and all that jazz....

had a few crazy weeks and been trying to fit editing in amongst it all.  oh, if there were only more hours in the day!  took some pics a few weeks ago of a friend's jazz band, Banned In Evolution, who played at Helderberg Farm.  what a great location! hope they plan to have more concerts there.  so bliss sitting there in the sun amidst the trees sipping on wine, eating cheese and crackers...and taking some pics in between! :)

the band played "when the saints go marching in" and we managed to ask some of the band members to come and play that again at the end of my hubby's father memorial service.  was such a privilege to have them there.  and we had our friend singing along with them in bruce springsteen style.  thought i would add this as such a great cover of it... have a lovely weekend! :)

a tribute to david groves.....

after 3 years of struggle with cancer, my husband's father, David Groves, went to heaven on the evening of 20th March.

i would like to tribute this blog post to him, one who was so dedicated to everything he put his mind to, one who was wise, had a love for the downcast, poor, and broken hearted. we can learn so much from his life...

last saturday we had a memorial service in honour of his life. my husband wrote a beautiful song for his father, and i just wanted to share this with you. it makes me cry every time i hear it.  also love this old pic of his dad....so classic...

Bend In The Road by nickgroves

"There is a man who once lived his life in view of the mercy of God. This man didn't think more highly of himself than he aught, but in sober judgement was willing to associate with people of low position. This man served, taught, encouraged, gave generously, led diligently, showed mercy cheerfully. 

This man loved sincerely, he hated what was evil, he clung to what was good. This man was devoted to those near to him, and honored others above himself. This man was never lacking in zeal, was joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. This man shared with those who were in need. This man practiced hospitality.

This man blessed those that persecuted him, he rejoiced with those who rejoiced and he mourned with those who mourned. He lived in harmony with those he knew. He lived at peace with those around him, and never took revenge.

This man was never overcome with evil, but overcame evil with good.

This man is my father." Nick Groves - excerpt from David Groves Eulogy

the year of threes.....

 a few weeks ago i had the privilege of doing a shoot for some friends of ours at their joint 35th birthday party. Esasis and Elizabeth decided this occasion deserved a fun time to dress up to the nines and to throw a huge birthday party out on a wine farm in Paarl, which was fantastic! as Esasis told me, it is the year of threes for them...three years of being married and both turning 35.  


Esasis and Elizabeth are both so creative. Esasis has his own business called Incite Creative Solutions, where he organizes events, brands companies and does web design. for this party, they both restyled Elizabeth's wedding dress, made all the decor, which was vintage style, and Esasis even cooked all the food! it was a wonderful planned party and so much fun! they are an extremely talented couple and it was a pleasure to be there to capture the day! :)

to end off wanted to share this song with you that i have come back to time and time again recently.  absolutely loving the cinematic orchestra at the moment, such relaxing music and this song is my fave....to build a home... enjoy! :)

it must be love....part deux...

this is the second installment of our weekend away - we went to Old Mac Daddy's Trailer Park in the Elgin Valley - one of my new favorite places!  love this quirky, beautiful place tucked away in the mountains along the valley road off the N2.  i have been wanting to go here, or one of their sister resorts, Daddy Long Legs and the Grand Daddy Hotel in Cape Town for a while now, mainly to see their creative designs.  Old Mac Daddy consists of villas and old fashion amercian trailers, each with the inside designed to a specfic theme by a SA designer. The park also has its own restaurant, The Barn; swimming pool; lake for fishing and cycling trails - although Nick and I weren't feeling very energetic for the cycling part!  We were staying in the King Midas trailer, situated right on the lake.  This place was the perfect way to end a brilliant weekend - and we are definitely wanting to go back there soon and take a few friends with!

one of the villas

the swimming pool

one of the trailers

inside the Barn restaurant

time for a read

inside our King Midas trailer

our trailer

view from trailer :)

just wanted to end off by sharing this video with you, Lovesick by The Arrows. The Arrows are a South African band and are fantastic! so if you haven't heard of them before check it out!

it must be love...love...love...

some people love it, some people hate...however you feel about it, i hope you enjoyed valentine's day yesterday!  my hubby nick and i have been working our little socks off recently so we decided to take this weekend off to go away together.  nick surprised me on the friday by taking me to a place called Hannah's View in Pringle Bay.  my, it was really stunning there!  Hannalie the owner has made this place feel like a home away from home. With her great attention to detail she has made the house so beautiful...the rooms were lovely, beds comfy and breakfast delicious!  

I often take my camera with me whenever we go away, and this time took more pictures of the house and the surroundings then nick and i as they seemed more interesting! :)  i also took the opportunity to make my first business proposal and see if Hannalie liked any of my photographs whether she would like to use them for her website.  she agreed!  so here are some of the photos i took while we were there. :) 

      

the breakfast room

       

the amazing house

                            

       

the reception - i loved the apron!

 

the lounge and a bottle of wine waiting for us in our room - this scored big brownie points from me! :)

    

the outside lounging area

Hannlie's attention to detail - flowers everyone and a stunning clean pool!

love the old antique bath style

 

our next stop was the Old Mac Daddy Trailer Park in the Elgin Valley...part two to be posted tomorrow.

Whether you are in the mood for love or not, thought i would post this song.  an oldy but a classic and brings me back to my london roots....