a Holiday and my 30th Birthday Bash

Hello my friends! I have missed you so! I just have to firstly apologize for the halt in Skirt posts...a few unforeseen happenings have tied my hands. I was visiting family with Dave, my parents and little brother. They just left for home this morning and I'm staying on another week to see friends a spend some tome with my favourite people here in Pretoria.

So far this past week was crazy, awesome and went by way too fast! My Gran and I share birthdays and we usually held joined family parties(when we still lived here in Pretoria). This past Friday, my family organised a 30th Birthday surprise party for me(a week early). It was awesome! This was my very first surprise party! I was so overwhelmed, I started to cry. My Aunt Zelda and her daughter Zandienne, found my Pinterest board, My 30th Birthday Inspiration and organised decor and props for a photobooth, the works! My god-parents got most/all of the food and organised their back yard for an out door movie night... It was just so amazing! Thanks to my parents, friends and familie...and Dave! You guys made my 30th a most memorable day!

Love you all

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: #19 Rouge Paisleys

...hello again. I just realised that I was still one skirt behind. As I still had the tripod set up, I thought I'd just slip on another old favourite. This way I created a whole new outfit by simply changing my skirt, adding a belt, putting on a different pair of shoes and changing my hair.

 -this skirt has and probably will be one of my all time favourites. It's from Woolworths, I bought it about 12 years ago and it is still perfect! Made of a 100% Cotton, it is both light and airy in Summer and warm and cosey in the Winter. The paisley print is so beautiful and with so much detail. The tag says Made in South Africa, I wonder where in our Country and by whom it was made...-

-these photo's don't really do the skirt much justice... You don't often find such a beautifully designed fabric in our shops. When all this Fast-Fashion nonsense started, the quality of clothing, fabric construction and printed design, declined drastically... But I don't want to get into that now.

Have an Awesome Friday!

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: #18 Raccoon in Red

Hahaha....I'm not the lady in red, I'm the Raccoon in Red. Okay, I'm sorry. I get weird when I'm freezing. I here it's scorching in Pretoria, I simply cannot wait anymore! We're road tripping straight into Summer, yay! This has been the longest Winter since we moved to Hermanus three years ago.

Back to the skirt, This pretty little number has made an appearance on my blog before (have a look here). I bought this skirt when I was still in high school at a shop called Smileys. Some of my South African followers might recall this lovely retail store. Yes, I still wear it very often. Though the length is out of fashion, I don't feel I want to shorten it. It's just so comfortable and if it was creased coming out of my closet, by the time I walk out the door the creases are gone. It's strange, they just seem to fall out.

just a quick what's what: 

-My Raccoon beanie is from Mr.Price

-This lovely red jersey, my friend Adrienn gave me

-My pretty Smileys skirt is made of a 100% Viscose

-My cosey textured stockings are from Woolworths

-My sexy laser cut heels are from Ackermans

...and only two more sleeps before we leave

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: #17 Thrifty Florals

Well, I suddenly drew a blank. How's that? Any of you fellow bloggers experienced that before? Usually (even if it's not much) I know exactly what I want to say. But now... hmmm. One thing I know is that I'm still freezing and there's more rain and a cold front on the way. Unfortunately, we will be missing out on this year's Whale Festival which starts this Friday. Another unfortunate thing is that, looking at the weather forecast, it looks like this year's Whale Festival will be an even colder and wetter one than the last.

I really must say, I had thought this challenge would be one warm enjoyable challenge. It turned out to be just a CHALLENGE! It is so difficult to have Spring in my heart and Winter in my wardrobe. I'm getting stuck, creatively. I put a lovely outfit together and then I have to find Winter warmers to cover it all up on account of the weather. I'm getting to the point where I just grab one of two jerseys just to stay warm.  

-okay... so, I found this skirt at Matchbox about a year ago. It's handmade with a draw string at the waist, no pleats, no elastics nothing. A very plain, quick sew skirt. I have warn this skirt many times and I'm in love with the floral print! However, I feel it has served it's purpose as a skirt and want to turn it into a romper. What do you think? It would make the loveliest playsuit and I bought the perfect pattern a few months ago but couldn't find suitable fabric-

xxx   

Project a Day: #19 Sunburst Granny Cardi

It's mid-week AGAIN! I'm counting not only days but hours till we leave for Pretoria! This Project took me about a year and a bit to finish. Half of that time it was sitting in a bag waiting to get done. It seems to have become a thing for me, I go into a project with all my might and energy and then it's like I'm no longer intrigued by it and find something better more interesting to do. Then, for some reason the project sticks it's head out and says: "I'm ready to be finished now" and then I finish it. During the time I started on this project, I couldn't find any reference or patterns for what I wanted to do. So, I made up my own pattern and it's a real show-stopper!

