THE HILLS ARE ALIVE...

So lately I have been pounding a fair amount of pavement, the Knysna Half is finally upon us and I am as chuffed as all hell to get on down there and frolick my way through the forest with all the other smug endorphin chasers. When it comes to running I am pretty much completely and utterly beyond obsessed all the way addicted.  Some people dig yoga, others are into collecting weird stamps or funny shaped pebbles but I am all the way into running.  The cool thing about it is that all you really need is a pair of trainers and Bobs your uncle. But then again here at DC we are not into bare necessities (unless of course its the song, I am very much into Balu, I dig his swagger)  I mean come on, running is pretty fab and all but add some Foo fighters to the mix and suddenly you feel like someone is making a movie of your life and you are cruising down the road all hair blowing in the wind and you feel like the bees knees. The problem with this whole sound track fantasy thing is that the way in which you transport the Foo's from your iPod into your ear holes can either make or break it. Over the last year, I have run my way through a whole pay cheques worth of earphones, and I have finally rustled together my top three.

Opening the batting are your general In ear head phones, you know the ones, they literally are jammed into your ears making it sound like Taylor Hawkins Is rat a tat tatting on your ear drums. These guys are rad however my only worry is the fact that they are funneling all that sound straight into your head which can't be very good for those funny little hairs or that stirrup thingy. They are however really good for super cold days when the wind is whipping around your head and your ears are aching from the cold.

Next up are the Adidas PMX 680i Sports. These nifty earphones are designed specifically for sports nuts and I specifically enjoy the fact that they are both rain and sweat proof, something that has caused the death of many an ear phone in my house.  One set back however is the fact that they are not at all adjustable, so, for gals like me with small noggins the whole earphones staying on your head while you run thing can be quite irritating. 

I have decided to leave my absolute all time favorites till last. Ladies and gentlemen may I present to you, The Whip, made by Nixon and loved dearly by me every day. The Nixons are sleek and sexy, they come in a range of sweet colours from all black and sleek for ninja's to robot red or ultra violet for loud mouths like me. They are made from super light silicone and polyurethane making you feel like Mr Grohl is just trotting along side you singing sweet nothings into your ear. These bad boys are the bomb.

10 THINGS WITH ELEPHANTSHOE PAPERIE

It is no secret, I have a total and utter obsession with stationery, in fact, when I met the Bird he told me that his mom owned a stationery and Scrapbooking shop, I'm not going to lie - that little nugget was pretty much what sealed the deal for me! Another thing I am a little obsessed with is wedding design, I spend a lot of company time stalking happy brides on every and any wedding site the web has to offer. My lovely friend Sam has kindly taken my two obsessions and married them, creating an utterly gorgeous bespoke wedding stationery design company that will make you want to renew your vows annually. Elephantshoe PAPERIE also offers a range of other wedding services from insane treat tables to styling the works. I hope you enjoy Sams little interview and enjoy her stunning piccies. Go and perve her website here.

1. Describe yourself in 10 words
Perfectionist with a sweet tooth and love for pretty things.

2. If you were an elephant, exactly what kind of shoe would you wear?
Oh gosh, I would definitely have a closet full of them but I guess as an elephant a pair of Country Road  thigh high boots would be my pick to cover up my wrinkly knees.

Take a look at this cute pic that Blackframe photography sent me of some Elephant fashion.

via Jodilee Sandler

3. What is your favorite project elephant shoe has been involved in so far?
To date, our project in collaboration with Blackframe photography titled, a Royal Affair has been my favorite. It involved the key aspects that I love, designing and styling and I really enjoyed working with the talented Andre and Maritsa. It all just came together plus it was featured on the pretty blog. We had so much feedback on our blogs and loads of people downloaded the free DIY stationery goodies to host their own tea parties to celebrate the wedding of Kate Middleton to Prince William.

4.  What are the current trends in the wedding stationery business?
The use of bold and alluring typography alongside playful and fun designs that reflect the story of the couple to be wed. There is also a shift towards anything that is vintage with a touch of country providing it is combined together to still feel modern and relevant.

