Our greatest strengths are our greatest weaknesses - my most silly, embarrassing experience to date.

You know those ice breaker games where you have to tell you most embarrassing moment, this car story tends to be my default.

I had been shopping with my sister and mom and we were walking back to the car in the underground parking. As we walked towards our car I saw that we were parked next to my favourite car, an Audi TT. My mom and sister hopped into our car as I admired the TT. It’s important to check the interior of a cool car like the Audi TT, I pressed my face against the tinted, driver window and as my eyes got adjusted to the light I realised that someone was looking straight back at me through the window. I jumped back with such fright and embarrassment and I quickly got into my mom’s car. My mom and sister had seen this all unfold and had even seen that there was someone sitting in the car but supposedly as soon as they’d noticed I already had my face glued to the window. They were having hysterics in the car while I was wanted to die of embarrassment.

Lesson learnt: check before you peer through dark glass.

North Indian Feast

I had a North Indian Feast last night!

Situated in a hidden corner at Westlake Lifestyle Centre, Bhandaris buzzes with patrons, particularly on a Wednesday or Sunday when they have an seemingly endless buffet table is at the ready.

On Wednesday nights and Sunday afternoons, R99 can buy you a three course meal, the starter being a selection of fresh samosas, the main the buffet made up of a variety delicious curries, rotis (I tried them all so I speak from experience) with ice-cream for dessert.

The venue is cosy and inviting and a great place to have wallet friendly and heart-warming meal.

http://www.bhandaris.co.za/

I’m a bit like a swallow, I have the need to follow the sun.

Thailand oh how I long for you, oh how I dream about walking along your white shores and swimming in your warm waters -  ode to Thailand.

I’m an annual travel bug sufferer. I’ve recently realised that at about this time every year for the last while as Cape Town winter starts to make its appearance, I start logging onto travel sites, reading travel magazines and the trusty travel section in the Argus.

Thailand has been on the top of my list of places to visit for so long. Being a student and all money isn’t as freely available as I would like so there is mainly a lot of dreaming involved.

For me nothing quite compares to a holiday with beach, sea and sun. That combination is relax - inducing bliss. What I think makes Thailand so appealing besides the obvious natural beauty is the culture, food and buildings.

I know that my trip to Thailand will come soon enough with a little focus and patience.

Try a cliche?

‘I just knew from the moment we met’, what a mushy cliché!

Mushy and cliché yes, yet this silly phrase has somehow made its way into my life. 

Back in summer 2008 I meet this gorgeous, fiery red head on Llandudno Beach. After our first exchange of words I knew that there would be something more. Yes, there was a noticeable ‘spark’… eek, another one.

Clichés and love seem closely linked.  Perhaps when your brain is love -mush there’s no way to control the clichés that come skipping out your mouth.

2.5 happy years later and that cliché still rings true to me.

(You can vomit now if you feel the need) 

Feelings Follow Behaviour

I personally feel that as you grow older so does your self-control.  Life experience enables you to analyse your feelings and think before you act. I’ve had times in my life, in particular soon after school when the world was anew for me and it felt like anything could happen. The restrictions of school were behind me and a year of travel ahead. I’d say that more than ever before my feelings followed behaviour and I went with the flow. It was such a free time of immersing myself in life, no where as EXTREME as Jim Carey in 'Yes Man' but something like that...

Great idea Milo!

I really admire people who have a unique idea and go with it. IloveMilo is a recent business I have come across that has an array of good looking and innovative products. A product of theirs which I think is cute and clever is their writable mug. Allow your message to dry for 24 hours and it’s dishwasher safe! Or, rub off with a little alcohol and start again.

It’s better to practice a little than talk a lot

What comes to mind first when I read this blog topic is a situation where I wish I had, had the chance to practice more so that I didn’t feel like I was talking cods-wobble. In 2007, when I signed up for Camp America on my application form it asked what skills I had.  Right at the bottom after I had listed my skills I added that I had had horse riding lessons on a weekly basis from 10- 12 years old, so that they would see I was a rounded individual.

It was a great shock to me to discover when I arrived at Camp Wood Haven in Pennsylvania that my role as a camp leader was to be a horse riding instructor which would involve me teaching girl scouts, most of which had horses of their own and had been riding for years. 'Out of my depth' is a perfect phrase for how I felt and ‘winging it’ is how it worked out.

Diverse Design at Decorex

I assisted at the 2011 Onsite Gallery exhibit at the CTICC. A selection of the gallery’s prime pieces were on show, to give a taster to what this architectural antique gallery is all about.  The exhibit was situated at the start of the exhibition which was ideal because the attendee’s senses were not yet dulled by over exposure to the fantastic, design displays and were keen to engage.

What I enjoyed the most about working at Decorex was the mix of people that it attracted, making it a great people watching venue and provided for some interesting conversations.  A Zulu princess, a top South African designer and military expert are just a few of the interesting people that I got to meet and chat to.

I suppose that the only reason a show like Decorex can exist is because of the diversity in tastes within South Africa and the different exhibits cater for the varying tastes.