Hemisphere jargon // An update of my life

Hi everybody! This is just a quick update post to notify you all that I am still alive. I've just finished my final-year exams (the Southern hemisphere school year ends in December), and this weekend is my first study-free weekend in a long time. A very long time. So I hope you all had a great thanksgiving weekend and spent it with loved ones and chums, and if you live south of the equator (Geography vibes), I hope you are slappin' on that sunscreen and hitting the beach (like me), and if you live north of the equator, I hope you are cuddling with many cosy blankets and cups of tea, and if you're still writing final exams (both Northern and Southern hemispheres), good luck, work hard and stay sane.. It'll be over soon, I promise.

Que random photos from the last two months:

Absolutely delicious orange cake

Thanksgiving apple pie

Simona x

First Product Review: eos Lemon Drop

I absolutely love both the smell and flavour of this lip balm. It may be flavoured, but it isn't overpowering like Lip Smackers or something similar, and it tastes and smells so natural - that's what I love the most about this product. Not only does it smell and taste amazing, I think that the daisy-yellow eggy shape is so sweet, and it really adds to the natural, spring theme.

It's made with ingredients that you can actually pronounce, like shea butter and jojoba oil, so you know what's in your lip balm, and more importantly, what's going on your lips, and I love that. It also contains SPF 15, so you can wear it all day, e'rry day. This is the perfect spring lip-balm!

California Dreaming

Hey everyone!
So, it's back to school after a long and luxurious three week winter break. Last week I landed back in Cape Town - I went back to LA for the holidays. I know. It's confusing - my mom, sister and I went there in April on an emergency trip to see my Grandmother who was quite ill at the time, despite the fact that we would be back here in June for a planned trip. So this trip to LA was planned a long time ago and that is why I was back in Los Angeles, with the whole family - including Papa-bear.

I find day-to-day updates quite tedious and boring, so I will just write some pretty general stuff, and then will let the pictures tell the rest of the story...

We left Cape Town International Airport on the 24th of June and arrived on the 25th (due to the time difference) of June in LA. For the first week we stayed at my Nana's house in the valley, in the hills (oolala!). The first week we did quite a lot. We went to LACMA (art museum), Silverlake (a very hipster area - it's really cool), MOCA - modern art museum, Target, and a couple restaurants.

For the second week, we stayed at my aunt and uncle's house in Huntington Beach, Surf City USA. We went to the beach, swam a lot, tanned a lot, walked downtown, went to a few restaurants- my favourite was Umami Burger: had the Black Keys burger, and did some other really fun stuff.

For the third and final week we were back at my Nana's house. That week we mainly saw a lot of my parents' old friends and also did some shopping in Santa Monica, we had a great time in Santa Monica with friends and in Venice Beach which has such a unique vibe - there is nothing like it!

I will definitely say that the highlight of the trip for me was the 4th of July. We watched a World Cup game in the morning, than chilled at the pool for most of the day, and then had a really lovely dinner at home with our really good friends who came down from San Fransisco. After dinner we walked down to the beach to watch the fireworks and generally to get into the mood - it was great and the fireworks were beautiful. We then came home and had some awesome ice-cream sundaes.

And now as I promised, here are the pictures from my trip. I hope you enjoy!

Silverlake

Yummy Fish Tacos

Downtown LA

Downtown LA

A Billboard

The Black Keys Burger!

Seen in a shopping centre.

Old Towne Orange

Old Towne Orange

Huntington Beach

Huntington Beach

Lacma

Urban Lights - Lacma

Seen on traffic light on a street outside Lacma

Runyon Canyon

Venice Beach - Does anyone else see the homeless dude pulling the zap sign?

Venice Beach

Los Angeles

Venice Beach

 Simona xx

Trip to Cali

Hey guys. Sorry I haven’t been posting for a while – it’s been really hectic so I haven’t even had a chance to check my account for a couple weeks. So here’s what’s happening: I recently got back from Los Angeles, in the U.S of A. This came as quite a surprise, because you see, I only found out I was going to LA on the Thursday evening, and we left on the Monday morning. It was a last minute trip because my Nana, who lives there, recently got very ill, so we were there for ten days to visit her, armed with serious jetlag and overweight suitcases.

