Life via Iphone

The past week involved plenty of road tripping, quality time with friends and also making new ones.
It also involved a lot of coffee because it has been busy! And with a few life changing decisions being thrown into the mix, I managed to do a Vida E Caffe tour of Cape Town, pulling in for a comforting chai latte at every turn.

Top left and bottom right photos by Livvy Russollilo

The past weekend was heavenly as we spent a night in Citrusdal, cosying up with plenty of wine around a fire and enjoying some amazing company. The resort was tucked away in the mountains and each chalet was equipped with a jacuzzi on the deck. It made for the perfect winter getaway. Nothing beats quality time with great friends and while the boys managed to turn civilised card games into a drunken stupor, us girls managed to catch up and have a good skinner in the tub.

Top right image borrowed from Natasha of Raising Men

While spending time with old friends is perfection, making new friends is such a warm, fuzzy feeling. The wonderful people at The Cullinan Hotel generously hosted myself, Natasha from Raising Men, and Candice from Gorgeous Blog for dinner and a wine tasting. The sommelier was one of the most charismatic people I've ever met and the food was to die for. I ate like a total guts and didn't get to the waffle station, so I fully intend to head back for a breakfast date soon. You may not think to eat out at a hotel if you're not staying there, but the Star Bar is idyllic for drinks, and the Peach Tree restaurant is wonderful. The service is outstanding and the chefs proudly assisted us in choosing each meal.

Enough about the food, what I really went for was to meet some of the people I consider friends online. I suppose Twitter and blogging can end up being like online dating in a sense.  After endless chatting on Twitter, 'favouriting' tweets and commenting on blog posts, we decided we liked each other enough to meet face-to-face. And lucky for us, no disaster date story - it felt like old girlfriends catching up and chatting away about the blogging industry, love, marriage and kids - and everything in-between.

Thanks again to Garry Reed and The Cullinan for hosting us, and spoiling us with such thoughtful gifts.

Happy 2014

Happy New Year my wonderful readers. I am so excited to get back into routine with regular posts and updates on all things pretty.
As utterly cliched as it may be, what would the first post of the new year be without sharing some resolutions?

I am kicking off the year by doing a little juicing detox, as inspired by Talya Goldberg and Fiona Stander of Juice Revolution. This is the year I really listen to my body. I figured I'll come out of my 30's the way I go in to them and it is time to make a habit of making better choices.

I am also making a long bucket list of things to see, places to eat, and I intend to fill my summer weekends being a tourist in my own town. You can't complain about having a lack of things to do in Cape Town. From paddle-boarding, to hiking, to wine pairings, to gourmet burger joints popping up everywhere - there are endless things to delight you. I'll be sharing the bucket list with you guys soon.

I am going to run more. A lot more. I loved the feeling as I crossed the finish line at the Two Oceans Half Marathon last year, and this year I am going to shave at least 20 minutes off my time.

I am going to be slapping on a lot more sunscreen. I've been trying out Environ's new spray RAD sunscreen and loving it! It saved me from going pink in the Zambian sun on our trip to Victoria Falls so I can tell you the stuff works!

I am going to spend more money on experiences instead of things. Weekends away over a pair of shoes . Boat trips and road trips instead of binge online shopping sprees. Last year we went away to Stellenbosch for just one evening and we came home so relaxed and refreshed. It is amazing what a mini-break does for the soul and mind. So Stanford, Paternoster, Greyton and Fransschoek are the first on my list of places to spend a weekend.

I am going to spend more time giving back. I have been inspired by friends who do so much for their local community and give back as much as they can afford to. Its not always about money either, it is also about time. This year I'll do a dress collecting drive again (last time I managed to round up over 120) for a charity helping matric girls get the ball of their dreams. I also want to find out more about being a Big Sister. I think the idea of being a positive influence and being able to encourage and guide a young girl would be wonderful. We take for granted the love, and positive encouragement we've had from our families. We know ambition, strength, moral grounding and ideals by looking to our mothers - and so many children have none of that influence in their lives. A child's mirror is the face of their parents, and when yours aren't looking back at you with love, affection, admiration and encouragement and expecting you to amount to nothing - how can you be expected to think otherwise. No one is rooting for them to succeed. So this year I want to be someone's cheerleader and role model, and maybe, just maybe, change the course of their life.

So there you have it, nothing unattainable, no extreme resolutions that are impossible to keep. Just ever so slightly improving on the year before. And if we all try to do a little bit better, I think thats just enough.

Happy 2014 everyone. Thank you for reading Pretty Mint!
xx

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