>> If you want your dreams to come true

I am starting to see a pattern here. About once a month I will write a more personal post about my journey in my career, life
and my dreams. I write about people that I admire for following their dreams, and how everybody should just go out an do it!
Easy right? I will write about that studio I want to own, that beautiful illustration print I want, or that place that I
want to visit. Dreams are great. But without a plan they are useless. Dreams can be depressing and feel far away.
Dreams are scary stuff.

...Jeez. Yes.

But I am sure that I am not the only one...everybody has a dream, don't they. That one thing that you're just burning to do with
your life. I think as scary as they are, we need a dream to feel like all is not lost, and one day, things will be different.
Maybe you hate your job and want to do something you love instead. Maybe you want to travel somewhere that looks amazing.
Maybe you want to find a perfect friend. Everybody wants something.

There is just one very unfortunate thing though. Most dreams cost money, time and work. Two things that very few people have
enough of, and the last...we'll, people are lazy. And that is why dreams are scary. Because you need to save or pay too much
for it to happen. Or, you might have to use up all your spare time to plan, or do a course, or do stuff which will leave you
feeling like there is just absolutely no time for anything else. Perhaps you simply can't afford to save and then everything
is just crap and you get depressed and you try to forget about your dream, because in your mind it's impossible or simply
too late...

Mmmm, getting clever aren't I....:-)

Anyways, as scary as dreams are, I think a dream is worth it. And if you think so too, then you will start anyways. Any goal
needs to have a plan. So do it today. Look at what you need to do to make your dream come true. Draw up a timing plan, draw up
a savings plan, register, do some extra work, do whatever necessary. Because every day you wait is a day wasted. Do something
that you feel is important. A dream IS important.

So I wrote this quote from some anonymous clever person, on a really beautiful picture by Italian photographer Manuel Cosentino. 
By the way, this project really inspired me, and I think it's beautiful. Plus it has a bit of a tik-tok tik-tok message... 

Lastly, I am very proud to say that I have stopped dreaming, and I am now doing. I have set my plan in motion to
realise my dream, and my next post about "my journey", will be about how far I've come in making it all happen:-)

>> All that money spent on plants...

...is finally paying off! Just look how lovely my first blooms of poppies and sweat peas are.:-)

>> Getting back into the swing of things.....

...after burning my hand and being out of the office for a week...

>>Hey stranger illustration

Yesterday, I came across Brad and Leigh. They are a married blogging couple from Jo'burg, with a really
stunning creative blog. It is quite simple, but I was completely fetched with the style of Leigh's drawings
and Brad's quirky writing. I think what they are doing is just so nice, a couple that shares each others'
passion for creativity and life. I was especially entertained by their "hello" section, how they speak about
that very familiar voice in their heads, the voice that says "we can't". Their blog is a direct response to
that voice: "we can". I admire how people can just get up and go for what they really want to do. In a creative
industry, you ideas are almost always dictated and often killed by a client, and sometimes it literally makes
you sick. It is nice to see that people can find a way to climb back into their own heart and do something
that they really love doing. Something that I should seriously think about. My blog is a good start,
but it is important to remember that with having only one life, it's worth taking a risk every now and then.

Have a look at these drawings, I adore them. Also, check out Leigh's business called hey stranger, and read a
bit on their blog. By the way, what do you think about the new look, hope you like it:-)

>>Watercolour Saturday

When I was a student, I used to work at the old art shop in Pretoria called Schweickerdt. I was always hanging around the watercolour stand, inspecting the tubes and pans and reading up about the medium. When the shop unfortunately closed down early in 2011, I managed to get a studio set of Winston & Newton watercolour pans for a fraction of the real price, with big plans to go to Hermanus and try them out on a seascape or something...well, that never happened. Working and getting married and making all kinds of plans left no time for me to paint and do art, and when I did have time, I was just too tired and uninspired to remove myself from the couch.

So, this weekend my good friend Clarise and I decided to finally get around to the hobby, and we cracked a bottle of red and whipped out our watercolour brushes. I always paint in oil, and I heard that watercolour is a super difficult medium to use, but I'm pretty much up for any challenge so I gave it a go. Both of us tried watercolour for the first time on Saturday and this is what we came up with. I plan to try these feathers one more time (especially the red ones), and if they come out sexier, then I'll frame them in little wooden frames for our bedroom.

So what do you think?

>>I am officially not an awards-virgin anymore!

