Wonder

6:44 a.m. 

14.6 degrees "warm" today and a beautiful high tide swim...

Allow curiosity to lead you to wonder. 

Kommetjie / Daily Life

We are back from our break in the mountains and on Sunday it was a beautiful warm sunny winters day. When the sun shines  during the cape winters - everyone takes the opportunity to spend time outdoors - and soak up the much needed SUN!!  

We decided to catch the sunshine down at Kommetjie beach. There is a very easy walk from the beach all the way along the ocean to the Slangkop Lighthouse. The sandy path leads onto a boardwalk which leads you to views of the mountains, lighthouse and beautiful ocean views. 

We have been on this walk many times over the now 17 years we have been living here and it is still one of my favourite places to walk! 

The sky was so blue and clear that you could clearly see the back of Table mountain! So magical! 

I have always loved to sit and watch and listen to the waves! It really calms my soul and I feel so energised and refreshed. My dream is to live in a house overlooking the ocean!! 

  Surfers paradise! 

Paradise found! 

Soaking up the sunshine with my girls ....  before school starts and its back to the daily grind! 

"She smiled at the ocean because the waves told her story "  r.m.drake 

Sunset over Kommetjie -  5:57 pm   

C'est la Vie ....Life is Beautiful

Summer has finally arrived in Cape Town and I am so happy! I am a summer girl and a real "beach bum"! We went for a beautiful walk on my favourite beach - Kommetjie which is a few minutes drive from us. I have been walking here for 16 years now - since we moved to Cape Town from my home town Durban.  This is my second weimaraner - Troy. He will be 3 years old next week and he absolutley loves his runs with us on this beautiful beach.  BEACH - Best Escape Anyone Can Have! :) Its defintely my place of escape ! 

I am blessed to have my niece living in Cape Town too. Her and her husband live about 45 minutes away from us in Camps Bay - near Cape Town city centre, Waterfront and Table Mountain. We often visit her and I love spending time chatting and catching up with her. This is the beautiful view from her apartment of Lions Head. You also have a gorgeous view of the Camps Bay  beaches and out the back of her apartment there is a magnificent view of Table Mountain! 

We enjoy having a coffee and almond croissants at her local  coffee shop  - Baked! Best coffee and croissants ( almost  as good as Paris) 

This is the view from my running route. My run takes me along the Fish Hoek coastline and at this time of year you are almost certain to spot whales in this bay. 

 This little chap is a friends tortoise who happily lives in his garden. He has become so tame that he follows our friend into his house and he hand feeds him slices of apple and lettuce. He is just so cute! 

My granny blanket is finished! Just in time for - Summer! It is sitting proudly in my lounge waiting  for - Winter!! I am so happy with it and already have plans to start a new one but different design and colours.

I  have also started a hexagon blanket in these simple colours - white, grey and charcoal. It is a special baby blanket for my niece who is expecting her first baby early next year! So exciting! 

After many months of not cross stitching i am feeling inspired! I want to finish this cute little Country Cottage Needlework chart - "The Cafe". It reminds me so much of the lovely little cafes in Paris.

 I love Country Cottage Needlework charts and this one is special to me. I was trying to order this chart and it was not available as it was out of print!. I was reading blogs as I always do and somehow stumbled upon this very chart on a cross stitch blog! I emailed the lady asking if I could buy it from her? She immediately responded and said she loved the chart and did not want to sell it but amazingly found me a link to an online shop that had this chart. Carol and I have now become friends through our blogs and love of cross stitch! Her blog is absolutely beautiful and my source of inspiration - please take time to follow her and read her blog. http://stitchingdream.blogspot.co.za/ My goal for next year is to stitch small charts as I really don't have the time to stitch large work. Her small charts are beautifully stitched and sewn with pretty fabric and lace/ribbon. I love her Christmas ones! Thank you Carol for all your comments, emails and support as I start on my blog journey! 

