A Trip Down to Cape Town

For someone who travels a lot, I spend a surprisingly small amount of time travelling in my own country. One might think that it’s because South Africa is small, or there isn’t much to do outside of a booming city like Johannesburg, but that’s far from the truth. SO I’m not actually sure why I don’t travel more around SA. This weekend though, I packed my little hand luggage bag and boarded a super small plane without my passport (shock and horror for anyone used to travelling internationally because you know that a passport is basically the only thing you can’t make a backup plan for) and had a three-day trip down in Cape Town. It may have been short, and not exactly intended to be a holiday trip, but my word it was a lot of fun!

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My favourite Valentine's Day desserts!

I always love an excuse to put on my metaphoric apron (since I often forget to wear one) and make something delicious and Valentine’s day is the perfect excuse. Plus, I actually get to make some money in the process. I have a small ‘business’ where I bake cakes, cupcakes and other confectionery for people for their desired special occasions. As you can imagine, Valentine’s day creates a few orders for my bank account. So, instead of the traditional celebrations of candlelit dinner’s and intimate activities, my boyfriend and I spent the last two days whipping up a storm of desserts in the kitchen. Hence, my inspiration for today’s post. Valentine’s day, like any holiday, comes with the prerequisite for lots of sugar and given the fact that I’ve spent a lot of time baking, I thought I’d share a list of my favourite Valentine’s day desserts. I hope reading this post makes you as hungry as I’ve felt baking half this stuff – enjoy!

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Last minute Valentine's Day gift ideas

It’s the final count down. Literally. Valentine’s day is only two days! Those who are simply too busy and haven’t noticed the big day getting closer and closer, or procrastinators who knew two weeks ago but thought they’d wait another week … well with two days to go now is the time when all of us who haven’t been able to get a gift in time will be scrambling to come up with something that doesn’t look like we bought it 15 minutes before the date. If this is you, and you’ve left your shopping a lot later than you would have liked, don’t feel alarmed. As stressful and panic-inducing as it may feel to not have a gift this close to the day, it’s not the end of the world. Why? Because there are plenty of last-minute gifts that you can scrape together, both homemade and bought, that look as if you put hours of thought into it instead of rushing to get it done in time. Keep reading to find some great ideas for last minute gifts!

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Valentine's Day craft tutorial

Hello everyone! Getting crafty seems to be becoming much more of a trend nowadays. While it was once considered a laborious chore, it is now something people find fun. People seem to enjoy making things now. I’m not sure if that is because it is easier (and cheaper) to get materials, or apps like Pinterest have made them so easy to do, but crafting is now a well-loved activity. Personally, I’ve always loved crafting. Maybe it is because it’s an excuse to use an excessive amount of glitter, or just because the creative in me loves taking bits and bobs of random material and turning it into something pretty. So, I was scrolling through Pinterest looking for inspiration for today’s post, and I kept seeing so many DIY craft posts that I thought, why not? I’ve always subscribed to the philosophy that homemade is more meaningful, and with Valentine’s Day around the corner it is a great way to knock out some handmade gifts and cards for my friends and family. Two lovebirds with one cupid’s arrow, so to speak. So today, I’ll be doing a step-by-step craft tutorial for how to make a simple gift and card. Maybe this will be the perfect gift for a close friend or partner? So, whether you make this craft for yourself, for someone else or just read to see how they turn out, I hope you enjoy today’s post.

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Fun ways to celebrate Valentine's Day

Love is in the air, there is an abundance of heart-shaped confectionery everywhere and the pressure for what to do on this day of romance is building. While I love all of the themed chocolate I can get my hands on and love romance in general, the overwhelming pressure to celebrate this day in a sweet, meaningful way can be a bit much. What happens if you can’t afford to go to an expensive restaurant? What do you do if you pulled out all the stops last year but now this year have no idea what to do? What if you’re single and don’t have a date for the night? What do you do if you honestly feel like spending the evening in your sweats and would rather not be seen in public, but don’t want to seem sad and lonely? Oh, this pressure! I don’t know how we cope with it year after year. Well if you want some ideas for fun ways to celebrate Valentine’s day, keep reading!

