Weekend Learning's

And I am grateful.

Hello world! It is me! Yes I have been MIA for a while. I have to be honest I have missed you. There is something that comes over me when I do not have direction in my life. Since I was a tiny tot I have planned out every step in my life… to the year, not to the day, I am not that much of a perfectionist. But if something changes or goes a little off I have never really been too bothered as I strongly believe that there is a bigger plan for each of us, that everything happens for a reason and that no matter what - everything will work out in the end. But when the road so heavily veers off the path I thought I was sticking to for so long… a speed wobble can really throw a girl a curve ball and sticking to the straight and narrow tightrope of life becomes a little more difficult than I thought.You'd never notice though, I’m known to always keep a cool head. But that my friend is why I have been avoiding you. So sorry, so sorry indeed! Here are some very belated weekend learnings;

• Being lost in your own life can sometime help you find the path you always knew you were meant to take.
• I know a little about art. I did it at school and at university and I pride myself in the fact that I use my ‘skills’ in my profession. This weekend I did an art class at the divine Sharon Sampson Studio’s with my better half. Do you even know what fun it was? I cannot recall the last time I played so nicely and felt so creative. Yes it was definitely the inspiration of learning a new skills but also being encouraged by a partner who both inspires me and encourages me and loves me no matter what I do… (even if it is drawing an obscure looking primate)… I am so lucky… it was most definitely the best part of my weekend. 
• “Love is fuel for the soul”
• On that note, I am truly in love with the people in my life at the moment. It is so gratifying when the people in your life are pure and honest and the friendships are real, the love is genuine and the time is treasured. What bliss!
• We are not strangers if we like the same bands.
• I cannot begin to express the joy that Spring brings me! Shorts and skin, sandals and sexy bodies, AH, the joy of it all! No more hibernation for Coco…
• “Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Be curious.” - Stephen Hawking
• I really love my Jawbone. Not the one attached to my skull, the one on my wrist. A wearable, yes. A fitness, food and sleep monitoring stylish bangle which helps you record your life. You do not even know how addictive it is! But I do however find that it has helped me a little with my migraine monitoring as well, you should give it a go…
• "Live for the moments you can’t put into words”
• When was the last time you went to Cnr Café? We are so quick to jump to the next best restaurant only to be disappointed by their teething problems or mediocre issues. I was so excited to both hear from them via Twitter and go for dinner and thereafter be reminded of how much I enjoy them. Service, food, everything – impeccable, delicious!

I hope you have a blooming week my little blossoms…

xoxo

PS. “And his feet danced to the beat of her heart” - Louise Erskine

Everyday, no matter what.

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Weekend Learning's

Hot. It was hot this weekend! And I loved it. Johannesburg often skips spring and burst into flames with summer. It was 30 degrees on Sunday. And I know it is summer when I sit in the shade in the park with my guy and get a little pink on my shoulders. I don't burn, this is my skin blushing me into knowing she's been kissed for the first time this summer, devilish! This is what else I learned;

• I hate knowing this is the last weekend of my September learning's which will have the memory of my boyfriend in them… especially since it's our anni month. Hurry home darling, October, come quickly please.
• "Some people look for a beautiful place, others make a place beautiful." - Hazrat Inayat Khan. 
• Yom Kippur also known as Day of Atonement, it is the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Although I don't yet fully understand this day, I highly respect my strong boyfriend and his family for doing this fast! 25 hours of no sustenance, impressive and humbling. Maybe next year when I know more, I can try do it too.
• "No one has ever made himself great by showing how small someone else is." - Irvin Himmel
• The Fishermans Deli in Dunkeld is still the best place in Jozi to get both fresh and frozen vissies. The crowds prove this.
• On that note, my boyfriend, yes- MY boyfriend, is an amazing Salmon chef. Next time, I am going to insist on double! Delicious… the chef... and the salmon… *wink!
• "You don't have to be born beautiful to be wildly attractive." - Diana Vreeland
• I am a memory keeper. I often know, to the day, what happened a year ago. This is a personal human trait I cherish. This particular weekend a year ago was the beginning of the rest of my life, the happiest weekend. Fate has a funny way of working out for the best.  
• "There will be dozens of people who will take your breath away but the one who reminds you to breathe is the one your should keep." - Unknown 
• Fika (v.) drinking coffee along with eating something sweet. I do this a lot… I fika?
• “We’re not the same person we were a year ago, a month ago, or a week ago. We’re constantly changing. Experiences don’t stop. That’s life” - Unknown 

Keep busy and pretty out there my little moon drops! Thanks for reading!

