Bellbottoms Revisited

Ah, my favourite antique store in Pretoria. I used to go there so often, we lived a few blocks from there. Back when I was still studying, I would go on these walks in our area in Villieria (Pretoria). I walked everywhere and loved it! I would come across little thrift shops and bead shops and would find quite amazing things…

Back to Bellbottoms, then. My very first Bellbottoms post was way in the beginning, when I just started blogging and for some reason that post has become one of my most popular posts. It is an awesome little shop, parking is limited to about four spaces if you're lucky. The last time I was there (before we moved to Hermanus almost four years ago) they had two repaired Jukebox units standing there! For Sale! Wow, if only I had a house, and money back then…

So last year, we went back up to Pretoria for a little holiday. And to celebrate my 30th with friends and family(as most of then still live there), and my best friend was having her baby… who, by the way was born on my Birthday! What a gift! Wow I'm rambling! So much has happened that I haven't been able to share with you due to my crazy workload when I got back and then the Christmas holidays and then more work and then I started singing in the lounge of a 5 Star Hotel….and then! and then! and then…..!

What I want to share with you now, is my recent visit to Bellbottoms, September 2013 with two of my lovely cousins (Bernadean and Zandienne). It was their first visit there, it was awesome and afterwards we went out for sushi! It was amazing to spend time with them, I miss them so much. They kept me busy that whole day and when we went back to my godmother's place, my family had thrown me a surprise party! It was out of this world, but that's a share for another time…

-to my cousins: "thanks you two, for a wonderful and unforgettable day! I'm so proud of the ladies you have become, I miss you both terribly and love you dearly!" and to Bellbottoms: "may your doors always be open and that memories can be made for generations to come"-

xxx

  

Outfit Love: Minty &Fresh

Wow! Tuesday, huh? Everyday I'm more amazed at how fast time flies! Here we are, with Autumn literally around the corner when it seems Summer has just arrived. Even though it's still very hot here in our little town, I can see, smell and feel a change in the air. Shadows are becoming longer, the sun is setting earlier… I must say that I am secretly awaiting cooler weather. I have a lot of knitting to learn and will be teaching crochet classes real soon.

Today's outfit, as it turns out, might be one of my favourites! I'm wearing my Happy Monday Makings #10 and I simply love it! It's flowy, light and thought it is boxy it still has a sexy element to it. Now, I have to admit, I'm not so good at sexy. I always feel uncomfortable wearing revealing clothes, but now that I turned 30… I feel the need to dress more like a woman and less like a cutesy girl. So feel free to join me on this journey to find my more grown-up style and please do leave a comment with advice or just to say hi or whatever… ha! I'm rambling! Back to the outfit then.

-As you know, I made the Minty box top. 

-My genuine leather, vintage belt is from a local thrift store.

-The denim pencil skirt is from Mr. Price (long time ago).

-My lovely stiletto's are from Fashion Express

    -I just love how "the tuck" can make such a huge difference to an outfit! Smart-casual, classy yet relaxed… Oh, I forgot to mention, all my accessories are made by me! Yay! Finally a post with all-handmade accessories! Accept for my rings, of course-

Hope you had a lovely Tuesday!

xxx

Happy Monday Makings #10

Hey! It's Monday! So here is my latest Happy Makings! I found my inspiration for this project from Cotton & Curls. This blog has been tempting me to further my sewing skills for a while now. Cotton & Curls is full of lovely diy's for making and revamping clothing, among other things. This is such a fresh blog, I just love visiting and just taking everything in. I know, I'm terrible at leaving comments…and staying in touch… I will try my best to comment more on the blogs that I visit regularly.

If you follow this (Tops) link, you'll get the idea. Scrolling through all those diy's just makes me want to make something! And so, I did… it took me long enough! 

-pardon the un-ironed box-top… I was a bit over eager to take the photo's for the post-

-seams! again! you can probably see from the photo above that I really suck at it! I am hopeful that with  practice, I might improve. The photo below shows the burn-out pattern of the fabric, isn't it beautiful? I found it in Pretoria, along with the rose print fabric. I loved this one so much that I bought it in three different colours. So keep a weather eye out for the next Happy Monday Makings-

Hope you had a good one!

xxx

 

Outfit Love: A Rose Garden

So Tuesday just came and went! My day didn't turn out at all like I had planned. First our power was off during the early morning and it was raining… then, I totally over slept and missed my morning walk appointment with my mom. The rest of the day went by so quick, it's all kind of a blur! I did manage to get a few important things done. Then Dave was to pick me up at 5pm sharp! He had to be at Cricket practice and I had a meeting with my muso friend…non of that happened. Instead Dave came back late from work (Cricket canceled due to bad weather), my meeting was rescheduled for tomorrow and we ended up going out for drinks with colleagues. The day ended quite good, we had such a lovely time!

So now without further a due, this is what I wore today. I was so excited having finished my dress yesterday that I couldn't wait any longer to wear it. I did however think that such a short dress wasn't appropriate for a week day. Then, by just adding a skirt and changing the accessories that I had in mind to wear…I managed to dress my outfit down just enough to still be classy but a tad more casual.

