hello.

Balance is a tricky thing. Sometimes, just when you think you’ve got the hang of it you get a little wobble which you try to correct, and typically over-correct, and suddenly you’ve lost your balance. You always hear people going on about finding a work-life balance, and most of the times they make it sound so very easy. Not so. I’m only now, finally, finding some semblance of balance in my life, and trust me, most days are packed with wobbles. Lauren, of The Boss of You, recently posted about the Balance Myth and I couldn’t agree with her more. Aiming to balance your life is a good thing. Actually, it’s a great thing, but sometimes it’s just doesn’t quite go according to plan. Sometimes deadlines will surprise you and you need to put in a little extra time – assuming you want to meet the deadline of course. Sometimes you really need to just take a day to relax. I know that typically, my bigger problem is that I tend to beat myself up for the wobbles I do have while I try to balance things.

Lauren’s post is well-worth the read, especially if you are a bit of an overachiever (I feel your pain), and more recently she’s posted some additional tips and words of advice for trying to balance things.

Today, I am 30. It’s amazing how quickly time flies. Most days I still feel like I am 18, and more often than not I act like I am 8. Although, I must admit that I was slightly dreading my birthday this week. It seems like a massive turning point to leave your 20’s, but I think I was just making it so. Suddenly I feel like I’m meant to be an adult. That’s not likely to happen, but the nagging feeling was there. I’ve decided to ignore that though and make my 30^th year, my best year yet!

With that in mind, I’ve been inspired by Alex (who is always so inspiring!) to create my own list of 30 things to do in my 30^th year. I’m sharing them on my blog so I can cross them off as I accomplish them.

1. Have a food shot published in a recognised foodie mag.
2. Lose 25lbs
3. Have my design work featured in HOW or .net
4. Draw an art piece I am truly happy with.
5. Master my camera.
6. Create a home I really love.
7. Get some style.
8. Horseride again.
9. Fly a kite.
10. Go a full day without criticising myself.
11. Organise and backup all my photos (have some semblance of a system).
12. Finally create a wedding album.
13. Go to a design conference.
14. Sew something.
15. Have a lovely picnic somewhere beautiful.
16. Sell more photos.
17. Get a birthday card and present for all my family to them on time.
18. Have a full-on Saffa braai with friends.
19. Do something surprising.
20. Swim in the ocean again.
21. Have a professional massage.
22. Cook more and learn 5-10 delish dishes.
23. Take a proper vacation for a week and don’t feel guilty about it.
24. Reconnect with my mentor from college.
25. Donate blood.
26. Stop saying “sorry” for things that aren’t my fault/have nothing to do with me. It’s a bad habit I have.
27. Don’t hesitate to buy myself flowers.
28. Go go-carting.
29. Become a good listener.
30. Learn not to say yes when I really mean no.

I love following interior design and style blogs. The one down side though is that they tend to lead me to a rather extensive wish-list. Every day I see something new I’d love to have in the home. My poor bank account would weep if it saw it.

Anyway, one of my ultimate favourite interior design blogs is decor8. Holly is a fantastic writer, great person and has a wonderful eye for style and design. If you don’t follow her, you should.

Recently, Holly blogged about a community bookcase in Hannover. Basically, the bookcase (or bookcases as it were) are open to the community to browse and take books they want to read. You then return with books to add to the bookcase and replace the ones you’ve taken. What a lovely idea! Of course, this wouldn’t work everywhere – which is rather sad – and yes, even in some areas where this could work, perhaps some people do take books and not return with more books to replace those. Overall though, what a lovely idea to encourage community, sharing and reading. I would love to see this adopted in more areas.

i simply love this ad starring natalie du toit. i had to share it. if this woman isn’t the epitome of perseverance and self-belief, i don’t know who is.

(found via coda)

HP – invent from Tom and Matt on Vimeo.

really clever! via David Airey.