Xoxo

PS. People with good intentions make promises, but people with good character keep them. 

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Weekend Learning's

Spring, the anniversary of my tattoos, sun tans and a lingering touch, my love.

Spring has (finally) sprung. The birds are chirping, the flowers are blossoming, the bees are buzzing, there is darkness. Being a victim of the power 'sabotage', they are calling it now, had a bad affect on me. I realized many things about myself during this black time. It also affected my mood, my ability to work, and of course my tear ducts. Apart from not being able to shower twice a day, I couldn't drink smoothies, and I couldn't do simple daily tasks we take for granted like trying to set the morning alarm on my dead cellphone and doing my makeup in a darkroom… hello panda. This is what else I learned; 

• I shower twice a day, if I can't I get upset. Beware. 
• “Be the one who nurtures and builds. Be the one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them.” - Marvin J. Ashton
• I am grateful that I have someone in my life, who when I need somewhere to live, offers me a house. This is rare and I love it! My second home.
• “Your heart can take you places your mind can’t fit” - Todd White
• I like the prospect of knowing that even when everything goes wrong, and I mean everything, the day still ends with a smile and you.
• “People do not seem to realise that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Those little fragrant prawn pots from Woolworths are love by me and my tum. Just delicious! 
• It's a great thing when everyone is dressed the same, in this case Sensation White, and you just don't really bump into anyone you don't want to see, blissfully unaware and masked by the blanked of uniforms.
• “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” - Oscar Wilde
• I am obsessed with the love of two tiny peke's. Pekingese, for those who are confused. There is nothing sweeter than the love of a furry angel. Happy first birthday to my little Basil too, you fill my life with happiness and heart-shaped doggie biscuits and I wouldn't want it any other way! 
• "When you have loved as she has loved, you grow old beautifully." - W. Somerset Maugham
• It is not always about the nights out and the days in the public eye. It is actually simply about how my heart swells and wells up with love, just lying or sitting looking oh so sleepy - doing nothing - watching series, you're eating a grapefruit, me? Who cares. Being happy, falling in love for the 50th Sunday in a row. Again please? Again.
• “Be present in all things and thankful for all things.” - Maya Angelou. I strongly believe in this, for if you are not present, those around you can feel it and the moment is lost. 

Sorry this is such a late learning's my daring's, two working days in pretty Franshhoek delayed this. Happy plodding puddings!

Xoxo

PS. What will you leave behind? Life is short, make sure the people you leave feel love. 

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Weekend Learning's

It was a cold front weekend, a Mad Hatter's weekend, my besties birthday weekend. It was fun. This is what I learned;

• No matter how good it feels, if you work over eleven hours on a Friday, it totally screws with your weekend plans. Dammit. 
• There comes a point in your life when you realize who matters, who never did, who won't anymore, and you always will. And in the end you learn who is fake, who is true and who would risk it all for you. 
• Midori in Sandton is a lovely Spa where you can get your hair and nails done. They're so Hi-Tec they have iPads at every corner showing products and offerings and so chic they serve their Nespresso cappuccinos in Le Creuset mugs, divine.
• I may have been the Queen of Hearts at the Mad Hatters Tea Party on Saturday but the truth is in my heart of hearts I only want to be one girl in one specific heart forevermore.
• "Every experience, no matter how bad it seems, holds within it a blessing of some kind. The goal is to find it." - Buddah.
• Something that puts a smile on my face? After receiving a rose bush for my birthday and going away on holiday it almost died because I did not look after this poor living thing! Since being home I have been pruning, caring, cleaning and of course watering the little bundle. As thanks in the last few days she gave me two little cerise flowers. Lush with petals and a deep yellow blooming center, it was almost like a confirmation that with the care and effort one puts into life, small gifts, but oh so lush and deep with meaning, will be returned. Metaphor or not, I feel blessed! 
• "Some people are old at 18 and some are young at 90… time is a concept that humans created." - Yoko Ono
• Celebrating spring day with my colleges was stunning. Yes I work hard but I am so lucky to love my job and adore the people I work with. Not many people I know can call their business their second family, I do.
• “I always find myself caught between saying too much and not saying enough” - unknown

It is officially spring! Go blossom! 

