A bit of excitement and a lot of blandness

5 years ago I went to Paris with my mother and one of my sisters. I think I had seriously low expectations of what it would be like because it turned out to be way more magical than I could ever have dreamed. I have wished and wished to be able to go back (not over exaggerating at all) and my wish has finally come true thanks to my fairy godmother- or my mother and father whichever you prefer. 

In just less than 2 months time my mother and (now) two of my sisters and I will be jetting off to Paris and Amsterdam *contains excitement*

 

I am now on the hunt for things to do in Paris. Most of the large museums and art galleries we checked off our lists last time we were there although to be honest I wouldn't mind doing them all again (if you have any ideas of exciting things we can partake in in Paris please do tell).

 

In other news: we love love watching modern family (okay, so maybe I do more than Graham does) and there is this one scene in the first few episodes where Cam, a pretty hefty character tries to convince the audience that he's only put on a "few pounds" due to adopting a baby. In the next scene we see Cam being caught on camera in the pantry stuffing his face with food. How does this relate to my life? Well, I got fat. Okay maybe not fat but certainly 10kgs heavier. We first realized when I zipped up my skin in desperately trying to fit into one of my dresses (that I fitted into perfectly 8 months ago). So I have been packed off to gym for weekly sessions with a trainer and a super delicious (heavy sarcasm) new eating plan. Things like regular cheese and pasta and potatoes and fruit loops (only just recently re-discovered) are considered "cheats" and apparently I'm only allowed to cheat once a week.

 

In the past 8 months-being married to Graham- I have developed more of a love for food than I had before. I pour over my recipe books for hours trying to decide what to make for dinner, something that will challenge me and develop my cooking skills. And (I think) that Graham has had fun tasting all my exotic creations. But now with this new eating scheme things have become more difficult (and I can't help but feel more bland). We are limited to meat, chicken or fish with veggies for dinner. Last night worked out pretty well, I haven't cooked fish before and I added in some cous-cous for Grahams carbohydrate need. If any of you dear readers have ideas or recipes that fit our -hem- restrictions please email me or Facebook me or comment in the section below.

 

I'm busy making lists for Europe in my head. My parents bought our flights yesterday. I found a little paper version of the Eiffel tower and a beautiful passport cover and am just trying to justify buying them. Be prepared to hear lots more about Paris and Amsterdam on the blog in the weeks to come.

x

learning a lesson

I feel as if I have been to the edge of the world and back. 

My whole life I've spent believing that the rest of the world was more beautiful than the country I live in. All it took for this to change was our short road-trip through 3 provinces 2 weeks ago.

 

Graham hated the driving. I, on the other hand loved it because I like to watch the world go by outside

while eating nik-naks and listening to Graham singing along to Queen. The first day we drove for 9 hours. 9 hours of watching the dry sparse landscape go past. 9 hours of Grahams choice in music. 9 hours of not being able to feel my rear end. But we eventually got to Bloem, had some dandy times with friends and food, and started the second leg of the joinery early the next morning.

 

Graaf Reinet was absolutely not what I had expected. A Quaint beautiful old town with one very trendy coffee shop called polka [definitely worth the visit if you're ever in town, it has the most wonderful fire place that inexplicably seems to warm the whole place. Perfect for a cold winters day/night]. After much ambling we drove to the farm where we would be staying. Our guest house was an old house that had been beautifully re-done, with wooden floors and enormous bathrooms and (the most important part) a smashing fireplace. I won't bore you with a step-by-step account of our time there- it was filled with a very wonderful reunion with two long lost friends, two icy cold nights spent snuggled around the fire place with board games books and chocolate, breakfast held under the blossoming cherry trees, croquet on the lawn, a painful hike up the mountain, watching the sun set over the river and then having hot chocolate at the aforementioned restaurant, a windy night, an early morning and breakfast on the road in some small town and then Port Elizabeth.

