Spotted: LOVE

I snapped this picture a while ago in my little hometown of Kloof. I guess the cool kids of the block wanted to spread some love, as 'heart' tags started popping up on every STOP sign in town.
I don't quite know what this sign intended to mean, but this is what I think:

A) Someone is reaching out for a little bit of attention that they are not getting at home and they only angry way to say this is: STOP LOVE.

B) As I am a bit of a romantic I read it like this. STOP. LOVE is here.

What do you think it means?

A Revelation

This is one of Durban's best kept secrets, most people would shun me for giving away this little piece of lunch-time paradise. But what the hell, I am going to do it anyway. 

Revelations is the little food baby of Jamie and Cathy Whittle. A food baby so beautiful that I can guarantee that every lunch time from now until eat-urnity will be a revelation, or Revelation of the Day for that matter. From pasta to panini's with fillings that fill not just your tum but your soul too, it is a wonder that only the Nandi Drive Design District (As I like to call it) know about it. 

The parmesan on top for me is that you can see that Jamie loves his job, he learns your name and your number (The number 9 panini is TO-DIE-FOR), and for a location that is so impeccably dressed, it feels like home in mothers kitchen. 

So here, is the unveiling of a lunch-time meeting place, that I hope you treat with care and like them on Facebook.

Ps. That handsome man sitting in my picture is that of a dear friend who, if you told him couldn't eat Revelations ( or Revdogs as us younguns called it) ever again, he might bite you. Read his blog too: it's worth a giggle. www.eyelike.co.za (Hi Nev! *Waves*).

Sunday evenings are for...

Last year sitting at a stop street in Claremont, Cape Town on a regular bright evening, I was met with a sight that blew my mind and made me say, all in one breath out and almost all at once, "Oh-I-wish-I-could-do-that". A floating blonde sailing around the corner, shorts as short as the hems allowed, bare foot and smiling on a Sector 9. I vowed, as soon as I got back to Durban I would teach myself. And I did. And here I am. On a sticky summer's Sunday evening.

Nature Inspiration

Don't you love it when you notice nature noticing you? Gosh what a moment.

Appaloosa

Don't you just love it when you find yourself a field of horses! Oh, for the LOVE of horses. 

My first Online Shopping Experience

Hi my name is Jemma and I am a compulsive shopper. 

I know that every girl on the planet loves to shop. But the truth is I am obsessed with new, shiney, beautiful things. My wardrobe has to be cleaned out every season just so I can fit the future season's glamorous merchandise. I know that every season I will shop. There is always a dinner party to attend, a wedding to out strut the bride in and a beach outing to show off a new bikini. It is almost impossible for me to arrive in something I have worn before. I lie about how much things cost, snip off labels in the car, throw away packets pre arrival to the flat, so my boyfriend doesn't see that our food money has been spent on my 'have to have' spontaneous buys. I am a Sherlock of Holmes Bros when it comes to smuggling in the goods.

So a couple of weeks ago I was blog-googling and came across a post of the ASOS Sale. ASOS? Sale? Both on one line together, virtually tapping me on the shoulder to go give it a squiz. 70% off on pages and I mean pages of every 'must-have' summer attire you could imagine. So like a good little girl I hit the Under £20 button and browsed. River Island, ASOS, Top Shop a shoppers dream. You see I can talk myself into pretty much anything and there I did, 1x Handbag, 1x Belt and 1x Playsuit. All for under R500. Did I mention the FREE shipping to South Africa?

2 Weeks later, these lovely pieces arrived...

For anyone wanting to spend a little of their hard earned cash on one of a kind items, I highly recommend shopping at ASOS <--------- Click here for a shoppers dream. It is our little secret.

Last weekend I felt summer

Typically the weather started off a little miz on this Saturday morning but ended up being a killer Durban summer day. A perfect day for I heart Market at Moses Mabhida Stadium. Picnic blankets, kiddies, doggies and the hipsters were all out in their fine attire. I love I heart and all it's goodies, there really isn't anything better than something home crafted, is there?

Not being one to waste a fine day, the beach and all it's sandy goodness whispered my name. So I grabbed Kindle, beach towel, boyfriend, bikini and my newest most adorable ASOS playsuit and headed down to a little spot called Vetchies beach at the mouth of the harbor. What a wonderful day it was! A lazy afternoon watching yachts coming in and out, Border Collies harassing little kids with sticks and perfect sunshine to bronze my reflective skin. A true taste of summer. Big *YAY*!

I am not one for strenuous exercise on weekends, but Sunday saw the Global Diabetes Walk at Suncoast Casino. 5km walk? Seriously at 8am on a Sunday? Oh it is for a good cause? Right then, let's do this. As fun as it was goodie bags and all, I was very much looking forward to the healthy breakfast at Jiran. There must've been a lot of Monkey's weddings happening as the weather couldn't quite make up it's mind, but rain or shine breakfast was served with special people at one of my most favouriteist Durban coffee spots. A perfect end to another lovely weekend.