Xoxo

PS. "You are the moon of my life. Guide me home." - Tyler Knott Gregson

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Weekend Learning's

Strawberry kisses, can brighten any winters grey day to red.

I have to be honest I've been struggling to start this Learning's since yesterday. It might be the camel load of work I have on my back or the slow realization that I am beginning to loath the cold… either or I need a little jump in Coco's life. Both are shackling me to the inners of my cottage and driving me to dagger these Winter days. This is what I learned;

• Spring, make haste! For Coco cannot dwell much longer in the refinement of her own home!
• "There is always a lovely way to look at things, you know? Like the days we spend apart are as beautiful and essential as the spaces between the stars." - Christopher Poindexter
• So we all know my smoothie obsession. Well this weekend I did the strawberry thingy. When you freeze fresh strawberries and then thaw them, even if they're not great or they're almost at their sell by date, they thaw really sweet and soft. This is amazing for a smoothie! Do it, try it, love it, sip it, yum it… mmm yes...
• Moyo, still one of the better tourist, African attractions. Why did we not get our hands washed, blessing prayer and face painted… I would like to know? Meh.
• I am a little obsessed with Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate. I bought it oversea's and was over the (midnight) moon when I found out there is a store in Sandton City which stocks all their divine New York products! Expensive, YES, worth it, definitely. They've been in business for 160 years, they've got to know something!
• "I've loved you so long I can't remember what it was like before and I don't want to know what it will be like without you."
• I have noticed, being someone who eats a lot of lunches out, that champagne seems to be the drink of choice these days. "Is it a trend?" I ask. Personally a cheap glass of bubbles would do nothing more to me than ensure an afternoon migraine… but over this weekend I noticed four separate occasions of this, three women, one man. Peculiar no? 
• Surprise parties, the best thing about them? Waiting for the birthday girl, standing in the dark, holding each other, sneaking a kiss… or fifty. ^_^
• I can't wait for the first summer rain… 
• “Before I die, I want to be somebody’s favorite hiding place, the place they can put everything they know they need to survive, every secret, every solitude, every nervous prayer, and be absolutely certain I will keep it safe. I will keep it safe.” - Andrea Gibson 

Have a beautiful week tiny flowers, it's almost time to blossom! 

xoxo

PS. "I have found the one in whom my soul delights." - Song of Solomon

Oh, Maya, how do you speak the words
my heart does not know how to say?

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Weekend Learning's

Lights, feathers, frolic... loving life!

Right. I've turned over yet another new leaf. I know I know. I think this year I have literally grown a new forest of multicoloured dreams, desires and wishes. I often go back and reread old Weekend Learning's for shits and giggles. Who is that sad lonely Coco I was once? Shame! Poor girl let so many people walk all over her. Poor weak creamy doormat. Lets be strong trees of hope together? This is what I learned;

• Best friends are those you don't have to see everyday. Bumping into them and picking up where you left off like you see them before lunch, that’s rare and special, Ninglee we got it yo, big smiles!
• "The worst mistake you can make is walking away from the person who actually stood there and waited for you." - Drake.
• SPRING DAY IS TATTOO DAY! Yes Coco finally got inked. Addiction is inevitable.
• On that note, "if you wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down." Toni Morrison. Light as a feather people, light as a feather.
• Birthday weekends for the bestie are beautiful. Happiness is knowing that you've found that perfect friend and you'll always walk in the sunshine.
• Little Dragon has, and will probably always be my favourite band. I can play them on repeat and never get sick of them. Also only Yukimi Nagano (the lead singer) can perform in a sunhat, dark round glasses and a poncho and dance like a mad possessed willow and totally make the crowd go nuts. Also I would never climb a wall and jump on the railing of a window like a monkey and almost break my arm to get a better view for ANY other band. Yes I did that for you Little Dragon, BEST concert! Wow!
• Sometimes quiet people really do have a lot to say, they're just being careful about who they open up to.
• A smart guy and I came to the realization this week that "you grow everyday and those who love you will grow with you and those who don't will lag behind." I'm okay with leaving people behind if they're too primitive to grow with me.
• Throbbing Strawberry still has the most accommodating staff! Thanks guys for adding on not one, not two, but FIVE tables for our growing party. Such great service as well! Amazing!
• "What I hate is ignorance, smallness of imagination, the eye that sees no farther than its own lashes. All things are possible. Who you are is limited only by who you think you are." Egyptian Book of the Dead.
• I can't dance alone without you.

