in lieu of a These Things today i thought i’d do a bit of a Stuff Lately catch up. you can follow me on Instagram if you like. don’t fret, These Things will be back on monday. have a great weekend, everybody.
my desk was featured on Dwell this week – i’ll be making a small appearance in their September issue, have a look out for it!
been filling the house with flowers and plants…
taking road trips with Anton’s GTO (her name is Charlene)
enjoying capturing bits and pieces of Cape Town:
and taking walks on the promenade, which is just a block away from our flat:
some new acquisitions, type mugs & my wedding shoes (8 weeks tomorrow!)
this is what’s been happening offline lately! if you follow me on twitter and instagram you’ll probably be up to speed.
i moved out of my old home…
…into a wonderful new home!
luckily for me there is a plant shop right across the road from said new home
i’ve been making new friends. actually, not with the fearsome little guy on the left – even though i desperately wanted to. but i did make friends with a neighbourhood cat, who i might lure inside someday and never let go.
i visited Jess & Luke at their pop-up restaurant at Pier Rabe in Stellenbosch. that’s a fig and custard danish with lavender and honeycomb ice-cream. there was actual honeycomb inside.
they do wonderful displays to entice you to part with your cash.
always appreciating the glory that is the pooches.
and, the best for last. i received the most beautiful thing i have ever owned from the greatest man i’ve ever known.
here’s the story behind the ring.
last year Anton approached Karin from Dear Rae to design (the world’s most beautiful) engagement ring. they set out to find a rose cut diamond, an antique cut that has less facets than a modern brilliant cut diamond. after weeks and weeks of searching they were still coming up empty handed. rose cut diamonds are rare to find because diamond merchants hunt them down and re-cut them into brilliant diamonds so that they’re worth more on the diamond market.
so when we got engaged Anton proposed to me with a beaded ring his grandmother, who used to be a jeweller, made from Xhosa beads that they bought from the ladies on the beach in the Transkei (a common sight if you’ve ever been to that part of the country). he told me that my real ring was coming, but i was so deliriously happy that i didn’t care – and just knew that he probably had some amazing plan up his sleeve.
meanwhile back in Cape Town, Karin was scouring through the Long Street Antique Arcade when she came upon an antique ring that had an old mine cut diamond in it. a predecessor to the modern brilliant cut diamonds, these were usually shaped and cut by hand making the facets quite large and the shape uniquely asymmetrical.
it is set in a matte gold band, and Anton gave it to me on Valentines day by the sea where we had our first ever date. aaw, shucks. it’s the most amazing thing i have ever worn and will ever call my own. the story behind it makes the ring a thousand times more precious than it already is, something i hope to pass on to some lucky grandkid someday.
i had a few posts prepped for yesterday & today but unfortunately my computer c-c-c-rrraaasssshhhheeed and i spent the entire day trying to fix it yesterday. sigh. i managed to get it back up and running this morning, but while i sort that bugger out here’s an update on some instagrammin’ and real life things that have been going on. did you see the new instagram web profiles that have launched? they are still busy rolling it out, but you can see what it will look like by visiting famous people’s instagram profiles like oh, i don’t know, Barack Obama.
in the meantime you can follow me @miss_moss or just check out my instagram page.
you can follow me on instagram with the username miss_moss or just check out my instagram page
left: did you know pineapples grow like this? well, i didn’t. seen in the greenhouse at babylonstoren. right: we had the most amazing margaritas, empanadas, pork tacos and tres leches cake at orinoco in bree street
finally got to check out the beautifully styled tamboers winkel (de lorentz street, just off kloof). we indulged in a poached pear and blackforest ham sarmie and cauliflower & vanilla soup (yummo)
edit & update: i have changed my image hosting to Amazon S3, which is working out great so far. i decided to put my whining about Flickr to rest, after hearing many compelling arguments for the privacy / pinterest issue from Flickr users and bloggers alike.
here are some of my most recent pics from instagram. since opening up the app to android users millions of more people have joined in on the fun – so if you’re on instagram now follow me with my username miss_moss or check out all my instagram pics here. here are some things i’ve been doing lately…
been settling into my new place, which means procuring new pieces of furniture (a slow and budget wary process) including my new couch – which is now boasting some warm textures, ready for winter. also hanging up a few pictures, sunning myself on the balcony with pink drinks and trying not to kill my beautiful succulents (seen above)
i’m lucky enough to live just down the road from the south african national gallery, which means i can pop in there whenever i wish and check out the exhibitions. there are some interesting ones at the mo, listening to distant thunder by peter clarke is a notable one… but i have to admit i was more taken with the wild geese and their babies hanging out on the lawn outside.
Peter Clarke
Goslings!
i visited the Woodstock Foundry, which is an amazing space on Albert Road in Woodstock that houses such gems as the The Lobby hair shop – also known as the place where i got the best hair cut of my life (need a cut? Craig will sort you out – that goes for boys & girls). also dropped in on my pal Andrew’s place Selah, who is working on some amazing pieces at the mo – note the hanging plant from Opus in the foreground (also located in The Foundry).
The Lobby
Selah, hanging plant by Opus.
we went to sutherland in the karoo for easter weekend, it rained which is always amazing to see in the desert.
things have been quiet around here the past few days because it was my birthday on friday. i was treated to an amazing weekend away in Greyton, so we hightailed it outta here after lunch time on friday & didn’t look at the internet for the next few days – except to update instagram (which i only recently started using… seems that i am a super late adopter of anything iphone related). amongst my birthday booty was a beautiful home-made lamp from amy, 12 mini tres leches cakes and a basket of cheese & charcuterie courtesy of jessica & luke (my friends know me too well). i was also spoilt with a new kindle (yay!) which means a lot of time was spent lying around reading the hunger games. not sure if i should be embarrassed about that since it technically falls into the “young adult” genre… i’m still a young adult at 28, right?
one of the best things about this past long, long glorious amazing easter weekend was that i “forced” myself to take my camera around with me. truth is, i’m a lazy photographer. i’m bad at documenting things – something i really should be doing because my memory fails me on an almost daily basis.
so i was thrilled when kate asked me to contribute a post to her new bits of my weekend guest series. kate’s bits of my weekend posts are just one of the many reasons i love her blog, and every single time monday rolls around and she shares her photos i think dang it, why don’t i take more photos? check out my guest post here.
here are a couple of outtakes, these were shot in a little vintagey bric-a-brac shop called sunshine trading at the old harbour in kleinmond (a town next to betty’s bay.) if you’ve ever cruised the coastal road between hermanus and gordon’s bay you’ve probably stopped in there. and if you haven’t – you should. i was pretty close to buying that crying girl print. but it was kind of steep at R850, and i wasn’t sure if i could handle her sad face staring down at me all the time, eyes-a-quiver. someone go get her!
