North Sea

Vengaboys - We're Going to Ibiza

It had been a few days since Jarryd arrived in Germany and we had just returned from our trip to Spain. What we were expecting was water, yeah, actually, just a bit of water since we’d traveled all the way to see the sea. We weren’t expecting the wild waves of Jeffrey’s Bay but I guess we’d both imagined a tad bit more water from the North Sea. This beach though offered a completely different view from what I usually expect from a trip to the sea. Shallow waters for QUITE a distance and on this particular day the sky was grey and instead of a few giggles from playful children, we walked into a calm scene of adults walking hands entwined across the shallow waters.

The Sound of Music

Pictures - Courtesy of my external 

Sigma - Nobody to Love

So as time drew closer and closer to my return I started thinking of where I'd begin. From where we left-off or something completely new. First of all, so much has happened since I was blogging more regularly. Secondly, a repeat of my actions the past 3 months could possibly bore the life outta everyone following me on twitter (do the right thing btw @asilily). So while I’m dancing around my room, hair brush in hand, rollers in hair and dance moves on lock-down... it hits me. I’ve shared all sorts on Earth to Asi, but with the exception of my Blog tracks, I haven’t shown much love to a huge part of my life. Music. Let’s talk music.

Instagram Report

Meghan Trainor - All About That Bass

Pictures - @asi_lily

A little while ago someone asked why I’m so scarce on Instagram… So this is me giving the full story behind my disappearing act. What happened was, I “lost” my phone the day I left Germany. Lost is in inverted commas coz the “lost” phone was actually lying in a packet with some souvenirs  I’d bought that day. I didn’t think to check the packet coz I was just sure I’d left it in the tram but sometime in December I had to give a friend a souvenir and there lay my dear phone after 4 months chilling in a plastic bag. I then shared a few pictures from my vacation in Cape Town and JHB in December and I would’ve continued to share had I not dropped my phone, crashed the screen and was forced to say goodbye iPhone and hello Blackberry. So after a few months, I have made my way back to the world of insta-this and insta-that and this post will just answer a few things about @asi_lily on Instagram and what you can expect after you hit “follow”. 

Zambia | Booze Cruise

Kiesza - Hideaway

And so everyone... The story of the beginning of my obsession with the sun goes a little something like this... Setting – Zambia, the Zambezi River. Chilling in a boat with giraffe on my right and to my left, a very relaxed-looking crocodile eyeing its prey near the boat. Coming towards me, a smiling tourist with a glass of wine in hand and behind Caro’s voice, chatter and giggles from our fellow Booze Cruise passengers.

Zambia | New Adventures

Asa - Eye Adaba

I reckon it’s about time! About time I shared some of my travel experiences. A single picture can tell a thousand words but sometimes, only sometimes, pictures fail to reveal all the drama behind the snap. So while there will definitely be pictures in these travel posts, there will be a whole lot more reading than going through pictures. So grab a cup of tea or coffee, or a glass of wine if you may and feast your eyes on my first flight out of South Africa to beautiful Zambia.

Port Elizabeth | A Sheepish Goodbye

Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars (cover)

Another early morning after a late late night. The last morning in PE was one huge rush. After struggling to get out of bed I had to deal with the packing I should've taken care of the night before and before breakfast I squeezed in a quick visit from Dadddy.

Port Elizabeth ǀ Back to Business

Sia - Chandelier

My expectations were quite high for Volkwagen and just as I’d expected, VW didn’t disappoint. Tim is currently doing an internship at Volkswagen in Germany so once I managed to kick thoughts of him out of my mind I was ready to enjoy everything our tour guide had to say.

Port Elizabeth | Beach Bites

Carla Bruni -Qquelqu'un m'a dit

All I wanted was some vanilla ice-cream. But thanks to this cute restaurant I ended up enjoying the yummiest slice of organic apple and olive oil cake. That with an scoop of ice-cream of course. And as just when I thought things couldn't get any better, they went and played one of my favourite french songs by Carli Bruni. 

Port Elizabeth ǀ The Milky Way

Colbie Caillat - Brighter than the sun

Back to project PE. Every day in PE started at 06:30. This time was totally doable the Tuesday thanks to the early night on Monday – I can’t tell you what an issue it became after we’d completely lost track of time at Barney’s karaoke night and dancing my toosh off at Gondwana.

The wheels on the bus

Capital Cities - Safe And Sound

See now I have actually become quite a pro packer. I remember a time I used to take an entire suitcase just for a weekend away – full of a whole lot of items I wouldn’t even use. Back then my excuse was that you never know what you’ll need. These days I plan my outfits in advance and just take an extra outfit, coz truth is, you really never know.

Thabazimbi | Accommodation

I'm like a bird - Nelly Furtado

Now I bet this is not what one would expect to find when someone tells you you’ll be staying in a tent for the weekend.

Thabazimbi | Man on Fire

Go light your world - Kathy Troccoli

Thanks to some mad skill building wild fires and making us the best burger patties, my bestfriend Jarryd left the weekend deserving a new title, The Man on Fire. 

Thabazimbi | Safari

Asa - Eye Adaba

Thanks to Rhapsody, we woke up bright and early with all the energy in the world. And after quick showers for some and no showers for others and too many muffins we were on the road again – this time to Thabazimbi.