 

The boys had planned something special for Thursday night, a show of some kind, they were very proud of themselves for having thought of it. It magically turned out to be ballet (surprising if you know Graham and Sean). And the next morning we whisked ourselves away to St Francis bay. Windy as hell. There we stayed with new friends and did much bonding over Modern Family season 2 and board games. We spent the 2 days in St Francis dreading the 13 hour drive back home but it sneakily arrived at 5am on Sunday morning. We hit the road. Graham conquered 4 hours before we had to stop for breakfast at a steers (keeping it classy) sometime later- just before we entered cows-in-the-road country- I took over. Learning to dodge cows and goats as they walk into the road and then panic because they've walked into the road is definitely a skill I do not want to develop. After a few hours of rear-end numbing driving we came to the border between the Eastern Cape and KZN and it was in this area (while Graham slept curled up beside me) that I had the privilege to encounter some of the most amazing scenery that I have ever seen.

To be clear. I think (rather thought) that the most beautiful places I have seen are in Europe- parts of Germany, England, France, Turkey, Italy- but driving through the land just before we crossed into KZN I was ashamed to have been surprised that such beauty existed in South Africa. I passed deep ravines (that looked like they had been made by someone ripping the earth apart-terrifying and beautiful) which were sprinkled with fine, beautiful sand colored grasses that made the ravines look like they had been covered in velvet. The ravines gave way to enormous black hills which in turn became kilometers of pine forests. The sun started setting and the ghostly moon rose and sat above the enormous pines as we flew past. We could have been anywhere in the world but to my incredible delight we weren't, we were at home. 

Fast forward a few hours of driving and we arrived back in our little suburb in our little province. Graham and I decided that the only rational thing to do after 13 hours of driving and our happiness at being back in Durban was to get curry for dinner. So we did. 

And then we had the best sleep of our lives.

for him

Take my hand, I'll teach you to dance
I'll spin you around, won't let you fall down
Would you let me lead, you can step on my feet
Give it a try, it will be alright.

The room's hush, hush
And now's our moment
Take it in, feel it all and hold it
Eyes on you, eyes on me
We're doing this right.

Cause lovers dance, when they're feeling in love
Spotlight shining, its all about us
It's all about us.
And every heart in the room will melt,
This feeling I've never felt but,
It's all about us

where do you go, where do you hide, where do you disappear?

crumpet

Happy monday! I love hot days in summer [not because I particularly like the heat] because I love the hot summer nights where you can sit for hours on your balcony staring at the moon, pretending to be someone magical in some exciting novel containing ruby necklaces and white horses-moonlight can do extraordinary things.

A crumpet /ˈkrʌmpɨt/ is a savoury griddle cake made from flour and yeast.

Crumpets are generally eaten hot with butter, with or without a second (sweet or savoury) topping. Sometimes, second toppings are added such as honey, poached egg, jam, Marmite, salt, marmalade, peanut butter, cheese, golden syrup, hummus, lemon curd, maple syrup, and Nutella. The butter may be omitted, but a phrase very commonly associated with crumpets is "dripping with butter"

p.s.I am feeling much better [if you were wondering] I'm feeling good enough to have spent the larger part of my evening reading my philosophy textbook.

this week in pictures

its late at night. its so hot i can barely breathe and the music thats blasting from my ipod makes me want to get up and dance the salsa [i dont even know how to dance the salsa!] what better time to post my week in pictures? having G back with me has seen my daily tea intake increase quite drastically-

and it was back to school this week. this however has had little effect on my life, ive still been reading tolstoy 'till 2am and suntanning in the garden in the afternoons. [my mom has gone nuts for iced tea and makes 2 pitchers of it every day... no one drink it so i'm not sure where it goes...]


the days have mostly just been made up of lazy sunny daydreaming times [which is a welcome change from the hellish nightmare week that was the week before]
[listening to: 'wanted to write a love song' by the cat empire]

We got acquainted on a warm summer's night top floor of your apartment was where we started clicking for the first time. And our future it was so bright. I was there to be your melody and under the impression that you would be my harmony.

too much tea

"I will cling to that old rugged cross & exchange it someday for a crown"
Good afternoon. I am feeling seriously energetic today as always on the first day of term...you dont need to be too concerned though, it usually fades by tuesday. Hm, whats new? The last term of the year- only 9 weeks and then im on vacation for forever! Until January. whatever.

