My liefste ma
ek huil uiteindelik
vir ‘n klein mens
het jy ‘n groot spasie gelaat
Ek het gehoop jy kom weer uit
raas met my
want ek het jou graf klaar bespreek
Ons het jou omring
dag na dag
jou vertel van draai buite
Ons was langs jou
in die laaste ure
mekaar regop gehou
sodat ons een laastekeer
iets vir jou kon doen
My liefste ma
ek is dankbaar vir elke oomblik
jy het te vroeg gegaan
maar ons met soveel gelos
My liefste ma
Ek hoop ons ontmoet eendag weer
Did you know that one of my favourite spas in Johannesburg, Revive Wellness Spa, just opened a spa party venue for kids? That’s right, now you can add a little extra sparkle to any birthday party!
Taking ordinary and turning it into extraordinary. Revive Kids Spa & Party Venue will ensure your kids party is unforgettable. The magical two story party venue provides for an interactive awesome experience that you and your friends will not forget.
To celebrate their new Kids Spa & Party venue they are offering one goddess the opportunity to spend the day with them to have the chance to relax and scope it all out.
WINNER
CONGRATULATIONS ILSE, you are going to the spa!
You will also get complimentary use of the spa facilities such as heated hydro pool, outdoor day beds, relaxation lounges and much more.
Just to remind you of just how amazing the spa is, follow Lexa…
Put on some red lipstick and live a little…
Red lipstick, red shoes, red dress… I love the power of the colour red. I have been on the hunt for the perfect red lipstick and have everything from MAC to Revlon and Essence but I wanted to find balance in price, coverage, colour and wow factor. This hunt is what uncovered Maria Cosmetics.
Red lipstick to me is the holy grail of beauty products any pale girl should have. I’m not talking about fire engine or cheap reds, I’m talking about the darker and deeper reds. Those reds with with a little blue, black or purple undertone…
What I really love about my Maria Cosmetics lipstick is the velvety texture and that it stays for quite a big part of the day. It also helps that I know it was made just around the corner in the Cape 🙂
You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye. And I got that red lip, classic thing that you like.
Taylor Swift’s “Style”
I love International Friendship Day with My Little Pony! This year it is all about the original besties for kids… their parents.
I still have to pinch myself that I got so lucky to have 2 such beautiful girls. I get to play with them, buy them toys (that I secretly want for myself) and I get to be there to listen to their little whispers.
This Friendship Day plan some fun activities My Little Pony with your kids and share your #MLPFriendshipDay moments by tagging @MyLittlePonySouthAfrica on Facebook.
Just in time for International Friendship Day, My Little Pony is also introducing a new collectable range called the Cutie Mark Crew.
After school today we will open a Cutie Mark Crew Confetti Blind Pack and I’m so excited! The rumour is that there is an adorable 4cm figure inside and that it could be a pony, sea pony or Equestria Girl with accessory, collector card and storage case.
Tune in to see the confetti fly!
There are also Cutie Mark Crew playsets and these combine 2 confetti blind packs with 3 Cutie Mark Crew themed characters!
These are available at Toys R Us and Toy Kingdom Stores.
I promised I would be moving all factory shop content over onto this blog, so this is a start 🙂 When you visit the Erke or Atlas Factory Outlet in Cape Town you can expect a lot of discounted products.
One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
I love shells. I’m scared beyond words to pick them up from the beach because it might have an inhabitant that pops out unexpectedly – and I don’t want to see that!
While we were down in Ballito we went to Sage for breakfast and as per usual I browsed the little shops while dad and the eldest kid were in the park. That’s when I saw the most amazing piece of jewellery ever…
There it was, a choker with cowrie shells in sterling silver – and a matching ring. I had to have the ring immediately, but with my thin fingers it looked like I was playing with an adult’s jewellery. I left without buying a piece but couldn’t stop thinking about that ring and a few hours later, I was stalking the maker Miss D Jewellery on Instagram.
I inboxed her and met her the next day at the Ballito Pro to buy a cowrie shell ring. I walked away from the pop-up shop and placed an order for a pair of custom cowrie shell earrings. The night before delivery I message her to add a necklace with single pendant.
She met me in Salt Rock with a beautiful parcel – and I couldn’t wait to wear my new pieces. As she drove away I had the necklace on. By the time she exited the shopping centre the earrings were on me too. I couldn’t stop touching them – and I’ve mostly worn these pieces out in the last month.
I own other cowrie shell jewellery bought on Zanzibar and the Maldives – but this, I don’t know… It’s a little more special because I now know who the maker is; I can go back and add to my little collection; or even ask for a custom piece.
I love showing it off – and if you ask me for her details I’ll give it to you, because I want local makers to make it. I want everybody else to buy local too.
Shells are little magical things from the sea that wash up on the beach. Some are broken, some look new – and yet you can never be sure just how old they are. I love holding smooth shiny shells or the “crinkle cut” shells and gently running them between my fingers. It’s quite therapeutic when you sit and stare out over the ocean.
Every time I slip into the ocean, it’s like going home.
Sylvia Earle
I think there is a reason I am drawn to the sea and anything connected to it. It’s probably a reason I won’t ever speak about. I’m just thankful that I can carry something from it with me wherever I am.
Do I even dare say that I needed a day at the spa so badly that I considered not taking my eldest daughter – but did because, I’m a good person? Plus Revive Wellness Spa extended the invitation to both of us – as they now have a kiddies spa area too.
I love seeing Lexa experience new things – even if it is just to get her nails done or relax while I get a hot stone massage (and she takes photos with my phone). When she spots anything that resembles a nail file, I get my nails filed by the way…
This time I went for a skin analysis, Razul steam room treatment, hot stone massage and quick manicure/paint. I’m going to be honest, few places can hold up candle to Revive Wellness’ hot stone massages… they are simply the best thing since the invention of sliced bread.