-when I hung this beautiful dress up, I saw a loads of outfit possibilities form and I hadn't even tried the dress on yet. Then when I had to make the sudden wardrobe change today, I thought it would be fun to see how many outfits I can possibly make with this simple shift dress. This is then no.1 of the Rose Garden-

   -I am simply in love with this print and the fabric is amazing! If I remember correctly, it's a cotton/spandex mixture. It was easy to work with and feels great on! Did I mention that it is a knit fabric… it's really awesome! I feel like I'm almost me again. The past couple of years I have been hardly me, I was quite lost in myself. Now, I seem to be finding my way back to knowing myself, but I'm not quite there yet-

Hope you had a lovely Tuesday

xxx

Happy Monday Makings #9

Hiya! It's Monday, again! How was your weekend? Mine was very interesting and fun! But first, here is my Monday Makings. I've been sewing on and off since I can remember. Sewing just never appealed to me, not like painting, designing, beading, mosaic, crochet… So, whenever I had a sewing project I would ask my mom, aunt or gran to help me and never developed the skill myself.

I decided that I've got to just do it this year! I started with a few plain and simple things, like this dress. I bought half a meter of beautiful rose-printed knit fabric. I folded it in half(length wise, print facing in) pinned the sides and cut the fabric at the fold. This leaves you with two equal rectangles. I sewed the sides, leaving space for armholes, I then pinned and sewed the shoulders. Seamed the armholes, shaped the neck and seamed that as well. I then turned it right side out and took in the shoulders with two pleats each, by hand. I'm still deciding whether or not to just seam the hem or to get matching trimmings like a pretty lace or something to round it off.

-I cannot wait to wear it! It will be perfect for our recent scorching weather. I also have accessories that would make the cutest outfit of this dress-

Hope you had an awesome Monday!

xxx

Happy Friday! Happy Love Day!

Hiya Friends! It took a while but I must say I am feeling much better! I was greeted with a kiss and a hug and a "happy valentine's day" in bed this morning before Dave went to work. When I got up I found a mini treasure hunt set out for me!

As Dave works till late and I'm singing at an event tonight, we decided to do something special tomorrow, just the two of us.

I designed a little something for you gals, with elements from here and a quote from my new diary…

-hope you have a lovely day and that you will be spoilt by someone special today-

xxx

Time for Change…and finding myself

Well, this didn't start off quite as I had planned… My Safari just quit on me for the second time since I came to sit down in front of my Mac to compose this post.

I actually started by saying… "Hiya Friends!" but now I'm lost for words. I wanted to tell you about my search for my destiny. I wanted to tell you about how I have been stuck in a meaningless limbo. Working to survive, to eat… honestly, I don't know how I ended up where I am today. In actuality I have so much to offer! Every idea, every dream… it's all just sitting under a rock. 

Somehow, some way, I need to get myself organised into getting myself out there. 

I know I have been super scarce online… I find myself preparing posts and when it comes to actually writing it, I draw a complete blank. I have registered two online shops last year but just couldn't get as far as listing my products. I have been reading a few blog series on starting a small business but when push comes to shove I totally lack the confidence.

This post was supposed to be about the lovely new blog template (from this lovely blog) I'm trying on for size and that I will be presenting crochet classes in the near future. 

I don't usually pour out my heart like this to anyone, I guess this is what happens when life hands you one too many lemons. A little over a year ago my Grandfather died of Cancer and two weeks ago my Gran landed in the hospital with an vain in her foot that just decided to burst. She lost a lot of blood but luckily she made it. She had to go back to the hospital for surgery on that vain again last week. She needs care but is too stubborn to go to a care facility… My parents are taking a lot of strain with all the arrangements and paperwork… Things haven't been easy. 

My workload has become such that I am glued to my chair behind the Mac from the moment I wake in the morning till it's time to make dinner (okay I do nibble something for lunch and have the occasional bathroom break) I feel so creatively drained that when I do get the chance to do something, I find myself to tired to. I would much rather be crocheting than blogging right now, as I have been sitting in front of this computer for 7 straight hours today. So it's a miracle that I am even sitting here at this moment. But on the other hand I find myself unable to even sit and crochet, I would rather be sleeping or watching White Collar ...and eating chocolates.

So I wake up one morning and it's 2014! I have awesome things planned for this year…CRASH! It now feels like the end of the year and I just want it to be over (the year hasn't even started yet).

I feel like getting lost in my Pinterest board …feeling grey and possibly staying lost there forever!

I'm in need of a good cup of coffee right about now, I hope you're all doing a lot better than I am.

xxx

My first post for 2014! Happy New Year!

How have you guys been? I've been stuck behind my Mac for way to long now! We had family visit from all over since the 16th of December through to the 13th of January… in the mix, I've been trying to get my work done. I have an overload of wine label designs that need to get done and approved for printing before the bottling starts. Which, by the way happens now, this month!

I have not had time to check my personal or blog e-mails for about three months! I have not been able to edit images for post… I have, however, taken a truckload of photo's that need to be blogged about.

All I can say is that 2014 surely is off to a CRAZY start!

- I will now grab 2014's reigns and make sure I have the upper hand-

My new Diary has the loveliest quotes at the bottom of each page and on 1 January 2014 it reads:

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."

by George Bernard Shaw

 …that is exactly what I intend to do this year! I have to admit that I have been a bit lost lately, not being able to pinpoint my style, not knowing exactly what I want in life… I used to know who I was even though I was searching for purpose. Now I'm ready to go! To create myself!

Have an Amazing Febuary and a Lovely Weekend!

xxx