The Burlesque Cafe

A few months ago I spent a weekend on the KZN south coast, one of my favourite holiday places nearby. We've been going there ever since I was little, and it just never gets old for me, it's lovely down there. Nothing big or amazing going on, but the beaches are awesome, the vegetation is beautiful and it's pretty quiet during off-peak seasons. So I finally got round to sorting some of the pics of stuff I'd like to share with you, and this is the first. 

The Burlesque Cafe is a fun little place in Ramsgate with a full Burlesque theme in the decor as well as the food, which is beautifully presented. 

Unfortunately our visit was a pretty quick one coz we had a booking at the next place we visited, which  I'll show you next time.

"We could not resist transforming this 1930′s site into a Cafe! Being a collector of art and antiques as well as living in Ramsgate it made good sense that we should base ourselves in the village that we love so much. Our travels abroad always kept pulling us towards Italy and France and the food we serve conjures up the smells of our favorite seaside villages that we love to frequent abroad."

Right next door is an absolute treasure trove of an antique shop, piled with precious stuff! Maybe it's a good thing we didn't have much time, else I may have gotten lost in there for days. There was even a  newspaper from the 1800s! 200 years old! Can you even imagine that? People from 200 years ago touched and read and created that newspaper! I just love antique stuff so much.

More info on The Burlesque Cafe here.

The Power of Quiet and Introverts

I came across this article and video the other day and the topic really resonated with me - it's about the importance of introverts in society, and how most things tend to favour and cater for extroverts. Whichever side you fall on, it's an interesting topic, and if you don't care for the topic, it's illustrated beautifully by Molly Crabapple and worth a watch for that reason alone...


Being the type of person who's very much more introvert than extrovert, I could really relate to it and it mentioned a lot of what I've always thought.

"There’s zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas."

If you are interested in the topic, here's the full TED talk by Susan Cain...

Just roll with it...

This week is turning out to be one of those where nothing runs according to schedule! Just trying to roll with it, but blog posts have also been getting rolled over a bit - sorry! Hopefully more regular blogging will resume next week :) Have got so much stuff to share, just gotta find some time to prepare the pics!

Here's some of what's been keeping me busy:

• A wedding invitation for a lovely lady

• Some logo design

• Trying to squeeze in time to put my personal projects into action

• Lots of "research" (see: hours lost down the rabbit hole of the interwebz having my mind blown by awesome stuff! Here lies a lot of the problem :P Less inspiration, more creation!)

What do you think of my cursive watercolour "F"?

Have you met Pusheen the Cat?

Yes, that is in fact little Pusheen dancing Gangnam Style. This is an oldie but a goodie, and will bring you hours of entertainment and joy and cheery-up-ness. All the images on the site are animated gifs of this super cute little guy doing stuff! 

Go to the site to see the above stuff animated! :)

Happiness is... on Facebook... and Etsy!

So I have some news to share with you... But first I wanna say a massive thank you to all those who took the time to comment or mail me after the last post with kind words or advice - it was really so appreciated and helped me feel better, and made up for the other people who disappointed me in the first place. You guys are awesome! This happy little bear doodle is for you all :)

Next up, I finally succumbed and got myself a Facebook page. I'll share all the cool little stuff I find in between that's not quite post-worthy, plus share blog posts and stuff so it's more accessible and convenient for you :) You can go and like it if you like it, hehe.

And lastly, I'm also on Etsy now! Totally taking over the interwebz. Much thanks to the lovely Yusrah from Guard the Vintage for her tips and encouragement and all-round friendliness. Check out the shop here. I plan to add lots of new stuff to it soon.

Getting over the not-so-good times..

So the past week unfortunately hasn't been a very happy one, hence the lack of posts. Just having a bit of an emotional rough time and trying to deal with some facts about what people are like... Bit vague and lame-sounding, I know, but I'd rather not go into details on that and move onto improving this moody moodness! So I've dug around and found some shots I've taken the past few weeks that made me happy and grateful...

Something that always calms and relaxes me is spending some time with my cats. I love watching them sleep, too, as weird as that may sound. This guy above sprawls on my bed like this all day looking like he's having the most delicious sleep ever while I'm trying to work, so I have to exercise some massive willpower muscle to not join him!

I'm so happy and grateful that I can now work from home or cool places like the ones above - it's so nice to be able to move around and spend time in inspiring surroundings with yummy food and good coffee while being productive :)

Paid a visit to the local funfair for the first time in too many years, and had a blast! Can't last that many rides without feeling sick anymore, but it was awesome!

This was the yummiest quiche I've ever had, so far! They said it was roast veg, but all I could see in it was broccoli, which was totally fine by me, veggy lover that I am. It was suuuper yum, from the Arts Cafe. I also love their Spanish coffee, which is served in a small glass and contains cinnamon and orange rind. Didn't get a pic of that or a better pic of the quiche coz it all disappeared so fast!

These are snaps from a quick visit to the beach on a beautiful day. The waves washing over my skin is such a wonderful feeling! Was just a pity I didn't have time for a full swim that day. 

What little things have been making you happy lately?

Cats Let Nothing Darken Their Roar

First of all how awesome is that title? So awesome that I don't feel I need to say anything more in this post apart from I love these calendars and their title and their nonsensical phrases. 

"The 'Cats Let Nothing Darken Their Roar' calendar, created by Noa Bembibre, was first presented in the fall of 2005 and it introduced twelve phrases that hid the name of each month within."

The Personified and Illustrated Periodic Table of Elements

Well this woulda made science way cooler back in school! Japanese artist, Bunpei Yorifuji, personified and illustrated the entire Periodic Table of Elements transforming their properties into superpowers and character traits. How awesome.

5 x i love... Clever & Awesome Products!

1  •  clever, fun and cool educational kids toys from Russia
2  •  the best measuring cups ever!
3  •  the cutest little teabag I ever did see
4  •  an awesome DIY!
5  •  beautiful and clever milk carton style printed ceramics