Project 365: Week 4

Week 4

Christmas Greetings

Christmas is almost upon us!
Despite not getting a bonus, I am quite pleased with myself this year. Christmas on a budget has made me think a bit differently. Just because money is not in abundance, does not mean that you cannot make it fun with a little bit of thought and effort.

You will remember my post HERE where I mentioned the gifts wrapped in brown paper and my post HERE where I mentioned the DIY crackers.
Well... I am all done!

Here are the gifts before being prettied up:

Before

Here are some of them after:

Ho Ho Ho

Joy

Noel

This is how the crackers turned out:

Love Father Christmas

Crackers complete

The hardest part of making these crackers was trying not to get glue all over my fingers from sticking ribbons and tags on. I failed miserably, but I am happy with the result. I am pleased that I have finally completed a project the family has been wanting to do ever since I was a little girl. Now we get quality presents instead of the usual junk found in crackers.

To all my readers, I want to say a massive thank you for your blog love over the past year. I love reading every single comment you write!
I wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas filled with love and laughter.

I will be taking a break from blogging - I sure it will only be for the holiday season, but I am not too sure. I am sure I will be back soon.

I will however, still post a weekly round up of my Project 365 (especially for you Kate - so that you don't give up!)

See you all on the other side!

Love Love Love

Project 365: Week 3

Project 365: Week 2

Posting a photo a day has been fun and challenging.

It forces me to be creative and not just post some random stuff. 

(The top left image was my desktop because I was working really late and had no time to be creative. (He is gorgeous - so that in itself make a great shot!)

Manicure Monday: Swirl It

I think my Manicure heading should be "The Dexter Edition"

I loved the idea of this swirly pattern I found on Pinterest:

Sounds easy enough - so let's do it!

This was the result:

Looks like blood spatter - Did Dexter get hold of my nails?

 The results are random, so I suppose the key is to experiment with different colours etc.

Raise your Glass...

..with Original Cocktails!

These Delicious Original Cocktails are made with real fruit juice and contain 5% alcohol and are ready made cocktails packaged in 300ml servings and are also now available in 2L boxes - ideal for the Christmas party season.

Seeing as today is "fake Friday" and it's almost time for the weekend to begin - I have a Give-Away for you thanks to the generosity of our friends at Original Cocktails.

This Party Pack contains a variety of 6 x 300ml cocktails:

1. Margarita
2. Pina Colada
3. Strawberry Daiquiri
4. Mojito
5. Cosmopolitan
6. Singapore Sling 

Can you already imagine yourself lying next to the pool with an icy cold cocktail in your hand?

Stock up on some cherries, mint and cute little umbrellas and enter the competition. Good Luck!

Have a favourite cocktail? Here is some fun facts about what your favourite cocktail says about you:

Margarita
All of your relationships have either begun or ended at a wet t-shirt contest.

Piña Colada
You’re 50% lady, 50% tramp, and 50% wig

Cosmopolitan
You didn’t start drinking until after your first divorce, and didn’t start really enjoying it until after your second.

Singapore Sling
You learned to drink from your mother.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Entries close on Friday 20 December at 12:00.

To Do List

Source

In my efforts to regain my balance and once again have a life outside of that swear-word called a career, I have found myself committing to a lot more than my work deadlines.

I am enjoying the way it is challenging me and I am enjoying the variety of projects on the go. My only problem is that I fear I am taking on too much. I don't want this to become another stress factor for me, I just wish I had more hours in a day!

1. Post a photo a day for Project 365
2. Read more blogs and comment
3. Service my car
4. Have my wheels re-aligned
5. Change my medical aid plan
6. Finish Photoshop project for Special K
7. Post my postcard
8. Collect prize in Sandton (during office hours only)
9. Finish Christmas shopping
10. Make DIY Christmas crackers
11. Print gift tags
12. Sell my sister-in-law's wedding dress
13. Find a good tour package for Ireland
14. Book air tickets to the UK
15. Choose between the 2 hotel bookings I made before I forget to cancel and I am billed
16. Get back to the gym
17. Fix the silicone sealant in the bathroom and kitchen
18. Buy a pot for the plant so that it stops falling over when the wind blows

Phew!! Busy bee!

What is on your To Do List?

Travel Tuesday: Luzerne, Switzerland

Luzerne....

A winter wonderland. I had my first ever snow fight atop Mt Pilatus!

Luzerne down below

The night before we arrived in Luzerne, we were told to pack an overnight bag for our 3 day stay in Pilatus-Kulm*, opened in 1890 -  2132m (7000ft) above sea level.

2 by 2 we were bundled into a little cable car (The Aerial Panorama Gondola) that slowly ascends up to the mountains. 

Down below the city of Lucerne slept under it’s snow blanket, while we rose up into a silent world of our own. Cocooned in excitement and wonder - the majestic pine trees silently welcomed us with outstretched branches heavily laden with snow.

Pine Trees

As we ascended higher, the snow flakes started swirling around us and through the little window of the cable car.

Imagine the South African’s delight when we could see “actual” snowflakes, pretty patterns and all! 