I know, I have been REALLY bad about posting – I really have had NO TIME. So, I will have to start right from the beginning and give you all the stories and events that have taken place, starting on Day 1:

Day 1 – April 7^th:

We left for the airport at 11:30 am. Our flight to Johannesburg departed Cape Town International at 3 o’clock, and we arrived safe and sound two hours later at O.R Tambo International Airport. That flight was really hard for me because we had to say goodbye to my Dad back in CPT at the airport because Papa Bear unfortunately had a business to run and could therefore not partake in the great trek to Los Angeles.

Our next flight was at around 7ish (I don’t quite remember the exact time) to Paris and it was on Air France. It was probably the best flight I have ever experienced. We flew the brand spanking new A380 (double decker plane!!!) and the food was great, there was plenty of leg room, TV selection was awesome and the overall service and flight was top-notch. Oh and they served ice-cream on the plane so how can that not be thumbs up. I watched a couple movies, slept for about four hours and then somehow managed to keep myself occupied for ten hours until we landed the next morning at Charles de Gaulle Airport, in Paris – Oui!

Day 2 – April 8^th:

We landed in Paris and had 5 hours in the great Land-O’-French. We walked around for a bit and decided that hey, we were in Paris! And with that we decided to pig out and order regular croissants, chocolate croissants, danishes and of course, Le Macaroon. Oh, the joys of biting into a genuine pistachio flavoured macaroon! After finishing our Pastry Fest, we walked around some more and found that there was a free art museum in the middle of the airport. That’s right, an art museum in an airport: only in Paris.

-- It should technically be Day 3 now but because of the time differences and stuff like that, it is still Day 2 --

We flew Delta on another 10 hour flight to Salt Lake City in Utah. It was a day flight so it was light the entire flight, which meant that Simona did not sleep a wink. We arrived at a tiny airport surrounded by giant snow peaked mountains and soon got onto our final flight to LA.

The fight was two hours long so I just read Divergent (AMAZING book by the way – review coming soon) and soon we landed in La-La Land, California. We got to Nana’s house (she wasn’t there – she was still in hospital), ate pre-roasted chicken from the supermarket down the road and went to bed, exhausted.

Okay, so I feel that this could get very tedious if I just continue giving you a minute-by-minute description of what we did, so here are some pictures of the highlights of the trip: Enjoy!

Tea and Pastries at Paul in Paris.

Macaroons: Pistachio and Coffee

The snow-peaked mountains of Salt Lake City, Utah.

3rd Street, LA.

3rd Street, AKA Hipsterville.

Studio City, Los Angeles.

 Simona xx

PS. Coming soon - LA street art.

March - Autumn Is Here!

Oh These Rainy Days...

Tracksuit Pants - Cotton On

Socks - Topshop UK

- The Fault In Our Stars -

A Review for The Fault In Our Stars:

After reading half of the book, I felt extremely depressed and upset and could not stop thinking about how unfair life is, and what life actually is, and stuff like that. At one point I was actually thinking about not finishing the book because it was so sad, but then I decided to continue and read to the end.

So I did finish it, and I must tell you that this book is not for someone who doesn't like sad books, but if you like good books, you should be running to your nearest bookstore. It sounds pretty cliched, but this book has really made me think about sickness, death and love in an entirely different way. It made Cancer seem less like a distant problem, but more like something that could happen to anyone, but not exactly in a negative way. I guess what I mean is that this book made Cancer seem more real and human, which is easier to think about and worry about.

John Green is a literary genius. The Fault In Our Stars may be sad and depressing, but it is real and raw, and by far the best book I have ever read. So do yourself a favour, and read the love story of Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters, and go through their pain and experiences as cancer victims. I promise you, this book will change you, and make you feel privileged to be alive and healthy.

February - An Update

Hi Everyone. It's been a while since the last post, so I do apologise, it's been quite busy. So, what have you missed?

Well, February was a crazy month, but aren't they all? One weekend, my family and I took advantage of the heat and went to watch a Shakespeare play at a place called Maynardville. Maynardville is a park in Cape Town, that during the summer months, hosts a Shakespearian play every night at a small amphitheatre in the trees. We went to watch the play, Richard The Third. The play was good and the atmosphere is great. It really does look like a fairy-tale garden, especially with the old oak trees, ducklings waddling around the park and a peaceful atmosphere.

We went a bit early because it's always nice to have a picnic before in the park and that's what we did. Have a look at the pics below so you can get a better idea of how enchanting Maynardville is:

Simona xx

Have A Beautiful Summer Tea Party

A couple weeks ago, my sister had a tea party in honour of her birthday and it was so much fun! It was quite funny that she decided to have a tea party because I recently decided to write a post on how to host the perfect tea party, so I decided to combine the two ideas into one post in order to give you the most important tips and pictures as a recipe for the best tea party ever!

