Blogger Secret Santa

Last year I took part in the Blogger's Secret Santa organised by Kelly from Sunflowers & Spears. This was the awesome, fun and thoughtful little package I got from my secret santa, Kerry from Guess What Girls! It's such fun to get surprise gifts in the post. She noticed my thing for cats, so it's all Hello Kitty stuff, haha! She knows I'm a freelancer, so the daily planner will come in handy, the little notebook is perfect for carrying around with me to doodle on the go, and there's a good supply of cute pencils there, too. Plus a batch of headbands in really nice colours! Thanks, Kerry! :D
Well done and thanks to Kelly for organising and co-ordinating the whole thing.

Happy New Year!

Happy new year, everyone! Feel like I haven't blogged in ages, and I know I have fallen behind a bit - life just gets overwhelming sometimes. Anyhoo, I hope you've all had a fantastic festive season and are feeling refreshed and amped to kick 2013's butt! If you're still on holiday, YAY and enjoy :)

I don't make resolutions as such, but I have written down a few goals that I'd like to accomplish this year. Trying to get more organised is very big on that list! I thought I didn't have much to share from the past year, but looking back on 2012 it feels like it was a very long year - so much happened that feels like it was much longer ago already. So this is going to be a pretty long post to make up for the lack at the end of last year!

My biggest and best moment in 2012 was most definitely leaving my job to go solo as a freelance illustrator and designer. I'm so grateful to be able to say that after 6 months of it, I'm surviving and not living in a box and eating cat food. I'm so happy and grateful that I got the opportunity to make that decision and so hugely grateful that it's going ok so far :)

I got to visit some animal places... I'm like a kid at animal farms. I've always wanted to be a vet and would still love to pursue something animal related someday soon. Also visited the SPCA many times; it breaks my heart and I almost always leave there a little teary, but it feels good to spend some time with the poor creatures and show them a bit of love and hope they have a good future in store. If only I could take them ALL home.

Some of the books I read... I have a thing for collecting pre-loved classics and have been slowly growing my collection. I really, really love old books. 

I won tickets to go to the Design Indaba simulcast! The speakers were fantastic and super inspiring, hope I get to go again this year. 

I also grew a few terrariums, which I loved. Gotta make me a few more this year. 

I really enjoyed all the quiet solo moments I got to spend in my favourite cafes, eating yummy food and brainstorming, doodling, reading or working. Those are some of my favourite moments and I'm so glad I get to spend a lot more time in these places these days.

Two of the nicest people I know got hitched this year (not to eachother, haha) and are both moving/have moved abroad(which is sad for me but awesome for them!). A very good friend of mine and all round awesome person who's moved to New Zealand for love, and my cousin who will be moving to France soon. I'm so happy for them both! That awesome paper crane was part of the decor at my friend's wedding, and three of them are now living in my car :) I got to see the Nelson Mandela monument when I went to her wedding in Hilton.

I was lucky enough to win tickets to the Top Gear Festival! It was out so awesome, and was so cool to see the guys live.

I got to have a few great mini getaways this year, not anywhere far away, but all awesome. I love nature and being outdoors and hope to get in lots of outdoor, naturey adventures this year. 

Loved the beautiful rainy weather we've had, and hope there's more of that instead of the stifling miserable heat! And I splashed out on some new gym-wear as my "bonus" :D

For the longest time I've been stuck in a not-creating rut where I guess I was just afraid to draw and experiment. I'm so glad I was able to overcome that and have gotten round to playing around with a few mediums I haven't used before and trying to push myself in different directions. Hope to do a lot more of that this year! Practice can do wonders.

 And of course the three gorgeous loves of my life! A perk of working from home is having them all perched nearby and being able to grab them for quick mid-work cuddles. (I know, I'm going deeper into Cat Lady Land, but it makes me happy, so I'm ok with that).

Shoh! What a bumper post. Overall just very grateful for the changes that have come about.
What was your biggest moment of 2012? I'd love to know, so please do share :)

Have your pretty flowers and eat them, too!

So my new favourite thing is edible flowers. Why is this not more popular? They make everything look amazing! I found some of this stuff ages ago, but it was winter so I thought I'd save it for now, and after the (excruciatingly hot) weather we've been having in Durban, they came to mind again so here they are for you to try out!

Flower popsicles are such a rad idea! The three pics below have a recipe/how-to to go with them, click pics for sources. 

Pretty floral ice cubes!

A scrumptious-looking floral salad.

Check out these guides to edible flowers here, here and here for more info on which flowers to use and how. 

How cool is this seed bomb kit? I want one of these, I'd be seed-bombing all over the place. 

I haven't tried any edible flower stuff yet myself, but I plan to do so soon. If you try it out do let me know how it goes and send pics!

Happy Holidays! And some cake bunting!

Yes, I'm still around! If you follow me on twitter, you'll have seen my rants about no internet and bad service, etc - I've had dead phone lines and no internet for two weeks, so that's why posts have been scarce. Thank goodness it's back today, so I had to do this post, even though I'm so tired I'm pretty much seeing double, haha! 

Ok so, most people are going on holiday soon, so I just wanted to say happy holidays! Even if you aren't going away or doing anything much, it's still great to have a few days to kick back and chill. Enjoy it! I plan on spending mine doing some crafting that I've had on my list for ages. If I do get round to it and they turn out ok, I'll share them with you here :)

In other news, I've been making some cake bunting! It's a fun addition to any cake and immediately turns it into a party vibe. If you'd like some, you can drop me a mail at happiness.is.info(at)gmail.com and let me know what you'd like, and I'll custom make them for you :)

What do you think of these?

JuMeLi and the best lemon meringue pie in Durban

This is another cool little restaurant for Durbanites! JuMeLi is a lovely little place on the corner of Bulwer and Clark Road in Glenwood. They have a really nice selection of cakes and sweet stuff as well as breakfasts and lunches, with a separate vegetarian section on the menu which was nice to see - I hate having to scour menus to pick out the vegetarian options. The interesting name comes from a combination of the names of the owner's three kids. They also have free wi-fi - awesome!

I'm a big fan of lemon meringue pie, and I can honestly say their's is one of the best I've ever tasted! Just thinking about it and looking at the pics are making me crave more. I definitely have to try their brownies on my next visit - they looked wicked.

Their outside seating area is a really fresh and comfortable space, while the interior is cosy and creatively decorated with an eclectic selection of artwork from various artists which is changed regularly. 

They're open from 7:30am to 4:00pm Monday to Friday, and 9:00am to 2:00pm on Saturdays.