Looking back on THE wedding

It's been over a month now since the BIG day and i thought it was about time i did a little recap on the day itself and the organising that went into the day. Weddings are a very important milestone in any relationship and some people signify that by spending an astranomical about of money and time on their big day. Our wedding was very important to us but i couldn't justify the cost of hiring a fancy wedding planner and leaving everything to them... so bring in myself! One great thing about organising a wedding yourself is that you get exactly what you want and you appreciate it a whole lot more.

My 3 biggest challenges were finding the perfect venue, deciding on food and bringing my ideas for decor together.

Venue: We wanted the wedding to be on a beach in Durban... not just overlooking a beach or next to one but on the actual sand. I did large abouts of research and the "normal" venues would only allow the ceremony on the beach and they cost an arm and a leg. Eventually i stumbled upon Beachbums, a small restaurant and backpackers right on the beach 40 mins north of Durban. After much to-ing and fro-ing and some stress things came together perfectly :)

Food: We wanted to create a very relaxed atmosphere at our wedding (having a wedding on the sand is a good start) and I wanted to introduce the American visitors to true Saffer culture. What better way to do that than with a braai, complete with pap and chakalaka! :)

So now we have a venue on the sand just metres from the breaking waves and a braai, the next thing to bring together was the decor.

Decor: While deciding on a venue, both Stu and i had one request each... he wanted tiki torches and i wanted paper lanterns. Both worked perfectly with the decor i had in mind... chilled out chic :) my vision was to have a collection of different clear bottles on each table with a flower in each, surrounded by tealights to form the centre piece, white table clothes and hessian table runners, paper lanterns hanging from the roof of the tent and sand underfoot... the result was even better than i could have imagined :)

And what would a wedding on the beach be like without a jumping castle ;) i decided to add a jumping castle just to add to the relaxed atmosphere and it was a huge hit, not just with the little kids but with the big kids as well :)

Unfortunetly the one thing we could not control was the weather and when having an outdoor wedding you are at the mercy of the weather gods... thankfully we had no rain, but man did the wind blow. Stu's only disappointment of the evening was the fact that it was to windy to light his beloved tiki torches!!

It was a fantastic day, enjoyed by everyone, especially Stu and i... that's the main thing :) A huge thank you to everyone who celebrated the day with us, especially Stu's friends and family that made the long trip from the states... it was amazing meeting you all :)

Counting down the weeks

This blog of mine seems to be turning into a visa info blog... i can't wait for the day i don't have a visa issue hanging over my head. To update, i'm still in Durban and it's been 2 weeks since i made the trip up to Pretoria for my date with the Swiss Embassy to hand in my residency application. I was told to wait 8 weeks and then phone them to check on the status of my application... sigh, so we wait some more!!! As things stand now it looks like i'll only be able to make the move to Zurich at the end of Nov or early Dec.

I have been trying to keep myself busy during this time... with studying for my upcoming exams taking up the bulk of my time (writing 5 exams between 30 Oct and 25 Nov), i am also helping out Cllr Warwick Chapman with some of his ward 18 issues, planning our wedding and was planning my school reunion (which was held last Saturday, it was awesome to see and reconnect with some of the girls again).

My husband will be making the trip across the equator in a couple weeks to visit me... YAY :) we will be spending our time together in Cape Town... oh so very excited :) :)

Sjoe, where has the time gone?

As i write this i have 23 days left until i depart for the states and i'm not quite sure how i'm going to fit all i have to do into my days! Just to give you an idea... this week is my last week at work and i have 3 shifts to work as well as having an event to attend every night. Monday a birthday party in Ballito, Tuesday dinner with a friend, Wednesday i'm working, Thursday is free for now (but it is phuza Thursday, so anything could happen), Friday i'm working my very last shift (YIPEE) and then have a wine tasting evening... yum yum, Saturday have shopping to do for the Otter Trail next week and then dinner with friends at Moyo and Sunday is family day... eish, i'm tired just writing that and don't forget i have to fit studying in there as my exams are coming up very shortly as well!!

As mentioned above, myself and 10 others are doing the Otter Trail next week... really can't wait to get lost in the middle of nowhere for a while and away from the real world! We leave early on Monday morning on our road trip which will take about 14 hours but are breaking it up and taking it slowly. We are stopping in Coffee Bay on Monday night and staying at the Coffee Shack, it should be a good party. Tuesday we complete our road trip and stay at Wild Tongue, where we will be doing our carbo loading and resting. Wednesday morning we set off on the trail and will be trailing until Sunday where we return to Wild Tongue on Sunday night and then set off early on Monday morning to return Durbs! All in all, it sounds like an awesome week of adventure and i'll have loads of fotos to share! :)

the bar in casa la chapman, best pub in town and the location of the birthday party in Ballito. this pub is owned by father Richard and located at his home, it is also fulled to the max with "stuff" from all over the world

why the long face... it's a rusta wildebeest :)

Chroniciles of my kitchen

Since i'm slowly and not so surely packing up my stuff at the mo i've started taking random fotos of my little home... here are a few from around my kitchen.

met Iris and Daisy... when i moved in Iris was on her last legs but with lots of love and many conversations she has come alive in style :)

my favourite saying on magnets... what more could i ask for?

a display of my favourite wines... notice they are empty :)

the "very" full fridge... there is normally more beer in this fridge than water but i think we have more chilly sauces than anything else!

2010 stadium... the amazing progress

I can see this stadium from work and everyday without fail and stare at it for a couple of seconds and admire the amazing progress that is going on... it makes me really proud that South Africa and Durban can pull off something so amazing!! Bring on 2010... we will be ready :)

The progress is amazing... that arc grows everyday!

