Sometimes a girl needs nothing more than a goodie bag to make her happy again – even if it belongs to someone else.

When gorgeous design meets beautiful branding...

My boss just arrived with hers from the Shelley & Harry launch party last night, filled with Lindt chocolate and other goodies, including one or two pieces she picked up for herself.

Shelley & Harry makes jaw-droppingly beautiful jewellery. The name comes from the designer, Shelley, and the love of her life, her sausage dog Harry.

I'm going to pause so you can savour the cuteness

Last night Shelley launched her Goddess range of jewellery, but it's the Coco pearl ring I'm lusting after.

Too pretty

Well that, and this pretty ship's wheel pendant thingy that I can't find a picture of.

Wow. Shiny things really do make girls happy.

Sick? Again? Seriously?

Universe, could you please cut me a break? I've got some seriously delicious (literally and figuratively) weekend plans, and I'd rather not have to cancel them and lie around in bed for another couple of days.

And what gives? I used to be among the healthiest people I know. Never so much as a sniffle, and now I've been full-blown ill three times this year already? What's happening?

I suppose, when I felt my throat start to get scratchy yesterday morning, I should have opted not to choose that particular afternoon to get back to swimming training.

Sniff.

Cough.

Splutter splutter.

Okay I'm over this...

Love this image

The ever-lovely Audrey

Somehow, this picture makes me want to be a better person.

Stolen from this lovely blog.

The weekend in numbers

Number of sunny days: 3. Warmer weather seems to be finally making its way down to Cape Town. Hello summer!

Number of gorgeous handbags accidentally bought on Saturday morning: 2. Went to Gardens Centre to have my car washed (yes, yes, I'm lazy) and STRICTLY not to shop, but then Accesorize was just too tempting. Besides, when I get round to posting pics, you'll know you would've done the same.

Number of pirrrrate parties attended on Saturday night: 1. Le Boyfriend's company's end of year function (bit early, isn't it?).

Number of G&Ts consumed at said function: many

Number of shooters: see above 

Number of people who threw name: just about everyone. There were men dressed as mermaids, a couple as SpongeBob and his starfish friend (with the mandatory accompanying starfish jokes), a scarily convincing Jack Sparrow and various other dirty seafaring sorts. There was much drinking of drinks and much cutting of rugs and pulling of shapes. There was an epic group Freddie Mercury number on the dance floor, and someone will forever be remembered as categorically NOT having the moves like Jagger, whatever he may assert. Oh and I did my first langarm, just for kicks, though Boyfriend says he's never seen me so excited (shame, and it was with another man). In short, it was wonderful. But possibly the best thing about this particular group of people, is that you know you were never as terrible as the next person. It's a comfort, in times of severe gin consumption.

Number of hangovers: 1. Large one. Although waking up to the sight of waves crashing below our little cabin on the west coast, and a buffet breakfast to salivate over, pretty much sorted everyone out. 

Number of Sunday afternoon naps: 1. It's official: I love nap.

I'm back, baby!

Happy
I'm feeling almost 100% healthy again.
Sad face
I spent the past four days lashing around in bed feeling like I was going to die. I've never had real flu before, and man did it give me sense of humour failure. For someone who doesn't even really suffer from the common cold, this was agony. At one point, I thought I needed to be rushed to the medi clinic, and got all teary-eyed thinking how sad it would be to say my final goodbyes to my family and Le Boyfriend (I had a whole House type scene going on in my head. It was really dramatic. I was all brave, saying things like 'I'm not afraid' in my croaky, near-death voice as the world wept at my tragic loss).

Happy
Sleeping for fours days means it's already nearly the weekend baby!
Sad face
Um, there isn't one here.

Happy
Managed to lose 1.5 kg from all the svitshing and lack of appetite.
Sad face
Have put 0.5 back since regaining my appetite.

Happy
Le Boyfriend arrived home from Joburg (okay, fine, Witbank) last night.
Sad face
Circumstances have conspired so that we don't actually have plans together until Saturday night, his company's end of year function dress-up party. Which also means I have to find a costume. Theme, you ask? The perfectly absurd 'Pirates, mermaids and a touch of lumo'. So ... SpongBob SquarePants? Disco Jack Sparrow? I'm stumped here.

