{April A-Z Challenge} The Letter J

J is for ... Jewellery

Not many girls I know do not like jewellery. In one form or another, every girl has adorned themself with something pretty.

Some like sparkles and others like big chunky pieces, and others again will like something simple; a plain silver band or a small stud.

The concept of Nomination, Troll Beads, Pandora - and the predecessor - the old fashioned charm bracelet, is an in genius idea; collectables.

Give a girl 1 little thing that is part of a collectable and you have a money-spinner!

My parents surprised me on my 30th birthday with an almost complete Nomination bracelet with my name and age on it as well as a few links that characterised my interests: A rose for my nickname, a music note for my love of music, a Gemini starting and a cat.

Since then I have added a whole variety and I am busy collecting a link to represent each country that I have visited.

Recently I discovered a company who does the erm... "budget variety" links. They fit the Nomination bracelet and are also stainless steel. 

Where Nomination costs R380 ($40) and upwards, this version is only R20 ($2)

The difference? Nomination uses real gold or silver on it's embellishments and enamel where applicable.

Budget option is gold or silver plated and also uses enamel.

Can you tell the difference?

I will have to buy the real deal for the travel links, but for anything else, I can buy the budget option and create a few bracelets to wear all together.

How do you feel about cheaper alternatives? Do you stick with the real thing and pay a bit more, or do you compromise?

Incidentally - J was the last letter to be added to the alphabet and was derived from i. Now you know!

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In other news, I featured as a Guest Blogger on Inspired Living SA, go check out my Confessions of a Blogger Interview

{April A-Z Challenge} The Letter I

I is for ... Italy

In 2005, my boyfriend at the time and I travelled through Europe on a whirlwind Contiki holiday exploring all the tourist spots.

(We fought every night, but loved every second of the trip regardless)

Europe is rich in culture and historical architecture.

1 of my favourite countries of the 11 we visited, was Italy.

Our tour guide (who turned out to be a South African) saw me reading the Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) and recommended that I start reading the book when we travel through Rome as the tour covered many of the attractions visited in the book.

It was a fun journey. My photos could almost have become an illustrated version of the novel, as I read a chapter, I snapped a shot of the place that had been mentioned.

A mentionable place to visit in Rome is the Piazza Navona - once the site of a stadium where ancient Romans would watch the games.

The site features 3 fountains each displaying various statues of Tritons, Gods and the like.

The Trevi Fountain was a place I had always seen on movies and dreamed of visiting. Many visitors were couples holding hands and whispering to each other as they make wishes and declare their everlasting love for each other. I wonder how many of those wishes come true for the long term?

1 of the lesser known places I adored about Italy was the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary. They can be found inhabiting a sunken piazza; a spot where Julius Caesar was apparently stabbed in the back.

The sanctuary was founded by a former opera singer and has been the home to many abandoned and homeless cats over the past 20 years. 

We visited the kitties and found them all very friendly. They had no problem letting the tourists show them a bit of love in exchange for a quick photograph. 

Florence with its’ cobbled streets and gorgeous leather goods was a lovely city to visit. The small shop fronts and narrow streets almost had one believing that we had stepped back in time. A time where life was simple and bartering your handcrafted leather wares in exchange for a hearty dinner was the order of the day.

We also visited Pisa (not much to see besides the tower and the baptistery) and Venice. and of all the cities, it was my favourite - you can read more about it here.

Have you been to Italy? Where is your favourite European country to visit?

{April A-Z Challenge} The Letter H

H is for ... Heirlooms

My grandparents were not well off and relied on their measly state funded pensions and my parents to live out their retirement years. 

When they passed away, we did not inherit money. Instead, we inherited special items which my grandparents had cherished.

You know how old people are - Their special clothes are carefully wrapped in tissue paper, their precious belongings lovingly stowed in a box, all ready to be paraded at the next family gathering. I recall finding a jersey I had bought for my gran, wrapped up in tissue paper, with the tag on, waiting to be worn, but she never go the chance. 

That was my life lesson: 

Wear your pretty clothes now. 

Use your pretty crockery today. 

You never know when it could be your last day. 

I inherited a cutlery set & a teapot which my gran had used for entertaining. They had not been used in years.

I know try to use them as often as possible; so that in a way I can be close to her. 

Every time I lay the table, I have an internal conversation with my gran. Just the 2 of us. 

{April A-Z Challenge} The Letter G

G is for ... Gypsy

I created our Book Club back in May 2008 and it had 2 rules:

1. There has to be champagne (sparkling wine) at every meeting
2. There has to be a theme

(No mention of books!)

As times have evolved, we no longer have a need to buy books and swap them out to read, we now read on our Kobo/Kindle/iPad and it has since become Bookless Club.

The same rules as above apply.

Recently our last theme was Gypsy and I had a blast utilising a mixture of eye-shadow colours that I would usually apply separately and much more subtly.

Looking at the photo, I can see it's me, but I look very different to everyday me. 

That's the best part of dress-up isn't it?

{April A-Z Challenge} The Letter F

F is for ... Flapjacks

I found this scrumptious recipe on Tables & Thyme and decided to surprise my boyfriend for Valentine's Day. If you know me at all, you will know that I do not cook very often at all, but I do love to eat.

The mixture was easy to whip up and it contained buttermilk, which I think is it's secret ingredient -  we finished all of our flapjacks and were stuffed.  The berry compote was a delicious sweet topping. 

We paired the meal with some Twinings Strawberry & Mango Tea and the flavours all worked great together - Berry deliciousness!

To get the recipe, visit Tables & Thyme here

{April A-Z Challenge} The Letter E

E is for ... EyeMask

Being a cat person you can imagine my delight when I found this adorable eye mask. 

My room gets a lot of sunlight in the morning, and it isn't helped by the fact that I have white curtains, so when I get to sleep in on a weekend (which has not been a luxury of late) I am able to reach over to my night stand, and pop my mask on for some extra hours of beauty rest.