 I couldnt resist this beautiful chart of Paris! I am getting the thread and fabric ready to start it this week. I think I might make it into a pillow with pretty fabric and lace?  

Have a wonderful week of crafting, art and stitching! C'est la Vie!

Shirley xx 

3,2,1... Paris!

I have been crocheting the last squares on my granny blanket and all 192 squares are now complete! I am now busy with the border which I hope to finish before I leave for ....Paris! Yes! I fly to Paris on Thursday!! 

I am so excited and busy packing for my dream  adventure! My husband and I are flying to Paris in 3 days!! It has been a dream of mine to travel to Paris! We celebrate 21 years of marriage this month and what an adventure just the two of us are going to have! We are spending a few days in Paris and then we take the train to Provence in the French countryside. We then hire a car and drive through the little towns and make our way down to the coast! I will be away for 2 weeks but when I am back I will post all the pictures of our Paris adventures!

 The beautiful whales are here and we spotted them near Glencairn and watched as they played in the ocean.

It was another beautiful spring day so we took the opportunity to walk on the boardwalk to the Kommetjie lighthouse. All the spring daisies are flowering and it is so pretty.

We decided to spend Sunday together at Kirstenbosch Gardens. We took an picnic lunch and found a shady spot under the trees as it was such a hot spring day! 

 

 The spring flowers are absolutely beautiful and we had such a fun relaxing time together with the girls before my husband and I fly off to France this week! 

 

I surprised my girls with a gift before I leave! I bought each of them a fish eye lens which they can  attach to their phones. They had great fun taking pictures at sunset on Kommetjie beach last night.

 

What adventures are you planning? Where do you dream of travelling to? 

Shirley xx

The sweetest things ...

This is a pattern that is really easy and really fun and relaxing to crochet! I chose lovely "Vanilla",  "Ocean" blue and "Adventurine " blue yarn from Eco - Cotton. 

The circles of blues and cream are just so pretty and remind me so much of waves and my beloved ocean! So calm and peaceful.

It has been a busy week but I managed to sneak in some quick walks on Kommetjie beach. We can just feel summer is on its way! Its such a great feeling! 

 My happy place where I can breathe and relax and soak up the loveliness of this beautiful beach!

Spring is here and the cutest little flowers are popping up everywhere. I took a walk on the Noordhoek common which is bursting with these tiny little flowers!  

Living near this beautiful ocean is our treasure! I leave you with this beautiful quote that a friend shared this week 

 - 

"The best things in life are nearest. Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the starts, but do lifes plain, common work as it comes , certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life."

- Robert Louis Stevenson

Have a wonderful weekend of creating and loving the sweetest things in life!

Shirley xx 

Walking ...

Saint Augustine said, "Solvitur Ambulando" - "It is solved by walking." I have always loved getting out and going for a walk. I really don't have any problems I need solving but the pure joy of walking refreshes my soul. It is a time to take  a breath and "just be". I live in the most beautiful city in South Africa! Cape Town is truly magical. 

The winter weather this year has been amazing. We had warm sunshine days this week where I took the opportunity to take my girls and their friends who are visiting from Canada to beautiful Simonstown. We first stopped off at our favourite ice cream parlour! 

We then set off for a short walk to the pier to soak up the sun and look for whales. Whale season has started but although we didn't see any whales we spotted a seal. They are always fun to watch.

The little sailing boats look so magical and dreamy. 

We then took a walk to the little town and went into one of my favourite coffee and decor shops - The Meeting Place. 

I just love these bright pink chairs and tables. 

 One of my favourite signs.

We also went to my favourite beach - Kommetjie. Amazing weather for winter!

Paradise found. I dream of living in a house here on this beach. 

As part of my gym routine my personal trainer has me walking a few kilometres every week. This walk along the ocean from Glencairn to Simonstown is absolutely stunning. The colour of the water is so gorgeous. 

This week I feasted on - walking!

 If you get an opportunity - go take a walk and just breathe. 

Happy weekend xx