 -I'm so happy with how it turned out! It's warn and lovely and an instant "pick-me-up". The Colours are so bright eyed and bushy tailed... -

-in the above picture, you can see the awesome maroon yarn that I found at a local charity shop! It' Acrylic but oh so soft... The rest of the yarn are from my very first crochet blanket which I decided to frog. I know, crazy right? I couldn't really use the blanket because (being my very first) it was crocheted so tightly that it was a stiff block of a blanket. My tension is so much better now, having about 10 years of crocheting experience. Wow, that's a lot, never thought about it like that... Anyway, I know I should probably block this project but I kinda like the texture it's creating. Also, I'm still deciding whether or not to add edging and buttons. What do you think?

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: #16 My Mom's Skirt and a Wolf

Okay, it's Tuesday! Three day to go then we are off (I mean up) to Pretoria! We're taking a road trip with my parents and little brother... I can't wait anymore! I'm getting ideas ready to make prezzies for everyone and I might even be there for the birth of my best friend's baby! Crazy exciting!

Now for the skirt... Today's skirt, is quite special. It was my mom's, she wore it when I was about 8, I think. She threw out a bunch of her old clothes when I started studying and of course I got the first pick. I took a few of her vintage items (1989-1995), that count as vintage, right? I wore them proudly throughout my studies at the Tshwane University of Technology. Knowing that I was wearing authentic 1980's to 1990's fashion when the trend made a comeback in the 21st Century.

Here I'm wearing my mom's office skirt, it's a wrap pencil skirt design. Oh, I'm also wearing my Wolfy that Dave got me in January and hid from me up until a month ago... I woke up one morning (he'd already gone to work) when I turned to his side of the bed, there was a wolf on his pillow staring back at me. It was quite fitting to wear him on my head today as there is a full moon tonight, hahaha.

 -The skirt is from Woolworths, it's a 100% Linen with a Viscose/Polyester lining. I might even use this skirt to draw a pattern, it's such a simple design. You hold it outstreched behind you, then your left hand folds the one edge over to your right and fastens with a hidden button. Then your right hand folds the other edge around and over to you left where it fastens with a show-off button-

  

-see? this would be so easy to make, I might just do one-

Do you have any sentimental vintage items that you still have or wear today? I'd love to see, leave me a link in the comments below if you have picture of it on the interweb.

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: #15 My First Design Team Purchase

Remember I told you we attended the very first Cape Town Design Team Sale? Well, here is what I came home with.

-I had been waiting for this sale for about three months! Since they mentioned the possibility of a Cape Town sale. I'm so glad I could go. To find out more about Design Team, click here.

 -I cannot believe I found this skirt! It was waiting just for me, the only one of it's kind left and in my size too! I love everything about it, the colours, the designs, the fabric! It was the most comfy thing I've ever worn-

-Happy Monday-

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: Mini Denim

Today was a crazy windy, stormy, freezing day! This morning we had such gusty winds that I decided to wear my jean and then late this afternoon the sun came back out. So I did a wardrobe change just for you guys... hehehe. 

-this little mini denim is so awesome! It's versatile and comfy! Ah, how do you like my hand knit mohair sweater? I found this beauty at one of our local charity shops last summer and I couldn't wait to wear it when winter started. It's so warm and fuzzy and the colour is perfect-

-Enjoy whats left of your Sunday-

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: #13 My First Sewing Project

Today has been a sort of a lazy Saturday. We've just been chilling at home, Dave was watching the rugby and I've been crocheting on my latest project. As this was a stay-in day, I decided to dig out an old skirt that I made back when I was still in High School. I took an old jean and cut off the legs. I then took some strips of vintage fabric my Gran had given me at the time and sewed it along the new hem. The jean I had used didn't have back pockets so I cut back pockets out of another old pair of trousers and sewed them onto the back of the jean. And this was the result...