Have a carefree and special week little seeds, grow into something strong and proud for the weekend.

Xoxo

PS. He offered me the world… no thanks I have my own, and it is fucking wonderful. 

So sad I'm not privy to your constant bitch sessions… not!
Relief! Eat a cupcake for crying in a bucket and SMILE!

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Spring Fling

I like you Spring, I really like you.

It’s spring time in Jozi. Kind of feels more like summer. But there are a couple things that I’m finding around that are great spring items.

My Aldo Trules. Wedges perfect for smart summery lunches. They’re cool yet casual, and a little person like me can always use some height.
My Cellini Coral bag. She’s almost pink. She reminds me of sea coral, blue water and white beaches. And its called a Cruze, kiff, haha.
Calvin Klein Euphoria. Sweet and flowery this summer scent is perfect for day or night. Its great because its not too sweet so it doesn’t attract bees!
Trinket brooches. What could be sweeter than wearing an apple in spring!
Little Dragon. Swedish electronic band with lyrics and tunes which blow my days away, sweet sweet bop music.
Reading my book in the sun. This doesn’t need a description.
Stripey stuff. I like to be a little sailor in summer...
Heritage day, national braai day the smell of a braai... Mmm summer. Chop please.

Happy weekend feathers!

Xoxo

PS. “Now something’s missing from my memory of … you
You shake my world from my ground to my head.” - Little Dragon

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Weekend Learning's

This is pretty no?

A weekend spent with loved ones puts anyone in a good mood. Not to say my miz has lifted completely. I just think the prospect on going back to Cape Town in a month is the reason I am so happy. Almost Cape Town again for the Loeries, cannot wait. This is what I discovered;

• Friday office farewells can get messy especially when you finish all your work before lunch. Over achiever FTW.
• Ami is still a wonderful place. Dinner with the boys, black and white films and Prawn Soup, good times.
• Having an early night on a Friday results in a wonderful lengthy weekend.
• Summer is on the way, I turned off my under floor heating and did not even miss it.
• Woolies organic low fat strawberry flavoured drinking yoghurt should be president, it is that delicious.
• You know you spend a lot of time with someone when you arrive at HAND (my hairdresser) and you’re both in black, denim and yellow...
• My little godchild turned 2 this weekend, pink fluffy chairs are the best gifts, when you’re 2, the bigger the gift the better.
• Rolling around on the grass talking about nothing and sun soaking is heaven.
• It scares me when people my age talk about how all they want to do is get married and be pregnant... Life is so short why spend the few years you have alone wishing for baggage?
• To live a creative life we must loose our fear of being wrong.
• Sundays in spring should be spent abusing the power of doing nothing and sniffing the blossoms in my bikini with puppy.
• I kind of love geek jewellery... It must be the designer dork in me.
• Soy Lites candles are for burning AND for massaging. Baby Love is the one I have which produces coconut oil to massage, its delicious. Get them here at HAND.
• Going to a special friends 30th Birthday makes me aware of three things; I am almost 30, black and white is still a classic theme and I too share wonderful priceless friends who I love. Happy Birthday Dean.

xoxo

P.S. Nothing hurts more than being disappointed by the single person you thought would never hurt you... Then I saw Masterchef was on and got over it.

Life moto...

 

Leave a Comment Ami, birthday, quote, spring, weekend

Fashion Forward Friday

It's the first Friday of spring! 

Have you ever worn shoes with flowers on them? 

Since we spend most of our lives looking at the floor as we walk, why not have something pretty to look at? 

I hope you do not have anything in your shoe but i just love this quote... 

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.  -Doug Larson 

Happy Spring weekend!

xoxo

PS. Ladies do not forget those pedi's!

Leave a Comment fashion, flowers, shoes, spring

Petals & Popsicles

Spring

grass

blossom

flower

lamb

happy

sunny

green

colour
petal
pastel
bright
glow

jump

laugh

pollen

sunnies

shorts

sandles

bikini

hats
maxi dress

smiles

swim

splash
freezo
ice-cream
fruit salad
berries
popsicles
beach

xoxo

PS. open your windows!

Leave a Comment spring