glad their over. 

~ Speaking of Caleb, Ravenswood is a strange show but I keep watching it. 

~ Cape Town has once again reminded me why it is a Top Tourist Destination, the sunsets have been truly break taking.

       

          From Signal Hill

     

        From Gordon's Bay

~ I had my grandmother and one of my cousins who were visiting Cape Town for the first time, and it was amazing to watch their reactions to some of the things that have come to form part of my everyday life. 

                                   

   Bo Kaap, Cape Town

~ How much does your name dictate your personality? 

~ the 80s and early 90s fashion is back with a bang and now I feel old because I remember a lot about it....! 

~ I read the first two books of the Divergent series in 3 days and now I've spent 2 weeks reading the last book.. Which had caused my delay in reading this month's Blogger Book Club book "The Scent of Rain and Lightening" I hope I'm going to finish it in time for the link up..

What did you get up to this weekend? 

Again, I'm posting from my phone so no proper formatting to this post and I can only hope it comes out ok. 

xxx

Nats 

Q is for Quarter Life Crisis (A to Z Challenge)

When I first thought about the fact that I was in my mid twenties, feeling overly anxious about where I was and not sure about where I'm going - essentially living through the motions just to exist because from a far, my life looked like it was on track. It was relatively normal and I hated it. That's when I started thinking I'm too young to be having a midlife crisis although the symptoms were there and then wonderful, dependable Google (aka Uncle Google) had the answers. I was not alone in this feeling of unrest or fear of mediocrity - was I doing enough with my life? This had a term - Quarter Life Crisis. 

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I form part of a generation whereby your success is broadcast on Facebook, your intellectual thoughts are sent through sporadic 140 character tweets and your fabulous, life 'within' your means photos are showing on Instagram and if I'm not meeting the requirements of a substantially happy life - I would know because it does not compare to the thousands of people I communicate with in social media. Now I know what you'd like to say, "Each person has their own journey" or something along the lines but the truth is - there has to be one moment when you receive an invitation to a wedding, babyshower or wedding renewal and you think "WHAT? How did they get there so quickly" .

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While I definitely have a lot of stories to fill my 27 years on this earth and I've traveled more than a lot of the 20 somethings I grew up with, I've kissed a few frogs (still looking for the one who will turn into a prince) , laughed and cried and triumphs and losses, I still feel like I haven't done enough to say my life is on track. Then it clicked, my life wasn't on the track. Not the track that I had planned when I was 17, finishing off school. 

I haven't figured it out, I haven't entirely made peace with it but I am doing what my generation does - googling my way to the answers, taking quizzes, looking for cures and faking it until I make it.

I would love to hear your views on a quarter life crisis?

P is for Pescatarian (A to Z Challenge)

Pescatarian - A person who does not eat meat but eats fish

Oxford Online Dictionary

Today's Good Friday which is one of the most holiday days in the Christian calander. One of the most significant habit we observe on Good Friday is to be Pescatarian.

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Growing up, that's not what I knew it as but essentially that is what we do. In the mornings before church we only eat Hot Cross Buns and tea or coffee without milk (Although I don't like cooked raisins and this year my mom found an awesome substitute). After church we eat feast on a variety of fish or seafood dishes. 

Do you and your family have any traditions which you observe on Good Friday? 

Wishing you a wonderful day with your family and loved ones!

O is for Old Wives Tales (A to Z Challenge)

I absolutely love old wives tales!! I always feel slightly silly for admitting it but the more I think about it, I think it's just one of my quirks!

Here are some of my favourite or rather most popular old wives tales I know of:

~ If you cry while cutting onions, your mother in law is going to like you. Truth or Lie?

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~ If a wasp comes into a house, there's a female who is in the house who is pregnant

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~Where you carry your baby during pregnancy will indicate the gender - if high (girl) if low (boy) - what happens if it's twins and one is girl and one is boy?

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~ If a bird poops on you, it brings good luck, really??

To see some other funny old wives tales, head over to this article that I found. 

Have you heard of any other old wives tales? What do you think about them?