Wardrobe basics

No matter the year, the basics seem to make their way into the lists over and over.  I have a number of basic items I'm still looking for, namely

• a denim jacket
• a v-neck cashmere cardigan
• diamond stud earrings
• real pearls (I have freshwater pearls but would love a string the real deal ones)
• black cigarette pants
• a shirtdress

source

What items do you need for basic wardrobe and do you agree with the list above?

Have a grand day.

Luck and lustfulness

Luck is when opportunity knocks and you answer.

 ~Author Unknown

1.  Luck

Yesterday during the afternoon G-man called to tell me that he had recieved an sms from our local Spur advertising that there was a chance he could win a bike if we had dinner there.  I said my budget is a little tight and we're on month-end salticrax and he said as is his, but he'd check and see if we could wing it.

So when he got home, he duly checked his account and said we could go for dinner.  So off we went.  When we got there, the boys were told to colour in a picture and make sure their names were on so that they would be in the draw for the bicycle.

At 19:00 all the children under 12 gathered around the manager in the same row we were sitting in and were told to fold their pictures, then fold them again, and again.  They all put their pictures in a big ice bucket and we handed lucky packets.  At least 20 expectant little faces, ranging in age from looked like all of two years old to 12 huddled around waiting.

The manager asked, 'who is naughty' and our little guy Liam was the old who responded and said he was.  So, the manager said he needed to come out of the crowd since was honest.  A little embarassed but full of smiles, Liam stood on the next table and the manager shook the ice bucket, then lifted it high in the air, and told, who was on tippy toes, to put his hand in and draw a out a picture.

And of course by now you've guessed it, he drew out his own name.  He was stunned, as were we and the manager.

So, last night he got to take home something he's been wishing for, his very own bicycle.

(This picture taken at 05:53 - he could not ride earlier as the seat was too high)

2.  Lustfulness

I fell in lust with the shoes pictured above last night.  Anyone who knows me, will know that these are the perfect colour, style, heel for me.  So when I showed them to my G-man he said he'd buy them for me.  Oooh, he scored BIG brownie points.  And, they're not too pricey either at a mere R199.95.

Woman's Day Bargain

Yesterday we celebrated Woman's Day here in South Africa, another of the many celebrations that reminds me of the unfair way in which my forefathers treated the African people in this amazing country I reside in.  Some of the events of the past really remind me of how the Nazi's treated the Jews and that is nothing to be proud of.  What infuriates me the most is when friends and family make the comment that 'they all look the same'.   African people do not all look the same, sound the same, think the same ... and really, we have such incredible talent in this country that truly needs to be celebrated.

But, aside from the holiday, yesterday my boys and I headed to the Glen to get Jarod some sandals as he goes off to camp tomorrow.  I browsed through Exact then headed to Shoe City.  While in Shoe City, I saw a gorgeous pair of grey peep toe shoes marked down to R89.  I don't have any grey shoes and decided to take them for myself.  Then I go the boys each a new pair of sneakers and the sandals for Jarod.  When at the counter, I remembered a gift card they had given us at the time of them opening the store, which was way back in September 2009.  I asked the saleslady if it was still valid, as I was sure it would have been void by now,  and when she swiped it, she told me that I'm really lucky as most of the people had only received R20 vouchers and mine was R100, which equates to me getting my indulgent pair of shoes for free.

I then headed to Fashion Express and bagged a Cerise Pink shift dress which I'd spotted on Saturday, a deep pink jersey and a long dreamy blue/grey summer dress - all at 50% off which left me feeling, well, left me with no guilt feelings at all.

Don't you just love it when you get shoes for free?

My pretty necklace made by gorgeous daughter Mis T.

The '150 List'

Feeling rather blah today as my outfit would show if I picture it ... yesterdays outfit is under the above link 'Closet Capers' or Flickr.

Just for the heck of it and because I'm not motivated to chat and feeling rather miffy so thought I'd save you all from a bitchen session ...  I did this list ... Bold the ones you’ve done... rather fun and wow - guess it's time to do a bucket list too.


01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink

02. Swam with dolphins

03. Climbed a mountain

04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive

05. Been inside the Great Pyramid

06. Held a tarantula

07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone

08. Said "I love you" and meant it

09. Hugged a tree

10. Bungee jumped

11. Visited Paris

12. Watched a lightning storm at sea

13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise

14. Seen the Northern Lights

15. Gone to a huge sports game

16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa

17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables

18. Touched an iceberg

19. Slept under the stars

20. Changed a baby's diaper

21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon

22. Watched a meteor shower

23. Gotten drunk on champagne

24. Given more than you can afford to charity

25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment

27. Had a food fight

28. Bet on a winning horse

29. Asked out a stranger

30. Had a snowball fight

31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can

32. Held a lamb

33. Seen a total eclipse

34. Ridden a roller coaster

35. Hit a home run

36. Danced like a fool and didn't care who was looking

37. Adopted an accent for an entire day {night}

38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment

39. Had two hard drives for your computer

40. Visited all 50 states

41. Taken care of someone who was drunk

42. Had amazing friends

43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country if Mexico counts

44. Watched whales

45. Stolen a sign

46. Backpacked in Europe {nope, but lived there}

47. Taken a road-trip

48. Gone rock climbing

49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach

50. Gone sky diving

51. Visited Ireland

52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love

53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them (common occurence in europe)

