An Ode to NYC

NEW YORK is one of my favourite cities. I wish I visited it more when I lived in Connecticut. It's an incredibly beautiful, vibrant place to get lost.

JAMIE SCOTT shot 15 different locations around Central Park for 6 months and shot this timelapse video as the seasons changed. Enjoy.

Via Grind TV.

Impeccable Oreo

I LOVE eating Oreos and I love what they do in social media and advertising. Check out some of their posters below to celebrate their 100th anniversary.

Via The Inspiration Room.

Panda-monium

IF GIVEN the opportunity, I would move to China to take care of pandas. I love them that much. If you've ever seen them play on a slide, you would understand why. If you haven't seen that beauty, behold…

YOU'RE WELCOME.

Mabula Bula Bula Bula

TRAVEL WRITING would be my ultimate dream job. Travel, write, repeat. Sign me up! So this piece is for the Travelstart blog contest (you can find out info here). I hope you enjoy!

GAME RESERVES have never been high on my travel list but after taking a trip to Mabula Game Lodge, it features highly and repeatedly. My boyfriend and I were lucky enough to win a trip there, thanks to 2oceansvibe, and it was a perfect location for our fourth year anniversary.

WE FLEW from Durban to Johannesburg the Friday morning and then it was a 2 hour drive to the lodge. The room was incredible, it was double a standard room and had a huge bathtub and shower (which I love). We were just in time for lunch (every meal is buffet - hoorah! Let the eating begin!) which we enjoyed outside by the bar and second pool. Where was the first pool, you ask? Right around the corner, very big and kitted out with a waterfall and bar stools in the water where you can sit and order drinks. Upon seeing this, I declared that I would sit in that pool and order a cocktail (which I did on the Saturday and it was one of the best cocktails I have ever had).

Our room, with balcony and turn down service.

First pool, with AMAZING bar.

Second pool, decorative only. No swimming.

THAT AFTERNOON we got to enjoy one of two game drives (we passed on the other two so we could enjoy more of the lodge) where we got to see giraffe, hippos, zebra, elephants and so much more. My favourite was the morning (5am!!!) game drive where we drive through a big gate into the lion enclosure, which is over 250 hectares. There are 11 lions and we got to see 7 of them - not bad! And I'm obsessed with lions so to see them casually walking meters away from us was one of my travel highlights!

The King of the Jungle, meters away from us.

IT WAS a beautiful lodge with incredible staff - we loved our game ranger - and we made memories we will never forget. I now click on every game reserve travel deal I see!

Getty Fails

IF YOU'VE ever had to visit a stock photo site, you'll know there are some completely random, disturbing, odd, weird photos out there.

GETTY CRITICS site posts those gems with awesome captions…

Stock site caption: Happy family driving in a convertible car
Getty Critics caption: Stop fucking around and fork out the $23 to take your kids to an amusement park.

Stock site caption: Girl (3-5) sitting on mother's shoulders, laughing
Getty Critics caption: Suzanne immediately regretted getting her daughter MMA lessons. But she didn’t have much time to think about it, because she’s dead.

Stock site caption: Close up of family eating hotdogs
Getty Critics caption: The guy and girl are pretty pumped about tandem eating that lettuce dog. But the little girl is more excited about eating your soul.

Stock site caption: Man photographing friends with digital camera on beach
Getty Critics caption: It’s bad enough that Getty’s filled with bad photos, now they’re selling bad photos of people taking terrible photos. Also - Inception joke.

 CHECK OUT more here.

Traveller's Heart

ANYONE WHO knows me knows that I am obsessed with travel. I would spend all my money on trips to new spots. I'm always thinking of where I would travel next and I definitely don't need any encouragement to travel.

IF YOU'RE not like me, you might need a little inspiration to convert you to the dark side…

VIEW MORE quotes here.

Mumford Lolz

I AM a huge fan of Mumford & Sons. I have a Pinterest board of them, I have their CD's on repeat in my car, and I'm pretty certain I will cry if I ever get to see them live (that much of a fan).

SO WHEN I saw this video… I realized what happiness is. Happiness is Jason Bateman, Ed Helms, Jason Sudeikis and that guy from Saturday Night Live acting as the band in the Hopeless Wanderer music video.

AMAZING.

Nautical Musings

DREAM WITH your eyes open.

"Be More Dog"

THIS IS one of the greatest adverts I've have seen. Created by a UK-based mobile company, O2, it encourages us all to embrace our inner dog.

MAYBE WE should all be a bit more dog (and this is coming from a cat-lover).

Depressingly Strange

I RECENTLY stumbled across the strangest, saddest illustrator - Strange Paul. Head over to his site and have a weep, hold yourself and call your friends and family to tell them you love them. Here are some of the illustrations that pull at my heart strings…

BEAUTIFULLY SAD, wouldn't you agree?

Oh You Trendy Dinos, You!

WHAT WAS initially thought to be a hack of dinosaur proportions (see what I did, see what I did) turned out to be authorized by Vogue UK but it was still pretty bad ass. I present Les Hackes Dinosauraus… 

FABULOUS DINOS wearing fabulous hats parade across the screen. Want to see more, more, more? Visit Vogue UK and enter this code: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A. The more you hit A,  the more dinos that parade! Totally fab, right?

