jun, 5th - jubilations at home....

day 849:

since we missed most of the Jubilee weekend, i thought it would be good to bring some of the festivities into our living room for the week so that we could celebrate in our own way. i constructed some cream and navy paper chains (very therapeutic) that i bought online from here, included some of heir distressed union jack flags and created my own bunting from some Jubilee doilies.....

it makes me smile every time i come into the room......although, i'm always keen on a bit of ceiling drapery {see day 363 and day 384}.

jan, 11th - letter to limi....

day 678:

Limi, i love that you make me laugh on a daily basis. you fell in love with this chicken in South Africa and wouldn't let him go. so we had to buy him from this lovely shop in Cape Town. 

we named him criss cross and you carried him around on our travels for days. 

we're starting to feel pretty bad that you don't have your own pet and are having to resort to a beaded chicken. we'll have to fix that soon. 

i fell in love with this corner shop on the way to Babylonstoren {see day 657}. i never drink coke but i've been craving one ever since.

so i did a clumsy collage of these two great loves together.

jan, 4th - grand cafe on camps bay beach....

day 672:

after a day at the beach, what could be better than a big bowl of ice-cream and chocolate sauce....

jan, 2nd - home away from home....

day 670:

we stayed in the same lovely cottage in South Africa on this trip {see day 436 and day 470}. the De Waal family are becoming our adopted home in Cape Town......well, we're adopting them with full force.....not sure that they feel the same way :)

ps. the full wireart quote on the wall is 'and did you know your stairway lies on the whispering wind' from the lyrics to Stairway to Heaven.

dec, 21st - lunch with rolling hills....

day 658:

it's starting to look a lot more like Christmas in the Shoebox.......but i'm still a little stuck in South Africa.....

before we left for SA, we chatted to some good friends who we were planning to visit. they promised us a fresh mussel lunch collected on the same day. i had almost forgotten in all the excitement but we arrived to freshly plucked mussels and bustle of activity in the kitchen. felt so spoilt...not only by the delicious mussel soup for lunch but also the view. rolling hills of KwaZulu-Natal remind me so much of my childhood.

dec, 9th - down tools....

day 646:

we are in South Africa and i am going to down tools for a week and savour this time with family and friends. 

i might not resist the odd post but i'll be back with plenty of things to share at the end of the week.

to get you in the mood, here are some of the amazing spots from our last trip.

{day 436,  day 439,  day 435, day 442, day 443, day 473}

p.s. thank you to all the new visitors and your lovely comments.....it's definitely a big part of what inspires me to keep finding original content.

dec, 3rd - book advent....

day 640:

i can't remember where i discovered this idea last year (so if it's yours....thank you and leave me a note so that i can give due credit). it's brilliant and has stayed with me throughout the year, just itching for Christmas to come along. it's a book advent calendar.

i was able to cheat a little as we will be away for nine days between now and the twenty-fouth but the idea is that Limi gets to open a book every evening for us to read to her. we never debate about adding to her book collection.....on the other hand, the blow up Dinosaur.....that would have needed its own room in the Shoebox, had to stay in the shop

i used paper that we already had in the cupboard and we've re-used a couple of her existing books so it's not crazily expensive....anyway, it's all about practising ripping paper and counting down to Christmas Eve. there's also a special book to start a new tradition on the twenty-fourth (although it's currently caught up in Amazon's Christmas post).

so far, it's been a big success with the Limster. so bring on the festive season.

p.s. i also got to use my new Bodie and Fou Japanese MT masking tape. think that i might  be cultivating a tape obsession.

nov, 22nd - shorter days.....

day 630:

slightly blurred around the edges, glimmers of smiles, looking a bit tired....yes, we need a holiday.

just booked tickets home. looking forward to this beach, this cafe, this market and of course wonderful friends and family.

oct, 19th - the karoo....

day 596:

it's not often that i feature another photographer but Shanna Jones is a friend and this wedding that she shot, completely blew me away.........it looks like everything a wedding should be: individual, relaxed, fun and long........

and it was in The Karoo in South Africa which is one of my favourite places.

to see more, take a look at Shanna's blog but beware....you could get lost for days.

all pics by Shanna Jones

oct, 14th - roll on roll on....

day 591:

roll on this weekend....the flu has taken hold and i'm looking forward to some downtime. also longing for african soil beneath my feet and the bush scent in my nose.......not going to happen this weekend but hopefully a trip home soon.

these pics are from April. Limi's first meeting with elephants. these two were hand reared, hence the reason we could get so close.....

hope you have a lovely weekend. x

jun, 27th - cape to cuba....

day 502:

so after two days of sweltering London weather, threatening tropical-style thunderstorms and wimbledon covers going on and off more times than Limi playing with a light switch.....the weather has been the only thing taking centre stage lately.

we've slept with windows open, trains have been claustrophobic and Limi has run around in just a nappy and bloomers. it's been almost island life in London. so, no better time to share some of the last pics of our trip to South Africa in April.......and blog about one of my favourite places, Cape to Cuba.

it's a laid-back spot in Kalk Bay {see day 437, day 438 and day 437 continued...}, with beach sand floors, chandeliers, tobacco and mean mojitos. 

you can sit around in the sunshine and enjoy some drinks or step into the dining room, pressed right up against the train line, you dine whilst looking out over the bay.....it feels perfectly decadent and dishevelled all at once. a magical mix. 

Cape to Cuba's been around for awhile....usually in this town, it means that people have moved on to the next best thing but with something so good, this place still draws a crowd...who can resist popping into a place where you can throw off your slip slops, sink your toes into the sand, sip on a mojito and enjoy the sunset.....i know that i never get tired of it.

jun, 10th - grand daddy....

day 486:

if you're South African then Grand Daddy needs no introduction. there's been plenty written about this fantastic hotel in Cape Town. the building itself, right in the middle of downtown,  is a gem. according the the Grand Daddy facts, it was designed by a Dutchman called Mello Geradus Damstra, who settled in the Cape in 1895. and this gabled building certainly looks like a grand old dame.

painted gunmetal grey on the outside and filled with thought-through pieces inside, it makes a press-worthy statement but what actually gets the bloggers, visitors and magazines twitching is the trailer-park roof terrace....

up in the sky amongst Cape Town's office blocks, is a lager of Airstream caravans. with a backdrop of blue skies and grid windows, these shiny metal hotel rooms look even more like a fantasy place to stay. Limi loved running around the circular deck. for her the idea of a playground in the sky is perfectly normal.

and there are even regular movie night, shown on the big outdoor screen (my idea of heaven) with winter settling in down south at the moment, the films come with blankets, hot wattle bottles, gluhwein and heaters. 

i haven't ever stayed at Grand Daddy but i certainly recommend it to everyone, along with another hotel that was the first daddy in their group: Daddy Long Legs.

but next time we are down South, hopefully we'll get a chance to head to the countryside and try their latest offering called Old Mac Daddy.....a luxury trailer park that is my idea of what caravanning should be.....