We snapped quite a few photos to get the perfect image of the snowflake before the body heat melted it. I never did get to see another perfect snowflake for the remainder of my trip so I am glad we caught this on camera.

Perfect little flakes

It was -15C (5F) and there we were – throwing snowballs at each other.  Thankfully our tour guide gave us a quick lesson in snow ball making: Never pack the snow tightly, it becomes as hard as a rock. Pack it very lightly so that it explodes when hitting the person. 

Every night we had to dry our jeans over the radiator from being soaked in the snow fights.

Snow Fight!

I bought myself a beanie to warm my head. To this day I still get compliments if I wear it. I say thank you and smile, and remember my shopping trip in a little gift store high on the mountain, overlooking a tiny city.

Our rooms were very spacious and I can remember the circular rooms with windows opening down to my hips. I hung outside trying to get some scenery photos.

Living so high up, you feel as if you are in another world. At 8am the camera kept freezing, but eventually I snapped a shot of Lake Lucerne – the blue is not a filter in the camera, I think it was just that cold.

Lake Luzerne from 2132m high!

We had a day to ourselves in the city where we marvelled at the clean city and pretty little water features.

We crossed Chapel Bridge, the oldest covered bridge in Europe. It is a 204 m (669 ft) long wooden covered bridge originally built in 1333 and is one of the places to see when you visit Luzerne. There are beautiful paintings along the roof of the bridge as you walk, unfortunately a fire in 1993 destroyed most of the original paintings.

Chapel Bridge

We visited The Lion Monument which was carved in memory of the Swiss soldiers who lost their lives during the French Revolution.

The gigantic monument is of a dying lion impaled by weapons. Underneath him is a list of names of the soldiers who lived and died. It is a beautiful memorial.

The Lion Monument: 10m wide, 6 m high

Pretty waterfall

Can you spot me?

We visited some Catholic churches resplendent in gold trimmings and purple finery. The sheer magnitude of the churches in Europe surprised me. I always wonder why everything has to be so ornate when that money could be better spent on the poor.

Catholic chruch

My favourite part of the day (besides buying over 20 slabs of Lindt chocolate) was our visit to the fondue house complimented by the best Hot Chocolate ever. Delicious creamy Lindt chocolate melted into hot milk. I was in heaven!

Authentic Hot Chocolate

Cheeese!

Fondue House (In case you can't read the big sign)

Luzerne was my 2nd favourite city after Venice, and I really cannot wait to go back and visit more in the summer.

*Click here to watch a 1:30 min video of the hotel - recorded in 24 hours. It's beautiful.

Manicure Monday: Ombre Take 2

I loved the Ombre the 1st time I tried it HERE.

This time I wanted to try it again using a wet sponge (This definitely made it easier to apply)

I also reversed the colours to fade out to white - almost like a french manicure.
To finish it off, I added a top layer of subtle sparkle.

Subtle Ombre

This would look nice for Christmas with a red nail faded to white and perhaps a bit of Christmas glitter. I might just give it a try for the holiday period, what do you think?

I think the Ombre is one of my favourite nail art techniques so far because there are just so many colour combinations that can be tried.

What have you seen in Nail art techniques that you love?

Frivolous Dilemmas

Besides all the shopping lists that need compiling, I have created my own dilemmas by giving myself too many choices this week.

Dilemma 1: Hey Gorgeous order

Click image to go to their website

It took me 4 days to finally decide what I would like from the amazing range that Hey Gorgeous have to offer. I wanted it all, but that is not going to happen, especially with Christmas on a Budget. I made myself a looong list of all the delicious products and narrowed it down to what I (really) need. And then I justified the fact that I am paying postage, so I might as well make it worth my while and ordered a second product.
These products would also make the perfect Christmas gift - I have ordered a lip balm as a stocking filler for my sister-in-law.
I cannot wait to get my very first Hey Gorgeous order!
Don't you just adore their photo styling?

Dilemma 2: Customised Design for phone cover
I came across an awesome post on Vanilla Blonde about Customised Phone Covers by Tickled Blue for only R275.
I was driving home the other day wondering if I should buy an iPhone so that I can have a cute cover made because there is nothing available for the Samsung S3. Then I read the blogpost and discovered that S3 covers are available!
I designed over 20 case designs, picked my favourite 8 and asked friends to choose.

Which one is the winner?

Wait to find out - I will blog all about my new cover as soon as I have received her back!

You are probably asking yourself why I did not go for a One Direction cover? The answer is simple. I want the cover now, by the time I have chosen a suitable image from the million pictures of perfection, I will have a new phone!

Liam "Hotness" Payne - 1D

Project 365 : Week 1

RIP Madiba

Zapiro

It is a very sad time for our nation.

Nelson Mandela was the embodiment of love and humility. He stood for what he believed.

He inspired others by being.

Today South Africans are 1 nation. 

Twenty Wishes - Recap

I suddenly realised that it was a year ago that I committed to these 20 Wishes.

I seem to have fallen off the wagon a bit and I am embarrassed that I have not done more.

