It's the season of hot cross buns, cream filled chocolate eggs and shameless chocolate overdoses. But sweetheart, you can even keep your decadent Lindt bunnies - just spoil me with a bag of Speckled Eggs to go with my cup of tea! After all, it's no secret that happiness is really egg shaped with a chocolate-candy coating and jelly centre.
After stumbling across a couple of innovative ideas with speckled eggs on another blog, I took the matter a step further and compiled this list of over 30 ways to make the most of these pastel munchies. So I'll essentially be stuffing my face with speckled eggs every day for the entire month of April - which is a lie, but wouldn't that just be living the dream?
NOTE: You can find all the recipes and step-by-step DIYs on my Pinterest board HERE.
After a particularly tough week and weekend, I've compiled this list for Future Me - to help her deal with life's issues before the over-thinking can begin ♥
Hug a puppy or just call it over and be wooed by the floppy ears and infectious puppy smile.
Climb a tree and see the world from a whole different perspective.
Turn up the music! If you have a cheesy feel good mix, now would be a good time to dust it off.
Make tea! Really, tea fixes everything... even if just for that moment.
Start a new creative project that excites you and takes your mind off things.
Take a glimpse into the future and find something - an event, a holiday, whatever - that you can focus on and look forward to.
Talk it out! They say a problem shared is a problem halved - #truestory
Go for a run or a swim - pushing your body to the max is a great way to rid your mind of pent-up anger or frustration.
Grab the wax crayons and pencils, open a colouring book and be a child again.
Lie on the grass and allow your mind to think things through - sometimes suppressing the thoughts and emotions make matters even worse, so just let it out.
Cry, cry and cry some more - studies actually show that crying flushes stress hormones from your system, so cry!
Curl up with a book - one that's completely unrelated to whatever issue it is you're dealing with.
Sleep. As they say, things always look better in the morning.
Tuck into healthy food that's also munch-worthy - like popcorn. While reaching for ice cream is my default option, it always leaves me feeling even more guilty and down in the dumps.
Daydream and escape into your own little world for a while.
Treat yourself to a little something new, whether it be a dress, a hairgrip or anything that makes you feel good about yourself.
Say a little prayer and let go of whatever it is that's haunting you.
Make a list of the positives in your life - after all, it can't ALL be doom and gloom!
Get into gardening! I'm no Miss Green Fingers, but there's something incredibly therapeutic about bringing greenery to the garden/home.
And if all else fails, watch this video over and over and over again:
I'm the CEO of Procrastination Station which, on the bright side, means I thrive under pressure. In fact, procrastination is the reason I was scouring my Facebook newsfeed minutes ago, procrastination is the reason I found this epic Field Guide on Mashable and procrastination is probably the reason why I'm doing this post right now.
Don't get me wrong - I love public holidays, but having two "Mondays" in the space of four days, really pops my bubble. Here are a few tips for turning crappy into happy:
Google a funny word! Not only will you crack a smile every time it comes to mind, you'll broaden your vocabulary in the process. You're welcome, SA school system.
Invest in a bottle of bubbles! There's nothing more soothing than blowing a soap bubble and watching it drift weightlessly through the air.
Look at a cupcake. They're so cute, you only really need to see one to feel the glow of happiness in your heart. Joy, minus the calories. (If it's a really bad day, eat it. Just eat it.)
Breathe deeply. Not in a psycho killer kind of way, well, unless client service phone you for 17th time and psycho breathing makes you feel better.
Pull faces while brushing your teeth. It wakes you up, ignites a smile and makes oral hygiene rather interesting.
Paint your nails a bright colour. I did this for the first time today and every time I look down at my crookedly painted sunshine yellow tips, I can't help but crack a smile.
Start a Monday ritual - invest in a special tea or coffee or tin of biscuits or ANYTHING that's reserved for Mondays - it has to be so delicious, you'll be willing to trade a Friday for a Monday.
Ask an English (non-Afrikaans) colleague to say something in Afrikaans. Really, this always makes my day.
Find your Monday tune. Whether it's current or as old as the Stonehenge, find that tune that just brings a smile to your face and hum it (in your mind. Please.) This is mine:
Buy something - anything! I save most of my happy purchases for Mondays. Whether I need new mascara, a mug, a new dress for an occasion - it all happens on a Monday.
Cause destruction. Shred old paper, crush an empty tin, smash a glass jar - it's a great relief and you're spring cleaning in the process!
Draw a funny hand puppet thing on your hand.
Spray a really happy scented perfume on your wrist - one that reminds you of meadows and dew drops and baby's breath and rainbows. When you feel down, take a whiff!
Facebook message a BUNCH of people late the night before. Come manic Monday morning, your day will be brightened by the sporadic responses.
Make someone else's day. There's no greater feeling than putting a smile on someone's face, so whether you make a cup of tea or send a funny pic - do what it takes to see some teeth!