 -looking at it now, I cringe seeing all the loose threads hanging all over the place. No seams, very shoddy work... I've never been very good with a sewing machine-

-This is one skirt I will probably keep forever. My very first sewing project (done all by myself), my very own idea back then and not to mention the piece of fabric I used is very sentimental (having belonged to my Gran)-

What was your first ever sewing project?

-enjoy the rest of your weekend-

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: #12 Indian Block Print

Whoa! Friday is gone! After a really nice lunch and afternoon with Natasha (Bamboo Blossom), Dave and I had a braai and such a fun and cosy evening. We watched House and Dinosaurs and fell asleep in front of the Mac (we don't own a TV just yet). And that, my dear friends, is why I'm only posting Friday's dress now.

It has been so very cold, I'm really ready for winter to be over now! It's so difficult to put together an outfit when you're in Spring Mode and the weather got stuck in mid-winter somewhere.

Friday's skirt is an old favourite which I bought from an Indian clothing shop in Pretoria. It's made of pure Cotton and block printed with a golden fabric paste.

 -with a hint of Boho, this skirt really makes an outfit! It's got a sewn-in lining which is awesome, because I think it would be very transparent without it-

-tiny little leaf and flower prints...I love this skirt! It makes me feel so feminine-

Hope your Friday was awesome!

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: #11 African Influence

Hello friends, can you believe it's almost weekend again?! Wow, time really doesn't wait... In about a week we're driving up to Pretoria to see our friends and family, yay! I can't wait anymore! Oh how I miss all of them! 

Here we are, almost halfway through our first month of Spring and we're still freezing our butts off. I just refused to dress for winter today. 

 -This is quite a "gutsy" skirt. I bought it about five years ago at Legit and I thought it different and bold. I also loved the interesting pattern with all the pleats and green trimming on the hem. Made of a 100% Cotton, the print and use of colour reminds me of some of the lovely African prints we get here-

-a close-up for you to see the detail of the print and the bold use of complimentary colours-

-Enjoy the last day of the week-

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: #10 Spring Patterns

Wow, happy mid-week friends! I'm feeling so much better! Thank you for all of your advise on how to beat the "feeling grey" mood. Something that I've been doing is to sing sad songs in the shower (a looong shower), I find that it makes me feel quite a bit lighter to pour my feelings into sad songs like, Learning the Blues - Katie Melua, Nothing Compares - Sinead O'Connor, 21, Daffodils and Ode to my Family - The Cranberries, What'll I do - Frank Sinatra, you get the idea. You probably think I'm crazy, but it works for me. If you try this, let me know if it helps.

Feeling better always has an impact on how I dress. Happy = Brights. Sad = Dull Colours. Sometimes I would dress in brights to try and cheer myself up and other times I would dress in dull colours because I don't want to be taken note of that day (sort of an invisible cloak type thing).

Feeling better today, I wore my Spring patterned skirt. It made me feel pretty which also helps enhance a better mood.

 - It's made of a 100% Cotton and has a lining, it's such a cute skirt. I don't remember where I got this one because I've had it for like, ever-

-a close-up so you can see the patterns, it's a bit like a doodle-mess. But I like it-

-Enjoy the rest of your week-

-hope it's good-

xxx

30 Skirst in 30 Days: Lovely Lilies

Ah....Tuesday is gone. We had a lovely bit of rain this morning. I must say, it's taking quite a while for me to feel myself again. I feel a bit lost... 

Thank you for following my blog and all my endeavours. It makes such a difference just knowing that I have friends out there that care and maybe I'm not the only one feeling under the weather.

To share with you todays skirt, I found this lovely pencil skirt at one of our local charity shops. The brand is Zara and it has illustrated St. Joseph Lilies printed on it.

 -I think I might just add a slit or two on this skirt, it's really difficult to walk in it. I love the illustration on it and the colours are soothing to me-

-be nice to strangers-

-everyone is fighting a hard battle-

~me& Plato~

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: Flowey Florals

Hiya friends, how was your Monday? It was the most beautiful day here and I felt ready for the new week and then came the storm! Have you ever had one of those days when you're happy and fine and then all of a sudden, BAM! Emotions which you didn't even know were there, take you over. Well, my Monday ended that way. I felt icky-sicky and didn't have the strength to anything, much less do a blog post. If not for Dave, I wouldn't even have had a photo for my Monday post. He really keeps me going, I don't know if he knows it... but I love him so much!   

