Musings of a Hopeful Romantic

Live. Love. Adventure.

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  • A Taste of Home

    A Taste of Home

    Winter is definitely making its presence known. The crisp, crackle in the morning air and the cooler evenings that make it ok to go home, put on your pj’s and snuggle with a cup of hot chocolate.

    It’s this time of year that makes me the most appreciative of the place I call home. My bearded Fisherman, my Rusty-boy and Indie-gogs can make any bad day, good. When I climb into to bed at night and warm my icy feet against said fisherman, my heart knows all is well in my world.

    Food is, and always has been a very big part of my life. I truly believe I was born hungry. And growing up in a family of six, you learnt to eat fast if you had your eye on that last sausage in the pan. Needless to say, being the eldest I adapted the fastest and that last sausage was mine. Family meals are a huge part of what makes a house a home. Sometimes there is nothing that can comfort you the way your mommy’s cooking does. As we grow up, move out and tentatively try to “adult”, this is often the thing we miss most.

    So here’s to the Mom’s who make sure we are fed, the food that brings families together and the people (human and fur-kind) who make a house a home. May we remember how lucky we all are.

    P.S. Last night was one of those nights but alas my Mommy was not close at hand and so I attempted my childhood favourite myself. Bobotie. I’ve shared the recipe here below for those of you in need of some comfort or just a good ol’ taste of home.

    Tash

    xxx

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  • A Letter to My Daughter 

    A Letter to My Daughter 

    So my bestie is having a baby girl tomorrow. Thinking about this reminded me of something I wrote a while ago and I thought what better time, than on the eve of the birth of this precious soul, would there be to share this?


    You are perfectly you. You do not need to change in any way. Please never let others opinions change how you feel about yourself.

    Own your body. It is the only one you will ever have. And it’s beautiful. It is the vehicle through which you achieve all your dreams.

    Love yourself. It is an amazing thing to help others. But don’t ever allow yourself to put everyone else’s needs so far ahead of yours that you get left behind. That’s not love. It’s martyrdom and that’s never pretty.

    Your mind can be your best friend or your most powerful enemy. Choose wisely. Everything in your life will be a culmination of the choices you make. You ALWAYS have a choice. Remember there are always consequences to every action. Act kindly.

    Your heart is going to be broken. Make sure it’s worth it. Just because a boy tells you you’re beautiful doesn’t mean he will always think that. People are quick to speak. Think before you speak. Words should be used to build not to break down. Walk away. Walk away and don’t ever turn your pretty head to look back if he doesn’t treasure you every minute of every day. People change. Their actions are a reflection of them not of you. You should be adored. Always. Fighting is good. But fight honestly. And always laugh about it afterwards. Spend time holding hands. Get to know someone before you let them into your heart. You are allowed to be picky. Choosing the man, the partner for life’s biggest adventure demands that. Never settle. You deserve to be ecstatically happy every day of your life. Choose someone who is honest. Honesty is the only true foundation for love.

    Trust your intuition. It’s there for a reason. If something doesn’t feel right don’t do it. You are always allowed to say no. You are more precious than you will ever know. Don’t be afraid to wait for the one who will show you that everyday.

    Never take love for granted. Your friends, your family. Life is so short. Make every day count. Life is so very exciting.

  • Chasing Snow

    Chasing Snow

    The middle of winter may seem a rather unlikely time to shrug off the warmth and protection of home sweet home to go adventuring but this is exactly why we forced our way out of hibernation and took to the road in search of adventure. To do something out of the ordinary and embrace spontaneity.

    Winter is a notorious season for inactivity. We tell ourselves that because it’s cold outside, our couch potato behaviour is justified. Necessary. Not lazy at all.

    But… We know this isn’t true.

    Well, at least not for me. I bury myself in the couch, yes I said in, and binge on all things delicious, because I am lazy. And it has become a habit. Not because it’s justified. Now, post my challenge to myself and all of you last week, I knew I would need to be able to deliver on at least one moment of engagement with the wide world of opportunity out there.