The skin analysis confirmed my DNA test that I did with Optiphi (will still write about that next week). I did however buy a Nimue Vitamin C Moisture Mist as I’ve tried it before and with winter my skin has to stay healthy and hydrated.
Razul… this was my first time going into a steam room. It was a great room and I loved the warm steam – but I realised that smallish spaces which reminds me of a cave in a tropical location is not for me.
Plus then I spotted the colour, treatment and blow dry special for R650. Megan, the stylist have blowdried my hair twice and I thought I’d take the chance in the new salon – which is HUGE by the way! I phoned to make an appointment for the following week and this I actually paid out of my own pocket.
They always have a special popping up on their Facebook page, so like it and find a special that will take you to one of Jozi’s best spas.
When the calls and messages came through that night I went to a movie premiere I could never have predicted she wouldn’t go home again. I didn’t pack enough when I left for back home in the north. When I casually suggested to my husband to fly his mom in to help with the kids I didn’t know she’d be staying for a month.
We watched my mother go for weeks. We just sat there helpless while she hung on, fighting, trying to stay just a little longer.
Somewhere between day 1 and 7 she stopped sitting upright. She stopped talking. She stopped smiling. She just stopped being her.
Then between days 8 and 20 she got better and then worse, picked up more infections, got more transfusions and got smaller. Her face, my face looked different, pained, strained… not like our face.
We were in and out daily. All of us made turns to sit, hold her hand, tell stories of the kids/dinner last night/something funny we read/who phoned to enquire about her… day in and day out.
My life became watching Netflix in bed by 8 in a room half used as a storage place/entertainment room for my sister’s kids; walking through Mall of the North’s 2 levels for an hour or 2; sitting next to my mom’s bed; barely having an appetite and suppressing the tears that wanted to escape my eyes; my mind hovering between how I wish she’d wake up and tell me to stop planning her funeral and replaying every single moment I have had with her.
I chose her final vessel a week before she left and made all the plans so I could just press go when the time came. I chose the type of service, songs, who to thank, wrote the letters and existed in that moment of waiting to lose my mother. I had to be strong so my sister and dad had someone that could make this painful loss a little easier.
I came back to Jozi for the weekend – for 2.5 days. I was emotionally drained and just needed to see my kids and husband. That weekend I kept phoning to find out how she was. That Monday I woke up with a heavy chest. I struggled to breathe it was so heavy. I phoned again to find out if anything has changed and my dad said that I shouldn’t drive through, she was still the same. By 2.15 I phoned my husband while packing my car. I left home at 2.30 and got to the hospital at 5.30.
That night we sat there listening to the machines, her light breathing and we knew… this is the night we would say goodbye. We played musical chairs around her bed. The tears streamed down our faces. We didn’t care. We were there for the woman that was our rock our whole lives.
Her hands were so cold. Her blood pressure stayed low. Her breathing slowed until she took her last breath.
We waited while they came to take her away. We phoned the first people closest to her and us and the rest we messaged. Just after 11 we parked at my sister’s home knowing that tomorrow we have to start a whole new chapter without my mom.
I can’t even count the number of emails I get to ask about the fragrance sales in Johannesburg on a daily basis. I think there is about 30 emails in my inbox just about that – that I haven’t replied to yet.
So, about the usual Marlboro fragrance sale… I have no details yet. I have been to their outlet store at Woodmead Value Mart and was left less than impressed with the prices. I soon as I know, you’ll know.
Catch this Johannesburg Fragrance Sale from 1 to 2 August 2019 from 9 to 6 and 3 August from 9 to 3 at the Edenvale Bowling Club. They will also have watches at the sale.
Remember no handbags or prams, no return and only pay with debit/credit cards.
I love the North Coast! It is my other home. My parents brought us here after my matric year – and I’ve been back so many times since. Even crazier than that, my husband briefly went to school here and used to surf the waves down on Willards.
When we bought a place out here we never could’ve dreamt just how this place would become our little hideaway home. At first it buying a place here was so we didn’t have to check out early from a hotel then it became about bringing my cat, Genie. It also just happened to be the perfect place to wait for the births of our 2 daughters and finally now it is a place for our little family.
We feel like locals. We have our favourite spots like Burnedale, Sage and Litchi Orchard. We always eat bunnychows from the Sasol in Salt Rock, donuts from the new Checkers at Mt Richmore and go to Mica every single week we are here. We love the revamp of Ballito Lifestyle and the shiny new mall down the road. We still haven’t been to the Railroad Brewery down the road and we always say we want to visit more spots but somehow when we’re here we end up on the beach or the old familiar places.
The best thing about the Dolphin Coast… dolphin sightings duh!
I think I love Sage Centre a little more each time we go – even if Tsonga is no longer there. The little shops are stocked with South African made products – offering such temptations for my wallet. A huge plus of this place is the play park… that you can see from your table at Sage Cafe & Deli.
My favourite shop definitely is Willow and Ruby. Maybe I’m a little biased because they stock IY Apparel bags or maybe it’s the gorgeous jewellery…
We visit Burnedale during every stay. This place has one major attraction for kids that we love… the donkeys! Lexa loves spending time with them and then I get snap happy.
Burnedale is also home to Natural Living, one of my favourite shops. I won’t spoil it, but it’s something between treasure island and heaven when you’re in the shop.
Another not to be missed eatery that is family friendly is Burnedale Cafe but you can also pop into another little gem for a slice of cake and coffee called The Meeting Place.