5. When you were a kid, what did your dream wedding look like?
Strangely, I never really thought about my wedding as a child, I always dreamt about who the man would be that I would marry. My best friend Amy and I used to talk for hours about who our future husbands may be.

6. What are your top 5 places to visit when you need a good drenching of inspiration?
1.I love to look through old magazines, a splash of colour, a bold word or anything I find in there can give me inspiration.
2. The world of blogs.
3. Folders upon folders on my macbook where I have kept images I love over the years.
4. Bookshops, (that way I get to grab a café latte to aid in the inspiration process).
5. www.pinterest.com

7. Whats the mushiest thing you have ever done in the name of love.
Last year before James and I were married, I went on a ski trip to Austria for two weeks. I left James with 2 boxes of 14 envelopes, each containing a love note for every day that I was away. Some of the envelopes had little treats in them, like chocolate, sweeties and even some money for James to grab a coffee on a lonely day.

8. The top 5 items on my wish list are:
1. an old but working letterpress machine (they are few and far between & difficult to find in South Africa).
2. an antique, wooden map drawer to keep all of my paper safe and happy.
3. a grey coat from Trenery.
4. a set of Pantone mugs
5. a grey, long v-neck jersey from Country Road

9. 10 words of advice you can give to someone on their wedding day....
Kick off your shoes, celebrate with your husband and guests.

10. What is your current favorite colour combination
I am in love with grey, all shades of it - gunmetal & charcoal grey, dove grey, putty grey, slate grey. You name it, I like it. I find it is classy, understated and down to earth. I recently said to my husband that he is lucky I haven't painted him grey yet. Even my cats is grey, her name is Mushroom.

Feast your eyeballs, Crush 9

And it's a juicy one, word of advice though, don't read this baby if you have a boring lunch, the recipes in here are ridiculous. Go get subscribed here.

A TRIP TO DEEP DARK AFRICA

So this morning I took a little trip to the heart of Deepdarkafrica, I casually sauntered around the gorgeous smorgasbord of local artisans, designers & crafters gathering more and more pride and awe at the intense creative talent that the people of my continent posses, while my credit card gathered flames in my pocket. Do you know what the coolest part was? the fact that I got to explore the creative spark of africa without even leaving my seat. South African fashion & decor stylist and author of the super rad blog JUSTcos, Alexia Kondylis has launched this quirky little online store that aims to 'showcase this creative talent to a wider contemporary market & make it accessible to all whilst at the same time bridging the gap between established African artists and those without access to a greater market.' This chic has a serious eye for everything beautiful, these are some of my favorites...

 

Please go and support Deepdarkafrica here, check out the blog here and get your twitter on here .

SASKO SURPRISE

So the other day I popped on down to my post box, I opened the bad boy up and rummaged through my usual bills bills bills, read up on pamphlets filling me in on the latest Penis enlargement potions from my local Sangoma, you know the usual. I was not expecting anything rad. Then a sweet little slip fell out the pile, you know the one, its that little darling with a not that says - hello lucky person! you have a ginormous and wildly exciting surprise waiting for you at the Post office! Is just so ginormous and wonderful that we can't fit in in your post box or in our delivery truck so please come on down and pick it up!

I wasted no time, grabbed the keys and headed straight for the Post Office. This is what greeted me- so much of cool.

The clever sausages over at Saatchi and Saatchi designed this gorge recipe book for Sasko, filled it with amazing illustration and design and really lovely recipes including everything from Koeksisters to Melktert. I cannot wait to whip me up some South African morsels:) 

How stunning is this cover? It totally makes me want to get my desperate housewife on. Its so lovely to see a brand doing sexy stuff- but then again I would expect nothing less form Saatchi.

Each recipe is accompanied by a stunning, simple piccie. Koeksisters, I always thought they were mad complicated to make, it turns out I have been pretty much wrong forever, cant wait to make some of these babies.

Hello Sailor

Absolutely inLOVE with these gorge skirts by Anne Cramer, anyone coming from America any time soon, feel free to bring me stripey skirt shaped prezzies:)