A guide to collecting moments, not things

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Let’s be honest here, we can all get carried away with gathering nice things. Things that make our lives more comfortable, easier, more luxurious. But when we really reflect on what really makes us happy, it’s not the big screen TV or the brand new car we bought. It’s the experiences and people in our lives that really give us the most joy.

Memories remain a lifetime, material things do not. It’s important that we find ways to remember to collect the moments in our lives, not the material things.

Here’s my “guide” to collecting moments, not things.

Gather up these memories and pull them out whenever you need a giggle. Find ways to inject the laughter into your life too. I, for one, love to google ‘miniature donkeys’ whenever I need a lift or think about how fun my wedding day was. Find your go-to laugh potion! (You’re googling miniature donkeys, aren’t you?)

Go a month with buying only the material items in your household that are necessities. Force yourself not to indulge in anything unnecessary. You’ll find yourself seeking out experiences, rather than things, and that can only lead to some interesting stories to tell…

Begin each day with gratitude for all of the experiences (even the bad ones) that have made you who you are. Every part of what you’ve been through has helped to shape the person you are today. Be grateful for that and for everyone that has contributed to that.

Get off your couch, step out of your comfort zone and try something completely new. Even if you end up hating it, it will be an experience that teaches you something a little bit more about yourself.

Book your next getaway now, even if it’s just a weekend on a farm an hour away. Your body and your mind needs it. See more of your own country and help to boost your own economy (make it easy and use a local listings site like Afristay, where you get access to loads of options in one place and can read the reviews to be sure you’re picking the right spot).

Is there anything I left out? Throw some comments below and let me know what you think…

Island style is out, farm style is in!

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Step aside, beaches of Thailand, we’ve replaced you with the farm life.

When it comes to affordable and hassle-free getaways, you can’t beat a gorgeous farm with a pool. Say goodbye to overpriced cocktails at the hotel poolside, drink your favourite G&T or a bottle of wine from the farm’s own vineyard, at the pool instead.

We booked a last-minute getaway to Tanagra Wine Estate and Guest Farm, just outside McGregor this past week and it was glorious! It’s part of the Robertson Wine Route and also the Route 62, so exploring the surrounding areas is easy.

 

I’ve experienced my fair share of island holidays: Thailand, Mauritius, Croatia, Reunion, Bali, Lombok… but nothing quite beats the convenience of a quick 2 hour drive to another form of paradise and the seclusion of the Western Cape farm-style.

Cheers to Western Cape adventures!

 

Scrap ‘New Year’s Resolutions’, try ‘Healthy Life Resolutions’ you can actually stick to

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I’m not much of a fan of New Year’s Resolutions, mainly because it’s a once-off “I’ll go to gym every day this year” or “I’m going to quit smoking” promise that lasts a few weeks before everyone goes back to their same selves for the rest of the year.

Don’t get me wrong – the mere thought of wanting to change one’s self for the better is great, but let’s think more realistically here. Why aren’t we focusing on things that actually change us in the long run and make for a happier, healthier lifestyle in general? Call them HEALTHY LIFE Resolutions, if you will.

Here are my top 8 Healthy Life Resolutions that you can actually stick to:

1. Look after yourself

You’re no good to yourself or anybody else if you’re not in good condition – physically and mentally. It’s not only okay, but incredibly important that you take time to look after yourself.

2. Say goodbye to jealousy

This is a wasted emotion. It has more to do with your own insecurities than anything else. Sort those out.

3. Accept others’ shortcomings

There will always be sharks out there and there will always be morons. Find a way to work around them instead of getting stressed out or frustrated because of them. They’re unlikely to change their ways.

4. Be kind

Always.

5. Stick to your guns

Don’t get taken for a ride. It’s okay to say no sometimes. We don’t always have to bend over backwards for other people and agree with them when we actually don’t.

6. Make healthy decisions

With everything. What food you put into your body, what lifestyle choices you make, what you say in a fight with your partner.

7. Make more time for things that make you happy

This is important.

8. Do more yoga

Or whatever it is that helps you to calm and focus your mind. A strong mind is the cornerstone of a healthy life.

What they didn’t tell me about the first trimester

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Who really knows who “they” are, but I feel that they should have told me a few things about the first few months of pregnancy. We hear very little about the first trimester (other than that there’s a big chance of morning sickness) and I think it’s because people are just trying to forget about it, really. Lol. Joking (not really). Perhaps it’s because it’s more often than not kept as a secret until the big 12 week mark when they’re feeling a thousand times better in any case?

Nonetheless, here’s what ‘they’ didn’t tell me that I wish ‘they’ did.

