It's been a rather dark week with long hours and high stress levels over deadline, but my new dusty pink brogues from Mr Price brightened my day yesterday (and for just R69.99, noggal!).
I got some amazing news today. No, not that I'm getting promoted, an above-inflation raise or a 13th cheque. No, I haven't lost 5 kilos. Nope I didn't win anything. I found out that my luggage restriction for my trip overseas is 23kg. But, that's not all. Between the two of us, we're allowed THREE CASES! 69kg!!!!!! I am consumed with thoughts of how many baby grows I can fit on the way there for my niece, and how many shoes I can bring back after the Christmas sales! 
I reviewed Cape Town Taj's Bombay Brasserie on JP Roussouw's new site. Check it out here.
I've mentioned Narina's gorgeous Crazy Aunt creations before. Here's one that was made specially for my niece (7 week old) Olivia, who lives in England. Olivia herself was created in South Africa while her parents were on holiday here almost a year ago. I'll definitely be putting an order in with The Crazy Aunt Co for Christmas!
Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. – Carl Sandburg
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
Edward Estlin Cummings
The Neighbour Goods Market forms the Saturday ritual of many foodie Capetonians and trendy tourists alike. So, like a good tour guide, I initiated another visiting friend with a trip to the B-Mill. The overcast weather was a blessing, as it had kept away the hoards, though I was still elbowed and trodden on enough times to make me feel like I got the full experience. Speaking of experiences, you have to go hungry and I wasn't disappointed with a lamb souvlaki made by the chuckling-authentic-Greek-guy, and amazing cinnamon and caramalised sugar crepe for dessert, washed down with a lemon iced tea.
The visit was concluded with a trip to my favourite stall, Skermunkil Design Studio, for the beautiful, heart-shaped pendant – a little Women's Day giftie for moi – I've been lusting after!
BEFORE I found this gorgeous little writing bureau while trawling the haberdasheries of the northern suburbs with talented creative Narina of The Crazy Aunt Company. We had a wonder in Die Handelshuis, a second-hand furniture store with everything from ceramic dogs, authentic leather biker jackets to huge velvet love seats dying to be recovered and placed in a trendy, sexy Cape Town bar. For sustenance, we stopped in at the coffee shop called La Cute at the back of the dusty shop, for some moer koffie and cinnamon pancakes. And there was the writing desk... We both fell in love with it instantly! It has such gorgeous proportions and personality. Sadly (or happily since it led to a new project), the paint job had much to be desired...AFTER Removing the wooden knobs that we wanted to keep their lovely, rich, worn brown colour, we sanded the cupboard down with a small hand sander, until it was really smooth and some of the wood was exposed. I painted a coat of white oil paint and we sanded it again, exposing some of the blue and wood, making it look weathered and distressed.
It's great to have somewhere to store paperwork and unattractive, miscellaneous files and cables, as well as having all our stationary in one place. This little writing desk is the perfect addition to our small study that has a simple trestle table, dominated by our computer and printer, and a modern square-framed book case.
Porcelain African continent on brown felt ribbon, courtesy of Keyna-B. More like a trophy pin – I love that!
I decided to fix up this piece of furniture – once my aunt's cupboard when she was a teenager in the Fifties (my mum remembers climbing into her older sister's cupboard when she was little and playing records on her big sister's wind-up record player), reincarnated for my sister, and a decade later for me, as storage in our wendy house, and now as our hall coat cupboard.
I'd thought of putting material on the cupboard doors, but wanted something really special, unusual and versatile (read expensive). While browsing a material shop, I got the idea of using lace, but finding something special enough, that wasn't shiny ice white and an ugly repeated pattern, was a challenge.
In my opinion, the only good use for net curtains is never their intended purpose – as curtains! I found the last piece on a bale, with really pretty flower vine running down it. After measuring the width of the doors and deciding how I wanted the vines to run on either panel, I attempted cutting the lace netting. Getting it perfectly straight was a challenge (specially with an inquisitive kitty who wanted in on the action!), so I folded it in half, and half again, and pegged it in an attempt to stop the slippery fabric from moving.
Preparation I got a piece of masonite to do a test piece to a) chose a colour (it was between white and an off-white-cream, which ended up making the lace look dirty), b) see whether the lace would work at all to create interest and texture at all and c) discover whether the paint would work as adequate glue to stick the lace in place. I enlisted a trusty helper to sand the cupboard down!
Painting First step was painting a layer of white undercoat, letting it dry, giving it a light sand until smooth before painting on a layer of white oil paint. Using oil paint meant I didn't need to varnish it. It went on very easily and gave good coverage (I suspect because of the white undercoat). I also didn't want it to be perfect gloss, but to have some imperfections, so I didn't do a second coat. One layer on the door panels, and I stuck the fabric on. Tip: work fast – if you do have to peel up and reapply the lace straight, do it fast. The paint seems to shrink the fabric.
Finishing touches The inspiration for keeping the refurbishment simple and classic, was really this door knob, which I wanted to be the feature. I love interesting door knobs, and found this one in New York at one of my favourite stores Anthropologie. I picked up the colour of the knob, by adding a hint of turquoise on the finishes, in all cracks and grooves. I hand sanded the edges to expose some of the wood to make it look aged and antiqued.
I love how quirky button brooches can change and develop an outfit by adding a new facet. These are some from Skinny Laminx that I added to a formal, tailored grey wool blazer.