    Joined by my funny fisherman, who was at first, somewhat reluctant (read grumpy) to be rolled out of bed to face the cold and wet outdoors on a Saturday, and  our friends the Swales, we set off in search of snow.

    Now this is somewhat more complicated than it sounds. Snow is not always, as obliging as we would hope. A 3-hour drive, followed by a treacherous slip and slide down a muddy dirt road – which would have done any drifter proud – and we arrived at a very cold, but completely snow-free destination. Boo.

    Silverstreams is a little gem, tucked away at the foot of the mountain. And I have to say we were all enchanted by our “Cara-cabins” (A caravan, log cabin hybrid) and the picturesque surroundings we found ourselves in. A good dose of old-school conversation (no tv at Silverstreams), a roaring fire and the most delicious potjie EVER, and the result could only be some very happy campers.

    And then the snow fairy came to play. Happiness.

    There’s nothing that can quite compare, to the look of joy on the face of a child, experiencing something for the first time. This is the joy we lose as we grow up. And this is the joy we need to hold on to. To go in search of. And to engage with. Daily.

    I couldn’t be happier that I managed to drag my lazy self off the couch this weekend in search of snow, and in search of adventure. Tell me, what did you engage with?

    Tash

    xxx

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  • Peace, Love & Butterflies

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    Now I know it’s been a while since I put thought to paper. That doesn’t mean that I’ve been thought-free over this time. But rather, so very overwhelmed, by the montage of thoughts that traverse through my mind on a daily basis, that I’ve been incapable of articulating anything, let alone something that justifies being put to paper.

    I started this blog with the best intentions. To be diligent when it came to posting pieces on a regular basis, as well as attempting to be funny or engaging.  I mean, why would anyone read this if I wasn’t?

    No pressure at all, right?

    Sadly, I’ve come to the halting realisation, all good intentions aside, that when racing from one deadline to the next, somethings got to give.

    I know that I am not the only one caught up in this crazy cycle of being “busy”. This has become very apparent to me, not only from conversations with friends but also from the feedback I received on the previous posts. So here’s the burning question – If we all feel the same frustrations of being  so busy being “busy” that we don’t have time to just be, then why are we not challenging these norms?

    I come from a generation that was encouraged to speak our mind, blaze our own pathways and always expect to exceed even our own expectations. This alone should give us the confidence to take back our power, the power we have relinquished so easily, to the conventional and predictable.

    Now I know that nothing that I am saying here is particularly groundbreaking or insightful. We are all fully aware of our state of being.  Aware but not engaged.  Awareness is wonderful. But only when followed by a form of engagement that prepares the way for change. Who wants to be constantly aware of everything that’s “wrong” without a way to make it right? Not me, that’s for damn sure. So as of right now, this minute, I commit to being engaged with life, instead of waiting and watching the world go by.

    I will make time, to take time out. Time to sharpen my metaphorical sword. So as to be able to achieve more with the time I have. I challenge you all to do the same.

    Burnout is a hard look to wear. So avoid it.

    Engage with peace.

    Engage with love.

    Engage with butterflies.

    And be happy.

    Life is awesome. Always. Let’s go live it.

    xxx

  • About last night…

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    So last night I was paid a visit by my old friend Insomnia. It’s an occasional visit, that I neither relish nor expect, but have over the years come to accept due to my overly active imagination.

    As I tossed and turned and did my utmost not to disturb my funny fisherman on the other side of the bed, I started thinking about work. The proposals, billings, deadlines. The things that keep me busy for at least 40 hours of my week. And then I started to wonder, not for the first time, why do we do it? Now obviously I know, practically, we need to work, in order to have money, to pay the bills. To eat. To have a roof over our heads. And, for me personally, to fund my insatiable appetite for chocolate. For one moment can we just set that all aside? And ask the glaring question, which is begging to be asked – Where did we go so wrong?