Happy
Before I fell down with the flu, I baked a cheesecake which turned out bloody perfect, so I'm quite chuffed. I mean, my first attempt, and it turns out I'm Ni-friggin-gella (wow that sounded awfully common didn't it?).Oh yeah.
Sad face
It cost me about R130 in cream cheese and other ingredients to make the damn thing, and then I couldn't face the thought of eating it while I was sick.

I'm deeply unimpressed with this weather

Someone should tell Cape Town that it's supposed to be spring. Despite valiant efforts by The Little Pink Umbrella That Could, I'm soaked from my socks to my Blair-esque headband.

Deeply, deeply unimpressed...

Sex and the (atro)City or How one of my favourite shows of all time has been ruined

SATC: The early years

Front-running

SATC: The later seasons

Fabulous

SATC: The first movie

A lot of fun

SATC: The second movie

Farce

SATC: The next movie, The Carrie Diaries, starring an assortment of teen queens as the Fab Four

Fucking ridiculous

Shock to the system

I've always considered myself a lover of words, an avid devourer or all things literary and linguistic.

Yeah, suddenly, not feeling all that much of a proper word nerd.

There s very nifty little test out there that some clever people doing research into average vocabularies have set up. It's quick and simple, and you can take it over here.

So I'm happily clicking along – 'Yes, I know what that means, yes, that one too' – and then out of nowhere somewhere on the second page they hit you with the a few columns of words I'd never even seen, let alone knew a definition for ('Fuliginous' anyone? 'Sparge'? 'Braggadocio'? 'Terpsichorean'? Yeah, I thought so).

I hate feeling inadequate. Anyway, here's what they told me in the end, which looked all exciting and impressive at first but apparently actually places me nice and firmly on the 'average' pile. Oh well.

Although, you just know I'm going to spend the greater part of this afternoon looking up all the words I didn't know, so perhaps I'm a bonafide word nerd after all.

I have a secret

Don't tell anyone but...

...I'm wearing mismatched socks.

Beauty spot

So, a lot went on in preparation for the big celebratory weekend away, but I'll spare you the details of, among other things, my four-hour packing marathon and just move on to...

Gelish!

Okay so the name could have used some work, but this is the next step in the nail revolution that seems to be sweeping the beauty world. Here's what you need to know: Gelish goes on like nail polish, but hardens like gel (without the telltale hump though). There's none of that horrible over-buffing that goes on before you get acrylic or gel nails, and you don't need to soak your fingers in acetone to remove it. There are a ridiculous number of shades and bits of bling you can add, so go bananas kids. Best bit is, it supposedly lasts two or more weeks (I'll keep you posted how mine does).

The (anniversary) weekend in pictures

We went to this...

which was here

with these

and these

but we stayed here.

We did this...

and ate this

with these

and plenty plenty plenty of this.

We had one of these...

and a bit of this kind of thing

followed by this

and something like this for breakfast.

And there was plenty of this...

and then, like I said, shedloads more of this.

Happy Spring Day!

 

 

 

September first is finally here. And in true Cape Town style, it's cloudy and cold in the Mother City on the day that's supposed to signal the changing of the season and the onset of warmer weather.

To be expected, I suppose.

Oh well, happy Spring Day anyway, and happy Friday and happy long weekend to me!

Okay that was unusually mean-spirited, wasn't it? Forgive me, I'm just a tad excited at the prospect of having tomorrow off, waking up late tomorrow, having a manicure and then heading off for two nights in Franschhoek with Le Boyfriend to celebrate three years of The Jono and Jade Show.

The prospect of this weekend is so happiness-inducing, that it nearly mitigates the fact that:

• I owe SARS more than R2 000
• I drove at 90 km/h through a speed trap in a 60 zone on Sunday morning.
• The nett outcome of my weight fluctuations since January is four kilos. Four! Good lord, let's hope the beginning of spring sees some kind of difference in my willpower. I have plans for you, tummy, and you're not going to like them.

Okay is it time to start the weekend yet? No? Well, roll on 5 pm please...