Tinsel and puppy paws

Merry merry everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas? Ours was utterly chilled. We bunged the chickens on the Weber, roasted the veggies, lazed on lilos, napped under palm trees and watched our fave Fawlty Towers episodes. Or everyone else did. I sort of passed out after the meal. Can't handle my food! My mom wrapped my prezzies in Ralph Lauren ads - how totally epic! x

Happy holidays you lovely lot

Guys! I just wanted to pop in and wish you all a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year. I hope you all get some time to relax with your nearest and dearest. Some of my girl friends have flown in and will be flying in from abroad which is awesome. Tonight, I'll be lounging round the pool with 'em, sipping wine and talking nonsense. Can't flippen wait. In a way, this no-net enforced blog break has been quite nice! I've been listening to loads of music, watching doccos, playing guitar, visiting friends and getting inspired in other spheres of life. So I hope to return to blogville feeling refreshed and rejuvenated! I have, however, thoroughly missed reading your news but I am following many of you on Twitter and poking my head in to your blogs when I can. Thanks so much to all of you have supported me this year. Thank you for your kind comments, emails and tweets. Thank you for the encouragement and lols along the way! Alot went down in my life behind the blog this year. Some good, some sad and some downright crazy. I still haven't figured out what to share and what to keep personal but I want you to know I really appreciate you guys. Sometimes life gets in the way and I battle to reply to emails and tweets promptly but I read and value every one. Here are some of my fave pics from the year. They're floating around in the Gloss archives. Here's wishing us all a safe and happy festive season. Big love, Me x

Happy Wedding Anni Nads

Nadia and Daniel celebrated their 1st wedding anniversary this weekend. 365 days of flaming hot love! Congrats you two - I wish you many more years filled with love and lols!

Here are some (re-edited) snaps I took at their gorgeous wedding last year. 

Some of the profesh pics are up on Nads' blog. x

Happy Birthday Kit Cat

It's my mama's birthday today. The fam has taken to calling her Mama Gloss - haha!

Mumsie, thank you for letting me pillage your nail polishes, your biscuit tin and your closet.

Thank you for teaching me how to make home-made gravy and letting me watch E-Channel marathons on Sunday nights. Thank you for letting the dogs come inside, for reading this blog everyday and  for going to the Electric Ballroom with me in London. I love you lots Cat. x

Badly edited pics from our London holiday in 2008!

Scribbles from a duvet (or doona as the Ozzies call 'em!)

Been having a mad couple of days. We're accelerating up to Christmas, rather than slowing down at work! I've been hauling my belongings around Durban but am now snuggled up under a fresh duvet with some crackers and Pretty Woman on the telly - bliss! 

These are just a couple of thoughts that have been rolling around my noggin if anyone fancies a bit of a random, weekend read.

Picture from A Beautiful Mess

• Umero Numero: My parents are saints. We've had our ups and downs but their recent support which has included cleaning my crumb-encrusted laptop, packing a hundred ornaments in newspaper and buying me new eyeliner has seriously helped me through a bump in the road.
• Said parents have also got me hooked on the Jackson trial! Walgren for lyfe! He's such a class act this guy, I think somebody oughta get him a Hollywood agent stat. That said, we do have a soft spot for Flannigan's beady expressions!
• Found myself in a huge but almost empty Checkers the other day. Wondered into the Christmas aisle which was essentially a tunnel of twinkly lights and ornaments. Got totally swept up in the Christmas spirit and bought fake snow and glitter-covered high heel ornaments! Obz high heels belong on Christmas trees.
• I'm a big believe in spelling "Christmas," not "Xmas." Looks nicer as well.
• Julia Roberts is too cool in the opening scene of this movie. She makes being a prozzie look seriously profesh! (Just re-read this entire post and realised that was a leap in topic!)
• I am soooo bored of my hair. Am going with boring colour and cut while trying to get it healthy and longer. 
• Clarins make the most amazing goodies. My mom saves up samples all year and gives them to me for my birthday. So I have great-feeling skin for one month a year and then it's back to al-cheapo Clicks' specials.
• I need to prepare a reading for my friend's wedding. I keep joking I'll just read Hugh Grant quotes but I will seriously have to if I don't research something soon.
• God works in mysterious ways. Like super mysterious. But in a good way.
• I love the vibe in Durban at the mo and I LOVE my job but sometimes I wonder if I should live in Cape Town for a bit. I also think Joburg is great but that misty mountain calleth my name some days.
• I should get some Zzzz's now. Giving Nads a hand at the market tomorrow!
  

Thanks if you read this ramble x

My friendly gang

A couple of snaps from my birthday drinks. 

I had such a lovely night and was set behind a pile of prezzies like Lady Muck! Thank you so much nice friends - I love you more than a Sunday night E Channel marathon. Ha, you bladdy expect so I'm sure! Friendies not pictured below, I will bung the rest of the pics on Facebook soon. x

Our little lamb

This is one Mary, one of our family dogs. I snapped this picture of her last Christmas. Like many animals in Durban, our dogs suffered through the fireworks going off in Durban tonight. Mary had a traumatic experience but she's okay now and I'm so proud of her. I love you my little lamb. x

I need you robotic boxes!

Images Source

Apologies for the haphazard blogging! I am in the midst of a second move in 5 weeks - not fun! 

Hope you're in for a more relaxing weekend than I am. x

Today's Tip: Get rid of sticky price tag marks (and I'm 29!)

Another tip! I'm always reading helpful blog posts and thinking, 'Why don't I have any useful tips to blog!?' But today I remembered, I do have one other non-toast related one. I learnt this tip when I worked in a gift store which was probably the most un-me job ever as I am clutz supreme and this place twinkled with crystal and china. Anyway, at some point you've probably bought stuff which has a sticky price tag mark on it. Or you've tried to remove a price tag but you can't get the sticky mark off? Well, all you need is a teensy spritz of Mr Min! Yes, that dashing, suave character from the 80's South African telly commercials. Mr Min just eats the glue up in seconds. Then you give your item a little wipe and voila, le stain is gone! Not exactly rocket science but handy none the less, I hope x

An unrelated pic from A Beautiful Mess which is fill of handy tips.

PS: It just occurred to me that overseas people may be thinking, 'What on Earth is Mr Min. You South Africans have a man that eats sticky glue?' Haha, it must sound mad! Basically Mr Min is a furniture polish...I think! Have forgotten it's actual use as I've only ever used it to get rid off sticky marks. Hope you have your own Mr Min wherever you live!

PPS: I've aged! Yes, I'm 29 today. Thanks to everyone that has wished me this morning x