Via The Gloss.

Penguin Fails

I'M QUITE a penguin lover. They're pretty amazing - they're always wearing tuxedos, they can surf and they mate for life. All pretty cool things. But this video of penguin fails is 50% best thing you will ever see, and 50% saddest thing you will ever see. Very conflicting, very enticing.

NO PENGUINS were harmed in the making of this video... Well at least I don't think so.

Screw You, Writer's Block

IF YOU'VE ever sat in front of a computer, cursor blinking away as you rack your brain for something, anything, to write - you've experienced writer's block. Lucky you.

SO TAKE some inspiration from the following writers who have looked WB in the eye and laughed. And went on to write these quotes to save other writers from the dreaded WB. Take courage, dear writers. You are not alone in your struggle.Well, at least there's you and me.

“Suggestions? Put it aside for a few days, or longer, do other things, try not to think about it. Then sit down and read it (printouts are best I find, but that’s just me) as if you’ve never seen it before. Start at the beginning. Scribble on the manuscript as you go if you see anything you want to change. And often, when you get to the end you’ll be both enthusiastic about it and know what the next few words are. And you do it all one word at a time.” – Neil Gaiman

 “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” — Mark Twain

“The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day … you will never be stuck. Always stop while you are going good and don’t think about it or worry about it until you start to write the next day. That way your subconscious will work on it all the time. But if you think about it consciously or worry about it you will kill it and your brain will be tired before you start.” — Ernest Hemingway

“Over the years, I’ve found one rule. It is the only one I give on those occasions when I talk about writing. A simple rule. If you tell yourself you are going to be at your desk tomorrow, you are by that declaration asking your unconscious to prepare the material. You are, in effect, contracting to pick up such valuables at a given time. Count on me, you are saying to a few forces below: I will be there to write.” — Norman Mailer in The Spooky Art: Some Thoughts on Writing

READ MORE quotes here.

Nautical Musings

WHAT IS the strength of your anchor?

Happy Quokka

EVER WANT to know what the happiest animal in the world is? Well then, meet the Quokka - an Australian marsupial.

I APOLOGIZE for the "it's so cute I could DIE" smile that's plastered on your face now. They're unfortunately labeled as "vulnerable" as their cuteness looks awful tasty out in the wild but hopefully zoos and conservation groups can keep them around for generations to come. Now scroll back up to see that adorable smile again!

Gettin' Owned

SO 2013 has owned me and time has made me its bitch.

LET ME elaborate… I had high hopes of owning my time this year. Of exercising and getting healthy. Of writing more. Of starting and completing a Google course. Of reading all the books I own. But 2013 had other plans. I got super busy and neglected things I shouldn't of (like ol' Katastrophe).

IN THIS busy time, I have come across many an awesome thing on the webs that is the Internet. So I'm finally gonna take the time to share it. If you've seen it, sorry… Cry me a river. I think it's awesome and it needs to be written about.

MY FIRST piece of joy is a double whammy! Please be educated now on how animals eat their food…

WITH OVER 68 million views, Mister Epic Mann is pretty much the best thing since sliced bread. Don't believe them? Check out another gem on seven ways to discipline your child.

YOU'RE WELCOME. More joy to follow.

You Know How He Do

THERE ARE three Tumblr accounts I visit on a regular basis - What Should We Call Social Media; My Friends Are Married; and Kanye With White People. I'm not even joking about that last one. Here are a few gems are Kanye hanging with his (white) homies…

Illuminati taking over SNL.

Being a complete creep.

The blog's logic for this pic with Obama was that he is half white so they cropped
half of him out of the picture. Legendary. 

IT ALL started from such a young age…

MORE OF Kanye and his BFF's here. 

Nautical Musings

 

Explore. Dream. Discover.

Why 2012 Rocked the Interwebs

WHAT'S PRETTY awesome about the beginning of a new year, a lot of posts and Best Of's surface from the year before. Some posts can be average, some from the heart, and some mind-blowing. This video is the last one.

IT'S A Google-created video using Google search, Google +, Google Maps and YouTube. If you ever need to be inspired by the Internet, this is your go-to video. "Never stop searching."

Happy Cobain

MY DAD has a pretty great music collection, introducing me to the likes of Counting Crows, Matchbox 20, Radiohead, REM, Live and Nirvana. I got a little obsessed with Nirvana and Kurt Cobain and even read the compilation of his journals.

COBAIN would have turned 45 year old in 2012. To celebrate this, Flavorwire published 29 photos of him looking happy - photos that are quite rare if you've seen some of his other pics. So here are a few of my favorite ones.

Images via Flavorwire.

Bonjour 2013!

A NEW year is upon us! I'm never a big fan of the New Year's Eve celebrations (never as great as the hype - except for NYE in Brazil!) but I do like the feeling of something new. It's a new, fresh year.

YOU GET to evaluate and reflect on the previous year and get motivated for things you want to change or accomplish in the new year. I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions as they often don't last longer than the first two weeks of January but the resolutions below are definitely ones I could consider… Especially if there are cats involved.

DID YOU make any resolutions?