54. Visited Japan

55. Milked a cow

56. Alphabetized your CDs

57. Pretended to be a superhero {I'm a mom, I'm a superhero everyday)

58. Sung karaoke

59. Lounged around in bed all day

60. Played touch football

61. Gone scuba diving

62. Kissed in the rain

63. Played in the mud

64. Played in the rain

65. Gone to a drive-in theatre

66. Visited the Great Wall of China

67. Started a business

68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken

69. Toured ancient sites

70. Taken a martial arts class

71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight

72. Gotten married

73. Been in a movie

74. Crashed a party

75. Gotten divorced

76. Gone without food for 5 days

77. Made cookies from scratch

78. Won first prize in a costume contest {my sister dressed me up at Flo from Andy Cap in primary school and I won  - thanks Norma}

79. Ridden a gondola in Venice

80. Gotten a tattoo {came close, but changed my mind}

81. Rafted the Snake River 

82. Been on a television news program as an "expert"

83. Gotten flowers for no reason

84. Performed on stage

85. Been to Las Vegas

86. Recorded music

87. Eaten shark

88. Kissed on the first date

89. Gone to Thailand

90. Bought a house

91. Been in a combat zone

92. Buried one/both of your parents {my Dad}

93. Been on a cruise ship

94. Spoken more than one language fluently-ish

95. Performed in Rocky Horror

96. Raised children

97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour

98. Passed out cold

99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country

100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over

101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge.

102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking with the windows open

103. Had plastic surgery

104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived

105. Wrote articles for a large publication

106. Lost over 100 pounds

107. Held someone while they were having a flashback

108. Piloted an airplane

109. Touched a stingray

110. Broken someone's heart

111. Helped an animal give birth

112. Won money on a TV game show

113. Broken a bone

114. Gone on an African photo safari

115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears

116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol

117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild

118. Ridden a horse

119. Had major surgery

120. Had a snake as a pet

121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon

122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period

123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States

124. Visited all 7 continents {3 down, 4 to go}

125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

126. Eaten kangaroo meat

127. Eaten sushi

128. Had your picture in the newspaper

129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about

130. Gone back to school

131. Parasailed

132. Touched a cockroach 

133. Eaten fried green tomatoes

134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey

135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read

136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

137. Skipped all your school reunions

138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language

139. Been elected to public office

140. Written your own computer language

141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream

142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care

143. Built your own PC from parts {my ex built many of them for us - but I haven't myself}

144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you

145. Had a booth at a street fair

146. Dyed your hair

147. Been a DJ

148. Shaved your head

149. Caused a car accident

150. Saved someone's life by not hitting them with my car.

Over the hump 'n heading to the weekend

Yesterdays Outfit ... of my favourite colours - orange and brown

Shirt - outback red at Truworths

Pants - Merien Hall at Edgars

Scarf - Edgars

Belt - came with a pair jeans - don't quite remember which ones

Cuff - Truworths

Earrings - gift from my son - but  you can't really see them,

and my rushed day hair do - tied up and glasses on my head.

Shoes - Not sure of the brand.

It's Thursday and I can't believe it!  I'm mad at myself for letting the week slip by so quickly and not doing the two (yes only two) invitations for Liam's friends to join us this weekend to celebrate his birthday.  I really can't seem to account for the days/evenings.

Tomorrow Missy will return from her trip - I so hope she's had a fabulous time.  I have missed her, but at the same time, the house has been just a wee bit quieter and more peaceful ... maybe it's because there's been no music blaring at every chance.

I finished my book, Blessings by Anna Quindlen.  I totally enjoyed it and now for the 3rd time, I am going to attempt to read and finish A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.  I read his previous book The Kite Runner and it was excellent.  I'm not into snoppy love stories and the book totally appealed to me, so I'm sure A Thousand Splendid Suns (of which I have read most of before) will do so as well.  Next, the Jodi Picoults that have been waiting patiently... but for now ... month-end report is calling.

Ciao for now

Wardrobe

Pictures to the right of yesterdays 'school ma'am outfit' as my boss referred to it.  One of the other guys asked why I was looking so 'official'.  Personally I felt a bit old-lady-ish in the outfit.