Your body is no longer controlled by you

Motherhood is really all about self-sacrifice, it seems. There are things going on that I just can’t do anything about. Morning sickness is not actually morning sickness, either. Whoever decided to call it that may have never been pregnant in their lives, ever. This person may have arguably been a man. For me, it was all day sickness. And not the kind that eases if you get it all out, but rather the kind that is a mild, underlying nausea that’s just enough to make you the grumpiest woman alive while trying to make it through each day alive.

Baby Gale don’t eat no kale

Food aversions are a real thing. I LOVE healthy food intensely, but during this time it was all about cheese and bread.  I now understand why expecting moms put on that extra weight whether they like it or not! Our digestive systems slow down to some bizarre snail pace and energy levels drop to what I would imagine would match someone in a coma.

Lying is much harder than you think it is

Especially when I had the patience of a (what has zero patience?) and didn’t have the energy to come up with stories as to why I didn’t want that wine, was exhausted 24/7, can’t ride my horse, didn’t feel like going out for dinner/cooking (2 of my favourite things) and felt sick most of the time. And we have to keep this up for at least 2 months! I wasn’t very good at it at all. I think our pregnancy ‘announcement’ wasn’t much of an announcement at all to most people 😄

You don’t actually feel pregnant

I don’t actually know what I expected, to be honest. I thought maybe I’d all of a sudden feel this intense maternal power or feel something happening in my belly (other than bloating and gas). That is not real life, ladies, sorry. There’s not much to “show” for everything that you’re going through yet, which makes it even more difficult. We decided to have an ultrasound at around 7 weeks just to be sure that the foetus was in the right place, had a heartbeat and was actually real! I’d highly suggest this. You can actually see the heartbeat at this stage and it helps to feel that this is all actually real!

 

You will feel human again soon

I woke up one day at around 12 weeks and felt like an actual human being again. I had so much energy that I baked cupcakes at 7am for breakfast. Thank the holy pope. Now my poor husband doesn’t get to lie around and sleep while I’m “woman-down”, he has to galavant around Cape Town with me again and try all my weird and wonderful healthy cooking experiments! Hallelujah.

Side note: Enjoy your tight-fitting clothes for now, the bump is coming SOON. Fast and furious.

A weekend of doing NOTHING in Wolseley

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It’s not often that we go away and do NOTHING, but this was The Husband’s lucky weekend because that’s exactly what we did. No spontaneous adventures, no things to do, no bra (😄) and a lot of sleeping!

Here’s the summary:
1. We headed off to a farm just outside Wolesley for a whole lot of nothing.


2. Pear trees have the most beautiful blossoms in Spring 🌺


3. This is what a butternut farm looks like.


4. We’ve been dying to try out a wood-fired hot tub and we had our own private one for the weekend 😍


And that’s a wrap!

As much as I’m all about the adventure and doing all of the things, sometimes a whole lot of nothing can do a whole lot of good.

Inexpensive Things to Do With Kids in Cape Town – Winter Edition

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What to do with kids in Cape Town? I recently had my 10 and 6 year old nephew and niece for a few days and had to keep them occupied. These little critters tend to get easily bored and also cost a fortune to maintain (LOL) so here are some handy tips on inexpensive things I found to do with them. Luckily, it’s Winter here and the weather wasn’t terrible, so we had plenty of options and Winter specials to enjoy as well!

This was an absolute hit with the kids! Cruising around town on an open top bus is fun on its’ own, but there are super-fun stops along the way. I’ve listed some of my favourites below separately because you can really spend hours at each of these places on their own. City sightseeing currently has a winter 3-for-1 kids special on at the moment (weekends and public holidays) where 2 kids get free tickets with each adult, cutting the cost down tremendously! I suggest checking out the stops and discounts beforehand so that you can make the best of the trip.

There’s loads to do in these beautiful gardens. A wander through the gardens of “smelly plants” where you touch and smell different nice and not-so-nice plant scents, useful plants and the garden of extinction are highlights. As are the Dinosaur exhibition in the cycad garden and the Boomslang treetop walkway, of course.

 

This is by far my favourite! You could probably spend the most part of a day here. I usually steer clear of anything animal-touristy or zoo-like, but this is not that. They have plenty of open, walk-in aviaries and sanctuaries for birds, monkeys, reptiles etc. and most of the animals there are rescued. A favourite here is the Monkey Jungle, where the monkeys like to jump on the visitors in their jungle!

You can also spend a considerable amount of time in here and it’s educational. The museum has various exhibitions relating to the sea, the earth, dinosaurs, natural wonders etc. They have real-size models of some of the world’s biggest animals – amazing to see how big our whales really are! Pair this up with a Planetarium show and your entire day is full (phone ahead to make sure that there is a show on that day).