A couple of months ago I was starting to get seriously worried that I was not producing the kind of work that I could enter into advertising awards. In my industry, it really doesn't matter if you think you're talented, you are only measured by the amount of awards that you've won and how your porfolio is looking (but one without the other is not really good either). I was freaked out thinking all kinds of crazy things, one of them being that I completely sucked at my job and that I should just start with something different. To tell the truth, and after talking to some people at work, I realised that even the most successful art directors and copywriters think they suck at advertising at some point. The important thing is just to keep trying, and keep entering, and at some point (doesn't matter if it takes you 5 friggen years), you will win something.

Since being pared up with my amazing new copywriter, things have really changed. I am so proud of us, and being part of a team is just the best thing that could happen to me, right in the nick of time. We've been busy with a couple of real exciting pro-active jobs, and last night one of them won third place at the Ad of the Month ceremony Out of Home category. We actually decided to try doing some street pole ideas, since the Loerie awards and AdReach has a trip to Cannes in store for the winner this year (basically because the average street pole ad in South Africa is generally absolutely...well shit). Our streetpole won 3rd place, but was the only streetpole in the category to get a place.

I know, I know, it's only a street pole and it isn't like we won gold at Cannes, but it feels kinda rad winning your first award, doesn't matter how small it is. And who knows, Loeries are soon, and with two entries we might stand another chance. Holding thumbs:-)

Check out the project here.

>>We are going on an adventure

I am rediculously excited by what I am about to announce:

We booked our flights to Argentina!!

Johan and I have been planning a trip to South America for a while, and after much deliberation about the possibility of traveling to Brazil, Chile or Peru, we finally settled on Argentina. A country jam-packed with interestig culture, natural wonders and great food, Argentina turned out to be the perfect South American backpacking adventure (that is what we will be doing). We were intrigued by the culture of tango and cowboys off-course, but I think it is the beautiful landscapes and open spaces we are really after. Stretching all the way from the Amazon to almost Antarctica, this country is enormous, and although we would have loved some more time to see everything there is to see, we had to settle for only 5 destinations. First up is Buenos Aires for city culture and tango. The second place is Iguazu Falls, one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, and bordering on Brazil. The third magical place will be Mendoza, where we will hopefully be able to enjoy some good steaks and wine. We will then travel down to Bariloche, Switzerland in South America. We will comlpete our circle route with El Calafete, to visit the Perito Moreno glacier before returning back to Buenos Aires.  We plan to travel there in November, which is also the time when most of the Jacaranda trees in Buenos Aires will be in full bloom. I think I might have to invest in a wide-angle lens for my camera, because the epicness, I have a feeling, will just be too much! I will also be blogging our adventure right here, so there is another thing to look forward to:-))) Eeeeek, can't wait!!!

>>How I feel today

>>Happy mother's day

 

Sunday is mother's day, and I have a whole weekend of entertaining and cooking in front of me. But just before things get too hectic and busy, I thought I could take a moment to write something about my mother, and why I want to do something special for her on Sunday.

Like most people, I don't I take enough time to say "I love you mom". I thought I could make a list of 10 things to thank her for, so she can know that I appreciate who she is and what she means in my life. Here it goes.

Dear mom

1. Thanks for your hard work over the years to give me a good education. It is the best gift I ever received, really.
2. Thanks for keeping me innocent and a "girl" for as long as you could. I am glad that I had a chance to be a kid for as long as possible.
3. Thank you for your patience with me when I was young and hormonal and stupid, and that you still love me - unconditionally.
4. Thanks for teaching me (more that anything), how to be grateful for all my blessings.
5. Thank you for teaching me how to have faith.
6. Thank you for not spoiling me. I know how to make things happen for myself:-)
7. Thank you for encouraging my talents, and letting me know you are proud of what I've done with my life so far.
8. Thank you for teaching me how to be a strong and confident woman through your example.
9. Thanks for being adventurous. Because of you, I am not afraid of things.
10. It's not just about the things you did for me, but more about what you were willing to sacrifice to make my life a really good life, so thank you.

I am who I am today because I have an amazing mother.  Because of her, I turned out more that okay, and I love her.
Happy mother's day.

>>Don't compare

>>Jozi craft beer festival

Last Saturday was another Jozi craft beer festival day. Heaps of fun!
This festival is where a bunch of micro breweries from all around South Africa come together to allow people to sample some of their most delicious brews. You'll find more than enough to drink, really yummy food, beer pong and be listening to sweet tunes. We went with a couple of friends and had a whole day of being silly:-)