Bake more

Dear Julia,

Bake more! Yes, that'll be next year's resolution I think. Basically I've performed pretty badly at last year's resolution of painting 1 painting a month, so hopefully this next one will do better.

Why not? I mean, I was pretty nervous this last weekend past as I was helping a friend (debatable) and simultaneously cashing in my birthday present of a cupcake baking session with her amazing daughter Maddie. It wasn't just the potty training that I was afraid of... I couldn't quite think how I was going to bake cupcakes with a 3 year old when I think the last batch I made was a close catastrophe just on my own!

But I'm mad. Baking isn't hard, and takes no time at ALL! Maddie and I made beautiful caramel cupcakes in under half an hour. Okay I did help a little with the mixing bits when it got a little tough for her, but barely really.
If a 3 year old can pretty much make cupcakes I should be baking up a storm!

Bring on 2013  - the year of the lemon-meringue cupcake, chocolate brownies and tea biscuits!

Now... can I ask you to check up on me? I'd really appreciate some help on this.
In exchange I'm sharing this neat idea for biscuits at your next tea party. Deal?

Source: sandrakavital.blogspot.com via Keyna on Pinterest

Love
Farrah Fennel

A knife stand with some voodoo satisfaction

Dear Julia, Frida and Marie


I was taking a walk down the factory shop street the one day, and noticed that there was a new kitchen shop!

I was actually there to look at shoes, but when it comes to home-ware, kitchen appliances and nifty ideas, I have a definite problem and got completely side tracked as I am sure you ladies can understand.

It is a pretty nice place. It has a couple of bits and bobs you won't find in all your kitchen shops, electronic pizza ovens, giant mugs, a lovely marble rolling pin, etc, and then there was THIS GUY!!!! A knife stand in the shape of a person. A lovely voodoo knife stand!

Sort of made me think of some very poor soul who was on the veeeery wrong side of a knife fight!

Mostly though I imagine how satisfying it would be to have a knife stand like this on your bad days.

Envisage that the metallic person is who ever is making you feel less than happy and enjoy returning the knife into the body.

Yes... a little dark, I know, but you must admit that it is better to have little "voodoo" violent thoughts than to actually inflict pain.

Sadly with the satisfaction it could bring, the quality of the stand is rather disappointing. Very plasticy, so most definitely not worth the price it was being sold for.

Perhaps though, one day when I am rich, I can indulge myself and spend money on silly things to make me laugh, but in my current position I am unable to justify buying something like that :(

Sincerely

May Marjoram

The Gautrain!

Dear Amelia

I wrote a rap! That's gangsta rhyming in case you didn't know. Have a look.

"Well London thinks they phat! Well I ain't down with that! With their tubes and their trains and their walkin in the rain, well they clearly aint met the Gautrain! Yo!"


Yes... Unfortunately I do sometimes think I'm gangsta. This is very sad, but true. A little detour from our theme of vintage and retro, I apologize, I promise I will not do that too often :D Haha!

But YES! this little beauty is the Gautrain.

It's a lovely form of public transport which after many a year was finally finished and put into working order for the 2010 soccer world cup here in South Africa, and I can tell you that it is still 2 years later, working nicely and a very pleasant experience.

If you have ever been lucky/unlucky enough (depending on you personal opinion) to travel to Johannesburg you would have probably noticed that the traffic there can be quite an ordeal. Driving from O.R. Thambo airport to Sandton city could take you an hour. NOW however, if you take the Gautrain, you can take a quarter of the time and travel there in 15 minutes! Really really! I do not exaggerate or kid!

What's more, is they are strict! You may NOT eat or drink on the Gautrain. Now no offence to the London public transport which I was lucky to experience, it was still fantastic! But the Gautrain, wow! It was wonderful! So so clean! It sounds like such a simple thing, but it really makes all the difference. I was extremely impressed.

End of Week Icon: Anne Hathaway

Dear Marilyn

Seeing as though it was Womens Day yesterday, I feel it is only fitting that our end of week icon be female.

Therefore I declare this weeks end of week icon to be...

Ms Anne Hathaway:

We most recently saw Ms Hathaway in the latest Batman movie where she plays a very enjoyable and believable Cat woman. (In my opinion at least)

Anne is really wonderful though because her range is quite wide. Ms Anne Hathaway can also be enjoyed playing characters in period films like when she plays the wonderful woman who has brought us so many romance stories, Jane Austen, She has played in Comedic Action films, teen romance films, and even in a few dramas.

Very well known as well for her performance opposite the exquisite Meryl Streep (an Icon we are bound to feature soon) in The Devil Wears Prada and keeping her own in a film with a mega star, Ms Hathaway I think is very deserving of a mention.

Sincerely

May Marjoram

Feeling blue

Dear Frida

Blue... it's just a colour right?

Well for some that may be the case, but this colour is often used to describe a feeling, and today this is the feeling I feel. 

I feel blue.

In a way, the feeling is rather apt, because it is Monday after all (Blue Monday). However, I must tell you it is not the day that is making me blue, but general forces in life pushing me into the depths of this deep sad colour.

Of course, the fact that it is a Monday does not help for the mood. Find me one person who likes a Monday and I'll somehow find a way to give them a prize.

I'll admit that if I were to go about describing myself by colours, most days I'm probably more of a yellow, happy sunny yellow, or I'm a purple, royal, think too much, think I'm all wisdom and creativity purple.

But today, I'm blue, and not the blue you google, which says things like calm and distance, bla bla bla, but the blue most of us know, sad, grumpy, depressed, reclusive blue.

I would hope you would understand where I am coming from, knowing colours so very well. Also as a fellow female, feeling a little down is not an uncommon feeling.

How is it that we generally pull ourselves out of this blue? I don't know about you, but it feels like thinking through it is not how it will be fixed. Sometimes when you feel this way, the more you try and think about it to try and figure out what is wrong and how to fix it, the further you sink.

Sometimes it is actually better to act first and think later I think. 

Today I will drink another cup of coffee and force myself to leave the house! If I'm not sitting still, I cannot over think anything, and in such a way, I shall leave my blue behind, add a little red, and get back to purple at least! Ha! Take that blue!

Sincerely

May Marjoram

A friendly disagreement

Dear friends,

Over the next couple of months you MAY notice a couple of small (or enormous) changes happening on this blog layout from time to time.

I'm involved in a small battle of wits with my account. I would like to take one of the pretty dynamic templates and just change 1 or 2 teensy weensy things, but it seems that's not as simple as it sounds. So for now you'll see the progress of a simple banner as I go along & then later when I'm more educated in all things blog there will hopefully be a beautiful template for us to communicate with.

Hold thumbs for me. I do so hope Blogger and I can remain easy going friends into the future...

Source: sugarboodesigns.com via Keyna on Pinterest

Swimming Along Nicely

Dear Audrey,

Hold onto your sunhat... I have some news. Earlier we wrote to tell you about our attempts at weightloss (how boring of us), and now isn't it nice to follow up with a small letter to tell of progress?
Not much, but SOME!

With all the lumps and bumps along the road I'm pleasantly surprised and pleased that we've still managed to melt away some other unwanted lumps on our curves. Hold thumbs for us because ultimately I would love to look good in one of these:

Source: anthropologie.com via Keyna on Pinterest

Source: countryliving.com via Keyna on Pinterest