I can't remember the last time I was this happy and clappy on a Monday, and it's all thanks to the droplets of rainy happiness pouring down from the heavens outside. Yesterday's sunshine made me mourn the slow death of summer, but this morning's rain and fog made me realise that, quite frankly my dear, I'm ready to bury the sunnies and go me buy some hoodies. WINTER IS COMING, PEOPLE! WHOOP-DEE-FREAKING-DOO!
Here are 19 things I can't wait to see, hear and get up to:
Drawing pictures in the mist on the car window.
Baking pancakes with friends!
Making butternut soup from scratch! (Okay, more like from those pre-cut veggie soup packs they have at PnP and Woolies - same difference though.)
Making a run for it through the pouring rain and getting soaked to the bone.
Changing out of your drenched threads and into warm dry clothes (right off the heater, even better!)
The strange combination of fear and exhilaration when thunder and lightning break through the sky.
Going home to Caledon for the weekend and chatting away in front of the crackling fire.
Jumping in the puddles when the rain has subsided.
Listening to the thundering sound of chubby little rain drops crashing down on a tin roof.
Rainbows!
Curling up in the passenger seat for a long journey in the rain.
Breathing foggy clouds into the cold morning air.
Wearing boots, scarves, comfy jeans and hoodies all day and everyday - yay!
Walking around in your socks or shloff-shloff-shloffing through the house in furry slippers.
Watching full day movie marathons with hot chocolate, marshmallows and good company.
Polar fleece blankets and hot water bottles at the office!
Waking up on a Saturday morning and crawling deeper under the warm covers, while listening to the rain pouring down outside.
Getting to sleep late on the weekends without the sun making you feel guilty for sleeping past 7.
The feeling of someone pressing their warm hands against your icy cheeks.
This list should really go on and on - there's just so much to love about winter! But my brain is mashed potato today, so I'm stopping at 19 for fear of overexersion. I'll let you add #20 in the comments section below :-)
I don't know about you, but I have this mental shopping-slash-want-slash-wishlist going on in my brain that pretty much gets updated on a daily basis. At the moment I'd say the list is about sixteen kilometers long which makes me think that I probably won't have a problem in compiling a gift registry for my wedding one day. But seriously, enough babble. Here's a low-down of the current chart toppers...
1. An assortment of odd chairs: Since I'm not working from home anymore, I've decided to turn my awesome white trestle table desk (a lucky Gumtree find) into a dining table - loving this chair idea:
2. Canteloupe: The season of sweet juicy happiness is almost over so I'm literally chowing this every other day. They're becoming harder and harder to come by, and it won't be long before the cantaloupe strikes the fan. Sob.
3. Wedge ankle boots: Well, boots in general really, but ever since I saw the chick in the Tressemé ad trippling down the steps in pretties like these, I've been smitten. Bring on winter!
4. Rocking horse necklace: There are no words.
5. Quirky coasters: I can't shout LOVE loud enough (would if I could, but my boss is sitting in the next office). On a more serious note, I would fight a lion for ANY one of these and touch an octopus with my bare hands. OK, no, I probably won't do the octopus thing, but anyway - if you spot any coaster gems (that won't cost me a kidney and two toes) give me a shout :)
6. Pink's latest CD: I never thought I'd see the day when Pink made it back onto my playlist, but alas! Over the last couple of months her sweet tunes have stolen my heart. Thís little Nate Ruess number completely knocked my socks off and is now stuck in my brain like a stubborn splinter. Don't judge me.
7. A pastel kettle: Every time I see one, I cry a little when I think of the fact that it's not standing on my kitchen counter. Does it have to be pink? Not at all, darling - any colour you choose to give me for my birthday is just fine.
8. A wrist tattoo: Something small, simple and timeless that won't hurt too much, you know? [I can just hear the tattoo pro's shaking with laughter right now.]
There are some things you just don't do in an ad agency. This is the first in a series of "copywriter offense lists" that I've either witnessed first hand or personally experimented with... and lived to tell the tale. WARNING: Do not try this at your ad agency.
1. Comment how your PC or Nokia is faster than any stupid Apple product out there.
2. Forget to log your hours.
3. Keep your desk in a state of absolute chaos. Every agency has at least one OCD case sitting in a corner somewhere - rocking him/herself back and forth while planning your slow painful death.
4. Touch the art director's Mac screen when pointing out changes. (Note: If you value your life, do not touch the Mac screen. I cannot emphasise this enough. Stay alert, stay alive.)
5. Request a major design change two minutes before lunchtime.
6. Tell an art director to make the picture smaller and the copy bigger, and while you're at it, mention how your job is just so much harder than everyone else's.
7. Scratch out the art director's sketch and do a "better" one to help him understand the vision you have for this project.
8. Draw any sort of parallel between Photoshop and Paint while in the presence of a designer.
9. Chew really really loudly while rhythmically tapping your foot or stirring your coffee for two minutes straight.
10. Make popcorn in the microwave or entice hungry overworked colleagues with the heavenly scent of your hearty home cooked meal.