1. Fall in Love -Still waiting
2. Buy a nice fitting blazer - Due to point 20 - I am managing my budget better, so no space to buy any blazers just yet
3. Buy a cool pair of Converse 
4. Go overseas  CHeck & CHECK! Japan and Mauritius (I flew over a sea to get to Mauritius - it counts)
5. Read a great book - The Perks of Being a Wallflower perhaps - I watched the movie. Dammit, it doesn't count, does it?
6. Watch a classic movie - I have never watched Mary Poppins, Sound of Music etc
7. Cook/bake more I have 2 awesome Le Creuset mugs to show for this!
8. Do another wine tasting trip in the Cape - I went to Mauritius instead.
9. Drink more water 
10. Go to a live concert - Justin Bieber
11. Get my weight below 70kg - then lose a further 5kgs- Let's not go there
12. Work towards a better toned stomach ...........
13. Get rid of the people in my life who drain me 
14. Buy a dining room table 
15. Go on a photography course: Budget constrictions
16. Have a wall full of frames with my photographs from all my trips etc 
17. Work less - Overall I did do better in 2013 than I did in 2012. I aim to improve this even more in 2014
18. Be a happier person
19. Do something totally spontaneous - I bought One Direction tickets in London without having any plan other than knowing I want to be there.
20. Manage my budget more diligently - being a homeowner means I need to be alot more careful 

50% success rate. Meh.

I will do better in 2014.

New list to be posted before Christmas.....

Tick Tick Tick.... Ho Ho Ho!

Source

How cute is the gift tag in the above photo?

My Christmas Clock is ticking.

There is so much to get done before the jolly fat man rewards us for being good little boys & girls.

As I posted about my Christmas on a Budget, I read Ms Van Vee's post on gift wrapping ideas she found on Pinterest. This has made me even more excited to get creative on budget.

I found some really cute gift wrap ideas and posted them to a Pinterest board here

I will be wrapping my gifts in brown paper and brightly coloured ribbon (R10 a roll at the chinese mall) with pretty printed gift tags off the computer.
I will take photos once I have wrapped gifts and hope it turns out well.

I have helped the whole family choose Christmas gifts for each other & even bought on their behalf. Now I have to give serious attention to the gifts I have to buy and make some time to go shopping!

I have to buy a gift for my dad, aka the most difficult man to buy for because he is not phased about getting gifts. We used to be able to make him happy with chocolates, but since being diagnosed as a diabetic, it's thrown a spanner in the works.

Dad spends most of his spare time working. He travels for work alot. He doesn't really read. Except the newspaper. He doesn't need to wear a suit & tie. He likes being in the garden. Walking the dogs. He has a wallet. He has a hat for outside. He has new shoes. He doesn't feel the cold, so doesn't need a jersey, scarf or socks.

Previous gifts that we have tried:

• MP3 player and speaker - he doesn't have a car radio. He forgets to charge the speaker
• A man-bag to keep all his crap together. He forgets to use it
• Vouchers for clothes. He hates shopping so forgets to use the voucher.

See my dilemma? It's like Mission Impossible!

I thought I would try my hand at online shopping, but after a while I gave up - I can't see the products properly on a computer screen, I need to touch the product and make sure it's right.

What is on your Christmas shopping list this year?

Travel Tuesday: Italy, Venice

One of my favourite places of all time. 

The culture and the food. 

The romance of  the warmly lit narrow walkways.

Venice is a place for lovers.

Venice is also listed as a World Heritage Site.

Venice is built on wooden piles and is prone to flooding on Spring time.

When travelling through the canals on gondola - the water and algae marks the tideline over many seasons.

I have heard many people say that Venice is a very dirty city, but while there we saw no dirt or refuse and there was no small from the canal water. Perhaps my nose was frozen off! 

Even the worst weather of our holiday;  -5 degrees Celcius ("This weather is so unusual", say the locals) with icy wind and slushy snow could not deter me from falling in love with this city.

Bridge of Sighs

The prisoners walked across this bridge to be hung and it is said that even now you can still hear the sighs of the long dead.

Santa Maria della Salute

A very popular cathedral - Saint Mary of Health -  presiding over the Grand Canal, it was built as a thank you for those who survived the Plague in the 1600s

Pigeon Whisperer

Have a bag of bird food in your hand and before you can say tweet - the birds bombard you. 

It felt like they were everywhere and yet when you see the photos, it isn't the same as the Hitchcock scene you imagined it to be

Food? Food, food, food, food!

The Grand Canal

Masks

We trawled the dimly lit streets looking for the "perfect mask". I found a black lace mask in the visage of a cat, but the shop was closed. I was beginning to despair when I came across a silver and blue mask. I have never worn it. But I will one day!

At the end of the day after getting extremely lost in the maze of narrow streets, we found our way to a cosy little coffee shop and ordered Cappucinos to warm up. Sitting inside the restaurant and watching the snow gently falling outside I remember thinking that 1 day I would return for my honeymoon.
Making our way to our collection point - the Belltower, I had to stop and take this photo. It took a few tries with my little point and shoot - I had to try to stand very still so as to avoid the camera shake. I eventually managed to capture the warm glow that I always associate with Venice in my head.

The snow was falling and all around us, the sounds of the city were muted - lending to the air of romance and magic.

St Mark's Campanile