Spring has sprung :)

Spring has arrived in South Africa and here i am, sick in bed with flu... oh the joys, but after my last experience with the flu which landed me with a dodgy ticker i've decided to take it easy and not push myself!!

Winter was a very busy season for me, loads of events from mid-xmas and The July to Madam Zingara and the Durban Airshow, not to forget supporting Trish as she ran the Comrades and helping out the the KZN Rowing Regatta... i think my liver got a big wake up call, but i had an awesome (yes i used that word) winter and met some fantastic people! :)

But i think the biggest developement is my pending return to the states (37 days and counting), i got my visa, resigned from Billys (really enjoyed that) and am now just waiting on the plane ticket but everything is in place... except my head, which is lagging a little but coming around slowly!! As much as i'm excited about going back to the states, i've been home for 2 years now and have settled back into the South African way of life and am really enjoying myself, but i know i need to go... for many reasons, its a chance of a lifetime!

I'm now in the middle of studying for a couple of exams i write before i leave and planning a trip to Cape Town and the Otter Trail at the end of September... loads to look forward to in the next couple of weeks... so, as the song says, "Wake Me Up When September Ends" :)

Winter is HOT, HOT, HOT in Durbs

It's been a busy couple of weeks in Durbs... definitely the best place to be during winter in SA with temperatures averaging around 23C!

the Beach Cafe and a beautiful winters' morning in Durbs

Two weekends ago myself and da crew made the trip inland to Underberg, where we had rented an 8 bedroom house, Haycroft Lodge, complete with it's own lake, industrial kitchen and full on bar for mid-xmas!!! We indulged in a full on xmas dinner and a suffient amount of alcohol... it was an awesome weekend and great to get out of Durbs for a little while!

da crew enjoying mid xmas dinner

the amazing view from our house

This last weekend was the famous Vodacom July, myself and da crew rented our site, doned our gear and packed our cooler boxes for a fabuloous day out at the races... yes, there are horses at the July! The highlight of the evening was the very yummy bunny chow... you can't beat curry in bread! :)

the girls tarting it up

the boys... being boys

proof that there are horses at the July

Today is exactly TWO years since i arrived back on the shores of South Africa... i can't believe its been so long. I never thought i'd manage to stay 'home' for this long, but i seem to do everything in 2s and with my pending trip to the states coming up, the trend looks set to continue!! It's been an eventful and challenging 2 years in which i have achieved quite a bit... travelled through Africa, almost finished my degree (btw, i passed all my exams), made some amazing friends and most importantly, i've grown as a person!

I have my visa interview at the US consulate on Wednesday... so i'll let you know how that goes, fingers crossed!

Wake me up when September ends...

... cos i'm leaving on a jet plane at the beginning of October, Florida bound! :)

Going back to the states has always been in the pipeline but i haven't been able to get it right... until now and i'm super stoked! I've got a waitressing job at one of the top golf estates in the states, Johns Island Club in Vero Beach, Fl... the job sounds almost to good to be true but it is true and i'll be there (visa pending) at the beginning of October! Watch this space for more details :)

In other news, i've just finished another semester of studying... this degree is slowly but surely getting done and who knows maybe one day i'll have some kind of qualification from an actual university and not just honours from the university of life! :)

The Billys crew

This Sunday just past was my work xmas party... yes, xmas in June, this is what we do! :) we had an awesome day, the first half was spent chilling at the dam on bean bags around a fire while some of the crazy boys went Wake-boarding... bbbbbrrrrrr. For the second half of the day we took over Taco Zulu for lunch and a few too many drinks, but fun was had by all! :) i am gonna miss the crazy bunch i work with but i'm moving onto bigger and better!!

The bestest waitresses in Durbs, oh and the bossman :)

Home sweet home

The view from my front door

The view from my balcony door

3 weeks on

ok, maybe a little over 3 weeks!

Well, i think i'm finally starting to adjust, as i said in my previous post i found things extremely rough at first... but everything is slowly but surely settling down. I've registered for this semester and studying is underway. I'm finally moving into my new flat this weekend, which i think is just the change i need... not that living with mom has been tough, but i need to get out on my own again. The drivers license thing is still a total cock up... i'll get back to you about that next year sometime. I sent my CV into the Suncoast Casino, they got back to me the next day and said i had all the relevent experience, etc but i had to wait for the boss to get back in August before anything could happen... so that's what i've been doing, it's a hurry up and wait situation!!!

The BIG 5 in sand

Other than that, i've been up to a few things. My cousin, Shannon, who has his PPL took me on a flight up to Richard's Bay and back... it was awesome, i'm very proud of him! Then last weekend i went to my first rugby game in about 5 years... the Sharks had to spoil my fun and loose tho! We also enjoyed an awesome day at Durban Botanic gardens, drinking wine, eating cheese and biscuits and listening to Watershed play live... most enjoyable!

So live in Africa goes on! I do have something extremely exciting to look forward to tho... i have a very special someone coming to visit at the end of this month and we are doing a whirlwind tour of Durban and Cape Town... very, very excited!

Til next time
Cheers :)

Durbs by the sea

Here i am... back in Durban! I find it hard to call it home, cos for some reason i walk around here and i just don't feel like i am at home... that'll probably change with time i suppose.

Well nothing much has actually changed since i've been gone... everything is still pretty much where it was, with a few additions here and there! The first couple of days i was back, my head was spinning... i wasn't use to walking around hearing South African accents, i had to keep reminding myself that i as indeed back in SA!

There is so much that i need to do and it has me all a little stressed at the mo... job hunting, studying, moving flat, trying to organise a drivers license (which is a total cock up) and just trying to keep focused... it's all a little much at the mo, but one step at a time!

Anyway, thought i'd just update everyone on my where abouts and yes i know i haven't finished my recap on Alaska... will get there with time!
Hope you are all well :)
Robyn