a new one

and another year flips by like the page on a calender. isn't it madness how we just keep on going without really reflecting and making deep memories. someone once told me, that whenever i brush my teeth, i should use that couple of minutes to reflect on the day's events. since i've started doing that, it has been much easier to recall events.  try it.

back in Stellenbosch again. every time i drive into this town, it is as if i become a clearer person. yes, i have had my ups and downs here, just like every body. for example: the stage of confusion of place and time. do i want to be here etc etc etc. but as it turns out... it isn't about the place. i can live in Stellenbosch, away from hipster capital, and still be happy and my own person. to conform to the majority here is so easy, but it's nice to resist it. i like it. there are loads of little coffee shops which i might have to buy some shares in, because god knows... i'm there too much.  but it is nice when someone recognizes you and your coffee order. point is, i'm happy to be back. and you should too, where ever that might be. be inspired and live. live a good life.

x

trend me now

the latest trends i adore are the ones everyone is bavarding about... the past few weeks i have been inspired by a couple of random events.

1. festival style at RTD 2012

2. grazia magazine

3. FTV

4. my sister's impeccable sense of style

5. last but not least, Jak & Jil

Jak & Jil has managed to enlighten my style crave and has hit the nail right on the head.
take a look at what they are capturing....

source: Jak&Jil

my old friend

it has been a while... to be honest, i don't know what has happened... time just evaporated and the fact that my 2GB of cap is always up by the 3rd of the month does not really help a girl's case. but, i am back to blogging. i have however reblogged a lot on tumblr. it has happened so that i have become addicted to it. who does not love all those pretty things?

*phone rings* it is my grandmother... oh how i love her... she brought me great news though... my aunt from joburg sent me a birthday gift. this 21st just does not end.

so... my final exams have started and i am in study mode. i have to define this for you. sleep, exercise, social media injection and then a bit of studying of course. this routine could definitely work for me. forever. i guess adding traveling to the mix won't hurt.

another thing... have you listened to lana del rey's latest, summertime sadness? such a beautiful piece of music. grab it here.

look after one another.

xxx

canola fields

today, my mother and I made a little road trip all along the N2. george. mosselbay. swellendam. grabouw. stellenbosch. i seldom realize our state of luck. the beauty we live in is unbelievable and yet miss-able. so today we decided to spontaneously pull off of the road and take some pictures. my mother mostly did the phone camera thing and me not wanting her to touch my nikon, led to a understated pictorial evidence... i took one great photo though, and yes. i do think it is quite something to appreciate. it was raining, and as we pull off from the tar onto the gravel, the rain stopped. i snapped a few pictures, but with the dull grey sky and the mustard looking canola field, the combination i had in mind was a sunny situation. never the less, the sun appeared and it was a moment... a second... where the sun lit the canola field to a florescent neon yellow and the angry clouds rolled around in the background. click click. i was satisfied... we drove along until the next pretty scene. unfortunately, the rain poured until we were down st lowrey's pass. at least i had one. here it is.

voiceless

sometimes I find it hard to swallow that money is the alpha in our lives. not intended in any religious manner, but whether we like it or not, it dominates our being, our decision and the lack thereof. why is it so difficult to concur this son of a biatch? maybe the people up there in wall street thought it would be fun to rob us of our luxuries while they live in royal fashion… and not even to begin with the royals. magazine headlines stating kate’s indulgence. I, for one, don’t buy that. she married the guy… what’s mine is yours. or is that a thing of the past when glancing over at modern day couples. both working so hard, a lack of communication exists and the next thing you know is them ending up in divorceland. oh so fabulous? you see… I don’t want that for myself. yes I want to work and yes I do want to be independent, but in no way to I want to cross that invisible line of stripping my future husband of his “pride” which would result in me ending up as a rich old lady with no life? are those the choices we have? no? then you tell me… the path I see myself walking until I meet that person is quite an independent one. BUT… there is a difference between independent and selfish. I’d like to go and travel. experience other cultures. breathe, eat and be in a country without feeling guilty for doing so. how I’m going to accomplish that is still a mystery to me, but I’m sure this blog will follow that path. my point is… you don’t have to think that someone else will make you happy. first, one should seek happiness in oneself. sans that my lovely, you could never experience bonheur. 

the holiday

it is holiday. and it is george. not much to do around here folks. except for chilling at home, reading books in the warm winter sun glazing my bed into this rich floral hub. but do i ever spend time there? not as much as i want to... instead i watch tv, go for coffee with my old friends from school or like today, go wedding venue hunting. one of my friends are getting married. that is the second one of my friends that are tying the knot. loving it yes. adding pressure... of course. reminding myself that i am boyfriendless and only about to turn 21 in october, i am more at ease. earlier this afternoon we crossed over the outeniqua pass and into the hops valley. so pristine and lovely. the winter sun creative a dusk-like atmosphere. we pulled into this french provençal café where lia - the bride to be - was convinced. this would be the place she would want to get married at. i see here there... in a vintage gown all glamorous and sophisticated. i think it is going to be beautiful. later this week, i am planning to take my mother to that little provençal haven. only then shall i provide a bit of photographic imagery. without it this you will never understand.

a process

so a new semester awaits us. a last half. or should i say a first half? depends on where you live really. point is. 6months until i get all my credits for my first year. today, good news arrived. 91 percent for french. i see a future for myself in that direction. a great future. and yet i don't believe i'll put some sort of jinx on it. i shall do this. and properly. today i met an elderly man. a wine farmer. he told me about his mother who studied BA languages and cultures at the university of stellenbosch. she went on to do her masters in german in england and married a german. she had her children while living in south africa and she moved to germany when her children started working. she is fluent in 7 languages. english. afrikaans. french. german. spanish. latin. italian. what an honourable woman. she went on to win an award for a best translated book from spanish to english. how admirable? so i've been inspired by a woman who's name i don't even know... that is just great. anyhow, coming back to my topic. the last semester. yes. a lot of work lie between the summer and myself, but i plan to make it a productive 4 months. psychology. english. french. german. ancient cultures. strangely enough, my uncle also attended US and he studied the same as me, BA languages. german was his major and he ended up working for lufthansa. while going through all of his travel albums, i found a photo of him in his old residence, Helshoogte. He looked beautiful. he died about 13 years after that. 1993 i think. i don't remember him at all, but i have this strange feeling about my uncle. as if i knew him and he knew me. i don't know. anyhow. here is the photograph. taken somewhere between 1978 and 1982. Helshoogte, Stellenbosch.

Frikkie van Eeden, Helsehoogte (1978-1982)

antique myth

 On our family expedition to Knysna a few weekends back I took this photo... Only looking at it now, I see it says "Sussex" and then under it "Paternoster". This left me a little confused. Why didn't I just capture the whole portrait? This will bother me for a long time...