Thabazimbi | Johannesburg

And as promised in It's been a WHILE!! – here’s the first of 6 posts of my beautiful weekend away a few weeks ago. This weekend was special for so many reasons – reminded me once again that although the destination plays an important role, the best adventures are determined by the company. 

Yesteryear

It's incredible to think that it was just a year ago that I arrived in Brem. Will forever be grateful for all the memories made. 

I can't wait to see most of the people who made my stay in Germany the wonderful experience that it was.

"Wir reisen nicht nur an andere Orte, sondern vor allem reisen wir in andere Verfassungen der eigenen Seele." - Werner Bergengruen, Badekur des Herzens

And just coz I love sharing - I'm adding a random video I sent to my family during the snow. I learned soon after that the snow that day wasn't heavy at all. 

Xx

It’s the climb

“After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”

                                                                                            Nelson Mandela

This quote prepares one so well for so many aspects of life. So often we work extremely hard towards something expecting that it will be smooth sailing after that particular goal is reached – only to find that, that victory was only the beginning of the next mission.

You pass Grade 7 and quickly find yourself at the bottom of the High School food-chain, finish the 5km race in record time and realise it’s going to take double the effort to conquer the 10km. The beautiful thing about climbing these hills is the improvement that it suggests. I find it so important to keep moving and pushing myself to that next level.

It’s only natural that some hills will take longer to climb – these are usually the ones with greater reward –  so when the going gets tough, stay focussed on your goal. 

I feel I’m preaching a bit ^^ but I guess this is what happens when I find a beautiful quote in my diary (my mom still gives thee most meaningful gifts). I happened to turn over the page for a look at my day tomorrow and I just have to share this quote as well.

“What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate”

                                                                                                Donald Trump

Someone recently suggested that I stop looking forward to the weekend or dreading Monday as this helps give each day the appreciation, energy and happiness it deserves. Having said that, I know that we do get tired towards the end of the week– Keep at it ladies and gentz - every hill climbed is worth it's struggles.

Xx

Keepin' it Fresh

This past weekend I found myself in a rather sticky situation after participating in the Colour Me Crazy festival. And while I was melting away in the heat, trying to improve my 5km time, I thought it would be a grand idea to share some of the cosmetic products I just can’t do without in Summer... all in the spirit of avoiding being a haaaaat mess.

Dove

My relationship with Dove began several years ago during a camping weekend where I accidentally left my lovely bottle of Clearasil at home. I simply loved how my skin wasn’t left feeling as dry as it did before. Since then I have moved to not just using the bar of soap on my face but now my entire body gets to enjoy the moisturising beauty of Dove as well as the body lotion. For those who enjoy a fresh smell; there’s just nothing fresher than the Dove “go fresh” cool cucumber & green tea anti-perspirant deodorant. 

Nivea

When a friend of mine suggested that I use Nivea Creme on my face I just thought they were trying to turn me into an oil-painting but used at thee most moderate of proportions – this cream keeps my face moisturised in Winter and gives me a healthy glow in Summer.

Sunblock

If you’d ever seen my pictures from athletics days back in primary you’d understand why I wasn’t always the biggest fan of sunblock – I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s suffered from a sad case of Shades of Grey. Sunblock just always made me appear a greyish colour – then it would just melt, making me look greyish and oily (no-one wants to look either of the two). I was introduced to this ROC sun block during my visit to France and I have been using it since. It blends in so nicely with my skin. I was advised to apply it every 2 hours so I do so when I spend several hours in the sun otherwise I do so less frequently. The Sun Dance sunblock on the right doesn’t do the same wonders as the ROC one so I just use that one on my legs, neck and arms whenever I feel the need.

Make-up

Keeping it fresh in Summer means that I use very little make-up during sunny skies. I prefer to let my skin breathe but just for a bit of oil-control after making use of the sunblock I use a tad bit of Dream Matte Mousse. And if I’m having lunch with the girls or going out I just use some gel liner and mascara. You’ll notice that the label on my Dream Matte Mousse is gone ^^ That’s how long I’ve had this stuff – a little really goes a long way with this product. I use the the Caramel (Dark 2) but I’ll add a link below just to share all the other shades ;)

Dream Matte Mousse

Hair

The sun can do plenty of damage to one’s hair. As you all know, I recently took out my extensions so I’ve just been washing and conditioning my natural hair these days and while I usually used Hair Mayonnaise to re-nourish my hair – this time I decided to try something new. I haven’t relaxed my hair yet but this night wrap crème has really done a great job keeping my hair feeling soft.

Now this list could go on forever coz the market offers so many products and tricks for staying fresh under the sun but I’ll end this off with the product I use the most on a daily basis.

Lips

And while I personally prefer to keep things neutral nowadays, I know that Summer is a wonderful time to explore with all sorts of bright colours on one’s lips. I feel that applying a lip balm with some sun protection before your lipstick is good practice. I absolutely enjoy the smell and taste of this Labello Vitamin Shake (not that I sit chewing on my lip balm) :P and it also gives a bit of a nude lipstick look.

This is me keeping things super fresh with zero make-up and some lovely fresh goodies for breakfast. 

I hope you’ll have a lovely week!

"Cleanliness is next to Godliness"

Ntabiseng Moahlodi