-I love the cheeriness of this skirt, the lovely colour combination and the flowiness of it. It also has pockets but they're just for show. They're way too low to put your hands in. The best part of this skirt is that it is made of a 100% Viscose, my favourite summer fibre-

-take care-

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: #7 Plaid in Grey

Sunday was a grey day and my outfit added to my grey mood. I developed such a terrible headache and was feeling quite crappy. Thanks to my cousin Zandienne from Pretoria, my day turned out really great! It was such fun chatting to her over Skype. She really knows how to make me feel better. I miss my family so much! Dave and I, my parents and little brother are all going up to Pretoria for my grandmother and my joint birthdays in two weeks time. I cannot wait to see them all again!

-another Mr.Price buy, I bought this skirt about five years ago and I still love it! The added pockets are so awesome. This skirt can be worn both formal and informal-

What do you guys do to brighten your mood when your feeling grey? Please leave a comment, I would love to hear your what you have to say.

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: #6 The High-low

Just a quick share! I bought this skirt from Mr.Price in January of this year. I loved that it is made of a cotton knit and the colour is beautifully soft. I do find that this particular High-low is designed for ladies of over 2 meters tall. Seeing the photo Dave took for my skirt challenge, I realise that I will have to wear this skirt with SUPER HIGH heals. It had also been dragging on the ground as I walk.

Besides all that I had an awesome Saturday with Dave, we went through to Cape Town for the day and attended our very first Design Team Sale. We then went to Charlie's Bakery but the queue was so long that we decided to go to Honest Chocolate instead. We ended our day with a browse in the Canal Walk mall. What a nice day, Dave really spoiled me! I will share these titbits soon.

-hope you enjoy a lovely rest of your weekend-

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: #5 the Perfect Bodycon

It's Friday! Today was slightly warmer, yay! I can't wait any longer.... I want to start wearing my Spring skirts now! So today I did, ha! Yes okay, I had goosebumps for most of the day but it was warmer than yesterday. I wore my all time favourite bodycon skirt, paired with this awesome knit-shirt with cut-out detail at the back.

 -this bodycon is from our local Pick'n'Pay clothing store. I bought it last year and have been wearing it every other day since. It the most comfortable skirt I own and it works well with leggings too (for colder weather). The care tag is printed on the inside of the skirt which means no scratchy tag! The composition of the fabric is 94% Cotton and 6% Lycra, soft, stretchy and even more comfort-

  -my awesome shirt is from Meltz, it's made of 95% Viscose and 5% Elastane. It's avery fine knit fabric and feels extra smooth and soft, almost silky. I love this back with it's cut out detail (don't mind the bra straps). It almost feels like I wearing my PJ's-

Enjoy your weekend, Friends!

xxx 

30 Skirts in 30 Days: #4 Satin Colours

Oh what a day! I felt like a roller coaster had chewed me up and spat me out! ...And on the other hand, I felt so summery yet it's still quite cold here! I so wanted to wear my new cardi, so I did and I half froze to death! I bought it on the Woolworths Winter Sale, it's so lovely! It's a mixture of Acrylic, Nylon, Viscose and Cotton. It has that "comfy-worn" feel to it and I really love the texture. I would say it's more a Fall cardigan, it's light, airy and cool to wear. So it's perfect for Spring although it's a bit too cold still. I'm babbling again, aren't I.... my head is in about a million places right now so I hope you forgive my yabbering.

Back to the skirt then? Okay! This skirt, I found at a local Indian clothing store when I still lived in Pretoria. It's the most synthetic satin you can get but it feels awesome on freshly shaven legs (hehehe). For some reason I keep hanging on to it, I take it out during the first week of Spring, wear it once and the pack it away again. Weird how one mood and brain works sometimes. 

 -I know I look funny in this photo but I couldn't help looking at the stars. They are extra bright tonight due to the New Moon. Wow, there are so many! Our town is still quite small and there aren't as many lights as there are in big cities so we can even see the milky way with the naked eye from where we stay. It really is amazing... rambling again, sorry :P -

 -It's hard to put this skirt in a style category, I do want to say I'm getting a bit of an Art Nouveau vibe but I don't know. Maybe a slight hint of African design? What do you think?