I'm getting tired of starting my posts with "soooo... I haven't blogged in a while, but..." because really, the whole reason I haven't blogged in a while is that I've been trying to think of an excuse for why I haven't blogged in a while. Not a good excuse, but a brilliant excuse. The excuse of all excuses that would make me look like a freaking saint. An excuse so awesome, that they name a Spongebob character after me. Or a clam. I'm not fussy. Anyway, this is what I've come up with so far:
I haven't blogged in a while because Bunny the cat stole my PC mouse and sold it for cat nip on the Black Cat market.
I haven't blogged in a while because I've been working on a cure for Bunny the cat's ADHD.
I haven't blogged in a while because I've been trying to figure out what the H in ADHD stands for.
I haven't blogged in a while because I then figured out that maybe I have ADHD. Or ADD...? I also like avo on toast because it tastes really really good, and my fingers look funny.
I haven't blogged in a while because I've been feeling guilty about not blogging in a while.
I haven't blogged in a while because I sold my dictionary for electricity money, because you can't blog without electricity. It's just basic math.
I haven't blogged in a while because the super secret service called me up to write for their super secret blog about super secret secret service stuff.
I haven't blogged in a while because I've been spending my free hours volunteering at the office in exchange for money and cheese sandwiches.
Being a grown up is pretty cool, except that it's not. Five years ago, my biggest worry was whether or not these shoes went with those earrings and how on earth I was going to finish a 300 word essay in only two weeks. The fact is, adulthood would be pretty freaking awesome, if only I never had to utter these depressing sentences:
So, what's the tax submission deadline this year?
Let me just go put in some petrol, first.
Did I switch off the stove/iron/oven/heater?
I wish I could go, but it's my turn to do the dishes.
What should we do for dinner tonight?
Medical aid companies these days are just so unreliable.
Yeah, and food prices are going up again - where is it going to stop?
That would've been awesome, dude, but I have to work tomorrow.
I just need to pick up some window cleaner.
How do you get a tomato sauce/red wine/curry/beetroot stain out?
...and then I really need to do some ironing this weekend.
Of course adulthood has its perks, but for now, let's just focus on the negative.
So... I feel like I should re-introduce myself after this week of dumbstruckish-silenced-quietness. Fact is, I've been teensitting my little sister in... Caledon. A place where internet connections go to die. But then I found this pic on Pinterest and I'm looking at slow internet connections in a much more positive light.
I ♥ that it takes 18 minutes to load a clip and fails in the last 22 seconds.
I ♥ that loading a picture on to Facebook makes washing dishes look like a freaking picnic.
I ♥ that you can cook dinner while waiting for an email to load, just to find out it's some newsletter from some place offering some free service that isn't really free.
I ♥ that a slow internet connection cuts you off from the world. It really gave me a chance to get to know me, you know? And speak in 140 character tweets to my teddy.
I ♥ that slow internet completely drains your dongle's airtime at least twice a day - I've really gotten to know the dude at the garage kiosk and I'm definitely feeling a connection.
Now that's what you call "glass half full". It's good to be back, bloggeteers!
Hi, I'm Charn. I'm from Caledon and I'm... Afrikaans (dum-dum-duuuuuuum)
Now as a 100% bilingual plattelander-turned-cityslicker, I often get the "oh gosh, you're Afrikaans?!" response when the topic is raised. And just like that I can see the new assumptions being formed behind the eyes of the Englishman standing before me. So, dear friend, before you even feel the need to ask, here are the answers to the questions that are so obviously swilling around in your mind:
#1 Afrikaans people don't eat boerewors and vetkoek for breakfast, and
every meal doesn't consist of "reis, vleis en aartappels". Well, it's
not compulsory, at least.
#2 Just because she's Afrikaans doesn't mean she has a genetic knack for 'sokkie' or 'langarm'. Now by 'she' I am definitely NOT referring to myself, and I most certainly do NOT recommend that you ask my highly English dance instructor boyfriend about his crushed toes.
#3 Afrikaans people sometimes like drinking other tea besides rooibos and we know that wine doesn't only come in boxes.
#4 The entire Afrikaans-speaking population does not watch Noot vir Noot
on a Friday night, and just because I know it plays on a Friday night
doesn't mean I watch it either.
#5 Afrikaans couples don't call each other "suikerklontjie", "liefiiiie", "bokkie" and "mosbolletjie". Well, at least not all of them.
#6 Not all Afrikaans peeps were raised on a farm and instinctively know how to milk a cow.
#7 Not all Afrikaans people know each other. Contrary to popular belief we do not meet up around a bonfire every Thursday night and do volkspele to the rythm of Tant Hessie se Wit Perd. We don't. Really.
#8 Just because I'm Afrikaans doesn't mean I know the lyrics to Kaptein or sing Baby Tjoklits in the shower.
#9 Not all Afrikaans girls know how to make the perfect milk tart and some Afrikaans boys are maar pretty vrot at braaiing 'n tjoppie.
#10
There may be fewer words in the Afrikaans language than in the English
dialect, but that still doesn't mean Afrikaans people know every single
one of them. There's a lot guys, seriously.