 

My Spontaneous Weekend

A few weekends ago I took a leap into a different situation – a break on my own. Something inside me said, “Young lady, Go! Go get on a horse and venture in the mountains.” So for the first time in a very long time, I went. I took all of me, even the bits I didn’t like (hoping to leave them somewhere deep in a mountain pass) and spontaneously, as spontaneous does, did something different.

Before I even start with the story about my wondrous spontaneous adventure I had to share the weekend in pictures. As it is the beginning of the summer season (Big 'Yay') everything has a lush coat of green and little shrubs disguised as little shrubs showed off their many blossoms. And oh did they blossom.

But to not forget the ponies, well this is it. I do believe that I have once again fallen in pony love. The type that only ten year old girls can imagine, the 'I want ponies for birthdays, ponies for parties, ponies for riding and ponies for absolutely everything a pony can do' kind of love. Their soft noses and gentle sneezes have driven me obsessive, and I just couldn't get enough...

There is something about being on your own that opens your heart. You start to look at the world through your own eyes. Your opinions become facts that no one can alter and after a while, as the last bricks of the city fade you start to feel yourself again. The only voice left in your head is the sound track to your life.

I always find it fun, knowing sort-of-around-about where I am going and then discovering exactly where I need to be when I have to be. It helps me grow, leave that last bit of ‘Oh my God I am on my own’ kind of fear behind and start the tail wag to something new.

The thought of going into every detail of weekend, feels a bit 'children story' without the imagination. I want you, dear reader to look at the pics and imagine the rest.

Yes, I loved the first moment I galloped on top of the mountain – the wind running its wispy fingers through my hair. The pounding of Star’s hooves on the grass... And of course I was stuck between a Dutch couple walking down the valley pass, having a heated argument. There was absolutely falling asleep under trees when meaning to write blog posts. And I definitely would love to not say that I left with a very prominent t-shirt and sunglasses tan/burn. But alas I did. Gorgeous.

It was possibly the best weekend I have EVER had alone, in a very, very long time. I shall be doing this again. Spontaneously, of course.

Long Weekend Adventures

Over the long weekend in March I decided to take a little trip down the south coast. I am not normally a fan of the South as I have grown up on the North coast and have become somewhat biased but I was ready to explore that coast with new approach. I wasn’t expecting to land up 6 hours into the Transkei far away from anything that cried Kwazulu-natal. But sometimes spontaneity is necessary to reach the point where it just feels right.

We landed up in a little town called Coffee Bay which is 12 km’s away from the coastlines famous ‘Hole in the Wall’ and what a beeeutifuul place for spontaneity to have landed us. Phoning ahead we had booked ourselves into The Sugarloaf Backpackers (@CoffeeBaySA – Follow them on Twitter), which couldn’t have felt more like heaven.

Situated on the banks of the lagoon the rooms and campsite breathe in the tranquility of the ocean. I have always been a bit skeptical of backpackers as you never quite know who you will be sharing a room with but we managed to claim the last tent on the campsite, right on the water’s edge. For R100 a night and a little bit of pocket change for a meal, we were ready for sleepy-land, our trip couldn’t have started off better. So, after a few beers at the Sugarloaf’s Tokoloshe bar we were ready to get some rest for the following day’s exploration.


Coffee Bay is a great point break that cranks almost anytime of the year. With so many little bays to explore you are bound to find a wave to suit your level of surfing. For the seasonal type surfers there are surf lessons and board hire at the backpackers so you don’t feel left out while the Kelly Slater’s of the world carve away. P.S. If you are an avid surfer you will recognize Coffee Bay as one of the spots in the surf vid: ‘Drive Thru: South Africa’ where the likes of Donavon Frankenreiter, Benji Weatherly, Pat O'Connell to name a few, leave their mark on the Transkei shore line. 

So after a full day of hiking along the ocean cliffs, surfing our hearts out, swimming within the frame of Hole in the Wall (yes, it is possible when the tide is friendly enough not to wash you into the rocks), chasing goats, horses, cows and Mushroom sellers on the beach we hit the bar for one last Label.

To book contact: Brian on +27 (0)79 183 5274 or email bookings@sugarloafbackpackers.com or alternatively visit their website http://sugarloafbackpackers.com to book your weekend (or year) at this piece of paradise.  

Colour Inspiration

Having an early morning Coffee at my friends house turned out to be a little more inspiring than usual. His new coffee cups seemed to match the tone of my shoes.

I like this colour combo. I like it a lot.

STOP and Look

It was only after I had pulled my hand back inside the car and seen what i had taken a picture of that I saw the ‘stop’ sign. How many things do we miss because we don’t take 5 seconds out of our day to really see what is around us..