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: #3 Silky Paisleys

Oh my goodness! Hi friends, what a crazy work day I had yesterday! It was bad enough having to do work that I'm not cut out for but then technology had to drop me at every opportunity. Don't you just hate days like those! You can't just struggle in peace, you have to deal with incompatible flashdrives, out dated or different software versions, incompatible file formats and at the end of it all... A Damn Corrupt File! So I had to do about five hours worth of work from scratch! Phew! Now that I've got that out of the way, now you know why I didn't have a post yesterday. I was all dressed and looking so cute(if I don't say so myself) and then I didn't have time to do the photo or the post.

I will fit in a double post for you some or other time but for now, here is today's.

 -This is such a lovely skirt. I bought it from the loveliest stall at the Rooftop Market in Rosebank when we still lived in Pretoria. This stall stocked the most beautiful pure silk garments. Some were silk screened and others were block printed. The flow of this skirt is lovely, it is a wrap skirt which makes it very comfortable. In the past, it has been quite difficult to make up an outfit with this skirt due to it's colour combination. But it worked out quite fine today-

-it might be a little difficult to see it on this picture but the tiny patterns that look like flowers, are actually paisley designs-

Happy mid-week to everyone!

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: #2 - 1970's Flair

Happy Monday, friends! It was such a beautiful day today. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the gardens are filled with the most beautiful flowers. It was still quite freezing though. I've been so busy lately, doing a lot more freelance work for the company Dave works for and Dave is using the camera at work more often. So please bare with me during this time. I will still complete the 30 Projects as I continue with my 30 Skirts in 30 Days challenge.

I don't know if you can remember, last year, I did an Outfit Love post where I was showing off a re-fashioned vintage skirt I had found at one of our local charity shops, here. Well, today I wore that same skirt as a dress. Along with my Vintage Grandpa cardi, my vintage leather belt (all sourced from local charity shops) and my cute new Cotton On pumps.

 -I just love these 1970's colours! The Designers back then really seemed to have fun, with bold colour combinations and striking floral patterns... I have always wished I lived in a different era and the 70's has always been one of my favourite fashion era's. Speaking of different era's, have any of you  watched Midnight in Paris? It's about wanting to live in a different era and then magically doing just that. The movie was quite cute and very light to watch but it lacked visual creativity. I've never seen a movie, set in Paris, that was as bland and dull as this one. But, I liked the story and I like Owen Wilson so I hate to admit that I've already watched it three times-

-a close-up for you, so you can see the vintage prettiness! If you look closely, you can see that this pattern was hand drawn. I love the colours, they're so inspiring. They make me feel quite Groovy, Baby Yeah! Hahahaha-

What era do you like best, please share:)

xxx

30 Skirts in 30 Days: #1 Purple Paisleys

It's Spring! Well okay, we're still freezing our butts off and there is snow on our surrounding mountains... But it's Spring! Happy Spring everyone! I Love this time of the year, there's a smell in the air that just so invigorating that one cant help but wanna sing or dance or do something silly!

Being the last month of my 20's, I'm doing a 30 Skirts in 30 Days challenge. Ah, the shops here in our little town are already stocked with summer clothes and after searching for pastel clothes for the past 2 years, I now see pastel lovelies everywhere! 

My first skirt is one of my favourites. My parents bought me two skirts way back when I was still in high school. This is one of them. It's from Edgars Woolworths, it's the loveliest 100% cotton and it's screen printed with the most beautiful paisley design. I don't think I'll ever get rid of this skirt. After so many washes and having had it for 12 odd years, it hasn't faded or anything. So here it is...

 -this skirt does have a bit of a Boho feel to it. I wish I were a fashion-gyspy, I just can't seem to pull it off. Anyway, as you can see, we had quite a chilly Spring Day here in Hermanus-

-here a closer pic, so you can see how pretty this skirt really is. The funny thing about this skirt (being a 100% Cotton and all) is that I have never had to iron it, not once. Isn't that awesome?! What's your favourite fibre and why do you like it so much? I would love to talk fibres with you!

-Hope you all had the loveliest Spring Day-

xxx