[Im going to let you in on a secret and tell you that I've been wearing the same jersey for 3days straight, I should wash it and preserve its cashmere-ness] How sweet is this list?

Last week my dad got home from Mongolia and he brought us panda chocolates, argh now I want a panda, or atleast to stroke one.
Ah its cupcake monday! but as of now-ish the cupcakes are going to apper on the new blog! [yay new blog] http://anobviousobsession.blogspot.com/

how to spend the last few days of your holiday

so i may or may not have spent the better part of the last 3days trawling wedding blogs. they really are the most lovely things to look at, the amazing decor, the people being in love, the dress [thinks of becoming a wedding planner]

these are some beautiful wonderful things that I found:

[an aside- if you know of any more wedding blogs or websites that I can waste my life away on, because really, who needs to work? Then please send them to me]

"After all there is something about a wedding-gown prettier than in any other gown in the world."-Douglas William Jerrold

"Tell me how many beads there are
In a silver chain
Of evening rain,
Unravelled from the tumbling main,
And threading the eye of a yellow star: -
So many times do I love again."
-Thomas Lovell Beddoes

weekend stories

in the past2 days i have eaten almost an entire tub of sorbet.[and a few more cups. justbecause i can. although i could see my sorbet addiction becoming harmful. potentially] yesterday we went to the organic market in the forest. it was beautiful and hot and lovely. farmstyle breakfastroll and sorbet eating followed.

love –noun
1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
[and then in the evening we had a braai& walked along the beach to watch the moon rise, which turned out to be more amazing and breathtaking than i could ever describe- although lets be real, Irenelady this photo is very close to what we saw in real life. you brilliant photographer you]

[and i bought candyfloss]

[happy sunday. sleep in tomorrow*]

post-christmas nostalgia

in the midst of the christmas craziness here are some of the things i liked this week:
[putting off posting about christmas because when i post about it, its really over]

"Whatever happened to chivalry? Does it only exist in 80’s movies? I want John Cusack holding a boombox outside my window. I wanna ride off on a lawnmower with Patrick Dempsey. I want Jake from Sixteen Candles waiting outside the church for me. I want Judd Nelson thrusting his fist into the air because he knows he got me. Just once I want my life to be like an 80’s movie, preferably one with a really awesome musical number for no apparent reason." -Easy A.

[saying nothing and everything]

But there's something in the air
They share a look in silence and everything is understood

[spent the day watching gossip girl with pix. i feel so happy to have seen her twice in a week. this never happens. Ive been living on mr blueberry. maybe getting it was a bad idea. the weather is perfect tea weather.]

have a good fridaynight*

afternoon tea

Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. There are circumstances in which, whether you partake of the tea or not--some people of course never do,--the situation is in itself delightful. Those that I have in mind in beginning to unfold this simple history offered an admirable setting to an innocent pastime. The implements of the little feast had been disposed upon the lawn of an old English country-house, in what I should call the perfect middle of a splendid summer afternoon. Part of the afternoon had waned, but much of it was left, and what was left was of the finest and rarest quality. Real dusk would not arrive for many hours; but the flood of summer light had begun to ebb, the air had grown mellow, the shadows were long upon the smooth, dense turf.
today I started reading Henry James's the portrait of a lady and I am inlove with it already. It is the perfect weather for reading.

and to P, you are awesome

I am so sorry I didnt say happy birthday to you so here it is.
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to P* Happeeeeeeeeeee Birthday to youuuuuu

I wish you lots of

have a smashing tuesday all

shes a problem to solve

maryjane* I wish i had enough words to say how happy you make me feel and just how special you are but i dont [so im giving you pictures instead]
[a blog cupcake- for your birthday*]

[the most beautiful, romantic thing you can think of, with fireworks]

[the truth]

[how,much of your life can be explained by gosssip girl]

[a clothing fairytale]

[stars]

[the lips and the nails- im lying, actually everything in this photo reminds me of you]

[highheels, yes please]

[the mysteriousness of the moon]

[over-the-top nails, or just painted nails]

[oneday we shall go to tiffanys]

[fairylights]

ihope you had a wonderful birthday. I love you very much
[your light is ultraviolet]