    As a society, as humanity, when did we decide that the norm will be, to put on our big peoples’ pants 5 days a week, for up to 50 years of our lives, and march ourselves off to the daily grind?

    This is not normal. It is an unfortunate reality, yes. But I will never accept this as normal. Normal should be us humans living in harmony with the earth. Working our own little piece of paradise and enjoying the fruits of our labour. Spending our days creating, and baking and breathing in the sweet fresh air of freedom. Living. Now I know this may sound a little happy hippie, hug a tree, BUT, could you truly say that were you given the opportunity to live like this you wouldn’t grab onto it with both hands and never let go? Instead, we spend so much of our lives behind a screen with meaningful human interaction being relegated to the 2 days on either side of this madness. Madness.

    I am not a robot. Though I have often marvelled the benefits of having more than two arms and maybe more than one brain, I believe this is due to the crazy conditioning, we are faced with daily to do more of what’s expected and feel less. Human.

    I am a human. I want to feel human. To laugh. To cry. To be a friend and a lover. A big, fat, emotional mess. But a mess that overflows with love for all things great and small.

    One of the scariest realisations I have ever had is that the time we are allocated for this lifetime is finite. And that unlike money, once it is spent, we can’t just go out there and make some more. However, it isn’t all doom, gloom and unhappy endings. The perception of time can be altered, depending entirely what you do with it. Happiness, friends, family and the pure joy of being free, amplifies the time we have. The relationships we build and the love we create make us infinite. And that is really the only way to live forever. How long is forever? Well, that is a question I will leave to The White rabbit to answer.

    “Alice: How long is forever? White Rabbit: Sometimes, just one second.”― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

    So because I have bills to pay and chocolate to consume I will put on my big girl pants tomorrow and again the day after and most probably, the day after that too. But I will be damned if somehow, someday, in the not too distant future, I don’t find the magic elixir that will allow me just to live. To breathe in the fresh sweet air. To bake. And to create.

  • Live. Love. Adventure.

    Live. Love. Adventure.

    Once upon time, while pondering what the point is, of this crazy, colourful, sometimes overwhelming, thing called life, my dad pointed out a frightening little fact that has stuck with me ever since.

    You spend a third of your life asleep, if you’re lucky, you are dreaming sweetly. A third of your life at work, if you are grinding away at that conventional 8 to 5 grindstone, which means you are only left with a third of your life to live? Really! Only one third to do the things that make your heart sing? To make a difference. To love and to adventure.

    Wow.

    Now if that doesn’t put a few things in perspective, then I don’t know if anything ever will.

    When I was a little girl I wanted to be a ballerina. Now hold on, I know most little girls want to be a ballerina at some point. I mean the sequins, tutu’s and bright shining lights, who wouldn’t want it? But for me it wasn’t just a phase. It was a fire that burned fierce inside my heart. It consumed me in a way that very few other pursuits have been able to since. It was my love, my challenge, my escape and all the beauty I needed in my life. When I danced I felt truly alive and I always had music in my heart. I danced seriously for 18 years of my life. But as with all things that we love, we stand a chance of losing them. I lost my dream of being a ballerina. Through injury. Through lack of discipline. And for momentarily letting my focus slip.

    But the one thing I have learnt, and yes I learnt it the hard way, is that life is too short to waste time with regrets. There’s a whole wide world of beauty and possibility out there for those who dare to go after it. I have had many more dreams since wanting to dance the stages of the world. Some have come true. And others have not. Some are still a gorgeous, messy, work in progress. The older I get the more I realise that , theoretically, if I only have a third of my life to make a difference, I  sure am going to make it count!

    I am going to live, love and adventure the heck out of every day. I will dream another dream, and forge another path. I will make mistakes. And I will grow.

    A little more every day.

    The unknown is scary but alive with opportunity. The possibility of what lies ahead far outweighs the fear of failure. So as I challenge myself, I challenge you. Go out there and make it count.

    A very wise brother reminded me of a quote that sums it all up for me –

    “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” ― Anaïs Nin.

    Go forth and be courageous.