France | Blogmas Day 4-7

And I thought this whole posting every day thing was going so well. 

But anyway, guess what? I AM IN FRANCE. And I can't quite believe it to be honest. But so far so good, apart from the fact that I may have overestimated my French-speaking ability as so far I have mainly been saying "quoi?". But let me just start at the beginning, I think that would make more sense. 

So after a few days of frantic last-minute packing the day finally came for me to zip up my suitcase (with difficulty) and head off to the airport - after a final cuddle with my dog, of course. Thankfully my suitcase was still 5 kilos underweight, although I doubt it will be when I return, so all that was left for me to do was say goodbye to my parents and sister, who I will miss very much. But I'll see them all on Boxing Day in Paris, which is extremely exciting! Anyway, where was I. So I got through customs nice and easy and then long story short boarded my flight to Dubai, on which I watched three films: Spy, Fantastic 4 and Mission Impossible 5, and three episodes of Modern Family. Needless to say on my second flight I slept the whole journey, and before I knew it I was arriving in France! Once again I flew through passport control (thank you British passport) and grabbed my heavy suitcase with yet more difficulty, and then I was finally reunited with Zoe! Seeing as we were already in Paris we had a quick coffee by the Eiffel Tower and took some photos, and it was a really nice day - sunny but cold. My favourite. Then we drove to Zoe's town Courcelles sur Seine which is about an hour out of Paris I think. Not entirely sure seeing as I slept the entire journey. But yeah, the town is so cute and pretty as is the house, and I immediately fell in love with it! After a classic lunch of Croque Madame, we went for a walk up a hill to an old castle, where there was a lovely view of the river and the town, made especially more lovely by the golden glow of the setting sun. We also bought some bread at the boulangerie (eeee so French). Sophie and Bobby (Zoe's parents) are very nice and very friendly towards me, even when I get confused with the French! It's only been a day but I already feel at home here. 

And that's all for today. See you tomorrow! (I hope)

Let the Holidays Begin | Blogmas Day 3

So today was my last day of school for the year, and that means only one thing... bring on the holidays!

I am now done and finished with Grade 11, and it's quite a strange feeling. A bit surreal, to be honest. My mind hasn't really wrapped itself around the fact that next year as my final year of high school ever and when I go back to school in January I'll be in Grade 12, or Matric as we call it. But I guess that's what the holidays are for - letting that sink in!

My friends and I celebrated our newborn freedom by going bowling after school, and seeing as I haven't been in an extremely long time I was pretty awful. However by our second round I managed to sneak in a couple of spares and even a strike and actually won - achievement! But yeah, 'twas fun.

And that's about all that really happened today, apart from a rehearsal with the string ensemble I'm in for a concert we're playing on Saturday, and pizza. Which was good. So yeah.

Wow, what a boring blogpost. But do not fear, come Sunday I will be France-bound and I'm sure once I'm there life will get much more interesting. So until then I'll just stick with these short bits, because I'm determined to do this blogmas thing properly.

Okey dokes. Byee!

Christmas is Coming | Blogmas Day 2

Today was such a Christmassy day, and I loved it! 

After the carol service last night I still had the songs stuck in my head this morning when I woke up, and therefore was listening to Pentantonix's Christmas album on the way to school, as well as singing along as I danced with my dog to "It's the most wonderful time of the year". 

At school we had our annual Christmas Party which is one of my favourite events of the year, and this was my last one. And I was wearing a Christmas Pudding hat on my head, yay! We listened to more Christmas songs, not helping the mass that were already stuck in my head, including the Twelve Days of Christmas - both the original version and the "South African" version, which was rather amusing to say the least. 

Aside from that, my sister and I finished season 1 of The 100 today, which we have been avidly watching since I bought it for her birthday in September, and it ended on a cliffhanger?! Argh. Just why?

But yeah. Tomorrow is my last day of school, seeing as we're going into our 6 week long summer holidays now! So that's exciting, because who doesn't love holidays, right? 

Anyway, see you then!

The Carol Service | Blogmas Day 1

This evening was my final carol service at my school, and it was rather emotional.

I love my singing group very much and enjoy singing with them a lot - especially carols because a) I love Christmas and b) they're so beautiful! The service was also extra special because we sang a carol I composed, and I think it went down well. Except the headteacher called me up to take a bow unexpectedly and I went bright red. Yay for awkward me. 

So yeah, that was that, and I'm very sad it's over. Some of my favourite carols we sang were Once In Royal, O Holy Night and a Choral Amen at the end. And of course my own one, because I mean who doesn't like their own music?

Apart from that... how on earth is it December already? I feel like the second half of this year came and went at the speed of light!

That's all for today - short but sweet because I'm still at school so nothing else of much interest happened today, except lots of rehearsals for this evening. So yeah, see y'all tomorrow then. 

Bye!

Stories of Mugs

Hello. I will begin my addressing the blatantly obvious: yes, I have not posted sunce August, yes, it is now almost December. What happened to September, October and November? I LITERALLY HAVE NO IDEA. They just vanished. Poof. Gone.

Aaaaaaand now back to the matter at hand.

So you may or may not know, but I am an avid tea drinker. And being a tea drinker, naturally one must have a lot of mugs in which to put all the tea. Exhibit A:

But as I listen to the kettle boil and decide which mug I would like to have my tea in today (a very tough decision might I add) it makes me think about where each mug came from, and the story behind it. Take this one for example:

We bought this mug on a family road trip in Memphis, Tennessee about... five years ago, I think. Wow, how time files! I think I was about 12, and I remember it was a really cool holiday because we got to visit Graceland, Elvis Presley's home, as well as the studios where I was lucky enough to be able to play the actual piano he played!

