Marshmallows & Merlot

These don't need an introduction... 1. The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien 2. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini 3. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 4. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee 5. The Harry Potter series - JK Rowling 6. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver 7. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho 8. Life of Pi - Yann Martel 9. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown 10. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy 11. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden 12. Spud - John van de Ruit 13. The Power of One - Bryce Courtenay 14. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien 15. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres 16. Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts 17. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte 18. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger 19. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

This week's challenge – Do not use hair straightener. Eish! It's a tough one... I didn't realise how addicted I'd becoming to the spring in my step caused by a little 'sizzle and steam' post-shower ritual that I've been doing since Christmas 2007. Why subject myself to the frizz bomb that is my natural hair's tendency, you may ask? Well, I got reprimanded by my fabulous hair stylist a couple of weeks ago as he frowned and shook his head in disapproval while giving me a trim. "I'm going to throw your straighteners away," he exclaimed. "Have you seen the state of these ends? You have split ends on your split ends! and daaaaahling that's so not a good look." I thought he was just being a prima donna, and was trying to get me to buy some over-priced, under-performing treatment with extract of shark testicle. So I just smiled and sheepishly sunk a little deeper into my chair.  ("If you saw my hair 'au-naturel' f

We're getting ever-closer to the top ten... 20. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams 21. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez 22. Disgrace - J. M. Coetzee 23. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult 24. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger 25. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks 26. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller 27. Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett 28. Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell 29. Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton 30. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald Okay, so I've read two of the books above and by far... My Sister's Keepe r is one of my favourites. Why have I highlighted three, you may ask. Well, I saw the film version of Disgrace because one of my friends actually plays the lead opposite John Malkovich (Go Jess, Go!!!).  Anyways, after seeing the 'ultra disturbing' film I'm 100% sure I'm not gonna feel compelled to read the book. have you re

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."     (C.S.Lewis)

A week ago today I had a very interesting conversation with my housekeeper (see last week's  post  for more details) and I am happy to report that I have been reunited with my favourite top. Woo-hoo! Yee-haa! and Yay! [insert jumping up and down for joy here] I am also happy to impart this useless bit of info...  I am cruising the retail metropolis of Sandton today in my favourite outfit – gladiator sandals, black leggings and the now infamous blue-ruffled tunic top. My wardrobe is at peace, I have a spring in my step and not even the aches and pains from my 6:30am spinning class with an 'not an ounce of fat on her' blonde psycho instructor can wipe the smile off my face.

In my family going prematurely grey is genetic. My great grandmother was grey at 28 as was my mom... and so, it's not surprising that I am half grey at the age of 26. Yip, for the past year or so I have been waging a war on the grey highlights that insist on permeating my naturally brunette locks. I've never been a high maintenance Sandton girl. Sure, I like high heels and am the first to climb on many a trendy bandwagon (even the 80s leggings and neon trend that's invading the Northern suburbs at present), but I've never been one for weekly nail appointments and I've never been for a facial. I've never really had the urge (or, truthfully the budget) to look polished and 100% put together every day of the week...  Which is why having to go to my super-fabulous hairdresser every six weeks to cover the grey has been an expensive (and time consuming) thorn in my side ever since my wedding day over a year ago. Where am I going with this dull, dye-job monologue yo

And we're into the top 50... 50 Possession by A.S. Byatt 49 The Secret History by Donna Tartt 48 The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery 47 The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera 46 Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel 45 War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy 44  Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell 43  A suitable boy by Vikram Seth 42 I know this much is true by Wally Lamb 41 The shadow of the wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 40 Love in the time of cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 39 Midnight's children by Salman Rushdie 38 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 37 The English Patient by Michale Ondaatje 36 The Grapes of Wrath by John STeinbeck 35 Atlas shrugged by Ayn Rand 34 Atonemen t by Ian McEwan 33 Great Expectation s by Charles Dickens 31 A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry Oi! The less said about how I scored on this list the better... only eight of the above books even ring a familiar bell – never mind not having read 99% of the novel

