Hey December! I'm back in action!

Hey friends, I know it's been forever since I last posted here. To tell you the truth, I've had the worst year ever! My mom and I went to Pretoria in October to celebrate my gran, Paulina's, 70th birthday and my 31st… That was the highlight of my year! Surrounded by family and friends, I was spoilt rotten! Although I missed Dave and the fresh sea breeze, it was soooo good to be able to spend time with so many of the people I love! Any case, I just wanted to say "I'm still here" while I still feel up to writing this post.

My aunts all did a wonderful job with organising my gran's 70th Birthday party! It was held at Lynnwood Primary School where they have the loveliest little venue which they rent out for special events. I'm not sure who the caterer was, but the food was both pretty and delicious! Well done to all parties involved. My gran's 70th was quite a memorable one.

So much detail and Lavender everywhere, because it's my gran's favourite herb, smell, colour…. you get the point. My mom and I were so fortunate to be there and to share this joyous day with her.

At 70, my gran is on Facebook, works a digital camera, sends us whatsapps regularly… this granny is quite up to speed with technology. She also posts recipes on a few Facebook groups, I think she might even be more socially active than I am.

Everyone pitched in and with a lot of organising and work my aunts gathered photographs of each of the 4 daughters, 6 grand daughters and 2 great grand daughters. They then had a calendar made with the four generations of woman in our family. Aren't they just beautiful? All of them!

My grandparents are so cute together, I can only hope that Dave and I end up like them at that age. Well, I was born on my grandmother's birthday and since I can remember, I've had two birthdays! One with friends and one with family. It's always a special birthday when we're able to celebrate it on the day, together.

To my gran, who is a regular here on OddOneOut, thank you for your endless love and support. I appreciate every link you share and every like or comment you leave, love you!

xxx

Lucky Friday Finds #12

It's Friday! And for some reason I have a really good feeling about this weekend. We were planning on going "over the mountain", literally. Our closest mall is about an hour away and you have to take a drive either around or over the mountain, so when the locals chat about their trip to the mall they speak of going "over the mountain". This took some getting used to when we just moved to Hermanus because I'm accustomed to having a mall on almost every corner where we lived in Pretoria. Our plans were mixed up a bit when my mom asked if we could look after my little brother André this weekend while they're away. He's quite the character! I helped raise him as he was born when my other brother, Ruan and I were both still in high school. André and I are very much on the same page most of the times, he say's I'm the crazy one but I think he's much crazier than me. As for our weekend plans, I have learned that we can almost never plan anything, we don't know what the future holds and things can change in the blink of an eye. Now I'm not saying not to have any aspiration, I mean quite the opposite. We plan things all the time (as more of a back-up) and then we wait patiently for life to happen, and oh does it happen!

Today is a very good example of how things go around here. Between work, I need to get the house sorted, put some fresh bedding on the guest bed, among other things. Through all this, I'm on standby for a coffee date with my mom. She's meeting with a friend this morning and will let me know when it's my turn so as to discuss the weekend with my little brother and to make all the necessary arrangements.

As for now, it's time to share with you what I found! Again, I found this while in Pretoria last year. I was walking around in a massive plastics store (I love to roam these, they always have hidden treasures) and just before I walked out the door thinking that they had nothing that interested me, I saw it! Packed on a bottom shelf amidst the stationery, I found a few boxes just waiting to be discovered…

 -when I see something sewing, knitting, crochet or any other craft related, my brain turns on a flashing red light…awesome alert! And of course this baby came home with me. It has a very retro, 1970's air about it, doesn't it? If you look closely on the box, there's a little icon on the top left that says "as seen on TV" I wonder if this product did a bit of time traveling…-

-isn't this just the best thing you have ever seen?! It's the perfect little traveling sewing kit, with everything you'll need for a wardrobe emergency or when you're sewing tiny crafty gifts. I love how organised it is. My other sewing kit is in a little clear bag and I always end up emptying the contents out on the table to find what I need. With this sewing box, you can see and access anything you need in a flash!

What have you found recently that's worth sharing with us? I would love to hear from you!

Have an amazing weekend!

xxx

  

Lucky Friday Finds #11

Well-well… it's Friday! The weekend is upon us and I hope all of you have awesome plans for this one. Here in South Africa, Autumn is in the air! I've been sensing a change in the way the sun (although scorching hot) shone with a dimmer light… Then, last night we had our first Autumn rain! Man, I just love it! The sound of raindrops trickling down the window panes, the smell of the wet soil and just as the rain stopped (during the early morning hours) I heard our "friendly neighbourhood" owl break the silence with his calm hoo-hoooooo. Around here, the Cape Spotted Eagle Owl is the most common. We've seen them on many occasions. Amazing birds of prey!

Today, I thought, I'd briefly share some goodies I acquired while visiting in Pretoria last year. My cousin, Zandienne and I spend the day galavanting in the area we used to live and of course had to pop in one of my favourite haberdashery shops. The shop is called Ruby's and they stock almosts anything you need for your crafting pleasures. They don't have a website, but if you're in the Pretoria North area, this site has the address and phone number.

-I really had to hold back, I would have emptied my account in this shop! But since I had to fly back home, my luggage space was limited. Good thing I had a reason, ha! These adorable handbag charms, I got as gifts for my friends back home. I don't know if you can see, there's a funny looking keychain between the stork scissors and the red knitting doll… It's a dual screwdriver, the one side is a flat and the other a star. I got that for David as he can never find his in times of crisis, he keeps it on his house keys and has actually used it a few times already. I thought it a very nice "stocking stuffer" for the guys. The rest of these goodies are cute necessities, except for the necklace, that one's mine! I couldn't resist-

-Have a lovely Friday and an awesome weekend- 

xxx

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

  

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

All the way to Pretoria...

David had two weddings to photograph in Pretoria and I tagged along... I love the long road!

On our trip we found a Tortoise in the road, David almost threw the car over not to hit the poor thing. We put it through the fence and just hope it doesn't want to "go to the other side" again like Rango... 

In Pretoria, we stayed over at my Gran's house...

 

William John Foxcroft(my grand father) and Paulina Foxcroft(my grand mother)

Pretty Copper Owls and age-old porcelain in my Gran's house...

..hooo...hooooot!

These two old guys have been in my Gran's house since I can remember. They are cast busts made by Coert Steynberg a famous South African Sculptor. 

 David and I in my grand parents' backyard...

I have loads of fun memories, playing "army" with my brother in this backyard:)

These pretty Odd's I made for family and friends while visiting...I gave the others away before I could photograph them though. Anyway... hope you gals like 'em!