• 
  
  Skirt - Legend at Makro
• 
  
  Shoes - Rage
• 
  
  Lilac Shirt - gifted from my sister about 4 years ago
• 
  
  Scarf - birthday gift last year from another of my sisters
• 
  
  Pearls and earrings - not sure

I had in fact woken early to see Bean off for her camp, then gone back to bed and thought I'd just snuggle down for a while, but then I fell asleep and then when the alarm rang, I simply ignored it and ended up being a little late.  The hair thankfully can be

Sorry for the poor quality of the photos - they're taken with my phone, but I like that I can upload them to the web instantly.  Wish I could do that with my normal camera instead of first having to download etc.

A little shopping spree

Yesterday I decided to get a few items for my winter wardrobe (remember, I'm in the southern hemisphere, so we're just going into winter now) and more specifically, my weekend wardrobe ... with only two pairs of jeans, it's a case of slim pickin' right now. 

I got the following :

Skinny flared jeans by Kelso at Edgars (Not sure though, but I think my already large hiney may look larger in em)

Blue and green checked shirt by Merien Hall at Edgars

Brown polo neck from Truworths.  Grey (wear over) jersey from Truworths

and a grey and black striped three quarter sleeve t-shirt material top and

Two pairs of socks

Then today at lunch time I took another walk and ended up at Truworths and left with the following

Brown 'cargo' pants by Ginger Mary from Truworths.  Denim skirt and a gorgeous cream coloured, cable knit pullover ... just delightful and going to come in real handy this weekend as we're off to Clarens which is a village in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains for the weekend ... I'm quite looking forward to it ... the children and I will drive down tomorrow after school and G-man will head out with the other bikers in the morning.  It's postcard pretty down there but I believe rather cold at this time of year.  Still the Golden Gate National park is just down the road, there are gorgeous old buildings, mountains ... mmmm mountains, I love mountains.

So until I get back and have had a chance to try out all my new clothes ... have a fabulous weekend - still missing my Miz T though, who I almost forget to mention let me know that she passed her Drivers licence and got her work permit ... so she's thrilled and things State-side are coming together for her now.

So easy to please ...

I found a pair of boots that are up to my knees!  Why would I be excited about this you may ask??  Well, I don't usually get boots to go over my huge calves ... so I'm doing a little happy dance and saying 'Thanks Woolies' ... now if I could just find the right denim skirt ;-)

Catch up

I've been MIA due to the craziness of my life the last couple weeks.  A roundup of the import happenings follows :

Feb 16 : Spoke with the Deputy head at my childrens primary school as my big boy was not coping and was having very angry outbursts, where he spat in his sisters face and coaxed another boy to hit his younger brother.  School books show he's battling and he says he's not coping.

Feb 18 : First visit with the psychologist - suggests anger management training and that psychometric tests be done.

Feb 20 : Two hours of psychometric testing done.

March 2 : Meet with psyhcologist and get a brief outline of the outcome of the testing.  Am told that the big boy is M.A.D. at the older sister.  No clear indication available as to why!

March 4 : Receive psychologist and psychometrists report - T.A.I.L.S.P.I.N.  Spelling below grade.  Reading below grade.

March 9  : Take all three the little people to optometrist for eye tests.  All three need glasses, however, big boy needs to be checked by an Opthalmologist first.

March 15 : Big boy started phonic lessons - love love love Aunty Jayne.

Somewhere in between this, we discovered a water leak that was hosing down my corner pantry cupboard.  Eeeek.  At first we thought it was due to the upstairs shower being blocked earlier in the week, however, it turned out that there were two leaks in the piping.  It's been more than two weeks and my corner cupboard is STILL packed out on the stairs!

Please please please let the renovators come this week for the sake of my sanity and our nannies!!

I don't know how much longer I can live with the craziness of our house like this.

Some before and present photos

Kitchen

How it looked the day we got the keys, see the missing door - don't even ask!

This picture taken about a month after we moved in - starting to take shape.  Painted the kitchen about three shades darker than it was when we moved in.  Just love the colour.

Fat Chef clock above back door from Mr. Price Home.

Pictures above sink from Builders Warehouse.

Wicker baskets Mr. Price HOme.

Schatzi putting up the new light, see the painted workbenches - just love the cherry red they're painted in.

And a rare viewing .... me in the lift at the office this morning

Red handbag : Nine west

Trousers - Charter club at Edgars

White top - Edgards

Black and grey bead necklace - Edgars

Silver stacked bangles - Truworths

black patent wedge heeled peep toes - Truworths

Yellow beach tote - gift with purchase of Aromatics by Clinique.

Really crappy quality picture - but me all the same.

My winter wish list

http://www.etsy.com/shop/yystudio

Yes I know winter in the southern hemisphere is a couple months away ... but still ... these clothes are just so divine!!! 


I W.A.N.T!