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Valentine's Day Movie Night List

As soon as we flip the calendar page from January to February, one significant day of the new month comes to mind. Valentine’s day! The moment we shift into Feb, much like the seemingly overnight decorating for Christmas in November, everything is all red, pink hearts and candy. By the way, why are sweets and chocolate such a significant aspect of all holidays? Well, seeing as it is now officially February and I have yet to enter a store where I can escape hints of this lovey-dovey holiday, I thought why not embrace it? Anyone who knows me knows that I am a sucker for anything that falls into the romance genre, and this run-up to Valentine’s day is the best time to welcome said romance genre into our lives. That being said, what better way to get ready for love than by watching romance/rom-com movies? For all you opposed to these sappy, corny love stories, too bad! Love is in the air, Valentine’s Day is approaching which means that for now, if this isn’t your favourite holiday of the year, you may just have to suck it up and try to dull your anti-valentine’s day urges with vast amounts of chocolate (which is in bountiful supply at the moment). Now that that is done, here are ten romance films to get you ready and in the loving mood for Valentines Day!

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An update on life … and some advice needed from YOU!

I was reading through the blog’s archives the other day, and I realised something quite startling. It has been practically a year since I started this blog. I almost couldn’t believe it. So much has happened since then, the blog has grown so much and writing these posts has become such a part of my routine that I almost can’t imagine a time when I wasn’t writing, editing or thinking about blog ideas. It’s been a roller coaster, but a ride that I’ve loved more than anything else. So, with the blog about to embark on its second year of life, I thought I’d do a little reflecting and share with all of you my adventures over the last year, as well as a little bit of my plan for this next year. But more than that, this post is about thanking all of YOU! Without all of you, this blog would be nothing and so make sure to keep reading until the end, because I have a few questions that I could really use YOUR INPUT on. I may be writing this blog as an outlet/diary for myself, but I’m also writing it to share stories and information with all of you so any help and advice you could give me this time, would be much appreciated. Now that that’s done let’s dive into my digital, metaphorical time-machine so we can see how much has happened in 365 days.

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Advice for first-timers doing athletic races and events!

My dad usually has excellent advice to share, but because one purpose of our trip was for him to do an athletic event, I thought I’d use that as inspiration. Today, straight from the mouth of Dr Charl (aka my dad), I’m going to be sharing advice and tips for first-timers doing athletic races. Now this is pretty good advice for any person wanting to do an athletic event but is more geared towards people doing it for the first time. Anywho, I hope you enjoy today’s post, just please be aware that it will contain some potentially terrifying content (like marathon races and extreme amounts of training and exercise), but if that doesn’t scare you, then please enjoy.

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Back to reality – tips for being a better student in 2020

Now I know that not everyone may have started college yet for this year (as it only begins at the end of Jan or even early Feb), or those of you in the Northern hemisphere are well into the term and January isn’t such a big deal (because the school year starts in September). However, whether you are in school or college and whether it has started or not, the reality of getting back into it is undoubtedly there or is at the very least looming. I may not be starting university right now, but just because I’m not going back myself, doesn’t mean I am free of the impending reality. My younger brother just started at a new school, and most of my friends are getting ready for university (or are already back). So, for all of those getting back into the reality of academic life, I dedicate this blog post to you. Even if this isn’t the start of your academic year or you feel like you’ve got the whole ‘school’ thing mastered, here are ten tips for being a better student in 2020.

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10 ways to relax after a long, stressful day

We are now well into January, the year is in motion, and I’m sure most, if not all of us are back to some form of work routine. Whether that means school or college or a job of some nature, I’m sure we are all back to that reality and working hard at it (if not, lucky you and I hope you enjoy the remains of the holiday). That being said, being back at work, especially after the oh-so-luxurious and leisurely Christmas holidays, can be quite a bummer. Days are long, there is undoubtedly pressure in some shape or form, and I’m sure that even if you’ve only been back for a few days, the little stresses are already starting to appear. If you’d like to read my tips for relaxing after a long, stressful day, keep reading 🙂

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