Ironically, these two mugs weren't bought together. In fact, the blue one we got quite a while ago, and I think my mum was actually given it as a present from work? I could be wrong. And the pink one I was given for my birthday in June, and it just happened to match the one we'd already had for over a year!

This is one of my favourite mugs, and was also a birthday present this year. (Is it really that obvious that I love tea? Okay, I guess it is.) I absolutely love playing the piano and I love tea, so why not combine the two and get this wonderful masterpiece?!

But yeah, there's a few little tales from my mugs. Kinda random, but I guess if you want to take something from this then it's that you can always find little spots of happiness in the most unusual places, if you only look.

Tada!

Now just one quick notice before I go. I have decided, after a long hard think (not really) to do Blogmas. Now idk if this is really a thing but you know what, I'm making it a thing because I can and it's a free country. Basically I'm going to be writing a blogpost every day from the 1st of December up until Christmas, like vlogmas but blogging, hence Blogmas. Also kind of inspired by SprinleofGlitr's October diary. I just think it's a nice idea as I can look back in the future and see what I got up to etc. and it's probably not going to be particularly interesting for anyone else but oh well. Will definitely be interesting to see if I can actually get a blogpost up every day for 25 days in a row...

So yeah, that's that! Guess I'll see you on the first of December. Tomorrow. What?

Adios!

August Favourites

Heeeeeey! So as it's the end of August (what even btw) I thought I'd just share some of my favourites from this month with y'all. Idk if this is a blog thing or just a YouTube thing... but I'm doing it anyway because I want to hehe.

Anyway, leggo!

1. The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Steadman

This book was actually one that I had to read for school, but I ended up falling in love with it. Without giving too much away, it's about a Lighthouse Keeper called Tom who lives on a remote island with his wife, Isabel, when a lifeboat with a baby alive and well in it washes onto the shore. And that's all I'm going to say about it except that it's absolutely amazing, full of plot twists which you probably know I love love love in a book, and with a heart-wrenching ending that stays with you for ages. 

2. Robert Frost

This seems pretty random, but I literally love Robert Frost poems so much. My favourites are The Road Not Taken, Fire and Ice, and Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening. I absolutely love the last stanza of the latter, it just really strikes a chord with me for some reason. Here it is:

The woods were lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep. 

3. Eos 

Okay so these things are pretty popular now, and usually when something is popular I tend to have an immediate dislike for it. I don't even know why, it's pretty bad actually! But anyway, I bought the green one of these in October last year, and I absolutely loved it. I love this flavour—honeysuckle—and I just love how soft it makes your lips feel. Unfortunately I've never found them in South Africa and I don't think they're sold here, and after using mine until it was literally flat and I could see the plastic underneath, I lost it. So I think I may have to buy about twenty when I go to England in a few weeks, just to stock up!

4. Pachelbel's Canon in D

This piece of music has been a favourite of mine for years, but I recently rediscovered it , and of course it's just as beautiful as before. It holds so many memories for me and makes me think of my childhood, and I can't even describe it but I just think it is the most beautiful piece of music ever. I think it's just the simplicity of it... but yeah, to me it's basically perfection and will probably be my favourite piece of music for the rest of my life. If you haven't heard it before, I seriously recommend it!

5. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 

Finally, my crazy obsession with this TV show. IT'S JUST SO GOOD. I actually started watching it back in June but then had a massive gap due to school work (ugh) but now that's died down a bit so I'm back, and I literally just fangirl about it all the time. I adore all things Marvel and am just so obsessed with this show—I only have three more episodes of Season 2 to watch and then Season 3 comes out in September! Eeeeeek someone needs to calm me down. 

But yeah, there you have it! Hope you enjoyed reading about a few of my favourite things (now that song is stuck in my head wonderful) and let me know if you share any of the same favourites—especially number 5 so we can fangirl together hehe. 

And apart from that, I guess I'll see you in September!

Life is a Zip

I've often thought of the path of life as a zip. 

When I think about the future, about all the endless possibilities, my mind just can't fathom the number of things that could happen - and that most won't. I don't know if I believe in fate, if everything ahead of us is set in stone or we choose our own future, but I know that once something happens there's no going back. I imagine the future opening out in front of us, getting wider and wider as the range of possibilities expands as we look further ahead, the very near future having the least amount of possibilities. 

So like a zip, is what I'm getting at. 

And then behind us is our past, tightly knitted together as it stretches out behind us like a cape, preparing us for our future but not quite dictating it. 

When we are very young, even when our life first begins, the possibility of what could happen in our future is almost endless, and the two sides of the zip fan out as wide as they can go. And as we live our lives and create our story, our future starts to come together - until we're lying on our deathbed and there's not much else that can happen except for us to look back at our path of life we have created. 

I quite like this idea, this steady laying out of your own tracks as you live each day. Your choices affect your life, and where it will take you. Your life is in your own hands, and no one else can tell you how to live your life. Sure they can advise you, they can teach you, and sometimes other people's choices affect us, but at the end of the day it's all really down to you. You can decide if you're going to live a half-hearted life, or an incredible one. 

So there are you go, some motivation for the day! Went off topic a little there, but oh well. Hope you enjoyed reading this little snippet of all the crazy things that go on in my mind - and there will probably be more coming soon!

Adios!