Usually pretty expensive for a family outing, the Table Mountain Cableway currently has a 3-for-1 Kids Special on (weekends and public holidays) and is well worth the trip. You can stroll around on top of the mountain for a while and perhaps a picnic on the rocks somewhere at the top is an idea? Be sure to book online and arrive before they even open to avoid queuing for most of the day.

  • Beach!

By far the most effective and inexpensive (free) thing to do with kids in Cape Town is to just go to the beach. Llandudno’s my favourite, but Clifton is always a safe best when there’s a bit of wind.

Have you ever been through a friendship breakup?

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Have you ever been through a friendship breakup? I mean have you ever made a mature, adult decision that a person in your life is no longer in line with the values and beliefs that make you who you are?

Adulting is so hard sometimes.

I’m in my 30s and starting to become very “picky” about what I surround my own energy with. This was never a problem in my 20s, but in my 30s, I’m finding less and less time to spend on that which doesn’t gel with my own ongoing adventure to better myself and be happy – for myself and those around me.

“You are the company you keep” is such a terrible cliché, but dammit, it’s true. You can’t surround yourself with negative people and expect to live a positive life. You can’t surround yourself with people whose values oppose yours and expect your values to be enhanced. You can’t surround yourself with people who suck your energy when you’re trying to preserve yours.

Sometimes friendships just run their course and people grow in different directions. It happens all the time and we often get stuck in a relationship that doesn’t serve either parties because neither of them has the courage to face the reality that it’s not sustainable. Forcing a relationship that isn’t working is toxic.

Things you should never force:

  • Your jeans size
  • A fart
  • A relationship

You’re welcome.

Cheers to health relationships and the brave adults behind them!

A weekend getaway to Tulbagh

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I’m such a sucker for a small town and the Western Cape ones are my absolute favourite! Send me away for the weekend to somewhere with old houses, farmlands and wine and I’m happy as a pig in mud. My husband and I booked a last-minute getaway to Tulbagh and here are some of our highlights. It’s only 1,5 hours from Cape Town too, so perfect for a weekend.

The architecture here is beautiful. Cape Dutch style buildings are the trademark, including our guest house – Cape Dutch Quarters. Don’t mess around here – book an Executive Suite. Breakfasts are served on Spode china too 🙂

 

Yep – we will ALWAYS find a trail. This one is in Waterval Nature Reserve. Take this walk to a waterfall.

 

Wine tasting in the old courthouse jail! Drostdy Hof is an interesting visit, complete with a museum tour.

 

Olive tasting at Oakhurst Olives

 

You must visit Krone for FREE bubbly tasting with this view. They’re also open the latest on a Saturday, until 4pm

Recipe: 3 Ingredient healthy white sauce

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I am not joking, no. There is such a thing as healthy white sauce for pastas, veggie bakes, cheese sauce etc. Not only is it healthy, but only uses 3 easy ingredients and is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, low carb. It’s basically black magic!

I used mine in a vegetarian alfredo pasta dish and it’s one of my favourite health hacks of all time.

  • Add the cooked cauliflower, coconut milk and vegetable stock to a blender.
  • Blend until smooth and creamy.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.

I used mine for a vegetarian alfredo sauce with Fry’s vegetarian sausage, fried onion, garlic and mushrooms. Another health hack of mine is to use shirataki noodles instead of pasta and the result is a really low carb version of a potentially fatty and unhealthy meal! It made enough sauce for 4 good portions.

You’re welcome.

Click here for more clever health hacks.

Recipe: Mushroom Quinoa Risotto

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I just love finding healthy versions of classic (usually pretty unhealthy) meals and who wouldn’t want a healthy mushroom risotto? This is my own recipe that I threw together last night and it’s a winner! It is so easy, it’s ridiculous…

Ingredients

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

A little olive oil for frying

1 large punnet of mixed, chopped mushrooms

1,5 cups quinoa

About 4 cups of vegetable stock

1/2 green chilli

Handful of baby spinach

  1. Fry 1 onion and 2 cloves of garlic in olive oil
  2. Add a large punnet of mixed mushrooms and some mixed herbs of your choice. Cook it all up and set aside for later.
  3. Cook about 1.5 cups of quinoa as per package instructions, but use vegetable stock instead of water
  4. Add the mushroom mixture to the quinoa
  5. Add some chopped fresh green chilli
  6. Throw in a handful of baby spinach leaves to wilt
  7. Serve with grated Parmesan (or nutritional yeast for a vegan version)

Serves about 6

Click here for more clever health hacks.