"Pooh was just going to say 'Hallo!' for the fourth time when he thought that he wouldn't, so he said, 'Who is it?' instead. 'Me,' said a voice. 'Oh!' said Pooh. 'Well, come here.' So Whatever-it-was came here, and in the light of the candle he and Pooh looked at each other. 'I'm Pooh,' said Pooh. 'I'm Tigger,' said Tigger. And that's the beginning of some very bouncy stories." – Taken from  A.A.Milne's Tigger Comes To The Forest

To my dear friend who is about to go from a Miss to a Mrs, “Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry.” As you prepare to say ‘I do’ and change your name I thought long and hard about what advice I could give you. The conclusion I came to is that I haven’t been married long enough to know a great deal about marriage but I have been married long enough to know that it’s God-given. His wedding present, if you will.  It may not come in a big box with a pretty ribbon, and its contents  may not always be what you expect but it is the gift that keeps on giving long after the confetti has settled and the wedding dress has been packed away. Alfred Adler once said: “We only regard those unions as real examples of love and real marriages in which a fixed and unalterable decision has been taken. If men or women contemplate an escape, they do not collect all their powers for the task. In none of the serious and important tasks

Following on from last week's Friday Facts post dedicated to marshmallows, I am delving into the second half of my blog's title – merlot . Mmmmm... the yummy, deep red liquid that turns any wine glass into an excuse for festivity and conjures up, just by mentioning it, memories of cosy fires, bear skin rugs and fabulous country pubs. This Wine.com post  has this to say about the deliciously decadent beverage that makes pasta, pizza and all things decadent that little extra bit more tantalising to the taste bids: Pronounced mehr-LOW, this particular wine variety is no second fiddle. Poor Merlot, Miles gave it quite a reputation in Sideways. Luckily, Merlot did not take it personally and continues to rule the right bank of Bordeaux and produce quality, well-made wines elsewhere in the world.  The grape's unfortunate fall into disgrace came from a few wineries who over-planted the variety and made inexpensive, watered-down Merlot. But the principle grape of top chateaux

Okay, so I'm not exactly a fashion expert/style guru but I am pretty sure that all-bran flakes, hot coffee and champagne satin don't go together. I'm also pretty sure that Murphy had a full on belly laugh at my expense this morning when I managed to trip up my stairs in slippers and spill the contents of my cereal bowl and coffee mug. Not once, but twice – yes I tripped again, seconds later, trying to limit the damage. It was only when I got down the stairs to grab a dish towel to clean up my breakfast disaster that I realised something mortifying – my bridesmaid dress (my gorgeous floor length, satin Karen Millen creation) that I need to be wearing in 48 hours was hanging underneath my stair case *gulp* [insert shock, horror, gasp here] and it had not escaped unscathed... I have never moved so quickly in my life before, I looked like the Tazmanian Devil on speed and was doing my best 'I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date' (from the Rabbit in

One woman's trash is another woman's treasure and I'm okay with that, really I am, just not when one woman decides to take ownership of one of my treasures and justify her actions with "but I found it in the bin." Seriously? She expected me to believe that I had thrown my top into the bin in my bedroom, that I had purposely chucked away my favourite brand new midnight blue sparkly top with ruffles and satin covered buttons. I'll say it again... seriously? As if it makes sense in  anyone's  universe that a girl who has been wearing said item of clothing as often as she can (without appearing to never wash her clothes) since finding the treasure with glee –  on sale  no less –  last month, would throw her current  favourite  item of clothing away. I refer to the conversation I had this morning with my once-a-week housekeeper: [after hunting through every drawer, cupboard, laundry basket, nook and cranny in my house] Me: Gloria, have you seen my new b

tick-tock, tick-tock... 69 The boy in the striped pyjamas by John Boyne 68 The other Boleyn girl by Philippa Gregory 67 The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco 66 East of Eden by John Steinbeck 65 The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood 64 Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoyevsky 63 Mort by Terry Pratchett 62 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis 61 Lord of the flies by William Golding 60 Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 59 River God by Wilbur Smith 58 Fugitive pieces by Anne Michaels 57 Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame 56 Dune by Frank Herbert 55 Q & A by Vikus Swarup 54 The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith 53 Chocolat by Joanne Harris 52 The House of the Spirit s by Isabel Allende 51 Perfume by Patrick Suskind Little women is one of my favourite books of all time and I LOVE the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. So thrilled that Wind in the Willows also made the list – gorgeous book and so beautifully