Fresh scones to start off

Tea
 You can make it iced or hot. Both are nice to have for people with all tastes. For hot tea, it's a good idea to have a variety of flavours to choose from, such as rooibos, earl grey or apricot. All three are tried and tested and certified delicious. If you decide to go cold, mint iced tea is simple and very tasty. All you have to do is while the regular tea is brewing, take a glass of hot water and add the mint leaves. When it is strong enough to your taste, pour the mint water into the rest of the mixture through a strainer and there you have it. Rooibos is also one of my ultimate favourites.

Table Setting
Set the table so it does look a bit fancy - it is a special occasion after all! Make sure you have a lot of tea cups and saucers. Don't use mugs, they are too big and casual and shouldn't be used for special occasions. Use a pretty table cloth and flowers on the table add an instant touch of happiness.

The table after everyone finished eating.

Snacks
Traditionally, baked goods are eaten at tea, but since it is summer, it is also nice to have fresh and healthier goodies and well. Cut up fruit and veg, salads and other stuff are very nice to eat.Tea sandwiches are the perfect treat. You should make them with white bread and use a variety of fillings, such as cheese, cheese and tomato and my favourite - cucumber! Macaroons are a must have - they are the perfect size and very dainty and lady-like.

Macaroons.

Salmon and Cucumber with cream cheese and dill.

Cucumber Sandwiches.

Location
The best place to have a summer tea party is definitely outside in the garden, in nature, but inside would also work depending on where you live and the weather and wind situation. It's up to you!!

Success!

Simona xx

Music Picks Of The Summer

Here are THE songs to listen to this summer, that have such a feel-good vibe:

• Couch Potato - Shortstraw
• Team - Lorde
• Modern Jesus - Portugal. The Man
• Shake Me Down - Cage The Elephant
• Unbelievers - Vampire Weekend
• Dirty Paws - Of Monsters And Men
• Come A Little Closer - Cage The Elephant
• Why Do You Only Call Me When You're High? - Arctic Monkeys
• Closer - Tegan And Sarah
• My Number - Foals
• Elephant - Tame Impala
• Midnight City - M83
• Trying To Be Cool - Pheonix
• Sail - AWOLNATION
• Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood
• Little Talks - Of Monsters And Men
• On Top Of The World - Imagine Dragons
• Do I Wanna  Know? - Arctic Monkeys
• Of The Night - Bastille
• Tattoo - Desmond And The Tutus
• Free - Rudimental ft Emeli Sande
• Car Gaurd Tans - Desmond And The Tutus
• Good Morning, Sunshine - Shortstraw

Enjoy!

Simona xx

Spoilt Hands

Ring - Accesorize
Manicure - Sorbet

A couple days ago I decided to treat my hands. It started off with buying a really cute and funky daisy ring from Accesorize. Then, I decided to buy an Express Manicure from Sorbet for R85. It was really well done and was great experience! For the Express Manicure, they do a file, buff and paint, which is actually perfect for me, seeing as in a week from now I'm going to have to take it off for school! Anyway, my hands feel special and I think it's a great way to treat your hands in the holidays. I really like this blue polish colour.  I'm not sure what it's called but it's a darkish shade of turquoise and it is really pretty.

Simona xx

New Members Of The Family

Two or so months ago, my family adopted two adorable ginger kitties that were 6 weeks old at the time. But, since that was a couple months ago, they have grown quite a bit, but here are some pics I took when they were wee little fuzz balls: Enjoy!

These are my babies: Kelly and Jordy, named after the famous surfers Kelly Slater and Jordy Smith.

This is Kelly, looking a bit dazed after just waking up from a nice, long nap!

Jords.

Hi everyone! This week has been really busy! It started off by going on a relaxing holiday to a beautiful town not too far away called Franschhoek, which means 'the french corner'. The weather was perfect there and the views were spectacular! There were plenty of things that could be used as photography subjects, which was really fun. We arrived back a couple days ago and yesterday we went to the Waterfront, for lunch. The Waterfront is a shopping mall, as well as a harbour and busy port.

Today we walked through a seaside town called Kalk Bay. It's got a bit of a hippyish vibe but also has a laid-back, surfer vibe. There are lots of Bohemian and quirky shops all along the main road as well as coffee shops.

Simona xx